Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds: The Judgement of the World
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
Beta By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
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Mauled was a good way to describe the gang.
Evening was fast approaching, the ground was charred with flames in a wide swath of damage, the smoke filled their noses with dread. Burning foliage had a distinct scent, and could easily be called upon for comforting thoughts of bonfires with family and friend. But there were notes to the scent of fire that raised the hackles on the dragons necks. Something that brought to mind roasting meat and it was a thought that horrified everyone. They couldn't reach the group before Judai passed out, his mauled Spirits disappeared before he even hit the ground.
Burned meat with only humans before them was a horror all its own.
"This isn't... What did this?" Crow asked as he leaned down and pressed his ear against Fubuki's chest. Seeking out a heart beat given the grievous wounds he found, while unwilling to touch the guys' bloody neck. Stained in blood, he couldn't be sure if there was a neck wound and casually grabbing it to seek out a pulse felt like a bad idea.
Nor was Fubuki alone, both human and spirits were hovering over the fallen, trying to assess the situation to the best of their situation.
"Red Eyes, can you tell us what happened?" Yusei asked as he checked for broken bones in Ryo.
"Like where 'are' the rest of their spirits?" Jack demanded as he felt the fluttering pulse in Judai's neck.
"What do you expect, they're trashed, their spirits got trashed trying to protect them." Red Eyes reported as he edged closer to Fubuki and began to curl himself around teen. Though he gave Crow room to move, well he was a spirit so technically Crow could walk through him at a moments notice... still.
"Yeah ok, we get that," Archfiend retorted as he looked about for some sign of the challenge that clearly existed out there. "But who did this? What's going on?"
Aki blinked as she heard Red Eyes words, and realized that Honest was missing entirely. Panic was a seed planted in her stomach as she looked around in mounting desperation. There were only people around...
"Same people who killed Jounouchi," Red Eyes retorted. "When Yugi created the Darkness for the world he balanced it by being its light. Without him, the Darkness is going wild, its lost its sense of identity because it can't see itself without Light."
"How?" Rua asked, his brain trying to wrap itself around the idea and faceplanting onto the metaphorical ground. "I mean darkness and light are field cards... how can they think?"
"You're right and they don't, but that doesn't mean what exists within is brainless." Stardust answered for Red Eyes, "in the same way as there are spirits that gain strength in certain territories." He swung his head around to face Red Eyes, "Red Eyes here, for example, has a natural affinity to the Darkness, its where he probably put his den. While Ancient Fairy prefers forests and well lit places."
"Oh, so why not just call out the bad guys instead of saying 'the Darkness'. It just makes it sound dumb and confusing," Rua replied with a twist of his lips.
"The child has a point," Red Eyes admitted before lifting his front paw and gesturing. "But the thing is we haven't ever 'seen' who is doing this. Darkness is a wonderful shield to protect those hurt, who wish to hide. But its a pain in the tail when someone with evil intent wants to hide and this one refuses to come out."
"And Lord Yugi can enter the Darkness with his Light?" Ruka asked thoughtfully, standing between Carly and her brother, with Petite Angel still recovering in her arms.
"Indeed dear Little Ruka," Ancient Fairy explained. "For He created all, even in the depths of the Darkness, His Divine sight can see who the perpetrator is to these tragedies with ease. While I can certainly enter at my Will, I can not tell who the threat is. One spirit is no different than another in my eyes."
"Ok, try 'not' skipping the facts could you?" Archfiend asked in annoyance. "Why not tell us how this even started? Shouldn't you have been here with them?" The dragon loomed in his full size, with his front limbs crossed, mimicking Jacks' own cross armed stance.
Red Eyes furled and unfurled his wings in disinterest before looking away, causing several dragons to give a small growl. "Well I doubt you spend every hour of every day with 'your' partners, and besides you're bound more deeply to your partners than I am."
So many dragons and dragon partners stared at Red Eyes, with flat unamused expressions, save Black Rose. She was faintly more interested in the people at her feet and counting before she began to curl her limbs under herself in a very cat like way. "The GROUND, is fine, this fight did not take place Here.. the DAMGE was part of the arrival?" she noted dipping her head down to nuzzle Aki while her partner was moving from Asuka to Momoe.
"But Judai was already shielding when they got here, we need to get them to the doctors'. Though I don't know how we're going to explain how they got this injured," Yusei pointed out.
"Think it was the same group that messed with Isao back near Crash Town?" Crow called out...
"Oi... Woman!" Jack's powerful voice grabbed everyone's attention as they turned and found him motioning with a free hand for the others to come over.
"Junko?" Aki called out unable to leave Momoe just yet.
"She's awake?" Yusei asked as he got up for which Jack answered with a nod, even as he rushed over he cast a concerned glance over at Aki. Her voice sounding strained to his ears and that was not something he needed at the moment.
"Who?" Junko's voice was confused and strained as Jack slipped his arm under her back to brace her so she could sit up. Her eyes fluttered open for a moment before she sank back into exhaustion.
"Friends, Aki's friends," Yusei answered as he dropped down next to the brown haired girl. "Tenjoins' Petite Angel alerted us to your situation. Can you tell us anything?"
"We... do you think a healing spell card might help Ancient Fairy?" Ruka asked looking up at her dragon with worried eyes.
Only for her dragon to shake her head quietly, but then stopped as her gaze fixed itself to Witch floating around. "Or maybe you can... If you have such a card among you, and allow Aki to send us all back and focus on her Witch. Perhaps you 'can' heal them..."
"Uh... but we can't just dig through their decks..." Rua noted thoughtfully, and he only really knew his and his sisters' decks. "And I mean, I don't think anyone of us carries healing cards... doesn't really fit you know?"
Yusei could barely hear Rua's voice from where he knelt, but felt a comforting warmth in his heart from it. Rua was right, recognizing the unique styles of the dragons and what was more than likely going to be in decks based on that. But he couldn't spend his thoughts focused on Rua's observations.
"Everyone? Is everyone..." Junko asked in breathless worry. For her the world was one of pain, her skin felt flayed and she probably 'had' been. She kept trying to open her eyes, so she could stop seeing her cherished Cyber Harpy being mauled. Tears began to leak out of the corners of her eyes stinging as they escaped. "Harpy... Asuka... Momoe... Everyone..."
"Harpy?" Crow asked in concern as he stood over Jack and looked down at Junko.
Only for Witch to answer for the others, "Her partner is Cyber Harpy... Oh... OH no..." Witch recoiled as she recalled the stories from before. "Fubuki's deck was destroyed... Oh no!" In a panic Witch began dashing among the others, calling out to the spirits. Her doll like hands pawing at duel cases and discs. "Someone answer me!"
"We can help," Swee voiced from her spot among her fellow Fortunes, "Just say the word Carly and we'll go home and check for their spirits..."
"We won't fight, we'll just investigate," En offered in support floating in front of Carly to keep their partners' attention on them. Not the aftermath of violence behind them.
"Yes, sure if you think that would be helpful," Carly answered though concerned rather than confident, "but you be careful! I don't want you to try to take on whatever did 'this'!" She ordered.
"Right!" the rest answered before disappearing leaving the terrible situation. Even Stardust seemed to take the fairies words to heart and stood up.
"They have the right of it, but they're small, we'll go and help scan the areas," he announced with only a nudge of his tail to get Rosie to stand up. Soon the pair of dragons had disappeared, leaving only three remaining Dragons standing over them. Witch disappeared as well, her voice cut off as she cried out for someone to answer her.
Everyone else who didn't directly have their hands on Junko turned their worried eyes first the Petite then to Aki.
She could feel the weight of their concern in their gazes even as she tried to coax Momoe to wake up. She wasn't in her school uniform, but this wasn't her shopping clothes either, in fact they all were roughly dressed the way they did when they traveled with her to China. Geared for travel that might become dangerous, not the mall. So did they know something was up?
But there were no other spirits here and her eyes began to well up in panic induced tears as she cried. "Fubuki's deck was damaged, a number of his Duel Spirits were destroyed by the same force that kidnapped and held him prisoner until recently."
Ruka went white with horror as her eyes went down to the small spirit in her arms, Petite was listless, singed feathers and scuffed up. This or worse among the older students Duel Spirits? 'You ran away to get help, but did the others survive?'
"What's wrong, I don't get it..." Crow asked looking between Aki's growing sobs and the silence from the others.
"Aki... her power..." Yusei sighed and ached to go to her but the injured had to come first in this situation. "Spirits are manifesting just by being in the presence of her power, Crow."
"But the only Spirits here are ours... Do they have..." Crow began as the puzzle pieces began to form before him before he realized why Yusei was hesitant about saying. "Oh shit... They have spirits, too, and they're..." Crow muttered swears as he looked around in a panic. Of course these guys had spirits, where else would Petite Cyber Angel come from?! "Hey! Any of these guys spirits here? Come on! Say something!"
"How am I going to explain?" Aki asked helplessly.
Carly had sank down and hugged Ruka as the girl had started the cry, as the magnitude of the battle started to sink in. That adorable little spirit had come looking for help...
"Aki, I'm not wrong that you can't just take over Ancient Fairy correct? Because right now the only healing spirit we have is her." Yusei called out as concern gnawed at him. "Their parents are going to not react well when they see their children in this condition."
Yusei frowned as he knelt there even as he saw Aki's head shake from over his shoulder. "We need to get an ambulance here. We can't do anything on our own right now and we can't afford to wait for a chance at finding a card."
"Oi! Woman! Call for an ambulance!" Jack shouted, frustration in his voice as Junko laid limp in his arms. Defeated by her injuries with only the concession that she was alive still despite her injuries.
"We went out for a drive!" Crow offered with worried encouragement. "We smelled smoke and came over and found them like this..."
"On it!" Carly answered as she turned and jogged back to her car, her hands fumbling for her keys as she moved away. It was getting too dark to see, so she slipped behind the wheel and cranked on her car. With a flip of the switch she got the headlights up, casting its sharp white light over the charred ground. It flung the twins shadows ahead of them over the older teens with sharp lines. While the dying ember glow of burned grass continued to fade into further darkness.
"Psychics can do stuff like this... But where..." Jack grumbled as he looked around helplessly. Charred remains of the grass provided no sign of any tires even with the help of the headlights, and none of the dragons noted a helicopter. "So were they in the Duel Spirit world and dumped here?"
"Gates exist, but Big Sister should be able to see it on her own right?" Rua replied, turning his worried gaze up to Aki with youthful confidence. For which he got a nod of assent from the older teen, "So maybe something stronger was able to bring them here? Maybe opened another, but temporary, gate?"
"And that's scary," Crow noted with a shake of his head. "Something strong enough to teleport several teenagers here 'and' do the stuff you already told us about..."
"Ambulances are coming!" Carly announced as she jogged over.
"Sis..."
"Fubuki is coming around, at least for now," Red Eyes announced having moved himself right up to the teen with Crows' departure.
Aki rushed over, cursing the platforms she wore and began pondering if it was time to convert to flats. At least living the type of life she now had with the other Dragons. "Fubuki? Fubuki please! Please be alright," she pleaded as she rushed to his side.
"Aki...Yusuke... attacked... Honest-" Fubuki began, fighting to speak as he reached out to her in desperation. Perhaps it was a testament to how much being controlled by Darkness had fortified the teen. Now awake he was struggling to get up as Aki dropped carelessly to her knees by his side. "Tried to fight... The others? The spirits...?"
High above was a dome of hated black dotted with diamonds, Aki's face was a shadow as her body blocked the headlights from some source. But he had to talk, had to make sure the others were ok because his body was in agony. Everything felt of fire and pain and until he knew everyone was here and not being forced to serve Yusuke...
"Asuka and the other humans are here... As for the Spirits only Petite Cyber Angel and Red Eyes Black Dragon. Our dragons saw Judai's spirits for a moment but they were mauled... I don't know what to tell you other than we got an ambulance coming for all of you. But I don't know about the spirits, ours are back in the Spirit world checking..."
"Wait... 'Honest' sounds like a Spirit name, why would Yusuke attack a spirit?" Crow asked while Yusei and Jack came up from the rear. A question that reminded Aki that while the guys met Honest, they had been hypnotized.
Aki shook her head as she grabbed Fubuki's hand, holding it carefully in her own. "Why? Can you tell us anything?"
"He can't take the Duel Spirit world... Ancient Fairy's return stopped him." Fubuki grunted as he tried to sit up. "He wants this world instead..."
"Lay down, you need to conserve your strength," Yusei ordered as he knelt down.
Yet Fubuki refused to settle down, "protect Sister, but also protect Judai... Gentle Darkness, its Judai..." His eyes drifted shut as even the little movement he had already invested taxed away his strength.
"'Gentle Darkness'? Now that is a title I have not heard in ages," Ancient Fairy mused as she roused up from where she had coiled at. She began weaving her way among the injured while in the distance the wail of an ambulance signaled help.
The others looked up at the beautiful dragon dutifully as her ear fins flickered. "The Gentle Darkness is lower ranked than I, but the aspect of Darkness itself is their providence. Whoever this being is, would want to eliminate the current Gentle Darkness..."
"A pretender to a throne?" Rua asked as Ruka rested her head against his shoulder. "Wait... the guy who kept bugging Big Sister because of her power, is in charge of the Darkness of the Duel Spirit world?" Rua stood there, giving his sister a supportive back rub as his poor brain tried to put this two and two together. "Wait, then shouldn't he be as strong as Big Sister?"