S-S: So my muses decided that this story was at the evillest point of all the ones I'm working on and that it should be updated.
Angel: Great…
Lucy: Well, you know us. That's kind of how we give stuff priority.
Meri: I think Midnight Sun might get the next update. 24,000 Attack and Defense Points? Why not?
Muse-Jack: Ooh, or maybe Memories of Destruction. Considering what we just came up with involving Julius Kingsley…
S-S: You two, shut up! I don't want you spoiling everything!
Angel: What sort of monster has 24,000 ATK and DEF…?
Joseph: Neh, we're getting off-topic! I want Crimson Fall!
S-S: That's right, Joseph! Thanks!
Joseph: You're welcome, Shim!
S-S: Yeah, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds or the characters, just my OCs and pretty much the plot of this story. Enjoy more of the mind screwing!
***This chapter is brought to you by Madder Sky from Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion***
Chapter 3
The rift is silent, like it isn't possible to speak in it. I don't think that's the case; it's more like something is preventing my voice from working. There's a dull buzzing in my head (though if that's from getting the butt end of a sword slammed into my head or some mystical force, I can't tell the difference). It probably is some mystical force—why else would my brother be this quiet when there are way too many questions to ask?
Then suddenly, Athena says, "'O, great dragon of the sky! O, mighty condor of the earth! Spread your wings for battle; clash until the other cannot live! Break the balance between light and dark, so that the three dark lights are granted the freedom to fulfil their roles! The first, to carry away the light. The second, to be the sacrifice whose lifeblood breaks the boundaries of worlds. And the third, to make the choice: to join with the darkness and become the Queen's vessel, or deny the right and end this turmoil!'"
I've heard that before… but I can't place it. And I still can't talk, to ask what she meant by that.
"Those words belong to a prophecy created by one Ayame Fudo during her time in the Netherworld," she continues. "A prophecy that turned out to be all too real."
A prophecy, huh? Strange that the first thing they talk about is some obscure prophecy…
"We've already changed the past enough by rescuing the lot of you from the false Natsumi's plan, but in order for you to be able to trust us, you have to see exactly what future we intend to change," Athena says.
"Definitely a dark one…" Pearl scoots a bit closer to Yusei, and it's now that I realize she's been sneaking glances at him. Weird.
Lucciano mutters something I can't hear, and the edges of the rift burst into color. A vision of the world they've escaped…
XXX
The first scene of the future is only a short glimpse of the table we'd left behind, everyone unconscious around it. The one thing easily noted, though, was that Sky, Yusei, Natsumi's, Jack, and my father were all missing…
After an abrupt flash, the scene we're looking at changes to the inside of some dilapidated castle made out of dark stone; the walls crumpling to pieces, the ceiling of this area simply gone, what used to be royal violet tapestries scorched into almost unrecognizable shapes. In fact, the only thing not in ruins was the stone altar in the center of the room.
I feel like I've seen this place before. On further thought, I remember when I did—this was the place from Wiraqocha Rasca's memories where the Earthbound Immortals made their way to Earth through a portal. How could I forget? …Well, the place is way more destroyed than I'd seen it.
There are no Earthbound Immortals here this time, though. The only occupants are those who had vanished from the dining table and, with the exception of Sky and Natsumi, are in their hybrid human-Dragon or human-Immortal forms. Natsumi looks the same as ever, but Sky is wearing some strange black dress—I have no clue what material it's made out of.
"Wh-What the hell? Where are we?!" Jack shouts, almost knocking a loose block off the wall with one of his wings as he stands up, one hand holding his head.
"Ugh…" Yusei groans as he sits up, groggily surveying his surroundings. "I'm not sure Jack, but am I the only one who feels like they just woke up with a horrible hangover?"
Goodwin makes some sound—a strange cross between a yelp and a gasp (which is extremely weird considering my father hardly ever loses his cool)—before stuttering, "This is… Y-You… N-None of you are supposed to be here. That's why… That's why you're in pain."
"Are you sure? I feel right at home," Natsumi says. She smiles a little, looking up at Sky. That smile seems a bit on the creepy side… "How about you, Sky? Don't you feel right at home too?"
This has to be some sort of a joke; no, more like a cruel jab at the fact that Natsumi was born in the Netherworld and Sky spent the better part of four years buried in the depths of it. Why would Natsumi herself be making it, though…?
Sky stands up slowly, her mouth a flat line. That soon changes into a sort-of scowl crossed with a smirk. "Esse, do you truly think you can continue to fool them when you stick out like a sore thumb?"
"Esse? Sky, what are you talking about?" Yusei asks.
Natsumi laughs, exploding in a burst of purple smoke. When it all dissipates, the thing standing in her place does not look like her at all. Instead, there is a rather busty young woman with olive-green eyes, her body covered in the skeleton of a dragon, the bones in her wings connected by black and green scales. Most of what would be skin that isn't already covered by the bones is made of those same scales, but her face remains relatively human. Her face… it looks almost like an older version of my daughter, but the eyes and hair and age are wrong so that has to be a coincidence. She spins around, giggling, like a little girl showing off a new dress. "Hi~! Nice to finally officially meet you all! I'm Esse, First and ONLY Princess of Nether! Isn't that so cool?"
Yusei stumbles backwards, mouth agape as he stares at the skeletal girl, his gaze sometimes shifting to his impassive-looking older sister. He tries to speak, but can't seem to muster the appropriate words.
"What the fuck is going on here?" Jack demands, perfectly capturing the thought that was running through my mind at the same time.
Sky adjusts the sleeves of her dress… and then opens her eyes for what has to be the first time in ten years. She blinks a few times before a small smirk appears on her face. "Hm. A bit darker than I remember. Could this place have really deteriorated this quickly?"
"Hey! I asked a damn question!" Jack shouts, running towards Sky.
The golden-haired woman flicks her wrist, and suddenly there is a little boy constricting Jack with some sort of dark magic, almost like puppet strings—like the ones used by the Shaddoll cards I used that one time. I can't see much more than his red eyes and stark-white hair; the rest of this boy's body is covered in a red cloak. Next to the boy, also trapped within his strings, is hybrid Natsumi. The real one.
Sky raises an eyebrow. "Nebiros?"
The boy scowls slightly. "Esse decided to do this to me, and has refused to turn me back."
"Because it's hilarious!" Esse shouts. She sighs a little when Sky shoots her a look, and waves her hand. Instantly, the boy looks much older, though that's the only part of his appearance that changes. "You're no fun, Big Brother," she pouts.
"Whatever," Nebiros says. With a flick of his wrist, the strings tied around Jack send him flying into one of the walls. It crumples on impact, leaving Jack temporarily buried under the rubble. He quickly digs his way free, glaring at Nebiros. The red-eyed man shrugs, "My apologies, Signer. You were asking for answers, weren't you? I believe I can supply them. This is the Netherworld, and you are here to become the sacrifices to allow my mother, Queen Sythini, to travel outside of this world in order to finally achieve her proper revenge against the Crimson Dragon."
…Sacrifices? Revenge? I don't like where this is going… not one bit.
"Revenge… but why? We made peace with them!" Goodwin says. "There should be no reason to prolong the war!"
Sky doubles over when she starts laughing. "Peace? Hah! Look around you! The Netherworld is falling apart because of the Crimson Dragon. Soon, there will not be a Netherworld. Do you think that the Queen would simply let this slide because of some farce called 'peace'?!"
"Wh-What are you talking about, Sky?" Yusei asks.
The woman finally stops laughing, instead standing straight up, staring directly at Yusei. She quotes the prophecy that her mother apparently made years ago, and proceeds to explain it. That Goodwin and Jack are supposed to fight to the death before Natsumi can absorb what light remains in this place. Then Yusei will have to die in order for Sky to become one with the Queen of the Netherworld. And the thing is… it really sounds like she's going to go through with it.
"I have to do this," Sky says. "And that's why all of you will as well, whether you like it or not."
The scene changes, though it's more of a strange sort of timeskip than an actual change.
My breath catches in my throat, and I'm pretty sure my heart stops when I see the result of this timeskip. My father stands rigid, though heavily injured by slash marks and burns all over his body. Beneath him is Jack… and only half of his face is even recognizable. The rest of his body is an unrecognizable mess of melted flesh and bone. And then, he vanishes.
He's… dead. Jack, at least from the future that these people are trying to change, is dead. And my father is his murderer.
No. This isn't right. This can't really be happening, can it?
Sky narrows her eyes at Natsumi, whom is standing—still unresponsive—next to the altar at the center of the destroyed room. The one Yusei is bound and gagged to. Nothing is happening to the girl, which is apparently the opposite of what Sky wants. "I don't understand. Natsumi should have absorbed the power by now. What's going on?!"
"Perhaps Wiraqocha Rasca and Red Dragon Archfiend were not the two specified by the prophecy?" Nebiros suggests. "Or perhaps the prophecy was simply nonsense to begin with."
"No, no, it can't be nonsense," Sky says, "otherwise I would be able to immediately take up the role of Queen Sythini. It has to be that they were the wrong ones, but that begs the question of who are the ones that fit?"
Wait, so then Jack died for no reason? If he and Father aren't the ones who fit, then why can't Sky have seen that to begin with? And why does Sky even want this so badly?
I can't even begin to imagine who fits instead of Jack and Goodwin; well, at least when it comes to Goodwin. He's Wiraqocha Rasca—the Condor—in human form, and the prophecy specifically stated that it had to be the "condor of the earth". If it wasn't him… maybe that means it's supposed to be someone related to him? But that would mean me, Crow, or Uncle Roman. Maybe even Mother, but that's not a blood relation…
"Wings! Of course!" Sky suddenly exclaims. "That was why I thought Jack would fill the role of the 'great dragon of the sky', but that actually points towards both of the ones who have to fight! And both of them are Signers—no wonder I was wrong!"
"Hm?" Nebiros looks just as confused as I am.
I get it a second later. Both Signers. Both related to Goodwin. That means me and Crow.
"Crow Hogan-Goodwin and Angel Tredwell. They're the children of Rex Goodwin, the Dark Signer for Wiraqocha Rasca. They also possess the powers of the Crimson Dragon, being Signers, though they have both used the power of an Earthbound Immortal, courtesy of being the Signers for two of the hybrid dragons. A crow is a type of bird, and angels are, well, heavenly figures. What do angels and crows have in common? Wings!" Sky finishes, taking in a deep breath. "I know it's a stretch, but it's better than nothing. Esse, go fetch those two, okay?"
"Sure thing!" The skeletal woman giggles before she vanishes.
They're going to… Crow and I—at least the versions of us who are from the future that's being rewritten—fought to the death? I-I can't… and we're going to watch it…?
The scene changes back to Earth, more specifically Martha's basement. It looks smaller than I remember, what with the main Signers who weren't taken, Ryuu, Ayame, my mother, Roman, Alice, Carly, Misty, Kalin, Toby, and Xylia, along with the children, packed inside. I see Carly hunched over, tears in her eyes but not actually falling, as she holds her son Vincent—my God does it hurt to look at him right now since he looks like a four-year-old version of Jack—in her arms. Both Alice and Xylia just look stunned, like most everyone else in the room.
It's obvious that they know of Jack's death, but probably not why or how it happened.
That's when Esse appears, in all of her horror. Akiza tugs Bruno behind her, Leo and Dexter both get in front of Luna, and Angel shields Athena while Toby shields them both. She quickly looks around the room before zeroing in on Crow and Angel with a malicious grin. "Hi~! So I know you guys don't know who I am, but I need you two for something totally awesome~!" She smacks herself in the head. "Oh, almost forgot, silly me. I'm Esse, First Princess of Nether. I gotta say I'm super sorry about what happened to that one Signer—I took the wrong guy by mistake. Whoopsie!"
None of them move. Esse must be doing something to keep them in place and silent.
"Well, anyways, I kinda really need Angel and Crow to come back with me to the Netherworld. It's to save my home, you know? So, like, no hard feelings or anything." Two shadowy arm-like appendages shoot out of the ground from underneath her, and both look like they're going to grab Angel and Crow.
That's when Toby, of all people, steps in between and somehow causes Esse to stop in her tracks. The shadow-hands hover in mid-air, almost like they're confused.
"I won't let you touch them, you monster," Toby says.
Esse cocks her head to the side, still grinning. "'Monster'? Aw, thanks for the compliment, human. It's not every day someone says something nice about me. You're pretty brave, for a normal human. It's a shame I have to kill you."
Wh-What?!
"To…by, stop…" Angel manages to get out.
He shakes his head. "No way, Angel. I'm not letting this thing take you or your brother away."
"Suit yourself, boy." Esse flicks her wrist, and one of the shadow hands morphs into a shadow blade and… stabs Toby through the heart.
If I could make noise, I would probably be screaming just like the version of me in this scene is as Toby's body falls to the ground with a small blood pool around him. Even more so when the shadow blade turns back into a hand and they both grab her and Crow and drag them back to Nether with Esse.
Of course, this wasn't even the worst part about this future of despair that I would see. No, it was just the tip of the iceberg…
To be continued…
S-S: That's it for this chapter.
Angel: …I don't even want to picture what's worse than this.
Meri: Well, there's all the other deaths, obviously.
Lucy: Mhmm! I think Crow's or yours or Akiza's might be the worst. Depends on the reader.
Angel: Can I quit this job?
S-S: Sorry, you're my OC. No quitting allowed.
Sky: *Pokes head in* Hey Angel, you definitely have it lucky. You should see what they have planned for me in Midnight Sun.
Angel: Ugh… *Goes off to prepare herself for the rest of this torture*
S-S: Alrighty then. You guys know the deal; please review!