The chapter begins in Aurora's point of view.

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

Chapter 52: Bonds Beyond Time – Part 2

The next thing Yugi and I knew, we got thrown on top of a building with a bright sky above us and a motorcycle and a dragon came out from the fire dragon. I rubbed the back of my head and sat up to see two boys and two girls, one of them looking a bit older, walk up to us.

"You two okay?" the boy with brown and orange hair asked.

"It's okay, Yugi. You're safe now", the boy with raven hair and golden streaks told us.

"Where are we?" Yugi asked before looking down. "Is my grandpa okay? Where's Pegasus?"

I followed his action and looked down to see the square was pretty and colorful as before the destruction. I spotted the square clock and saw something that shocked me. The time was 11:25!

"Wait… Did we move back in time?" I asked.

"You did", the woman with brown hair and glasses nodded.

The other dragon that the girls had been riding on was gone, just like the fire dragon that had nearly eaten me and Yugi.

"So it wasn't a dream?" Yugi mumbled next to me.

"I'm afraid not", the girl with long raven hair and magenta shade/highlights said.

I couldn't help but feel this girl looked familiar to me. She somehow had a face that was similar to mine and her eyes too.

"Here's the deal, bro", the boy with two-toned hair began. "It's not about where you are but when."

"We've taken you back in time", the other boy told us. "Back to just before those dragons blasted this place."

"That explains the clock…", I mumbled.

But also a huge relief showered over me when I realized my twin brother Joakim wasn't dead. Although the question was; where could he be? Still at home, but… I was also supposed to be at home at this time, preparing myself for the tournament. Or… Did that mighty fire dragon alter time and space, so it wouldn't look suspicious that I was here now?

The two-toned boy pulled out a card to check something before a smile appeared on his lips. "Look! Neos is back!"

The girl with raven hair took out a card herself and let out a sigh of relief. "Defender too. Thank goodness."

"Who are you guys?" Yugi asked.

"My name is Yusei Fudo", the boy with raven hair and golden streaks introduced himself.

"I'm Estelle Malmström", the brunette with glasses nodded, standing behind Yusei.

"And I'm Jaden Yuki!" the two-toned haired boy pointed at himself with a thumb.

"I'm Clara…", the other girl with raven hair and magenta shade mumbled, looking away.

Jaden looked at her with questioning eyes. "Hey, Clara, your last name too!"

Clara held a finger against her lips and shushed him. She pointed at both me and Yugi before she shook her head. Jaden didn't get it at first, but then his eyes widened in realization and nodded. What was that about?

"Yusei, Jaden…", Yugi began.

"…Estelle and Clara", I finished.

"I'm Yugi Mutou", Yugi introduced himself.

"And I'm Aurora Ueda Pax", I told the group my name.

"Oh, there's no need to tell us who you are", Yusei told us. "We know."

"You do? How's that?" Yugi asked.

"'Cause we're from the future", Jaden replied simply. "It's no big whoop."

"What?" Yugi's eyes widened in surprise.

"Well, I guess it's kind of a big whoop, but out of line, though", Jaden turned his eyes on the crowd in the square. "We're here to save the world!"

"That masked man you saw… He must be stopped", Yusei told us. "Like you, we've seen what happens if he's not."

"This guy seems like he's made his mission-of-a-life to take down Pegasus", Jaden explained.

"But why?!" Yugi wondered.

"Because Paradox believes the future will be much better without the Duel Monsters", Estelle spoke up, making all of us look at her.

"Wait, you mean, erasing the Duel Monsters for good?" Jaden asked. "And everything that sprang from the game?"

Estelle just nodded.

"So that's why Neos and Defender disappeared!" Clara exclaimed, placing her fist on her palm.

Estelle nodded, "I wish I could tell you more, but in this case I better stay quiet or the chain of event will get unstable."

"It's okay, Estelle", Yusei smiled gently at her. "I know…"

The way Yusei looked at the brunette reminded me a lot of how I looked at Yugi. Was he in love with her? But… For some reason, they didn't feel like a couple.

I stood up on my feet. "Well… I know this much. If the world is in danger, I know I have to help and cancel the apocalypse."

Yugi stood up next to me with a determined expression. "We can't let that Paradox erase the Duel Monsters from history! He hurt my grandpa too! So I'm more than willing to help you four in any way that I can! Let's make this guy sorry he ever messed with us!"

"Glad to have you two on our side", Yusei nodded.

"That's totally ecstatic! We've got the King and Queen of Games in our corner!" Jaden grinned widely. "Now let's do this!"

"But first… We have to get rid of the people down there", Clara pointed down at the square.

"Yeah, this is the place where Paradox will strike", Estelle agreed. "We can't have innocents involved."

"Leave that to me!" Jaden said. "Yubel!"

A spirit of a Duel Monster I had never seen appeared next to Jaden. It looked like a dead angel that had half a man body and half a woman body and black skin covered most of its body.

"I guess I'll have to do the dirty work", Yubel commented before she smiled lightly.

XXXXXXXXXX – Estelle's POV

Our group went down to the square while Yubel threw energy spheres around the stage and the square to scare away people. And it actually worked. I was ready to summon one of my dragons to help out, but I didn't need to.

"Nice job scaring them off, Yubel", Jaden grinned as he held an arm around Clara's waist, the one he didn't have his Duel Disk on. "That's right, everyone! Just keep running and don't look back!"

"I hope this scare off Pegasus. That way, he won't be crushed by that building", Yugi said.

"Right, and then the future of Duel Monsters is safe", Yusei nodded.

"But we have to take care of the threat first before we can relax", Aurora told us.

I felt my Mark burn for a second before a voice echoed around us.

"You think you can save the future?!"

A wormhole appeared out of nowhere and Paradox's Duel Runner drove out and braked several meters from us. Strangely the two women from before weren't with him, which made me a bit concerned. Were they planning something in the background?

"You listen here!" Yugi glared at Paradox who was still wearing his mask. "We know what you're up to and we're not gonna let it happen! Got it?!" Paradox remained quiet. "So why don't you just make it easy on yourself and go back to wherever it is you came from?!"

We girls were standing behind the boys, being shielded by them.

"Where I came from is why I'm here", Paradox replied.

I knew what that meant, but I didn't want to tell the others. They had to find out on their own in order to understand.

Paradox took off his mask, revealing his face. "Perhaps it's time…we get acquainted. The name is-"

"Paradox, we know!" Jaden shouted, interrupting him. "Yusei's girlfriend told us that!"

I blushed when Jaden said that. "I told you I'm not his girlfriend!" I said with a glare.

Paradox snorted, "Of course the Crimson Star Priestess knows my identity, considering where she's from. After all, I don't come from any of your eras in time. I come from the future."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Yusei yelled.

"Forget him! He's just trying on getting your head", Jaden told Yusei.

"We don't care about your backstory! We just care about keeping our world safe!" Yugi told Paradox.

"Oh, is that so?" Paradox said before he chuckled. "Too bad. Nobody thought on keep me safe. Or those I loved. And now I'll finally have my revenge. I will rid the world of what caused all my pain and suffering. That is why I'm here; because I realized something about this game you love so. This Duel Monsters… The world would be a far better place without it! The Monsters, the Spells… What good comes from it? True, you'd all save the world many times over with your precious cards. But against advisories who's using the same cards to destroy it?!"

For a moment, I couldn't help but feel sympathy for Paradox. From what I remembered of reading about the movie, Paradox came from the future where the world was on the edge of ruins. The planet had reached the apocalypse and the humankind was being extinguished. It was a future many people feared of happening, even back in my world.

Even now in this dimension, I feared for my dimension's future. Would it one day end up in the same way as Paradox's era? Would the mankind be responsible for its own extinction?

"So that's why you're here?! To rid the world of Duel Monsters?!" Yusei asked a bit aggressively, which wasn't part of his personality.

"That's correct", Paradox nodded. "Once and for all."

"Not on our watch, you won't!" Yusei retorted.

"You senseless dolts!" Paradox glared at us. "Don't you see? Instead of trying to stop me, you should be trying your best to help me! I told you… Where I come from is the reason that I am here! Where I come from is a doomed future."

I heard Yusei gasp when Paradox said that. I had a feeling it was about his father and his old work to create a better future and how Yusei blamed himself for the Zero Reverse incident.

"No… Our future is a bright one", Yusei said, but his voice shook with uncertainly.

"It's not", Paradox stated. "It is a desolate place. So desolate I could no longer bear to see it through my own eyes! I took the weary of the mask, and it was through this filter that I finally began to see! See why things had ended this way! And the answer was Duel Monsters! So what better way to destroy this was by traveling back to the beginning, and not letting it spread? Time travel is no easy feat. Where there's a will, there's a way." I spotted how Yusei clenched his fist while he was slowly shaking in anger. "And there was a will."

"But don't you realize?" Yusei asked. "You're just not wiping out Duel Monsters…but people too! You're destroying everything and everyone that was ever touched by the game!"

"Of course I realize that, Yusei!" Paradox replied. "As a matter of fact, that's what I'm looking forward to the most!"

"You're a one sick puppy!" Jaden snapped.

"Maybe the game's not perfect, but it's created more good things than bad!" Yugi spat.

"And another thing; the future isn't written yet! There's still time for things to change!" Yusei added.

"Well then, it seems we have a difference of opinion", Paradox sighed. "Since I doubt anymore words would settle our impasse, perhaps we should seek to settle it in another way."

"If you're saying you want a Duel, bring it on, Paradox!" Yusei growled.

"Fine then", Paradox smirked lightly. "I think it'll be an enjoyment to destroy the three of you while your female companions will be busy with my two assistants."

Just as Paradox said that, a purple sphere headed towards me. I spotted it and held out a hand to create a shield in front of me. The sphere hit the shield, but the attack was a bit stronger than I expected, so it caused a small explosion that made me slide back a bit, but Aurora caught me in time.

"You okay?" Aurora asked.

I nodded as I rubbed my right hand. "Yes… That was quite powerful."

Two female voices laughed, which grabbed our attention. The six of us looked up to see Star Eater and Hyozanryu fly above the buildings, but they had the touches of a Malefic Monster.

On Malefic Hyozanryu sat a woman in my age with Middle Eastern appearance. She had very dark wavy hair, wavier than mine, and brown eyes. On Malefic Star Eater sat a typical Swedish woman with long blonde hair, blue eyes and pale skin. They were both dressed in the same outfit; a black and purple revealing top that barely covered any skin, black tight short shorts, very long purple boots that hugged their legs and had heels, some kind of purple wrist protection, purple collar around their necks, black transparent mantles that was being held by the shoulders, and devil wings.

Now when I saw those women clearly, I couldn't help but feel scared for a moment. They were looking way too similar to the bullies from my first school. But… They could be someone else, like this dimension's Linda and Hanna…

"Heh, long time no see, Estelle-Belle", the blonde said with a teasing voice.

Scratch my last sentence. They were the real old bullies, except they were adults now.

Yusei turned to me after Aurora let me go. "Estelle…"

I nodded lightly. "They are the old bullies I suspected." I turned my glance at the former bullies, glaring lightly at them. "Linda and Hanna."

"Aww, would you look at that, Linda?" Hanna said in a sick sweet voice. "The puppet remembers our names."

"How cute", Linda snickered.

"How can I ever forget the sick bullies who thought they were better than me and had the rights to put my life into misery?!" I retorted angrily.

Malefic Star Eater and Malefic Hyozanryu growled at me for speaking like that to the women. When I looked into Malefic Star Eater's eyes, I could tell he was hypnotized and didn't recognize me. He didn't see me as his real mistress. Instead it was the blonde woman who was riding on him. Seeing Linda sit on him with that big smirk on her face made me forget the anxiety I held deep inside my heart. The sight made me so angry.

The feeling of wanting revenge for what Linda and Hanna did to me in the past grew inside me. A small part of my dark side was coming out. I wanted to show the bullies how much it hurt when they, Hanna's little brother and Linda's cousins bullied me day in and day out in elementary school. They never hurt me physically but mentally and verbally.

Since I didn't really have the ability to speak harsh words at them, I would have to deliver my anger with fists and weapons.

I turned to Yusei who had prepared his Duel Disk, just like Jaden and Yami Yugi, and Paradox's Duel Runner had changed into flight mode. Yusei caught my glance and turned to me.

"Win this Duel while I take care of those women", I told him.

Yusei nodded, "Be careful."

I nodded and turned around before running towards the two dragons with the women. I heard footsteps run after me. I knew it was Aurora and Clara who decided to join me and help me take down Linda and Hanna, and take back the dragons.

XXXXXXXXXX – Normal POV

Clara turned to Jaden who smiled at her. "Jaden…"

"Go, Clara", Jaden nodded. "I'll be fine here. You need to take back Hyozanryu."

Clara smiled lightly with a nod. "Be careful…"

"Same to you, babe", Jaden said before the couple kissed on the lips.

Clara moved back with a soft smile before she ran after Estelle.

At the same time, Aurora had switched place with the Millennium Earring's spirit Amaura. Amaura turned to Yami who looked at her with concern eyes.

"Amaura…", Yami mumbled.

Amaura smiled, "Like Estelle said; win the Duel. I'll help her and…our hosts' daughter."

Yami smirked lightly at the thought of Yugi and Aurora having a child in the future. "Okay."

Amaura placed a kiss on Yami's cheek before she ran after the two other girls.

Yusei couldn't help but feel a bit jealous for a second. Seeing the two other boys receiving kisses from their girlfriends and he not made him feel a bit out of place.

Estelle ran first in the row as her Star Mark glowed through the black sleeve. "Crimson Star!"

A bright red light surrounded her as her clothes got replaced with her Warrior Form and her blue eyes changed into crimson ones. A pair of crimson bird wings grew out from her back before she flew up to the sky, chasing after Linda and Hanna who were flying away with Malefic Star Eater and Malefic Hyozanryu.

Clara pulled out a card from the pocket of her top. "Fusion! Magician's Valkyria!"

The spirit of Magician's Valkyria appeared above Clara as she ran after Estelle. The spirit fused with Clara whose clothes got replaced by the Duel Monster's outfit while her eyes turned into gentle purple ones. A pair of transparent wings appeared on her back before she took flight and followed Estelle.

Amaura pulled also a card out from the Duel Disk she had on her left arm. "Come forth, Aurora Wing!"

Said Duel Monster got materialized above Amaura before she flew down enough for the ancient spirit to climb onto her and sit by the neck. Aurora Wing flapped her wings and chased after the group.

The three boys and Paradox watched the female group fly away before their Duel began. Yusei hoped nothing bad would happen to the girls. Especially Estelle, since she was facing two former bullies from her past. She was also a very emotional person deep inside, so he prayed she wouldn't get affected by the two women's harsh words.

XXXXXXXXXX – Estelle's POV

Clara, Amaura and I chased after Linda and Hanna while the dragons attacked us. Meanwhile, the whole city had turned into a cosmic place due to Paradox's Field Spell card. Luckily, the Field Spell made the city deserted, so we didn't have to worry about accidently hurting someone. Clara and I were able to avoid the attacks and counter back with simple moves, like throwing energy spheres at the Duel Monsters. Aurora Wing tried to harm the dragons a few times with no result.

Linda and Hanna did nothing to help the dragons. They just sat on Malefic Star Eater and Malefic Hyozanryu and watched the battle with great delight. It seemed to me they were acting spoiled and refused to get their hands dirty, afraid to get some kind of pest.

The only thing they did was throwing harsh words at me, trying to catch me off guard, so the dragons could hit me. But their words didn't make me sad as before when I was a little girl. They fueled my anger even more, but the anger didn't make me blind as it used to do. I was able to have a clear mind and block the moves.

"Star Eater!" I called. "It's me! Estelle! Your real partner!"

"It's no use, Belly!" Linda laughed. "He doesn't remember you! He's just a puppet who listens to every command I say!"

"Just like with Malefic Hyozanryu!" Hanna laughed before she smirked at Clara. "He doesn't remember the times you went through together."

Clara growled as she held her staff even tighter. "His mind is still there. I believe in Hyozanryu!"

"Believe as much as you want! It won't help you!" Hanna retorted.

"You two are just as low as ever…", I growled.

"Huh?! Care to repeat that, Belle?!" Linda shouted.

"What's with that repeating nickname…?" Amaura mumbled in the background.

I glared at the evil women with so much hate I could show with my eyes. "You two are nothing but losers!"

"Losers?!" Linda and Hanna exclaimed in anger.

"Yes! Losers! Zeros!" I retorted. "You think you are all mighty and powerful, but you're not! You two are weaklings compared to me!"

"What?!" Hanna spat in disbelief.

"No, you're the one who was always the weakling!" Linda retorted. "Malefic Star Eater!"

Malefic Star Eater roared before he flew higher up and prepared a way too familiar attack.

I turned quickly to Clara and Amaura, the cold sweat running down my cheeks. "Girls, get out of here!"

"Why?" Clara wondered.

"Star Eater is going to use his strongest move! Go!" I shouted.

"What?!" Amaura exclaimed.

Aurora Wing flew away with her rider as Clara hesitantly followed them. Malefic Hyozanryu and Hanna flew up to fly next to Malefic Star Eater who was ready to unleash his attack.

"GO! STARLIGHT DESTROYER!" Linda screamed so loudly it echoed around the buildings.

Malefic Star Eater unleashed a beam with the colors of black, orange and yellow at me. It was like Starlight Breaker, but it was its evil version.

I didn't have enough time to get to safety, so I put up a shield in front of me to block as much energy as I could from the attack. But the pentagram was slowly cracking as Malefic Star Eater kept pouring the attack at me. The noise of the beam echoed in my ears and it was ear-splitting.

The sweat ran down my face as I struggled to stay strong and hold on until the move was over. But my arms grew weak and that made the shield weaker. I looked around by the corner of my eyes to see if I could do something before the shield would break. Nothing caught my sight.

I suddenly felt my arms move due to the shield had shattered into pieces. I gasped before I felt pain rush through my body. I shielded my face with my arms as I felt the force of the beam push me down to the ground, and the next noise I heard and felt was an explosion.

XXXXXXXXXX – Normal POV

Clara and Amaura watched from afar how Malefic Star Eater's attack had caused an explosion that was devastating. The shockwave had even reached them and some smoke too. The girls had to fan the smoke away as they coughed a bit.

"E-Estelle!" Clara coughed as the smoke in her eyes made her cry a bit.

"She couldn't possibly survive that…", Amaura said in disbelief and shock.

XXXXXXXXXX

Paradox had just summoned Stardust Dragon from the Graveyard to the field due to Malefic Paradox Dragon's special ability when Yusei suddenly felt a painful throb coming from his right arm with the Mark of the Dragon. He grunted in pain and grabbed his arm, feeling something was off. Yami and Jaden noticed his strange action and were about to ask him when the trio and Paradox heard the distant echo of an explosion.

"What was that, guys?" Jaden wondered.

"An explosion…?" Yami mumbled before he concentrated on his bond with Amaura through the Millennium Items.

The nameless Pharaoh could sense his soulmate was okay, but she seemed really worried about something.

"Something must have happened to the girls…", Yami cold sweated.

Yusei turned to Yami with disbelief painted on his face. "Wait… Could that mean…"

Paradox chuckled loudly, gaining the trio's attention. "It seems my assistants took out one of your girlfriends." He glanced towards Yusei with mischievous eyes. "And I have a feeling who it could be."

Yusei gaped when he realized something had happened to Estelle. Why else would his Mark suddenly throb in pain?

"No… It can't be…", the raven-haired man mumbled in disbelief.

Paradox enjoyed the sight of Yusei looking defeated, all because of a woman he liked. The evil man couldn't wait to see Jaden and Yami having the same expressions when their female companions were taken care of.

XXXXXXXXXX

Back to Yusei's era, the rest of the Signers had helped evacuating people to the outskirt of New Domino City and up to the mountains. There they had a clear view of their beloved city being slowly demolished. But right now, it seemed the destruction had almost come to a standstill.

"The city… It's almost…all gone…", Akiza whimpered.

"But it's not gone yet, and that means Yusei and Estelle still have a chance!" Crow retorted.

It was then the five Signers felt the painful throb coming from their own Marks. They all grunted in pain and grabbed their arms. Each one of them looked at the arms, seeing the Marks glow through the sleeves, except for Leo who had short sleeves.

"Something happened to them!" Luna declared in fear. "One of them got hurt!"

"The pain was so strong it felt like my arm had been tugged on", Leo commented.

Jack cold sweated a bit. "I hope they can take care of whatever they're dealing with, or else…" He looked up to watch the scene in front of him. "…We're all goners."

Akiza felt the fear raise inside her. She was worried for both Yusei and Estelle, but her gut told her it was Estelle who got hurt. She prayed her first crush and big brother figure were all right wherever they were in the past.