To prevent a lot of head-scratching in the future, I'm going to clarify something here: this version of Yugi and his friends is drawn from the fantastic Revival and Identity stories by author MyAibou (check them out). I have asked and been given permission to adapt them into my story.
As they originate in a different story, their histories may be slightly different from what you know and the Revival/Identity series fill the gaps between the end of the series and what you're going to read here. I'll be covering most of this in a few chapters but you don't need to know anything non-canon for now.
(Seriously, check out the Revival and Identity series. They're incredible.)
Time travel is a complicated art. Even if a traveller spent decades in the future, they could return the very second they originally left from. On the other hand, they could spend seconds in the future and return years away from their departure. Even if they returned to find they had been absent for years, they could still return to their point of origin to correct the mistake. Nothing was impossible. "Then you don't actually know when he's getting back?" Strong coffee was balancing out nervous nights as she glared at Joey.
"Well, no but" A hangman's axe would have been less intimidating as Joey shivered beneath that stony air.
A sympathetic beeping came from her phone. As if sensing the exact moment she needed him most, Yugi seemed to be reaching out and Téa snatched up the call. "Yugi?"
"Not quite." An unfamiliar voice echoed down the connection. "My name's Yusei Fudo. Yugi told me to call this number. I need your help."
"Where are you?" Yusei. The man Yugi had gone to help. Why would he be here?
"There's a payphone at the corner outside. I'll wa" Words cut off as the call terminated.
"You, with me." Slamming her mug on the side, she dragged the blonde by one ear in the direction of the door.
"What's going on?" Faces appeared from doorways as everyone tried to pretend that they hadn't been nervously listening to her every movement.
"Outside, now!" By the time the lift arrived, everyone had managed to cram into outside shoes (even if they didn't match) and piled into the box alongside her.
"What's going on?" Soldiers get beatings and bellowed at. Tristan was fairly sure that grabbing an ear like that was probably against code but it wasn't his ear.
"Téa got a call." Squirming as he tried to pull free, Joey wondered why he was being punished. He'd only been trying to help!
"Payphone on the corner." Finally realising she still had a hold, Téa dropped it and wiped her fingers clean. "Says Yugi told him to call." That was all they needed to know as the elevator spewed them out into the lobby. Barely a wave informed Greg of their departure before they were halfway down the street at speed.
A scruffy man was standing staring at the payphone as if it had sprung out of the ground. Carefully extracting the calling card with the sort of air that usually surrounded people expecting to be bitten, he could have been an innocent tourist but for the outlandish motorcycle parked near the curb. Only Musume had ridden anything similarly as ridiculous.
"Yusei Fudo?" Straightening up, Téa's sudden appearance seemed to have caught him off-guard. "Where's Yugi?" She instinctively distrusted the stranger before them. He had a hardened look and feel and was stunningly absent of Yugi. Damn Joey and his movies!
"Is there somewhere we can talk? It's a long story." Yugi hadn't warned him about this and nor did he blame them. All they knew was that someone had shown up and whisked Yugi away without any warning before an intruder showed up in his place.
"No. Where is he?" Though flanked by a former soldier, his sparring buddy and the rest of her family who could take him by numbers alone, it was Téa who was the most intimidating. Not as much as Musume yet certainly a match for Akiza.
"Saving my life." It was best to get the essential information out of the way first. Any superfluous details would only lower his standing in their eyes.
"Yeah, that sounds like him." Joey had the best understanding of how far Yugi would go to save someone. "But, where is Yugi? Like, right now?"
There was never going to be a better introduction than that. "Yugi's in Domino City, about a decade from now. Although he's probably getting on a boat by this point." He didn't have an exact timetable for Yugi's movements. Partly because Jaden hadn't paid enough attention himself and was hoping that Alexis would be able to help out.
"Okay, time out." Tapping the palm of one hand atop his fingers, Tristan called the conversation to a halt. "Who exactly are you?" Plenty of crazy people babbled about time travel. Yugi's friends may not have actually travelled back but they had seen a close enough recreation of the past to ignore the difference.
"My name's Yusei Fudo." He tucked his helmet under the seat of his Runner and heavily folded his arms. "I'm from New Domino City, in the year 2094."
"New Domino City?" Téa narrowed in on the deviation. She wasn't the only one. It was clear that his words were having the opposite effect than he intended. Instead of gaining their trust, he was gaining increasing suspicion. "From the future. Can you prove that?"
"Here," Reaching into the pocket attached to his belt, he slid out a single card and sent it flying through the air towards Joey.
"What's this?" He flipped the picture over a few times before closely examining the silver frame for signs of forgery. "Never seen a card like this. Pegasus give it to you?" It wouldn't be the first time he designed unique cards unreleased to the general public.
"Nearly everyone where I come from has a card like that." Yusei had been careful to send over the relatively common Junk Warrior. Revealing Stardust before they agreed to help him would be too big a risk.
"Supposing, just supposing," Mai knew Téa wouldn't accept the card as concrete proof but she could feel the authenticity as she plucked it from Joey's hand. "That it's real. Care to say what's going on with you and Yugi?"
"Actually, I have a better question." Duke's gambling mind had already spotted a flaw in the story being fed to them. "If you're from ninety years from now, why is Yugi only ten years in the future?"
"Because he's currently helping Jaden." He could already see the next question forming. "Jaden's from ten years in the future, currently at ninety."
"Then how's Yugi saving your life by being a decade in the future?" Téa was in no mood for the constant diversions. Unfortunately, she had asked the single biggest question possible.
"An ancient cult created to prevent five thousand years of destruction was co-opted by a desperate group from the future attempting to prevent the end of the human race are trying to rewrite history by sending people back with the sole purpose of killing Yugi, Jaden and me." A collection of blank and confused looks with the doubting exception of Rebecca Hawkins. She was the only one smart enough to follow what he had said. "As I said; it's a long story."
They had relocated to the vast penthouse floor at the top of the Industrial Illusions complex. Agreeing to have his Runner stored in a private section of the underground parking lot while they talked was as much a bargaining chip as it had been courtesy. If he turned out to be their enemy, they'd have several security guards seize the machine while the rest came up to arrest him. Still, it was being in the company of legends that was making his mouth run dry.
"Can I get some water?" Reaching into a cupboard, Joey wordlessly grabbed a bottle and tossed it across. "Thanks."
"You said it's a long story." Téa had spent the past few minutes processing what little Yusei had told them. It certainly sounded like something Yugi would do but she needed to know everything that was going on.
Yusei moistened his throat as he wondered how much he could share. "Every five thousand years, a group of Incan priests would take part in a battle against a series of dark creatures my friends and I know as the Earthbound Immortals." The term wouldn't mean anything for decades yet. Safe enough so far. "A group would track and educate the next incarnation to ensure they were fully prepared when their turn came. Since the last battle, the globalisation of society made tracking the bloodlines impossible and they grew immensely to try and find any evidence of who the next group would be." Leading to the shadowy organisation Yliaster had become.
"Skip to the part about why you need Yugi's help." Tristan was trained to hone in on the problem at hand and identify a solution. History wasn't necessary. Taking a seat on the opposite couch, Joey seemed equally disinterested in an origin story.
"Centuries from now, all human life was extinguished through a calamity which could be traced back to the founding of a new energy source." Trying to explain the Meklord Uprising in detail would force him to reveal the exact cause and he couldn't risk that. They might try to help or, worse, try learning the technology themselves and prematurely bring about the destruction. "A handful of survivors created a method of travelling back in time with the intention of preventing the technology from being built by destroying my city and everyone in it. My friends and I stopped them."
"Then why isn't Yugi still here?" Not acting on impulse or anger, Téa had a valid point. There shouldn't be any danger if he had stopped them for good.
"They couldn't interfere with the early days of the energy source without disrupting the war against the Earthbound Immortals and risk ending humanity even sooner. Since I invented a method to stabilise the process, they intend to kill me to prevent widespread use. But killing me as I am wouldn't work since it would cause others to take up my cause."
"Why aren't they doing it like in Terminator? Just go back and kill you when you're not a threat." Joey's question was met with a blank lack of understanding. "You know, Terminator? I'll be back, hasta la vista?"
"What's Terminator?" It sounded like the sort of plan Yliaster would have. The very word dripped with murderous intent.
"We've gotta show you. It's about this robot that comes back from the future,"
"Just answer his question." Tristan kept the conversation from drifting away. "Sorry, bro. You know how you get about those films." While the dirty blonde descended into sullen muttering, the conversation continued without him. It wouldn't have made a difference if they talked about the film anyway, Yusei had already faced several robots from the future.
"Killing me too young would hand victory to the Earthbound Immortals and their method is too imprecise for accurate travel. By rewriting history, they can kill me in my present and obtain the results they desire." All without having to worry about interfering with the continuity of events. Three for the price of two.
"Assuming this is all true" Rebecca understood the physics nearly as well as Yusei did (at least, considering the limits of her era) and had already identified the flaw in his explanation. "Your method of time travel seems incredibly accurate, certainly enough to make it a viable application. Why not wait until they edit history and then arrive a few minutes before they do? Catch them in the act. Hyperdimensional physics states that tachyonic alterations would take a longer relative duration the further from the point of revision."
It had to be the pigtails, Yusei decided. Something about dressing closer to her physical age than her mental one kept him underestimating her. "That was my initial plan. But Musume... The girl who came to get Yugi." She probably hadn't done proper introductions but that bundle of aggression inevitably left a lasting impression. "Has a... friend who helped make sure we arrived before they're going to act." A glance at the half-empty bottle of water both answered the philosophical question and told him it had too little alcohol to cope with the next question.
When he had tried explaining quantum states to his brothers, the closest they could come to understanding was calling Yugi and Jaden 'zombies'. Rebecca knew that he wasn't talking about undoing whatever damage Yliaster would have caused. He meant arriving before they carried it out at all, violating cause and effect on a cosmic scale. "What sort of person could do that?"
"At the very least? A pan-dimensional being capable of temporal manipulation." And either skilled or strong enough to hide Musume and her passengers when Aion was trying to trick the world. Yusei had been very careful to avoid using phrases such as 'a god' to describe Himeru.
"One more thing," Joey had recovered from his grievance over Terminator. "Why come after Yugi and this Jaden guy? What do they have to do with you?"
This was information that he knew could alter the future but he needed their help. Besides, he could probably trust them. "I never properly introduced myself." He reached one hand across the gap between them. "My name's Yusei Fudo. I'm the third King of Games."
"Bullshit!" Okay, that was fair. Yusei would also be suspicious if he was in their position. He had been in their position and still didn't trust Musume. "Who's the second? Tell me it's not Kaiba!" Not the exact reaction he had been expecting. Clearly, Joey was more interested in who Yugi's successor was than the next nine decades of history.
"No. His name's Jaden. He's," Yusei paused as he tried to rationalise anything he could say about the young man. Besides risking the integrity of future events, Jaden also had a way of defying explanation. "Enthusiastic. You'll like him." Like Leo. A chill ran through his spine. Two people with boundless levels of enthusiasm were running wild in his city. He'd be lucky to return home to a smoking wreck.
"Something stinks." While her partner was trying to figure out if he had been insulted, Mai was trying to pin down the reason their guest was even there to begin with. "Let's say your story is real and these jerks were coming to kill Yugi. Why didn't you simply tell him to invest in extra security if you knew when he was going to be attacked?"
Now came the part that Yusei had been dreading. Accepting he was from the future was one issue, he had enough evidence to prove that without revealing too much. This was the question he didn't have any evidence for. "Because they can manufacture Shadow Cards to inflict real damage and turn any Duel into a Dark Duel. You wouldn't even know they had one until they played it. We think they're using Anti-Decks to"
"Are you fucking with us?" Duke was rightly enraged. Between Shadow Games, Dark Duels and Orichalcos stones, their group had been through enough already. "So you pissed off the time-travelling Illuminati and now Yugi's life is in danger because they need an excuse to kill you? Oh, and they can randomly make Dark Duels whenever they feel like it?!"
"How much danger is Yugi in?" A pale colour had settled over Téa's face. She knew first-hand the dangers Yusei had been so callously listing and couldn't imagine why he would risk facing them again. No, she knew exactly why he would. Yugi would do it for any of his friends.
"Limited resources, they can't send back more than a couple of people. Yugi will return as soon as we've dealt with them." Give or take an intervention back in his era. Doubtless, that Musume would resist bringing him back to the future. "Everyone in the future knows about the King of Games and he has all the support you could hope for. He's the safest of us three."
"Can you give us a moment to talk about this?" Musume had given them time to discuss the possibility of Yugi going to a meeting in the future. Housing this poor copy while their King of Games was gone would need a lot more time.
"Sure." Unzipping his jacket, Yusei carefully extracted a letter from the inside. "He asked me to give you this. I haven't read it." Leaving the folded paper on the table, he knew they had no reason to trust his words. "I'll wait outside for whatever you choose." Sequestering himself in the hallway by the elevator, the group waited for the door to close.
"I dunno." Trust Joey to speak first. That man knew no filters between brain and mouth. "It certainly sounds like something Yugi would do." That was certainly true. Even without the Millennium Puzzle, he was one of the most selfless men any of them knew.
"Rebecca, you're the smart one. Is what he's saying possible?" Duke was more business than science but he knew a bluff when it was staring him in the face. Something about the stranger was off.
"Possible?" Flicking her hair over one shoulder, a sour glare told him she wouldn't let being called merely 'smart' go so easily. "Depending on who you ask, it's certainly possible. We just haven't figured out how yet." Fresh attention settled on the door. 'Yet'. Meaning someone from the future might be able to do it.
"You getting anything off him?" Team medic, Serenity Wheeler had enough experience with Shadows to detect the subtle changes it invoked in people.
"Hmm?" Refocusing on her partner, Tristan didn't like the distracted look in her eyes. "He's certainly been through something. I don't think he's used Shadows though." Hardly a glowing endorsement.
"I say we help him." Any threat coming their way was information that Mai wanted to know about.
"I vote not!" Joey answered too quickly to hide his motives.
"Sorry, bro." Taking Mai's rolling eyes into account, Tristan was able to wait at least half a second. "If he's telling the truth, best we know. If he's not, he's probably got some backers we can have him turn on."
Rattling dice drew attention to one of Duke's impeccable rolls. "Snake eyes. Cut him loose."
"Really with the dice?" While internally admitting that the skill needed to constantly roll one of thirty-six possibilities wasn't to be scoffed at, Rebecca scoffed at it. "Anyone from the future could have access to all sorts of knowledge and he knows the correct scientific terms. I want to see what he has to offer." While Duke could roll for one possibility, she could quantify the other thirty-five. With the incredible events in her life, there was a good chance this was one more and she wouldn't turn away the opportunity.
"Whatever he's been through feels wrong." As someone who had nearly been blind, Serenity had a clear definition of the word. "I don't think we should trust him." Which made it a tie. All eyes turned towards the deciding vote.
"It comes down to one question." Téa had quietly read the letter while her friends debated a moot point. "How much do we trust Yugi?" Like the point, the question was irrelevant.
"There's a spare room, end of the corridor at the top of the left stairs." Sending Tristan and Joey to meet him was obviously a reminder to be on his best behaviour. "Drop your stuff off and we'll give you the grand tour."
"Looking forward to it." Hefting the bag over one shoulder, he took no offence as they waited for him to go through the door first. Manners said he should be shown the way, safety dictated they not turn their backs on a stranger.
Téa had vanished from the room alongside Mai. Duke was keeping a precise distance from Rebecca; neither close enough to be cloying nor far away enough he couldn't intervene in case the intruder suddenly snapped and lunged for her. That was not nearly as perturbing as the way she was looking at him. Like a scientist deciding the best way to experiment on their test subject. Yusei increased his pace only slightly.
It was a nice room he was being put in. Pegasus always supplied the best, whether to treat allies or lure enemies into a false sense of security. Setting his bag on the bed, he glanced around for cameras. Even if any had been present, they would have been too well hidden for him to find. "Kitchen's off the main lounge, gym's down the hall a bit. Sauna takes a while to heat up so best leave it while you workout. Don't forget to prop the door open if you go on the roof."
"Thanks." It was strange to receive this level of charity. A few charred scraps were how he had been raised. Even becoming a global celebrity had only garnered him cheap rent. He was a stranger to these people and they were already giving him access to the full extent of their faculties. Of course, he wasn't an idiot. "Guessing you are right across the hall if I need anything?"
"Right across, next room down, and security's going to make sure you don't get lost around town." Complete lockdown of his movements until he earned their trust. Yusei was strangely glad of Tristan's threats. He appreciated protecting one's family.
"Feel free to lock the door." People in the past were probably more sarcastic because Tristan's face hardened at the genuine offer and Joey slammed the door hard enough to shake the frame. Throwing his bag on the bed, Yusei followed it only a couple of seconds later. All he had to worry about was maintaining the established flow of history, stopping an unknown Duellist from murdering himself or Yugi, forge a plan to avoid Musume upon his return and not unduly embarrass himself in front of his childhood heroes with only nine decades of social differences between them. At least three of them were going to aid his ongoing brain condition in keeping sleep at bay. Huh.
A wry smile crossed his face. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been excited enough that looming death had dropped from the list. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
Now that we're past the content (time pun!) why not take the time to write a small review?