A/N: I OWN NOTHING! EVERY BIT OF YU GI OH 5DS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN IS MY OCS!

Chapter 36

Casualty- Part 1

Third Person POV

Crow was driving down the highway at breakneck speeds, testing out his runner. He turned a corner when something came in front of him. The bird named man yanked to stop his acceleration, but his duel runner's wheels began to jam and he rammed into the figure.

Crow was sent flying down the highway. When he finally came to a stop…

. . . .

Jayla snapped up in the bed she shared with Yusei, sweating a bit. She looked down a bit in thought, 'That was a warning. Whether it was from the Crimson Dragon or Earthbound Immortals, I don't know. I need to figure it out fast. But when is it going to happen? And what happens to Crow after the crash? No, Wing won't let him get hurt in the crash. He can't.'

Yusei sat up and looked at his girlfriend with worried eyed. "Jayla?" he called. She was too busy going through her thoughts that she didn't even seem to hear him. As such, Yusei placed a hand on her shoulder and turned her to him. That finally caught the former Dragon Protector's attention and she looked at him shocked. "Jayla, what's wrong?"

"Just… a nightmare," she replied.

"What was it about this time?" Yusei asked.

"I… I saw Crow and he crashed into something and…" she trailed off.

"Was he on the highway or something?" the Head Signer asked her. He was concerned about Crow crashing in general.

"Yeah," Jayla answered. "But, Yusei, I feel like it was a warning. That it was going to happen… soon."

"Who would warn you about that? And why?" Yusei asked.

"I'm not sure who would warn me. And I don't know wh…" she stopped in realization.

"What is it, Jayla? Come on, talk to me," Yusei pressed a bit worried.

"We need to find Crow and Wing," she stated urgently.

"Jayla, what's going on?" Yusei pressed again more sternly. "Why has this gotten so urgent all of a sudden?"

"It was warning me that Wing is going to either get seriously hurt or die," Jayla told him and that worried Yusei to no end. He knew how much Jack was still torn up about Arch. It wasn't as bad as with Yusei when Jayla died, but it was still bad. And if Wing died, he didn't want to know what would happen with Crow.

Without any other questions, the two stood up, got dressed, and walked out. They found Bruno making eggs. "Hey, Bruno," Yusei greeted. Bruno nodded back in response. "Have you seen Crow and Wing at all?"

"Last time I saw him, he was heading out to the highway. He seemed really excited," the amnesic man answered.

"We'll be back, Bruno. We need to check up on something," Yusei responded. "Let Jack know for us."

"Will do," Bruno agreed before Yusei and Jayla took off.

. . .

Crow was speeding down the highway, approaching a turn. 'I can do more!' he thought. He began to curve around the turn when a shadowy figure appeared in front of him. But just before he crashed into the figure, he did notice something.

The collision sent the bird named man and his duel runner flying into the air, out of control. Crow went flying down the highway.

"Master!" came Wing's call. He was about to hit the concrete at when he felt Wing came under him and wrap a protective bubble around him. But Crow knew Wing wasn't in this bubble.

Crow slid to a stop, with Wing going a few more yards, and sat up as the bubble disappeared. The Signer flipped to Wing and saw him laying on his stomach on the concrete, badly injured and bleeding. "Wing!" Crow exclaimed. He moved to get up when his arm shot up in pain. He looked to see his right shoulder out of place. 'Wing's more hurt at the moment,' he thought. He stood up and came to Wing's side.

"Master, are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine, Wing," Crow responded, lying a bit. But he was being sure to not let any hints of his shoulder reach Wing's knowledge. "Thanks to you. Why did you not protect yourself?"

"I only have enough energy to protect you from a blow like that," Wing answered. "And it's my job to protect you, even at the cost of my life."

"Wing, you're not going to die!" Crow retorted. He looked at Yusei and Jayla drove up. "Yusei, Jayla! Jayla, can you help Wing at all?" he desperately asked his friend.

"I'm sorry, Crow," she replied in fear and sadness. "I could've if I were still a full Dragon Protector. But I'm not anymore. I can't do anything. Believe me, I wish I could. More than anything."

"It's fine, Master," Wing told him seeming to get weaker and weaker. "If I died naturally and with your death, no one would remember me but you and the other Signers and Dragon Protectors. As long as you're okay, I'll be fine." He coughed a bit and a bit of blood came out.

"Wing! Don't do this!" Crow ordered frantically, tears beginning to show and threatening to spill. "Not now! Jack lost Arch. I'm not losing you!"

"I'm… sorry," Wing responded. "I… wish I could do that request, but… I…" The Dragon Protector released a breath and his eyes closed. But nothing followed. Crow tried everything to wake Wing up, but it was obvious that Wing was gone, and the fact that Jayla seemed to feel something hard confirmed it even more.

Crow punched the ground with his left arm in anger, tears beginning to stream down his face. "I swear… Whoever made me crash is going to pay for this. I'm going to duel in that tournament, no matter what happens."

"Crow, your shoulder-" Jayla began.

"Could you really do nothing to help him?" he cut her off.

"I'm sorry, Crow," she replied shutting her eyes tight in fear. "I… I had a nightmare of this happening last night, only waking up from it this morning." She placed her head in her hands, trying her best not to cry. "We came out here to try to help… but it was too late. I'm so sorry."

Crow was a bit shocked about how emotional she was about losing Wing. He didn't know how she was with Arch, but he had no doubt that Arch's death was worse on her. He assumed that even not being a full Dragon Protector anymore, she still had that connection to them. Even Rose who he was still ticked with for going at Jayla this entire time like that. And now the only Dragon Protector able to stay by Jayla would be Ancient. And that was before Wing's death.

"Do you know who did this?" Crow asked.

"More than anything, I wish I do," she replied seeming to get closer and closer to crying, even though neither Signer could see her face. Yusei placed a hand on her shoulder to try and help her.

"Easy, Jayla. You tried your best. This isn't your fault," Yusei tried to comfort.

Crow couldn't be mad at Jayla. Yes, she may have hurt Yusei, but that was because of Rose's words and her own fear. And now Wing was gone, she didn't need him to be mad at her. Besides, the bird named man knew Jayla had really tried and would've attempted to take Wing's place to help him if they made it in time. And he knew that if a full Dragon Protector ended up dead from this, Jayla wouldn't have even survived long enough to say anything to him or Yusei. And he knew Yusei would've been torn up even more than before if Jayla died again.

As such, Crow told her, "Yusei's right. It's not your fault." She looked at him slightly shocked. "Besides, I know if you had gotten here sooner, you would've taken Wing's place." Yusei tensed a bit, knowing how true it was. "I should appreciate you would be willing to go so far so I didn't lose Wing if you had made it in time."

They turned as Ancient and Rose flew up and landed. "What happened?" Rose asked sternly. She was watching Jayla as if she had thought Jayla had caused this.

"I got into a crash and Wing saved me from it," Crow explained. "My shoulder got hurt, but I managed to let Wing die thinking I was fine."

Rose cringed in anger. She grabbed Jayla away from Yusei and immediately pinned her to the ground glaring. "This is all happening because you were brought back!" she yelled.

Ancient immediately tried to pull Rose off of Jayla, but being older and taller than Ancient, it was a losing fight. "Get off of her, Rose! It isn't her fault!"

Rose placed a hand on Jayla's neck, glaring in fury. She changed her hand to her dragon's the slightest bit. Not enough to completely stab Jayla's neck, but to puncture it enough. Jayla cried out a bit and Yusei immediately ran over before yanking Rose off of his lover. The yank lengthened the scratch and the depth in Jayla's neck, but it didn't seem like a fatal wound.

Yusei pulled Jayla into him, glaring at Rose angrily as his girlfriend shook in pain. He looked to see her blood on his glove. Ancient managed to pin Rose on the ground, changing into her dragon form to give her more strength.

"Dammit, Rose! When are you going to realize none of this is Jayla's fault?! Arch died because of the fate goddess! Wing died because of a crash someone forced Crow into! You know if Jayla had got here in time, she would've sacrificed herself for Wing. Or are you really that frustrated at Jayla being brought back that you are blind?!" Ancient yelled at Rose.

Jack, Bruno, the twins, and Akiza hurried up to the scene. "Alright, what's going on now?" Jack asked. They looked to see Wing laying there next to a sad Crow, dead. "Wing!"

"Jayla had a dream about Wing and we had come to try and stop this from happening. We didn't come in time, though," Yusei explained sadly.

Akiza ran up to him and Jayla who still seemed to be in pain along with her unique blood dripping out from under Yusei's hand. "What happened to Jayla?" she asked. Yusei just looked at Rose who was still being pinned down by Ancient's dragon form. "Rose! What did you do this time?!"

Rose didn't reply. She glared at Ancient before turning into her dragon form as well, allowing her to break free from Ancient. The two dragons hovered across from each other, seeming ready to fight.

"Ancient, stop!" Luna called.

"Yusei, get Jayla out of here!" Crow called. "Get her to the hospital to get her neck checked out. I'll be right behind you to get my shoulder checked out next. We'll have the mechanic who'll get my duel runner take hers with it."

Yusei nodded knowing this was about to turn bad and he didn't want Jayla anywhere near this fight. He got her to his duel runner. He got on in front of her and took off.

The other six people there turned back to the sky as Rose and Ancient seemed to get ready to battle it out.

"Rose, stop!" Akiza tried. "You've done enough harm! This needs to stop!"

"Ancient, there's no need to fight like this!" Luna followed to her protector. "Both of you, calm down before this ends in another death or serious injury!" But neither Dragon Protector seemed ready to back down. "Ancient!"

"Are they really going to fight like this?" Bruno asked.

"I don't think we can stop them at this point," Jack answered. "I just hope this won't end up in another death."