Echo: Heyas, I've finally managed to update.
Goldfish: So we see.
Echo: I meant to update sooner but I haven't been feeling very well and I swear I had the most horrible migraine this week so it was really hard for me to concentrate. Though it did give me a bit of inspiration for this chapter.
Goldfish: Hm, is gone yet?
Echo: Mostly. Still got a bit of pain but it's a lot better now.
Goldfish: Interesting. *takes out goldfish-sized notepad and pen* Migraines make it impossible for humans to concentrate and cause excruciating pain generally to one side of the head as well as eyes and ears.
Echo: What are you doing.
Goldfish: Nothing!
Echo: Right. Well this chapter isn't quite as long as my last few but its definitely an exciting one.
Goldfish: Yes... very... much so.
Echo: *rolls eyes* Just do the disclaimer.
Goldfish: Fine. EchoGirl319 does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's or Logan.
Through the Cosmos
Chapter 20
~ Here Cometh the Dragon ~
The tension, the anticipation, in the corridor was stifling. Chris, Mark, Vanessa and Logan were all standing in the entrance onto the arena (and being a safety hazard, blocking a fire escape and all) avidly watching the duel. Destiny and Jake on the other hand were standing a little further away, backs pressed against the wall, hands entwined, listening to the revving of duel runners as Jack and Yusei raced around the track.
Every so often there was a roar from the crowds as one of the duelists managed to land a blow and a shriek of excitement as a new monster was summoned to the field. Destiny shivered each time, always worried that the next monster summoned would be one of the Signer dragons, and when she wasn't doing that she was gnawing at her lip 'til it started to bleed or running her fingers through her long, dark hair. Anything to distract her mind from what was about to come.
It was only when Jake's grip on her hand tightened to the point where it was excruciating and he leaned down to hiss in her ear to stop being so jumpy – she was starting to make him nervous – that she finally settled down.
Her eyes, however, kept moving in her skull, constantly shooting anxious glancing towards the door. She wished that her four friends weren't so engrossed in the duel they were watching so that they might be able to give her a sign of what was going on; a signal of some sort that something was about to happen. Then it did.
She didn't need to look at Chris, Mark, Vanessa or Logan; didn't need to see their excited and awed expressions and neither did Jake. They heard it first. The sound was unmistakable, they'd both been subjected to that roar hundreds of times before whenever they'd watch Jack duelling, be it practicing or competing on TV. They'd never forget that sound (Jack wouldn't let them).
Red Dragon Archfiend had taken to the field.
"One down," Jake murmured, head turned towards the doorway, "one to go."
Destiny slumped against the wall. She didn't know how long this duel was – the stories had never given her a proper idea – but Red Dragon Archfiend had arrived a lot sooner than she'd expected. It was only a matter of time now until Stardust Dragon joined it and then...
She sighed and tilted back her head, staring at the ceiling. And then who knew what would happen? She certainly didn't.
Only minutes later did it really begin. This wasn't like the Crimson Dragon's last appearance, brought out swift and vengeful by her pain and rage, her desire to see Sayer burn. No, this was a much slower process, intended to reveal her divine existence to the Signers, to give them the strength to fight against the rapidly approaching wave of darkness.
"The skies are growing dark!" Vanessa exclaimed, pointing out the doorway and up at the sky which could be seen through the open-roofed arena. Jake immediately released Destiny's hand and strode of to the doorway to see for himself, leaving Destiny all alone. If she was her usual self she too would have joined her friends but she was not her usual self and was more focused on the throbbing pain at the base of her skull which seemed to be slowly stretching across her brain, burning as it went. No migraine could compare to this – it was agonising.
Gasping with each breath, she slowly lifted a and to clutch at her head. It burned, oh how it burned. Was this what hell felt like?
Her strange breathing drew the attention of her five companions, who instantly hurried to her side. Logan lagged a little behind, still slightly confused as to what was going on, though she did look genuinely concerned. This pleased Destiny, maybe Logan wasn't just a cold statue of ice after all.
With a tiny exclamation of "ah" she broke off her thought process. Just thinking hurt.
"Destiny," Chris shook her shoulders, blue eyes filled with concern and fear for her.
"What's wrong?" Vanessa demanded, taking her arm in both hands. The redheaded girl looked up at her four older companions. "She's boiling."
"Get the hoodie off," Jake instructed.
Vanessa unzipped the grey hoodie and Mark tugged the sleeves off of Destiny's arms. He tossed it to Logan who caught it before letting it drop. She took a step closer, curious to see what was happening.
"She's sweating," the Ember Shadow commented, noting the tiny, glistening beads on Destiny's brow and arms. Beneath the hoodie Destiny had only been wearing a long, low-necked, sleeveless, white and purple T-shirt and Logan had to admit, it was strange to see the other girl's odd dragon tattoos again. The one coiling up her right arm and the one that stretched from the back of her shoulder along her collar bone to the centre of her sternum were on full display.
"My head," Destiny moaned, her hand still clutching at the left side of her forehead. Chris turned to look at Jake.
"Now what?" he asked. Jake didn't reply for a few seconds, completely focused on Destiny (she really did look quite pitiful right now) before finally turning to the elder, silver-haired twin, his face expressionless.
"Now we wait."
Destiny's mind was blank. Though her eyes were open she could not focus on Jake, Logan, Mark, Vanessa or Chris. All she was aware of was darkness, Red Dragon Archfiend and the excruciating pain in her mind. Then there was another roar. This one even more familiar and the sound of it rattled her ears and brain, had she suddenly become phonophobic that Stardust Dragon's loud roar would cause her such pain and distress?
Her train of thought was halted as she was struck with another bout of pain. She let out a gasp as her knees buckled beneath her and she went tumbling to the floor. She was half aware of something halting her fall but paid it no mind. She simply hung there, letting whatever it was that had caught her support her as she could not do so herself. Stardust joined Red Dragon Archfiend in the darkness. It was all she could see.
Then it happened. Her back arched as the mark that on her hips lit up with a bright red glow, the wings of the Crimson Dragon, then her foot jerked in what appeared to be a muscle spasm as the tail mark did the same. An agonised scream escaped her as all the pain seemed to build up and push against an invisible wall. In her minds-eye she saw Red Destiny, as beautiful and majestic as ever, calling to her, she saw Red Dragon Archfiend and Stardust spread their wings and lunge at each other, shrieking, their teeth bared.
And, like water breaking through a dam, the pressure suddenly exploded and Destiny's soul, glowing bright red, raced towards Red Destiny. Her mind flooded with such knowledge and power that it was impossible to be contained in this weak body, the full body mark between her shoulder blades and her sapphire blue eyes glowed red and the droplet that was Destiny was lost in the sea that was the Crimson Dragon.
Finally free of the shackles that was a human body the combined soul of Destiny and her ace monster, in a bout of crimson lightening from the darkened sky, materialised on the field of the duel between its two servants. The crowds screamed, Jack and Yusei gasped, Rex Goodwin and Sayer watched wide-eyed and shocked.
The Crimson Dragon saw everything, it saw its five Signers: Yusei and Jack rode fighting before it, Luna sat in the crowds watching, Akiza lay in her bath, Roman Goodwin's severed arm remained bottled and preserved in Sky Temple in Rex Goodwin's mansion.
Rex Goodwin. Of course it knew what the man wanted, what his plans were. The Signers would stop him, the dragon had foreseen this. Of course considering the new circumstances in which the Crimson Dragon was here, not as an entity that only appears when summoned by the Signers, it was here amongst them as the vessel...
No. It was time to show the Signers the future. Or what the future could be should the Dark Signers and the King of the Underworld succeed. Focussing on the four living Signers, the Crimson Dragon called them to it.
When Luna and Akiza materialised, floating in bubbles of protective crimson light, above Jack and Yusei, the dragon shot forward, leading them through time and space to Sky Temple, the Stairway to the Dragon Star.
It showed them the ancient pre-Incan people praying to the bright red Dragon Star, the largest star in the sky, worshipping it. It took them up over the temple on a road of light, showing them the first Signers.
Then it took them to the future, the dark, ruined Satellite Sector and New Domino City, dark and haunted and riddled with the purple Nazca Lines: in particular Uru, the spider.
Below the Crimson Dragon, its first and second Signers continued to bicker before continuing to duel. Jack was right, it would release them, let them go back to the arena, when the duel was over and one of them had won.
It was only minutes later that Yusei, filled with determination, let loose the final blow. With a burst of blue-white light Stardust Dragon (it attack points at 5000) sent a deadly attack at Red Dragon Archfiend. The larger, darker dragon did not stand a chance and Jack screamed as they were suddenly surrounded by blinding white light.
The Crimson Dragon disappeared, splitting its soul in two, half returning to its basic form inside the most beloved card of its vessel and the other half returning to its human body, breathing life back into Destiny's empty shell.
On the track in the arena Jack's duel runner went spinning out of control, his life points hitting zero, whilst Yusei came to a controlled stop, his life points resting comfortably on four hundred much to the shock of the crowd. Luna and Akiza were returned to their original places and, out in the corner, the red glow subsided from Destiny back and leg, her disturbing red eyes turning back to cobalt. She blinked once, twice and looked up into the amethyst eyes Jake, whose arms she was comfortably nestled in. She looked around at all her friends who were staring at her with wide eyes. She smiled sheepishly.
"Hey, guys, how's it goin'?"
Echo: Well, that's that.
Goldfish: Uh-huh.
Echo: 'Kay, well. I'll try to update when I can.
Goldfish: Uh-huh.
Echo: Will you please say something beside "uh-huh"?
Goldfish: Uh-huh.
Echo: *Facepalms* I will never get anywhere with you. Anyways, please review.
Goldfish: Uh-huh.
Echo: *glares*