Disclaimer: I do not own YGO 5D's
A/N: As far as I understand, EnerD Reactor = Momentum, or at least is a modified version of the Momentum, so I'll be using them interchangeably.
"You looked concerned." Rex Goodwin studied the Yuki Tono, the young woman stood in front of the giant hole Greiger created in the glass walls, bracing herself against the wind. As though confident he wouldn't push her through it and to her death.
"Do I?" She turned with a cryptic smile, "I guess I am."
"Because of the upcoming duel?" He pressed.
"Because of what would come of it."
Goodwin followed her eyes to the stadium again, to the end of a duel that would usher in the beginning of a new era.
"I don't need your concern, and I certainly don't need your condescension!" Jack seethed, bickering while going 300 miles per hour (...). "I have risen above the Satellite and conquered all of Neo Domino City! You will not take me down! Not now, not ever!"
"I don't resent you for what you did Jack, but you do owe me this duel." Yusei replied firmly, "And here, we will settle everything once and for all."
"Don't you dare patronize me, Yusei! I owe you nothing! You're just one of the lowlifes who didn't have the guts or brains to escape the drudgery of the Satellite and that's all you'll ever be!"
"Don't you see, Jack?" Yusei shook his head (against serious wind resistance) "The Satellite isn't something we need to escape anymore! It's something we can be proud of, as long as we all work towards that dream!"
"Kalin's old dream?!" Jack snickered, "Didn't his arrest two years ago shatter that already? If you're still dreaming, prepare to be rudely woken up, by my Dark Tinker (lv3, 1000/1300)! Next, I activate the Powerful Rebirth trap card, to bring back my Twin Sword Marauder (lv4, 1600/1000). When Powerful Rebirth brings a monster back from my graveyard, its level increases by 1, so I can tune my level 3 Dark Tinker with my level 5 Twin Sword Marauder to synchro summon, Red Dragon Archfiend (lv8, 3000/2500)! Red Dragon Archfiend, destroy Junk Warrior!"
Back on the stadium, people are beginning to talk about something other than card games on motorcycles.
Because of the clash of the two monsters on the field, dark clouds began to coalesce in the afternoon sky. Those gifted with magical powers could feel the energy stored in the sky. Nervin could also feel the energy stored in the sky despite not having magical powers, thanks to Dr. Zigzix's Amulet of Power- EnerD Detector (patent pending)
"Hmm?" Luna moaned even in her sleep. She had reluctantly fallen asleep during the duel thanks to all the sugar and caffeine Blister fed her yesterday. But the gathering energy was causing her mark to burn, a faint but unmistakable red mark was beginning to take shape on her arm.
"What's that? I don't think the forecast called for scary purple clouds?*" Leo exclaimed, wide-eyed.
"It's about time you learn, kid," Blister ruffled his hair, "The weather forecast is almost never right."
Since Akiza never tried to attack the entire audience, the stadium was still packed. Now the more safety-conscious members of the audience were beginning to edge towards the exit.
Blister picked Luna in his arms and Tanner grabbed Leo, with Dexter and old man Yanagi following closely behind, the six of them made their way to the edge of the stadium, joining a crowd that was already there. It was the closest place to the exit while still being able to see the duel.
"I wish we were closer to the action!" Leo lamented.
"Safety first." Tanner consoled him half-heartedly, Tanner would have stayed in the front row if he didn't have kids with him.
Blister merely shook his head. 'Mission first'. And his mission was to start evacuations as soon as the clouds began to gather.
"My turn!" Yusei drew, "I activate Descending Lost Star, to bring back my Junk Warrior in defense mode, with his level reduced by 1 and his defense reduced to 0. Next, I'll bring out Hyper Synchron (lv4, 1600/800)! I tune my level 4 Hyper Synchron with my level 4 Junk Warrior to Synchro Summon, Stardust Dragon (lv8, 3300/2000)."
"In that case, I activate Tuner's capture, to special summon your Hyper Sychron back to my side of the field."
"Stardust Dragon, destroy Red Dragon Archfiend!"
Thanks to Hyper Synchron's effect, Stardust Dragon's attack is increased by 800.
"You don't honestly think you can defeat my dragon with that little trick, do you? I activate Tuner's Mind! To send Red Dragon Archfiend back into my deck to special summon Twin Sword Marauder and Dark Tinker to the field!"
"Stardust, destroy Twin Sword Marauder!"
"Thanks to my trap card, your dragon can only target Dark Tinker."
"When Stardust attacks, my trap Synchro Blast can still hit you for 500 damage!"
"I doubt you'd have another chance like that!" Jack replied. "I tune the level 4 Hyper Synchron with my level 4 Twin Sword Marauder to bring back to the field, Red Dragon Archfiend (lv8, 3800/2500). Brace yourself Yusei, this is the end of the line for you!"
Red Dragon Archfiend opened its mouth and shot out a beam of blinding energy, Stardust Dragon matched its attack. Given Hyper Synchron's special ability, neither synchro monsters can be destroyed in battle.
Clouds thickened and descended onto the ground, swallowing both duelists on the field. At 2pm in the afternoon, stadium lighting became the only source of light in the arena. A dragon roared. It was not captured on recordings of any of the hundreds of video cameras presents, but every human felt the sound.
Akiza had passed out as soon as the Crimson Dragon appeared. Luna had passed out in Blister's arms, but it was hard to tell even from security footage, since she was sleeping most of the time.
"Time to split!" While everybody was still in shock over the giant dragon-shaped monster hovering over the stadium, Blister held Luna in his arm and raced outside, carefully hiding her glowing arm under his jacket. 'As soon as the Dragon appears, take Luna out of the Stadium and go as far as possible', Chaos had requested. Blister had assumed it referred to a new duel monster from either duelists, but Chaos assured him he would recognize the monster when the time comes.
Though he never expected... This. Whatever this is. He didn't get paid enough for this!
"Hey, wait up!" Tanner herded Leo, Dexter and Yanagi outside also, chasing after Blister, who had already floored the gas on his own duel runner, showing no sign of slowing down. Acting, for all intents and purposes, like a kidnapper.
"He took Luna!" Leo accused.
"We'll go find him." Tanner put Leo on his own duel runner and chased after Blister towards the Satellite.
They weren't the only ones, reasonable people who correctly prioritizing their lives over a children's card game played by teenagers on motorcycles rushed out of the stadium in droves, all the guards could do was try and prevent a stampede.
Goodwin's penthouse was only slightly less chaotic.
"Director! We have a situation!" A voice screamed from Goodwin's PA system. "The EnerD Reactor, we don't know what's happening!"
I swung my head around towards the screens where Lazar's head had popped up.
"It's filling up too fast! We have gathered enough energy to power the city for a hundred years, but, but, all of our systems are in overdrive, some are beginning to malfunction!" Lazar looked petrified.
"Shut it down!" Rex Goodwin replied.
"What, but-" Lazar protested.
"If you don't want to repeat what happened the last time when the EnerD Reactor got out of control, you'll shut the Momentum down this instant!" Goodwin commanded.
The the last time EnerD went out of control wasn't that long ago, when Greiger's village was erased, leaving only a flat, lifeless strip of land.
"Last-" Blood drained from Lazar's face so that he was paler than his make-up. "Yes sir! Shutting down Momentum!"
"What's happening?" I grab hold of Goodwin's arm. "What did you do!"
Goodwin looked at the young woman with some amusement, there was genuine fear in her eyes, stripping her of the serious expression that usually made her look so much older than she was (or at least claimed to be). "Nothing to concern yourself about, a mere hiccup in the machine."
"A hiccup in the same machine that caused Zero Reverse!" My hold tightened.
Goodwin coughed uncomfortably.
"This was your plan? I mean, this was your plan! To build a rivalry between Yusei and Jack so their duel would bring about the Crimson Dragon?" I paused. "Just like their last duel!"
"Indeed," Rex Goodwin admitted, though neglecting the requirement of having all five Signers present at once. "So I assure you, everything is under control."
As soon as his words fell, the entire stadium went dark. The Momentum having just been shut off.
"Does that look like 'under control' to you!" I pointed to the ominous gathering clouds and the flashes of red light emitting from it. The only way it could be more horrifying is if the clouds were also mushroom-shaped. Artificial lighting had lost their power source, and the sunlight was blocked so completely by the clouds that looked black instead of purple. Trapped in complete darkness, the light from the Crimson Dragon was the only thing I could see.
"The power of the Crimson Dragon does have its risks," Rex Goodwin admitted in the darkness.
The backup power generators fizzled with an ear-splitting noise, but failed to come on. I could feel Goodwin's muscles tense under my arm from annoyance and anger.
"Under control you said?" I provoked him further.
"Wait here, I'll take care of this!" He freed his wrist from my grasp and walked out of the room, judging from the slamming of the door.
Good. I don't think he'll start the prophecy right this instant. I was trapped here, Akiza was unconscious in the stands, Yusei and Jack were in the middle of a duel. As far as he was concerned, all four Signers were under control, he had time.
And now Blister has time.
Luna had to be in the stadium for the Crimson Dragon to show itself, but now that it has, Blister is taking her away. Hopefully far away enough that Goodwin wouldn't be able to include her in his prophecy.
Yes, his prophecy.
It's an odd quirk of the story that I noticed way-back-when, the prophecy was not initiated by the Crimson Dragon itself, but rather by Rex Goodwin, presumably through the power of the head of the Dragon Mark. In other words, if I could distract Goodwin, I could delay the initiation of the prophecy, giving Blister time to take Luna away.
Only finding three Signers in his prophecy, Goodwin would be unable to confirm my real identity, giving me its protection for a little longer.
Crow didn't get television in the panic room where he was hiding, but the blaring alarms were enough to let him know that his time had come. Taking out the costume he brought, he quickly put on a lab coat and face mask, then exited as inconspicuously as possible, taking the 'microwave' with him.
Not that anybody was paying any attention to him.
Alarms screamed disaster while red lights flashed violently. Realizing it was not a drill, the entire staff descended into chaos. The Zero Reverse Incident was still fresh enough in the collective memories of Domino City to induce panic, and these were the people most familiar with its destructive potential. All of the researchers knew, out of all the people working in the building 17 years ago, Rex Goodwin was the only person to survive.
Half of the scientists raced towards the stairs, the other towards panic rooms.
Crow threaded his way through the crowds toward the Momentum. Amidst the confusion, nobody paid him any attention except to shove him out of the way.
"Shut it down!" Lazar's high-pitched screams finally pierced the chaos, "Shut everything down!"
"Shutting down!" Somebody replied shakily, initiating a chorus of 'shutting downs' from whoever was still manning the stations. Within half a minute, the entire building was pitch-dark. Being a top-secret facility, the parts of the building housing the Momentum didn't have windows to the outside.
Crow breathed a sigh of relief, hearing the same sounds arise from the people beside him.
"The back-up power isn't working sir!" Somebody reported after a couple of minutes of fumbling in the dark, "It looks like it burned out with the main power supply!"
Crow tightened his grip on his package and twisted around to avoid one researcher bumbling blindly towards him. That would be Kalin's work, they've been working on it all weekend, to connect the backup generator to the Momentum-powered generator, so when the Momentum went awry for some reason during Yusei's duel (whatever the reason was), the backup generator would be burnt out as well.
Five minutes, that's all he'll need. Crow went into the Momentum storage area easily, no security locks work without electricity. He set Zigzix's replacement Momentum Core down and began to remove the original. His teeth chattered uncontrollably at dismantling something that could blow him up into his atomic constituents, and he bit his tongue so hard that he could taste a piece that fell off, but his hand remained firm.
This is the only chance they would ever have to steal a weapon like this from Neo Domino City, when the Momentum is shut off and the Research Facility was in an uproar. And the Momentum was the only way to truly free the Satellite from Neo Domino City.
Beyond the confusion in the room, he could distinctly hear explosions from outside the building. A particularly well-placed bomb sent shock waves even to his position on the 17th floor. Crow really hopes Chaos wasn't going to overdo it and bring the entire building down.
"Gah!" Lazar screamed. But he was drowned out and swept along by hundreds of panicked staff pushing past him towards the emergency exits.
Crow lifted his head up so the sweat from his brow dripped into his eyes instead of the sensitive equipment. Placing the Core of the Momentum on the floor, he began installing Zigzix's replacement Core. This simplified version could only manage energy output but not absorb any EnerD like the true Momentum. With any luck, it'll buy them enough time.
* Leo's line was taken directly from the show, because I got lazy.
A/N: The duel was also taken from the show, because I wasn't going to write the entire thing, hopefully this is the least confusing way to write it.
So that's Crow's part in all of this.
The only time Momentum could have conceivably (however barely) been stolen was when they shut it off during the duel between Yusei and Jack. Because you can't exactly steal a live energy processor that powers an entire city... it would disintegrate you into a mixture of gases.
This chapter was a little shorter, a lot of things happened and I don't want to lump everything together. Next chapter would hopefully tie up the other loose ends.