Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds: The Judgement of the World
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
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The roses were screaming.
Aki was riding hard down the street with Yusei ahead of her. The wind whipped by her with only the glow of a pair of taillights in the distance to indicate any active vehicles on the road. High above the afternoon sun had only recently reached its peak with a pitch black backdrop. As the only bit of blue sky was visible at the very farthest of the horizon. While the oppressive darkness above them dulled the uplifting light of the sun.
In her eyes it was odd but she wasn't scared, with the way the sky was now. But Crow claimed the sky was oppressive. He claimed it felt to him as 'there is this disapproving parent staring down at me, watching my every move'. Colors of the landscape even appeared to slowly slag into this sludge of gray to him.
Asuka and the others also shared those feelings, and the odds were the other two guys felt it as well. But were just too 'tough' to admit it. That in mind it made sense to Aki that people would give up and try to flee from such an oppressive feeling. It was a thought Aki would have even been contemplating... if not for the sound of Jacks' enraged voice roaring in her ears.
Along the sides of the road were buildings either temporarily abandoned, fully abandoned, or showing signs of occupancy but with boards or other wards against gangs. Yuseis' own style of driving was almost painful, it was bucking like a horse wanting to cut loose and run free and he was holding it back.
For her.
But the roses were screaming.
"Yusei, cut it out, go! Back Jack up and I'll be there shortly!" she ordered over the screen, calling out over the hard winds that came from their race down the road. Security wouldn't be an issue despite there being no duel. Hell, they'd be an 'asset' given what Jack was howling!
"No." Yusei answered bluntly and Aki fairly growled in answer.
"Do I need to summon Stardust and have him carry you there?" She demanded, ignoring the silver dragons voice.
"Human life reflecting dragon life. Who knew?"
"You said 'The roses are screaming', that 'security system' you set up distracts from your ability to drive optimally. I leave you," Yusei began as Aki sighed then cut him off.
"And that is why I am driving slower so I don't wreck. Now go."
"Yusei, Aki's a big girl!" Crow urged, "I'm not as close as you guys hurry up man!" the red head pleaded and with that YuseiGo finally sped up as it wove through the street.
She couldn't see through her roses, but they were telling her things.
A gang.
A full on 'gang' had attacked Carly!
They weren't gangs who used dueling like Yusei and the others did before. Witch had gone to serve as Jack's back up, since Rose would straight up kill if given half the chance. But the fact that Witch wasn't instantly back begged the question of how big this gang 'was'.
"Get your fucking hands off her you bastard!" was one such roar from Jack that was jarring to Aki's ears. He wasn't vulgar like that! What was Jack talking about, she would have loved to say, but the context spoke for themselves.
"Oh fine..." She grumbled to herself before calling to the air above her. "Rose! Carry me there!"
"NOW you think of me!" Black Rose Dragon called out in this semi smug semi annoyed tone as the dragon began manifesting into the air. Her vines reached down and wrapped themselves around Bloody Kiss and lifted the vehicle up into the air as easily as Aki could lift up a bento box. Aki gave a long suffering sigh and disconnected her duel disk before climbing up Roses' thorn infested vines.
Fighting against the wind, the Rose Duelist climbed ever higher on the thick vine until she was shielded from the wind by the numerous petals that formed Roses wings. From there she climbed, flea like, along those petals until she was tucked safely behind the dragon's neck.
"We have to hurry Rose! Jack and Witch are all on their own and who knows if this gang doesn't have a few spirits on their side for kicks."
"Witch should be able to handle THEM! What is she DOING?!" The dragon demanded as she navigated the road.
"Not interested in getting me arrested for murder?" Aki retorted, but Rose was right and it was worrying. Witch or the Black Garden 'alone' could subdue anyone, so why weren't they? It was a question that left Aki riddled with worry as the dragon drifted around the corner of the road. In the distance she could see this soft golden glow of the cocoons that were connected to Carly.
Black Garden was stretched along the sides of the road, curled up the street lamps and over stilled vehicles. YuseiGo was parked along the side, riderless, with yet 'another' single headlight arriving from the opposite direction.
'That... that's too big to be a 'gang'.' Aki thought to herself as she rode along, a frown pulling at her lips. 'Jack you ARE an idiot...' she thought to herself in mounting alarm. "Stardust! You know what to do!" She summoned Stardust, his card be damned, as Black Rose began diving to the ground for a landing!
"Oh sure, just him. WHAT ABOUT ME WOMAN!?" Archfiend snarled, the air above her igniting in a mirage inducing wave of heat.
"Well maybe you should let me know you're around," Aki retorted, but lent the dragon her power as well. Causing mirage to ignite into molten flame as the dragon erupted into the physical world the way a volcano erupted.
The dragon slammed down into the field of men and spewed forth enough flames as to cause several cars to explode just by being in proximity. Flames pulsed down his body as he reached out and snatched up the men and crushed them in his massive hands.
"Hmm ninjas..." Rose darkly noted, "explains the Witch..."
"Oh no," Aki shook her head as the impact from Rose landing was softened by her petals. Aki scrambled down. Off to her right she could Witch, trapped in her defense position while Aki looked around for the possible psychic who could have activated such a trap.
"The entrance to the Underworld..."
That was all Aki remembered. She had been running to Witch and someone began saying that horrible sentence. The guys shouted in horror...
That part of the road was shut down now.
Aki didn't remember what happened, and Carly had been out cold so she hadn't been able to tell her.
"Oh you kinda uh... put everyone of those traffic people in their place?" Witch had explained. She had been rubbing her wand in mild apprehension as she hovered in the hospital room in the aftermath. It was another generic off white walled room, where Aki had come to with Yusei broodingly staring at her from his spot against the wall. Aki had an IV tube stuck in her arm, but not much else, while her riding suit was hanging on the wall beside the quiet brown colored door.
Three buildings laid in ruin down the road. Glass littered the street from being blown out of their frames, sending the light dancing back into the sky in skewed showers of light. The pipes that had been torn out of the ground no longer spewed water and sewage.
Bloody Kiss's headlight sliced through that mess when she turned down another road. Giving her some time before she slowed down in front of Carly's apartment. Bigger than the old one, it came with a nice little ramp for her to drive her ride into and safe inside. Though the Black Garden was also a large help, creeping up from the ground to wrap around the machine. Sharp white light illuminated the garage, with various cars still there and Carly's yellow beetle parked off to the side. Bloody Kiss rumbled softly as she drove it down the path and into its spot, no one claimed it after all. It slipped into silence when she turned it off before she removed, first her helmet, then her duel disk from its loading dock.
Outside was darker now that the sky had that black... thing above them. Without the sun, and the stars... Well it was generally accepted there were 'no stars visible on this side of the planet'. But the spirits were reporting that there 'was' stars visible back home. The mainland had retaliated against the strange new sky by illuminating their cities more.
Witch materialized by Aki's side, a human sized woven bag hanging in her hands as the pair made their way to the elevator. Meanwhile Black Garden began coiling around the cooler parts of Bloody Kiss.
"Asuka said this stuff is good for bruises," Witch noted as she looked down into the bag she was carrying. It was easily bigger than her torso, so she couldn't really see 'into' the bag. But she had watched everything getting packed! "Some extra bandages, band aids, a few magazines, apparently Ryu dropped it off with them. OH some traditional Egyptian teas, and snacks, since he came for a visit earlier today and since I was coming over. Two birds, one stone!"
Aki nodded politely as they rose up to Carly and Jack's floor.
At the old place, even when the building was semi quiet, the outside world would still make its presence known. Now it was quiet as people lived in either apprehension or were out at work and the world outside was too empty to intrude either. Leaving Aki to walk by door after door down the hallway until she reached the couples' apartment. Knocking on the door she waited for Carly to come open it, with Witch floating patiently behind her. Only for a couple of imps to jog past out one wall and into another.
The pair were still staring at each other in mute, mild surprise when the door opened with Carly looking fine... With the cocoons of her fairies hovering around her, thin golden threads connecting her to them and filling the air with an incredibly soothing golden glow.
A glow that happened even at night, forcing both Carly and Jack to wear sleep masks to avoid it but that was not something that had been explained to the Rose Duelist.
"Finished my route." Aki announced as Carly moved aside to let them in, "I'll let Witch tell you of the stuff Asuka packed up for you."
She began working off the gloves from her riding suit as she went into the wash room to wash her hands.
"The cream you used before works really well!" Carly could be heard calling from the living room. "No stiffness and the odor is tolerable. Sorry the big lug just can't bring himself to do this himself."
"Don't apologize, I'm happy to help you out! Especially if it keeps Jack from going on another gang related beat down!" She answered as she stepped out and returned to the pair.
Carly's lips twisted in an apologetic smile as she began working to get her top off. Her arms stopped at the shoulders and Aki had to step in to help pull off the oversized t-shirt. Witch was pulling out the bottle she had brought, a few packets of that tea sticking out between her hands and the jar. While Carly's torso and arms were riddled with large, garish purple bruises, rashes from being shoved against a brick wall and maybe some asphalt from the road.
Was it any wonder why seeing the bruises had sent Jack into such a fury that the gang had to pin HIM down?
Soon the pair started to work on Carly's bruises.
"We should take a trip to Egypt. The stuff Mr. Ishtar sends is rather interesting," Carly suggested as she squinted at the tea bag in an attempt to read them.
"I don't think those are words..." Witch noted, "Ryu said that Mrs. Ishtar made them so they probably don't have a true 'label'..."
"Oh... OH!" Carly shoved the tea bags to her nose and gave an excited sniff, the strong scent of mint filled her nose making her forget...
That Aki and Witch were putting ointment on her injuries because she had bruises... Or that she took her glasses off because of her shirt. Because Carly lunged forward towards her kitchen to brew up this blend of tea!
Though to Witchs' credit she 'was' mid cast of a spell, why not summon a small bed of roses to soften Carly's fall? But the two were left alarmed with cotton balls in their hands to dab on the ointment, frozen in place and only able to watch as Carly faceplanted. The cocoons drifted lazily after her so it appeared like a series of golden balloons were trying to lift her up.
"Owwwwiiiiiiieeeeee..." Carly began as she stiffly struggled to get back into a sitting position.
"Carly," Aki haplessly put up the cotton ball as she went to help the woman back to her feet. Blind as Carly was without her glasses, it meant she didn't see Aki's expression at the numerous hand printed bruises up and down Carly's whole arms. Or the metallic shaped bruises around the womans' wrists.
Carly shuffled herself back to her seat, full of apologizes again for rushing off so that the pair could resume. It was sharply cold against her skin, tingling and stinging against the bruises, only it bled into the heat of the bruises and slowly became comforting as she sat there. "Jack is still angry isn't he?"
Aki blinked before giving a quiet shrug. "He's not angry at you, its self directed and you know that."
"Yeah, but it just makes me worry you know? Its not safe here exactly," Carly sighed and shook her head. "I'm being stupid, its not safe anywhere really, you can have your poor sides of town and your rich sides and crime can happen at either!"
"Sounds like you're trying to convince yourself of that," Witch noted as she gave a rub over a bruise on the inside of Carly's elbow. "It would be safer for you, Jack would probably be thrilled if you went and stayed with that Misty woman for a while. Given he and the guys have more experience on this type of isolation."
"I won't leave Jack behind," Carly retorted in stern, if desperate, resolution. "This is dangerous for him, too! What type of girlfriend just ditches her man when the going gets a little rough?"
"Carly, they were human traffickers, fighting against gangs is one thing. People trying to sell you off on the black market is something a lot different." Aki pointed out pragmatically if not a bit sadly. "And while I agree with Witch, right now Misty is in Rio and that's not exactly a safe place either."
"Oh come on!" Witch leaned over to give Aki a look, "to have you talk about it, it sounds like the whole earth isn't safe!"
"Well Yubel could show up anywhere after all," Carly noted distractedly her head turning like a divining rod towards a small stack of papers. "There's been reports of a strange person showing up around the world. Its not really clear, sometimes the report is a girl sometimes a boy, but lots of the appearance lines up with what Yubel was described as."
"Outside of the Neo Domino?" Akis' eyebrows rose up in alarm. "I haven't heard about this!"
"There's pictures over there. Its not been big enough for major news groups to pick up, also because Yubel can be mistaken for either gender it makes it even harder to describe them. But Jesse was seen last time and that's why I got a whiff of that news. Random acts of destruction, but its been near Momentum sites."
"Near the Momentum?" Witch now looked alarm as she recalled the amount of destruction Yubel unleashed on the village in back in the Duel Spirit World. She bit her lower lip before shaking her head. "Well there isn't anything we can do, you can't police the whole planet for them."
"But if they're left to their own devices..." Aki pointed out even as the guilt from knowing Witch was right ate at her. People with Psi powers like herself were already becoming more open with their abilities. It would be a veritable witch hunt if the masses decided to dump a lot of tragedies on people with the power to summon Duel Spirits like Witch or Rose...