Bonds That Can Change the Future (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds)

Between Our Dreams and Reality

Chapter 39

(following anime episode 130)

          The eternal existence of time and space slowly started mixing with the imaginative world of dreams, when Hanako found herself in the maze of her own thoughts, lost in confusion caused by her own interpretation of reality.

"What is that?" Her muttering voice just flitted about in the bushes of uncertainty that belonged to her surroundings. Red sky was covering her from above, like a roof above her head to keep her safe. The only difference was, this kind of protection was only leaving her frightened and vulnerable just like every previous time she'd be summoned here.

          Taking some time until her body adapts to the change of the environment, Hanako explored her surroundings in a bit more detail with the intent to try and realise where she was or more importantly, what was happening. Unexpectedly to her, a vision slowly appeared in the distance, what her mind recognised as familiar, so her body pushed her steps closer, making the vision more clear to her eyes.

"I know this machine", she muttered into her chin, exploring the white structure with her eyes that was repeatedly turning around in circles. "Almost as if I have seen it somewhere before..."

          Suddenly, headache stroke her head like a lightning, and she fell on her knees, shutting her eyes. Flashes of memories running over her mind, as she slowly started remembering a scene from her real life. The shuttle, Sherry's death, W.R.G.P., her runner, Aki, Martha, Poppo Time's garage... The list seemed endless although it lasted for a few seconds only; rewinding her entire life up to the day she was brought to Martha's orphanage.

"This is... the moment I... died?"

          Her voice was breaking more with each word spoken, while she regained enough strength to raise her head just to see the machine one more time, when the small covert bolt appeared on the ground, mixed with small rocks. For a reason unknown to her, the bolt captured her full intention, yet she didn't waste her time on trying to understand why that was so. Instead, she took the bolt and studied its structure with the intent to get familiar with its usage and perhaps know where it belongs to.

"There is a symbol on it", she noticed, remembering she stored few more bolts like that in her pocket, so she subconsciously reached for them and placed them all on the ground, while being on her knees. All of them had some weird symbols she knew nothing about, but after a few moments of exploring them, it looked like they were forming a words or even a name.

          "Zero? Minus...?" Hanako whispered, trying to guess the symbols and the meaning behind them, forming words from the letters on the bolts. "No... On... One", she then fell into thinking, brainstorming the possible ways the words could be combined into, but the minus symbol kept confusing her, "Maybe if I do this..."

She said, playing with the bolts and the combination of letters, until she was finally able to combine the only phrase that seemed to make sense: Z-one! Reading the phrase out loud, Hanako questioned her theory, before her realisation awoke a strong and powerful force.

          "Correct!" A firm and manly voice echoed through the sky, causing Hanako to get up on her feet and look around, searching for the source.

"Who are you?"

          "The one you've met in the shuttle", the voice replied without anyone showing around.

"I haven't met anyone there, the dimension was human-less", her answer only confused her more, not knowing how to act in this situation, where her enemy was completely unknown.