Smoke curled into the air. Flames curled and licked up the sides of the beautiful European buildings. The night sky, normally peaceful, was dyed a deep, blood red from the flames.
A shadow alighted on the nearby obelisk. The winged gryphon statue beside him didn't shield him from his attackers. He had to jump off as quickly as he landed to avoid being blown to bits by a firebolt!
The firebolt, and several more, were coming from a three headed dragon! The shadow kept running along the Venetian rooftops. The fireballs hit just behind him, until one burst into the shadow's pathway! The side of the tall bell tower before the shadow exploded, crumbling away. His pathway was gone.
The three-headed dragon circled about. From the smoke and debris, the shadow jumped down to the cobblestones below. He landed and tucked into a shoulder roll. Letting his knees absorb the full impact would hurt later, and he needed his strength.
The shadow turned out to be a young boy. Almost a man, the edge of eighteen. He wore a red and white coat, and a dark t-shirt underneath. The boy turned around, facing the dragon still after him. The boy's hair, a dark brown, was messy from the running, but his light brown eyes were alight with the lust for adventure. "Whew! Close call!"
The boy's smile fell. His mouth dropped open. A new dragon had taken up the pursuit. A dragon with white wings, and rainbow scales…
The dragon's rainbow-breath attack headed straight for the boy in red. But the boy was ready. He drew a card from his custom red duel disk. "I summon Neos!"
A gray, humanoid monster knelt before the boy. Monster and master mirrored each other, putting their arms up to protect themselves.
The rainbow beam hit the boy's duel monster head on. The beam split, tearing through the cobblestone square in two directions, destroying the extensively elaborate church walls, rooftops, and columns.
At least the boy and his monster were all right.
"Jaden Yuki…" A man dressed in white, black, and purple stood atop one of the few buildings not burning. His pants were dark gray, with dramatic white coattails. His black top was sleeveless, but hugged his torso as if he were vacuum-sealed into the shirt. Also black were his long, fingerless gloves. Gold, sharp epaulets adorned his shoulders, and gold spikes stuck out from either side of his chest. A black and white mask, and cape, added mystery to the look. The man's gold and purple hair fell in elaborate layers around his shoulders. "The legendary duelists capable of communicating with Duel Spirits."
"I'm honored you know my name," the boy, Jaden smirked.
The spirit of a man with dark hair pulled into a ponytail, and glasses appeared beside Jaden. He was dressed as a teacher, albeit slightly messy. His tie was askew, and his shirt was untucked. "So this incident is his doing."
Jaden nodded. "The missing monsters are all here, so there's no doubt about it, Banner." He grinned. Sure, he was being attacked by his friends' monsters, but he had to admit this villain was cooler than all those he'd faced in the past. "Plus, he made them real too!"
Yubel, a half angel, half-demon, half man, half woman, duel monster appeared beside Jaden and Banner. "Don't let your guard down. He has more extraordinary power hiding in his cards."
"My goal here, in this era, is already complete," the masked man said calmly.
Jaden frowned up at him. "This era?"
"Now to destroy you." The masked man whipped a card out of his deck.
Bright lightning crackled out of the card. It careened out of the sky, splitting the ozone in two. The beam of lightning collided between the two dragons the masked man already had out on his field. Blinding light flooded the square, kicking up powerful winds.
"This is it!" Jaden's hair and clothes fluttered in the wind. "The huge source of energy!"
A familiar dragon spread its wings on the battlefield. Beautiful, with white, silver, blue, and purple features. Stardust Dragon!
/
Emergency alert! Emergency alert!
An alarm blared. The entire city was in turmoil. Everyone was in danger. Everywhere, people running and shouting. Confused.
Only Professor Fudo knew what to do. Knew what would happen to him. Knew that he had to protect what he could. His son.
The barely two-year old infant screamed and cried. But his father could not comfort him. Professor Fudo sent his son away in a protective capsule. His son was going to live. Professor Fudo just wished he could tell his only child he loved him.
Then the light blasted through the city. New Domino City was split in two. Roman's plan had worked. Mayoko had given birth to a baby girl. Roman had allowed his fear to control him.
Buildings crumbled, raining debris everywhere. Smashing into people. Even more people fell to their deaths in the chasm dividing the city.
Zero Reverse ripped through the city. Creating the Satellite in a devastating event no one would soon forget.
/
Yusei startled awake. Sweat dripped down his forehead. His breathing came in ragged gasps. The nightmare about Zero Reverse. Again.
He waited until his breathing evened out. The sun peeked into his and Lise's room. The sky was a moody gray, complete with fog. Not a good sign. At least Lise was still sleeping soundly beside him.
Yusei smiled to himself. Lise had fallen asleep with her mouth open again, and her hair was all over the place. But even with drool dried on her chin, and her hair in a rat's nest, Yusei insisted she was cute. Lise didn't believe him, but he didn't care.
He ran his fingers through her hair. Soft from her nightly shower. Gold in the foggy morning light.
"Mmm…" Lise murmured. She stirred a little, not opening her eyes.
Yusei pulled his hand back. Lise reached over him, pulling herself over so that her head rested right over Yusei's heart.
"I didn't mean to wake you," Yusei whispered, settling onto his back. His hands returned to Lise's hair.
"You didn't really…" Lise yawned, rubbing at her eye. "Another nightmare?"
"Yeah, Zero Reverse."
"That sucks."
Yusei made an agreeing sound in the back of his throat. He was a bit more focused on gently coaxing the tangles out of Lise's hair. "I know… Did I ever tell you I liked your haircut?"
"No. You said you thought my long hair was pretty when we were going to the reeducation center."
"I like it short too."
"Yeah?" Lise pushed herself up to face him. Her blue eyes were still half open with sleepiness.
"I've always liked your hair. Long or short."
Lise smiled and rested her head back on Yusei's chest. "I like yours too."
Yusei chuckled a little. His lips in Lise's hair now. Warm breath ghosting over her head. "Even thought it never lies flat?"
"It's unique. And soft. It doesn't look soft, but it is."
"Mmm… I love you…"
"I love you too," Lise said immediately. She loved these kinds of mornings. Neither of them had to be anywhere, and Yusei was warm. Solid. Nothing beat waking up next to him. To her love. "It's kinda cheesy, but I've been thinking about something."
"Hm?"
"Our dads knew each other." She pushed herself back up to her hands. Yusei opened his eyes to look at her. "If…If Zero Reverse never happened…" Lise was turning pink. "I think l still would've met you…"
Yusei's eyes widened. Their dads had known each other! For a long time!
Lise buried her face in Yusei's t-shirt. "Sorry! I just thought- it just seemed…um… I wasn't trying to hurt you or anything! I-"
"No! No!" Yusei took Lise's hands. Their eyes met. "I like the idea. That in some other version of us, I still get to meet you. To love you." His face felt warm.
"I thought so too." The tension in Lise's shoulders eased. The pink in her cheeks matched Yusei's. She'd started tracing Yusei's mark with her thumb.
He leaned into her touch. Yusei had always loved Lise's gentle fingers on his cheek.
"I love you," Lise murmured.
"I love you too."
/
Yusei felt better after waking up with Lise, but he still needed time to himself. To think about his father… Roman…Zero Reverse…
He'd eaten light and took off. He did tell the others he'd be headed to the new park overlooking the city. It'd been completed recently, and beat looking out underneath an overhang. Sometimes looking out over the city made him feel better, but a part of him was still as muddled and foggy as the sky.
"Yusei?" Crow and Jack approached him.
Lise stood off to the side, by their duel runners.
"Had that same dream, eh?" Crow's voice was gentle.
"Did Lise tell you?" The corner of Yusei's mouth turned up.
"Yeah," Jack shook his head. "But you've been coming here more and more after having nightmares."
Yusei nodded, his grip tightening on the railing. "My father's research once destroyed this city."
"But Zero Reverse wasn't your fault," Jack pointed out. "Nor Lise's. We were all babies then. What could we have done about it?"
"He's right, and we've helped saved the city, don't forget," Crow said.
"Yeah, I know…"
"Here!" Crow tossed Yusei's helmet to him.
Yusei caught it. Slightly at a loss. He wasn't entirely sure where his friends were going with this.
"At times like this, we duel," Jack said.
Crow winked at his friend. "Or just ride!"
Yusei's lost expression shifted into a smile. He was lucky to have good friends. "Sure."
The four of them raced through New Domino City's highways. Taking turns driving in each other's slipstreams, they cycled through each other like a well oiled machine.
Yusei took the lead, lost in thought. The peace we achieved in New Domino City…No matter what, I… No, WE will protect this city! He accelerated, pushing his friends to keep pace.
A fifth duel runner joined them. A mysterious masked man was the driver. His white duel runner was fancy, so many additional parts. Not just decoration or decals, but something different. Something none of them could quite place. The driver turned dramatically, kicking up sparks.
"That's quite the duel runner," Crow raised an eyebrow at the mystery man.
All four of them caught the mystery man flashing his lights. He wanted a duel.
Even Jack was impressed. "He's got guts, challenging us to a duel!"
"Mind if I take this one?"
"Go for it!" Lise called out.
"Yeah!" Crow was just as jubilant. "We're counting on ya, Yusei!"
"Duel mode; on."
"All right, turbo duel, acceleration!"
/
Just when Yusei thought his last attack would get through, the mystery duelist blocked him again. His defense mode monsters went up in smoke. At least Yusei still had Junk Synchron and Junk Warrior."
"His attacks are doing real damage?" Crow clenched his teeth. This wasn't good!
"Yeah, but Yusei's field is flawless! Now finish him!" Jack wasn't one to pull punches regardless of the situation.
Lise felt something wrong from the mystery duelist. Something that had awoken when Yusei pulled Stardust out of his extra deck. But what? "I've got a bad feeling about this…"
"Let's do this, Stardust Dragon," Yusei was ready to win this duel. "Take flight; Stardust Dragon!"
Yusei's trusty signature dragon took to the field. Its sparkling stardust filled the gray morning sky. Like a glimmer of hope.
The masked man whipped out a card. A completely blank card. Odd.
"What? A white card?"
An array of cards fluttered out of the blank card like a long rope. The cards hit Stardust, bursting forth into an encircling, violet orb. Stardust was forced to fold in his wings as the orb grew smaller and smaller. The glow grew brighter as the orb shrank, falling back into the mystery man's blank card. The card that was blank no more with Stardust Dragon captive!
"No…" Lise's blood went cold. The markings on her hands started flashing on and off. A warning sign, or was the Crimson Dragon panicking?
"Impossible!" Jack gasped. "Stardust Dragon…"
Crow was just as shocked. "Was just sucked…"
"Right into his card?!" Yusei finished.
The masked man pulled up alongside Yusei. He brandished his stolen Stardust Dragon. "Yusei Fudo, I'll be taking your Stardust! You and your era are doomed!"
"What did you say?"
"Ta ta!" The masked man accelerated far ahead of Yusei.
"Hey!"
A white glow surrounded the man and his duel runner. He zoomed forward and…vanished. In a flash of light, he was just gone.
Yusei pulled up to a stop. Jack, Crow, and Lise did the same behind him. Stardust Dragon's rightful card was empty. As if the mighty dragon had left more than one void behind.
Lise had to control the flickering sensation in her markings and eyes. The Crimson Dragon was distressed, but she wasn't trying to force the Eye of the Dragon. It felt like… Like she was searching…honing in on what she had lost…
/
The boys had called the twins and Akiza. The others might as well know what was going on. At least as much as everyone else knew. Bruno was flabbergasted to say the least. He'd started pacing the length of the garage.
"Anybody else wanna know what the hell is happening here?!" Jack finally burst out.
Crow clenched his fists, nodding. "That vanishing act was no joke!"
"He knew my name…" Yusei said softly. That was the other part that bugged him. If this masked man knew Yusei's name, then he definitely knew who all of them were.
"So he was after Stardust from the start," Jack said.
"Okay, walk me through this again," Bruno paused his pacing. "What did this guy look like?"
The garage doors opened before anyone could elaborate. Akiza and the twins had arrived.
"Is it true?" Leo demanded. His big eyes were even wider with worry.
"Yes," Yusei nodded solemnly.
"Then what we saw isn't fake," Akiza motioned to Luna. "Show them."
"We were researching the history of Duel Monsters for a school project together when we found this," Luna handed Yusei her small holo-projector.
He activated it. Luna had kindly bookmarked the articles she, Leo, and Luna had come across, and had kept them open.
Crow put his hand on his hip. "Quite an old article you got there."
"I know that man," Jack pointed over Yusei's shoulder. His finger indicated the man in a fancy red suit with silver hair obscuring one of his eyes. "He's the president of Industrial Illusions, Pegasus J. Crawford. The creator of Duel Monsters."
"And next to him is Yugi Mutou!" Bruno gasped.
Yusei nodded. "He's said to be the strongest duelist in Duel Monster history. Rumor has it he was possessed by the spirit of a Nameless Pharaoh."
"Can't imagine what that's like," Lise tried to sound like she was joking, but it was a strain. Something was happening. It felt like every cell of her body were reaching far beyond their capacity. The Crimson Dragon was up to something, but what?
"Very cool," Crow admitted.
"I wish I had the chance to duel him, but of course, how could you? Unless I had a time machine or something," Jack shrugged.
"Is this what you wanted to show us?"
"No, look at the next article," Akiza instructed.
Yusei clicked over to Luna's next bookmarked article. Stardust's unmistakable personage was hovering above what looked like a battle-torn Venice!
"Stardust Dragon!"
"But it didn't even exist yet!" Jack's shock mirrored everyone else's.
Leo threw his hands up. "Exactly our point!"
Lise had to sit down. The blinking and flashing of the spirals on her palms was getting faster. It had spread to her eyes. Faster than she could blink, she felt like she was teleporting through snippets of..the world? History? It was too fast to make sense of any of it.
"Okay, let's see…" Crow leaned in close to read over Yusei's shoulder. "Dragons that have suddenly been appearing all over Europe have been assaulting Duelists one after another… The hell?"
"Was Stardust Dragon brought to the past?" Yusei whispered to himself. He clenched his teeth. That masked man was using his friend to hurt people!
"Looks like it," Akiza said, her brown eyes heavy with the knowledge of what this thief had done. "I'd never heard about this piece of history until now."
"Check this out," Bruno had been squinting over Yusei's shoulder too. He reached out with his finger, zooming in on… the masked man!
"It's the guy from earlier!"
"Okay, so these two events are connected. What does it all mean?" Luna asked.
"Uh…before that… what's going on with Lise?" Leo pointed at his friend.
"Lise, what're you doing?" It might have sounded uncaring to anyone else, but after everything that'd happened, the Crimson Dragon never did anything without a reason.
Apart from the glowing hands and eyes, Lise could have been fine. Albeit, sitting there a tad strangely with her hands resting palm up on her knees. But the glow was different than any kind of power she'd used before. Blinking off and on, her eyes darting in different directions between blinking glows.
"Is it the Eye of the Dragon?" Akiza asked timidly. She'd already backed up, the twins hiding behind her skirts.
"No…" Yusei waved a hand in front of Lise's face. No response, at least not towards him. "The Eye of the Dragon is more for defense, but this… I've never seen this before."
The blinking continued for about another minute before Lise finally responded. Her voice joined by the Crimson Dragon. "I'm…finding…my…friend…"
The others exchanged looks. Was Lise…finding Stardust Dragon? Was that even possible?
"Located." The glow in Lise's eyes and hands steadied. "Preparing for journey."
"Uh…what?" Crow voiced what everyone else was thinking.
Lise was already being released from whatever the Crimson Dragon was doing. No one could ask what she was doing in her trance. The glow stopped, and she swayed a little in the chair. Lise's eyes were back to their usual light blue. Akiza had approached when she realized it was safe to give Lise a steadying hand.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, just a little dizzy."
"Uh guys?" Bruno pointed out the windows. "Might wanna check that out."
What looked like black snow was falling outdoors. And once the team had made their way outdoors, they found out it wasn't just Fountain Plaza. The entire city was crumbling. To ash.
"The city is…dissolving…" Leo cried.
Luna's fists settled close to her chest. "Why?"
"I'm just spit-balling here, but Stardust appearing in the past must have changed history!"
Crow glared at Jack. "But that's crazy!"
"The city…ashes…just like my nightmares…" Yusei's eyes were wide. Sweat coated his palms. This wasn't supposed to happen! But he remembered what the masked man had said before he left. "This was all his doing!"
"We have to do something," Lise whispered. She wiped away a fresh tear. People were already getting crushed and killed by the falling debris.
We will.
"We will?"
This journey will ask more of you than I have ever asked. You and your friends have changed the future before, and must do it again right now! The Crimson Dragon's voice was urgent, pleading. However, she was not going to force her Vessel. She valued Lise's choices, as Lise valued her.
Lise felt the Crimson Dragon reaching out her hand. Are you ready?
"Yes," Lise said, giving her answer in the midst of a deep breath. She took the Crimson Dragon's hand.
The Seal of the Dragon illuminated on Lise's back. The red glow in her eyes came back. The markings of Luna, Jack, Crow, Akiza, and Yusei all ignited. Lise touched Yusei's back as she and the Crimson Dragon melted into one. He could feel the transferred glow of power Lise had given him. His duel runner, parked outdoors alongside his friends' duel runners glowed the bright red of the Crimson Dragon. The same red as the enormous Crimson Dragon waiting for him at his bike.
Yusei, let's go…
Okay. Yusei ran for his bike. I trust you.
"Yusei?! Where are you going?! where's…? Lise?!" Akiza called out. She'd spotted her two friends. Somehow they had a plan.
"The Crimson Dragon has a plan! We'll leave the city to you!"
Yusei drove after the Crimson Dragon. She flew right beside him.
"Crimson Dragon, take me to Stardust! Lead the way!"
The Crimson Dragon roared in response. Her light enveloped Yusei, taking them both into the past in a flash of light…
/
"Whoa!" Jaden had to lean far back to get the full view of Stardust Dragon. "What the heck is this white dragon?"
"Jaden Yuki, this is the beast that will eliminate you!" The masked man said. "Cosmic stream!"
The dragon's stardust breath hit Neos head on again. But this time, Neos wasn't strong enough to protect Jaden. He and Neos were blasted backwards into the wall of the church. Jaden was a little bruised and banged up when the smoke cleared, but okay.
But they wouldn't survive another pass of that stardust breath!
Seconds before the dragon blasted Jaden and Neos to smithereens a bright red dragon came careening in between them!
"What?" The masked man stepped back. Crimson Dragon?
The Crimson Dragon's form dissolved as she arced into the sky. The head vanished right as it reached the church rooftops, depositing Lise there. She was standing, but shaky. The extent of the dragon's body vanished over the cobbled streets, expelling Yusei.
He parked his bike. Yusei had found himself right in the middle of that newspaper article! "Stardust Dragon!"
"You travelled through time to come after me?" The masked man sounded merely amused at such a feat. "How did you manage that?"
"What're you talking about?" Lise stepped forward, swaying dangerously. Time travel took a lot out of her. "I'm right…here…" She passed out at the edge of the rooftop.
"Lise!" Yusei had to help her, but he had to get Stardust Dragon back too. "You bastard!" he growled at the mysterious man.
"Looks as though there are a few people who need your help more than you need to chase me," the masked man sounded like he was smirking under there. "Jaden, I've spent enough time on you. This era, too, shall fall to ruin if my grand experiment succeeds."
"What did you say?" Jaden gasped. He was just getting back to his feet.
The masked man laughed and climbed aboard his custom duel disk.
"Wait!" Yusei shouted.
The masked man was already vanishing behind another flash of light. He'd already time hopped.
"Shit," Yusei swore. He got off his duel runner to check on the kid, and offer him a hand. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'll be all right." Jaden accepted Yusei's hand to pull him to his feet.
"Good. Can you tell me how to get on the roof?" Yusei asked. He pointed up at Lise, who still hadn't stirred.
"Oh sure," Jaden dusted himself off. "Follow me."
/
"Lise!" Finally close enough, Yusei dashed to the side of the rooftop. He knelt and pulled Lise up into his arms. She groaned a little, but didn't wake.
"Is she gonna be okay?"
"I think so," Yusei sighed. "This power is new. I'm not sure what side effects there'll be yet."
"Power?" Jaden's brown eyes widened. "Wait, so that big red dragon earlier?" He pointed at Lise. "That was her?!"
"Yeah," Yusei said in a curt, if-you-hurt-her-in-any-way-I-will-hurt-you, kind of way. He held Lise closer, just in case.
Jaden's face split into a grin. "Dude, that's wicked awesome!"
Yusei relaxed. It was rushed, and they still don't know each other, but this boy seemed like someone he could trust. "We should compare notes and decide what to do next."
"Right, based on what you told me, you and…"
"Lise."
"Lise came to the past through a time slip because you were chasing the white dragon the guy in the oddball mask stole from you. Is that about the gist?"
"That's correct," Yusei nodded. "I know it sounds hard to believe-"
"Oh, don't worry. Your girl here can change into a dragon, so time travel is an added bonus! This is so dangerous, but that kinda stuff gets me pumped!"
Yusei smiled wryly. "Well, my name is Yusei, and I already told you Lise's name."
"I'm Jaden Yuki. By the way, I've been curious for a while now, is that a future duel disk?" Jaden pointed at Yusei's duel runner parked below.
"Yes."
"Awesome! It's evolved that much?!"
Banner chuckled a little, appearing at Jaden's side. "I bet you want to ride it, huh, Jaden?"
"Hey, I told you not to show up without warning. You'll freak Yusei out."
Yubel rolled hermulti-colored eyes. "Seeing us won't be enough to freak him out."
"He also has strong spirit powers," Banner said.
"They mean this," Yusei set Lise down to remove his glove and roll his sleeve back. The red dragon mark of the head was prominent against his skin.
Jaden grinned again. He knew he could trust this guy! "It means you're a duelist chosen by the Duel Monsters too."
"I guess so," Yusei pulled his sleeve back down, replacing his glove. He and Jaden were on the same team, but they'd need Lise to time travel. She could get them to Stardust, but what if she needed to sleep a while to be ready to go?
Lise awoke with a deep gasping sound, prompting her to sit upright unnaturally fast. Both Yusei and Jaden jumped back. Her stomach made a loud lurching sound, and Lise licked her lips, staring at Jaden's backpack. "Food!"
Jaden recovered quickly, laughing and retrieving his bag. "Guess time travel works up an appetite!" He gave Lise two sandwiches.
She tore into the first one. In just a few bites it was gone. Lise started in on the second, slowing down. "So…who are you?"
"Jaden Yuki," Jaden held out his hand. "Nice to meet'cha."
"Same," Lise shook his hand. "Sorry I… I was hungry." Her cheeks flushed pink. She'd been incredibly rude.
"Don't worry about it. It isn't every day I get to meet a time traveling dragon."
"But speaking of time travel, you know why we're after that masked man," Yusei cut in. "Why were you fighting him, Jaden?"
"Lately, my friends have been telling me a bunch of their cards have gone missing. I figured I'd find out why, and found you know who."
Lise nodded knowingly. "Voldemort." She polished off the second sandwich, and brushed crumbs off her jeans.
"Look Jaden, we have to get Stardust back," Yusei said. He needed them to be serious. The fate of the world was at stake. "If we don't, that man… our city… No, not just our city: the whole world will be thrown out of whack and we'll all be doomed!"
"Dude, that's enough doom and gloom. I'm already in," Jaden smiled at his new friend. Yusei was a bit more on the serious side, but they could still be a great team. "I'll be damned if I back out now!"
Yusei bit his thumb for a brief second. He'd probably been too scary, but the situation was dire. At least he and Lise weren't alone.
"Thanks, we appreciate it," Lise clapped Jaden on the back.
Jaden spread his hands. "So, how do we look for the right time? He's already got a huge lead on us."
"Oh that?" Lise spread her hands out in front of her, cracked her knuckles, and tucked her hands behind her head. "I know where he went."
"Uh…" Jaden blinked, eyes darting over to Yusei. "Is it a dragon thing?"
Lise shrugged. "Pretty much."
Shaking erupted out of nowhere. The three of them struggled to keep their balance. The church was dissolving. Turning into the black dust Yusei and Lise had left New Domino City in.
Jaden gasped and looked down at his trusty Neos card. "Neos is gone!"
Half destroyed, but still standing, the remains of the church tower split in two. It dissolved slowly and painfully, along with the rest of Jaden's era. It landed in the cobblestone square, kicking up a cloud of smoke.
"We need to move now!"
"Get to your bike, and we'll take care of the rest!" Lise's eyes were already glowing Crimson red.
/
The sun was bright and the sky was blue. Perfect weather for the special tournament Pegasus was hosting that day. Cosplayers posed for photos. Duelists were nervous and excited to meet their new opponents. Even Yugi and his grandfather were there!
"Goodness, there's so many people here!" Solomon commented, his violet eyes bright.
Yugi nodded, his violet and gold hair tousling gently in the wind. "It's because Pegasus is coming as a special guest for today's dueling tournament!"
As Yugi finished speaking, a helicopter descended. It landed smoothly on the helicopter pad the city square had provided.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone!" Three judges had lined up on the stage set up for the duels about to commence.
"Introducing the president of Industrial Illusions!"
"President Pegasus J. Crawford has arrived!"
The helicopter doors opened. Pegasus flipped his hair, smirking confidently for his fans. "Hello, everyone! I hope you're as pleased as I am to have this tournament today in Domino City!"
The crowd roared its approval. Pegasus wasn't a villain threatening Yugi, or his family anymore, but he always enjoyed creating a spectacle. And he was quite the spectacle.
Despite the joyous mood, the masked man was about to destroy it and more. He stood atop one of the skyscrapers circling the city square. His moment, the reason he was here, was right then and there. "Time for the start of destiny…"
Shadows passed over Yugi and his grandfather. Shadows that covered the entire crowd. The three headed dragon flew overhead. It was joined by the rainbow dragon and Stardust Dragon.
"Oh wow!" Solomon smiled up at the beasts. "Solid vision these days is sure getting advanced!"
Yugi wasn't so sure. This didn't seem like something Pegasus would do. These days, anyway.
Stardust reared its head and blasted two skyscrapers with its cosmic flare. Rubble feel amongst the crowd members who scattered in their fear.
"This isn't solid vision!"
The panicking crowd swept Solomon up in their fear. He and Yugi were being separated!
"Yugi!"
"Grandpa!"
The three headed dragon spit fireballs at more skyscrapers. Broken glass and rubble fell, hitting more crowd members.
"Oh no! This is terrible!" Pegasus gasped. The people were in trouble, but he wasn't sure what to do.
He soon wouldn't have to worry. A low floor of the building behind Pegasus gave out. The building fell, heartlessly collapsing on Pegasus. His screams quickly died out.
Yugi came to slowly. He hadn't realized he'd been knocked out. Maybe it was an accident as the people were trying to get away. Tiny pieces of rubble fell off of Yugi as he rose to his knees.
Yugi's mouth fell open. The square was completely covered in debris. Broken buildings and glass were everywhere. Buildings were smashed, barely standing in their ruin.
Amongst the rubble, Yugi spotted it. His grandfather's bandana.
But it couldn't be. Grandpa was fine. He'd made it to safety…right?
Yugi was kidding himself. He had to know. Holding the bandana in his hands confirmed it. His Grandpa was gone. Really gone. And no amount of shadow dueling was ever going to bring him back.
"Grandpa…" Yugi sobbed, clutching the bandana to his chest. "No… GRANDPA!"
Laughter drew Yugi's attention. Who could be laughing at a time like this? Someone standing atop a building wearing a mask…
"My grand experiment has been accomplished! History is forever changed!"
Red and white light caught Yugi's eye. From the light, a giant, red dragon burst out! Yugi stepped back, but the dragon was too close to run from! The dragon's mouth closed in around him…
/
And then the red dragon was circling over the rooftops of the skyscrapers above the square! Yugi was thrown haphazardly from the dragon's long, lean body. He flipped end over end, hitting the railing preventing him from taking a nasty fall. Yusei and Jaden, aboard Yusei Go, popped out of the dragon's body next.
"Whoa!" Jaden cried as Yusei braked to a quick halt.
The orb absorbed the entire form of the Crimson Dragon, swirling back into Lise's body. She was deposited gently onto the roof before the orb vanished.
"Ow, ow, ow…" Yugi muttered, massaging his bruised head.
"You okay?" Yusei asked Lise, catching her before she hit the rooftop head first.
"Just tired…and…hungry…"
"Here," Jaden sighed, handing Lise the last of his sandwiches.
"Thank you!" Lise half gasped, half sobbed.
"Don't forget," Yusei tapped them both on the shoulder.
"Oh no!" Jaden ran over to Yugi. "Are you all right?"
Lise joined him. "I'm so sorry for being rough! I'm still new at time travel!"
"We're here to help," Yusei added, kneeling next to Lise.
"Where am I?" Yugi looked back over his shoulder. The destroyed square from earlier was back to normal. It was like nothing had even happened to it! But…the helicopter pad was empty. Pegasus wasn't even here yet? And… did the girl say time travel? "What happened? What happened to Grandpa and Pegasus?"
"They're safe, sir," Yusei explained. "We're in the same place, thirty minutes before that incident occurred."
"Thirty minutes?"
"Look," Jaden was looking through his cards. "All our cards are safe!"
"Well, yeah, Pegasus is still kicking," Lise reminded him.
"Please, who are you?" Yugi's violet eyes were trembling. This was just too much right now. Grandpa was bag so soon after he'd been gone forever? Did he dare believe it?
"I'm Yusei Fudo," he put a hand to his chest.
"I'm Lise Kururugi," she unwrapped her second sandwich.
"And I'm Jaden Yuki!" he pointed jubilantly to himself with his thumb.
"Yusei, Lise, and Jaden," Yugi repeated.
"That's right, sir."
Lise elbowed him. "Why are you being weird?" she whispered.
Yusei's cheeks flushed pink. "That's the king of games!"
"Uh…you can just call me Yugi," Yugi said. "Um, did you just say king of games?"
"Yeah, we're from the future," Lise said. She polished off her second sandwich. "Well, Jaden's from your future," she pointed at him with her left hand. "Which means Yusei and I are from the future-future." She crossed her arms to point at Yusei.
"What?"
"Basically, we're here to save everyone from the tragedy that happens in another thirty minutes," Jaden said.
"Does it have anything to do with that masked man I saw?"
"It does! He's trying to eliminate Pegasus!"
"Pegasus?"
"Without Pegasus, the history of Duel Monsters, no, the history of the world, will change! And believe me, it's not for the better," Yusei said solemnly.
"Whole cities are already disappearing…"
"No way…" Yugi whispered.
"Please!" Jaden begged. "Fight with us!"
"Let's protect the world together!"
"Okay," Yugi took a deep breath and got to his feet. The others followed his lead. "I understand. Jaden, Lise, Yusei, if you'll have me, I'll gladly work with you!"
Yusei smiled. "Thank you."
"All right," Lise grinned, shaking her fists with excitement. She was standing next to the real king of games!
"Hell yeah!" Jaden cheered, punching skyward. "We've got the king of games in our corner!"
/
A small fireball burst across the stage in the square below. It hadn't hit anyone, but the wind and smoke that kicked up certainly scared them. The crowds went running and screaming out of the square.
Yubel lowered her hand. Jaden, Lise, Yusei, and Yugi were the only ones left in the square.
"Nice work, Jaden," Yugi said. "If the tournament is stopped, then Pegasus won't be killed!"
"I cannot allow that!"
"Huh?"
The wall of the building behind them opened up into a nebulous void. The masked man came driving into their timeline, and the portal closed behind him. He whirled around to face the four of them.
"You're the guy from before!" Yugi shouted. This man had hurt his grandfather! And laughed about it!
"Oh, I see the king of games is amongst us."
"Who are you? Why are you doing this?"
"Why? Hmph. Very well." The man reached up, and pulled off his mask. He had red markings on the right side of his face. One mark that was long and arced up around his eye, also extended into a strange-looking red eyebrow. The man's eyes were a cold, unfeeling golden color. "My name is Paradox."
"Paradox?" Yusei repeated.
A contradiction? Lise frowned at him. Were this man's action as convoluted as his name suggested?
"I've traveled time and space in search of the best history. I have been investigating any and all possibilities in history and experimenting with them."
Yusei scowled deeply. "The best history?"
"What you're doing is just plain destruction!"
"Are you trying to say that slaughtering everyone for gain is the right thing to do?!"
"Destruction and slaughter?" Paradox scoffed. They didn't understand. "I see. Is that how it seems to you? That is incorrect. What was incorrect is being corrected, but you believed what was incorrect was correct. But take a moment to think, even without my actions, the world is riddled with contradictions. Environmental destruction, world disputes, human discrimination. Aren't all of these things even more so called 'destruction' and 'slaughter?' How would any of you resolve these contradictions?"
"Those things can't just go away over night! We're moving forward with the hope to resolve them eventually!" Yusei snapped back. Things were getting better, they just had to keep going in the right direction!
Paradox rolled his eyes. "That answer is nonsense."
"But we took a ruined city and revived it!"
"You brought Satellite and the City together. I'm not unaware of this, but I come from an even farther future. A distant future where the world is in ruins."
Lise and Yusei gasped. "Ruins?"
"Yes. If history is left as it is, the world will be destroyed. I have come here to change that hopeless future. By analyzing various data in time, I determined that Duel Monsters possess a mysterious power. It gave me the idea to correct history."
Yusei's hands clenched into fists. "Change the future? And you plan on destroying New Domino City along the way? No, not just the city! All the people that live there too! Pegasus, Yugi's grandfather! Are you saying it doesn't matter what happens to them?!"
"A sacrifice so minimal is nothing more than necessary for my grand experiment," Paradox sniffed.
"A necessary sacrifice?" Jaden seethed.
Yugi was just as furious. "Everyone should have the right to live their future!"
"I believe people have the power to change the future!"
"And we're going to change it right now!" Lise strode forward. "That's enough of your bullshit!"
"How quaint," Paradox smirked. He extended a hand. "If you're saying you can withstand a hopeless future, then prove it to me!"
A portal ripped open in the air right behind Lise! It started to draw her in like the inescapable gravity of a black hole.
"No!"
"Lise!"
Yugi, Jaden, and Yusei ran in to help. But they couldn't get close without being drawn into the portal's pull too!
"Let's see if the Crimson Dragon has enough power to time travel all the way from my hopeless future!" Paradox laughed.
Lise struggled against the portal's drag. It had taken everything she had to time travel only twice! She didn't have another trip in her, not for another six hours or so! Her flight and energy powers wouldn't be able to save her this time either!
And then two hands were shoving her. Lise found herself tumbling to the asphalt. Safe from the portal. "What?"
Lise's eyes fell on the still open portal. Her blood went cold. Yusei's boots were already vanishing inside it!
"No!" Lise screamed. She ignored Jaden and Yugi's attempts to call her back.
More of Yusei was vanishing as he was sucked into the portal. The portal was shrinking too. It was about the size of a manhole cover, and only Yusei's left arm was still on their side of the portal.
Lise grabbed his hand and hung on with both of hers. She dug her heels in and pulled. The look on his face as he'd been dragged in; so scared but not regretting his decision. Lise wouldn't let him be sent to a future so frightening. She couldn't!
Jaden grabbed the ends of Lise's jacket, and Yugi pulled Jaden back. There! It was working! More of Yusei's arm emerged from the portal. Lise could see his duel disk! She eagerly reached up his arm and duel disk.
Lise's pinky accidently clicked a button on Yusei's wrist guard. The release button.
Duel disk and wrist guard came off in Lise's hands. And next thing she knew she was holding both, and Yusei had been swallowed completely into the portal.
The portal that closed with a final snap of light. Jaden and Yugi relaxed, collapsing, their chests heaving. All three of them stared into the space Yusei had been just a second ago.
Paradox burst into cruel, cold laughter. "Well, that was unexpected! Yusei Fudo took your place, Crimson Dragon!"
Lise sank to her knees. She clutched the duel disk to her chest, and hunched over. Her whole body wracked with sobs as tears rolled down her cheeks.
Yusei was gone…
(So, this ended up being longer than I thought! Probably because it's a movie, not just an episode. But I knew, I just knew, I absolutely HAD to end on this particular cliff hanger. I'm not sure yet if Bonds Beyond Time will be a two part or three parter, but I'll see how much I'd be forcing all ya'll to read.
But I'm excited to write more of the Bonds Beyond Time movie! Especially because meeting Yugi and Jaden would be AMAZING. I haven't met Jaden's voice actor, but I have met Dan Green! He was SUPER nice, and I got his autograph! Definitely worth the effort if you get the chance to meet him!
Also, a heads up because my publishing schedule will be skewed again. School picked back up again today, which means that the next chapters will be uploaded all over the place, time wise. Mostly because I REALLY NEED TO FUCKING GRADUATE ALREADY. I'm ready to stop getting ripped off by college stuff, so…yeah…
But please bear with me. I do plan on writing this story to completion. It just won't be consistent. Once again, thank you all SO much for still being here with me! Every little thing I get from you all about my writing encourages me to keep going, so thank you.
I'll see you when I see you!)