Me: I proved myself wrong. I guess I'm not updating Crimson Feathers first. *Grins* Man, I pulled this chapter out really fast… And I had so much fun doing it! About the first… um… half is the Duel, but then I delve into backstories, the best thing ever!
Sky: You're having there be some evil explanation, aren't you?
Me: Yep! Originally, I was going to end the chapter with a major character death, but then I changed my mind… it's still a pretty evil ending. And I hinted to the death in about four places. So, the really evil stuff is in the next chapter… By the way, there are quite a few mentions to Rewind in this chapter, some of which I haven't written into that fic yet… so there are mini-spoilers for it and future chapters of it...
Lucy: I'll go work on Rewind to catch up some of the stuff.
Meri: Same here!
Me: Uh… okay… but no killing anyone, alright?
Lucy & Meri: Aw…
Me: You've killed off more than enough people, and already have more than enough deaths planned for this version of the apocalyptic future. Too bad. Anywho… I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds. Enjoy…?
Chapter 50
"Fine then, it's my turn!" Jack declares.
All Duelists S.C. 7
"When I control a Level 8 or higher Synchro Monster, I can Special Summon Creation Resonator from my hand. Then, I Normal Summon Synclone Resonator as well," Jack says.
Creation Resonator ATK: 800, DEF: 600, Level 3; Synclone Resonator ATK: 100, DEF: 100, Level 1
"Cute, but you can't do much with two Tuners," Lester says. "Oh wait…"
"I Double Tune my Level 3 Creation Resonator and Level 1 Synclone Resonator! "The King and the Devil, here and now shall become as one. A Raging Spirit! Lift up the very cries of creation itself! Synchro Summon! Come forth, Red Nova Dragon!"
Red Nova Dragon ATK: 3500, DEF: 3000, Level 12
The two Tuners turn into rings, though they are made of fire instead of green light. Also, instead of the dragon appearing in a flash of light, he appears from a ball of flames. The dragon's body is black, though red plating covers most of his body, head, and the upper part of his wings.
'What is…? Oh yeah, this is Jack's version of an Accel Synchro monster. Didn't he get that card on that trip to Nazca that he and Yusei refuse to talk about? Yeah, that's it. Skiel is in for a rude awakening,' I think.
"Red Nova Dragon gains 500 ATK for every Tuner monster in my Graveyard. I count 3 at the moment," Jack says.
Red Nova Dragon ATK: 3500 to 5000
"So, your dragon gets a few extra points," Lester says. "If he can't attack more than once, you're not getting through my Meklord!"
"Who says I was attacking Skiel?" Jack asks. "No, Red Nova Dragon is going to attack Prince of Stardust!"
"The effect of Skiel Guard activates!" Lester counters. "You don't have to be attacking one of my monsters to trigger its effect."
"Aw Lester, I had the perfect plan to counter his stupid dragon," Hana pouts. "Just because you're two years older than me doesn't mean I need you to cover me."
"Well I'm sorry, you can save whatever Trap you had planned for later," he replies.
"Fine," Hana mutters. "Go ahead and finish your turn, Jack."
"Wait, you two know each other?" Jack asks.
"Isn't it obvious?" the girl retorts. "Just finish your turn already!"
"Impatient much? It's not like I had much else to do…" Jack mutters. "I set two cards face-down and end my turn."
"Finally, it's my turn!" Hana shouts.
All Duelists S.C. 8
"Oh, I really want to Summon Chaos Rose Dragon…" she mutters. A few moments later, her face lights up. I assume that her team's leader told her to go ahead. "Yes! I activate Copy Plant's ability again, returning it to Level 8. Then…"
Copy Plant Level 1 to 8
The magenta-haired young girl takes in a deep breath. "I construct the Overlay Network with all three of my monsters! Wishes from beyond the stars, descend to the earth! Pitch-dark flower, wrap your thorns around the star and entrap it for eternity! Xyz Summon! Appear before us, Chaos Rose Dragon!"
Chaos Rose Dragon ATK: 3500, DEF: 2500, Rank 8
Her three monsters turn into streams of light, and they gather at one spot, circling around and creating a galaxy of light. A humanoid dragon with silver scales overlapping with pale blue rose petals on its skin appears from the galaxy. Its head has a crest on the back of it, flaring outwards. Spikes, almost like thorns, stick out from around the end of the dragon's tail. Three spheres of light orbit the dragon, all in different directions.
"A… What on earth is that creature?" Shoshan demands.
"Chaos Rose Dragon is an Xyz Monster, the remnants of a broken world! A world that was ruined, not once, but twice, by Synchro Monsters. So! For its effect, I can detach an Overlay Unit and negate the effects of a face-up Synchro Monster my opponent controls, permanently! Then, Chaos Rose Dragon can also reduce that Synchro Monster's ATK and DEF by its Level times 500!" Hana exclaims.
'That doesn't sound good… Although, what is she talking about? A world ruined twice… and by Synchro Monsters?'
"I activate the effect of Red Nova Dragon! I can remove him from play until the End Phase," Jack says. "Also, I can negate one attack this turn."
The silver-and-blue dragon eats one of the spheres orbiting it. Then, it shoots a burst of gray light at the red dragon. Before the light hits, the red dragon vanishes, and the light disperses harmlessly.
Hana sighs and shakes her head. "I don't understand why you continue to protect your Synchros… They've only caused death and destruction to everyone I cared about…" She trembles a little, and I think that I see a tear fall down her face. "No matter! Your dragon won't be able to dodge forever. I set a card face-down and end my turn."
Red Nova Dragon reappears on the field.
"It's my turn, then!" Shoshan draws his card.
All Duelists S.C. 9
"I… release Oshawott in order to Special Summon Dewott, his evolution," he starts.
Dewott ATK: 2400, DEF: 2000, Level 5
The small otter vanishes, to be replaced by a taller one. The taller one has two whiskers on each cheek, and his head is no longer white—it's the same light-blue of his body. A dark-blue belt-like feature is wrapped around his waist, two yellow shells attached to it.
"Maybe I can't touch your Chaos Rose Dragon, but Dewott has the ability to attack someone directly! And, don't forget, Noivern can attack three times per turn! Noivern, get rid of Meklord Emperor Skiel!"
"Ngh…! The effect of Skiel Guard activates, cancelling your first attack…" Lester says.
"But you can't stop the other two!" Shoshan points out. "Noivern, attack Meklord Emperor Skiel, and then attack Lester directly! Boomburst!"
The black-and-purple dragon screeches, and a wave of fire smacks into the giant blue robot. It explodes, and Lester screams.
Lester's Life Points: 1000
The maroon-haired boy glares at Shoshan. "You're going to regret doing that…! I activate my Continuous Trap Infinite Aura! Now, for every 100 points of damage I take, my card gets 1 Aura Counter."
Infinite Aura: 30 Aura Counters
"What's the point of that card?" Shoshan asks.
"You'll find out soon enough," Lester says with a smile.
"Huh… Well, Dewott's going to attack Hana directly! Double Shell Blade!" Shoshan orders, pointing at the girl.
Hana says nothing as the otter removes his seashells from his belt. Water gathers around both shells, and Dewott darts forward. He swings the shells, striking Hana with both of them.
Hana's Life Points: 1600
"When Dewott successfully attacks someone directly with his effect, I can draw one card." He draws his card and smiles. "Then I activate the effect of Speed World 2," Shoshan continues. "I remove 4 Speed Counters and guess what? I have two Speed Spells in my hand! Sorry Hana, you're the one taking the damage."
Shoshan S.C. 5
"Not quite," Lester says, riding in front of Hana. "I activate my Trap Life Exchange, which redirects the damage to me. Also, I activate the Continuous Trap Infinite Prison, which places my Sky Core as a face-down Spell Card by discarding one card from my hand."
'But… that means… he loses instead. I know he lost his Meklord, but basically forfeiting the Duel? Just what is New World planning?' I wonder.
Lester's Life Points: 0; Infinite Aura: 40 Aura Counters
"Lester! I could have countered that one too!" Hana exclaims.
"Well, my team's plan had to involve me losing," Lester retorts. "Save your cards for later. Considering that Primo doesn't like going with plans, you might need them."
The boy returns to his team's pit, and out the other side comes Primo, in that weird fusion with his Duel Runner.
Primo's Life Points: 4000
"Hmph! Don't expect me to hold back like Lester did," the man states. "The rules of the WRGP force your turn to the End Phase, which means that it's my turn now!"
Primo, Hana, Jack S.C. 10, Shoshan S.C. 6
"I Summon Wise Core in Attack Mode," he starts. "Then, I activate the effect of Speed World 2! By removing 10 of my Speed Counters, I can destroy one card on the field. I choose… your Red Nova Dragon!"
"Red Nova Dragon can't be destroyed by my opponent's card effects," Jack says with a smirk.
"Not after I chain the effect of Effect Veiler to the activation of your dragon's ability," Hana steps in, discarding the monster.
"What in the…? That's Yusei's card!" I exclaim.
"It's probably just another copy of it," Sydney says.
"I guess…" Though, I honestly don't believe that it's another copy. Just who is this Hana?
Primo's Speed Counters: 0
A burst of electricity shoots out from the front of Primo's Duel Runner. It tears through the sky and strikes Red Nova Dragon. With his effects negated, he can't withstand the effect and shatters.
"I set a card face-down and end my turn," Primo says smugly.
"I won't let you get away with that," Jack growls, drawing his card.
Jack, Hana S.C. 11, Shoshan S.C. 7, Primo S.C. 1
The violet-eyed man grins. "I activate my Speed Spell-Monster Reborn! By removing 10 of my Speed Counters, I can revive my Red Nova Dragon!"
Jack S.C. 1
"Again? Really? What is the point of reviving your Synchro, if all we'll do is destroy it?" Hana asks. "If only you knew…"
"Considering I'm the one with the field advantage, I wouldn't boast about destroying my dragon," Jack says. He looks between Sky Core and Chaos Rose Dragon, and ends up pointing at the dragon. "Red Nova Dragon, destroy her dragon and take away the rest of her Life Points! Burning Soul Strike!"
Hana simply smiles and says, "My dragon's Overlay Units have a second purpose. By detaching one of them, Chaos Rose Dragon can survive destruction. Also, in a turn this effect is used, I take no Battle Damage. Looks like your plan for defeating me isn't going to happen!"
The second ball of light floats in front of the silver-and-blue dragon and expands to create a shield. When the red dragon, glowing with power, tries to strike, he bounces off of the barrier. As the barrier shatters, a tornado of rose petals appears on the track, all of them surrounding Hana.
"What is this?" Jack demands.
The girl laughs, "Oh, you must have made the connection with Effect Veiler. But my next card… My next card will make the truth undeniable! When Princess of Roses is sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon a Synchro Monster from my Extra Deck that I'm sure you'll all be familiar with!"
The tornado gains intensity, until all of the roses gather at one place. A flash of light, and a very familiar black dragon covered in rose petals appears.
Black Rose Dragon ATK: 2400, DEF: 1800, Level 7
I stare at the dragon for a moment. 'That's not possible! There's only one copy of Black Rose Dragon in existence and Akiza has it! Unless… Making a connection with Effect Veiler…' I gasp as I realize what this means.
Hana continues laughing. "I bet you didn't see this coming!" she exclaims. "You want to know why I have this card, don't you? Well… Wait just a moment and I'll explain everything. First I have to activate Black Rose Dragon's effect! When she's Special Summoned, I can destroy all cards on the field!"
"What are you doing?" Primo demands.
"Levelling Shoshan's field, Jack's Spells and Traps, and letting you bring out Meklord Emperor Wisel Infinity," Hana says innocently. "What's so wrong with that?"
"Because Infinite Aura can't be destroyed yet, and I don't have a card to protect it!" he hisses.
The storm of roses kicks up, and Shoshan shouts, "I activate my Continuous Trap Life Aura! By sending Xerneas, Restorer of Life from my Deck to my Graveyard, I can now prevent all Spell and Trap Cards from being destroyed!"
A barrier of light covers his other two face-downs, the whole of Primo's Spell and Trap Card Zone, Jack's two face-downs, and Hana's cards as well. All of the monsters are exposed to the razor-sharp flowers, and the combination of their explosions covers the field for a moment. When the smoke disappears, Red Nova Dragon is still on the field, and Meklord Emperor Wisel Infinity is now there, but Chaos Rose Dragon is still there, lacking any orbiting lights now. Next to the silver-and-blue dragon, there is a tornado of sparkles.
"The effect of Chaos Rose Dragon can also be applied to card effects, so I detached its last Overlay Unit, Prince of Stardust. Oh, this is perfect! For Prince of Stardust has a similar effect that Princess of Roses does, only the monster I get to Special Summon is…"
The sparkles gather together in the shape of a dragon. Then, the sparkles solidify into a two-winged, silver dragon with purple gems set on his chest and shoulders. The dragon's eyes are golden, though not as bright as I'm used to… actually, the entire dragon seems pained, like he doesn't want to be in this Duel.
Stardust Dragon ATK: 2500, DEF: 2000, Level 8
Oh. My. God. If this girl has Stardust Dragon and Black Rose Dragon… Then… she might be…
"Those aren't your cards! What are you doing with them?" Jack shouts.
'Yusei! The Stardust Dragon and Black Rose Dragon that Hana has… Are they yours and Akiza's, or do you both have your dragons?' I send out the thought.
'We have our dragons… You don't think that she is… ours…?'
"No, they're definitely mine," Hana says. "I brought them from my own time, where my parents gave me them! Well, Black Rose Dragon was given to me. Stardust Dragon… well, I had to save him from the garbage. And to answer the question you seem to really want to know, well, you know that my first name is Hana, but my last name? Yeah, it's Fudo."
I blink a few times and grip the side of one of the chairs. Sure, I was expecting that as an explanation, but… Everything that she's been saying… "A broken world"… "death and destruction to everyone I cared about"... "from my own time"...
She's from the future, isn't she? A future where something bad had to happen. Maybe a future where Yusei and Akiza have died? But… that doesn't explain why Hana is fighting on the side of Yliaster, trying to destroy Neo Domino, when Yusei and Akiza would both be trying to save it…
"What kind of fool do you think I am?" Jack demands.
"Where, or rather, when I come from? A dead one," Hana replies. "Yusei and Akiza really are my parents, well, will be my parents."
"So, you're saying that you're from the future, just like Primo, Lester, and Jakob?" Shoshan asks.
"I am," Hana says. She looks over to Primo. "Can I show them yet?"
"No."
"Ask Jakob."
"He says no."
The magenta-haired girl frowns. "Are you sure…?"
Primo says nothing for a moment. Then he huffs in annoyance, rolls his eyes, and says, "Well, we were supposed to wait until Jakob and Dusk got in the Duel, but Jakob says we can show them now."
"Yes!" she shouts.
My head suddenly burst into pain, and I clench the chair even tighter. I hear Crow shout something about their Marks before everything turns dark.
XXX
When I open my eyes, I find that I'm hovering above a mostly barren land. I say mostly because the only thing there is a large patch of dead trees… and something lying in the midst of them. But I can't quite tell what it is…
Glancing over, I see the Signers, plus Leo, Shoshan, and Bruno, are also here, all of them with confused looks on their faces. Something moves in the corner of my vision, and I turn to face it. Primo, Lester, and Jakob are there, as are the three members of Team Broken Time… all of them except for Dusk lacking a helmet. I can now see that Hana has cobalt blue eyes. Also, the four-year-old has hair that's the same golden color that mine is, though her eyes are green.
"What is this place?" I ask.
"This is the future," Jakob says. "The future that the six of us came from."
"Actually, this isn't Earth's future," Dusk says. "I've used my powers to bring the nine of you here first… to the time in the Spirit World coinciding with the fall of humanity… the fall of the Signers, especially."
The forest of dead trees suddenly gets closer, and now we can see what is in the middle of it. The Crimson Dragon lies on the ground, barely moving, and everything except for its head has turned pitch-black. Its head remains crimson, though nowhere near as bright as I've seen it, and the black is mixed in with it.
The other Signer Dragons are nearby, though all of them except for Stardust Dragon aren't moving at all. The silver dragon seems to be in mourning, and also appears to be injured.
"Ancient Fairy Dragon…" Luna trails off, staring at her dragon. The once-brightly colored dragon is now dull-colored, and her eyes are blank, not even reacting to Luna saying her name. "What happened here?"
"It's like Dusk said—this coincides with the downfall of humanity," Hana says. "The time I grew up in… and lost almost everyone…"
"All of us lost virtually everything in the Meklord Emperor attack, and the two energy surges that occurred before and after it," Lester adds. "As for how that happened… You get to watch."
The dead trees and the dragons vanish, as does the barren land. Now, we're hovering in front of a future version of Neo Domino City. I know it's Neo Domino because of several of the skyscrapers, and also the fact that the monument at the center of the bridge network is there. 'Wait a moment… There are no bridges… and Satellite is still connected to Neo Domino…'
"Something is… wrong with this picture…" I mutter.
"To you, yes. But to us? This is what happened in our original timeline," Dusk says. "A timeline where Zero Reverse had been halted…" She laughs a little. "You know quite a bit about that timeline, don't you Sky? Well, this is what happened after the Dark Signer war. Twenty-one years passed until… until… Just watch!"
She swings her arm out, and the scene changes. Well, it really just zooms in, showing us a building that I recognize despite the fact that it isn't demolished and half-sunk into a crater. It shifts to the inside of the building, where my dad, Yusei—lacking a Criminal Mark—and the Goodwin brothers are huddling around a table that appears to have blueprints on it. Yusei has a large stack of papers in his arms.
There isn't any sound, but the four of them seem to be deep in conversation. Yusei shows them the papers—all of them graphs, actually—and the titles range from "Unusual Activity" to "Growth of Synchro Monsters". The graphs seem to coincide with each other.
"That was the first time anyone made the connection… But by then, it was too late to shut off the Reactors…" Dusk says, a slight whimper in her voice.
In slow motion, I watch as one of the walls of the room explodes inward. Also in slow motion are the reactions of my father and Roman, both of them shoving Yusei and Rex, respectively, behind them. The entire room then fills with intense amounts of light energy, and the scene fizzes out.
I look over to Yusei. His face is filled with disbelief and terror at the same time.
"The first meltdown was only the beginning," Jakob says. "The usage of Synchros had become too much for the Reactors—yes, more than one of them—to handle. It wasn't just the one in Neo Domino that did that… It occurred to all of them, and there were at least one hundred worldwide at the time. All of them having the same destructive ability that Zero Reverse did… even in places that didn't have Reactors…"
The scene changes to a place that definitely isn't Neo Domino… I don't even recognize it. The only thing I recognize in it is Jakob, well, a younger version of him—not bald, but his hair is grey. He's playing with a couple of young children—grandchildren, perhaps? They're in a grassy field, one tree with a tire swing nearby. The ground looks like it starts shaking, and the younger Jakob instantly grabs onto the two kids. The shaking continues, several areas in the ground break apart, and the lone tree falls over…
"Ooh! Ooh! Mine next!" Lester exclaims. "Unlike Jakob, I was in one of the cities with a Reactor at the time… Actually, Primo and Jakob were the only two not in Neo Domino at the time… Aurelia doesn't count. She wasn't born yet."
The golden-haired, green-eyed girl rolls her eyes at Lester. "Just show 'em what happened to you."
"Fine."
The scene changes to the inside of an ice cream shop. This time, there is a younger Lester in it, happily eating a banana split. His parents—a brunette woman wearing a blue jacket and yellow skirt and a man with dark green hair wearing a lighter green jacket and grey pants—have their own ice cream. The shop starts shaking at the same time that the power goes out. Lester and his parents hide under the table they were sitting at as the other half of the shop caves in…
"Now, for mine…" Primo says.
Now in a different city, the scene shows a dark-haired woman wearing a white scarf and tan overcoat running down a sidewalk, a younger Primo chasing after her. Both have large smiles on their faces. They pass a building that I can see has the words "Ener-D" on it just as it goes up in a disastrous energy wave. Both of them fall to the ground and stay there as everything shakes. Time seems to fast forward, and the buildings all around are mostly in pieces, the building with the Reactor completely gone. Primo and the woman he was chasing are both alive, though dirty and clearly injured.
"Now for mine, and also what happened to your future selves," Hana says. "At the time, Crow was babysitting me…"
The scene changes to Crow riding on the Blackbird, with a version of Hana that's about six years old and wearing a helmet that's slightly too big. Both appear to be laughing, until the Tail of the Dragon on Crow's arm starts glowing. He stops riding and clutches the Mark. A transparent red bubble appears around him and Hana as the ground starts falling apart and buildings topple over. It keeps glowing and stops only after the damage has been done. Crow takes about two steps before he falls. The younger Hana tries to shake him awake…
Another change, and now we see an older version of Akiza, sitting at a desk and flipping through paperwork. She has on a white coat like a doctor does, and she doesn't have the metal hairpiece I'm so used to her having. Instead, her hair is pulled back in a loose ponytail. The small room she's in starts shaking, and a picture on the wall falls down and shatters. Akiza looks up, and then grimaces as her Mark starts glowing. A similar bubble of light surrounds her, and as the roof of the office collapses, the bubble shields her from being crushed. Once everything stops, she looks around and shouts something before she collapses…
Now the scene is in front of the airport, where the older versions of Leo and Luna are. Both of them are carrying suitcases, and Leo says something and walks a little faster. He stumbles as his own Mark—'wait, what? When did… oh…'—starts glowing and Luna's does as well. There isn't a bubble, but everything around them collapses. Once it stops, the two exchange horrified looks and I can see Leo mouth (well, he says it, but there still isn't sound) the word "Jack" before they too fall to the ground…
A sudden shift to the inside of a house reveals an older version of me and an older version of Shoshan in a conversation. I can't help but notice that the older Sky has no Criminal Mark either, and both her eyes are gold. 'This is in the world I saw in the diner… but these people are claiming that it is the future. What in the world is really going on?'
The house falls apart, and I can't see the future Shoshan anymore. Future Sky pokes out from under the rubble, both of her arms cut in places, and her ankle twisted strangely. She screams—now there is sound—and pitches forward on the rubble. Her back glows—the full Seal of the Dragon is on it—and the part of it along the top, where the Wings are, slowly turns black. Future Sky curls up into the fetal position, tears streaming down her face. "Jack…" she mutters…
"That is the end of the scenes that are good for your future selves," Dusk says.
"What about Jack?" I ask. "We haven't seen him yet, and… that thing with the Seal of the Dragon…"
"Uh, since when are Sky and Leo Signers?" Crow adds.
"We'll explain everything at the end," Dusk replies. "You must see what we've gone through first. The loss that we've all suffered… and trust me, the deaths of your future selves is definitely connected to that… because only two of you survived everything… and one of them is me."
She pulls off her helmet and…
To be continued…
Me: Evil cliffhanger much? I feel it's pretty accomplished for the 50th chapter.
Sky: You. Freaking. Jerk.
Me: What?
Sky: Just… everything that you put as backstories! And then leaving a cliffhanger like that!
Me: Well… I told you that I'm screwing over the actual version of it. Antinomy and Aporia will both be involved later (and I've obviously made the Emperors of Yliaster be separate people), as will the explanations for Leo being a Signer, why the Crimson Dragon looked as bad as it did, and why Hana had to save Stardust Dragon from the garbage can. Oh, and I'm not forgetting about the Meklord invasion. I'm just making there be an interesting twist.
Leo: What did you do to Jack?
Me: Hmm? Oh, just setting the scenery for the evil stuff. You'll see in the next chapter… A lot's going to be revealed then, actually. *Laughs* Alright, drop a review please? I'm not afraid to answer questions, though you might not get a straight-up answer for them. Also, any criticism is also helpful. You can just say how much you hated the chapter, for all I care. I just want to hear what people think. See you next time!