Chapter 3: Good Cop, Bad Cop
In the not-so-classy part of the City, in which Blister's hideout is located. "You've got a lot of nerve asking for my help, you Satellite reject. Hah!" Trudge says. He approaches Yusei and tries to grab him by the shoulder, aggressively. Yusei stops Trudge, calmly. "Good to see you, too, Officer Trudge." Says Yusei, deadpan. He walks past Trudge.
Trudge turns around. "Let's get something straight… you want my protection, you need to respect my authority. Hey! Did you hear what I said?!" Trudge asks.
Yusei has ignored him and climbed into the back of a Security car. "If you keep ignoring me, Yusei! The deal's off, ya got it?!" Asks Trudge, shouting through the window glass. "Let's get going." Yusei says.
Meanwhile, Security is releasing Carly and returning her personal effects. "Here ya go." "That should be everything. Ahh! No! Where's my camera? Nononononono, come on! Okay, joke's over, where's my camera? I'm serious, buddy, where is it? That thing is my life! Where is it?! Hand-it-over!" Says Carly. "…Calm down, miss." He checks a hand-held holo-screen. "Ummm... no camera on the inventory log." "I am a big-time journalist, and I am not afraid to shout conspiracy!" Carly says. The phone in the box of belongings rings and she answers it, it projects a holographic image of Mr. Pitts' head. "Hello?" Asks Carly. "Know what's on my front page today, Carly?! I'll give you a little hint, it's not a big story! Did I imagine you telling me you had something hot for me?!" Mr. Pitts asks, via-holoscreen. "I'm-sorry, Mr. Pitts…" Says Carly. "Get back to the office so I can re-fire you!" Mr. Pitts says, via-holoscreen. The phone hologram disappears, he hung up. "Ah! M-Mr. Pitts?" Asks Carly.
"Ma'am, we're going to need you to step outside." Two Security guys drag Carly to the door and push her out of it.
Carly almost falls over and then catches her box of stuff, that they toss out after her. "This is the worst. No story, no camera, and now I'm about to lose my job again. Time to consult my fortune for the day." Carly says. She takes her deck out of a pocket in her vest. "I draw! Let's see… oh, great, Fortuneteller Swee. That's perfect." Says Carly. The card is a forlorn fairy, with flowing blue hair. "This means I'm going to have bad luck all day. That's just great, might as well just go crawl in a hole. Wait… I can't give up! Journalists don't quit!" Carly says. She pumps one fist into the air. "So, I'm gonna get to the bottom of Goodwin's lies!" Says Carly, determinedly.
Night soon falls outside of a fancy theater somewhere in Domino. A male reporter is speaking, thus setting the scene. "…I'm at the red carpet for the world premiere of 'Atlas Rising-The Rise of Jack Atlas'."
Others at the sides of the red carpet are gossiping. "…This flick has 'box office dud' written all over it. Nobody cares about Jack Atlas anymore. He's yesterday's news. I mean, seriously… he lost the championship. He's done." "…I heard that movie was goin' straight to DVD." "…If they'd waited, they could have made it 'the rise and fall of Jack Atlas.'"
Carly is holding up her frilly, light blue, spaghetti strap dress to climb over the red ropes and get in front of the guys who've been talking. "Ooh, uh, excuse me, uh, comin' in!" Carly says. "…Hey!" "…Outta the way!" Carly has regained her camera or gotten a new one, she snaps red carpet photos, as celebs promenade past, eagerly. "Hey! Tommy! Look over here! Heyy!" Says Carly.
"Ugh! Watch the elbow!" Angela says. "Angela! Didn't see you!" Says Carly, shouting in her face, not sorry at all. "Carly! What's with the getup? Didn't you wear that same hideous house dress to our high school prom? Oh, I'm sorry… I shouldn't have brought that up. Prom must bring bad memories, since you went alone and no one would dance with you and all!" Angela says.
Suddenly, there's a commotion. "…Misty! Misty, over here!" "…Whoa, check it out! It's Misty Tredwell!"
There is a very famous celebrity on the red carpet now, the famed supermodel, Misty Tredwell. Misty is a tall woman of elegance, with flawless, alabaster skin, thin, light blue eyes and long, sleek, black hair, with parted bangs. Misty has a lavender, teardrop-shaped gem tied to her forehead. Misty is wearing a white skirt, with several layers, that give it the appearance of being a wraparound, and a red, sleeveless top. "…You were voted the world's number one supermodel, d'you have anything to say to your fans?"
Carly and Angela are equally starstruck, their spat forgotten. "Oh, wow!" Says Carly.
Misty glances over at her and the world falls away for a moment.
Carly gasps and looks around, Misty couldn't have been looking at anyone else. "Ah-h! Did… she just smile at… me?!" Carly thinks to herself.
Sometime later on, red carpet guests are mingling around the small round buffet tables. "Ladies and gentlemen, your host… Rex Goodwin!"
Goodwin soon descends the huge staircase at the front of the room to substantial amounts of polite applause.
The crowd stops mingling and gather near the foot of the stairs. A few people comment. "…What a guy!" "…Great suit."
Goodwin's suit is the usual gray suit, perhaps a bit fancier. "Thanks for coming, everyone! What makes a champion a champion? What drives the driven? Was he born great, or did he have greatness thrust upon him? All of these questions and more will be answered in 'Atlas Rising-the Rise of Jack Atlas'! Ladies and gentlemen…" Goodwin says.
Yusei walks into the waiting room he's been installed in to wait for his audience with Goodwin, hearing all of this. "Allow me to share with you the untold story behind the legend!" Says Goodwin, via-screen.
Jack's also watching from his hospital bed, his right arm in a sling, while Minako is arranging red and pink flowers in a vase on the bedside table next to his duel disk, as the screen shows some clips, probably from the movie. "What say we kick this turbo-duel into overdrive! Who's the one Master of Faster?! Who rules the duels?! That's right, it's me!" Jack says, via-screen.
The audience at the red carpet preview is clapping. "Jack's journey began at the top. He was born in New Domino City's Tops District." Says the narrator of the movie, via-screen. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, I have some matters to tend to, but I'll be back. Please enjoy yourselves, and enjoy 'Atlas Rising'." Goodwin says.
"Wait a second! Director Goodwin, one question! Regarding the narration of the film, it's saying that Jack was born in the Tops, but that's not true." Says Angela. "W-what?" Carly asks. "According to my sources, the former champion Jack Atlas was born in the Satellite Sector, just like the new champion Yusei." Says Angela. "Wh-oh...!" Carly says.
Jack suddenly leans over and shoves the vase off of the table with his good left arm, angrily, and it shatters. Minako is aghast.
The reporters follow up, eagerly. Angela is rather pleased with herself. "…Is this true, Director?" "…If so, did Yusei and Jack know each other prior to the tournament?" "…Isn't it true Director, that Satellite residents aren't allowed to duel?" "…Is there some kind of cover-up going on here?!"
"I'm afraid I don't have time to discuss wild speculation and ridiculous rumors. Now please, enjoy the screening." Says Goodwin. He exits, ignoring the reporters' shouting cacophony.
"You can't avoid this issue, Director! The people have a right to know the truth!" Angela says, being heard above the general hubbub.
"If Jack's the story, why's everyone standing around here?" Carly thinks to himself. "You've had your fun, but it's time for my victory lap!" Says Jack, via-screen. "I'm gonna find out from Jack himself!" Carly thinks to herself.
As Carly runs out of the soiree, Misty is waiting in the doorway. "And where do you think you're going?" Misty asks.
Carly turns around, sees who's addressing her and flips. "A-a-augh! Y-you're M-M-Misty-y!" Says Carly.
"Your face intrigues me. I wanted to get a closer look at you. Do you mind?" Misty asks.
Carly is kind of weirded out, but of course she doesn't mind. "Ah! I-I got my dad's looks, that's what my mom tells me! Uh..." Says Carly, babbling.
"Carly, right? I heard you liked fortunetelling." Misty says. She grips Carly's chin, gently, looking closer. "Yeah, uh... that's right, I, uh, I use cards for my fortunetelling." Says Carly, trying to stay cool and is way too excited. "Well, I use faces. Your face is haunting." Misty says. "Uh, it's what?" Asks Carly. Misty removes her glasses, gently, to look into her eyes. "Your eyes! They're showing me the path you will take. It is a path that will disappear into darkness, Carly." Misty says. "Oh yeah? Huh. Th-that's nice." Says Carly. Misty puts her glasses back on. "But… when you choose to take this path." Misty says. She points right at Carly, a prophetess. "You will know yourself better than you ever have before!" Says Misty. "Huh?! Ah, excuse me." Carly says. She bows. "This has been fun, but I gotta run home and feed my plant and water my cat! Haha! Ah!" Says Carly. She beats a hasty retreat from the unnerving Misty, who watches her run away, demurely.
Carly darts a glance behind herself. "I think fame has made her two tacos short of a fiesta!" Carly thinks to herself.
Trudge enters Yusei's waiting room. "Enjoying the film?" Trudge asks.
"When can I talk to Goodwin?!" Asks Yusei.
"Be patient, Yusei. The Director is a busy man. If you're bored, we can always pass the time with a duel, whaddaya say? Are you game? Or are you afraid you might lose your title before your first endorsement deal comes through?" Trudge asks.
"Ha! Now that would be an interesting development!" Says Lazar. He has walked up behind Trudge and his goons, hidden from Yusei by the door frame and he's winking at him. "Though, I seriously doubt that our new champion would fall to a man of your caliber, Officer Trudge." Lazar says. "Why you…" Says Trudge. Lazar steps into view. "Sorry to keep you waiting. The Director is ready to see you now." Lazar says, addressing Yusei. He then turns to Trudge. "Mr. Goodwin would like to thank you for escorting the champion here. Now, we'd like you to go to the hospital and fetch Jack! Hmhmhmhmhmhmhm!" Says Lazar. Trudge salutes. "Whatever he needs, Sir." Trudge says.
Yusei walks out the door between him and Lazar, they share a glance out of the corners of their eyes. Yusei follows Lazar and Trudge watches them go. "Hmph." Says Trudge. He walks down the other hall.
Outside the hospital, a female reporter is speaking to a camera. "…Ted, I'm standing outside of Domino Hospital, where Jack Atlas has been recovering ever since yesterday's disappointing loss in the Fortune Cup finale. And as of now, nobody has been allowed inside to see him… oh!"
Carly runs through the shot, in a nurse's uniform, and runs into the reporter. "Ah! Sorry about that!" Carly says.
The reporter grumbles, bitterly. "…I'll show you sorry..." "…We're still live!" The reporter puts her reporting face back on. "…Ah! Uh, that's right, as of now, nobody has been allowed inside to see or talk…"
Carly just made it through the door in her nurse's costume. "I can't believe this nurse's costume is working!" Carly thinks to herself. She proceeds into the hospital.
Trudge pulls up on his runner outside, as soon as Carly goes inside. Trudge takes off his helmet. "'Go and fetch Jack'! Talking to me like I'm some dog! If only they knew I was doing this to get closer to Goodwin to find out what he's really up to!" Trudge thinks to himself, angrily. He walks up the steps and into the hospital. As Trudge walks down the hallway, a glowing purple spider drops onto his collar from above. Trudge feels it, immediately. "Ah!" It crawls down Trudge's collar. The nurses standing around in the hallway look at Trudge, with concern, as he dances around, frantically, as though trying to get to an ice cube someone dropped down his back. Then, Trudge stops. The Spider Mark glows on Trudge's arm and his facial expression turns menacing.
Still at the Domino Hospital, Minako is peeling an apple with a knife and humming to herself at Jack's bedside. The TV is off. Jack's sitting up in bed, frowning. "I'd like to be alone right now, Minako." Says Jack, very seriously. Minako sets aside her apple, bows and turns to leave. "Call my cell if you need... anything." Minako says, forlornly.
As soon as she leaves, Jack reaches for his duel disk, hanging on the wall above the bedside table. Like with the vase earlier, Jack must reach across with his good hand because the bedside table is on the right.
Outside in the hallway, Carly is walking the hall alone, looking for the right room. "Jack's in room three-oh-four." Says Carly.
She rounds a corner, just as Jack is letting himself out of his room. Jack's characteristic white blazer is on his shoulders, but the right sleeve hangs limp. "Mr. Atlas!" Carly says. The legend turns, still not noticing her presence, it is indeed the one and only. Jack walks right past Carly, ignoring her. "Um, uh, say, I was wondering if, ah, oh..." Says Carly.
Jack rounds the corner, on which she's standing and sees another person walking down the hallway. Jack sounds frustrated, he doesn't mind throwing a casual insult. "Trudge. You're lookin' a little rough, Officer." Jack says. Then, he notices the Spider Sign glowing on Trudge's arm. Jack gasps aloud.
Flashback. The Signers ride on a glowing road over a vision of destruction below. A giant, fiery spider has been etched onto the landscape of the Satellite, demolishing everything it touches. The flashback ends.
Back to the present. "Heheheheheheheheh!" Trudge laughs.
"What's goin' on?! Why d'you have that Mark on your arm?!" Asks Jack.
Then out of no where, lurking in the shadows. "It is because he is being controlled by the Dark Signers. He is now their drone."
Jack looks near where the voice came from. Jack can't see much since the shadows have her covered, but she's not alone, either. "Who are you? Step into the light so I can see you better." Jack says. Carly is cowering behind him, she gasps. "Ah!" Says Carly.
She comes into the light, but she has a long, black cloak on, with a hood attached. The hood is over her head, so it manages to shadow the upper half of her face, her eyes are the only thing that can be made out. Her hair can't even really be seen. Her cloak is almost long to the floor, but since she wears healed boots it makes it hard to tell. The shadow creature stays back in the shadows behind her, its eyes lit in red.
Flashback. Carly watches the duel through the lens of her camera as it records, as the drone from the previous night sends his Frozen Fitzgerald to attack Yusei. "Attack! And wipe 'is Mark clean!" It destroys Sonic Chick.
Yusei takes damage and is thrown backward, bouncing on his shoulder-blades, painfully, flipping over and slamming into the fiery wall of the arena. "That's the same glowing Mark that hooded duelist had on his arm…" Carly thinks to herself, in voice-over. The flashback ends.
Back to the present. "…When he was dueling Yusei!" Carly thinks to herself.
Trudge activates his duel disk.
"So, you the sixth Signer?" Jack asks.
"My master is a Dark Signer, and he sent me here to extinguish the light of your Mark, so that we may envelop the world in a cloak of darkness! And you will be the first to fall." Says Trudge.
"I seriously doubt that!" Jack says. "Hang on! You can't duel him, Jack! Yusei battled someone like him. It was some guy dressed in a bathrobe, and he had the same weird purple Mark glowing on his arm, and… I'm Carly, by the way." "What! Did you say Yusei? When did all this happen?!" Asks Jack. "Last night, and, uh, Yusei won." Carly says. "Carly." Says Jack. "Yeah. H-hi!" Carly says. "Tell me something, Carly. D'you know how to duel?" Asks Jack. "Well, uh, kind of, but…" Carly says. "In that case, lend me your hands, will you?" Asks Jack. "W-what?!" Carly asks. Jack grabs the duel disk from the top of the bag he packed, drops the bag, hands the duel disk to her and spins her around. Carly is kinda freaked. "You just have to hold the cards for me and draw, right?" Asks Jack. "Huh? But I, uh..." Carly says. "I have no idea what this purple glow is all about, but if Yusei was able to take someone like him down, then I'll have no problem! Come on. Put the duel disk on my arm." Says Jack. "Right, uh, okay..." Carly says. She slides Jack's duel disk onto his left arm. Jack's right arm is still in its sling against his chest. "Are you ready?" Asks Jack.
"Bring it on!" Trudge, Jack and Carly all say, shouting.
"Wow… did I just say that?" Carly thinks to herself.
A ring of purple fire springs up around them.
On other stories of the hospital, bystanders are swamped with a strong gust of wind, inexplicably.
Jack's Sign is glowing through his sling.
The person hidden in the shadows arm is glowing through her detached sleeve. The rest of her symbolic designs and additional markings etched along her body are also glowing, but she hides them all away under her cloak.
"Hey! Jack, look, your arm is glowing, too!" Says Carly. "I can see that." Jack says. "Yusei's arm was glowing last night, too, and this same circle appeared! What's it all mean?" Asks Carly.
"Let's cut the conversation, shall we?" Trudge asks.
The duelists begin with 4000 lifepoints each.
"I'm summoning Warm Worm in defense mode!" Says Trudge. Warm Worm has 1400 defense points.
"This is real, front-line journalism right here!" Carly thinks to herself. Every fan girl's dream, she daydreams Jack cradling her in his arms. "Getting to duel alongside the dauntless and dashing Jack Atlas!" Carly thinks to herself. She draws. "It's my turn…!" Carly says. "Actually, it's my turn." Says Jack. "Oh, right, sorry." Carly says. "To start things off, I'm summoning Vice Dragon from my hand." Says Jack. Carly looks through the hand she's holding for the card, frantically, then places it on the duel disk. "Right!" Carly says. Vice Dragon has 2000 attack points. Vice Dragon's attack points decrease to 1000 because of its special ability. "Whoever you really are, you've got some gall coming here! Did you think you could kick me while I was down? Well, I'm not down, and there's no way some daddy long-legs is gonna trip me up! I release Vice Dragon to summon out Strong Wind Dragon, in attack mode!" Says Jack. Strong Wind Dragon has 2400 attack points. "Next, I'm activating Strong Wind Dragon's special ability! Now, it gains half the attack points of the dragon monster I released in order to summon it!" Jack says. Carly counts on her fingers. "So, uh, right, uh, okay, since Vice Dragon has twenty-four-hundred attack points…" Says Carly. "It gains a thousand more." Jack says. "Whoa… thirty-four hundred?" Asks Carly. "Strong Wind Dragon, attack Warm Worm!" Jack says.
It hits and destroys, then the attack smashes into the floor behind Trudge and he shields his face from the dust.
"Why'd the floor explode?!" Asks Jack. "I don't know, but the same kinda stuff was happening when Yusei was battling that underground duelist from last night. It was like duel things were really happening or something!" Carly says. "So, he's making this duel real." Says Jack.
Trudge's lifepoints are now 2000.
"By the way, Warm Worm was in defense mode. How come he lost lifepoints?" Carly asks. "Strong Wind Dragon's special power enables it to fight through a monster's defenses and attack directly. As long as its attack points are greater than the opponent's defense points, the difference is dealt as damage." Says Jack. "This is great! I'm dueling with the deck of a once-great duelist!" Carly says. "A once-great duelist? I only lost yesterday, ya know." Says Jack. "I… uh... uhh." Carly says.
"Hey, has-been! When Warm Worm is destroyed in battle, you have to send three cards from your deck to your graveyard!" Says Trudge.
"Oh! I'm supposed to do that, right? The top three. That's how it works, right?" Carly asks. Jack keeps glaring at their opponent.
Trudge glares back.
When Carly holds their hand up for Jack to look at, he indicates a card with a slight nod. "I place one card face down and end my turn!" Says Jack. "Uh, right..." Carly says. She places it down.
"It's my move! And from my hand, I summon Shield Worm in defense mode!" Says Trudge. Shield Worm has 2000 defense points. "When this monster is successfully summoned, you and your little assistant must send one card from your deck to the graveyard!" Trudge says.
"Ah… Again?!" Asks Carly. She sends another card to the graveyard, Dark Tinker.
"And now, I place one card face down and end my turn." Trudge says.
"Then it's…" Says Carly. She draws. "…my mov… uh, I mean..." Carly says. "Lemme see my cards. That spell card could be quite useful right now. But, I would have to release Strong Wind Dragon in order to activate it." Says Jack. "I know what you should do… Strong Wind Dragon, take out his Shield Worm with a direct attack!" Carly says. "Dimwit!" Says Jack, alarmed. "What… did I mess up?" Carly asks. Too late to call off the wild attack. Strong Wind Dragon destroys Shield Worm.
"Ha ha ha ha! You walked right into that one! Shield Worm is able to deflect any attack!" Says Trudge.
"A-a-ah..." Carly says.
"Therefore, it also negates Strong Wind Dragon's special ability! And with that, I reveal my trap card… 'Regret Reborn'! This enables me to re-summon a monster that you destroyed in battle, as long as I summon it to the field in defense mode! And of course, since Shield Worm has once again been successfully summoned to my field, you have no choice but to send another card in your deck to your graveyard!" Says Trudge.
"This is all my fault, isn't it? Jack, I am so, so sorry!" Carly says. "Not as sorry as Trudge is going to be!" Jack thinks to himself.
"Heheheheheheheh..."
Trap Eater is the next card Jack and Carly discard. "Trudge, you're not gonna win this duel. And to make sure of it, I'm summoning Twin Shield Defender to the field in defense mode!" Says Jack. "Uh, uh, here!" Carly says. Twin Shield Defender has 1600 defense points.
"It's my turn, then! From my hand, I'm activating the spell card 'Worm Bait'! And as long as there's a worm monster on my field, I can use the power of this spell to summon out two worm tokens! Next, I release the two worm tokens in order to advance-summon Dark Tuner Catastrogue!" Says Trudge.
"Did he say Dark Tuner?!" Jack asks. "Okay, th-this might be bad. This happened last night." Says Carly. "What're you talkin' about?" Jack asks. "Well, um…" Says Carly.
"Now, I dark-tune my level-eight Catastrogue with my level-four Shield Worm." Trudge says.
"What's this dark-tuning business all about, Carly?" Asks Jack. "That robed duelist did the same thing last night. Something about monsters using negative energy, and shadows, and all sorts of other really eerie-sounding stuff." Carly says.
Catastrogue's eight stars swirl into the air and plunge down into Shield Worm, swarming around within its outlines, merging into one another and turning into four darkly glimmering stars, orbiting around each other in a dance of crackling black energy. "When shadows are devoured by even darker shadows, the curtain pulls back and reveals… a world without light! Now, rise! Dark Diviner!" Says Trudge.
Dark Diviner is a negative-level-four dark synchro monster, with two thousand attack points and one thousand defense points.
"What? So that thing's level is a negative four!" Jack says.
"That's right! The monsters of the netherworld don't come together and build on one another the way your pathetic monsters do! They devour one another, and feed off each others negative energy, like a snake eating its own tail!" Says Trudge.
"Right! That's kinda what the underground duelist said to Yusei last night, after performing the same kind of synchro-summon!" Carly says. "Interesting." Says Jack.
"Catastrogue's special ability activates from the graveyard. Because I used this card to perform a dark synchro, I'm afraid you have to send five more cards from your deck to your graveyard!" Trudge says.
"Keep doin' that, and we're not gonna have any cards left! Oh..." Says Carly. She fusses with the duel disk, throwing away the cards.
"Now, Dark Diviner, slay his Strong Wind Dragon!" Trudge says.
Carly turns back to the duel. "Wait, what?! But, Strong Wind Dragon has more attack points than your Dark Diviner thingamawhat!" Says Carly. "That's not what matters to 'im." Jack says.
"That's right, because when Dark Diviner attacks, your monster's attack points become the same, and for every one hundred attack points your dragon loses, you have to send one card to your graveyard!" Says Trudge.
"I really don't like you." Jack says, deadpan. "Um, that means fourteen cards, right? What does that leave us with?" Asks Carly. "Just enough." Jack says. "What?! A-are you feeling okay?" Asks Carly.
"We of the netherworld came here to rob you of your power, to extinguish the light of your world by burying you in the shadows! Dark Diviner, attack!" Trudge says.
"Bring it, Officer!" Says Jack. Carly yells and throws herself in front of him, shielding him from the blast of wind. "What're you…" Jack says. "I'm protecting you! Agh!" Says Carly.
"Brave girl this one." The girl in the shadows thinks to herself.
Carly almost falls over backward, Jack reaches out and catches her. "Hey!" Jack says. He catches her and then turns to Trudge. "Attack all you want, but Strong Wind Dragon can't be destroyed by a monster with the same number of attack points!" Says Jack.
"Dark Diviner can't be destroyed in battle, so we've got a stalemate!" Trudge says.
Jack and Carly's lifepoints decrease to 3400. "I'm so-so-sorry, Jack. This is all my fault..." Says Carly, sobbing. "Don't be ridiculous, you were just trying to help... um, what was your name again? Cally?" Jack asks. "M-my name's Carly." "What say you, Carly? Let's finish this together." Says Jack. "Ah! Oh…" Carly says. "It's my..." Says Jack. "A-a-and my..." Carly says. "Turn!" Says both Jack and Carly. She draws, they are now really functioning as a team. "From our hand, Carly and I are activating the 'Mind Trust' spell card! With this spell, we can release a powerful monster, to pull a weaker monster from our graveyard and add it to our hand. So we release Strong Wind Dragon! And then from our graveyard, we add Dark Resonator to our hand! And now we summon, Dark Resonator!" Jack says. Dark Resonator has 1300 attack points, 300 defense points and is a level 3 monster. "Next, Dark Resonator gives Twin Shield Defender a tune-up! We synchro-summon… Exploder Dragonwing!" Says Jack. Exploder Dragonwing has 2400 attack points. "When this monster battles against a monster with fewer attack points, that monster is instantly destroyed without calculating any damage. Then you get slammed with damage equal to your vanquished monster's attack points. It's over, chum!" Jack says. "Wow! So back when you were thinking of activating 'Mind Trust', you knew his goal was to send your cards to the graveyard, so you waited...! You still have it, Jack." Says Carly. "Of course I still have it, I only lost the championship yesterday. And now, Exploder Dragonwing, attack Dark Diviner!" Jack says. With that attack, the roof of the hospital explodes, hailing debris down on the sizable number of reporters gathered below. The purple fiery ring disappears. The hallway is dark and the floor beneath their feet is shattered.
Trudge slumps over and falls to the ground on his face. Trudge's lifepoints go to zero.
Jack and Carly stand looking at him for a moment. Carly looks at Jack, nervously, who's staring at the purple spider Mark on Trudge's arm, as it vanishes, intently.
A spider falls off of Trudge's neck and vanishes in a little puff of smoke. "...Where am I?!" Asks Trudge, dazed.
"That's how the other guy was. It's like they were being controlled by someone else!" Carly says.
"That is because they are." Says the girl with the cloak and hood on, as she walks over to them stopping when she reaches them. The shadow creature follows after her and comes to a halt at her side.
"Sakura, is that you?" Jack asks. "Yes." Says Sakura. Suddenly, Jack sways on his feet and nearly faints. Carly catches Jack on one side, Sakura catches him on the other side, one of her hands touching his chest. "Jack!" Carly says. "Would you mind... helping me get out of this hospital?" Asks Jack, whispering, hoarsely.
Carly gasps, that's quite a request. "Carly, right?" Sakura asks. "Huh, yes." Says Carly. "Do you think you can get him out of here on your own and then meet me outside?" Sakura asks. "Sure, I can do that. But, where are you going?" Asks Carly. Sakura releases her hold on Jack, leaving her to keep him standing. "Don't worry, just trust me and meet me outside." Sakura says. She then turns away, heads into the shadows, with Grim following after her, and suddenly vanishes within the shadows.
In a flash, Carly is wheeling Jack on a gurney, covered with a sheet, at a mad dash, through the crowds in the lower levels of the hospital and amazingly no one is stopping her. "'Scuse me! Pardon me! Comin' through! Outta the way, please!" Says Carly.
Outside, the reporter from earlier is speaking into a mic, as her camera guy keeps the camera trained on the hospital. "…There were several smaller booms from the top floor, and then there was a sudden explosion."
Carly runs through the aisle at the center of the crowd and no reporters question her, amazingly, and then slows to a jog, as it hits her... "This is crazy… what'm I supposed to do with 'im now?!" Carly thinks to herself.
She soon finds Sakura, with Grim, who no longer appears as a shadow version of himself, standing beside her, and stops wheeling the gurney before she almost runs into her. "Okay, so what's your plan now?" Carly asks. Sakura helps her get Jack off of the gurney and then helps her hold him up. "Carly, I shall say this once…" Says Sakura. She grabs her cloak. "Brace yourself." Sakura says. She then throws her cloak over them and in a second to spare, all three, and Grim, vanish just like that.
The underside of a highway bridge, then up. The only light is from the headlights of the car, as Goodwin steps out of it.
Lazar and Yusei are already standing there.
The scene has kind of a ransom-exchange or mafia-meeting feel to it, Yusei and Goodwin meeting late at night at some undisclosed location. "Yusei. It's time you learned the whole truth." Says Goodwin.
"About what?" Yusei asks.
Goodwin points, dramatically, backlit by the headlights.
Yusei turns to look and gasps.
Behind Yusei and Lazar, the bridge they're standing on cuts off abruptly and in the distance there are tall X's of iron, supports for a different bridge coming from the even more distant island beyond, the way across is cleanly severed.
"About where you come from, and where you're going." Says Goodwin.
Yusei keeps looking out toward the distant supports, the car headlights shine toward that daunting stretch of night-dark sea.
