WARNING! Strong language!

The chapter begins in normal point of view.

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

Chapter 53: Bonds Beyond Time – Part 3

Back to the past and with the battle between the girls, Amaura with Aurora Wing and Clara flew back to the battlefield to see if they could find Estelle.

"Estelle!" Clara called.

"Where are you?!" Amaura shouted.

But the sight they met wasn't what they wanted to see.

On the concrete, where a giant crater had been created by Malefic Star Eater's Starlight Destroyer, laid Estelle's unconscious body. She was lying on her stomach and her hair was spread around her head, blocking the view of her face. She had bruises everywhere on her exposed skin and her wings were broken, snapped in half.

Clara felt tears run down her cheeks as she let out some sobs. Amaura grimaced and tried holding back her tears while biting her lower lip. Aurora Wing was also making some sad noises for seeing a human having a connection to the Duel Monsters being defeated.

Linda and Hanna were more than happy to see their old victim of their bullying finally being taken down. Their laughter echoed around the street where they were, far away from the boys.

"Finally! We've taken her down!" Hanna laughed.

"And with her own dragon too!" Linda laughed hysterically compared to her friend. "Oh, the irony! There's no way she could survive the awesome attack of my new dragon!" She patted Malefic Star Eater's neck with delight.

"You monsters…", Amaura glared at the two women once she gained control of her tears. "Don't you see you're practically murderers now?!"

"Who cares about your opinion?!" Linda retorted angrily. "We finally got to give her the punishment she deserved a long time ago, way back to school!"

"And now it's Malefic Hyozanryu's turn to take down his former owner", Hanna giggled.

"NO!" Clara screamed in fear. "Hyozanryu, please remember me!" Said Duel Monster stopped growling and stared at the two-toned girl. "Remember the time we've been through! Both good and bad! Please!"

"Shut up, bitch!" Hanna spat. "Malefic Hyozanryu, kill her, even if you have to eat her!"

"What?!" both Clara and Amaura exclaimed in shock.

Was Hanna so desperate to kill Clara that she ordered Malefic Hyozanryu to eat her?! Or was it the evil force that made both Linda and Hanna so desperate to taste blood?

However, Malefic Hyozanryu didn't move an inch. All four girls blinked in confusion when they saw nothing happened.

"What the…?! What are you waiting for, Malefic Hyozanryu?! Kill your former master!" Hanna tried again. She even went far as on hitting the dragon's neck with her fists.

Malefic Hyozanryu let out a roar before a soft red light began shining from the ground. Both the humans and the Duel Monsters looked down at the source of the light to see it came from Estelle.

The light didn't seem to heal Estelle's wounds, but it did something to her, that's for certain.

"What? What's going on?!" Linda's words echoed around them.

Estelle's arms moved slightly before the woman used her hands and elbows to slowly get up, her hair making a curtain and blocked her face.

"She's alive!" Clara declared in happiness.

"What?!" Hanna shrieked in disbelief.

"But how can that be?! No normal human being can survive such move as my Malefic Star Eater's!" Linda growled. "She's a freak!"

Estelle raised up on one knee as she summoned a katana that helped her remain up. She used her other hand to move aside her hair to reveal her determined eyes. In the middle of the pupils was the Star Mark glowing while an aura surrounded her.

"You want to know why I survived?" Estelle said in a slight weak voice. "It's because I have the hidden strength within me and the will to keep fighting. That's how I survived every day at school when you and the others bullied me. That's how I survived my worst days in my life." She now raised up on her feet as the broken wings on her back healed and spread out. "And that's how…" She glared towards Linda and Hanna. "…I survived Star Eater's attack because I'm a fighter."

Linda and Hanna suddenly felt something new and unfamiliar. Their hands were shaking and slippery by sweat that formed on their palms.

"B-But…", Hanna's voice shook in fear.

Estelle flew up, still holding her katana as she aimed it towards a jewel that was on Malefic Star Eater's mask. "That's why I've always been stronger than any of you and the bullies! That makes you the weaklings because you've always been the non-fighters in life!"

Linda screamed like one of those women who yelled in comedy shows when they hated something. "DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!"

Malefic Star Eater wasn't able to react in time when Estelle hit the grey jewel on his mask. The tip of her katana had dug into the jewel, piercing it. A bright light erupted from the jewel as Malefic Star Eater roared while the armor of the Malefic Monster shattered into pieces.

"Alright!" Clara exclaimed happily.

"Star Eater is back", Amaura nodded with a smile.

Linda was shaking in both fear and anger. "No…! No, I can't believe it!"

Estelle flew up to Linda and grabbed her by the throat. The blonde woman gasped for air as she felt Estelle tighten her grip. When Linda was about to glare at the brunette, she froze when she saw pure and 200 percent anger shining in the brunette's eyes.

"No one takes my dragon and makes him a slave", Estelle hissed through her teeth.

With those words, the Crimson Star Priestess threw Linda off Star Eater and delivered a hard kick on her stomach. Linda coughed out blood by the impact.

"And that's for kicking me before!" Estelle exclaimed in anger.

"Linda!" Hanna shouted worriedly.

But the other evil woman froze when she spotted Clara shattering the grey jewel on Malefic Hyozanryu's mask with her staff. The dark-haired woman jumped off the white dragon as it returned to normal. Hanna spread her wings and flew next to Linda who rubbed her sore stomach.

"Och jag som hoppades att vi inte skulle behöva slåss. (And I was hoping that we wouldn't have to fight.)", the brown-haired woman commented.

Linda hissed angrily through her teeth before she held out her right hand to summon a dagger. "Då får vi ta och städa undan skräpet själva! (Then we take and clean up the trash ourselves!)"

"Om ni kan fixa det själva utan några medhjälpare. (If you can fix it yourselves without any aides.)", Estelle retorted.

Star Eater and Hyozanryu flew behind Estelle, Clara and Aurora Wing who Amaura still sat on. The dragons' eyes shone with pure hatred at the two evil women who dared controlling them and nearly hurting their true human partners.

"Du skrämmer inte oss, din jävla hora! (You don't scare us, you fucking whore!)" Linda spat furiously.

Estelle shook her head disappointingly. "Vårda språket. Ni är ju inte tonåringar längre. (Watch your language. You're not teenagers anymore.)"

Linda grew even madder at her rival and gave her the finger. "Fuck you!"

"You need to clean that mouth of yours with soap", Amaura commented.

"And stop making such immature gestures", Clara added.

Hanna was a bit uncertain when she saw Linda's anger grew by each calm retort from the trio. This was not what the blonde woman wanted to hear.

Linda wanted to see the old Estelle who got upset by every comment that she, Hanna and the other bullies told her with a nasty tone. The bullies loved to see their victim cry and run away to be all alone in a corner of the schoolyard. It was their only entertaining activity during recess.

Why weren't any of the words she poured out not affecting Estelle?!

Estelle raised her katana and pointed it towards Linda. "I'm no longer the Estelle you used to know, Linda and Hanna." That grabbed the bullies' attention. "I've grown and matured, and thanks to my mother I realized I've always been the stronger one among us. And that I shouldn't take every single word someone throws at me seriously, despite that it could hurt. But now, as an adult, I see two immature girls who are still acting like stupid teenagers who have nothing better to do than just talk about nonsense and hurry to grow up into an adult by sleeping with people." Estelle glared at the women. "Disgusting. Why throwing away something so precious while you're just a child? You should save the moments for the adult life, because you're only a child once in a lifetime."

"Shut up…", Linda growled.

"Y-Yeah, you better shut up, Estelle!" Hanna took the courage to help her friend. "You sound like you're still a virgin!"

"And I'm proud of it", Estelle retorted, catching the dark-haired woman off guard.

"SHUT UP!" Linda exploded and flew towards Estelle.

Estelle saw Linda coming at her with the dagger. The crimson-clad woman waited for the blonde woman to approach her. The brunette could tell by the blonde's movement how she didn't have any training in her records, so there was an easy swing with the katana and the dagger got thrown out from Linda's grip.

Linda gaped in shock before she got another kick on her stomach. Estelle took the opportunity and also slashed the woman in front of her. A long and deep wound bled on Linda's collarbone, causing her to move back a bit while holding her hands against the wound to stop the bleeding.

"LINDA!" Hanna shouted before she took aim at Estelle with her own dagger.

But Clara flew forward and blocked the dagger in the dark-haired woman's hand with her staff. Hanna tried fighting against the two-toned girl, but Clara swung her staff and knocked out the dagger of the evil woman's grip. The daggers dissipated in dark energy as Hanna flew back with Linda who was fuming in anger.

"This is so wrong…!" the blonde woman growled, referring to how Estelle wasn't the old and sensitive little girl from the past.

"Yes, it's so wrong to take other people's cards and use them against their true owners", Amaura nodded with her arms crossed.

Star Eater and Hyozanryu growled warningly at the evil women. They were ready for revenge. They were just waiting for a sign from their true partners to attack the two bullies.

Estelle raised her katana before she went into a pose, ready to strike. "Clara. Amaura." Said girls turned to the crimson-clad woman. "This fight is mine alone."

"Got it", Clara nodded.

"Understood", Amaura said.

Estelle nodded and turned her attention back at the evil duo. "You would never understand the mental pressure and pain I felt in the childhood, so I'll show you in another way…" The katana reflected some light, making it spark like fire. "…The physical way."

Linda snorted at the brunette, not taking her seriously. "Du kan inte skilja på en kvast och svärd. (You can't separate a broom and sword.)"

"Åh? Det tror du? (Oh? You think so?)" Estelle retorted calmly.

But inside the brunette was boiling in anger. She had held this frustration inside her for years. She wanted revenge for going through such emotional pain, and she wanted to pay it back tenfold. She didn't want to murder Linda and Hanna; she just wanted to show them what true pain really was.

"Linda… Det kanske är bäst om du inte provocerar henne mera… (Linda… Maybe it's best if you don't provoke her anymore…)", Hanna told her companion. "Hon lyckades såra dig… (She managed to hurt you…)" She pointed at the bleeding slash on Linda's collarbone.

Linda was about to shout back something at her friend when they suddenly got attacked by Estelle with her katana who moved faster than the wind. The dragons, Aurora Wing, Clara and Amaura just watched the scene in the background, ignoring the pained cries for help and mercy from the evil women.

XXXXXXXXXX

Yusei barely kept on Dueling when he once again felt his Mark throb, but now it had been a gentle throb. He was first confused, but then felt a connection to Estelle. He could sense she was alive and kicking. That made the huge weight on his shoulders lift for knowing his crush was okay. Paradox had sensed the sudden change in Yusei's eyes and got a slight bad feeling about his assistants, but he had faith in them. After all, his old friend and comrade had brought them from the same dimension where the current Crimson Star Priestess came from.

Yami had reminded Yusei that it was up to him now and how people from his era were counting on him.

Yusei suddenly remembered his close friends. He saw the illusions of the Signers in front of him. Crow smirking proudly at him, Leo and Luna sharing a smile, Jack nodding with proud eyes while having his arms crossed, and Akiza winking encouragingly. The sixth figure who appeared in front of Yusei was Estelle. Her warm smile and soft eyes told him she and everyone else were there for him. Behind his close friends, he saw every single people he had met in his life until today. Everyone from Martha to the twins' schoolmates.

They were all there by Yusei's side, sharing their hope and energy for Yusei to win and protect their era and the future.

Yusei felt the determination grow as he felt the encouragement from all his friends, and Yami and Jaden. "Alright. Let's do this! For Duel Monsters and all my friends! And the people of New Domino City!"

Yami and Jaden nodded in agreement.

"Yeah! No doubt!" Jaden added. "Now let him have it!"

"It will be my pleasure", Yusei nodded.

But before Yusei could make a move, something suddenly fell down on the ground in front of the fusion beast with Paradox and Malefic True Dragon. The trio gaped in surprise.

"Hey, what was that just now?" Jaden asked.

"I have no idea", Yami replied.

Paradox watched the ground in front of him as the dust slowly dispersed. "What's this?!" When the dust finally blew away, it revealed two deeply wounded women who now also had short hair. Their outfits looked so worn that they could rip apart and reveal their whole upper bodies.

"Linda?! Hanna?!" Paradox exclaimed in shock.

The girls were knocked out due to blood loss, extreme fighting and the crash on the concrete.

"Sorry about that!" a familiar voice yelled from the sky above the Duel field, making the trio of protagonist look up.

Above the boys flew Star Eater, Hyozanryu and Aurora Wing with their respective partners. Amaura was the one who had yelled the apology.

"We just wanted to dump the trash to where it belongs!" Clara added, waving to the boys, especially to Jaden.

"Alright! Our girls did it!" Jaden cheered joyfully. "They got back their dragons!"

Yami nodded with a small smile. "They certainly did."

Estelle, who had stains of blood on her, turned to Yusei. The raven-haired man met her glance and saw the message she sent to him.

"Finish it, Yusei!" the brunette told him.

Yusei nodded and turned his attention back to the Duel. The girls had done their part. Now it was the young men's turn. It was time to end this once and for all!

XXXXXXXXXX – Estelle's POV

Time passed after the battle and it was now sundown and everything was back to normal. The boys had been able to defeat Paradox, and we girls had taken back Star Eater and Hyozanryu, and I also kicked Linda and Hanna's butts. The two women had disappeared after Paradox got killed, so I had no idea where they could be. But a bad feeling remained inside me.

First I encountered Niklas the fake ex-boyfriend, and now Linda and Hanna the bullies from my past. Was Yliaster, or even worse Z-one, planning something against me and they tried using these three people to manipulate and weaken me?

I watched from the rooftop with Clara and Amaura how Pegasus and his two bodyguards gave away cards to every participant that had been in the tournament. Sadly, Yugi and Aurora had to miss the opportunity to write some "history" for the future, but saving the world and time was always the number one priority.

"Well, I guess you missed the chance to write some history, Amaura", I said.

"It's okay. Yami and I will get another time to participate in a tournament and win", Amaura replied. "The most important thing was to save the Duel Monsters and the future."

Clara nodded in agreement. "Yeah… And we did it together."

We smiled to each other before we walked over to the boys who also had their own private time to talk.

"Done, boys?" Amaura wondered.

Yami nodded as his soulmate linked her arm with his. "Yes."

Clara walked to Jaden who wrapped his arm around her waist. The girl blushed a bit while Jaden gave her a grin before kissing her forehead.

I couldn't help but smile at the two couples while I stood next to Yusei. But what surprised me was when I felt Yusei's arm wrap around my waist. I blushed pretty hard before I looked away shyly. I had no idea what kind of face Yusei made, but I could hear the chuckles from the others, telling me the raven-haired man was also looking bashful.

"Whatever happens, I know the bond we formed here today is one that's going to stand and test of time", Yami said.

Jaden reached out his free hand. "All of time."

Yusei placed his hand above Jaden's. "Absolutely."

Yami added his hand as well before Amaura placed hers on his. Clara was the next one to place her hand on the pile before I slowly added my hand as well.

"Let today's Duel be a lesson and motivation to keep the future safe", I said.

"You said it, Estelle", Amaura nodded.

Clara nodded as well. "Let's all of us work hard to protect the Duel Monsters and our future."

XXXXXXXXXX – Aurora's POV

Amaura and Yami finally let me and Yugi return to our bodies after the two couples went back to their time with Yusei's motorcycle and Estelle's Masked Dragon, and with help of the fire dragon from before.

Yugi and I smiled to each other, happy to have made a bond with these people from the future. But something was still nagging me. Amaura had blocked some parts of thoughts for me when she had been in control of my body, and it seemed to have something to do with Clara.

"Well, we lost a tournament, but we won new friends and saved the world", Yugi said a bit cheerfully. "And Grandpa."

I nodded before I realized I had forgotten something very important. Before I could say something, the door to the rooftop slammed open and revealed my twin brother.

"There you are!" Joakim panted. He looked like he had been running for hours.

"Joakim!" I exclaimed before I face palmed. "I knew I forgot something…"

Joakim walked up to us with a serious expression. "I've been looking for you in hours! You missed the tournament! Even Solomon is going crazy, not knowing where you were, Yugi!"

Yugi laughed a bit nervously and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry…"

"But seriously, what happened?" Joakim demanded. "I can tell something happened because Mako felt something unusual from both Amaura and Yami. So spill!"

Yugi and I shared a glance before we turned back to Joakim who had his arms crossed and tapped his foot. "It's…a long and futuristic story", I replied.

Joakim raised an eyebrow. "Futuristic?"

XXXXXXXXXX – Clara's POV

Yusei, Estelle, Jaden and I made it back to our era and to Venice where we met. It was late afternoon there too with the sun going down by the horizon. There were barely any people in the Piazza San Marco square, so it was safe for Yusei and Estelle to show up with the motorcycle and Masked Dragon.

Estelle and I climbed off Masked Dragon as Jaden jumped off Yusei's motorcycle. Masked Dragon growled lightly before he returned to Estelle's card. Jaden wanted to speak with Yusei in private for a minute, so Estelle and I moved aside so we wouldn't hear what the boys talked about.

"I guess this is goodbye", Estelle said in a slight low tone.

"Yeah…", I nodded. "But I'm happy I met you today, Estelle. I'll always remember you."

Estelle chuckled lightly. "Just forget the part when I nearly massacred Linda and Hanna." She adjusted her glasses before looking away in shame. "I…nearly felt like an animal back then who was thirsty for blood."

"But they deserved it", I told her. "You could have killed them, but you didn't. That shows there's mercy within you and you can somehow forgive the ones who hurt you."

Estelle looked at me with surprised eyes. "You just sounded very wise."

I giggled with a blush on my cheeks. "I inherited the wisdom from my mother. My father always tells me that I'm like a copy of Mom."

"Hey, Clara!" Jaden called.

We looked up and saw the two-toned boy wave his hand. Yusei sat on the motorcycle with a helmet on as his eyes were set on Estelle.

The two of us walked back to the boys. Jaden grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers as Estelle sat down behind Yusei on the motorcycle.

"Don't forget what I told you, bro", Jaden grinned.

Yusei just nodded before a small blush appeared on his cheeks when Estelle wrapped her arms around his waist. Estelle looked a bit shy too, but she hid it very well.

XXXXXXXXXX – Estelle's POV

The Crimson Dragon sent me and Yusei back to his era and returned to the beautiful city. There were no signs of the destruction from before. The sky was blue with white fluffy clouds and the vegetation was as green as ever.

Once Yusei braked his Duel Runner, he pulled off his helmet and looked at the city. My arms were still wrapped around his waist as he spoke out loud.

"At long last, I finally feel like I can let go of the past and focus on the future. Paradox may have painted a black picture for the world, but I know the future isn't set-and-stone. It's what we make it. And together, we're going to make it bright, because the true magic of Duel Monsters isn't just in the cards. It's in all the friendship we forged thanks to the game."

"And keep this as a motivation to protect the future", I repeated the words I said before as I rested my left cheek on Yusei's back. "A motivation to protect the next generations and live in a world of harmony."

"Yeah…", I felt Yusei nod before he grew quiet for a couple of seconds. "Estelle."

I removed my cheek from Yusei's back, looking at the back of his head. "Yes?"

I heard Yusei swallow a bit nervously. "I-"

"Yusei! Estelle!"

I looked over Yusei's shoulder to see our friends run towards us. They were all smiling, or smirking lightly in Jack's case, as they approached us. I heard Yusei growl lightly before he shook his head and returned back to normal.

I let go of his waist and climbed off the Duel Runner before I got embraced by the twins around my waist.

"You did it! You saved the time!" Leo cheered happily.

"We all got worried when we felt our Marks throb in pain", Luna said.

I raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Were you able to sense my pain from the past?"

"Ehh… Yeah, if it was you who got hurt", Crow said a bit uncertainly.

I nodded, "Well, I got to taste Star Eater's Starlight Breaker myself, only its dark version."

"Wait, what?!" Jack exclaimed in shock. "Star Eater attacked you?!"

"You're okay now, right?" Akiza asked in concern.

"Yes", I nodded before I turned to Yusei. "Both of us."

Yusei nodded at my statement.

"So what happened?" Crow wondered.

"It's a long story. How about we tell you guys back at the garage?" Yusei suggested.

"Okay!" the twins chirped.

"Fine!" Crow replied a bit impatiently.

"Sure", Akiza nodded.

Jack just nodded with his arms crossed.

I sat back on Yusei's Duel Runner and wrapped my arms around his waist as the others ran back to get their Duel Runners and Duel Boards. Yusei had made a new Duel Board for Luna, since the one she got from Lester broke down after the youngest Pure Noble had attacked her with his Meklord Emperor.

Once we gathered, we drove back together through New Domino City with a new light shining in our hearts.