81"Could I return to the life I know?
And if I do, I know I will never truly be."
(Vanara the Musical)
What the fuck.
What the FUCK.
"Carly!" I call out in desperation. Her posture, her aura, her…her eyes. It's all. Wrong. It feels. Wrong.
Why did she want to duel Jack?
"Glad you could come up. I know I-" I try to push forward, but Carly raises her arm to stop me. The mark—the Mark of the Spider—shines a vibrant purple right. Right there. Right there on her arm.
A harsh wind tries to blow us back. I stand my ground, something hard to do in stiletto heels. I hear a grunt from behind me. My head turns out of sheer panic because.
Jack.
I see him clutching his arm in pain. His mark is glowing. I'm not sure if his pain is coming from their connection, her powers, or something else. I find I don't care. A fire grows inside me- hot, but most of all, furious.
"Who the hell are you supposed to be?" I growl out. My hands are balled into fists by my side, with my one hand extending up, just in case. The other holds my deck I pulled out of Jack's coat pocket. "Did you use me to get to him?" I snarl out the venomous words.
"What the fuck was your-"
"I'm not Carly," The person with Carly's face sneers. This wiped whatever arrogance or confidence or whatever bravado I had.
Not Carly. Not Carly. Not. Carly.
My eyes travel between the mark and her eyes, devoid of life. I swallow back bile.
"Who the fuck are you?" Jack snaps out the words I couldn't find.
"Who am I? You should know, Jackie," Not Carly sneers. "I am a vessel of Darkness. I am a monument born to destroy the Signers."
My eyes widen. "You're a Dark Signer," My voice is hoarse from realization. "I'm right, yeah?"
"What?" Jack, behind me, tries to push forward, but I hold my hand to stop him. He hisses my name. I chose to ignore him. "Stay behind me," I tell him bravely. Because I have no choice, I think.
"What in the fuck do you think-"
I'm not. Thinking. That's the problem. Still, "I think, no, I know I'm about to make the worst mistake I can." I turn back to Jack with a rueful smile. "I'm getting involved. And it's your damn fault."
"Kallen-"
"Nice try, sweetie, but the King behind you is the man of the hour." Not Carly smirked those awful crusted probably-never-met-a-lip balm lips. "It's always a duel between the agents of light and the forces of chaos!"
Am I being pranked? Did I fall into a shitty action movie? I couldn't find Carly's camera, or I may have continued to believe so—that, and the hideous aura that crawled across my skin, suffocating my very being.
I felt it. I felt it the moment she held her hand out. In her palm held a duel disk. I don't know- I don't know why alarm bells rang in my tiny, pea-sized brain.
I just knew Jack had to get far, far away from me.
I didn't even have time to apologize. I shoved him back with my powers as good as I could. Jack groaned as he was flung backward, his back landing harshly against the wall, and thankfully not the pillar supporting the roof that would have surely sent him over the edge—literally to his death, probably.
I had to try my best not to let my emotions show when I hear his cry of pain. All I felt was the shield of purple flames separating Jack and me. I felt my hand catch around the duel disk Carly threw Jack's way that I caught instead.
I couldn't imagine how I looked in a black dress and heels, surrounded by fire. I could feel my gold eyes glaring across at the woman. And yet I feel myself smile.
"I'm not a Signer," I say with my chin raised defiantly. "And I'm the one you're gonna duel."
"How dare you interfere!" Not Carly snapped with venom. I could see the spit exit her mouth. It reminded me of smoke.
The Duel Disk locked against my wrist and stretched fully out. My other hand confidently inserted my deck. "Get over it."
Her lips curled into a snarl. "Who do you think you are- to fight destiny- to take over the role of a Signer?" She hissed out. I imagine if I were close, her breath would smell rotten. "I'll kill you!"
"I'm Kallen," I pull my first five cards. "I don't know who you are, whatever the fuck you did with Carly, but I think. I know." I raise my chin in the air. "I know I'll bring her back."
Because I had to. Because Jack couldn't. Not now.
"Kallen!" Jack calls out. I can barely hear him or what he says. I'm not sure if it's because of the distance, the sound of the flames that kept burning but never caught fire, or because of my adrenaline pounding in my brain.
I thought my first duel with Yusei was high stakes. Now I know.
"Fine!" Not-Carly spat. "If you want to die! I summon Fortune Lady Past in attack mode!"
Fortune Lady Past is a Level 1 Tuner Monster with ? ATK and ? DEF.
A tuner. It wasn't hard to tell where this was going.
"With the spell card Fortune Lady Calling, I can special summon one Fortune Lady from my deck. I summon Fortune Lady Earth!"
"And they tune to create your big bad monster that will send me to hell. Yeah?" I almost hum out the words. If her dark eyes could glower or show any emotion, I'm sure they would have obliterated me on the spot.
"My two monsters tune to become Fortune Lady Every!"
Fortune Lady Every is a Level 7 Light Monster with ? ATK and ? DEF.
"Fortune Lady Every gains four hundred attack points for each level!"
FORTUNE LADY EVERY: ? — 2800 ATK
"Hm," I tilt my head to the side. It wasn't an impressive play. I'm shocked by the substandard move.
"It's my move," I announce with a draw of a card.
SHADOW: 4000 LP
RIKIYA: 4000 LP
I knew, within this turn, without a doubt. I would win.
I glance back at Jack and smile. He doesn't smile back. I can see the sweat beading his forehead. I momentarily mistake his violet eyes as a glare, and I realize. Fear. He's afraid.
For me.
I look away.
"I lay the Empress in attack mode." I set down my Level 5 card. "Her special ability allows me to special summon her from my hand when there are no monsters on my side of the field and monsters on yours. But she won't be alone." I clutch the card in my hands a little too hard. "I special summon The Emperor, whose special ability allows him to be special summoned from my hand when The Empress is on the field!"
If the imposter is affected, she shows nothing. Her smile is wicked, too large, almost comical—a specter who wore a mask—in this case, of someone innocent.
"Now the Page of Swords, who, when I summon to the field, no trap cards can be activated. Synchro summon." I stand completely still. The wind is blowing around us. I'm not sure, for once, if it was my power.
I don't believe so. I felt entirely in control. I closed my eyes to take a deep breath, in and out. I feel the lick of the heat against my skin. If I turned around, Jack would meet my gaze—likely mouthing my name. I'm sure he's furious. He never liked when I took his duels over.
I've never liked how he's been forced into this role. Of the King. Of having to sacrifice his health and standing for some gods who watch. For my uncle who moves the chess pieces.
For my Father, who is waiting. This is their Olympics.
I am no flame. For him, for us, I will burn.
"I will lead the road tomorrow. Synchro Summon, my Wheel of Fortune!"
The Wheel of Fortune is a Level 10 Light Tuner Monster with 3400 ATK and 3400 DEF.
The wheel itself of the magnificent beast reminded me too much of Jack's D-WHEEL, the namesake. Beautiful, blinding, and always moving towards good luck.
My connection directly to Jack, who in many ways represented this card.
"The Wheel of Fortune gains eight hundred attack points for each Arcana in my graveyard," I tell them boldly.
WHEEL OF FORTUNE: 3400–5800 ATK
"That's not enough!" They spit out the vile. I swear I could see saliva. "You may defeat my Fortune Lady, but I'll bring her back; I have more turns-"
"Yeah," I smile. "It is. You're done." She flinches. I continue. "When the Empress is in the graveyard, your monster loses five hundred attack points. You lose eight hundred life points when the Emperor is in the graveyard."
"This—you-!"
"Is over," I finish for them.
SHADOW: 4000–3200 LP
FORTUNE LADY EVERY: 2800–2300 ATK
"Wheel of Fortune attacks your monster." My voice is calm as I slowly raise my hand towards the Carly-not-Carly. The flames lick the skin not covered by my heels.
Yet. I feel nothing. My eyes lock with hers. I see her, angry, fuming. I feel metallic. No. I taste metallic. My lip split open.
She's screaming as her life points drip down to zero. All I hear is endless noise as the flames disappear - as the purple aura exits from Carly. She collapses to the ground.
What the fuck happened?
I'm trying to process it. I'm trying. Then. Then I'm being spun. My back hits the railing as my eyes lock in with his—Jack's. If I turn, I will look down to see the entire city. But I don't.
He's. I've never seen that look. Confused, furious, terrified, anger. All towards me.
One hand reaches up to harshly grab my chin. I don't flinch, and yet, his grip softens. The looks in his eyes calm.
"... Why," That one word comes out strangled. A hushed, spat-out whisper.
"You couldn't," I don't know if I'm audible. My hand delicately lifts to his injured arm, yet I still see him grimace as my red nail strokes the white fabric. His eyes watch my every move. "I could."
His lips hover over mine. I feel my hand snake up to cover the back of his neck. "You will never do that again, do you hear me?"
My smirk is evident. "Not on this planet will you, Jack Atlas, tell me what to fuckin' do."
And then. He kisses me.
It feels like electricity. A match is struck to form a flame. The way his good hand works around my waist to press me further against him as his nails rake right along the bottom of my back, working closer to cup my ass. I smile as I deepen the kiss and roughly pull the ends of his blonde hair, eliciting a moan.
This is pain. This is fire. This is goddamn heaven.
Then the performance crumbles as the wind surrounds us. I break away to hair violently blocking my vision as I adjust to the fact that there's a helicopter above us. I can feel my eyes widen as Jack's hardens.
Right. Yusei. Yusei was coming to pick us up in a helicopter to Satellite. My plan, no, Godwin's plan. Or was it my plan?
Did it matter anymore?
"Shit," The word escapes my lips before I can stop it. "We have to go." I step, but Jack's arm grips mine almost painfully to stop me. "What the hell are you doing?" I hiss out. "Let go."
"… What is this?" Jack's voice is a low growl.
"What does it look like? We're goin' to Satellite," I tell him with a raised chin. "Godwin wants what Signers he's got to head down to Satellite to see what you're fightin'."
He regards me with cool eyes. I find myself stepping back, though his grip never escapes mine. With each beat of the helicopter, I count the silence that stretches. "No," He finally says.
I raise an eyebrow. He sneers in reply.
"This is all a game to you, is it not?" He finally lets go of my arm. I move to step forward—back to him. He steps out of my path with a shake of his head. "Is that why you brought me here? Not to come to my own premiere, but to convince me to play nice?" His lips curl off. "Fuck off."
"This ain't just about you, Jackass," I snap out the harsh words with little thought. "It's about the whole city. They die, we die, everyone dies!" I stretch out my hands to gesture around me to the city's lights, trying to blind us. "Gods forbid I try to convince you to work with your destiny-assigned fuckmates."
Jack opens his mouth. Then closes it. The look in his eyes could have melted steel. I imagine the other one, her; she was used to receiving this look from Jack.
A voice weakly moans behind us. We both turn to see Carly struggling to her hands and knees. She's without her glasses, I realize.
"Kallen…? Is that—is that Jack At-" Before Carly can finish getting her words out, Jack is stomping to her. His posture is. Tense. Yet I still see him holding out a hand for her to take.
"Are you alright?" His. His fucking voice. His tone is one I've only ever heard him use with. Me.
And I know exactly what he's doing.
"M-Me?" Carly stutters out the words. My body is trembling with rage. I watch her slowly take Jack's hands as his good arm wraps around her tiny body in a way that. Just held mine.
"Oh, fuck you," I snarl out the words. Jack barely glances my way, only raising a careless eyebrow out of my direction. Carly didn't seem to notice in her dazed stupor that I was even there—let alone I had saved her life only minutes ago. "Don't pretend like you ever gave a shit about her."
He pauses. That stupid smirk slowly lifts upwards. "You wanted me to save the world," The words rumble in an echo. "I'm starting here."
"You—you-" I can't find the right words. "You don't care. You didn't give a damn what happened to her before-"
"And you do? To anyone?" The words pierce through my walls. He glances at me only once more before turning his full attention to the weak Carly.
I force myself to turn to face the helicopter, my dress swirling behind me. When I look up, I see. Him. His golden streaks racing through his dark hair stand out like a beacon amid shadows. It's different from the glowing purple marking Carly's arm or the red that marked any of them. It's real. It's genuine.
And I can't help but smile. I step forward just once, my heels clacking on the hard ground-
"If you choose him, don't expect me to follow after you." Those words only stop me momentarily. I don't turn to face Jack. "Not this time, Kallen." He says my name purposefully.
"You said it best, yeah?" I have a bitter smile. "I don't care."
"What's going on?" I hear Carly whimper from somewhere behind me.
"End of the world," I answer before Jack can. "And I'm chasin' it."
"KALLEN!" I don't hear her voice initially, not with everything happening around us. I don't listen to her until she sprints to grab my hand. I turn to the tear-streaked face of Rise Rikiya. And my heart stops only for a moment. "Don't go," She begs me. "You can't. You can't be a part of this; you can't leave me; you can't go-"
"Rise," I try to smile reassuringly at her. Because. Maybe I get it. But I don't. I don't. I don't understand.
"I heard, I heard you and Jack talking; why are you going?" All of it came out in one warbled ramble. "You're not a part of this! Leave this to Yusei, or Rex, or whoever else." She's sniffing and near sobbing at this point. "You're not one of them. You belong with us. With me." Her eyes are begging me, pleading. "Please, please stay with me."
I look at her and back to Jack, who watches me cautiously as Carly grips his jacket to pull him closer. Rise and Jack were both watching me.
Waiting for me.
And all I can think about is that man sleeping so peacefully on the floor. The same man draped his jacket over me and laid me on the couch twice to sleep. Yusei Fudo, who looked at me like I was someone worth looking at and. Trusting. When I can barely trust myself when he shouldn't trust me.
The one who fell asleep holding my hand on my dumb couch.
All I can think about is how I can't let him do this alone. Not again. Not when he asked me to go with him. Not when. Not when I've already let him down so many times.
I could see the Path of the Fool without pulling my card. One road which led to Them. One road which led to Him. There were two versions of me. One showed me closer to Her, the one person I was so scared of seeing. The other path was Kallen.
Except it's not Kallen anymore, is it?
I'm not entirely her anymore, either. Not that Kallen, anyway. Not the same one who washed up on the beach with no memories.
I'm just. Me. I'm not Her, and I'm not trying to find her or chase her or whatever. I just wanted to be. Me.
For once, I can't run away. I can't go back to how things used to be. I know that.
"I'm sorry," I only look to Rise as I grate out my words. "I'm sorry that I. I'm sorry I can't be your imaginary friend anymore." I watch her face fall as she lets go of my arm and steps away. "If you're asking me to choose, don't. I don't. I don't think you'll like my answer." This time, I look at Jack. "Because I can't leave him. Not now. Not when he needs me."
Their eyes say everything. It wasn't just Yusei. They needed me too.
But it's not the same. Atlas held up the world alone. What would have happened if someone else shared the burden? Would he still be trapped holding the sky for eternity?
Or, what if Orpheus had trusted Eurydice and hadn't looked back? Would she still be trapped? Would he still be in despair?
I think of this as I turn to catch his eyes, those stunning blue, the one I'm thinking of, and make a running leap towards the edge of the roof without an inch of distrust. I hear shouts behind me, a mix of voices, and I find it's behind me. For only a single moment, I'm scared I'll fall.
And then a bare hand grips mine. I look up to see the panicked, exasperated look of none other than Yusei Fudo, whose eyebrows furrowed in concentration at keeping his hand in mine to keep me from falling.
"Hey, stranger!" I call out happily with a short wave before wrapping both hands around him.
"I can't stand you. I actually can't fuckin' stand you." Yusei grits out as he pulls his arm to help me climb inside the helicopter. I immediately notice the discarded glove thrown onto the ground, and I turn to grin at him. "What were you thinking?!"
"That you'd catch me." I raise an eyebrow. "Which you did." He snorts.
"Barely," He throws me a backpack. My clothes, I think. Which is nice. I'd rather not go to Satellite in a goddamn award-winning dress. I'd be killed upon entry, then my corpse robbed. "Lucy won't make it. Said to tell you something came up."
I nodded. For Lucy to skip out, that only meant one thing. Arcadia. Something must have happened. Something that kept her from coming.
"Turn around," I tell Yusei. "Unless you wanna see something you probably don't."
He turns before I even finish my sentence. I can't help but laugh as I wiggle out of my tight-fitting dress. Yusei had carefully packed my dueling outfit, which I'm thankful for, and an extra set of clothes. Thoughtful.
"So. You and Jack?" It seemed like Yusei had been forcing those words back, though dying to say it.
I pause as I pull my pants over my legs. "What about it?"
"You seemed close." The implication is there.
I button my pants. "Why? Are you jealous or somethin'?" It's not what I wanted to say. Frankly, I didn't want to talk about this. Yusei doesn't answer. I take my time throwing my shirt over my head and slugging my arms through my jacket before finally braving the courage to turn my head towards Yusei. Except he's staring gloomily out the open helicopter door.
"He asked me to choose." My words finally make him look at me. And fuck. He's just so. His eyes are so open, vulnerable, looking at me like. I don't know. "You or him."
"And?" He prompts. I don't say anything. I jam my shoes onto my feet and velcro them too tightly.
I don't think anything needs to be said. I was here, wasn't I?
"I fought a Dark Signer wannabe," I say instead. Yusei tenses. "It was a reporter chick trying to duel Jack to take down the Signers or whatever. I fought her instead."
Yusei didn't ask if I won. "Kallen-"
"Save the lecture, yeah? I heard it already." I stand up straight and notice the Yusei-Go and the Arcana are parked and ready to go.
Yusei regarded me with a tilt of his head. His gaze is still so open that I can't decide if I like it or hate it. I notice he's still holding onto his glove. He steps closer until he's in my space.
"You asked me to be here. My Uncle is the goddamn chess master," I don't know why I'm whispering out the words. "Like it or not, I'm a part of this, yeah?" It's me. I'm the one who reaches to put my hand over his bare one. "If I can stop one of you from gettin' hurt, I'll do it."
Yusei looks down at our hands and does something that surprises me. He interlocks them before tightly squeezing them. My thumb grazes over his. I see the black nail polish on that thumbnail I painted a lifetime ago, only chipped.
"I don't know what to do when you act like this," Yusei admits quietly. "One minute you're runnin', the next…" He trails off.
"I'm tryin' to change. I am." I look up to meet those blues. "I'm not a hero. Far from it." I shake my head with a soft snort. "Gods, Yusei, even someone as shit as me can't let you do this alone. You're not Heracles."
"Do you even know who that is?" His voice is beside my ear. I know he's smiling.
I'm also grinning. "Maybe I will soon."
He opens his mouth to say something else. He's cut off by my uncle's voice blaring from every direction.
"Yusei. Kallen. Our mission is just starting. Prepare for departure to Satellite. Go forth and save the world."
I find I hate him more every time I hear his voice. I regretfully peel myself away from Yusei, only to wonder why it bothers me. Yusei doesn't seem that pleased, either.
When I was just as close to Jack, not even, what, ten minutes before.
What the fuck was wrong with me?
"Time to get ready," Yusei gestures to our runners. I'm the first to kick my body over my runner to mount it. Yusei finally puts his glove back on before securing his helmet as I do the same with my own.
"Where are we landin'?" I call out to him. Yusei only shakes his head in response.
I get my answer quickly. The ground beneath us just. Opens up. Opens up to nothing. And then I'm free-falling.
Only when I close my eyes for a brief moment, do I feel a sense of fear. Relief. Feelings that aren't mine. That I know isn't mine.
When they open again, I'm scared shitless. Yusei seems just as shocked but quickly gets a grip on the situation to rev his engine and tilt to get ready to land. I shake myself enough to copy his stance. That breaks my trance of what the fuck what the fuck what the fUCK-
We're landing. I let out a hiss that maybe was meant to be a release of air, a laugh, maybe a scream at the realization that we were alive. Both of us speed forwards before turning our wheels in opposite directions to skid in a circle to a stop carefully beside each other.
We're looking at each other in disbelief.
"I'll kill my uncle," I'm the one to break the tense silence. Yusei stares at me. Then. He's doubling over in laughter. Soon I'm joining him. It's how I don't hear one voice shouting Yusei's voice repeatedly, trying to get his attention until he's practically on top of him.
I'm not sure how I didn't see him. He's got at least two feet of orange hair spiking upwards. I'm convinced his hair is only attached to his head with that headband. He's staring in awe at Yusei, who finally seems to notice him. I see his face light up similarly. Then the two exchange that typical guy-bro handshake that makes me roll my eyes in disgust.
But then. Then. His eyes are on me. He opens his mouth like a fish gulping for water. His eyes, gray, are popping out of his skull. He opens his mouth like a fish gulping for water.
The dread comes immediately at knowing, fucking knowing, this is someone else she knew that I didn't. Couldn't.
"Crow-" Yusei is the first to react and try to de-escalate the situation. "It's not—she's not-"
"What the FUCK, man?!" He says her name. I cringe. "We all thought you were dead!" He rushes at me. I prepare to block, but it's not what I think. His arms wrap around my shoulders in a tight, suffocating hug. I'm suffocating. I can't breathe. Yusei is looking at me in panic. "I can't believe it, fuck, do you know what you've done to all of us-"
"I-I, I'm not- I'm sorry," I finish lamely. Crow doesn't let go of me but backs up enough to finally get a good look at me. It gives me time to take off my helmet and set it down on the seat of my d-wheel.
"What's goin' on?" He's got that same goddamn accent everyone I meet Satellite seems to have.
"Crow…" Yusei puts a hand on his shoulder. He beckons him away from me. When they walk away, it's how I finally notice what must have been Crow's d-wheel joining our circle. The model was similar to what mine used to be and what Yusei's was—an older model combined with scrap parts forced to make one machine run. My fingers twitch to get a hold of it as I ignore what was probably Yusei trying to discreetly tell Crow my situation, though hard to tell by the latter's shouts.
He's stomping over to me, Crow. He takes my wrist forcibly in his hand and turns it over, revealing corded bracelets I received from Lux however long ago. The same ones he told me he had borrowed from me. A friend, he said, had made them for me.
Crow isn't looking at me. His eyes' water only slightly before letting go. My hand falls limply to my side. When he turns, his eyes are no longer tearful, though I see him biting his lip.
"Did you. Make them?" I rub my wrist as if it was burned.
He takes a shaky breath. Yusei is torn between who to worry about more. "Don't say it like that. That means it's real."
There's nothing. I hold out a shaky hand. "I'm Kallen," I force out. "It's nice to meet you."
A shared look I don't understand is said between both Yusei and Crow. He takes his hand in mine. "I go by Crow. Crow Hogan. I was on Team Satisfaction, you know?"
"I don't. But I've heard of it," I try to reassure him. He lets go this time. I'm not sure what to do or say to make him feel better. It's maybe the first time I genuinely feel guilty about not being her.
"Anyway!" His voice completely changes. "Now that you're back, this changes everything!" He directs the comment toward Yusei as he races to his d-wheel and pulls out a piece of scrap that changes Yusei's features. He looks excited.
"Stealin' from Public Maintenance again?" Yusei raises an eyebrow.
Crow cackles. "What else would I be doin'?! Waitin' for them to hand it over?" He tosses the piece in the air and catches it. I take note of the many marks on his face and wonder how many times he's done this.
"Speaking of," I interrupt. Both jump as I speak. I roll my eyes as I mount my d-wheel. Of course. Idiots. "You don't hear the sirens comin' our way?" I jerk my head to the lights in the distance. Both offer lazy smiles in return.
"Just the perfect welcome!" Crow hollers. "You up for a duel for old times' sake?"
Yusei snorts. "Why not?"
I closed my eyes. More than just two. By my count, senses, whatever, there were at least six. "You two take three. I'll chase the others off your tail." I open my eyes with a smirk at two wide-eyed over-protective hooligans. "What?" My words come out a hiss. "Don't worry about it. I'll meet up with you guys."
"Yeah, sure, we'll meet up at our old-" Crow cuts off abruptly with a tense. Yusei smoothly takes over.
"The broken bridge. You can't miss it."
"Thanks." I give a simple two-finger salute. "Goodbye until tomorrow, assholes."
I take off before I can see either of their reactions. I don't think I could have handled it. I don't know why the words felt right to say, just like I don't understand why people reacted the way they did when I told them.
I shake my mind off it. I'm the one in control. I have to be. My d-wheel moves with me as I circle the thick-headed numskulls called Public Maintenance. I'm hollering insults designed to do what I do best: piss people off. More than I expected, take off on their runner to follow me on the winding road of Satellite.
It's not as complicated as I thought to navigate around Satellite, despite never having been here. I try not to consider its muscle memory from Her. Instead, I tell myself I'm used to it from running from cops back in Daimon Area. It's the same thing. Alleyway into another alleyway, turn, jump, another alleyway, open stretch of road, quick turn, jump, under a bridge, they're gone.
Then it's just me driving. My hair flies behind me in a way that I love the most. It's those moments I want to close my eyes and let my arms stretch out to feel the wind rush through my fingertips.
Crow. Yusei. Jack. I didn't stop to think that ghosts from Her past would stop haunting me. I didn't know them, but. They knew Her.
I agreed to help Yusei. I can't run. I can't run. I have to focus on that.
I'm not sure where I'm going. I'm letting instincts take over as my thoughts run away from me. I see gold. That's all I see.
That's always been my aura. Did she have it, too, I wonder? There was no one I could ask that would know the answer.
No. Don't think about it. Think about something else.
This was where the Dark Signers were hiding. Satellite. Based on the vision we all saw, this was the start of the end of the world. Satellite gets destroyed first. This was the start of everything. This is where we ended it.
The gold is getting closer. I didn't realize I'd been driving closer to it unconsciously. I stop my d-wheel unprompted, forcing my runner to lurch and my hand to twist painfully. A cry leaves my mouth that I have to ignore. I'm not convinced. I turn the runner off before I rip off my helmet and toss it unceremoniously to the ground to sprint forward.
I was right. The gold was a person, a person that I was drawn to. Because I knew. Somehow, I knew.
He was watching me with the same gold eyes I had. I couldn't read his expression. He only kept my gaze the entire time I ran closer and closer.
Gold eyes. My gold eyes. I don't know how I knew. He's. He's the only person I knew just by seeing him. I knew him. I know him.
Pale blonde hair. The same dark skin as mine. And, of course, our eyes. Our aura.
"Yusuke," I choke out the words. "You're my brother. Aren't you?"
And he smiles. At me. "Yeah."
Then he's the one running. He's holding me, except it doesn't feel. Suffocating. It's warm. It's right. He's patting my back and whispering encouraging words as I absolutely break down in his arms.
Because this was my Yusuke. My brother. I found my brother.