Chapter 50
Family Feud
"Wow, look at this place! It's home here!" Red eyes cheered as we went in through a door.
A lot of things had happened in such a short span of time ever since we were recaptured by Roger, the City's head of security. Something seemed suspicious when he tried to take Selena alone from the rest of us, at first I was getting ticked off at the fact we could do nothing but get separated once more from an important member of the team. Luckily at the last minute, the City's founders, the executive council intervened and had us brought to them and luckily they were willing to give us a chance to prove our worth thanks to Reiji! Really glad to see Reira safe too. We were all roped into taking part in the City's tournament, the Friendship Cup, while I felt it was a bit forceful to be taking part in a tournament against our will, at least it would be much better than getting locked up again in that pit of a facility!
Yuya was selected to become Jack Atlas' opponent in the exhibition duel while the rest of us were led to a room each. Which was where we were now. It was really extravagant, with a plasma TV, deluxe bed, it was practically a suite hotel! "Boy, not even my entire savings for 3 years can afford me a place like this." I said impressed looking around, before jumping back first onto the soft bed, grateful to finally have a decent place to sleep!
"Indeed, I can get used to this place." Blue eyes stated.
Bahamut though, didn't seem to share our enthusiasm as he still eyed around cautiously. "Something wrong?"
"Hmm, it seems….Almost too convenient. From the way this city works, I highly doubt something like this would come without a price of some sort."
Come to think of it, he did make a point…Was there catch we all missed?
"Awww relax buddy!" RE chuckled as he put his claw around Bahamut, "You're way to uptight as usual. Let's just enjoy now and not have any worries! Besides, after what we went through the last 3 days, it can't possibly get any worse right?"
"Hmmm…Perhaps I am overreacting slightly." he admitted yet still not fully convinced. Soon our TV lit on and then the duel was about to begin. I saw Yuya ride out of the garage on a duel runner, and then alongside Jack Atlas himself!
"You think the kid will be okay? I mean, riding a runner and all even though he's 14. Not to mention going against a reigning champion…" RE said uneasily.
"I'm sure Yuya will do fine. But, we'll just have to see…" I replied as they prepared to ride.
Eventually we saw Yuya back Jack into a corner and when it seemed like he was going to deliver the finishing blow with rune eyes and dark rebellion, Jack managed to hang on!
"Darn it! So close too!" RE growled frustrated. The rest of us however, weren't so sure..
"Something's not right. For a champion, he doesn't seem so great, yet….I can sense plenty of power dwelling within his cards…." BE said uneasily. To which me and Bahamut nodded and looked on….I soon realised…."Oh no, Yuya's falling into a trap!"
"Come again!?" RE gasped as we looked on, "Self satisfaction? Far from entertainment!? The nerve! He sure talks big for someone who's about to lose."
Boy was RE wrong as Jack turned the entire match around with his almighty Scarlight Red dragon archfiend and took Yuya out on his 3rd turn just as he predicted….Soon Yuya had to be carried out by paramedics.
"Yuya!" I gasped as I ran to the door as I realised it was jammed! "Open! Anyone there! Let me out!" I yelled but to no avail.
"Tch! I hate it when things are too good to be true…." RE grumbled realising this was going to be our new prison now.
I then sat on the bed worried for my friend, not just for his physical injuries, but also for how Jack dishonoured his way of duelling.
"Yuya will recover. He is stronger than you think." BE comforted as she laid out by the side.
"I hope so…."
While she sat with me RE and Bahamut were conversing on the duel on the other side of the room, "That Atlas guy really knows how to back his claims…Yuya couldn't do anything…."
"Perhaps he could have," Bahamut said as he came to realisation, "Yuya had stargazer and time gazer, if he had kept Odd eyes on the field he may have been able to decide the match in a single attack alone by blocking the trap and action spell used by Jack, after weakening that wyvern with dark rebellion. But, he decided to try and entertain the crowd by performing a fusion summon, and then…." that was when Bahamut stopped talking, refusing to rethink about Yuya's utter defeat.
"There's no doubt going to be a lot of tough competition here….Not just strong synchro duellists, but maybe even against our friends too….We better be at the top of our game for this…" They both then nodded.
A little while later, the TV lit up and that cowboy reporter, Melissa I believe…Appeared and soon began announcing the contestants, I had to admit I was surprised to see Yuzu and Yugo here, so that was plus for us, now we could keep a close eye on them. As they passed by like wood work, one by one…
"Now introducing another representative of the commons! Also known in the city as the 'Drag Racer', Yamata!"
"Huh!? He looks like me!" I gasped as I suddenly jumped forward in surprise, seeing his red and blue hair as well as a red and black jumpsuit.
"Whoah…That red and blue hair is way messed up…." RE commented.
"So he's the one following Yugo and Yuzu around. Since they're both here in the tournament, guess that means he's a good guy, so that's good to know." I stated.
"Indeed," BE replied, "We met Nushi and now this…Yamata. From fusion and synchro respectively…."
"So that means there's a me from xyz too."
"That's highly plausible."
"Say Bahamut? You know anything about…" I then looked around and saw he was no longer with us, surprisingly because he never usually leaves without letting us know, "Hey where's Bahamut?" I asked curiously.
RE and BE were surprised themselves, wondering when he may have slipped away when we were together a moment ago, "I'm sure he's just checking out the place or maybe who we're up against, no worries."
"Besides, for the time begin we should sit back and watch the matches until our match comes, a good opportunity to prepare. As well as taking a well earned break after those revolting days in the Facility."
"Y..yeah, I guess you're right." But I still wondered where he was, until I saw his card glowing…."Is he…reacting to the dragon guardian here?"
(While we conversed, we were ignoring the rest of the broadcast)
(Yamata POV)
"Now this is what I call living the 'Suite' Life!" Yamata said as he laid out on his bed, crossing his arms behind it. "I could get used to living like this…" Before he dozed off he decided to look on screen and see the competition, which soon revealed…
"Another mystery contestant from outside of the City, who took part in an exhibition duel a while back with Misty Lola, Ryuga Shirogane!"
"Eh!? That guy's got my face!" He then remembered, "Hey now that I think about it, Yuzu did mention having a friend from standard who looked like me. Guess that means Jin isn't the only one, now that's just gnarly eh Fafnir?" his snarky remarks were unanswered.
"Fafnir?" he looked around and saw his partner was no where to be seen, "Sigh, no show as always….Oh well, guess will just have to see how things go on my own…Zzzzzzz" As he began snoring, he don't notice his dragon was glowing.
(Dragon POV)
Bahamut was in an area of the synchro spirit dimension, a large open field with green grass and flowers, as well as a small forest in the background (Reference to the ads spirit world). He stood in the middle of the field gazing at the sky, waiting for a certain someone he hadn't met in along time. After hearing the loud beating of massive wings, he looked up and saw a large blue wyvern descending from the sky and landing in front of him.
"It's been a very long time Fafnir." Bahamut spoke politely, however the response he received from her was far from what he expected.
"You have a lot of nerve showing yourself in my domain brother." she said angrily, "It's bad enough you bound each of us to the spiritual plane of our dimensions and that I am forced to bare the eternal burden of having to watch over a fallen and cold world for countless years, but now you come here bringing outsiders and more problems for me to deal with? Is there no end to the pain and suffering that you'll inflict on me?"
Bahamut was not surprised however, somehow he was expecting her to act this way consider the precautions he had taken in the past, "I assure you Fafnir, they have nothing to do with what you believe of the sort. They merely come with a noble cause, and they will bring you no harm."
"I shall be the judge of that." she replied unconvinced, "I assume you're here because it has to do with the invasion of Fusion?"
"!….How did…you know?"
"You must take me for a fool if you think I did not notice Tiamat's recent actions. In fact, not so long ago I visited the xyz dimension not too long ago and you would never believe the desolation of the peaceful and pure cities, how the invading fusion duelists ravaged Heartland mercilessly and having innocents taken and families divided. I've already suffered plenty having to watch over a corrupt and fallen synchro dimension, but hearing of Fusion invading the other dimensions is beyond what I can already bear…." she said without initialing eye contact with Bahamut while tearing herself, 'And it's your fault."
Somehow he expected her to say that so he said nothing at first, "I only did what I felt was right in order to keep the dimensions in balance with each other. Which was why I granted each of you a portion of my massive strength since the dark days, it was more than enough for you to use to keep imbalances between the boundaries in check."
"Don't go acting noble, you were simply a coward! Because of that, we were all forbidden from acting directly upon the worlds we watched over. If we had our way, we could have easily rectified the casualties that would have happened over the course of time."
"That's the point Fafnir, while I gave you all more power to ensure the safety of the worlds, it also keeps you all from acting directly otherwise there will be a chance of even more distortions of reality from the power and acts you'll use."
"So I assume that finding a human vessel will make things easier or better? All of this started from a single human in the beginning! I would never in my life align myself with the likes of them willingly!" She roared, already distrustful of humans since the start of it all, and even more so after witnessing the divide between tops and commons for as long as she could remember.
"You should not be quick to judge Fafnir, humans may be flawed but there is grace in their failures, as well as their capacity for change. As long as you believe in them and never give up hope, putting trust and having faith in them, both sides will accomplish much more than one alone can."
"I assume you've found yourself a reliable partner then?" she suspected
"Indeed," Bahmut replied, "Ryuga has surpassed my expectations time and time again. His abilities and heart have exceeded far beyond any human I've come across in the standard dimension. In fact, when we duelled together with a full heart and mind, I learnt a new sort of potential, when duel monster and duelist work as one, as well as the belief of a bright future for all the dimensions should this be conveyed properly. One with smiles and bonds..."
"Hmph! I'm not surprised Bahamut, considering how weak standard is like you, it's no wonder how you all are forced to band together, as well as putting your faith in such a childish ideal just to avoid conflict like the coward you are."
Bahmut grew furious at his sister's words of disregarding the value of friendship and his beliefs but was able to restrain himself from losing control, "What about you? Haven't you bonded with a 'lowly' human yourself?"
She then grit her teeth furiously at his remark, "It's because of you I have no other option but to resort to such a disgraceful act, to align myself with a human germ. Unlike you, I have no intention of wasting my time, building any sort of relationship with Yamata. He's merely useful to me for the time being, the chosen vessel for my will and nothing more. Once I have accomplished what I need, I will have no more use for him."
He was taken aback by this, he never expected that Fafnir's very pride had blinded her to the potential she would gain from her chosen partner should they develop an emotional connection, but for a split second, he took notice of a faint look of insecurity in her eyes, "I am…. deeply shocked by your lack of faith in humanity Fafnir, when they have so much more to offer than meets the eye should you put in a little faith and hope in them."
"Faith is it? The same faith you put in Tiamat? You already knew she couldn't be trusted from the start, yet you were naive enough to even put the slightest bit of hope in her, as well as grant HER a sample of your fusion strength! No doubt about it she took advantage of your weakness and used it in order to carry out whatever disgusting scheme she has up her mind. If that's faith, I clearly have no use for such a thing."
Bahamut realised something from her words but refused to continue putting up with her dwelling on hatred and pride, so he decided to get to the point on why he summoned her in the first place, "….The reason why I called for you, is because a group of standard which I am part of, the lancers, have come to synchro in order to rally potential allies in the fight against Academia."
"So you decided to come to me for my help? I expected as much."
"….Fafnir, will you be willing to lend us your power? As guardian of synchro, you would no doubt wish to protect it yourself by heart. If we join forces, we can…"
"Forget it Bahamut. I already have more than enough problems on my wings now in synchro dimension. I intend to save it with my own strength before moving on to Fusion, and I have no interest in making allies or bonds that would get in the way of my mission. Particularly not you…" she turned away, only making him turn his head down in disbelief.
"Since I pity you so much, I'll make you a deal."
Hearing this Bahamut perked his head up and focused fully on his sister who turned to him in a serious manner, "Considering how most of your power has been relinquished already, if you can somehow prove yourself to me you possess that same strength and determination you once had in the past, as well as prove to me the so called value of 'bonds' with your human partner, I might consider lending you and your 'lancers' my aid in your impossible quest. If you fail, you will unseal me and vow not to interfere with the actions I will take in stopping Tiamat, no matter the cost, those are my conditions." she stated as she turned and flew away without a backward glance.
"So be it then, if that is how it must be…." Bahamut said to himself sadly as he himself took to the sky and returned to Ryuga.
(Ryuga POV)
Bahamut soon returned much to our surprise, he also missed some of the matches too sadly. "Hey Bahamut, where have you been?" I asked curiously.
"Yeah, we just watched Crow's match against Gongenzaka and boy was it epic!"
"Shinji and Tsukikagge's duel was quite…unrefined. Plenty of insults and hurtful comments thrown at each other out of conflicting beliefs despite both following them with full heart."
"I see…." he replied.
I then noticed he was feeling a little solemn so I kinda figured it out, "Say…This doesn't have to do with Fafnior right?"
"You know?" he asked surprised.
"Your card was glowing in a similar way Odd eyes was with dark rebellion some time ago so it wasn't too difficult to piece together. So what happened? Is she going to help us?"
Bahamut shook his head regretfully, "Let's just say she isn't willing to ally herself unless we prove her worth to her. Also,…she holds a slight grudge against me."
"A grudge?" I asked surprised.
"For what? Stopping her from getting a mate?" RE was then reprimanded by BE for his thoughtless comment with another bite on his tail!
CHOMP!
"AARGH!"
"This is no time for your jokes…." she growled.
"Sorry, I just wanted to lighten the mood seeing hims act all down and stuff…"
Ignring them he turned to me, "Bahamut…whatever it is that's between you both, I'll do whatever I can to help resolve it, after all, we're gonna need your sister's help along with her partner Yamata."
"An indeed you can." he answered.
"H..How?"
"I just need you to duel alongside me for our match, once we prove to Fafnir the value of bonds as well as our strength and dream of a dimensional union through bonding and smiles, then I am certain she will no doubt come around.
"You bet Bahamut! No matter what it takes!" I replied eagerly.
(Yamata POV)
As Fafnir returned she saw Yamata watching the TV while lying on the bed, "Don't you realise too much television rots your brain."
"Gah!?" he gasped as he fell to the side, "Fafnir! Where were you!? Bailing out on me again as usual?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Sigh…You know there's only so much of you I can take at a time. I merely need…my own time." she replied uncaringly, "So, did I miss anything?"
"Uhh..Yeah, you should have seen some of those matches! Yuzu also didn't do too bad herself for her first turbo duel, against Chojiro Tokumatsu! That's no easy feat for a rookie that's for sure! Plus, I'd say we've got our work cut out for us with so many tough opponents to go against! It's gonna be so much fun too!" he cheered excitedly waiting for his turn to come next.
"Fun…" she thought, "You take things far too easy Yamata. I just hope you'll come to your senses that the road to a dream is not all fun and games. Especially the one you have in mind." she sighed as she laid down to sleep.
"Sigh…Just wish you would learn to lighten up for once….And have a little fun and live." he said as he dozed off for the evening.
Pondering over what her brother said to her, "If only it were that simple….Let's hope you can back up that ideal of yours when you face me…"
Sorry, no duel yet but next chapter will be Ryuga's first duel against a certain 5ds character who made a cameo in Arc V. Took me a VERY long time to put it together after long hours of research of the type to use and for which cards Ryuga will utilise, but I hope you'll like it.
As for what happened here, Will Bahamut be able to win Fafnir's trust and prove the value of friendship to her? Find out next time and stay tuned!
In response to DarkBlade, to be honest I haven't really thought about the golden dragon in the middle, I only realised the colours I used for the dragon guardians matched those of the japanese beasts, but I will see how things go later on.
Fafnir
Yamata's dragon partner and guardian of the synchro dimension. Unlike Ryuga and Bahamut, Fafnir has a sheer distrust for humans seeing how in synchro, many decided to use one another in order to cheat or steal from them, as well as the bearing the burden of watching over a divided and corrupt world for many years reinforced her belief that humans are not worth saving nor putting trust in. She knew things as they were would not be resolved on their own, yet forbidden from acting directly upon her world due to the power granted from Bahamut, this in turn gave her a huge dislike for her brother as well, who only wished to avoid direct impact or destruction between the dimensional planes (Which she considered cowardly having to rely on indirect means).
These circumstances forced her to seek out a human best suited for her task, Yamata, who shared a similar wish to change the future of the city. Despite her strict and angry side towards Bahamut and humanity, which stemmed from her previous experiences, it's also partially a facade due to her pride. While she secretly cares for Yamata as well as needing him, her pride prevents her from admitting to herself or Bahamut that there is worth in humanity, which prevents her from wanting to develop any relationship with her partner in the fear of losing him or feeling more pain should anything happen to him. Also after knowing the destruction of the xyz dimension meant she would need to take more extreme action with him, though not informing him, feeling it would make her task more difficult should she not have Yamata's full cooperation.
(Also fearing that he would want to cut off ties with her should her true motives are realised, which is also another reason why she spends plenty of time away from him, afraid of getting close to her vessel fearing it may compromise her mission or of experiencing pain should he get hurt.)
Little does she know was that Bahamut knew about this after speaking with her (a trait he learnt from Ryuga, being able to determine a hidden message within conversation) and now hopes to open her heart and getting her to be truthful to herself.
