Welcome to the new Arc, everyone! We're back to the anime chapters, following the subbed version, but they're going to get changed a lot because Goodwin is still alive, so Iliaster will act in a different way when they execute their attacks.

The new version has now over 100,000 views in total! I'm so happy to see how much you guys enjoy reading my fanfic. I hope you will enjoy the rest of the story. I'm going to add many surprises for you.

Disclaimer: I do not own any Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's characters! I only own my OCs!

Chapter 48: A New Threat

My colleagues were barely talking about the virus invasion that occurred three days ago. The majority of them had moved on and concentrated on their work, assuming everything was calm because the hackers hadn't stolen any confidential files.

I, however, was constantly on the edge. The Meklord Emperors and the Three Pure Nobles could make their first appearance anytime now. My friends and Goodwin noticed my change of behavior in the last few days; I was more silent than usual, looking nervous, and could barely eat something.

I rubbed my tired eyes as I was working at Sector Security with the latest documents, also related to the WRGP. I hadn't been able to sleep properly, so I had a hard time concentrating on the bright screen. Goodwin thought I was coming down with something and wanted to keep me at home, but I insisted on going to work. I needed to distract myself to forget the upcoming events.

I snapped my head up when I swore I felt like the floor wobbled a bit. I had experienced earthquakes several times here, so I knew what was coming. However, this felt different. Was it…

The office phone rang, so I picked it up. "Secretary Goodwin."

"Estelle, could you bring me the documents for the meeting in an hour?" Goodwin asked.

"Yes, Director."

I grabbed the documents he had requested for and went to his office. I knocked on it softly before entering. Instead of working, he was standing by the windows behind the desk and looked at the view of downtown New Domino, hands behind his back.

"The documents you requested, Director", I spoke up as I placed them on his desk.

"Thank you, Estelle", Goodwin nodded.

I could hear in his voice he was thinking deeply about something. "Is something bothering you, Director?"

Goodwin was silent in a few seconds before he turned around. "Yes."

"Is it the virus invasion from the other day?"

"Yes and no. It's you."

"Me?"

Goodwin nodded, "You have not been acting yourself since the virus invasion."

I looked down at my shoes, clenching my hands together nervously. "There is a reason why."

Goodwin's eyes studied me, but he remained calm. "Do you know something?"

"It's just a theory, but…", I began slowly. "What if that virus invasion was caused by Iliaster?"

"Iliaster?" Goodwin said with a nonchalant voice.

I nodded, "Who else would want to attack us and not steal any confidential information and not cause more damage to our computers? I think it was a warning-"

I got interrupted by Goodwin's office phone ringing. He picked up the receiver as the holder projected a hologram of a higher ranked Sector Security officer who was calling. "Yes?" Goodwin said.

"Director, we've just received reports that a gigantic meteorite has crashed on the outskirts of the city a couple of miles away."

"Dispatch a team to the area", Goodwin said seriously. "The Vice-Director, my secretary, and I will meet them there."

XXXXXXXXXX

Goodwin, Lazar, and I sat in the limousine as a group of Sector Security vehicles had us surrounded to protect us while another team had gone ahead to Ground Zero. None of us said a word as we waited for the vehicle to arrive to its destination.

I had a tablet computer in my hand, very similar to an iPad in my world, as I scrolled through the data I got from Sector Security about valuable information, like reports from different observatories in Japan and nearby countries if they had snapped up any meteors coming toward Earth.

"Any news, Ms. Goodwin?" Lazar asked after clearing his throat.

"Sector Security has contacted all observatories in Japan, Korea, east China, Taiwan, Indonesia, and even Australia and Hawaii", I began. "But none of them has reported any meteors that have its course set on Japan. After reviewing a few tapes, the observatories report that this particular meteor appeared out of nowhere outside of the Earth's orbit, only to crash outskirts of New Domino City."

"A meteor appearing out of nowhere? That's ridiculous!" Lazar retorted irritably.

Goodwin had been silent, but now he spoke up. "We have arrived."

The limousine braked among the other Security vehicles. The driver got out and opened the door for us to get out. Goodwin, Lazar, and I stepped out to be greeted by a gruesome scene. There was a huge crater in the middle of what used to be a huge flower meadow. I couldn't figure out its diameter, but it looked like it was around one kilometer.

"Where is the first team?!" Lazar called as he looked around.

I squinted my eyes to see several black dots nearby the smoking center of the crater. "I think they're down there, but something's wrong."

Goodwin, Lazar, and I slid down the crater as carefully as we could with the other officers. It was hard for me because I was wearing heels. Don't ask how I was able to slide down the crater, okay? Once we made it to the bottom, we hurried to the center. I gaped in shock when I saw the first dispatched team of officers was lying on the ground. They were groaning in pain as if they had been in a fight and got knocked out.

"What happened?!" Lazar asked as he pulled up one of the unconscious officers by the collar and shook him. "Wake up! Give us a status report!"

"Calm down, Lazar", Goodwin spoke with his emotionless voice. "We need to call for ambulances to take care of our colleagues."

Everything turned into a mess. The escorts helped their colleagues to get up from the crater while another team followed me to check the center of the crater where the meteorite had crashed. The smoke was getting thinner, but it was very hot so we couldn't get close to it.

"We can't investigate the meteorite like this", one of the officers said.

"We need to either wait for it to cool down or get some fire extinguishers", I concluded.

I snapped my head down to the pocket of my coat when I heard my cell phone ringing. I picked it up and saw it was Mina, so I answered. "Hello?"

"Estelle, it's Mina. I've got bad news. Sector Security just had a sudden blackout, but once the power returned we found out someone has stolen one of the prototype Riding Roids!"

"What?!" I exclaimed in disbelief. "Someone stole the prototype Roid?!"

First the meteorite and now the Riding Roid… This was definitely the Three Pure Nobles' doing. If there was no stone tablet here, then they must have arrived before the first dispatched team, and when my colleagues showed up the bad guys knocked them out and fled, only to break into Sector Security and steal the Riding Roid.

XXXXXXXXXX – Normal POV

The Three Pure Nobles were sitting in their throne and looked down at the Grand Design. They were watching the live feed of Ground Zero through a window above the Circuit, amused by the sight of Sector Security scrambling around in the empty crater.

"Well, it's a good thing we made it out there in time", the smallest Noble chuckled.

"What is most concerning is we had to change our plans due to Goodwin's existence", the biggest Noble pointed out, his voice slightly muffled by the metallic mouth-piece covering his mouth and nose. "We were supposed to become the new Directors of Sector Security after his death, but an outcast had to interfere and keep him alive."

"The Crimson Star Priestess…", the third and slim Noble mumbled as the window showed a close-up of Estelle who looked concerned. "She's not the only one responsible for this change. Because Goodwin had the full seal of the Crimson Dragon, he became connected to the dragon. Even to this day, he still carries a tiny piece of the Crimson Dragon's power."

"Yeah, when we tried to erase him from history with Infinity, it didn't work", the smallest Noble nodded. "Oh, whatever. We can always execute him in another way."

"Say, Primo", the big Noble spoke up. "What exactly is the purpose of the Riding Roid you just stole from Sector Security?"

The right corner of Primo's lips turned into a small smirk. "I will try out the card our God has sent us. It will take some time before your cards arrive, Lester, Jakob, so we can at least do something productive and test things out."

"Don't forget the main objective of our plan, Primo", the big Noble warned him.

"Let him play around, Jakob", the little Noble laughed. "It's not like we have anything else to do while we wait for our cards."

XXXXXXXXXX – Estelle's POV

Several days had passed since the meteorite mystery and the disappearance of the prototype Riding Roid. As I suspected, the very next day the Roid got stolen, reports arrived about a reckless Turbo Duelist who caused chaos and havoc against other Duelists in nighttime. The victims got seriously injured, but when they were in stable condition and able to talk, they told Sector Security the mysterious Turbo Duelist called himself Ghost.

Despite Security's hard efforts to track down Ghost, they just couldn't find him. Even if they got the words that Ghost was active, they always arrived late to the scene, only to be met by a wounded Turbo Duelist and their demolished Duel Runners.

After five cases around Ghost, Goodwin decided to discuss the matter with the Satellite Trio.

XXXXXXXXXX

I was dressed in my casual outfit with pants instead of my work uniform when Goodwin, Mina, Trudge, and I went to visit Yusei, Jack, and Crow. My work hours were over, so I could spend some time at the garage. I drove ahead on my Duel Runner as Trudge drove the Sector Security limousine behind me with lights and siren on.

I drove slowly through the Fountain Plaza as the pedestrian made way for me and the limousine. When I was close to Zora's clock shop, I could see there was a big crowd next to the huge windows of the garage. I had a feeling the prototype engine the young men were working on had recently exploded and lured the curious crowd. I horned at the crowd to make way, but they were already moving aside as they heard the sirens. I slowed down the Runner until I was parked in the alleyway. I turned off the Runner and removed my helmet as the limousine parked next to the open twin door to the garage.

I put away the helmet in the compartment under the seat of the Duel Runner and pulled out my bag before joining Goodwin and the others as Zora and the Satellite Trio, who were covered in black dust and soot.

"S-Security?!" Zora said nervously. "U-Um, my apologies! We didn't intend on causing any problems with anyone from Security…"

Trudge chuckled amusingly. "What? They failed again?"

Everyone who was close to Yusei, Jack, and Crow knew they were working on a new engine for the WRGP, so it was no surprise for Trudge.

"You may relax, Zora", Goodwin told her calmly. "We are here on unrelated business."

"Oh? Is that so?" Zora blinked, surprised.

"We need to talk to the three of you", Mina nodded at the Satellite Trio.

"Um… Sure, but the place's a mess", Crow said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head, dressed in his yellow Blackbird Delivery outfit.

Zora chased away the crowd as the rest of us walked into the garage. I was the last to enter, so I closed the twin doors behind me. The garage smelled a bit from the explosion, but the air ventilation was working on max to get rid of it. There was a huge pile in the middle of the garage of broken parts of the now ruined test Runner and prototype engine.

"Still working on those Duel Runner engines?" Trudge wondered.

Yusei picked up one of the components of the broken test Runner and checked for damage. "Yeah, we absolutely need a new engine to win the World Racing Grand Prix in six months."

"Entries are in three-man groups, after all", Crow added, pointing on a poster of the upcoming event. "Since we're improving three Duel Runners, no amount of time will be enough time for us."

"The winners of WRGP will become legends in the Turbo Duel World, and attaining that glory is our dream", Jack finished, dressed in his riding outfit.

"More like a start line for you to regain the title as the King of Games, Jack", I commented.

"I admire your passion and determination to participate in the WRGP, but there will be several professional teams who have Turbo Dueled longer than the three of you together", Goodwin said. "The competition will be tough, but you will be one of the teams representing Japan, so I have high expectations of you."

"To think that's the reason why you've been working jobs while slaving away at building your own engines", Trudge commented. "What about the sponsorship you got from Bolger & Company? Did you decline them?"

"No, but we came to an agreement", Crow answered. "Yusei, Jack, and I'll build the engine and will have Bolger & Company produce and make the final touches and upgrade our Duel Runners with it."

"With the city and Satellite finally united, we were given a chance to be citizens", Yusei added. "But, as to what we can do or how we can contribute to the city, I think that'll come into view by winning this tournament. That is why we want to do this by our own hands."

"That sounds like you three", Mina giggled softly.

"You guys are starting to talk like a bunch of wise guys", Trudge commented.

"With great power comes great responsibility, and with great responsibility comes great wisdom", I chimed in as I looked at my right arm, imagining my Star Mark glow through the black sleeve. "We were chosen by the Crimson Dragon and with everything we've been through, it's no wonder we gained lots of experience."

"Anyway, what did you need to talk about?" Jack wondered, changing the topic.

"Have you heard the rumors about Ghost?" Trudge asked the trio.

"Ghost?" Yusei mumbled confusedly.

"Yeah, I've heard 'bout him", Crow nodded. "The bastard, who crops up on the highway every night, challenges you to a Duel and makes you crash, right?"

"That is correct", Goodwin said. "Ever since New Domino City unified with Satellite, we have not regulated Turbo Duels on the highway. Instead, it's gotten to the point where we have built and advocated special courses."

"And with that, Speed World 2 was developed from the traditional Speed World as an official card for the World Racing Grand Prix, and Duel Runners are gathering from every corner of the world, which has the whole city charged up", Trudge added.

"There are also guys among them that are knocking out other Duel Runners in advance, right?" Crow questioned.

"The problem is in how Ghost's doing it", Mina said. "A regular Turbo Duel would never produce accidents that would hurt the opponent."

"Then, what you're telling us is that Ghost is using some unlawful means to make his opponents crash?" Jack asked.

"That would be the case, Mr. Atlas", Mina nodded, trying to remain professional, but you could clearly hear the affection in her voice.

Trudge froze when he heard the woman's voice and mumbled profanities in the background. "Mr. Atlas, my butt…"

"Hey, hey! Hold up a sec!" Crow said irritably. "So the reason you came here is because you want us to help crack the case, is it?!"

"Our men are working profusely to track down Ghost and have him arrested for the crimes", Goodwin said with a voice full of authority. "But… If it comes down to the worst, may I request your assistance in the future, Yusei, Jack, Crow?"

"Well…", Yusei began, only to get interrupted by Crow.

"Only when you've got no choice or something serious happens!" the carrot-head yelled. "We're busy preparing for the Grand Prix! Yusei is developing the engines and me and Jack are working so hard we barely sleep, all to raise the funds! And you're suggesting we tread thin ice like that? You guys are Security; you take care of it!"

Goodwin let out a soft sigh through his nose. "I understand your reasons." He turned to Mina and Trudge. "We shall leave now and not disturb you any longer with your work. Estelle?"

"I'm staying here for a while", I replied as I removed my black blazer.

"Very well", Goodwin nodded.

My adoptive father, Mina, and Trudge left the garage silently. Crow followed them and shut the twin doors before locking them and turned to the rest of us. "Well, let's get back to the tests!"

"Sure…", Yusei said hesitantly.

"Yeah…", Jack nodded.

"But maybe you need to clean up a bit first", I pointed out. "All three of you are covered in dirt."

Crow looked at himself, seeing his yellow Blackbird Delivery jacket was too dirty to go out and make deliveries later. "Yeah, perhaps I'll change first."

"I'll head to the shower first", Jack proclaimed before he walked up to the kitchen slash living room.

"Just don't use all the warm water, Jack!" Crow called as he ran after the blonde Signer. "I've got deliveries later!"

I heard Jack say something back, but I could barely hear the words. "They could work as a standup comedy duo", I commented.

"Yeah", Yusei chuckled softly.

"You're not going to clean yourself up?" I blinked confusedly.

"I'll wait until they're done. It's going to take a while anyway. I need to sort all the part that we can still use to reconstruct the test Runner and engine."

"I'll help."

I put my blazer and bag on a shelf next to the stairs and pulled the elbow-length sleeves up a bit to make sure they wouldn't get dirty.

"Thank you, Estelle", Yusei smiled softly as he picked up another solid part.

"I'm sure you'll be able to build the perfect engine in time", I said, trying to encourage and cheer Yusei up.

"I hope so. This is one of the biggest projects I've done so far."

"The first one being your Duel Runner?"

"Yep."

We sorted the parts and talked a bit, but we were mainly quiet until Jack and Crow came back, both of them clean and fresh from the shower.

XXXXXXXXXX

I went to bed early that night because I got a bad stomachache during dinner. I knew it had something to do with next turn of events, with Trudge getting seriously injured by Ghost and Meklord Emperor Wisel, and then Yusei Turbo Dueling the stolen Riding Roid. Should I have told the Satellite Trio about the new Duel Monsters and how they could absorb Synchro Monsters and use them against their own masters?

I rolled around in my bed, feeling restless and guilty at the same time. My brain couldn't settle down and rest. After an hour, I finally went to sleep, but couple of hours later I got awakened by knocks on my door.

"What…?" I mumbled tiredly as I slowly sat up against the headboard and picked up my glasses from the nightstand.

The bedroom door opened as I turned on the bed lamp to see it was Goodwin. He was fully dressed, as if he was ready to leave the mansion for business. "Goodwin…?" I mumbled before I covered my mouth as I yawned. "What's wrong?"

"I just received a call from Mina. Trudge got hurt during the patrol and is at the hospital", Goodwin explained.

My tired eyes widened when I heard the news. Trudge got hurt?! Was it Ghost's doing?!

"I'm heading to the hospital", Goodwin continued. "Will you join me?"

"I'll show up later with my Runner", I replied as I jumped out of the bed to grab a change of clothes. "I'll be right here."

XXXXXXXXXX

I was met by a horrible sight when I arrived at the hospital. I did see how Trudge looked like in the anime, wrapped in bandage, but it was much worse in real life. I could even smell the dried blood and burnt skin before he was rolled in for surgery. Crow had been on his way home after delivery service when he spotted Trudge and called Yusei and Jack to come to the hospital. Goodwin and Mina sent us home after Trudge weakly warned Yusei about not using Synchro Monsters against Ghost. Mina also added how Trudge said he didn't want to keep relying on the Satellite Trio for help and used himself as bait to lure out Ghost.

After seeing Trudge in his mummy condition, I felt too shaken up to drive home to the empty mansion, so I followed Yusei, Jack, and Crow to the garage to comprehend everything that had just happened.

The four of us were silent for a few moments until Crow couldn't keep it in anymore and punched the wall in anger. "Dammit! It's my fault Trudge wound up like that! If I had just said we'd cooperate back then…"

I clenched my hands into fists as I felt more guilt build up inside me. "No, Crow, it's not your fault…", I shook my head. "It's me…"

"What do you mean, Estelle?" Jack wondered.

I took a deep breath, preparing myself to pour the truth out. "Ghost and his rampage…is the prelude of the new threat coming to New Domino City."

"New threat?" Yusei repeated confusedly. "Is it the Dark Signers and Earthbound Immortals again?"

I shook my head. "No. It's something much worse. It's Duel Monsters that can absorb Synchro Monsters and use them against their own masters."

"What?! Do such cards even exist?" Crow exclaimed in disbelief.

"Idiot, there are those parasite Monsters that can be equipped to other Monsters or use the opponents' Monsters as equipment", Jack reminded the Blackwing Duelist.

"It's not exactly parasite Monsters", I said. "It's more like…futuristic robots."

"But if you knew about this the whole time, why didn't you warn Trudge?!" Crow asked furiously.

"I didn't know how to tell", I retorted. "So many things have changed from the original anime. I don't know what else will get thrown out of balance if I keep interfering."

Yusei stood up from the chair by the desk and walked over to me. I feared for a second he was going to scold me for not telling the truth sooner, but he gently placed a hand on my right shoulder, causing me to look at him.

"No one can predict what will happen in the future, but I'm glad you've told us the truth", he said with a small smile before his expression turned serious. "Still, that doesn't mean we won't let Ghost hurt innocent people any longer." He let go of my shoulder and walked back to the desk to pick up his gloves.

"That's why we can't just sit around twiddling our thumbs!" Crow growled irritably.

His answer was Yusei throwing the black helmet to him, which he caught and looked surprised.

"No one said we'd be sitting around twiddling our thumbs, Crow", Yusei replied as he pulled on his gloves.

Jack zipped up his Turbo outfit before he picked up his own helmet. "Only we can avenge him."

I nodded and walked over to my Duel Runner and picked up my helmet. "Count me in too, boys. I'm not going to stay here and worry about you guys while I'm capable of giving Ghost a piece of my mind."

"Alright!" Crow cheered in joy.

We waited for him to change his Blackbird Delivery jacket to his old Enforcers vest. While he did that, Jack and Yusei quickly modified their Decks to add cards that weren't Synchro Monsters. My Turbo Deck contained lots of Synchro Monsters, so I hoped Ghost wouldn't target me. Which reminded me, I had to come up with a new Turbo Deck pretty soon.

Crow returned, fully dressed, and we got on our respective Duel Runners. We drove out of the garage and through the Fountain Plaza to get out on the highway. I turned on the intercom to communicate with the trio.

"Listen up, guys! We'll cover each an area! Jack, you take west! Crow, take east! Yusei, take south, and I'll take north!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Crow replied.

"Got it!" Jack said.

"Understood!" Yusei said.

"And another thing about Ghost!" I said. "I think he's actually the Riding Roid that was stolen from Sector Security several days ago!"

"You mean, Ghost is not even human?!" Crow asked.

"I'm 99.9 percent sure, so try and prolong the Turbo Duel so I can get there and take a closer look at Ghost and confirm whether he's the Riding Roid of not!"

"I'd rather take him out before that, but I'll try to hold back!" Jack retorted.

"Be careful if he targets you, Estelle", Yusei said.

"I will, and you too, boys!" I nodded. "Let's move out!"

XXXXXXXXXX

We scouted New Domino City the entire night, but it didn't go fruitless. Just at the break of dawn, Ghost showed up and challenged Yusei on a Turbo Duel. Jack, Crow, and I managed to catch up with them. We drove behind them as we watched the Turbo Duel.

Yusei was doing his best not to use Synchro Monsters, but he still ended up summoning Stardust Dragon. That caused Ghost to summon Meklord Emperor Wisel. The machine Monster was twice as big as Star Eater and Stardust Dragon looked like a fly next to it.

The Turbo Duel ended up with Yusei being the winner with the help of Majestic Star Dragon and Ghost lost with a bang after I told the Signer he was the stolen Riding Roid. The Roid crashed out of course, so we had to drive to a secluded forest to check it. The Roid's cards and Deck were gone, but I knew it must have been Primo who came and collected them shortly before we arrived.

I took several pictures to document the damage of the Roid before Yusei used some of the tools he had stored in his Runner to secure the sparkling Roid so he wouldn't get electrocuted. He checked several compartments until he found the memory chip that served as a black box, containing all the information of the Duel Runner and Riding Roid.

We drove back to the garage where we met up with Aki, Leo, and Luna. They had sensed our worry through the Marks, so they came to check on us. Goodwin and Mina shortly arrived after I called and informed them about the encounter with Ghost. I showed them the pictures I took with my smartphone while Mina told us Trudge was out of danger and was resting in the hospital. Luckily, he didn't suffer any serious injuries, but he needed to rest for three weeks if not even more.

"It's definitely the Riding Roid", Goodwin confirmed after looking at the pictures.

"Sector Security's been developing the Riding Roids to clamp down on Duel Runner crimes", Mina added as I passed the smartphone to Aki and the twins so they could also take a look at the pictures. "This prototype got stolen from Security ten days ago, the same day when a meteorite crashed at outskirts of the city. Who would have thought that Ghost was the Roid, though?"

"Who the hell did this?" Jack asked.

"We found no evidence or traces back at the lab where we're developing the Roids", Goodwin replied. "But one thing is certain; the Riding Roid was not supposed to make Duel damage real. We need to check the memory chip if it survived the damage."

"There was no data preserved in the Turbo Duel chip", Yusei spoke up as he gave Goodwin the memory chip. "I'm betting that it was programmed to delete everything once defeated."

Goodwin checked the unscratched memory chip before glancing at Yusei. "Yusei… You are aware you can be arrested for tampering with evidence."

"Oh, lighten up", Crow said. "You're more certain with Yusei's skills than any Security crime lab."

"That may be true", Goodwin nodded. "I'll let you get away with it this time. Just do not repeat it again, understood?"

"I won't, Goodwin", Yusei shook his head.

Leo held my smartphone close to his face as he looked at the pictures in awe. "Man, I wanted to see that robot myself!"

"Leo, people got hurt because of that thing!" Luna scolded her brother.

"Sorry…", Leo mumbled.

"But why would someone use a Synchro Monster-capturing robot for?" Crow wondered.

"I don't know, but what's clear is that there's a new enemy in our midst", Jack said.

"That's right", Yusei nodded. "If they are trying to endanger New Domino City, we will continue to fight."

"And I'll tell you everything I know", I spoke up after Aki gave me back my smartphone. "The meteorite and Ghost are connected in several ways than you can imagine."

"What does a meteorite have to do with a robot?" Aki questioned.

"Because they're both related to Iliaster", I confessed.

"Iliaster…", Goodwin mumbled with his poker face.

"You were once affiliated with them, weren't you, Goodwin?" Jack asked. "Back when the Dark Signers were roaming around?"

"Yes, but I've broken up every connection with them", Goodwin nodded. "I can't believe they've got another scheme up on their sleeves."

"The threat this time is the Meklord Emperors", I continued. "We met one today and that is Meklord Emperor Wisel. The meteorite that crashed outskirts was actually the Meklord's stone tablet form, but people from Iliaster must have collected it before we arrived at Ground Zero. I believe they were the ones who knocked out the first group of officers."

"You say there are other Meklord Emperors; does this mean they've got the same effect with absorbing Duel Monsters?" Crow asked.

"Yes, and there are three in total", I replied as I held three fingers up. "The other two will appear in due time. I don't know when, so we need to keep our eyes and ears open for any other activity by Iliaster."

"I'm going to ask Mei and Sakura to tell me if they hear any weird rumors that could be related to Iliaster", Aki said.

"Ghost mentioned Synchro Monsters are the symbols of human evolution and they're not needed", Yusei spoke up. "Do you know what he meant by that?"

I grabbed my left upper arm and looked aside, not sure if I should tell them now about the diabolic future. "Yes, but I'm not ready to tell you that part yet."

"Why not?" Jack questioned.

"It's something you need to experience yourself to fully understand it", I replied.

"That sounds reasonable", Mina nodded.

"Why does it sound like it's something bad?" Leo commented.

"Maybe because it is something bad, Leo?" Luna said.

It would sound unrealistic if I told my friends about their future. They wouldn't really believe it, even when they knew I wasn't lying. They had to see it with their own eyes and experience the dreadful feeling of how their future could turn out, but also the strength and motivation to save the future from the Meklord Emperor Genocide that would turn the planet into a fruitless wasteland.