The beginning of the chapter might be slight grotesque, so try to scroll past that part if you can't stand it.
A Duel will take place in the next chapter, so that's why this chapter is a bit short than usual.
One more thing; be careful and take good care of yourselves and try not to visit public places now with the Coronavirus affecting the entire globe.
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 45: The Resurrected King
No one noticed how Estelle's eyes turned hazy as if she was in a trance. She was still awake, but something had taken over her. Her Mark was glowing weakly through the red fishnet of the elbow-length gloves before the light faded, never alerting the Signers.
"What do you think, Estelle?" Yusei turned to the brunette. "Do you want to go home or stay a bit longer?"
"I…", Estelle began slowly as she looked up at the sky. "I sense something…"
Now, everyone had their attention on the Priestess. "Sense something? Like what?" Leo asked.
"Is it something dangerous? Like the Earthbound Immortals?" Aki asked, concerned.
Misty and Kalin's bodies stiffened when they heard the last sentence. They looked at each other, both of them getting a bad feeling. Carly just looked confused, glancing at each Signer. "Jack, what's an Earthbound Immortal?"
"You don't want to know, Carly", Jack shook his head as he crossed his arms.
"Earthbound Immortal or not, if Estelle is sensing something bad, we've got to stop it!" Leo exclaimed. "Estelle, where do you sense this mysterious danger?"
Estelle turned slowly to the left and pointed at the tall and rebuilt buildings. "Over there…"
Everyone turned their eyes at the direction the brunette was pointing at. "Isn't that…where the old Ener-D Reactor is located?" Kalin questioned.
"You mean, the Earthbound Immortals are trying to come back?" Crow asked.
"But didn't we seal them away after the Shadow Duels with the Dark Signers…?" Luna mumbled lowly.
"Whatever it is, we need to go and check it out", Yusei said seriously. "If the Earthbound Immortals are trying to make a comeback, we have to stop them."
XXXXXXXXXX
Just as some of the group had suspected, Estelle had led them to the iconic landmark of ., created once by Zero Reverse. The wasteland around the large crater was still bare, but the area was closed down for further repairs of the active and old Ener-D Reactor. The shadows seemed to dance as a cold wind blew by, causing the group to shiver slightly and rub their arms.
"I don't see anything dangerous", Leo said.
"Me neither", Luna shook her head.
"I can't even see a dark flying whale around", Crow commented half-sarcastically.
"This is pointless!" Jack muttered irritably. "Estelle, are you sure you sensed the presence of the Earthbound Immortals?"
"Yes…", Estelle nodded, sounding more and more as if she was in a haze, which Aki noticed.
"Estelle, are you feeling okay? You sound like you're out of it", the female Signer pointed out.
"I'm fine…"
Kalin pulled up the sleeve of his jacket to check the time. "It's close to 10 p.m. Let's stay here only for a few minutes and if nothing shows up, we'll leave."
"I don't want to sound greedy, but I want something spooky to happen", Carly confessed as she prepared her camera. "That'll be the cherry on the top of my article!"
"Carly, I don't think it's a good idea", Misty sweat dropped.
Yusei noticed Estelle wasn't acting like herself. He sensed how her usual aura had been replaced by a dark and depressing aura. He placed a hand on her shoulder, but she didn't react to it. "Estelle?"
Estelle's hazy eyes changed back to normal as she snapped out of her trance. "W-What?" She felt disoriented as she turned to her friends. "G-Guys…? What's going on?"
"What do you mean 'what's going on'? You're the one who said there's something coming and led us to this place!" Jack growled. "Don't tell me you're joking around?!"
"W-What…? I never said that…", Estelle replied confusedly.
"Are you okay, man?" Crow asked.
"I don't know…", Estelle shook her head as she rubbed her forehead. "A moment ago, I swore I heard a dark voice in my head and the next thing I knew, my mind turned black."
"A dark voice…?" Kalin repeated as he felt sweat drops accumulating on his forehead.
Estelle's eyes widened as she remembered Goodwin's warning about the resurrection of the King of the Netherworld. "Oh no… Don't tell me…"
"What? What's wrong?" Leo asked worriedly.
"I think-"
Just then, the clock struck 10 p.m. and that caused a chain reaction. Estelle's eyes began glowing in dark colors as she felt a heavy weight in her heart. She clutched her chest and leant down to fight against the pain while sweat rolled down her face.
"Estelle?!" Misty called worriedly.
Estelle's body moved back as she slowly straightened up, feeling the weight move down to her stomach. She felt bile move up her throat, so she covered her mouth with both hands to try swallowing it back. That didn't stop the force that had been living inside her body for a few months, so the bile pushed itself through her hands as the brunette fell down on her knees. She kept throwing up a dark sludge that seemed to crawl away from her.
Leo and Luna screeched in fear as they hugged each other while closing their eyes. The others flinched back as they watched in horror, watching Estelle throw up as if there was no tomorrow.
"Ewww! What's that?!" Crow exclaimed as he grimaced at the vomit.
"Something's wrong!" Yusei said in shock.
"Oh yeah?! You've just figured it out?!" Jack growled.
Aki squinted when she noticed the weird movement of the vomit. "Guys… The vomit seems to be moving on its own."
The adults and older teenagers turned their eyes back at Estelle who was still vomiting, but they observed the dark sludge. Yusei couldn't help but feel like he had seen the sludge from before, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
The sludge finished pouring out of Estelle's mouth as she gasped heavily through her now dry throat. She fell down on her hands, splashing the sludge around her, before her eyes rolled back and she collapsed facedown on the ground.
The sludge crawled away from the fallen brunette and moved toward the Signers and former Dark Signers. The others moved back to not get the sludge on them. The sludge suddenly stopped before it moved upward and started shaping itself into a female human body. The Signers stared in disbelief as they realized the sludge looked like a dark version of Estelle with the same glowing eyes as…
"The King of the Netherworld!" Yusei exclaimed in shock.
The resurrected King of the Netherworld chuckled deeply. "Correct assumption, Signer", he spoke with a deep voice mixed with Estelle's voice.
"B-But…how?!" Leo asked with a shaking voice as he still held onto his twin sister. "I thought Miracle Star Dragon destroyed you for good!"
"My main body, yes. But I planted a tiny fragment of myself into the Priestess during your Duel with my last servant, Goodwin. Do you not recall the time I assisted him by trying to sabotage the Duel?"
"Sabotage… Wait, you mean, you tried using those condors to not just attack us but plant parts of you inside us?!" Crow exclaimed in disbelief.
"Correct. My pets attempted to implant a piece of me inside you Signers. However, I never expected to implant myself into the Priestess, considering she is allegedly the most powerful of you", the resurrected King said before chuckling mockingly. "After living secretly in her, draining her life force as a parasite, to one day raise again and destroy the world, I have learned a lot about her. Who thought she was so insecure about herself."
"What do you mean?" Jack growled as he slowly moved to shield Carly, in case the resurrected King was going to try attacking the group.
"Just as I said, Signer. The Priestess had quite a sad past."
"We've already heard a bit of her past…", Luna mumbled as she violently shook as she sensed the disgusting dark aura emitting from the reborn King.
"But, apparently, not everything. She was constantly bullied because children noticed she never once acted 'normal'. They never viewed her as an equal, all because she was born with a curse."
"Curse…?" Aki mumbled, remembering how she once considered her Mark of the Dragon and psychic powers a curse.
"Yes, Signer; a curse. The Priestess tried to fit in with her schoolmates and children from the neighborhood by joining their games, but they mocked and ridiculed her when she could not understand the point of the games. She always ran home crying and locked herself into her safe and dark little room. Solitude became her best friend and she used books and video games to escape the harsh reality around her. She managed to graduate middle school while being bullied day in and day out. How she managed that, I do not know. She only had her parents as support; no friends. And if she had friends, they soon betrayed and left her."
"Oh no…", Misty mumbled sadly.
"Even to this day, she fears she will get hurt if she opens her heart once again to those she truly trusts, like you servants of the Crimson Dragon. She secretly fears you are only kind to her because she is the Priestess and you need her to protect the world. She fears you are secretly mocking her that she cannot keep up with you because of her curse."
Yusei clenched his hands into fists in anger as the King kept mocking Estelle and telling him and the others what she actually felt inside her heart. Estelle had told him bits about her past of how lonely she used to be, but he never thought it had been that extreme. However, it all made sense now. Estelle was still insecure about herself, despite she had stayed strong after the darkness she had gone through.
She doubted herself if she was even worthy as a human being. Was it because no one had ever once said to her that they appreciated her kindness and love? Did people around her just label her as a "problem" child just because she had autism, without even attempting to try understanding her? Was it the same for other children and adults that were in the spectrum? How unfair could the world be?
Discrimination was a harsh reality and it was something Yusei was extremely familiar with due to his own childhood.
"But where are my manners?" the resurrected King gasped in fake disbelief. "It is time for me to begin my conquest and to assure you will not stand in my way…"
The King of the Netherworld snapped his fingers. A ring made of purple mist drew itself around the group of Signers and former Dark Signers, trapping them inside an Energy Ring of the Eternal Shadow.
"What is this thing?!" Aki asked as she reached her hand to touch the purple mist, only to yelp and withdraw her hand when the purple mist almost burned her.
"It's the same ring Estelle and I were trapped in when we Tag Dueled the Shadow Drone!" Yusei replied.
"It appeared in the hospital too when Carly and I Shadow Dueled Trudge while he was possessed!" Jack added.
"What are you going to do, King?!" Kalin growled.
The resurrected King chuckled mockingly. "You should know the answer, my former servant." The former Dark Signer bit his lower lip to hold back his growl. "I shall soon begin my conquest to destroy this world and rule it in complete darkness and destruction. Once I accomplish that, I shall release the Earthbound Immortals from their graves and they shall walk on the surface once again!" He laughed darkly as his eyes glowed brighter in pure joy. "You Signers naively believed the war was over when you and the Priestess defeated my servants, but you were wrong! This is just the prolongation! This time, nothing shall stop me!" He turned around and looked down at the fallen brunette. "But to assure that absolutely nothing shall stand in my way, I have to eliminate every single threat…"
The sludge feminine body walked over to Estelle and grabbed her by the bun with its left hand, tangling the fingers in the bundle of brown hair, before pulling harshly up the unconscious body. The resurrected King smirked maliciously before raising his right arm that shapeshifted into a sharp machete.
"Any last words to your precious and weak Priestess?" the King questioned mockingly as he put the machete in front of Estelle's throat.
"NO! Don't do it!" Luna cried desperately as everyone figured out what the King of the Netherworld was about to do.
"Don't touch her!" Yusei growled, feeling helpless now that he and the others were trapped.
"You did not seize the opportunity", the King said before raising his machete arm up in the air. "Join the Shadows, Priestess!"
The time seemed to go in slow-motion as the Signer and the non-Signers screamed "NO!" while watching in horror how the machete descended towards Estelle's throat. The King was certain the biggest threat, the Crimson Star Priestess, was going to die and be reborn as the Netherworld Priestess and help him conquer this hideous world that others thought was beautiful.
The Signers' Marks reacted on their overwhelming worry and love for Estelle, which in turn caused Estelle's Mark to start glowing. The Star Mark received the strength from the Signers' feelings, which gave Estelle's shutdown body the energy needed to jumpstart.
Just before the machete was about to behead the brunette, Estelle pulled herself down harshly, throwing the King off guard. The machete slashed off half of her hair bun before the King landed on top of the young woman's back. Estelle quickly turned around while staying on one knee and hit the King on his jaw with an uppercut as brown strands of her hair flew around them.
The King crashed a few meters away as dust got thrown up around him. He grunted in slight pain and rubbed his jaw before his eyes widened in disbelief. He quickly sat up and watched in shock how the weak body of Estelle's was moving.
"But… How?! I made sure to absorb your life force! You are not supposed to be alive!"
Estelle pushed herself up on her feet, showing clear signs her body was still a bit weak after being drained by the King. Her now messy hair covered her face with long and short strands, which she moved aside with her hands.
"Yes… You almost killed me by draining my energy…", Estelle admitted before she lifted her head and glared at the King. "But… If you've been living in me for so long, you should know me better than that." She stood tall and placed a clenched fist on her chest where here heart was. "I'm a fighter, and I'll never give up no matter what obstacle stands in my way! That, and my new purpose for living is to protect my friends who I now consider my family!"
At first, the Signers and the non-Signers were shocked to see Estelle had regained consciousness and managed to knock away the resurrected King, but now they were relieved and a bit touched to hear how much she cared for them.
"If it wasn't for their feelings for me, I'd still be unconscious and beheaded by you, so I've got a lot to thank them for", Estelle continued, her voice getting stronger, as she looked over her shoulder and smiled softly at her friends.
The King pushed himself up on his feet before letting out a mocking laugh. "So you are telling me you still trust them, despite you fear they might one day give up on you?"
Estelle flinched slightly at the question, but closed her eyes and shook her head before she turned back at the King with a glare as her blue eyes changed into crimson. "Yes… The fear of losing my loved ones is still embedded inside me, but I want to believe in them! I want to believe in the bond we've weaved together; a bond much stronger than our Marks; trust, loyalty, and understanding!"
XXXXXXXXXX – Estelle's POV
I was relieved to know I was still alive, despite the very close call to be beheaded. If it hadn't been for the Signers' feelings and their Marks transferring energy to me, I'd be dead by now. I tried pushing aside the near-death experience to concentrate on how to eliminate the resurrected King of the Netherworld before the Army of Shadows could crawl upon the earth.
"Trust? Loyalty?" the King snorted. "Those are ungraceful traits my Army of Shadows do not require! I shall prove it to you with a Shadow Duel!"
The sludge figure that looked very much like me raised the left arm up as the sludge arm shapeshifted into a black Duel Disk that looked like the real deal.
"As you wish!" I shouted as I raised my right arm up in the air. "Crimson Star!"
My Mark started shining in a bright red light that enveloped me. I closed my eyes and allowed the warmth to bathe me as my costume changed into my priestess gown and robe. While I was transforming, I swore I sensed the presence of the Signers and their power, as if each piece of the outfit represented their Mark; the sandals from Aki, the skirt from Crow, the gauntlet from Luna, the corset top from Leo, the robe from Jack, and the tiara from Yusei.
The light died down to reveal my Priestess Form while opening my crimson eyes. I quickly noticed how my hair had grown out again. I raised my left arm as my DiaDhank-like Duel Disk materialized along with my Deck.
"You have no chance against me, Priestess!" the King taunted. "The darkness will always win in the very end!"
"Not as long as the star of miracles shines upon me and my Signers!" I retorted.
After those words, the ground started shaking violently. The next thing I knew, a colorful beacon shot up from the crater and up to the clouds. I quickly realized the beacon was actually Ener-D while Negative Energy streamed out from it.
"What's happening?!" Carly shrieked in fear.
"The rift between your world and the Netherworld has opened once again!" the King announced. "Soon, the Army of Shadows will arrive to assist me with my conquest! However, if you can defeat me before the clock strikes 12, the rift will be closed forever. But if you fail, the rift shall remain open until your world is no more!"
"The clock's 10:10 p.m. right now, Estelle!" Kalin shouted. "You've got less than two hours to defeat the King!"
"Thank you for telling me, Kalin!" I nodded, my eyes never leaving the resurrected King. "I promise I'll defeat him before the clock strikes 12!"
"I applaud your optimist, Priestess. But it will be all in vain when you fail to protect this world that you are not even part of. So show me how desperate you are to protect the Signers and the planet itself!"
XXXXXXXXXX – Goodwin's POV
I sat in my private office in the mansion doing some paperwork I had brought home that I needed to get done with. While I was working with them, I couldn't help but feel a bit anxious. The clock was past the time Estelle was supposed to get home, but she hadn't. Hilda had come to my office half an hour ago to inform me that. I brushed it off back then and said calmly Estelle would surely be back around 10 p.m.
I glanced at the clock and saw it was around 10 p.m. I was about to put away the finished documents in my briefcase when I felt a sudden pull in my heart. My eyes widened slightly as I recognized the feeling.
After I was reborn and purified from the dark power of the Earthbound Immortals, a piece of the Crimson Dragon's powers had remained in me. The connection wasn't as strong as Estelle's bond to the dragon god, but I could still catch up signals of unnatural presence.
The door to my office slammed open by Hilda who was very frantic. "M-Master Goodwin!"
"Hilda? What's wrong?" I asked as I got up from the seat.
"S-Something's happening at the Satellite!"
Hilda and I hurried to the living room where the rest of my staff was, watching the television and the news channel. The screen revealed a live footage from the Satellite with a large rainbow-colored beam and dark streams emitting from it. Angela Raines' image was next to the footage as she sat inside a news helicopter.
"We're reporting live from the Satellite where there was a mysterious and unexpected earthquake a while ago that seems to have caused the Old Ener-D Reactor to malfunction, due to this large beacon of light that appeared out of nowhere. We're currently on our way to keep you posted. Stay tune for more information."
My fear had come true. The King of the Netherworld had been resurrected and the rift between our world and the Netherworld was open.
"Prepare my helicopter!" I told Mr. Stewart, my 40-year-old loyal butler.
"Right away, Goodwin", Mr. Stewart nodded before he hurried out of the living room.
I clenched my hand into a fist as I tried to keep my facial expression neutral. I just prayed that Estelle and the Signers were by the Old Ener-D Reactor and tried to apprehend the King and stop him before it was too late.
