Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's: The Judgment of the World

Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

Beta By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

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The earth shook slightly, as gentle as a butterfly's wing beat actually, but in a 'volcano' of sorts that was mostly soften dirt and rocks. That 'gentle' was seismic.

Ryo and Kazu grabbed Asuka and Momoe's arms respectively to keep from being separated, Isao latched onto Junko like a blood sucking leech in a blind panic.

"We're going to DIE!" Isao squeaked out in absolute panic as he clung to Junko.

Dust fell all about them instantly forming small piles on the bodies for the brief second. The air hissed and growled as the ash shifted and rocks rolled against each other. The air carried a hint of fumes that mingled in such a way akin to animals. When they sensed that the predator was near by and possibly going to pounce upon them. The reminder that there was either a gas pocket or worse below them all.

Re-enforcing the fact that these were just high school kids trying to rescue people on their own. The shear gall that it took nothing more than one girl with a special talent to make teenagers forget their mortality and common sense. All three pairs lowered their heads to try not to breath in the dust. The air quality caused them to start bringing up their shirts and tucking their faces behind it. Realizing how bad an idea that this was the whole time.

Yet as the dust finally began settling down, Momoe caught the faintest glimpse of something resting on the ground next to her feet. Forced to shut her eyes again, she shifted her foot to touch what appeared amid all the dust and pebbles falling on them. Finally the noise faded away leaving the silence of the tunnels. Just delicate shifting of dust carried the sound to their ears and even then, even after minutes they didn't move.

"You kids ok?" Jounouchi's tired, dried out voice scraped through the air, concern forcing him to try and make sure that these would be rescuers weren't harmed.

If ever there was a sign that they could move it was that.

"Um..." was a mutual sound among the three pairs.

Ryo slowly released Asuka and began to exam their surroundings with his light, as Asuka called out a cautious confirmation.

Momoe dropped quickly to check the thing she had glimpsed near her feet, sliding her arm out from Kazu's enough so that she had a safer grip on his hand.

Junko was just... "Can't... breath..." while shooting a barely restrained death glare at Isao who hadn't released her yet.

Isao didn't even open his eyes, instead he slowly loosened his grip so that he was hugging her shoulders with the same fierceness rather than her neck.

"Oh... thanks... I can breathe now..." Junko retorted at the slight adjustment to Isao's reaction. 'Claustrophobia is a thing. Claustrophobia is a thing. Don't bite his head off, but maybe next time keep him with Aki instead.' She looked around to try and see something other than a friend clinging to her like some panicked monkey. The walls were different now, the holes were larger now, gaps expanding further so that she could see a bit of what appeared to be Ryo's head further off in the distance.

"Guys?! I found the rope!" Momoe's excited voice carried across through the holes of the walls. Where holes remained... There was some light dancing about in another area that she could see, then suddenly her friend's head popped up facing something that Junko couldn't see. Meaning it was probably Kazushi with his cellphone.

"We'll be right there!" Asuka called out enthusiastically, as she and Ryo moved forward.

"Working on it!" Junko replied with her voice a little tight, but could anyone blame her.

"I'm so sorry... I just... and the walls... and the 'ceiling'..." Isao muttered. 'And the boobs...'

"Come on Isao... I'll take you outside..." Junko offered as she began doing tiny shuffling steps to the side.

"Are you still ok, sir?" Ryo called out from another tunnel. Causing Junko and Isao to stop moving so they could hear a confirmation or denial.

"I'm fine!" Jounouchi answered with a series of coughs cutting him off. "But that shake didn't do any of us any favors. The way I ended up here is kinda broken off, I can't see it well but it looks like there's this ditch between me and the rope. So be careful when you walk down here!"

"I'm starting to think there's got to be a duel monster big enough that Aki could call here who could safely lift the top of the volcano off with..." Asuka ruminated in an amused voice as she and Ryo followed the path they had just walked down.

"That's a mental image... They do seem to adjust their sizes accordingly to a degree. As when my Cybers appeared at the twins condo. But Duel Spirits that size out of no where in China? I'm not sure how they would handle that. Aki 'is' a Senators' daughter and if it got tied back to her that could have political ramifications." Ryo noted thoughtfully as he studied the walls around him as he walked in Asuka's wake.

Asuka nodded, her hand going to her hip where she wore her deck only just shy of pulling out her cards. No reason to allow all this dust to fall into the case and dirty up her deck! "But there's still the person or whatever that has that power to destroy Duel Spirits. We're trying to be positive and say that it was an accident. But until we know for sure we should err on the side of caution..."

While Momoe excitedly lifted up the rope they had been looking for and watched the cord lift up from both directions. "Sooo we've been walking right by it?" she asked giggling as she turned to show Kazu the rope.

"Wow there was more dust than we realized," he commented bringing the light to focus on the rope itself.

Even now it was stained a deep gray from ash that she could see when she noticed that Kazu hadn't let go of her. In fact she could see the streak from when his hand had slid down to her wrist when she dropped down to pick up the rope. Somehow in all the danger of a potential cave in and delight at finding the rope she hadn't noticed his hand on her. Now his hand was holding hers, and when she looked up at him. Well he looked as decidedly embarrassed as she felt.

But it also felt nice.

As dirty as they were now, with the whole of a man made volcano all around them and far above them. Momoe felt safe. As well as embarrassed as she, the de facto cute boy chaser, was actually getting to hold hands with a guy. One who actually knew of her habits and she didn't have to tone herself down. His grip was firm yet gentle, and she was surprised by how nice it felt.

"I... I um... Sorry I was just..." Kazu began stammering growing less comfortable with her silence. He began to pull back his hand so she wouldn't be creeped out when her own fingers uncurled in his hand.

/ back outside the volcano /

"Yes, they're going to need you to stay out here for a bit longer." Phoenix stated covering his head with his wing.

"Wait, they're holding hands and I need to stay 'out'?" Aki demanded as she stopped walking towards the volcano and turned her gaze down towards Phoenix. Both she and Witch giving Phoenix the 'You don't tell girls gossip this good and expect them not to get involved'.

"In a word, yes. I'm sure you would not appreciate such a thing happening to you and your little Paramour." Phoenix squawked back feeling defensive for his little brood of humans.

"Yusei? He BETTER not be getting fresh with Aki!" Witch blurted out which actually worked in making Aki stop walking towards the volcano's entrance.

/ In the volcano with normal people /

"Junko? You and Isao ok?" Asuka called out as she continued her path back to where the three parties had split up. She looked about at very real changes that had occurred, the widening of the gaping holes they had been looking through before. Light bounced about from various phones, dancing along the walls further than before. 'We might need our Duel Spirits, if this falls on us they'd be able to shield us I'm sure. This would be little next to nothing for Ryo's Cyber Dragons.' She thought.

"I'm fine, Isao is... a little nervous about the cramped spaces is all!" Junko called out causing Asuka to glance up at Ryo.

He looked completely indifferent, but Asuka couldn't help but give a faint smile even as she worried. 'We really shouldn't keep shouting the walls look thinner than before..'

"Do you need help?" She called out concerned.

"Yes," Junko answered with a slight tightness to her voice.

"N-N-nooo we're fine!" Isao spoke up, his voice near quivering.

Asuka, who hadn't broken her gaze from Ryo, watched as he finally frowned and shook his head in quiet resignation. She shook her head and followed him as they walked back to rejoin their friends, while a pair of ruby red eyes flickered in the darkness behind them.

While Junko resigned to her slow walk was taken by what she could see through the now window sized holes beside her. She could see what appeared to be a type of ground below, but Isao held the light and she couldn't get a clear view. Yet the way the light from the other phones illuminated the ground... She couldn't help but feel she was seeing something in the distance. There was something about the way the light bounced off. But even with a single phone she doubted she could get a clear enough view.

Especially with the way the dust floated down from the top.

"Co... Come... Uh oh..." Junko finally gave in to the dust that had accumulated on Isao's head and began sneezing. A painful proposition with the painfully tight hold that he had on her at the moment.

"S-sorry!" Isao blurted out as he freed up one hand to dig around in his pocket for a hankie. The folded square of cloth was pulled out. But as he looked at it in the light of his phone he could see the dust that had slipped into the folds of his pants. He gave it as good a shake as he could provide before holding it up for Junko to use.

She fairly snatched it out of his hand and the volley she launched made him wince. When her lungs emptied out of air and the barely puffed out attempts he finally clenched his hands and backed up.

"Who is sneezing up their lungs?" Kazu's voice called out in concern from his part of the volcano.

"Junko..!" Isao called out apologetically.

"That sounds bad, will you and Momoe be ok if we go and check on her first?" Asuka asked worriedly, while Ryo merely picked up the pace of his walking.

"Sure, no problem here!" Kazu answered automatically. "We'll retrace the rope as far back as we can so you can find us."

Momoe nodded, unable to get words out as she stood there quietly thrilled at the feeling his hand holding hers. Even though she would have to let go of his hand so they could follow the rope. Because they couldn't just pull it up, not after that display of dust and shaking. She would need to be careful as she lifted up the rope and followed it along.

Kazu on the other hand, found himself concerned as he listened to Junko's sneezing. It was painful sounding and somehow. Not that he knew how. He started to wonder how they were going to deal with Fubuki. No one brought a duel disk with them. Granted had they brought the arm strapped devices they would undoubtedly been ruined. Made useless by the deep amounts of dust and rock that had drifted upon them.

Yusei had freed Aki using dueling as a means for them to connect after all... 'If it took a duel for Yusei to reach Aki, would it work for Asuka or Ryo to reach Fubuki? Cuz if so, we didn't bring a way for them to duel. Short of simply using our phones, but somehow I don't see how that would work. It almost seems like the ability to physically 'see' the manifestation of the Duel Spirits works in some tandem with contact.'

"We might need to go outside for a bit, Isao freaking out about the tunnels and now Junko? She needs air," Momoe worriedly commented in a hushed voice to Kazu.

He ran his fingers through his own hair and nodded in response, "we all need to go outside I think." He could 'feel' the dirt and dust falling into the collar of his shirt and it made him shudder. "We're going to need baths for days... our clothes are pretty near ruined, if not outright so..."

Momoe blinked as she thought about it, her own long hair had protected the back of her neck, but now that Kazu had pointed it out. And not holding her hand so she was distracted by 'the touch'. She began observing her own clothes, then his. She and Junko had opted more for their sporty, active wear, making it easier to go outside and shake off dust. But Asuka had opted for her white and blue, cloth made, street clothes. She was going to look as black clad as her brother at this rate!

Kazu had opted for jeans, a white t-shirt with a white button on over that, casual as anything. So white that now he was going to be a dirty boy... oh... Oh dear...

'No... this isn't possibly. I can't let my obsession towards Hot Duel Spirit guys attach itself to Kazu. He's a 'friend'... if this doesn't pan out what then? Do I just obsess over him as well? But if it 'does' pan out... I can't just brag about him all the time!... I'll have known too much, I could literally lose it! ASUKA! JUNKO! AKI! HELP ME!' … 'Who am I kidding? Aki wouldn't be able to do anything but summon my Duel Spirits for me. I mean... she 'does' seem to have a taste for doming Yusei... I bet their sex life would be spent mostly with him on his knees. With 'his' smoldering glare? Topping from the bottom maybe...'

"Uh... Momoe? You ok? You got that look in your eye..." Kazu asked, having glanced down and seeing the wide eye 'oh this is hot' look that could be patented exclusively to Momoe's face.

"Just thinking of Aki's sex life with Yusei." She blurted out as the options reel kept playing..

"You 'do' realize our Spirits are 'relaying' our conversations to her right?! Momoe! Eyes front!'" Kazu recoiled as he tried not to think of things.

"I'm sorry..." She squeaked.

"Not sorry enough... Oh now its in my head.. Damn it."

/ Back Outside /

Phoenix felt very lonely at that moment. Lonely and kind of scared honestly... It was surrounded by a literally small 'army' of Duel Spirits. All courtesy of Aki's deck... Silently staring at the TWO of them with this 'you did not' look on their faces, well at least for those that 'had' faces. Witch was literally nose to nose with Aki, her doll like eyes wide with the fiercest of determination.

The poor Cyber Duel Spirit began slowly waddling closer to Aki's legs as the young woman twitched at the glaring. Her cheeks were a dusty soft shade of rose, and it was from some strange place that wasn't her mouth. Despite her moving it, that finally announced, "We're not like that."

/ Asuka and Ryo /

Their trek backwards in the tunnel finally brought them 'roughly' back to where the trio of teams broke off. Neither could be sure anymore, since the tunnels had changed subtly and outside of what they could see through the gaping holes. Finding their way out wasn't going to be hard it seemed, there was the soft filtering of outside air that both teens could feel. But turning around to find to Kazu or Isao?

"Were there this many when we parted?" Ryo asked, seeking confirmation as several tunnels bore moving lights as though they were being approached.

"No?" Asuka answered a deep frown on her face. "At least our Spirits know where we are... We'll be ok once Aki brings them out."