Paradox threw his head back, laughing harder. He clutched at his belly, in stitches. "That fool is going to be stuck in a miserable future!"
Yugi got up, staring at Paradox. Couldn't he see how miserable Lise was? She still hadn't moved from where she sobbed. She seemed to sink lower and lower with her guilt and grief.
Jaden cracked his knuckles, but reached for Lise with his other hand. He wasn't sure what to do first; punch Paradox or comfort Lise. He didn't think he could comfort her anyway…
"All because of you!" Paradox wiped away a tear, calming down. "I read about you too, miss Elizabeth Kururugi. History holos describe you as a frighteningly hotheaded, monstrous woman." He smirked at Lise's trembling back.
"Bring him back…" Lise murmured.
Paradox kept going. "And I imagine Yusei might be glad to be sent to the future…"
Lise froze, speaking louder through her teeth. "Bring. Him. Back."
"Because at least he'll be away from you. My future might not be so grim then."
"Bring him back!" Lise roared, whirling in a blaze of red light. "BRING HIM BACK!" Her eyes and markings glowed with the light of the Crimson Dragon, more red light spewing from her mouth like flames. Flames that fizzled almost immediately. Lise had to catch herself on the street with one hand as the power of the Crimson Dragon failed her.
Yugi and Jaden ran to help her. Yugi kept his hand on Lise's back until she was done coughing. Jaden stayed close in case Lise needed help standing.
Paradox laughed again, a cold, cruel laugh. "See? Two time travel trips and you can't even make a spark of power. I, on the other hand, have plenty to spare! But I won't be bringing your little boyfriend back," he spit out the word disdainfully, adding an eye roll. "No, I think if the three of you still want to oppose me, we'll have to settle this your way."
"You mean a duel?" Jaden's brown eyes narrowed. He was always ready for a duel, but this guy was asking for more than just fun.
"Yes," Paradox said. "If you truly believe that all of you can change the future, then prove it to me!"
"Yeah," Jaden clenched his fist. "Paradox, let's duel!"
"Very well. Allow me to crush the Duel Monsters you stake so much faith in," Paradox pressed a button on his duel runner.
A 3D holographic image filled his duel runner's screen. Transformation, in all caps, swirled in both directions across the screen. The duel disk section popped up, and the monitor compressed downward. The front wheel turned sideways as the front wheel cover and dragon-like decals pulled inwards. The strange decals on the side of the duel runner popped out, resembling wings with tires. Sharp metallic needles extended from both wings. The back section of the duel runner lifted up like the back of a car seat. The entire ensemble, Paradox included, rose into the air.
"Whoa," Jaden whistled low. "Did not see that coming."
"Lise…" Yugi knew not to ask her if she was okay. She clearly wasn't. She clearly couldn't do…whatever that glowing could do, or turn back into the dragon from earlier either. But maybe she could still help. "Looks like the only way to fight him is to duel. Are you with us?"
Lise rubbed at her eyes. "I have my cards, but I-I-I didn't have time to grab my duel disk. I…" She looked down at the duel disk and wrist guard still clenched in her arms. Yusei's cards were still in it. He'd anticipated a fight, and she might have just stranded him, defenseless, in the future. More tears leaked out.
"Well, we could really use your help," Jaden's brown eyes found Lise's. "I know we all just met, but I think Yusei… I think it's okay for you to defend yourself."
"And you won't be alone. We'll all fight together," Yugi promised, his voice warm.
Lise took a deep, shaky breath. She hid her eyes with the crook of her elbow, her jacket sleeve absorbing the wet tears. "Okay," she sniffled. "Okay." Lise lowered her arm, leveling a glare up at Paradox. "Let's change the future with our own hands." She stood up.
"Perfect!" Jaden grinned, popping up to his feet. "Because I'm pumped to take you down, Paradox!" His eyes glowed green and red, Yubel popping up behind him, spreading her wings.
Are you ready, Yugi? Yami whispered gently to his partner.
Other me? Yugi's violet eyes narrowed. They had more help than they realized. The three, no four, of them, could win this duel. Okay…
Yugi stood. His Millennium Puzzle glowed. Red and white light circled around the artifact. An Egyptian eye opened on Yugi's forehead, and his eyes became more angular. Yami opened his eyes. He and Yugi had effectively switched places.
"I won't stand for a future where you sacrifice human lives, Paradox!" Yami declared.
Lise's eyes widened. It's true! The spirit of the Pharaoh!
"Let's go!"
"Duel!" All four of them spoke in unison.
Paradox: 4000
Yugi, Jaden, and Lise: 4000
Professor Banner watched pensively from the skyscrapers above. "The future of the world rests on all their shoulders."
Paradox smirked down at his opponents. "I'll take the first turn. I draw," he'd put his duel disk on his right arm. A lefty. "I activate the field spell Malefic World."
The second Paradox placed the card in the field spell zone, black matter oozed out of his floating duel runner. The blackness shot out of the metallic needles, spreading the field spell's power everywhere. Purple and pink nebulas spread out, turning the entire square into a special field. Similar to Paradox's portals, stars flashed everywhere the field spell's influence spread across. Buildings became indistinct, only visible as turquoise outlines. Even the ground beneath the three duelists became starry and indistinct.
"Malefic?" Jaden muttered.
"As long as this field spell is in play, I can add a random Malefic monster from my deck to my hand instead of drawing a card. Next, I send Cyber End Dragon in my extra deck to the graveyard to summon Malefic Cyber End Dragon!"
The three headed dragon that attacked Jaden earlier emerged. Except it was sporting a few extra accessories. Its wings had been painted black. One head wore a black mask, the head in the middle wore a black and white mask, and the last head wore a white mask. Masks…of light and dark…as if the monsters wore their corruption.
(Malefic Cyber End Dragon: Atk: 4000 Def: 2800)
"So that's why you needed all those cards!" Jaden realized.
"Yes, the Malefic monsters are given life by destroying their counterparts," Paradox broke into a particularly nasty smile.
Lise's eyes were wide. Four thousand attack points right off the bat?
Jaden frowned. "Normally, you'd need Polymerization to summon Cyber End Dragon."
"Birth through death?" Yami reflected solemnly. "Light and dark… is this the energy from the dark side of dueling?"
"The first player cannot attack in the first turn. I place one card face-down and end my turn. Your turn."
"So uh…" Lise adjusted Yusei's duel disk and wrist guard to fit her for the time being. "Should we play rock-paper-scissors to figure out who goes first?"
Jaden caught Yami's eye. Their brown and violet eyes were different, but in that moment, they held the same answer.
"We're all here, fighting together for our futures because of you and Yusei," Jaden smiled at Lise.
Yami nodded in agreement. "Yes, and we both believe that you should take the first turn, Lise."
"Really?" Lise's voice came out a tad squeakier than she'd intended. She'd pulled out her own deck, and held Yusei's in her other hand. Should she use one or the other? "Just…give me a minute."
"Sure," Jaden smiled.
Paradox rolled his eyes. "Make it quick, Crimson Dragon. No matter what you do, your future is doomed."
Lise ignored him. She kept most of Yusei's Tuner monsters, traps, and spells, but shuffled in a few of her own monsters. It wasn't much, but it made her feel better. He wasn't here, but a big part of Yusei was the love he had for his dueling gear and cards.
"Okay," Lise stood up, her new makeshift deck ready to go. "I…draw!" She peeked at the card and the corner of her lips turned up. "I play the spell card Reincarnation of Hope! By sending two monsters in my hand to the graveyard, I can add a monster from my deck to my hand during our Standby Phase two turns from now.
"Next up, I summon Junk Synchron!" Lise smiled at the familiar monster. Junk Synchron had always been one of her favorites too. "When this card is successfully summoned, I can special summon a level two or below monster from my graveyard. I special summon the level one Implosion Salamander. Next, I activate the effect of my Soot Sprite in the graveyard! When there's tuner on the field, I can special summon Soot Sprite from my graveyard!"
(Soot Sprite: At: 800 Def: 600)
Lise's new monster was, as named, a tiny little soot sprite. Tiny, stick-like arms and legs sprouted from its dark body. Its eyes were comically large too. The little soot sprite balanced an orange star candy, konpeito, on its head.
"Now that these three are together, it's time for a little tune up! I tune level three Junk Synchron with the level one Implosion Salamander and level two Soot Sprite! I synchro summon…" Lise threw her hand up, and a beam of soft green light descended before her. "Junk Gardna!"
(Junk Gardna: Atk: 1400 Def: 2600)
The new monster resembled a large armored robot. The monster's main color was green, and the monster sported large protective pads on its arms and legs. Junk Gardna's main goal was defense.
Yami frowned at the new monster, an eyebrow popping up. "Synchro summon?"
"I dunno, but that was awesome!" Jaden shot Lise a grin and a cheesy thumbs-up.
Lise offered him a grateful, albeit thin, smile. "I set two cards face down and end my turn!"
Paradox blinked down at his opponent's monster. "Unfortunately, such a lowly monster doesn't hold a candle to my Malefic Cyber End. With Yusei's Stardust Dragon in my control, you are no match for me."
"Don't you dare say his name!" Lise spat up at him.
"It's my turn," Paradox smirked, ignoring Lise's rage. So predictable. Such a simple woman. This will be easy.
/
Paradox's portals were worse than the portal to Yliaster. The same sensations of walking through water without getting wet was still there. But the feeling was far from calm. Yusei felt more like his face was being peeled off than stepping through a misty waterfall.
Then he was crashing into a pile of junk. Face first.
"Ugh…" Yusei groaned as he extracted himself from the pile of rubble he'd landed in.
He'd been in junk piles before, for parts, but there was a lot more building parts in this particular pile than he was used to. Yusei brushed dust and grime off his clothes as he looked around.
A ripping sound echoed out from above him. The portal! It was still above him, and open, but it was quickly closing!
Yusei ran back up the rubble pile. Stones kicked out from under his boots. He made it to the top and reached up…
But the portal shut with a resonating snap.
Yusei dropped his hand. It hung, limply, useless, at his side. Wherever Paradox had sent him, he was on his own.
He skidded back down the rubble. Yusei had to find a way back.
The city looked like it'd been hit with a double hurricane and earthquake. The building structures still standing were missing all their glass, which was in pieces across the streets. Streets that were broken and jagged, some gaping open to the earth and ruptured plumbing beneath. Broken cars, neon advertisements, paper signs, and more building rubble were scattered everywhere.
Mixed in with the regular building rubble were mechanical pieces. Not completely unusual. Yusei had found plenty of mechanical pieces back in the Satellite that had allowed him to build not one, but two, duel runners. But some of the pieces looked…almost like…hands and legs.
But the mechanical limbs were too irregular. No human needed such angular, white limbs. Or giant orange treads for legs. Or blue spindly wing skeletons?
"What happened here?" Yusei murmured. "I need answers."
The only thing missing in the city were the people. There was so much dust everywhere there should have been footprints from people walking around…if there were any people left.
Yusei shook his head. No. There has to be someone here that can help me.
The sun was going down. He couldn't just keep wandering around. Yusei had a feeling he didn't want to be out and about in the city at night.
Lights were still flickering at the little convenience store on the corner. It wasn't much, but it was something. Maybe he could find something to eat at the very least.
Empty. Only magazines and weird promotional magical girl lollipops. Nope. Toys. Not even any cards he could scrounge.
Yusei licked his lips. He was hoping for something more substantial. Like something to drink. Who knew walking through a desolate city covered in dust would make someone so thirsty?
He was walking past the empty freezers when he spotted something beneath the racks. A bottle of green grape drink. It must have rolled under and blended in with the rotting strawberry marshmallows. Yusei wasn't a fan of grape drinks, but it was better than nothing.
CRASH!
Yusei jumped, choking on his drink a little. He twisted the cap back on, and wiped his mouth.
Someone had dropped a large box at the head of the aisle. Water bottles rolled everywhere, but the person didn't move to pick them up.
"Hello?" Yusei pocketed the drink, and bend down to start picking up the water bottles. "Did you need some help? Who are you?" They must have found this in the back. Should've looked there.
The person didn't move.
"Um…" Yusei put the last water bottle back in the box, finally getting a good look at the person.
He had red, curly hair that was tied back with a bandana. Baubles dangled from the boy's neck on different strings. He wore a green shirt, long black leggings, and a long blue coat. The boy's little yellow triangle marking on his cheek and gray eyes were familiar…
"Rally?" Yusei's eyes widened.
The boy bolted, throwing aside the front doors.
"Rally, wait!" Yusei jumped over the box of water, racing after his friend. "Rally!"
Rally moved faster out in the open. The way he ducked, dodged, and rolled through the various piles of debris showed how often he'd done so. How long had the city been so destroyed?
But Yusei didn't have time to think about that. He had to get to Rally. He was the first person Yusei had seen for hours.
"Rally!"
The chase took Yusei through an alleyway into another street. A street with more people!
Yusei skidded to a halt, kicking up a small cloud of dust. He was so relieved to see other people, he didn't realize they were sporting weapons.
"Rally!" A man with dark skin and muscles bigger than his head in a yellow jacket welcomed his friend back into their group. His dreads were tied back with a bandana that matched Rally's. "We were just about to look for you."
"Yeah," another man dressed in silver mirroring his silver hair eyed Rally hiding behind the larger man with a cocked eyebrow. "Is something wrong? Where's the water you were supposed to grab?"
A man with light blue hair dressed in a long blue cloak thrust his arm out. "Wait, we're not alone." He pointed at Yusei, and somehow managed to make pushing his glasses up his nose look menacing.
"You!" The man in the yellow jacket drew a curved sword clipped to his belt. The sword, a khopesh, was shaped like a sickle, and caught the light of the setting sun.
The man in silver slipped on a set of spiked, steel knuckles. Based on how skinny he was, the steel knuckles were meant to maximize damage while allowing him to stay light on his feet.
Blue hair guy put a hand to his belt. Two circle blades were clipped there. The blades interrupted by leather handles.
"Um…" Yusei put his hand up, waving weakly. "Hi?"
"Don't you dare move!" The man in yellow spat, pointing his sword at Yusei's chest.
"Okay, okay! Not moving!"
"Easy Hassleberry," the silver man said. "Rally, is this why you didn't have the water?"
Rally nodded, staying behind the other three men.
The blue haired man said nothing. His eyes narrowed, studying Yusei. It seemed like they all knew him already, but Yusei had only ever met Rally before. Even though Rally looked…older…maybe 15 or 16? It was still Rally.
"Look," Yusei stepped back towards the ally. He wanted answers, but not like this. "I'm just gonna go and-"
He stopped when he realized he'd be impaling himself on the metallic edge of a woman's steel fan. The fan was actually two fans, connected by a link of chains. Like nun-chucks, but with fans. The woman had blond hair and golden eyes, but there was no kindness in them.
"Or I could stay here."
"Shut up and turn around," the woman ordered. "Hands up."
"Okay…" Yusei did as he was told.
"What're we waiting for?!" Hassleberry snarled. "Just kill him and end the fighting already!"
"Gladly!"
"Alexis, no," the man in blue stopped the woman.
Sweat beaded on Yusei's forehead. How do this people know me already? And why do they want to kill me?!
"Why not?!"
"Because, Aster, we don't know who he is."
Aster, the man in silver, rolled his eyes. "He's obviously Z-One! He looks exactly like him!"
"Zone?" Yusei whispered. I'm not a zone. The hell does that mean?
"Ch-Check his eye," Rally finally stuttered out.
"Rally's right," blue man said before the others could protest. "Alexis, bring him into the light."
"My eye? Look, I didn't want all this trouble. I was just looking for someone to tell me what's going on," Yusei insisted. "I'm not here to hurt you!"
Alexis, the woman, still shoved Yusei into the light of the setting sun.
"Show us your right eye," the blue man approached. The others hung back.
"I still don't understand. My eye? What f-"
Alexis grabbed Yusei by the hair, pulling his head back. "Show him your right eye!"
"Hey!" Yusei's eyes squeezed shut from the unexpected pain.
He was able to open his eyes to look at the blue man now examining him. The blue man's glasses gleamed in the last light of day. His gray eyes were curious, but hard with unknown pain and hardship. Yusei knew that look well. Everyone looked like that growing up in the Satellite at one point or another.
The blue man's hand was much gentler than Alexis's. He pushed back Yusei's bangs. Whatever they were looking for, the man in blue wasn't finding it. "This isn't Z-One."
"He's not?"
"You're sure?"
He dropped Yusei's bangs, returning to the others. "Let him go."
Alexis shoved Yusei out of her grip. She seemed almost disappointed. So did Hassleberry.
Rally came out from behind the others. It was too strange. The Rally Yusei remembered barely came up to his waist. This Rally was tall enough to wrap his arms around Yusei's shoulders. "I don't believe it. You are Yusei…"
"Yeah…um…" Yusei shrugged out of the hug. Going from being threatened to hugged in less than a minute was too much. Too soon. "What the hell is going on?"
"So, he's the real deal, Rally?" Blue man asked.
"Yeah," Rally turned back to his group mates, rubbing at his eye. "Syrus, that's really my friend."
"Damn," Aster chuckled. He pocketed his metal knuckles. "The General is gonna flip."
Syrus, must be the name of the man in blue, smiled a little. "I think she'll be happy to see what we found."
Yusei's eyes darted between the five of them. "Does that mean…"
Rally smiled up at his friend. "There's someone I want you to meet."
/
Paradox smirked down at his opponents. "Allow me to show you all something a little bit more interesting. I send Rainbow Dragon from my deck to the graveyard to special summon Malefic Rainbow Dragon!"
(Rainbow Dragon: Atk: 4000 Def: 0)
(Malefic Rainbow Dragon: Atk: 4000 Def: 0)
While Rainbow Dragon would normally be sporting white wings coupled with gold and turquoise accents, its Malefic counterpart had black wings. The gemstones lining the dragon's length were dull compared to the black and white mask obscuring Rainbow Dragon's face.
"How dare you! You stole my friend Jessie's card!" Jaden exclaimed, clenching his fist.
On the roof, Banner's eyes widened. "Two monsters with four thousand attack points?!"
Paradox smirked. "My deck is made up of the strongest cards from every era. It doesn't matter who I needed to get the original cards from, just that I'll be destroying you with all its might!
"Malefic Rainbow Dragon attack!"
Lise took a deep breath. She was ready. "Junk Gardna's effect activates! He can switch an attacking monster from attack to defense during my opponent's turn!"
At her words, Malefic Rainbow Dragon switched to defense mode.
"Cute. You stopped one dragon's attack. But don't forget, I have two dragons!
Malefic Cyber End Dragon attack!"
The dragon's triple fireball attack hit and destroyed Junk Gardna in a cloud of smoke. The shockwave ripped through Lise. She hung on, but it was too strong; throwing her backwards.
"Lise?!"
"You okay?!"
"Yeah…" Lise groaned, sitting up. She needed a moment to get the wind back in her. "I'll be fine."
Paradox: 4000
Yami, Jaden, & Lise: 2600
"Don't be so sure," Paradox taunted. "When you duel in the Malefic World, all duelists bet their souls!"
"Great," Lise growled, back on her feet. The attack had left her with a few bruises, but not enough to keep her down. Physically, she'd felt worse. "Junk Gardna has another effect! When he's destroyed, it switches one of your monsters to defense mode!"
Malefic Cyber End Dragon joined Malefic Rainbow Dragon in defense mode.
"I play my trap too; Miracle's Wake! This card revives a monster destroyed in battle this turn from the graveyard!"
Junk Gardna came back, and Lise sighed. Made it through the first turn. Barely… "Sorry. He took out a lotta lifepoints."
"No, that was a great first turn," Yami smiled at her.
Jaden was positively ecstatic with energy. "You managed to fend off two attacks from monsters with four thousand attack points! That's awesome!"
"Oh that's…thanks…" Lise blinked at the two of them.
Yami's expression darkened. "His deck may be outrageously strong, but if we combine our forces, we can still beat him!"
"Right," Lise nodded along with Jaden.
Paradox rolled his eyes. Such idiots. "Even when staring down defeat, you still want to struggle together through thick and thin. Interesting. I'll place one card facedown and end my turn."
"Here I go!" Jaden cheered. "I'm gonna show you the power od my hero Deck! My turn! Lise, mind if I borrow your strength?"
"Go for it."
"I activate the spell card Polymerization! I fuse Junk Gardna on the field with the Elemental Hero Neos in my hand! Together with Lise's playing, Yusei's card and my card we'll combine our strengths!
I summon Elemental Hero Neos Knight!"
(Elemental Hero Neos Knight: Atk: 2500 Def: 1000)
"All right!" Jaden grinned at his new fusion monster.
Neos Knight held a giant double-ended sword in his right hand. In his left hand, he held a giant blue shield. Neos Knight's white armor was accented with red and blue. An orange plume extended from the Knight's helmet like a trail of fire. Long, white, cape-like trails peeled off of the Knight's shoulders like long clouds.
"Neos Knight's attack points increase equal to half the attack points of Neos and the fused Warrior type monster!" Jaden's monsters attack increased up to 3200.
"Go Neos Knight! Attack Malefic Cyber End Dragon!"
Paradox had to shield his eyes from the light blast. Neos Knight had stabbed its opponent rather deeply.
"Neos Knight's other effect activates. Neos Knight can attack twice in the same battle!"
"What?! Two attacks!"
Paradox protected himself again from the destruction of Malefic Rainbow Dragon. Neos Knight had slashed its head off.
Yubel and Jaden smiled at his handiwork. "Well done, Jaden. Your Knight defeated two dragons at once."
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Jaden!" Paradox spat. His nostrils flared as he regained his composure. "I activate my trap Malefic Tune! When a monster with Malefic in its name is destroyed, this card lets me draw two cards from my deck."
"In that case, I place all of my hand face down and end my turn," Jaden said.
Yami smiled at his fellow teenager. "You're quit the daring duelist, Jaden!"
"I believe in you guys. That's why I'm willing to go the distance!"
"Right," Yami nodded amicably to his two allies. "We'll show him the best combination out of the three of us!"
Lise smiled weakly at the two of them. It's weird. Yusei is gone, our backs are up against the wall, but I think the two of them are enjoying the duel… I hope they have the right idea…
/
"We can't endanger Martha's safe zone. This is not negotiable."
"So, we're just supposed to not use our best defensible position?"
"That's why the children are there, so they don't have to defend themselves. That's our job."
An argument echoed through the secret hideout Rally, Hassleberry, Aster, Alexis, and Syrus were leading Yusei into. The only sounds the group made were the jostling of the water bottles Hassleberry had gone back to grab. Yusei kept his mouth shut, following along.
The array of voices was chilling, just like the flickering light sources mounted in the ceiling. The wires and fluorescent lights were like starving snakes clamoring for food.
"Are you scared?" Rally whispered, taking Yusei's hand.
Yusei offered the boy a tiny smile. "Yes." It was good to know that despite having grown a few years, Rally was still kind.
"It's okay. I promise you'll love this surprise."
Hassleberry, Aster, Alexis, and Syrus lead the way into a giant, underground antechamber. At least a dozen people were standing around a table. A table littered with battle plans, photos of robotic-looking enemies, and maps.
"Oh perfect, Hassleberry can you put the water in the supply chambers?"
"You got it."
"Syrus, report."
Before he knew it, Rally was leading Yusei towards the war table. Rally kept saying he wanted Yusei to meet someone there, but he didn't recognize anyone at the table.
There was a boy with grey hair, and a red scarf pushing his red glasses up his nose. A girl with long green hair and eyes dressed in pink seemed familiar. Three men wore matching pale white and silver uniforms; one brunette, one red-head, and one with silver hair paler than Aster's. A mother-like woman with a long brown braid stood next to an older man in red seated in a wheel chair. There was a dude wearing a cowboy hat and a crocodile strapped to his back too. That was just plain weird. There was a peach-haired teacher looking woman who might have been the twins' teacher at one point? But Yusei couldn't remember her name presently. He felt like the red-haired woman with a long scar down her face, and the dark, long haired woman in a vest were familiar too. As was the older woman they flanked.
An older woman who had greying blond hair. Her face was wrinkled, especially around her eyes. At one point she must have smiled a lot. But when Rally brought him to the other end of the table, Yusei saw her eyes. He knew that light blue color.
"Okay, I say we send scout parties to these three locations," the older woman stood up, circling places in orange ink. "That way we can judge if our intel about an attack is correct. They'd have to deploy their mechs from there in order to peel through the city to find us."
"Wait here," Rally said.
Yusei barely registered Rally leaving. He didn't care that people were staring at him, reaching for their weapons like Rally's friends had earlier. All he could do was stare.
Rally tugged on the older woman's sleeve gently. She listened to him whispering in her ear, passing her marker between her fingers as she thought.
Then her eyes fell on Yusei, widening. Her mouth dropped open too. The marker fell from her hands onto the table.
The dark-haired woman gingerly poked her. "General Lise?"
