Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's – Reverse of Arcadia

by Yusei

Summary - "As a member of Arcadia, Rena begins to learn of the organization's secrets as a war begins to unfold. The present and the past begin to clash, unleashing a future of doubt as the Signers rise up to battle the darkness".

Disclaimer - I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's or any of the characters.

A/N – I apologise for taking so long to get this chapter finished; in all honesty, I was doubting whether it was possible I could actually manage this fanfic, especially as I'd been so poor in updating. The duel in the chapter is weak, I'm aware, though it was written by memory from the duel I had with Itsuki, in the same way the duel with Aki was based on when I played through the chapter of the story. Regardless, I will aim to update this more regularly so it can keep up with Stardust Accelerator. Please read and review.

Rena -「Satellite」- Daedalus Bridge

There was a strange feeling lost in the blackness. Like a swirling heat from the distance. Slowly, it was beckoning.

This time, however, it was much different than the sensation following her revival in the aftermath of her duel with Aki. Rena's face twitched as she managed to return to the surface of her consciousness, her eyes sliding open gradually to find the ceiling above her much different from that of the room she shared with Liquid and Okita. The redhead hesitated before picking herself up, sitting with a spinning head that beckoned her right hand over half of her face, groaning tiredly.

"Wh- what on Earth…?" she sighed.

Everything was still a blur, sketchy details about what had followed her departure from the Riding Circuit; remembering Haruki, Liquid and Okita around her. And then… a hazy mess. Amidst that blank space, there were people, a voice calling to her from a distance, distorted as though she were listening from beneath the surface of the ocean. The sea of colours seemed to be shrouding the last of her memories in confusion; the shape of a person, standing there with dark hair, much like how the vision had been during the Fortune Cup's climax.

"…Rena…"

The voice broke through suddenly; still far and echoing as though calling her from the opposite end of a tunnel. Rena's eyes opened slowly, halfway while trying to decipher the origin of the voice or why she was having such problems remembering. Which brought her to the cabin around her; she wasn't in Arcadia, but at the same time, it wasn't as though she was somewhere completely new. There was a somewhat… nostalgic feel about the place.

"Rena!" another voice yelled.

This one different from the other; still in a raised tone, but the sound of it varied; a higher pitcher among the differences. A redheaded young man burst through the open door, shielded only by a ragged sheet. The boy paused beside the bed, dressed in a yellow sleeveless shirt, dark green trousers and black boots. A brown vest joined the shirt, lined around the openings' edges with cream material resembling fluff; the same pale shade lined the jacket's edges hanging open in front of his chest. Fiery hair spiked wildly was held in a steel-blue band, two steel rings piercing the belt above his right eye, a yellow 'M' shaped Marker situated in the centre of his forehead. Dark straps were wrapped around the upper halves of his arms, resembling belts, and gloves of the same grey-black colour covered his hands with openings for his fingers. The boy leaned forward, pressing his hands against his hips.

"Hey, Rena, you decided to wake up, huh?" he mumbled.

Rena watched the boy curiously; for some reason, he knew her. Could he have been someone that she knew prior to running into Divine's arms? But the Marker suggested he belonged, or had belonged, to Satellite, whereas Divine told her she had always lived in Neo-Domino. There was no way that they could know one another, yet he had called her name. Twice. The boy lifted a puzzled eyebrow and stared at the girl curiously.

"What's up with you? You look like you don't recognise me" he chuckled. "How could you forget the one and only Crow? You okay?"

Rena tucked her head between her shoulders, flinching once she realised the major difference in how her hair fell. She leaned back, gazing down at the outfit she had changed into; wearing the same sleeveless jacket as Crow, although the sleeveless top that joined it was a midnight blue colour. Blue jeans, the belt-like straps across her arms and the matching black gloves joined it. A major difference between their outfits was Rena's long brown boots, coming to an end halfway up her calves with a ring of black around the top, which her jeans were tucked into. A chill ran down her spine as the thought that the boy had changed her clothes while she had been comatose crossed her mind and stared at him with a combination of horror and disgust flickering across her eyes.

The boy, who had named himself as Crow, blinked, leaning back slightly out of bewilderment of Rena's peculiar behaviour. A tense hand rose in front of his chest, as though the look on the girl's face repelled him with terror of his own. He looked just as nervous and uncomfortable as the clueless girl.

"H- hey, Rena…" he mumbled. "You remember where we are, right? My place… in Satellite?"

Rena's somewhat hateful expression lifted with the shock of the news delivered. "Satellite?" she echoed, astonished at the fact that she had wound up in the place.

-遊戯王5D's-

Arcadia ~ Chapter 6 – Reconnecting Bonds! The Dream Past in Satellite ~ Arcadia

Rena / Crow -「Satellite」- Daedalus Bridge

Rena's head rotated while surveying the room, taking in everything she could; she had never been to Satellite, knew barely anything about the place outside what Divine and Seria had described. The room around the two consisted of the bare minimums; the simple bed that Rena found herself seated in, a worn sheet laying over her legs, a desk with an old computer standing atop and a bookcase in the corner on the opposite side of the door, filled with a few books, some with battered spines or covers barely hanging on, pages crumpled and yellowing. Around her was the proof of Satellite's poverty. Crow scratched his head, recovering from his initial fear of the redheaded girl's distant behaviour.

"Did you rattle your brain too hard rolling around in your sleep again?" Crow asked with a cocky grin.

Rena slowed, turning to Crow with a somewhat solemn look on her face; she felt lost, but at the same time, simply confused about how she had managed to travel from Arcadia to the depths of Satellite. Crow pointed to the Marker imprinted on his forehead.

"Could you really forget someone with such a grand Marker on his head like this one?" he laughed.

Rena smiled softly, even if she was struggling to put the pieces together, she could at least play along. Maybe if she could manage that, she could uncover how and why she was in Satellite. She let out a light giggle in response to Crow's claim that his Marker was a useful part of his face.

"I can't believe you really think that I could forget you with that grin and that huge tattoo" she answered.

Crow flashed a thumbs-up, relieved that he had managed to talk some sense into his companion. Rena opened her eyes, watching Crow with a soft gaze, continuing to smile and hold up the front that everything had come back to her. Regardless of torn mind's state, she determined that for Crow to have known her like he seemed to, and expected her to recognise him; they must have known one another at some point. Maybe… she was experiencing an alternative life; one where she hadn't discovered her Psychic powers - then again, that contradicted Divine's testament towards her history. She would simply take it up with him later, for now she'd wait and enjoy the fresh company, reminded of Okita in some respects.

The smiling faces of the trio of Psychics reverberated through Rena's mind, freezing her as she realised that they were waiting for her in Arcadia; they would be anxious to know how their friend was doing following the strange event that had vanished behind a veil of mystery. A frown returned to her face as her right hand fell onto her left, something not unnoticed by Crow.

"You alright?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah… it's just…" Rena whispered. "I have some friends that are waiting for me…"

Crow scratched the back of his head briefly, then grinned mischievously. "Alright, alright, we'll go meet up with the others later".

"'Others'?" Rena echoed, lifting her head to watch Crow with the same puzzled look as she had worn moments before.

Crow's lips dropped into a deep frown, seeming to mock her lack of recollection. "Wow, you practicing for some act during the next battle?"

Rena dropped her eyes to the floor, unwilling to play a part in Crow's jokes. She sighed, pushing the bed sheet away and swinging her legs around, freeing herself to stand in front of him, discovering that at her full height, she peaked over him by a small distance. It was clear from Crow's response that he wasn't referring to Haruki, Liquid and Okita; he must have confused her concern for friends of his own, perhaps people they were both familiar with.

"Crow-niichan" a young voice cried from outside the door.

Crow and Rena both froze, watching as a young boy with chestnut-brown hair rushed in, dressed in a battered brown hooded jacket, short sleeves exposing most of his arms to the harsh Satellite air, a viridian green t-shirt joined it in addition to shorts matching the open jacket.

"Is Rena feeling better now?" the child asked excitedly.

Crow opened his hand in the direction of the seated female, who gave the boy a curious look. The fact that the child was familiar with her name supported the idea that this place had something to do with her history prior to her admittance to Arcadia, adding to the contradiction against Divine's version. Crow leaned over the boy, grinning teasingly.

"So, you're going to calm down?" he asked with a chuckle. "Not going to cry now?"

At the edges of the boy's eyes, tears did brew, but tears of embarrassment rather than apprehension or relief. "Shut up, Crow-niichan! Don't say things like that; that's not how it was".

"Come on, Itsuki, you kept running around in circles out there, asking if Rena was awake like there was a chance that wouldn't happen" Crow laughed, patting the boy on the head.

Itsuki moaned with each collision with the older boy's hand, knocking it away after a few repeats with a scowl upon his face. Rena took note of the child's furious look, understanding that what was happening between the child and his apparent guardian wasn't simply a game to him.

"You're wrong, Crow-niichan" he snapped. "You don't know anything".

Itsuki charged out of the hut, prompting Crow to step forward, raising his hand beside his mouth. "Oi, I was just kidding. Calm down, Itsuki, don't take it so seriously!"

When it was clear that the boy was running regardless of Crow's words, the redheaded teenager sighed, dropping his arms either side of him.

"What's with these kids?" he moaned.

Rena giggled from her place on the sidelines. "You never were good at actually reading those kids".

Crow smirked at her sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. Behind the laughing exterior, it hit Rena that she had touched on an element of Crow's personality and the way in which he cared for the kids, orphaned by the Zero Reverse incident that forged Satellite. She was learning details; remembering details even. Was it really possible that she had lived in Satellite with people like Crow and Itsuki before leaving for Arcadia? Then why would Divine lie? Contemplating the strange clashes between scenarios, she watched whilst Crow sighed, leaning back and folding his arms over his chest.

"He won't listen to me" he grumbled. "Hey, Rena, are you alright to go find him before something happens? We are in the middle of a gang war at the moment".

"Sure" Rena replied, picking herself up from the bed.

Crow turned from her, fiddling with the deck that had been resting on the desk beside the computer monitor. On her way out, Rena snatched the Duel Disk that had been propped against the wall, holding a second deck, presumably her own. Pushing the sheet acting as a door aside, Rena stumbled out into the Satellite sun, assessing the setting around Crow's small home; shacks of similar size and build surrounded the one she waited in front of. A small circular clearing was opened between homes towards the end of the alley, opening into the base of a curved bridge, made of wooden planks and steel support, two paths travelling along the edge of the island broke off from the concrete settlement that Crow and his companions had called their own. Rena's eyes surfed along the unfinished bridge, capturing the end a short distance over the water dividing Satellite from the distant City, the narrow towers of so far away caught her eye, informing her that she was a great distance from Arcadia. In the shadow of the bridge, Itsuki sat, clutching his cards to his chest, his head bowed sulkily, finding him drew Rena towards him.

"You okay?" she asked gently.

Itsuki's head shot up, turning to find the redheaded girl towering over him. The boy scrambled to his feet, desperate to hide his frustration directed at Crow and his embarrassment in front of Rena, standing with a hollow smile and clutching the cards with both hands in front of his chest.

"Rena" he yelped. "I'm glad you're awake now, you seemed to be in a really deep sleep".

Rena tilted her head downwards slightly, wondering if perhaps the Arcadia Movement had been one long dream, perhaps she had never been in Neo-Domino and it had all been a desire fabricated during the night, which would explain the Fortune Cup final match between Jack Atlus and Fudo Yusei of all people. Rena planted her hand on top of Itsuki's head, rubbing it gently with a soft smile.

"I'm sorry for having worried you" she said. "Do you want to duel to make up for it?"

Itsuki's face suddenly began to glow with excitement, releasing the deck with one hand which became a fist in the same instant that the fingertips ceased brushing the cards.

"That's what I was hoping to do before" he called happily. "I wanted to see if you wanted to duel ahead of taking on the next team. But then Crow-niichan was being an idiot as always…"

"It's okay, I'll duel you, Itsuki" Rena chuckled lightly.

Moments later, the two were ready, standing either side of the bridge's connection to the island, both now bearing Duel Disks resembling the original public design from decades before. Itsuki loaded his deck, grinning proudly as he activated the machine on his arm.

"Alright, Rena, I'm ready to go" he yelled.

"Let's do this then" Rena replied, nodding her head with a determined creased brow.

"Duel!"

DUEL START

RENA - ITSUKI
4000 - LP - 4000

FIRST TURN – ITSUKI

"I'll go first" the boy barked. "I summon Little Winguard [ATK 1400] in attack mode".

In front of the boy, a short knight appeared, its face obscured by shadows to the point where only its small yellow eyes could be seen peering out of the darkness. A tight cap sat atop its head with a cerulean band around the base of the azure helm, a small silver wing fixed into the centre. The attire clothing its body matched the headgear, two wings sprouting from its collar and a small emblem attached to its belt. More silver feathers made the grip of the sword in one hand and shone on the curved shield strapped to its other, supporting a crimson heart in the centre of the defence. The tips of the blue cape flapped wildly with the monster's introduction to the field, coupled with a high-pitched grunt.

"Now I activate my Magic card: Reasoning" the boy cried excitedly. "This means that you choose a level, Rena. Then I draw cards until there's a monster I can summon; if it's the same level as the one you said, then I discard it and all the other cards to the Graveyard. But if it's different, I get to Special Summon it".

"I see, he's building his defences early" Rena murmured. "Alright, I'll choose Level 4".

"Right" Itsuki responded with a clenched fist.

The boy moved his tightened hand to the deck and opened it up, sliding one card from the deck, then another. His search came to an end on the third card he drew and glee flooded his eyes, redirected to his opponent almost immediately.

"I drew Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird, so I get to Special Summon it because it's a Level 3".

"So I got it wrong" Rena murmured.

"Yeah you did" Itsuki laughed, throwing the card onto the field. "Thanks for helping me out".

Beside Little Winguard, a much taller being materialised, its humanoid body covered in crimson feathers, with two blue accents running down its chest. The array of soft red came to a halt halfway along its forearms where the brown scaly skin was exposed across its clawed hands. A long yellow beak sprouted from the face, on the opposite end of the skull to the curved feathers forming a hairstyle. Though the most captivating detail of the monster was the two white angelic wings unfolding from its spine, coloured pink on the inside, the monster posed confidently with a smirk [ATK 800].

"I activate Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird's effect" the boy hollered quickly. "Once per turn, I can gain 500 lifepoints for each card that's in my opponent's hand".

Rena sounded her surprise faintly at quick strategy of the boy, unexpectedly watching the five flowers blossom from the cards in her hand, which attracted the enemy monster. The white-feathered wings flapped rapidly to elevate the strange creature, tucking its beak between the petals in order to drain each of the blossoms of their power in order to feed its own. Itsuki beamed once the power was transferred to his Duel Disk, resulting in the machine glowing brightly.

RENA - ITSUKI
4000 - LP - 6500

"And during my End Phase, I can switch Little Winguard into defence mode" the brunette child announced, sliding the card into place. The monster in front of him tucked its sword away and slowly dropped onto one knee, raising the decorated shield in front of its tiny body, eyes peering over the peak [DEF 1800]. "I'm ending my turn with three face-down cards".

SECOND TURN – RENA

The redhead narrowed her eyes at the display in front of her; there was no chance that Itsuki had been planning to leave a monster as weak as Air Hummingbird vulnerable to an attack, leaving her to deduce the face-down cards were a selection of traps to ensure any attack launched against the strange being were negated, perhaps even damaging to her field. The alternative, on the other hand, was to allow Itsuki's lifepoints to grow to an unbelievable amount, which would make the task of defeating him far more difficult.

"It's my turn" the redhead barked, tearing the top card of her deck away.

Her eyes surveyed the collection of cards in front of her; cards she wasn't familiar with, far different from those she had used in Arcadia. But still, there was a strange unknown feeling that she had seen the cards before, perhaps used them; a peculiar nostalgic feeling came from holding the cards in her slender fingers. Her eyes closed briefly, as though to envision the last time she had held them in the same manner, but nothing came through the uncertain darkness. Her eyes instead snapped open and she swiftly removed a card from her grasp; learning all over again would be the only way.

"I summon Sonic Duck [ATK 1700]" she snapped, throwing the card down.

Through the vortex that opened, a green-feathered fowl zipped through, sporting a red scarf wrapped loosely around its narrow neck and a grey bucket seating atop its skull, the handle trapped underneath its beak in order to fasten the unusual headwear.

"Furthermore, I activate Banner of Courage, which will increase the attack power of my monsters during the Battle Phase" Rena added, flipping the card around in between her fingers in order to reveal the identity of it to Itsuki.

"Uh oh…" the boy sounded with a nervous smirk.

"Sonic Duck, attack Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird" Rena barked, pointing to the target.

The duck charged forward with immense speed, crashing into the hovering hummingbird, though showing no signs of stopping. Itsuki was astounded when the two raced past him; his monster struggling to climb off the opponent's head. By the time his head turned, the two monsters crashed into a wall behind him and Air Hummingbird's form shattered into pixels raining down.

RENA - ITSUKI
4000 - LP - 5400

Rena eyes the stunned boy, who was fixated on her recovering monster. 'He did activate any of his face-down cards' she thought. 'So was he bluffing to try and keep Air Hummingbird out long enough to gain even more lifepoints?'

Itsuki's attention remained on Sonic Duck as he waddled drunkenly back to Rena's side of the field and swayed from side to side once back in place. The redhead quickly lifted another card from her hand and laid it behind the monster.

"I set a card face-down" she declared. "Turn end".

THIRD TURN – ITSUKI

"Wow, that was a good turn, Rena" Itsuki commented with a smile. "With that Banner of Courage around, your Sonic Duck even has enough to take out Little Winguard. But I'm not going to let that happen, I draw!"

The boy threw his arm across his torso to remove the card from the deck, smirking the whole time. The expression never faltered, even with his field rumbled and his monsters endangered; he was enjoying the game. Rena watched the exhibition with intrigue, largely contrasting the mood at the Arcadia Movement, even in classes. It dawned on her that the two sides of the divide between Neo-Domino and Satellite were on many more levels than just physical and social. The boy threw down his card, opening another vortex through the cracked ground.

"I summon another Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird" he announced excitedly.

Another of the red-feathered birdmen rose onto the battlefield, diving across quickly to the blossoming flowers from Rena's hand, taking its time to suckle from each of the quartet.

RENA - ITSUKI
4000 - LP - 7400

Rena sharpened her eyes once more; it seemed odd for Itsuki to play a second Air Hummingbird after revealing none of the cards on his field were capable of defending his first, leaving him open for further damage. There was always the possibility that he had allowed his first Air Hummingbird to perish in order to lure his opponent into a false sense of security, though it felt very unlike the boy, despite Rena's limited knowledge of him. His behaviour, at least, didn't match such a strategy. Her brow furrowed to strengthen the stern mood about her and waited.

"I end my turn" the brunette chirped with a smirk.

'So he's not planning anything big yet' she wondered. 'Still, I should be careful. He could be putting on an act, or could he just be inexperienced? Either way, I've got to smash through his monsters in order to find out. And once that Little Winguard is out the way, I'll be able to move in for his lifepoints. This feels too easy, maybe it's because he's only a kid. Perhaps I'm just used to the others being a challenge, like Liquid, Okita, Haruki and Izayoi-san. I wonder where they are, or where I am. I hope they're alright'.

"Oi, Rena" Itsuki called, snapping the girl out of her thoughts. "Are you alright? You're spacing out".

"Y- Yes" Rena replied. "I'm sorry for holding up the duel. It's my turn".

FOURTH TURN – RENA

With a flick of her wrist, Rena lifted the card from the top of her deck and twisted it in order to learn what she had managed to recover. She glanced at it in the corner of her eye and threw it onto the Duel Disk beside her existing monster.

"I summon Tune Warrior [ATK 1600]" she announced.

The red-armoured monster dove onto the field, its abdomen, groin, neck and elbows exposed as areas wrapped solely in the grey suit covering its skin. Two circular dials of the same shade were pressed either side of its head, aligned with the emerald eyes that flashed coldly. Circular meters were pressed into its breastplate and shoulders, all measuring varying elements of the monster's power, while it stretched its arms, the lower halves made solely of large silver jacks.

"A Tuner?" Itsuki gulped.

'He may be worried, but it looks like there aren't any Synchro Monsters in this deck' Rena thought, lowering her eyes to the cards in her hand. 'Could this really be a deck I've used in the past? This Satellite… it looks like that scene from the Fortune Cup. But what exactly is my link with it?'

Rena lifted her attention back to the field, where things had returned to her favour. Though the trio of face-down cards had her concerned; while Itsuki hadn't activated any during the turn before, there was nothing from stopping him from luring her into a trap. The slim fingertip pressed down on the central key behind Sonic Duck's card, resulting in the projection of the chosen card shuddering to life and rising.

"I activate my face-down card, Dust Tornado" she called. "And using it, I'll destroy your middle card".

The central face-down card began to shudder and exploded, casting its remains across the brunette child's field, he grunted, crossing his arms in front of him with surprise by the sudden explosion.

"Ah, my Meteorain" he cried.

'Is that all he had face-down?' Rena wondered, eyeing the boy suspiciously. 'Why would he place such cards face-down if he was focusing on restoring his lifepoints rather than attacking?'

Either way, she had exposed her opponent's field as truly weak, there was little standing between her and charging in for a massacre; his field would be emptied and lifepoints vulnerable. Rena lifted her Duel Disk, glaring over the machine towards the boy's field.

"Tune Warrior, attack Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird" she commanded sternly.

The red-armoured warrior launched itself forward, diving with the named monster in sight. The feathered creature lifted its arms defensively, crossing them in front of its chest, though the fleshy shield did little against the silver jack crashing through its arms and into its chest. Itsuki gasped whilst witnessing the display, watching helplessly as his monster squirmed and vanished.

RENA - ITSUKI
4000 - LP - 6400

"Uh oh" the boy mumbled anxiously. "Now I'm just down to one monster".

"Not for long" Rena called sharply in response. "Sonic Duck, attack Little Winguard".

Infused with the power of Banner of Courage, the green-feathered foul squawked wildly before charging forward, dashing towards the kneeling monster directly in its path. Itsuki smirked and stretched his right arm over the farther of the two remaining cards resting in front of him.

"You're going to have to wait to destroy Little Winguard" he declared smugly. "I activate The Reliable Guardian, which will increase Little Winguard's defence by 700 points until the end of the turn".

"What?" Rena gasped.

Sonic Duck continued its fearsome charge, however, unable to control the speed. Rena clenched her jaws, unable to prevent the inevitable collision between the monsters, resulting in Sonic Duck crashing onto the ground once unable to break through the target's shield. The foul moaned as it flopped against the concrete, Rena tensed the muscles in her arms and throat, about to call out to the monster automatically, though stopped only by her curiosity over why she would do such a thing. Her face was beginning to show the struggle to keep up with what was happening around her; perplexed frustration and longing to understand exactly where she was and why she was no longer in the Arcadia Movement.

RENA - ITSUKI
3400 - LP - 6400

"Heh, I'm not completely useless" Itsuki laughed, rubbing the bottom of his nose with the back of his finger smugly. "I'm getting better, Rena. If I can lure you into a move like that, then I've got to be getting close".

"I see…" Rena mumbled, lowering her shoulders and arms. "So you're using me as a stepping stone to improving your abilities".

"Hey, you use me as training too" Itsuki happily pointed out with a proud smirk across his face.

Rena blinked, still unsure what exactly the boy was referring to. There were still so many details that made no sense, especially due to the distance between Arcadia and Satellite. Divine, Seria and the others couldn't have possibly been involved in the strange procedure; had she been abducted? Itsuki lifted his eyebrows upon recognising the distressed expression creeping onto Rena's face once more, puzzled by her strange behaviour.

"Hey, Rena, are you sure you're alright?" he asked, folding his arms behind his head and tilting it to the right.

"I'm fine" Rena insisted calmly. "I end my turn".

"Alright, then it's my turn" Itsuki cheered, quickly reaching for his deck.

FIFTH TURN – ITSUKI

"Draw!" the boy called. His eyes fell onto the card he'd drawn, meeting it with a disappointed sigh. "I set a monster face-down".

Rena lifted an eyebrow. "Nothing more?"

"Don't try and taunt me" Itsuki barked with an uneasy grin. A drop of sweat slid down his face as a sign that acting confident was taking its toll on him. Acting was becoming more difficult with each turn against him. "I've got a good plan to get back at you with working here".

Rena narrowed her eyes, while she knew little about the boy, his tone alone betrayed his bluff. He was hoping to scare her into resisting the lure of battle, just to gain another turn in which he could turn around his luck. But, without knowing much about him, she wasn't about to allow his oddball antics get the better of her.

"But you're right" Itsuki sighed. "I end my turn with that".

"I see…" Rena replied cautiously. Her fingers travelled to the top card of her deck. "Then it's my turn".

SIXTH TURN – RENA

"Draw" the girl snapped, fiercely removing the top level and adding it to her hand. She peered over the collection to Itsuki, whose expression showed no sign of a mask. Rena picked up a card from her hand, throwing it onto the space on Sonic Duck's other side. "I summon Flamvell Grunika [ATK 1700]".

On the other side of the sulking duck, a purple-scaled draconic monster soared onto the field, pale strips of skin visible down its neck and chest. Copper rings were fixed onto the shoulders of the monster, matching the glove-like armaments attached to the back of its claws and wrists. Trousers matching the shade of the pieces clung to the creature's legs, a brace wrapped around the back of its skull completed a series of pieces, lining the top of a fiery mane that waved from the back of the monster's long neck.

"That's not good" Itsuki murmured nervously.

"Flamvell Grunika, attack the face-down monster" Rena commanded fiercely, pointing towards the unidentified card.

The draconic being lifted its claws, keeping them a short distance from one another, but seemingly groping something between them. After seconds of concentration, a flame burst to life between the two and flared viciously. The upright dragon launched the energy forward, sending it crashing against the card. A panicked squawk emitted from the target whilst its cover burned, the monster revealing itself briefly as a bird with a collar of peacock feathers, shedding some in its violent demise. Itsuki hissed with disappointment, narrowing his eyes whilst watching the flames and his defence disintegrate amongst them.

"Flamvell Grunika's monster effect; when it destroys a monster, it deals damage by 200 times the level of the destroyed" Rena stated firmly.

"Mist Valley Windmaster was a Level 2 monster" Itsuki reported uncomfortably. "That means I'll lose 400 lifepoints".

RENA - ITSUKI
3400 - LP - 6000

"Now let's try this again" Rena declared. "Sonic Duck, attack Little Winguard".

The fowl quacked excitedly and flapped its small wings before charging ahead, storming towards its rival. Itsuki smirked, moving the tip of his finger above the remaining face-down card on his field.

"Are you sure about that, Rena?" he asked slyly. "I could easily have another card that could negate your monster's attack. You have no idea what I've got waiting".

"I'll take my chances" Rena replied confidently. "I'm not going to get any answers by sitting back and waiting for them to come to me. I have to take action myself; this is the only way I can deal with the first question of your face-down card. On top of that, your confidence is hollow, I can see that. So I'll risk my monster for a shot at revenge".

Itsuki gasped at the response offered to him, flinching and keeping his finger away from the glowing key; leaving the face-down card untouched. He failed to react further and watched dumbly as Sonic Duck crashed into Little Winguard, managing to crush it underneath the duck's fervent feet. Rena also remained still until the fowl returned to her side of the field, tilting its head back proudly after achieving what it had struggled with for so long. With his field empty and an attack left on his opponent's side, Itsuki awoke and growled with disappointment that his defensive wall had been dismantled so easily. Rena pointed towards the exposed boy without so much as sympathy or second-thoughts evident in any part of her form.

"Tune Warrior, direct attack" she commanded.

The toy-like warrior marched across the field at a rapid pace, though nothing compared to its ally. Once in the enemy's territory, the monster launched itself from the ground and dove towards Itsuki in the same manner it had attacked Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird. Itsuki, recognising the jack-first stance, gasped and raised his Duel Disk as a shield, praying to fare better than his monster by squeezing his eyes shut. The silver jack collided with the centre of the round core of the Duel Disk, sending sparks flashing across the display and signalling the inability of the monster to pierce through the machine in the same way it had easily obliterated the form of its opponent a turn before.

RENA - ITSUKI
3400 - LP - 4200

Itsuki groaned and only opened his eyes once the monster retreated swiftly to Rena's side of the field. He smirked cockily towards the girl standing behind the trio of formidable monsters.

"It's a shame you didn't fall for my trick, Rena, but then that just leaves me free to activate my face-down card" he called, slamming the tip of his thumb against the key to raise the card.

"What?" Rena muttered calmly.

"It's my Trap card: Attack and Receive" Itsuki announced proudly. "When I take damage to my lifepoints, I can deal 700 points of damage to my opponent. Seeing as you've no fear of any face-down cards I may have, there's no better time to activate this than now. You'll learn that my cards can fight back too".

A blood-red glow surrounded Rena, causing her to eye the centre of her Duel Disk where the value of her power began to decrease swiftly to a vague lower amount, though causing no need for worry. She remained confident in the strange card that appeared to be hers.

RENA - ITSUKI
2700 - LP - 4200

"So you're still fighting back" Rena commented. "Well them, I'll end my turn for now as I've no more monsters to attack with".

"Alright, now I'll really show you a comeback" Itsuki insisted optimistically.

SEVENTH TURN – ITSUKI

"My turn, draw" the boy called, ripping his card from the deck slot. His eyes landed on the gift and immediately, his face lit up. "I did it! I drew a card to save me".

Rena lifted an eyebrow, not having expected such an elated reaction to the beginning of the boy's turn. She remained still and silent, resisting the urge to ask him just what had been treasured so greatly, when he lifted another card from his hand whilst wearing a confident grin once more, looking much more sure of himself than at any point during the duel so far.

"I set a monster in defence mode" he stated, laying the card horizontally, just as his previous cards. The holographic projection of the card appeared immediately in front of him.

Rena blinked casually and eyed the boy without any kind of emotion leaking through to reveal to him her uncomfortable position with the turn. "That's no different from the other turns" she claimed.

"Not yet, but I have something that'll change it all together" Itsuki declared, lifting the mystery card he had drawn beside his face. "I activate the Magic card - The Dark Door. This limits your attacks to one per turn".

"One?" Rena repeated.

"That's right" Itsuki chuckled. "So even if you destroy my monster, there's nothing more you can do. And even if you use Flamvell Grunika to battle, you'll only slowly chip away at my lifepoints while I put my plan in motion. Your chances of winning just got a lot narrowed, Rena".

"So you're holding out until you can find something with the power to take on my monsters and eliminate them all whilst restricting how much I can actually do against that" Rena murmured. "It's a clever plan".

"Thanks" Itsuki laughed, rubbing his nose once more.

'But he hasn't taken into consideration the major flaw in his plan' Rena thought, eyeing the boy sharply rather than the cards in her hand. 'If a certain card is in my deck, then I'll be able to wipe him out before he can do much with this little strategy of his'.

Itsuki returned to the match with his cocky smirk. "I'll end my turn there" he announced fervently. "Let's see what you try to do".

EIGHTH TURN – RENA

Rena laid her fingers onto the top of the deck and focused her vision solely on Itsuki; regardless of his state throughout the duel, he had remained upbeat and optimistic. He never once showed the bitterness she had seen across faces in the Arcadia Movement, especially that of Izayoi Aki. To him, the duel was nothing more than a way to kill time; there was nothing about Psychic powers, no risks or assessments. It was a game to a child. Rena closed her eyes gradually, aware that she had lost that very feeling in treating the game as a tool since her initiation into the Arcadia Movement, even against the boy. But still, losing against a kid wasn't something she was prepared to face.

Her eyes opened sharply and arm tore away from the deck, removing the top card. With a slight twist of the wrist, the card revealed itself to Rena; a Magic card from a distance, which sparked a glint of relief in her right eye.

"Alright, I activate my Magic card; the flaw in your plan" she announced, holding the card up for her adversary to see. "Shield Crush".

"What?" Itsuki cried out in horror. "You can't".

"Sorry, Itsuki, but if I'm going to break through, then I've got to knock down any obstacles in my way" Rena called firmly.

Itsuki yelped as the defensive card in front of him spontaneously exploded, leaving him without a physical barrier against Rena's monster. Still, he dropped his arms and continued to smirk smugly; a sign he was far from quitting.

"But even with my monster gone, you can only attack once per turn" he stated with a chuckle. "You're not winning this turn, Rena".

"I'm afraid that's not the case; I will win this turn" Rena protested calmly. "I activate United We Stand".

"No way" Itsuki cried, drops of sweat building across his young forehead. "That's your best Magic card".

"And now I'll remind us why" Rena stated, sliding it in behind Sonic Duck. "Because I'm equipping it to Sonic Duck, it gains 800 attack points for every face-up monster on my field".

Itsuki lifted his hands, raising as many fingers as he could to begin counting. "3 times 800. Let's see; that's 800, 1600..."

"Through United We Stand, Sonic Duck gained 2400 attack points" Rena announced.

"Eh?" Itsuki squawked.

A blue glow engulfed the three monsters, streams departing from the outer allies and pouring their energies into Sonic Duck. The fowl quacked with the growing power swirling inside of its form, growing larger from the sudden intake [ATK 4100]. Itsuki gazed at the sight in awe, beads of sweat sliding down his face.

"At least I'll have 100 lifepoints left at the end of this turn…" he murmured.

"That's not going to happen" Rena stated. "With Banner of Courage, Sonic Duck will gain 200 attack points during the Battle Phase".

"Then that means-" Itsuki yelped.

"The duel ends now" Rena finished. "Sonic Duck [ATK 4300], direct attack!"

With the transfer complete, the fowl quacked excitedly and then launched itself forward once more, storming across the emptied field. Itsuki watched the incoming duck with fear, aware that he could no longer evade defeat, but astonished at the speed the bird used to fulfil its mission. He squealed anxiously, the duck crashing into him and kicking up a cloud of dust that choked him briefly as soon as it crashed into his Duel Disk.

RENA - ITSUKI
2700 - LP - 0

DUEL END

Itsuki dropped onto his knees, head bowed in disappointment at the loss. Rena waited until the holograms between the two vanished and the Duel Disks shifted into their Standby modes before taking a step forward, about to consol the boy when his head shot up, unveiling a satisfied grin.

"That was great, Rena" he laughed. "Thanks for giving me such an awesome duel".

Rena relaxed her arms and broke her advance towards the boy as the message reached her; it reminded her of Okita in their first duel within the room at Arcadia. Since then, winning a duel had felt like a duty rather than a simple victory in a game. Itsuki's smile lightened the mood and brought a small replica to Rena's face, drawing her nearer and extending a hand to the boy, his eyes opening to find it in front of his face.

"Come on" Rena muttered gently. "Let's go deal with Crow now, huh?"

Itsuki chuckled and seized Rena's hand with both his own, jumping to his feet briskly and dusting off his knees, shedding small blacken grains of dirt and concrete chips. Once they were clear, he followed Rena back towards Crow's, finding the young man standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms folded over his chest and smirking cockily.

"You never seem to go far, Itsuki" he chuckled.

"It's because I didn't want to worry Rena" Itsuki protested casually.

"You shouldn't worry about Rena, she's a big girl" Crow replied lightly. "You're more likely to get picked on".

The redhead laid his hand atop the boy's brunette mop, brushing it playfully, despite Itsuki's brief wince from the grating touch. Rena smiled gently at the scene in front of her; even without her memory of times before Arcadia or knowing what was going on around her, she could understand Crow wasn't like a stereotypical kidnapper, nor did the kids seem to be acting. They knew her, somehow. But it still irked her how the story playing out differed greatly from the account Divine had given; that she'd been abused and neglected by all kinds of people, beaten and tormented just because of her Psychic powers. That wasn't the case in Satellite, not just yet. Her eyes narrowed and dropped slowly towards the ground. Crow picked up on the downcast mood lingering around the girl and smiled gently, keeping his hand pressed down against Itsuki's ruffled hair.

"Hey, I think someone wanted to see you at the Highway" he reported.

"Huh?" Rena sounded, lifting her eyes to the redhead in front of her. "Someone wanted to see me? Who is it?"

"Wow, you must be out of it" Crow laughed. "And here I thought you were bad at hiding it. I can't think of anyone else who would have been on your mind first; Yusei, of course".

"Yusei?" Rena repeated, lifting her eyebrows.

Crow tilted his head, casting Rena a perplexed look. "You feeling alright?"

"I asked her that too" Itsuki commented, looking up at Crow. "She kept spacing out during our duel".

A faint blush glowed across Rena's cheeks. "I'm fine, really" she insisted.

Eager to avoid further questioning, she strode past the two and automatically down the alley-like road. She had no idea where the Highway was, but her body moved as though it understood. Moments into the walk, her solemn and lost expression returned, struggling to piece together why she had been with Crow, who seemed to know her, and how he indicated the same for Yusei.

'He's the same Fudo Yusei from the Fortune Cup, isn't he?' she wondered. 'But… why would he know me? Divine, I wish you could tell me what's going on. I… I don't understand. I'm lost and confused. I'm scared; I'll admit it. Because Fudo Yusei… Because Yusei…'

The broadcast continued, showing the man's shocked face when Aki lifted her head slightly, but Rena had turned away already, unable to bear watching any more of Aki's suffering. There were jeers from the audience, each who despised and feared her power. Those who had branded her a freak and outcast based on the snarling voices that passed through the television. Her eyes moved to the faces of the pair standing either side of her.

"He wasn't trying to hurt her like everyone else. I think he could see that Izayoi-san had been hurt after everything she's been through". Her head lifted, showing the eyes filled with sympathy and dismay. "I think he was trying to help her, to show her that not everyone without Psychic powers is bad. He wanted to show that they… can be good too".

"Yusei, huh?" she whispered, setting her attention back on the enlarged track. The light was changing.

Both Rena and Carly gasped as the brightness took on a new form rather than dispersing – becoming a massive dragon of energy that towered over the two existing dragons like they were toys, more so for the racing D-Wheels.

Carly's camera shook violently as her frail arms battled the harsh winds, both girls cried out in terror and blinded. Light crawled further across the Stadium, engulfing the interior and shining in every camera lens. Everyone was blind to the duel continuing somewhere else.

In Rena's blackened vision, a wasteland filled the darkness after a couple of seconds; four young men stood in brown vests and trousers of black or blue. The scene was blurred, hindering any chance of identifying the quartet, but shades of hair could be made out – blonde, black, orange and ice-blue. The blonde turned his head to the black-haired individual by his side; a mouth flashing open in fits, speaking muted words, his friend seemed to smile and replied; his voice drowned out by the vague nature of the vision.

The fierce gusts whipping them began to die, the light fading, allowing people around the pair to open their eyes to them rub them and stare with wide confused looks. Yusei climbed out of his D-Wheel and began to sprint to the fallen Jack Atlus, whose D-Wheel had spun wildly and fallen; throwing him out and onto his left arm, his faint voice barely reached those in their seats.

Haruki pointed to the figure. "Hey, isn't that…"

Liquid and Okita paused, allowing the girls to catch up, the dirty-blonde narrowed his eyes sharply. "Fudo Yusei".

The man was Yusei, responsible for ending their dreams at the Fortune Cup and staggering forward as though he were searching for something. His eyes landed on the quartet and paused, allowing them to continue ahead. Haruki laid a firm hand onto Liquid's shoulder, tucking her chin over it.

Liquid nodded and progressed forward, Okita and Haruki quickly behind him. Rena was exposed in the seconds, lifting her head and smiling at the backs of her friends' heads, having finished readjusting the collar of her jumper. Yusei's eyes widened, stunned by the redhead's appearance - staring like there was something special.

"R- Rena" he gasped.

The girl flinched and looked to Yusei, eyes also wider when they met the yellow cheek of the man crowned Duel King after defeating Jack Atlus under her eyes. Haruki froze and turned at hearing her friend's name come from the Satellite man.

"What was that?" she asked. "Did you meet at the Fortune Cup?"

"Rena, what are you doing here?" Yusei asked, deaf to Haruki's question.

Rena sucked in the air through her teeth, clenched against one another as the colour drained from her face and eyes widened in horror. She couldn't recall anything, but something was happening; there was some kind of pain, a panic, a feeling of the world spiralling out of control. He stepped forward, only for the ground to be ripped up in front of him, spitting small chunks of debris at his face. Yusei froze, lifting an arm to protect himself, the other angled in front of his waist.

The girl leaned over, pressing her hands against the sides of her head, staring at the broken floor with wide eyes and sweating building on her forehead, looking as though she were going mad.

"Rena!" Haruki cried, leaping to her friend's side and resting her empty hand on Rena's back.

"What's happening to her?" Okita asked, panicked out of his usual character by the twist.

"I don't know" Haruki shouted, equally shaken. "Rena, are you alright? Is this to do with your memory?"

"Get her back to Arcadia" Liquid barked.

Haruki wrapped her arm around Rena's waist, helping her along as quickly as she could. Once they came within arm's reach, Okita assisted in escorting the disturbed girl away. Yusei turned in the direction of the fleeing trio.

"Rena!" he yelled.

By the time Rena had managed to claw her way back to the real world, her body had moved itself to the elevated Highway; a crumbling road raised off the ground of Satellite. A ruined remnant of a once-bustling society. In the centre of the road ahead was a silhouette. She strode towards its, determined not to allow uncertainty and fear show themselves in front of the unidentified being. Whilst moving closer, she identified another shape beside the figure as a D-Wheel, albeit a small prototype.

What surprised her more was the figure standing beside it; the closer she came, the more details she could make out about him. Like herself and Crow, the young man wore a sleeveless brown vest, coupled with grey jeans and brown boots. Over his chest was a sleeveless black shirt, decorated with a circular crimson pattern, straps wrapped around the tops of his arms and black gloves covering his fists. Black hair spiked out in a unique fashion, made more unusual by the addition of blonde highlights among a few of the upper spikes and azure eyes staring down the road towards the approaching redhead. Rena's discomfort grew more; the man was Fudo Yusei, who seemed to smile faintly at her arrival.

"Rena" he uttered.

Rena gasped upon realising the most peculiar detail about Yusei and froze just feet from him, staring at his left cheek where the Marker that had been on display during the Fortune Cup had vanished.

'It can't be' she thought, staring intensely. 'Security haven't said anything before about removing Markers from the faces of people. And that can't be Yusei's D-Wheel; he had a much stronger machine at the Fortune Cup. But still… he's standing here in front of me with all these inconsistencies. What… what's happening to me? Have I gone back through time? I feel like… I'm going crazy…'

Arcadia ~ PREVIEW ~ Arcadia

Crow: Alright, time to take out another team and call more of Satellite ours.

Jack: Don't get too cocky, with such few teams left, this could be difficult.

Rena: Am I really supposed to be a part of this? This doesn't fit with what I know…

Yusei: Next, Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's – Reverse of Arcadia, "Battle of Team Satisfaction: Treacherous Turf War". This is the first step towards the end of this chaos.