//------------------------------// // Turn 22: What Might Have Been // Story: Yugioh EQG: Ω Zenith // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// The first thing Flash noticed as he began to wake up was a gentle breeze. If flew over him, causing mild goosebumps by the fresh air it hit him with made him smile and feel completely relaxed as the rest of his body woke up. In doing so, he noticed his head on one something soft and firm. He also felt a pair of fingers tracing through his hair, filling him with a happy feeling as he began to open his eyes. In doing so, he found himself looking up into the bespectacled eyes of his beautiful girlfriend. Twilight stared down at him with a smile on his face. "Hey you." Flash smiled back, "hey you." He then looked around and saw they were in the park, relaxing under a tree with Flash's head on Twilight's lap. "What happened? I...I don't remember anything. And I'm...so tired." This caused Twilight to giggle and continue to stroke her hand through his hair. "I'm not surprised. After what you went through." "What I went through?" "Don't you remember. Zeronull took me over and turned me into Midnight Sparkle. Then we Duelled and you won, freeing me." "Oh yeah," Flash smiled. "I did do that, didn't I." "You saved me," Twilight said. "You're my hero. That's why we're all here, celebrating." "All?" "Flash!" The teen turned his head towards the voice, seeing Vail Pixie and all his other monsters scattered around the park. The lower Level monsters were running around, playing and laughing while the mid-level monsters were talking to one another and the higher-levelled ones were simply sitting around enjoying the experience. Vail Pixie flew over to them. "Come on. Let's play together. It'll be great." Flash laughed and closed his eyes. "Sorry, I'm just too tired. Maybe later." Vail Pixie pouted, "spoil sport!" With that, she flew back over to the other low level monsters and enjoyed herself while Flash just laid there on Twilight's lap. He then noticed Flash Heart standing not to far off, the two locking eyes before Flash Heart gave him a thumbs up. Flash smiled back before giving his own thumbs up and looking up at Twilight. "Everything's perfect." "It sure is," Twilight nodded. "Zeronull's gone. The Zealots have been sent back to their world and their hosts are all free." To prove that, Marble, Guto, Trixie and Skystar stepped into view. "Flash!" He turned to see Marble waving at him, "thanks for saving me." She then turned and rushed off, Flash following her and seeing both Pinkie and Marble standing off to the side and hugging their sister when she got to them. "You should be proud," Twilight told him. "You've made a perfect world where humans and Duel spirits can live in harmony." With that, she slowly lowered her head. "That's why I love you." Flash smiled and began to life his head, their lips getting closer and closer by the second. But just before they could kiss, the gentle breeze vanished and the voices of his friends went quiet. "What?" Flash pulled away from Twilight and looked around, seeing everyone except the two of them were gone. "Where is everyone?" Exhaustion forgotten, Flash pushed himself to his feet and stepped forward. "Guys!?" There was no reply, just the ominous silence. "Something doesn't feel right." As he said this, the whole park was suddenly shrouded in darkness. He looked up and saw a bunch of ominous storm clouds begin to appear above the park, blocking out the sun as a rumble of thunder made Flash shudder. "Something's happening. Something bad." "AUGH!" Flash's head shot up hearing Twilight cry out before he spun around, seeing her being attacked by something. Below her feet was a puddle of black liquid that had black tendrils shooting out and wrap around her arms, legs and waist. "What's happening?" She cried as the tendrils dragged her down into the puddle, Flash rushing towards her. "Twilight!" Flash jumped forward to try and grab her, but Twilight was pulled under the liquid before it vanished as he landed where it was. "NOOOOO!" More thunder caused him to look up and see something appearing from out of the thunder clouds. And that something was Zeronull. "You!" Zeronull stared down at Flash, barely appearing to have noticed him before spreading its six robotic wings. It then unleashed burst of different coloured lights from the orbs on its wings, with flew out and hit the city around them to cause explosions. Flash could only watch in horror as Canterlot was destroyed, the teen rushing out the park into the wrecked city. Upon seeing all the destruction caused by Zeronull, his anger only grew more and more as he stared up at the beast. Then, a moan of pain made him look towards one of the destroyed buildings. And as he did, he saw Spike half buried under the debris. "Spike!" He rushed over to the teen, but no matter how hard he pushed he couldn't lift the rocks off of him. "Why?" Flash looked down at Spike, the injured teen looking up at him. "Why couldn't you save us." "Us?" Flash then heard more moans and turned to see all his friends scattered about the streets, all in some form of pain caused by Zeronull. "No." He rushed over to them and found Scootaloo and his mother a ways off, both looking badly wounded. "Why couldn't you save us?" Scootaloo asked him. "I...I tried," Flash whispered. He tried to reach out and touch her, but when he did she exploded like a Duel monster would. "NO!" He looked around and saw the rest of his friends begin to explode, each one asking the same thing. "Why?" Rainbow asked. "Why?" Sunburst asked. "Why?" Cadance asked. "No," Flash shook his head, "please no." Eventually, the last of his friends vanished and he was left all alone. And then, when Flash thought things couldn't get any worse- "FLASH!" He looked up and saw his monsters all floating in the air, each on looking down at him with a look of betrayal on their faces. "Why?" Vail Pixie asked through her tears, "why did you betray us." "I...I...I didn't have a choice." As soon as he said that, his monsters all burst into flames and cried out in pain as they were destroyed. "STOP!" Flash fell to his knees, tears filling his eyes. "Please stop." "Why?" Flash's eyes shot open hearing that voice, making him look up and see Twilight floating above him with a sad look on her face. "Why couldn't you save me?" She asked, Flash unable to find the words to respond before she began to scream in pain as the darkness wrapped around her. "Twilight!" Flash pushed himself back to his feet, trying to reach out to her as the shadows exploded off of her. But Twilight no long floated there, Midnight Sparkle flying in her place and letting out a sinister laugh as he continued to reach for her. "TWILIGHT!" He screamed as the world around him went dark. "TWILIGHT!" Flash cried as he sat up, arm stretched out infront of him to grasp something. He panted, heavily, as his brain began to catch up and realise that what he'd just seen was a dream. When that thought finally sank in, he lowered is arm before looking around and seeing he was in some kind of hospital room and he was dressed in some kind of hospital gown. Before he could think anything other then that, the door opened and Misty rushed inside. "Flash!" She hugged him tightly as Scootaloo and, too Flash's surprise, Shining stepped into the room. "Thank goodness you're awake." "Mom?" Was all Flash said as she let him go, "where am I?" "Freeze Stadium," Shining explained. "They brought you and Spike here for a check-up." "Spike?" It was then Flash remembered what'd happened, including Spike's injured leg. "Is he alright? Where is he?" "He's fine," Scootaloo assured him. "He's a few rooms over. His leg is broken, but that's about the worst he got." Flash nodded as more and more memories came flooding back to him, including one that made his heart stop before turning to Shining. "Twilight-" "We know," Shining frowned. "Spike let us know what happened when they found you." Despite the calm exterior Shining had, Flash could tell that beneath the surface he was holding back a storm of rage. Flash turned to his mother, "how long was I out?" He knew Shining was in New York when Twilight was taken, so he had to have been out a while for him to get back there. "About two days," Misty told him. "You had us worried." Flash nodded before his eyes fell upon his Duel Disk, the sight triggering another memory that once again made his heart stop. "I wouldn't," Misty said when he reached out to take it. This made him hesitate for a moment, but eventually grabbed the device and pulled it over to him. Opening the slot where his deck should be, Flash felt sick when he saw it was empty. "They're gone," he whispered. Everyone else was quiet, knowing how hard all this was for him. Not only had he failed to save the girl he'd lost, he'd also lost the most important thing he owned. His very soul as a Duellist. Misty slowly placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's going to be okay Flash. We'll...figure something out." Flash didn't say anything else, instead simply staring down at his empty Duel Disk. "Come on everyone," she stood up. "Let's give him some time to rest." The others nodded and headed out the door, Misty being the last ever telling Flash, "the doctors should be by shortly. They'll wanna make sure you're okay now that you're awaken." Flash nodded as she headed out, the teen taking this moment to lay back in his bed and let everything about his situation sink in. And as it did, nothing but a frown covered his lips. Meanwhile, in another part of the building, Cold, Adagio and Cadance were in a boardroom. A holographic screen showed images of Grand, Tempest, Tidal and Rainbow. "According to Spike, the Dominate caused Twilight and Zeronull's consciousnesses to merge into a new being calling herself Midnight Sparkle. She's the one who intends to fulfil Zeronull's goal of destroying both worlds." Rainbow sighed, "I can't believe Twilight got taken over." Tidal looked close to tears, "amiga." He opened his eyes and turned serious. "We must do something to free her from Zeronull." Cadance hugged herself, squeezing her arms at the thought of her sister becoming the destroyer of the world "We will," Cold told him. "But we need more information." "He's right," Grand agreed. "And luckily, our investigation have brought up several spots we think might be the Zealot's hideout." "We should try and hit them all at once," Tempest told them. "It's the only way we'll be sure we've got them." Rainbow nodded before punching her fist into her hands. "And once we capture them, we can find a way to force Zeronull out of Twilight." The others all nodded until Adagio finally spoke up. "Not to sound indelicate, but isn't there something else we should be focusing on first." This caused Cadance to shoot a glare at her. "What could be more important then saving Twilight?" She almost yelled, "I would have thought you'd want to help save her. Considering she's the one who saved you from Sombra before." "I'm not saying it's not important," Adagio told her. "But if we don't take this factor into account, we may not get a chance to save Twilight." "Which is?" Grand asked. "The fact that this Midnight Sparkle intends to destroy the world. While we sit here, twiddling our thumbs and deciding what to do, she's preparing to destroy us all." "She has a point," Tempest agreed. "But that raises another question. If Zeronull's finally free and in our world, what's he waiting for?" "Spike may have answered that," Cold said. "After Flash lost, Midnight tried to do something to him using the power of Void. But before she could, the process was interrupted. It's clear that simply Dominating a host isn't enough to awaken Zeronull's full power. And without that full power, Midnight can't destroy the world. That gives us some breathing room." "So awakening Zeronull's power has more requirements then we thought," Tidal stated. "Any idea what those are?" Grand sighed. "Right now, we can only speculate. But it's clear Void is one of them. And another one might be...the Zenith Dragons." "You're right," Adagio agreed. "If the Zenith Dragons are the key to Zeronull destroying our world, then getting our hands on them is our best bet to stopping that plan." "We've already got the Fire Dragon," Rainbow pointed out. "So as long as we have it, Zeronull's up a creak." "You're right," Cold nodded. "But that also means they'll be gunning to take the card back. And no matter how well we hide, I'm sure they'll track it down." "So what are you going to do?" Tempest asked. "I've already put some plans into motion to make sure the card stays safe." Las Vegas. At the giant casino city, we find both Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer and Sunburst stepping off the plan from Canterlot. The three made their way through the airport, eventually stopping when they spotted a group of four standing in the terminal waiting for them. Pinkie, Rarity, Applejack and Maud all smiled at the three, ready to do whatever it took to keep the Zealots from reclaiming the Zenith Dragon. "Good," Grand nodded, "nice to know the card's in safe hands." Cold nodded in agreement. "I don't think we need to discuss anything else at this time. Keep looking into your leads and be ready to mobilise when the time comes." The four on screen nodded before the holograms disappeared. And as they did, there was a knock at the door. "Enter." A nurse from the medical staff stepped inside. "Excuse me sir. You asked to be informed when Flash Sentry regained consciousness. Well he just has." This drew all of Cold's attention as he picked himself up and rushed out the room, Cadance following as they headed towards the hospital wing. "Sir," the nurse chased after them, "he's still being examined. You won't be able to talk to him for a while." Cold didn't listen and kept going, arriving at the medical wing and spotting Misty, Scootaloo and Shining standing outside the room. Misty was the first to notice them approaching and frowned as Cold asked, "how is he?" "How do you think he is?" Misty asked. "His girlfriend as been taken over and when he tried to free her, he lost not only the Duel but also his entire deck." Cold, Shining and Cadance frowned hearing this, Shining and Cadance looking sad at the mention of Twilight while Cold just looked ashamed. "What were you thinking, giving him that card?" Cold sighed. "I thought that if anyone could use it for good, it was him. And I didn't actually expect him to Duel. I hoped we'd take out the Zealots before he had a chance to use it. And since they were after him, I thought that it would help if the worst should occur and he did get stuck Duelling them. I thought saving himself from getting Dominated was worth the risk the dragon's use possessed." "But they didn't Dominate him," Cadance moved over to Shining as he pulled her into a hug. "And now Twilight's gone and the one with the best chances of saving her has lost his Deck." Scootaloo turned to Misty. "Why don't you just remake the cards? Then he could Duel again." But Misty just shook her head, turning to look into the room her son was in as the doctors examined him. "It's not that simple. It wasn't just the cards that Flash lost when he used the Zenith Dragon. It was the link those cards represent to the Duel Spirits." She turned back to Scootaloo. "That link as been shattered and simply replacing the cards isn't going to fix that." She shook her head. "No, I'm not even sure this is something that can be fixed." Scootaloo looked down, "so what do we do?" Before anyone could answer, the door opened and the doctors stepped outside. The head turned to the group and explained, "he's fine...physically." "But mentally?" Cold asked, the doctor frowning as he looked down. "It's clear he's suffered some serious mental trauma. I've seen it a few times in others who have had something terrible happen to them. He barely said anything to us, only saying just enough to get the info we needed out of him." "So what do we do?" Misty asked. "In situations like this, the best thing for him is to know he's not alone. Let him know you're there for him, but don't overdo it or you could only make the issue worse. Let him come to you and just be willing to listen to whatever he has to say. If he's gonna get through this, he'll need help." The others nodded as the doctors all left. Once they were gone, Misty could only sigh. "I can't imagine how Flash must be feeling right now. The two things that have been the biggest support for him are gone." Cadance nodded. "Twilight was always the person he felt the most comfortable explaining his issues to. Meanwhile, his deck was what gave him the confidence to be himself." Scootaloo nodded. She remembered back to how life was before Flash got his deck. It was hard to believe the happy and friendly teen she'd grown to love over the last year and a half was ever a gloomy loner who refused to even acknowledge her as his sister when they weren't in the house together. His deck had been the catalyse that helped him open up and Twilight had been the one to help him break through his previous issues. Now that they were gone, the girl began to fear that her brother might revert back to that state. It was in that moment that the door to Flash's room opened and the teen stepped out. "Flash?" Misty raised an eyebrow, "you should be resting." "I've just spent two days resting," Flash told her as he stepped into the hallway. "I can't just sit around and do nothing. I was hoping to see how Spike's doing." "I don't see any issue with that," Cadance told him. "Come on, I'll show you where his room is." Flash and Cadance both headed down the hall with Shining following them. As they headed off, Misty turned to Cold. "We have to do something" He turned to her. "As much as I hate to force him into this, you and I both know Flash may be the only person who has any hope of freeing Twilight and stopping Zeronull's plan. But if he's gonna do that, he needs to regain his connection to his Duel Monsters." Cold nodded. "I caused this. It's only right I find a way to fix it." "So what are you going to do?" Misty asked. Cold remained silent for a moment before finally saying something. "I think I might know someone who can help. I'll have to make a call." Flash, Cadance and Shining soon arrived outside Spike's room and Flash knocked, hearing Spike reply. "Come in."Flash opened the door and stepped inside, instantly flinching when he saw Spike laying on the bed with his right leg in a cast. The teen smiled seeing him and he slowly shifted so his legs touched the floor. "Flash, you're awake." "Yeah," Flash nodded. "I just woke up a little while ago." He looked down at the encased leg and frowned, "how are you feeling." "I'm okay," Spike assured him. "It's not as bad as it looks. As long as I do my physio, I should make a full recovery." Flash didn't seem happy with this news. "You shouldn't have to do any of that at all," he said while walking over to the window. He looked out at the city for a few moments before turning back to Shining and the others. These were the three people who probably cared about Twilight even more then him. "I'm so sorry," they all seemed surprised by this. "It's my fault this all happened. Spike's leg getting hurt...and Twilight..." "Flash," Cadance spoke up, "you shouldn't blame yourself." "Twilight got Dominated because she was trying to save me. And when I had the chance to save her, I failed." Flash's fists scrunched up, his pants fabric held in them. "Because of me, she's trapped in her own body is probably being forced to watch as this stranger uses her as a puppet to try and destroy the world, all because of me." "We're gonna get her back," Shining told him. "We'll free her and stop this Midnight Sparkle's plan." "Even if that does happen, think of what this is gonna do to her. Twilight might never be the same after this. And it's my fault. I've ruined her life." "Flash," Spike began before Flash moved towards the door. "I should go." He moved passed the and reached to door, opening it. Before he stepped out, he said something that would shock them all. "Everything would be so much better if I never came into her life to begin with." This statement caused the three to gasp as Flash stepped out of the door and walked off. African desert. At an abandoned army base, in an underground bunker, we find the Zealots in a redesigned laboratory. Within it, Midnight laid within a metal egg shaped pod with a glass cover. A strange camera pointed at her from above. In the room next to hers, Guto, Trixie and Skystar were looking at a computer that showed images of Midnight with energy coming off her. Marble was sat behind them, eating a bag of chips as Trixie spoke. "This is a time rest," she explained. "Despite not being able to absorb Sentry's spirit, Zeronull has formed a stable connection within Twilight's body." "Good," Guto nodded. "Then we won't have to worry about body decay, at least not for a while." "I'm amazed a human body can contain that much power," Skystar told them. "I would have thought she'd eventually pop like a balloon." "Remember," Trixie told her, "she's not accessing all of Zeronull's power yet. That won't occur until we have all the Zenith Dragon back. Once we have them and a soul powerful enough to power Void, Zeronull's true power will awaken and the perfect world will finally be created." It was then that the door opened and Midnight stepped out of the room. "My lady," Guto turned to her. "You shouldn't push yourself. It will take time for your body to adjust." "That's time we don't have," Midnight told them without looking. She walked forward with her arms behind her back, "what is the state of Project Omega Zenith?" She asked them, Skystar standing to attention. "My lady. All six Zenith Generators are ready. Once we have Perfignis back, we'll have almost everything we need to accomplish your goal." "Almost?" Midnight turned to her, Skystar looking down at her gaze. "We...em...still lack a way to get them into position. The teleportation method we have cannot transport something that big as far as a few miles. There's no way they can transport them high enough." Midnight smirked, "no problem." She looked away. "Once I have access to my full power, I can transport them where they need to be." The Zealots looked impressed by this as Marble stood up and moved over to her, the other Omega Zealots frowning at how close she was getting. "Can you really do it?" She asked the dominated Twilight. "Destroy this world and create a better one, with everything we could ever want in it?" The Zealots expected Midnight to yell at Marble for doubting her godly power, but she didn't. Instead, she simply placed a hand on Marble's cheek. "Yes. Help me destroy these worthless worlds and I'll create a whole knew world for you to live it. A dream world that'll have everything you ever wanted within it. Everything...and everyone you want." Marble's eyes went wide hearing this, the other Zealots seeing her hand shift to her stomach at that moment. "But it won't be real?" Marble asked, Midnight smiling. "It'll be real to you. I'll wipe your memory so you think the dream you're having has always been your life. Everything bad that every happened to you will be forgotten and replaced by everything you've ever wanted." Marble smiled at this. And not the sinister jester smile she was known for, but a genuine smile. Midnight then turned to the others. "And it won't just be you. Anyone you've ever cared for." She turned to Guto, "friends." He smiled as she turned to Skystar, "family." Skystar looked close to tears as she turned to Trixie, "and everyone else. They'll all experience the perfect world I intend to create in place of this disease we call the universe. But I'll need your help to accomplish that goal." The moved over so every Zealot was in view, "do I have your support?" The Zealots all nodded as she held up her marked hand. "Then take this." Before anyone could ask what she was doing, four red light shot out of the mark and flew over to their hands. Each one hit them and as the Zealots looked down at the circular symbols on the hands, a red omega symbol appeared around the mark. "What is this?" Trixie asked, Midnight smiling in response. "With this, you'll each be able to create your own Omega Field. You'll also be given a few more abilities that'll come in handy during our mission." As she said this, she suddenly began to get wobbly. Guto rushed over to her and grabbed her by the shoulder. "You can't overexert yourself this soon. You must rest." Midnight nodded and allowed him to help her back to the pod she'd been laying in. As they left, Marble stared down at her enhanced mark before moving towards a nearby window and staring out of it. "Soon." Back in Canterlot, Flash was out in the stadium's seating area. He was leaning against the railing, his mind forcing him to remember all the battles he'd had in it. The Celestic Cup and Double X flashed infront of his mind, along with all the Duels he'd had within them. But then his brain showed him the image of Twilight when she was defeated by Shadow, laid out on the ground looking like she was in serious pain. "Because of me," he told himself. Now that he thought about it, the only reason Twilight had been in the Celestic Cup was because she'd been trying to help him uncover the truth about his deck. If he'd never picked up that deck, she probably would have still competed but not have the drive to make it all the way to when she fought against Shadow. "My fault again." His whole body shook and he eventually slammed his fist down on the railing. "All I ever do is cause problems!" He closed his eyes and let his thoughts continue to swirl around, his imagination taking hold of him. So, when he opened his eyes, he wasn't in the stadium any more. Instead, he was at school. Standing infront of his locker, he opened it up and looked down to see a deck of cards infront of him atop his books. He reached out to take the deck, but stopped inches before he touched it and pulled his hand away. Shutting the locker, he walked away and left the deck where it was. The dream then changed to show Flash in the park, looking over the situation where Spike was getting picked on by Garble. And instead of intervening, he turned to walk away. Flash forwarding to present day, Flash was walking through the street alone. And as he turned the corner, he almost ran into somebody. Twilight. The two pulled back from hitting each other, Flash seeing the rest of the old gang behind her. "Excuse me," he said as they moved aside without really noticing him. Once that'd happened, he passed by them and they forgot he even existed once they were gone. This was the way things were suppose to be. Flash never picked up that deck. He never got back into Duelling. He never caused the Dominators to come to earth and Twilight remained safely away from him. She would spend the rest of her life happy and safe. Zeronull would never escape his prison and the world would never be placed in danger. All this because he chose to never touch those cards in the first place. Because he never made the mistake of taking up Duelling again. This was how things should have been. But, alas, it wasn't what happened. "Flash!" The teen was pulled out of his daydream by Shining's voice, making him open his eyes and looked around to see Shining marching towards him. Cadance and Spike were behind him, slowed down by Spike's need to use crutches. Before Flash could say anything, he suddenly felt a burning pain in his cheek and the next thing he knew he was laid out of the floor. "Shining!" He heard Cadance cry as he opened his eyes and looked up at Shining, whose fist was raise. "What are you doing?" "Hopefully, knocking some sense back into him." Shining reached down and grabbed Flash's shirt, pulling him back up to his feet. "What do you think you're doing, saying everything would be better if you'd never come into Twilight's life?" "I'm right!" Flash told him as he pulled himself free. "The only reason Twilight was in that situation was because of me. The only reason any of you have ever been in danger is because I was dragging you into it." "That's not true," Cadance told him. "Is it?" Flash asked. "If I had just left that deck where it was, Twilight never would have had any interest in me. She would have gotten to enjoy her life, safely far away from me. But because I did, not only did she get pulled into this stupid situation, but so did you and everyone else." Tears began to fill his eyes. "I'm the one that showed the Dominators how to get here. I'm the one that caused Tempest, Starlight, Marble and all the others to get taken over and lose a part of their lives. Wonderbolts Academy wouldn't have been destroy. Everyone whose been hurt by the Zealots would be fine. Zeronull would still be locked away-" "And the world would have destroyed by the Doom-Vaders!" Spike cried out, shocking Flash. "Did you forget about that little detail?" Shining nodded. "You might have showed the Zealots the way to this world, but you saved it from Sombra." "Someone else would have done the same thing," Flash told them. "You don't know that," Cadance replied. "For all we know, you might have been the only one able to stop Sombra. You can't just assume someone else would have stepped in and stopped him. You stopped him. You saved the world." "But at what cost? Thanks to me, Twilight-" "It's thanks to you that Twilight is even the person she is today," Shining interrupted. "You don't know this, but before Twilight met you she had no confidence in herself. She was bullied at her previous school, forcing our parents to move her to Canterlot High. Sure, she made a few friends when she was there. But she didn't really open up until she met you." Cadance nodded. "If you hadn't come into her life, she might have slowly fallen back into her old habits. Avoiding people and not opening up to anyone else except us." "And her Duelling would have suffered," Spike went on. "Do you remember the first time she Duelled Trixie. If it hadn't been for you, she would have lost and not known why. She would have lost her best card and her confidence might have been shot. She never would have entered the Celestic Cup" "Did you forget what happened in the Celestic Cup?" Flash asked them. "When she faced Shadow. She got seriously hurt." "But she recovered," Shining reminded him. "And everything leading up to that moment, along with everything after it, helped her grow. Because of those events, she had the confidence to go to France and meet Moondancer. She entered the Double X and grew even more, becoming more incredible then I ever thought she'd be." "But now she's been Dominated," Flash pointed out. "We're gonna get her back," Shining assured him. "And don't give me that trash about her not being the same after we free her. Twilight's too strong to let something like this ruin her life. When she's freed, she'll be back to her happy amazing self. And if she does have issues after it, we'll be there to help her through them. And that includes you. Because no matter what you think Flash, you are the best thing that ever happened to Twilight." Flash didn't say anything, instead turning away from them and looking out at the field. Shining continued. "If I could go back in time right now and convince my parents not to transfer Twilight to CHS, I wouldn't." Flash seemed surprised by this. "Even knowing what was gonna happen to her, I wouldn't let anything stop her from meeting you." "None of us would," Cadance agreed. "Even if we knew what the future had in store for her, we wouldn't deprive her of that experience. Because the Twilight we know and love, wouldn't exist without you in her life." Flash continued to simply stare out at the stadium, not looking at any of them. "Flash," Spike almost yelled out, "you can't let things end like this!" Flash just shut his eyes and tried to block everything out, silence falling upon him. He then opened his eyes and saw he was in a dark void, with nothing around him. But that didn't last long as a presence appeared behind him and he looked around to see someone he never thought he'd see again. Flash Heart Dragon. The robotic Duel Monster stared down at him, Flash staring back unable to think of what to say. But before he could, Flash Heart spoke to him, using the voice he'd heard during the Double X. "Do you truly wish you'd never met me?" Flash felt flawed by this question, remembering the daydream he'd had. If he'd never picked up that deck, he never would have met Flash Heart. Another presence made him turn to see Vail Pixie, who had the same sad look she had the last time he saw her. And she wasn't alone, as more of his friends started to appear. Spike, Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Sweetie, Applebloom. They all appeared, one after the other. Cold, Shining, Cadance and Tidal too. Sunburst and Starlight. Sunset and Tempest. Even people he hadn't seen in ages, like Derpy, Time Turner and Shining Spoon. Soon, the void was filled with people he'd met since he'd started Duelling. People who'd taught him so much. Then, another person appeared between him and Flash Heart. Twilight. She smiled at him without a care in the world, while Flash's eyes just filled with tears before he looked down. His entire body shook, Flash unable to stop it as he cried. But then, he felt a hand on his head and suddenly his shaking just stopped. He looked up and saw Twilight move her hand down to touch his cheek, the two staring into each other's eyes for several long seconds. And in those seconds, all she did was smile without a single regret. It was then Flash blinked and he suddenly found himself back in the stadium with the others. His body shook once again, but this time it was different. "I can't," he finally said. The others worried what this meant, Flash continuing to stare down at the stadium and remember everything he'd done there. "The fact that I met them. And through them, I discovered Duelling." His mind once again began showing him images, only this time they were memories the happy times he'd had Duelling. And to his surprise, they far outnumbered the bad ones. "Now it's all...apart of me." Flash's shaking stopped as his face became serious. Meanwhile, Misty and Scootaloo were both standing in a higher up part of the stadium. They'd been listening for a while, Misty smiling at Flash. "It's strange," Scootaloo turned to her mother. "They seem like such different people on the surface. But at times like this, Flash really does remind me of your father." Scootaloo smiled at this before they continued to see how this played out. Flash continued to remember his time since he started Duelling again. All the battles he'd had. All the wins and loses. And all the lessons he'd leaned. "All this advice," he told the others. "This is what I live by. All of it. Everything I've learned from the people Duelling brought into my life." His mind then flashed back to when he first defeated Cold, when he'd beaten Sombra and stopped the Doom-Vaders. And when he'd beaten Tempest and freed her from the Dominators. Everything, leading up to those moments. The journey he'd been on to reach those goals. "Nobody ever fights to lose. That's the same, for everyone. They fight with all their might giving everything they've got and they chose what they believe to be the best path for themselves." The others smiled, seeing something they were scared they'd never see again. A look of conviction appeared on Flash's face as he turned to them. "If Twilight were here, what do you think she would tell me?" Shining smiled, "that you shouldn't give up yet. And you shouldn't regret anything that's happened up until now." Flash nodded back as he looked down at his hand, squeezing it tightly into a fist. "No regrets. Not now or ever. Not when I met Twilight that day. Not when I took possession of the deck. And never, about making the friends I have." "So what are you gonna do?" Shining asked. Flash smiled back at him before showing him his fist. "I will grab hold of the future, because it's mine for the taking. I'll get Twilight back. I'll take Zeronull down and I'll make up for all the mistakes I've made." "Hey," Spike told him, "don't go hogging all the fun for yourself." Cadance nodded, "you're not alone in this. A lot of people care about Twilight and want to help her in some way. And they also want to help you. That includes us." Shining and Spike nodded as well, Flash doing the same as he heard footsteps that made him look up and see Misty and Scootaloo heading towards them from higher up. "We'll be there for you too," Misty assured him. "No matter what obstacles we face, we'll face them together and make sure the world isn't destroyed." Flash smiled at them, "thanks." He then frowned, "but before I can do anything, I've gotta get my deck back. I've gotta find a way to let my monsters know I'm sorry." "And I think I can help with that." They all turned to see Cold heading towards them, holding something in his hands. Plane tickets "I've talked to someone and they have a way for you to get your deck back. But to do it, you and your family are gonna need to meet him where he is right now." He held out the tickets, Flash, Scootaloo and Misty taking them. Cold then reached into his pocket and took something else out as well. A Duel card. "Here, I know it can't make up for the mistake I made, but I hope this proves useful too you." Flash took the card and saw it was a monster. "Dark Portal Master?" Flash read its effect and was surprised by it. "Seriously?" "It's a gut feeling," Cold told him. "You may end up needing this card." Flash nodded back and pocketed the card, then looked down at his ticket and saw where they were heading. Egypt. In the ruins of an ancient town at the base of a mountain, a single figure sat on a broken piece of rock. That figure was wearing a large hooded cloak that covered his head and protected him from the sand laced winds. But then he stood up and pulled the hood down, revealing his face. "Soon," Trail Blazer announced as he looked to the sky. "Soon, we'll all be together."