Disclaimer: I do not own any Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's characters! I only own my OCs!

Chapter 37: The Meklord Army Strikes

Things had been calm for the rest of February… Too calm. It felt like it was the calm before a storm. Maybe the Three Pure Nobles were soon going to reveal themselves and attack me.

But right now I was sitting in my room, working on a story while listening to Crow's rambling in the smartphone.

"…And he thinks he doesn't have to work because he's the oh-so-good Master of Faster and King of Games! I mean, come on! When is he gonna wake up and face reality, man?!"

Yep, it was about Jack and his selfish way for spending money on expensive coffee instead of saving the money for food and material for the Duel Runner engine that he, Crow and Yusei were working on.

"It sounds like Jack still has many gates closed and that blinds him to see and face the reality", I replied. "It's like the old time for me when I used to 'live' in my fantasy world and not see the real world around me."

"How come you know all of this stuff?" Crow asked.

"Experience from the past, having an egoistic big brother myself, and lots of psychological talking and thinking", I replied. "You should try reading some books."

"Yeah, if I had some spare time. At least you're also trying to make a living like me and Yusei. You're working on some stories, right?"

"Yes. It's more like bedtime stories for children, but I have plans on writing a teenager book. It was actually on my thoughts back in my dimension, and now with all our adventures I've got lots of inspiration."

"It sounds awesome!"

"But don't forget I do not 'exist' in your dimension, so I can't get my books published."

"Damn, I forgot about that. Man, that's one dilemma for sure. I mean, I hear from the kids all the time how much they enjoy your stories, especially with those cliffhangers you add on the end of the chapters."

"More excitement to keep reading the story. It's a way to capture the reader's interest. Anyway, back to Jack. He is an adult now. Still young, but an adult like you and Yusei because of your age. But age doesn't mean anything. It's how you think and view the world around you."

"Whew, I still get goosebumps when you go into wise mode."

I chuckled at the comment. "Get used to it."

"I will. Well, gotta go! These parcels are not going to get delivered by themselves."

"Good luck with the job, Crow. But remember; don't throw bad words on Jack just because he doesn't have a job. He is still human. He has feelings, so don't make him feel useless."

"…Gotta think on that one."

"He's still your foster brother, Crow", I said seriously.

The only reply I got was the beeping tone that Crow had cancelled the call. I sighed at the action and put away the smartphone before returning to my story.

The only sound in my room was the moving pencil against the notebook I was writing on. I often found myself writing stories about dragons and hawks, and humans with supernatural powers, probably because of my friends and our adventures. Plus my favorite genre was fantasy, next to reality books.

XXXXXXXXXX

The situation with Jack was more or less solved. I heard it ended up just as it did in the anime; Jack beating up Don Pierro and got fired at his favorite coffee shop…after a few hours of work.

The three young men had taken up the money issue with Jack and the blonde man promised he would try to limit to instant coffee and only once in a week. But I heard he was always complaining for not drinking his favorite coffee.

I tried to think of a solution and I did, but it would cost almost every dollar of my pocket money. The sixth month anniversary of the boys living in the rented garage was coming up, and I thought a couple of useful presents would be appreciated. They moved in around September, after the Daedalus Bridge was finished.

I had already decided Jack and Crow's presents; a cheap but good coffee machine with bought ground coffee and some homemade coffee, and a pillow filled with the softest quills. I had been visiting the Spirit World and learned there was a huge field with coffee beans of many kinds, including a coffee bean that was similar to Jack's favorite Blue-Eyes coffee. So I brought back small bags of different coffee beans and got taught by Martha how to roast them. As for the pillow, I once again visited the Spirit World to collect the softest quills I could find. It turned out the Duel Monster Blackwing – Blizzard the Far North's quills were of the best quality, so I collected the quills that were surprisingly clean. I brought them back and sewed a homemade pillow filled with the Duel Monster quills.

But for Yusei… I didn't know what to get him. Maybe a new toolbox, but recolored and adding some silver patterns… It could work, if Yusei needed a new toolbox.

XXXXXXXXXX

I was on my way home to Martha's after a babysitting job in Satellite. I even got some tip because the boy I had been watching over loved listening to the story I had written while his parents were celebrating their anniversary as husband/wife. Now I had more than enough money to buy the men's presents.

But the problem was I still didn't know about Yusei's case. I had been visiting the HQ, as I nicknamed the garage, but it seemed Yusei's current toolbox was all good.

It was then I realized how very little I actually knew about my friends. It was a totally different thing to observe them in the anime, but they were just like real people in this dimension. They had their likes and dislikes, hidden feelings and personalities they probably didn't want to reveal, and the whole deal.

The thought made me a bit sad. I thought I was a good friend, but maybe I was wrong?

I shook my head quickly, getting rid of the depressing idea. But then again… What was my purpose here? The unspoken mission, of course, but besides that… What else? Was I even an important person to the Signers? Were they friends with me just because of our Marks and the war with Yliaster?

My arm suddenly started glowing. I looked down on my arm with the Star Mark and raised an eyebrow. Was this a warning?

I looked around to see nothing, but time seemed to have come to a standstill. The wind had turned all silent and there were no people around me. The street suddenly felt very spooky. It caused me to get goosebumps all over my covered arms.

I decided to keep walking, but remained cautious in case it was going to be an ambush, like last time with the Ghost. Only three steps later, I heard something heading towards me from behind. I turned around and reached out my hand, creating a crimson pentagram-like shield like Round Shield from my favorite anime "Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha". The incoming object collided with the shield, heat radiating from it. I felt my feet drag backwards due to the force of the object, but I held myself in check and fought against it.

The object stopped spinning and fell down to the concrete with a clang noise. I dissipated the shield and looked down to see a mechanic-looking projectile lying in front of my feet. I looked up quickly when I spotted machine Duel Monsters appear a few meters away from me. I recognized them as Meklords, but I couldn't really remember their names. However, now wasn't the time to worry about the names.

"Priestess…", one of the Meklord said with a static voice. "We are here to escort you to our masters."

Again with the masters thing?

"Come with us without resisting or we will use force", another Meklord warned me.

"I'm not going", I told the horde of Meklords with a glare. Without saying anything else, I turned around and ran away from the scene.

I knew it was a bad idea, because when I looked over my shoulder I saw the horde of Meklords following me. Their optics were shining red, like they were determined to get me in one way or another. I couldn't allow that to happen. I didn't know why the Three Pure Nobles were after me in the first place, plus the Meklords were immune to my Priestess powers.

Still, I had no choice. I closed my eyes while I was running and focused on the energy stored in my Mark. I released the energy and felt it rush through my body like adrenaline. My body started glowing as I levitated from the ground. I felt my clothes getting replaced with my Warrior outfit and the two bird wings on my back grew out. My glasses were removed as I opened my now crimson eyes. I glared at the Meklord army and flew ahead, trying to lure them out to the sea, so they wouldn't do any damage or injure innocent people.

I had to avoid attacks from the Meklords, so I flew aside when I felt an incoming attack. But when I dodged the attacks, they ended up destroying either the streets or nearby houses. I grunted against my teeth, not liking the sight of Satellite being vandalized because I had to prioritize myself.

I suddenly felt something hit my right leg, causing me to yell out in pain and lose slight control of my wings. But I regained the control and kept flying, ignoring the pain from my leg.

XXXXXXXXXX – Normal POV

At the same time as Estelle was being chased by the Meklord army, Yusei was still up in the garage, going through the blueprints and other things on his laptop concerning the engine prototype for the WRGP. As usual, he didn't wear his jacket at home, unless he felt himself being a bit cold.

Yusei sighed lightly while rubbing his sore eyes. He was sleepy, but he wanted to go through today's small flaws of the engine before he could hit the bed. Plus his toolbox had decided to give up and break when he had lifted it up by its handle. That had caused the raven-haired man to growl in frustration. Now he needed a new toolbox, but he was low on money due to food and material. What if a customer called and asked him to fix something? How would he bring his tools for the work?

Yusei typed on the laptop when his Mark started glowing. He turned the glance at the Mark, raising an eyebrow. "What's going on?"

"Hey, Yusei!" Crow called.

Said man looked over his shoulder when he heard Jack and Crow run down the stairs, both of them wearing their pyjamas. Both their arms with the Mark of the Dragon were glowing.

"Is something up, 'cause our Marks suddenly started glowing", Crow showed his Mark for the raven-haired man.

"I don't know", Yusei confessed. "My Mark started glowing as well."

"At this time of hour? What is possibly happening?" Jack muttered while rubbing his tired eyes.

"Last time our Marks glowed was when…", Crow spoke, but turned all silent with a pale face.

"Crow?" Yusei asked a bit worriedly.

"Are you with us?" Jack grabbed Crow's shoulder and shook him lightly.

Crow snapped out of his trance. "…When Estelle got hurt by the Ghost."

Yusei and Jack gasped in shock when they heard Crow say that. Did their Marks warn them about one of the Signers were in trouble, or even Estelle?

Just then, the home phone rang next to the poster of WRGP that was placed on the stairs. Yusei stood up and walked over to the phone picking the call. "Hello?"

"Yusei! Is any of you guys in danger?!" Akiza's voice shouted.

Yusei had to hold the phone away from his ear when Akiza had shouted. "Yeah, we're fine, Akiza. Your Mark's glowing too?"

"Yeah! I woke up due to the glow from my arm and I immediately called the twins to ask if they were alright, which they thankfully are."

Yusei's eyes widened in realization. "But that means… Estelle's in danger!"

XXXXXXXXXX – Estelle's POV

I sighed in relief mentally when I spotted the ocean up ahead. I tried accelerating, but I had to fly slowly due to the attacks from the Meklords. Plus the pain in my leg distracted me, but not enough to make me lose the grip of the situation.

Once I was in a good distance and flying above the sea, I turned around to face the army of Meklords. I pulled a feather from both my wings and swung my arms as the feathers transformed into magma-glowing dual blades.

"Let's go", I whispered to myself.

My wings flapped faster than usual as I flew towards the Meklord army. The Meklords stopped moving to use their laser beams, but they got destroyed as I flew past them, slashing them with my weapons. The line of Meklords exploded behind me as I advanced through the army, the dual blades now being surrounded by flames.

Once I made it through the army, I turned around and formed an X with the dual blades. The flames got intense as I prepared for my next move. Once the energy was enough, I swung the blades, releasing a giant flaming X. The X flew through the army and destroyed every Meklord it made contact with. I noticed how easy it was to defeat these small Meklords. I thought they were immune to my powers… Maybe it was just for the Meklord Emperors?

I blocked incoming attacks with the dual blades, reflected laser beams with the blades and slashed the robots. Of course, I suffered some minor attacks, but as I kept moving around I felt my hurt leg throb harder in pain. I glanced down for a moment to see a small hole in the right leg. Blood was dripping from the hole in my calf, made by the laser beam from before.

I suddenly felt lightheaded, but caught my attention back when my Mark started glowing. I could sense the Signers' presence as they were coming. It made me turn pale in fear.

"No… No! They can't!" I panicked.

I blocked a robotic arm as I turned my glance at the Daedalus Bridge, seeing three familiar Duel Runners and Black Rose Dragon flying above them.

I pushed back the Meklord and slashed it so it exploded, but new Meklords approached me with their optics glowing red. Their servos were sparkling by electricity, ready to shock me if I dared to move.

I glared at the robots, but grew concerned because of my friends coming to my aid. They had no idea what this was about and they didn't have the knowledge of using their inner powers yet.

"Get out of my way!" I screamed in anger, feeling the power increase within me.

A crimson orb surrounded me before it expanded, sucking in the nearby Meklords until I made the orb explode, taking down the Meklords without making any self-damage.

XXXXXXXXXX – Normal POV

Yusei, Jack and Crow braked their Duel Runners a couple of seconds after the explosion occurred. Black Rose Dragon flew as close as she could to the bridge with Akiza riding on her, her Duel Disk strapped on her arm and activated with the card of her Synchro Monster. The twins weren't with the group, since they got told to stay at home, letting the older Signers take care of the matter. Of course, the twins had protested, but gave up when Akiza told them strictly to stay put.

"What was that explosion?" Jack wondered as the three young men removed their helmets.

"Whoa! Guys, check it out!" Crow exclaimed, pointing at the sky.

The group spotted the army of Meklords as the smoke of the explosion died down, revealing a crimson shiny figure with bird wings among the robots.

"It's Estelle!" Akiza exclaimed in worry. "You guys stay here! Black Rose Dragon and I go and help her!"

Black Rose Dragon roared in agreement before she flew towards the Meklord army.

"Akiza, wait!" Yusei called, but the girl didn't hear his cry.

"What the heck are we supposed to do?!" Crow panicked. "Estelle told us we have powers just like her, but we don't even know how to activate them!"

"Damn!" Jack threw his fist on the monitor of his Duel Runner. "We're sitting ducks here!"

Yusei was just as angry as his foster brothers, but he didn't show it. He felt weak and useless for not being able to help the woman he had grown feelings for.

XXXXXXXXXX – Estelle's POV

I was about to swing my dual blades and take down a couple of Meklords when thorny vines drilled through them, causing them to explode. I looked down and saw Black Rose Dragon coming towards the battlefield with Akiza sitting by the junction of where the neck and shoulders met on the dragon.

"Estelle!" Akiza waved her hand. "We're here to help you!"

"Akiza?!" I gasped. "Turn around and get out of here! You don't know what this is about!"

Black Rose Dragon roared and released a tornado of petals at the Meklords. I flapped my wings and flew away in time before I got sucked into the petal tornado. The robots exploded by the powerful wind and the razor-sharped petals drilling into their frames.

"What did you say?! I didn't catch that!" Akiza yelled through the noise around us.

I was about to reply when I spotted a slight bigger Meklord approach her and Black Rose Dragon from behind. It clenched its right servo into a fist, ready to punch the rose dragon.

"LOOK OUT!" I screamed.

I flew past Black Rose Dragon to take the hit of the incoming punch, and let me tell you something: it felt like I had crashed into a thick wall of concrete when the fist hit me. I thought I felt some of my bones breaking due to the punch, including my nose. Because of the hit, I was sent past above Black Rose Dragon and smashed into the ocean. I felt the water quickly fill my lungs when I gasped in pain.

Everything was slowly turning into black as I tried to focus on my Mark to activate some kind of resource.

XXXXXXXXXX – Normal POV

"ESTELLE!" Akiza cried out in panic.

She had watched how the brown-haired woman had taken the hit that was meant for Black Rose Dragon and got sent into the ocean below her.

Akiza hissed angrily against her teeth before glaring at the Meklord that had punched the woman she considered more than a sister-figure. She could feel how her power was slowly getting out of control, but she kept herself in check…for the moment.

"Black Rose Dragon… ATTACK!"

Said dragon roared before heading into a fight with the Meklord army.

The three men were pale in their faces after they had seen Estelle being thrown into the ocean like a crimson-colored comet.

Yusei was the first to snap out of it. He dismounted his Duel Runner and threw down his helmet onto the seat, including his gloves and jacket. Crow and Jack watched him in wonder, but snapped out of it when they saw the raven-haired man rush to the railing and starting climbing up. Jack and Crow quickly jumped out of their Duel Runners and grabbed Yusei, preventing him to dive into the ocean.

"Wait, Yusei! Don't do anything stupid!" Crow panicked.

Jack grabbed Yusei's arms from behind locking him, so he could not move. "Are you crazy trying to dive into the ocean like that?!"

Yusei struggled against Jack's firm grip. "Let go of me, Jack! Someone must save Estelle before she drowns!"

"Yeah, we know that, but we can't just rush into something without thinking!" Crow tried to reason with the upset man.

"We both get it how much you like her, but you can't take the risk and-"

Jack wasn't able to finish his sentence when a tornado of water shot up from the ocean, heading towards the Meklord army.

Black Rose Dragon saw the water tornado and flew aside before she could get hit by the strange whirlpool. A crimson shadow glowed in the middle of the whirlpool before the water slowly started glowing crimson and changed into flames and magma. The whirlpool of fire swallowed every Meklord as it expanded into a small version of a cyclone.

The group of Signers could hear explosions occurring inside the cyclone as the Meklords melted and got destroyed by the extreme heat. Once the last Meklord got sucked into the cyclone, two long dual blades slashed through the cyclone, revealing Estelle. She was glowing brighter than ever before. Estelle glared at the last Meklord and destroyed it with the dual blades.

It got quiet straight after the Meklord exploded into dust. Estelle lowered her arms and suddenly felt very lightheaded. In fact, she lost consciousness and fell down towards the ocean again. But this time she got caught by Black Rose Dragon's vines that lowered her down to Akiza. Akiza placed Estelle in a sitting position so she could rest her head against the psychic's chest.

Akiza glanced worriedly at her and held her head gently in her hands. She closed her eyes and leant her head slightly against Estelle's, kind of relieved that the Priestess was safe, but also worried for her condition.

Akiza opened her eyes and turned her attention at her Signer Dragon. "Black Rose Dragon… Fly to Martha's place."

Black Rose Dragon nodded and spread her wings before flying off to Satellite.

Yusei, Jack and Crow were following the magenta dragon with their eyes, seeing how it headed to the Satellite. Jack had long time ago released Yusei, so they were standing there slight flabbergasted. Crow was the first to snap out of it sighing in relief.

"Well, looks like a certain someone didn't have to dive into the ocean to save his princess", the carrot-head snickered.

Yusei ignored that comment and walked back to his Duel Runner to put on his jacket and gloves. "Instead of making ridiculous comments, Crow…" He put on his helmet before sitting down on the red Duel Runner. "We should go and follow Akiza to see where she's heading with Estelle." He revved the engine of the Duel Runner and drove off, leaving his two foster brothers behind.

"What made him act like you, Jack?" Crow wondered when he saw Yusei leave.

"Beats me, but I know he's getting possessed by Estelle", Jack frowned.

"Guess that's how love works", Crow shrugged as he got on his Duel Runner. "You can't leave the one you like alone, especially when he/she is suddenly ambushed and injured."

Jack glanced in another direction as he put on his helmet, reminiscing the time when he had hold Carly while she had been a Dark Signer. She had gotten injured at the end of their Shadow Turbo Duel and he couldn't help but want her close to him, trying to take her pain away and keep her by his side even when she was leaving.

"I guess that's right…", Jack mumbled as he revved the engine of his Duel Runner.

"Huh? Did you say something, Jack?" Crow asked, not hearing what the blonde man said due to the loud engine.

"Nothing!" Jack yelled back with pink cheeks.

XXXXXXXXXX

Akiza had taken Estelle to Martha's house. Of course, Martha almost started making a circus when she saw Estelle being injured. She and Dr. Schmidt had immediately taken her to the infirmary and started attending Estelle's injuries, the worst being the hole in her calf.

Akiza sat outside on the stairs, her hands intertwined in worry. She hoped Estelle was going to be okay, but what she didn't get was why those Meklords had been going after the Priestess. She felt like she had missed something.

The psychic Signer looked up when she heard running footsteps echoing from the hallway. Yusei, Jack and Crow walked up to the stairs, seeing Akiza sitting there with a worried expression.

"Any news yet?" Yusei asked.

Akiza shook her head. "Nothing…"

Yusei walked up the stairs and sat down next to Akiza. Jack leant against the wall with his arms crossed and Crow leant against the railing of the stairs.

"What did those Meklords want with Estelle this time?" Crow wondered out loud.

"Well, I know I have no idea, but Estelle did mention the Meklord Emperors are aware of her power and might want it for their own use", Jack spoke up.

That caught Akiza's attention. "Wait, what? What are you talking about?"

"Uh-oh…", Crow sweat dropped.

"Way to go, Jack…", Yusei sighed.

"What? Should I have not mentioned that?" Jack raised an eyebrow, but his facial expression changed into a guilty one when he saw Akiza's furious expression. "Oops…"

"Are you saying you knew about this situation?" Akiza asked angrily. "And you haven't told me or the twins?"

"W-Well…", Jack cold sweated, not finding the words.

"It was Estelle who told us about her speculations about the current circumstances", Yusei told Akiza. "The reason why she didn't tell you and the twins is because she wanted to wait. Why she wanted to wait, I don't know, but we respected her wish."

"After what happened tonight, I wouldn't be surprised if she decided to tell us all the truth once she's up", Crow said.

Just then, the door to the infirmary opened, grabbing the four Signers' attention. Dr. Schmidt and Martha stepped outside while removing the masks and gloves they had used while attending Estelle.

Akiza stood up immediately. "How's Estelle? Is she alright?"

"She suffered quite a damage in her calf", Dr. Schmidt replied. "Luckily, the bone wasn't damaged and no major arteries and vein were hit. She'll have a slight limp for probably the rest of her life."

The four Signers lightly grimaced at the bad news, but they were still happy to hear Estelle was going to be all right.

"Before you ask, she's asleep", Martha spoke up. "So if you want to speak to her, you have to do that next day when she wakes up or feels the strength to call you. She did suffer slight blood loss, so she needs to recover."

"Okay then…", Akiza sighed. She rubbed her forehead before walking down the stairs. "I'm going home then."

"Want a lift?" Yusei asked.

Akiza shook her head. "No thanks. I'll ride home with Black Rose Dragon." With that said, she left the house.

Yusei stepped up to the doorway of the infirmary and peeked inside. He saw the curtains around the bed where Estelle slept were blocking the view for privacy. He sighed deeply through his nose, happy to know Estelle was safe.

But he felt like more questions than answers were showing up lately. What did those Meklord Emperors want with Estelle and her power? Did the leaders crave them like the Dark Signers had before? Or was it something else?

Whatever it was, Yusei was determined to help and protect Estelle, even if it meant he had to get injured and hurt like Estelle was just now.