Z-One: The Future's Last Hope
Chapter 8: The Past
Another fire lit, another chance to talk. She didn't seem to have many stories, and he told her a lot of his stories from when he was a pro duelist. Of course, there was one important one he refused to tell. It was too soon to relive those memories and too hard. For now, all they could do was just rest and look at the night sky. He looked through his cards, Blade Blaster and Halberd Cannon. Cards that saw him through many difficult duels. The fact that he was still alive was thanks to these two cards, and now he had gotten the chance to finally save someone else as well. After he saw it all burn after he saw the people he loved and cared for die… He finally saved someone. Was it enough though? It was just one person, what if they were all that was left? Was this all for nothing? Ruka tried to keep a positive attitude but clearly, she felt saddened by everything. Almost like it was a shock to her system to see all this death and destruction on a mass scale. Antinomy: A name he had taken up to forget the past.
Team Delta, his friends, his family… All gone. The cracking of the fire slowly brought him back to the now as he placed a piece of wood within it.
"What do you know about Yusei's battle with the Ultimate God?"
"Eh?" This topic again? Something about that battle seemed to interest her. They were all taught about it in school growing up but it had been so long. Most kids only took it as a cautionary tale about letting greed and hate take over you, but Antinomy… "It was the first emergence of Delta Accel Synchro. With it and the coming of Cosmic Blazar Dragon, many believed it to be a turning point in humanity and a chance to evolve into something more, something that could bring hope to everyone."
"But you said Synchro Summoning caused all this… How can something that so many people have hope in… Create so much destruction?" Ruka tilted her head, running her pointer finger through her long, straight green hair. A good question indeed. Antinomy pondered it constantly. Team Delta were some of the few capable of Delta Accel, hence their name. They rarely stopped to ponder the meaning behind Delta Accel, it was a gift from the legendary duelist Yusei Fudo. Synchro Monsters represented what humanity wanted: Evolution and to better themselves. So for the world to just descend into destruction.
"If Synchro Summoning is the reflection of our hearts-" He sighed "Perhaps humanity sought its own destruction." That's not what he said back then, that's not what they said. The motto of Team Delta was that no matter what, the faintest light will guide them to the brightest future. His eyes looked straight into the fire as he shook his head. "It seems pessimistic but that's my best idea for what happened."
"If Yusei saw this I-"
"You think he'd push through as well to try and save what's left of the world?" Ruka nodded. She pulled out her Duel Dragon, Ancient Pixie Dragon.
"When I was younger my brother and I- We were broke and struggling to get by. Our parents abandoned us when we were younger. We managed to get by dueling but then I fell ill… My brother tried his best but we were a team and eventually, he was getting hurt trying to protect me and get medicine for me. We were constantly getting attacked by others and eventually we were on the edge of dying…" Ruka's voice cracked as she reflected on those days. They were alone, cold, and almost hunted "So I think I can get what you mean… But I learned something from two friends, that human nature isn't evil. Sometimes we can be misguided and go down a dark path even with the best of intentions. Wanting strength to protect your loved ones, there's nothing wrong with that." Her eyes darted to Antinomy. "So that's why I think even if what you say is true, there's a chance to turn it around."
"Turn it around?"
"Yeah! Things may look bad right now, but if we try our hardest maybe we can turn things around!"
Antinomy smiled, "That's an attitude that's good to have around." Team Delta always pushed through, Tech Genus, Six Samurai, and Plants. An unstoppable force that covered each other's weaknesses, proved that no matter what there was always a chance for them to find the win. "I know what that's like. Back when I was in circuits being the underdog was hard. When you're down and you have people cheering against you it's so hard, you have so much going against you."
"But you pushed through!"
"Yeah. Team Delta was at the top in time. But being at the top causes its own problems"
"Being alone at the top?"
"That, and at times our teamwork would be hurt by blaming each other for mistakes. Being at the top has its pressures, people want to see you lose. So when you keep winning people start to be angry at that fact." He shrugged "Eventually we got used to it. Understanding that despite what people thought of us our bond was strong enough to get us through. Not to say we didn't have problems, we just worked through what was there."
Ruka chuckled, "Must be some pretty fond memories."
"Yeah, but that's all they are now." He shook his head "All I can hope to do is live long enough to repair the damage that's been done. As the last city that fell to the Meklord invasion, I feel like I have a responsibility to make up for the failure of my people."
"You don't have to answer if you don't want to but… How did your city survive so long? From what you told me it seemed every place was hit with a zero reverse at once."
Antinomy put his fingers up to his chin, closing his eyes he explained "When the Zero Reverse happened Meklords appeared all at once, but certain places were more secure than others. My city was one of them. At first, we didn't know what was going on or what caused the Meklords to appear. My city eventually found out and shut down all use of Moment and switched to old power sources like electricity. Synchro Summoning was the only way it was used but it was heavily toned down as time went on. Those that did use it either did so without care or were able to access Clear Mind. It took moments negative spin; and for a brief moment, spun it positive again."
"So you were one of the few that could spin it positively?"
"Yeah. That's also why I was outraged when they tried making Synchro Summoning illegal. It's a mechanic that represents hope and better oneself, if used correctly we wouldn't have to worry about the Meklords invading."
"But I'm guessing time ran out huh…" Ruka looked down at her Ancient Pixie Dragon
"Yeah… At the end of the day, we couldn't run forever. No matter how far we ran to avoid the problem it was slowly creeping up on us until we were staring right at it." Shaking his head Antinomy continued "People wanted to run, but that wasn't me. I fought, Team Delta and other turbo duelist gave their all to defend people." He looked over the ruins of the buildings and stared. "You can see how that turned out."
"I'm sorry…"
"No need to apologize. After all the hell I've gone through I'm thankful for just surviving. I'm also thankful you survived long enough for me to find you. I think that's the most either of us could ask for really." Ruka nodded. She couldn't say much about this entire situation. She had been torn away from her world and thrust into an apocalypse. Were it not for Antinomy who knows what would have happened. She needed to get back home, if she did she could even give Antinomy a place to stay! A world with people, with life!
"My home was nice." She said with a faint smile on her face "Despite being rough at first my friends helped me and my brother get on our feet. It was like having a family. My brother was enough for me back then, but just him and I were lonely. To think that it's been taken away from me- No" Ruka looked back up from her duel dragon. "There's still a chance to get it all back!"
"Said it before and I'll say it again, I welcome that kind of attitude." The moonlight slowly became blocked by moving clouds. Antinomy lied down and closed his eyes. "For now let's get some sleep. If we wanna stay on track for the Museum we've still got a ways to go."
"Right" Ruka laid down herself and placed her Ancient Pixie Dragon in her deck. Putting her hands together she prayed. "Let us stay safe this night"
Multiverse theory. "To think in all my time as a scientist, multiverse theory is the one thing I didn't think about. I somehow discovered time travel before I thought of multiverse theory apparently!" Z-One: A different version of 'Yusei' who figured out time travel and… Did something. Clearly from the insistence of that woman, time travel was seemingly an important factor in this Z-Ones journey. The way she pleaded for 'Yusei' to time travel, it was like he needed to do it. Yet he hadn't, she came to him as a warning, to tell him he needed to go back in time, but why? What would going back in time do, would it somehow repair things? Who knows what enemies he'd have to face. What's more with the revelation of multiverse theory being real... "Gods are a fickle thing… What does that mean?"
The Crimson Dragon was a symbol of hope, like Stardust it represented pushing through and overcoming the odds no matter what. How could it have caused the Zero Reverse? From what he remembered the dark signers were half of it, but the other half was the Crimson Dragon. Yet was blaming the Crimson Dragon the way to go? It was Rudger Godwin's body being used as a battleground that caused it. For the first few years after the revelation was given that Rudger was both a Signer and a Dark Signer, he fought with himself. Closing himself off from the world until eventually, one side won out, giving his brother the arm that had the mark of the dragon, he resisted until he eventually killed himself in the first Zero Reverse. Thus separating the City and Satellite. Yusei was only a few years old when he was sent there.
Maratha treated him like her own son, but he missed his father and mother growing up. Knowing that they died and that many died because of them… It tore him up inside as he felt like he was to blame for that. Of course, now things were different but 'Yusei' still encountered the same problem as back then. He felt like he was to blame for not saving everyone. Were he stronger he could have, he knew it! That's why he wouldn't give up just yet, there was still a chance to save what's left of the world.
He leaned back in his duel runner and pulled out a single card from his Extra Deck. Stardust Chronicle Spark Dragon. Thinking back to his short time in that alternate world that he saw the name Stardust Spark Dragon was brought up. He assumed it was an alternate version of Stardust Dragon. "So that would make this the alternate Stardust's evolution." Yet he tapped into that power. She seemed surprised at the summon of Chronicle. 'Yusei' thought about it, if he could tap into power from an alternate world what else could he do? He almost gave up when he let those people die, never again would that happen.
Shining in the moonlight was his hope, Shooting Star and Chronicle lighting up the darkness and Stardust soaring through it revealing all the Stars in the sky guiding him. Kaiba Corporation's main building was his goal now. Figuring out what exactly these 'limiters' were, XYZ, Pendulums, and Links. Needlefiber was his first experience with whatever a 'Link' was and that woman had used whatever an XYZ monster was. Truth be told he still didn't fully grasp what they were meant to be.
Based on the little information he got from the computer Links were basic and supposed to be in some sort of zone made just for them, XYZ's seemed more temporary than Synchros, and who knows what Pendulums were.
"If the Meklords are what counters Synchros, what would a limiter be?" 'Yusei's' thoughts ranged from something that stopped Synchros entirely, to the idea that perhaps they were tied to the moment itself. Or maybe they were tied into whatever this 'Sense' thing was. He had largely looked over it due to the fact three other summoning methods were being tested to contain the energy of Moment, but now that he thought harder about it the mentions of how 'Sense' affects duels and creates its own energy.
"Could that be a limiter?" He thought out loud. In truth, if they had found an alternate energy source for Moment that could be a game-changer. The question is what would this "Sense" even do. Research to his knowledge was pitiful compared to the new methods of summoning. "Maybe they just started researching it, which is why those new summons were never properly made? It's better to test different theories than arriving at one conclusion right off the bat…" Yet there was only so much theorizing he could do. Without the main computer in front of him, he could barely make sound theories. He needed to head to the source, not some small branch of Kaiba Crop like last time.
"Every building is equipped with the universal duel monster room, but why wouldn't they connect it to the main computer?" More questions than answers. What awaited him at his destination?
Yusei's runner was sent skirting back as he tried to regain control. One more hit… Could he really do this? He had to. Even if it meant hurting his friend this was the only way to save them. "Formula Synchron's effect activates! During my opponent's main phase I can activate this card and synchro summon one monster from my extra deck!"
"Hahahahaha! You think that can stop me from getting my revenge Yusei?!"
"Kiryu- I was wrong… I was so wrong and I'm sorry!"
"You think an apology can-"
"No! But these words are all I have! I tried to throw myself away to save you, Jack, and Crow.I thought if I gave myself up, sacrifice myself, I could save you!! But I was wrong, only by believing in the bonds shared with others could I truly save you, I threw away our bond thinking I didn't matter!"
"Yusei…"
"But it wouldn't solve anything! The bond we share, the hope we placed in each other, that could have saved you and I'm sorry I didn't see it before. Now I do, and I promise I will save you!"
He sped up, the purple flames closing in on his running as he closed his eyes. Feeling the wind blowing against him he kept going, faster, FASTER! His eyes shot open
"CLEAR MIND! LEVEL TWO FORMULA SYNCHRON TUNES LEVEL EIGHT STARDUST DRAGON! DREAMS CRYSTALLIZE TO OPEN A NEW DOOR OF EVOLUTION! BECOME THE PATH THAT LIGHTS THE WAY! ACCEL SYNCHRO!"
Suddenly as soon as the flames were about to consume Yusei he vanished into a bright flash of light. Kiryu blinked as he pondered what happened. Though he was given little as Yusei suddenly appeared again in front of him
"ARISE! SHOOTING STAR DRAGON!"
Suddenly in front of Kiryu's eyes flew a new monster, unlike any he had ever seen before. It quickly flew up into the air clearing the black clouds and revealing the twilight that was blocked. Descending back down he gripped his runner harder. "Yusei…"
"Battle… C-... Ccapac Apu attacks. End this duel!"
"Shooting Star Dragon's effect activates! When my opponent declares an attack I can banish this card until the end phase and negate the attack!"
"What?"
"Earthbound Immortals are extremely powerful cards, being unaffected by the effects of spell and trap cards, but there lies a problem with them. They're not immune to the effects of monsters!"
"I… End my turn"
"Shooting Star Dragon's effect activates. It returns in the end phase!" Slowly Shooting Star Dragon appeared once again, staring down Kiryu. "Kiryu, this is the final draw! My TURN!"
Yusei would thrust his arm forward, making a fist as he yelled "Shooting Star Dragons effect activates! I can look at the top five cards of my deck and for each tuner Shooting Star Dragon gains an additional attack!"
"The first tuner, Junk Synchron!" Wings appeared upon his back
"The second tuner, Jet Synchron!" An arm appeared upon his back
"The third tuner, Quickdraw Synchron!" Another arm appeared back
"The fourth tuner, Effect Veiler!" The tail appeared on his back
"The fifth tuner, Nitro Synchron!" Finally, the head appeared upon his back. Completing the mark of the Crimson Dragon! He aggressively swiped his right hand to his side as he yelled "BATTLE!"
"Go Shooting Star Dragon! STARDUST MIRAGE!"
Kiryu was hit directly by all five attacks, his life points going down to zero instantly. His monster vanished, he was sent flying into the flames until they finally vanished leaving him on the ground nearly lifeless. Looking up at the orange sky he smiled and laughed
"Hahaha…"
"KIRYU!" Yusei jumped out of his duel runner and went to his friend, holding him he cried "KIRYU! COME ON, PLEASE HANG ON! I'M NOT ABANDONING A FRIEND AGAIN, NOT THIS TIME"
"When I became a dark signer… my wish…" Yusei's eyes widened
"Please! PLEASE DON'T TALK! SAVE YOUR STRENGTH YOU CAN GET THROUGH-"
"We both know… it's over for me Yusei." Kiryu said while letting out a weak laugh "My wish… Was for one last duel with team satisfaction, the duel we never got… Our team. Jack, you, Crow, and me… When you broke your limit I thought this was it, I was satisfied but… I'm not. Seeing you… surpass your limits, seeing Jack become so much stronger, seeing Crow finally unlock his true potential… I want to see more- I want to see how much we can all grow together… I wasn't able to stay angry at any of you…"
"K-Kiryu…" Yusei shook his head, holding Kiryu's arm tightly as he closed his eyes
"How lame… this was never enough to satisfy me…" He said before slowly vanishing. As if still trying to hang on, Yusei attempted to grab the dust Kiryu became but it all vanished in the wind.
"K-Kiryu… For you, I swear… I will defeat the Dark Signers…" He clenched his fist as tears started to run down his face. He looked towards the sky. "KIRYU!"
AN: For those of you that read the Yu-Gi-Oh 5ds Manga, I hope my use of Ruka/Luna and the mention of "Sense" has peaked your interest. For those of you who have watched the anime, I hope timeline of events in the orignal timeline has peaked your interest. For those of you who have read the manga and seen the anime, I hope my combining of both worlds has peaked your interest. Finally for those of you who are very in depth on lore I hope my inclusion of facts from Shuji Maruyama has peaked your interest. For the longest time I was struggling on where to take this story. I have a clear path now. I'll be laying down more world building and having more duels. I'll also be fixing up earlier chapters to make them consistent with the current quality of writing I have now. Thank you very much for reading. I hope you look forward to chapter nine.