A/N: New chapter! Enjoy! We don't own Yugioh GX or Yugioh 5D's.

Yusei knocked on Jack's door, hoping he'd answer. "Jack? I need a word of advice."

Jack opened the door and asked, "What?"

"What do you do when you're basically a magnet for trouble, and it's upsetting your girlfriend? I mean, I know you don't have a girlfriend or anything, but you are a magnet for trouble."

"Don't ask me," Jack said, crossing his arms. "I just take it as it comes, and I highly doubt that will solve your dating problems with Aki. Try asking Crow. He's better with troubleshooting problems."

"I had a feeling he'd say that...," Yusei muttered. To Jack, he said, "Well, thanks anyway, Jack."

He left to find Crow, hoping he'd be able to help him out somehow.

Meanwhile, Asuka had found Sho moping in Judai's room. She told him that she had a plan that may work to make Judai feel better—or at least forget how miserable he was—and explained it, and Sho had jumped up and run out to get Manjoume, saying he was going to develop his character afterward. Now Asuka and Manjoume were in Judai's room, talking about her plan.

She started by telling him what she felt was upsetting Judai so much—all the reminders of the past.

"So, let me get this straight," Manjoume said, holding up a hand. "Me making fun of him's hurting him severely because he misses it?" There were so many things wrong with that, but he chose to focus on the biggest one. "Geez! You'd think that would make him happy, getting to relive the good old days! He really is an idiot."

"I know what you mean, but he doesn't want to relive it for some reason," Asuka said. "So, maybe, we can cheer him up some by acting different."

Manjoume shrugged. "It's worth a try, I guess."

The door opened, and Judai entered. He stopped and stared, seeing the two people in his room.

"...Crap...," he muttered.

Asuka stared at him for a moment, slightly startled, before giggling. "Hey, sweetie! How are you?" she said, bubbly.

Judai stared at her in confusion for a few seconds before asking, "Who are you, and what have you done with Asuka?"

Manjoume got in on the act with, "Aw, dude. Don't you recognize us? Take a chill pill. We're cool." He looked at Asuka and added, "Right, babe?"

Asuka giggled again. "Aw, come on. You're all too much."

She wasn't about to show more favor toward any guy than the others—Judai had loved her, and she'd married Manjoume. Maybe she could soften the blows from others flirting with her by just loving any positive attention.

Judai stared at the ebony-haired duelist. He hadn't sounded anything like Manjoume, so calm and laid back. It was disturbing. What was worse was that word: babe.

"Don't ever say that word again, weirdo," he said, still staring.

"Dude, relax," Manjoume said, still too laid back to be him. "Your aura's way too depressing."

Judai just stared, totally lost.

"Hi, y'all!" Sho said, entering the room. "How ya doin'!?"

"...They're sick, that's how they're doing..."

Hidden in the wall, the spirit was laughing his ass off. Asuka's idea to act like different people so they wouldn't remind him of the past was funny enough in and of itself when you saw how those three were acting, but Judai's reaction was the icing on the cake. The spirit just couldn't contain himself.

"Hey! That's so mean! Take it back!" Asuka said in that very odd manner, glaring at him and looking downright insulted.

"Aw, chillax, babe," Manjoume said. "We still think you're luscious." He wrapped an arm around her shoulder as he spoke.

Asuka giggled again, saying, "Gee, thanks."

"Yup, one of the finest wild flowers I ever did see, right partner?" Sho said, reminding Judai inexplicably of a cowboy in American westerns—he could just see him tipping his hat.

"You're all just so sweet!" Asuka exclaimed, hands on cheeks. "You're making me blush."

Judai stared at them for a moment, then looked around for the hidden camera, wondering when he'd gotten stuck on some weird game show. The weirdos laughed.

"I'm sorry, partner," Sho said. "Are we in yer room?"

"...Uh..."

"Oh, that's okay! We can go someplace else!" She giggled for the umpteenth time. "Come on, Honey-bunch. You too, Babe," she said to the other two. "Let's give my Sweetie-pie some privacy, 'kay?" She gave a playful wink.

"Yeah, sure. This place is so unchill. Let's go someplace with, like, better karma."

Okay, that's it. I'm writing a list of words Manjoume's never allowed to say. Ever, Judai thought.

"Wait fer me, partner!" Sho called, following the other two out of the room.

Judai watched them go. "...What the hell are they on...?"

Drugs. That had to be it. But what kind of drugs?

"You okay, sweetheart?" Yubel asked in a motherly tone.

"Oh, no. Not you, too!" Judai exclaimed, worried now.

The spirit just couldn't stop laughing if he tried now—these guys were just too funny.

A hyperactive furball appeared, bouncing up and down. "Kuri, kuri, kuri!?"

Translation: "What's wrong, what's wrong, what's wrong, partner!?"

"No!" the spirit exclaimed, laughing. "Stop! You're all just too much!"

He kept laughing, along with his friend who was especially amused by Winged Kuriboh's behavior.

Judai stared at the Kuriboh, wide-eyed. "Is anyone on this thing sane?"

According to Crow's watch, it was 10:46. That was why he was getting ready for bed. And why a knock at his door was such a surprise.

"Hey, Crow?" he heard Yusei ask from the other side. "You still up?"

"Yeah, I'm up," he answered.

"Great. You got a minute?"

"I think I could spare you one. Why? What's up?" he asked, his door still shut as he pulled on his pants.

"It's Aki," Yusei responded. "She just broke up with me because of this recent run of bad luck I've been having. Like I told Jack, I know you don't have a girlfriend, but you're good at finding trouble, so I was wondering if you had any advice on getting rid of it."

Crow opened the door. "Hmm. I don't know what to tell ya, pal," he said. "Maybe there's a reason for all this?"

At that moment, Judai headed past, looking disturbed.

"You know, sweetie, maybe you should just go to bed. A late-night snack will only give you nightmares," Yubel said in her motherly tone.

"...Are you feeling okay, Yubel?" Judai asked.

Crow watched the brunette walk off as an idea hit him.

"Yusei, how exactly did Aki break up with you?" he asked.

"She basically told me in her own words that she was tired of it all and didn't want to see me until I fixed it."

"Hmm." He stared after Judai. "You don't think...?" Shaking his head, he said, "Nah. Forget it."

"What?" Yusei asked.

Crow looked after Judai again. "...He just turned 18 back then, didn't he?"

Yusei shrugged. "Don't know. He never said. Why?"

"Well, didn't all this start happening right after you turned 18?"

"Yes," Yusei said. "What are you suggesting?"

"Well, let's see, Judai had a girlfriend right before that happened, but, thanks to it, he lost her," Crow explained. "Your problems didn't start until you reached his age, so what if they're connected?"

"Crow, that's crazy," Yusei told him. "But you may be right."

He thought about it for a bit—so far, every event in his life seemed tied to something bigger. Stardust Dragon was his, making him a Signer, which meant he was connected to Aki, Ruka, and even Godwin before they had even met. Then there was Zero Reverse, which was connected to a man trying to change the future. Once they had dealt with that, he and Aki had started dating, and his luck had plummeted.

Could that be it? Had Judai gone through something similar? That incident he mentioned with Yubel seemed like the sort of life-shattering event that Zero Reverse had been for many people in his time. Maybe this rotten luck of his was giving him a way to relate to his friend, to understand and help him through.

"Hmm. Maybe I should talk to him." He turned to leave, adding, "Thanks, Crow."

"No problem, buddy," Crow said. "Good luck with that!"

Crow headed back into his room and went to bed, while Yusei went to see Judai.

There was a knock on Judai's door, but he didn't hear. Really, you couldn't blame him with his new "mother" singing a lullaby while the hyper fuzzball literally bounced off the walls. Judai wasn't sure what was wrong with Yubel, but he was wondering how long this new disease would take to start affecting him and whether it would kill him and how long he'd be dead for this time if it did.

"What is wrong with you two!? Is everyone going crazy!?" As Winged Kuriboh whizzed past his head, he added, "Winged Kuriboh, settle down!"

"Judai? Are you okay in there?" Yusei called from outside.

"Huh? Yusei?" Judai opened the door, sweating. "Uh, yeah, I think so..."

Winged Kuriboh shot out the open door and down the hall, looking crazed. Yusei looked slightly startled as he ducked to avoid being whacked in the head by it.

Judai watched it bounce down the hall, sweating some more. "Though everyone I know is going insane..."

"What's going on?" Yusei asked.

"Heck if I know," Judai said. "But I think Asuka may be carrying some contagious disease or something."

Yusei stared at him a minute. Then, recovering, he asked, "Uh, anyway, have you got a minute?"

"Sure, what's up?" Judai said, stepping aside so Yusei could enter.

"Now, Judai, you know bedtime's at 11," Yubel chided in his head. "You can play with your little friend tomorrow. Right now, you need your rest, okay?"

"Let's...close the door first," Yusei said, pulling the door closed behind him. "It's kinda private, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Judai answered. To Yubel, he ordered, Shut up, "Mom!"

"That's no way to talk to your mother, young man. Do I need to get some soap for that mouth of yours?"

While Judai sat down on his bed, fuming over that, Yusei said, "Now, listen. I know you're not gonna like this, but I want to hear a bit of your past. What happened when Asuka dumped you? And why'd she do it?"

"Huh?" Judai blinked and looked at Yusei. "Sorry, I was just trying to figure out how my mom's gonna wash my mouth out with soap when she DOESN'T HAVE SOLID HANDS!" He glared off to the side as he finished.

"Don't go raising your voice at me, young man! Keep it up, and I'll send your friend home."

"Judai," Yusei said. "This is important."

"What?" Judai asked, trying to direct his attention away from his new mom.

"It's about Asuka. How did she dump you, and why?"

Judai paled. Yusei sat down beside him.

"Look, I know you don't want to talk about it, but I need to know," Yusei told him. "Please?"

"...Why?"

"I'll tell you if you tell me, okay?"

Judai looked down and said, "She...she asked me, one day, why I didn't seem to be aging at all. When I told her, she...she said we couldn't be friends anymore, for now, and told me never to visit her again... And she wouldn't answer if I called..."

Aki just said something like that to me. Looks like Crow was right, Yusei thought. "I'm sorry, pal. That must have been rough on you."

Judai just kept staring at the floor.

"Aki and I have been having some similar problems," Yusei told him.

"I figured as much... Kinda saw it earlier today," Judai said apologetically.

"See, ever since I turned 18 and we started dating, none of them have turned out as we planned. Every time I try to get ready, Jack breaks something or a disaster strikes in town. Every time I pick her up, Crow gets into trouble or there's a problem at the lab. And every time we go anywhere, usually before we're halfway there, someone we know gets attacked or there's a riot going on. By that point, we've always decided it was hopeless and gave up to try again next time. Well, Aki's been growing more and more tired of it. I guess she's finally had enough. I don't know what to do."

"...I don't know what to tell you," Judai said quietly.

"It sounds like we've both been through the same thing there, doesn't it?" Yusei asked.

Judai looked at him and asked, "Where are you going with this?"

"I don't know. I just found it interesting, that's all. That two guys can have similar problems? But, hey, maybe there's still a way to fix them?"

Judai just stared, waiting for Yusei to elaborate on that one.

"I know what needs to be done with Aki," Yusei said. "I need to sit her down and have a serious talk with her about it, and hopefully she'll understand. After that, well, I'll just keep trying. My back luck's bound to change someday, right? Who knows, maybe that's what you should do, too."

"...My 'bad luck' isn't going anywhere, Yusei. And why would I try that now when, in the future, she's gonna meet a younger version of me?" he asked, thinking that dating Asuka was the stupidest thing he could ever attempt at this point. "Honestly, I'm still trying to figure out how all of this is gonna eff up my life."

"Judai, your bad luck's already changing," Yusei assured him. "Just look at where you are. You've been transported back in time and are currently on a spaceship heading for somewhere that could change everything. As for your friends, I think we can work around all the complicated parts. For all we know, there's a reason they're here."

"Such as?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's because you miss them. Maybe, when you last saw those three, there were things left undone. It might even be because you need their help with this, so fate guided you to them. It's hard to say, really."

Judai looked away, thinking of the obvious regrets and things left undone with Asuka and Manjoume. Though he couldn't really figure out why Sho would have to be there. Unless it was because of... No! He wasn't going to think about that, damn it!

Yusei looked at Judai questioningly.

"Well, with Asuka, it was never telling her how I felt," Judai said to himself. "With Manjoume, it's the whole 'marrying Asuka' thing... And Sho..."

He tried to think of why he'd be there, but he stopped himself again. Those memories, the ones he was reaching for, were locked away for a reason—they were the most painful ones he had, and that day Asuka had abandoned him and the day he'd found out she was engaged had to go back to being there, locked away where they couldn't hurt him anymore.

"So at least two are here because of things you regret?" Yusei asked.

"...Yeah..."

"Then maybe this is fate's way of giving you a second chance. Maybe now's the time to mend some fences and finish what you started. Maybe that's why we're all here, actually. To help you do that."

"...Maybe..."

Yusei got up, saying, "Well, good night, pal. Sorry I bothered you." With that, he left, shutting the door behind him.

"You know, that guy's pretty smart," Yubel said, sounding like herself again. "Could he be right, I wonder?"

"Hey, what do you know? You're sounding like yourself again," Judai said.

Yubel froze. "Uh, I mean..." She sweat.

"No, please, keep it up. I actually prefer you over Mother Yubel," Judai teased.

"Ha ha. Very funny." She smiled, then said, "No, really, that was great! Glad to see you joking around again!"

Judai grinned at her. Winged Kuriboh peeked in, looking hopeful. "Kuri?"

Judai looked at it, then carefully, like he was dealing with a bomb, he stood up, arms raised slightly, and said, "Hey... You calmed down any yet?"

Winged Kuriboh teared up—Judai didn't look depressed just then. The duel spirit charged him, overjoyed.

"Kuriii!"

"Whoa!" Judai said, barely staying on his feet as the spirit crashed into him. Then he laughed once, smiling.

It was such a small thing, but it filled Yubel and Winged Kuriboh with so much joy that they started goofing off, acting more like they had when he had actually felt like goofing around with them.

That's when Judai realized what everyone was doing—they were trying to make him feel better. Apparently they thought acting like people they weren't would help.

Oh, man, I've gotta talk to those other three in the morning, he thought as he played with the excited duel spirits.

The two kept him up until midnight, when he decided that the "party" had to end if he was going to wake up before noon tomorrow.

"Okay, okay, I think it's about time I get to bed, guys," he told them.

"Okay...," Yubel said. She sounded whiny, though, like a little kid being told to go to bed when they didn't want to.

Winged Kuriboh sounded the same. "Kurii..."

Judai laughed. An actual laugh. Not a false one or just a single noise, but a real laugh.

That did it—the spirits really didn't want to go bed after that. They weren't telling him, but they wanted to enjoy him as much as possible before he was gone for good and replaced with the new, depressed Judai. Their faces said it all: "Aw, do you have to?"

They pouted, looking at him longingly. If it was just Winged Kuriboh, Judai may have just brushed it off, but Yubel was doing it, too.

"...Wow, have I really been that bad?" Judai asked.

Yubel nodded sadly.

Winged Kuriboh looked down. "Kurii..."

"...I'm sorry. I'll try not to...act like that anymore." Silently, he added, Better to just put the past where it belongs...behind me.

The two hoped he could keep that promise, but, again, they didn't say. They just nodded and disappeared, letting him go to bed.

The green-eyed spirit, watching this, was trying hard not to cry. It had been 2000 years since he'd seen Judai smile and have fun like that, after all.

"Welcome back, pal," he whispered.

A single tear, a single sob, escaped the spirit as he watched his old friend climb into bed.