Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's - Overcast Dusk

~by Yusei ~

Summary - "Fate has turned its back on us. We, those captive to the war, will sink beneath the rocky landscape of this wretched place. Friends… are we to grasp each other's shoulders until sunlight pours on us again? Drabble, spoilers for Crashtown Arc.".

Disclaimer - I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's or any of the characters.

A / N - Taking advantage of the night after exams finished, I got around to finishing this. I'd like to extend thanks to those who have responded to this with either reviews, favouriting or subscribing. With the close of the Crashtown arc yesterday, I'd like to say that anything that occurs in this that resembles the events of the canon are in no way trying to rip off the original - the basics of this, including three potential endings, were put together in the week in which this was planned and published. Please read and review.


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Shards of glass scattered wildly, threatening to pierce the skin of my arms and face, tear my clothes open, draw blood, rip me apart. Those possibilities were no concern while my body twisted in the air like a ball having been launched across a field of dust and dirt. My boots hit the ground, stopping me from crashing to the ground gracelessly, the Duel Disk attached to my left arm activating as though thoughts were strong enough to move it. He laughed, grateful that those who had stood by his side at one point had returned. The comrades he thought had turned their back on him; the terrorist-style assault had been a success in more ways than one. Security had flooded Satellite in their hundreds, all searching the man that had devastated their headquarters in Neo-Domino. The three of us gathered in the glaring spotlight, facing that deranged man we once called "leader", he had progressed into madness. He came to us some time ago, what felt like years, with the proposal to fight in the turf war that had begun in Satellite, joining forces to become a team: Team Satisfaction. We would make Satellite a place worthy of living in.

Every duelling gang fell to our power, every lone duellist fled at the shadows we cast as we strode towards them. No-one could stop us. The icy-blue haired man crossed the room towards us, laying a hand on my shoulder, another around Crow's, laughing with glee. We were together again - Security had surrounded us and we would pull off a miraculous escape, live again to fight whoever threatened our land, our Satellite. Security was simply another obstacle standing in our way. That was how he viewed it, and looking back, I understand what he meant. We had won Satellite far and square, now they didn't like how things had played out and come to stop us, furious when we fought back. No… when Kiryu fought back. I was too scared, unable to stand against authority that could do anything to us if we stepped out of line. Kiryu's plan wasn't suicide alone, it was a statement to those of Satellite, to stand and fight, tackle whatever came our way. And nobody listened, fearful of Neo-Domino's ruthless authority.

The glaring spotlights faded when Kiryu turned back to us, standing at the window after declaring that Team Satisfaction's last duel was upon us. Rain pelted everything, the sound similar to a thousand small feet, the feet of children left to fend for themselves on this forlorn isle - children that would struggle as Crow did, children that would find refuge with others like Martha, someone to take care of them. A circle of light passed, the spotlights had been set to rotate after the entrance that Jack and Crow had made, leaping over two Security officers who watched in awe, unsure whether they were vigilantes or aides of their target - the leader of Team Satisfaction.

The was the opportunity we took, he was staring out and chuckling at the sight of so many officials gathered in the streets, unable to touch him from their current positions - this wasn't like a real standoff, there were no guns or snipers positioned in places where they could get a lock on his head to see his movements, we weren't hostages that they were determined to rescue - even if we were, they would pay minimal attention to us, we meant nothing to them. The Duel Disks attached to our arms disconnected, the weapons moved into an offensive position hit the table, drawing his puzzled eyes.

"Hey!" he called, dashing across the room to us. "What is this? Aren't we going to fight together? Our last duel!" A fist rose, opening up into a hand as he pointing aimlessly, each finger aimed towards the sky. He had been prepared to fight alone just before our arrival, slotting cards into his Duel Disk and activating it when heavy footfalls sounded on the other side of the door, ready to face officers when Jack and Crow entered, followed by my crashing through the window.

"Open your eyes, Kiryu" Jack mumbled.

"There's no way we can win if we go up against Security" Crow added in the same low tone.

"You guys…" he growled, unable to take in the fact that we were too gutless to fight, that we had seen sense.

"Kiryu… we're running away" I finally insisted.

Kiryu laughed, pressing the palm of his right hand against his hip, his eyes held the same deranged look that I had seen when I turned away as he proposed we tackle Security. There had been a glimmer I caught, shrugging it off as my imagination - the fact that he had gone through with his bizarre plan was simply proof that he was dead serious. And I should have taken him as such.

"You can't be satisfied with that. We're going to defeat Security and become the first rulers of Satellite. Let's do it, our duel!"

His face moved towards Jack and then me - the loss of reason in his eyes was stunning, was this what was in the eyes of those that governed Neo-Domino, corrupted by power and boredom. I feared for Kiryu, this wasn't the man that proposed the beginning of Team Satisfaction. This was a mad man, someone I nearly feared. In his reduced pupils, I searched for the Kiryu I knew.

"We aren't all aiming for the same thing anymore" Jack protested in a serene manner that barely suited him. It was true, I had heard that Crow was looking after youngster that had been born a number of years ago; Jack had found a home in an abandoned theatre with a clear view of the moon that lit the interior around the throne he had adopted as his own. I had yet to find my place.

"What?"

"Even so, we're still friends" I insisted. "We want to save you from Security". I stepped forward, reducing the distance between us, ready to raise a hand for him to take, so we could walk away together, between Jack and Crow. "Kiryu!"

He retreated in an unstable manner, swaying from side to side, horrified by how things had played out, he was losing control - there was always a chance when Jack and Crow walked away, Kiryu and I would stay together. Yet I walked away, there was still hope that we would come to our senses and reunite. And we did. But not to fight Security as he wished. There was no hope.

"Why has it turned out like this?" he asked, shrinking down near a crouch as balled fists rose near his face, the same determination that raced through his veins since the struggle for territory began, maybe even before. "I… I… With you guys, I want to…"

He got no further when explosions rocked the place from outside, flinging dirt from the ground beneath, forcing it high enough to rise to the shattered windows in diagonal pillars.

"Security is starting to attack" I exclaimed.

The officers rushed in, the sirens of D-Wheels racing around blared wildly. The four of us were forced to dash from the invading authorities, diving out of the windows and descend into the streets pelted from tears of the sky - Crow, then me, followed by Jack and finally Kiryu. Together, we fled, racing from the wailing sirens, from the harsh spotlights searching for us.

Running.

Running for what felt like forever.

Together, as a team. Once again.

Once we reached the bottom of a decline, lined with mounds of dirt that towered over us, old appliances stranded like lost souls, Jack turned to the rest of us.

"We'll just have to split up and rendezvous later, we'll just have to iron out the details later" the blonde commanded, watching over us with his piercing violet eyes.

Without a further word, he turned on his heels and darted away to the east, leaving Kiryu, Crow and I to stand together briefly. The redhead eyed Kiryu, concern for his friend flashing across his eyes briefly before he took off, following suit and heading west. Kiryu clenched his jaws, irritated that he had been forced to flee from the battle he wished for us to fight as a team, his eyes fell to the Duel Disk strapped to his left wrist, I followed. Jack, Crow and I had regained our Duel Disks in the panic to escape, ensuring we had grabbed our own during the mad dash with our lives on the line.

Kiryu continued ahead, continuing in the southern direction we had been moving in during our last steps together. I, however, stayed. Security was no doubt a distance behind with the lack of sounds and lights trailing us down the descent. But still, who was I meant to follow? I had yet to find the direction I would choose, and it wouldn't be long before our pursuers would ride along the top of the upper level, focusing their lights on me and leaving a minimal chance of escape. I betrayed Kiryu once, I couldn't let myself do so again - I followed him south.

Through my moment of delay, Kiryu had made a significant gap between us; the difference between our legs didn't help in the feeble attempt to catch him up. We entered a labyrinth of streets, losing Kiryu when he rushed ahead without the knowledge that I tried to keep up behind him. I lost him for a number of minutes, rushing around blindly before the roaring of an engine filled my ears. Praying Kiryu hadn't been discovered, I made my way in the direction of the revving. A light shone from an alleyway ahead, I made my way into the centre of the opening, finding a D-Wheel speeding towards me, and my body froze. Partially because I was as close to standing in the same way a deer did when faced with the lights of a car and partially because of what I saw - Kiryu was riding on the back, his arm around the neck of the Security rider.

"Kiryu! Stop it!" I demanded, but the two raced past, neither paying attention to where they were heading. "Kiryu!"

At the end of the street, the machine burst through a wooden fence, throwing both the officer and Kiryu from its seat. The man in uniform yelled in horror as he soared, Kiryu's face pointed at the sky. I raced after them, just hoping that Kiryu was alright, there was nothing more I could do.

When I approached the mouth of the back alley, I found him standing there, a wooden post in his hands. Standing over what looked like the corpse of the officer, blood leaking from wounds he had sustained as a result of the momentary flight. The same blood that clung to Kiryu's cheeks and clothes, slowly mixing with rainwater. The column rose about his head, ready to strike down the officer for good.

"Kiryu!!" I screamed, pushing my body's speed to its limits. Things had gotten way too out of hand, my arms opened as I dove at him, colliding with his right hip. "Stop!"

Together, we hit the ground, rolling like a couple of children playing a game of violence. We rolled to a halt, his legs between mine, his arms pinned against the watery concrete ground. Our eyes met, even for a moment, I pitied him. This was not Kiryu beneath me, but someone else. Someone who had taken Kiryu and twisted him into themselves. That's what I wanted so desperately to believe - that the true Kiryu would wake up and tell me that everything had been a nightmare. Or for me to wake up and realise that everything was alright. Not to be over my friend as we were, holding him back from murdering the officer, hearing his pleas to unite and destroy Security. To win… at all costs.

"Let me go, Yusei! We're going to defeat Security!" he bellowed desperately. I merely panted over him, slightly drained from the race across the region of Satellite that had been a battlefield for gangs, forcing down the urge for tears to spill from my eyes. Jack and Crow ran towards us side by side. "Yusei!" A chill scampered down my spine from the tone that Kiryu adopted, close to screaming wildly like a child desperate to get the one thing they truly desired.

Jack and Crow kept a grip on Kiryu's arms, dragging him from the alley while we found somewhere to hide, finding an old building with no use, much like thousands across Satellite. There were no eyes watching from behind the glassless holes in the walls of homes and businesses, no people standing out on the streets trying to find the cause of commotion. It was the closest we came to luck. The others dragged Kiryu inside, his struggling dying down into acceptance of his capture; I remained by the window, watching as Security's cars drove in circles around the area under the rain that fell heavily.

My eyes turned to the trio further in the room; a place left in a state after its previous owners abandoned it. A small table was upturned onto its side near Crow's feet, wooden panels that had once belonged to something much greater than their current state, left to rot alone. Kiryu panted heavily in Jack and Crow's grip, hunched over slightly as though he despised us for holding him prisoner.

"It's only a matter of time until they find us" Jack stated.

But my eyes were set on Kiryu, his pants matching those of an animal that had raced from certain death, adrenaline pumping freshly through his body, determination to overthrow Security remained clear in his eyes, flashing dangerously. I turned from him, watching the three over my shoulder - what I had planned was practically suicide, it may as well have been under Security's reign of authority, hauling people to some facility in the City, most never heard from again. But to protect Kiryu, to atone for my mistake in walking away… I was prepared to make such a sacrifice. Just so that he wouldn't have to endure Hell.

"Take care of Kiryu for me".

Rain poured over me, soaking me within a minute as I strolled along the streets, ready to face the hangman's noose. Three Security cars rolled ahead, each from a separate direction. Streams of water trickled down my hair, skin and clothes. All three sets of headlights poured over me, I raised an arm to prove I had come to confess, that I was the one they wanted. The plan that moved into a stage of no return, thinking of Jack, Crow and Kiryu together, in a much better time was what pushed me on.

"I'm Team Satisfaction's leader! I'm the one who bombed Security's headquarters!" I bellowed. A handful of Security officers approached with shields and batons, ready to strike me down for the terrorist act that I claimed responsibility for, the crime that they believed I had committed. "The other three have nothing to do with it. Arrest me!"

"Yusei…" came the weak plea from Crow.

My eyes widened when the half-dozen Security officers standing around Jack and Crow registered in my view, both looked regretful, Kiryu was nowhere in sight. The coldest chill of dread crawled through every fibre of my body, growing colder when the Captain's command echoed through the night air, to capture only the leader, and led two officers to drag out Kiryu. How had he been so sure that I wasn't the leader? I had just confessed to Kiryu's sin, why had he not heeded the words I declared as my own and targeted him?

"Kiryu!" Each arm was held back by an officer, the one on Kiryu's left keeping his head down. "Kiryu!" Desperation pumped through me, turning me to face the Captain and yell furiously at him, the protest in Kiryu's defence. "Wait, you're wrong!"

"Look" the man uttered, as though he had been deaf to all the words I yelled. The officer that Kiryu had attacked lay on a stretched, a white sheet over most of his body, he seemed to be alive. "Injuring a member of Security is one of the worst crimes. You'll never meet him again".

His hand fell on my shoulder, chortling as though our friendship meant nothing to anyone. At that point, my fists balled, I wanted nothing more than to drill them into his face, wipe that disgusting smirk off his face. Then I could join Kiryu, then I could prove how I was meant to be the one locked away, I would defy that man's words and see Kiryu.

But before I could, that fateful misunderstanding occurred.

Kiryu glanced over his shoulder and witnessed the officer, patting my shoulder with his hand, grinning. Looking as though I had been an accomplice in his bid to end Team Satisfaction's reign over Satellite. Like he had known the damage he had sought had been caused, he turned away, leaving Kiryu to face me and me alone.

"YUSEI!" Every muscle in my body tensed, a gasp escaped my mouth - we had crossed the border of no return when he believed I betrayed him. How I wish I could have returned to that time and done something - anything - to prove to him that I cared for him as a friend far more than I did about living in fear under Security's power. He tried to charge towards me, yelling in horror and disgust. "Did you betray me? Did you sell me out?!" The two officers regained their control over his movements, dragging him back towards the open van that they stood outside of.

I waved my hand and shook my head, making any sign to protest my innocence, to plead for him to open his eyes as I stood under that wretched light. "You're wrong, I…"

Kiryu was launched into the mobile room, landing on his back before scrambling to pick himself up and crawl furiously to the opening in one last attempt to get to me.

"Yusei!"

The doors slammed in his face, breaking any chance for our friendship to continue. As quickly as they had dispatched from their damaged headquarters, the cars and D-Wheels rode off, leaving Jack, Crow and I standing under the torrential downpour as what felt like the best time of our lives came crashing down to earth and shattering into a million pieces, trodden on by the boots of those bastards. My legs bent weakly, arms hanging by my sides in the same way, everything left my body.

"Kiryu…"

There was nothing we could do… nothing.

Stretching my throat. To the heavens that cried.

"KIRYU!!"


YUSEI
02: Encased in Darkness

The same pattern had repeated for hours, days, weeks. Who knew how long? It felt like an eternity since we stood under the blazing sun, facing each other in a duel, free as anyone else in the world. Kiryu had given no sign that he acknowledged my pleas to wake up and realize what had happened, for us to escape these shackles that we had been put in that restrained our futures. Kiryu may be willing to die here, but I wasn't - and I wouldn't let him. Maybe I was being selfish, but I could feel my heart throbbing in agony at the thought of losing Kiryu for a third time, each time we had come close, we had been torn apart in heart wrenching ways. I refused to let Lotten bring about Kiryu's third and final death.

A part of him remained buried, but whether it would be through the pickaxe in my possession or my bare hands, I would unearth that part of him laying somewhere in Satellite, we would return to excavate the island's soil to find it.

Kiryu's eyes continued to avoid me, whenever there was a moment when we were free from the glare of the Red Scarves patrolling the mine, I would focus on him. Seeing the droplets of sweat sliding down the edge of his face, worn from his extended stay in Crashtown, how he had been sinking into the emotionless state that I found him in. Perhaps he had neglected his body and ignored all pleas to fight on from himself; he seemed worn down by the work we had been assigned, at the edge of his life. He spoke as though he was ready to dive into the lake of lost souls, swimming amongst people who had surrendered themselves to sin. Why was he so determined to perish? Could he really see nothing ahead of him? Did he feel empty without power and a means of fighting? Teeth of my upper jaw met the lip beneath, digging into it, it was like Kiryu was angry for being liberated from the darkness - in death, there would be no more torment for him to endure, but here… maybe he felt a home when he was wandering in Hell. Maybe that was why he continued to submit to this miserable town's rules.

Kiryu had always had power over someone - when we were starting out as Team Satisfaction, he would lead us in the hope of making Satellite somewhere comfortable to live, show Neo-Domino that we didn't need them after they turned their backs on us. As a Dark Signer, he joined with Ccapac Apu to swear revenge on me, ready to rip me apart and quench his thirst for justice. Now he had power over nobody, he looked empty because of it. Without Ccapac Apu joined with his soul after so long of being united, maybe he felt hollowed, alone. Then why did he not tell anyone?

"Kiryu… talk to me".

A moment passed without a reply, he was still focused on continuing his task. It was difficult to decide which was more frustrating - being tricked by Barbara and Marco or the way Kiryu bowed down to their laws, working without speaking. My eyes narrowed what if I had never come to Crashtown, would Kiryu still be walking upon the sand of the living desert? Would he be nearing his death anyway? No… what Barbara called him had to be a lie, Kiryu was fine, and he wasn't nearing death any time soon. In his eyes, there was little to find, but there had to be something in him that could prove his extent of life. That he was still one of us upon the earth's surface and not some kind of wolf in sheep's clothing, a soulless being raised from the dead.

"There is nothing more to say. Resign to fate, Yusei. I have, as has everyone else here" he finally murmured.

"When have we ever resigned to fate?" I asked. "Was this what we fought for in Satellite? Wasn't that standing up against fate and proving that we had something to fight for, to live for? We didn't listen to what was expected of us then, why start now?"

"Because it's over…"

"'Over'?" I echoed, detaching my eyebrows from the tops of my sockets and forcing them upwards.

"We've lost. We've always lost" Kiryu sighed. "We won the battle in Satellite, but ultimately failed in the war. It came between us and then brought about our second defeat - we couldn't override fate and one of us had to die, we almost faced that grim end together".

"We won in the end" I protested.

"Did we?" Kiryu asked, setting his eyes on the pickaxe driven into the wall before us. "How many people almost lost their lives? How many were distraught and affected afterwards? People suffered and places in Neo-Domino were destroyed - people lost their homes and businesses, how did they win?"

"They kept their lives in the end, isn't that what matters?" I asked. "They gained the opportunity to rebuild what they lost".

"So they lived? That's it? How is that a reward, a victory?" Kiryu inquired. "I'm not the person I was when we ran around Satellite, duelling gangs into surrender and striving to make Satellite our own, but you're not satisfied with that, are you?"

"What are you saying?"

"You want that Kiryu back, don't you?" he questioned, moving his eyes to meet my face. "Is it a victory if I was brought to life rather than the Kiryu you knew and cared for? Have you and I won because I'm alive, even if I'm not the same person?"

"Kiryu…" I muttered, unable to think of any means to respond to his words. They sunk into my chest like a blade, scratching the surface of my heart. All he was doing was relating the victims of our war to us, to make it easier to see. And it hurt, deeply, was that his goal?

My eyes narrowed, falling from his expressionless face gazing at me. He was right though - Kiryu without his passion to fight and live was like having nothing in front of me, another person or a zombie. Did that really count as a victory? Had fate dealt a faux card in raising my hopes for the future? Maybe the last time Kiryu - the real Kiryu - had been alive was the night he was arrested and believed that I had sold him out. Or maybe it was after we duelled for the second time and he crumbled to dust in my arms, blown apart by the breeze that passed through Savior Star's glimmering body.

I turned from him, unable to face the reality that perhaps the Kiryu I had sought in Crashtown was not the man I had found. Even though he looked like him, shared many features, he was not the same. Neither of us resumed the labour immediately, Kiryu instead removed the pickaxe lodged in the rock, keeping his eyes on me.

"I… I'm sorry, Kiryu" I muttered, staring at the uneven texture of the wall in front of us. "I never meant for any of this to happen - the end of Team Satisfaction, you becoming a Dark Signer, us becoming prisoners here. I guess… even though I'm the Duel King and a Signer, I'm still not fit to be a leader on every occasion. Maybe at all".

Kiryu didn't reply to the apology, I couldn't look at him in the eye until he had done so, if he ever would. It wouldn't be right to say to him that I would do whatever I could to bring this phase of torment to an end unless he felt I was capable of living on - I should have been the one arrested, the one who was beaten in the Detention Centre, the one who would lose their thrill of life. I failed over and over again.

Bringing misery to everyone I cared about, even before I could understand anything in this world.

Before I could wake up from the regret that crawled over my mind, sowing its seeds, a sharp stinging sensation suddenly burst against my back, forcing a cry of agony from my lips as they tore apart automatically. My legs bent, sending me down, slamming my right palm against the ground littered with pebbles and dust. Overhead, the sound of a whip stretching occurred.

"No slacking off" a man's voice growled.

The blow had been dealt when I was off-guard; Kiryu was much stronger than me. When he had been whipped, it took two to take him down, but I had descended already, the shield that had been lowered knocked from my hands in my moments of forgetting the risks of this place. This Hell.

Silence followed while I pushed myself from the ground, Kiryu watched without any words of concern. I had called his name over and over, worried about him, but he waited for me to stand and fight for myself, to prove that I was strong enough to fight on my own. That I wasn't damaged by doubt and guilt. I didn't look at him, maybe he hadn't accepted the apology that I handed to him, perhaps he still hated me for the mistakes I had made at his expense. The abuse he had endured because of me, going through Hell and coming out the other side as a servant of an Earthbound God, swearing to cast the underworld across the surface of the world.

Would my soul crack in this like his had? Would the current me die in this place like the Kiryu I knew had in the Detention Centre, without hope. In order to prevent the man behind us from lashing out again, I gripped the pickaxe that protruded from the wall and resumed the duty, Kiryu following suit immediately. The man scoffed and continued on his round about the area of the mine, finding his next victim. My eyes travelled to Kiryu, if continuing until I break would serve as my atonement, then that would be the path I would walk. There had to be something I could do in order to make right for everything that had gone wrong because of me.

Questions about the outside world ran through my head when my concentration wavered, the muscles in my arms screaming in fatigue. The same repetitive movements would eventually take their toll on me, my back would ache from the alterations in stance, straightening and bending, just as my arms, legs would tire from the constant standing. Was that what brought the end for those that had been carried out of the mine - unconscious or otherwise? Where did they go if they clung onto life? Were they fed here? Were they given opportunities to sleep? There was much of this life that I didn't know, Barbara simply told me of the intentions for this place - to fine Dune. We faced the likelihood of learning just what one got in this place the hard way.

Judging by what we had seen, the slaves here were given no breaks, forced to work until their bodies gave up on them. Though uneasy about doing so, I thought of Crow and Jack, what would they do if they stood here instead of us? Jack would certainly not submit, instead he'd roar about how he was King, Crow was a born rebel. So there was no chance of him lying down like a dog. Maybe I was just truly weak - in the world of Duel Monsters and the race of D-Wheels, I reign superior, but outside… I may as well have still been a child. Was Kiryu the same? After his time as a leader and a Dark Signer, had he reverted to the person he had been before all of that - a child searching for a dream out of his reach, with the realization that no matter how far he stretched, he would be unable to grasp it?

A small scuffle of pebbles leaping from their place in the wall into the ground sounded everywhere, quietly, cautiously. A small metallic tap followed, there was nothing that could make that sound - was there? The machinery that carried the pieces of interest unearthed? I turned to see just what had happened, finding a large rectangular machine standing in front of what seemed to be a secret tunnel. A man standing close to it approached, clothed in a blue outfit similar to those that inmates at the Detention Centre wore. There was something about him that was familiar, like I had seen him before. His tanned skin matched the unkempt dirt brown hair, matching his eyes. His chin showed the signs of a beard growing, probably from the lack of opportunities to shave in this desolate place. Around his neck was the same collar that was around the necks of Kiryu, I and every other worker in the darkness.

Through the slim gap made by the tunnel, two small faces appeared - children. Those two that called Kiryu their "Onii-chan". I stepped towards Kiryu, placing a hand on his shoulders, thankfully the attempt to direct his attention in my way succeeded with relative ease. Without moving my eyes from the sight of the two ushering over the tanned man, I took my chance to alert him in a tone without much more volume than a whisper.

"Kiryu, look. Those kids".

He twisted his neck, setting his eyes on the youngsters - a girl and who seemed to be her younger brother. The girl stood with her head above her brother's, clothed in a coral dress with sleeves extending to his tiny wrists. Around her neck, a pure white collar extended from the piece, flowing over her shoulders and around the base of her neck lined in a ruched manner. A zip ran down the upper part of the dress, until the fabric was pressed beneath a copper brown piece acting like a belt that held the gown against her waist. Her smooth black hair had been held back by small clips, her eyes matching those of the man standing close by. Before her, the boy wore a long sleeved brown shirt, an open sleeveless viridian vest over the shirt, lined with yellow fabric, diagonal black lines forging a pattern. Over his small legs, blue jeans hung loosely, his eyes sharing the colour shimmering with aspiration for a future where this place didn't exist, I had seen him gazing at Kiryu in amazement. Kiryu was a role model to him; the reasoning behind such passion remained a mystery.

"That boy, he was in the town" I commented, hoping to earn a response from Kiryu.

The man standing close to the children inched towards them, eyes darting in their sockets to prevent those wearing red scarves around their necks catching his suspicious movements. Kiryu took a moment to register the few words I had spoken, whether it was a deliberate delay or one through lack of attention remained blurred in his distant behaviour. His dried lips parted, mouthing one word - a name, the name belonging to the young boy who looked up at him, a man waiting to die.

"West".

Perhaps he had been close to the boy; perhaps the youngster had lit a small flame in Kiryu, a wavering flame weakened by the bitterness. Maybe West and his sister had been the force preventing that small flame from being extinguished by the harsh realities of this world. The distant jaws of the man and children moved as they discussed something from their secret rendezvous, unnoticed by those claiming to be guards, demons strolling around Hell, and those left to rot in this wretched place, backed into this continuous labour. A short while passed, myself acting as a lookout for the sakes of both Kiryu and the man talking with the younger presences that may have been his offspring, alternatively, children he was close to during his former life. A small bag was exchanged from the kids before they retreated into the darkness, the boy flashing Kiryu a smile as he turned from the underworld we had been cast into. Even in that expression through such a grim vortex, there was hope and brightness shining through him, his naïve hope that everything could be restored so easily, a child who hadn't experienced what it was truly like to face Destiny, with or without odds stacking higher against the defiant opposition.

They returned to their lives in the town that could be suffering from the reign of the Malcolm family, maybe things were better without the confrontations at sunset, the time that the citizens declared "Duel Time". The man turned his head to face Kiryu and I, flashing us a smile that matched that of the boy's. I had never seen him smile before, but it was almost as though it had been a trigger to activate the memory of where I had seen him - he had been one of the three that had tried to escape just before I crossed the borders into Crashtown, watching over from a distant cliff. That was when the brutal authority first came to my attention, I should have realised back then, but I was blinded by my wish to win Kiryu back from the shadow claws slowly tearing him apart. Guilt, depression, apathy. Or was it me that those things had crawled into, slowly eating away at?

The man approached us, passing where he had been as though he wanted to extend his hand to us, to speak and develop a bond with us. He stopped a short distance from Kiryu, drawing my full attention, if those wandering around as superiors were to notice the three of us slacking from our duty, they would simply have to yell at us. Dictatorship seemed to be how Malcolm, Barbara and Lotten had planned to rule Crashtown once I had dealt with Kiryu; there was nothing to stop that same sense following into the mines.

"You're Kiryu, am I correct? Kiryu Kyosuke?" he inquired, setting his eyes on Kiryu.

"Yes" Kiryu replied in a toneless manner. "Is there something you wanted? Is this something to do with Nico and West?"

Nico. So that was the girl's name, huh? The man replied with a nod, smiling wholly. There was nothing sinister about his beaming, not like those involved in the war occurring in Crashtown, the place stained with the scent of deceit and betrayal that clung to me.

"This is. I wanted to thank you greatly" he answered brightly. "They're my kids, we moved to Crashtown together and when I came here, I feared they'd struggle to continue. Nico is capable of looking after herself, but West, as you can see, is difficult to restrain at times, especially Duel Time. My name is Sergio, and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart".

A slight smile forged on Kiryu's face, the two had been bonded by the common tie of those children - Nico and West - who had been left alone after their father was cast away into this place. From what he spoke like, he had no purpose being here… yet many of those trapped in this excavation would give the same impression, forced here against their will because of some ridiculous laws set by two feuding gangs. While Sergio focused on Kiryu, I reached inside my jacket, pulling out the pendant I had seen him toss as though it were a precious momentum and an object that the enemy had been after, something that he wished someone would find and come to rescue him. I had failed in that; I simply delivered it back to him. The small sky blue gem glimmered as it swung from the inside pocket, hanging by a string thread beneath a clip attached to the metallic back. On the stone were three triangles, as they descended, they grew in size, each of a colour of lapis lazuli - two opaque triangles, one sitting on the other, above a hollow third, two lines diving the shape into three, two small triangles sitting on the diagonal faces aimed upwards of the pentagon. Each of the horizontal points reached the edge of the gem, an intriguing design. One which caught Sergio's eye.

"You found it, huh?" he uttered with a smirk. "I thought I'd never see this thing again".

I turned my eyes to him, seeing his forefinger scratched and battered aimed as the pendant hanging from my grasp. His eyes glimmered in the same way as West's as he recognized the stone. Like hope had been captured in the object, my eyes traced his.

"I'm sorry" I uttered. "I found this after you tried to escape, you tossed it onto the cliff and landed not too far from me, I thought it be best to hold onto it until you could hold it in your own hands".

"It's fine. You should keep it, as thanks for trying to help us, putting yourself out for the sake of strangers" he chuckled lightly.

"Ar- are you sure?" I asked, unsure if keeping such a momentum would be truly right.

Guilt swelled inside of him, I hadn't come this far for the sake of the people living in Crashtown, I had come solely for Kiryu. Those chasing Sergio and the duo he had escaped with had claimed that as a duellist, there was work in Crashtown for me. The only job I had been assigned was to rescue Kiryu.

Sergio opened the small package given to him by Nico, revealing small items of food, each wrapped individually, three small bags clustered together. Sergio pushed the contents towards us.

"Nico must not have been sure if they feed us. It looks like she made some for you two as well" he sounded.

Reluctantly, Kiryu pulled two of the bags from Sergio's hands, one for each of us, gazing down at it with the same lost eyes. The elder man smiled grateful that we had accepted Nico's gesture of caring. I lifted my eyes to meet Sergio's once again, trying to see just what it was he found so hopeful in this darkness.

"Why don't you follow your children if they're waiting for you using that tunnel?" I asked, after witnessing one failed attempt.

Sergio pointed to the metallic collar around his neck, those that everyone else wore. It was an obvious answer, but I hadn't expected everyone to submit, like everyone had been stripped of their fighting spirit as they entered this place.

"They may not look it, but the Malcolm family are pretty sharp when it comes to escapees. The last time, I didn't use that tunnel that Nico and West used, but even by heading that way, I'd eventually get spotted. They're actually capable of keeping an eye of how many people are here" he sighed. "I take it that you're Yusei, right?"

"Yes" I replied with a nod.

"The children were talking about you, how you fought Kiryu in the noblest battle that Crashtown has ever seen" he beamed. "They also said something about a D-Wheel and getting it away from the town to a safe place. Though they didn't mention where".

"They got my D-Wheel to somewhere safe?" I asked, eyes falling when I recalled the last occasion the machine had been hidden. "Barbara must have taken into town after Lotten took over".

It was more difficult to decide who I felt angrier with; Barbara for luring me here as bait for her selfish desires in claiming Crashtown as her own alongside the men she adored, a woman who lusted for a partner with power, or me, for falling for such a trick. Sergio stepped away, his smile fading as he turned from us, and we soon learned why.

"You two, stop slacking off!"

A crack came from the connection between the whip and the floor of the man who had realised we had left our duties to talk. I stood in front of Kiryu, shielding the bags in his hands from the man's eyes. We turned our backs to him, Kiryu handing me the bags, which I then placed inside my jacket. Together, we resumed toiling to the delight of those that would profit from anything found. The man walked away, turning his attention to anyone else that had stopped swinging their pickaxes, leaving us to explore what it was that Nico had given us.

I pulled the small shapeless containers from the inside of my jacket, handing both bags to Kiryu, who looked up at me. In his eyes was the same sense of lacking direction, puzzlement of what I had done and why.

"Yusei…"

"You need it more than I do" I insisted. "You look much thinner than when you left Neo-Domino, I doubt you've been taking care of yourself since then. I'll be able to continue as I am, you might not be, and you looked tired when we first came here".

"Yusei… I can't" he sighed.

"I'm not going to eat anything from there, whether you take my share or not" I protested. "We don't know; they may feed us here, though it seems pretty doubtful judging by what we've seen".

"But Nico-"

"And I'm doing the same here. You need it more than me; I'll keep an eye out for anyone walking around with a red scarf around their neck and warn you if anything happens".

Kiryu's eyes dropped to the bag opened in his hand, slices of bread fixed together with minimal filling. Guiltily, he took a bite of the sandwich, what looked like the first bite of nourishment he had experienced in some time, I smiled glad that he had taken the step towards understanding how there was life left for him. And I would stand by him, taking every blow that someone would deal him, I would experience the same troublesome time that he experienced because of me, I would endure the same level of suffering that he had for his sake, to atone for the mistake I made on that fateful night so long ago.