Presenting the marginally less crappy rewrite! Chopped out a few bits, tidied up a couple more, forgot to check the old copy before deletion so your guess is as good as mine what's changed! With life slowly getting back on track, we could soon see more chapters. Better chapters. New chapters!
If there was any situation more relaxing than sleeping by her side, Yusei would have to say that waking to see Akiza's tumbled hair beside him would have to be it. His heartbeat would slow at the mere sight only to spike with every movement. "You're staring." It always amazed him how she seemed to have eyes in the back of her head.
"You're beautiful." Rolling around on the bed, she stifled a yawn while rubbing hair from her eyes.
"And you're lying through your teeth." A tired smile graced her face. "But you get points for flattery."
"Are we keeping score now?" Yusei knew he would stand no chance if Akiza starting tallying up points. On the one hand, he was the King of Games and, on the other hand, she was perfect. "Because I think I deserve a bonus for putting up with my brothers as long as I have."
"Being a package deal might cost you a few points." Snuggling up to his chest, the good doctor gave a weary sigh. "I suppose I could let it slide this once. You have a lot going on."
"But I'm not alone." He could the steady beat of her heartbeat against his own took immense comfort in the rhythm. "You, me, the twins, Yugi and Jaden, and all their friends. We're going to stop Yliaster for good."
"What about your brothers?" It hadn't slipped by that he had left them from the list.
"Leo's good enough. Knowing them, they'll probably find a way to make a mess of everything." A too well-timed knock sounded on the door.
"I think they heard you." This was only reinforced by a heavier round of knocking.
"Hey, Yusei? You in there?" Rolling upright in an instant, Yusei was instantly focused on the situation as panic flooded his body. "Are you sure this is the right room?"
"That's what they said." It was as easy to identify Jack shouting a confirmation as it had been to recognise the voices of Yusei's predecessors arguing on the other side of the door. "Yusei?" He grabbed the handle as it started to turn and inserted himself into the gap.
"What are you doing here?" Two pairs of eyes took in his partially-dressed state. One set lazily drifted to the bite mark still visible on his shoulder as the purple pair picked out the fading vestiges of a mark on his neck. At least he was able to block Akiza from view to preserve the shrinking vestiges of his pride.
"Jaden and I thought we should all come over early and discuss a game plan." Those eyes were trained to spot microscopic details in ancient artifacts. They would be able to spot the faded blemish on his neck with no trouble. "Your brothers were kind enough to arrange taxis and the others will be here in a minute."
"Why don't I give Akiza a call?" Pure evil ran through Jack's words. "No reason she should miss this."
"That's not," A familiar ringtone began sounding behind him before Yusei could finish. "Necessary." Meeting the transfixed stares going over his shoulder, he felt the slender curve of her neck carefully align over one shoulder.
"Hi." Smiling as she wrapped one arm around his chest, Akiza felt the blush creeping through his skin.
Reaching into his jacket pocket, Jaden withdrew his wallet, picked out a bill and wordlessly held it out to Yugi. "Told you." Taking the bill, he tucked it away with a slight smile.
"Care to explain?" Only two types of people didn't instantly exude terror when Akiza spoke like that; the very brave and the very stupid. The overlap between the two was astounding.
"I bet that Yusei would ask you out. Jaden didn't think he'd have the guts." In the relative quiet of his mind, Yusei prayed for a quick smiting. There wasn't any other way to escape the embarrassment. Sadly, prayers never seemed to take effect when they were a rush order. "Neither did Yusei." A fearful grip fastened about his heart.
"When was this?" There was no doubt this was going to end poorly for him. At least he could probably still claim pity over being a terminal case. Unless spite was the final push of motivation she needed to find a cure.
"First time we met." Why wasn't there an infallible mental bond between the Kings of Games? Something he could use to tell them to stop talking two minutes back would be perfect. "That's what, eight years for you guys?" Jaden turned to the gaunt figure haunting the doorway.
"Yeah. Just about." Being in a relationship with his doctor meant that faking a medical emergency wouldn't work. Being in a relationship with a Duellist meant she would also know when he was bluffing. Yusei hadn't planned for this.
"Excuse us for a moment." A slight whimper escaped as he tried to will the door from closing beneath her hand. "Now, I know that you don't remember a lot of what happened but that was a long time before we first got together." Her tone – if not her words – demanded an explanation.
"I thought they were kidding!" It had certainly seemed like friendly banter at the time. Now that money had changed hands, doubt was starting to creep into his mind. "They noticed that I mentioned you a couple of times and asked if I was going to ask you on a date."
"Did they now?" Smiling as she kissed his shoulder, Akiza felt a pleasant glow lighting up inside her. Even long before he had mustered the courage to do so, it had apparently been obvious enough to others exactly how he felt. "Hmm. Don't think I'm going to forget this one." That was the moment he started hoping for a genuine medical emergency.
True to their words, the rest of the group had arrived soon after. With everyone packed into the small room, there was nearly no space left to actually move. The VIP guests were granted the esteemed honour of chairs at the kitchen table while the twins monopolised the worn couch. Jack and Crow perched on corners of the coffee table while Musume lurked at the top of the stairs. Tension nearly sparked as Phantom handed out coffee orders but Crow accepted his with a silent glare as she moved to stand beside the other glowering figure.
"Still can't believe that you're treating them like you do Leo." While some people believed in respect to all, Musume typically held people in contempt until proven otherwise. Yet even she admitted that the original King of Games and the Uncrowned King deserved some special treatment. Not, as Phantom had insanely suggested the night before, asking if they wanted to wash or dry the dishes after dinner. "You do know who they are, don't you?"
May I have a... private word? Turning to face the wall, she leaned over and lowered what passed for a voice. Please understand, I am fully aware of who they are. If... certain phrases were to be... used around them my... mind would... veer off down... tangents. Splayed over one shoulder, Hoshi reached out to bat at the intruder into her nap space.
"What, you could go crazy thinking about them?" It was almost adorable how timid she seemed. "Fine, I'll try and behave." Turning back, she offered a wide smile to dissuade any worries. "Don't mind her, she's a bit nervous. Understandable really, this has to be the meeting of the millennium." A pained twitch ran through her companion.
"Ah, you can take it easy." Jaden was the king of being laid back. If it hadn't been for good practical marks, he wouldn't have even managed to graduate from Duel Academy. "We're just as normal as you two." Another flicker shuddered the darkness. "You okay?" Not trusting her words, one hand raised a shaky thumb.
"Don't mind her, she's always a bit weird." Sipping his coffee was the only thing keeping Jack calm across the room. It was one thing to learn about the King of Games and it had been another one entirely to see Yusei become an acceptable placeholder until Jack could claim his rightful title. What he still couldn't get past was the original pair physically present in the same room as he was. The added time to accommodate reality had only made it seem more unreal.
There was an awkward pause as everyone struggled to continue polite conversation.
"Sorry for asking," It was Yugi who eventually broke the silence with what he thought was an innocent question. "But I've been puzzled about," He got no further.
Laughing maniacally, Phantom handed the cat to Musume and launched herself sideways down the stairs. She had probably intended to use them in a more traditional sense but one foot missed the step and bouncing down the rest didn't seem to bother her in the slightest. "Holy shit." Even holding a hissing cat couldn't smother the wide grin plastered over her face. "There's actually an off switch."
"Musume!" That whip-crack word wiped her expressions faster than falling from a plane. Akiza had entered the room in time to see the exchange and drawn the obvious conclusion. "Apologise."
"Hey, she's the one who handed me the cat." Held up as evidence, Hoshi suddenly had the appearance that she couldn't hurt a fly.
"Listen to your mother." Edging around bodies, to collect the coffees waiting on the kitchen counter, Yusei nearly suffered a case of extreme death as she weighed her wish for his corpse against the desire to have a working relationship with Akiza. "Do you two want anything to eat? The cafe across the square gets these great cakes in." Probably at outrageous prices for the continuing cycle of undercover customers.
"Your, er, friend made omelettes before we came." Watching the chef throw themselves down the stairs hadn't helped humanise their new acquaintance. "Is she okay?"
"Don't worry about her. She's really a ninja who can see in the dark." Regardless of who ended up staying in that time, Luna would lose by association with her brother. "And her armour is indestructible, only Musume's magic sword can cut it."
"Please stop talking." A tortured look was shared between Crow and Luna. They knew the pain of an idiotic sibling who wouldn't shut up.
As someone who knew about autism, Akiza could provide an actually useful answer. "Give her a few minutes and she should be" A muffled series of thuds interrupted her words. Grumbling threats of violence towards all living things, Musume stomped back up the stairs with her quarry dragged along by the collar and a disgruntled feline balanced on the helmet.
"Cat makes happy, problem solved." Said the pragmatist.
"Cats aren't magic cures to autism." Said the only qualified medical practitioner in the room.
I disagree. Said the only autist in the room.
"See? Even the crazy is with me on this one."
"You stay out of this!"
Watching the brief argument from the outside, assorted siblings failed to understand the complex array of shift allegiances. "Shouldn't Phantom be agreeing with Akiza?"
"Yeah but you're forgetting the sword." Always the voice of reason against his brother, Crow knew that Musume would start stabbing at the first opportunity.
"It's probably because of the cat." Leo nodded wisely. "Girls love cats." As far as he was concerned, Musume's logic was flawless.
"I'm starting to understand why you've never had a long-term relationship." Their parents fully accepted Leo's bisexuality but it was an awkward subject that none of his relationships ever seemed to last much more than a year. Luna had tried offering advice but there was a limit to what she could do.
"Is it always like this?" Watching the group squabble and bicker, Yugi had warm remembrances of his own family. "When there's not an emergency, I mean."
"Usually?" Various other gatherings over the past few years came to mind. "It's a lot worse." One distinctive incident involved Crow's arm catching fire after Leo recommended suggested a barbecue. For reasons nobody could figure out, the only lasting damage had been to Jack's eyebrows.
"I like it." Constant energy was how Jaden got through life. These people seemed to be on his wavelength.
"Of course you do." Yubel was destined to protect him from all dangers but the wild energy he seemed to gravitate towards was impossible to defend against.
"Well then." Settling at the table, Yusei's natural gravity focused the conversation. "Shall we get started?"
As the original, it seemed fitting that Yugi spoke first and he instantly hunted for information. "How many Duellists can we expect? Ten, twenty?" An entire tournament dedicated to his downfall could be organised if they had enough people. It wouldn't be the first time.
"One or two, maybe three at most." Yusei had an inside source on the limitations Yliaster faced. "Bruno once told me that it took significant resources for Yliaster to travel through time. As long as we make it through this, it should be the end of Yliaster's interference with the past." Paradox had managed by harnessing the vast reserves of energy lurking in Stardust Dragon and then the various cards harvested from Jaden's era. Even that much had only allowed one person limited travel.
"Then, if we beat them this time, we don't see each other again?" Jaden was first to say what he and Yugi were thinking. At one point in time – Jaden's present and Yugi's near future – two of them would meet again but Yusei lived decades ahead. There was a very real possibility this could be their final time meeting.
"We were never meant to meet in the first place. Everything will simply go back to how it was." At that point, Yugi was unaware of the work he would one day ask Jaden to do. The second King of Games had kept his word to not let slip any mention of the activities. "How reliable is your source on the timing?" If they were going to play temporal hide and seek, he wanted to be sure they didn't end up having to wait for years instead of hours.
"Well, I had to fight a god in a world where nobody remembered the true history." Not that he liked to brag but Yusei felt people were overlooking the feat with everything else going on. "So, pretty sure."
"Do you mean everyone about forgot you?" Overwritten memories were something that Jaden knew from repeated exposure. The Supreme King had completely overcome his mind and then Nightshroud had slowly eliminated people from the world while erasing them from the survivors' memories.
"Me." Akiza still struggled with the lost time. Partly because it had meant ten straight days with Din yet more because she could see the fallout without understanding the disorienting trauma her family had been through. "My history was replaced by someone else's. A woman called Lethe."
Lethe? A troubling recollection flitted across her mind. Lethe Mnémonikos?
"... I never told you her last name." Yusei's own suspicion matched up against the fear ebbing out from the armour.
The Lethe Mnémonikos is a... a... 'test' would probably be the best translation. Absently fussing the cat in her arms brought her anxiety back down to normal paranoid values. Greek gods would... insert... introduce... create...
"Hey!" Snapping her fingers in front of the glowing orbs aborted the spiralling confusion. "What'd it do?"
In short? Having Musume's legendary temper looming cut down historical myth to practical application. Make people believe they had lived a different life. If they accepted the new narrative, it became fact. Very few records survived to even mention it. Staggeringly few. If her autism hadn't fixated on the topic, she wouldn't have discovered even the scant information that had survived.
"Let me guess, you learned about ancient Greek curses in case you had to fight the Pantheon?" Sarcasm resonated through Crow's tone. Between her ability to speak Quechua and now an interest in the Greeks, he was becoming increasingly sceptical of her background.
School project on mythology. Phantom coolly responded. I was interested in a belief system where the deities lived atop an easily climbable hill. My original theory was a phase-shifted or multidimensional space. Memory alteration did not seem too unlikely.
"Anyway," Keen to avoid a continuation of the argument, Akiza swiftly moved onward. "Putting things back to how they should be meant that she disappeared."
An uncomfortable cough came from one side. Embarrassment follows rage around like a kicked puppy and Musume was suddenly aware of how that felt. "Not... exactly." A flash of insight brought an understanding of those long pauses to find the right word.
Musume is correct. Those unspoken words were backing up the wrong conclusion. Changes of such a magnitude take... time to... reconcile. Memory alteration would be an interim measure.
"No! I mean, yeah, probably. But supposing that someone wasn't... here when everything went back to normal?" She didn't like the way suspicion slowly ebbed from the figure on her left to settle on her.
They might retain the altered memories from... Late to the party, understanding started to dawn behind the flickering eyes. Why do I get the feeling that you are not speaking hypothetically?
"Musume, what did you do?" Hope wasn't an emotion Yusei had expressed while talking to her before. Mainly because she usually expressed the desire to rip out his spine and beat him with it.
"Went to a bar. Had a few drinks. Made sure Lethe ended up somewhere safe." Despite the wide breadth of knowledge she apparently held, Musume didn't trust Phantom with information about Convergence just yet. Everyone else would understand her reference. "She'll have a happy life. Just not here."
"Sorry, I need a moment." Everyone else had remembered the events as if in a dream. Maybe it was being within Aion's realm as history righted that kept the memories somewhere in his head, behind a door he was trying to keep shut. After a few moments of quiet contemplation, he brought his focus back to the conversation. "So then, have you decided who is going to stay?" The simple strategy of the shell games was as brilliant as it was effective. Yusei was actually jealous that he hadn't thought of it.
"We've already talked about that." There was no real hierarchy between them but Yugi was definitely more serious than his successor. "Jaden will be staying here. It would be too tempting for me to look through history books and see what discoveries were made." Going ahead by only a few years would minimise that risk. Even if he caved to the desire, it would be possible to restrain himself from acting on the knowledge until afterwards.
"Besides, I'm more interested in all the cool cards you guys have." And learning them would be no danger. Jaden was a people person, whether those people be human or Duel Spirit. He didn't care for personal glory. "And I'd like to learn more about other people like me." While Yugi would cover for his successor, leaving Yusei in the earliest of their respective eras.
"You'd probably best not go running around Duelling everyone you met." Leo knew that it gave an advantage to the other party if he rushed in but that wasn't what he meant. "And not just because there are a lot of cheaters out there." His rather vague explanation resulted in a blank look from Jaden.
"From our experiences, we've learned that Yliaster has the ability to manufacture cards capable of dealing real damage. We're not sure what restrictions they're working with so it's best to treat every Duel as a potential Dark Duel." Crow knew the damage they could inflict under the wrong circumstances.
Do not worry. Idly stroking the cat with a finger, Phantom's focus on the conversation hadn't diminished even as she pacified her cargo. A Dark Duel cannot be performed within the boundaries of Poppo Time, the penthouse or... the grounds of Martha's property.
"Sorry," Much as Jack wished there were sanctuaries available to safeguard innocents, he also remembered the time that his mother had been swallowed by the shadowy miasma of the Dark Signers. "We're as vulnerable here as anywhere else." A silence spread inside the helmet that Musume knew to be wary of.
"What have you done?" There were still a few uneasy glances when she pulled her sword that quickly. Everyone had seen at least one demonstration that it left no marks after use. But there wasn't exactly a manual for magical swords
I erected a small network of sigils around each property. Lowering her fingers slowly underlined her full attention being focused on Musume. Between their combined effects, they should be able to neutralise any attempts to invoke external supernatural abilities. It was a standard precaution.
"Sure. Standard." Musume withdrew the blade that had been hovering by her throat. "How do they work and what sort of guarantee do you have they'll do what you say?"
Boolean algebra, condition-specific sigils and distributed feedback network. Same strategy as my armour. Clarke's Third Law imagined a very thin line between magic and advanced technology. And if her armour could break into a Dark Duel, it could probably keep one from starting as well.
"That nearly sounds like science." Before she had figured out what was happening to her, Akiza had questioned that her powers might be mystical in nature. The scattered stories had read made so little sense that she had thought it was all fiction. And then she had turned out to be part of an ancient Incan myth. Go figure.
"Would it be possible to give Yugi and me the same sort of protection?" Not having to worry about the effects of Dark Duels would significantly decrease the risks facing them.
Phantom paused to consider the question. Not easily and certainly not quickly. That seemed about right for their luck.
"Then we'll have to run the risk they call Dark Duels." Looking between his predecessors, Yusei knew there was one more task they had to cover. Just like they knew what they would have to do in return. "Can you guys give us the room? There're some things we need to discuss." History could only teach so much. What they needed was in-depth knowledge which only came from first-hand accounts. Not only who they could trust and where was safe but what subtle warnings could precede dangers and where those dangers originated from in the first place. They would have to be completely open with one another in ways that they couldn't be with anyone else.
The click of an artificial shutter drew eyes as Phantom awkwardly returned the stares. What? Musume snatched back the phone as she internally add pickpocketing to the list of reasons to stab her companion.
Gathering together at the foot of the stairs, the three figures seemed impossibly at ease. Yugi and Yusei had bags resting by their feet while Jaden looked set for a normal day. (Another snapshot resulted in Phantom promising to stop fawning if Musume would let her down from the wall.) "Is everyone ready?" Yusei was their host and responsibility for ensuring a safe environment be left behind was up to him. "Once we start this, there's no turning back."
"Jack and I are going to keep an eye on things here. We've got Musume in case anything weird comes up and Trudge knows enough to not ask about the rest. We can handle everything else." Crow might not like lying to his former mentor but it was better than the International Criminal Court coming after them all as accessories. Even if Yliaster wasn't involved, it would make their work substantially easier.
"Alexis, Crowler and Shepard are the best guys you could ask for help." Jaden knew that it was unlikely he would be back in time to take up his teaching post at Duel Academy and had managed to wrangle an agreement from Yugi to fill in for the interim. It would be the first place that anyone would have come looking for him and they would almost certainly go to Yugi to ask where Jaden had disappeared to. "Go to them if you need any help."
"Don't forget to give them that letter." For his part, Yugi had spent the evening before writing up an exhaustive letter to his own family. As far as they knew, Yusei would be a total unknown so he was being sent back with detailed instructions to be as helpful as possible. "And watch out for Kaiba. He's not open-minded enough to accept that you're from the future."
A wireless software update to Yusei's Runner kept them occupied for a few moments as the groups finalised their preparations. "Can you hold onto this while I'm gone?" Holding out the Tender Hands sword, she knew Jaden was the only real choice she had. He knew the sort of responsibility that constantly controlling power was. "In case anything goes wrong."
"Do I have to stab Phantom a lot or can she last until you get back?" As Musume was left in the awkward position of explaining that her stabbing Phantom wasn't actually necessary, said victim was asking a request of her own.
Dr Mutou. It was the first and only risk that she had made with him. Everything else previously said had been calculated to reduce any possible fallout once he returned to his own time and Phantom had generally come across to Yugi as chilly, freezing exterior aside. It was a profound honour to meet you. Speaking in a tone of unassailable certainty, she extended an invisible palm. I believe it would not be inappropriate to wish you good luck.
"Thanks." Taking her hand in his, he felt the fingers wrap around his hand barely enough to be called a handshake. She had to be careful not to shatter the bones like breadsticks. "And the same to you as well." Meeting Yusei and Jaden had shown him the future was in good hands. Knowing they would go on to become Kings of Games had shown him that his legacy would be protected long after his time passed.
"What did you tell him?" Taking the time to pull on gloves, Musume's tone was nearly kind as her shadow returned to her side. There wasn't even a sword strapped to her hip. Phantom had never felt more threatened.
I said it was an honour to meet him and wished him luck. Scowling, Musume saddled herself onto Dilucesco as she failed to find a problem with the answer.
"You'd better come back in one piece." Tugging the folds of Yusei's jacket slightly straighter, Akiza still didn't fully grasp the temporal mechanics that Musume had tried to explain to her. As she understood it, he could return either seconds after departing or be gone as long as he remained in the past. This could be a longer farewell than they thought.
"That's the plan." Even possessing a larger understanding of theoretical physics didn't help the situation. All previous journeys had been at a one-to-one ratio. The only mentions that they had of it operating differently were a few vague mentions in unfounded materials Musume hadn't readily shared. "Promise." Leaning forward on her heels as she tried to will time to a halt, Akiza gently fastened her lips to her own.
Over beside the other team, Phantom shuddered uncomfortably. Just fuck already! The constant flirtation between the two had started at endearing and gradually drifted towards unsettling.
"What did you say?" It was the singular vulgarity Musume had heard her use. But the meaning behind it was the more pressing concern to her.
Looking about the assembled groups, a self-contradictory realisation befuddled the helmet. Was it meant to be a secret? Yusei coughed in raw embarrassment as he tried to figure out an explanation before his brothers could speak up. In a sickening twist, they seemed to have chosen that moment to wait patiently for the first time in their lives. Smiling up at him with an equally shocked grin, even Akiza seemed to have handed him the responsibility to sort out the situation.
"Im'ma kill him." Reaching down for a sword currently in Jaden's care, there was no doubting Musume's declaration. Stepping from her Runner, a dark hand held her fast. Seeing the slim line of defence holding back his demise, Yusei awkwardly positioned himself behind Akiza. If all else failed, there was no chance Musume would risk hurting her mother.
"Has she considered therapy?" Jaden had recognised the constantly short temper she had but the unbridled rage was starting to unsettle even Yubel.
"You should have seen Jack before he started." Luna had never been on the receiving end of his anger but it was comparable to the one on display. "He made this look mild."
"Dead man walking." Whispering to his sister behind a hand, Leo had been slowly gaining that fighter's instinct to tell how strong someone was through his training with Phantom. Musume had enough raw power to pulverise the city by herself.
"Want to bet on who kills him first?" Whispering behind a hand of his own, Jack was already starting to pick his side.
"That's not funny!" Despite Luna trying to dissuade the macabre gambling, her twin was quick to bet on Musume while an overhearing Jaden voiced his support for the shadowy organisation capable of reaching back through time to meddle with his life. With a better understanding of the female mind, Yubel settled on Akiza getting first blood.
Whoever the rogue factions of Yliaster had sent would be meeting a King of Games from a different era, bolstered by unfamiliar allies. Yugi Mutou, surrounded by the next generation and shrouded by the legend that he had perpetrated with his other-self. Jaden Yuki, exploring the limitless possibilities of the future and his own hidden legacy. Yusei Fudo, mired in a distant past with skills and techniques that they had never seen. All three with strengths that few could match against yet acting with the utmost caution as they tried to save not simply their own lives but those of their friends as well.
They had tried to leave that time unnoticed, to gain the advantage of surprise. And it would have worked if there hadn't been inquisitive eyes watching the flash of light as an Accel Synchro was called and time changed from constant to relative. "There he goes." There was nothing untoward about the pair. Nobody would have given them a second glance without knowing who they were.
"That means the factions will be moving soon." Nobody else would have had the sort of view they had of Yusei's departure. High above the city with camera feeds overlaying the window they had been watching through. "We should get started."
"Strange isn't it?" They had equal experience in vastly different fields. Little could get past their combined skills and nothing could escape their sights once their followers were set on it. "To think that he has no idea what we're going to do."
"How could he?" Intentionally changing the course of history takes more than brute force and sheer will. Time is like an ocean. Make a ripple in the right spot, keep pushing it forward and nothing can escape the tsunami that comes crashing down. "He still thinks that he can defeat Yliaster alone. A shame it will take seeing the end of the world to prove him wrong."
There we have it, folks. The narrative midpoint! Plenty more chapters still to be written and presented and plenty of reviews doubtless to be left in response.