A scream rang through the air, shocking Jaden as he jumped to attention.
"What's—" He could barely finish the word before a particularly high-pitched woman cried again, pointing to Jaden— No. Pointing to Yubel.
She could see Yubel?!
"Monster!" she shouted, turning and tripping and scrambling away, as others followed. Before the trio could even react, more cries in the distance followed, heralded by the sounds of grinding breaks and crashing cars.
At that, Jaden turned and went slack-jawed—
—because in the distance, there were monsters, Duel Monsters. Dozens of them. A pair of Hitotsu-Me Giants, a ravaging gang of Attack Force Goblins, and a humongous Doom Dozer scaling a building— and those were just the ones Jaden could recognize off the cuff! Even more winged monsters filled the air above, sending the whole city into a frenzy as Jaden and the others just stared in horror.
"What's going on!?" he called out. "Why are Duel Monsters showing up outta nowhere?!"
"I don't know! But—" Banner stammered out as he took a step back. "Something— Something like this has happened before!"
"Huh, what're you talking about?" Jaden asked, watching as the streets around them quickly cleared. He was half tempted to follow them.
"Years ago, shortly after Battle City, there was an incident of Duel Monsters coming to life," Banner explained then, as Jaden began moving with Yubel and him close behind.
"And you're saying it's happening again!?" Jaden called, as the cries of the monsters overhead began to grow louder.
Before Banner could answer that, a wave of terror-filled screams filled the air. The whole city was screaming, and for good reason too. Because the sky was going dark. Storm clouds? This sudden?
It was a storm, alright, but not a natural one.
Because natural storms don't have a literal eye.
High above the city's skyline, in the center of the mass of black clouds, a stark white eye opened, its pupil constricting into a thin slit as a ring of green spun around it. A terrifying cry followed it, hurricane-force winds barreling down at the city, blowing away monsters and humans alike. Jaden could barely hold his own against it.
Reaching for his duel disk, Jaden struggled to pull a card out. With a great heave, however, he managed to raise it into the air.
"I— activate— Transcendent Wings!"
With a flash of light, the wind was broken, blown back by two mighty wings that arced out of the monster at Jaden's side: Winged Kuriboh. With a moment to breathe, Jaden let out a sigh of relief.
"Thanks, buddy," he said then with a cough. He didn't spare a moment after, returning his attention to the rumbling storm above. "Looks like my hunch was right, guys. If Duel Monsters are coming to life, then anything we summon will as well!"
With gritted teeth, Jaden activated his duel disk.
"Meaning whatever this thing is, we can fight back!" he called out, drawing two more cards from his deck. "So I Summon Elemental Hero Neos and Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!"
Without a moment's hesitation, two more flashes of light appeared at Jaden's side, marking the arrival of his monsters
"Let's show this drizzle what we can do, pals!" he then said, pumping his fist. "Go, Neos Force and Skyrise Scorcher!"
Jaden's monsters shot straight into the air, spiraling upwards as they avoided shots of black lightning that fired out of their opponent. This was going to be close.
Encasing himself in a torrent of fire, Flame Wingman struck first, slamming into the storm and burning away huge swaths of it in an instant. Fire and embers rained down from the impact, alongside the enraged roar of the beast itself. They were hurting it!
Now up close and personal, Flame Wingman went for seconds. Pulling back, he readied a direct hit right into the heart of it, white-hot flames ready to incinerate everything in sight. It was too late, however, as a crack of black lightning struck him and forced him back.
Neos was up next, beams of energy firing from his forehead as he approached his target. With a mighty cry, he reared a fist back, just moments from striking the beast's eye. It was a few moments too late, however, as another thunderous boom of black lightning rained down, just barely stopping Neos from landing the blow.
With that, the two were left plummeting back to earth.
"Neos! Flame Wingman!" With that cry, Jaden's face tightened, a growl underlying it all as he drew a new hand of cards. Time for his recovery move. "I gotcha, buddies! I activate Miracle Fusion and Miracle Contact!"
At that call, Neos and Flame Wingman's falling bodies became encased in light, growing brighter until they were just two points falling from the sky. Seconds before they would've hit the ground, however, they froze, the light shattering and fading as it revealed new monsters underneath.
"Let's show them what a real storm is like! Elemental Hero Storm Neos and Shining Flare Wingman!"
A crack of lightning came down in defiance of Jaden's cry, deflected with just a flick of Neos's cobalt blue arm. Shining Flare Wingman then served up the return fire, sending a solid beam of white-hot energy back up at the storm, too fast for it to block. It screamed in agony as Jaden's monster managed to carve a hole straight into the blue sky behind it.
"Heck yeah, take that you oversized Cloudian!"
Jaden's celebrations were short-lived, however, as the storm quickly reconstituted itself, its attention focusing on Jaden with a distinct glare. Arcs of black lightning began firing across its surface, pooling towards the ring surrounding its iris.
"Oh jeeze, I think we pissed it—"
That clever comment was cut short, as two thunderous booms of lightning fired down, striking Storm Neos and Flare Wingman in quick succession. Jaden could only cry out as they shattered into dust, their pain just barely registering before he was blown back.
"Jaden!" Zooming after him, Yubel caught Jaden seconds before he would've hit the asphalt, thankful at that moment that she wasn't intangible today. "Things are getting worse, fast."
That was an understatement. The hurricane-force gales from before returned, blowing all around the trio and clearing out any stragglers who'd managed to hunker down until now. A wall of wind soon formed around them, locking the trio in place as the thunderous black storm above raged. Escape was impossible.
"Jaden, Jaden! Get up!" Yubel shook Jaden as he laid in her arms, groaning in pain from that last attack.
"Ugh, five more minutes," he grumbled, leaning forward only slightly.
"Jaden, if we don't do something, we're done for!" Banner cried out, trying his best to not let his soul be blown away.
Jaden didn't even have the opportunity to answer before the storm struck again, sending a bolt of black lightning down on the three. There was nowhere to run, they were done for!
"Jaden!"
But like a cry to heaven, Yubel's plea was answered. A beam of energy shattered the walls of wind, meeting and destroying the storm's attack mere moments before impact. An explosion filled the air, drowned out by a mighty roar and a proud declaration that followed it.
"Oh no you don't!"
All three turned with a look of shock and awe because—
They recognized that voice.
"Yeeeeeeehaw!" Flying out from behind a skyscraper, a white dragon with angelic wings appeared, firing beams of rainbow energy that cut straight through the dark overcast. And despite it all, the most astonishing sight to see wasn't the dragon itself, but what stood on top of that dragon: Its rider.
"Jesse!" Jaden leapt to his feet and cheered at the sight for sore eyes, his friend, as he began circling the trio. "What the heck are you doing here?!"
"Y'all thought you could keep a tournament this big away from Jesse Anderson? Heck no!" Jesse called out from his dragon's back, as it fired more and more shots up at the storm. "Kicking evil butt with my Jay is just a bonus!"
Jesse shot Jaden a goofy grin up from his perch, taking his eye off the enemy for just a moment. That moment, however, was all it needed. With a glare of the storm's eye, it built up another barrage of black lightning, firing it without a second's hesitation at its distracted enemy.
Realizing Jesse was in danger, Jaden cried out.
"Watch out!"
Jesse's gaze whipped to attention, the attack moments from impact. He couldn't dodge it!
But, he didn't have to.
"Let's show them how a hero really does it!" Another voice entered the fray. Seconds later, a dark body shot in between Jesse and the lightning, tanking the hit and saving Jesse from an early demise.
"Whoa!" Pulling his dragon back, Jesse quickly made distance, sending return fire as his savior took a moment to shrug off the hit. "Well I'll be darned, it's—"
"Destiny End Dragoon! Aster!" Jaden's smile grew wider as another one of his friends arrived, just in the nick of time as well. Looking to where he heard the voice, he found Aster Phoenix perched high atop the building behind him, his duel disk at the ready as his Destiny Hero did its work.
"Now, let's give it back to 'em! Vengeful Reign of Blood!" The black lightning arched across Dragoon's body before shooting into its wings, collecting and charging. Then, with a fierce cry, it fired the lightning back up at their enemy in a storm of smaller shots.
The storm could only scream and writhe as it was hit over and over by Aster's Destiny Hero and Jesse's Rainbow Dragon.
And things wouldn't lighten up for it soon, as more fighters joined the fray. Shooting across the sky like one of those bolts of black lightning, a four-armed warrior arrived, slamming into the eye and forcing it higher into the sky.
"A Cyber Angel!" Jaden soon realized. Alexis was here! And she wasn't alone. Soon following the warrior, calling Jaden's attention, was the cry of another creature. A huge winged beast with a monstrous beak and black scales was flying in from the horizon. It took Jaden only a moment to realize it was a dinosaur. "And Hassleberry sends his regards too! Let's go, guys!"
Yubel and Banner disappeared as Jaden, with a running start, leapt up onto his friend's winged monster, landing on its back and holding on for dear life.
"Hope you understand me, big guy, cause I could use the help getting up there!"
It seemed Hassleberry's monster got the message, as it began climbing into the air in a big sweeping path, giving Jaden a good vantage point of his friend's monsters. They were bombarding the storm with a flurry of rainbow beams, blood-red pellets, and bone-shattering kicks. And it wouldn't be long until their forces increased.
From behind Jaden, he heard a proud cry ring out
"Go Super Vehicroid - Stealth Union!" Jaden whipped around, a huge grin on his face as he saw Syrus rise above the skyline of the city, standing proudly atop his robot fusion. Seconds later two more monsters joined him— Cyber End Dragon and Cyberdark Dragon!
"Union Attack!" With that, Syrus's three monsters let out synchronized blasts of energy, firing right past Jaden and into the storm's center, drawing out another angry cry of pain.
"Let's go, Sy!" he cheered, turning back to watch the battle. What he found instead, however, was a faceful of dragon. "Ahh!"
Jaden nearly fell off his ride at the sight of Rainbow Dragon so close, before Jesse pulled back with a laugh and met him face to face.
"Hey pardner, fancy seeing you here! Need a lift?" he called out, motioning to the spot behind him. Jaden grinned as he stood up from Hassleberry's monster, holding onto its head for support.
"Heh, don't mind if I do!" he called out, making the leap and landing at Jessie's side. With a cocky smile, he pulled out a card. "Mind if I pimp your ride though?"
"Go right ahead! We're gon need all the firepower we can get!" Jesse declared as Rainbow Dragon fired another beam of energy straight at their target, a flash of black lightning whizzing by.
"Alright then, I activate Monster Reborn and Polymerization! Bringing back Elemental Hero Neos and" —Neos reappeared, flying at their side— "fusing him with Rainbow Dragon!"
The two monsters dissolved into clouds of gold and white light, leaving Jesse and Jaden floating for a moment before the light came together. Seconds later, a single form solidified and a new humongous monster took its place— An angelic warrior with wings that could touch the horizon.
"Say hello to, Rainbow Neos!" The two of them called in unison. "Now attack with Rainbow Radiance!"
With a surge of energy that laid still the entire battlefield, their Fusion Monster attacked, sending a massive column of multicoloured light directly into the center of the storm. The cloud cover shuddered and shook, pillars of light from the daytime peaking and almost breaking through. The storm's blood-curdling cry rang through the whole city at that moment, even overpowering the sound of the attack it was receiving.
And then, just like that, the cover broke. All around the eye, the thick wall of black clouds sputtered into nothing, bringing light to Domino City once again. All that remained was the eye itself, weak and shuddering as Rainbow Neos's attack came to a close.
A silent moment passed before Jaden grinned.
"Hahaha!" he cheered, shooting a fist into the air as his voice rang through the silent city. "Take that you ugly sack of—"
"Uh, Jay?"
Jaden blinked, breaking from his celebration as Jesse shook his side. From high atop Rainbow Neos's shoulder where they stood, the two of them stared in confusion as the eye began to open, as its pupil began to widen.
And before another move could be made, as all the parties stared in horror, a gauntlet slipped through the eye. An absolutely enormous gauntlet, big enough to hold a skyscraper, slipped through the pupil and stretched.
And then, it snapped.
A thundering shockwave rang out from the hand's fingers, throwing back every combatant and sending their monsters writhing in pain. Rainbow Neos himself gripped his head, his whole body glowing white as Jaden and Jesse panicked.
"What's wrong, bud!?"
No answer came, for before another word could be said, Rainbow Neos shattered into two. His constituent parts, Neos and Rainbow Dragon, fell to the ground with Jaden and Jesse close behind.
"Ahhhhhh!" Jaden stared in horror as he saw Syrus's monster similarly defuse in the distance, Aster's Destiny End Dragoon soon following. Every one of their monsters was defusing and falling!
Oh right, falling.
Acting fast, Jaden reached for his deck.
"We could use the save, Winged Kuriboh!"
For the second time that day, Kuriboh's wings stretched across the sky, this time catching rather than deflecting its intended targets. With as delicate of a move as it could make, Winged Kuriboh deposited the two onto the ground below. Just in time as well, as Jaden and Jesse were mere seconds from seeing the bad end of the pavement.
"Good work there… Jay…" Jesse fell to his knees mere seconds after reaching the ground, as the pain of Rainbow Dragon's destruction rang through him. Jaden too felt the palpitations that followed, as he crouched down and supported Jesse up. "Don't waste your energy on me, pardner. We still got a job to finish."
The two of them grimaced as they looked up at the sky, as the black clouds of the storm began to reconstitute themselves. Not only that, the storm looked like it was getting stronger, pools of energy rising up from all over the city, rushing into the eye of the monstrosity.
In quick succession, arcs of lightning traveled towards the center of the eye, triggering Jaden's fight or flight response in an instant.
"Move, it's going for another—"
A crack of black lightning ripped through the air. Coursing, pulsing, burning a path straight to Jaden. The attack would hit dead on.
Until—
"Kiai!"
Faster than a bolt of lightning, Alexis's Cyber Angel came to their aid, blocking the attack just moments before it would've landed. Jaden could only stare in shock as shattered columns of black electricity buzzed around him.
"Great save there!" he shouted out, just moments before Alexis's emissary fell to her knees.
"Okay, maybe you spoke too soon, Jay—" Jesse's quip was cut short, as another round of thunder began to build up in the storm again, slower but stronger. "You gotta plan for getting outta this, pardner?"
Gritting his teeth, Jaden lifted Jesse up as he began moving. The storm was building up faster now, more violently. Stray streaks of lightning began firing into the air. This was definitely a finisher.
"Course I do. Kick butt, save the day," he lied through his teeth. In truth, Jaden didn't know what to do. The strongest monsters they could bear the energy to summon right now wouldn't be enough, and any fusion they tried to go into would be defused. There's a reason Alexis's ritual still stood while all their fusions went kaput.
A streak of lightning bigger than any before flew in a random direction, making the two jump. If that was a stray shot, how strong was the one aimed at them going to be?
"Well, if this is it, Jay, never let it be said I didn't die in your arms." Jesse's voice was only half kidding, which is why Jaden only half laughed.
He turned inwards.
"Yubel?"
"Yes?"
"Don't stick around for me, okay? If you can, take Banner and run." Jaden felt a rumbling in himself, from the very base of his soul, where Yubel resided.
"I promised to be with you until the end of time, Jaden. My time and yours," he heard her reply. Jaden couldn't help but chuckle at that, as he felt Yubel appear and embrace him from behind. Never let it be said he didn't die loved.
The hurricane-force winds from before came back in full effect, sealing the three off from moving a step further. All they could do was look up as their fate approached.
A thundering boom.
The attack approached.
A flash of darkness.
The attack approached.
An oncoming impact.
The attack approached, and—
Never let it be said, that Jaden would die here.
"Great hero of destiny, I call upon you!" a voice rang out, as a circle of light formed at their feet. Moments before the storm's black lightning would hit, that circle became a pillar, engulfing Jaden, Jesse, and Yubel.
And with a flash, the attack would hit nothing.
"Arrive, great hero of destiny!"
The world returned to Jaden with a flash of light, but not the world he knew. The world he knew wasn't what laid before him— a desolate battlefield, spattered with a thousand craters.
"Who, what, where, why!?" Jaden turned, the realization he was floating coming first, and the second realization soon joining it. "Jesse! Yubel!"
Turning once more, Jaden finally found a soul, but it did little to alleviate his confusion. At the very least, it was a familiar face.
"The Dark Magician Girl!" he shouted out in relief, though she strangely only offered a confused look in return. "Whoa hey, what's going on? Where are we? And what's with the getup?"
The 'getup' in question was an odd look for sure, a suit of armour that didn't seem very passionate about the whole 'armouring' deal, what with the exposed midriff and thighs.
"Jaden? What're you doing here? Where's Yugi!?" The Dark Magician Girl hastily stuck her head around him, looking to see if the King of Games was just hiding.
"What do you mean what am I doing here, you called me here!" he explained, confusion only mounting as she turned away and summoned forth a humongous spellbook. "What's going on, and where're my friends—"
Jaden paused as he looked down, the sight below him and the Dark Magician Girl completely derailing his train of thought. Down directly below the two were a set of three humongous statues, carved roughly from a foggy crystal, in the shape of dragons.
What the heck was going on?!
The Dark Magician Girl groaned and turned.
"I don't know what's happened, but my magic shouldn't have called you here, it should've called Yugi!" she shouted out. "The boy with the soul of a king. That was Yugi before, it should've been him now."
A realization came to Jaden, as he tightened up and closed his eyes.
"I think, I think you're talking about this?" When his eyes opened again, it was the Supreme King that met the Dark Magician Girl's gaze. She paused, a thought working through her mind as she saw him truly.
"I don't— I don't know how it's happened. But it seems this time, the chosen heroes of destiny have changed," she said, her explanation just going over Jaden's head again.
"Cut it out and tell me what's going on, from the beginning," he demanded, to which she nodded. With a wave of her wand, the two began to descend.
"Thousands of years ago, a terrible evil known as the Orichalcos threatened the balance of our world and yours," she explained. "Our three great knights of legend stood forth to oppose the Orichalcos, but they were sealed away, first being turned into dragons, and then locked in a crystal prison."
The two floated down until they were eye-to-eye with one of the crystal statues.
"But then, a few years ago, Yugi and his friends released the dragons and defeated the Orichalcos!" the Dark Magician Girl called out, turning to Jaden and pressing her hands into her chest.
"Doesn't seem like it lasted too long." Jaden's mouth went flat as he took in what she said. Orichalcos? Warrior of Legend? Where was this in history class!?
Shaking her head, the Dark Magician Girl pulled out her spell book again before continuing.
"A new evil has arisen, and when the three knights faced off against it, they were again sealed away as crystal dragons. And so again they must be released!" Turning her spellbook around, the Dark Magician Girl revealed to Jaden a canvas depicting three sets of three things— Three dragons, three knights, and three duelists. "The boy with a ruler's soul, the aspiring checkmate king, and the master of the odds. These are who are foretold to release the legendary dragons."
"And you're saying, one of them is me?" Jaden asked, disbelief in his voice as she nodded. "Gotta say, this isn't where I expected today to go."
"None of us did…" Putting the book away, the Dark Magician Girl took Jaden's hand and directed him down to the base of the statue, where a long sword stood, embedded in one of the dragon's claws. "We don't have much time, you must unlock one of the dragons at once!"
Jaden gripped onto the sword with two hands, a shiver running down his spine as the metal seemed to tingle his skin. What was he doing? What kind of crazy magic stuff had he gotten himself mixed up in again?
He could almost laugh at the realization that this wasn't even his weirdest adventure yet.
"Alright, well, here goes nothing." The metal pulsed under his grip. It was like the static shock of a door handle that never stopped. Then, with a pained grunt, Jaden pulled. "Come on, move you stupid thing!"
The blade resisted Jaden, sending a round of shocks through his arms as he pulled harder and harder. But then, like a realization came to it, the shocks relented and the sword budged.
"Let's, do this!" With one last mighty heave, Jaden pulled the sword loose from its bindings, raising it above his head before letting it clatter to the ground below. A moment passed. "So, what happens now—"
The ground began to shake beneath Jaden's feet, making him stumble back as the Dark Magician Girl flew a few meters away.
"You must now bond your soul with the legendary dragon!" she explained, rather vaguely at that.
"What does that mean!?" Jaden shouted out, freezing as he heard a loud crack behind him. Turning, he faced his dragon's statue as its crystal exterior began to crumble, falling away, a wave of energy surging out after it. And then, screaming in his mind, a word rang.
"Call out his name!" The Dark Magician Girl explained as Jaden understood.
With all the strength he could muster, Jaden raised his hand into the air, like he was holding up a card. The name, it called out to him, begging him to do this. And so he listened.
"I Summon, the legendary dragon—!"
"The Claw of Hermos!"
One flash of light marked the three's departure, and another marked their arrival. Moments before the pillar of black lightning would've hit, Jaden was standing at the ready, a card in hand.
And just in time too.
A shock wave rang through Domino, as a second crack of explosive energy rocked out moments after the previous one. A blast of energy, a column of pure white light, exploded out from the card in Jaden's hand, meeting the oncoming strike of black lightning and stopping it dead in its tracks. The collision alone sent an earth-shattering sound ringing through the city.
But it was paltry to what would come next.
Jaden stood his ground as best as he could, holding up the Claw of Hermos as it pumped energy out at a terrifying rate. But he was just one guy, and the energy he was up against could wipe him out a million times over. Jaden was alone.
But he wouldn't be so for long.
"I gotcha, pardner!" Jesse practically rammed into Jaden's back, grabbing onto his shoulder from behind and holding him up, just like Jaden did for him a few minutes ago. "Cutting a little too close to the cotton, aren't ya, Jay?! Don'tchu drop that card, ya hear?!"
"He wasn't— planning on it!" Jaden heard Yubel answer for him, as she joined in moments later, one hand on each of their shoulders as she pushed.
Arcs of black electricity filled the air, shooting past Hermos's attack and aiming for the trio directly. Yubel, however, just in time extended out her wings to shield them. They weren't going down without a fight.
Roaring in anger at their defiance, the storm above them began pumping even more energy into the struggle. It would not be denied.
But one of these two groups would fall today, one of them would win. They had to. They needed it. And between the fighters on both sides—
"Hermos—!" Jaden began.
One side just outnumbered the other.
"Finish this!" the three called in unison.
With a pulse of energy bigger than any before, the blast emanating from Jaden exploded in size, overtaking the black lightning and driving it back in an instant. The storm couldn't even utter a cry before it was on the receiving end of the skyscraper-sized pillar of light, which carved a hole straight through it.
With a pained screech, the storm shuddered, the storm shook, before its eye finally shuttered closed and its entire form began to collapse. Hermos's attack broke through the cloud cover, shooting out into the upper atmosphere as its target faded into nothingness before them.
Daylight filled the city again, as at long last the darkness receded.
The day returned.
"Did, did we do it?" Jaden stammered out, his arms weak as he fell to his knees. Moments later, Jesse joined him, resting a hand on his shoulder as he took a breather.
"I think we did, pardner, I think we did," he replied, letting out a sigh. A wave of relief went through the two, as the background sounds of the city began to mummer back to life.
Before they were immediately shouted over.
"Hey! Are you guys alright!" From high atop the building he was at before, Aster called down at the two, presumably stuck up there.
"A few broken legs, nothing too serious!" Laughing, Jesse stumbled to his feet, walking over and waving to Aster with a huge grin. "Am ready to hit the hay, though."
Jaden could only smile as he watched him walk a few paces away, as Yubel joined his side.
"Oh hey, you're all ethy— Ethor— Eth— Like a ghost, again."
"Ethereal?" she suggested, to which he nodded. That made her snort, giving Jaden a light shove as he settled down on the ground, that card from before still tightly gripped in his hand. "We're going to have to talk about that."
"What, my buddy Hermos?" Jaden said, looking down at the card in question for the first time. "Ah man, you're not going to believe the story around this guy. See—"
"I saw the whole thing, Jaden," she interrupted. "Same soul, remember?"
Jaden paused for a moment, before laughing and shaking his head.
"I remember," he said, finally getting to his feet. "Same soul."
The two shared a fist bump.
"Anyways, we gotta find a chance to talk to Yugi about this," Jaden said then, taking one last look at Hermos before shuffling it into his deck. "Sounds like he—"
Jaden paused as he turned, an absurd sight in the sky ripping his attention away. Were those… were those cracks?
In the sky?!
The thought wouldn't even have a moment to register in Jaden's mind, as in the next instant, that portion of the sky shattered. Tearing a hole straight through nothingness, that titanic arm from before shot through, clenching the air in anger as a round of screams filled the city at the sight of it.
It didn't wait a moment before striking, lunging down for Jaden and Jesse. The whole thing went so fast, Jaden could only think to do one thing. Jumping to his feet, Jaden leapt forward.
"Jesse!" With his last moment, Jaden shoved Jesse just out of reach of the behemoth, unable to save himself from the same fate. He was snatched up, torn upward at breakneck speeds. "Ahhh!"
"Jaden!" Jesse called back, turning in shock before the giant arm pulled away. "No!"
And just like that, Jaden and the hand disappeared into the hole in the sky.
The world returned to Jaden with a blink, a surprising sight meeting his gaze— Not the sleek streets of Domino City, but instead a rough clay brick wall. He turned, finding not the blue city skies above his head, but thatch roofing and wooden support beams instead.
"We're in the thick of it."
Turning, Jaden let out a sigh of relief at the first familiar thing in a while.
"Where the heck are we, Yubel?" he asked, walking further into the room. It was warm and humid, tropical almost. The air was dense with a sweat waiting to happen.
"The Duel Monsters spirit world," she answered, grabbing onto Jaden's arm and making him jump. "Meaning the monsters here are real. Be ready."
Nodding, Jaden activated his duel disk before turning to the final corner of the room the two were in. A bed sat there, if it could be called that. A pile of straw with a sheet on top was a better description. It was a nice sheet at least, soft-looking and colourful.
He reached down for it.
"Hello, Jaden."
Jaden whipped around at the sound, Yubel close behind as the two were caught off guard. A doorway had appeared where it wasn't before, and standing in it was a behemoth of a man, seven feet tall with the shoulders to match. A stoic frown rested on his face as he and Jaden locked eyes.
"Who—"
"Goodbye."
With a flash of light, the giant arm from before appeared, firing towards Jaden before he had even the chance to blink. In less than a moment, the hand was nearly on top of him.
"Go!" Thankfully, Jaden had some fast hands too, activating his duel disk and drawing a few cards.
Inches before the arm would've struck, the image of Neos and Winged Kuriboh appeared, Yubel backing them up as they all forced their enemy to a skidded stop, pushing Jaden back lest he be run over.
That was close, but they were safe.
The man glared as his face tightened, his gaze moving from Jaden to his own hand. With a scoff, he turned, the giant arm from before fading away.
"Weakened. I'll deal with you late—"
"Hey! Why don't you cut it with the fists and vague muttering, and tell me just what the heck is going on! Who are you?!" Jaden shouted, making the man stop as he reached the door he entered from.
Without turning, the man raised his palm to Jaden, bringing him to a pause. For a moment, it seemed like he was just going to sic another massive hand in Jaden's direction. But then, the man did something unexpected. His shoulders relaxed— and his hand dropped. Turning, he faced Jaden with a new look to his eyes, a very new look.
In the man's eyes, was hope.
A familiar feeling stirred deep in Jaden's chest as the man took a few steps into the room.
"Let me tell you a story, my story," he said, sitting down on the straw bedding. "The story, of Pariah."
"Long, long ago, when the sun and moon's faces were young, my people wielded duel spirits as easily as we did any tool," Pariah explained, wandering to one of the walls of the chamber. "We called upon them in times of war, times of peace, days of work, days of play."
Reaching for the wall, Pariah pulled down something Jaden hadn't noticed before— A brightly coloured, almost neon, tapestry.
"They were intertwined with our lives, like the stitches of this fabric," he explained, a sad smile crossing his lips.
A twinge of a feeling hit Jaden as Pariah hung it back up.
"And then, like a gift from our gods, a new blessing came to us," Pariah said, facing Jaden and holding his hands forward. "We discovered this."
Two plumes of energy formed in Pariah's hands, one red and one white, making Jaden tense up and take a step back.
An attack?
Pariah shook his head, as his demonstration continued. With a flicker, the plumes in his hands disappeared, leaving two small forms in their place: a tiny palm-sized dragon and a white spirit no bigger than an apple.
Jaden could only stare in confusion as Pariah continued.
Chanting quietly to himself, Pariah brought his hands together, cupping the dragon and spirit between his palms as he focused. Then, something familiar popped into existence.
A green tuning ring.
"That's a Synchro Summon!" Jaden blurted out, just as Pariah opened his hands to reveal a new, larger dragon remaining.
Surprise took his face, before it was quickly masked by something more neutral. Dismissing the dragon Synchro, Pariah continued his story.
"Synchro, a form of summoning unlike anything before. More powerful, more accessible, more efficient than anything we could conceive till then." Pariah's pose tightened, as his fist clenched. "Or since it seems."
Stepping past Jaden and Yubel, Pariah approached the opposite wall, where a bright tapestry hung. He gently pulled it down, revealing another underneath, this one depicting something more than an attractive pattern. This one depicted a scene.
It was rough, definitely less professionally done than the previous tapestry. But it was unmistakable. A group, a crowd, a whole collection of people, surrounding a congregation of monsters. And clear as day on all of their faces, were smiles.
"I saw a vision of the world as it could be, a new world, a new era. If we all took to these gifts, the Synchro spirits, then our lives, our world, would be born almost anew!" Pariah tensed again, clenched fists as he took a step back.
All the while, Jaden could only watch in panic, wondering where this was going, as a familiar feeling began to swell in his chest.
"I wanted to herald in a new era! All they had to do was follow me! But did they?!" Pariah grabbed onto the tapestry, tearing it from the wall and revealing another layer underneath. On it, a man, clearly Pariah, was brought down on his knees, bound in chains. "No!"
Pariah turned, anger boiling through him as he faced the other wall.
"Instead they locked me away, locked me in chains! To rot! I was trying to save them, and they said no!" Pariah slammed a fist into the wall, shattering a portion of it as the entire room shook. Jaden just barely avoided a chunk of the roof landing on his head.
And as Pariah stood there, his hand buried in rubble, a deep sigh left his body. His shoulders slumped, his knees bent, and his face softened.
"Why… why couldn't you all just let me help you," he mumbled. Pulling away, Pariah faced Jaden again, emotion draining away as he pulled back on the layers he'd been letting slip. "No longer. The world will accept my help whether willingly or not. My new era of Synchro Summoning will be a reality."
Pariah and Jaden stared each other down, the former with a resolve so strong, it could almost defeat the latter's sea of confusion. Taking a few steps forward, Jaden approached Pariah.
"Listen, my dude, I get you got a lot of baggage from your old life and stuff. Trust me, I've got a lot of it." Jaden's casual yet determined demeanor made even Yubel stare as he continued. "And let me tell you, I don't get what everyone's problem was back then. Synchro Summoning is awesome!"
Jaden leaned against the tapestry Pariah exposited about just moments ago, covering the image of the man in chains.
"Heck, you should look at your timing. We're just starting to get Synchro Summoning down there right now! So there's no need for the big killer storms and giant titan arms kidnapping people. Speaking of which—" Jaden's expression switched from its friendly mood to a far more serious one. "—Why the hell are you attacking Domino City? Last I checked, you need people around to actually Synchro Summon."
Realizing Jaden's confusing friendliness was gone, Pariah tightened up.
"The foundations of the new world must be built on something," he explained, stepping away back to the center of the room. "The old ways make for good ground."
Anger began stirring in Jaden's chest as he stood up from the wall.
"What are you talking about?!" he demanded to know, walking straight past Yubel and right up to Pariah.
Sighing, Pariah reached for Jaden's duel disk and revealed the card from the top of his deck: Polymerization.
"This. This is the old way. This is what my people clung onto millennia ago," he explained. "They locked me away, locked Synchro Summoning away, for millennia to defend this! And it still stands before me, unchanged. People will not change until they're given no choice."
The thought began to process in Jaden's mind, one that was somehow foreign and familiar.
"Are… Are you talking about Fusion Summoning? You want to destroy Fusion Summoning?!" he called out incredulously as Pariah threw Polymerization aside. "Why would you do that!?"
"Did we destroy the cave when we built the hut? Did we destroy stone when we forged bronze? No! We simply left them behind!" Pariah declared, the conversation becoming heated as he and Jaden butted heads. "But humanity refuses to leave Fusion Summoning behind. Refuses to enter the new era, my new era. The only way to move forward now is to leave the future as the only choice they have left!"
Looking on at Jaden, Pariah sighed.
"But, I've lost you. Like all the others, you cling to your past like a child. Unable to ever let go." Turning away, Pariah approached the straw bedding from earlier. "Well no matter, you will be a fine herald regardless."
Jaden blinked as Yubel's eyes widened. She rushed forward.
"A fine wha—"
And before he could get another word out, a hole appeared below Jaden, sending him tumbling down with Yubel right behind.
Snarling, Pariah turned away, gripping his wrist.
"Those two… Smelled of Fusion."
"One last time, Winged Kuriboh!" Jaden's voice ripped through the air of Domino as he and Yubel were casually tossed from a black hole high in the air. His reaction speed was surprisingly fast considering the sheer absurdity from today he was still processing.
Sputtering to life, the image of a clearly exhausted Winged Kuriboh appeared, noticeably not level ten like Jaden was hoping. And when they just weakly pushed up on Jaden's falling body, rather than going to soften his fall, Jaden realized something.
"Hang on for a bumpy landing!" he called.
With an unceremonious collision, Jaden crashed onto a pile of rubble in the city center of Domino, his impact just barely cushioned by the concerted efforts of Winged Kuriboh and Yubel. He coughed and sputtered, pushing himself up from the cloud of dust left in his wake.
"Jaden?"
"I'm okay!" he called into the cover of dust, turning and looking for where Yubel could be. "Definitely bruised pretty bad, but nothing broken. I hope"
"Look alive. We have guests," she called out, moments before Jaden felt her recede back into their soul. Jaden snorted as the dust started to clear.
"Guests? Probably just a mob of fans to greet us after we totally kicked butt!"
And as the cloud of debris surrounding Jaden parted, a mob was indeed there. But it wasn't fans, no siree. It was a mob of regular people, looking on in shock at where Jaden stood. And in front of the mob, in a neat line completely surrounding him were—
Police officers.
"Jaden Yuki, you are under arrest for the destruction of the 23rd Kaiba Dome!" the first officer shouted, raising a gun as the rest soon followed. Jaden was surrounded.
"…Aw man."
End of Chapter 15
End of Book 1
And with that, we conclude Book 1 of Yu-Gi-Oh! Intertwined Legacy! To celebrate this occasion, I'd like to introduce you all to the fic's cover!
That lovely piece was provided by the ever-amazing onegroovyrose on Twitter!
Now, with that out of the way, onto the news! Yu-Gi-Oh! Intertwined Legacy will be taking a hiatus as I write and finalize Book 2, that way I can guarantee a consistent stream of content. Don't fret, however, you'll all be receiving 3 Intermission chapters in the meantime before Book 2 releases! So look out for that!
Until next time friends!