Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds: The Judgement of the World

Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

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"Fine, we'll get to packing..."

Jack's voice was a growl, causing Carly to look over her shoulder into the room where Jack was sitting. It was that opulent living room, the tv beyond him was muted while the duel disk on Jack's arm was peeking out from the left side of Jack's head.

"Jack?"

"Those guys attacked Asuka's group," Jack called before he pushed himself to his feet. Carly was visible from the couch her arms elbow deep in bubbles from washing the dishes.

The bubbles were stupidly huge so he ignored them. Ignored how they were to hide the bruises on her... But they projected the glow from the orbs that held her Fortune Fairies through out the room. They set the room sparking with these ever moving spots of light against the walls, chasing away shadows...

"What? Are they ok?" Carly pulled her arms back from the sink, warm, soapy water dripping off the thick gloves she wore. Peeling them off her hands, she joined Jack in the living room as he was walking towards their bedroom.

"Of course they're fine!" Jack blustered in annoyance. 'Great, just great and I haven't even finished the design...' "They decided, without 'me' of all people! That we are to move to the same condo as the twins starting now." He grumbled as Carly looked up at him with...

That was when he couldn't bluster anymore, action froze as his closeness allowed him to see past those thick glasses she wore. Fear. It was naked in her eyes, but absent from her face, he'd seen it before when a random aggressive noise happened after 'the event'. A heavy thud, a loud crash, a shriek, the first night sent her propelling herself into him in sheer terror. It had been 'wonderful' she had been utterly focused on his greatness to protect her.

Then he turned on the lights and cursed himself for being a shallow idiot.

He expected cute tears, not the rivers that spilled down, he expected a flushed face, not a white sheet. All the expectations he had for how she would look scared were crushed under the awful truth of reality.

She had been victimized.

But Jack didn't know what to do, and had sat there prepared to do 'something'! Only when faced with her distress, Jack didn't know what that 'something' was.

"We'll pack up our personal stuff and move over there, then tomorrow we can start packing up the collections and bring them over as well."

"Oh..." Carly looked about the living room. The spray paint art of Jack's hanging on the walls. Her numerous figurines in their display cases with her work station with its paints and brushes the rags and bowls... the couch and tv... "It will be like an adventure! But this time we'll be closer to the others so we won't be isolated out here..."

Jack gritted his teeth as she spoke. It was a teleprompter series of sentences, someone else wrote them out. 'She's not ok with this... and I get that, but if the bastards start up... Hell the Momentum System could go off and there's no wa...'

Jack's thoughts slid to a stop, there 'was' a way to get away if the Momentum started going out of control. The portals that brought them to the Duel Spirit world... in fact... if Aki or Rua could get permission, maybe Carly would enjoy living there instead for a bit? The spirits...

'YOU IDIOT!' It wasn't Martha's voice. But it was her energy and he would have winced if Carly wasn't right there. 'She'd feel useless and abandoned if I did that. I can say its a good idea, the others may agree, but its not as though those dumb asses can't go there on their own as well...'

And Carly couldn't summon, her spirits were still in those orbs, and if something happened to them she would be utterly crushed.

"Stay here, watch tv or something, I'll pack."

"No... I'll pack..."

"Aki would kill me, you're still recovering..." He tried.

"Am I useless to you?"

Out of no where it was a sucker punch to his gut as that sentence reached his ears.

It wasn't Carly, she didn't sound so defeated, if she was upset she would yell at him!

But it was Carly, her shoulders hunched down, and her expression resigned around those frightened eyes.

"A king does not keep useless things! You're here, so clearly you're not useless!" Jack retorted heat in his voice.

'You know she doesn't need a 'King' right now. She needs 'Jack' you dumb lug!' Crow wasn't there, he was still in transit to the condo.

Yet the red heads words resonated in Jack's head as he floundered on what to do to help.

'Sometimes a 'king' needs to elaborate,' Aki's voice was polite and formal. 'Not everyone will be willing to throw themselves to a cause if they don't understand that cause.'

'But... but Carly's gift...'

'That' wasn't Jack. Jack didn't whimper or whine about things!

'Just take a deep breath! You people breath after all, take a big one, let it out slowly and try not to be an idiot! Who knows? Maybe someone will like you better!' Why the hell was the Witch of the Black Rose in his head?

Jack did as told though, taking a deep breath and gritted himself to be... ugh... a 'commoner'.

"Look Carly, its not about being useless. I admit medical stuff isn't my thing, but we both heard the doctor. Those creams might make you feel better, but you cooked us a delicious dinner tonight and we both know how that and the dishes wipe you out. Now I've let you do that because its boring here and I know you want something to do. But its important to me that you don't over exert yourself. A King looks after his Queen and that's all I'm doing."

'Maybe she'll still object?' Jack hoped, if she did it showed fight, but if she stayed like this... Those bastards... how could he have let them hurt her this badly?! He normally would have put his hands on her shoulders when he began. Only his strength would cause her to wince, and the reminder of the bruises had made him lift his hands up and ghost them over her shoulders now... Physical contact would have been nice... 'would have'...

Carly nodded and walked to the kitchen. "I'll just finish with the dishes first."

"That's fine." He answered throttling any potential sound of disappointment out of his voice.

He retreated to their bedroom to grab the suitcase they had used before, it was already getting late. So some night clothes, a spare set for the next day and he could get ready bright and early to move more of their stuff. 'But we left her ride right there in the twins condo... we'll have to take her directly there or it looks weird...' he thought in growing frustration.

'If I had known in time,' was a futile thought. No one knew that Judai and Jesse would return tonight or knock a building over! Hell how did he not hear or feel that? Something massive enough to house a condo would easily be felt where they lived...

'Maybe Archfiend?... BAH I've been around Aki too long.' he thought in annoyance, despite the fact that it... sounded plausible. Maybe Archfiend tried to protect Carly from the sound and tremors. Given the hour Carly would have... 'Been cooking and she was dealing with pots of hot water.' He realized and suddenly he desperately wanted it to be Archfiend. That the dragon would on his own protect Carly was suddenly a weight he didn't realize he should have been carrying. Yet more importantly, Carly was ok. 'She would have dropped the pots, burned herself in the process too...' Scenarios began to play out in his head.

'You know what? I don't care about the ride, let her find out! Her being safe at the twins building is more important than a stupid ride!' he decided as he folded up her night gown and stuffed it in the suitcase. She was going to complain, she didn't like how the ointments she wore carried that medicinal stink. But that didn't matter, it wasn't strong, and couldn't compete with a room being aired out of spray paint odor. So in went the soft, pink, silk, he stole from a shop but wasn't telling her cuz it had been abandoned and the set fit her body to a T, teddy... Then his clothes, since boxers were fine with Carly only. But if there was an emergency, the others could burst in at any time and his body was NOT for their pleasure.

It was for Carly's viewing pleasure 'only'.

There was the bathrobes the underwear, the brushes... when he was finally done Jack was confounded by how little there was in the suitcase. When they had moved the first time it had been absolutely packed...

'Street clothes, that's right we had several pairs of street clothes,' he recalled as his eyes drifted across the room.

'I know he doesn't think I'm useless,' Carly's stomach felt like the pot she was scrubbing held under the water and drowning in suds. But he was right. The pot was large and they had eaten until they were stuffed but it wore her out... 'The big lug actually voiced being so very thoughtful so why am I miserable?' she wondered.

The whole kitchen had this very cold sterile appearance. Aki said that all high end condo's looked this way, they weren't really 'unique' in design. It wasn't her cozy kitchen, she knew her kitchen and missed it and her place terribly. Tears ran down her face when she needed her fairies!

She grabbed a dish towel and quickly dried her hands as she almost stalked her way to where she kept her deck. At her hip was fine except kitchen time after all... there had been... events...

Sliding her deck out, the cards tumbled and spilled over her waiting hand onto the table. Tumbling so some were facing up and others down, a sure sign that this wouldn't be a good reading. There was no life to her deck...

Frowning she went to her little roulette wheel...

"Hey!" Crow's voice from the other side of the door caused her to yank her hands back as though she had been burned. "We're here!"

"Yeah! Sorry about the dust!" Rua's voice pipped up as well, cheerful enough to make her envision the ear the ear grin he must have been sporting.

"I'm coming," she called in answer before walking over to the door.

Said pair were standing there, just grayed out by concrete dust and it sent her artistic mind reeling to see such washed out colors.

The kitchen was just as bad. Sterile grays and silvers, the occasional white, then slapped with the sharpest square of black.

'Its European,' Aki pointed out.

It was an abomination!

Soulless, devoid of color or life, empty, vat of sameness that would drive Carly up a wall if she wasn't...

"Sooo can we come in?" Rua asked.

"To the bathroom both of you, I can't stand how washed out you look," she ordered.

"But won't this cause drain issues..." Rua began, but Crow just walked on in as ordered.

Rua followed Crow, reaching up though to grab Carly by the hand and give her a brief squeeze, then he sniffed the air. "Wow big sis, your place smells tasty! What did you have for dinner?"

Meanwhile Jack stuck his head out of the bedroom and his scowl of annoyance at Crow shifted to a scowl of concern. "Be fast."

"Judai and Jesse knocked a building over to flatten the Tenjoins' building. The dragons stopped it from happening but since the pair are here. Its not safe to be spread out. Can't afford to have another building topple and take out a local family, you know."

Nodding, Jack's expression grim as he examined the state of Crow's clothes.

"Yeah, Ancient Fairy can keep concrete dust out of the air, buuuut if you fly out of her shield... Nearly choked Power Tools' engines though poor dragon."

With that Crow went to was his face and try to do some maintenance to his appearance while Jack went back into the bedroom to finish packing.

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"Dinner is ruined and we had a routine!" Junko groaned in resentment as the group climbed off of various dragons.

"It won't be so bad if we can resolve this fast though... Since Judai and Jesse are back, we can hopefully resolve the problems they've been causing. Jesse was just trying to help and he got dragged into this. It's going to be scarring I bet," Kazu argued as he picked up the suitcase of stuff that Queen had carried for him. 'Carry' 'Lean against her side and go back to the Duel Spirit world' she wasn't going to admit to any sort of 'servant' work it seemed.

"How though? Its not them that's the issue its Yubel... no one knows enough about them to even know what their ability 'is'. So what if its not them at all and its whatever messed 'them' up?" Asuka pointed out...

Ryu and Zalinka had stepped out of the condo and into the night air backlit by the twins condo interior light. While beyond them was the skeleton of a D-Wheel resting in the living room of the condo. Everyone was carrying suitcases or bags, dismounting and walking towards the condo when Momoe finally climbed out of CyberBladers' arms.

"Um Natasha, can you do me a favor?" Momoe asked causing the Centaur to pause, the clop of her hoof carried on the breeze.

"Sure, what do you need Momoe?" The centaur turned to face the teen only to tilt her head in confusion as Momoe pointed to the pool.

"Can you become solid and get deep into the pool?" Aki and Asuka blanched at such an out of left field question. They stopped walking and Junko felt tears welling up in her eyes in anxiety.

"How come?" Natasha asked as she scrapped the bottom of a hoof on the course concrete ground.

"When Ms. Nagisa comes over, she's going to see the D-Wheel, but if we can make it look like you took a swim in the pool. The spirits could create an illusion so you can stand where the ride is to be 'dried off'. Because the way I see it, if she walks in, she's walking straight to it, and even if its just made invisible, she's going to crash into it because skirting 'that' isn't happening. Buuuuut..."

Junko bit her knuckle as relief nearly escaped as a sob, Asuka nearly fainted as joy and relief washed over her in tidal waves.

"That's a good … I didn't even think of that," Ryu noted while Ruka's little bug hair style bobbed excitedly.

"I'll get some towels! Take off the armor if you can! Don't want it to rust!" She called out over her shoulder as she dashed into the house.

"Yeah, she doesn't need to know you're not solid and just pretending, we can make it look realistic enough," Zalinka agreed with a grin on her face. She was close to smacking Momoe in the back in approval... then recalled Momoe's physically fragile state.

"So why go in at all?" Natasha asked though she did start slipping some of her armor off.

"Water on the ground, more realistic with the presence of hoof prints," Zalinka rationalized while Momoe nodded.

"Pool water has a particular scent, if you track it into the condo it helps with the illusion."

"Ahh I see... never really..." Natasha pulled off her helmet and let her waist long hair tumble down before she jumped straight in. Soaking Momoe, Zalinka and Ryu all at once but not giving a damn with the way she was going about it. "Oooh now that I'm closer and solid yeah I can smell it... What 'is' that stuff?"

"Don't get it on your hair! It doesn't like hair!"