This is the last chapter of the first Arc. The next Arc will be up soon.
We have our 550 review shout-out! The winner is StarFiction56! Congratulations! Next shout-out will be by the 575th review.
Disclaimer: I do not own any Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's characters! I only own my OCs!
Chapter 14: Fortune Cup Final
Yusei and I deactivated our Duel Disks as soon as the MC presented Yusei as the winner of the final round and the Duelist who would Turbo Duel Jack in the big final. Stardust Dragon faded away now that the Duel was over, but he gave me a small nod as in thanking me for letting Yusei win, so the two of them could face Jack and Red Dragon Archfiend. Yusei and I walked across the Duel field to stop in the middle. I saw Yusei had rolled up the sleeve of his jacket and revealed his now permanent Mark. My Star Mark had also stayed on my arm too, so I guess it was official now.
"That was a great Duel, Yusei", I said. "I'm so glad I could see Stardust Dragon."
"You had me in a corner a few times", Yusei admitted with a small nod. "But I never thought I would one day face a Level 11 Synchro Monster, such as your Star Eater. Where did you get that card?"
"It's…part of the truth I'll tell you later", I hesitantly replied.
Yusei nodded, "I get it." He held up a hand for a handshake. "Thanks for the Duel."
I glanced at Yusei's hand for a second before looking at him. He had a tiny smile on his lips, which made me smile in relief before grabbing his hand for the handshake. The audience cheered a little wilder when we shook hands, but I didn't care. I kind of liked this moment I got to share with Yusei. My heart beat a bit faster, but it thankfully calmed down before the palm of my hand could get sweaty.
The moment broke when we heard running footsteps around us. Yusei and I let go of our hands and looked around to see several bodyguards had surrounded us. They were all dressed in black suits and had black sunglasses.
"Ms. Malmström, Director Goodwin wishes to speak to you", one of the bodyguards spoke up as he took one step forward.
"Why?" I asked, remembering when Lazar approached me earlier and said Goodwin wanted to see me.
"He has questions and you have the answers for them", another bodyguard replied.
"If you choose not to come, we will use force", a third bodyguard added.
I turned to Yusei and saw he looked ready to fight if needed, but I placed a hand on his shoulder to hold him back.
"Yusei", I said, getting his attention. "Get the others out of here."
"What about you?" Yusei asked.
"I'll go with them", I replied, nodding at the bodyguards. "And don't worry about me; I'll be fine."
Yusei opened his mouth to argue, but he closed it while I walked over to the group of bodyguards. I allowed them to lead the way as we left the Duel field. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Yusei was still standing in the middle of the field before he snapped out of his trance and rushed at another direction, hopefully to tell Tanner, Yanagi, and the children to get out of the Kaiba Dome.
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The bodyguards were silent as I followed two of them to the Ivory Tower where Goodwin was waiting for me. There were also two bodyguards behind me to make sure I couldn't run away if I wanted to.
We stepped into an elevator and went up to the top of the Ivory Tower. As expected, Goodwin and Jack were there, plus Mina who seemed to take care of refreshment for them. The bodyguards forced me out of the elevator before Goodwin turned around and gave them a nod to dismiss them.
I stayed silent and remained on the same spot until the bodyguards had left the tower. Goodwin walked over to me, both his hands behind his back, while his eyes scanned me up and down, as if he was looking for something. I glanced curiously at Jack who had his back turned to me while he was facing the windows with his arms crossed on the front. Mina and I made eye contact briefly while she gave me a small nod. I returned the nod before glancing at Goodwin.
"It is a pleasure to see you again, Estelle", Goodwin greeted me with a fake smile. "It is such a shame you lost against Fudo Yusei. I would have loved to see your majestic dragon clash with Jack's Red Dragon Archfiend."
I could see on the reflection of the windows how Jack glared while letting out a small snort. I didn't like this version of Jack, so I hoped he would become the better Jack just as in the anime once he got out of this phase.
I returned my attention at Goodwin while narrowing my eyes and put my right hand on my hip. "Something tells me you asked for my presence for another reason than just to praise me. What do you want from me, Goodwin?"
Goodwin didn't answer directly. Instead, he turned around and walked over to a sofa. He sat down and just seconds later, Mina approached him with a tray where a glass of red wine sat on it. Goodwin accepted the glass as Mina nodded before returning to the refreshment table. I walked slowly over to the sofa and stood in front of Goodwin, waiting for him to answer my question. I watched how he took a sip of the wine before opening his eyes and looked at me.
"How exactly did you obtain your two Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards, Estelle?" Goodwin asked frankly.
Before I could open my mouth, I heard Jack's coat swirling around harshly. "She's got two of them?!" he exclaimed in surprise behind me.
"I know you're not a Kaiba, so you couldn't have possibly inherited them", Goodwin continued as he moved his glass around to swirl the red wine. "And there are no records of you; not here in Japan or in your home country." He looked up with deep and serious eyes. "What is your true identity?"
We were interrupted by the ding noise from the elevator. I looked up and saw Trudge exiting the elevator. He was dressed in his Sector Security outfit, but he had a scar on his left cheek now, probably by the sharp garbage after Yusei defeated him in the Turbo Duel when we drove through the pipeline between New Domino City and Satellite more than a month ago. Trudge snorted in disgust when he saw me, but he walked over to the sofa and straightened himself before bowing to Goodwin.
"Director. Look, sir, there's something I've gotta say", Trudge began, getting Goodwin's attention. "It's my official position that you need to stop this tournament."
"I thought your official position was mall security", Goodwin replied simply.
"Very funny, but I feel this tournament is cursed or something", Trudge added. "You witnessed the damage of the Duel with this Satellite woman and the Black Rose. I'm concerned things are gonna get worse!"
I held back a growl from my throat when I heard Trudge calling Aki by her alter ego's name. Why was it so hard for people to learn someone's real name?
"Officer, I don't pay you to be concerned", Goodwin retorted.
"But, sir-"
"I pay you to do what I say. And as for what you think, if I was going to pay someone to do some thinking, it most certainly would not be you. Langly, please escort Officer Trudge out."
"Is Langly one of the guys guarding the door?" Yusei's voice spoke up.
Everyone turned around to see who the intruder was. Trudge and Mina were the only ones who were surprised to see Yusei. He must have used the emergency staircase to get up to the Ivory Tower, because the only way to activate the elevator was by using a key card. I noticed that when the bodyguards escorted me.
"Yusei!" Trudge gasped in shock.
"'Cause Langly's napping", Yusei added with a shrug of his shoulders before he walked toward us.
Trudge glared at the young man before blocking the way. "What're you doing up here, punk?!"
"That's enough", Goodwin stood up from the sofa as two bodyguards came out from the shadows. "How can I help you, Yusei?"
"Before I say, weren't you gonna throw him out?" Yusei gestured at Trudge.
Trudge growled irritably before he grabbed the collar of Yusei's jacket and looked ready to punch him when the bodyguards grabbed the officer and pulled him to the elevator before he could hurt the young man. He was struggling for his life and looked both angry and confused by the whole situation.
"That's it, Goodwin!" Trudge yelled furiously. "I'm gonna figure out what you're up to! You're going down! You're gonna-"
The doors to the elevator closed with a ding, leaving the rest of us alone in the Ivory Tower. Yusei had his serious and stoic expression while I walked around the sofa to stand next to him for morale support and to show Goodwin I was his ally.
"Time to talk", Yusei went straight to the point. "You forced me and Estelle into this tournament. You threatened us and you locked up our friends." Mina looked shocked to hear the truth that Goodwin did all these things to us. "I want to know the truth. I'm not Dueling Jack until you tell me why you've done this!"
"Hah!" Jack spat sarcastically, making us look at him. "Are you dense, Yusei? It's 'cause of this! This Mark!" He pulled his right glove off to show us his Mark.
"So I wasn't seeing things before!" Yusei exclaimed in surprise.
"He wants the Crimson Dragon's power", Jack explained. "So he's been trying to gather everyone with its Mark, and he also wants to see if your female friend has a connection to the Signers, Yusei. He got me here by lying to me and buttering me up and manipulated me."
"Oh, come on", Goodwin said with a grin. "You're making me sound so devious. Jack, you wanted to be the Turbo Duel Champion."
"Yeah, but I wanted to earn that title", Jack pointed out. "At this point, I'm starting to think that you've been rigging everything. I think your little plan involves setting me up as bait for Yusei." That comment made Yusei glare at the blonde man. "Goodwin knew that you would come after me if I did everything exactly as he asked me to. Isn't that right, Director?"
"Don't be ridiculous", Goodwin retorted while shrugging. "I didn't even know about Yusei until you Dueled him that night in the arena."
"Do you honestly expect me to believe that it is all some big coincidence?" Jack retorted. "You needed to verify that Yusei had a Mark, so you needed him and I to Duel with passion. So you created a situation at which the stakes would be as high as possible."
Jack told us all the long tale of why he decided to betray Yusei and the others two years ago. He said Rally owed him for saving his life, but shortly after that he met Lazar who came to deliver a message from Goodwin, or rather an offer. That offer promised fame and fortune if Jack decided to go to New Domino City and start a new life as the King of Games, plus answers about the Mark he had on his arm ever since he was born. Jack wanted to go, but he didn't have a Duel Runner. However, Lazar had also added that to really prove to Goodwin that he was serious about his career he had to steal Stardust Dragon from Yusei, like a ticket to verify he was accepting the offer.
Jack tricked Rally to help him with something, but he knocked him out and put him on a boat offshore of the Satellite as a distraction for Yusei. Yusei abandoned his Duel Runner and rushed to save the little boy before he could drown. That was the moment when Jack stole the Duel Runner and Stardust Dragon, but he had been kind enough to leave behind the rest of Yusei's Deck. After that, he drove through the same pipeline as Yusei and I did while it was close for maintenance for an hour and made it to New Domino City where Goodwin waited for him.
I knew Jack had always been thirsty to become someone, and he got lured in by the offer Goodwin gave him. He got everything he wanted, but Jack did confess he wanted to earn the King of Games title by his own strength and actions; not receive it like a Christmas present.
"Goodwin could never have made you the same offer because you would've never left your friends behind", Jack told Yusei. "Not for fame and fortune anyway. I, on the other hand, walked right into it, and by tricking me into taking your card, he gave you a reason to come after me. And I think that brings us all up to speed more or less." He turned to Goodwin. "I have a demand to make. You got what you wanted. He's here, right? Let his friends go. He doesn't need to be coerced. I want this Duel to be legit. No threats, no gimmicks. Just us."
In some way, Jack still had his honor as a Duelist, whether he was the champion or not.
Goodwin looked amused by the situation, but he nodded. "If that is what my champion wants, then so be it. Now, I recommend the two of you head down and prepare yourselves for the very final Duel. However…" He turned his eyes at me. "You stay here, Estelle."
I blinked my eyes confusedly while I saw from the corner of my eye how Yusei's eyes widened slightly. "Why?"
"Let's just say I have more questions for you", Goodwin replied.
To my surprise, Yusei took a step forward and held out an arm in front of me. "She's not staying with you, Goodwin."
"Don't worry, Yusei", Goodwin said quickly. "She'll only stay here with me until the end of the Turbo Duel. Then she's free to go."
Jack rolled his eyes before he walked past me and Yusei without a single word. We heard how the elevator dinged when it opened and closed behind us before I looked over my shoulder to see Jack had really gone down to the garage where he kept his Duel Runner.
I turned back and placed my right hand on Yusei's left arm to lower it down, getting his attention. "I'll be fine, Yusei. You should go."
"Are you sure?" Yusei questioned. "Goodwin cannot be trusted."
"If we go against him, he will just send the bodyguards to bring me back here", I replied. "It will kinda be pointless to run now."
Yusei looked away for a second to take in my words before he nodded. "You're right." He lowered his arm while I let go of him. "Be careful."
"Shouldn't I be the one telling you that?" I retorted a bit sarcastically, making both of us chuckle for a moment. "Good luck out there."
"Thanks", Yusei nodded.
He turned around and went to the emergency staircase where he came from. I watched him leave before I turned around and headed over to the sofa. Goodwin had walked over to the windows and stared outside with his back turned to me. I settled down on the left side of the sofa before I removed my Duel Disk from my left arm and placed it in my lap.
Mina walked over to me with a glass of orange juice on the tray. "Would you like some?"
I looked at her for a second before nodding and took the glass. "Thank you."
Mina nodded before she leaned down and whispered in my ear. "I'm sorry you and your friends had to go through so much…"
"It's okay…", I whispered back.
Mina gave me a small smile before she walked away from the sofa. I stared out the huge windows and had a good view of half the stadium.
"So, do you think Yusei can defeat Jack, Estelle?" Goodwin asked all of the sudden, never turning around.
"Both of them have great potential. This is anyone's game", I replied.
"Wise words", Goodwin replied before sipping his wine.
I looked down at my glass of juice before taking a few sips. I didn't realize I had been thirsty after the last two Duels I had. Mina left to help Jack set up his Duel Runner while Lazar returned to the Ivory Tower. The two of them shared an intense glare when they clashed before they snorted and looked away with their noses up high. It was a bit comical.
"So the mysterious dragon woman is here", Lazar commented when he saw me.
"Yeah. So?" I asked.
"Oh, nothing", Lazar chuckled before standing next to Goodwin.
"The time has come!" the MC announced after five minutes of waiting. "The final showdown is about to begin! Satellite's very own Fudo Yusei has won the chance to take on Jack Atlas!"
Yusei and Jack drove out to the course with their Runners and stopped at the start line. They activated the Speed World Field Spell before the countdown began. Everyone waited anxiously for the countdown to hit zero, and when it did Yusei and Jack zoomed off for the final Duel of the Fortune Cup.
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Jack Synchro summoned Red Dragon Archfiend and destroyed Yusei's Junk Warrior, lowering the raven-haired man's Life Points, before setting three cards facedown and ended his turn. Seconds after that, I noticed how the sky became dark with heavy clouds that seemed to rumble like a growl from a dragon's throat. It was like déjà vu when I thought about the sudden change of weather in my world before I was transported to the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's world. My Mark started throbbing a bit, but I knew it was the Crimson Dragon warning me that he would soon make an appearance.
"It's the sign we've been waiting for", Goodwin commented as the thunderclouds surrounded Kaiba Dome. "Soon the Crimson Dragon will awake from its long slumber."
"Um… Just one question about all that", Lazar spoke up. "I thought we needed five Signers, no? And at this point, we just have the four; Luna, Aki, Yusei, and Jack. Besides, are you even sure that we can control the dragon's powers once it's been summoned? Perhaps Trudge had a point."
"Such foolish humans", the Crimson Dragon's voice spoke in my head. "No one can control me. They do not know everything about me, my Signers, and my Priestess."
"Lazar, don't you trust me?" Goodwin questioned. "You see… I know the fifth Signer."
"That's good", Lazar replied a bit nervously. "If you know, then I'll just watch this match and relax-" He stopped himself after he took in Goodwin's words and gasped in shock. "Wait! You know?! Who is it?! A-Are they here?! How exciting! Then that means we can unlock all of its power!"
"That's right, Lazar", Goodwin nodded. "But first, we must see if we can harness the immense power that Crimson Dragon's summoning will create."
Lazar calmed down before he turned at me. "Is it possible Ms. Malmström is the fifth Signer?"
I grew stiff by the assumption, but I kept a straight face while I placed my left hand on my right arm to shield my Mark.
"No, it's not her", Goodwin shook his head before looking over his shoulder. "She serves a much bigger role than just a Signer."
I blinked my eyes in slight surprise. Did Goodwin know about the Crimson Star Priestess? Were there old documents about the first Priestess?
"Oh? And what role is that, Director Goodwin?" Lazar questioned curiously.
"Now is not the right time for explanation", Goodwin shook his head. "We shall soon witness the Crimson Dragon with our very own eyes."
Once both men had their attention at the Turbo Duel, I closed my eyes and prayed swiftly to the Crimson Dragon to hurry things up so I could leave the Ivory Tower before Goodwin could hold me hostage.
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Yusei didn't waste any time to bring back Junk Warrior and used said Monster with another Tuner Monster to Synchro summon Stardust Dragon. Once the silver dragon was out, my Mark started glowing through the sleeve of my top. I covered the Mark with my hand as much as I could and even used the Duel Disk to hide it from Goodwin and Lazar if they would glance over their shoulders to check on me.
Moments later, crimson lightning hit the stadium and made it shake like a massive earthquake. The lightning spun around in the Kaiba Dome and flew past Red Dragon Archfiend and Stardust Dragon before it revealed its real form.
The Crimson Dragon had arrived.
The two Signer Dragons seemed to cry to the dragon God in greetings because their body language looked like they had temporary forgotten about the Turbo Duel.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Goodwin commented. "So much power. Lazar, get me Zigzix now."
Lazar bowed to Goodwin before he summoned a holographic screen to contact Zigzix. I remained seated on the sofa and watched how the holographic screen moved over to Goodwin before Zigzix's face appeared on it.
"Zigzix, you must shut down the Reactor immediately", Goodwin demanded.
"Excuse me? But it's working perfectly! There's enough Ener-D to power the city for a hundred years! It's a success!"
"We must be cautious", Goodwin said sternly. "Zigzix, if you don't shut the Reactor down immediately, then there might be not a city left to power. I'm sure that you understand." With that said, he dismissed the holographic screen.
It didn't take long before my glowing Mark started to burn harder and caused some pain. I hissed lightly through my gritted teeth as I closed my eyes and felt my consciousness leaving my body.
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I opened my eyes to see I was in the cosmos realm between the 5D's world and the Spirit World; the same place where I met the Signer Dragons and the Crimson Dragon. I took a quick look at myself and noticed I was wearing the white sleeveless dress again with half-transparent shawl with my Mark still glowing. I was floating inside a crimson bubble with Luna on my left and Aki on my right. Aki was dressed in the same swimsuit as in the anime, so the Arcadia Movement must have stayed after her loss due to Sayer's orders. The three of us were inside our own red bubbles. Both girls looked confused about what just happened and where they were.
"Where's the stadium?" Luna questioned a bit worriedly. "What's going on?"
"I don't know", Aki shook her head.
"Don't be afraid", I told the girls. "Nothing bad is going to happen to us here. We're safe."
Aki looked at me up and down. "When did you change your clothes?"
"Estelle, do you know what's going on?" Luna asked.
"I think I do", I nodded.
I looked down and saw Jack and Yusei driving their Duel Runners on a road of light with Stardust Dragon and Red Dragon Archfiend flying above them, but my group was too far away from them to hear what they were saying to each other. I believed they weren't even aware we were with them, since we were flying behind them. However, our attention shifted toward a red star that glowed in the distance before a huge temple appeared below it.
We flew up the temple and looked down to see people at the bottom of the temple sitting on their knees and bowing while five other people were standing one level below the top. All five of them had glowing Marks on their arms as they were raised to the sky.
At the very top of the temple stood a shrine and two people was standing in front of it. One of them looked the same as the first five Signers, but he or she didn't have a Mark on the arm. That person was down on one knee next to a woman who was dressed in a dark red robe, red dress that went down to her ankles, sandals, and golden jewelry on her. Her both arms were exposed as the Star Mark glowed on her right arm while her deep red eyes stared up to the sky while her black hime-cut hair blew in the wind.
We flew past them and headed towards a landscape that looked like Satellite from above. However, a purple fire broke out and zoomed across the streets to slowly form a shape that made me shiver in disgust and fear.
"What's happening?!" Luna gasped.
Buildings crumbled down into pieces by the force of the purple fire until it stopped its destruction and revealed the Spider Mark of the Shadows.
"Is that a giant spider surrounding Satellite?" Aki questioned.
"It is…", I nodded, starting to feel a bit faint.
"Are you okay, Estelle?" Luna spoke up when she noticed I had started to cold sweat.
"I'm fine…", I lied.
Luckily, we flew past Satellite and made it to New Domino City, but we were still in the realm. I knew the only way to go back to the Signers' dimension was for Yusei and Jack to finish their Turbo Duel.
The Turbo Duel got way more intense when we saw how the attacks caused real damage to both Jack and Yusei. Aki pointed out it was just as with her psychic powers. I knew it was the Crimson Dragon's doing, but did he have to push the level to the extreme?
The Duel kept going just as in the anime, but it got extra explosive when Stardust Dragon delivered the final attack that drained Jack's Life Points to zero. Stardust Dragon's Cosmic Flare attack blinded me, so I had to shield my eyes from the light.
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I opened my eyes when my spirit returned to my body. I let out a huge gasp of air before I calmed down and looked around. I was back in the Ivory Tower and the sky outside had cleared up while Goodwin and Lazar had remained in the same position before I went to the cosmic realm. Without any hesitation, I strapped my Duel Disk on my arm before rushing to the elevator. None of the men stopped me as I was able to get to the ground floor. I rushed out from the elevator and ran through the corridors to hurry and get out to the Duel Runner course.
I could feel Jack's physical pain through our Marks, so I had to hurry and help him. Sure, he was a jerk and I barely knew him, but I was still concerned about his health.
I got lost a couple of times, but Vylon Stella's spirit appeared and guided me to the closest way to the Duel Runner course. I ran through an open garage and made it to the course, looking left and right. I spotted Yusei's empty Duel Runner and rushed toward it, only to spot the young man kneeling next to Jack's figure that lied on the concrete. Jack's Duel Runner was crashed on the course and smoked a bit, but it wasn't on fire.
While I got closer to the young men, I caught Yusei's words as he spoke to Jack who was still conscious. "-true, none of this matters, because it looks like we all might lose. We're in danger, and our cities might be destroyed and we have to unite to stop it from happening."
I was a bit out of breath when I reached the duo, but they didn't notice me. I took a closer look at Jack and flinched slightly when I saw blood on his face.
"You always wanted to be a hero…", Jack coughed weakly. "Now here's your chance…" After that, he lost consciousness.
"Jack!" Yusei shouted worriedly.
I grabbed Yusei's shoulder before he could reach for his foster brother. He looked over his shoulder, surprised to see me. "Estelle?!"
"Don't touch him, Yusei", I told him calmly. "We don't know if Jack's suffering from internal damage. Let him stay down."
Yusei bit his lower lip as his eyes shone with confliction. He then gave up and relaxed his tense shoulders. None of us looked up when the MC announced the winner.
"Uh… It's over! Yusei is our winner! From the refuge of refugee rows, from the slums of Satellite, he now reigns supreme! I proudly present New Domino City's newest hero; Fudo Yusei!"
It may have looked like a happy ending for the tournament, but that was just the very beginning of a war with the Shadows…