Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds: The Judgement of the World

Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

Beta By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

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Yusei officially woke up to being poked and prodded by a series of doctors. It wasn't pleasant in any way, as they pulled him from the desert roses that he dreamed of. Cold, invasive hands and colder metals were pressed against his skin. The world a blast of bright light and contrasting colors as he was checked over. When he could finally see anything clearly, he found several men in hazmat suits standing over him. To the back of the room was Aki, Jack, and Crow, all of them in various states of examination.

They were up near the sink and the sliding closet with the guys wearing the same thing they had been wearing. Aki in a more proper dress instead of her witch robes or her generally normal outfit. But every time Yusei tried to get a bead on the group the doctors with him would turn him back to face them. Blinding him with a light shined into his eye directly.

"What..."

He began only to have a wooden stick shoved into his mouth and examined.

"You knew this was coming the moment Sis grabbed you," Crow answered knowingly from where he stood to the side.

"I'm not sorry, he would have died if I hadn't," Aki replied defiantly, barely refraining from glaring over at Crow. Which became easier as he gave her a good natured mollifying wave of his hands.

"Hey! You can court each other in whatever manner you see fit!" Crow began cheerfully, and cheerfully ignoring the luminous blush that started forming on Aki's face.

"It... wasn't like that!" Aki fumbled as her head began to bow in embarrassment.

"Uh huh," Jack retorted with a disdainful sniff as his gaze rolled over the plain walls above the heads of the shorter doctors and their stupid suits. The doctors had rushed in from a helicopter that had landed outside the motel. And he couldn't help but wonder how 'this' would get spun around, if Aki's parents weren't interested in ruining a business with such a display. 'I suppose they had no choice though, as the doctors said. They had it on camera that Aki was the last to see Yusei...'

Though how she got Yusei 'out' was still something of a mystery, one that they had been pelting her with questions about as well. After all they couldn't summon Duel Spirits so who knew what she did! But as much as a bother as it was, Yusei was still alive when the poison should have killed him. The concern of the doctors was mollified by the fact that the antidote had been found as well.

So all Jack had to do was practice being patient and he would be home sooner rather than later.

He could be home and take a proper long bath and have clean clothes. Watch tv with Carly and finally be free of her guilt ridden tears. Because he was going to need to give Yusei and Crow time to rest before they could set to work on his Wheel of Fortune. Home bound wasn't so bad when Carly was around and if she was working on any figurines he could just sit back and watch.

Actually, now that he thought about it... Why hadn't he considered just having Aki send Witch to his place and pick up a change of clothes?

"I'm not a threat?" Yusei asked finally around his dry tongue as he tried to blink the spots dancing in his vision.

"No, if you're alive then it hasn't been released." One doctor replied, his voice a distorted rasping sound through the hazmat mask. He was on Yusei's left, looking down a list on a clipboard with what appeared to be a tense expression on his face. "Granted we had little to go off of, and this could very well be a false positive or a prelude to something much worse..."

Yusei's eyes closed as he bowed his head, Yugi had warned him of this... "No... I'll be fine... I survived to this point." He missed the raised, scornful eyebrow, but couldn't help give a weak smirk. "Say I was told that from a higher power."

Crow and Jack burst out laughing at that, a shared joke between the three. Leaving Aki blinking in confusion along with the doctors among them. Causing her to give the startled doctors a sympathetic shrug as confused as they were over the 'joke' being shared.

The trio refused to explain themselves, and having that moment made them surprisingly more pliable to the doctors concern. Less resentful of questions they were presented until the doctors, begrudgingly allowed them a clean, for now, bill of health. Allowing all of them to return with a little less pressure with Yusei taken via helicopter, while a phone call promised a ride for Aki. But she had sweet talked her daddy into getting a trailer to carry BlackBird.

Thus allowing Jack and Crow to be able to ride back comfortably instead of on the back of a D-Wheel after all the riding they had done. Not that there wasn't anything to do what with the guys given the chance to speak to Aki. Regaling her on what she had missed by taking that trip to China with her classmates. No way around the fact that Yusei and the twins had met Yugi, or the mystery surrounding the King of Games.

"I've never asked if there was a God..." Aki marveled as she sat there, a cup of water in hand as she watched the world go by from the doorway of their motel room. "I mean, who expects the King of Games to be the 'creator' of the Duel Spirit world?"

"Yeah, I guess the only ones who might know would be those closest to Yugi, including his deck," Crow acknowledged with an amused smile... Before he blinked. "Hey Sis... Question..." he dug about his deck holder and produced his deck, flipping through the cards with deft fingers. "He gave me this..."

The red head held out a single white card large enough to be a duel card, yet lacking in any of the inks. "I saw him sign this, but when I pulled it out in Kaibas' office it was just this card, blank but..."

She took the peculiar card and pondered what he was hoping for, yet...

Crow watched her head tilt to the side slightly with a faint frown on her face. "I... don't sense a spirit... But if I was to say anything it 'feels' like a card..." she shook her head noticing his mild disappointment. "I'm sorry, if he made this card, and he's a 'God' than whatever is special about this card is beyond me. I can only tell its a duel card like we use just... well..." she shrugged.

"Not your fault Sis, was just a shot in the dark," Crow waved it off as he slipped the card back into his deck.

"Maybe I can ask... Well... Archfiend?" She looked about, seemingly gazing about the place but actually trying to peek at the dragons' presence. If he was here that was.

"Its a card yes, it works the same as the ones you often use. We can all sense that much, but its... got this small..." The dragon rumbled out, a hint of flame sparking in the light of the sun. "Its like...! Fishing! Its like how you humans fish!" He sounded rather pleased with himself as he made the analogy. "It feels like bait that's meant to attract a fish, but I can't tell you what type."

"Probably one that would work well with Crow," She mused in response only to see Crow's eager expression. Thus she explained to Crow what the Archfiend had told her and the light in Crows' eyes only grew.

"So, its like in time a Spirit can just move into the card? Really!?" He pulled it back out while the possibilities ran through his mind. Making him appear younger in his mounting excitement over the prospect.

"It's probably dragon bait..." Archfiend added quietly, and she could smell embers of fire as he moved closer. "There's five dragons after all, would be weird to pick something else. Though its going to be weird that he can't speak to his partner."

'He might,' Aki thought to herself as Crow began rambling off a number of spirits it 'could' possibly attract. There was no reason to believe that there wasn't a means of communication that could be created after all. Why would Yugi give a blank card with a bait like sense to it instead of just a 'monster card'? It didn't seem logical to her that he would basically have Crow walking around with a beacon. Meant to attract potential partners that he couldn't communicate with as needed.

Archfiend was probably right, there must have been something to the card itself. Something that would overcome the adversity of taking on a spirit that Crow couldn't talk to.

Conversations faded as they stood there, and despite Yusei not being among them or even Kiryu there was a new ease among them. Warmed by the sun, a jeep rolled up with Mina in the driver side, a trailer hooked to the back. Without a word Crow nudged Aki with an elbow before tilting his head slightly towards the vehicle. A silent cue that she took to readily and picked up her suitcase from inside before falling behind the other boys.

They walked to Kiryu's room and first Jack then Crow gave a sharp rap against the door with their knuckles before they started walking. The trio walked off down the path with Aki following Jack and Crow while they filled the air with 'just so you knows' for Aki. Regaling her with tales of their youth in Team Satisfaction. A name alone that got Aki's eyebrows raised until the sweet scent of roses drifted out to the trio. Aki breaking long enough to take the keycard and return it to the front desk for the group. As well as to discreetly pay for the room given everything she had caused.

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Lunch was a quiet affair which Honest didn't mind, for the awkwardness was almost palpable. While the rest of the school maintained the normal style of quiet, polite, but still active lunch room antics that he remembered. Now with even more Duel Spirits visiting despite only two people actively able to see them. With several determined to get Honest to chat with their partners because they 'really' enjoyed the interactive experience that Aki provided them with.

Fubuki now took up another seat at the lunch table, while Honest sat in his original place. Original before Isao came and stripped him of it and the memories of him. One last chair was left sitting empty, belonging to Aki, despite the fact that she had been found and was ok. Strange that she would attend school for a single day then go missing again.

"They must be rubbing off on her," Momoe noted with a faint smile on her face, "they're from Satellite after all. So she's probably losing some of that 'privileged socialite' demeanor, going to be a regular girl like us!"

Junko gave a faint snort mixed of amusement and hope, "well that would be nice."

"Or she could just feel herself responsible for what happened to Fudo..." Ryo suggested earning a guilt ridden shrinking from Asuka.

"No sis, you didn't do anything wrong. If I was a better duelist..." Fubuki quietly admonished...

"No, its no one's fault, no one at this table... or currently absent, ever woke up one day and said 'I want to be missing for any length of time to the detriment of those I care about.'" Honest countered, his voice both pained and firm. "Life is about choices, not just our own but others as well, and when those choices collide they can have consequences. Sometimes we just end up the victims of the choices of someone stronger. That doesn't mean we should beat ourselves up over it."

The others blinked and for a moment pondered his meaning, it did... make sense... "But that kind of implies we're victims, I don't like that." Momoe replied her pretty face twisted into a small grimace.

"We're only victims if we make ourselves the victims," Junko replied, resolute as she sat up straight in her seat. "Yusuke is right, we didn't ask for this! All we can do is roll with it, but that doesn't mean we should shrivel up and cry over it!"

"Right, Aki is alive, and whatever her old group did to Fudo didn't pan out given what the twins have said. So what we need to do is stop moping, and take pleasure in the fact that we pulled out a win!" Fubuki agreed, putting effort into sounding more cheerful and really Junko was right about it. Yusuke had been the victim of losing his parents and the choices he made led him to the Darkness. But that didn't mean that Fubuki had to leave him there... More over, he could see Asuka taking some heart from her friends' words. The slight hint of his dear little sister sitting a bit straighter, a little more confident.

"Right, so lets talk about whats 'really' important!" Momoe replied then turned to Asuka. "Who is your tag partner and who are you dueling for the Lovers Ball this year?"

Leaving all four guys openly gaping at the whiplash the sudden topic change turned out to be.

"I'm sorry I think I missed the turn off to this?" Kazushi muttered leaning over to Honest, who nodded wholeheartedly. Suddenly the female half of the whole table was yanked into the types of conversation that were going on through out the lunch room...

While near the younger students, a Kaiba sat at his lunch chair pondering how this was to be approached. He couldn't very well ask the twins to see him in his office after school. 'Well I could but that would be difficult given father. He'll want to know...' Saying he was 'hanging out with friends' would be nice. Except he didn't have friends due to work, being a Kaiba, his father being a walking pillar of intimidation.

He could see Rukas' bug tail hair style from where he was sitting, with her brothers' ponytail bouncing next to her. If Uncle Yugi or his Inner Circle was trying to get into contact with them, it felt like she would be the best bet to find out. Ruka could see spirits and if she could see the spirits of the deck! If he could just talk to Spiria, or any of them really!

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He frowned, his already triangular shaped head was foreboding to start with, coupled with the large sunglasses and low spiked hair style he preferred. Before him on the other side of the road that lead to and from the school as well as just across it was a barrier. One he had failed to breach. One that had never been there before and not only that. It was sustained by Divine power that he could not find the source for. Just power, raw, obnoxiously proudly divine energy that was refusing him any access into the school.

Trueman couldn't really afford to have Fubuki free from the Darkness, especially now that something like 'this' was being created. No Duel Spirit, even on the tier of the Ancient Fairy could manifest this and have it sustained. Someone must have reached one of the aspects of the Duel Spirit God.

"If they could reach 'Him', it stands to reason that he belongs to one of these particular branches..." the voice of an old man commented from behind Trueman. There was no one there though, Trueman couldn't feel the weighted presence of a body. Just the smallest of slits, the whisper of another time and place.

"We can't afford him to come back completely though, Yugi is a force unto itself. If he returns everything that we worked for will be destroyed." Trueman noted irritably, as he watched the distant shapes of people walking past the windows of the school.

"As is the Nature of the one who created everything, either He Creates or He Destroys. There is no in between with Him," the older man's voice agreed. "And now you have people who know how to call Yugi's attention to this reality..."

"The younger Kaiba, he has the deck that Yugi left behind. We managed to get a hold of his father, but if the child..." Trueman's voice faded into an internal monologue as he got his thoughts in order. Of the story of the deck that had the power to call forth Gods.

All the while the slit that produced the voice closed up as neatly as a surgeon's sutures. Leaving him standing alone staring at the school and its housed body of children and teenagers. Out of his reach and range... For now... The shields protected those on the grounds, but it did not extend to the whole city. Meaning whatever was offered was enough for this and this alone, whoever had reached Yugi was now out of cards to play.

Which was fine. He only needed to wait until they left, there were going to be kids whose hearts had been hurt enough that they would accept the Darkness' touch. Kids who could get him to Ryu and the deck he now carried. Granted using Kaiba to force his son to give up the deck would have been nice. But the child was literally the only light left in Kaiba's soul... Though if the boy were to die...