XVIII. Supernova
Yusei arrived at Neo Domino University to find the place in complete chaos. The physics lab was bustling with activity, but no one so much as spared him a second glance. Eventually, after standing around for over an hour and mentioning his parents with increasing insistence, someone found Hayashi-san for him. The woman looked a lot less jovial than the last time they'd spoken.
"Yusei-kun, I'm terribly sorry, I can't spare more than a minute or two. We're trying to find a way to disable the Momentum Reactor, but it just keeps going."
Yusei cast a significant glance at the barely lit-up building. NDU was running on emergency power. Hayashi-san chuckled.
"The reactor still works, did no one tell you that? It's just not powering anything. But that kind of energy buildup…"
That was news to Yusei. He swallowed. "I want to help."
Hayashi-san grimaced. "Any other day and we'd love having you around. But right now we just can't spare the people to get you up-to-date…" she frowned, deep in thought. "Actually, there's one thing you can do to help. Your D-Wheel still works?"
Yusei didn't ask how she knew. His D-Wheel had astounded everyone he'd seen so far.
"Momentum Express is one of our partners when it comes to Momentum research. They've been sponsoring a lot of the present-day research and they know as much, if not more about Momentum than we do." Hayashi-san glanced around. "They've told us that they know nothing more about what's going on, but I fear their chairman hasn't been honest with us for a long time."
"You want me to check it out."
"Your name carries a lot of weight, Yusei-kun, whether you like it or not. We're stuck here and any new information would be very beneficial."
Yusei sighed. He didn't like these games, but there was very little around the City for him to do, now that Martha and Mikage had everything firmly in hand. And he'd still get to learn more about what was going on.
"Okay, I'll do it. How am I gonna get in?"
Hayashi-san smiled brilliantly. "Give me five minutes. I'll write you a letter."
—
Momentum Express was still standing. More than that, it was still operational. Yusei came to a stop outside the heavy iron gates and spent a few seconds just staring. The facility was bustling with life, trucks driving on and off and people walking briskly from one building to the next. Yusei looked back at the city he'd just come from. The Ark Cradle was hovering ominously in plain sight, even from this far away. Bruno was on there. Aki was on there. And Yusei was either getting them off or getting on it himself.
He had expected to have a hard time getting in, but Hayashi-san's words had to carry some serious clout, because after presenting the letter, he'd been waved through without so much as a cursory glance at his ID. He even got to bring Yusei-Go inside.
"Fudou-san, right this way," said a security guard when he passed through the main entrance. He left his D-Wheel next to the big doors of the main building and followed the man inside, through glass sliding doors showing off the logo of Momentum Express. This place had a lot of money to spare. If Yusei hadn't known that it had been built not long after Zero Reverse, he would've guessed it wasn't older than a year. It seemed like Hayashi-san had been onto something.
"The chairman would like to speak to you," the security guard said as he called up the elevator. "He requested a meeting personally, but if you would rather go see our main labs first, I can take you there now."
The chairman wanted to speak to him? Urgently, no less? "No, I'll talk to him," Yusei said. He had expected a few welcome words, perhaps a perfunctory tour, but this sounded more serious than a mere greeting. Already Momentum Express was proving to hide secrets. He hoped he wouldn't have to get involved too deeply to find the answers Hayashi-san wanted. He did have more pressing things to worry about.
The elevator took them up to the fifth floor and opened to a long hallway lined with offices. The security guard scanned his badge, then made Yusei scan his visitor's badge, and finally knocked on a door almost all the way at the end.
"Sir? Fudou Yusei has arrived."
"Please come in."
The security guard nodded at Yusei and gave him thumbs up before leaving. Yusei pushed open the door and entered in a well-lit office, just as modern as the rest of the building had been. Seriously, where did these people get their money?
"Fudou Yusei?" Behind the desk, a man got up. "My name is Clark. I am the chairman of Momentum Express. It is a pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise." Yusei shook his hand briefly. Clark looked like a man who was used to having money. His suit was neatly tailored and his glasses had probably cost more than Yusei had ever earned in his life. And still… Yusei narrowed his eyes. Clark's handshake wasn't as steady as Yusei had expected from someone in his position, and his already pale face looked almost pallid. More than anything, he looked like he needed a good night's sleep and hadn't had the chance in a while. At least there, Yusei could sympathize.
"Fudou-san, I'm so glad to see you here," he said. "Horrible business with the Ark Cradle in Neo Domino City. Has there been any resolution?"
Yusei grimaced. "Not yet. What did you want to talk to me about?"
'Yes, well," Clark took off his glasses and polished them, "I was of course very glad to hear you had shown interest in Momentum Express. The son of the Fudous… It is an honor."
Yusei raised an eyebrow. "Could you get to the point, please?"
"Of course, of course…" Clark sat down heavily and pushed his glasses back onto his nose. "I suppose I ought to be frank with you. My employers have vanished when the Ark Cradle appeared. Momentum Express is teetering on the brink of collapse."
"It seemed fine when I came in," Yusei said. Yeah, the scientists and employees had looked harried, but wasn't that to be expected, with the Ark Cradle taking up the entire horizon?
"Most of my employees aren't aware of the situation." Clark rested his chin on his hands. "Only a few of my most trusted advisors know. But Momentum Express houses dangerous experiments, Fudou Yusei."
"Why are you telling me this?" Yusei didn't like where this was going. He discreetly checked his deck. Still where it was supposed to be. Good.
"My employers were… interested in you. They were adamant their identity remain a secret, however, and I would have kept that secret to my grave, if it weren't for…" He glanced out of the window. It gave them a clear view on the Ark Cradle in the distance.
"In me?" Wait a minute, employers who vanished when the Ark appeared? "You worked for Yliaster?"
Clark lowered his eyes. "I'm afraid you are correct, yes. Yliaster… I only ever communicated with them via conference call, but they were very invested in the projects Momentum Express runs. They wanted to create a… Dimensional gateway, I suppose I should call it. An easy way to travel between a given set of coordinates."
"Four-dimensional?"
"Yes. I see I don't need to explain it to you, Fudou-san."
Of course Yliaster had continued experimenting with time travel beyond what they already had. Paradox had only been able to transport himself and his D-Wheel through time. Had they planned to create a bigger system, a way to transfer more material and bigger things to any given point in time? Given the Ark Cradle, had they already succeeded?
Yusei got up from his chair. "How was their system powered? Show me."
"Yes, yes, of course…" Clark almost sounded relieved at finally being able to tell someone. "Their initial systems ran on Momentum, but they seemed adamant about finding another way. The work of professor Zweinstein led us to creating a method that functioned on the energy released by duelists, but even then, they weren't satisfied. Too close to Momentum, they said."
Duel energy… So that was how they had summoned the Ark. And that final duel, with so many high-powered monsters summoned, had been the last straw. The very last bit of energy they had needed to summon the Ark. If Aki hadn't summoned Efflorescent Rose Dragon… But no. Yusei shook his head. If she hadn't summoned it, the appearance of the Ark would have merely been delayed, not negated altogether. It would have appeared regardless.
Clark didn't explain anything else until they had reached the basement and a heavily-secured lab. Just entering it alone required a biometric scan and passcode. Even so… Yusei studied the door as it closed behind them. A door was only as strong as its strongest hinges. And these? Not very strong. Someone had been pocketing money.
"Here we are," Clark announced with a flourish. The lab, Yusei had to admit, was breathtaking. On any other day, he would have been happy to just while away his time right here. "We have the targeting system in here. Beyond the glass is the launch bay. We set the coordinates here, and the ship should take the cargo to wherever it needs to be."
"How do you set the coordinates?" Yusei studied the computers. They were sophisticated, yes, but could they actually handle steering a ship through time?
"Ah." Clark ran a hand over the nearest panel. "Well, that's been a bit of an issue. It's very hit-or-miss, you see? Even if we set the coordinates, most of the time, our ships don't make it. And of course, we can only test for the near future. We set the coordinates five minutes from now, in the other landing bay, and hope it appears there after five minutes… It usually doesn't."
That was disappointing. Yusei carefully looked the system over. "And people?"
"Oh no, we've never tried it with people!" Clark said quickly. Too quickly. "If we can't even get a ship on autopilot back safe and sound, what chance is there for a person? Now Yliaster… They had something that guaranteed arrival. They claimed they could see everything that went on in time. Well, they sure always knew when we'd lost another ship."
So Yliaster was monitoring the time stream… A plan was starting to form. It was a terrible, terrible plan, and if any of his friends found out about it, they'd probably lock him up and never let him leave the house again. They might not be wrong for doing so. But Yusei had to get up there, on the Ark. He just needed to make sure of a few more things.
"What do you know about Yliaster?"
Clark threw an anxious look over his shoulder, as if even in here, he was afraid of being monitored. Maybe it wasn't an ungrounded fear. "I only ever spoke to three of them, but I think there were more members than that. They spoke of their own leader once or twice, I believe."
"The three you spoke to were Team New World?" Not that Yusei needed to ask, so Clark's affirming nod was nowhere near a surprise. "Right. What do you know about their leader?"
Clark shrugged. "Only that he exists." The basement had no windows, obviously, but his look upwards was hard to miss. "I suppose he's responsible for the Ark Cradle too… He was the one who was so interested in you."
"Their leader?" One more point for his hunch. It wasn't a hunch Yusei particularly liked.
"Yes. I remember the youngest one… Lucciano. He complained about it at some point."
So it was Z-one, not Team New World, who was so interested in him. Yusei nodded. Clark probably took it as a reply to his words, for he hastened to say: "I don't know why they were so interested. I am sorry we never alerted you, but—"
Yusei waved a hand. "No need. Thank you for the tour, it has been very enlightening." He glanced at the controls. "Do you think I could do some research in here? I'll be out of your hair before you know it."
"You're leaving? But—" Again that anxious look. Yusei forced a smile.
"I do have an Ark to stop, right? I just need to do some research before I can, and I think your installation here might provide the key."
"Oh! Right, yes, of course." Clark's relief was almost palpable and his follow-up smile made Yusei grit his teeth. He really didn't want to spend any more time in this guy's company than absolutely necessary. "Yes, I will see to it that you have your visitor's badge expanded. It will grant you access to all the basement labs. Just don't forget to scan it when you enter."
"Thank you." Yusei followed Clark out of the lab with one last look at the targeting system. The beginnings of a plan were starting to form. First he'd report his findings to Hayashi-san. He doubted NDU would find much use out of the info; Yliaster had already taken themselves out of the equation and Momentum Express' funds would dry up soon enough. But at least no one would be able to say he hadn't tried.
It shouldn't take him much more than half an hour to relay that particular message. And then… Then he was going to need a map, some very good coordinates and a lot of faith.
oOoOo
Mizoguchi Matsuyama had seen many things in his life, but massive buildings hanging in the sky were new to him. And Sherry was up there. He'd thought he could let her go. They had been apart for much longer than this in the past; three days was nothing. But it had been three days without a single sign of life. He had watched Sherry's flight with the Izayoi girl. He had almost panicked when the Ark Cradle had attacked them. But they had made it. And ever since then…. Nothing.
He had enough confidence in Paradox and Bruno to believe they wouldn't actually harm Sherry, but what about their allies? Because they had to have allies. Paradox and Bruno hadn't made the Ark appear—The way the both of them had run off without forethought was enough evidence of that. Yliaster was still part of the mix. And what was to say that they wouldn't want to finish the job and kill the last remaining Leblanc?
He would have been able to keep waiting if the defense forces hadn't started shooting at the Ark. But they had. And that was a danger Sherry couldn't protect herself from. She needed to get out of there. It had been Mizoguchi's duty to protect her at all costs. She had never been so close to danger and he wasn't there with her. He couldn't let it stand.
Sherry had told him what had happened after she had used the Z-ONE card. How it had transported her to a weird realm along with Yusei and Bruno, where they'd encountered a… creature? Robot? Mizoguchi studied the Z-ONE card. It was entirely unassuming and had always been. But Bruno and Paradox had told them about its true purpose. A calling card. It could take him to the Ark Cradle if only he could figure out a way to use it.
They had been in Security when Sherry had used the card, but Security had become the headquarters of the national defense forces. Getting in there unnoticed was a futile undertaking. There had to be another place that had the processing power necessary to create the same effect.
He briefly considered Neo Domino University but dismissed it out of hand. Like many public places within the city itself, the building was beset by people and not functioning at all. He had to get out of the city. The answer came to him while he was staring up at the sky come evening. The sky was getting darker, but since the Ark Cradle had blocked out most of the sun all day anyway, it wasn't that much of a change.
Momentum Express. It had been on their list before Bruno and Paradox had come crashing into their lives and had provided them with a bigger distraction. The research facility hid all kinds of secrets, and they had been dying to figure out what they were. It was several kilometers removed from the city, but not so far that he couldn't make it there with a brisk run within the next hour or two if he didn't encounter any roadblocks. And he'd bet anything that like Neo Domino Hospital, the facility had its own power generator that would be up and running even without Momentum.
Getting in there would prove to be another challenge, but the presence of the national defense forces would be less there. So Mizoguchi left at seven and, as he'd hoped, made it to the facility by nine. It would have been a far shorter journey if he'd been able to use his D-Wheel, but no use crying over spilled milk.
Momentum Express was not as abandoned as he'd hoped. On the other hand, the gates were wide open and the CCTV system had clearly been declared non-essential, because a few minutes of observation showed that the cameras were completely inactive. He entered with relatively few difficulties and made his way through the largely abandoned hallways. While Momentum Express wasn't deserted, it was clearly functioning at minimum capacity. Now he just had to find the right kind of installation to use the Z-ONE card Sherry had entrusted him with.
He was making his way past what looked like a shuttle bay when he paused and listened. There was someone else making their way through the building very slowly and carefully. Their footsteps weren't at all like the quick and harried footsteps of the people on the upper floor. This person was sneaking. Mizoguchi ducked in another hallway that gave out on the shuttle bay and waited, duel disk at the ready just in case.
Fudou Yusei came into view.
Mizoguchi frowned. According to the latest news he'd been able to get, Fudou Yusei had been helping to get the city going again, his Signer powers apparently well-suited to the task. He should be in Neo Domino City, not here, twenty kilometers away. What was Yusei doing at Momentum Express? And why was he sneaking around?
Only one way to find out. Somehow Mizoguchi was fairly certain that Yusei wasn't going to rat him out.
"Good evening," he said, stepping out of the hallway as Yusei passed it. Yusei visibly started, duel disk already raised by the time he took in Mizoguchi, but he composed himself quickly.
"Good evening," he returned. "I take it you're here to find a way to get up to the Ark?"
"Yes." Very little use in denying that, given that Yusei was doing the exact same thing. He looked at the shuttles. "What are these? Will they help?"
Yusei hesitated. "Maybe. I have a theory."
Mizoguchi raised his eyebrows, but Yusei didn't elaborate. "How about you?" he asked instead.
Mizoguchi took Sherry's Z-ONE card out of his pocket. Yusei's eyes widened when he saw it.
"Is that Sherry's card?" he asked. "How come you have it? Do you think we can use it?"
"Milady entrusted me with it before she left. I am hoping to activate it."
Yusei nodded and looked back at the shuttles. "I talked to the owner of Momentum Express earlier today. They're using those shuttles for time travel experiments. They've been working with Yliaster."
Of course Yliaster had its hands in this as well. He eyed the shuttles with more than a little distrust. Time travel? Bruno's D-Wheel had been capable of it and presumably Paradox's new D-Wheel could do the same. He'd never heard them talk about shuttles. That alone was strange enough. "Do they work?" he asked.
"… No. Not reliably."
Mizoguchi pocketed the card again. "And yet you plan on using them."
"Look, it's not like I have a lot of other options, do I?" Yusei said, shoulders pulled up defensively. "Aki was the only one of us who could summon monsters and she took the first chance she got to leave us all behind! I have to get up there! Bruno and Aki are up there! I need to stop this!"
He took several deep breaths after that particular outburst. "How'd Sherry get there anyway?"
"You don't know?" Mizoguchi resumed walking again. There had to be a computer here somewhere. "Izayoi-san took her."
"She what?"
Mizoguchi could almost read Yusei's mind: Why had Izayoi-san taken the time to come find Sherry but refused to take her friends with her? She had known more about the Ark Cradle than Yusei seemed to. It appeared the girl had had a very good reason to come find Sherry first.
"Perhaps you need to ask her yourself when we get up there," he said.
"'We'?"
They continued to trek down the hallway. In the distance, the shuttle bay appeared. "You want to go up to the Ark Cradle. So do I. It seems pointless to continue our separate ways when we share a common goal. We will be far more equipped to deal with anything we encounter if we work together."
"Fair enough."
They reached the shuttle bay after a scant few minutes. Yusei entered immediately. Mizoguchi tried to stop him lest he set off any alarms, but Yusei just smiled and held up a key card.
"Conned them into giving me one earlier," he said. "Saving the city pays off sometimes."
Clever. Mizoguchi followed him in. The computers here might work fine, if only they had the kind of card reader that would be able to accept the Z-ONE card.
"In here." Yusei opened one of the shuttles. "These will accept the card."
Mizoguchi frowned. "How do you know?"
"Yliaster wanted it made. The card has to do with Z-one."
And as Yusei had predicted, the exact kind of card reader that would fit the Z-ONE card perfectly was front and center in the shuttle. Mizoguchi took it out and made to place it there as Yusei started up the system, but he paused.
"So what exactly was your original plan?"
Yusei looked up, almost embarrassed. "I was going to activate the shuttle and send it into the aether."
"And then?"
"… I'm pretty sure Yliaster is watching me. They would have noticed. Bruno would've come get me."
Good to know Bruno's crush wasn't one-sided. But to base an entire plan on that?
Yusei looked away. "Look, I know it's stupid but I don't exactly have a lot of options here. Perhaps the Z-ONE card will be able to get us to the right place more easily."
That was distinctly possible. Mizoguchi studied the card. "We activate the shuttle and then use the card. Is that your plan?"
"It seems the best option. The shuttle can set four-dimensional coordinates. I have the coordinates of the Ark"
Mizoguchi had to agree, albeit very reluctantly. From what Sherry had told him of the first time she had used the card, she had ended up in some kind of void. Not the Ark Cradle. Perhaps the card alone wouldn't be enough.
"All right. Activate it."
Yusei went to work, inputting coordinates and activating systems while Mizoguchi kept a close watch on the hallways outside. Outside of the shuttle, everything was dark. Perhaps the shuttle was only working because of Yusei's presence, just like he'd been helping with keeping the city going. As long as no one noticed the unusual activity down here, they would be ready to go by ten.
"Almost ready for launch," Yusei said. "I've set it on a timer. We have about five minutes to get on board and do all the necessary checks."
That should be more than enough. Mizoguchi followed Yusei onto the shuttle after making sure the doors of the bay were securely locked. If someone tried to stop them now, they wouldn't have enough time to get through. Yusei was running system checks on the board computer, the screens flashing by too quickly even for Mizoguchi to follow. He was no slouch when it came to computers, but Yusei's prowess with them clearly wasn't exaggerated.
"Ready," he said as the shuttle came to life. "Use the card."
Mizoguchi took the Z-ONE card. He put it in place as the shuttle started moving and waited for it to activate.
Nothing happened.
"Is that how it happened last time?" he asked. Yusei shook his head, face pulled in a frown. He fiddled with his phone. "No. Hold on."
He stepped forward and snatched the card back. The shuttle picked up speed. It was nearing the end of the tunnel.
"Hurry it up, please!"
"Right!" Yusei slammed the card back into place just as the end of the tunnel rushed up to them. The computer fritzed out. Bright white light emanated from the console and both he and Yusei shielded themselves; the light covered Yusei and seemed to peter out there, but Yusei grabbed his arm and pulled him forward, into the light. For a moment, Mizoguchi felt nothing. Then the light cleared up. They were still in the shuttle. Yusei was still holding his arm.
"Don't let go," he said. "The card doesn't work for you."
Yes, Paradox and Bruno had been very clear on that matter: it wouldn't work for anyone who hadn't been part of their gang. Mizoguchi looked down at Yusei with narrowed eyes. "Why does it work for you?"
"Later," Yusei said, looking outside. There was nothing. Just a void. The shuttle was still running, still hurtling towards some unknown location. How were they going to reach the Ark?
"They'll find us," Yusei said confidently. Mizoguchi raised an eyebrow. Yusei held up his phone and the message history displayed on it.
Mizoguchi smiled.
"Yes, they will."
OOoOo
Antinomy and Aki's phones went off at the same time, signaling an incoming text message. They both looked up, glanced at each other and read the message. Aki frowned.
"What does he mean by that?" she muttered.
Paradox honestly didn't feel like getting involved, but Antinomy's eyes had widened when reading the message. "What's it say?" he asked.
"'Watch us'," Antinomy quoted.
"It's from Yusei," Aki added. "I got the same one. What does that even mean, 'Watch us'? Who's us? And we can't exactly watch anyone from up here, can we?"
"Of course we can," said Plácido with a sneer. "Did you really think we did not keep track of you all this time? In fact, Fudou Yusei is—" He didn't finish that sentence. Antinomy got up.
"What is he doing?"
Lucciano giggled. "He's at Momentum Express with her bodyguard." He threw out a hand towards Sherry. "So much for helping the city, eh?"
Mizoguchi? Mizoguchi was at Momentum Express with Fudou Yusei? Against his better judgment, Paradox got up as well. Sherry pulled herself up into a sitting position, mouthing, "Mizoguchi?"
"They're… Accessing the transport system," Z-one said. He sounded as confused as the rest of them. "The system isn't fully functional yet. Why would they do that?"
Antinomy's eyes widened into something like horrified realization. "He wouldn't…" he muttered. "He can't be that stupid…" He exchanged looks with Z-one, who looked equally horrified. "No. Yusei!"
"What's he doing?!" Aki shouted.
"Launching himself into the time stream! Those things aren't stable, he'll die in there!"
Paradox glanced at Z-one. Oh, shit. Damn Fudou Yusei for putting them on the spot like that. Antinomy took off running, followed by Aki. He skidded to a halt next to his D-Wheel, slapped the Z-ONE card onto the still-activating duel disk, and jumped on. "I'm getting him out!"
"No, wait!" Z-one raised a massive hand. Antinomy barely paused, engine already revving up.
"No time! Z-one, please."
"No. They will be okay." Z-one looked at Sherry. "Your bodyguard was smart. The Z-ONE card will bring them here with just a little nudge." He closed his eyes. For a second, silence permeated the entire Ark. Then the entire building shook with the sound of a crash.
"Yusei!" Antinomy and Aki shouted, voices overlapping with Sherry's, "Mizoguchi!" The three of them sprinted towards the exit. Paradox made to follow but was stopped by Lucciano's voice.
"Ugh, why do all of you get so invested in these people?"
"Lucciano," José said warningly, but Plácido joined his younger counterpart.
"For once, I agree. Why should we care about Fudou Yusei anyway? Let alone some random idiot who's probably gonna die anyway."
Paradox took a deep breath. Aporia didn't know, he reminded himself. If it hadn't been for Z-one, Paradox would have reacted the same way Plácido did now. But they couldn't have Fudou Yusei die. It would have been tremendously bad if he did and it'd be a mess to clean up. And Mizoguchi? … It was stupid. He should not care about stupid things like this. But Mizoguchi had taken care of them. He'd made them dinner.
"We cannot lose Fudou Yusei," said Z-one, relieving Paradox of the need to answer. He seemed okay, at least, so that meant the idiot was still alive in there, wherever he was. He leaned back against a wall. They'd be fine. Mizoguchi would be fine.
One tense minute passed, then two, then three, without a sign of anyone. Paradox resisted the urge to go after Sherry and Antinomy. If they needed help, they'd let them know. They had no idea what damage the crashed shuttle had caused. The fewer people around, the better.
"I don't get what the big deal is."
Paradox looked up. He hadn't heard Plácido approach, but Aporia's middle form now slumped down next to him.
"Bad things happen when Fudou Yusei dies," he muttered. "It happened once, you remember that. We had to rush to undo it." He glanced at Z-one as he said it. Plácido followed his stare.
"I don't get it. It shouldn't affect anything."
This wasn't the time nor the place. Paradox shook his head. "I'll tell you later, just…" They hadn't told Aporia in all these years because it just hadn't mattered. Z-one was Z-one. That's all they cared about.
Antinomy, Sherry and Aki finally reappeared, followed by Mizoguchi and Yusei. Anger radiated out of every line of their bodies. Mizoguchi and Yusei looked rather cowed in comparison.
"They've lost their minds!" Aki announced to the room at large. She turned on Yusei and Yusei winced. "What the hell were you trying to accomplish by doing something as stupid—"
"Inane," Antinomy added in a low growl.
"—Suicidal as that?"
Yusei just groaned, eyes still closed. "Please, I've got a headache. Besides, you ran off too."
"I didn't jump into the time stream and tried to get myself killed!"
Debatable on that last part, Paradox thought, but Sherry had just stopped being angry with him. He didn't want to bring that up again.
"I made it out fine, didn't I?" Yusei said. Both Aki and Antinomy looked about two seconds away from hitting him.
"Don't you ever do anything like that again, Fudou Yusei," Aki hissed. Antinomy glared down at Yusei.
"Whatever made you think doing that was a good idea? You would've died in there, Yusei."
"No, I wouldn't have," Yusei said simply. "I knew you'd come get me if anything went wrong."
That stumped Antinomy. He floundered, and Paradox groaned. Sherry grimaced and turned to Mizoguchi.
"You shouldn't have come," she said. Mizoguchi looked down at her steadily.
"It was for my own peace of mind."
Sherry looked like she wanted to say more, but perhaps she'd realized that going off on Mizoguchi like Antinomy and Aki had on Yusei would accomplish nothing. Or, more likely, she was just as relieved to see Mizoguchi as Mizoguchi was to see her.
"Fudou Yusei," said Z-one. Yusei opened his eyes, suddenly alert. He narrowed them when he saw Z-one. What did Yusei know? How much had he found out? "This was a very irresponsible thing to do."
"I know." Yusei looked around the room, eyes passing over all of them and lingering on Aki and Antinomy. "That seems to be a theme right now, doesn't it?"
Wow, Fudou Yusei could actually do emotion that wasn't self-righteousness? Color him surprised. "So you're up here now, congratulations," Paradox said. "What are you planning now? Did you actually think about that?"
"Have you come to stop us, Fudou Yusei?" Z-one asked. Aporia's three forms immediately closed rank. Even Antinomy, Paradox noticed, was inching towards his duel disk. At least he wasn't that attached to Yusei yet.
Yusei grimaced. "I came to offer my help," he said after a few seconds. "Me and Mizoguchi both. This… This doesn't have to be a fight, okay?" He gestured at the Ark all around them. "I've offered before and I'll do it again: I want to help. I'm not convinced what you're doing here is the best way, but I don't want anyone to get hurt."
"You don't know what led to this, Fudou Yusei," Z-one said.
"Then tell me! No one is telling me anything."
Aki cringed. Paradox groaned. What could they tell him that wouldn't trigger immediate denial? This was exactly why Fudou Yusei should have never come here.
Aki's phone started ringing, sparing them from having to answer. She glanced at the screen, raised an eyebrow, and answered the call. "Yes. Yeah, he's here… Yes, okay, we'll talk later." She held out the phone to Yusei. "That's for you."
Yusei accepted the phone gingerly. "Hello?"
Indistinct shouting on the other side. Yusei sighed. "Crow, yes, I know, I—"
They spent a good five minutes listening as Crow and Jack alternated shouting at Yusei over the phone. Paradox shrugged and Aporia's middle form sat down on the ground and watched with his head resting on his arms. Hey, good entertainment was good entertainment, and that was hard to come by here on the Ark. Yusei finally reassured them one last time that he was fine and that he'd get back as soon as he could. He closed the phone and handed it back to Aki.
"Just so you know," Antinomy muttered, "if they're the next to jump in, I'm not going to pick them up."
No one believed him.
"They won't," Yusei said. "They promised. Besides, I, uh, think we may have blown up the system."
"I can confirm that," said José. "That system cost us a lot of money, Fudou Yusei."
Yusei didn't look at all repentant. "So what now?" he asked. "What are you planning?"
They all looked at Z-one. Z-one didn't say anything. He floated to the central column in the middle of the room and activated the inner system.
"For now, we wait. You have already done a good job helping the city, Fudou Yusei. Let us hope your presence here will not impede that."
oOoOo
Sherry hadn't expected it to be so much of a relief to see Mizoguchi again. After all, they'd only been separated for two days. They had been apart for much longer than that. But she was completely out of her depth here, even with Aki with her and Paradox and Bruno surprisingly welcoming after their initial entrance. Yliaster had shown up shortly afterwards. She had not interacted with them.
For so long, she'd wondered what she would do when she finally met the people who had killed her parents and destroyed her life. She'd constructed elaborate revenge fantasies. She'd thought of speeches. But now that she was finally face-to-face with them, there was only one question left in her mind: Why?
And she hadn't been able to bring herself to ask it. Sherry Leblanc, fearless and reckless as she was, was terrified.
So when Mizoguchi showed up, it was like the world realigned itself again. Because every time she'd imagined this confrontation, Mizoguchi had been right next to her. Now he was. Now she could ask.
It made no sense to put off this confrontation. When Mizoguchi and Yusei had settled in, she gestured for Mizoguchi to join her. He understood immediately. He found her very own Z-ONE card and handed it to her, then briefly put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. Sherry swallowed and shifted her stance. Then she took a deep breath and walked forward. Paradox and Bruno looked up when she passed and followed her gaze towards the group of people that constituted Yliaster. They got up as well, something panicky in their gaze. Sherry refused to wait for them. In the end, they hadn't helped her at all.
"Yliaster!" she called. The two men and the child looked up. Immediately, Lucciano's eyes turned mocking. Plácido cast her an unimpressed look. José just went back to what he'd been doing. Sherry almost felt like stomping her foot. But no. She would not lose this battle before it had even begun.
"The lady wishes to talk to you," Mizoguchi said, stone-faced. Aki and Yusei had gotten up as well and wandered closer. Lucciano looked her over.
"Oh, does she?" he said, followed by a shrill giggle. Sherry breathed in. She widened her stance.
"I do. Why did you kill my parents?"
"You're still hung up on that?" Plácido said. "It was ages ago. Get over it."
She wouldn't scream. She was better than this. "Tell me. Now."
"Or what?"
"Aporia, please," Paradox cut in. "She has the right to know. She doesn't understand." He cast a look at Sherry, then at Bruno and then back to Yliaster. "We don't understand."
José finally looked up. "It is not like you to question our actions," he said slowly.
"You may have had a good reason. We only want to know it."
"As do I," came another voice, slow and deep. Z-one, or whatever he was called, had joined the conversation. That must have done it. Plácido gave her a mocking smile.
"Your parents were in the way, miss Leblanc. Simple as that. Their research was detrimental to our plans and they asked too many questions, so we did away with them."
"You could've just destroyed the research," Paradox said, tone measured. Yusei scoffed.
"You're one to talk."
Z-one held up a massive robotic hand before the conflict could escalate. "Please. I understand, Aporia, but Paradox is also right. It hardly warranted unnecessary killing."
Plácido shrugged, clearly unbothered. Sherry was left floundering. That was it? Her parents' research had been in their way, so they'd been eliminated? Just like that? But then—
"Perhaps," Mizoguchi spoke up, tone carefully measured, "you could explain something to me."
"And what might that be?"
"I was present on the day that Mr. and Mrs. Leblanc were killed. When I fled with the lady, the invaders were looking for the Z-ONE card the lady has in her possession. We have learned since then that you have the very same card in your possession." Paradox and Bruno nodded minutely. Yusei and Aki looked confused. "If this is the case, then why did you need milady's card?"
"We didn't need it!" Plácido spat. "That little thief should never have had it in the first place!"
He looked at Z-one for confirmation, but Z-one looked at her in surprise. His expression was mirrored on Paradox and Bruno's faces.
"Thief?" Bruno asked.
"You should know, Antinomy!" Plácido said. "You were there, and him too!" He pointed at Yusei. "She has the card! No one but us should have the card! She stole it or her parents stole it and we couldn't let that go!"
"I didn't steal anything!" she shouted. Were they talking about the time she, Yusei and Bruno had seen Z-one for the very first time? But what did that have to do with her parents' deaths?
"Oh no," Bruno whispered. "Paradox, does Aporia know—?"
Paradox eyes widened. "Fuck," he breathed.
Sherry refused to ask them what that was about. She kept her eyes trained on Yliaster. They thought she'd stolen the card? She hadn't.
"Aporia," Z-one said gently. All of Yliaster immediately ignored her and turned towards him. "Do you know Sherry Leblanc?"
Lucciano gestured. "'s her right there, isn't it? Unless there's another one?"
Paradox and Bruno winced simultaneously.
"She did not steal the card. I gave it to her in order to save her life. The card was created for her."
Wait, what? Z-one had actually given her the card? As a child, when the fire broke out? "Why?" she spat, her question echoed by Lucciano and Plácido. Somehow, she didn't think they were asking the same question.
"I have been… remiss. Miss Leblanc is an ally."
"Oh, perhaps now she is, but she wasn't—"
"For fuck's sake, Aporia, she's Chiasma!" Paradox shouted. "That's why the card works for her! She didn't steal it! She can't have stolen it! There's no way it would have worked for her if she had!"
For the first time, Yliaster fell silent. "… Chiasma?" José said. Paradox, Bruno and Z-one all nodded.
"Who's Chiasma?" Aki asked, her first input in the conversation. Z-one shook his head gravely.
"She was an ally who unfortunately died too soon. She provided us with access to much of the technology we needed to survive and to create time travel. When I realized miss Leblanc's life was in danger, I thought to protect her. An old debt to a loyal ally. I never imagined…" he fell silent. "Miss Leblanc, I fear I have inadvertently done you great harm. I offer you my sincerest apologies."
"So what, these assholes didn't know Chiasma?" Sherry asked. That sounded ridiculous. They must have known.
"Of course we knew of Chiasma!" Plácido replied. "Just—"
"You didn't know she was milady." Mizoguchi looked quietly furious.
"Chiasma was long dead by the time Aporia joined us," Bruno said softly. "Sherry, I'm sorry, I didn't think this would…" he trailed off. "We were idiots, I'm so sorry."
"I don't understand. They knew about Chiasma and they still wanted to kill me?"
"We are not in the habit of mentioning our real names. It is considered… Disrespectful to bring up a past most of us do not wish to remember. We were unaware that Chiasma was Sherry Leblanc," said José.
Sherry's mind crashed to a halt. All this time… All these questions, all those sleepless nights… She rounded on Paradox and Bruno. "They killed my parents because you couldn't fucking talk to each other?" she screeched.
Both of them looked incredibly guilty. "We can fix it," Paradox said. "I'm pretty sure we can stop it, there's time travel, after this we'll fix it."
Lucciano cackled. "The poor little girl can't survive without mommy and daddy to hold her? Are you that stupid? They'll just die in the end anyway, like everyone else! They always do!"
"Aporia, that's enough!" Z-one snapped. Sherry moved forward, hand going towards her deck. Mizoguchi put a hand on her shoulder again, but she could feel him trembling. She wasn't the only one too furious for words.
"Miss Leblanc, I apologize sincerely," Z-one continued. "Paradox is right, however. We have the resources to prevent the deaths of your parents. The responsibility is mine. I have not been vigilant enough. I beg you not to blame Aporia for the information we were careless enough not to share. They acted the way they should have based on the information available to them."
"Don't blame them?" Sherry laughed harshly. "Never. You may bring my parents back, Z-one, but do you really think I will ever forget? I cannot. I never will."
"Unfortunately, you are correct. It is the burden of a time traveler that was placed upon you."
'The hell's that supposed to mean?"
Z-one wasn't put off by her tone. "It is a fact that has both helped us and hindered us. A person who steps out of the linear flow of time is no longer bound by its consequences. Our own actions can never affect our future selves. I could kill my past self right here and now and yet my existence would not cease."
Paradox and Antinomy cast uncomfortable looks at Yusei, who frowned. Z-one didn't notice. Sherry did. What was that about?
"You have traveled through time already, miss Leblanc. Were we to bring your parents back to life, you would always carry a completely different set of memories, where you lived through your life without them. It would be strange and disorienting and I cannot say for certain whether you would have been able to live with it."
Sherry exchanged a look with Mizoguchi and shrugged. "So you're saying I'd still be me anyway and my parents would be alive? Fine by me."
"The happy life you could have had will always be out of your reach—"
"So what? It's out of my reach now too. Nothing's changed, but at least I'd have my parents back."
"I understand." Z-one floated closer. Mizoguchi stiffened behind her, but Sherry stood her ground. "Then, miss Leblanc, I will ask you officially: Chiasma was our trusted ally for many years. Will you become ours too?"
For a moment, Sherry spared another thought for the woman who had lived her entire life with her parents around. Who had become head of Leblanc Entreprises. Who had still seen her life fall to ruin in the end and died. Was it better or worse? It didn't matter. She wasn't that person. She cast another look at Yliaster. Only the oldest one looked regretful in any way. The kid looked as manic as always and the middle one scoffed when he saw her look. She'd have to deal with them. But she could ignore them if she wanted to. And Z-one could bring her parents back.
"Fine. I'll help you out."
oOoOo
He was not Fudou Yusei.
It was the only thing that had kept him going through sleepless nights and restless days, past the death of comrade after comrade, city after city, until even the Machine Emperors crashed, not enough humans left to power the Momentum that kept them going.
He was not Fudou Yusei. His failures didn't matter; he was a mere scientist, a mere copycat. Yusei would have succeeded where he had failed. Therefore—
And all the coincidences, all the times Chiasma claimed otherwise, all the times Antinomy and Paradox looked at him with ill-concealed disbelief, none of it mattered. He knew who he was. No one knew him better than himself.
No one, perhaps, but Fudou Yusei.
For Fudou Yusei—younger than he had been when he'd disappeared, but equally steadfast— was looking at him, eyebrows furrowed and blue eyes shimmering with something. He had appeared after everyone else had gone to sleep. Z-one knew that look. He'd seen it in Antinomy and Paradox, in Chiasma and recently even in the young Sherry Leblanc. The disbelief. The distrust. Fudou Yusei didn't believe his story. And if Fudou Yusei didn't believe him, then where did that leave him? Then who was he?
"You have my eyes," Fudou Yusei said. "You look like me, don't you? Why is that?"
Z-one almost felt relieved; it was a question he'd answered too many times to count.
"I was a scientist. I programmed my machines with your parameters as to reconstruct my body in your image."
Fudou Yusei gave no outward reaction aside from a slight narrowing of his eyes. " What kind of scientist were you?"
"A physicist." Like Fudou Yusei had been. Like Fudou Yusei became in every single iteration of the timeline.
He almost missed Yusei's soft "huh." He knew it was unusual for a physicist to have machinery more suited to a medical engineer, and in truth, he didn't remember when he'd built them, but they'd been in his lab. Therefore they were his.
"What was your recovery like?"
It had been harrowing. Lying there, waiting for his body to knit itself back together and knowing that the Machine Emperors could invade his little sanctuary at any moment. Every sound, every little creak, had been enough to send his mind spinning.
Yusei was still looking at him expectantly. Z-one took a deep breath. "It felt longer at the time, but I believe the recovery process took about two days."
"Two… days?"
"The process was complicated," Z-one defended. "My body needed the time to recover."
"Not a lot of time."
"Excuse me?"
Yusei sighed. He paced the ground in front of Z-one. "I didn't think…" He shook his head. "Crow broke his arm last month. You know that, right?"
Z-one did, though he had no idea what Yusei was trying to say by mentioning this.
"It took him three weeks to be able to use his arm well enough to ride his D-Wheel again. Did you really recover in just two days?"
"Technology will have advanced by the time the Machine Emperors emerge."
Yusei laughed. "It's not about technology, Z-one. Crow already had the best technology, because Aki insisted on paying for it. It's about our bodies. A human body is physically incapable of handling that much stress."
Had Fudou Yusei always been this belligerent? Z-one was too old to still be impressed by meeting his idols, particularly when those idols were 19 instead of the 32 Fudou Yusei had been when he'd disappeared. And yet… It hurt. To have Yusei of all people so casually dismiss his story and all the sacrifices he'd made.
Yusei sighed. He shifted his weight, shook his head, took a deep breath and then met Z-one's eyes straight on.
"Look, let's not… Let's not kid ourselves here. You're me. I'm pretty sure every single one of your friends knows it and you seem to be the only person unable to accept that. And I can be oblivious sometimes, and I've hurt more people than I'd like because of that, but I'm not delusional. So. What happened?"
"You saying so does not make it the truth, Fudou Yusei."
"Your denial can't make what you believe the truth either. If were were to do a DNA-test right now—"
"Of course the results would be the same," Z-one said impatiently. "I made myself into you."
"Are you hearing yourself right now?" Yusei looked uncharacteristically furious. "You can't change your DNA! It's not possible! Not today, not in the future, not ever!"
That… It was true that they had never been able to replicate the experiment, but there had never been any need for it either. Surely that didn't mean— Did it?
Yusei calmed himself down with visible effort. "I don't know how bad it was and I don't know what your —my— reasons were. I can imagine, but…" He shuddered. "Does running from the past really help?"
It felt like a judgment, and Z-one bristled. Who was some nineteen-year-old to tell him how he should have lived his life? But then he looked at Yusei's face and the open uncertainty displayed there. Not a judgment. A question.
"I couldn't stop, but there was no way for me to keep going. But someone else still could. And I survived," he added, almost petulant. "It worked. I could save people. Antinomy, Aporia…" Not enough, never enough, but better than before. "It worked," he repeated, suddenly desperate for Yusei to understand. "It doesn't matter who I am at the end of the day, because—"
"It worked."
Yusei fell silent. Z-one didn't feel the need to break the silence. Fudou Yusei, Zachary O'Neill… Perhaps they had been one and the same, the way Chiasma had always claimed. He didn't remember much from before the attack of the Machine Emperors. What little he did remember was paralyzing in its intensity. Fudou Yusei had been elevated to a near-godlike figure in his lifetime, even when all he'd ever wanted was a life of relative obscurity. That pressure had been too much for him to bear. A facsimile of Yusei could handle it, but never Yusei himself. Not the Yusei he had been.
oOoOo
Rally had been feeling like things were finally going right for a change. Yusei had come to Satellite, and then he and Martha had mobilized everyone they could find. Jack and Crow had been waiting for them with Ushio-san and Mikage-san and several members of the Red Cross and the fire brigade. They'd brought with them all the things needed to survive in a City without Momentum and for once, they'd been welcomed with open arms.
The City people who hadn't evacuated yet had finally gained some common sense and now several groups of City and Satellite people had teamed up and were going around the city, looking for anyone who needed help and clearing the roads as best as they could along the way. It was working.
And if she was being completely honest with herself, Rally was having fun. Sure, there was chaos everywhere and having that massive thing hovering over their heads had been scary the first three days, but now they were on day four and the Ark hadn't done much of anything since it'd appeared. And watching the City people flounder through a lack of Momentum was hilarious. She'd been helping to clear out the rubble all night and she was dead on her feet, but it had been worth it; early in the morning they'd finally been able to evacuate most of Neo Domino's patients. Among the cheers that had gone up, Rally had met the eyes of a much older City woman and they'd smiled at each other. They were coming together.
The Ark was still there, but Rally had run into Jack a few hours ago and he'd told her that Yusei had gone up there. Yusei'd fix it. He'd find those New World assholes and kick their asses. The Earthbound Gods hadn't been able to destroy their city. No way in hell some wannabe world rulers would be able to.
Overhead, an announcement sounded through the streets. Rally listened while taking a large gulp of a bottle of water and passing it on to the City girl next to her.
"Thanks," the girl said. She too turned towards the sound.
"—Restored power to the video screens on advertisement boards. We shall use these screens to inform you of all developments. A drone will be sent to take stock of the situation on the structure called the Ark Cradle."
Rally perked up. "This I wanna see!"
"Yes, me too!" the girl next to her said. She turned to face Rally. "What's your name?"
"Rally."
"Minamoto Noriko," the girl said. Rally barely hid a grimace. Wow, City much? But she smiled anyway. It didn't matter. They were in this together and soon everything would be alright again.
"Yusei's gonna beat them," she said. Minamoto-san looked up at the screens.
"Do you mean Fudou-san? Do you know him?" she asked. Rally grinned.
"Yeah! He's great, you'll see. That thing'll be gone in no time!"
"I hope so." Minamoto-san made a face. "That thing is an eyesore. And it is ruining Mama's business."
Heh. Rally didn't reply and looked at the nearest vidscreen. It remained black just like the days before. But soon, very soon… It didn't take long. After only a few minutes the screens flickered to life, showing the dark sky above the City and the edge of the Ark Cradle just to the right of the screen. The image shifted and steadied, and suddenly the screen was filled with the bottom part of the Ark Cradle, a mass of towering structures and uneven edges.
"It's a city," Minamoto-san said breathlessly. Rally felt like she'd been punched. Not just any city—Satellite. There was Daedalus Bridge, the unfinished version the legendary duelist had attempted to build, the one Rally had seen looming over her home for all of her life. There was no newer bridge to go with it. Why not?
And why was she wondering about the new Daedalus Bridge in the first place? She should be wondering why whatever asshole that had made the Ark had made it look like Satellite in the first place! Were they just trying to make Satellite look like the bad guys again?
But if that was the case, they'd really underestimated just how stupid City people could be. Minamoto-san was staring at the upside-down city, but she hadn't seemed to realize at all that it was really Satellite. Probably had only ever seen it from afar.
The drone climbed higher and higher, navigating between eerily empty buildings. How real was this city? Were there living rooms inside the houses, with tables and sofas and chairs all upside-down? Had anyone ever lived in there? The camera view reached the top —or bottom— of the city and the drone navigated towards the edge, over the top of the Ark Cradle. The other side of it was almost empty in comparison. Rally watched with bated breath as the drone made its way into the open and she, along with Minamoto-san and several people next to them, let out a sigh of relief when the drone found an opening and entered the Ark unnoticed. It could've been shot down so many times already. Good thing it was so small.
The screens turned dark. Hesitant murmuring went up among the crowd and for a minute Rally thought the drone had malfunctioned. But then vague flashes of light started appearing on the screen again. She saw outlines of platforms and pillars going past as the drone descended deeper and deeper into the Ark. It finally found an opening and followed it, the image turning clearer again and giving them their first good look of the surroundings. Grey and more grey. And then, suddenly, light.
Rally slapped a hand in front of her mouth to muffle her gasp and immediately realized how stupid that was. The drone wasn't broadcasting their reactions. The drone was high up, near the ceiling of the Ark. She hoped it was too high for any of the people inside to spot it. They'd know now. Who had been behind this? No one had claimed responsibility for the Ark. Not publicly, at least.
There were several people on the Ark, more than she'd expected. The drone's image blurred, then sharpened. It focused in on a group of three off to the side. Rally narrowed her eyes.
"Always knew they couldn't be trusted," she said as Team New World came into view. Minamoto-san nodded seriously.
"Their dueling style was always very brutish."
"Yusei'll defeat them," Rally said confidently just as the camera zoomed out, over a weird robot shell thing and then to the other side of the room.
Behind her, angry murmuring went up.
Because Yusei was already on the Ark.
But he wasn't defeating them. He wasn't even fighting them.
Yusei was sitting on the floor, Izayoi Aki next to him, the two of them deeply involved in a tabletop duel with—
"Is that Bruno?" she muttered. Minamoto-san threw her a sharp look.
"That's Timothy Kant! From Team Chevalier! What are they doing?"
Rally didn't understand. All of Team Chevalier was on board of the Ark, so they had to be involved with this Ark thing too. But Bruno —Timothy Kant?— was there and he'd been the guys' friend.
"Crow said Yusei was going to defeat them…" she muttered.
"Well, he isn't doing that now, is he?" Minamoto-san snapped. "What are you people playing at?"
"'You people'?" Rally spat. Because she couldn't focus on the first part. Because Yusei might be dueling, sure, but this looked like nothing more than a casual duel between friends. They were smiling. Laughing. Yusei wasn't trying to defeat them, he was working with them!
"Oh, I get it," said Minamoto-san. "How did you plan this, huh? How'd you take Momentum away from us? Taking us hostage just so you could get your revenge?"
"Are you insane?" Rally screeched. "What about you? You City people are all up there too! A—" No, she couldn't say Aki, Aki had helped save Satellite in the past. "Team Chevalier, they're Tops!"
All around her, shouts went up, arguments and fights breaking out. Rally couldn't focus on it. She was too busy glaring daggers at Minamoto. And to think she'd thought this conceited City girl was okay! "You're all trying to set us up! That's why you made it look like Satellite!"
"Sate—? Oh, of course! What more proof do you want? That's all your doing! Fudou Yusei's gonna save us!" she said with an exaggerated Satellite accent. "He'll save you! Why would we ever trust some Satellite scum to help us?"
Rally opened her mouth, momentarily struck speechless. Then she punched Minamoto.
Above her, the Ark shook as a new volley of attacks hit it, the noise of it too far away to be heard over the sound of the riot breaking out.
Rally is trans fite me
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