I do not own Yugioh!5D's
Chapter 26 – Anomalies
– The worst battle you'll have to fight is between what you know and how you feel – Turcois Ominek
"The Hummingbird hieroglyph in sky!" Mikage exclaimed as she spared a glance to her right, "It's disappearing! Atlas-sama did it!"
I gave a deep sigh of relief. Indeed Jack seemed to have won his duel against his opponent (Carly).
That made five of them –five Dark Signers had been defeated.
Lua and Luca had gotten rid of Denmark. The Dark Signers who bore the marks of the Killer Whale (I couldn't quite remember who that was) and the Giant – Kiryu – they'd been beaten as well.
Rudger had also been defeated – Yusei truly was an incredible duelist to defeat not only his crazed best friend but the leader of the Dark Signers as well (and consecutively at that).
Five Dark Signers had been defeated.
But for some reason…I felt as if there was something unresolved about one of the duels – and it was Yusei's duel with Rudger at that. I had the feeling that something unusual had taken place.
Ever since we had set out to fight our individual battles, a heavy weight had come up on my frame. My body felt lethargic and at times it was difficult to breath. I did the best that I could to hide the strain and it had work. What I had noticed though was that as each battle was fought, as each Earthbound god was defeated – that intense, restricting pressure had abated ever so slightly.
I had expected to feel significantly better following Yusei's win against Rudger…but I hadn't and I didn't know why.
I felt unsettled.
"That just leaves you and I, Skylar," Aki voiced, "I only hope I make it before the sun sets."
I gave a noncommittal hum as my grip around the throttle tightened. If Aki indeed did not make it to the tower and defeat Misty in time, then all of our battles would have been for nothing. The doors of the underworld would bust open and then…the King of the Underworld would have free reign.
That couldn't happen. We had to hurry.
"Mikage," I began, wanting to know our exact ETA, "When are –"
A violent shock unexpectedly ran through my body and I found myself banking hard to my left. I grunted as I attempted to right myself, even as a large crash was heard. It sounded like something heavy and metal landing where I had been only moments ago.
I hadn't heard anything coming. I ended up banging against Mikage's car and both of our vehicles swerved dangerously.
"Skylar!" was Aki's frantic call.
My muscles strained as I used my body to steady my runner.
I gave a sigh and my face fell into a small grimace. I glanced at Mikage, who had managed to regain complete control of her car. Without even looking beside me, I spoke.
"You aren't one to willingly cause harm to others…Yoshi."
The tell-tale sound of a D-wheel engine roared to life.
"I wasn't." The answer was given quite matter-of-factly.
My head snapped to my left as my lips curled into a deep frown. Steely, magenta irises clashed with my green ones.
My eyes drank in the sight that was a darkly clad Yoshi, who sat mounted on a Runner that should have been familiar to me. Unlike my Runner, which was custom made from the ground up, Yoshi's D-wheel was a mass-production model: lambda frame, DWE-3000 engine, Mid-range Duel Runner CPU – it was standard.
It had been green and white. Now it wore a much darker motif. It was black, with deep purple accentuates running all over its frame. Sleek, feather-like wings acted as side parts and I saw the small boosters that occupied the rear slot of the D-wheel.
Even though he could have afforded the priciest Runner on the market, Yoshi had opted for the most common of Runners – he had always been a person of simple tastes. The Runner that drove alongside me clashed with the personality of the Yoshi I knew.
"I'm not the Yoshi you knew."
My eyes widened slightly at Yoshi's spoken words. A dark smile – I had no doubt that it was an attempt to intimidate me – graced his lips. "You're easy to read."
I was quiet for a while as I slowly came to terms with what was happening. This was the prelude to our duel. It was where we exchanged words – affirmations, taunts, encouragements, threats – before we became locked in duel.
This was happening and happening now.
'…Fine…'
"You're wrong. I'm not easy to read," I commented lightly (and it was true, I was particularly good at concealing my emotions), "You were able to read me because you haven't changed at all. You're still the one that's able to know what I'm thinking and what I'm feeling without me having to say a word."
Yoshi's smirk dropped as he glared (glared) at me (at me). I watched as his eyelids shuttered and his gaze flickered beyond me.
I tensed. I hope he wasn't thinking of stopping Aki from getting to Misty. Thankfully I rode between both his Runner and Mikage's vehicle, so the chance of me intercepting any attempts at the car were higher (never mind how I'd stop them).
Yoshi's eyes flickered to me again. "I have no wish to stop the Black Rose Witch from arriving to her destination. Misty-sama would be sorely disappointed if I did. My fight is with you."
My nostrils flared as I took a deep breath. He was right. And I should think it lucky – the fact that he'll let the others through without any effort on his part to detain them.
"Mikage, hurry and get Aki to the location," I ordered, quickly coming to a decision.
Any protests that Aki had were swallowed as Mikage spoke.
"Will you be okay?"
"I don't know," I answered honestly, "But I do know that I can't run away from him."
"I can stay," Aki began as she stared cautiously at my once-not-dark-signer friend, "And we can face him together."
I shook my head. "You have to find Misty and defeat her before the sun sets. I have to face him."
Not anyone else.
"Don't talk as if I'm not here," Yoshi's voice called to me, sounding slightly annoyed. I bit my bottom lip pensively – that was yet another pet peeve of Yoshi's.
With a final nod to both women in the car, Mikage pressed on the gas and her vehicle slowly drew away from us.
I watched until they were a good distance away, before finally returning my attention to Yoshi.
"It's just you and me now," I said faintly. As soon as I spoke those words, a high pitched buzzing sound arose. From his arm came an eerie purple glow.
Lub-dub, Lub-dub, Lub-dub
My arm burned as my mark – my crimson dragon marked – flared up in retaliation and a steady thrum of power rushed through my entire being.
"Just you and me."
Around me, amethyst flames roared to life.
The people hadn't returned.
He had won and yet the people hadn't returned.
Yusei's D-wheel whirred as it sped across the debris filled landscape.
Flashback
Yusei glared warily at the crouched figure that was Rudger.
"What are you playing at Rudger? Why didn't you –"
Rudger's hollow, humourless laugh cut him off.
"I underestimated him. That anomaly managed to get the upper hand."
"Anomaly?" Yusei asked as he narrowed his gaze.
Rudger gave a vicious and secretive smirk. "I wonder how that duel will turn out…that duel amongst anomalies."
"What are you talking about?!" Yusei pressed urgently. He didn't get the answer he'd hoped for.
"Don't think that this is over…"
Rudger's wicked smirk held fast even as his body greyed as it began to turn to stone.
"A new God, the mightiest of them all has already been unleashed!"
End Flashback
At the end of it all, Yusei hadn't gotten any straight answers – not from Rudger…or from his father's spirit.
He had honestly thought that he was a goner when he had fallen from the bridge he had dueled Rudger on – although he was more blown from the bridge than anything else.
He also hadn't expected to be guided back to Crow and the others by his father – and Yusei wasn't sure about how he felt about what his father had said to him:
'I have burdened you with an outrageous destiny.'
He now had more questions than answers. But he didn't have time to stand around and ponder. He had to prioritize.
He was still feeling disconcerted about his duel with Rudger. Something hadn't been right. Why else would the people Rudger had fed to his Earthbound god not return?
"Duel amongst anomalies," Yusei muttered under his breath.
Yusei fixed his gaze on the darkened sky. The outline of the dog hieroglyph that had gone missing gleamed in the darkened sky.
"Skylar," he muttered as he flexed his right arm. His mark glowed and he felt a muddle of UncertainHesitationDoubt.
He twisted his D-wheel's throttle just a bit more and its velocity increased.
"We're all behind you," he told his mark. He didn't know if he could so easily communicate through the Sign, but it was worth a try.
"You're not in this alone."
My back straightened as I felt a rush of Calm suddenly sweep over me. I looked down at my mark, my brows crinkled. Just now…
'…Yusei…'
"You don't have time to be lost in thought," Yoshi intoned as his Runner pulled ahead of mine. Naturally he was right. I had to remain on my toes, especially since I had deactivated the duel autopilot (I'd need to be in control for as much as I could).
It had only been a few moments since the field had arose. From what I could tell, by glancing at the sky, the field was in the shape of a dog.
Yoshi loved dogs.
It didn't have that many twists and curves, and thankfully the paths were wide enough so that making the turns would be easy enough.
As it was now, we were travelling along a particularly long trail. "The first one to make the next turn, goes first."
I didn't respond, merely twisting the throttle and leaning my body as forward as I could. My efforts had proved fruitless however. Yoshi had won the turn.
"You were always the better rider," I admitted.
As I rode alongside Yoshi, I could have sworn I saw a frown mar his face before it became impassive yet again.
"As self-depreciating as always."
Both of us had our first five cards at hand. All that was needed was for Yoshi to make his first draw. He drew a card from his deck.
Duel Start
"I'll begin by placing two cards face down."
Two cards appeared in his trap/spell zone.
"Next I'm going to place a monster face down on the field."
Huh, that wasn't a move that was often done. There were actually many duelists who didn't like placing monsters in the face down defence position, simply because they thought they'd be viewed as wimping out. But then there were duelists like Yoshi.
Strategy was everything to him.
"I'm ending my turn," he intoned. I took a deep breath as I drew my first card.
I glanced at my hand. I had mainly monster cards in my hand. I'd always had a problem with the balance of my deck. Sometimes I never got Spell or Trap cards when I needed them the most.
"I summon Silent Magician LV4* (1000/1000)." A diminutive CGI of a magician – white hair, adorned in blue and white robes and a matching sceptre – took to the field.
"Oh," Yoshi hummed, "If you're pulling that card out already...does it mean that you're being serious?"
I said nothing as my grip on my Runner's handle bar tightened. So he remembered that Silent Magician LV4 was the card that I needed to summon my ace. It was my go to card. Truthfully I felt at ease with it flying alongside me.
"Silent Magician," I began, "Attack his face down monster card."
More often than not, monsters that were usually played in face down defence position had a defence of less than a thousand. Hopefully this was one of those times.
The sceptre in my magician's hand began to glow as she released her magic attack.
Unfortunately, it would seem as if I wouldn't be having much luck in the duel after all.
The face down card flipped up and the image of a familiar dragon appeared. Masked Dragon (1400/1100).
Of course.
My body tingled as my magician's attack was rebuffed and unto me. I grunted when the beam hit me, though it had been significantly smaller than it had been when it came from my magician.
Skylar: 3900
Yoshi: 4000
It was only 100 points of damage and the pain from the attack was no more than a bee sting (like three successive stings).
"You're not usually so reckless."
I made no comment other than calling out my next play. "I set two cards face down and I'll end my turn."
I placed two trap cards – Negate Attack and Level Soul.
Yoshi drew his next card. "Each time my opponent draws a card, Silent Magician gains a spell counter and 500 attack points."
Silent Magician LV4: (1500/1000)
"I'll place another monster card in face down defence position," Yoshi said, "And I'm changing my Masked Dragon into face up attack position."
I was well aware of Masked Dragon's special ability. No doubt Yoshi wanted me to attack it so that he could summon some other monster – one that would make him one step closer to summoning his Earthbound God.
I had to say that I wasn't looking forward to it. From what I could make of the Hieroglyph's image, the monster wouldn't be a particularly pleasant sight.
"I end my turn."
I couldn't let this duel last long enough for him to summon that card. But for now all I could do was try to figure out more of his strategy.
"Silent Magician, attack his Masked Dragon."
This time the attack went through. When Masked Dragon was destroyed, Hardened Armed Dragon (1500/800) took its place.
"You didn't even summon a monster," Yoshi's voice sounded through.
My eyes widened in surprise as I looked down at my hand. I made note of two particular cards that I could have summoned at the start of my turn – Mist Valley Soldier (1700/300) and Familiar-possessed Hiita (1850/1500).
'Darn it!'
I grimaced as I eased myself around a particularly tricky corner. This was no time for rookie mistakes.
"Do I unsettle you that much?"
"Yes," I answered bluntly, "The Yoshi I know…would never work for a bunch like the Dark Signers. He was weak-willed at times but his sense of justice would always shine through."
I ahead at Yoshi, his D-wheel was only a little ways in front of me. Our speed counters were the same either way – 4 – so we were roughly at the same speed.
"My 'sense of justice' huh." I couldn't quite make out the emotion that flicked across Yoshi's face – though his helmet wasn't darkly tinted, I'd need to be closer to see all of his expression. "Don't you have a turn to end?"
I summon Mist Valley Soldier (1700/300) to the field." Mist Valley Soldier was one of the few non-spellcaster monsters in my deck. It was a Winged-beast tuner type monster. I hadn't run across that many Spellcaster tuner monsters. I could easily tune the two level 4 monsters that I had on the field…but I knew that at this point there was safety in number.
"I place another card face down and end my turn."
I had set the trap Raigeki Break.
When Yoshi drew his card, Silent Magician gained another Spell counter and another 500 attack points.
Silent Magician LV4 (2000/1000).
Yoshi was silent as he gazed at the card in his hand. "I think I've given you enough time to mount a defence."
My throat dried up as Yoshi turned to stare impassively at me.
"Do you know, which card I just drew?"
I bit my bottom lip as my entire body tensed in anticipation. I swallowed thickly.
"By the look on your face, I can see that you've connected the dots."
Yoshi raised the hand that held the card. "I don't have many new cards…but I do have this. You should prepare yourself."
Lub-dub
Lub-dub
"I sacrifice my two monsters to summon my Earthbound God."
A feeling of dread overcame me as time seemed to slow down. The two monsters on the field – Hardened Armed Dragon and another Masked Dragon – faded from view. Their outlines became pronounced as dark orbs of energy suddenly spawned from them and soon eclipsed them.
Lub-dub
Lub-dub
A wave of dark, misty energy suddenly shot up to the sky and before I knew it a large cocoon shaped thing appeared.
The mark on my arm seemed to pulse even more.
Slowly, the noise around me – of my Runner, of my heart, drowned out and all I heard were moanings and groanings, cries and echoes of sorrows and misery. A violent tremor went through my body.
People. They were people. This hadn't happened since that time in the Arcadia Building. My heart lurched and I did my best to remain focused on driving.
'Deep breaths, deep breaths.'
The cocoon throbbed. It actually looked like a heart of all things. Hearts – whenever I thought of hearts I thought of love and life…with this heart…this dark heart with black and magenta motif…all there was, was fear and death.
The dark heart was suddenly immersed in a bright purple light.
"Arise and bathe the world with your dark force! Come forth, Earthbound God Wañu Allqu!"
The monster was a demon, a gigantic demon dog. One that stood on all four feet and looked every bit of a slavering beast as one would expect.
Earthbound God Wañu Allqu*: (1000/2500).
"Now, Earthbound God Allqu, attack Mist Valley Soldier."
The first thought in my head wasn't to contemplate Yoshi's reason as to attacking my Mist Valley Soldier who had a higher attack power than his Earthbound God. My first thought was to get rid of his monster as soon as I could.
"I activate the trap card Raigeki Break," I spoke urgently. "By discarding one card, I get to destroy one card on the field."
I discarded Familiar-possessed Hiita from my hand and revealed aforementioned trap card, but before it even had a chance to take effect, I heard a familiar static sound from the card.
"What?" That sound only happened when a card's affect is annulled.
"It won't work because of my Hardened Dragon's effect," Yoshi droned. "Because I used it to summon a monster higher than level 7, it protects that monster from being destroyed from all card effects."
Then that meant that…!
The Earthbound god's jowls opened as it let loose a large and intense white beam that was headed straight for me.
"I activate another trap Negate Attack."
I gave a quick huff of release as the beam was blocked by the sudden formation of a shield around me.
"That also means that I can't make any more attacks for this turn. So I'll end for now."
I drew my next card. My gaze sharpened as I saw it. This could work.
"I place one monster face down on the field. And I'll end with that."
Yoshi made no comment as he began his turn.
Silent Magician LV4 (2500/1000)
Yoshi Speed Counter: 6
Skylar Speed Counter: 6
"I'll summon one card in face down defence position." Yoshi had always been one for Flip effect monsters. "Now, Earthbound God Wañu Allqu attack Mist Valley Soldier."
Why was he doing that again?
"It's my monster's effect," Yoshi announced even as the dog monster powered up for its attack. "I can only use it once per turn but…it can attack a monster with a higher attack power and not get destroyed."
A dark chuckle arose from Yoshi's lips. "And my opponent loses the difference in life points."
No sooner had Yoshi said that than his Earthbound god had let loose its attack on my Mist Valley Soldier. However, the beam broke into two and I had to swerve out of the way to avoid a direct hit.
I ended up rubbing against the embers of the field walls. It burned as much as I thought it would. The ground around me shook and the dust that was stirred up briefly clouded my vision.
I grunted in pain and I marvelled a bit. That was only 700 points worth of attack damage.
Skylar: 3200
Yoshi: 3900
I righted myself as quickly as I could. "I activate my Soldier's effect. Because it was not destroyed by your monster, it returns that attacking monster to your hand."
"I activate my trap Dark Illusion," Yoshi announced revealing, "This negates your monster's effect and destroys it."
I gave a frustrated groan as I watched as my Mist Valley Soldier was blown apart.
"That's all for now."
"You're toying with me aren't you?" I spoke angrily, "You could have easily attacked my Silent Magician and dealt more damage, so why didn't you?"
I didn't like to be toyed with, especially not when I was dueling.
"Are you ready to take this duel seriously now?"
My brows furrowed.
"You've made a lot of mistakes since this duel began. The first was thinking that you could win going against me halfheartedly!" Yoshi's runner drove so close to mine that I was able to make out his expression clearly.
He looked furious.
"I can't because you're Yoshi!" I answered though I was confused out of my mind. "You're my friend, you're my brother! You can't expect me to treat you like an enemy!"
"But I am your enemy," Yoshi's voice had this broken quality to it, and it made my heart feel as if it were being torn out from my chest. "I'm a Dark Signer. I'm an anomaly, but that's okay because that's how I got to face you."
"I don't understand." I really didn't. My heart beat sped up and at that very moment, Yoshi became my sole focus. "What do you mean Yoshi?"
Hard magenta eyes met my eyes and held them with a steely gaze.
"If you can beat me…then I know you can survive all this."
"What?!" I roared incredulously. "Is that why you're doing this right now? That's so twisted! How can that even make any sense?"
"You weren't apart of the original plan," Yoshi answered, seemingly unfazed by my outburst. "If I wasn't there then…he would have tried dealing with you otherwise."
Yoshi's gaze turned to the colossal beast that was his Earthbound God.
"You're not making any sense."
"I'm one of the persons that mean the most to you in this world. If you can beat me…then whoever else you'll face shouldn't be a problem."
…It sounded as if…he was worried about me…for me.
"Are you worried for me?" I asked disbelievingly.
That was idiotic. That was insane. That…didn't make any sense at all – that he became a Dark Signer because he was worried for me…Nonsense. I suddenly wanted to yell at him. To scream at him. To demand the real reason for what he was doing because really…
But instead of yelling, I gave a weak, tired chuckle.
"Yoshi…you're still the same after all." It might have been a weird thing to say, but in retrospect, of course Yoshi was the kind of person that would sacrifice himself for me.
"No," he replied solemnly, "The Yoshi you knew…wasn't dead."
I grasped at my shirt, right above my heart. It was beating erratically, almost uncontrollably – as if it were about to burst from my chest.
"Do you know what my greatest regret was? My greatest regret…was not being able to warn you before I died."
A weighty silence settled between us.
"H-how did you die Yoshi?"
His gaze returned to meet mine. It seemed as if he was looking right through me.
.
.
.
"I was murdered."
Word Count: 4044
A/N: Hey y'all, it has been a while. First off, Happy Mothers' Day to all the true moms/mother figures. Thank you for the role you play in the lives of your children/wards.
This chapter was actually 10K words in length, but I decided to cut it in half. Yoshi's behaviour may seem odd - he's impassive at one moment, the next he's sarcastic/sadistic, there is a reason for that. And as for Skylar- I hope her reactions make sense. Feel free to message me any questions you may have.
The duel between Yoshi and Skylar took more time than I thought it would. I wanted to end the Dark Signer Arc by Chapter 28, but these two threw a wrench in that plan. So hopefully this will all be over by chapter 30 thereabout.
What do you think of the duel between Yoshi and Skylar thus far? What do you think of Yoshi's Earthbound God card - see the description below for more details. And on that note, I'll only provide descriptions for cards whose effects weren't stated at all...and the ones I'm particularly biased towards. The descriptions are from the Yu-gi-oh wiki, aside from the ones I make up of course (which won't be too many).
Card List:
Silent Magician LV4: Each time your opponent draws a card(s), place 1 Spell Counter on this card (max. 5). This card gains 500 ATK for each Spell Counter on it. During the Standby Phase of your next turn after the 5th Spell Counter is placed on this card: You can send this face-up card with 5 Spell Counters on it to the Graveyard; Special Summon 1 "Silent Magician LV8" from your hand or Deck.
Earthbound God Wañu Allqu: (Translation: Earthbound God 'Death Dog'; Attribute: Dark; Type: Beast/Effect; Level: 10)
Effect Description: There can only be 1 "Earthbound Immortal" monster on the field. If there is no face-up Field Spell Card on the field, destroy this card. Your opponent cannot target this card for attacks. This card can attack your opponent directly. Once per turn: When this card battles your opponent's monster, if that monster has an ATK power higher than the ATK power of this card, the difference between ATK powers is taken from your opponent's life points.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed/viewed/favourited/followed! Special thanks to the guest reviewer Momo.
Constructive criticism/comments/questions/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.
Thanks for reading.
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