Here's chapter 2. Hope you like it. Sorry it took so long. I was writing this up in my notebook, but someone stole all that stuff so I've been pretty much SOL since they also stole my programming text book, my sketchbook, and my bag.
Chapter 2: Creepy Crawlies
It wasn't hard for Yusei to defeat Officer Trudge. Keisa would have only been surprised if he lost. Keisa sighed and shut off her runner, yanking the sheet back over the top of it.
Her footsteps echoed loudly in the tunnel as she shuffled towards where everyone else was held. They were safe. For now. But who knew where they'd be next week, or in a month, or even a year. Life was pretty unpredictable in the Satellite. And Keisa didn't like that. She needed to know things for certain; she didn't like the unknown.
"Everything looks good so far," Keisa muttered, clicking away on her laptop. She tracked the changes on the screen with her eyes skillfully. She couldn't help the part of her that wanted Yusei to stop trying. She couldn't help it. She knew how dangerous escaping Satellite would be, but Yusei would go regardless. He had to.
No, another part of her argued, he didn't. He could stay in Satellite with her and their friends. Going out and risking everything he had, risking his partial freedom, was unnecessary.
But again, he would go anyways. The least she could do would be to support him and help him out in any way she could.
She heard the roar of his runner and told Rally to be ready. Yusei flew down the tunnel and then slammed to a stop, his tired screeching in protest. Rally laughed excitedly and ran up to Yusei as he removed his helmet.
"Yusei!" he exclaimed. "That's your best time yet! Do you think it'll be enough to get you to Neo Domino City?"
"It better be," he replied.
"If you keep braking like that you'll ruin your tires," Keisa said quietly without even looking up.
"I'll be fine," he said to Keisa. To Rally, "Time me again." He pulled his helmet back on again, revved the engine and took off down the tunnels again.
Keisa placed her laptop on the ground and stood up, stretching her legs and arms. "I'm going to go get something to eat. He has pretty much maxed his runner out so if it doesn't break down, the results will be pretty much the same."
When she got back, Yusei had finished his run and was now comparing his runner to the results she had collected on the laptop.
"It's doing pretty good with the new chip," Keisa commented, reaching around him to tap a few keys on the keyboard, bringing up a new screen for him to view.
"It's doing better than pretty good," he murmured.
Footsteps drew their attention away from the runner and they watched Blitz, Nervin, and Tank walk in, cut and bruised. Rally gasped at the sight of them. They filed in and sat on the couch one by one. Keisa sighed and encouraged Yusei to keep working. She would go take care of the situation. She retrieved the old first-aid kit that they kept for emergencies.
"All better!" Rally declared.
"Oh really?" Blitz snapped. "Then please explain why it still hurts so much."
"That's a side effect of stupidity, unfortunately." She stood up angrily and placed her hands on her hips. "Just what exactly were you guys doing to come home looking like this?" She sighed and crossed her arms. "On second thought, I don't want to know. If you guys want to go beat yourselves up, it's no concern of mine. You guys are a handful."
"Yeah, and that coming from the girl who fights anyone who looks at her funny," Blitz grumbled.
"Lighten up guys! Today, Yusei maxed out his duel runner!" Rally told them.
"Yeah?" Blitz said, looking towards Yusei. "Like how maxed out?"
"Enough to get out of here," Yusei replied.
Not wanting to hear much more, Keisa turned and headed for her own hidden duel runner.
"Yusei, are you gonna go for it tonight?" Rally asked.
Keisa saw Yusei nod and she picked up the pace a little and all but jogged down the tunnel.
"Does anyone other than me have a bad feeling about this?" Blitz moaned.
Rally glanced towards the direction Keisa just headed to make sure she was no longer within hearing distance before he said, "Keisa is totally against it, not that she'd say anything to Yusei or anybody."
"She is?" Yusei looked up, confused.
"How do you know?" Tank inquired.
"She didn't exactly tell me, but I heard her mutter something to herself while I was timing Yusei earlier."
Yusei returned to his work. "Well, don't worry about it because I have it ll planned out. I think."
In awe, everyone gathered around Yusei and his runner.
"So what's this plan you think might work, Yusei?" Tank asked.
"It's gonna work, Tank," Rally snapped.
"Well, I hope you're right, Rally," Yusei said confidently. "Because if everything falls into place, Stardust dragon will be mine again." Yusei lowered his head but kept working diligently. "And we'll all be one step closer to leaving the Satellite."
Keisa, having come back to get the laptop, bit her lip and leaned back against the wall around the corner.
"Yuse…are you sure that card is worth the risk?" Blitz asked, his face twisted in deep concern. I mean, you really think that card is gonna make a difference?"
"Of course it would make a difference," Keisa mumbled to herself. "But if the stakes weren't so high…"
"Of course it will!" Tank exclaimed, sounding like Rally in his excitement.
Keisa slid to the ground and ran her hands through her short hair. She remembered the first time they all saw Stardust dragon. It was right after Yusei had built his first runner from spare parts. Everyone had been so pumped, screaming and jumping. But that was before Jack ruined it all. As quick as the excitement and happiness had come, Jack took it all away, leaving despair and dread in its place.
"Well, Yusei's gonna get them back," Rally cheered, breaking Keisa's train of thought. "Because with this new runner, Jack doesn't stand a chance."
"Yeah!" Tank said, pumped up by Rally. "What are we waiting for?"
"Midnight tonight," Yusei replied.
"Why?" Nervin asked, confused. "What's at midnight?"
But Keisa already knew. Because she'd told Yusei about it months ago when he'd wondered aloud if there was a way to get out of the Satellite. She hadn't meant for him to take her seriously. Nor did she think he was serious in asking. And now, she completely regretted ever having said anything. What did it matter anyways, at the time? Why did she have to answer him?
Because he was her brother and she'd do anything for him because she knew he would do the same for her or any of their friends.
"The tiniest of opportunities," Yusei responded, clicking away on his laptop. "Check this out guys. I got the idea from Keisa."
"Keisa?" Nervin questioned.
"See, the only way between Neo Domino City and the Satellite is the sewer pipeline here." A diagram popped up on the screen, demonstrating what Yusei was saying. "The only problem is, it's flooded with trash 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But once a month at midnight, they shut the system down to check the compressor pumps. Then a maintenance hatch is automatically opened, and that's when I'll get my chance to make it through." He pulled the laptop back towards himself and continued working.
"A sewer?" Nervin said disgustedly, standing up straight.
"That sounds a little…far-fetched," Blitz agreed.
"The odors and fumes alone—" Nervin started.
"Remind us of you," a new voice declared.
Keisa stood up and walked into view to see these new strangers. One look at them and she knew they had beat up the others. Silently, she went to go stand by Yusei's side. No way would she miss a good fight.
"How's the healing going?" They asked with a laugh.
Yusei's face grew dark and he glanced back at the guys, then at Keisa, before returning his glare to the thugs.
"Hey, you with the hair! You think you're a tough guy? Because I'll show you what tough is!" One growled.
Keisa bit her lip to keep from shouting out. She had to stop being so impulsive and think things through for once.
Their leader stepped up, cracking his knuckles. "That's a pretty sweet runner you got there."
Blitz stepped up in front of the runner and Keisa moved to join him but Yusei grabbed her arm and held her back.
"The runner's not for sale," Blitz declared.
"Well, if it's not for sale, what about the girl? We'll take her off your hands."
"I'll kick your ass, punk!" she yelled, struggling in Yusei's tight hold.
"Or, you can just give us the runner instead of the shoes we're here to collect."
"Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me," his friend agreed.
"Or would you rather I go top side and tell sector security you're hiding an illegal duel runner down here."
"Why don't I punch your face in?" Keisa snapped.
"Why don't we duel for it?" Yusei said, standing up.
"Heh, duel me? You might as well just hand it over to me now," the leader said cockily. "Especially if you duel like your buddies here fight." His friends laughed. "How's this, I win, and the runner's mine. You win and we'll leave you alone. So?"
"Don't duel him, Yusei," Blitz advised.
"He's just a bully," Nervin agreed.
"And bullies never learn unless you stand up to them," Yusei replied, switching his decks. It was a lesson he had had to teach Keisa when she would get picked on.
"Kick his ass!" Keisa cheered angrily.
"Calm down," Rally told her.
"But what if you lose?" Blitz argued.
Yusei disengaged his duel disk from his runner and turned to look at his friends. "We'll be fine, Blitz."
"Let's duel!" the guy yelled with a laugh, turning away to make room for their duel.
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