A/N: I OWN NO PART YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS!
Chapter 44: The Oldest of Friends
Third Person POV
"That's some dragon. Know where I could score one?" Jaden asked.
"Jaden Yuki, calm, cool, and collected to the very end. Now perish!" the masked man said. Stardust Dragon fought to try to stop itself. "Destroy him!" the man ordered.
The dragon roared as its mind was overrun by the man's power. It fired at Jaden and Neos. It hit Neos nearly destroying the duel monster.
"Neos!" Jaden called. The leftover attack hit him and he was sent into a pile of crumbled debris.
"Now finish him!" the man commanded.
Stardust Dragon reluctantly did so. Just as it was about to hit, the Crimson Dragon stopped the attack. From the flames of the dragon came Yusei and Era.
Yusei looked up. "My Stardust Dragon!" he exclaimed.
"Era!" Jaden called. She looked at him and nodded to him in greeting with a small smile.
"Yusei and Era. How you two followed me back in time I do not know. What I do know is it that it means nothing for you and Jaden. If you don't perish by my hand, the hands of time will do you in," the man said.
"Hands of what?" Jaden asked. The man laughed turning around.
"Wait, stop!" Yusei called.
The masked man drove off and disappeared in a flash of light. Era, Jaden, and Yusei stared at the spot where he disappeared for a moment. Eventually though, Era walked over to Jaden and helped him to his feet. Era got up to the roof from the pile of debris. Jaden sat down to the right of Yusei and Era.
"You took quite the hit there. Are you okay?" Yusei asked.
"I'm all good. Just a few scratches," Jaden replied.
"You're a tough kid. So you're Jaden?" Yusei asked.
"Yeah, you heard of me?" Jaden asked. "That man called you Yusei, right?" He nodded.
"Era's told me all about you," Yusei said.
"How do you know Era?" Jaden asked.
"Jaden, the me you're seeing right now comes from about fifty years after I last saw you," I told him.
"So you met Yusei fifty year from now?" Jaden asked.
"Pretty much," Yusei answered.
"I had promised his father I would protect him when he was a baby," I explained.
"Sounds like you, Era," Jaden stated with a grin. "But another time?"
"Yes, Jaden, another time," Baron stated.
"Yusei? Quit messing with me, you guys. Besides how would you guys know?" Jaden asked the two spirits.
"We know because like you, they have a gift," Yubel said.
"A gift that connects them to the world of duel monster spirits," Baron continued.
"They mean our marks," Era explained to the slightly confused Jaden.
Jaden looked at her and Yusei and saw the marks on their arms that they were revealing. "Well looks like we have something new in common, don't we?" Jaden asked.
"Yes, Jaden. Now tell us how this got started with you and the masked man," Yusei said.
"Some classmates of mine kept reporting their duel monsters cards were getting snatched. I went looking for the thief and found you know who," Jaden explained.
"Listen Jaden, I know we just met but believe me when I say we need to stop this man. Because if we don't life as you know it…" Yusei began but Era quickly finished it.
"Won't be as you know it. Our time, your time, it will all change. And it's a change that isn't for the better," Era said.
"Wait, are you saying you want me to team up with you two to take this dude down?" Jaden asked excitedly pulling a fist in front of his face.
"Yes, Jaden," Yusei answered with a grin.
"Okay, I am willing to help Era after all she's done with me. But how are we going to take him down? I mean the dude split," Jaden asked.
"I'm guessing he moved back in time. To the time where he makes his big move and changes history and alters the future forever," Era informed.
"Whoa, whoa. What do you mean 'changes history and alters the future'?" Jaden asked. He pulled out a laptop from his bag. "History hasn't changed. Here, I'll show ya. Let me check out the Domino City database and pull up a newspaper article that'll prove to you that history has…" He paused. "Completely changed!" We gasped as we read the article:
The title line: "TRAGEDY AT THE TOURNAMENT! PEGASUS MISSING!" and underneath that was: "Is Duel Monsters Over?"
"And not for the better. Why is this guy doing all of this?" Jaden asked.
"I don't know, but he's doing it as we speak," Era stated.
"Well, as long as I have Neos…" Jaden started but when he pulled out his card, the picture vanished. "Neos is gone!"
They looked around hearing crumbling noises. A tower fell in front of them, luckily not hitting the duel runner.
"And it's happening here too. Your era and time is crumbling away. First your duel monsters cards, now everything else," Yusei commented calmly but alert.
"What do we do now, guys?" Jaden asked.
"Now we move," Yusei said.
"Where?" Jaden asked.
Yusei and Jaden got on Yusei's runner and Era took to flight again. They went off with the Crimson Dragon taking them to the past. And Era had a feeling she knew exactly when.
. . .
Yugi and his grandfather, Solomon Muto, stood at the Domino City Duel Tournament. Looking around at all the excited duelists.
"This certainly is a good turn out," Solomon said.
"And it's no wonder why. The rumor is Pegasus himself will be here today," Yugi said.
The sound of a helicopter could be heard and everyone looked up. The helicopter landed and Pegasus stepped out.
"Greetings, everyone. It's wonderful to see you all but probably not nearly as wonderful for you to see me. So please, enjoy my splendor," Pegasus said. People cheered loud.
On top of a building, the masked man stood. He growled, "And enjoy your last moments, Pegasus." His final name was filled with venomous hate that could kill him if it were possible.
The three dragons flew over top the buildings as the clock hit noon. "Dragons!" people called out in amazement.
"Boy, my laser eye surgery sure makes those duel monsters holograms look real," Solomon said.
As the dragons hit the buildings and they crumbled away, Yugi said, "I don't think those are holograms, Grandpa."
"Move it," a man said as he push Yugi and Solomon in separate directions.
"Yugi!" Solomon called.
"Grandpa!" Yugi responded as he tried to push his way back from the running crowd.
"It's my worst fear. I've been upstaged," Pegasus said. He heard the crash of the building behind him. "Oh, no, the building," he cried as it landed on top of him.
As the minutes to hours passed by, Yugi woke up among the ruins. He looked around to find he was the only survivor. He noticed his grandfather's bandana and ran to it to pick it up before he screamed his name in sadness.
He heard a laugh from above and looked at the top of a building. "At last my work in complete! It took some doing but history is now forever changed. Changed so that duel monsters is no more!" the man exclaimed.
Yugi looked at him confused. Suddenly, a light caught his eye. He looked at it and just as he did, a red, fiery dragon slipped out of the light and enveloped the frightened Yugi.
The Crimson Dragon flew above a roof top. Yugi was thrown out and Yusei and Jaden skidded to a stop on his runner while Era landed. Yugi rubbed the back of his neck that had hit the corner of a concrete molding.
"Hey, are you okay?" Era asked running up to him followed by Yusei and Jaden.
He back away but Yusei said, "It's okay, Yugi. You're safe now."
"Era, what're you doing here? Where am I? Is my grandpa okay? Where's Pegasus?" Yugi asked. He looked and noticed everyone standing below them as if nothing had happened. "Wait, was that all just a dream?"
"I'm afraid not," Yusei replied.
"Here's the deal, bro, it's not where you are but when," Jaden said.
Era closed her eyes looking at the power around her. Every person had a small bit of power glowing inside them. Some that were the brightest she knew would someday have children who would grow into powerful duelists. Perhaps even as powerful as a psychic.
"We've taken you back in time. Back to just before those dragons blasted this place," Era informed opening her eyes and looking at Yugi once again.
Jaden looked at his card. "Look, Neos is back!" he exclaimed.
"Who are you guys?" Yugi asked in confusion and shock.
"My name's Yusei Fudo," Yusei introduced.
"You know me," she said calmly with her kind voice still in there. Yugi nodded with a grin.
"And I'm Jaden Yuki," Jaden responded with a happy, confident tone.
"Yusei, Era, and Jaden. I'm Yugi Muto," he introduced.
"Oh there's no need to tell us who you are we know," Yusei said.
"You do? How's that?" Yugi asked.
"Cause we're from the future. It's no big whoop," Jaden replied calmly.
"What?" Yugi responded.
"Okay, I guess it's kind of a big whoop. Bottom line though, we're here to save the world," Jaden said.
"That masked man you saw… he has to be stopped. Like you, we've seen what happens if he's not," Era said.
"This guy looks like he's made it his mission in life to take down Pegasus," Jaden said.
"But why?" Yugi asked.
"We don't know that just yet but if he takes down Pegasus, the duel monsters world he created…" Yusei trailed off.
"It goes with him. Along with everything that sprang from it. Schools, cities, people, you name it," Jaden said.
Yugi looked down and muttered, "Oh man."
"But it doesn't have to be that way," Jaden said. "That's why we're here."
"If we work together, we might be able to stop this maniac," Yusei said. "Will you help us?"
Yugi's head sprung up and looked at each of them while he stood up followed by the rest of them. "That guy hurt my grandpa and it also sounds like he's trying to hurt the game I love. So I'm more than willing to help you in any way that I can," Yugi agreed. "Especially since one of the ones I'm helping is a good friend." Era nodded with a smile.
"Glad to have you on our side," Yusei commented.
"Try ecstatic! We've got the King of Games in our corner! Now let's do this," Jaden exclaimed.
Era looked down at the people below and thought, 'I hope we'll be able to beat him. Because if we don't…' She let her thoughts trail off and she slowly followed the three others duelists.