Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's - Disaster Zone

by Yusei

Summary - "There was something different now, but what it was escaped me".

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

A / N – This was something I planned last summer and never got around to doing. Then I lost someone three months ago, which prompted me to work on this, the original version that got deleted when my laptop went down. So, when I regained the heart to work on it again, I decided it'd be fitting to put it up today - the final day of 5D's. People who know the Arc Cradle could see most of it as an aftermath of that, although the original plan was to set it after the attack on the WRGP just before Clear Mind and all that. Hope you enjoy. Please read and review.

-RAMPANCY-

Bruno's POV

Things had been… strangely quiet at the garage lately. Yuusei had buried himself into his work as per always, trying to perfect the D-Wheels of the team. 5D's had become my family, I still had nothing of my past, but together, they and I vowed to uncover the truth about everything – Yliaster, Sherry LeBlanc, myself. We were no closer. And now… something seemed off.

There was still no peace between Crow and Jack, but at least the former Duel King hadn't come to pound my head in anymore. I still couldn't understand why he did that; did he see me as some kind of threat? Even after a year, did he think I was a spy? Who knew? I was just grateful that he had accepted me, though he still seemed cold.

Aki and the twins continued at Duel Academy with optimistic fervour, arriving each morning to check on the three D-Wheelers of the team and then heading off. A number of months had passed since Aki had learned to ride a D-Wheel herself, but school came first, and the tournament finals were still a while off. The teams had been in the middle of preparing for the group stages when the attack came; more Ghosts and more casualties. Yeager quickly showed his doubts and confessed to Yuusei, Ushio and Mikage that he was worried about the reputation of Neo-Domino and considering pulling the plug on the tournament for the sake of those still riding. He was strange, but had a good heart. But ending the tournament prematurely could be just as devastating for the city and those competing; 5D's had been working for almost a year and a half, it would crush them - most specifically Yuusei - to see all the hard work go down the drain because of the looming threat that kept rearing its ugly mechanical head.

At the moment I stood there, Yuusei was busy typing feverously on the computer, running simulations on the latest component he had been in the process of modifying. Jack was seated on the sofa, arms stretched either side and watching the reports on the Ghost Riding Roids that had attacked again, a cup of steaming ramen on the table in front of him. Crow was out, working on his deliveries for the day, but he would be back shortly, dusk was approaching and talk of a curfew was spreading across the streets. There were becoming worrying times, the people of an advanced city were powerless against this strange presence, of robots from their time and mysterious figures clad in shadows and mystery. There was still nothing on the supposed new Directors that had taken the role from the previous; a man that Yuusei called Rex Godwin. But he barely said a word nowadays, it was strange.

He rose from the seat with wheels attached to the bottom, something that he could easily glide across the room whilst seated on. The gentle footfalls drew Jack's sharp eyes from the television and watched him in the corner of his view, he was as difficult to read as ever; something was wrong with Yuusei, and he knew it well, but it seemed as though he was lost between helping him and shrugging his shoulders as to say let him get on with it. Yuusei vanished into the kitchen for a moment, leaving Jack and I alone, I glanced at him, but he was already turning to focus on the television once again, leaving me effectively alone. A sigh and I moved out, towards the concrete staircase.

Yuusei never indicated when he needed help anymore, it made me feel obsolete, bored. A whirring from outside grew and the wide garage door opened automatically, granting access to the black and orange D-Wheel that slid inside and rolled to a steady halt. Crow pulled the strange helmet over his hair from his head, goggles still over his eyes, it was something he wore so not to risk his prized helm. He had strange habits, but I guessed that was all due to his childhood of living on the streets.

A deep breath came from him, followed by a subtle smile in Jack's direction, the blonde former King glanced and returned to the television without so much as turning his head the slightest degree or changing his expression. Crow scowled at him and set the helmet and goggles down on the seat of his D-Wheel. A hand rose beside him and the edge of his right hand pressed against the corner of his mouth.

"Oi, Yuusei. You here?" he bellowed.

Yuusei appeared from the kitchen, holding a tall paper cup filled with steaming hot chocolate in his left hand. Crow's smile dropped when he found the same dark circles under Yuusei's eyes and the same haunted look in his dimmed eyes. The lively late-Signer rushed across the room and to his friend, stopping just in front of him.

"Hey, you're not a zombie yet, are you?" he asked with a serious frown.

"I'm fine" Yuusei whispered with a hoarse voice.

Jack turned his head, watching the two in the corner of his other eye, the news had changed from the reports on Ghost to the WRGP, with Jack's friend, Carley on the screen. Crow sniffed the hot beverage held by Yuusei's fingers beneath the white brim, steering clear of the brown body. A thin layer of foam rested on top, pulling Crow's lips into a smile.

"Smells good, I may have to make myself one in a minute" he chuckled. "It's cold out, not fun when you've got to ride around in it".

"Just don't start a fire" Jack scoffed. "You may feel a bit warmer, but then we'll all be cold".

"Shut it" Crow barked and stormed into the kitchen.

Yuusei crossed the room and began to type again, ignoring the rest of us standing around. The silence passed over a couple of minutes and then I decided to move, crossing the room to Yuusei and leaning beside him. The monitor showed a complex array of blueprint images and digital text, all part of the programme he was testing, something to go with the engine programmed we finished some time ago.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked quietly so as not to surprise him.

There wasn't an answer, Yuusei's dim eyes were lit solely by the light of the monitor in front of him; otherwise, he looked like a dead man sitting straight. I frowned, what more was there to do? I couldn't get him to wake up from whatever had dragged him down. The television hissed and died, Jack stood with his back to us.

"I'm going for a shower in a moment" he announced in a drowned voice.

He lifted the cup ramen and sucked up half a dozen noodles, the last in the cup. Steam rose just like Yuusei's cup standing on the side of the keyboard, but solely from the juices left behind. Jack moved into the kitchen and vanished. Again, silence fell and we stood with a wall between us. A banter of shouts came from the kitchen where Crow yelled at Jack for getting the juices of the cup ramen on the worktop, Jack shouted back furiously in his defence. There was a heavy sigh from Yuusei typing once more on the tired keyboard.

It felt horrible, to stand by and watch him do nothing more but wear himself down in some lost determination to complete another programme for the D-Wheels. But there was nothing anyone could do to snap him out of it; we had all tried and failed. I stepped towards him, making no sound to break the firmly established silence.

"Yuusei?" I muttered in vain hope. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Yuusei's eyes were the same, fixed onto the same spot of the blinking monitor, lacking any action to make some sign that he had heard. I did frown, wishing there was something to snap him out of it, but instead, I though it best to leave him and cross the room to find Jack and Crow glaring furiously at each other, half-expecting small bolts of lightning to clash in the space between their faces. They growled at each other, spitting words of disgust and disparagement, the same as always, deep down, they cared deeply about each other. We had all seen proof of that. It was when Crow moved back onto the subject of Jack not having a job to support himself that I turned away, closing my eyes and shaking my head; it wouldn't be long before one stormed out and left the other to stew, mixing insults and complaints into one cocktail of irritancy.

So we were left alone, waiting for them to wait without any real expectation; things would merely turn out the same way as always.

I looked back to Yuusei, finding him slumped over the keyboard with no tapping. Immediately, fear pulsed through me faster than ever and I dashed across the room, leaping over the sofa used as a fourth bed and stood over his side.

"Yuusei. Yuusei!"

Jack and Crow emerged from the kitchen, peering over at us with blank faces; they couldn't see what I could, leaving them in the dark. His bland eyes were closed and he wasn't showing any sign of responding to my voice. The two set aside their argument and followed suit, crossing the room and hovering over Yuusei; Jack grabbed his shoulder, shaking him gently.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I don't know, it looks like he just collapsed or something" I replied shakily.

Crow sighed and slackened his shoulders, much calm than he had been a handful of seconds earlier. "He's probably just pushed himself too far and fallen asleep".

I gave a sigh; of course, pure fatigue. And yet, we were so surprised that he had finally given out, so much so that the possibility had slipped from our minds completely. Crow looked to Jack with the same solemn face; their clash forgotten and their unity restored.

"Let's get him upstairs, he can't stay down here like that" he mumbled.

Jack was first to move again, snaking his arm around Yuusei's back and beneath his far arm, lifting him from the leather seat. Crow was immediately in place, tapping the keyboard and navigating through the files, closing them. I was by Jack's side, helping Yuusei towards the stairs and upwards; there was no point in leaving him in the lower half of the garage; it was this time that Jack, Crow and I would converse over our friend, without him hearing and without Aki to blindly defend him, she cared a lot for him. This time was no doubt as painful for her, perhaps more so; she was busy at Duel Academia, resuming what she surrendered when she ran away into the arms of Arcadia, and unable to do anything to help Yuusei. The good thing was she didn't see everything.

There was a rhythm of taps against the stairs; Yuusei's boots hitting each step after Jack and I pulled him higher. Looking down at his calmed face, I could see just why I overreacted; he was my friend and I had a duty to help him, to pick him up when he felt down and be a shelter for the emotions he refused to let loose. That was difficult when he shut himself away, I had to reassure him I was there.

Moments ticked on and eventually, we stood on the opposite side of his door, inside Yuusei's room. My eyes cast a solemn glance over the room; it was tidy, almost emptied of luxuries, simple; the way he liked things. Jack moved Yuusei on while I watched, laying him onto the bed and stripping his jacket and boots off. By the time I was by his side, he was threw the sheet over Yuusei's torso, stretching it beneath his shoulders and then stood, he was still the tallest of us all.

"You think he's alright?" I asked him, fixed onto his one visible eye.

He didn't react; keeping watch of Yuusei, he didn't blink. Instead, proud Jack Atlus withdrew, leaving me alone with the sleeping one. There wasn't a command to leave him be, there was nothing. So I stayed, standing on the edge of the bed and watching him with regretful eyes; we should have done something sooner, maybe we could have woken him before he pushed himself too far. We had to try harder, to remind him who we were, remind him of his one true rock in life - we were his friends, but we had let him down. He would never let a friend down.

I sighed, wishing there was more I could do, but Yuusei acted as though everyone around him were invisible, ghosts, like he was in a state of disillusion. I only wished I knew what could be done for him. What could one do for a mute reluctant to confess his problems?

It felt like hours passed before there was any sign of Yuusei stirring, a soft groan and flickering of his eyebrows. I smiled, feeling now was a good time to leave him be and venture out. So I did so, leaving the room through the open door and climbing down the silent stairs. Jack was nowhere to be seen, probably taking that shower he had been talking of. Crow was slouched on the sofa, watching the blazing television screen that had been turned on once more.

There was little left to do than to head over to the computer, which had been signed out of and left running. I shook my head, typical of Crow to disregard the cost of keeping that thing running. But he had saved me a moment. I climbed down the last steps and onto the floor, then moved across the room to the seat, which I sat upon without touching and my fingers hovered over the keys. Then it dawned on me, there was a conversation recently about changing the password. I assumed only Yuusei knew, but it couldn't hurt to ask. I turned in the chair, moving my arm over the soft back and looked to the sloughing delivery boy in front of the flashing screen.

"Hey, Crow, do you know what the password is?" I called.

There wasn't a reply. I furrowed my brow and pushed myself up from the chair, storming towards him. Being shunned by everyone around was wearing thin and fast. normally, I wouldn't let the ignorance get to me, just shrug it off as Crow and Jack messing about or pouting after an argument, but this was getting ridiculous.

"Crow!" I barked, leaning over the near arm of the sofa.

Then I got the answer as to why he hadn't answered; he'd fallen asleep, a small drop of saliva hanging on the corner of his mouth as he breathed deeply. I sighed, shaking my head; not only had he left the computer on, but now the television. I crossed the room and pushed the button of the computer, I didn't wait long enough for it to shut down and strode up the concrete steps, climbing out of the shadows and into the afternoon sun. My eye caught the small yellow moped that Yuusei made for me in place of a D-Wheel, just something I could use to keep up with everyone. Taking it out for a spin crossed my mind, but quickly I decided against it, I couldn't worry Yuusei should he wake and find it gone; he seemed out of character lately, whenever I dared to ask him, he was engrossed in his work, he almost couldn't look after himself. Maybe his father was the same before he met the love of his life, before Yuusei entered his world.

I shook my head, this was wasting time, reflecting on the past; I wanted to move on from times that I had lost and strolled out, looking in the direction of Daedalus Bridge. I didn't know why, but just watching it stand over the calm waters soothed me, regardless of the drama that took place across the lanes. So I set out, casually strolling in that direction.

When I finally arrived, the sun had followed me over a fraction of the sky, aiming to fall into the water and sleep itself. There was still a few hours before dusk, I could stay here for a while yet. Yuusei wouldn't mind, he had enough to worry about it seemed. Waves lapped the edge of the city, trying to climb onto land, overhead, birds squawked. My eyes rose to find Satellite in the maze of bridges; it was amazing how many subtle beauties were overlooked in everyday life: the blue sky, the greenery of nature, the soaring of young birds taking their early flights. How fast mankind was growing up; how fast it could evolve. This truly was where evolution had reached its peak for now, the most advanced of all places. So where did I fit into all this?

I had a faint outline of myself; as far as I was aware, I wasn't as human as I believed, the figure from before - linked to Sherry LeBlanc's card - and the voice that gave me a vague idea that I had an alter ego, they seemed to know me. Maybe they were the same person, this Z-ONE as that strange grey-haired seemed to call him. So who was I to him? An ally? An enemy? I'm sure somewhere in those lost memories locked away somewhere just out of reach would tell me, but not for Yuusei and Sherry. Maybe I was dragging them into my personal affairs with Z-ONE. If only there was a way to know.

What was I to do though? How could I tell them not to worry and that I'd handle things myself? I still didn't have a clue what was happening with these strange people and how I was involved. All I knew was that grey-haired man was a threat to all of Neo-Domino, I'd assume I was here to protect it, seeing as fate delivered me to Yuusei, that's why I felt an overriding need to take on that man in order to protect my friends and their home. Regardless of what I am, I could still feel an anchor tying me to this city, this must have been the place I was born - artificially or naturally, I didn't care. Even if I wasn't human, I had moved on from that, I had friends; they didn't need to know, because they were too important to lose and threaten with something unnatural like that. They trusted me, so I would repay the favour with loyalty and kindness, robots and computers weren't capable of those kinds of things. I could eat ramen just like any other person, I wasn't a machine; I was a person, at least in one sense. I had the heart to call someone 'friend'.

I could bare emotions, like the guilt that niggled at me incessantly. Z-ONE… this man hiding somewhere, I knew him, my heart told me so. Perhaps he was involved in me losing my memory, he seemed capable of bringing bits and pieces back, slowly, I was becoming myself. I was learning the truth about myself, bypassing the less human truth, but not the feelings I had developed. Maybe in the future, I could figure out just what Z-ONE meant to me, and I him, no doubt that the path of Team 5D's would collide with those from Yliaster again - there was nothing I could do to stop that, but I could protect them. This was why I was here, after all, to protect them, guide them. Yusei talked often about Clear Mind, I now knew that I was the one who showed him that gift. He hadn't spoken to anyone just about how he had gotten that card, but I overheard one night as he spoke with Sherry over the phone, claiming he had crossed through reality and found himself in Z-ONE's domain. He could confide in her, she understood.

I, on the other hand, had yet to learn where I stood. She was firmly against Yliaster, I was not.

It was strange, how even though the sea breeze swept by, I wasn't cold. Before, I would have felt the chill, but that was when I was deluded into thinking I was pure human, blood and flesh and soul. Which begged the question; who was I based on? Was there a real version of me before? If so, what happened to him? One answer unlocked the door to a maze of a hundred more questions. It must have all been related to Z-ONE somehow, he had to be involved in my memory loss. The problem was, we couldn't get to him - he found us.

I pulled back, there was no point in dwelling on what was out of my control, deepening my despair and frustration, at least I knew it was unlikely there was a family waiting for me. Whoever I had been, if anyone, was gone. I could be someone else, someone my own; friends with those I had bonded with, I didn't need a past life to tie me down to his old loyalties. With a smile, I stepped back from the picturesque scene, retreating back to the city I knew towards the place I could call home.

The walk back was peaceful, everyone seemed taken away by their own lives, living in their ignorantly blissful world. There were children giggling like there was nothing wrong with the world, running freely through the streets full of life. If only they knew…

With that dark thought, I forced myself to freeze, shaking my head in a mute scolding; no-one should have to deal with the troubles that Yuusei and the others faced. At the end of it all, though, wouldn't it feel much better? They were invaluable to this world, they meant something more than the rest of mankind. A smile crept into existence, even with all this chaos following them, they could live as normal people for the majority of their lives. Maybe one day, they would miss that thrill; of racing through the streets, the world resting on their shoulders, the greatest adrenaline rush pulsing through their bodies to keep them alive.

Before I knew it, I was home. The garage door was open and Yuusei standing there, his back to me and looking inside. So it seemed he'd dragged himself back from wherever he fell, rejoining the living world rather than pushing himself to the brink of destruction. That was what worried me about him - he wouldn't look back one day to see this exciting period as even the tiniest bit fun, but as a stern reminder of how close he came to self-destruction. I climbed down the slope that we used to get the D-Wheels up and down, hearing his voice; he was talking to someone else. I peered over his shoulder, finding Jack standing close to the doorway that led into the kitchen, Crow was nowhere to be seen.

"Are you sure?" Jack asked, almost affectionately.

"Yeah. I'm fine, Jack, honestly" Yusei sighed. "There's just something I want to do".

He turned away, his hand gripping the stone wall and moved away, walking up the way I had come. He was distant again, I could understand his ignoring me if he had something on his mind, which evidently, he had. So instead, I turned back to Jack, who leant against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, eyeing some random spot through the windows above the computer and bookshelves, searching the sky for an answer.

"I'll go and keep an eye on him" I called.

He didn't respond, I was becoming vaguely used to being invisible. It was annoying, how they'd shrug me off like nothing now that something was wrong with Yuusei, I'd deal with that another time. After all, Jack was always an arrogant person, so I left him to his thoughts.

Through a brisk jog, I caught with Yuusei in a minute or so, saying nothing, but rather waiting to be prompted by him; I couldn't push Yuusei, not while he was in this disturbed frame of mind. Even for Yuusei, pushing himself like this and widening the gap between himself and his friends was far from the person I knew - but there was nothing I could do if he was so lost that he couldn't even see me. Walking around like this, he did it rarely, sometimes with his D-Wheel, but it wasn't impossible to find him wandering, looking for inspiration. He came to a halt outside a flower shop, gazing absently through the window for a moment, watching beyond his reflection and to the stands where petals of all colours joined together to appeal for a home. His choice in activity had me stumped by then; just what was he doing standing here?

He moved inside, I figured it best to wait. So I stood with my back to the glass, moving upwards towards the sky - no wonder Jack had been watching it before. With dusk slowly moving in, the sky was changing; there was an array of shades to compliment one another, blending carefully to mix a wide rainbow. Soon, it would give way to darkness and the city would light itself until dawn; nightlife, I'd learned, was certainly an experience to share. I was broken out of my thoughts a moment later when Yuusei emerged, clutching a bouquet of white roses wrapped in clear plastic and stalks bound at their cut bases.

"I wonder…" I breathed. "If they're for Aki".

Yuusei looked past me and walked on before either I could repeat my thought or he could respond to the original volume. Could that truly be what had been wrong; he was struggling with his feelings for Aki? Perhaps he was on the way to setting the record straight and declare those feelings for her.

But the further we walked, the less sure I became. We weren't taking the route to the Izayoi Manor where Aki had returned to her parents. She had been discharged from the hospital a short while ago following her crash and her D-Wheel was undergoing repairs, although we seemed to be struggling to recreate the Bloody Rose machine that Yuusei originally designed and constructed for her. We weren't going to find her - so where was Yuusei taking these flowers? Was he meeting with Sherry?

My answer came soon enough; about twenty minutes after setting out, we were standing on the edge of a memorial site, a tower of concrete standing in the centre of the soft ground surrounded by rings of grass where concrete blocks rested, names of the dead carved into them - his parents. He'd come for his parents. But that didn't explain why he was acting so differently compared to normal; Crow visited Pearson's grave all the time and that never detracted from his comedic personality.

"This is the same graveyard…" Yuusei whispered. "This is where Crow visits his friend".

So they were all resting together. Yuusei moved ahead, striding through the gravel paths clutching the flowers delicately, searching for his parents. I held back for a moment, it was best to leave him be for now, but maybe he would need a shoulder to cry on; cry those invisible tears he held locked inside. Those that needed to flow free. I dared to take a step forward, just as I did, he froze - he'd found what he had been searching for. With a heavy feeling around me, I advanced on, closing the gap between us. Yuusei fell slowly to his knees, the bouquet balanced precariously on his left arm, sliding towards his masked hands. The plastic brushed the tips of the lush green grass and rested, sitting underneath the names etched into the concrete block, Yuusei leaned back, lowering his head in a silent prayer for those he remembered, I leaned over to catch a glimpse of his father and mother's names.

Name.

It wasn't them.

It was my grave…

I was astonished; I… I couldn't be dead… could I?

Slowly, the face of that red-eyed man came back; we were duelling while Yuusei was vanished. As he searched for Z-ONE and the Clear Mind that had evaded him. He was shaking, unsure of himself; he could never achieve Clear Mind in that broken state. It was something that man - Placido, I remember now - was determined to keep the same; he wanted to stump Yuusei's evolution, prevent mankind from growing, from ever tapping into Accel Synchro. I was able to stop him, but… there was a terrible price I offered.

My life.

That's right. I… I'm dead.

The terrified face of that kitten from before came back to me; the terror in its eyes as two D-Wheels stormed towards it, tools of mankind that threatened to crush its body and toss the corpse away like it didn't matter. It was the same terror in Yuusei's eyes as he struggled to deal with Placido's accusation that Accel Synchro would rip apart Neo-Domino. Come to think of it… how would I know that if I hadn't been there? But…

I cast my eyes down, my body was transparent; I was a lingering ghost, a spirit bound to Earth to watch over Yuusei, a will that transcended life and death just to stay by my friends' side. The form I had taken… it was Bruno, not Dark Glass, whoever he had been. How did they know we were the same?

Red lights blazed against the night sky after the accident, when taking on Placido took a new form and the crash took place. Yuusei was there, having succeeded in achieving Clear Mind and releasing the Accel Synchro locked within him. Horror flashed across his face, the visor of his helmet missing, he was yelling. Yelling with no words reaching the limp body. They removed the helmet, revealing the cold, closed face and the blue hair that fell identical to mine. So it was then that Yuusei discovered me.

Despair, horror, unending grief. They flooded his eyes, they leaked down his face, they snatched his heart and created a new Yuusei. The very same Yuusei who had been wandering lost for days now. It all made sense now; Yuusei was in mourning, the others hadn't ignored me - I just wasn't there.

"It's my fault…"

What? My eyes fell to Yuusei, droplets of water slipped away from his face. This couldn't be… could- could he be blaming himself for my disappearance from the realm of the living? If only…

If only there was something I could do to touch his heart. To remind him that we shared a bond, regardless of where I was. Or wasn't.

I dared. Reach forward with my hand to brush his shoulder. But I couldn't feel it, nor could he me. So my hand curved regardless, I wanted to at least pretend we could still connect.

"Yuusei…"

His head whipped around, maybe there was a way I could still exist for him. I could still carry out what Z-ONE wanted of me. Or what the original Bruno wished. Maybe he saw me for a brief second, or maybe I was still visible, but he didn't seem to stare at my face for long. Even if I existed for him, it was as a figment, was it likely he would disregard me as a spirit walking in the world of the living? Or would he believe that? His eyes dropped slowly, despair flickering throughout, there was no whole mask to hide the pain inside. He was exposed and vulnerable, broken by the loss of a friend. One of those he treasured more than his own life. I wanted to lean forward again, wrap my arms around him and hold him close, whisper in his ear that everything was going to be alright, whether I was human or not, whether I was alive or not. Whether… I had even lived or not

It was pretty ironic, that I was the last to learn I was dead. Do the natural people know they're dead? Do they stay and watch over their loved ones? No-one would know, my story could never be relayed; I wasn't a part of that world anymore. Eventually, Yuusei and the others would succumb to that inevitable embrace of cold and dark, they would be guided to the place beyond where they would meet those who were already missing. Their parents, the sacrifices of their wars. One day, some time, Yuusei and I would be able to look at each other again and smile - Team 5D's would be reunited, even if we would never be aware of each other standing around. His bonds would be completed again.

It was strange to be contemplating these thoughts, or whatever they would count as for a will pulled to Earth by its own power and determination. I was surprised to learn I was dead, that I was no longer a part of Yuusei's present life, only as an empty space ripped open by a cruel fate. But…

But there was still hope. I still had a purpose.

Even if I couldn't live and stand by his side physically, I would continue my purpose to watch over Yuusei, aid his evolution and win the WRGP. It meant so much to him, to the Signers and 5D's as a whole. We had all put so much work into it, I just hoped my contribution would be enough. I could put in no more, but I would stay with them, even in spirit. An invisible member of their crew, loyalty would bind me to them.

Loyalty, Z-ONE taught me, makes up the bonds that keep us together.