Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.
Chapter 18: Zero Reverse
"What do you mean the truth about what happened to my father?" Yusei demanded to know.
"What I told you about my bother and I working closely with your father on the Momentum Project was true, Yusei." Rex explained. "But what I've yet to tell you was just how the Zero Reverse actually happened."
"You mean… it wasn't an accident?" Yusei quickly realized.
"I'm afraid not." Rudger answered gravely. "Both Rex and I are responsible for what happened. But as hard as it might be for you to understand, it was necessary."
"How the hell could blowing up the reactor and causing the Zero Reverse be necessary?" Crow demanded to know. "Do you bastards know how much the people of Satellite have suffered because of what you did?"
"If you will remain calm, we can tell you the reason why Satellite had to be sacrificed." Rex told him.
"The go ahead." Yusei agreed. "Tell us why you decided it was necessary to kill my father and cause all this suffering."
"It all began one night when Rex and I were working late at the lab." Rudger began. "Your father had already gone home for the night, and I had decided to do a little more research on the reactor's power output. That was when I had made a startling and very troubling discovery. The first thing I did was tell my brother what I had found out…"
It was seventeen minutes past 2:00 AM when a young Rex and Rudger Goodwin had sat down in the break room of the Momentum facility. Rudger had told his brother of the troubling discovery he had just made.
Rex sat across the table looking stunned. "Rudger, are you completely sure about information?"
"There's no doubt about it, brother." Rudger answered as he looked down gravely at his cup of coffee. "If the reactor's spin becomes too fast, its rotation will become inverted and cause an explosive reaction more devastating than this world has ever known. There's no other choice. We have to shut down the project."
"But think what this project would mean to the world!" Rex pointed out. "The human race would no longer have to be dependant on fossil fuels or nuclear reactors!"
"I know that, Rex!" Rudger told him. "But it's too great a risk. Until we figure out just what causes this negative reaction, Momentum cannot be used."
Before Rex could respond, the entire room was suddenly bathed in a blinding white light. After a moment, the light soon faded and the Goodwin brothers found that they were standing in a strange white room that seemed to stretch out endlessly in all directions. The entire chamber was filled with a deep bone-chilling cold. The brothers turned around to see floating before them a strange machine that was mainly white in color and shaped like an inverted coma. The device also seemed to have a sort of head with a strange mask on it. When Rex and Rudger looked closely at this head, they could see that a single human eye was visible. Whatever it was, it was clearly alive.
"Who… what are you?" Rex asked.
"I am Z-one… the last human." The machine answered in a deep, cold voice. "Rex Goodwin, Rudger Goodwin, I have brought you here because of one thing. You have both discovered the dangerous power of the Momentum Reactor, the Zero Reverse. I have come to tell you that such power will destroy the world."
"What do you mean destroy the world?" Rudger asked. "How do you know of this?"
"I am from a time you would call the future." Z-one explained. "A time when the Momentum Reactor was implemented across the world. The Zero Reverse caused by all those reactors ended up destroying almost all life on the planet."
"You mean… the reaction was that devastating?" a horrified Rudger asked.
"Witness for yourselves." Z-one replied.
A large holographic screen appeared before the Goodwin brothers. It showed the image of a futuristic Domino City being attacked by an army of strange-looking robots. Some of the machines were blue and shaped like birds. Others were white and had a humanoid build. There was also a third variety that was golden-yellow and was almost tank-like.
"What on earth is this?" Rex wondered.
"This is how the death of the human race began." Z-one coldly explained. "The computer system that regulated the Momentum Reactors world wide detected what was threatening the system to go into a Zero Reverse and created an army to eliminate it, the Meklords."
"And just what was the cause of the Zero Reverse?" Rudger asked.
"The human race itself." Z-one answered. "Humanity's greed and lust for power was the cause. The human race was doomed by its own sins. The system realized this and created the Meklord's to exterminate every single human. But this was only the beginning."
The image on the screen changed to show an image of the Earth from space. A massive explosion of white light appeared on the planet's surface a second later. After the explosion, the screen cycled through several still images of dead and devastated cities. Moments later, the screen finally vanished.
"The only thing the Meklords has done was to thin the herd of humanity." Z-one continued. "In the end, nothing could stop the final Zero Reverse. The planet Earth became nothing more than a massive graveyard floating through space. I am the last survivor of that world."
"Assuming for the moment that my brother and I believe you, and granted your credibility seems strong at the moment, why have you shown us all this?" Rex asked. "Is this simply just a warning, or something more?"
"My existence only has one purpose now." Z-one answered. "Dr. Hakase Fudo was a naïve ideallistic fool! The Momentum Reactor was something that should have never been invented! So I have made it my mission to erase its existence from history!"
"…We understand." Rex sighed. "If you will send us home, we will warn our government of the dangers and have the project delayed."
"To think that you of all people could be so naïve." Z-one told him. "The government would never believe you. And even if they did, they would still not cancel the project. The human race's lust for power is too great. There is only one option. The two of you must destroy the reactor."
"…What did you say?" a horrified Rudger asked.
"Because of the reactor's size, the resulting Zero Reverse would only cause part of the city's landmass to split off into its own island." Z-one indifferently continued as he floated past the two brothers. "The remaining city should be relatively undamaged. Those on the island will not be so lucky, however. But it is a small price to pay. The incident will demonstrate the destructive power of Momentum and at least postpone the project for a time. That will buy time for me to begin the next phase of my plan."
"Now wait just a moment!" Rex protested. "We understand what's at stake, but how can you think that causing that sort of damage is an acceptable cost?"
With that, Z-one stopped and turned to face Rex. "I will tell you what you have told me many times before, Rex Goodwin," he spoke in a tone so bitter and full of rage that it sent a chill down Rex's spine, "sacrifices must sometimes be made for the greater good. Surly even you and your brother can see that a single island is a small price to pay for humanity's survival." With that, he turned and continued to hover away. "When you have completed your task, I will send three of my heralds to begin the next phase."
Suddenly the Goodwin brothers were hit by another wave of white light. When the light faded, the two found that they were back in the break room as if no time had passed. What they had gone through had been simply overwhelming, but both were certain that the experience was real.
"So… what do we do Rex?" Rudger wondered.
"…I don't know, brother." Rex answered.
"…My brother and I talked long and hard about what to do." Rex continued. "And in the end, we saw only one option. We carried out the first phase of Z-one's plan."
"And what about my dad?" Yusei demanded to know. "What did you end up doing to him?"
"I'm sorry Yusei. There was no choice." Rudger answered. "On the day when I was to trigger the Zero Reverse, your father tried to stop me. I had no choice but to shoot him. If it is any comfort, he spent his last moments making sure you would be safe from the explosion."
"Alright, so you two caused the Zero Reverse and made Satellite the living hell it is today." Jack cut in before Yusei could speak. "My question is, what the duce are you planning to do now?"
"Not everything had gone according to Z-one's plan." Rex revealed. "For one thing, I ended up surviving the Zero Reverse because I, like your friends Kiryu and Greiger, am connected to an Earthbound Immortal. That connection is what protected me that day. But something far more remarkable happened to my brother."
"When I triggered the Zero Reverse, I didn't just cause the city to split. I had opened a gateway to the underworld." Rudger revealed. "I had been hurled through that gate and met the king of the underworld. The king agreed to send me back if I became his envoy. Thus I was infused with his power and became the Skeleton Knight."
"My brother appeared before me, soon after." Rex continued. "After all that we had gone through, we had deduced that Z-one probably wasn't going to stop with the creation of Satellite. His plan involved erasing Momentum from history, and the only way he was going to accomplish that was to destroy all of Neo Domino. Rudger and I agreed that enough blood had been spilled. Fortunately, because of my brother's newfound power, there was another option.
"We soon came up with a plan to stop Z-one. Rudger was to stay in Satellite and keep an eye on the Infinity Triad. Meanwhile, I would work on becoming the director of Neo Domino."
"Wait a minute, after the Zero Reverse you would've still been stuck in Satellite." Crow realized. "How were you able to get to the city?"
"I'm an inventive man." Rex replied. "With a little time and effort, I managed to build a bridge to the city. Or at least part of one."
"No way… how the hell could a bastard like you be the hero who built Daedalus Bridge?" Crow quickly realized. "I… I admired that guy!"
"Sorry if I've failed to live up to your expectations." Rex indifferently replied.
"Just get to the point already, you two!" Raven demanded. "Just what are you guys up to?"
"To prevent Neo Domino's destruction, we must kill Z-one." Rudger explained. "And there is only one way to do that. We must bring forth the King of the Underworld and use his awesome power."
"But to do that, we must first reopen the gate." Rex added. "That is why we must reactivate the old reactor in Satellite and trigger another Zero Reverse."
"But if you do that, all of Satellite will be destroyed!" Yusei pointed out.
"Sacrifices must be made for the greater good." Rex replied. "Believe us Yusei, this is the only way to stop Z-one once and for all."
"But don't worry, at least your little gang will be safe." Rudger assured them as he produced the orb he had trapped the members of the Blackbird Gang in.
"Now wait just a damn minute!" Greiger interrupted. "I get this whole business with raising the King of the Underworld, but I want to know why you bastards destroyed my village!"
"Ah yes, Mr. Greiger. I'm afraid that your little village had the unfortunate honor of becoming a test site to see if opening the gate was truly possible." Rex explained. "Which indeed it was."
"But don't worry. Your fellow villagers are just fine, more or less." Rudger assured him as he produced another orb of lost souls. "I have them right here."
"Let those people go now!" Sect demanded.
"We will once we open the gate." Rex assured them.
"We're not going to let you sacrifice Satellite to summon some demon, or whatever it is!" Yusei declared.
"Please Yusei, don't try and make this more difficult than it has to be." Rudger requested.
"Come now, brother. We might as well give them a chance to stop us." Rex decided. "If any of you can defeat my brother and I in a duel, we will release your friends and stop all this."
"Fine then, I'll take you on!" Yusei decided.
"I will too!" Aki agreed. "Yusei and I will beat you just like we beat Aporia!"
"Hold on guys." Crow interrupted. "I think Raven and I should take these guys."
"No, I'll do it!" Greiger decided. "And I'll do it on my own if I have to."
"Now just hold on…" Yusei began.
"Enough!" Jack cut in. "If anyone's going to duel these two, it'll be me! I've still got a score to settle with Goodwin."
"Oh really Jack?" Rex smirked. "Surly the life I gave you wasn't that bad."
"You used me as a puppet for your own plans! I'm not going to get away with that!" Jack declared.
"I'm in too!" Carly decided. "I've got a bone to pick with the Skeleton Knight!"
"Ah yes, the girl who broke into Rex's office last night." Rudger recalled. "I almost didn't recognize you without your glasses. So I'm guessing you're mad about being hurled through a window."
"You're damn right I am!" Carly confirmed. "Prepare to get creamed!"
"Now wait a minute you two…" Yusei began.
"Shut up, crab head! Or I'll rip out your tongue and shove it up your ass!" Carly shouted, starting Yusei and the others. After a moment, Carly realized what she just said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that. Guess the power of my Earthbound Immortal went to my head there."
"Oh, well then maybe you should…" Aki began to suggest.
"Mind your own damn business, you bimbo!" Carly shouted, startling Aki. "Sorry, sorry. That was the Immortal again. I didn't mean that. Sorry."
"…Yeah, don't worry about it." A somewhat offended Aki replied.
"Very well, Jack." Rex finally agreed. "You and Ms. Carly shall duel me and my brother for the fate of Satellite and those Rudger has captured. Now to bring forth the arena!"
Rex raised his hand into the air and fired a ball of gold light into the sky. The ball of light suddenly began to draw the shape of a condor in the sky above. Once the drawing was finished, it tilted until the tail of it touched the ground.
"This will be the track where we shall have our duel." Rex explained. "I wish you and your companion luck, Jack. But by the end of this duel, a new world order shall begin."
Author's Note: Originally the final duel of this story was going to start at the end of this chapter. But I ended up getting stuck coming up with the new cards, and tag duels in general are sort of a pain to write. So the duel is still in the outline stages, but should hopefully done soon.
Please review and let me know what you think.