"They're in trouble!" Lise leapt to her feet. "We've gotta go get them out before they leave our dimension!"

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Akiza blinked at her friend, completely nonplussed.

"I'll explain on the way!" Lise rose into the air.

Akiza nodded. "Right." She activated her duel disk. "I synchro summon Black Rose Dragon!"

/

"What is zhis? What's going on?" Sherry demanded of the control panel. She and Bruno were frantically trying to figure out how to get their shuttle to stop.

"Looks like we're gonna go through a wormhole!" Carly couldn't resist snapping a photo despite their imminent mortal peril.

"A wormhole?"

Bruno's expression was grim. "It's a tunnel leading to another dimension, and I have no idea where we'll be dropped at!"

A holo screen popped up. Clark apparently wanted to make his last goodbye.

"You!" Yusei growled. He was not in the mood for his additional crap.

"So this is Yusei Fudo, Sherry Leblanc, Carly Carmine, and Bruno Borreli."

"How do you know my name?" Carly frowned at the screen.

"He knew who we were from the beginning," Yusei told them, removing his hat.

"You seem to have fallen so easily into my trap," Clark continued.

Sherry's glare was fierce, but wouldn't be enough to stop Clark. "I knew your company and Yliaster were related! You know zhe man who killed my fazher, oui?"

"Dr. Leblanc, what a familiar name… Such a wonderful man, but he asked way too many questions."

"Asked too many questions?"

"Dr. Leblanc was kept around to create a control card for Infinity, but he found out about the device's true purpose."

"True purpose?" Bruno murmured.

"Simply put, Infinity is a device that connects time periods. Yliaster has been using Infinity to tamper with history."

"Whoa…" Carly breathed. She silently patted herself on the back for recording all of this.

"This world is taboo. Dr. Leblanc noticed this fact, but I dealt with him."

Sherry clenched her fists. "You allowed…"

"Unfortunately, because I've told you all this, I cannot allow you to leave."

"Damnit!" Yusei swore.

"That shuttle does not have a Control Card. Eventually the shuttle will leave the wormhole and be caught in a dimensional distortion. This is goodbye to all of you." Clark's message ended abruptly.

"Wait!"

Their protests fell on deaf ears. Infinity was launching. Its light spun faster and faster until it circled and looped endlessly, an infinity, until it burst forth throughout the entire facility and into the sky…

/

Lise and Akiza were flying as fast as they could for the Momentum Express headquarters. Lise with the power of the Crimson Dragon, and Akiza with the help of her dragon.

Light suddenly burst out of the facility's dome!

"NO!"

"We're not gonna make it!"

Akiza could hear the sob in Lise's voice. Something told her that light was taking their friends somewhere that would be nearly impossible to reach. Unless… "Lise, climb aboard!"

"What?"

Akiza made room for her friend to sit. "We can't get there in time, so focus on maintaining the connection with Yusei! Don't lose him and we won't lose any of them!"

"Right!" Lise flicked the tears away from her eyes and settled down on Black Rose Dragon's back. She took a deep breath. I refuse to lose any of them!

/

The shuttle moved at a rocky pace in between dimensions. The light had projected the shuttle into some sort of in between world. Vines of countless dimensions intertwined around them, like a sea of noodles.

Such a rocky road had knocked out its passengers. Without a Control Key, the shuttle was sustaining damage. At seventy-five percent damage, the passengers began to awaken.

"Wake up!" Yusei shook Bruno.

Carly groggily pulled herself over to Sherry. "You okay?"

The four of them got to their feet wearily. Their unplanned excursion was planning to be quite the rocky road.

"Looks like we really are in a wormhole," Bruno reported.

Yusei frowned, lips a thin line. "So, it's not just a theory."

"Yliaster surpassed everyone's wildest dreams by creating such amazing scientific power."

Alarms began to blare. All the shuttle's screens blared big red WARNING signs. "Shuttle out of control. Shuttle out of control," the craft's computerized voice told its passengers. "Please use a control card as soon as possible."

Bruno consulted the controls. "We'll be ejected out of the wormhole soon!"

"Zhen what happens?!" Sherry demanded.

"No idea."

"Well, that's comforting!" Carly cried. Her head darted back and forth in search of some way out.

Bruno nodded, catching her sarcasm. "We'll probably be torn apart in the dimensional distortion or be thrown off to a certain point in time…"

"Ugh," Yusei groaned, smashing his fist into the frontal controls. "It's no use!"

"Same here!"

Smoke started to curl off the shuttle's hull. It couldn't take the constant damage from drifting randomly between time and space.

"There's gotta be a way to stop this!"

"Not without a Control Card!"

"Control Card?" Those words rang a bell for Sherry. She reached into her coat pocket. Even in disguise she couldn't allow the card her father had left to ever leave her person. Perhaps it could be their ticket out of this trap.

"Isn't that-"

"Zhe card my fazher left behind. Maybe it'll…" Sherry tapped the card onto the controls.

"Card recognized. Reinitiating normal functions," the shuttle's computer said.

"It worked!" Carly jumped for joy.

"Course confirmed. Shuttle back on track."

Abruptly, the shuttle swirled in the void of time and space. It took off in a completely new direction. Its passengers were less than enthused about being tossed around.

Even with Sherry's card serving as the new control card, the shuttle had still sustained too much damage. The windshield cracked and broke! Wind sucked at the interior of the shuttle, pulling Sherry towards the broken window.

"Sherry!" Yusei and Carly reached for their friend. Bruno struggled to keep the shuttle on course with minimal rocking. Carly hung onto one of the loose rubber wires, with one hand, and Yusei's hand with the other. Yusei reached for Sherry floating in the void. He snagged her hand. Sherry gripped on to his wrist as hard as she could.

Carly braced herself against the edge of the shuttle and pulled. The winds were strong, so they need to get Sherry aboard as fast as possible. Slowly, but surely, they managed to get Sherry back on board. Bruno even managed to find the emergency shutter button. The four of them collected their breath sitting on the floor.

"Okay…" Carly said when everything seemed to have calmed down. "Let's never do that again."

I'm glad you're all okay.

Define okay. How are you still with me, Lise? Yusei was still freaking out. He and his friends WERE trapped in a wormhole, but just hearing her voice was an enormous comfort.

Akiza made the right call. We couldn't get to the M.E. building in time, so I maintained the connection with you as much as possible. Where are you guys?

Uh…

Bruno pointed out the windows. "Are you guys seeing this?"

The world outside was bathed in red light. The city, ground, streets, and even the sky were molten red. An enormous, upside down, spiral city spread out over what must have formerly been New Domino City. Was this the future?

Yusei…

That's not me! Lise's presence joined Yusei's in looking around his psyche.

A familiar figure emerged. He had dark blue eyes, dark hair that stuck up in the back, and wore a long lab coat…

"Father?!" Yusei gasped.

Yusei, you shouldn't get close to this.

"What is it? Some kind of floating island?"

That is the Momentum that will lead to the destruction of mankind.

Holy shit… Lise breathed.

"Destroy mankind?!"

Professor Fudo was already leaving. His presence began to float away…

"What do you mean, father?!"

Yusei, I'll return you to your own world… Professor Fudo said and vanished without another word.

Wow. Lise let out a long breath. And I thought the Crimson Dragon's warnings were unhelpful.

"Yusei?" Carly was waving her hand in front of her friend's face. "Hello? You all right in there?"

"Good news though, the shuttle's functions have returned. We can go back to our original location!" Bruno said.

Good to hear! We'll meet you there and get you out! Lise promised.

/

"You're saying you killed Yusei Fudo, Bruno Borelli, Carly Carmine, and Sherry Leblanc?"

"H-He knew all of Yliaster's secrets!" Clark was explaining to his computer. He adjusted his glasses to hide wiping away a droplet of sweat.

Joel's visible eye narrowed at Clark from the other end of the computerized call. "They still had an important role to play!"

Clark clenched his teeth. "What business did you have with them?!"

"Well," Luciano snickered. "It doesn't matter since it looks like they haven't died yet!"

"However," Joel took control back. "So long as they know about Momentum Express, they won't leave it alone. It's time for you to go extinct."

"No way!"

"It's a good time to eliminate the trash formerly known as Momentum Express!" Luciano giggled manically.

"Wait, please!" Clark begged.

"I've already taken care of that."

Placido joined his comrades from a portal he'd ripped open with his sword. "It's time for you to vanish."

"Placido."

/

White light burst across New Domino City, extending across the Earth. It rippled past everyone like the ripples in a pond.

Akiza felt the blast first. A red bubble encircled her and her dragon that combined with Lise's bubble. "What was that?"

/

Back at the garage, the twins, Crow, and Jack also felt the light pass over them. Red bubbles enclosed themselves around them. Lazar and Mizoguchi were caught in the bubbles, also protecting them from whatever the light waves were supposed to do…

"What…What was that?" Lazar asked first.

/

Up in the air, a private plane was also swept up in the light blast…

/

Placido grinned at their now blank holo screen. Clark was no more.

"So Placido, you already recovered, despite having been damaged so much?"

Placido wasn't going to fall for Luciano's teasing this time. "I won't die until I have my revenge on Yusei."

/

"What just happened?" The red-haired boy aboard the private plane asked his friends.

The brown-haired boy spoke up. "It was that phenomenon again…"

The boy with silver hair double checked the cover of the magazine he was perusing. Before the light, his picture alongside his teammates had been on the cover. Now, after the light, the cover depicted three different people in long white cloaks.

A stewardess caught their puzzle expressions. "Is something wrong?"

"Didn't you notice the quake?"

"Quake?"

"It's nothing, thanks," the silver-haired boy said quickly.

The stewardess shook her head to rid herself of her own confusion, no doubt. She returned to her station.

"It seems that we're the only ones aware of the phenomenon."

"What happens now?" The brown-haired boy asked.

"Something in the past has changed," he showed the others his now changed magazine. "Our popularity has been sidelined. I think everyone else was affected, but the Three Polar Star Gods protected us."

The three boys reached into their clothes, pulling out three synchro monsters…

/

Jack and Crow ran down he docks of New Domino City. Leo and Luna, Lazar, and Mizoguchi were right behind them.

"What's this about?" Leo demanded as he struggled to keep up. "What's going on?"

"Don't know," Crow yelled back. "But my mark is telling me…"

"Look!" Jack stopped and pointed up into the sky.

A new kind of portal, white and light as a foggy morning spiraled into view amongst the blue sky. Akiza swooped in with Black Rose Dragon and Lise to intercept the portal. The portal's opening was tiny, Lise reached forward to push it open further.

/

The shuttle couldn't take any more damage. It had started to collapse nose first. Pieces broke off and vanished into the redness of this other world.

"Bruno, we're running out of shuttle!" Carly screamed.

Bruno grunted, trying to keep the shuttle aimed towards the tiny white portal. Their ticket to freedom. "Hang on!"

The edge of the shuttle crashed into the circular fibers swirling through both dimensions. Nobody moved after the dust had settled. They still didn't know what was on the other side of this portal.

Suddenly a hand emerged. An arm was connected to it. Another arm and hand braced against the edge of the portal. Blond hair and blue eyes emerged from the whiteness. Lise was in their dimension from the waist up.

"Come on!" Lise extended her hand. "Let's go! This thing won't stay open forever!"

"Don't need to tell me twice!" Carly jumped up and grabbed Lise's hand first. Lise dragged her to the edge of the portal to allow Carly to pull herself through the rest of the way.

"Next!"

/

"Whoa!" Carly gasped. She wasn't expecting to emerge over the waters of New Domino City on the back of Black Rose Dragon!

Akiza immediately grabbed Carly to assist her through the rest of the portal. "I gotcha!"

"It's Carly!" Jack sobbed back on the docks. "She's okay!"

Mizoguchi couldn't tear his eyes away from the portal. Sherry?

/

Lise had Bruno through faster than Carly. But that meant there were still two people to go.

She extended her hand again. "Don't fight over it! Let's go!"

"You go!" Sherry shoved Yusei forward. "I have to get something."

"Sherry, no!" Yusei wanted to go after her but the Shuttle was still being destroyed piece by piece. Lise couldn't hold the portal open much longer either. Her arm was shaking on the portal's edge.

Sherry was already running to the shuttle controls. Her card was still there, nestled in place. She couldn't leave without it. It was the only thing that could lead her back to her father's killer.

"I'll get her too. GO!" Lise shoved Yusei head first into the portal. "Come on, Sherry! You gotta go now!" Lise held her hand out, ignoring the shuttle breaking apart all around her. Sherry could still make it. She had to!

/

"Yusei, you made it!" Akiza sighed. Her friends were going to make it out of this!

Yusei stared back at Lise still half inside the portal. Her arms were struggling to keep it open. There wasn't much of the shuttle left either, according to his memory. "Sherry's still inside."

/

Sherry pocketed the card and turned tail. The void between dimensions was tearing the shuttle to shreds. It was practically gone already, swallowed by nothingness. Sherry hopped between piece to piece, making her way over to Lise. She was making good time, but not fast enough.

"Hurry, Sherry, hurry!"

She was so close. Lise felt their fingertips brush.

But then the back end of the shuttle collapsed. The winds of the void blew around at gale force strength. They caught Sherry at full force. Not even the little portal's pull was enough to get Sherry to safety.

"Sherry!"

"Lise!"

"SHERRY!"

"Take revenge in my place!" Sherry yelled, flipping aimlessly through the strands of the void.

"NO!" Lise screamed. The portal was collapsing around her. She couldn't hold it open any more. "SHERRY!"

/

"Got her!" Akiza managed to yank Lise back to the right side of the portal in time.

Lise fell onto Black Rose Dragon's face like a skidding bike. "NO!" She got up and ran for the portal.

"Sherry!" Akiza realized too late. Both girls reached for the vestiges of the portal just as it vanished. "No…" Akiza slumped to her knees.

"She was right there…" Lise murmured; her fists clenched. Quiet tears dripped down her face.

Yusei's hands fell on Lise's back and shoulder. "You did what you could," he said solemnly.

Akiza flew them down to the others in complete silence. Black Rose Dragon vanished once everyone was safely on shore.

"You're okay!" Jack swept Carly up into a big hug.

Crow sighed, hands on hips. "You made it back to New Domino…City…" he trailed off when he saw their expressions.

"Where's…" Mizoguchi looked around, hoping someone was hiding Sherry behind them. "Where's Sherry?"

"She…" Lise wiped her eyes. "She…"

Bruno stepped in. "We lost her…in the other dimension. She's…I don't think she's dead, but… we have no way of knowing for sure…"

"No…" Mizoguchi shook his head, stepping back from the Signers. "No!" He took off running. Most likely to scour the entire city for Sherry…

"I'm sorry…" Lise whispered after him.

Yusei squeezed her hand. It's not your fault.

"What's that?!" Luna pointed back into the sky.

The giant, upside down city had followed the gang of infiltrators from the other dimension. It was dark, like a broken shadow, in the light blue sky.

"We saw that in the alternate dimension."

Leo squinted up. "What're you guys talking about?"

"Yeah," Lazar shaded his eyes. "I don't see anything either."

"Take a look!" Jack's finger joined Luna. "That huge island in the sky!"

"An island floating in the sky?"

"You can't see it?" Luna blinked at her brother and the sky island.

"We can see it," Lise sniffled, rubbing her eyes. "Because of the Crimson Dragon."

"Ugh, I wanna be a Signer already!" Leo groaned.

"What is it again?"

"The Momentum that will lead to the destruction of mankind," Yusei said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, that thing is definitely connected to Yliaster, and will be a major threat for us to deal with."

"Can we go back to Momentum Express to find out more?" Luna suggested.

"And more. Momentum Express willingly cooperated with Yliaster," Yusei said, taking a deep breath. Sherry's loss was still fresh. They needed to do something for her, go forward with uncovering more secrets of Yliaster.

"What?!"

"Whatever evidence we find will indicate Yliaster's involvement."

/

All of them drove out to the Momentum Express's facilities. Except there was no Momentum Express!

"Impossible!"

"It's completely gone!"

"It was here, right?"

"No doubt about it!"

"How could such a huge facility just disappear?"

Lise crossed her arms. "This reeks of making their final move. They wouldn't destroy this entire facility without feeling assured their plans will work out."

Carly tutted her tongue darkly. "Well, that's ominous."

/

Crow had turned on the TV when they'd returned home for a distraction. But instead was met with something even worse. "Everybody, come quick!"

They crowded around in time to see Angela's fat head taking up the entire TV screen. "Listen up, everyone! The favorites of the WRGP, Team New World, has just touched down here at the airport!" Angela moved aside to let her viewers see the THREE EMPERORS!

"Team New World?" Crow frowned at their name. "That team wasn't there before, right?"

Luna nodded. "What on Earth is going on?"

Lazar collapsed against the couch. "This can't be…"

Bruno did a quick google search on his computer. "Team New World. This top duelist team will soon join the ranks of the world and will become a dominant force. They are one of the most popular and influential teams that there is in the world… Every site has the same story."

"That's weird," Leo said matter-of-factly. "It's almost as if our memories and the memories of people across the world are different."

"How?"

Something occurred to Yusei. "Bruno, bring up the tournament chart."

"Yeah…"

"Look!" Yusei pointed at the computer screen. "The tournament has changed!"

Even Jack had to stand up for this one. "What did you say?"

Everyone crowded around the computer.

"Sherry's team has been removed," Lise said quietly.

Yusei nodded. "They've altered history."

"Altered history?" Akiza breathed.

"Yes, what Clark and the Emperors said was true. They're manipulating the past to change today's history."

"But that's impossible," Carly insisted.

"Then that means that shockwave of light…" Crow said. "That was the effect that distorted history!"

"The Crimson Dragon protected us," Leo breathed a sigh of relief.

"They changed the past, so that explains why Momentum Expression doesn't exist anymore," Jack added. "But if Yliaster does have the power to do so, why wouldn't they just eliminate us?"

"If Yliaster really does think of us as a hindrance, they'd finish us in more of a hurry by distorting history and making us disappear," Akiza said.

"Maybe the Crimson Dragon protects us?" Luna suggested, offering a smile to Lise.

Lise didn't return the smile. "To some extent, but it feels like more than that. The Dark Signers were supposed to defeat us. History had its chance. My guess? They're using us for something else."

"Yes," Yusei agreed. "We have some sort of role to play in their scheme."

"So instead they'd want to preserve our existence?" Akiza raised an eyebrow.

"I'm nobody's pawn!" Leo cried. "And I don't even know how to play chess!"

"With this new move, they're declaring that they will appear and participate in the WRGP. We'll have to fight them to get more answers."

Everyone exchanged solemn nods. They'd all been prepared to fight from the beginning. Even more so now that they'd lost Sherry.

"Hello! Anyone home?!"

"Trudge?!"

"Oh no!" Lazar whispered, frantically looking around. "I gotta hide!"

Once he was well hidden, Crow responded. "Up here, Trudge!"

"Hey there," Trudge came up the stairs with Mina right behind him. "We need to talk to you."

"What happened?"

"This is a bit confusing to me, but the WRGP might be canceled," Trudge sat down.

"What?"

"Why?!"

"After the qualifiers, we were flooded with complaints about the WRGP," Mina explained. She elected to stay standing. "We asked the Steering Committee for their opinion, and I think it would be better off if the tournament were canceled."

"I'm against it, but the higher ups don't wanna hear my opinion," Trudge muttered.

Mina nodded. "And the Director position has been vacant since Director Goodwin left. The Assistant Director, who has left on vacation, has yet to return."

Everyone had to make a visible effort not to glance at Lazar's hiding place.

"The Director's gone?"

"I see. They've stepped in unable to take two roles at once, so they altered that as well, huh?" Jack mused to himself.

Carly elbowed him. "They don't know about that," she hissed.

"At any rate, there currently isn't anyone who can overturn the Steering Committee's decision."

"But…" Yusei scowled deeply. "If the WRGP is canceled, we've lost our opportunity to fight back."

"We could always punch them," Lise suggested under her breath. "Even so-called gods can get punched…"

"You forgot about me!" Lazar burst out of his hiding spot theatrically.

Mina and Trudge gasped. "Director Lazar?!"

"What're you doing here?!"

Lazar brushed dust off his coat and composed himself. "I know for sure my memories haven't been tampered with. Assistant Director Lazar has officially returned from vacation!"

"Are you sure, Lazar?" Yusei asked.

"Yeah, if you put yourself out there, you could be at risk. Your family too," Crow warned him.

"Why would the Director be coming back, anyways? I decided to be prepared! I'll fight Yliaster too!"

Jack shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

"Right," Lazar nodded. "I'll return to the Public Security Maintenance Bureau. Please get to the car, Chief Mina and Assistant Chief Trudge!"

"Yes sir!" Both of them ran out of the garage like their lives depended on it.

"Team 5Ds, even though my time here was short, I've learned a lot from you guys. I will allow the WRGP to continue! Unmask Yliaster and win! I believe in you, Team 5Ds!"

/

That night, Lazar had an announcement for the entire city. "I am the Assistant Director of the Public Security Maintenance Bureau, Lazar. According to article 20 of the Public Security Maintenance Bureau, I have been assigned Director of Public Security. Now as Director of Public Security, I have decided that the WRGP will continue as planned!"

/

Sherry lay on nothingness. There wasn't anything but whiteness from all directions. And the only other person was standing above her…

"Fazher?" Sherry sat up. "Where am I? Am I dead?"

"No, not so. Also, I am not Dr. Leblanc. Your heart craves for the mere presence of Dr. Leblanc."

"Zhen, who are you?"

"I am the one who knows the truth."

"Zhe truzh?"

"If you seek the truth, I shall tell you. Know that your fate will be altered."

"I don't care!" Sherry insisted. "I want to know! I want to know zhe truth about what's 'appening!"

"Fine. Come with me," the figure extended its hand for Sherry.

With minimal hesitation, she took it…

/

Lise and Yusei had gone to watch the last of the sunset by themselves. They needed time to process everything. This way they could talk, watch the sunset, and hold each other.

Momentum that will ruin mankind…What did my dad mean?

Is it possible a part of his spirit is bonded to the Momentum energy?

Yusei's hand squeezed Lise's. She squeezed back. It'd explain why he keeps popping up when Momentum is concerned…

And clearly when you need it… Lise's small smile faded. I wish he could've been there for Sherry too.

I know. Yusei sighed. We've…we've gotta do something to try and find her. If I had just stayed behind a second longer…

Hey. Lise sat up and wrapped her arms around Yusei. He reciprocated, holding her as she held him. It wasn't your fault either. We WILL find her. Somehow. We have to…

(Another chapter! Yeah! I was really excited to rearrange the elements of this chapter, and I hope it turned out all right! Let me know what you think!

Stay safe, stay healthy, support BLM and LGBTQIA+ people, and stay calm. We'll go forward to the best of our abilities.

Once again, thank you for your support! I appreciate it!)