Jaden is experiencing some down time and trying to get Pharaoh to exercise when he hears about a girl with psychic abilities who's been locked up for testing. Realizing that all she needs is a little teaching, Jaden plans to break her out. After running around the city gathering information, Jaden is able to find the girl and get her out, but someone has other plans for her. Is Jaden making the right choice by trying to teach her to control her powers, or are they too much even for him?
Thanks to Naruto-Superman4 for helping me with editing and my story line.
Chapter 1:
True Pearl
Jaden sighed contently and looked around at the bustling activity and the tall buildings, taking in the sights. It was a beautiful day in Montana: the sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the air was lovely and warm. Jaden loved summertime, especially here in the United States, where it was much warmer and active than in Japan. Jaden's smile faded as the rope from his heavy travel bag dug into his left shoulder. He pocketed his phone for a moment and set the bag down, rubbing his shoulder with his free hand. After a bit, he picked up the bag again and slung it over his right shoulder in a manner similar to doing an Around the World trick with a yo-yo. The bag thumped against Jaden's back and a discomforted *meow* came through the weatherproof material. A large, ornery head with Brock eyes* (straight lines in place of conventional eyes) poked out of the bag. It *meowed* again, indicating its displeasure, but Jaden took no notice.
"Serves you right for the imprint on my sore shoulder," he chastened. He knew better than to indulge the overweight feline in any way, shape, form or fashion by now. Jaden took his phone back out of his pocket, and while navigating the touchscreen to turn on Google Maps, he craned his neck to look at the displeased face and added, "Seriously Pharaoh, lose some weight. I'm tired of being at half-breath every time I finally get somewhere. Actually, you know what?" Jaden dropped the bag, causing Pharaoh to mewl in complaint again, and took the ornery ball of fur out and placed him on all fours. "From now on, you're walking everywhere we go. About time you got some exercise."
Pharaoh mewled again, complaining. A glowing yellow ball of light emerged from his mouth and floated around Jaden's head, taking the form of former Duel Academy Professor Lyman Banner.
"Oh, come on Jaden," he said, his voice full of sympathy for his beloved pet. "Don't you think you're being a little harsh?"
"No," replied Jaden bluntly. "I'm constantly carrying him around in what's already a twenty-pound bag full of supplies while he does nothing but eat my food and take up space in my bag, and quite frankly I'm starting to get sick of it, Banner. Your cat's become a nuisance lately, and I don't always have the time to put up with it, especially when there's someone out there who might need me. So from now on, Pharaoh has to pull his own weight, literally. If he doesn't like that, he can either lose some of it, or he can leave." Pharaoh looked like he might start crying at any minute, but Jaden knew he was faking it in order to get sympathy. However, despite the tone in his voice, Jaden didn't really want to see Pharaoh leave. Like Banner, he had grown fond of the cat and, despite the nuisance he could be sometimes, Jaden had learned that it was important to have a travelling companion. In a way, they both looked out for each other; Pharaoh and Banner were good friends who kept him company, and Jaden made sure that Pharaoh was taken care of. But, Pharaoh did need to lose some weight.
Anyway, like he said, he didn't have time for this right now: somewhere out there, a girl who could see Duel Spirits was being held in a government facility against her will, being forced to take menial tests to prove that she was apparently psychic or something. Jaden remembered seeing it on the news.
(Flashback)
Jaden paused in front of an electronics store to watch the many TV screens playing the same thing; a replay of a Duel from a few months ago. It was a news report on a man who'd been the absolute best in the area, but he'd lost to a simple little girl and disappeared. Jaden had seen the Duel when it had happened over the TV and had thought that the girl would win. He'd been right as always, but the man was so torn up and angry over it, he'd left without a trace. It didn't make any sense to Jaden; after all, losing once wasn't the end. It was a lesson he'd had to learn a long time ago when he had been beaten by the duel spirit known as Kaibaman and his friend Aster Phoenix. But this man didn't like to lose so much that he let it get to him.
"…and there's still no sign of the Duelist known as Oberon since the incident," the reporter said. "Back to you, Pete."
"Thank you, Megan," Pete said. "In other news, a seventeen-year-old girl was discovered by police to have psychic abilities. Linda Paul has the story for us, Linda?"
"Thanks Pete," Linda said as the scene changed again. "The girl was discovered Tuesday morning after a call for help came from a neighbor, who reported seeing explosions near Sullivan's Park, where the girl and a friend were playing the popular trading card game Duel Monsters when things got out of control, with the girl's monsters allegedly coming to life and inflicting real damage. The boy she was playing with was taken to hospital that night and is still recovering."
Jaden's brow furrowed. "It's not 'playing with,' lady," he thought, "it's Dueling, get it right." But the broadcaster continued on regardless.
"The girl was arrested by police and handed over to scientists for testing. Scientists are prepared to run several more tests on the girl to see if her telekinetic abilities can be duplicated or harnessed. More on this story as it develops, this is GHB News," the woman named Linda finished her bit and the broadcast went to commercial. Jaden's brow set in a hard line.
"I don't like where this is going," he said quietly. Yubel appeared next to him.
"What they're going to do to her sounds painful," she observed. She saw Jaden's expression soften by thinking about someone else in pain. When she'd asked him about that, he'd used a strange word to describe it called empathy. Despite her time with Jaden, Yubel still didn't quite understand it.
"What are you going to do?" she asked, although part of her felt she already knew the answer.
Jaden took a deep breath. "Part of me wants to go in and bust her out of there," he admitted, "But the thing is, I'd be breaking into a government facility, which I'm assuming in this country is a felony, for the sake of taking that girl out of it, which in the eyes of the law is kidnapping. And since I'm a foreigner, they'll be quick to deport me."
Jaden looked around for a place to sit down. Seeing a park across the street, he slung his bag over his shoulder, crossed the street and sat down on a bench by a pond where he could see ducks swimming back and forth hoping for some bread crumbs.
"And furthermore," he added, "I don't know where they're holding her. I wouldn't know where to find her." He looked downwards and supported his chin with his hand. "I'm not sure I'd even know where to start." Yubel looked at Jaden and gave him a genuine smile, (which for her was a big deal)
"Buuuuuuut," she started Jaden's sentence for him. Jaden looked across the table at the demon sitting across from him and humored her.
"Buuuuuut," he said, imitating her. "That girl's being held in an unfamiliar place, being probed at by strangers and most likely isn't allowed to see her loved ones. On top of that, assuming from what I saw from that broadcast, that area had an erratic scorch pattern, suggesting an uncontrolled explosion, which means this girl probably can't control her abilities very well. So to recap, she's cut off from the outside world, surrounded by strangers who are constantly poking and prodding her, probably separated from her cards since some would think they caused the blast, and to top it all off, she's developing these strange powers that she can't control. If I were her, I'd feel lonely, scared and miserable." He looked down sadly, ignoring the quacking of ducks that had come to see if he had any food for them and Pharaoh, who had decided that they looked like snacks.
"I've been lonely, scared and miserable Yubel, and it's one of the worst combinations of feelings a person can have, so when I think of that lonely, scared and miserable girl, I can't just sit around and do nothing." Jaden made eye contact with Yubel, his past experiences showing. "I want to help her," he said quietly.
Immediately, his eyes shut tight. "What am I saying?" he asked himself. "I just said I can't just sit around and do nothing, but that's exactly what I'm doing right now." Jaden watched Pharaoh for a moment as he tried to chase the ducks, but ended up flopping around because of his weight.
"What are you waiting for?" Yubel asked suddenly. "If you want to help this girl then you should." Jaden nodded. Yubel was right. So, after calling Pharaoh, Jaden headed deeper into the park. Although it was packed with people, Jaden managed to find a secluded spot near an old oak tree, far enough away from other people. Pharaoh followed him, and Jaden knelt down to him. "Alright Pharaoh," he sighed. "I need to talk to Banner. Let him out, please." Pharaoh just sat there and licked his paw. Jaden took a deep breath and counted to ten. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Pharaoh. Take your pick."
The cat meowed and opened his mouth, allowing Banner to emerge as a ball of light that took the form of the former Professor.
"Hello Jaden," he greeted warmly, waving his hand. Jaden nodded a greeting.
"Hey Banner," he said, "I need your help. I need to find someone who's trapped somewhere, but I don't know where to start looking."
"Well," said Banner, "Who are you looking for? Is it anyone we know?" Jaden shook his head. "It's an American girl who can see Duel Spirits... at least, I think. She was in the news where they said she was psychic, able to make the monsters come to life and inflict real damage. They arrested her and took her away somewhere."
"And knowing you, you want to help her."
"Yeah."
"Well," said Banner, "Are you aware that you'd be breaking into a government facility, and that that's a felony?"
"Yeah, I know."
Banner raised an eyebrow. Something didn't add up.
"Why do you want to break in and bust that girl out?" he asked. "For all you know, she might be unstable. They probably locked her up for a good reason, so if you broke in and set her free, you could possibly be setting a menace onto society." He folded his arms. "So if you really think that you should do this Jaden, you'll have to find out whether or not she's being held under duress. Which she probably isn't, given that a government never does anything without a good reason."
Jaden snorted. "People in this country don't seem to believe that." Banner smiled.
"When promises fail, what else is left?" he asked. Jaden looked at him quizzically and shook his head.
"Whatever," he said. "I need to make a plan. How can I find out whether or not this girl's being held against her will?"
"You can always track down her family members and talk to them," suggested Banner. "Start there." Jaden nodded.
"Thanks Banner. So I'll just ask around for her name, and from there I'll contact any relatives she has and try to see what they know." He paused suddenly, something dawning on him. "But wait a minute, if this girl's being held in a government facility, she's probably kept hidden from everyone, given what she can do and all. If the government wanted to protect its people, they would probably keep her locked up and not give away any information as to her whereabouts, right?"
"Probably," agreed Banner.
"Then for all we know, her family members might not know either," Jaden frowned. "So how am I supposed to find her?"
Banner smiled. "Let's go with the asking her family plan first," he said. "Remember, our first task is finding out whether she's being held under duress, not finding out where she is. That part comes second. You know, if there needs to be a second part." Jaden nodded his expression serious.
"Time to go to work," he said.
Having no computer on him due to a lack of space in his bag, Jaden popped in quickly to one of those internet cafes to do a little Googling. Once the search bar came up, Jaden typed in "Psychic Duelling Girl" and hit enter.
The first link brought him to the homepage of a newspaper site, the Daily Public. Jaden's smile widened as he found the name of the person he was looking for: the article referred to the exact same incident he'd seen earlier that day, and it talked about a supposedly psychic girl named Pearl Lite who was arrested and taken to a government facility for testing after playing a game of Duel Monsters with a friend, a Mr. Justin Donovan. Jaden rested his chin on his hand.
"Should I visit Pearl's friend, too?" he asked himself. "It might be helpful to get an idea of what I'm working with here. If Pearl's friend can vouch for her, then maybe I can get a better idea of whether or not I should spring her.
The article mentioned that the girl lived in Great Falls, one of Montana's three Metropolitan Statistical Areas. Jaden opened up Google Maps and typed in the name.
"Right there," he thought, "That's where we'll go."
(End of Flashback)
So now here they were, in Great Falls, Montana, searching for Pearl Lite's best friend and mother in the hopes that they could perhaps give them some insight as to whether or not they should rescue her. Jaden eyed Google Maps on his phone. Now that they'd gotten to Great Falls, they had to find out the name of the hospital where Pearl's best friend, Justin Donovan was. Jaden paused to think amidst Banner's protests about his treatment of Pharaoh.
"How can I get the information I need?" Jaden asked himself. He noticed a group of high schoolers nearby and thought, "Perfect. I'll visit all the high schools in the area and see if Pearl and Justin are enrolled there." Jaden held down the button on his phone and spoke into it. "Siri, locate all high schools in Great Falls."
An hour and a half later, Jaden was bounding up the steps to Great Falls District High School. A quick Internet search for each high school that Siri had pulled up led to him finding this one to be where both Pearl Lite and Justin Donovan were enrolled at. Jaden entered the school, and after getting directions from a willing group of students, thanked them and set off for the Main Office. Jaden opened the door and stepped in and warmly greeted the stout, middle-aged woman behind the desk.
"Hello," he said, "My name's Jaden Yuki, and I'm looking for Justin Donovan. I know that he's been admitted to a hospital after what happened to him, so I was wondering if you knew which hospital it was."
The woman behind the desk smiled back at him and asked "With all due respect Mr. Yuki, no one's ever seen you around here before, and then all of a sudden, you come barging in. May I ask why you're looking for Mr. Donovan?"
"We're old buds," replied Jaden, improvising on the spot. "We haven't seen each other ever since I left for Duel Academy three years ago, and I was hoping to get in touch with him after all this time."
The woman nodded her head. "Oh, okay. If you're looking for Justin, Mr. Yuki, he's been admitted to Great Falls General Hospital. It's right in the heart of the city, easy access by bus. I hope you two manage to reconnect."
"Me too," replied Jaden. "And thank you so much for your help."
Another hour bus ride later, Jaden was craning his neck to look at the big building that stood before him. Checking his watch, he prayed that visiting hours weren't over, and he jogged quickly across the parking lot to avoid blocking any cars from getting in or out. The nurse at the front desk was especially warm and kind, although also terribly busy, so when Jaden asked to see Justin Donovan, she was quick to tell him which floor and room he was on. Jaden headed into the elevator thinking that that had been almost too easy.
While in the elevator, Professor Banner appeared to him and asked, "Do you have any idea how you're going to introduce yourself to this boy? Despite what you've been telling everybody, he has no idea who you are."
"Don't worry about that," said Jaden. "I'll think of something."
"Well, what are you going to think of?"
"I don't know," replied Jaden. "But I'm thinking about just being square with him."
The elevator stopped at the tenth floor, and Jaden got off. Five minutes later, he located Room 1019 and knocked, just to be polite. "Come in," came a male voice. Jaden entered the room to see a raven headed boy about his age in a hospital gown sitting upright in a hospital bed. He took one look at Jaden and asked, "Who are you?"
Jaden cleared his throat. "Hello Justin, my name's Jaden Yuki. Don't be alarmed, because I'm just here to ask you some questions about your friend Pearl."
The black-haired boy blinked before asking "Why do you want to know?" Jaden paused, remembering telling Banner that he planned on being straight with Justin.
"I'll be straight with you," he said, "I think the testing that the government's doing on Pearl might be against her will. And," he exhaled here, "If it was, I was thinking about busting her out."
Justin looked at him as if he was crazy. "You do know that's a felony, right?"
"Maybe," replied Jaden, "But I can't sit back while someone's subjected to loneliness, discomfort and fear when she just needs to gain a little control over what she can do."
"You mean make Duel Monsters become real?" asked Justin.
"Precisely," Jaden confirmed. He noticed that when Justin had responded, that his voice made it seem like he was mad at Pearl for putting him in the hospital. "Are you mad at her for putting you in here?" he asked.
Justin shrugged. "Not really. But I would like to get the hell outta here as soon as I can. Hospitals suck."
"Tell me about it," Jaden agreed. He remembered all the different times he'd ended up in the Infirmary at Duel Academy, where he'd had nothing to do but sit in bed all day. It hadn't been too bad, but being up and about was definitely preferable to it.
"I've been told I should be let out tomorrow morning, but it doesn't help me now," Justin said. Then, all of a sudden, Justin asked him, "Why are you willing to commit a federal crime just to help Pearl? I mean, it's nice of you to be willing to do it, but if you do, you could get in serious trouble, man."
Jaden exhaled and sat down beside the bed. "Justin, what Pearl has is a gift," he explained. "And there are many others out there like her who can do what she can. I'm one of them."
Justin looked skeptical. "You can make Duel Monsters come to life?" Jaden nodded. "Here," he offered. "I'll show you." He reached into his travel bag and pulled out a Duel Disk. Strapping it on, he engaged it and placed his Winged Kuriboh card onto the Monster Card Zone. Within a second, the little furry creature appeared out of nowhere. Justin wasn't impressed; for all he knew, Jaden was using Solid Vision to make Winged Kuriboh appear.
"Winged Kuriboh," said Jaden, "Why don't you go over there and give Justin a hug or something?"
Immediately the little fur ball went over and began snuggling against the rather awed-looking boy. "No way," he said, running his hands through the creature's tiny fur. "I can touch him." He turned to Jaden. "You can't do that with Solid Vision holograms."
"No you cannot," Jaden agreed. "So you see, Justin, I think that what happened to you here is the result of Pearl not being able to control her power."
The other boy gave a look of understanding as he kept petting Winged Kuriboh. "Um," he asked, "This might be a weird question, but does this little guy like being scratched anywhere?"
"The top of his head," Jaden offered, smiling. "He loves that." Justin scratched Winged Kuriboh in the spot Jaden indicated and the little creature responded enthusiastically.
"Okay!" said Justin, as Winged Kuriboh began smothering him, "You can call him back now!" Jaden took the card and placed it back in his Deck Box, then took off his Duel Disk and placed it back in his travel bag.
"Justin, I just need to know," said Jaden. "Do you know where they took Pearl?"
"Nah, sorry," admitted the raven headed youth. "But there's a military base near here called Fort Ulysses. Maybe she's there. It makes sense for her to be, since that's the closest base near here."
"Thank you for your time, Justin."
"No problem, man. Nice meeting you."
"Nice meeting you too." Jaden picked up his travel bag and headed to the door before wheeling around. "Almost forgot to ask," he said, "Do you know where Pearl's family lives?"
Justin gave him the address and Jaden thanked him before exiting Justin's room. He entered the elevator and pressed the first-floor button.
"Now all I have to do is ask Pearl's mom some questions about her," Jaden thought, "And soon I'll know whether or not to break her out of Fort Ulysses."
"It could be dangerous, Jaden," warned Banner, appearing beside him again. "If it's a military base, you'll have extreme difficulty getting in. And there's a good chance that you'll get caught."
"Not if I'm careful," Jaden retorted. He exited the elevator and walked out the automatic doors.
Pearl's mother lived at 233 Mountain Way Boulevard, which was up a steep hill. Jaden cursed silently to himself as he walked up the incline. The hill wasn't steep, but the incline did go on for quite a while, and Jaden's legs were beginning to hurt, and even without Pharaoh in it, his travel bag was digging into his shoulder. Behind him, Pharaoh lagged his rotund frame, less attuned to the gradient than Jaden was. He meowed in complaint, but once again, Jaden paid him no mind.
"Come on, Pharaoh," he said sternly. "Like I said, you need exercise. This'll be good for you." Pharaoh meowed again, this time angrily. If he could've scratched Jaden right then, he certainly would've done so.
Eventually, they reached the top of the incline and Jaden began looking at all the different house numbers that would tell him which direction Pearl's house was.
"C'mon, this way," he motioned for Pharaoh to follow him, and the big cat meowed in complaint once more as Jaden began jogging towards the house marked number 233. Jaden jogged up the driveway and was soon knocking on the door. Only now did he pick up Pharaoh, so he wouldn't go running into the house uninvited.
A nervous-looking woman who looked like she was in her thirties with blonde hair answered the door. "I'm sorry," she said, not recognizing the strange boy before her. "Can I help you with something?"
Jaden considered the question. "Well," he began, "I'm mainly here to help you, Mrs. Lite. If you can provide me with some information, I'll see what I can do to help Pearl."
Mrs. Lite's eyebrows shot up at the mention of her daughter's name. "Come in, please," she beckoned, opening the door. Jaden entered and immediately took off his shoes.
"Is it alright?" he asked before doing so. Pearl's mother gave him the okay, and after taking his shoes off, Jaden and Pharaoh followed her to the kitchen.
"Would you like some coffee?" asked Mrs. Lite, but Jaden politely declined.
"I'm here to be a help, not a bother," he said with a smile on his face. Mrs. Lite nonetheless took a mug out of the cupboard and poured herself some.
Sitting down at the table, she asked, "You're here to help my daughter?"
Jaden nodded. "That is, if I can find out whether or not she's being held under duress. If she doesn't want to be where she is, Mrs. Lite, I plan on springing her from where she is. That is, if you know where."
Pearl's mother shook her head, indicating she didn't, which aroused Jaden's suspicion. "So wherever Pearl's being kept," he thought, "They haven't told her mother, which means they have no intention of letting them communicate."
"Do you know about Pearl's abilities, ma'am?" Jaden asked politely.
Mrs. Lite gave a small smile as she remembered. "She was about six, and my husband had just bought her her first Deck. Immediately she wanted to try it out with some of the neighbor kids, but at that time it was too late in the evening, so her father offered to Duel her." Mrs. Lite paused here and took a long sip of her coffee before continuing. "She ended up putting him in the hospital." Mrs. Lite's coffee cup began shaking. "She was afraid of herself for a while after that. Even after Harold got out of the hospital, Pearl was afraid to play Duel Monsters for a while for fear she would hurt somebody." Mrs. Lite put her coffee mug down, frowning. "Those were some troubling times for her. We actually had to keep her away from other children for fear she might inadvertently hurt them. She understood at first, but over time, wanted to be able to play against other children. So, when Harold and I were sure that she could control her powers, we allowed her to sign up for a local tournament," she continued. "But she wasn't entirely in control of whatever it was that she had yet. She had to forfeit her Duel because she was starting to lose control of her powers." Mrs. Lite lifted her coffee mug back up to take another sip.
"So this has happened before," thought Jaden. "What happened after that?"
Mrs. Lite gave him a very pained look. "We tried to help her control her abilities," she said, "But it took a toll on Harold and I. I mean, how do you raise someone who can make monsters come alive and do what they can? Harold and I have been through several therapists and marriage counselors trying to make it work, but we're still committed to it regardless."
"Anything else I should know about?" asked Jaden. "I mean, if Pearl wasn't allowed to have any friends while growing up, what about Justin Donovan?"
"Justin and Pearl met in middle school. She showed him what she could do and he wasn't afraid of her," Mrs. Lite allowed herself to look relieved. "So they became friends, and he tried to get her to play the game with him, but every time he challenged her, Pearl would say no, because she'd be afraid that she'd hurt him." Mrs. Lite reached across the table and took Jaden's hand. "Pearl doesn't like having her abilities," she told him. "She considers them a curse because she thinks they make her a freak. She told me over and over that all she wants is to be normal."
This came as a surprise to Jaden. Back home, when someone uncovered their ability to see and interact with Duel Spirits, it wasn't that big a deal. It was even smiled upon and seen as a good thing. No one ever really gave that much thought about how it would affect their lives. Maybe some people would think they were eccentric for seemingly talking to nothing, but it wasn't cause to judge a person. But over here, it seemed that being able to see Duel Spirits was a bad thing, and anyone who discovered their ability to see and interact with Duel Spirits had cause for alarm, not the kind of joy that Jaden had experienced when he first discovered his ability. Jaden remembered the first time he'd encountered a Duel Spirit. He hadn't been afraid of it; in fact, he'd rejoiced that he could do something so wonderful and spectacular.
But Pearl lived in fear of her power, and was afraid of it because she knew that it had the potential to hurt people. Jaden frowned, remembering how he'd used his own gift for that purpose deliberately as the Supreme King. He frowned even more when he realized that maybe Pearl was glad to be where they were testing her. Maybe she was hoping that the government could find a way to take her powers away. But Jaden knew that something like that couldn't just be taken away on a whim. When someone could see Duel Spirits, they had that power for life, whether they liked it or not.
"Mrs. Lite," he began, "Do you think that Pearl would want to be rid of her power?"
Mrs. Lite took a while before answering; when she did, Jaden was again surprised.
"No," she said finally, "I don't think so. I remember when Justin came over and said he had something for Pearl. He told me that she'd seen it in a shop and felt like they were just calling to her. He'd gotten her a Deck of cards that she'd told him was filled with Duel Spirits. He thought maybe they could help her." Mrs. Lite sipped her coffee. "I didn't believe it myself, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a complete relief to me when Pearl opened up the cards. She looked so happy and it was like life turned around for her all of a sudden. When she Dueled, she was happy, and she was able to control her abilities for a while. So in case you're wondering, I have no idea how that incident could've happened."
Jaden put his thumb and forefinger to his chin. From what he'd heard, it sounded like things were starting to turn around for Pearl after all these years. But, after one little mishap, the government had whisked her away to parts unknown for testing.
"So, Mrs. Lite, I know that I've already sort of asked you a question like this, but I really need an honest answer before I do anything." Jaden looked at Mrs. Lite. "Do you think that Pearl would want to be there in that government facility? Because from what I've heard, it seems like maybe there'd be a small possibility that Pearl would welcome the chance to get rid of her abilities." Mrs. Lite took a while, looking down at her coffee.
"No," she said finally. "I don't think she wants to be there. Pearl and I are very close, and they wouldn't even let me see her. So I imagine that on some level, she wants to get out of there and come home where she'd be happiest." Jaden watched Mrs. Lite wipe a tear from her eye. It occurred to him how miserable this woman was from not being able to see her daughter. And he was sure that the government should at least give Pearl a few opportunities to see her family. She was cut off from the outside world, frightened with all the abilities that she had, possibly full of self-loathing for what she did to Justin, and very, very, miserable. Jaden remembered what he'd told Yubel a few hours ago at that table at the café. "I can't just sit around and do nothing."
Jaden's eyes and brow formed into a hard line. He'd made his decision, but there was one thing he'd have to do first.
"Mrs. Lite," he said, "Thank you for all the information you've provided me as well as your hospitality. While I'm pretty sure that Pearl would want to be able to visit you, I'm still not entirely sure about whether or not she wants to be out of that facility. So I'm going to get her side of all this." Mrs. Lite's eyebrows shot up.
"How're you going to do that?" she asked. Jaden smiled at her.
"I have a way," he assured her. "And I assure you, if Pearl wants out of there, I'll spring her out of there. Because I think I know how I can get her to control her powers."
"How?" asked Mrs. Lite. "How are you so sure you'll be able to do all these things? And for the most part, I don't even know who you are. You show up on my doorstep out of the blue and tell me that you can help my daughter? I'm sorry if I sound a little rude for asking, but… just who are you?"
Jaden didn't blame her one bit. "I'm like Pearl, ma'am," he explained. "I can see and interact with Duel Spirits. I can even do some of the same things that Pearl can with them. But I've mastered all of my abilities, and I'm confident that the one thing Pearl needs is a mentor. Someone like me who can show her the ropes of how to use her abilities and control them. And most importantly…" Jaden's eyes moistened as he said this, for he was recalling all that he'd inflicted on others, and how much of it he wanted to alleviate it. "…someone to take the pain away." He turned to go.
"Jaden," Mrs. Lite called to him and he wheeled around to face her smile. "Thank you," she said. "What you're going to do for Pearl… I… I know that it would be a great help to her."
Jaden gave her a salute.
"Don't worry about a thing, ma'am," he comforted. "And you're welcome." Jaden left then with Pharaoh in his arms still. After the door was closed, he dropped the fat cat on the ground again.
"Okay, it's definitely going to be a diet for you," Jaden said. Pharaoh meowed in protest, but Jaden didn't hear him. "Let's go, we've got a girl to save."
By the time night hit, Jaden and Banner had been able to find Fort Ulysses; it was located a couples of miles outside of Great Falls, just where Justin Donovan had told them it would be. Jaden left his bag with Banner and Pharaoh in a group of bushes half a mile back; when the time came to bolt, and he needed to get out of there, he didn't want anyone finding his bag and taking it anywhere.
Armed with only Yubel, his Disk and Deck, Jaden climbed over the fence, wincing with pain as the barbed wire cut into his flesh. When he jumped back down onto the ground, he held up his hands for Yubel to see.
"Care to give me a hand?" he asked, somewhat half-jokingly. Yubel sighed and focused her power, healing Jaden's injuries. Jaden ducked underneath an armored truck and sprawled out on his stomach, surveying his surroundings. It occurred to him that getting a glimpse of the place this way was not the smartest, as his view from underneath the truck was limited and he also ran the risk of being run over should someone start the vehicle up. But Jaden decided that the best way to enter the facility undetected was to hitch a ride on the underside of a vehicle. From under the truck, he surveyed his surroundings: there weren't many entrances into the main building, so what he'd have to do was patrol the area until he found one. Jaden was glad he'd changed into a black long-sleeved shirt and left his jacket behind. The bright red color would only give him away, and he needed to enter the place undetected. For that purpose, black was the best way to go. Besides, if it worked for James Bond and all those other guys, it could work for him. The fact that he was also wearing gloves didn't hurt either.
Jaden suddenly perked up as he heard footsteps. He saw two feet walk towards the driver's side of the truck. He heard the door open and close.
"Right," he thought. "Time to move." He immediately grabbed the underside of the truck, stashing his feet in two holds and holding on to a non-rotating bar. Jaden knew better than to grab the axle. That wouldn't go down very well; either he'd fall off and die, or his clothing and skin would come off. Either way was both painful and unnecessary, not to mention unnecessarily painful and painfully unnecessary.
The truck began to move and Jaden expressed silent thanks for the holds he'd chosen. From his sideways position, Jaden could see that they were indeed headed for the main building.
"Good," he thought. "Maybe that's where I'll find Pearl."
The truck came to a stop and Jaden waited until the footsteps faded away before dislodging himself from the vehicle's underside. Wiping what was either grease, oil, or a little bit of both off on his jeans, he made his way towards the main building, which itself was expected to be heavily guarded and laced with security systems that would be hard to get past, but Jaden had made a few plans: he admitted to himself that these weren't solid plans, for they were based on spy movies he'd seen, but nevertheless, he decided that they were better than having no plan at all. Banner had bemoaned his lack of preparation, but Jaden had never been one for that kind of thing. He had always been more of a spontaneous, go-with-the-flow-think-on-your-feet kind of guy. Nevertheless, he decided that Banner was right: for something as serious as this, preparation made all the difference, and from looking at all the security measures, Jaden decided that next time he did something like this, he'd make a few contingency plans that were based on his experiences here, not from something so potentially misleading as spy movies.
Avoiding the lights, Jaden hurried to the side of the building where he inched along until he could see the front door. There were a few guards there and what appeared to be an electronic keypad. "Well, that way's out," Jaden remarked. Then to Yubel, he asked, "Any other ideas?"
"There's a vent about a foot above your head," replied the spirit. Jaden looked up to see the vent, but it was a little high.
"Blast it," thought Jaden, "I'm not tall enough to reach."
He suddenly heard a familiar sound: "Kuri, Kuri!" Winged Kuriboh appeared beside Jaden and flew up to the vent, checking inside; he chirped the all-clear. Jaden smiled at his small friend: the little guy was always proving himself useful again and again. But Jaden still had to get up there. Getting an idea, he engaged his Duel Disk, turning the noise dial on it all the way down so that any sound would be muted. He took his Elemental Hero Neos card from his Deck Box and placed it on the Monster Card Zone.
"Let's go to work, Neos," Jaden murmured. The big man appeared and Jaden wordlessly indicated the vent above them and that he needed to get up there. Neos nodded and bent down, putting his hands together and cupping them so that Jaden could step into them, onto Neos' shoulders so that the bigger man could lift him up to where he could reach the vent. Jaden stepped into the cup made by Neos' hands and the Duel Spirit lifted him up. Jaden unscrewed the four corners of the vent cover and slid it inside the space. He entered the vent, cringing at all the small noises he made either by his joints or his Duel Disk hitting the metal surface. Praying that the guards around the corner wouldn't hear him, Jaden quickly removed Neos' card from his Duel Disk and, with a little difficulty managed to return the card to his Deck Box. There was still no time to waste; he heard one of the guards acknowledge the noises. He cursed quietly to himself in his thoughts and quickly replaced the vent cover, putting back all the screws, although this time the pointy sides were sticking out. Jaden sighed; he knew it couldn't be helped, but for all he knew these men were trained to notice small details like this and would pick up on it in a matter of time.
"No time to think about that now," Jaden thought to himself, "Just keep moving forward."
His Duel Disk, as marvelous a contraption as it was, proved a hindrance in the confined space. Jaden returned it to its standby position and considered taking it off, but decided to leave it on since he had nowhere else to put it. He crawled along the vent, realizing that now, he had no effing clue which direction he had to go in.
"What I need," he thought, "Is a map of this place. Once I find one, I can find out where I need to go." Fortunately, it was only a few moments before he found a place to drop out of. As silently as he could, he undid the screws and removed the vent cover, taking great care not to drop it to the floor. Winged Kuriboh appeared again and made sure that the coast was clear as Jaden dropped to the floor; his eyes widened as the soles of his feet stung with the impact.
"Owe, that hurt," Jaden mused, "It couldn't have been that much of a drop could it?" Either way, he realized, he still needed to replace that grate. Making sure the coast was clear again, he engaged his Duel Disk for the second time and this time called out Winged Kuriboh. After receiving his directions from his master in a hushed whisper, the little fairy made his way into the vent, picking up the screws, replacing the grate, and re-installing the screws until done. Looking down, he saw his master give him an approving smile and a thumbs-up before putting his card back in the Deck Box. Jaden returned his Duel Disk to standby and looked around for a map of the building.
"Darn it," he thought, "There doesn't seem to be one anywhere." He heard voices and hid in the nearest doorway as he tried to figure out his next move.
"I'd say getting in was the easy part," Yubel offered. Jaden rolled his eyes; of course it was. Getting in was never the hard part; the hard part was getting the job done once inside.
"Where can I find a map of this place?" Jaden asked himself as he waited for the voices to subside. It occurred to him that maybe the people who the voices belonged to were headed for Pearl's room. It wasn't confirmed or anything, and it was only a hunch, but a hunch was all Jaden really had right now. He didn't want to spend all that time looking for a map of the place when he could just as easily get somewhere by following someone. While waiting for the voices to pass, Jaden tried to figure out where in a facility like this they could find a map.
"What are you doing?" asked Yubel. "Why are you waiting around? Can't you feel her? Her power combined with her fear and sorrow? She can barely control herself. Track that and we'll find her." Jaden attuned himself and felt them. They confirmed what he'd wanted to know deep down: that Pearl hated being here, was being held against her will, and wanted desperately to go home.
"But will we be able to get her out?" asked Jaden. "And will she want to come with us?" Yubel materialized next to him and waved her arm around, indicating their surroundings.
"Look at this place and you tell me whether or not she'd want to come with us," she said, implying that no one in their right mind would be here. Given who was implying it, it was pretty ironic.
Jaden could now feel the girl's presence: it was incredible; her powers really weren't under control, it felt like a dam on the verge of bursting. Quickly, Jaden checked the corner and hurried down the hall in the opposite direction of the voices towards the strong power. She was close… so close and yet Jaden couldn't find her. He was going around in circles and not finding anything.
"Where is she?!" he asked, frustrated. Jaden ran around another corner, but came to a full stop in front of a single door. Without really understanding the feeling that came over him, he opened it and found a spiral staircase. The staircase went both up and down, but the strong feeling was coming from below.
"It makes sense, doesn't it?" asked Yubel. "To keep her below ground, I mean. She'd be safest down there."
"And most confined," Jaden agreed. He didn't waste any time getting down the stairs and tracking the girl's power to its source: a single grey room with a little window in the door. Jaden peeked inside to see a girl about his age dressed in white with brown hair tied back in a ponytail and two pink streaks that hung loose on either side of her face. The girl looked to be half asleep on a small bed that hung out from the wall. She looked so sad, even in a partial sleep. Jaden knew then that he had to get her out. Gently, he tapped on the door and the girl woke up. She looked around the room and then to the window where she saw an unfamiliar head. Carefully, she approached and looked the new face in the eye. Her eyes were blue like a summer's sky at noon. They were also incredibly wary; Jaden detected suspicion and mistrust behind those eyes.
"Now why would anyone feel mistrustful in a place like this?" he asked himself. "A place like this that's supposedly trying to help her." The girl backed away from the door, still not trusting the brown-haired stranger.
"It's okay," Jaden reassured her. "I'm a friend. I'm going to get you out of here, alright?" Even though Pearl was still wary of him, she still nodded her head. Jaden decided that small talk was the best way to go.
"Are you Pearl?" he asked. She nodded again, but her eyes narrowed while she did it. Goddammit, this girl just did not trust him. "Look," said Jaden, smiling all the while as he said this, "It's okay. You've got nothing to worry about from me. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to help you." Pearl didn't understand why this person would try to do so. After all, they'd never met, and they didn't owe each other anything, so why was he here? Finally, she decided to speak up.
"Who are you?" she asked.
Jaden kept smiling at her reassuringly. "I'm Jaden Yuki," he replied.
"Why are you trying to get me out of here?" Pearl asked.
"I'm not trying to," Jaden corrected, "I am."
"But I don't know you," Pearl pointed out.
"You don't have to," Jaden replied, "I can tell that you're miserable here. I can tell that the one thing you want most is to get out of here and go home." Pearl's eyes shot upwards.
"How do you know that?" she asked, incredibly wary of him now. "I never told you that."
"I can sense your feelings," Jaden replied. "I know that sounds weird, but I can. I can tell that you're miserable here and that you miss your mom and dad. I can tell you're blaming yourself for what happened to Justin Donovan, even though it wasn't your fault."
"Okay," said Pearl, a little freaked out. "Just who are you, weirdo? How do you know so much about me? And it kind of was," she admitted, with a little hurt in her voice, but she immediately became defensive again. "Answer me," she insisted. "How do you know all this? Tell me or I'm calling the guards."
"You won't call the guards on me, Pearl," said Jaden. "Like I said, you've got nothing to fear from me."
"Yeah, well, you still know a disturbing amount about me," said Pearl, "And even though you've told me your name Jaden, you're still a complete stranger to me. How do I know I can trust you?"
Jaden sighed with slight exasperation. This girl was being difficult, but he tried his best to understand; even though he'd already known about her for a while, this was Pearl's first time meeting him, and she was scared that leaving with him would only end up being in a similar situation. How could she know that he wasn't going to do the same things to her once he absconded with her? Jaden opened his chocolate brown eyes, the same eyes that had convinced people to trust him for three years straight.
"Don't you ever wish you could control your powers?" he asked. Pearl immediately backed away. Jaden cursed himself mentally. His attempts weren't working. "I know about the Duel Spirits, Pearl," he said, trying to reassure her while he said it. "I know about what happened. It was on the news. I visited Justin in the hospital and you've got nothing to worry about. He doesn't blame you for it at all, and your mom's just as worried about you. I know that you think your abilities are a curse, but they aren't. What you have is a gift, Pearl."
"How do you know all that?" Pearl asked, her voice cracking. "You're starting to freak me out."
Jaden smiled apologetically. "Sorry," he said, "I didn't mean to freak you out, and I'm not trying to. I just need you to trust me."
"I don't know how I can do that if you won't tell me who you are," the girl retorted. Jaden pressed his forehead against the glass, only to immediately take it off and wipe away the print with his glove. Pearl smiled a bit; weird or not, this stranger was a little funny.
"You didn't answer my question," Pearl said, returning to the defensive. "How can I trust you?"
Jaden smiled at her with all the kindness his eyes could muster. "Well," he began. "I'm like you, Pearl. I can see Duel Spirits and conjure them up." Pearl's eyes widened. Jaden continued. "I saw your story on the news Pearl, and from that blast I saw, I could tell you're having trouble controlling your powers. I figured you'd be locked away somewhere, cut off from the outside world, not being allowed to have any contact with your friends and family, and I was right. I imagine that you're going through something, right? You're scared to Duel because of what it could end up doing to your loved ones, and you're mad at yourself right now for what happened to your friend Justin, and you're also afraid of all these strange powers you're developing." Pearl's way expression softened as she saw the level of empathy in Jaden's features. "You're scared, lonely and miserable, right? You didn't ask for any of this, to be given the ability to see and conjure Duel Spirits, and especially not to be locked away in what's essentially a prison for who knows how long." Jaden paused to take a breath. "When I imagined how you'd feel from all this Pearl, I couldn't just sit around and do nothing. I want to help you, and I can promise you now that I mean that with every fiber of my being. So do you think you can trust me now?" Jaden asked. "I spoke with your mom and Justin by the way. They'd both prefer that you not be here. Justin's not mad at you for the incident, and your mom would give anything in the world to have you back."
Pearl looked at this strange boy in front of her behind the door. "Why?" she asked herself. "Why would this guy do all of this for me?"
"But you don't even know me," she pointed out. Jaden gave her a smile.
"I don't believe in having to know someone in order to help them," he replied. "Now, if it's not too much trouble, how do I open this door?"
"You can't," Pearl said. "You need the passcode in order to get the door open." Jaden looked down and saw the keypad she mentioned. It looked a lot more complicated than something that just required a code.
"I suppose that breaking down the door would set off an alarm," Jaden said. The girl nodded. He figured that he could use his Deck to get through the door, but he couldn't be sure. It was likely meant to hold everything out just as much as keep her in. Jaden studied the keypad, a crease forming on his brow.
"I have to get this door open," he thought. "But how?" Hearing his thoughts, Yubel spoke up.
"There is a way for you to get that door open, Jaden. If you're willing to do it, you'll have to access facets of my power that you never knew about previously." Jaden looked through the glass door at the girl whose trust he'd earned.
"Let's do it," he replied.
"Good," replied the spirit, "Now focus and look at the keypad. Try to draw out my power through your eyes." Jaden did as Yubel instructed and focused on the keypad, trying to draw her power out. His eyes changed color and he saw this reflected in the keypad's shiny black surface.
"I don't know what I'm looking for," he admitted to Yubel. The spirit was patient.
"Just keep looking," she advised, "It'll show." Jaden was about to question this, when all of a sudden the coloration of the entire room changed. Pearl's white garb seemed to glow in the light, and any traces of liquid on the premises became apparent. Jaden's eyes widened.
"It's like I'm seeing in ultraviolet," he thought. Looking back at the keypad, he noticed tiny oil patterns that shaped into loops, whirls or arches. Jaden realized what these were. "I can see fingerprints," he realized. "I get it, Yubel! You're trying to show me the exact sequence of digits used to open the door!"
"I'm not showing you anything," the spirit replied. "You're the one drawing out my power. This is your own doing Jaden, and you should be proud of your accomplishment."
"There'll be time for that later," Jaden told her. "Right now, the important thing is–"
"I know what the important thing is," Yubel interrupted, growing impatient. "Just hurry up. Using my power doesn't stop time, you know. Someone might show up at any minute."
"Right," Jaden thought. He looked at the sequence of numbers. There were fingerprints on three keys. Jaden decided to check something.
"Hey Pearl," he asked, "Do you know by any chance how many digits the code is?" For the first time, Pearl smiled at him.
"It's four," she replied. Jaden smiled back at her. Clearly this girl had been planning an escape long before he came into the picture. Jaden returned his attention to the keypad; four digits, yet only three fingerprints. That meant that one of the numbers was repeated in the sequence. Jaden mulled it over.
"Hmm… in a four-digit sequence, one of the numbers repeats itself. There are fingerprints on the three, four and seven keys, which means that there are either two threes, two fours or two sevens." Before he could continue, Yubel interrupted him again.
"Look closer with my power," she instructed. "And attune yourself to all the little differences." Jaden did as he was told and focused even harder.
At first it seemed like nothing was happening and that he was just wasting his time. But all of a sudden, Jaden's field of vision became a zoom lens, zooming in on the three fingerprints, revealing that the print on the three key was thicker than the prints on the four and seven keys.
"Okay," Jaden reviewed, "I've got prints on the three, four and seven keys. It's a four-digit sequence with two threes. How many possible combinations of numbers are there to open Pearl's door?" Jaden groaned mentally. He'd signed up for a rescue mission, not a math test.
"Focus," Yubel told him. "You can do this." Jaden thanked Yubel for her reassurance and considered. He pulled out his phone and opened the Notepad app, typing down all the different possible combinations of numbers there were: 4337, 4373, 4733, 7433, 7343, 7334, 3347, 3374, 3473, 3437, 3743 and 3734. There were twelve possible combinations.
"Pearl," he asked, "I've got twelve possible code combinations and I doubt the security system here's going to give me a chance to try them all. Is there anything you can remember about any previous times when a guard entered the code in?" Pearl looked at him despondently through the glass and shook her head no. Jaden sighed; breaking her out was going to be tougher than he thought.
"Still," he affirmed to himself, "I can't give up! Pearl and her friends and family are all counting on me. I can't let them down!" He ran his hand through his hair. This was getting to be tougher than he thought, and it was starting to get out of his league. Jaden wished he'd brought Axel Brodie along; Axel would've had this problem solved lickety-split. Situations like these were easy for him to process since that guy always lived his life on high alert. Jaden steeled himself. He could bemoan Axel's absence all he wanted, but that wouldn't get Pearl out of here. Whether he liked it or not, Axel wasn't here. It was all up to him now. Jaden gulped; he didn't want to input a code because he didn't want to risk setting off an alarm. Jaden studied the possible combinations again.
"Maybe the code is somebody's birthday?" He thought. It didn't seem like a stretch that the code would be someone's birthday. It happened all the time with big-time CEOs and their computer or safe passwords. Even if this was different, maybe it would work. Jaden considered all the combinations that aligned to make a sensible birthdate.
All the combinations beginning with four would mean that someone here was born in April. So the possible birthdates in April from the codes here were: 4/3/37, 4/3/73 and 4/7/33. Jaden considered it. Someone born in 1973 would probably have a better chance of working here than someone born in either 1933 or '37. But then there was the codes beginning with seven, indicating the month of July, and the possible birthdates there were 7/4/33, 7/3/43 and 7/3/34. Jaden frowned; anyone born from 1933-43 would most likely be retired by now. Finally, there were the codes beginning with three, of which there were the most. While there were only three sets of codes that began with either four or seven, there were twelve possible codes, which meant the possible number of codes beginning with three was double the amount of either one of the other two sets. Jaden sighed and got to work: 3/3/47, 3/3/74, 3/7/34, 3/4/37, 3/4/73 and 3/7/43. On the modern calendar, the number three indicated the month of March. Jaden considered the dates: someone born in 1934, 1937, 1943 or 1947 would most likely be retired by now. But someone born in 1973 or '74 probably stood a good chance of working here. So now from all the possible dates he gathered, there were three possible codes: 4373, 3374 or 3473. Jaden looked at the keypad through his ultra-violet vision. Only thing left to do was input the right code.
But what if it was wrong? What if using birthdays was the wrong approach? If he screwed this up, all of Jaden's efforts would be in vain, and Pearl and her friends and family would never be reunited.
"Darn it," thought Jaden. "No matter how I narrow it down, there's still the chance that I could be wrong, and I can't afford that." He sighed.
"I'm sorry Pearl," he murmured. "I tried to think logically about how I could narrow all the codes down, and I've got three left, but there's still a chance I could be wrong in either the first code I put in or my entire approach to it. I just wasted fifteen minutes of your life that you'll never get back." Pearl looked at him with fearful eyes.
"You're leaving?" she asked. Jaden looked at her with a grin.
"You nuts?" he asked. "'Course not. Just because I've hit a wall doesn't mean I'm giving up. I'll just have to try something else." Jaden returned his eyes to normal and looked around the facility. "What can I use to get Pearl out of here?" he wondered. He turned around abruptly as Pearl knocked on the glass.
"If…if you got my Deck and Duel Disk, I might be able to break through the door from in here," she said.
"That would work if I could get it in to you," Jaden said.
"You can," said Pearl. "There's a small vent at the base of this door. I think that my Duel Disk could fit through there. It's not big enough for me to crawl through, but maybe we can get something in."
"Any idea where they might've put your Duel gear?" asked Jaden. He was expecting another negative answer, but to his surprise, Pearl nodded.
"I can sense my cards somehow," she said before shrugging. "Don't ask me how, but I can. They're keeping my Deck in a separate location. I can't say I know about my Duel Disk, but I know that my Deck is located nearby."
Jaden frowned at her. "'Nearby' isn't good enough, Pearl. I need you to be exact."
"I… I don't know, okay?" Pearl replied, a little frustrated. "I'm locked up here, so I can't exactly go out and look for it." Jaden smiled at her.
"It's alright," he said, "If you follow my instructions, you won't have to."
"Huh?" Pearl looked at him, perplexed. Jaden just smiled at her.
"Close your eyes," he instructed.
"Why?"
"Just do it."
Albeit skeptically, Pearl closed her eyes, wondering what was possibly going on in this strange boy's mind.
"Alright, now what do you experience when you're sensing your cards?" Jaden asked. "Are they a ball of light, or are they a gut instinct, or something else?"
"A ball of light."
"Alright, now focus on that ball of light. Concentrate and imagine spreading your awareness all around you like butter on a toasted bagel. When you do that, try and see if there's anything in your field of awareness that resembles that ball of light," Jaden said.
Pearl did as she was told and spread her awareness around her in the way Jaden described. Immediately her eyes perked up and flew open.
"Go to the end of the hall, turn left and it'll be the last door down there," she said.
"Atta girl, you did it! I'll be right back," Jaden promised, running down the hall. He turned left and sure enough at the very end of the hall was the door that Pearl had told him about. Jaden hurried to open it, but found that it was locked. Luckily, he'd learned to pick simple key locks after an incident in Alaska that was either do or die and now always carried something to use as a pick. This happened to be a small, metal nail file that could also double as a screwdriver if it was used on the right screw. It only took him a minute to open the lock and sure enough, inside were the girl's pink rimmed Duel Disk and her brown felt Deck Box sitting side by side, but there was something different about the Deck. Jaden picked it up and, through Yubel's power; he saw the pure light that emanated from her cards.
"Wow," he thought, "I've only seen cards with a bond to their owner like this with Jesse and his Crystal Beasts. These cards are only loyal to Pearl. So much power and emotion: this Deck wants only to be back with its master."
"Don't keep it waiting then," said Yubel through the mind link. Jaden grabbed the remaining contents of what was surprisingly a closet and hurried back to Pearl.
"Bet you're glad to see these again," he said facetiously, holding her Duel gear up for her to see. "Now to get these in to you."
"How?" inquired Pearl. "I don't have any tools, and unless you brought a screwdriver, we can't get the vent off."
"I don't have a screwdriver," Jaden confessed. "But I do have something that works just as well." He held up the nail file and the girl grinned as Jaden began to work on the screws.
"You carry a nail file?" she asked, bending down with him. "And I thought girls carried strange things."
"This little number," replied Jaden, "Was how I opened the door and got your gear out."
He bent down to unscrew the vent cover. "It all started in Alaska, where I was tracking a card thief. I ended up in a wolf's den surrounded by this thick fence with a lock on it and well, I had this handy." Jaden kept going at the screws. "Bottom line: always have something handy when you need to screw something."
The girl snorted, laughing. Jaden pulled his head up. "What's so funny?" he asked. Pearl looked at him, confused. She was certain that he'd been making a joke on purpose, but apparently he wasn't.
"Nothing," she said. "It's just that… you don't know what screw means?"
"Well, naturally I assume it means to install something using a screwdriver," Jaden replied. Pearl's eyebrows shot up, surprised at his naiveté. She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Jaden letting out an "Aha!" after removing the final screw. He carefully slid the girl's Duel Disk through sideways, then did the same thing with her Deck Box. Jaden noticed that when Pearl took out her Deck, the cards seemed to perk up at her touch. She quickly placed them inside her Duel Disk.
"I hope you've got a plan for getting out of here," she said.
"Run, and run hard," Jaden answered, stepping out of the way. "Whenever you're ready."
"To do what?"
Jaden stared at her, confused. "To break the door down." Pearl frowned.
"I don't know how to do that," she admitted lamely. Jaden smiled patiently.
"Try Summoning a monster, and focus your energies the same way you did with Justin." Pearl tensed up at the memory of her friend.
"He's fine," Jaden reassured her. "He didn't look that hurt when I went to see him in the hospital."
"You visited him?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"Because I was hoping he could give me some information as to where you were and whether or not you were being held under duress," Jaden replied. "Now focus and concentrate your energies. Try to draw out that power that you felt during your Duel with Justin." Pearl nodded and took a deep breath, then activated her Duel Disk and drew a card.
"I summon Gem-Knight Garnet!" she said, placing the card on her Monster Card Zone. The monster appeared in her little room. Jaden gaped in awe at the monster before her: a knight with no sword dressed in a full body red suit of armor, complete with a helmet and visor, which obscured his face.
"My lady," Garnet said, kneeling down, "I am so glad to be reunited with you."
"As am I," Pearl replied. "But I need your help. Do me a favor and break down this door so I can escape, please."
"Your wish is my command, mistress," Garnet said, standing up. He stood before the door, a determined look in his eye as his fist grew flames. "Flaming Iron Fist!" he shouted as he punched the door down. Jaden had to dive to the side as the door cemented itself into the opposite wall. The girl and her monster exited the room.
"Thank you, Garnet," she said.
"Anything for you, my lady," Garnet said as he disappeared. Jaden stood in the doorway, clapping his approval.
"Not bad Pearl, not bad at all. That was very good for your first time trying to use your abilities."
Suddenly, a loud noise that was both a wail and a whine perforated Jaden and Pearl's eardrums.
"The alarm!" shouted Pearl. "We need to get out of here fast!"
"Remember what I said!" Jaden shouted back. "Run, and run fast!" He grabbed her hand to lead her in the right direction. "This way, hurry!"
The two of them ran down the hall and into the stairwell. Up the first flight of stairs they flew and when they came to the next door, Jaden discovered that it locked from the inside.
"One sided entrance," he said. "Come on!" The two of them flew up the next flight, but the door was also locked. By this time, guards were streaming into the stairwell and they didn't have much time. The two Duelists decided to take their chances and run up to the roof. The door was open and they ran out into the night air. Jaden picked up a pipe lying nearby and barred the door. The girl ran to the edge and looked down. They were three stories above the ground, too high to jump.
"Okay, what now?" she asked.
"I'm working on it," Jaden replied as the door shook with the force of men trying to break it down.
"They'll get us!" she said.
"Not if I have anything to do about it," Jaden retorted. He asked Yubel,
"Any ideas?"
"You could both get down if you use my power to bring your monsters to life," the spirit replied.
"Last resort," Jaden said, shooting the idea down. "The last thing we need are scientists who want to study us."
"Listen," said Pearl, getting Jaden's attention. "What's your name-I appreciate the attempt, I really do, but there's nothing we can do," the girl said. "We've got nowhere to go and that pipe won't hold them much longer. We can't win this."
Jaden turned to face her. "Pearl," he said, "If there's anything you should know about me besides the fact that I'm devastatingly handsome and I can see and conjure Duel Spirits, it's that I can win anything, because I never give up." He turned back to watch the door. "Stay close to me. I'll get us out of this somehow."
Pearl scuttled behind him as the barricade finally gave way and the guards swarmed the rooftop, pointing guns at them. "Don't move!" they shouted. "We've got you surrounded! You've got nowhere to run!" Jaden discreetly activated his Duel Disk and drew the card he needed.
"Maybe," he admitted, "But we do have somewhere to be." He turned to Pearl. "Are you afraid of heights?"
"No."
"Good, then jump."
Pearl wanted to argue with him about it, but they were surrounded by men with guns and this stranger's eyes were bichromatic, which was a little intimidating. So, even though it was against her judgment, Pearl closed her eyes and jumped off the edge. Jaden Summoned Avian, who picked her up in his arms before she hit the ground and waved the men goodbye as he jumped off the edge and the winged warrior flew back up and grabbed him in his long taloned feet before flying into the trees, carrying them both off into the night. When the guards looked over the edge, both of them were gone.
Ta da! You didn't think it'd be gone forever. I'm back and hopefully, this time, it'll be better than before. Most of the story line is the same, just a little more information added thanks to my good friend Naruto-Superman4. Hope you enjoy it:);)