Hello, everyone! Welcome to another chapter! Thank you all for being patient and taking the time to give this a read, you are all VERY appreciated! I do apologize for it being so long between updates and am very appreciative of your patience! This chapter will be on the short side so apologies there as well. I don't own rights to YuGiOh! 5Ds! Let's get started!
Remove the Mask
Release
Black Rose Dragon roared loudly as we attempted to approach it, its eyes blazing with black fire as it snapped at each dragon or person that got too close. Its scales were nearly pitch black and there were long thorns covering it from head to talon. It emitted a dark aura that practically screamed hostility and anger but every so often I could see moisture fall from its narrowed eyes.
A beep came from the call line in my runner and I made the connection while placing my helmet off to the side. Luna's face appeared on the screen, her expression was one of amazement with her brother next to her. Rex made the comment that Edgar had been placed in custody and was being taken to the nearest solitary confinement while Security performed an investigation on him. The oldest Goodwin brother came into the screen, his expression tight. "There's no doubt about it, that dragon is very much like your own. As you know, the Crimson Dragon is made of multiple dragons. The ones we know of are Stardust, Red Dragon Archfiend, and Black Winged Dragon. The readings that we are receiving from Black Rose are strange, like we've never seen before, but they are Ener-D waves."
"So it's one of the remaining dragons," Jack crossed his arms. "which means that it has a Signer."
A strange feeling wormed its way into my stomach as I connected the dots. Black Rose was covered in black vines, its scales were dull, and there was a bottomless pit of despair mixed with anger whenever its eyes locked on my own. With slow and deliberate steps, I began making my way towards the hostile dragon. It bared its teeth with a threatening growl. My eyes bore into her own as I continued my advance. Stardust's wings suddenly enclosed around me as black flames erupted from the dragon before us and I glanced up at my dragon briefly, earning a soft grumble as it removed its wings. Black Rose released another ear piercing roar as I continued my advance, thrashing against the black vines that were containing it with each step I took. A hiss from it made Black Winged Dragon bristle and Red Dragon Archfiend snap in her direction. Stardust briefly growled in each of their directions, as if it were shushing them. "Easy," I murmured, pausing just as I came within range of its immediate reach. It did not like me being within its personal space and made that clearly known with another roar to my face. "I'm not going to hurt you." I held a hand out as they called my name, telling me to be careful, and I told them to stay back as it prepared to release another wave of black fire. "I would never hurt you."
It froze and fixated on me, silence soon weighing heavily in the air. Black Rose didn't even twitch when I took another step towards it. Alarm filled me when black vines emerged from the ground and wrapped around its head, firmly securing themselves around its snout and forcing its head to the ground with a heavy impact. When the dust settled, I found myself inches from its face with her dark amber eyes now swimming in moisture. It was then that I noticed the lacerations and wounds that the vines were causing. I had thought that the vines had turned its scales black, with how thick and numerous they were, but my stomach churned sickeningly when a closer observation revealed that it was completely covered in dried blood.
Stardust growled softly, slowly approaching it and resting his head against Black Rose's as the other dragons began to examine it. The Crimson Dragon's figure dissipated as it released a sorrowful sound, the lack of its light leaving us in the cold LED spotlights of our runners. A half hearted hiss came from the flower-like dragon but it faded into a whimper as more vines wrapped around its being. The moisture in its eyes spilled as fresh blood began to ooze from the new wounds on its head, leaving trails down its stained cheeks. The tears it was shedding dribbled onto the ground and my breath caught when the ground slowly began to turn red with the blood residue that the droplets had collected.
I extended my hand as I knelt, my heart clenching as it attempted to shy away from my reach, and clenched my free hand into a fist as it cried out when my hand did made contact. It skin was incredibly dry with dirt clumps every so often in between its scales but there was no heat coming from its body. It was cold as ice. "I'm sorry we took so long," I whispered, lightly trailing my hands across its scales where the tears had cleared away some of the filth and blood. "you are incredibly strong and beautiful, just like your Signer."
"What are you talking about?" Crow and Jack came up next to me, their expressions full of confusion. "We don't even know who the last Signer is."
"Akiza was covered in black vines, just like Black Rose Dragon. There is no doubt in my mind that she is this dragon's Signer." I glanced towards Stardust as the cosmic dragon gently nuzzled Black Rose.
Roman's voice came from my runner. "Each dragon has a close bond with their signer; a reflection of their heart so to speak. If the signer is in pain or angry, the dragon will exhibit similar behavioral patterns." Crow's eyes met my own when I reminded him of the way Black Winged Dragon and Red Dragon Archfiend had taken them on their little excursions when they had wished to find Akiza. "Your dragons manifested themselves in attempt to act upon the internal wishes that you had made."
"Why don't we worry about the mush later and focus on the task at hand. We can't very well leave Black Rose here." Jack gestured towards the vines as they thickened. "It's not like we can hack at them with our handy axes."
"Highly doubt weed killer is going to do anything."
Stardust raised its head as I directed his attention to one of the thickest vines, which was wound tightly around Black Rose's right hind leg. A precise stream of cosmic energy hit where the vine emerged from the ground for a few seconds but even Stardust's power did nothing against it. I shook my head. "This won't be easy. Whatever is causing the vines is powerful, almost Earthbound Immortal strong. Normal methods won't do a thing to these vines."
Red Dragon Archfiend snorted, fixating on the vine and releasing a far less controlled flame. "You asked for the wrong dragon when you wanted to test their strength." Jack smirked, a victorious gleam in his eyes. It however dissipated into one of disbelief when the vine remained unscathed. "Again." The dragon unleashed another stream of fire, this one an almost blinding crimson color, and swiped at it with one of its claws. Black Rose's body thrashed in response, earning sympathetic growls and nuzzles from Stardust and Black Wing.
It was then that all the dragons fixated on something in the distance, except of Black Rose who was whimpering softly. It wasn't for many seconds that we were able to spot what they were looking at: two unfamiliar shapes were coming our way. At first they appeared to be aircraft of some sort but it wasn't long before that theory was put to rest and two dragons landed a short distance from us. One was light teal with butterfly-like wings while the other was tan with curious planes. Luna's voice from my runner explained that the one was Ancient Fairy Dragon while the other was Lifestream Dragon, her brother's. "They just suddenly appeared outside of the mansion while we were watching you guys and our marks burned brightly."
Archfiend and Black Wing approached the newcomers, studying them from head to talon, then allowed them to approach. Ancient Fairy settled on Black Rose's left while Lifestream on the right, their wings fully expanded and draped over the suffering dragon. "We are here to offer assistance," a voice similar to twinkling bells filled the air as the blue dragon glanced to each of us in turn, her eyes coming to rest on me. "we may not be as powerful as your own, but we can rejuvenate and heal enough to where her life is no longer in jeopardy."
I nodded, bowing my head slightly, and we took several steps back to give them space. The air filled with rainbows as she turned and nuzzled Black Rose, earning a whimper, and Lifestream Dragon closed its eyes as a pure white outline covered its being. Stardust, Black Wing, and Archfiend turned their attention to the thick vine as the two new dragons poured their energy into Black Rose. Their streams combined into one and the knot that had made itself known in my throat tightened as the vine began loosen its hold. It wasn't for many seconds that it finally dissipated though but the second it did the others followed suit until Black Rose was freed. Ancient Fairy and Lifestream retreated as Black Rose lashed out, its eyes blazing and jaws wide open in an almost banshee-like scream.
Stardust leapt forward as Black Rose's legs gave out and cushioned her fall with his own being. "Good catch," I praised, approaching and resting a hand on its cheek. "easy now, it's alright. We just wanted to help you." The smallest of whimpers came from the dragon as Stardust lowered her to the grown and her eyes slid closed as the other dragons rested a wing upon her figure. The wounds were still present but at least they had formed scabs thanks to Ancient Fairy and Lifestream. One by one, the dragons disappeared until Stardust and Black Rose were left. I understood why he wanted to stay and placed my other hand on his head. "She'll be alright, now that she's free. Why don't you take a nice long rest? You did great today." My cosmic dragon nodded, then draped itself over Black rose and they disappeared in a shower of sparkles. There, in the place Black Rose Dragon had been laying, was a black card. My fingers gently lifted the card and right before our eyes, the black receded until Black Rose Dragon was clear as day. "I bet you feel much better now," I murmured, turning to show it to the others. "and don't worry, we'll rescue Akiza soon enough." A roar resounded around us as my mark burned brightly, surprise filling me as another mark appeared on my other forearm: one similar to Luna's. So whatever was powerful enough to contain one of the dragons was strong enough to prevent a Signer from receiving aid from the Crimson Dragon. Whoever or whatever we were dealing with had unimaginable power. "One step at a time." My eyes glanced towards my companions and congratulated the twins on their dragons. "There's no telling just how big this is going to get, but something tells me that whoever was responsible for Black Rose's confinement will retaliate in someway shape or form. We have to watch each other's backs from now on." They each nodded as we remounted our runners and left the fairgrounds. I placed Black Rose Dragon's card directly behind Stardust's, secured my deck in its holster, and took a breath through my nose. "Let's rev it up."
And there you go! Hope to see you again soon!