Yu-Gi-Oh! 5 Deluxe Dragons

Disclaimer: This one doesn't own the Yugioh series.

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Chapter 23 –The Prelude of Dark Hearts

Over at a select hospital, Jack Atlas is outside in the hallway with his hands together as a porch for his head. It's been some time since he brought Carly here, and yet no movement.

"Carly." He mutters, eyes to the ground trying to hope for the best. He remembers his mark disappearing earlier, and honestly, he didn't mind since he had another problem to worry about. So, he allowed his mark to go, knowing Luca needed his help. And with enough common sense, he can tell there's a connection.

A doctor steps out of her room, standing before Jack who suddenly erects his body. "Mr. Atlas, you should come quick."

Jack steps inside, pushing aside the doctor, and stares at the bed. Carly lies in peace, breathing stable and less sporadic. The doctor tells Jack of her condition, and how she's gonna pull through.

"Carly!" Jack goes to her side holding her hand. She seems to respond by squeezing back. "It's gonna be okay…"

Elsewhere…

A bright light shines upon the inner walls of Aki's home. Yusei, Aki, Leonite, Lua, and Mrs. Izayoi all look at the sight. From it steps out the conjurer, Luca.

"Luca!" Lua and Leonite go to the girl and hug her, glad that she's finally safe. The three of them stay still for a bit, proof of their love for Luca. After a bit, they part.

"Luca, what happened to Demak?"

"He's gone, Lua," she says, putting his worries to rest. "Gone forever."

Luca pauses to look back at her father. She bites her lip to keep silent. "I'm sorry I made you worry, but I had to go."

Luca then proceeds to explain what she went through, omitting a certain piece of information regarding who Ancient Fairy Dragon was. Quiet, the room regains some semblance of peace after the hurricane that transpired with Leonite and Demak.

"I'll be on my way," says Leonite as he heads to the door following the moments of silence. "Lua, Luca, I'm sorry. When we're home, I'll tell you everything I know about Yliaster."

With that, he leaves.

Yusei prepares to go as well, donning his helmet. But as he does, he sees the spirit of Ancient Fairy Dragon above him. "Ancient Fairy Dragon?"

"Hello, Yusei Fudo."

"Ancient Fairy Dragon? What are you doing here?" Yusei asks while adjusting his helmet.

"I felt it was necessary to introduce myself to you, being the leader of the Signers that you are." Her form then changes, turning herself into Luca's green-haired aunt.

"Is this how you normally look?"

"This is how I used to look. In the past when we faced the Earthbound Gods, I was killed by the first Linewalker. I managed to reform my essence and moved to the real world, where I merged with a child born at that time. She was Luna von Schroeder, Leonite's twin sister."

"So, that's how it happened?"

"Of course. If you hadn't noticed, I'm the only one of the dragons whose voice you can hear; when I was human, I was also in tune with the spiritual, like Luca." Ancient Fairy Dragon eyes the building as the lights shut off.

"But, that life of mine is over. I'm not Luna anymore; I'm Ancient Fairy Dragon again. Both Leonite and I have made peace with my death, so there's no reason to bring those painful memories back." The dragon spirit sighs before looking at Yusei. "But the newer issue will regard painful memories. With the roots connected to the former Dark Signers gone, the Linewalker can never return. And everyone will remember their time of being Dark Signers."

Her words worry him; remembering such a traumatic time can be damaging. None of them told the others the truth for that reason. Depending on how it goes, two certain individuals may not be able to handle it.

"So I ask that you and your friends look after them at this time. They don't deserve to suffer any more than they have before." Yusei blinks a little before closing his eyes.

"We will." She smiles before fading away, returning to wherever she goes when her task is complete.

…

By morning, over in the hospital, Jack is still asleep next to Carly's side. He's rather sloppy about it too, still fully clothed with a hospital blanket over him and shoes still on. He shuffles in his sleep for a bit, until the light hits him. Opening his eyes, Jack fully awakens before sitting up.

"Jack?" He looks over at the sound of his name being called out. He turns over and spots Carly sitting up and facing him. Her face clear of glasses but with a slightly pale complexion catches his heart, and his eyes become thicker.

"Carly? Carly!" Jack goes to her side, and in a moment that surprises even himself, he hugs her.

Taken back by it, Carly flushes red with her hands flailing about. "J-Jack?! What are you doing?!"

He pulls back to look her in the eye. "Carly, are you okay? You were close to death."

"I'm uh… I'm fine, Jack!" she stutters, squinting her eyes a little.

He reaches over to the hospital table and picks up her glasses, sliding them on her face. With his face now clearer, Carly sighs in a depressed way. "Jack, I'm sorry."

"Sorry? You don't have to be. It's not your-"

"I almost killed you months ago," she says with a desperate inflection, shocking Jack. "I tried to kill you and turn you into a Dark Signer. I'm so terrible!"

"Carly… you remember?"

"I…" She gets up to leave, before checking under her blanket. Turning red, she decides to sit right back down and cover herself even more. "How can you still look at me the same?"

"It's not your fault." He grabs her shoulders and shakes her. "You were fooled by a force that wanted me dead! You all were!" His head then shakes to the side. "Well, except Demak. He knew what he was doing."

"But Jack," she begins sadly, tears coming out of her eyes, "how can I look at you the same way now?!"

Carly bawls her eyes out as Jack holds her, pulling the girl into a hug.

…

At school that time, Lua and Luca are together with their classmates at a school assembly. Where everyone stands, they face a heightened podium with Chancellor Daigo Hamatsu among other members of the staff. This brown-haired man looks upon the entire student body as he prepares to talk.

"Welcome, students. We all know you want to do something else right now, so I'll cut to the chase and open the floor to the chairperson of Duel Academia. Superintendent Asuna Yuuki."

"Actually, it's Asuka Yuuki." Daigo turns to the superintendent as she steps forward, a radiant woman with hazel eyes. She is dressed in a business suit black with red highlights, her dirty blond hair shifts to show more of the left of her face than the right. Also, this has nothing to do with anything, but she has large b-

"Oops! Sorry about that. My kids have been into this anime lately, and your names are so very-"

"I get it." She politely interrupts, stepping before the entire student body. In her melodious, teaching voice, she speaks, "Thank you all for being here. As you know, the World Riding Duel Grand Prix will begin in less than two months. This is the time where most of the Riding Duelists around the world participating will flood the city and cause more damage than they already have."

"That's an understatement," Lua mutters, causing Luca to elbow him lightly.

"While most of you will be unable to enter, I am aware that some have procured Duelboards recently sold by Kaiba Corporation to get their little fun in. So to ensure the safety of everyone, you should all refrain from using Duelboards within the vicinity of the bridges." A couple of eyes square solely on the twins.

"I'm not saying you shouldn't, but be careful. Always wear your protective gear, especially helmets, never play against an adult, and keep the Duelboard's GPS active." As she continues with her speech, Aki in the crowd nods along while following her every word.

"… and that concludes our assembly. Thank you for listening." She then scans the audience, locating two bodies. "Before I go, I request to speak with both Lua and Luca Titania and Aki Izayoi privately."

Surprised by that, the named students are escorted away. As they are, the others file back to class. All three Signers are brought together within the Chancellor's room after the assembly, with Asuka sitting at the desk with the Chancellor by her side.

"You… wanted to speak with us?" asks Luca nervously.

"First of all, Hamatsu…" The Chancellor stands tall. "Could you please leave the four of us? I would like to talk to them privately."

"Of course!" He sputters, moving to the door to leave.

Now that he's gone, Asuka opens her eyes to face the trio. She speaks, "I assume you have some idea of why I called you here."

"We're not getting kicked out, are we?!" Lua asks in terror.

"Why was that the first impression?" asks Aki.

"No, Lua. Something like that is a matter belonging to your teachers and the chancellor. After all, I supervise all branches of Duel Academia. It would feel wrong to visit every school just to expel a kid for giving their teacher the finger or sneaking onto the grounds of an abandoned dormitory."

"Huh?"

"What I AM here for is Luciano." Those words surprise all three of them.

Aki turns to the twins before asking Asuka, "How do you know that name?"

"For a while, I didn't. Thankfully, my husband helped me remember. I then realized Luciano used some sort of magic to make everyone forget… except for him, and you three." She gains a serious expression. "And here I thought all of that nonsense was trapped on that island…"

"How did your husband help you-"

"I can't reveal too much of that. Let's just say he has powers similar to yours, Aki." She watches Aki's expression change. "I'm fully aware of many things that happen at our schools like you asking around for Luciano after his disappearance. I don't know how or why he did it, but it's obvious he was after you three or one of you. But if you three need help, I can provide my assistance if possible."

Asuka sighs before getting up. "Thank you for your time, and don't forget my advice to you."

She then leaves the room, perplexing the students. Has their superintendent gone through an adventure such as theirs?

…

With Leonite von Shroeder, the man is at home. He throws his suit on as he prepares for the upcoming moments. His children will be returning, so he needs to talk to them like he promised.

"If Demak is dead, the Spirit Hunters are now officially no more."

He walks down the steps to head out the door. As he does he comes before a shocking sight. "Leonite."

Standing before him now is his wife, Umbriel Titania. Dressed in an appropriate dress suit, her golden eyes flare under her purple hair.

"What are you doing here, Umbriel? You were supposed to be in Switzerland doing a conference."

"I was called back because of a mess, one I see has already been cleaned up." She passes by him coldly, like a moon orbiting a planet. "I was on my way back out, until I came upon some disturbing news."

She glares at the back of his head. "What were you thinking, trying to tell Lua and Luca the truth?!"

"They're Signers. They have to know the truth! What Yliaster has done. What it is doing. What it will do!"

"So what if they are? I told you; one person's life is insignificant in the crossroads of the universe," she replies, her heels clicking with each step.

Leonite turns around aggressively. "And is that what our children are?! Insignificant?!"

"Yliaster's goal is for the betterment of mankind. We cannot derail the status quo for emotions, lest we end up like Demak." The footsteps stop.

"And it's that kind of thinking that got Luna killed in the first place!" Leonite storms for her, grabbing her collar. She responds by kneeing him in the gut, causing spit to fly out his mouth. He lays on the floor struggling to breathe.

"There you go again with your fucking sister complex!" she says in rage. Quickly, Umbriel catches herself before regaining her stoic expression. "You know what, that's fine."

Umbriel adjusts her clothing and collar, hoping she didn't tear any stockings with that strike to his abdomen. Leonite recovers a little, still surprised that she ruthlessly struck him. Tired and weakened, he asks, "Umbriel, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to do what I've always planned to do. You be ready for your punishment." She glares deeply at him.

The door behind them opens up, and in step, their children wearing school clothing. Lua eyes his mother in shock, saying, "Mom?!"

"Mother!" Luca says out of respect.

"Yliaster has decided to let you go. You won't be spilling anything." Umbriel crosses her arms under her chest. "Talk, and we'll both be erased."

Leonite grits his teeth. "I don't buy it!"

Luca then gasps. If they can remove Luciano from everyone else's memories, they may be able to do that. "Wait, Dad! Just let it go."

"Luca?"

"Luca, what are you saying?" Lua asks, not realizing what this implies.

Umbriel goes to Luca and pats her head. "Good girl. You were always the smart one." Her daughter pushes her hand aside. "All of you will keep this to yourself if you know what's best for you. Yliaster doesn't need you anymore Leonite, because neither do I, so don't expect you can't be replaced."

With that, the woman steps outside the home, abandoning her family to their thoughts. Luca immediately goes to her father. He simply lies there, in pain for his weakness.

…

A couple of days have passed since the events of the Linewalker, three to be exact. And sadly, so little of Yliaster is revealed to the twins. With their father on the chopping block should he speak out, they can't risk anything.

Unfortunately, things are about to become worse.

As a SWAT team of Security officers burst through the doors of the Signer's garage, knocking Bruno aside, they each swarm Jack's room. The stoic blond stares at them with a somber expression.

"What's all this nonsense?!"

"Jack Atlas, you're under arrest."

Lightz: I hope you enjoy this short little chapter, but I couldn't just throw in any more details that weren't primarily filler. The next chapter will be longer, featuring Jack Atlas against you know who. And, thanks to the advice of a friend of mine, enjoy the surprise it comes with.