Chapter Text
Venice, Italy
November 10, 2032
5:44 AM
"When I landed back in this time… I think the 'me' that was already here just got… absorbed back into me. Or I got absorbed back into him? Either way, since there were two copies of the same person in the same place at the same time, we just sort of… synched up."
"Like when you tune monsters for a synchro summon," Yusei said thoughtfully. He considered the idea, going over Jaden's explanation in his mind. He just merged with the copy of himself that was already here? I suppose that's possible; as far as we know no one's ever traveled through time before, so the exact physics of it are unknown. There are theories that two exact copies of the same thing— or person, in this case— can't occupy the same time and space… what about me, though? Did I just merge with the 'other me' because we both arrived at this time and place at the exact same moment? But, if—
Yusei opened his mouth to ask Jaden if he could take out his computer in order to check something, but then the specter of the Crimson Dragon appeared in all its glory, letting out its ear-piercing cry in... impatience?
Well, if the Crimson Dragon didn't want him to ask, it probably wasn't a good idea. "Guess it's time for me to go," he said instead, turning his runner back on and revving the engine. "It was an honor to meet you, Jaden Yuki. I hope we'll meet again someday."
"Same here, bro. And when we do, you'd better be ready to get your game on!" Jaden gave the turbo duelist his signature (though Yusei didn't know that) two-fingered salute.
"Yeah?" A sly smile came over Yusei's face. "Then you'd better be ready to rev it up!" Before Jaden could respond, Yusei flexed his foot ever so slightly, and he and his futuristic machine took off in a flash of red, disappearing in a swirl of golden-white light.
Satellite District, New Domino City
April 23, 2203
10:07 AM
The last time jump was the same as all the others, a brief ride surrounded by the gold and white light before it vanished as quickly as it had come. The strangeness started after that, when he emerged into the open air over one of the more secluded highways on the north side of the Satellite.
For a brief moment, Yusei was sure he was going to be smashed to pieces on the pavement, and his mind went into overdrive trying to regain control of his duel runner, even though he knew that it was useless (duel runners are designed for the ground; generally they don't have landing gear), but then he noticed two things: one, he wasn't falling, but rather drifting through the air as if he was made of paper; and two, he could clearly see himself down below, obviously in contact with the road, racing along at top speed.
That's odd, Yusei thought, his mind becoming hazy, as if in a dream. My body's down there, but I'm up here. At least we seem to be getting closer to each other…
Yusei blinked the haze away from his mind and tried to refocus on the road. What's wrong with me? I know better than to get distracted like that when riding! But… wasn't I just doing something else?
One Hour Earlier…
"Would someone tell me what just happened?" Jack demanded.
"I would, but… I don't know myself!" Crow said, anxiously clenching and unclenching his fists.
"I still can't believe he took Stardust." Yusei stared at a spot on the floor, unable to comprehend the fact that he and his most trusted partner had been separated again— ripped apart, just like that.
"But why did that maniac take him— that's what I'd like to know," Jack told him. Silence fell over the three foster brothers— none of them could exactly offer an answer.
"Maybe he—" Crow began, but he was cut off by a familiar echoing cry from outside.
"Isn't that—?"
"The Crimson Dragon!" Yusei exclaimed, even as all three of them rushed for the exit. They burst outside and looked around for the familiar apparition, but it was nowhere in sight. Instead, Yusei's duel runner was aglow with a familiar red light.
"The Dragon's power!" Jack exclaimed, clutching his right arm, which had automatically started burning because of the ancient spirit's presence.
"It looks like it's taken over your duel runner," Crow observed, flabbergasted.
Yusei didn't answer. He had barely even heard the exclamations of his friends over the sound of the Crimson Dragon's call echoing through his mind once more. Almost without thinking, he took rapidly hurrying steps towards his duel runner, the sudden urge to go irresistible.
"Yusei?! Where are you going?"
"I'm not sure, but it's calling to me!" He snatched his helmet and swung into his seat almost in one fluid motion, and in no time flat he was speeding down the highway with the Crimson Dragon's specter flying overhead.
I don't know where you're taking me, but if it's somewhere that will give me a chance to get back Stardust, lead the way! The Crimson Dragon roared in agreement and pulled ahead, carving a molten path through the sky. Let's go!
Yusei drove on for twenty minutes, then thirty, and then forty, drawing closer and closer to the island's northern coast. Out here it was mostly sheer cliffs and small patches of greenery, overlooking the ocean. There didn't seem to be anyone else around.
Strange, why did the Crimson Dragon want me to come out here? What's it trying to tell me? What…what am I…where was I…
Yusei blinked the haze away from his mind and tried to refocus on the road. What's wrong with me? I know better than to get distracted like that when riding! But… wasn't I just doing something else?
Worried now, Yusei pulled over and took off his helmet, breathing in the cool, clean ocean air. The Crimson Dragon dropped me off; no, the Crimson Dragon led me… and then it clicked. Oh. Yusei sighed in relief, running a hand through his hair. His theory had been right.
Leo, Luna, and Akiza hadn't been there when the Crimson Dragon called this time, because they'd never come over in the first place. There hadn't been any reason to, since they'd never discovered an article about dragons appearing and blasting most of Europe. Originally, Stardust's attack must have hit Jaden and left him severely injured; maybe even dead. Because Yusei had gone back in time and saved him, the Osiris graduate must have found some way to cover up the dragon attacks, so they didn't make the papers.
Then, because they'd stopped Paradox from killing Pegasus, their era in time hadn't startled crumbling, and so the Crimson Dragon hadn't needed to take him back in time. That was why there hadn't been a copy of himself in Venice when he'd dropped Jaden off— he'd never been there to begin with in the current timeline.
This time around, the Crimson Dragon had led him out here to this isolated spot so the two versions of himself could merge without creating too much of an uproar. Probably for the best, Yusei thought, sending a mental thanks to the spirit. He could just imagine the looks on Jack's and Crow's faces when another Yusei popped through a hole in the sky only to get absorbed into their best friend.
Now the only thing that remained was to go back and explain to Jack and Crow— and anyone else they'd decided to inform— what had happened. Yusei sighed again, this time in resignation. He was not particularly looking forward to this confrontation— Jack tended to get testy when he missed the action. Of course, he was also going to get to flaunt the fact that he'd met the King of Games in person, so maybe it wouldn't be all bad.
Still, he decided to stop on his way back at one of his favorite overlooks, once again taking off his helmet to better enjoy the view. The entire city stretched out below him, gleaming in the sun. For once, he didn't feel the twinges of guilt that usually accompanied the sight.
At long last, I finally feel like I can let go of the past and focus on the future. Paradox had been totally insane, yes, but in his own mind at least, he'd been trying to prevent a disaster. Wasn't that exactly what Yusei had wished for so long he could do? To somehow prevent Zero Reverse from ever happening?
Paradox's plans had involved murder and destruction, and one could argue that Yusei would never sink that low, but… if he'd had the technology to travel through time… would he have decided to do what Paradox had done? To try and fix things? How far would he have been willing to go, driven by grief, guilt, and the belief that what he was doing was the best for everyone? What kind of damage would he have done?
Although stopping Zero Reverse didn't seem like it could have any negative side effects, the reality was that he couldn't possibly predict that. There were lots of people who were living happy, fulfilling lives in his era and time, despite the tragedy caused by his father's research. Changing anything in the past, even a horrible tragedy, could endanger that. He had just fought tooth and nail to make sure that wouldn't happen.
I guess all along I realized what Jack, Crow, and the others were always trying to tell me. Zero Reverse was bad, but it didn't destroy everything. The best thing to do is move on, not look back. I just didn't want to admit it to myself. I wanted to feel guilty because that would mean I had some control over the situation. But I never did. I was just as helpless as everyone else, and I couldn't accept that.
Yusei laughed. It was only his usual small, throaty chuckle, but a laugh nonetheless. He put his helmet back on and revved his Duel Runner, eager to feel the wind in his face, and headed home.
I've been a fool. Thank goodness for my friends. Paradox may have painted a bleak picture for the world, but I know the future isn't set in stone. It's what we make it. And together, we're going to make it bright. Because the true magic of Duel Monsters isn't just in the cards— it's in all the friendships I've forged thanks to the game.
He would have to remember this feeling the next time Jack and Crow got into a fight.
As it turned out, the only people Jack and Crow had gotten around to calling (because they'd spent twenty minutes fighting about it) were Akiza and the twins, so it was to a demanding audience of five that Yusei found himself "regaling his tale", as Akiza put it. He carefully left out the part about time vanishing and the fifteen or so minutes of his friends' lives that had been erased, part of a lost timeline.
"He almost didn't believe me when I told him I was from the future. It was only because there were these two spirits with him who confirmed it that I was able to convince him."
"Spirits?" Luna asked with interest.
"Yeah. A female one with wings, and a male one that looked… pretty human, actually." Luna nodded. "I've seen some of those." She frowned. "But, how were you able to see them? I didn't know you could."
"I— actually don't know," Yusei said slowly, suddenly perplexed. He'd been startled by Jaden's companions (the two transparent ones, anyway; the cat hadn't been all that unusual), and wondered, at the time, how it was he could see and hear them, but it had quickly been pushed to the side when Jaden's time started vanishing.
"Maybe you have latent superpowers like Luna!" Leo said excitedly, "and it just took a little trip back in time to awaken them!" He turned eagerly to his sister. "Luna, summon a spirit and see if Yusei can see it!"
"It doesn't work like that Leo!" Luna said, scowling. "I can't just 'summon' a spirit. They only come to me if they want to."
"It doesn't matter," Yusei said, waving a hand. "I'm pretty sure the Crimson Dragon helped me see them anyway, and only temporarily." If the Crimson Dragon could arrange to have him merge back into his own time period without any witnesses, surely it could give him the ability to see and hear spirits that he was actively participating in a conversation with, just to avoid confusion. "I couldn't see or hear them after the second time jump."
"Maybe they just weren't there," Leo suggested, refusing to give up on his ideas of Yusei having superpowers.
Yusei remembered the explosion that had come out of nowhere and Jaden's praising of Yubel's work in causing it. "Oh, they were there alright," he said.
"How d'you know that?" Jack asked.
"It comes later in the story. After I convinced Jaden I was from the future, I had to convince him that history had changed…" This time he continued on to the end, again leaving out any mention of Jaden's time vanishing.
"I cannot believe you actually met the King of Games," Jack said, harumphing in obvious jealousy.
"And that Jaden guy," Crow added. "He sounds pretty cool, but I don't think I've ever heard of him before. You'd think a guy like that would be in the history books."
Akiza, the only one to have been quiet the whole time, was biting her lip in concentration. "I think I've heard of a 'Jaden Yuki' before," she said. "I just can't remember where."
"Well, don't stress about it too much," Yusei advised her. "It'll come back when you least expect it."
"Right, thanks Yusei." Akiza gave him a little smile.
"Ooo—" Leo started, only to have Luna elbow him in the gut. "Ow! Luna, what was that for?"
"For your being an insensitive jerk," she muttered.
The rest of the morning was spent in good-natured bantering and discussion of theories of time travel— until Bruno finally got up and they had to change the subject. They had all agreed to keep the whole incident to themselves— a 'Signers' Pact,' as Leo had called it. Jack thought that was stupid, but as Crow said, no one cared what he thought (outside of dueling, anyway).