Chapter 1: The Story Begins

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's or Stardust Accelerator.

5D's

Drip... Drip... Drip...

I moaned as something cold and wet landed on the back of my head, stirring me from my forced slumber. I brought a had up to the back of my head, frowning as another droplet of what I presumed to be water landed on the back of my hand. I slowly pried my eyes open, vaguely noticing the wet sensation that pooled beneath me, my mind racing as I considered my situation, almost too afraid to look beneath me for fear that I would see blood instead of a puddle.

My blurred vision cleared as various smells and noises assaulted my senses, making the headache that pounded in my temples even worse. The first thing that I noticed as I sat up was a horrible smell that almost reminded me of urine that almost seemed to be mixed with the smell of wet dirt and smoke. My focus shifted from the puddle of 'something' that I sat in to consider the fact that I was really sitting in a puddle of urine.

Curing internally, I hurriedly looked down, sighing in relief when I saw a puddle of murky water beneath me as opposed to blood or urine. At least that was one mystery that I solved that day. With thatsolved, I glanced around, trying to make out my surroundings in the darkness.

Eventually, I came to the conclusion that I was in a sort of alley and that I was facing the back wall, the light from outside shining in from behind me, rusty sheets of metal blocking out the light from above as if the alley was intended to be some sort of shelter from the elements.

The graffiti-covered walls and concrete ground were encrusted with dirt and covered in mud and dust. Various crates and pieces of metal and even vehicles had been left to rust all over the alley, piled precariously against the dirty walls. The sound of waves lapping against the shore intermingled with the sound of machinery from somewhere in the distance.

Eventually, though, even after figuring out where I was, I still found myself faced with several other worrying problems, including trying to figure out where the alley was situated, how I had come to be there and, perhaps the most important question of all, who was I? However, no matter how hard I considered it and no matter how these questions plagued and panicked me, the answers didn't come and my pounding headache wasn't remedying the situation.

Eventually, I was forced to address the sound of hesitant footsteps that approached me from behind, the tiny feet pattering against the wet, muddy ground before stopping about ten feet away from me, the individual no doubt surveying me with apprehension before deciding that it was only right for them to speak up.

"Hey, miss! Are you alright?" a young, male voice spoke, prompting me to turn around. When I did, I was greeted by the sight of a young boy, although his long, frizzy brown hair and slight build could have fooled me.

He was a small boy who couldn't have been any older than 13 who wore what could only be described as rags, his unruly hair covered by a light yellow beanie with an orange badge which depicted a smiling face. He fidgeted with the stitches of a green patch of cloth that had been used to repair the left sleeve of his ragged, light blue coat and covered an equally tattered orange t-shirt that hung loosely around his body, as did his coat, obviously too large for him. I could see a pair of skin-tight black joggings underneath his shirt that ended just below his knees and he wore what appeared to be a pair of light brown sandals on his otherwise bare feet.

"Um... Miss...?" he repeated, his nervous fidgeting increasing as I stared at him, unknowingly unnerving the boy.

"Y-yeah...! I think I'm all right...!" I stammered in embarrassment, hurriedly picking myself up. I brushed off some mud that had made its way onto my clothing, briefly taking the chance to survey my own appearance while I did so. I found that I was wearing a black sleeveless shirt with blue jeans. It definitely wasn't the sort of ragged thing that the boy in front of me was wearing.

"Are you sure?" he asked again, looking rather concerned as he watched my confused expression.

"Yes. I'm sure," I responded, smiling at the boy's apparent concern, my uneasiness seeming to melt away.

"Well… If you're sure… My name's Rally, by the way. What's your name?" he asked curiously, scratching at an odd yellow, triangular mark beside his left eye.

My smile froze. "M-my name...?" I frowned, my headache increasing as I searched my mind for an answer that refused to come to the fore. I... I can't remember my name! I thought hurriedly, even more panic setting in. Why can't I remember my name?!

Rally crossed his arms and stared up at me, his curiosity obviously deepening as he took a few steps towards me. "Why are you taking so long?" he asked skeptically.

"I-I can't remember!" I stammered. The boy's eyes widened in shock.

"Y-you can't remember?! Are you sure that you're all right?!" he asked hurriedly, his tone demanding as he looked up and down by body, most likely searching for injuries.

"I-I think so, but..." I muttered, wincing. "My head hurts..."

"That's not good..." Rally groaned. "There aren't any hospitals or even clinics around here..."

We both lapsed into silence as I reached up to fiddle with a strand of my long ginger hair, glancing down at the puddle below me, vaguely noting my bluish-grey eyes and pale skin as I did so. I heard Rally tapping his foot against the damp ground, making a squelching sound every time his foot came into contact with the puddle of mud beneath it.

My gaze was drawn back to him as I head him gasp. "Hey! You're a Duelist!" he exclaimed, pointing at me with a childish grin.

"A... Duelist...?" I parroted, the word sounding familiar as it rolled off my tongue.

"You know... A Duelist..." Rally frowned, seemingly confused. "I mean, you have a Duel Disk and everything..."

"A Duel Disk...?" I repeated in confusion, looking down as I became aware of a familiar weight on my left arm.

Looking down, I caught sight of the large disk-like contraption, the silver metal and two red spheres glinting in the light from outside of the alley. A Deck of cards with primarily brown backs lay within the machine, attracting my attention. However, before I could examine them properly, Rally interrupted.

"Maybe you'll remember something if you Duel with me!" Rally suggested excitedly. I scratched my head.

"Well… I suppose I have no other options…" I admitted, briefly wondering what the cards actually were.

"Great! Just wait here while I get my Deck and my Disk!" Rally exclaimed excitedly. Before I could say anything more, Rally was off, bolting around the corner of the alley.

I sighed, knowing that it probably wouldn't have been a good idea for me to walk around somewhere that was unfamiliar to me without a guide. I glanced around, noticing a crate to my right. Deciding that it was better than nothing, I walked over to it and sat down, deciding to wait for the boy to return, sighing with relief as my headache quickly began to dissipate.

Remembering the strange cards that lay inside my Duel Disk, I glanced down, removing the cards from my Disk and turning them over. "Oh, yeah... I remember this..." I muttered to myself, looking through my Deck, paying attention to the effects and the detailed images. I found myself looking at a Deck of Light monsters. Despite the overwhelming sense of familiarity, nothing struck me as being particularly special.

I sighed, placing my Deck back into the Disk and shoving my hand into the pocket of my jeans. I paused, feeling something rough brush against my hand and pulled the item from my pocket, noticing that I was holding a few more cards, all of them white.

"This is... my Extra Deck..." I mumbled. "My Synchro Monsters..."

I flicked through the small amount of cards, a sense of nostalgia washing over me as I smiled down at my monsters. However, I couldn't stop myself from pausing at the last monster. It was a dragon. Again, it was nothing special. It was common and its Attack and Defence Points and even its effect were nothing more than decent, but something about it felt special to me. I felt drawn to it, like it was something important to me in a way that other people who only saw the card for its value in a Duel could never understand.

Suddenly, my attention was dragged away from the cards in my hands and towards the sound of footsteps squelching in the mud as someone hurried towards me. I glanced up only to see that Rally had returned with an idiotic smile on his face, almost vibrating with excitement as I stood up.

"All right! Let's Duel!" he yelled, readying his Duel Disk before I could even say a word.

I was unable to stop myself from smiling as I lifted my Duel Disk up in front of me, watching as Rally activated his Duel Disk.

"Duel!" we both yelled simultaneously.

(Rally: 4000, ?: 4000)

"Ladies first!" said Rally.

"My pleasure! I draw!" I drew a card. "I Summon Kaiser Sea Horse in Attack Mode!" (ATK: 1700 DEF: 1650) I yelled placing a card on my Duel Disk. A tall monster wearing blue and purple armour, the style of which reminded me somewhat of the bony plates of a seahorse, rose onto the field, a two-headed lance of sorts clutched in its left hand and a small, shield-like protrusion jutting from either site of its right arm like bony fins. It dug one end of its spear into the ground with a masculine-sounding grunt, red eyes peering from its sockets. "Next, I place two cards face-down. Your move." Two cards appeared face-down on the field before me in a flash of light.

"I draw!" Rally yelled as he drew a card. "I Summon Card Trooper in Attack Mode!" (ATK: 400 DEF: 400) With a mechanical grinding noise, a small, brightly-coloured robot took to the field, speeding along on a pair if caterpillar tracks. The needles in the two meters on either side of its red chest armour rapidly flicked back and forth as the pair of yellow lights set into its blue base blinked on and off as it waved it's yellow arms up and down, the red cannons at the end glinting in the little sunlight that we had access to in the alley. With a whir, its mechanical head swung from side to side, powerful lights from its optics lighting up the somewhat dim surroundings as a red antenna on the left side of its head shifted up and down as if searching for a signal.

Rally wasted no time in continuing. "Now, I activate its special ability. This allows me to discard the first three cards from the top of my Deck. Now, my Card Trooper gains 1500 Attack Points, raising it from 400 to 1900! Now, take out her Kaiser Sea Horse!"

As the cannons on the ends of Card Troopers' arms began to fizzle with electricity, I raised my hand. "Not so fast!" I called, the two face-down cards on my field flipping up, the first bearing the image of spiralling blue and red energy with a powerful-looking white light bursting forth from the centre. The second showed a robed figure with large wings, their body clad in a golden light and surrounded by bright colours as the light seemed to refract around them.

"I activate the Trap Cards Negate Attack and Solar Ray! Negate Attack prevents your monster from attacking and ends the Battle Phase while Solar Ray inflicts 600 points of damage for every Light Attribute monster on my field!"

Rally watched with frustration as Card Trooper seemed to shudder, energy draining away from its cannons. Suddenly, a beam of light shot forth from Solar Ray. "Argh!" Rally grunted as the light hit him in the chest, causing his Life Points to drop. Staggering, he gritted his teeth and managed a grin. "That's not gonna stop me...!" he rasped as he reached for a card in his hand. "I place one card face-down! Your move!"

(Rally: 3400, ?: 4000)

"Draw! I summon Gellenduo in Attack Mode!" (ATK: 1700 DEF: 0) Two small monsters, one pink with a curved head and one with round head that narrowed into a point at the top took to the field, the two monsters dancing around each other in a circle, the rings of light around their waists never appearing to move. Blue eyes stared at Card Trooper on the other side of the field as its Attack Points reduced to their original level, the blue tassels on top of their heads flowing in the wind. "Now, I attack your Card Trooper with my Kaiser Sea Horse! Go, Tidal Surge!" Kaiser Sea Horse raised his hand and sent a huge gush of water at Card Trooper which was swept into a wall where it exploded into shards of light.

(Rally: 2100, ?: 4000)

"Now, Gellenduo! Attack with Light Ring!" I yelled as the rings around the two monsters expanded and slipped over their heads. Spinning, the rings shot forwards and struck Rally, causing him to fall to his knees in pain. "I place one card face-down," I told the young boy as he shakily stood up, the card back appearing on my side of the field. "Your move."

(Rally: 400, ?: 4000)

Rally drew a card without saying anything. "I place one card face-down," he muttered half-heartedly as a card appeared face-down in his Spell and Trap Card Zone. "Your move."

(Rally: 400, ?: 4000)

"All right! Let's finish this!" I yelled as I drew a card. "Attack, Kaiser Sea Horse! Tidal Surge!" Kaiser Sea Horse unleashed another jet of water with a twirl of his lance, knocking Rally over and sending hid Life Points plummeting to zero.

(Rally: 0, ?: 4000)

That wasn't hard, I thought as Rally sighed in annoyance at his defeat. Then, he perked up, his head jerking upwards to meet my gaze.

"So, did you remember anything?" he asked hopefully.

I thought for a moment, but my mind came up with no answers. Opening my mouth, I was about to tell him that I had remembered nothing when, suddenly, a sharp pain ran through my head and, for a moment it felt like it was going to explode. Then, just as soon as it started, it had stopped, leaving me panting with effort, my body shaking. When I had begun to clutch my head, I didn't know, but I felt that my skin had become slick with sweat as I removed my hands from the sides of my head. Glancing up, I took in Rally's expression of alarm as he watched me sway on my feet.

"I-I think my name is… Hikari…" I stammered, stopping Rally in his tracks as he took a step forward to aid me.

Rally sighed shakily, placing a hand to his chest, no doubt in an attempt to slow his breathing down. "Hikari, huh...?" he muttered, seemingly relieved that I was OK.

"Thank you for helping me to remember it," I smiled at him, wiping the sweat from my face.

He smiled back and opened his mouth to speak, but his grin suddenly faltered and was soon replaced by a frown. "Say, do you have anywhere to go?" he asked me, his tone serious.

I stopped smiling as the realisation hit me. I didn't have anywhere to go. "Uh…" I responded, averting my gaze, struggling to find the words to admit that I perhaps needed some help. I heard Rally gasp and looked back at him, watching as he leaped into the air with excitement.

"You can come and stay with me and my friends!" he yelled, his body practically vibrating with excitement.

"Are you sure that they wouldn't mind?" I found myself asking a little too quickly for my liking.

"Of course not! I'll come with you and explain everything to them."

I smiled at him. "Thanks Rally," I stated, a feeling of warmth washing over me before I let out a yelp of surprise as Rally grabbed my hand, dragging me out of the alley, his thoughts about the Duel flowing out of his mouth like water.