(pokes head in)

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, as many fans will be thankful for.

I do own my predictions for the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5ds arc though!

They are short and might not be correct...

Sherry has Crow's Dragon Card

Bruno is Dark Glass

Bruno lost his memory because of the Accel Synchro

...

that's all I've got. (:

Beyond

(Overlord's Healer POV)

My master swept out of the room in the midst of his dark rage, leaving the mangled body of our young prisoner hanging in his chains. My mouth was open in a mixture of horror and disgust; I couldn't believe that such violence and merciless hatred had emerged from my Overlord. And on one as young as this boy! The second the door slammed shut I threw myself towards the nearly dead prisoner and set myself to healing his shattered body. It took all of five minutes—I was the best in my trade.

Sighing, I removed the shackles from his angry wrists, knowing that the Overlord may have my head if he found out that I took them off. I couldn't understand what was wrong with him; he had come back from the slaughtering of the Rebellion a different man. He constantly confined himself to his Majesty's—the older majesty that was never seen around the castle anymore, Charles'—room for long hours on end. Not that he was talking to the old Overlord, most of us in the castle were very aware that the old man had been killed already.

It was just the public that thought he was handing over his crown to young Nick willingly.

I sighed again, sweeping the thoughts away by brushing my hand through the prisoner's black, sweaty hair. Poor boy. He had to be no older than eighteen with his soft face and lean body. He was probably born into the Rebellion, raised on their tainted beliefs. He had no chance to choose between the good and the bad in this war. He probably even thought that he was on the good side. Well, if he ever wakes up from this state, then I will do my best to make sure that (presuming the Overlord allows him life) he learns of the wrongs of the Rebellion and comes to understand that destroying the Everlosts is the only way to save our world.

In a considerably better mood now, I retrieved a rag damp with cold water and placed it over the boy's tanned forehead to break his fever. Magic only worked on so much...

So to pass the time, I started to play one of my most prized games. I tried to guess my patient's species. Lately, this game was becoming increasingly difficult with all the interbreeding going on (not that it's a bad thing or anything, it just makes it harder to guess) and this patient was no exception. The pattern on his wings wasn't helping me get any results. The tips were a heavy black color that matched his hair and there were scattered brown spots on random feathers, as if an artist had taken a paint brush and splattered the color over them.

Carefully, I reached out and stroked one of those feathers, trying to feel the texture. They were soft and sticky with blood—time to wash them.

I did this after every session the prisoner silently endured with the new Overlord or his servants. Partly to keep him presentable to my higher ups and partly because I felt badly for him.

Maybe an hour or two later he was in top condition again—fresh clothes, clean skin, wet hair. Instead of hanging him back up, I put him on my own bed (I had to sleep in my medical room when I had unstable patients and I very much considered him one of those) and watched him sleep. Well, if that's what I'd call it.

He was breathing constantly and evenly, his heart thumping at a slightly quicker pace than the human's—a healthy heart for any of the species. I frowned. Maybe an avian-angel mixed? But that was preposterous, much like a fallen and pure angel falling in love. Avians were too violent for gentle angels such as me to deal with. Maybe he has some fairy blood in him and the tips of his wings change color according to emotions. That made much more sense. The black was a common color seen near death or in deep sleep and brown was generally a neutral color.

If he had any fairy blood in him, it would show in his eyes. I leaned over his face and tugged up his eyelids, gazing at the muddled green eyes beneath it. Green? They should be brown or black to match his wings if my theory was correct...

Humph...

Well, I'll guess I'll just have to keep on guessing.

There was a knock on the door.

"Healer? Young Master Nicholas has ordered me to inform you of his... uh... he's going out with his army to try and root out Everlosts and any pockets of the Rebellion left."

"Really?" I smiled, steadying my hands by gently running them through my patient's think hair. "Well thank you for informing me. Does he wish for me to contact him immediately if my... if the rebel boy wakes up?"

"Duh." And with that, my unrefined coworker's feet stomped away from the closed door, his heavy metal boots echoing down the marble hallways with every step he took. My smile deepened.

"A sprite," I informed my young charge cheerfully, "wonderful creatures really, though not incredibly intelligent at times... I suppose it depends on the upbringing right? Well, I believe its time that I find something to call you... I can't keep calling you boy all the time; it's not in an angel's nature to be so harsh! Hmm..."

I placed my hands on his temples gently, willing my mind to brush against his. A name shouldn't be that hard to find in an unconscious teenager, as a matter of fact, it was really one of the few things that never truly vanished. It was also imprinted right in one's...

Curdled fire swept across the tentative link I tried to establish, engulfing my mind in a vortex of anger and agony. A mind block! No—a trap!

I tumbled off the bed with a loud crash, coaxing the blackened tips of my fingers into new health. A new headache pounded against my skull as I gaped at the young boy with renewed interest, sending small sparks of my magic up to my aching cranium in silent contemplation.

This was not right. To form a block to that power while comatose... it was impossible. Even if this boy had unexplained powers—like the young Overlord, the Guardian, or the Angel—the mind would be in no proper state to defend itself to such a degree. In order to do that... it had to be conscious.

Alive.

Watching.

A shiver ran down my spine.

Third Person POV

"Jesse... you know... in Evermore, when you were—hurt—I think Jaden and Alexis figured something out."

"Hmm?"

"Yeah... I figured something out too... Jesse... I—"

One billion stars exploded above their heads in a single piercing scream. Both bodies leapt apart in a mixture of surprise and fear, the connection between their strangled hearts severed brutally by yet another casualty of war.

"Who was—?" they began, cutting themselves short when they realized the question was mutual. Silence became their companion with a rough snatch of a thin wrist, voices only hindering their ability to track the desperate shrieks.

No words shared, he threw the door open and she leapt onto the railing, whirling down the tight turns of the stairs with uncomfortable precision. The puffs of heavy breath in her ear assured her he was not far behind. They passed several alarmed members of the rebellion on their journey down, shouting out conflicting orders, confused and harmless without their fearless leader in their ranks.

The end of the railing came more quickly than either of them could imagine. Startled gasps escaping, they collided with the carpet and each other, quickly entangling themselves in extruding limbs and burning rug burn.

With a shared, "You alright?" they leapt right into action once again, shoving past the bewildered night guard and frightened receptionist. She was a rebel. He was a duelist. They were more than qualified to handle this job. The others—confused and weakened—would only get in their way.

"HELP! PLEASE!!"

"Left," Melody instructed, veering sharply down the corner Jesse had disappeared down not so long ago. With only a pang of hesitance, he followed, readying his deck in case of the damage inflicting duels he had witnessed him endure before...

"Oh God! Please—no!"

"Hurry up!" she hissed, although whether she was yelling at herself or Jesse was uncertain.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" he puffed out anyway, knocking his forearm against hers to show his location.

"It's not fast enough!" she retorted, digging deep into the reserves she had built in her years of secret training. But somehow, even then, Jesse was still by her side, breathing hard and harsh into the suddenly frigid devil's hour.

In fact... was that his breath in the air?

"Water duel!" she gasped, crashing into her companion to correct their course as quickly as possible. "Feel the temp? That must mean someone's using an ice monster, and that's a staple of the Everlost Army's standard decks!"

"The beach!" Jesse agreed, sending his spirits off to scout ahead of them. Amethyst Cat refused to leave their side however, and they were both glad for her sharp claws clicking silently against the pavement beside them as another scream rang out.

"Please! I'm not a proper duelist! I just wanted a better life among the humans! No—please!"

They were close enough to hear the impact of the duel monster's attack this time.

"A little bit further!" Melody urged, gazing up at the dwindling height of building in her hometown lit by the stars, signaling an approach to the ocean.

"Just another block!" Jesse agreed, eyes training along the concrete to where it gave out to thick rolls of grass that panned out into grains of glittering sand.

Powerful like the shark and dolphin, they propelled themselves forward with all the force they could muster, outmaneuvering all other creatures with their superior speed and strength. And true to their nature, she broke the surface tension while he remained deeply submerged.

Heads began poking out of windows tentatively, curlers and nightgowns blowing in the crisp breeze blowing at their stomachs. A few screens of light dotted the structures as concerned citizens began to dial 9-1-1, and the empty house of Mystic shone strangely in the moonlight...

They rounded the corner.

And collided heavily with fate.

In the Hotel

Nurse Fonda Fontaine barely had time to duck into a corridor as Jesse Anderson and Melody Yuki barreled past her. Stunned to see her student acting so efficiently, she forgot what she had been coming up here to do in the first place. Of course, there had been a scream, and she knew that she had best gather up medical supplies in case it was one of their... winged guests who had once again gotten themselves hurt flying about the city.

But based on the urgency of the young friends' footfalls, she could easily guess that it was more than that.

All the more reason to set up a bed next to pitiable Alexis Rhodes, she supposed. Ignoring the disorganized chaos to the best of her ability (and trying very hard not to recall how similar this confusion was to the kind in the desert world, where Jaden and his friends had stepped up and calmed the madness) she slipped into her room; quietly beginning to sterilize her tools and primp the pillows.

"Alexis, what have you all gotten yourselves into?" she asked the prone form on the bed. Her top student gave no reply, which really, was the best reply Ms. Fontaine could get. Any other would undoubtedly be a lie to shield her or the painful agony of the truth.

Quickly completing her self-appointed tasks, the hastily appointed "healer" sat down on the broken girl's bed and gently began stroking her long blonde locks. "This isn't what Jaden would have wanted you to do," she informed the so-called Queen of Obelisk Blue. "Whatever the circumstances, he didn't die for you to kill yourself. He died so you could live, you know."

"You shouldn't be remembering him through the bad times Alexis, you should be thinking of the great times you had with him," she added thoughtfully. "It may seem like those will only hurt more, but that's not true. They'll help you get through this quicker... but you've got to wake up. These guys need someone to whip them all into shape. And from the whispers I've been hearing... they all think you're some kind of angel or hero or whatever. They'll listen to you. And you can lead them; you're really strong like that."

Another scream ripped through the air, drawing her gaze to the dim stars beyond their large window.

"And Ra knows we need you."

Within

"We need to make a stand."

She turned once more; gazing up at her dead soul mate as he stood, tall and bright against the swirling shadows that had consumed her. For a moment she hesitated, confused by his sudden detachment and fierce expression. Then she rose with him, as she had vowed to do the lost night they had made the eternal pact of marriage... and the following days of death and misery.

"Jaden?" she asked, palms kissing in tight prayer.

Brown eyes alight with a fire that death had not even dampened; he made rough contact with her shoulders, bringing her as close to his chest as he could, almost as if intending to fully unite them.

"We need to stand," he recanted with a voice she had not heard him use in this life, "or we will fall."

Cryptic, the morbid prophecy echoed around them, hunting down the silence and exterminating it in even the farthest recesses of her mind. She said nothing in reply, simply stopped her silent prayer to cup his wingless shoulder blades and bury her face in his soft brown hair, like they had so many times in so many places, all across the worlds.

She knew him well enough to know that he would not just leave a simple sentence hanging in the air. No, he would talk and talk and talk about it until it became the first thing in history to die of boredom. Her grip tightened as she felt his mouth move against her hair, grateful for the smallest things that would never change between them.

And unbeknownst to her, her lips pulled into a smile.

"Think about it Lex," he continued, gaining volume and authority, "You and I were the only things holding off the Overlord and Queen from all out chaos. The only reason those two worlds... maybe even our own world too... is still standing is because of us. Our power! And although they'll claim it was because they wanted us to give one side the upper hand, to save troops, blah, blah, blah... in the end, they were just lying."

Now she pulled away to search for his soul in his deep chocolate eyes, marveling in his words with her own unyielding gaze. "What are you getting at Jaden?"

Now he smiled as well, and the fire in his eyes roared to heights that would have terrified any enemy and given all allies irrepressible hope. "Alexis, you don't need to be afraid to face the world without me."

"I am not afraid!" she denied immediately, the sharp glare she was famous for appearing on her face. If anything, his grin grew to her response and he squeezed her shoulders heartily, excitement radiating from his very soul.

"Yes you are," he argued, but plowed ahead before she could interfere. "You're not just afraid of what will happen to me if you wake up; you think that you'll let down the world because you're not me. You think that once you open your eyes for real, to a world in desperate need of a hero, that I'll be gone, and you won't be good enough."

"That's not true! I just don't want to wake up to a world without you! You are so much to me! Even if part of you hates me... You were my entire reason to live!"

"That's a lie," he countered, voice caressing her sensitive skin like the tip of a soft feather. "You're too strong for this. Before the Dark World you did not need some dumb guy to define your life. And you don't need that guy to live the rest of your life happily. What you need is to stop being afraid—it's always been your fear that drives you away from that path you've established for yourself."

"Name one time that's happened," she demanded, feeling the tension of a fight about to break out between them. But her legs shook where they would have once stood strong, and her eyes smarted with tears that never would have shown before.

His hand trailed down the frame of her hair absently, a whisper against her screams. "Junior Year, Duel Academy, when you were dueling against White Chazz; he scared you with all his talk of destiny and superior strength. And you lost because you started to doubt yourself—and you stayed lost because you thought that you were too weak on your own. You were afraid of failure then, and you still are now."

"You're wrong... I'm not here because I'm afraid... it's because I love you so much that..." the guilty party denied, detaching herself from him with flaming resentment. Hazel eyes glittered down at him behind her long lashes defiantly, and his grin grew to a size it had not been in far too long.

"I didn't save you from that place Alexis. I didn't save Chazz either. I couldn't save any of you from the Light because it had not taken you. You let yourself be snatched up, and then you broke free. Sure, it may have taken me baiting you and giving you a rough duel, but you came through! You never needed me to save you. You still don't! You can save yourself, like you always pride yourself on being able to do—like you did against Titan to help Atticus in year one, or how you tried to reach me in the Dark World!"

Orange and brown hues splashed across her mind as she remembered, bathing him in dim fire once again. That moment where his resolve had flickered with the candlelight, where he had first sealed his heart away from them, where she had finally let hers show, where she had failed to show him how much he meant to all of them... to bring it up now, after failing him in death, seemed almost too cruel for any part of him. "Jaden... I..."

"Shut up! I know you love me; this doesn't have to do with that! You can still love me and be independent! That's why I love you, for your strength and inner power! But you don't need me to live! You just want me in your life," he finished. "You've never needed a soul mate to be who you are Alexis."

His hands left her face, eyes dark and sad—"But the world has always needed mine to be just that person. Alexis, the rebellion may be strong, but they will not survive without you—without us. And because of who we are... the Guardian Angel... I will always be with you. It doesn't matter if you can't see me or touch me... I'll make sure you can hear me and feel me. Our souls are connected to each other and to all the worlds. This is what you've been born to do Alexis... if you choose it; it can be your destiny."

"I thought you didn't believe in destiny," she whispered finally, glancing away from the love she could never truly have.

"I believe we create our own," he agreed, keeping her in his sights in the fear that she would drift away too soon. "And this is what we've made together... a road that will connect the worlds with peace... a road built on our love, something untainted and pure..."

A deep gasp of pained air interrupted his sentence, but when she looked he simply had his hand over his heart in silent torment. "Alexis... that place can't happen if you let your fear rule you. If you stay here with me—in a selfish way, I'll be the happiest guy in the world. But... we've both learned how selfishness can destroy not only ourselves, but an entire world in its miserable wrath...Lex. We need to stand together, or the worlds will fall alone."

"You think that our love is selfish and dangerous?" she questioned, making contact once more. He cupped his own hand around the offered palm and pulled her forward, kissing her brow firmly and quickly.

"All love is," he murmured.

She said nothing because she could only agree. In the black chasms of despair, she lowered her head and pressed her brow against his, pretending to feel the warmth of his breath against her cheeks, the thundering beat of his heart against her palms. His eyelashes kissed her skin just below her eyes, and she was cold in his arms for the first time—and what she knew would be the last time.

"I don't care," she whispered finally, taking command and jerking him into her full embrace. The pressure of his arm was a soft kiss to her back, the texture of his shirt too familiar to make what was about to happen bearable.

"Neither do I," he murmured, letting the distressed tears fall down her cheeks, because this time they were the sadness that he had been searching for. Not the joyful waters of reunion and warmth, but the cold rain of truth, love, and goodbye. "Its also beautiful, heaven on earth I guess. Its just when we lose that sanctuary and are confronted with the real world..."

"Everything suddenly seems like hell," she finished. "And you find yourself terrified and more alone than you can remember being before." Her heart beat loudly against his chest as she drew closer, lips nearly touching. "But then the sun shines again, and that stupid guy ends up saving the life she thought was destroyed. Because she's not alone, because love... whatever happens to it, it keeps us together."

"And not even death can do us part."

It was so easy to get lost in each other's grip. To feel their presences so close, cheek to cheek, heart to heart, was unbelievably overwhelming in its simplicity. Finding a home in another's arm is the single most unsettling thing that one can do, and the most wonderful. But when the time comes for the wind to shake its support, for the lightning to strike the walls, for the fire to burn its memories to ashes...

Unspoken, the memories that they could never make dazzled their eyes with stinging agony. A small child running down their hallways, the sounds of friendly voices flaoting from the foyer, the putrid smell of smoke from the heavily abused kitchen, the rustle of sheets, the rays of sunlight falling between the curtain, the ruffled hair they would smooth down, the first glimpse of each other in the morning, raw and vulnerable, the smiles, and the glittering of wedding bands...

At this moment, they existed at the point beyond fear, beyond pain, beyond panic, love, hate, and every other color of emotion that had tied them down on Earth. Together... they were simple beyond it all, above and below at the same time, better and worse for it, naked in a steel clothed world of sorrow. They nearly choked on what they still did have: words.

"I love you."

"Always."

The thanks silent on her tightly closed lips, she stared into the eyes that were more familiar than the back of her hand. Kissed the tip of his nose. Looked around her shoulder towards the future.

The darkness she faced was impossibly large and destructive; she could see the monsters that teetered in and out of the shadows with clear eyes. Here and there, a glint of polished steel peaked out from clouds, warnings of danger in both the future and past. There was no life of glory and happiness there. This was the turning point in her life, the decision she was born to make. For a moment she was standing on the threshold of death with her beloved in her arms, asking the same question and wondering...

... could something as fickle as teenage love weather against the laws of nature and death, could it reverse the wear of the time and the dust of oblivion that was poised to snatch him up far before what they believed was his time?

"I love you! Don't die, please! I love you!"

Nothing changed.

She laughed softly to herself, turning to find his soulful gaze urging her forward. A single tear traced the right side of his face as he nodded and closed his eyes, smile tender and vulnerable in a way only she was allowed to see. He had given her the answer and more; he had given her eternity.

She turned around without a whisper of departure.

And walked away.

Jesse POV

Before we even caught a glimpse of the danger, it crashed head first into us. Some unspoken agreement flashed between Melody and I as her arms snatched the victim into the sanctuary I had occupied only minutes earlier. Her feral pink eyes glared towards the surf colliding in the distance as I yanked the two of them behind me in and activated my duel disk, effectively taking the place of the would-be murdered.

"I'm your opponent!" I shouted as loudly as I could, brandishing my first five cards with a flourish that was so similar, it was painful. A glint of yellow eyes snarled in my direction before fading entirely into the muddled gray backdrop, leaving me blind and nervous in its wake.

What in tarnation? How could a person vanish into thin—?

I cut myself off as abruptly as the snip of the Fates' shears. I knew how a person could do that.

"No! Don't! You'll be killed!" the girl in Melody's arm squealed, and I heard the sounds of a scuffle behind my turned back. "You don't understand! That monster is real, human! Get back!"

Monster? Alright, it's not my opponent quite yet. But... where is that thing anyway? Do I have to fight it still?

I scanned the area the same way Yubel had been taken to during our shared time in the dark world. Although s/he had been completely psychotic at the time, I was seriously finding all the little 'tips' and ravings s/he had put me through during our initial takeover helpful.

For example, keeping my feet firmly squared and my knees bent just so beneath me kept me from experiencing a sudden and painful death when the Duel Monster made its abrupt appearance.

As abrubtly as it had exploded, the night was silent again. The panicked city had stopped dialing for help, the police sirens had yet to flare into life, and the thin strip of grass ahead that touched the gravelly sand of the ocean was still without wind to move it. Everything was too...

A flash of burned silver warned me of the approaching doom, and I sprang to the side before my mind could even fully register what was happening. The screech of shattering metal deafened my already aching ears, and the scream that followed kicked my sorry butt into action.

"Amethyst Cat!"

She leapt into eager action, claws glinting in the thin glow of the unseen moon. With the grace only a predator could have, my friend collided with the strange blue warrior, engaging the battle between tooth and nail. Ugly pride reared up in me as she easily finished the weaker monster, leaving a tattered mess of holographic dust fading up into the sky I refused to see.

In the moment where I was too stunned to react, the sounds of a cursing opponent reach my ears. Pirouetting like a particularly bad dancer, I raised my duel disk to meet his challenge head on, ignoring the keening of our sort-of prisoner as Melody dragged her across the asphalt.

In the moonlight he was by no means an attractive fellow and I sensed that in the sun he would be a downright terrifying sight to behold. His gills flapped laboriously in the thin air like sacks of hanging, bloated skin, and the thin membrane between his webbed fingers was a sickly shade of purple. His teeth gnashed together with every wet breath he took, his slit nostrils distorted at the foreign taste in his mouth, and his eyes were far too bright a green to be natural.

"A huuuuman?" he gargled as he evaluated me. To my utter annoyance, the hairs on the back of my neck rose at the deep bass tone of his voice. I wasn't supposed to be the one who was afraid and weak in these fights! I had to protect Melody and the other girl from this duel!

"Surprise," I rebuked lamely, pointing my favorite pink cat in his direction. A throaty growl emitted lowly from the back of her throat and her fur puffed up in an intimidating fashion. Seemingly unconcerned he glowered at her and pondered aloud, "Sooooooo it was youuuuu whooooo destroyed my monster. That is surprising and amuuuuuusing... kekeke... but where has the person I was chasing disappeared off tooooooooooo?"

"I'm afraid that ain't any of your business!"

My declaration only made him laugh once more, "Kekeke! That is my business exactly foolish human! The Queen calls, I answer, and the target dies! Kekeke! A fine business indeed! Now step out of the way, boy, you are not my prey tonight!"

He made as if to walk straight past me and stalk through the city, obviously failing to see my threat at all. Well, then, I can't say that I didn't warn him. "Amethyst Cat has a special ability that allows her to half her attack points and attack directly!"

There we go, now I have his attention loud and clear. "What did you say boy?!"

"Read her claws! Go Amethyst! Direct Attack!"

I was going to enjoy this.

Little did I know, I was also going to regret this for the suddenly little time I had left.

Hehehe... did you miss my evil?

(runs away)