I want to say thanks to XenoEmblem4TW and Blaze2121 for pointing out a few things in the last chapter. I always appreciate pointers and criticism, as long as they're not disrespectful.
I've dealt with flames before and it's not a funny experience, so a warning; if you flame me, I'll block you.
Disclaimer: I do not own any Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's characters! I only own my OCs!
Chapter 26: Spirit World Showdown
The ride was silent as Trudge drove past the dark ruins of B.A.D. The sky was still black with heavy clouds and Negative Energy. The area looked pretty creepy, just like in a horror movie, and besides the noise from the patrol car's engine and the red-eyed crows and ravens that sat on the ruins, it was awfully quiet. I had my Duel Disk between my legs, and I could feel how the Duel Monsters in my Deck were trying to give me some comfort.
I almost jumped out of my seat when Leo suddenly cried out without a warning. "Leo?!" I called as I looked over my shoulder to see what happened.
"Don't scare me like that, Luna!" Leo shouted, not even hearing my voice.
"You scare me when you scream like that!" Luna retorted.
"Sorry, but I'm spooked up and those are the creepiest birds I've ever seen!" Leo said before he collapsed on the side of the patrol car, already looking exhausted.
"I don't blame you, Leo", I said. "I don't like the aura of B.A.D. either."
"This is wrong. You shouldn't have come with me, Leo", Luna said, obviously concerned about her brother.
"Nah, don't worry about me! I'm just pretending to be scared, so that you don't have to be scared!" Leo recovered as he tried to act like a cool guy. "Yeah, that's it! I'm just pretending! See? Check it out!" He picked up his Duel Disk and strapped it on his arm. "Ta-dah!"
"And what's the point of you wearing a Duel Disk?" Luna asked confusedly.
"I'm gettin' ready! Alright, you Dark Signers, c'mon and get some!" Leo called loudly.
"I'm the one who's gonna be Dueling, not you", Luna reminded her twin brother with a sigh.
"Not too bright, is he?" Trudge commented with a chuckle.
"Leo must have been reading one too many comic books", I commented with a soft laugh.
The twins got silent after that, but only seconds later a loud cry echoed inside my head. It was so loud I had to cover my ears for a second.
But that cry… It sounded like someone called for help from the Spirit World. Was it Ancient Fairy Dragon?
I looked over my shoulder once again to check Luna just as Leo asked her if she was okay.
"What was that screaming just now?!" Luna asked in a panicked voice.
"What screaming? I didn't hear anything", Leo replied as he looked around to see if there was something among the ruins.
Luna bowed her head while she covered her ears. "You couldn't hear it because it echoed inside my head. I think someone from the Spirit World is calling out to me."
"Who does it sound like? Is it Ancient Fairy Dragon?" Leo asked.
"Hey, what's with all this Spirit World talk?" Trudge asked.
"Luna can talk to Duel Monster spirits from the Spirit World!" Leo told the officer.
Trudge looked surprised for a brief moment before he shook his head with an amused smile. "How stupid do you think I am?"
"No! It's really true!" Leo tried to convince the adult.
"Right, of course, and my sister can fly!" Trudge retorted sarcastically. "She's got magic wings made of gold!"
"Jerk!" Leo pouted irritably. "Luna can talk to spirits! You're just jealous 'cause you're a boring, ordinary guy with no special powers!"
"Leo, you can't say such things to other people", I scolded him.
"But, Estelle, didn't you hear that screaming too? You're connected to the Spirit World too 'cause you're the Priestess!" Leo argued.
"Yes, I did hear it", I nodded. "But you can't tell people they're boring."
"Don't tell me you're into fantasy things too, Estelle?" Trudge rolled his eyes.
I was so into this conversation that I never noticed the spirit form of Kuribon who told Luna to hurry to the Spirit World. Next thing I knew, the whole car was shaking due to a pillar of bright light coming from the backseats. I had to look away and shield my eyes from the light.
The patrol car came to a halt when it drove into a pile of junk, causing me to jump forward on my seat. If I hadn't had the seatbelt on, I would have been ejected out of the car. The light soon died down, so it got dark and creepy again.
"What are you kids doing back there?!" Trudge shouted irritably.
"Are you two okay?!" I called to the twins.
"Luna's gone!" Leo cried out in shock.
I looked over my shoulder and saw Luna really was missing. She must have gone to the Spirit World to help the Duel Monsters from the danger they were facing and release Ancient Fairy Dragon from the claws of Zeman the Ape King.
"What?!" Trudge exclaimed in disbelief.
"That big bright light just now… I think it took her away!" Leo concluded.
Trudge didn't look amused now. "Oh right, let me guess; she was transported to the Spirit World."
"Exactly!" Leo nodded.
"Nuh-uh! That's not possible."
"It is so!" Leo argued irritably before he turned to me. "Tell him, Estelle!"
"She wasn't beamed anywhere!" Trudge rolled his eyes as he got out of the car. "C'mon, let's look for her!"
"Don't waste your time", Leo frowned. "Man, grown-ups never listen!"
"Adults have a harder time believing in fairy tale stuff", I sighed as I removed my seatbelt and got out of the vehicle.
"But you know the truth, right? Luna was transported to the Spirit World!" Leo said with pleading eyes. "But then again… If she is wandering around here all alone, that wouldn't be good."
I picked up my Duel Disk and strapped it on my arm as Leo got out of the patrol car. "Let's look around a bit. If we don't find Luna, then she must be in the Spirit World", I said.
Leo and I looked around together for Luna, but instead of finding the little Signer, we found the Monkey control unit. We were able to confirm it because the control unit had an ancient stone tablet of a monkey.
"Hey, Dark Signer monkey-guy! Are you in there?!" Leo shouted. "Hello, I'm ready to Duel!"
"I've been waiting for you, Signer!" Devack's voice echoed around us.
In the next second, purple mist erupted from the concrete around us to create the Nazca Line of the Monkey. The geoglyph of the Monkey appeared in the sky above us. No matter where I looked, there was no way out of the Nazca Line.
"Ah, the Priestess and… Who are you?!" Devack called from behind.
Leo and I turned around to face the Dark Signer who stood several meters from us. His eyes were still hidden by the hood of his cloak, but they were glowing irritably in the shadow.
"What's going on?! You're not a Signer!" Devack glared at the boy. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to Duel you!" Leo replied determinedly. "That is, if you think you're strong enough to take me on!"
"Is this some kind of joke?!" Devack's jaw almost dropped in disbelief. "Where's the little girl? Why isn't she here? I told her to Duel me!"
"She's taking care of some business, if you're wondering!" I glared at the Dark Signer before turning to Leo. "Leo, Dueling a Dark Signer is dangerous. I can Duel him instead."
"NO!" Leo yelled, causing me to flinch in surprise. "This is my duty! I have to take Luna's place! I may not be a Signer, but that doesn't mean that I can't rock a Deck!"
I could tell Leo was serious to take on Devack and try defeating him while Luna was away in the Spirit World. That, and he always wanted to protect her.
"C'mon, let's see what you're made of!" Leo told Devack while he activated his Duel Disk.
"I applaud your enthusiasm, I really do, but I'm afraid that you simply do not have the power to match me, boy!" Devack frowned while he activated his Duel Disk for the Shadow Duel.
"You don't know that!" Leo argued.
"If you insist on being destroyed, so be it", Devack said.
"DUEL!"
XXXXXXXXXX – Luna's POV
I made it to the Spirit World where Kuribon was waiting for me. I ran through the forest with her while remembering what Ancient Fairy Dragon told me while I was unconscious after Sayer tricked us back in the Arcadia Movement. I had to find this Regulus-someone and free him from a curse and then use our combined powers to release Ancient Fairy Dragon from that rock she was sealed into. If that was a success, I could then go back to the real world, defeat Devack, and save the planet.
Kuribon and I found a small town at the outskirts of the forest, but it was empty. There were no other Duel Monsters around, but the thing that caught my attention was those weird gold and silver staffs placed all around the town. I walked around a bit until I found a small group of child-like Duel Monsters hiding in dark alleyways. They looked scared and ran away whenever I tried talking to them.
Kuribon and I sat down by a fountain in the main square, but we could still see the Duel Monsters peeking at us from the corner of the buildings. Maybe they couldn't decide whether I was a good guy or a bad guy. But why would they think I was a bad guy? Didn't they know I was a Signer?
I then started to notice something odd. A ball came bouncing up the stairs and leaves floated back up to the trees. It was like things were happening in reverse. Was it because of the weird staffs? Were they behind of this reverse thing?
"The collectors are coming!" a girl's voice shouted.
The group of child-like Duel Monsters ran as fast as they could, but they left me with more questions. Who were those collectors?
Well, my answer was a dark purple fog that slowly crept to the main square. It didn't look good, so I decided to follow the children's example and ran to a dark alleyway to hide with Kuribon.
That didn't help much, because a group of monkey Duel Monster soldiers wielding the gold and silver staff found me. Kuribon, Sunny Pixie, and Sunlight Unicorn tried to distract them, but to my biggest horror, they were turned into stone tablets when the monkeys used their reverse staffs.
I ran for my life as the monkeys tried to catch me. I ran as fast as I could through the town, but I was soon cornered by three groups of monkeys. I tried to run through an alleyway, but it was a dead-end!
It looked like I was done for, as I watched the monkeys approach me, but then all of the sudden, a group of monkeys that stood outside of the alleyway were caught on fire.
The small group that was only meters from me turned around to see what was going on. "What are you guys monkeying about?!" one of the monkeys shouted.
"FIRE! FIRE!" the burning group of monkeys cried in pain as they ran around and rolled on the ground, trying to extinguish the fire on their fur.
Next thing I knew, several shiny arrows rained down from the sky above me, but the arrows hit the staffs the other group of monkeys held in their hands, shattering the golden top into pieces. The monkeys yelped in surprise before more arrows hit them. They turned around and ran out of the alleyway, screaming something like I was possessing light magic.
Just as the group got out of the alleyway, I saw them flying in the air as if someone had thrown them aside. A huge dragon with wings walked past the alleyway as it growled viciously at the monkeys. It looked like Jack's Strong Wind Dragon I once saw on television a while ago, but what was it doing here?
"RETREAT! RETREAT!" one of the monkeys yelled. "This town has another curse besides the Minus Curse!"
I walked slowly to the corner of the alleyway and saw the monkeys run away for their lives as I saw the back of Strong Wind Dragon. A humanoid Duel Monster that was Silent Paladin stood next to the dragon. The remains of the gold/silver staffs were spread on the ground, all of them destroyed into junk.
I stepped out of the alleyway and approached the duo. "Um… Thank you for saving me. Do you know what's going on?"
The dragon and the woman turned around, but none of them said a word.
"Um… Are you two part of Jack's Deck?" I asked.
"No, they're with us!" a new voice replied.
I turned around and saw Vice Dragon, Flare Resonator, Honest, and Cupid Volley fly towards the ground. A small boy was flying on Vice Dragon's back while a girl was carried in Honest's arms. Both of them looked similar to Greiger with their dark skin and dark hair. The girl had long curly hair, blueish/greyish eyes just like the boy, but she looked to be older than him, around my age. The boy had a hat covering his head, so I didn't know what kind of color his hair was, but he had the girl's eyes. They were both dressed in clothes that consisted of ponchos, but the girl had a dress and the boy had a shirt and pants.
Vice Dragon and Honest landed on the ground before they let the children jump off their arms and back and they rushed over to me.
"You must be one of the Signers if you're here!" the boy smiled happily.
"Huh?" I blinked confusedly. "How do you know I'm a Signer?"
"The Crimson Dragon told us one of his Chosen Ones will come and save the Spirit World", the girl explained calmly. "We've been waiting ever since the Crimson Dragon brought me and my brother here."
I was about to ask one more question when we heard someone groan from the alleyway next to us. A small child with pale skin, dark green hair, blue eyes, a big purple hat, royal blue top, long black dress, and a cane with a green gem walked out while looking tired.
"I'm getting too old for hide-and-seek…", he mumbled before he noticed us. "What are three human children doing here in the Spirit World? The old legend says a little girl will appear and save us all. So which one of you is the Signer?"
XXXXXXXXXX
I learned the two dark-skinned children were named Annie and Max, and they were Greiger's little siblings. They were brought to the Spirit World by the Crimson Dragon because they had the blood that descended from those who served the People of the Stars. The Crimson Dragon saved them just before their hometown was destroyed in that experiment Greiger showed us during the Fortune Cup caused by Goodwin… Or that's what I first thought. They said the village got attacked by an Earthbound Immortal and it devoured the people as its energy source.
The siblings didn't have the same power as a Signer, but they could use their Decks to summon their Duel Monsters to protect them. Max had a Deck similar to Jack's, because he literally had the same Monsters as the former King of Games, and Annie preferred a LIGHT-attribute Deck like me.
The small child who came out from the alleyway presented himself as Torunka, but he was actually way older than me, Max, and Annie. His age got reversed due to the staffs that were spread not just in his town, but also across the Spirit World. The reverse effect was known as the Minus Curse.
Thanks to Max and Annie's Monsters, the troop of monkeys left the town, so the Duel Monsters that lived there could walk around without worrying about being turned into stone, but they were still cautious and stayed indoors. Torunka had led me and the siblings to his house where we introduced ourselves and made some things clear.
"Greiger was part of the Fortune Cup?" Annie questioned after I told them how I knew their big brother.
"Yeah", I nodded. "I was meant to Duel him, but I got scared, so my twin brother, Leo, took my place." I hid my face in my hands, blushing in embarrassment as I recalled the Duel. "Leo was so embarrassing! He didn't act like me at all!"
"Who won? Big brother is a strong Duelist, so he can never lose!" Max said excitedly.
"Well… He won against my brother, but he lost to Yusei in the semi-final", I confessed as I removed my hands.
"What?! No, that can't be!" Max gasped in disbelief.
"That Yusei must be a strong Duelist if he defeated Greiger", Annie commented.
Torunka cleared his throat. "As much as I enjoy listening to your tales, children, you can't stay here and chit-chat! Luna, you must go and rescue Regulus from the Minus Curse. He's been acting odd ever since Ancient Fairy Dragon was captured. Maybe you can use your Signer powers to free him."
"How can I save him?" I asked. "I don't know how to use my powers, not as well as Aki or Estelle!"
"This is where we come on", Annie said. "Our tribe has sworn loyalty to the People of the Stars and promised to help the Signers if they need our help."
"Yeah, we'll go and help you with our partners!" Max nodded while looking excited for an adventure. "So, don't worry, you're not alone!"
I smiled at the two siblings, feeling relieved to have people by my side that could help me. "Thanks, you two. Okay, let's us all go! We're going to save Regulus, Ancient Fairy Dragon, and the Spirit World!"
"Good luck, children", Torunka smiled. "I'll be waiting for your success."
"Who said you're going to wait?" I told Torunka. "You're coming too!"
"M-Me…?" Torunka stuttered nervously before he looked away. "What can I do, trapped in this body?"
"You can show us where Regulus is and help us along the way!" I persisted. "Just because you're trapped in a child's body, doesn't mean you're weak or useless!"
"Yeah, come with us, Torunka!" Max nodded.
"Pretty please?" Annie begged with puppy eyes.
Torunka looked nervous while cold sweating before he sighed in defeat. "What did I get myself into?"
XXXXXXXXXX
Long story short, my group was able to find Regulus in a nearby dying forest, but he had a Minus Staff strapped on one of his legs, so we used our combined powers to distract him so we could remove the staff. There were a few close calls with the monkey troops, but we finally had Regulus on our side.
Regulus told us we had to go to Zeman's castle and defeat him there so I could release Ancient Fairy Dragon. Not only that, the Minus Curse all around in the Spirit World will be lifted and peace will finally return.
While we were traveling to Zeman's castle, we noticed how the Spirit World was dying. The trees and vegetation and water disappeared, the land slowly turning into a bare wasteland. A giant Minus Staff appeared in the sky and the trigger that looked like the arrow of a clock moved slowly as if it was getting ready to reverse everything in this realm. Even Torunka, Cupid Volley, Honest, and Silent Paladin started becoming smaller. Soon, they would be babies if we didn't stop Zeman.
This time, the Minus Curse affected me, Annie, and Max as well. Our clothes started getting baggy on us. It seemed the Crimson Dragon couldn't shield us from the dark power anymore.
Regulus, Vice Dragon, Strong Wind Dragon, and Flare Resonator didn't appear to be affected by the curse from the outside, but they looked slightly smaller than minutes before.
It didn't take long before we spotted Zeman's castle in the distance. It rested at the top of a mountain that emitted darkness, and the dark sky with heavy clouds made me feel like I was seeing Frankenstein's mansion.
"Wow… So that's the Ape King's castle?" I asked.
"I like what he's done with the place", Torunka's high-pitch voice commented. "He really nailed the gloomy and doomy motive."
"It looks highly guarded", Annie said as she squinted. "How can we sneak in?"
"Through a window?" Max suggested.
"No. We only have one shot with this", Regulus growled. "We can't risk being captured. We stroll up to the front door and we let them know we're here."
"Wait, we just walk into the enemy's hands?" I asked.
"Yes, but I've got a plan", Regulus replied.
Regulus' plan sounded a bit risky, but it was worth to try it. Torunka and I would disguise ourselves as wandering wizards and we captured Regulus after hearing words about Zeman looking for him. Annie and Max and their Duel Monsters partners would be on standby and take out the monkey troops that guarded the castle on the outside. If things wouldn't go as planned, they would invade the castle and help us by taking out the remaining troops and distract the Ape King so I could free Ancient Fairy Dragon. We also covered the Minus Staff I still had with some bandages to hide its true form from the monkeys.
Things did go according to the plan at first, with us entering the throne room and Zeman releasing the Minus Curse on Ancient Fairy Dragon so he could seal her and Regulus together due to their bond, but because of some clumsiness from both me and Torunka, our disguise fell off, revealing our true selves to the monkey army. The troops recognized me from Torunka's hometown, so they started chasing me and Torunka around in the castle.
"ANNIE! MAX!" I yelled.
The next thing I knew, half of the roof collapsed and debris fell everywhere around us. Torunka and I were protected by Regulus who shielded us, but some of the monkeys were destroyed by the falling boulders. Dust flew around us, so I had to cover my mouth and try fan the dust away.
"What's this?!" Zeman yelled in surprise.
I looked up when I heard the monkey troops cry in pain. I noticed something green moving around in the castle, and as the dust dispersed I realized it was an army of goblins, and not just any goblins. They were Goblin Attack Force!
"ATTACK!" Max yelled determinedly.
Strong Wind Dragon, Vice Dragon, Flare Resonator, and Dark Resonator flew down through the hole in the roof and joined the battle. The front gate was smashed down by Power Invader as he was joined by teenage Silent Paladin, Ogre of the Scarlet Sorrow, Twin-Shield Defender, and Power Supplier. They took down the monkeys, but some of them were hit by the Minus Staff. When it looked like the Goblin Attack Force was going to be entirely petrified, a chibi Cupid Volley and a teenage Honest flew down from the roof and used their combined powers to destroy the staffs.
"Luna, give me your Minus Staff", Regulus growled.
"Why?" I asked.
"If I can get close enough to Zeman, he'll have to use his staff to stop me", Regulus explained. "When the two strike each other, their powers will cancel out and lift the curse from everyone."
"That's a big if!" I pointed out.
"And speaking of if; what if it doesn't work?!" Torunka asked.
"It has to!" Regulus growled. "Otherwise, all of this world will fall under Zeman's control!"
I gave Regulus the Minus Staff just as Annie and Max joined me and Torunka. Regulus ran towards Zeman who tried to keep things under control while turning the Duel Monsters into stone tablets.
"Are you two okay?" Annie asked as Cupid Volley and Honest landed behind her.
"Yeah, we're good", I nodded. "I'm glad you guys are okay as well."
"It took a while to clear the outside, but we're good", Max said.
Our attention was turned to Regulus when a bright light erupted from the throne. Zeman and Regulus' Minus Staffs collided with each other and caused the light. The light almost made me blind as it slowly destroyed the Ape King's castle, but I could hear Zeman's chilling voice as it was fading.
"You may have destroyed me, Regulus, but not before I transfer the power of the Minus Curse to the Dark Signer, Devack!"