Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's - Episode 137

"An Approaching Terror - The Citadel of God, 'The Ark Cradle'" is the one-hundred and thirty seventh episode of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.

Yusei defeats Aporia, causing Team 5D's to become the the first time champions of the World Racing Grand Prix. Things look at peace in New Domino City, however the situation takes an unexpected turn as the Ark Cradle finally appears.]]

Duel
Yusei has just managed to Summon his, Jack's, and Crow's three ace cards: "Shooting Star Dragon", "Red Nova Dragon" and "Black-Winged Dragon". Seeing Yusei Summon three Synchro Monsters in one turn, Aporia wonders if this is the true power of a Signer. Yusei tells Aporia that the despair will be overpowered by hope. Team 5D's and Lazar celebrate and Team Ragnarok compliment Yusei for getting out the three monsters.

Yusei activates the effect of "Black-Winged Dragon"; He removes its two Black Feather Counters to reduce the ATK of "Machine Divine Emperor Machinicle Infinity Cubic" by 700 for each and inflict the same amount of damage to Aporia. The ATK of "Machinicle" drops to 2600 and "Black-Winged Dragon" uses its "Black Burst" effect, lowering Aporia's Life Points to 2600. Without the counters, "Black-Winged Dragon" has its ATK restored to 2800.

Crow points out that "Black-Winged Dragon" now has enough ATK to surpass "Machinicle". Yusei gets it to attack "Machinicle" using its "Noble Stream" attack. Aporia's Life Points are lowered to 2400, but he uses the effect of "Machinicle" to remove a "Machine Emperor" component from his Graveyard, "Grannel Guard", from play to prevent its destruction.

Jack tells to take the match and Yusei gets "Red Nova Dragon" to attack "Machinicle" using its "Burning Soul" attack. Aporia's Life Points are lowered to 500 and this time he removes "Grannel Attack" from play to prevent the destruction.

Aporia is in shock as he realizes he is going to lose. Yusei proclaims that their hope has surpassed Aporia's despair and declare his final attack. "Shooting Star Dragon" uses its "Stardust Mirage" attack to destroy "Machinicle" and subsequently finish off Aporia's remaining Life Points.

After having come so far, Aporia is devastated that his plan failed. He reaches out his hand, which suddenly blows-up. Yusei, Jack and Crow pull over to the side of the road, as Aporia's damaged Duel Runner speeds past them and ramps off the road into the water, where it explodes. Yusei, Jack and Crow demount from their Duel Runners and watch. Jack compliments Yusei, who then says that the three of them did it. They bump their fists together in victory. With Aporia gone, the reddened sky fades back to its proper color.

Celebrations
The MC, standing up with his feet on separate swivel chairs, declares that the much anticipated result of the World Racing Grand Prix has been decided. The chairs diverge, causing him to switch to a split-like pose without falling. He appears on monitors throughout the city, proclaiming that this is a historical moment for the textbooks; a winner has emerged from the first WRGP, Team 5D's. People throughout the city start to cheer and images of Yusei, Jack and Crow are flickered on the monitors.

At Team 5D's pits, Leo, Luna, Akiza and Bruno all celebrate. Leo gets overexcited and starts to cry. The others smile and Akiza says that Yusei did it. Over in his room, Lazar celebrates peace being restored and lets off a party popper.

Yusei, Jack and Crow return to the stadium, where the MC announces their return. Leo, Luna, Bruno and Akiza all rush over to congratulate them. They're quickly followed by Mina, Carly and Stephanie who hurry over to compliment Jack. Trudge, Team Ragnarok and Elsworth all arrive and praise them as well. After Yusei thanks everyone, Carly takes out her camera to take pictures of the occasion.

Ark Cradle's appearance
With their victory, Yusei thinks that Yliaster's ambitions should be gone. However the remaining circuits on the Grand Design light up, causing the city to shake. Yusei wonders what's going on, and Crow suddenly points to the sky as he notices it cracking up. A large hole is formed from the crack and the Ark Cradle descends from it. All across the city, people look up at the cradle, shocked by its sudden appearance.

Jack believes this turn of events is impossible, as he had thought that the Ark Cradle would disappear with their victory. As Crow points out, it has appeared nonetheless. Yusei looks up and describes the Ark Cradle as the last Ener-D of humanity, which is what his father had called it before. Bruno wonders if ZONE really intends to destroy New Domino City.

Lazar comes dashing over to Team 5D's warning that they must hurry over to Sector Security, so they can analyze Ylister's motives and come up with a counter-measure. Elsworth offers to join them and Trudge says that he and Mina should return to the station. Mina agrees and advises Carly and Stephanie to leave the area. Terrified by the recent the happenings, the two oblige.

Elsewhere, Zigzix is spinning wildly, excited over the increase in Ener-D. He proclaims that it keeps spinning and won't stop. He stops spinning and falls over in excitement.

Team 5D's, Elsworth and Lazar arrive at Sector Security headquarters, where a large group of workers are analyzing the situation. The power level from the Ener-D falls below 30% and continues to drop. At this rate, the workers estimate that the Ener-D will reach a standstill. Lazar orders a check be run on the system's program, asking them to search for any strange patterns or disturbances in the system.

Across the city, Duel Runners stop functioning, monitors switch off and general power outages occur. Even the equipment at Sector Security stops working. When the headquarters is switched to backup power, the staff receives a response from the Ener-D reactor, which has started to spin in the opposite direction. Jack suspects this is what's causing the Ark Cradle to appear.

Zigzix makes contact with the Sector Security headquarters. He reports that he is aware of the problem and that it is because the Ark Cradle contains Ener-D spinning in a reverse rotation. He shows them images of the object they got satellites. Within the center of the structure, there are three Planetary Particle gears producing a large amount of Ener-D. Zigzix explains that since it's rotating in reverse, it's producing minus Ener-D. Jack hypothesizes that it is using that to take control of Ener-D in New Domino, which Zigzix confirms.

However, Zigzix reports that this is not the most frightening problem at the moment, as the Cradle is slowly descending onto the city. He calculates that if things continue as is, the structure will hit ground level within twelve hours, producing a shock wave, destroying everything within a radius of several hundred kilometers, including the entire city.

Evacuation
Everyone is stunned by the prediction of their doom. Lazar asks how long it will take to evacuate the city, but is told that it would require a minimum of twenty hours to get everyone out. Lazar orders a broadcast to all video channels on the streets. Appearing on screens across the city, he declares a state of emergency and orders everyone to evacuate. Being short on time, he gives briefs the citizens on the situation and informs them of the impact from the Ark Cradle. Lazar states that Sector Security patrols will be dispatched to aid the evacuation and women, children and the sick will be attended to first. The residents start to panic and run for their lives.

Lazar orders the people in the Sector Security headquarters to evacuate, but intends to not leave himself until everyone else is safe. People are surprised by his sacrifice, but he insists that they leave and wishes them luck.

Stephanie rushes over to Cafe la Geen, where other people are evacuating. Someone asks what she is doing, reminding her that they have to get away from there, but she refuses to let Blue-Eyes Mountain be destroyed. He thinks that this isn't something anyone should worry about now, but she argues that Jack really likes it there.

At Poppo Time, Lyndon, is ready to leave. He calls back inside for his mother, Zora insisting that they leave immediately. However she sits inside at the counter and tells him to run on himself. She has chosen to stay here with the clocks her husband built. Lyndon points out that if they stay the thing in the sky is going to come down on top of them. However Zora is fine with that, as she has put everything into making this store. Lyndon, frustrated and concerned, asks her not to talk nonsense. He vows to build a new shop and new clocks if they are destroyed, even if it must be from scratch. Lyndon begs his mother, asking how he could look her future grandchildren in the face after letting her die. Zora nods that she understands and decides to evacuate with her son.

At Martha's house, Martha is guiding the children, along with Atsuko and Kaoru into a bus. After asking if anyone is left behind, she sighs and gets in herself. She thinks that they were lucky finding the bus, which did not require Ener-D to run. Blister, who is driving, explains that it used to be in a junkyard, and a local officer helped him install a new ignition switch and gas gauge. Martha sits down beside Dr. Schmidt and suggests that they get going. Two of the boys ask Martha if the thing in the sky is really going to fall and if the city will disappear. She tells them not to worry about it, assuring them that they are only going somewhere safe for the time being, and she is certain that Yusei, Jack, and Crow are going to protect the city. The boys are assured and Blister starts the bus.

At a Security station, Trudge and Mina stand before a group of Securities. Trudge hoped that he could have expressed his gratitude for the arrival of all the Securities, but only a few showed up. Kaz reports that many of them have already evacuated, but Trudge can't blame them with the Ark Cradle looming so close. Although the use of Ener-D will be extremely limited, Trudge orders the remaining Securities to rescue all the citizens. He explains that they must be willing to sacrifice themselves for this mission, allowing any other Securities to desert. Trudge is pleased when they all remain, and assures them that their lives are in his and Mina's hands. Mina reminds the Securities that the top priority is treating the sick and injured, and their second priority guiding the remaining citizens, and orders them to not abandon anyone.

Amongst the chaos of citizens trying to escape, a Sector Security vehicle appears, but only allows the sick and injured to board. However, all citizens wish to board, flocking around the vehicle, including a mother and her child. Carly, who is carrying a large bag of belongings, including a teddy bear resembling Jack Atlas, comments on how bad the situation is getting, before being knocked over by the female hippie.

Within the Ark Cradle
Up in the Ark Cradle, Aporia's original body is lying in the capsule it died in. Aporia's current, injured body is in another capsule. Parts of this Aporia's face have been chipped away, showing a mechanical body underneath. ZONE moves over to this capsule, saying that he still requires his power and asks if Aporia will lend him his strength. Aporia, speaking telepathically, apologizes, believing his loss prevented him from keeping the vow he made to ZONE. However ZONE claims that things have taken an unexpected twist. In their original plan the Grand Design was to be completed upon Aporia's victory, resulting in the appearance of the Ark Cradle However, despite their loss, the Ark Cradle still appeared. Aporia asks if the plan can continue, which ZONE affirms, despite slight changes.

ZONE comments that the future may be changed again because of outside interferences. Aporia wonders if Team 5D's caused the interference, to which ZONE replies that the probability of this is high. Since these changes are irregular, ZONE requests that Aporia make another attempt to change the future. Aporia feels much obliged, as he regards ZONE as his eternal friend. Aporia's eyes open and glow red, and mechanical tools prepare to repair him.

Planning to stop the Ark Cradle
Back at Security headquarters, Bruno has some images on the Ark Cradle on screen. Lazar, Elsworth and the rest of Team 5D's look up and Bruno explains that he has aimed all the satellite cameras at the structure. They look through the images, hoping to learn something and soon realize that it has the appearance of a ruined city. Yusei spots something suspicious jutting out and asks Bruno to zoom in. To everyone's surprise, it is the ruins of the original part of Daedalus Bridge. This proves to them that New Domino is indeed going to be destroyed.

Shocked by this, Lazar asks if there is any way for them to stop the Ark Cradle. After a brief moment of silence, Bruno says that there may be a way. Showing an illustration of the Ener-D reactor in the Ark Cradle, Bruno theorizes that a clockwise rotating Ener-D colliding with the Ark Cradle reactor might reverse its direction. However, the Ener-D in the city has stopped rotating, so Lazar believes that it will be impossible to change the situation. He advises everyone else to evacuate, but Yusei notices a surveillance monitor of Team Ragnarok approaching on their Duel Runners.

The group go outside the building to meet-up with Ragnarok. Yusei asks how it is that they are able to use their Duel Runners. Brave reveals his Rune Eye. Harald explains that since they haven't been affected by Yliaster's past actions, they haven't been affected by the minus energy. Yusei realizes the same would be true for their Duel Runners, because of the Crimson Dragon. Yusei believes that they can reach the Ark Cradle with their working Duel Runners, but a voice appears, informing him that he is mistaken. Looking down, Yusei sees Sherry LeBlanc on the monitor on his Duel Runner. He is surprised to see her alive and Elsworth dashes over to see her.

Sherry tells Yusei that she has seen the future, and advises him not to board the Ark Cradle, as in the future Yusei dies after entering. Yusei becomes stunned by this revelation.

Yusei VS Aporia

 * ''... continued from the previous episode.

Yusei has just Summoned "Black-Winged Dragon", "Red Nova Dragon" and "Shooting Star Dragon" by the effect of "Ghoul Summoner". "Black-Winged Dragon" prevented him from taking damage, gaining 2 Black Feather Counters in the process (ATK 2800 → 2100 → 1400).
 * Yusei's turn

Yusei activates the effect of "Black-Winged Dragon", removing its Black Feather Counters to reduce the ATK of "Machine Divine Emperor Machinicle Infinity Cubic" (ATK: 4000 → 2600) and inflict damage to Aporia (Aporia: 4000 → 2600 Life Points). The ATK of "Black-Winged Dragon" is returned to normal (ATK: 1400 → 2800).

"Black-Winged Dragon" attacks "Machine Divine Emperor Machinicle Infinity Cubic", but Aporia activates the effect of "Machinicle", removing "Grannel Guard" in his Graveyard removed from play to prevent the destruction of "Machinicle". (Aporia: 2600 → 2400 Life Points)

"Red Nova Dragon" attacks "Machinicle", but Aporia removes "Grannel Attack" in his Graveyard from play to prevent the destruction. (Aporia: 2400 → 500 Life Points)

"Shooting Star Dragon" attacks and destroys "Machinicle". (Aporia: 500 → 0 Life Points)

Yusei wins.

Featured cards
The following cards appeared in this chapter.

Mistakes

 * Yusei isn't wearing his left glove when Carly takes a photo of Yusei rubbing Leo's head.
 * During the episode's beginning, when Yusei, Jack, Crow, and their dragons are moving through the road, Scar-Red Nova Dragon is shown to be above Crow, and Blackfeather Dragon is shown to be above Jack. When the camera changes direction, Scar-Red Nova Dragon and Blackfeather Dragon have somehow switched position to above their respective master.
 * It seems that they were intended to be above their respective masters, but a mistake occur during the production of the episode's beginning, causing the position of Jack's dragon and Crow's dragon to be switched, thus they need to add the camera direction change as an excuse to do the sudden switch of position.
 * Yusei is shown not holding his duel runner while still on his duel runner during the minute he calls Shooting Star Dragon's attack.