A/N: I got so excited about writing the last chapter, that I literally started writing this one immediately after posting chapter 46. I just couldn't stop. I delayed posting it thought because... Well, I'm evil. ^_^ If you have any questions about the title or content as far as the deaths from last chapter and this, just ask and I'll do my best to answer.

Irresistible Force Paradox: What would happen if an unstoppable force hit an immoveable object?

Chapter summary: In which an unstoppable force hits an immovable object; or in this case, three unmovable objects.

47: Irresistible Force Paradox

"Hey! You alright?"

Yugi whirled, immediately regretting the sudden movement when his ribs stung. He had to be careful. He could still breathe even if it was with difficulty. It was a sheer stroke of luck that his lung hadn't been punctured, but there was no guarantee his luck would hold out.

"Woah, easy there bro."

Yugi winced when hands much smaller than the crazed terrorist's gripped his shoulders. He looked up and was curious to find two new faces in front of him. Both people were young and male. One had a mop of brown hair and friendly brown eyes that twinkled with energy. The other had black hair straked with blonde that was spiked up much like Yugi's own hair. The black haired young man also had gold tattoos on his face and dark purple eyes; darker even than Yugi's, though perhaps a bit harder. Both boys also had duel disks clipped to their left arms that were unlike any Yugi had ever seen before.

"Who are you?" Yugi asked, pressing a hand to his side, hoping the pressure would ease the ache. It didn't do much.

"I'm Yuki Judai," the brunette said with an attitude that was much too bouncy for Yugi to fully appreciate at the moment.

"And I'm Fudo Yusei," the taller black haired young man said. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"Yeah," Judai said, staring at the place Yugi was gingerly holding. "You don't look to good. The landing wasn't that great, I'll admit, but you look a lot worse than us."

Yugi bit his lip. "Broke a rib," he said, leaning back against the metal railing. "Maybe two. I'll be fine." He glanced back over his shoulder at the merriment below in confusion. "What happened though? I remember the dragons. They just attacked and grandpa..." Yugi fought back hot tears, he couldn't let himself cry. Sobbing would just aggravate his injury. "And Kaiba and-"

"Kaiba?" Yusei and Judai gasped.

"As in Kaiba Seto?" Judai continued. "I go to his Duelist Academy. Was he down there too? He wasn't listed among the dead in the article."

"What?" Yugi asked, turning back to the two other boys in growing frustration. "How could what happened be in the newspaper? It only just happened." He hesitated. "Right?"

Yusei sighed, his shoulder slumping. "Actually yes and no," he said. "For us and you, yes it has already happened. But for them down there," he said, nodding to the oblivious throng of con attendees below, "it hasn't yet. It should be about a half hour before the event I think. Or at least, that's what the Crimson Dragon was aiming for."

"Crimson Dragon?" Yugi rubbed his sweaty face with his free hand. "Someone please explain what's going on. I'm not really in the best shape for this right now."

"Right, sorry," Yusei said with an apologetic smile. "We're from the future."

Yugi's head snapped up then dropped back against the railing, giving up trying to make sense of this mess. "Alright, fine," he said in defeat. "If you're really from the future then why-"

"Some crazy dude started stealing dragons from our friends," Judai said, his eyes cold and angry.

"He stole my Stardust Dragon," Yusei lamented, bowing his head. "He started dueling me, I summoned Stardust, and he just... took him straight from my hand." He pulled out a blank card from his pocket and held it out to Yugi. "This is Stardust Dragon's card," he said. "When that crazy guy stole Stardust, he used a completely blank card. It looked like that blank card just absorbed Stardust right into it. It was...weird." He winced, pressing a hand over his heart. "It felt like my heart had been ripped from my chest still beating."

Yugi knew the feeling. He had experienced something similar when he took off the Puzzle these days. He cradled his precious Puzzle with his free hand, feeling a rush of warm devotion from the spirit locked with its golden confines.

"Was one of the dragons that terrorist," he spat the word like a curse, "forced to attack us your Stardust Dragon?"

Yusei bowed his head in shame, unshed tears glistening in his eyes. "Yeah." He clenched the hand resting on his chest into a fist. "I felt him be summoned. It felt like a part of me was breaking. Stardust was fighting it the whole time but..."

Yugi's gaze softened in sympathy and he placed his hand over Yusei's fist. "Hey," he said. "It's okay. We'll get your Stardust back." He offered the black haired duelist a gentle smile. "I know the pain of having a beloved monster stolen from you. We'll help you get Stardust back. I promise."

:Agreed,: Yami echoed in Yugi's mind.

:Other me?: Yugi called. :Are you alright?:

Yami sighed indulgently. :You're the one who's hurt. You should worry about yourself right now, not me. I'm already dead.: The spirit grimaced in Yugi's mind's eye. :Sort of anyway.:

"Whatever that guy did messed up the timeline," Judai said grimly. "My entire world was literally going up in ash."

"So was mine," Yusei said.

"Our cards started going blank too. Oh!" Judai dug out his deck and held up his favorite card, letting out a relieved sigh when his monster reappeared. "Neos Knight! You're back!"

Yusei blinked and hurriedly dug out his own deck, shuffling through until he found card he sought. His entire form slumped in defeat when he found the Stardust Dragon card still blank. "Stardust is still gone," he lamented.

"Thank you saving me," Yugi said, drawing Yusei's gaze. "He would have killed me if you hadn't gotten there in time." His brow furrowed as he recalled the terrorist's words. "It was the strangest thing. He said he'd already killed me before. He was actually shocked when he saw me still alive." He met two pairs of surprised eyes watching him in rapt interest. "He said he shot me, that he watched me die. He said he'd tried to kill Kaiba too, but that Kaiba'd managed to avoid death until then."

The memory of his rival crushed and impaled by the remains of a building resurfaced in vivid detail and Yugi promptly pushed Yusei aside and threw up. Yami did his best to take the pain of the damaged ribs from Yugi, but they were both drained and twinges still leaked through. He was grateful for Yusei and Judai's helping hands holding back his hair and keeping him from toppling over in pain.

When he had nothing more to throw up, he wiped his mouth hating the taste of bile on his tongue. "Sorry 'bout that," he whispered, his voice cracking from the burning bile.

"Don't worry about it bro," Judai said. "You must've seen something awful."

Yugi just nodded, afraid to open his mouth before he was absolutely certain doing so wouldn't bring on a new wave of nausea.

"My guess is the dude's gunning for Pegasus," Judai said thoughtfully. "I mean, the guy practically created Duel Monsters. He's supposed to be here at about 11:50, right?"

"According to that newspaper article, yeah," Yusei said nodding. "If Pegasus dies before he has the chance to create our cards, then that would explain why they went blank earlier."

"Good point," Judai said, eyes wide. "I hadn't thought about that."

"We need to get those people out of harm's way," Yusei said, standing and leaning over the railing. The crowd far below milled about, heedless of the oncoming danger. Yusei narrowed his eyes in the sunlight. "We can't let them get hurt."

Judai grinned, his eyes flashing a jewel toned red and green intriguing the spirit dwelling in Yugi's mind. "Don't worry about that," he said. "We got this."

"We?" Yugi asked, swallowing back his discomfort. He sat up straighter when a duel spirit of a female fiend appeared behind Judai. She met Yugi's eyes evenly, nodding respectfully when Yami also materialized in his own spirit form next to his partner.

"Yubel," Judai said, looking up to the duel spirit excitedly, "let's make a mess."

The spirit, Yubel Judai had called her, rolled her eyes like a tolerant mother although her lips twitched upwards in a smirk. "Indeed," was all she said.

Judai hopped up and ran to the stairwell door leading down to the ground floor leaving Yusei and Yugi behind. Yusei carefully helped the young King of Games up and together they made their way to the door. They would take the elevator instead of the stairwell. When they got to the ground floor, they walked out of the building only to see people running about after Yubel fired a minor blast of magic at the main stage that was more flash and bang than anything else.

"Run!" Judai hollered at the top of his lungs. "Get out of here quick! The ninjas are coming!"

"Ninjas?" Yugi asked, staring at Judai in amused bewilderment.

Judai shot the King of Games a cheesy grin and scratched his head. "I always wanted to say that," he said gleefully.

"Let's just hope this scares off Pegasus," Yugi said. "Although knowing him, he'll probably show up anyway just to save face."

"Yeah. As long as he lives, the future of Duel Monsters is safe," Yusei said.

"I think not," a voice that sent chills down Yugi's spine and ignited Yami's protective fury said.

A second later, a gleaming white motorcycle shot out of a portal in a nearby wall -a wall? What?- and skidded across the pavement until it came to a stop near the middle of the plaza where the convention was supposed to take place. Yugi felt Yami zero in on the rider with incredible focus; righteous fury rushing through their veins. This man had murdered Yugi's grandpa and Kaiba in the other timeline not to mention so many other innocents.

"You bastard!" Yugi cried. "We won't let you repeat the past. Just go back to wherever it is you came from."

"You said it," Judai said, crouching in a defensive position.

"Where I came from is exactly why I'm here," the terrorist in white said. "And you, like the disgusting Shadowmancer cockroach you are, just keep coming back. How many times do I have to kill you before you stay dead?"

"Kill Yugi?" Yusei gasped, taking a defensive stance of his own.

"Shadowmancer?" Judai said, sounding out the strange word. "What the heck is that?"

"It's what you are, genius," was the terrorist's snide reply. "What did you think you were using when you play Duel Monsters? That very power is what destroyed my world."

"We don't care about your backstory," Yugi growled. "There's never a good reason to murder innocent people."

"Innocent?" The terrorist threw his masked face back and cackled. "How mistaken you are, you filthy maggot. Your so-called 'innocents' let their Shadowmancy run out of control and left my world, your future in ruins! I had no choice but to fix the problem."

"Murder is still not a solution," Judai shouted, raising his fist. His mannerisms reminded Yugi fondly of his friend Jounouchi. He was immensely relieved his best friend wasn't coming to this event. At least Jounouchi would be safe.

"Is the death of a lab rat in an experiment called murder or a result?" the terrorist asked with an indifferent shrug.

"Are you implying we're lab rats to you?" Yusei said furiously. "Is that how you dismiss what you did to me too? When you stole my Stardust Dragon?"

"Your Stardust Dragon is a very small part of my grand plan," the terrorist said, reaching up to remove his mask.

The face that was revealed was surprising handsome. There terrorist's skin was pale aside from a decorative red tattoo over his right eye. His most striking feature, however, was the color of his eyes. They were a strange yellow-green like pools of pollen swirling in puddles after a spring shower.

"I've made it my life's mission to undo the ruinous end my future met at the hands of you Shadowmancers," the unmasked madman said. "I've travelled through time and jumped from world to world before I figured out Shadowmancy grew from that Duel Monsters game you all treasure so much. Oh the irony," he hissed.

"Did you know it was Shadowmancy that brought calamity to ancient Egypt?" the man asked mildly. "Did you know Shadowmancy was one of the darkest, most despicable powers in the multiverse?" He spat on the ground. "You have no respect for souls. You devour them like a squirrel devours nuts. You should be ashamed!"

"Dude," Judai said, "what the heck is Shadowmancy? You're not making any sense."

The man stared at the three duelists like they were the ones who were insane. Then comprehension dawned and his smile became feral. "Oh dear oh dear, what is this?" he said with unholy glee. "You don't even know what kind of power it is that you wield. You're nothing but sheep being led to the slaughter. Too bad for you," he said, his face contorting in hate, "I won't let your soul-destroying ways drag the rest of the world to the slaughter with you."

:Shadowmancy?: the Pharaoh murmured in Yugi's mind.

"You're wrong!" Yugi cried, clutching his aching side from the effort of yelling. "We're trying to save the world not destroy it. Unlike you."

That did not sit well with the terrorist. "Think about it!" he snapped. "All of your enemies used the very game you hold dear to attack you. They turned this Duel Monsters game into a weapon of mass destruction. And you use the same weapon in return just compounding the problem. You're a bunch of murderous hypocrites and if I have to wipe all three of you from the face of every universe to finally be rid of the Shadow Realm, then I'll do it. It took some work, but I killed the Shadow monarchy thus destroying the Shadow Realm once before. Until you turned back time, that is," he said. "I can do it again just as easily now that I know how to do it."

"What the hell?" Judai said. "You're a raving lunatic."

"What monarchy?" Yusei demanded. "The Shadow Realm has no monarchy. It's just a realm of death and destruction."

Yugi straightened and spun to Yusei in surprise. "You really think that?" he asked.

"In my experience, nothing good ever comes from Shadow Games," Yusei said, his gaze steely. "It just brings insanity and death."

"I'll agree with you there," Judai said.

Yugi held his tongue, although he could feel Yami's distress from the declaration. Unfortunately, the terrorist also noticed Yugi's discomfort. He grinned, all teeth and hate.

"It seems not all of you agree with that sentiment, Yusei Fudo," the terrorist said calmly.

Yusei stiffened. "Wha? How on earth do you know my name?" he cried. "I don't remember introducing myself to the likes of you."

The terrorist scoffed. "I'm from a future far ahead of your own, you dimwit," he said. "I know all of you. Yusei Fudo, a master of the Duel Runner; Judai Yuki, the best student to ever graduate Duelist Academy; and of course, Yugi Motou, the legendary King of Games himself. Or does that title truly belong to you?" he drawled, a taunting sneer on his face. "Or does it actually belong to the spirit of the Nameless Pharaoh imprisoned in your Millennium Puzzle?"

"Nameless Pharaoh?" Judai gasped, turning to Yugi like the boy was a wild animal.

:Yes,: Yubel said in his mind. :The Nameless Pharaoh is a master of the Shadows, the King of Games.: Her monochromatic gaze held no judgement when Judai turned to her. :You need not fear him unless you mean harm to those he cares for.:

"I see not all of you were aware of the evil in your midst," the terrorist said chuckling.

"He's not evil!" Yugi cried. "He saved my life and the lives of my friends on numerous occasions. He's my other self. Nothing you say or do will ever make me hate him."

:Aibou,: Yami murmured, allowing his pride and adoration for his dearest partner to engulf Yugi's mind. :The same goes for you,: he said. :We are the Kings of Games. No one can defeat us.:

:No one,: Yugi agreed, swelling with pride. "If you want to destroy our world," Yugi said out loud, activating his duel disk, "then you'll have to go through me and the Pharaoh."

"He's not alone," Yusei said, activating his own duel disk.

"Last but definitely not least," Judai said, activating his own duel disk with an eager grin. "I always love a good duel."

The terrorist smirked. "Your very actions now just further enforce the fact that Duel Monsters is a weapon," he said. "You seek to stop me with it. Had it truly been just a game, then the outcome of our duel would have no meaning. However," he said, his grin replaced by a dark frown, "seeing as it is indeed more than just a game, I accept your challenge."

He activated his own duel disk mounted on his right arm. When the lights on the disk lit up, the white motorcycle the terrorist stood on jolted suddenly and began transforming, startling the three opposing duelists. Yusei tensed when he realized the motorcycle was actually a very advanced model of Duel Runner. This wouldn't be an easy duel. The mechanical arms that had previously been attached to the Duel Runner's white body, detached and spread out like awkwardly shaped wings. Then the Duel Runner rose into the air before coming to a stop a good fifteen feet above the ground where it hovered steadily.

"And since I was the one challenged, I'll make the first move," he said. He drew five cards from his deck with his left hand and placed a single card from his hand into the field spell slot of the duel disk on his right arm. "I activate the Field Spell Malefic World," he declared, a smirk revealing his teeth, "and start this Shadow Game."

"Shadow Game?" Yusei gasped, refusing to allow a shiver of fear be seen by his enemy.

"Yes," the terrorist said. "I'll show you how dangerous your Shadowmancy is by using your own weapon of choice against you. My name is Paradox," he announced. "Remember it well. For it will be the last name you curse before I kill you and finish my glorious experiment and save my future."

:Aibou,: Yami said.

:Yes, my other self,: Yugi replied.

:Let's do this together. We'll need both of our skills and wits about us for this duel,: the spirit said.

Yugi nodded, and drew his own hand of Duel Monsters cards. "Let's duel!" Yugi and Yami cried in one voice, and the Game began.

The world they crashed into was anything but the madness they left behind in the Otherworld. It was quiet, disconcertingly so.

"I don't like this," Jounouchi said, looking around him as if half expecting a monster to jump out at him.

Kaiba glared at the empty plaza before him. He could feel the Shadows here. They licked at his heels like frightened puppies seeking the safety and security of a trusted master. Next to him, Yugi and Yami were equally unnerved by the absence of people.

"This is the same world Yami and I went to to find Pegasus," Yugi explained, recognizing their location. "There was supposed to be a convention of some kind going on here today. There were lots of people here yesterday but Pegasus said today was the big day."

"Yes," the Pharaoh said, leaning close to his partner. "Apparently even this world's version of us was going to make an appearance today for the event."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes when he saw the distinctive 'KC' insignia of KaibaCorp emblazoned boldly on the electronic equipment and temporary Duel Stages equipped with his Solid Vision technology. He would never have left his expensive and highly desired technology out in the open with no one to watch over it.

"Then where is everybody?" he demanded coldly.

Yami and Yugi closed their eyes and joined hands, reaching out to the Shadows in the area. "There is a Shadow Game being played here," Yami said, opening his eyes in surprise.

Kaiba grunted in agreement. "I can sense at least three active Shadow users in the vicinity," he said. He strode out into the open coming to a stop at a particular stone slab on the ground. "One is standing here," he said before taking three steps to the left, "another here," three more steps to the left, "and the third here."

Yami hummed thoughtfully but it was Yugi who spoke. "They're likely in a Field Spell," he said. "That means whoever instigated the Game is strong. It takes a lot of power to sustain a Field Spell, especially while dueling."

Jounouchi crossed his arms, fingering his inactive duel disk on his left arm. "Great," he muttered. "We can't jus waltz inta the middle of an active Shadow Game."

"Not without knowing who is the enemy and who isn't, no," Yami agreed. He moved to Kaiba's side and concentrated on the Shadow user Kaiba assured him was there. He grinned. "This one is a Dark," he said proudly.

"Really?" Yugi ran to his other self's side, slipping his hand into Yami's as he concentrated on the invisible Shadow user who would have been standing where Kaiba stood now. "You're right," he said. Intrigued, Yugi bounded over to the the spot next to Kaiba, dragging Yami along with him. A bright smile lit up his face when he studied the Shadows around this user. "This one's a Light," he said delightedly.

"Nice," Jounouchi said, pumping a fist in the air. "Then lemme guess." He walked to where the last of the invisible Shadow users was supposed to be and smirked. "This one's a Balance."

But Kaiba shook his head. "No," he said firmly. "Anything but." He strode back to the place where Jounouchi stood. Had a Field Spell not been active, the spot would have been occupied by a visible human. "I'm having trouble identifying the Shadow orientation of this user," he said, his brow furrowed in fristration. "But it's definitely not Balance."

"Interesting," Yami said, considering the possibilities.

Yami watched Yugi move ahead of him to join Jounouchi and Kaiba in mild interest. However, the moment Yugi stepped foot in that spot, both he and Yami were overcome by an unexpected bout of disorientation. Yami staggered, pressing a hand to his forehead right as his Shadow-created skin became clammy and uncomfortable.

"Yug'!" he heard Jounouchi cry. "Buddy, you okay?"

"'M dizzy," Yugi mumbled, forcing the words over a numbing tongue.

Yugi couldn't find his feet, stumbling into a warm body he knew instinctually belonged to his Knight. His vision tunneled and he felt Yami return to his mind to help him reorient himself. His knees tingled, quivered, then gave way beneath him so he sank into his best friend's embrace.

"Yugi!" Kaiba said, grabbing the young King's shoulders. "Yugi! Snap out of it," he commanded.

"Stop shakin' 'im, rich boy," Jounouchi said, pushing Kaiba back. "Shakin' dizzy people is stupid, man."

Kaiba rocked back on his heels, his thoughts racing. What was going on here? Whatever it was had affected both Yugi and Yami to the point the Pharaoh had returned to the King's mind. What could cause this? Unless...

He stilled, considering an idea. Was it possible? Yugi said Pegasus existed in this universe which meant Duel Monsters most likely existed too. The KaibaCorp technology and Solid Vision added to this deduction. But Gozaboro would never have allowed such technology to be created for anything but weapons, which meant it was also highly likely there was a version of himself in this universe as well. Yugi had already admitted to learning there was a version of himself in this reality as well and this alternate Yugi was planning on being at this location today.

Kaiba thought hard. The last time he had seen symptoms similar to this, it hadn't been anywhere near this extreme. It had been when he, Mai, Shaadi, Arrow, and Green Lantern had ventured into the alternate reality with the space Vikings, the not-god Doctor Strange, and the super-powered Avengers. Green Lantern had begun to feel dizzy and somewhat disoriented while they were near Las Vegas. At the time, Kaiba had suspected the reaction to be a possible result of Lantern being near the relative proximity of a version of himself from that reality.

Kaiba opened his senses to the Shadows as wide as he dared and felt the presence of the last Shadow user carefully. It was Darker than his Balance, but it was also Lighter. The two orientations flowed around each other like dye swirling in crystal clear water.

"Damn!" He leapt forward, ignoring the mutt's angry exclamations, and bodily dragged Yugi away from the Knight's grasp and into a patch of landscaped grass a good ten feet from the place the unknown Shadow user occupied in the Field Spell.

"Wha' the hell is wrong with you?" Jounouchi groused furiously.

"Keep him away from that place," Kaiba commanded.

"Yer not the boss o' me," the mutt fumed.

"Unless you want your King to stay like this, then keep him away from that place," Kaiba yelled over Jounouchi.

"Why?" the Knight demanded in frustration.

"He's probably reacting to occupying the same space as this reality's version of himself," Kaiba said sternly. Normally he would have enjoyed watching the mutt's grow wide as the proverbial saucers but not right now. "The same matter cannot occupy the same space, ever. It can create a paradox."

"But...do'n't that have somethin' t' do with time, not space?" Jounouchi said.

"At least you know that much, you stupid mutt," Kaiba said, taking pleasure in raising the Knight's hackles.

"Don't argue," Yugi said, rubbing his head deliriously and blinking. He smiled at his Knight when Jounouchi gently helped him sit up. He clutched his head when it throbbed painfully for a few moments before subsiding to a more tolerable level. "You think that's what's happening?" he asked his Regent.

Kaiba met his gaze evenly. "I wouldn't have said it if I doubted it," he said.

As one, the three Shadow users turned to the place where the three unknown Shadow users stood, locked in a Field Spell. Yugi took a deep breath and used Jounouchi's shoulder to push himself to his feet.

"Then, in that case," he said, eyes alight with determination, "let's go watch a Shadow Game."