Welcome back, all, to the new and improved version of Friendship and Betrayal! Actually, even though this is the full Prologue, it's only a teaser of what is to come. I've, ah, not finished making all the characters, actually. So, be patient. I've been busy with my End of Grade/Course tests, and my Spanish Exit Exam. But now that they are almost done, I have more time to work!

... Ideally, of course. I'm still just as busy as before. But summer is just around the corner, folks!

But now that this has finally been written, here's what has changed from the previous version!

- Only Yugi, Yami, Jaden, and Yusei are present in this story. I've cut out all the other people, Yuma included. I... I can't really write Yuma all that well, you know? I've never watched the ZeXal series in depth... And it's just not very interesting to me. So, no Yuma. Sorry all you ZeXal fans!

- You may notice that, Yugi and Yami have separate bodies! This has a purpose in the future chapters, so don't worry. It's not a mistype!

That's all that's shown here, pretty much. A lot of other stuff has changed, but that's all spoilers, at least for now, so I'll let it be. But please, review, and tell me what you like and dislike about the new F and B! Enjoy!

- Edit 6/11/13:

- Added line breaks.

Friendship and Betrayal

Prologue

A tan skinned, black and red haired female walked into a coffee shop, up to the counter to order a bubble tea drink before sitting down at one of the small tables close to the window. Narrowing her blue eyes ever so slightly, she stared out the window, out at the street bustling with cars and people impassively.

The woman, who looked to be no older than twenty, at the very most, nodded curtly to the waitress as her order was bought to her table. She sipped slowly, occasionally stirring at the drink with the large yellow straw that came with it.

After an estimated half hour, she stood abruptly, pushing her chair back none too gently. The other customers looked up curiously, but upon spotting the strange marking at the corner of her eye, they looked away quickly. Pausing to note the quick glances, the woman shook her head and walked out of the shop.

Dressed in casual wear, blue jeans, white boots, and a red long sleeve shirt, she didn't draw much attention as she walked down the street. Breathing in deeply, the acrid smell of car exhaust, dampened by the humid air, stung her nostrils. Looking up at the cloudy grey sky, she guessed that it would only be hours until a storm was upon them. With that in mind, she quickened her pace to wherever she was heading.

It was a sad moment for all of them.

Tears fell from multicolored sources, purple, blue, brown. Mouths moved to shout, call, say, whisper the same name. And finally, finally! - he looked back to acknowledge the voices.

"You don't have to go... Atem," Yugi said, in a voice stronger than he believed he could have conjured up. Despite the tears on his face, the knot in his throat, his voice was unwavering, filled with false confidence.

Atem, also known as Yami, turned his head ever so slightly. "Perhaps." His voice was curt. "But there is... No more reason... For me to stay. You are strong enough to stand on your own now, Yugi." He licked his lips, turning around fully now. The white light of the ancient past enveloped him, casting a dark shadow on his body.

"... Perhaps," Yugi said at last, mimicking Yami's former words. "However - " The words were cut off, as something rumbled ominously.

Joey looked around. "Did anyone hear that too?" he asked. "Somethin' like... I dunno, rock falling?"

Yugi quickly wiped his eyes with his jacket sleeve, looking up again. "Uh, yeah." Several sets of eyes scoured the walls quickly. None thought to look to the floor.

Another crack sounded. Yami felt something give beneath his feet. He sprang away instinctively, closer to Yugi, and farther from the fault that was quickly spidering across the stone floor.

"Everyone run!" Yami yelled, giving Yugi a slight push. The younger looking teen ran a few paces, stumbled, and fell, a fatal move. Yami, at the entrance with Joey and the others, looked back, a look of terror on his face. He lunged back into the room, to Yugi, just as the entrance sealed itself up.

"Yug!" Joey howled at the entrance of the shrine, horror struck as the stone crumbled down, effectively blocking their way back in. "NO!" He stepped forward a pace, and then hopped back as more rock crumbled dangerously. His gaze slowly turned vacant, stunned. "No," he whispered.

Time seemed to slow, and the woman stopped abruptly. The person walking behind her bumped into her, growling in irritation. However, with one glance at her equally irritated eyes, they dropped their eyes to the pavement, mumbling an apology, hurrying on.

Casually, she glanced around, bringing her right index finger to her right ear, tapping the ear piece that hooked around it.

"Any situation?" she asked, looking to the sky. It had grown dark in a shockingly short amount of time. She suspected that it would now rain at any moment.

"Perhaps," responded a younger sounding female voice. "Brother has found something - someone, actually. They seem to be brothers, if not twins. On the outskirts. They are... Out."

The woman nodded, and continued walking. "Investigate." She said, the tone suggesting that the word was a command rather than a request. She took the finger from her ear, and dropped her hand to her side.

"Whoa..." Jaden whispered reverently, looking around at the dark room, and then the brightly lit stand. The deck replica of Yugi Moto was spread out on top of it, and one card in particular called to Jaden.

"So, Winged K, what did you want to tell me?" Jaden reached over to pick up Winged Kuriboh's card, seeing as it glowed with a white light. It flashed brightly, blinding Jaden.

"Hey! What's with the light show?" Jaden squinted, turning his head away. When he was again able to look, it was in a state unlike dreaming. "So... What's this?"

He looked down on a city, a ruined, yet thriving city. He didn't seem too high above the city, yet he could see everything at once. He stared, awestruck. After a moment, a ghostly apparition of Yubel appeared next to him.

"What's so interesting?" she yawned. "It's merely the future." Yubel smirked. Jaden snapped his head around and stared at his spirit friend.

"This is the future? What happened to it?" Giving one last lingering glance at Yubel, he turned his gaze to the city. Bridges crisscrossed the air, most of them crumbled, very likely unstable structures. The buildings in the center of the city seemed to thrive, standing tall and proud, while the outskirts looked no better than dead.

"The future needs saving, you know," Yubel said, speaking in a conversational tone. "I suppose you were always the heroic type, although you never realized it. This era needs a hero. Maybe more than one."

Jaden narrowed his eyes, lifting his head. "... So, this is the future. It needs saving." The sentence was posed as a statement, and a small grin slowly spread across Jaden's face. "If it involves dueling, I'm totally game."

Yubel laughed, snapping her fingers. "It involves dueling. Just not what you imagine it to be." The dreamlike state disappeared, and suddenly, Jaden felt himself falling.

The scream came unexpectedly, that was for certain.

The female snapped her head back, for once taken off guard. Something was plummeting out of the sky, and by the screaming voice, it was a person.

She frowned. If nothing was done, this falling-out-of-the-sky person would end up as nothing but a large blood splatter on the ground. Looking around, the civilians seemed equally as shocked. Someone had the sense enough to round up several people and grab a blanket, but she doubted it would slow the guy down enough.

And then, the rain came, hard and heavy. Snarling in annoyance, she turned her gaze back to the fast approaching person. Twenty feet. Then ten feet. With the rain, there was just no way –

Just a few feet before his ultimate death, the rain converged on the person, thrusting him away. His fall was diverted, and he was sent tumbling to the ground.

She hurried over, as did a grey eyed man. Nodding, the two of them walked over to the person. He was masculine, looking of early college age, reasonably fit, and had duel colored hair.

"Well," the woman said conversationally. "Who are you?"

The Mark was back.

Yusei fell to his knees, gritting his teeth. The Head of the Dragon burned brightly on his forearm, shining through his black jacket. It burned like liquid fire, searing his arm quite painfully.

"What in the world?" Yusei gasped. He pulled back the jacket sleeve, and the Mark glittered back at him, innocently defying the world. "The Mark is supposed to have gone with the Crimson Dragon," he said quietly. The pain was fading to the point where Yusei could stand with a reasonable sense of balance.

He was reaching for his phone, when it rang. Yusei paused, looking at the caller, before picking it up. "Crow. Did you receive it too?"

Crow's voice filtered over the phone. "Yeah, Yusei. Hurt like hell too. Why?"

Yusei shrugged. "I don't know," he said honestly. "It's got to mean something though, this mark disappeared, what, a year ago now?"

"Just about," Crow mused. "Listen, I gotta go. But I bet you we'll get calls from the others. Keep sharp Yusei. Later." The phone went dead as he hung up.

Yusei nodded slowly, setting the phone back down onto the table. The Mark still glowed, although dully now. Looking outside, he decided to head over to his workplace to calm his nerves.

Heading outside, he did a double take, looking at his motorbike with the slightest hint of suspicion. "Hm." He grunted, mounting the bike and pulling on his helmet. "Crimson Dragon, where will you take me now?"

As he started his vehicle, a circle of white light appeared in front of him. Without hesitation, Yusei kicked his motorcycle into drive and surged into the light.

The woman nodded to the silver eyed man, who had the wrists of the struggling boy in a steel-like grip.

"I never did anything, I swear!" He yelled. "Anyways, who are you? What are you doing to me?" His brown eyes glared without fear, as he lunged forward, trying to pull his hands free. Sighing, the woman drew a knife. His eyes widened.

"Silence," she said crisply, slamming the hilt into the side of the boy's head. He was out like a light. "Take him to the base and get him interrogated. She sighed. "This can't be a coincidence."

Without a word, the man nodded, dragging the boy away with a business like stride. The crowd parted wordlessly.

Yusei slowed to a stop, having appeared on a deserted road, above what looked like a ruined city. It looked rather familiar, although he had no idea why. He scanned it apprehensively, and suddenly, something clicked.

He knew why it looked so familiar now.

"Crimson Dragon, what are you playing at now? Why did you bring me here?" He frowned, while powering up his bike again. He needed to get down there, and fast.

Turning around, Yusei sped down to the grounded twin of Arc Cradle, the only difference was that it lived while it died.

Walking up to an insanely large house – a mansion, almost, - the woman wrung her hair out the best she could, her clothes steaming. Within seconds, her hair was damp at worst, and her clothes completely dry. She opened the door to the mansion with a key that she had pulled from her pocket.

"Hey, anyone home?" She shouted, looking up the stairwell. Receiving no response, she shrugged, bringing her index finger up to her ear.

"Is there any response from the twins?" she said, leaving the stairwell behind, and walking into what seemed to be a kitchen.

"No, not yet," replied the same female voice from earlier. "We're working on it, Heather." The connection broke off.

The woman, Heather, nodded, taking her finger from her ear. "Interesting," she murmured, sitting down at the bar like counter. "Very interesting."

Like? Dislike? Let me know by reviewing below! :D But seriously, please do review! I need some feedback! The next chapter won't be out for a while, as explained in the top A/N. So please, bear with me for a while! Review!