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 (c) Sunrise
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 2: 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: Warriors of the Crimson Dragon
Opening up outside the Orb Duel School, all was quiet in the parking lot—until loud sirens echoed, and a large number of NYPD police cars started driving into the area. Within minutes, Michael, James R., Carlie, Sherry, and a small number students emerged from the building and silently watched as the police started arresting the punks that helped Sergey with taking over the school in an act of terrorism. While doing that, Lisa, the Astray trio, Mr. Murdoch, and the docking bay staff all showed up, having walked from the Turbo Duel Arena back to the school itself. Meanwhile, Paul and Maria both were overseeing the police arresting the Extended trio. While Sting and Stella both remained on the silent, more complying side, their longtime friend Auel was not being nearly as cooperative.
"None of you understand!" ranted Auel, as he and his two friends were being led towards a police van, "We each have a good reason for our actions!"
"Sure, you do," said Paul sarcastically, looking at the light blue-haired boy scornfully as he scowled and listened, "Listen to me, kid, I don't think your Mother would be very happy if she discovered that you, her son, aided a criminal in taking over a dueling school."
Upon hearing his trigger word, however, Auel froze, having a self-remembering flashback to a few years ago. He then collapsed onto his knees and started to cry out of genuine trauma, claiming that his Mother tried to stop 'them' from taking him away, but 'they' killed her in response. Stella merely sadly placed her hands on her traumatized friend's shoulders and tried to console him. Maria and Paul, however, were taken by surprise over this scene and didn't know what to make of it.
"Could someone please tell us what's going on?" pondered Paul, not expecting such a reaction. He looked towards Sting, "You there… I need an answer about what's wrong with your friend there, right away."
"Uh… Let me start off by saying that Auel here is right; there is a good enough reason for what we did," admitted Sting slowly. When Paul said nothing back, he continued his explanation, "He, Stella, and I stole the three prototype Duel Runners and ran away from Blue Cosmos, but it's because we didn't want to endure all of their cruelty and inhuman teachings in the way of dueling. In fact, before we escaped, only I wanted to become a duelist, while Stella and Auel both never wanted to come to the school in the first place and found themselves being forced to come here. Auel eventually decided to start dueling in order to cope with trauma."
"Only you wanted to go? And your blue-haired friend only started dueling to try and cope with trauma?" repeated Maria thoughtfully, before looking at both Stella and Auel, "I see…"
"After we broke out of that school with the Duel Runners, we fled to New York City and only began stealing in order to support ourselves, because there was a chance we would never be able to return to our families," Sting went on, frowning, "When we encountered Sergey when we were about to flee from that city, he offered us a chance to start our lives over by helping him attack and take over this school."
When the explanation was finally over, both Paul and Maria took pity on the three youths as they began to grow increasingly suspicious with the Blue Cosmos school in Albany, but, more importantly, with its headmaster Muruta Azrael.
"Officer Truman, based on what we were told, I'm starting to think that Blue Cosmos is bad news," Maria pointed out, "When we get back to headquarters in New York City, we should notify the Albany Police Department about what we have learned and have them launch an internal investigation into Muruta Azrael."
"Right," agreed Paul, before looking at Sting, Stella, and Auel one last time as they each listened, "In the meantime, we'll send these three back to New York City and have their mentalities examined," He then seemed to smile, "Don't you three worry; until your possible trials, we'll make sure you're well cared for."
Sting nodded firmly. While that was going on, the group of heroes were still standing near the entrance to the school and a number of them were busy celebrating their hard-earned victory.
"Oh yeah, we rock!" cheered James R., punching his right fist into the air.
"The fighting was tough, but we managed to pull through!" came from Carlie.
"They shouldn't mess with the best!" Lisa stated proudly.
The group was soon rejoined by Zack, David, Ms. Simmons, Mr. Kisaka, and several more freed students, who were all relieved that everyone was fine. As soon as David saw Lisa, he smiled in relief.
"Lisa-chan!" exclaimed David happily, surprising her with a hug, "(良かった!) Yokatta! (Thank God!)"
Lisa was slightly taken aback by the aqua blue-haired boy's surprising move, but made no effort to try and push him away.
"What are you so relieved about, Dave? I said I'd be fine," assured Lisa, acting as though it was no big deal.
"Oh!" stammered David. Breaking away from his embrace, he recomposed himself before saying, "I meant to say… With all the thugs roaming the vicinity and the rest of us dividing into groups, witnessing you venture off solo—I want to admit that I was worried for your safety."
Normally Lisa would confidently dismiss such concerns, but hearing the sincerity in David's vocal tone touched her. But she then saw the others looking their way, some with smirks and raised eyebrows, causing her to blush slightly from the attention.
"Well… uh… thanks… for thinking of me out there. I'm glad you're fine, too," Lisa finally said, trying to shake off the attention, "But seriously, Dave, there's no need for you to be such a worrywart. I mean geez! You're just like my three friends sometimes…"
David smiled at her in response, knowing she was indeed flattered—yet only acted confident and proud in order to try hiding her true feelings on the matter. He then saw everyone still looking at them both intently, causing him to get flustered, as well. Just then, everyone heard footsteps, which came from Mr. Zimmerman, Discord, Janice, Sean, Elsworth, and David's family all showing up to see and congratulate them on winning the battle.
"Everyone!" began Mr. Zimmerman, "I'm so relieved to see you're all unharmed!"
"Headmaster Zimmerman!" gasped Lisa.
The second Gabriella saw that David was fine, she broke into a tearful run, jumped into her Big Brother's arms, and hugged him tightly.
"(お兄ちゃん, 大丈夫です!) O nīchan, daijōbudesu! (Big Brother, you're okay!)" wailed Gabriella in Japanese, "Don't ever scare me like that again."
"Gabriella…" whispered David, before returning the hug. Suddenly, his younger sister broke apart and handed him his card ('Dragon's Tranquil Barrage') back, "My card…!"
"I took extra special care of it, (お兄ちゃん!) O nīchan! (Big Brother!)" said Gabriella cheerfully.
David chuckled, "I am sure you did," he grinned, accepting the card and giving her a peck on the forehead, "You did really well in protecting it. I'm proud of you."
Gabriella smiled, feeling very pleased over the praise she received. Before long, her ears perked up when she heard the roar of a Duel Runner, which everyone else overheard, as well. Sure enough, Fudo Go came driving into the parking lot, and who else was riding it other than…
"Matty-boy…" thought Discord.
"Matt!" realized Janice.
"It's him!" added Juri.
As Matt, injured but alive, removed his helmet, he looked and saw the group approaching him—which brought a big smile onto his face since it meant they were safe and sound.
"You're all here!" cried Matt.
Within seconds of saying that, Asagi roughly tackled into him, knocking him off the Duel Runner and onto the ground while hugging him tightly.
"Oh, Matt! Thank goodness you're okay!" squealed Asagi, happily nuzzling into the side of Matt's face.
"I'm glad you're okay too, Asagi," grimaced Matt, feeling some pain in his upper torso, "Now, can you get off of me, please? My battle took a lot out of me."
And the rather sheepish Asagi did as she was told; she got off of Matt and allowed him to stand back up and brush the dirt and dust off his arms before straightening out his back and turning to face everyone else.
"That man Sergey has been defeated," he stated sternly, "He won't be going after duelists for a really long time—if ever again."
"In that case," The voice of Mr. Zimmerman cut in, before he stepped away from the other adults with a small, proud smile on his face, "I wish to thank each and every one of you for helping to liberate our school and all of its principles in dueling," He started going over the duelists in specific order, "Matt Fudo… Michael Atlas… Carlie Izayoi… James Hogan… Zack Ruaka… David Xadashi… Sherry LeBlanc… And we cannot forget some of our very own students in Lisa Drake… Asagi Caldwell… Mayura Labatt… and Juri Wu Nien…"
The named duelists by the headmaster of Orb either stood at ease, smiled, or nodded, while James R. instead gave a thumbs up and grinned proudly when his name was mentioned.
"I, and all of Orb, owe you a great deal of debt for what you've accomplished on this night," continued Mr. Zimmerman, before a sad look crossed onto his face as he faced the front of the building, "However… With how much damage was inflicted on this school, it will take time before it is back to how it looked before Sergey attacked."
"There is no need to worry about that, sir," The voice of James R. reassured, causing Mr. Zimmerman to look nearby. The brown-haired young man could be seen with his arms folded and smiling on, "I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. If you guys need any help with repairs, I can help ya out."
"Do you mean that?" pressed Mayura.
James R. grinned, "Of course, I mean it; I mean it 100%!"
"You can also count on us to help, too!" put in Michael, stepping forward while Carlie and Zack both stood behind him, "Seeing as the school was funded and built by Industrial Illusions, it means we also have a stake in all of this."
Carlie and Zack nodded in agreement. As that discussion proceeded, Matt could be seen still standing by Fudo Go as he began to think back to his duel with Sergey.
FLASHBACK
During Flashback Matt and Flashback Sergey's Turbo Duel in the streets of Hartford…
"Now I activate a Field Spell from my Deck!" declared Flashback Sergey, before slotting a card ('Earthbound Wilderness') into the Field Zone on his Duel Runner, "I destroy 'Earthbound Prison' and activate 'Earthbound Wilderness' instead!"
Before long, purple flames started erupting on the sides of the road, trapping both duelists on the open road until the Turbo Duel finally ended with either player being defeated.
"Wh-What is all-?" spluttered Flashback Matt, before he overheard sinister chuckling, "What did you-?"
To make matters worse, when Flashback Matt looked over his shoulder at his opponent, Flashback Sergey's eyes started becoming dull and empty as a large purple spider symbol appeared on his chest and his mouth formed an absolutely insane slasher smile.
"Now that 'Earthbound Wilderness' is active, neither of us can escape until duel is over!" snickered Flashback Sergey, "And there be more to my card… Neither player can Summon monsters in Defense Position, also face-up Attack Position monsters on the field cannot change their battle positions! Even worse! If an 'Earthbound' Fusion or Synchro Monster I control destroys an opponent's monster by battle; that monster is banished instead of being sent to the GY!"
He started to laugh loudly and rather demonically.
"You bastard!" shouted Flashback Matt angrily, "What information do you have about if or when this city will be in ruins?! I demand an answer!"
"All I'll say is that this world will reach its end real soon," replied Flashback Sergey, "Before long, even the red mark which all of you possess will be dyed a pitch black!"
END FLASHBACK
The flashback ended.
"Those things happened during our duel," thought Matt, narrowing his eyes, "The thing that really worries me, however, is the use of the 'Earthbound Servants' Deck, seeing as…" He looked at his clothed right forearm and gripped onto it using his left hand, "…my birthmark, and even the Crimson Dragon, reacted so strongly to those monsters."
"Huh?" quizzed James R., when he noticed his friend looking distressed over something, "Is something wrong, Matt? C'mon, cheer up, man! We've defeated the enemy group and liberated Orb."
"D-Don't get me wrong, I'm relieved we won the battle and saved all of Orb," insisted Matt, before frowning once more, "However, I'm feeling a bit disturbed because…" As he spoke on, James R. and Zack listened carefully, "…during my duel with Sergey, my birthmark reacted very strongly to a set of monsters I've never seen before."
"New monsters? Birthmark reacting?" came from Michael, "Now that you've mentioned it… At some point, James and I felt our birthmarks glowing and reacting."
"Yeah…" agreed James R., looking down at his right forearm.
"I felt it, too," acknowledged Carlie, which earned her a stare from Juri.
"You might as well add me to the growing list of people who felt it," remarked Lisa, "It was both painful and unlike anything I ever felt."
"I too experienced this feeling," finished David.
Matt nodded, "I think," he said knowingly, "the Crimson Dragon was disturbed by the appearance of the monsters I fought."
"If I may ask, what was the archetype of monsters called?" asked Discord curiously, "Perhaps I might know some info about it."
"Hmm… I believe it was called…'Earthbound Servants'," replied Matt. To his disappointment, even the creator of Duel Monsters appeared to be very puzzled by the name, "I guess you never heard of them either, right?"
"Unfortunately," Discord sighed, shaking his head, "This is a set I never heard of before now," He then looked towards Zack, "Zack, do you have a clue on them?"
"Nope, not a single idea," answered Zack.
"'Earthbound Servants'…" uttered Sherry, "Why does that archetype sound so frightening to me?" She shut her eyes and shook her head, "What am I saying? Even I have never heard of it before!"
It was then everyone fell into disturbed silence over the unknown archetype. Sensing the gloomy atmosphere in the area, Mr. Zimmerman tried to lighten it by bringing up how Orb was safe and a celebration was to be held in honor of it.
"I wouldn't worry," reassured Mr. Zimmerman, which brought the eyes of everyone towards him. He then held both arms up, "What matters is this school and its students and staff are all safe. For that, we will be holding a victory feast in celebration of it."
"A feast!?" gawked James R., "As in…plenty of food to eat, plus music and dancing?!"
"Yes," confirmed Mr. Zimmerman, "And you, your friends, and your allies are all invited to attend."
Something like that definitely lightened the mood considerably, since a huge feast was a definitely great way to celebrate a hard-earned victory. Before anything else could be said or something, a new voice cut in…
"Matt Fudo, I believe now is the right time," A familiar voice (male) echoed, causing everyone to look nearby and gasp, "There's no question about it."
Standing near the end of the parking lot was both Rex Godwin and his assistant Lazar.
"You…!" recoiled Matt.
"Governor Godwin!" called Ms. Simmons.
"What's he doing here?" murmured Mayura.
Rex stepped forward, "I'm here…" he said firmly, "…because I brought some important news for the six Signers."
(elsewhere…)
Back in New York City, Azrael, Orga, Clotho, and Shani all left another library. To the frustration of the first, there had been no information on the Crimson Dragon there, and it was the fifth library he checked thus far. The three Bio-CPU boys were not happy they had to help their headmaster with checking the libraries for history books on the Crimson Dragon, but figured it was still a far better punishment than getting abused back at Blue Cosmos. Azrael checked his watch and saw it was almost '6:00' in the evening.
"Nearly closing time," he mused, before addressing his three best students, "We've done as much research as we could."
"Does that mean we go back to the hotel, now?" complained Clotho.
"Very well, we'll return," sighed Azrael, but then looked over his shoulder with an icy glare in his eyes, "However, we will be checking the 'other' libraries in Brooklyn first thing tomorrow morning."
The Biological CPU trio groaned in response.
(elsewhere…)
Half an hour later, the four returned to the Plaza Hotel. Azrael was busy trying to unlock the door to his students' room.
(inside…)
The door opened, and Azrael was leading Orga, Clotho, and Shani each inside the room. When they did, they were met by two cloaked figures standing in the middle of the area, unmoving and unresponsively.
"What on Earth?" said Azrael.
"Our apologies for the intrusion, but we really need to talk," One of the cloaked men commented playfully.
"That voice…" muttered Shani.
"Yeah, it sounds familiar to me," acknowledged Orga.
"It does?" As the second cloaked man spoke again, he removed his hood and revealed himself to be none other than Vincent Stevens, "Well, ain't this a surprise."
"Vincent?!" The Biological CPU trio gasped at once.
Well, this was unexpected. Orga, Clotho, and Shani had not seen Vincent since they tried teaming up in order to trick Lisa into siding with them, only for the entire operation to fail miserably.
"Let me get this straight, you three know this guy?" wondered Azrael.
"Err… we…" stammered Clotho nervously, "Yeah, we met him while out for a stroll, and we kind of… kind of…"
"Relax," interrupted Vincent, raising his left hand and showing the palm—silencing Orga, Clotho, and Shani as they listened, "Things are all good between us. I'm not mad at you three for ruining my two best cards," He held up two new copies of his best cards ('Flying Fortress SKY FIRE' and 'Dark Strike Fighter') in his right hand while continuing to speak, "As a matter of fact… I actually have two new copies of them, right here."
"Oh, that's a relief," groaned Orga, feeling relieved.
"But that is 'not' the reason why we have come," corrected the first, main cloaked figure, "I bring bad news to you, Muruta Azrael."
"Bad news?" repeated Azrael, frowning deeply, "Just who exactly are you?"
"My name does not matter, but as I said, I have some news regarding you and Blue Cosmos."
The ruthless, blonde-haired man grunted a response, agreeing to hear the news even if it was said to be bad.
"Three former students of yours after their recent arrest have informed the police about you and your staff's treatment towards them," began the first cloaked man, causing Azrael to briefly remember Sting, Stella, and Auel before allowing the conversation to continue, "That means the entire force sent a message to the Albany Police Department, and they have launched an investigation into the entire Blue Cosmos school and its faculty," He clenched his gloved right hand into a fist, held it up, and swing it about, "That means not only is your facility running the risk of being shut down, but you, and any staff member who aided your abusive actions, will likely be sentenced to life in prison if caught and convicted."
Hearing this information finally caused a great sense of horror and anger to wash all over Azrael, while the three Bio-CPU boys were likewise not thrilled.
"WHAT?!" yelled Azrael, getting into a tizzy, "This can't be! My beloved Blue Cosmos, shut down! It's not even safe for me to return to Albany! Once the police learn of 'everything' I've ever done in my life, I can forget all about prison!" He started messing up his hair with both hands from panic, "It'll be the 'Electric Chair' for me! Damn it! I can't let that happen to me!"
"Maybe, or maybe not," teased the first cloaked man, "It could be too late to save your school from being shut down, but you can still save 'yourself' from such a fate."
"Save…myself?" wheezed Azrael, interest peaked.
"Yes, and that would be for you…to join me," The first cloaked man offered.
"Join you?" repeated Azrael, going into another tizzy, "How would that change anything? If I get caught, my life is over!"
"Hey, hey, take it easy, man!" chuckled Vincent, walking over and grabbing Azrael's clothed shoulder, "Now, I want you to listen very carefully; if you're looking for information on the Crimson Dragon, then you and your three elite students should follow us to our hideout," His suggestion caused Azrael, Orga, Clotho, and Shani all to listen with growing interest, "Once there, you'll learn everything you need to know about the legend."
(elsewhere…)
Back in the parking lot of Orb, the group found themselves being confronted by Rex and Lazar, with the former claiming to have important news for the Signers.
"What kind of news do you have for us?" demanded Matt.
"It's the answer to why I created the tournament in the first place," replied Rex, "As it turns out, you all were right about your theory that it's to gather the Signers and the servants of the Crimson Dragon."
"I knew it!" proclaimed James R., "Why did you do it?"
"If you want to know why, then come with me to my family's mansion in Albany," Rex suggested, "There, you will learn everything you need to know," He then looked towards Zack and Discord, "You two will need to be there, too."
There was silence once again, but then Matt made the first move by stepping forward. He was then followed by Michael, then James R., then Carlie, then Lisa, and finally David.
"Show us," requested Michael.
"If you have the answer about why we're so important, then bring us to your home," added Carlie.
James R., David, and Lisa each nodded in agreement.
"Hold up," cut in Sean, "Can we come, too?"
"Unfortunately, you cannot," refused Lazar, "It can't be helped."
Sean and Janice both were disappointed at having to stay behind again, while Gabriella became upset at having to be separated from her Big Brother once again.
"It'll be fine, Gabriella," soothed David, "This time, it won't be dangerous—and I likely won't be gone for nearly as long," He held up one of his cards ('Dragon's Tranquil Barrage'), "In fact, I likely won't even need to give you this card."
"Okay," sighed Gabriella, "Just be careful."
(elsewhere…)
Minutes later, a transport helicopter was taking off from a nearby park. Looking out the windows of the flying vehicle were Matt, Michael, James R., Carlie, David, Lisa, Zack, and Discord. Currently seeing them off were Sean, Janice, Gabriella, the Astray trio, and Ms. Simmons.
"Hurry back!" called Sean.
"Dave!" put in Janice.
"I hope they learn why they're the chosen ones," Juri was saying to Asagi, Mayura, and Ms. Simmons.
(inside…)
Inside the helicopter, all four members of Team 4D's, including Lisa, David, Zack, and Discord all gathered in the center and began a discussion about Rex.
"Just what could this man even have to show us?" asked Zack.
"Beats me," shrugged James R..
"Whatever Godwin has to tell us, it has to be important enough that no one else can come," responded Matt, before looking out the window once more.
(outside…)
Outside, Matt continued looking out the window as the transport helicopter proceeded on its way.
(elsewhere…)
An hour later, the group sat patiently on the chairs waiting to arrive at their destination. Before long, they were met by Lazar.
"Fellow guests," The clown-like man greeted, "We have arrived," He then gestured to a nearby window, "If you would be so kind as to look out the window?"
That's what some of them did.
(outside…)
Looking out the windows, David, Lisa, and James R. each could see a massive mansion within the hills in the background. The mansion had plenty of beautiful gardens and ponds to go with it.
"Holy crap!" gawked Lisa.
(inside…)
Back in the helicopter, Lisa, David, and James R. each gathered and began a discussion about how big and beautiful the mansion appeared to be.
"Did you two see it?" Lisa was saying, excitedly.
"You bet I did!" confirmed James R..
"The governor must possess riches beyond what anyone can comprehend!" added David, before stopping and looking towards Discord apologetically, "Err… Not that I don't think he's richer than you, Discord-senpai."
"Nah, I'm not offended at all," said Discord cheerfully.
(outside…)
Back outside, the transport helicopter finally landed on the helipad. Once the propellers stopped spinning, the huge hatch-like door opened up, and both Rex and Lazar started leading their guests out. They were met by a few of Rex's butlers.
"Welcome home, Master Rex," One of the butlers bowed.
"And you brought some guests," The second butler smiled.
"Now, Governor Godwin, we've arrived at your place," began Discord, looking at Rex, "You need to show us what is so important about the birthmarks and the Crimson Dragon."
"Of course," agreed Rex, holding his left hand out, "Right this way."
(inside…)
Inside the mansion, the doors opened and Matt and the others took a few steps inside, looking around the fancy interior of the building.
"I am leading you all to a room nobody else has seen before," Rex told his guests, he pointed to a nearby elevator, "Only my assistant and myself know of this."
After a short walk to the elevator, Lazar pressed a button and made the doors open. Once everyone was inside, Rex removed his glove and moved the index finger of his right hand over a scanner. He then stared into another scanner, which scanned his eye. Once everything was done, the elevator started moving down, down, down…
(elsewhere…)
After a minute of riding the elevator, the doors finally opened, with Rex leading everyone else out. Lisa was the first to take a look around and was most surprised by what she was seeing; the area she and everyone else was in was almost like a hallway you'd find in an ancient Incan pyramid.
"These are like ruins… This hall is almost like what you'd find inside an Incan pyramid!" The pink-haired girl breathed, "Man, I sure wish I studied this subject in school."
After a short walk through the hallway, the group arrived at a big pair of stone doors. Once they were close enough, the doors opened up and allowed them to walk inside. A few feet into the room, a single step lit up the entire room and shut the doors, seemingly trapping everyone inside.
"Not to worry," smiled Rex, "Please be at ease and turn your attention ahead, if you could."
The group did so, turning towards the direction Rex insisted upon. There, they could see a giant replica of an Incan pyramid—the same one from that vision they all had during the tournament when 'Life Stream Dragon' brought in the Crimson Dragon. More than that, they also find, on the outer wall, a carving of the Seal of the Crimson Dragon.
"That's…" began Carlie.
"…the full marking of the Crimson Dragon!" Michael finished.
With that said, Matt, Michael, James R., Carlie, Lisa, and David all started rolling up their sleeves, removing their gloves, and exposing their right forearms and, more importantly, their Mark of the Dragon…
-Matt: Dragon's Head
-Michael: Dragon's Wings
-James R.: Dragon's Tail
-Carlie: Dragon's Foot
-Lisa: Dragon's Hand
-David: Dragon's Heart
"Have you all taken notice?" pressed Rex, "The birthmarks you all possess stands for the Crimson Dragon."
"The Crimson…Dragon…" uttered Discord, watching from nearby.
"Now, Zack…" said Rex, as he turned to face the black-haired young man in-question, "Are you feeling anything at this time?"
"Huh?" peeped Zack, before closing his eyes for a moment while shaking his head, "No, sir, I'm not. In fact, I feel fine."
"Hmm… Let me rephrase that," Rex corrected himself, "Have you felt anything whenever one of the Crimson Dragon's servants showed up or if the Crimson Dragon was responding to a threat of some sort?"
Zack was a bit stunned to be asked such a question. After a few seconds of silence, he adjusted the glasses on his face and tried his best to answer it.
"W-Well, I tend to feel something like that in certain duels or situations—it started happening after Matt was welcomed into the family four years ago when he won the Intercontinental Championship in San Francisco," explained Zack, "That's all I seem to know about it."
"It's enough of an explanation for me," reassured Rex, before looking up at the pyramid, "My role as the governor of New York is but a mere side role. We are those who inherited the People of the Stars' power to bring about security for the public. I, Rex Godwin, serve as the 360th Star Guardian," He then frowned a bit, "But war, greed, poverty, incurable illnesses, and economic chaos has put a real damper on things."
"Godwin…" muttered Matt.
"Now," Rex, turning around, went on, sounding as though he had forgotten his dark tone, "if we stretch back in time, we are able to discover its origins in the Andes Highlands of South America roughly 5000 years ago," He then approached a large carving with writing on it, then faced Matt and the likes once more, "So then, everyone, I shall accompany you to the world of the pre-Inca civilization."
"Now then, Mr. Crawford, you and I must leave now," requested Lazar, speaking to the taller young man, "I'm sorry, but we cannot be here to watch what will unfold."
"I understand," Discord frowned, not liking this but had little choice but to comply, "Lead the way."
From there, Lazar led Discord out of the room, leaving Rex free to continue. He raised right hand right into the air and, all of a sudden, the scenery changed into a cloudy sky.
"W-Whoa!" cried Lisa, taking a step back out of reflex.
"This looks so real!" put in David
They all reached the Incan temple, where people had gathered at the staircase. The light blue sky then turned into nighttime.
"The People of the Stars, who once established a megalith culture referred to as the Sky Temple, worshiped the Dragon Star, said to govern over all creation, as though it was a God, and all the knowledge brought from the stars was passed down to their ruler, the Star Dragon King," The voice of Rex spoke, "Through the Star Dragon King, the people were guided by the stars and built their own unique society and civilization."
As the explanation proceeded some more, a masked individual stood up on top of the Incan pyramid and raised both arms into the night sky, causing the nearby torches to light up by themselves. All in all, it was a fairly peaceful time.
"Oh man… this is really cool," murmured Lisa, "I sure wish my own friends were here to see it."
"However, wicked disturbances threatened the peace countless times," The voice of Rex proclaimed, "That was when the Star Dragon King offered a prayer for salvation to the Dragon Star," He then held both arms out while facing the pyramid itself, before looking back at Matt and the likes, "And the Dragon Star gave response. A crimson dragon, the embodiment of God, swooped down and sealed the embodiments of evil in the Earth."
"Within the Earth…?" wondered Michael
"Yes, right here…" As Rex spoke, he raised his right hand again.
From there, the scenery changed into an empty plan. On the ground were large carvings of various creatures. Among them were a giant, a lizard, a hummingbird, a monkey, a killer whale, a spider, a dog, and even a condor.
"The Nazca Lines?" whispered Michael.
"Although this wicked will was sealed in the Earth, just as rain water seeps underground over time, it has spread over this entire planet with each moment by," continued Rex, "Look at the world now," As he spoke the next part, there seemed to be more noticeable anger in his tone as the Signers listened, "War, poverty, incurable disease, economic turmoil—not a scrap of peace from the times of the People of the Stars lingers."
"Sir, if I may," interrupted David, which caused Rex to look over towards him, "I know things haven't exactly been smooth sailing with the world in recent years based on the things you've mentioned just now, but there have been some positive developments along the-"
"Wait," sighed Rex, bringing two fingers of his right hand to his forehead, "I apologize, I shouldn't have brought that up."
With the raise of his right hand once more, the scenery turned back to the chamber with the Incan pyramid.
"Do you now understand the roles you all play in all of this?" asked Rex, "In preparation for the forthcoming day of the evil's resurrection, we have searched for the summoners of the Crimson Dragon that shall protect humanity…"
With that, the six Signers exposed their right forearms to stare at their birthmarks for what seemed like forever.
"Now, why don't you tell me how you got them in the first place," The voice of Rex offered, causing the Signers to look up. He then looked at James R., "We'll start with you, James. What's your story on receiving your power?"
James R. listened, before looking down glumly as a flashback ensued.
FLASHBACK
Years ago, a young James R. was involved in a deadly car crash along with his parents. An ambulance had arrived on the scene and started loading Mr. and Mrs. Hogan inside first, before loading Young James R. last.
(inside…)
Inside the ambulance, Young James R. remained unconscious, although it looked like he wouldn't live.
"It all started when I was young," narrated James R., "During a drive around town, my parents and I were involved in a serious car crash. My parents died from their injuries, but I remained unconscious. When it looked like I would die, as well…"
Before long, a red glow surrounded the unconscious Young James R., resulting in a birthmark of a tail forming on his right forearm.
(elsewhere…)
Blackness… That's all there was… But voices could be heard talking in the process…
"Will he be okay?" The voice of one doctor asked.
"He's been unconscious for two long hours," The voice of a second doctor said grimly, "I don't know if the poor boy will make it."
Suddenly, the blackness started flickering. It turns out the blackness was Young James R.'s POV, and he was stirring and opening his eyes. The doctors and nurses watching over him were surprised, but also overjoyed their patient was alive.
"Thanks to my acquiring of this birthmark, I was able to escape death," James R. narrated some more, "Unfortunately, my Mom and Dad…didn't make it."
Young James R. weakly sat up, scratched the back of his head, then looked down and saw the new birthmark on his right forearm. He stared at it long and hard, wondering how it even got there in the first place. Was it a fresh scar? Nobody knew.
END FLASHBACK
The flashback ended, and James R. dried his wet eyes.
"James…" whispered Carlie, "As for me, I received my birthmark while I was only 5-years old. This was long before I had to be left at the orphanage…"
A flashback ensued.
FLASHBACK
One night, Young Carlie was sleeping peacefully in her bed. As she slept, she started glowing a gentle red. After a few seconds, the glowing ended. Young Carlie, however, remained asleep. The next morning, she woke up. She was excited; since it was a Saturday, it meant she and her family would be going for a walk in the town.
"Oh boy, today's the day!" cheered Young Carlie, throwing the blanket off of herself and climbing off the bed, "Mommy, Daddy, Ben, and I will be going for a special family walk across town! I can't…huh?!"
When she looked down at her right forearm, she found an unknown marking of a foot placed there. Surprised and scared, Young Carlie didn't know what to do about it. She was worried her parents would get mad at her if she showed them the marking, so, despite it being a warm day, she decided to wear a long-sleeved sweater to hide what she got in the middle of the night.
(new scene…)
During the family walk across town, Young Carlie, occasionally looking down at her clothed right forearm, tried to act as though nothing was there.
"Carlie, I don't get it," commented Young Ben, seeing his sister looking a little warmish, "It's a warm day, you shouldn't be wearing a sweater."
"I… I felt a bit cold last night," lied Young Carlie, "I'm wearing this to make up for it."
Young Ben blinked, but then backed off despite being a little suspicious about his sister wearing a sweater in the heat.
"Eventually, we stopped at an ice cream cart to get a treat," narrated Carlie, "I asked for chocolate, but before I received my ice cream…"
"Hold on a moment, Carlie, you're probably feeling very stuffy while wearing that sweater," chuckled Flashback Mr. Izayoi, kindly holding his right hand out, "Come on, let's take it off… Show off that cute Toy Story shirt your Mom and I got for you."
"N-No…" refused Young Carlie, not wanting to remove the sweater and show the birthmark on her forearm, "I feel really cold!"
"That's not true, and you know. Now, I'm asking you once more, please take off that wooly sweater!"
The resulting argument between her and her Father greatly upset Young Carlie, and those negative feelings caused the newly placed birthmark on her right forearm to begin glowing. Which was ultimately noticed by both Flashback Mrs. Izayoi and Young Ben.
"Carlie!" cried Flashback Mrs. Izayoi.
"What is-?" breathed Young Ben.
Flashback Mr. Izayoi was equally shocked, but then what seemed like an earthquake ensued, causing mass panic amongst the other people in the area. To make matters worse, a nearby tree suddenly snapped apart and toppled over, nearly hitting the ice cream cart owner and Flashback Mr. Izayoi as they jumped away, but the tree crushed and destroyed the cart. Young Carlie was left speechless and frightened as she stared at her glowing birthmark before clutching it with her left hand in an attempt to make it stop, which seemed to do that. All eyes were on the Izayoi family.
"Honey, are you okay?!" Flashback Mrs. Izayoi wailed, running over to her husband.
"Daddy…" whimpered Young Carlie tearfully, starting to walk over. Being only 5-years old meant this new experience was both shocking and terrifying, "Daddy, I'm scared… Help me, I'm so scared…"
"Stay back, Carlie!" demanded Flashback Mr. Izayoi, getting onto his hands and knees, "What was that power!? And where did you get that glowing mark…? You're… you're a monster!"
He stopped as soon as those words left his mouth—words he would regret saying for the rest of his life.
"Honey!" gasped Flashback Mrs. Izayoi, horrified.
"Dad!" came from Young Ben, "How could you say that?!"
As expected, a deeply hurt Young Carlie did not take those words being said to her all that well.
"I'm…a…monster?" she stammered, and started to cry.
"N-No! Forgive me, Carlie!" begged Flashback Mr. Izayoi, "I didn't mean to say that! You…"
He left that sentence to hang, but poor Young Carlie only continued to bawl her eyes out.
(new scene…)
Years later, a heartbroken 10-year old Young Carlie was left at the orphanage for her own safety. She watched as her parents, who had very sad looks on their faces, drove away, leaving her all alone in a way.
"When I turned 10, my unknown powers hadn't improved and we were never able to get the birthmark removed," Carlie narrated sadly, "All we did know about the powers was they seemed to trigger whenever I was either upset or stressed out. As a result, for my own safety, my parents made the difficult decision to leave me at one of the local orphanages."
END FLASHBACK
The flashback ended.
"I know now they were only trying to protect me, but even then it still hurt that they just left me there," said Carlie, as some tears leaked from her eyes, "And at the time, I thought it was because they were just protecting themselves and everyone else around them."
"Unfortunately, being at the orphanage wasn't exactly a good time for her," Michael brought up, faded stills of several incidents of the past ensued in the background, "She got bullied by many of the other orphans for seemingly being a 'witch'—a name that only stuck when Duel Monsters came into our lives," From there, faded stills of Carlie as a duelist defeating many other duelists brutally with her psychic powers happened as he spoke on, "After we were adopted by Discord, she started to embrace the name and persona of the 'Black Rose Witch'. She slowly closed off her heart towards most people except for Discord, James, Zack, and myself, becoming cold and sadistic as a duelist until she was defeated by Matt."
Rex nodded understandingly, but then turned to Lisa with interest.
"Lisa, how about you?" he pressed.
"It's easy, I was only 15 when I got mine," grunted Lisa, "I was dueling, Turbo Dueling, Shani Andras of Blue Cosmos. I was in a position to lose when I gained the mark of the Dragon's Hand."
"As for me, I was in the same situation as Lisa-chan," cut in David, "Only I was in a Ground Duel and facing Vincent Stevens, my longtime tormentor," He then put a more determined look on his face, "In addition, I also wanted to protect the people I care about."
"Dave…" whispered Lisa.
"Protecting your friends… No wonder you were chosen," smiled Rex. He then looked towards Michael, who started to open his mouth to speak, "You don't need to tell me your story, King. I already know of your Turbo Duel with Matt."
Michael scowled in annoyance. Rex, meanwhile, then became serious once again as he finally changed the subject.
"Now, I will reveal what this evil is all about," began Rex, turning to face the Signers again, "First, I need all of you to hold your right arms out, please."
The six signers held their right arms out as requested, revealing the birthmarks on their forearms. The birthmarks began to glow and react, causing Zack to clutch the sides of his head from the feeling. Before long, the Crimson Dragon appeared, with its body wrapped around the structure. Matt and Michael both looked up at the fiery dragon.
"The Crimson Dragon…" uttered Matt.
A flashback ensued.
FLASHBACK
During their initial Turbo Duel, Flashback Matt controlled 'Stardust Dragon'. Flashback Michael, however, had taken Flashback Matt's 'Hyper Synchron' and controlled 'Twin-Sword Marauder'.
"I tune Level 4 'Twin-Sword Marauder' into Level 4 'Hyper Synchron'!" declared Flashback Michael.
'Hyper Synchron' released four orbs of light from its chest before shattering into shards of glass. The orbs became four large Synchro Rings, which 'Twin-Sword Marauder' soared into before turning into four more orbs of light as an all-too familiar Summon Chant soon began.
"The ruler's heartbeats will now file through here! Take witness to its creation-shaking power!" chanted Flashback Michael, as the symbols 4 + 4 = 8 were shown very briefly. From there, the four orbs of light within the four Synchro Rings turned into a massive beam of light as familiar claws appeared from it and a small, evil smile appeared on his face, "Synchro Summon! My very soul, 'Red Dragon Archfiend'!"
Reappearing in the sky was the demon-like Signer Dragon (Level: 8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2000). The spirit of 'Hyper Synchron' then merged with it.
"Behold its valiant form!" boomed Flashback Michael. He then made Wheel of Fortune do a 180 as it now faced the opposition (despite still driving down the track), "This is the mightiest of all my servants, who walks on the path of the King alongside me!"
'Red Dragon Archfiend' stood tall as it flew into the sky. Before anything else could happen, Flashback Michael felt something underneath his clothed right forearm, causing him some pain.
"Ngh! What the hell is this-?!" hissed Flashback Michael, before shaking off the pain and continuing with his turn. As he explained what 'Hyper Synchron' did, 'Red Dragon Archfiend' glowed red and grew stronger (ATK: 3000 → 3800), "By using 'Hyper Synchron' as its material, the ATK of 'Red Daemon's', a Dragon Synchro Monster, increases by 800!"
"Here he comes…" thought Flashback Matt.
"Take this!" roared Flashback Michael, while 'Red Dragon Archfiend' reared its head back while charging fire in its mouth, "Blazing Crimson Hell Flare!"
'Red Dragon Archfiend' obeyed, firing its blast of flame towards Flashback Matt's 'Stardust Dragon'. The attack did hit, but 'Stardust Dragon' was able to withstand and shrug it off with its arms.
"By using 'Hyper Synchron' as its material, a Dragon Synchro Monster like 'Stardust Dragon' cannot be destroyed by battle!" explained Flashback Matt, revealing another added effect while taking battle damage (LP: 1900 → 1400).
"I know that!" retorted Flashback Michael hotly, before making his Set card reappear on the field beside him (on his right), "I activate a Trap, 'Fiend Cannon'!"
The Set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. From there, the 'Fiend Cannon' Trap Card turned around and fired a beam, striking Fudo Go and Flashback Matt.
"When a monster my opponent controls is attacked and not destroyed by battle: I must inflict 500 damage to my opponent!" The voice of Flashback Michael explained roughly, while Flashback Matt grimaced from the attack as he took more damage (LP: 1400 → 900). He then made his Wheel of Fortune turn back around and move down the track normally, "This is how the King duels, Matt! As long as I'm being chased, you're no match for me! In fact-"
He stopped when the extreme pain in his right forearm returned. This time, however, Flashback Matt started to feel the exact same pain in his own right forearm.
"Not again!" winced Flashback Michael.
"What in the world is with this throbbing pain?" Flashback Matt groaned, but then, to his shock, some red glow was coming onto his forearm, "W-What is this…?"
Not only was the red glowing showing up on the dirty blonde-haired boy's right forearm, the same was happening to Flashback Michael, too.
"What in…blazes?!" he snarled in pain
"My… my arm!" gasped Flashback Matt.
Before either two duelists knew it, two different-shaped glowing birthmarks were being imprinted (or, to put it bluntly, burnt) onto Flashback Matt (Dragon's Head) and Flashback Michael's (Dragon's Wings) respective right forearms. Not only that, a stream of fire erupted in the middle of the track and in-between 'Stardust Dragon' and 'Red Dragon Archfiend'. The fire soon became…a gigantic dragon, who let out a loud roar. The crowd watching the duel was aghast by what they're seeing.
"What is that?!" demanded Flashback Michael, shocked.
What was it, indeed.
END FLASHBACK
The flashback ended.
"We all were brought together over time—to become friends," acknowledged Matt.
"Fudo-san!" agreed David.
"All of you cannot deny that you share the same birthmark," said Rex wisely, "and you have been chosen as the reincarnations of the legendary Signers."
"Our encounter as Signers…" realized Carlie.
"Our destinies…" concluded Lisa
From there, the Signers all looked up at the Incan pyramid once more, watching as the Crimson Dragon finally faded away. When it was finally gone, however, Michael angrily spoke up…
"Just cut to the chase, Godwin!" he demanded aggressively, "What's this evil you're so worried about?"
Without answering the question, Rex raised his right hand once more and returned the scenery to being the area with the Nazca Lines.
"Thousands of years ago, the Crimson Dragon descended forth to this land and sealed the Incarnates of evil within the Earth," explained Rex, watching as the Signers looked down at the markings on the ground, "As you know, those seals are referred to as the Nazca Lines. The truth of that has been the forbidden history that was only allowed to be handed down to us," He then closed his eyes unhappily, "And recently… There has been a bizarre phenomenon going on in the world beginning with the attack on Orb. This is all the Dark Signers' doing."
"Dark Signers?" pondered Matt, "What are they?"
"They are the main enemies of the Signers," answered Rex, "They possess birthmarks of their own, but are vastly different from the birthmarks you all have. More to it, the Dark Signers serve the evil entities known only as the 'Earthbound Immortals'—also being known as Earthbound Gods."
"That doesn't ring a bell," commented James R., "I have never heard of the 'Earthbound Immortals' before."
Matt thought about, "Wait, I think I might have fought them already," he claimed, "During my duel with Sergey Volkov, he used monsters called-"
"Unfortunately, they weren't 'Earthbound Immortals'," interrupted Rex, making a correction on Matt's theory, "Those were the loyal minions to the 'Earthbound Immortals' known as 'Earthbound Servants'. Now, as for the 'Earthbound Immortals'… Those who have revived after 5000 years and possess the soul of the underworld. When the doors of the underworld open, the battle between Signers and Dark Signers for the world will begin."
The governor then raised his right hand and caused the scenery to change to a battle between the Signer Dragons and the 'Earthbound Immortals'. The enemy monsters were shadowed, so nobody could see what the full bodies looked like. The Crimson Dragon let out a roar as an order for the Signer Dragons to attack…
-Stardust Dragon: Cosmic Flare
-Red Dragon Archfiend: Blazing Crimson Hell Flare
-Black Rose Dragon: Black Rose Flare
-Ancient Fairy Dragon: Eternal Sunshine
-Black-Winged Dragon: Noble Stream
-Life Stream Dragon: Life's Beauty Howl
The attacks were unleashed, striking the seven 'Earthbound Immortal' monsters, weakening them to the point they started sinking into the ground in utter defeat. In a last ditch effort to take one of the Crimson Dragon's servants down with them, the spider-like 'Earthbound Immortal' monster fired some threads at Ancient Fairy Dragon, grappling her as she began to get dragged down, as well. Life Stream Dragon, however, fired off another Life's Beauty Howl, cutting the threads and freeing Ancient Fairy Dragon from the strangle hold. All that was left of the Earthbound Immortals were the formed Nazca Lines, each one in the shape of its corresponding monster sealed within.
"Afterwards, the Crimson Dragon was split into six parts and sealed in the human world," The voice of Rex went on, as the Signers again looked at their exposed right forearms and their birthmarks. He then nodded sternly and made the scenery return to the present, "And now, you've all awakened."
"This is the seal," thought Matt, "And furthermore…" Transparent images of his duel with Sergey were shown behind him, "…what showed up on Sergey's chest were Nazca Lines."
"Um, if I may interrupt, I want to bring up one very important thing," said Lisa unhappily.
"And that's?" wondered Rex.
"That vision we all saw!" Lisa exclaimed, barely able to contain her horror, "The one where Hartford was in utter ruin! What about it?! I need to know more, and if there's anything that can be done to prevent it from coming true!"
Rex shook his head, "Unfortunately," he said gravely, "nothing can be done to prevent it. It looks to be coming true at some point."
"Damn you!" shouted Lisa in anger, lunging over and roughly grabbing the governor by his jacket collar despite him being quite a bit taller, "You knew about this all along, but won't do anything to stop it!?"
"Listen to me," Rex insisted, more forcefully yet still calm-sounding, "Even if I had the power to try and stop it, it was an unavoidable battle right from the beginning."
As the back and forth about the fate of Hartford proceeded between Lisa and Rex, with Matt and James R. both trying to get the former to let go of the latter and calm down, David stared at her with great concern before looking down at the ground below and letting out a startled yelp, bringing the eyes of everyone else towards him.
"(皆!) M-Mina! (E-Everyone!)" cried David in the Japanese language.
"Dave? What's wrong?" pressed Zack, before looking down and becoming equally startled, "W-What in the name of hell is-?"
Everyone else looked down at the ground below, where they saw that two of the geoglyphs (Spider and Dog) carved were glowing purple.
"Err… Why are those two markings glowing like that?" The voice of James R. asked nervously.
"It means that one of the Dark Signers is not only on the move, another of them has finally awakened," replied Rex, looking and sounding as serious as ever before. As all eyes came to him once more, he went on talking, "Although the other five Dark Signers have yet to awaken, once they do they will begin sacrificing people in an attempt to drown the planet in darkness."
"Drown…?" worried Carlie.
"…in darkness?" finished Lisa.
"How…would they do that?" shuddered James R., dreading the answer.
"The sacrifices will be used as a means of powering the 'Earthbound Immortals'," explained Rex, "who will ravage across the land, feeding in an attempt to grow more powerful by the day," He shut his eyes, "But in simpler terms, they would kill off the entire population."
This answer left the Signers horrified.
"When you say kill all the people on the planet…" murmured Zack, "This would also mean all of our friends and loved ones…"
"The Signers and Dark Signers are, in a word, light and dark," Rex pointed out, "The only people who can defeat the Dark Signers and save us from this life-and-death situation are you Signers."
There was yet another long and, quite frankly, dreary silence amongst the Signers as they all looked at each other over how dire this all seemed to be—however, Michael eventually seemed to scoff at the whole thing.
"I don't care about 'fate'!" he blurted out, "I myself decide what I should do!"
"Mike, that's ridiculous!" scolded Matt, "We can't battle the Dark Signers all on our own, since that's something only a complete fool would try doing!"
Michael started to open his mouth, but Carlie quickly spoke up in order to help back Matt's words up.
"He's right, Mike," The brown-haired young woman agreed, "Just think about it; we've been a team ever since that tournament years ago. We've met new friends and fought alongside them time and time again," She narrowed her eyes slightly as she brought something else up, "Besides, have you forgotten the promise you made to all of us after Matt defeated you back in that tournament?" Michael paid close attention as he listened to his friend, "You swore to make it up to everyone you hurt or looked down upon while you were champion."
Michael recoiled soon after hearing the armor-piercing question, but then looked ashamed with himself on his brief bitter outburst. Remembering and vowing to forever honor his promise, he nodded firmly.
"You're right," acknowledged Michael, "I'm sorry for my short outburst regarding fate."
The rest of Team 4D's, plus Lisa, David, and Zack, all smiled in response, signaling they forgave him. Rex raised his right hand one final time and returned everyone to the underground chamber, then he continued with the discussion about the Dark Signers and the 'Earthbound Immortals'…
"Destiny is in motion. There can be no turning back now," reminded Rex, "Whether you defeat the Dark Signers, or the world, along with us, perishes… That decision is in your hands," The Signers all listened carefully, just before he started to leave, "Think hard on what it is you should do and give me your answer. However, we are running out of time, as it is."
With that final warning being said, Rex Godwin left the area, leaving the Signers behind to discuss what they would do if the Dark Signers were to gather. Without wasting time, Matt quickly gathered James R., Carlie, and Michael.
"So, what do you guys think?" pondered Matt.
"Hmph! Godwin is shady to the core," snorted Michael, before looking in the direction Rex left in, "However, he does speak the truth."
"I have a few issues with the governor myself, but I agree on the fact he speaks the truth regarding the Crimson Dragon and this impending threat," added Carlie.
"I don't know about that," The voice of James R. dismissed, causing Carlie to look over. The brown-haired young man seemed to shudder or something, "If you ask me, I think his assistant is even more shady and a tad bit creepy with that snicker of his."
Michael grinned, "Oh really?" he joked, "Perhaps you're only saying that because you have a clownphobia?"
"What?!" snapped James R..
"I wonder what Mayura would think if she learned you have a fear of clowns?" snickered Michael, "Would she think of you the same way she does now?"
"That's preposterous!" James R. denied, with an anger pressure mark appearing on the back of his head, "I have no such fear! I ain't scared of no clowns!"
The rest of Team 4D's, along with both Lisa and David, all shared a laugh. Even Matt couldn't help but chuckle at the scene. Still, this was a big decision, so he quickly turned focus back towards the situation at hand.
"Okay, it's clear I'll fight the Dark Signers," offered Matt, "What about the rest of you?"
"Is that a trick question?" smirked Michael.
"It's so obvious," put in Carlie.
"We're in!" finished James R., winking.
Matt nodded, but then felt a hand being placed on his shoulder. When he looked to his left, he saw it was Zack who did it.
"Look, I might not be a duelist, but I'll continue to support you guys using any method I can provide," The black-haired young man promised, "We'll send those Dark Signers and their 'Earthbound Immortals' back underground should they ever awaken!"
Hearing this made Matt smile again. Quickly, however, he lost that smile, since there were still two more duelists they hadn't consulted with yet. The members of Team 4D's turned around and faced both David and Lisa, who had been listening to the conversation going on.
"Dave, Lisa…" began Matt, "I'm not going to make the two of you fight against the Dark Signers if you are not able-"
"Hold up there for a second, bucko!" interrupted Lisa, before grinning with utmost confidence, "Let me say that anyone who wants to destroy Hartford and/or the world will have to answer to the likes of me," She gestured the thumb of her right hand at herself, "The Dark Signers will want to be careful they don't cross paths with the great Lisa Drake!"
"Guess that means she's in," figured Carlie.
"Now, how about you, Dave?" pressed Michael, before looking towards David.
"Well, Atlas-sama, I may not find such pressured combat to be desirable," admitted David, "However, I also do not appreciate the idea of someone, or something, threatening my friends, loved ones, or even the world. I want to protect them all!" The rest of the group silently listened, "So I am more than willing to contribute in any way I can. Should the Dark Signers show themselves," He narrowed his eyes, "I will be ready for the fight."
(elsewhere…)
Inside the mansion's dining hall, Discord was having tea with Rex and Lazar. Currently, they were waiting for the Signers to return with a decision on whether they would battle the Dark Signers or not. Sure enough, Matt and the others arrived in the dining room with serious looks on their faces. Rex stood up from the table, having a feeling the Signers had agreed to battle the Dark Signers when it came time.
"Have you all made your decision?" asked Rex.
Without answering immediately, Matt looked to his right and noticed Michael, James R., and David each nodded. He then looked to his left and saw Zack, Carlie, and Lisa each nodded. From there, he faced Rex one more time.
"Godwin, we will battle the Dark Signers when they fully awaken," accepted Matt.
"Matty-boy?" wondered Discord.
"If or when they finally surface, it's a fight we will see to the very end," injected James R., "That I can promise you."
Rex was very pleased, "I knew you would agree to fight," he proclaimed, "Should I find out anything more about the Dark Signers or if any more of them surface, I will get a hold of all of you as soon as I can."
"Until then, we will now take you all back to Hartford to see your friends and loved ones," added Lazar, before delivering his trademark laugh.
James R. shuddered over the short cackle.
"One more thing," Zack said curiously, "What about the Action Duel tournament? Won't Dave and Lisa both have to start their final battle over?"
"I'm open to starting the battle over," assured Lisa, while David nodded in silent agreement.
"That won't be necessary," The voice of Rex responded, which brought surprise to both teenagers. The governor then delivered some bad news, "It will be inconclusive since it was originally created to bring the Signers out in the first place. Now that you're all here, it has officially ended with no results."
"No results?" complained David.
"Auuugh! This sucks!" pouted Lisa.
"However," continued Rex, putting a reassuring smile onto his face, "the tournament overall was well received by the public. Maybe one day, when this whole thing is finally behind us, I'll throw another tournament similar to it and invite you two back for a possible rematch."
Lisa felt better, "When you put it that way…" she started, before punching at the air with her right fist, "That will be a time I'll look forward to!"
As would everyone else.
(elsewhere…)
Inside a dark location, Azrael was beyond shocked when the story was finally finished.
"This… this can't be true!" he spluttered.
"Heh! I know the feeling," remarked Vincent, folding his arms, "When I first heard the story, I thought it was a load of horse crap. Now? Now I believe it."
"You see, I'm working to bring the Dark Signers to life," explained the first cloaked man, "That way, I can gain my revenge on the Signers."
"And I want payback on robo-boy," Vincent put in, "It's basically win-win for both of us, hence why I joined this bloke," He looked at the three Bio-CPY boys, who immediately perked up as the remarks continued (this time about them), "And if I'm not mistaken, we two are not the only ones who want revenge on certain people…"
"Are you asking for volunteers to become Dark Signers?" pressed Orga, becoming rather eager, "Because if you are, you're looking at 'em—being us!"
"We're itching for payback on Matt Fudo, that 'Former King' Michael Atlas, and James Hogan!" said Clotho, "They humiliated us in that Action Duel tournament, and they need to pay the price for it."
"He's right," finished Shani, "With the power the Dark Signers have at our disposal, we can get even with the world for kicking us while we're down."
"Not so fast, boys," The voice of Azrael cut in, as he walked into frame with nothing but suspicion all over his face, "As your headmaster, I have the final say if we join the Dark Signers or not," He then turned his head slightly and glared at the two Dark Signers, "Are you certain if I join your group, you will make sure I'm never caught for any possible crimes I committed in the past and present?"
"Would I lie to someone like you?" asked the first cloaked man, with a dark grin on his shadowed face. He then held his right hand out towards Azrael, "So, do we have a partnership?"
At long last, after what seemed like forever, a dark smile of his own appeared on Muruta Azrael's face, as he accepted the handshake. This made the three Bio-CPU boys each very excited, since it meant they would finally get the power they always craved for. And with that sort of power at their disposal, they would never, ever lose duels again. They were thinking that this was, perhaps, the best thing to ever happen to the three of them.
(elsewhere…)
At Bradley International Airport a day or so later, cars were either entering or leaving the area. Near Discord's private jet, David, his family, and friends all were preparing to board another flight in order to return to the United Kingdom after having made a quick return to New York City to retrieve their belongings from the hotel they stayed at due to the emergency rush to get to Hartford—as well as pay for the stay. Matt, Michael, James R., Carlie, Discord, and Zack, however, were not planning to leave Hartford to go back to San Francisco yet; instead, they all planned to stay behind to assist in repairing Orb as well as to enjoy their summer in the city itself once the holidays came.
"I think it's swell we're all staying in Hartford for the summer," commented Carlie.
"Got that right," nodded James R., before clenching his right hand into a fist, "I think it's gonna be a ton of fun."
"You're staying, too?" The voice of Sherry remarked, causing Carlie to look over. There, the blonde-haired young French woman stood nearby with Elsworth by her side, "It's weird that you guys are staying in this city… Elsworth and I are going to be staying here for the summer, as well."
"Say what? You're also staying?!" gasped Zack.
Elsworth nodded, "Hartford is a nice city," he smiled fondly, "It's also a half hour or so drive away from New Haven and the beach."
"However, it's not for the whole summer," corrected Sherry, "We're only staying until Carlie and I settle the score for good."
"Oh really?" said James R. cheekily, "Well, I betcha it's either that, or it's really because deep down you want to rekindle your old friendship with Carlie."
Sherry simply folded her arms, huffed, and looked away in response. While that's going on, David, Futaba, Ren, Gabriella, Sean, and Janice all were seen talking to Lisa and the Astray trio—although only David was doing the talking to the duelists of Orb…
"I suppose this is farewell for the time being," admitted David.
"We'll really miss hanging out with you, Dave," sighed Asagi sadly, while both Mayura and Juri both also looked discouraged over their new friend having to leave. She and her two best friends then approached and hugged David at the same time, "Although it's only been a short amount of time since we met you at the New York City stadium, Mayura, Juri, and I have already started thinking of you as a younger brother even though the four of us are not related."
"You three really aren't that much older than I am, but I still really appreciate that gesture, Asagi-san," David agreed, before the three young women let go of him and he turned his focus towards Lisa, "I promise we'll meet again, Lisa-chan. I don't know when, but someday."
"Right, whatever," Lisa replied, trying her absolute hardest to sound tough and dismissive. Regardless of her attempt, her voice began cracking slightly, "You just better come back here to the United States soon, you hear me? After everything we've been through in this tournament…"
The two then brought each other in for a hug.
"It's a shame you have to go home now, Dave," commented James R. glumly, "We sure could use your help fixing this school and fighting those Dark Signers whenever they finally show themselves."
"Just because he's leaving doesn't mean it's actually goodbye forever," cut in Matt, which brought all eyes towards him. When David said nothing back, he (Matt) continued, "Even though the Dark Signer threat isn't great yet, we all are still connected."
"We all are connected?" repeated David, growing curious, "I don't mean to act naive, but what do you mean by that, Fudo-san?"
To prove what he meant, Matt removed his glove, rolled up his sleeve, and exposed the birthmark (Dragon's Head) on his right forearm while smiling. Getting the message behind those words, Michael (Dragon's Wings), James R. (Dragon's Tail), Carlie (Dragon's Foot), and even Lisa (Dragon's Hand) all exposed the birthmarks on their respective right forearms and showed David. Finally understanding over the connection Matt was talking about, David exposed the birthmark (Dragon's Heart) on his own right forearm and held his out. Gathering around in a circle, the other five Signers held their right forearm out near the other. The result was the birthmarks beginning to glow red.
"Wow…" breathed Janice, as she watched.
"That is amazing…" added Futaba, awestruck.
"Look over there!" cried Sean, pointing halfway upward.
That caused everyone to look up into the soon-to-be-dark sky before lowering their eyes from there, seeing the Seal of the Crimson Dragon appear near the setting sun as the roar of the Crimson Dragon could be heard echoing. As a result of the group's powerful connection of friendship, Team 6D's had officially been born.
Action Duel Tournament Arc
The End
After a good long year or so of writing, the first arc of this spin-off story is done at long last! Hurray for me, Sodormatchmaker, DaveMan1000, and AaronCottrell97! Now, I should say that the second arc will be worked on along with the adaptation of "The Dark Side of Dimensions". And since this is the end of the first arc, there will, of course, be an intro and outro change for the first chapter of the second arc. Stay tuned for the beginning of the second arc, as well as "The Dark Side of Dimensions", and do continue to stay safe in these trying times.