This story was done in collaboration between me, Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and DaveMan1000 (both here and on DeviantART), and we own the OCs that are used in the story. AaronCottrell97 (known as stevecottrell on DeviantART) provided the Duel Layouts and additional ideas. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:
Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel
The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry
Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami
Gundam SEED characters, Orb, Blue Cosmos, M1 Astray, Strike Rouge, Murasame, Coordinators (c) Sunrise
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (c) Gerry Anderson, Sylvia Anderson
Character of Lisa Drake (c) DaveMan1000
Character of David Xadashi (c) DaveMan1000
WARNING: Once again, this story is rated T for violence, some blood, suggestive themes, and some language. Reader discretion is advised.
WARNING 3: If you haven't read "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sodor Chronicles Season 2", "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sodor Chronicles Season 4", "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sodor Chronicles (Pyramid of Light", "David Xadashi", "Lisa Drake", or "Team 4D's", you might want to do so before reading this story
Title: The Coordinator Project
Opening up outside Discord's Queens mansion in the middle of the night—the very same night where David and Lisa went on their first date and it ended in somewhat disaster before rebounding—all was rather quiet.
(inside…)
Inside his room, Matt, wearing sweatpants and a black sleeveless shirt, laid wide awake on the bed in the dark bedroom as he stared long and hard at the ceiling. On the nearby dresser, the clock had struck 11:30 (pm).
"David, Mike, James, Carlie, Lisa, and I… We're all Signers," Matt thought to himself, "Godwin knew that all along. He's hiding something regarding it from all of us, and I'm gonna find out what his true reasons are tomorrow morning."
The dirty blonde-haired young man then turned onto his side and tried to fall asleep.
(elsewhere…)
Inside the hotel the Orb representatives were staying at, the Astray trio, Ms. Simmons, and Mr. Kisaka all were returning to the room after nearly two hours of letting David and Lisa spend some time together watching a movie or TV.
"I hope they had a good time," said Juri happily.
"I'm sure they did," reassured Ms. Simmons.
Mr. Kisaka took out the keys and unlocked the door to the living room. When the remaining representatives of Orb entered, they saw the TV was still on, showing what looked to be an old 60s marionette show. But when they all looked at the couch, they were greeted by a sight which both surprised and delighted them; both David and Lisa were cuddled up and asleep.
"Oh my," gasped Ms. Simmons.
"Aww, that's so adorable," gushed Mayura, bringing both hands together.
"I gotta get a picture of this moment," giggled Asagi, taking out her cellphone and snapping a picture of both David and Lisa sleeping on the couch, "Boy, I can't wait to show them this."
It turned out she didn't need to wait… On cue, both David and Lisa began to wake up. Once they were fully awake, they started to realize the position they were in.
"Dave?" blinked Lisa sleepily, "Why am I sleeping in your arms?"
"Good question, Lisa-chan," acknowledged David, "I also can't seem to figure out why I'm sleeping like this."
"We can answer that for you," The voice of Juri suggested.
David and Lisa, overhearing the voice, slowly stood up, looked nearby, and saw the three Astray girls giggling like no tomorrow while Mr. Kisaka and Ms. Simmons both just smiled without saying a word.
"W-What are you all staring at?" peeped Lisa.
A grinning Asagi responded by holding up her cellphone containing the picture of David and Lisa sleeping on the couch.
"HUH?!" Both Lisa and David gawked.
"Are you absolutely sure you two are not thinking of marriage right about now?" joked Mayura.
Both David and Lisa flushed with embarrassment, as everyone else shared a laugh at those expressions.
"I blame you for this embarrassment, Dave," grumbled Lisa, "After all, you should have woken me up the minute I fell asleep in your arms."
David looked very sheepish. After shaking his head and clearing it, he went and grabbed his helmet off the table.
"Well, it's time for me to go," said David, "I'll see you all at the stadium for the final battle in a little while."
"Have a good night," waved Mr. Kisaka, "Drive safely."
"Catch you later, Dave," added Asagi.
David gave his new friends a respectful nod before leaving the hotel. Lisa then turned and directed her friends to the couch and the TV still showing the show she and David were watching before falling asleep.
"You guys wanna stay up a little longer to watch some TV?" offered Lisa, "Dave was actually showing me this awesome show from the 60s; Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons."
"Are those marionettes?" asked Juri, walking over and sitting down on the couch.
"Whoa! This looks so cool!" admired Mayura, sitting down beside Juri, "I'm not a sci-fi geek or anything, but something tells me I might actually enjoy this show."
Asagi looked at both Mr. Kisaka and Ms. Simmons and simply shrugged, while the two teachers only chuckled before the three of them went to join Lisa, Juri, and Mayura in sitting on the couch and watching the British show in-question.
(elsewhere…)
The very next morning, business in New York City was booming as strongly as ever. With the finals of Rex's tournament scheduled to be held tomorrow, it would give our heroes enough time to rest and relax after several days of Turbo Dueling.
(elsewhere…)
Inside Discord's Queens mansion, Team 4D's, Zack, and Discord all were in the dining room enjoying some breakfast—everyone, except for Matt.
"I'm going out for a little walk," he announced, "I'll be back in a little while."
"Have a good time, Matty-boy," said Discord cheerfully, eating away at his share of pancakes.
When Matt had left, James R. had quickly finished his third stack of pancakes to the amazement of both Michael and Zack, and the disgust of Carlie.
"I don't know about you guys," remarked James R., before letting out a loud belch and smiling sheepishly, "Sorry about that… Anyway, as I was saying, with the finals not starting until tomorrow, I thought I'd spend the day on the computer continuing with a short story I'm writing up for fun."
"Oh yeah, I remember seeing you writing up something like that," recalled Carlie, "But… I also remember you recently saying you're stuck on ideas."
James R. sweatdropped, "Oh yeah," he admitted, "That's right, I am stuck on new ideas."
"You're stuck, eh?" pondered Michael, standing up whilst, "Why didn't you say so in the first place, mate? I, Michael Atlas, would be more than happy to help you out!"
"Oh nonononono," James R. outright refused, shaking his head rapidly, "Don't you remember what happened the 'last' time you helped me write a story?"
A couple of flashbacks ensued.
FLASHBACK
Inside his room at Discord's main mansion in San Francisco, Flashback James R. was typing away on his computer while Flashback Michael watched over his shoulder before stopping him and shaking his head, offering to take over or add a few ideas of his own in.
"First, you rewrote nearly everything I worked on!" narrated James R..
Flashback James R. then watched in comical panic as Flashback Michael started typing away. Then when James R. read the new results over, not only was it completely different than how he intended his story to be, but it was nearly thirty pages in length. But the thing that really freaked him out was how much (mild) cursing had been put in.
"When you finished, not only was it longer and more different than how I intended my story to be," James R. ranted on, "but you also added cursing in it! CURSING!"
And Flashback James R. collapsed onto the floor in exasperation.
END FLASHBACK
The flashbacks ended, and James R. shuddered over the memory. Michael, however, became offended.
"What's wrong with my style of writing?" The lime green-haired young man questioned, "Thanks to me, your last story became more realistic!"
"It wasn't supposed to have so much vulgarity!" exclaimed James R., "Not everyone enjoys stories with cussing in them! That story you made was so vulgar, I almost had to bleach my eyes with holy water!"
"Vulgarity?! How dare you!"
As he and James R. both argued about reality and vulgarity in stories, Zack brought both index fingers to his mouth and whistled, getting the attention of them both. With the argument stopped, Zack rolled his eyes at the immaturity the two adult duelists were displaying at the moment—yet was able to make light of it.
"Are you two 'children' done fighting over things as silly as reality or cursing in something we all like to call fanfiction?" teased Zack in his usual deadpan tone.
A statement like that earned him a laugh from both Discord and Carlie. James R. and Michael both stopped arguing and looked at Zack for a few seconds before looking back at each other, just before looking away in a huff with their arms folded in a pouty way.
(outside…)
Outside the mansion, Matt stood at the doorway for what seemed like forever before closing his eyes, taking a deep breath, and opening them with a look of determination on his face. He then raced to the garage to get Fudo Go. Once there, Matt grabbed and put his helmet on before making the faceplate appear, climbed aboard Fudo Go, revved it up, and drove out of the garage to make the journey to where Rex was sure to be at today—city hall.
(elsewhere…)
Sure enough, the short journey took Matt all the way to city hall in upper Manhattan. At the moment, Rex was outside speaking to the press about his tournament.
"Governor Godwin, how pleased are you with the tournament thus far?" One female reporter was asking.
"Mr. Governor, what can we expect to see in the finals, tomorrow?" A male reporter put in.
"What is your response to Matt Fudo and Michael Atlas both dropping out to allow two newcomers to advance, instead?" A second female reporter finished, "Are you okay with two of our country's greatest duelists leaving the tournament behind like this?"
Rex laughed, "Please, one at a time!" he requested kindly, as other reporters kept shouting questions, "I'll do my best to answer what you all have to ask me."
It was then something caught his eye; a police car was shown pulling up on the side of the road, and emerging from the car were Paul Truman, Maria Strienhart, and two additional police officers. This made Rex look far more serious than usual before he turned and addressed the reporters asking him questions about his tournament.
"I'm sorry, but the Q&A will have to be done another time," apologized Rex, turning to leave, "I'm urgently needed for the moment."
Undeterred, the press kept shouting new questions, but the governor ignored them as he met up with the police and entered city hall. As the reporters left the area without any answers to their questions, Matt could be seen hiding behind the corner of a building and watching Rex until he left with Paul, Maria, and the other two police officers to go inside. Without saying a word throughout, he began making his way towards the huge building.
(elsewhere…)
Back inside Discord's Queens mansion, Zack and Carlie both were busy washing the dishes. Zack was focused entirely on his work, but Carlie had her mind on something else at the moment.
"Zack, Matt's been acting weird lately," frowned Carlie.
"Weird?" repeated Zack, before smiling slightly, "Carlie, I don't know what you mean by that. You know Matt's back to his usual self thanks to both Dave and Asagi getting through to him in that duel."
"That's not what I meant," Carlie pointed out, before looking up at the ceiling in thought, "Matt's been thinking a lot lately, mostly about why he and the rest of us are here for Rex's tournament."
"It's because you guys are Signers."
"Yes, we're Signers," The brown-haired young woman agreed, nodding, "I'm aware that Matt's thinking there must be a bigger reason for us being in the tournament in the first place other than being just Signers," Zack listened as she finished speaking, "I just have to wonder what that exact reason is?"
Zack didn't say a word over that. He knew that Carlie did make a fair point about why Rex invited them other than being Signers, and, more importantly, why Rex wouldn't tell them the full truth regarding it. From there, both friends resumed washing the breakfast dishes, with the atmosphere now more subdued than ever before.
(elsewhere…)
Back outside city hall, things were going fine on the outside, but what about the inside?
(inside…)
Within a part of city hall, two security officers appointed by Paul were guarding the way to the governor with utmost care. They soon spotted Matt running towards them with no intention of stopping.
"Hey, you!" The first guard called out, "This is a restricted area!"
"The governor is not seeing anyone else at this time!" The second guard added sternly.
Matt completely ignored the warnings and continued onwards; he wanted answers from Rex, and he was going to get them. Both guards were prepared to retaliate if Rex was in possible in-danger by this young man.
"Sorry!" shouted Matt, quickly uppercutting the first guard across the face while preventing him from pulling his gun out, "But he's got some explaining to do!"
The first guard was knocked unconscious by the hard uppercut as he landed on the floor with a *THUMP!*.
"Why you-!" The second guard cursed, throwing a punch.
Matt avoided the punch, and then punched the guard in the face twice before finishing with a roundhouse kick. The second guard was thrown against the wall, knocked out. With his path cleared, Matt opened the doors and continued making his way to Rex and the possible answers he had to hold.
(elsewhere…)
Inside the governor's office, Rex and Lazar both were busy speaking to both Paul and Maria about something important. Needless to say, Rex, standing by and looking out the huge window, didn't look very happy with the news he was given.
"Could you please repeat your report, Officer Truman?" asked Rex sternly.
"I'm afraid we haven't found that fugitive, Sergey Volkov, at the moment," replied Paul wearily, "He seems to have disappeared from New York City since the night we learned of his arrival."
"I see," Rex, closing his eyes for a few seconds, frowned in disappointment, before he looked over his shoulder at the gruff police officer, "I can't say I'm too pleased with your lack of success, Officer Truman."
"Sir, I beg for more time!" requested Paul, standing tall, "I swear my squad will find Sergey, even if we have to scour all of the state of New York to find him!"
Rex simply continued looking out the window.
"Sir, permission to speak freely," requested Maria. When Rex nodded, without turning around, she pressed on, "I'm curious to know more about your tournament, but mainly about that dragon that showed up when James Hogan was dueling David Xadashi."
Rex frowned when he overheard the mention of the Crimson Dragon, but had to ensure nobody else knew what his true intentions for the tournament were all about. If he had to lie to keep it all secret, then so be it.
"It was a simple glitch in the Solid Vision system," insisted Rex.
"But, sir-!" Maria tried to protest, but was interrupted.
"Officer Strienhart, the tournament finals will go on as scheduled," continued Rex, "The people have their hearts set on it. If we were to call off the finals, the whole government would lose prestige."
Maria opened her mouth to object to that statement, but someone else immediately beat her to it…
"Who gives a damn about your 'prestige'," The voice of Matt scoffed.
Rex, Lazar, Paul, and Maria all turned and looked nearby, spotting Matt Fudo at the doorway.
"Hey, you're-!" The voice of Paul began.
Matt kept his calm, stoic look, "Godwin," he said firmly, "we need to talk."
"What're you doing up here, scumbag?!" snarled Paul, once again letting his vengeance and grudge get the better of him, "What about those two guards I ordered? They should have stopped you!"
"Those guards?" said Matt, casually yet uncaringly, "Oh, they're…currently napping."
As much as Paul already disliked Matt, having him attack fellow security guards was the straw that broke the Duel Runner's back.
"That's it!" boomed Paul, finally losing his temper. He then grabbed Matt by the collar of his jacket in a threatening way, "You just earned yourself a trip to-ARGH!"
He quickly let go of the dirty blonde-haired young man, seeing as he was immediately pulled back by the ear compliments of Maria, who was not about to put up with her superior's crap this time around. Speaking of which, Paul was whining and cursing over the pain in his tugged ear.
"That's enough, now," interrupted Rex calmly, who looked like he had been waiting for Matt to arrive, "You obviously had a good reason to come and see me at a time like this. How can I help you, Matt?"
"Before I say anything, weren't you gonna throw him out?" suggested Matt, gesturing towards Paul.
Paul cringed from overhearing that remark. Lazar, who was enjoying the gruff police officer's misery, sadistically grinned and snapped his fingers, causing two more officers to step away from their station in the room. They approached Paul, grabbed him by the arms, and dragged him out of the room.
"Hey! Why me!? Cut this out!" ranted Paul, struggling to break free without any success, "Mark my words, I'm gonna crush you!"
The door was then slammed shut before the empty threats towards Matt could continue.
"Peace and quiet at last…" sighed Rex, "You would not believe how relieving it feels for him to shut up."
The frown on Matt's face deepened, while Maria just face-palmed in embarrassment over her superior's petty attitude. Eventually, the conversation changed to why Matt came the main office in the first place.
"Godwin, you invited me, the rest of Team 4D's, Dave, and Lisa all to compete in this tournament for a reason other than because we're Signers," began Matt, causing Maria to open her mouth slightly with surprise as she, Lazar, and Rex listened, "Out of all the duelists you handpicked for this tournament, Dave specifically is the only person outside of the United States to be invited by you, and he just so happened to be one of the remaining Signers? And out of the four duelists from Orb, you decided to invite Lisa, who happened to be the other remaining Signer," He clenched his right hand into a fist while speaking and eventually motioned it about, "Is this by sheer coincidence or something You clearly targeted both Dave and Lisa because you knew all about their status as Signers the entire time, as well as inviting me and the rest of Team 4D's. Right now, I'm tired of being left in the dark, and I want answers over what you're really up to, this instant."
Rex remained silent, while Matt patiently waited for a response. A response soon came from the governor of New York
"Unfortunately, I don't have anything to say about it," refused Rex, which caused Matt to look visibly angry. Before anything else could happen, he spoke on, "Instead, I wish to tell you a secret."
"Secret?" repeated Matt, speaking in a more subdued tone.
With that said, Rex turned and walked over to his desk. Once there, he opened a drawer and reached into it to take something out.
"I've been curious to know…" continued Rex, finally taking a picture out, "Matt, have you ever been told what you really are?"
"That's ridiculous," protested Matt, "I'm a duelist and a human-being like you and everyone else."
"I agree," said Rex, as a dark gleam appeared in his eyes. He then approached and handed Matt the picture, "But there is far more to it than that. The answer is in this photograph."
Matt neutrally took and looked at the picture, but his tune quickly changed when he saw what was on it. In the photo was what appeared to be a younger version of Rex, along with, in his eyes, a familiar-looking man with short blonde hair and a woman with brown hair that went all the way to her shoulders. Rex smiled when he saw Matt looking outright shocked.
"Do you know who that man and woman are in the photo?" Rex asked coldly.
"It… it can't be…" rasped Matt, before looking at Rex, "The people in the picture…are my Mother and Father…when they were alive!"
Maria gasped in surprise, but Lazar giggled sinisterly.
"Godwin! What in the world's going on?!" demanded Matt, horrified over what he was learning, "How is it you know my Mother and Father, and likely me? Tell me, right now!"
"You see, back in my younger years before I got into politics, I was a scientist who worked alongside your Father, Dr. Fudo," explained Rex, "I was a personal friend to the Fudo family. Your Father and I worked together on experiments that would aid mankind," He then walked back towards the window and pressed further, "Tell me something, Matt… Have you ever heard of the genetic manipulation procedure—better known as the 'Coordinator' project?"
"The Coordinator project?" blinked Matt, as his expression darkened, "No, I've never heard of it."
"But I have," interrupted Maria, stepping forward as Matt gave her a surprised glance, "I've learned about the project back when I was attending college in California."
A flashback ensued.
FLASHBACK
Inside a lab many, many years ago, some scientists were being visited and spoken to by then US President Lyndon Johnson. Pretty soon, the scientists were busy with experiments after experiments.
"It was started in the United States back in the mid-1960s under the request and direction of the Johnson administration," narrated Maria, "It was started as a special medical procedure for women during early pregnancy, which would give their newborns enhanced traits including faster learning, stronger and faster bodies, near immunity to diseases, and access to other abilities of various decrees. At the time, nobody was aware it would help revolutionize mankind…"
(new scene…)
A few years later, two scientists were treating a naked, pregnant young woman (her intimate parts were unseen) lying on a metal table with the serum they developed for the project.
"How does it work?" The voice of Matt asked.
The serum injection was soon finished, and the young woman sat up before looking down and bringing both hands to her enlarged stomach, hoping that her baby would be okay.
"It's done through altering the fetus' DNA structure through a serum injection developed by scientists," The voice of Rex explained, before dropping a bombshell of his own, "In fact, right now you're speaking to one such Coordinator."
"S-Say what?!" The voice of Lazar cried out in genuine surprise, "You're a Coordinator, Governor Godwin? You never disclosed such information to me as long as I have known you."
(new scene…)
A time skip to the years Jimmy Carter was president, a rally was being held outside the White House in Washington D.C. for the young boy who had been born a Coordinator. The boy, who had blonde hair, demonstrated his newly enhanced abilities and increased intelligence before the gathered crowd and was given a standing ovation, while President Carter approached and patted him on the shoulder for a job well done.
"The Coordinator project was considered a vast success," narrated Rex, as the scene shifted to scientists from many other countries around the world attempting to replicate it (including a scene with Flashback Rex and Dr. Fudo assisting the Canadian scientists), "This enabled the governments of various countries around the world to start their own version of the project with various results. Dr. Fudo and I were relocated to 'Vancouver - Canada' to assist the Canadian government with it."
END FLASHBACK
The flashback ended, with both Maria and even Lazar looking very surprised, but Matt was left mostly unfazed by the story.
"I don't get it," said Matt, "What does you being a Coordinator have got to do with 'me'?"
"Because you, Matt Fudo, happen to be a produce of the process," Rex explained, turning around to stare at Matt straight in the eyes, "You, yourself… are a Coordinator."
Matt's eyes widened as he stumbled back in complete shock as though he were slugged in the stomach. Maria was, likewise, shocked to hear of this, although Lazar was not quite as shocked (his shock was more due to his boss being a Coordinator). Rex then closed his eyes as a second flashback ensued.
FLASHBACK
In the early 1990s, Dr. Fudo was busy speaking to his wife in their family home as Flashback Rex and a young man with whitish blonde hair both watched from nearby.
"But, dear, are you sure?" worried Mrs. Fudo, bringing both hands to her pregnant stomach and looking down at it, "I mean, I know I can trust you, but…is this the right thing for me to do?"
"Honey, I swear to you everything will be fine," reassured Dr. Fudo, on a knee in-front of his wife, "When our baby is born, he'll grow up to be strong, healthy, and successful. I'll stake my reputation as a scientist on it."
"Ma'am, Rex and I will make sure you're safe and nothing happens to your baby," The white-haired young man added, while Flashback Rex nodded in agreement, "As we are friends of yours and your husband, we have a stake in this as well."
"Right," agreed Flashback Rex.
Mrs. Fudo, breaking into tears, finally made up her mind about turning her unborn child into a Coordinator.
"Alright," she accepted tearfully, "I'll allow you to experiment on our baby… However, I beg of you to be careful with how you do it."
"Everything will be okay," smiled Dr. Fudo, standing back up while taking Mrs. Fudo by her hands, "I promise you that."
(new scene…)
Inside a lab, Mrs. Fudo laid down on a metal table as Dr. Fudo, Flashback Rex, and the white-haired young man were beginning the Coordinator project.
"How are we doing?" Dr. Fudo asked, speaking to Flashback Rex.
"So far, she is stable," answered Flashback Rex, looking at a monitor.
"Good. Rutger, you can administer the first dosage."
The other young man, Rutger, began administering the first dosage of the serum to Mrs. Fudo. After the first dosage was injected, Flashback Rex turned to face Dr. Fudo.
"Well?" Flashback Rex pressed, "Anything?"
"I don't…feel anything," said Mrs. Fudo, still lying on the table.
"Nothing?" pondered Dr. Fudo thoughtfully, "Hmm… Maybe the initial dosage wasn't strong enough… Rutger, give her a second, stronger dosage."
Nodding, Rutger did just that; he gave Mrs. Fudo a second, more powerful dose of the serum. After a full minute, there was still nothing.
"Dear, I…still can't feel anything," insisted Mrs. Fudo, finally sitting up on the table, "The Coordinator serum doesn't seem to be working."
"Impossible," frowned Dr. Fudo, "Over the years, Rutger and I have been trying to perfect it. When Rex started assisting us, we thought we might have gotten it right. Maybe…it cannot be perfected?"
Mrs. Fudo simply gave a discouraged nod, but suddenly became overwhelmed with intense pain as she laid back down on the table.
"What?!" cried Dr. Fudo, "Rex, what's going on?!"
"Oh no! Her vital signs are deteriorating!" panicked Flashback Rex, looking at the monitor. He saw that the bars determining Mrs. Fudo's health and function of the inner organs were going completely out of control, "I don't know how this is happening!"
"We must have given her too much of the enhanced dosage!" figured Rutger, before picking up the nearby phone and dialing the number 9-1-1, "Operator, we need an ambulance here, fast!"
Mrs. Fudo, with her eyes shut, was sweating and wincing in agony as she felt as though her inner organs were on fire.
(elsewhere…)
In a short period of time at a hospital in Vancouver, Mrs. Fudo was resting in an ICU bed being treated by the doctors and nurses in an attempt to save their patient and the unborn baby while Dr. Fudo, Rutger, and Flashback Rex each waited outside for any news. Before long, a doctor emerged from the room.
"Well?" said Dr. Fudo, "Will my wife…make it?"
"Although she was in near critical state upon arrival, she should be just fine with a little rest, Dr. Fudo," The doctor comforted, placing a hand on the scientist's shoulder, "The poor thing must have been through so much. What was she even doing when this happened?"
"Sir, we were conducting the Coordinator project on her unborn baby," explained Rutger, "We thought we finally perfected the serum, but…"
He left that sentence to dangle.
"Now I see," The doctor frowned, getting an idea on what happened, "The serum for the Coordinator project was not fully perfected, and this was the result of it. You three should consider yourselves lucky both she and the baby didn't lose their lives from it."
The three young men shamefully stayed silent at this bit of information. The one most ashamed of this was Dr. Fudo, since he was the one who convinced his wife to undergo the procedure.
"During the experiment, something went horribly wrong and sent your Mother to the hospital in near critical condition," narrated Present Day-Rex, "While she and you would survive, your Father was ashamed of you both almost dying in the name of science. To that point, he decided to abandon the Coordinator project out of disgust."
(new scene…)
In March of 1992, Baby Matt would ultimately be born as a Coordinator, to the joy and relief of both Dr. Fudo and Mrs. Fudo. The former, however, remembered how the Coordinator project nearly cost the lives of his wife and son.
"While you would be born months later, Dr. Fudo was so ashamed of what almost happened that he swore never to tell you that you're a Coordinator. He also instructed his wife, me, and Rutger never to tell what you are," Present Day-Rex went on, "It was out of fear and concern that you would become ashamed and self-loathing as a result of your own Mother nearly dying seemingly because of you."
END FLASHBACK
The flashback ended.
"Back when I was creating this tournament and inviting the duelists to compete, I made a promise to myself," Rex said firmly, "In which I would reveal the secret to you," He turned to face Matt once more, "That time…is now."
Matt, still stunned by the revelations over what he truly was, again stumbled back and nearly collapsed onto the floor, but was thankfully assisted by Maria.
"Let me ask you something else, Matt…" Rex asked, turning to look over his shoulder at Matt, "Have you ever experienced any serious illness of any kind in your life up to now?"
Matt weakly looked up, "N-No… I haven't."
"That's good," smiled Rex, turning fully around, "As a Coordinator, you and I are nearly immune to getting deathly sick. In addition, we have increased strength and reflexes, enhanced learning and intelligence, and can heal from minor injuries like a cut or bruise very quickly."
It was then Matt started to have a pair of quick flashbacks.
FLASHBACK
In Boxford Land in 'Atlanta - Georgia' a few years ago, Flashback Vinnie slapped Flashback Ashima to the ground and said a few cold words at her. Furious over it, Flashback Matt tackled the bigger and stronger young man onto the ground before getting punched off. The resulting punch caused the dirty blonde-haired boy to bleed from his mouth a bit.
(new scene…)
The next morning in his hotel room, Flashback Matt woke up and saw, much to his surprise, that the injury was already fully healed up.
(new scene…)
Within a part of city hall, two security officers appointed by Paul were guarding the way to the governor with utmost care. They soon spotted Flashback Matt running towards them with no intention of stopping. Despite their warnings to turn back, Flashback Matt completely ignored the warnings and continued onwards. Both guards were prepared to retaliate if Rex was in possible in-danger by this young man. Upon reaching the two guards, Flashback Matt uppercut the first guard across the face while preventing him from pulling his gun out. The first guard was knocked unconscious by the hard uppercut as he landed on the floor with a *THUMP!*. The second guard attempted to fight back by throwing a punch, but Flashback Matt avoided the punch, and then punched the guard in the face twice before finishing with a roundhouse kick. The second guard was thrown against the wall, knocked out. With his path cleared, Flashback Matt opened the doors and continued making his way to Rex and the possible answers he had to hold.
END FLASHBACK
The pair of flashbacks end, and Matt remained completely silent on the matter.
"Matt…" whispered Maria.
"So, you see, being a Coordinator is more of a blessing rather than a burden," insisted Rex, "Not only that, only a select few can actually be born as one."
"As much as I want to agree with you, I'm not sure I can do that," Matt said with a sigh, "If my friends were to find out, would they treat me the same as they always have, or…would they consider me a freak because I'm genetically enhanced?"
"I disagree with you on that, Matt," interrupted Maria, which caused the dirty blonde-haired young man to look at her curiously, "If your friends really do care for you as I know they do, there's a very good chance they would be very understanding about you being a Coordinator."
"Officer Strienhart is correct," added Rex, before walking over to his desk and picking up the phone, "In fact, I'm going to prove it by making a few calls to your friends and loved ones to request them to come to city hall for a meeting regarding what I've told you."
And so, the calls ensued.
(elsewhere…)
An hour or so later, nearly everyone affiliated with Matt up to this point, including the rest of Team 4D's, Discord, Zack, the Xadashi family, Sean, Janice, Lisa, the three Astray girls, Mr. Kisaka, and Ms. Simmons all gathered in a large boardroom to hear out the big secret Rex had to share about Matt. Standing in another corner were Lazar, Maria, and Paul.
"And that's that," finished Rex, "Matt Fudo and I both are Coordinators, and I once knew him and his parents."
"Believe me, this was something I never knew about until this very day," confessed Matt.
There was a long silence from the 'audience', because nobody else knew what to make of the fact Rex Godwin and Matt Fudo both were Coordinators and, in a way, knew each other. Just then, Ms. Simmons stood up from her seat and spoke up about it…
"I have something I want to say," she began, "Matt, I knew all this time that you are a Coordinator."
Matt was surprised to hear that.
"Furthermore, the reason I know of that is…because I'm 'also' a Coordinator."
"HUH?!" Asagi, Mayura, and Juri each recoiled.
"What in the hell?" came from Lisa, "Ms. Simmons, you never told us any of that!"
"Actually," interrupted Mr. Kisaka, "I knew that Erica here is a Coordinator," When all eyes came upon him, he continued, "Back when I first met her after joining Orb as a teacher, she told me her secret. However, I remained in the dark about both Matt and Godwin being Coordinators until this very moment."
Ms. Simmons nodded firmly, before noticing Matt walking up to her.
"Erica, if I may ask… How exactly did you know that I was a Coordinator all this time?" pondered Matt.
"The answer is simple," replied Ms. Simmons, smiling a little bit, "Much of your dueling is, while predictable at times, more advanced than most other duelists I have either watched or taught over the years. But the biggest reason why I know, is because you have access to the ability Clear Mind, which enables you to use Accel Synchro."
Matt frowned, "Clear Mind?" he pressed, "You know about both it and Accel Synchro?"
"I do," said Ms. Simmons, "Like you, I also have mastered it."
"If I may cut in," interrupted Rex, "Clear Mind is an ability that takes regular duelists years to master—yet at the age of 16, you, Matt, have managed to master it quickly."
"Godwin, you saw my duel from that time?" accused Matt, "How?"
"It was being broadcast around most of the country, so I was able to catch a glimpse of it."
While that was going on, Lisa and the Astray trio all looked at each other after hearing that one of their teachers knew all about Clear Mind and Accel Synchro.
"Speaking of which, have any of us ever seen Ms. Simmons duel before?" whispered Lisa.
"None of us have," Mayura whispered back, as Juri shook her head.
"If she does duel, I bet her Deck must be really awesome," mused Asagi, "Dueling teachers are usually supposed to be extremely strong as duelists, and since Ms. Simmons is a teacher plus a Coordinator, she has to be a powerful duelist."
As for Team 4D's, Zack, and Discord, they all looked at Matt, noticing how pained he had to be in learning about how he was genetically modified at almost the cost of his Mother's life. Eventually, James R., in support of his two friends, spoke up…
"I want to say something about this whole Coordinator stuff," The brown-haired young man began, looking at both Matt and Ms. Simmons, "Matt… Erica… It doesn't really matter if you two really are Coordinators; you are still yourselves, and nothing about that will change not even in a hundred years."
"That's sweet of you to say, James," admired Ms. Simmons pleasantly.
Rex seemed to nod in agreement, but Matt still remained on the more neutral, silent front because he was still processing all of what he learned about his origins.
"Say, Matt," Zack spoke up, walking over to his slightly younger friend, "As shocking and hard this must be to take in, it must still be pretty cool to learn about oneself's origins in a way."
Matt still did not say anything. While everyone was sharing a conversation about the Coordinator project and about Matt, Rex, and Ms. Simmons each being a Coordinator, they were keenly unaware of something observing it all… Up on a ceiling corner, a little black spider was shown watching everything, but this was no ordinary spider…
(elsewhere…)
Somewhere in a new, dark location, a TV set was showing footage of Rex and Matt's confession on them both being Coordinators along with Ms. Simmons revealing she's a Coordinator, too. Sitting on a chair and watching the footage was the same man with the dark cloak, listening to every single word coming from the mouths of Rex Godwin, Matt Fudo, and Erica Simmons. At some point, the TV monitor went all static, and the man simply smiled maliciously to himself because he heard all he needed to hear.
"It would seem Rex finally told Matt Fudo, the chosen one, the truth regarding his origins—or maybe not the full truth as I was hoping for?" The dark cloaked man told himself, "It matters not. One day, the full truth will come out, and it will break Matt in time for my followers and I to destroy both the Signers and the Crimson Dragon," He turned to look at a nearby corner of the dark room, "For now, I have my other objective to observe…"
The dark cloaked man let out a sinister laugh.
(elsewhere…)
Out on the highway through the state of Connecticut, a huge Duel Runner was speeding along with several others close behind. The man riding the Duel Runner was none other than Sergey Volkov, and he and his really large group were heading for the city of Hartford, which was where Lisa, Asagi, Mayura, Juri, Ms. Simmons, and Mr. Kisaka all lived. Was this the 'other' objective that the dark cloaked man was talking about? It's too early for me to say anything about it.
(elsewhere…)
The next day in New York City, it was a big day… At 10:30 am, the final duel of Rex's Action Duel tournament was going to commence with David Xadashi and Lisa Drake both scheduled to duel each other, and the people were excited to see the two newcomers go at it. Of course, preparations were required before it could happen.
(elsewhere…)
Inside the hotel they're staying at, David, his family, and friends were eating some breakfast—okay, scratch that; only David's friends and family were eating breakfast. David was currently skipping breakfast to work on perfecting his Deck for the upcoming duel.
"Come on, son, you should have some breakfast," offered Ren.
"No thanks, Dad," David declined, removing a card from his Deck and inserting another card, "I must ensure my Deck is perfect for my duel with Lisa-chan."
"You cannot duel well on an empty stomach," insisted Sean.
"I'll be okay, Sean-kun."
"Well, at least have some peanut butter on toast," suggested Futaba, offering her son a plate with peanut butter toast.
David seemed to relent after that and actually took the toast off the plate, making Futaba look relieved. But David just took one bite out of the toast and put it back onto the plate before he resumed adjusting his Deck, causing his Mother to sigh and shake her head in disapproval. Fortunately, there was something else that would get the aqua blue-haired boy's attention…
"Dave!" called Janice, who was watching some TV when the news came on, "Come here for a moment! There's something here you might want to see."
"Janice?" wondered David, walking over and sitting down beside his longtime friend before seeing what was playing on the news, "(何?!) Nani?! (What?!)"
On the TV screen, a news reporter was speaking to Sam Waltfeld of the NYPD, and on the screen were three pictures. Two of them had the faces blurred out, and the third one…was a picture of none other than Vincent Stevens.
"We are live at the New York City Police Department, where I'm going to be speaking to the head of the department, Samuel Waltfeld," The male reporter was saying, before turning to Sam, "Officer Waltfeld, currently, you are not only on the hunt for the criminal Sergey Volkov, but now a rebellious young man who had recently kidnapped someone, am I correct?"
"That is correct," confirmed Sam, before addressing the reason, "This Vincent Stevens committed a crime of kidnapping, and he has to answer for it. I am pleased to report the victim of this act was safely recovered. In addition to the hunt and capture of Sergey, I'm also issuing an arrest warrant for Vincent. If anyone sees him, based on this picture, be sure to call 9-1-1 immediately. He is considered a danger to the public. Thank you."
Now, nobody, be it friends or family members, other than David knew what happened the night he and Lisa went out on their first date. As a result of it, the news that Vincent was now a wanted man came as a surprise to them.
"Dave, what was that all about?" quizzed Ren, "Why was Vincent on the news and now considered a criminal?"
"Well…" replied David, shrugging, "I can only assume he finally succumbed to his darkest intent in order to chase something out of his reach."
With that being said, there were no more responses from anyone regarding the news.
(elsewhere…)
Inside the hotel the Orb representatives were staying at, Lisa and Mayura were having a practice duel to help the former get ready for the duel later this morning. No Duel Disks, and no Duel Runners. They were just using their playmates for their friendly duel. Watching were Asagi, Juri, Mr. Kisaka, and Ms. Simmons.
"Are you worried about today, Lisa?" asked Mr. Kisaka.
"Who's worried?" grinned Lisa, as she took a card from her hand and placed it onto her playmate, "There's absolutely no reason for me to be worried. It's all just for fun. I mean, it's not like whoever wins this duel decides the fate of mankind or something," She cast a glance at her Deck, "Besides, win or lose, I'm gonna enjoy myself out there and make all of you and Orb proud."
"That's something you have already done," Ms. Simmons pointed out.
The three Astray girls had to agree with that, while it made Lisa feel even happier.
(elsewhere…)
Inside Discord's mansion in Queens, he, Zack, and Team 4D's were all enjoying their own breakfast before getting ready to leave for the stadium.
"So, today's the final duel of the tournament," commented James R., "Dave against Lisa… I wonder who were gonna be rooting for? They both are our friends, after all."
"There's nothing at stake in this duel, so rooting for both of them should be okay," replied Carlie.
Michael agreed, but then noticed that Matt was barely eating while also looking very quiet—more so than he usually was. His thoughts at the moment definitely explained more than words could though…
"Godwin's tournament… He's not telling us what we need to know," thought Matt, "What is this tournament really all about?"
"Matt?" quipped Michael, successfully getting his best friend/rival's attention, "What's wrong, mate? You're not eating your food."
"I'm thinking about this whole tournament," answered Matt glumly, "Godwin's not telling us what the tournament is really all about."
"In any case, if he won't say anything, we'll have to figure it out for ourselves," Discord pointed out, "We can either figure it out, or we never will. It's just the way of life."
"Too true," agreed Zack, before resting his hands on the back of his head, "We'll need to leave it up to fate."
"Yeah, I guess…" sighed Matt, before his mind raced to the truth about him being a Coordinator. At last, he stood up from the table, "Sorry, guys, but can you excuse me? I'd like to be alone for a little bit before we head out to the stadium."
Before anyone could say anything, the dirty blonde-haired young man left the dining room.
"Matt…" worried Carlie.
On his way upstairs, Matt limped about while remembering Rex's words about him being a Coordinator, and I quote…
"Because you, Matt Fudo, happen to be a produce of the process. You, yourself… are a Coordinator."
"I'm a Coordinator… I'm genetically modified, and my own parents…never told me about it?" Matt thought to himself, finally reaching and entering his room, "If they were still alive today, could…I ever forgive them for not telling me the truth?"
(inside…)
Inside his room, Matt closed the door. There was a shadow over his eyes, but a few tears were shown falling from the hidden eyes as he let out a few choked sobs.
(elsewhere…)
Finally… It was 10:00 am at the New York City stadium… Megan had just shown up with Ken, her friend and cameraman, in order to cover the final duel of the whole tournament. They were preparing to head inside when…
"Hey, Megan!" The voice of Carlie called out.
The black-haired young woman turned and saw all of her new friends walking up to her and Ken.
"Hi, everyone!" greeted Megan, happy to see everyone. She was especially happy to see… "And hello especially to you, Mike… Oh, I'm sorry you're no longer competing in this tournament and are not in the finals, I would have been cheering for you extra loudly if you were still in it."
There were some scattered chuckles from the group, while Michael didn't look very amused over being teased by his friends. Juri, however, got cross over the scene.
"You, cheer extra loudly for Mike?" she snapped in jealousy, "Ha! I would have cheered 'far' more loudly for him than you ever could!"
"What?!" exclaimed Megan, getting up to Juri's face, "For your information, I have much stronger vocal cords than you do!"
The set of teeth belonging to both young women respectively became shark-like as they got into yet another argument over a guy they happened to have a crush on, resulting in everyone else (even, surprisingly, Michael) sharing a light-hearted laugh over the rivalry. The only one not laughing was Matt, who was looking a little depressed after what happened yesterday over the revelation of his birth and how his Mother and Father both never even told him about him being genetically modified. This wasn't lost on the eye of Ms. Simmons.
"Matt… He must still be having a hard time accepting the fact that he's a Coordinator," she thought to herself, just before letting out a loud cough and getting Matt's attention, "Umm, Matt? Can I talk to you alone for a moment, please?"
"I guess it's fine," Matt said quietly.
The two moved a good distance from their friends and started to chat.
"Listen, Matt, I can tell you're still a bit depressed about learning of your origins and being born as a Coordinator," began Ms. Simmons, before going over her experiences when she was told about her own status as a Coordinator by her parents years ago, "Let me tell you that it's completely understandable. I felt the same when my own parents told me I was a Coordinator when I was a child."
"The only difference between us about that notion, is that your own parents actually told you the first chance they got," reminded Matt glumly, "My parents never told me about it, and I never found out what I am until yesterday by Godwin of all people."
"The point I'm trying to make is that even though everyone else has accepted who you are, this is still a lot to take in and it will probably take a while before you're comfortable with this fact," continued Ms. Simmons, before gently placing a hand onto Matt's shoulder, "Until then, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm available to offer some advice on coping with being a Coordinator."
Matt felt a little better from those kind words, but it was still not entirely enough to help improve on his current mood.
(elsewhere…)
Finally, inside the stadium itself, the stands were jam-packed with people here to watch the final duel of the whole tournament.
"Everybody listen!" The voice of the MC was screaming, "This is a great match! After several days of exciting duels, we finally reach the grand finale of Governor Godwin's new and greatest of tournaments, where two lucky finalists will clash and show just who the greatest Duel Runner rider truly is!"
Amongst those in the stands were Discord, Zack, and Team 4D's in one section, the remaining Orb representatives in another, and the other visitors from the United Kingdom in yet another. But where were Lisa and David? Oh, that's easy…
(elsewhere…)
Inside a garage, David had finished suiting up for the big Turbo Duel. Without saying a word throughout, he then grabbed his Deck off the nearby table and looked it over one more time before placing it into the Deck holder on his left wrist. David soon approached The Wild Card, put his helmet on, made the faceplate show up, climbed aboard the Duel Runner, revved the vehicle up, all with a determined look on his face.
(elsewhere…)
Inside another garage, Lisa was in the process of zipping up her female Orb-based motorcyclist suit. Once that was done, the pink-haired girl turned and picked up her Deck from the table, looking at it as she inserted it into the Deck holder on her left wrist. She then approached Strike Rouge and picked up the helmet laying on the seat, looked at it for a few seconds, and put it on before making the faceplate appear and climbing aboard the Duel Runner. Both David and Lisa revved The Wild Card and Strike Rouge respectively before roaring out of their respective garages for the stadium.
(elsewhere…)
Back in the stadium…
"Finally, the main match of the day!" thundered the MC, "The finals of the Action Duel tournament is about to begin! Out of the sixteen duelists who fought hard to make it to the finals, only two were able to accomplish this," He pointed to the big monitor, "And here they are!"
The monitor turned itself on and revealed the ID pictures of both David and Lisa.
"David Xadashi aaaaand Lisa Drake!"
And as the crowd broke into more cheers and applause, out of two separate gateways came both David (on The Wild Card) and Lisa (Strike Rouge), and they were ready to rumble in the final battle of the whole tournament. Would it go without a hitch, or would there be a possible surprise waiting for them and everyone else watching? Who knows? For now, let's all sit back and enjoy the duel…next time.
And a humongous bombshell about Matt's origins has finally been dropped by Rex Godwin, and he's been left pretty disturbed by it. In any case, Coordinators are an important element from the anime series Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, which this fanfic draws a number of scenes, plot points, etc. from. But while Coordinators are being featured in the fic, it's been heavily tweaked for pretty obvious reasons. Either way, the final duel of the Action Duel tournament is about to begin! Who do you think will win it all? Is it gonna be David, or is it gonna be Lisa? Well, I'm not saying anything about that.