This is the moment I've been waiting for… It's time for the Movie Arc! Once again, thank you to each one of you who gave me tips and links to different sites where I can watch "Yu-Gi-Oh! 3D: Bonds Beyond Time" sub version. It was a very big help for me.
I hope you will enjoy my new version of "Bonds Beyond Time"; it's going to be way different compared to the Movie Arc in the old version of "Crimson Star Priestess".
We have the 850 shout-out winner! Since an old winner wrote the review, they won't win again, so the actual winner is Jessi gates! Congratulations! The next shout-out will be by the 875 review.
P.S.! The result of the latest poll can be found at the end of the chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own any Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's characters! I only own my OCs!
Chapter 68: Bonds Beyond Time – Part 1
We told Sherry and Mizoguchi the truth of who my friends and I actually were and what happened in New Domino City more than six months ago, when Satellite and New Domino City were still separated. We left some details behind that weren't necessary, like how Goodwin used the Fortune Cup to bring the Signers together. We mainly spoke about the war with the Dark Signers and how we heard they had played a role with Iliaster.
Sherry was quiet for a while as she processed all the information. We waited for her to speak up after she had cleared her mind.
"I…never heard anything about Dark Signers when I did my research about Iliaster", the French woman said a bit dumbfounded.
"That's because the tale about them and the Signers were kept secretly from the public", Yusei said. "Goodwin said himself this information was kept hidden in the Stairway to the Dragon Star."
"Goodwin…", Sherry mumbled before her eyes shone in realization. "He's the one I need to speak with! He knows more about Iliaster than he lets you know!"
"But he cut all ties with them now", I said. "He confirmed it to me shortly after the Daedalus Bridge got built."
"That doesn't matter", Sherry said slightly furiously. "I still need to speak to him and make him tell me everything he knows. He could still have connections with them."
"I don't know…", I mumbled softly.
I was a bit hesitant about it. From what I remembered, Goodwin was only related to the Dark Signers part of Iliaster. After his death in the anime, there was confirmation that he had no connections with Z-one's Iliaster.
Sherry got up from her seat and grabbed her helmet. Mizoguchi understood the signal and grabbed his own helmet as they prepared themselves to leave the garage.
"This has been informative, but not enough", the blonde woman said. "I'll continue conducting my research about Iliaster, and also those Meklord Emperors. If they were to appear during WRGP, all of us could become their pawns."
"Be careful, Sherry", Aki said, concerned.
"Don't worry; I'll be fine. Au revoir (Goodbye.)", Sherry said as she waved goodbye before leaving the garage with her guardian.
XXXXXXXXXX
A few days had passed since the Meklord Emperor Skiel encounter and telling Sherry about my friends' experience with Iliaster. I still felt a bit uneasy, but this morning felt too tense. The clouds outside were dark as if a storm was coming. It was a weekend, so Itsuki and Ryuga were at home instead at Martha's place.
I was standing outside on the balcony as I stared at the clouds. Was this a sign of something was coming? I placed a hand on top of my right arm where my Mark was. Ever since I woke up in the morning, I felt some stinging feelings coming and going. Was it a forewarning? But what was coming?
I rubbed my forehead as I tried to remember what was coming next in the chain of events in the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's plot. Things had been mixed up and not going according to the main story.
I nearly jumped off the balcony when my smartphone rang in the pocket of my jacket. I picked it up and saw it was Carly calling. What could she want?
I answered the call and rested the device against my right ear. "Hello?"
"Estelle, it's Carly."
"Is everything okay?" I asked, noticing something was off with her voice.
"Umm… I'm helping Leo and Luna on a history project, since it was literally one of the very few subjects at school I managed to get A's, and we-"
There was some noise before Leo's voice yelled in the phone. "Estelle, we have to see Yusei right now!"
"What? What's going on?" I asked, moving the smartphone away to not let the scream hurt my ear.
"Leo, don't yell at the phone!" I heard Luna's voice in the background before the phone was passed to her. "Sorry about Leo, but we found something that's very confusing and worrisome."
The gears were beginning to move in my head. History…
"Okay, let's gather at the garage", I nodded. "I'll be there in five minutes. Have you called Aki?"
"Yes, she'll meet up with us there", Luna replied.
"Got it. I'm coming right away."
I ended the call and hurried inside to grab a handbag to store my keys, smartphone, badge, and other minor stuff. I told the Miura brothers I had to leave, but I would come home later with their favorite candy as compensation. I ran to the garage to get on my Duel Runner and drive out to the streets.
My memories went to the movie "Bonds Beyond Time". What if that was about to happen?! Then the Signers and I needed to act as quickly as possible.
XXXXXXXXXX
I met up with the twins, Aki, and Carly outside of the garage. Yusei, Jack, and Crow's Duel Runners were parked next to the clock shop, so we knew they were at home. Carly had an iPad with her and she quickly showed me an old article about Duel Monsters appearing across Europe twenty-one years ago and Stardust Dragon got caught on camera. It confirmed Paradox had arrived and stolen the Signer Dragon from Yusei.
"We need to show them ASAP", I nodded.
"Do you know something about this, Estelle?" Aki questioned.
"Only a little bit", I replied. "I'll explain inside."
Leo hurried to the twin doors and pushed one of them open. "Yusei!"
Luna, Carly, Aki, and I followed him as we walked into the garage. Yusei, Jack, and Crow were standing together as all three of them had concerned auras.
"What do you want?!" Jack sighed irritably. "We don't have time to sit and entertain you guys right now."
"Oh, come on!" Leo growled. "We just landed a big scoop!"
"What did you find?" Yusei asked.
"We were researching the history of Duel Monsters with Carly when we found…", Luna began, but stopped as she looked very concerned.
Carly switched her iPad on and touched a few things before holding it out to Yusei. "We found some interesting data, but I think it's best you read it yourselves."
Yusei took the iPad as Jack and Crow looked over his shoulder to read the articles themselves. "Quite an old article you got there", Crow commented.
The first article was from Yugi's era when he won a Duel Monsters tournament sponsored by Pegasus J. Crawford. The first King of Games was holding a trophy he won and shook hands with Pegasus while his grandfather cheered in the background. Pegasus was smiling to the camera while holding a thumbs up.
"I know this man", Jack stated as he pointed at Pegasus. "He's the president of Industrial Illusions, Pegasus J. Crawford. He's the creator of Duel Monsters."
"Who's the guy there with him?" Crow wondered.
"You don't know…?" I mumbled to myself a bit dumbfounded.
"That would be the Duelist once said to be the strongest in Duel Monsters history, Muto Yugi", Yusei said. "It was rumored that he had the soul of the Nameless Pharaoh."
"Awesome!" Crow commented in awe. "So he got mumbo-jumbo magic like we do!"
"What I would give to fight him once…", Jack mumbled before shrugging his shoulders. "I suppose so, seeing as how it's impossible without a time slip or something."
"You came here to show us this?" Yusei questioned.
"No, look at the next article", Aki shook her head, sounding serious.
Yusei tapped on the screen to scroll to the next page and his jaw almost dropped when he saw the photo of Stardust Dragon with Rainbow Dragon and Cyber End Dragon. "Stardust Dragon?!"
"What is it doing in their era?!" Jack exclaimed in disbelief.
"That's what I was gonna ask!" Leo intervened.
"Okay, let's see…", Crow mumbled as he scanned the article next to the photo. "'Dragons that have suddenly been appearing all over Europe have been assaulting Duelists one after another'… Huh? What the 'ell?"
"Stardust Dragon was brought to the past…", Yusei mumbled in disbelief. "And it's assaulting Duelists too…"
"I've never even heard of this absurd piece of history", Aki pointed out.
"It's like it just popped up out of nowhere!" Carly added.
Yusei's eyes narrowed as he enlarged the photo from Venice and spotted a masked man with long blonde hair. "It's that masked man from before!"
It confirmed my suspicions. Paradox of Iliaster had made his first appearance.
"That man…", I began, getting everyone's attention. "…is Paradox of Iliaster."
"He's with Iliaster?!" Crow exclaimed in disbelief.
"And you knew he was coming?! Why did you warn us?!" Jack yelled angrily.
"I didn't know when he was going to appear", I defended myself. "He only made one appearance in a movie part of the anime when he stole Stardust Dragon-"
A loud rumble from the outside interrupted me. I looked out the large windows of the garage and saw black dust and debris floating outside. We hurried out to be met by an apocalyptic sight. The once grey clouds had now turned into charcoal black with black ash falling down like snow. The tall buildings of New Domino City slowly crumbled down into molecules as hysterical cries echoed from downtown with people panicking and hurrying to a safe place.
"What is…that?" Luna's voice trembled in fear by the sight.
"The city is…dissolving…", Leo's voice had the same tone as his sister's.
"Why…?" Aki questioned worriedly.
"This is just my conjecture, but it might be that history is starting to change due to Stardust Dragon appearing in the past", Jack concluded.
"That's crazy talk!" Crow argued.
"But Jack's right!" Carly defended the blonde Signer. "Synchro Monsters were created one year after the year of this…this…false historic article!"
"Our city…is crumbing away", Yusei mumbled to himself before he gasped in realization. "I see! It was his doing!"
I nodded, "Because Paradox has changed the past, the future is changing! We have to stop him!"
"But how?! We don't have a time machine!" Leo pointed out.
It was then the six Marks of the Dragon began glowing before the complete seal appeared on Yusei's back. My Star Mark started glowing before it vanished, only to feel something warm on my back.
"The Crimson Dragon's Seal in on Yusei's back!" Aki said.
"And Estelle's Mark is on her back!" Crow stated. "What's going on?"
I noticed something glowing and turned around to see both my and Yusei's Duel Runners glowing with red aura. It was the Crimson Dragon's doing.
"And their Duel Runners are glowing too!" Aki added.
"Is it the Crimson Dragon's power?!" Jack exclaimed.
The Crimson Dragon briefly appeared among the aura before he vanished. Yusei and I looked at each other and nodded, both of us knowing what we had to do. "Let's go, Yusei!" I told him.
"Yeah!" Yusei nodded before we hurried to the Runners.
"Yusei! Estelle!" Aki called in shock as we left our friends behind.
"The Crimson Dragon's calling for us!" Yusei yelled.
I quickly put the helmet on and got on my Runner before turning on the engine. I backed from the spot I had parked it and turned to my friends. "Hurry and evacuate to a safe spot! And look after my boys if you spot them!"
"Wait, where are you guys going?!" Crow called.
"To repair the damage!" I replied.
Yusei got on his Duel Runner and turned it on before he drove away from the Fountain Plaza. I followed him without hesitating, leaving the others to fend for themselves. We drove to the highway without any interference, except for a few falling boulders from tall buildings, but we managed to dodge them. Once we made it to a safe place, the Crimson Dragon appeared next to us as if he was leading the way.
"Crimson Dragon, take me to where Stardust Dragon is!" Yusei begged.
The Crimson Dragon replied with a roar as I noticed a change of the energy. The God was preparing himself to use his power to transport us back in time.
"Let's rev it up!" I yelled as I pushed the gas.
I put my attention ahead of the road as everything else around me slowly vanished, as if I had fallen into a trance. The Mark on my back kept spreading its warmth as the Crimson Dragon activated his power to send us to the past.
XXXXXXXXXX
The Crimson Dragon managed to bring me and Yusei to Venice and used his body to shield Yuki Judai from Stardust Dragon's Cosmic Flare attack. When we tried confronting Paradox, he decided to leave the GX timeline on his Duel Runner instead of facing us, but he left a warning that Judai's era will also fall to ruin.
The aftermath of the attack in Venice had left its traces and some mini fire was still smoking. To avoid curious eyes, Yusei, Judai, and I hid on the rooftops while the Duel Runners were hidden in an alleyway. We tried to learn more of what happened in the GX era by asking Judai some questions and telling him how we ended up in his era.
"Will you be all right?" Yusei asked as I checked Judai's bruises and a few cuts on his face.
"Yeah, they're just scratches- Ow!" Judai yelped as I applied some disinfectant ointment on his cuts. "That hurt!"
"It means the ointment is working", I said calmly before I closed the lid of the container. "There. That should do it."
"Thanks", Judai grinned as I moved back while putting away the container in my handbag. "So, just to make sure, you two came through a time slip from the future, using the power of a Spirit God, in pursuit of that white dragon the guy in the oddball mask stole… Is that about the gist?"
"That's correct", Yusei nodded. "I know it sounds hard to believe…"
"I believe!" Judai smiled excitedly. "Traveling through time is the kinda stuff that gets me pumped, you know!" His smile dropped as he tried figuring out our names. "Uh, err…"
"My name is Fudo Yusei", Yusei introduced himself.
"And I'm Estelle Goodwin", I nodded.
"I'm Yuki Judai", Judai officially introduced himself. "Nice to meet'cha." He glanced down at the two red Duel Runners in awe. "By the way, I've been curious for a while now… Are those the future Duel Disks?"
"You could say that", I replied with a small smile.
"Awesome!" Judai gaped in awe. "It's evolved that much?!"
The spirits of Banner and Yubel appeared next to the GX protagonist. "I bet you want to ride it, huh, Judai?" Banner chuckled. His cat, Pharaoh, yawned as he stood next to Judai's backpack.
Judai looked at the spirits a bit surprised. "Hey, I told ya not to show up without warning. You'll freak Yusei and Estelle out!"
"Seeing us won't be enough to freak them out", Yubel chuckled.
"Huh?" Judai raised an eyebrow confusedly as he turned to me and Yusei, seeing we weren't surprised by the appearance of the two spirits.
"They also have strong Spirit powers in them", Banner added.
Yusei removed his right glove to pull up the sleeve of his jacket to reveal his Mark. "You must mean this Mark."
I pulled up the sleeves of my jacket and top to reveal my own Star Mark. "We've both been blessed by the dragon God that brought us here."
"It means you two are Duelists chosen by the Duel Monsters as well", Judai said before he stood up.
"By the way, why were you and Paradox fighting?" Yusei asked as he put the glove back on.
Judai looked at the damage caused by the battle between him and Paradox. "So Paradox's his name? Lately, there's been a spring of incidents of Duel Monsters cards going missing around here… I went in pursuit of the cause and that's when I encountered him."
The way his eyes looked told me there was something more than just Duel Monsters cards being stolen. From what I remembered, Rainbow Dragon belonged to one of Judai's best friends, Jesse Anderson. Some people in my world speculated he and Judai were something more than just friends, but nothing had been officially confirmed.
"Judai…", Yusei spoke up, getting his attention. "I must retrieve Stardust Dragon. If we just leave Paradox be, my city…" He shook his head to correct himself. "No, not just my city! History will be thrown out of whack and the world will meet its doom! Judai, please lend us a hand!"
"Of course!" Judai nodded determinedly. "I'll be damned if I back out now after getting run through the ringer like I have!"
"Thank you very much!" Yusei said in relief.
"So… How're we supposed to look for it?" Judai asked. "Paradox's probably gone into the past."
"We need to find some articles or clues about any kinds of distortion in the past", I suggested. "Like in Muto Yugi's era. You've got a laptop or a portable device?"
"Now I get it", Judai nodded. "All we have to do is find that distorted recollection!" He grabbed his backpack and pulled out a laptop which he activated and began typing key words. "Maybe we can find that article if we access the Manjoume Group's database… And there we go!"
Each one of us gasped in horror at the new article. It said that the same Dueling event Yusei and I saw in our era had been interrupted by Duel Monsters dragons that killed everything and everyone. Several names were on a casualty list next to the article and we spotted two familiar names; Muto Sugoroku and Pegasus himself! If the creator of Duel Monsters got killed, that meant the Duel Monsters in the future would no longer exist!
"What a disaster! That was his goal!" Judai exclaimed in shock.
"If this were to really happen…!" Yusei began.
"Don't tell me…!" Judai gasped as he picked up Neos' card, but the Duel Monster vanished from the artwork. "Neos is disappearing!"
"Because Pegasus got killed, the Duel Monsters are no more in this era!" I said.
Seconds later, the sky turned black with heavy clouds and black ash was falling once again. The buildings in Venice were slowly crumbling apart as the famous bell tower in Piazza San Marco collapsed to the ground, throwing up dust and dirt. The whole place shook as I almost lost my balance, so I grabbed Yusei's shoulder to keep myself steady.
I may have never been in Venice before this event, but it was a horrific sight to see one of the oldest and famous cities on the planet get destroyed because of the history distortion.
"The apocalypse has reached this era too!" I told the boys.
"So this is what you were talking about…", Judai said in fear as he witnessed the destruction.
"Let's hurry!" Yusei said.
"Right!" Judai nodded.
The GX protagonist put away his stuff and Pharaoh in the backpack as Yusei and I climbed down from the rooftop to get to the Duel Runners. They were still safe, so we turned the engines on and rolled them out to the open streets. Judai jumped down from the rooftop and landed gracefully on his feet.
"Get on!" I called as I moved a bit forward on my Runner. "My Runner can hold two people!"
"Coming!" Judai called as he ran to me.
He got on the Duel Runner and wrapped his arms around me as Yusei revved the engine of his Runner to see all was clear. "Let's you, Estelle, Judai!"
"I'm ready!" Judai shouted.
"Me too!" I nodded. "Crimson Dragon, lend us your power one more time!"
On that signal, my Mark began glowing as it resumed its place on my back while the complete Seal of the Dragon appeared on Yusei's back. The Crimson Dragon appeared in the sky with an echoing roar.
"Wow! Awesome!" Judai said in awe at the sight of the God.
"Hold on tight, Judai!" I called.
Yusei and I simultaneously pushed the gas before we drove down the streets. Next thing I knew, I was in that same trance again as before as everything around me disappeared.
It was time to meet the third Hero of Time; Muto Yugi.
XXXXXXXXXX
The latest poll's question I had recently was if you guys wanted me to bring back Estelle's Warrior Form in the fanfic. 10 voted "Yes", 2 voted "No", and 2 voted "Not sure…". While the majority has won, I'm going to experiment around a bit and not make Estelle use her Warrior Form as often as in the old version.
