Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's: The Judgement of the World
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
Beta By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
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It didn't seem plausible.
There was a quasi dueling arena lower in the earth, it was crude in design just a large slab of stone really. The lines were gouged out by some means or another and was still clearly visible. A strange blend of natural and unnatural with the stone jutting out. That just happened to be completely flat and large enough to be used for dueling. While at the same time being in something that was created by a man made disaster. Evident despite the dust that seemingly eternally fell. The room was also abysmally dark, with no natural light only the outright blue flames that were just hanging in the air. They had no discernible source, gave no heat, and were placed just to make sure everyone knew not to move.
Not that it stopped Asuka, or Ryo.
It was the trope that came from Western cinema. If you split up the party, everyone will die one by one.
So they had assured themselves that Aki was fully capable of taking out anything stupid enough to try for her.
But now with Isao traveling back out as he couldn't take the cave, it left Junko and Momoe bracketing Kazu. Though they couldn't bring themselves to blame Isao, he had put on a particularly brave face the whole time. Now though despite the high ceiling lost to the darkness, there was tomb like quality to the sound in the area. Sound didn't echo as it should when it was a voice speaking. But stones bounded for seeming eternity down into pits they couldn't see.
So far they were gratefully able to keep Asuka and Ryo in their unobstructed line of sight. While at the same time feeling as though they were being warned away from going down any further. The warning coming in the form of the stranger who stood on the stone field, the strange flames illuminating him. He had no shadow despite the flames about him, standing rigidly a chess piece waiting for a game.
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Awake? Sleeping on his feet? No one could tell, he didn't move and if he saw his sister and friend, instead of a stranger. He gave no reaction.
"Big brother? Fubuki?" Asuka called out? Barely able to keep enough of her wits about her to even test each step she took.
Nearing the point of being irrational, Asuka's voice carried her desperation that she had found her brother. Leaving Ryo the responsibility to focus on reality. A reality that pointed out how dark it was in the cave even with the flames. Fubuki naturally had dark hair making it even more difficult to tell if this was him or someone else. Ryo 'wanted' to say that this was Fubuki given what he could see with the hairstyle.
Save how was Fubuki so unchanged? How could Fubuki take care of himself and 'still' not be able to contact any of them? Because after two years, Fubuki's hair should have been longer, there would be visible signs and yet... Did he just stroll into a barbers' and let them trim his hair? It felt nit picky and foolish true. But it kept Ryo focused on reality, instead of spiraling down into the emotions that had taken Asuka.
It kept him grounded enough to see the twitching fingers on Fubuki's hand. The warning that, regardless of if of his own free will or not, Fubuki was awake and aware of their approach.
'This person he was facing wrecked his deck. Since I couldn't go further I entrusted mine to him, so be careful. Its a deck based on warriors and gambling, I don't know if it would work for him but if it does, it may be working with how he is 'now'. It doesn't know the real 'him' so you might have to talk to them. Get them to understand that I want them to stay with Fubuki. My time as a gambling duelist is clearly over, so have my deck go to him. From one warrior to another.'
The dusty human statue that had stood finally began dislodging the accumulated dust. One hand moving just enough to flip a small switch on the duel disk. With azure light blooming out in a recognizable pattern along his arm. Duel Disk activating to prepare for a duel and as light from that disk spread it seemingly ignited the arena. It wasn't his, at least not the one that either of them recognized as one he ever owned. It was sharp edged, black and curled, a sharp bladed black flame. Flames rose up, tracing the grooves in the ground as a fence that cut the pair off from the person in the center.
The hovering lights ignited to fill the arena properly with light, casting its bright blue glow out to reveal the room in fullness. Allowing everyone to see that this platform that he stood on wasn't a pillar. Nor did it appear to be jutted out of the walls, at least from what they could Kazu and the girls could see.
"Big Brother!" Asuka called out again, the duel disk that Mr. Jounouchi entrusted to them in her hands. 'Fubuki? Its' you! It has to has to be!' Asuka thought to herself as her hands fumbled with the duel disk. The school proclaimed Queen of Duels unable to even thread the large needle with her arm as the sands of time ran through. A gnawing fear that if they took too long Fubuki would get bored and leave. Even if it wasn't 'him' in control.
Only to have Ryo drop his own hand over her arm and firmly pull the duel disk away from her. A glance down and he could see the surprise and displeasure cross Asuka's face, motivating him to at least explain why. "You can't duel him Asuka. If he's being controlled, we need to call him back and while you're easily recognizable for him. Can you say the same for your deck? Does he know you through it?"
Asuka blinked and winced at the reminder. In the past two years she had modified her deck true. Before Fubuki had disappeared her signature cards had been pipe dreams that she didn't have while Ryo's deck largely was the same. From theme to ace, if the only way to get Fubuki to see 'them' was to have a deck he recognized.
"I just want to save Fubuki..."
It was meant to sound strong and confident, a declaration to save family from the Duel Queen. Instead the words shattered into broken pieces of fractured glass. Despite the fact that she merely spoke, the words bounded across the room as though she shouted it. Echoing and distorting as her pitch was reflected back in higher notes.
Her vision wavered from her tears and cracking voice she was taken aback by this sudden display of weakness. A break of who she strove to be after two years of loss and the questions she had for why he disappeared. Suddenly she was still a middle schooler crying for her brother and Fubuki was here. Yet she couldn't even save him? She strove to be strong, to move past the loss of her older brother and yet here he was and now she was being a crybaby?
"We're all here to save him," Ryo replied as he pulled the duel disk out of her hands and slipped his arm in. Feeling as it modified itself to fit properly on his arm, an ascetic that wasn't part of the normal line up. Despite how old the model looked, and it was a few generations old clearly, it was fitted like a custom built one. Given Mr. Jounouchi's relation to the Kaiba's, Ryo could only conclude that it was a custom built gift rather than a purchase.
He slotted in his deck and moved to where the design on the dueling field represented 'his' spot. The hanging question now though was what just 'how' would Fubuki duel? True most of his deck was gone, but he now carried Jounouchi's. Even if he boosted up the number of cards in his deck by merging them. It created a question that Ryo was blind to.
How do you duel a gambler?
Was his dueling style the same and he would try to only use the Warriors to compensate for the uncertainty of coin toss cards? Would he just play everything by ear? Fubuki had his own style of dueling, but would he still use it since he was under someone elses control? It wasn't as though Fubuki had spoken to them. There was no sign that he recognized any of them so far, despite the fact that he seemingly spoke to Yusei.
'But he had been standing in direct light at the time... Here he's in darkness surrounded only by whatever source these flames are from. So if sunlight is necessary to help shake him loose from whatever...'
Fubuki didn't even appear to acknowledge they were there. Even when the walls bounced Asuka's words about, he was stoically silent. Instead facing only where his would be opponent would stand. With Asuka forced to stand on the side lines as Ryo faced her brother.
Where as the trio waited with near baited breath.
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The room was lit with this blue flame that wasn't natural. No, that wasn't exactly right, the color 'was' natural, under a certain set of circumstances. That it was blue could have been just from being exposed to it from being underground amid gases and who knew what. But it was the sporadic moments where pure white light ghosted the ceiling off to the side that gave them hope. It was moving at a smooth pace reflected against the high walls of the chamber.
A sign of how much their lives had changed as they saw it move for it brought a single thought shared between the three. Witch of the Black Rose.
Aki had entered the volcano, and had allowed for Witch to manifest enough that she was visibly able to project light that touched even the group. That light promising a game changer to the duel that took place below them. Moreover when motes of light began drifting out from the wall, dusting the air with a light different from the steady beam from the Witch. Aki could talk to Jounouchi's deck, she could bring them into being and hopefully help them bring Fubuki back.
No one was sure if it was Aki's doing, or if it was the blue flames of the place. After all it could have been that they were in some type of Duel Spirit world pocket that was allowing them to see the light. Maybe there were no duel spirits in the room with them to start with because they were all with Aki. But what mattered was how Fubuki reacted.
Because he did.
"Ryo? Asuka!"
His deck was simply Jounouchi's and a gamblers deck was dangerous. Coin flips and dice rolls ran in Fubuki's favor. Ryo was trying to keep up, to keep all the magic cards off Fubuki's side of the field. Yet 'try' was all he could do. He was barely keeping his own monsters on the field despite his best effort. Marauding Captain locked out all of Ryo's weaker monsters and it was an opening 'move'. For a brief moment it was encouraging, since it allowed for Ryo to start summoning his Cyber Dragon needed for the Cyber End. Protected by their level, they were above Marauding Captain but Fairy box took out each dragon as they appeared.
"It feels like the dice are loaded if you ask me," Kazu grumbled, as yet another play that Ryo tried was wiped out by the dice.
"Well it might be," Momoe pointed out with a slight shrug. "If its a duel spirit like the others, it could be rolling intentionally for Fubuki."
And like the fool that spouted out nonsense until the climax of the event clarity and wisdom was given for the trio. A thought that none of them had considered despite knowing Aki and meeting their Duel Spirit Partners. Jounouchi gave the deck to Fubuki, but did the Spirits ever 'meet' Fubuki before whatever happened next? What if they thought that this Black Mask wearing man 'was' Fubuki and were trying to protect him?
"But if Ryo loses what happens to us? Whatever happened to Fubuki is because he lost to someone apparently? But will it happen again if Ryo loses?" Junko asked, shivering in the already faintly warm cavern.
"And now begins the creeping terror of what could happen if Ryo loses..." Kazu noted in a choked out attempt at being casual.
"That can't happen, Fubuki already 'had' the mask when he came here. We don't have one and he came of his own accord. Soooo," Momoe pointed out incredibly pragmatically. 'Course that doesn't mean he didn't get the mask and didn't try to resist it and failed. Come on Ryo! You're the Emperor of the School! You can't lose!'
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There was anxiety amid the group, undoubtedly in Asuka as well really. Ryo was the Emperor of the school. Undefeated by anyone, even Fubuki, there had been an expectation that Ryo could, if not easily, still win. Ryo and Fubuki would have this dramatic duel. There would be two stoic guys dueling while their monsters dramatically clashed on the field. With a grand triumphant victory, they would go home and be heroes!
But this wasn't Fubuki's deck, Ryo was dueling against dice that were destroying his plays and set ups. Without the Dragons Ryo couldn't get CyberEnd out at all while his other cards were getting negated and sent away with Dark Dimension monsters and Jinzo sealed the traps away.
"He's locked," Kazu finally muttered in worry. "Ryo can't get anything out that's going to help him, he's not prepared at all for a deck like this." If it was Fubuki's full deck Ryo would have a rough idea of what to expect. But it was a blend of two different people with different dueling styles all together. It would have been easier to be in a double duel with someone with a completely opposing deck than this!
"We need Aki, that's why," Momoe answered fighting back tears. "Mr. Jounouchi's deck needs to know what's going on. Just think, Panther Warrior hasn't shown up because 'he's' at the library in the Duel Spirit world! The others are 'here' and answering Fubuki without realizing what's going on!"
"And we can't even try to talk to the Duel Spirits, we'd just sound like we want Ryo to win, we're just shouting in the air to them I bet." Junko noted with half hearted in tone as she studied the path they had taken. 'Where are you? Whoever you are who did this to Fubuki! Where are you? If we can just find you we can stop this ourselves!'
Finally Ryo managed to activate Future Fusion, bringing forth CyberEnd Dragon from the graveyard. The three headed mechanical dragon rose up from the graveyard, towering before Ryo and putting a strong shield between himself and Fubuki. Yet given what they knew, the three couldn't find it to be strongly optimistic. Instead it was more out of desperation, they 'needed' CyberEnd to exist!
'This is a nightmare,' Asuka thought as she stood there, helpless to help either her brother free himself or Ryo. Her voice was falling on deaf ears as her possessed brother kept doing his best to crush any attempt that Ryo made to win. With the rise of CyberEnd Dragon from the graveyard she took comfort in his presence. The motes of light showed that Fubuki was aware of what was going on and just not able to do anything.
Her brother, was a hostage in his own body.
"You can't lose Ryo, he knows we're here..."
"I know Asuka."
She looked up at CyberEnd, and though it was just a static hologram, made to appear towering and dangerous. Asuka found herself wondering what did the actual spirit look like right now. Was it pensive? Did it look down at Ryo or her? Ryo 'did' have CyberEnd back when Fubuki was still with them after all.
"I summon Gilford the Lightning," Fubuki called out, removing every monster from his field and leaving only a spell field of scapegoats. A summons that made Asuka's stomach drop as she looked at the near bare field that Ryo had.
'Please have something face down,' Asuka prayed. Only for it to be cruelly ignored as the blond haired, iron masked warrior appeared in a flurry of lightning. Tall, imposing and by his presence alone CyberEnd Dragon burst into pieces. Four thousand attack points, all meaningless against this monster and a dragon destroyed by the mere presence of the Warrior.
Ryo did not reply. Or perhaps had nothing he could do to stop the attack so all he could do was stand there stoically. Because Gilford hadn't even attacked yet. That was going to be 2800 attack points going straight for Ryo...
The ground felt as though it dropped down from under her, only to hear the sudden, panicked cries of the others strike her ears. It wasn't her emotions, the volcano... "No... Not now..." Asuka muttered as she turned to look for her girls. Kazu had his arms wrapped around them, but the panic was clear. Sheets of dust and dirt suddenly began cascading down, the hiss of dust slithered into their ears...
"Gilford! Attack his Life Points Directly!"