Disclaimer: amithegreat25 does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
Chapter Three
Rex Goodwin frowned, looking out of his penthouse window over the body of water separating the Satellite from New Domino. Somehow, Jack Atlas had failed to make it to New Domino City. It had been a full month since Lazar had contacted the man, and Goodwin had been confident that with the sort of ambition he knew Jack had, the blonde-haired man would accept the offer.
It was quite simple, too—all Jack had to do was take that Stardust Dragon card off of his friend, Yusei Fudo, and ride through the pipeline connecting Satellite and New Domino, arriving at the city three minutes past midnight. For someone with Jack's skill, strength, and fortitude, it should have been easy.
But Jack hadn't come. Goodwin had come personally to welcome Jack when the blonde-haired Duelist inevitably would arrive, but he had waited and waited and had eventually been forced to conclude that Jack was not coming that night. Immediately afterward, Goodwin had checked with Sector Security to see if they had picked up anyone matching Jack's description—but the answer was a sound negative; the commander himself had come to see Goodwin and had personally assured the Director that no one remotely resembling Jack Atlas had been arrested.
"And we would know, too," the man had laughed. "After seeing one of your full-color sketches of the guy, I can tell you that he looks very distinctive, even amongst Satellites—so if any of my officers had seen him before, they'd remember. And I'm telling you now—not one of us has seen this person before in our lives."
The only remaining conclusion was that Jack had somehow been deterred from arriving that night, and so Goodwin had continued coming to the pipeline for the next several nights in the hope that Jack would somehow make it on those nights, but his efforts went unrewarded: Jack Atlas did not arrive on any of those nights, either.
So now, Goodwin was forced to come to the conclusion that he'd dismissed the most quickly in the beginning: that Jack simply didn't feel like coming. But that in turn meant that he'd have no Signer with whom to experiment—Jack really was the only Signer that both would be willing to cooperate with Goodwin in return for the fulfillment of his rather large ambitions, and was completely oblivious of his powers, which would allow Goodwin to experiment with them as he chose.
The Izinski girl had already begun using her powers, not to mention that she had been picked up by that Sayer fellow—now that man was annoying, although Goodwin knew that he posed no real threat—so acquiring her was completely out of the question. There was no question about it; Akiza Izinski was not the one.
The young Luna, on the other hand, seemed fairly oblivious of her power and would have made a good subject, if not for the fact that she seemed quite fragile and would likely collapse under the strain—not to mention that her attachment to her twin brother could become problematic, and quickly. Add that to the fact that the girl was simply too young and Luna was definitely not a good choices.
Obviously, trying to use Roman's arm was a bad idea; Goodwin had been saving that arm for a long time, and for a very special purpose, and playing around with it in hopes of finding out what made a Signer tick would be imprudent to the extent of foolishness. No; Roman was out.
And of course, that left two possible choices: Jack Atlas… and Yusei Fudo. Goodwin felt a thin smile come to his face. Yusei Fudo. Possibly the most promising of all of the Signers… and best of all, completely undeveloped. He would have been a perfect test subject… if his last name had not been Fudo. Unfortunately, it was, and if Yusei was anything like his father at all, luring him away from his friends would simply not work. That left either tricking him—a difficult, if not impossible task, given the sharpness of the boy's mind—or abducting him, which would hardly put Yusei into a cooperative frame of mind—and such a hostile attitude would hardly be conducive to the sorts of tests Goodwin had in mind.
And so Goodwin had chosen Jack Atlas. The perfect target… ambitious, proud, skilled, and best of all… unsocial and closed off. An outcast. A lone wolf. Just the right kind of person for Goodwin to reach out to, and with the promises of fame and fortune coming from the City Director himself, Goodwin had been sure that the blonde-haired teenager would have leapt at the chance to leave the dump he had called a home. Goodwin had been so sure Jack would come… but the information he had recently acquired suggested that something had happened to disrupt his plans. Either he had been wrong about Jack entirely—and Goodwin prided himself on his ability to analyze people and dissect them—or something had happened to change Jack's mind.
If that was the case, then that something had seriously thrown a wrench into Goodwin's plans. And he intended to find out what.
He walked back over to his desk and pressed a switch at the base of a microphone, speaking into it. "Lazar."
A flickering holographic image of his Vice Director instantly appeared in front of Goodwin. "Yes, Director? Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Arrange me a ride to the Satellite, scheduled for tomorrow morning. I am going to find out why Jack did not come." Goodwin inclined his head.
"B-but Director!" Lazar sputtered. "Are you sure it would be prudent for you, the Director of New Domino City, to enter into such a poor district as the Satellite? As I'm sure you're aware, the residents of that area bear no small amount of ill will toward residents of the city, and as the Director, are you sure—"
"I am aware of your concerns, Lazar," Goodwin interrupted, a thin bead of sweat forming on his forehead. "Everything will be taken care of. Please, arrange the ride now."
Lazar quickly stopped speaking and gave a salute. "U-understood, Director. I'll get started on that right now."
"Damn it!" Jack exhaled, bending over, Kalin still slung over his shoulder. "You're heavy, man! I'd have thought that after they starved you, you should be lighter than this!" He let Kalin slide to the floor while he caught his breath.
After several seconds, Jack's shoulder finally stopped aching as much and his breathing became more smooth and regular. He looked back at Kalin and sighed. "Why'd you have to be so stubborn, Kalin? Now I have to carry you around until you wake up… And how did you manage to get knocked out by a punch to the stomach, anyway? That's not supposed to be physically possible! And I didn't even hit you that hard…"
He took a few more seconds to rest before reaching down and picking Kalin's prone form back up, slinging the silver-haired man's body back over his shoulder. "Where's Yusei, anyway?" he wondered aloud. "It'd be a lot easier if he was here, too…"
Then he shook his head. "Oh, well. No use wondering where he is. If he doesn't want to show up… I'll just have to find him." Muttering darkly under his breath, he headed back into one of the Facility's many winding corridors.
Yusei's footsteps echoed unnaturally through the hallway as he ran, his ragged breaths tearing through otherwise tranquil air. He could've sworn the Facility was smaller than this—but then again, he hadn't been here for a long time, so it was probably normal that his memories of the place were slightly off…
Even as these thoughts ran through the crab-headed man's head, his legs continued pumping, almost of their own volition. That was a good thing, too, as he couldn't afford to stay in one place for too long—not while those two guards he'd knocked out lay there in the courtyard, in plain view for all to see.
A ghost of a smile appeared on Yusei's lips as he realized that that had been his one stroke of luck: The incident had taken place outside in the courtyard, and as he himself had noted earlier, the Facility's security system was so focused on keeping people in that there were very few people monitoring the exterior, a prime example being the single guard guarding the outermost fence. So it was unlikely that anyone would stumble upon the two knocked out guards until the next shift rotation, by which time he, Jack, and Kalin would hopefully be long gone. Of course, Yusei realized that there were also security cameras in the courtyard, but hopefully whoever was monitoring them was busy with other things—all in all, a fairly good chance, given the extremely low attention paid to the outside—but that didn't make him relax. He had to stay alert—avoid guards, and if he did meet one, try to bluff his way through with his guard outfit—and above all, find Jack and hope he had already found Kalin, because it was 11:33 and they were already three minutes behind.
That, in turn, led to another problem: Yusei had advised his gang to keep the computer tuned to the frequency for a while before and after 11:30 in order to account for a small margin of error, but at this rate, there would be no doubt that they would not be able to get to the security vault and fetch a radio in time, which would mean that Crow and the others would assume that the plan had gone smoothly and without a hitch, leading them to go to the best-case-scenario rendezvous location. And since that location was farther, that would put Yusei and Jack even more behind schedule.
Yusei would've sworn out loud if not for the fact that he needed to conserve his energy for running. He could always go back to the courtyard and get a radio from one of the fallen guards, but that would take more time than he could afford, and if he did, he would be running the risk of getting caught—and the reward wasn't even certain: Crow, Rally, and the others could have already departed and wouldn't even receive the transmission. No; that option was out.
That meant that they would simply have to move extremely quickly for the remainder of the mission, and that meant that he had to find Jack. Why did the Facility have to be so enormous?! It would take a miracle for him to find Jack in time… but that didn't mean he wouldn't try.
His footsteps continued to echo and his breaths continued to pervade the air as the crab-haired teenager forged on, sprinting at breakneck speed.
"All right, guys," Crow announced, a large grin of anticipation framed on his face. "We've been listening to the computer for a while now, and assuming you didn't mess something up while you were tuning in—"
"Hey!" Tank objected loudly, tearing his gaze away from the screen of Yusei's laptop and scowling.
"—Yusei hasn't contacted us yet, so we should get moving to Martha's place!" Crow continued, flashing Tank a quick smirk to show that he had been joking. "Get your gear ready, because it's time for us to move out!"
"Uh, Crow?" Rally piped up, looking at the heavily-marked man curiously. "We don't have any gear… what are you talking about?"
"Nothing. It was just a joke!" Crow looked down at the red-haired boy, frowning, and Rally jumped back, startled. "What is it with you guys? Don't you get jokes? I'm starting to think that hanging around Yusei too much'll kill your sense of humor…"
"We understand jokes," scowled Blitz, "but this is serious, don't you understand? It's not the time to be making jokes, it's the time for action! We need to be focusing on helping Yusei and Jack, not making wisecracks at a crucial moment like this!"
Crow blinked, stepping back. "Okay, okay…" he muttered, yielding. "Sheesh… I was just trying to lighten the mood… What is it with Yusei and his friends? Always so serious all the time…"
"We're not always serious," came the answer almost immediately. "It's just that—"
"All right, all right, enough," Crow interrupted, not wanting to hear more of Blitz's tirade. "Are we leaving or not?"
"Yeah." Nervin stood up and stretched, cracking his knuckles in the process, causing the rest of the room to jump. "We should probably get going."
And with that, the four of them—Nervin, Blitz, Rally, and Tank—filed out of the room in neat order, leaving Crow to be the only one still in the room. He blinked again. "What is it with you people? H-hey! Wait up!"
And he dashed out, following the rest of Yusei's group as they approached the two Duel Runners. As he caught up to the group, he found them standing in front of the Duel Runners, as if unsure of what to do.
"Well?" Crow asked. "What's the problem here?"
"How are we going to get the Duel Runners over to Martha's place?" Nervin asked.
"What? Is that some sort of joke?" Crow laughed. "That's an easy one! We'll ride them!"
"Ride them?" The entire group as a whole turned looked at Crow, causing the red-head to fidget uncomfortably.
"Well… yeah. How else would we get them there?"
"I don't know," snapped Blitz, "but it sure as hell isn't going to be riding them! Who's going to be doing the riding, huh? And how will the rest of the group keep up?"
"Oh, ye of little faith." Crow strode over to Jack's white Runner, stroking it affectionately. "Obviously, I'll be riding one of them."
"Yeah?" Blitz shot back. "And the other one?"
"Hmm…" Crow tapped his chin, looking at each member of the group in turn. "You." His hand shot out to point straight at Nervin.
The purple-haired man gulped, stepping backward. "M-me? B-but I don't know h-how to ride a Duel Runner!"
"Oh, come on!" Crow sighed exasperatedly. "You're tall, you're lean, and I'm pretty sure you're fit!"
"Uh, yeah," Nervin replied, "about that—"
"You're just the right build for a Turbo Duelist!" Crow continued, oblivious to the tall, bespectacled man's protests. "It'll come naturally for ya! Trust me! After all, I've never ridden a Duel Runner either, but I'm sure I'll do great! All you need"—he patted Nervin on the shoulder—"is a little self-confidence!"
Blitz looked skeptical, but he made no comment on Crow's decision when he next replied. "Okay. Now to my other question. How are we"—he indicated himself and the others—"supposed to keep up with you two?"
"Well," Crow answered, "the red-haired kid—Rally, was it? Yeah, Rally can ride with me."
"And me and Tank?" Blitz asked.
"Oh, you two will just have to walk."
"What?!" exclaimed Blitz, looking outraged. "Do you seriously mean to tell me that you want us to walk to Martha's place, while you, Nervin, and Rally just cruise on over?"
"Hey, calm down," rebutted Crow. "We all knew from the beginning that someone was going to have to walk, right? I mean, you guys didn't even think of riding the Runners until I brought it up, so really, what else did you have in mind? Rabbit-hopping?"
He was met with an embarrassed silence.
"So yeah, if you think about it logically, some of us were going to have to walk anyhow! And to get from here to Martha's place on foot—it's definitely doable! Just don't expect it to be too easy, and do the best you can—you'll get there just fine."
Blitz didn't look ready to give up just yet, opening his mouth yet again, but Crow cut him off. "Of course, Yusei doesn't actually need you there…" he mused, almost to himself. "All he and Jack need are the two Runners, so you don't actually need to come…" His gaze refocused, shifting back to Blitz. "So, if you don't want to come—like, if you're too lazy, or something—you can just stay here! I'm sure it'll be a lot easier for you that way—"
"Not a chance," interrupted Tank. "This'll be the last time any of us see Yusei and Jack in a while. I'm not going to just stay here without going to at least say good-bye!"
"That's right," agreed Blitz after a short pause, even though he was scowling as he did so. "I guess you got me this time, Crow. But why do you get to—?"
Crow sighed, growing impatient. "Because I'm awesome, Nervin's tall enough, and Rally's small enough to ride with me, that's why! Now do you want to come or not?"
Blitz hesitated before sighing in defeat. "You win. I'm not going to just stay here and not go and see them off and wish them luck. I'm going."
"All right!" Crow flashed him a quick grin before turning to the rest of the group. "Now are there any other objections?"
No one responded, so Crow swiftly picked Rally up and placed him on the white Duel Runner before getting on in front of him, causing the red-haired boy to cry out in startlement. "Everyone ready? You—kid—what's your name again? Rally? Right, right, of course—now, hold on tight! Here we go!"
And with that, Jack's white Runner roared to life and zoomed down the rails that led to Yusei's makeshift home. Crow could hear Yusei's red Runner whirring close behind, the grinding noise of the tires punctured by Nervin's occasional exclamations and shouts. They were already so far ahead that Crow couldn't hear Blitz or Tank, so the ginger-haired teen risked looking back; the two stragglers were jogging along, making good distance as well. He gave a whoop of joy as the wind whistled in his ears—was this how Yusei felt when he rode?—and felt Rally cling on to him even more tightly. Hang in there, pal. We're on our way… Yusei.
Goodwin looked at the floating holographic digits in front of him, which read 11:36 PM. He sighed. Every night, he stayed up this late… being the City Director was definitely not the easiest job, and his burden was compounded by his duty to gather the Signers. Sometimes, it seemed as though giving up was the best option… but in his heart of hearts, Goodwin knew that that was something he could never do.
Tomorrow… tomorrow, the ride would be there, and tomorrow, he would go on a brief visit to the Satellite. Why hadn't Jack come? Goodwin felt like smashing his fist against his desk, but he restrained himself. He hadn't gotten to his position in the city by being impulsive. Tomorrow, he consoled himself. Tomorrow.
And then, simply as though to spite him, his phone started ringing. Goodwin scowled, reaching for the speakerphone button. As soon as he pressed it, the image of the Facility's warden, Chief Armstrong, appeared in front of him, flickering unsteadily.
"Rex Goodwin here. Is there something amiss?"
And then, Armstrong's reply completely shattered Goodwin's hopes for a quiet night.
Five minutes earlier…
Ren Takamura whistled merrily, striding past row after row of prisoners with perfect impunity, ignoring the inmates' shouts altogether. As he reached the end of a hall, he turned and continued his stride, whistling all the while.
Really, he saw no reason for any guards at all. He seriously doubted the inmates were stupid enough to actually try anything, and round after round gave him the same result: nothing. Shift after shift, he either stood guard at some entrance or exit point, or played the "inmate checker": The person responsible for checking if all inmates were still present at dawn or at curfew. Right now, he was the inmate checker.
Without even looking into any cells, he simply walked down the hallway, letting his mind wander into other topics and subjects, such as his recent breakup with his girlfriend—he still couldn't understand where he had gone wrong with their relationship. Women!
He reached another corner and turned again, this time reaching a set of stairs that he knew from memory led to the ground floor. Quickly stepping down the stairs, he continued his trek, still not checking on any prisoners. What could go wrong, anyway? Nothing had ever happened since he had started working here, and he had worked here a long time—seven years, to be exact. Habit had long since replaced wariness, and he walked with an untouchable air, because Ren was, in fact, untouchable—at least to his mind.
He reached the entrance and sniffed. The air in the Satellite was not clean, but the air in the Facility was even worse; it was permeated with the odors of sweat, hormones, and… other emissions that Ren preferred not to think about. He quickly glanced around to see if there were any superiors nearby, and seeing none, he stepped out of the Facility and into the cool night air, allowing his lungs to refresh themselves with non-gas-polluted oxygen.
It was then that Ren noticed the still bodies of two of his colleagues on the ground. He had never been good with names, but… one of them was definitely supposed to be guarding the gate, and the other… well, Ren had no idea what he was doing outside, but one thing was sure: Neither of them were conscious.
Ren paled visibly. Hand trembling, he reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a small, portable black transceiver. Pressing and holding down a red button on the side of the device, he began speaking tersely into it. "Uh, anyone? We've got a problem here. I'm at the southern of the Facility at ground level, and I've got two unconscious officers here… Please reply, over. I repeat: Please reply!"
He broke into a dash, running outward toward the gate, a single word running through his mind: Shit! He had never been in this situation before… Then, as he neared the gate, he noticed a pair of unmoving legs sticking out from behind a building, wearing dirty-looking jeans and brown boots with some orange-ish jewels embedded in them. Frowning, Ren pulled out his remote and manually opened the gate, heading toward the legs. When he finally got there…
"Crap!"
Jack kept on running, his legs and arms burning with the weight of Kalin on his shoulders. Nevertheless, he did not stop—he couldn't afford to. He had to find Yusei, or else their plan would be completely ruined. He stopped at a patch of walls with no cells nearby and checked his watch. It read 11:38. He swore. They were already eight minutes behind schedule, so he had to find Yusei quickly.
Then, Kalin groaned. Surprised, Jack quickly came to a halt and put his friend down. The silver-haired man sat up, rubbing his head. "What… happened? And why does my stomach hurt… so much?" He coughed. Then his eyes refocused, and his gaze sharpened, flickering over his surroundings before landing straight… on Jack. "You!" He quickly got to his feet and attempted to grab Jack by the collar, but his lack of nutrition and strength meant that he barely moved the tall blonde man at all.
"Listen, Kalin," Jack said calmly, having already worked out what to say while Kalin was unconscious. "It's not what you think. It's like I said earlier: Yusei and I are here to get you out of here!"
"Yeah?" Kalin shot back.
"Yeah," Jack repeated, which seemed to infuriate the grey-haired man even more. "That's exactly right."
"I don't believe you." Kalin's voice was stiff.
"Do you want to get out of here?"
"I—what?" Kalin broke off, seemingly caught off guard.
"I said, do you want to get out of here?" Jack repeated, gesticulating wildly in front of Kalin's face. "If you do, it doesn't matter if you believe me or not! Look around! I've already gotten you out of your cell, and if you just keep on coming with me, we'll meet up with Yusei and—"
"Yusei!" Kalin's voice went wild, and he looked around jerkily, as though expecting the spiky-haired man to pop out of nowhere. "Where is he?!"
"Like I said, we'll find him—" Jack began, beginning to get frustrated, but then he was cut off by a very familiar sound. A sound that meant trouble. Suddenly, he and Kalin were bathed in red, oscillating light emitting from a nearby strobe, and the ear-piercing sound of an alarm rang out over and over again, echoing throughout the entire Facility.
"Attention!" came a voice over the intercom. "Two guards have been found unconscious at the southern entrance to the Facility! Current analysis of the situation suggests that they were knocked out by a group of intruders who initially attempted to Duel one of them! Review of records on the Duel Disk one of the guards was wearing when found showed that his opponent was running a Synchron/Warrior Deck, along with a very unique WIND-Attribute Dragon-Type monster which does not appear in our card databases! All guards are to look for this intruder, but a word of caution: This intruder is to be considered armed and dangerous! Finding and subduing him is to be considered top priority!"
"A WIND-Attribute Dragon-Type monster? That has to be Stardust!" growled Jack. "And that means that that 'intruder' must've been Yusei! Yusei… you fool!" He threw a punch directly at the concrete wall, causing cracks to spread out from the point of impact. "What was he thinking…?!"
Meanwhile, Kalin was inspecting Jack closely. Noticing this, Jack snapped, "What do you want?!"
"…I changed my mind."
"What?"
"I'll come with you for now… if only to find the answers I need."
Jack growled at him. "Now, you agree?! At a time like this?! It really took an alarm going off to convince you we were on your side? Goddammit, Kalin! Fine—come on, let's get out of here!"
He took off sprinting down the hallway, Kalin following closely behind him.
Yusei groaned. They were on to him… He increased his pace, ignoring the pain he felt in his lungs and his legs. As he reached a corner, he instantly turned left before turning right. Sprinting down a particularly long hallway, he forced himself to go even faster, causing his breaths to come out in short wheezes. As he approached the end of the hallway, he turned left and saw… a guard coming down the hallway, heading directly toward him!
"Hey! Stop!"
But Yusei didn't stop, continuing his sprint toward the guard. As the distance between them closed, Yusei pulled back a fist and struck the guard directly in the face. As the man reeled, Yusei felled him with a hard kick to the solar plexus. As the man collapsed, Yusei quickly ran past, his speed barely decreasing. He marveled at the strength and endurance adrenaline could grant a person, but he was all too aware that if he encountered more guards and physically beat them this way, he would be leaving a makeshift trail of injured or unconscious guards in his wake, which would lead to more guards on his trail, and either him being forced to deal lethal force or risk being captured—neither of which was a notion that he fancied.
As he rounded another corner, he found himself surrounded by cells on all sides, but instead of jeering at him and insulting him, the prisoners were actually cheering him on—were they so bored that this sort of thing was their idea of fun? What was this for them—prime-time television?
Then the thought was pushed out of Yusei's mind almost as quickly as it had come as another figure dressed in guard's clothing rounded the corner at the opposite end of the hallway in front of him; Yusei dispatched him as quickly and efficiently as he had the first, but as he did so, he felt his strength dip slightly—clearly, as powerful as an adrenaline rush was, it still had its limits. This, of course, was bad news for Yusei. He had to find Jack, and quickly.
He continued his mad dash, his heart beating wildly, blood coursing through his veins. He was going to get out of here, and Kalin and Jack were coming with him… even if it would take a miracle to do it.
Meanwhile, across a large patch of sea, in an area known as the Tops District of New Domino City, a young girl with bluish-green hair woke up with a gasp.
Across the room in another bed, a second child, who looked similar to the girl but was unquestionably a male, sat up as well, rubbing his eyes and looking at the girl. "Luna? What's wrong?"
"Nothing," the girl responded. "I just felt like… something was wrong."
"Something wrong?" the boy repeated. "Was it anything to do with the spirit world?"
"No," replied the girl. After a pause, she seemed to come to a conclusion. "It was probably just a bad dream."
"Oh. Okay." The boy lay down again. "Well… just try to go back to sleep, okay?"
The girl nodded, lying down as well. "Mm-kay. Good night, Leo."
"Good night, Luna."
Without even saying good-bye, Goodwin clicked off as soon as the warden finished giving his explanation, immediately pressing another button on his desk phone.
His Vice Director reappeared, looking at him. "Yes, Director? Is there anything else I can do for you? Your arrangements are nearly finished, if that's what you were calling about—"
"Lazar," Goodwin cut in. "There's been a change in plans. Reschedule the trip for right now."
"R-right now?" the clown-like man stammered. "B-but Director! I-I'm afraid that that's not—not possible, even for a man of your stature! There's paperwork, bureaucratic procedures—"
"I don't want excuses, Lazar. Make it work," Goodwin said, a strange glint in his eyes reflecting that there was no room for disagreement. "Or am I to understand it that you have found another job opportunity that does not involve my approval in some way?"
Lazar yelped, jumping backward away from the display. "N-no, Director, of course not! I'll get right to it! You!" he snapped to someone off screen. "There's been a change! The Director wants his ride tonight!"
A quick pause, and then Lazar resumed speaking. "I don't care what your procedures are; if you don't make the necessary changes this moment, I'll have all your jobs! …What do you mean, I can't?! Recall that you are speaking with the Vice Director of this fine city, and that I am perfectly entitled to have your jobs! Now get moving, or else!"
The clown-looking man disappeared off of the display for several minutes, during which Goodwin waited impatiently. Then, he reappeared, looking back toward the Director. "Yes, Director! Your ride has been arranged. A helicopter should be arriving on the roof of your penthouse any moment now."
"Thank you, Lazar," Goodwin responded, quickly clicking off and heading upstairs. As he opened the hatch to the roof, he indeed heard the whirring of rotors and saw a small speck in the sky. The speck grew larger and larger before finally growing into a full-sized chopper, which slowly hovered downward until it landed slowly on the roof of Goodwin's building.
Goodwin climbed into the plane. "Thank you," he said to the pilot. "Please head to the Satellite straight away."
The helicopter lifted off, floating lazily above Goodwin's flat for a moment before smoothly heading across the vast divide that separated the city and the Satellite.
Yusei turned another corner, panting heavily now. He had no idea where he was going or how far he had come; he was just running aimlessly now. He finally slowed down and bent over, looking at the ground while he tried to catch his breath.
"Halt, intruder!"
Yusei spun around to see that there were at least twenty guards behind him. He look back in the direction he was going to see that there were as many guards in front of him as well. He was in the middle of an open hallway, and there was no other way to go but straight toward one group or the other. On one side was a solid wall, and on the other side was a railing, past which was nothing but open air… Of course!
As the two groups advanced on him in a pincer-like move, Yusei quickly put one hand on the railing and swung himself over, catching on to the floor as he fell so that he was hanging from the stone floor he had just dropped from with only one hand.
"He's getting away!" called one of the guards. As one, the correctional officers surged forward, but Yusei quickly let go and dropped down to an identical corridor a floor below, immediately breaking into a run once more.
As he ran, the crab-haired man checked his watch again. It was 11:40. He swore yet again. Fifteen minutes to get out of Facility with Jack and Kalin and make it to Martha's place—the odds were not looking good. He was halfway down the corridor when inspiration struck. If it was so late and he and Jack were so behind schedule, it only made sense that they should leave as quickly as possible. Jack wasn't dumb. He knew that in the case of an emergency, he should head for the exits… which meant that while Yusei had been sprinting through the entire building in search, exhausting himself in the process, Jack was probably making his way toward one of the entrances. And seeing as the violet-eyed man had entered through the northern entrance, it was a fair bet to say that he was heading that way now.
With this in mind, Yusei knew that he had to get down to the ground floor as quickly as possible… and there was one technique that he had already used earlier to evade the guards. He once again grabbed the railing and swung off, letting go halfway through his jump and landing neatly down on the concrete pathway, one floor closer to ground level. He quickly did it again, then again, and then several more times, until he found himself on the base floor. Looking around and seeing nothing, he dashed off to find the northern exit.
Then, Yusei stopped. He checked his watch. 11:42. He was already extremely late… so a few minutes wouldn't make much of a difference, right? He hesitated only a moment longer before turning around and running back the way he came. He had something to do.
"Come on, Kalin!" Jack snapped, turning around to look at the man trailing behinds him.
"It's… not… as easy… as it used to be!" Kalin wheezed, trying to keep up. Months of malnutrition and lack of exercise had clearly drained him of the strength he used to have.
"Damn it!" Jack exclaimed in frustration. "Do you want to be free or not, Kalin?! Because if we get captured, you're not getting another chance!"
"I just want to talk to Yusei!" came the answer, and for some reason, it came without any pauses or wheezing. "I want to talk to him!"
Interesting, thought Jack. Perhaps the thought of Yusei aroused so much anger, or hate, or whatever in Kalin that he was able to concentrate more when thinking of the crab-haired man? He decided to test out this theory. "Well, you're definitely not getting to talk to him if we don't find him, now are you? If you hurry up, we can get you out of here, and then you can talk to him as much as you want!" Probably not, Jack knew, as he and Yusei were going to be leaving nearly immediately, looking at how much they were behind schedule—but Kalin didn't need to know that. All he needed was a good motivation to keep him going.
As Jack had suspected, Kalin's gaze sharpened and his resolve seemed to stiffen, and his pace definitely seemed to increase—and suddenly, it was Jack who had to work on keeping pace with the other teenager. "That's the spirit!" he called out. "Now keep it up, and we'll get to Yusei in no time!"
He just hoped that Yusei would make it out of the Facility alone, because they did not have enough time to go looking for the spiky-haired Enforcer any longer. No, Jack thought as they continued to run, their destination… was the exit.
"Please," Goodwin requested for the nth time, "make haste. We can't afford to lose any time."
"Listen, pal," the pilot retorted, "I'm going as fast as I can already, okay? I'd be able to concentrate better and not drop us into the ocean, for instance, if you would stop nagging!"
Seeing Goodwin's stony face, the man quickly backtracked. "A-actually, n-never mind—n-nag all you want, j-just d-don't take my j-job!"
Goodwin looked away from the man, deeming him unimportant and indeed almost useless, if not for the fact that he were steering the aircraft he was currently in. Instead, he looked out ahead, trying to make out the outline of the Satellite against the inky blackness of the sky. Behind him were the bright lights of New Domino City, but the Satellite was not known for its surplus of electricity, and so it was nearly completely dark. Nonetheless, however, Goodwin could just barely see the outline of the island, and he was encouraged to see that they were indeed making good ground.
And if his observations of Yusei Fudo and Jack Atlas were correct, one of the guards found unconscious outside was wearing clothes several sizes too small for him… clothes that suspiciously resembled those of Yusei Fudo, particularly the dark blue jacket on the man's heavyset shoulders.
Yusei Fudo… What are you up to? the Director wondered. It seems I'm about to find out.
Jack and Kalin were nearing the northern exit from which Jack had entered. Yusei… Jack thought. I hope you know what you're doing…
They dashed outside and headed for the gate when Kalin suddenly stopped.
Jack turned around to look tiredly at the man. "What's wrong now?"
"My Deck. I need my Deck," Kalin stated flatly.
"There's no time for that!" rebutted Jack. "We had originally intended to get you your Deck, but we're way off schedule, and getting your Deck right now is rather low on my list of priorities!"
"Your list? Your list?" Kalin's eyes narrowed. "I don't give a damn about your list of priorities! My Deck is essential to my survival in the Satellite, and I'm not leaving without it, do you hear me?!"
"Is something wrong?" came a voice.
Jack and Kalin both turned immediately to see a very familiar spiky-haired figure standing in front of them, dressed in guard's clothes a few sizes too large. In the figure's hand was a thick, battered-looking stack of cards.
"Yusei!" Jack exclaimed, at the same time that Kalin cried, "My Deck!"
"Yep." Yusei smirked, handing Kalin his Deck. The silver-haired man immediately began sorting through the cards to make sure that none were damaged or missing. "Now, then. We're fairly short on time, so we need to get out of here."
"Not so fast," interrupted Kalin, scowling at Yusei. "I have a few questions for you about what happened that night, Yusei."
"No time right now," Yusei returned, equally quickly. "We can talk later. We need to move now."
"I disagree." Kalin stepped forward, grasping Yusei by the collar. All exhaustion he had displayed earlier seemed to simply vanish; his entire focus was on the crab-haired teen before him. "We need to talk… traitor."
Yusei sighed, looking rather resigned. "For the last time, Kalin, I'm not a traitor. I was trying to turn myself in instead of you." He then directed his gaze over the thin, silver-haired man's shoulder at Jack, who was standing awkwardly to the side. "Is this how's he's been acting?"
"The entire time," Jack answered, glaring at Kalin. "I even had to knock him out and carry him for a while—which was not my intent at all… but this bozo"—he directed his words toward Kalin—"somehow managed to get knocked out by a hit to the stomach—"
Yusei ignored the rest of Jack's speech, instead electing to look back at Kalin, who was still holding him by the collar, not with any fear or anger or hostility, but rather sadness. "Really, Kalin… if it means that much to you… I'm sorry." I'm more sorry than you know, Kalin. I'm sorry for letting you become a Dark Signer… sorry for making you try to commit suicide in Crash Town… sorry about everything you've gone through…
But Kalin had no way of knowing what the crustacean-haired man was thinking, and right now he was considering only the "fact" that Yusei had betrayed him—so he shook his head, rejecting Yusei's apology. "That's not good enough, Yusei. You betrayed me… and our relationship will never be the same. Now I'm going to ask you a simple question." His hand tightened on Yusei's guard's shirt's collar, pulling the crab-head forward. "Why did you do it? Why did you wreck the Enforcers' dream?!"
Yusei frowned, knowing that Kalin would be at least as hard to convince as Jack had been when he'd first approached him, and maybe even more, seeing as he'd had months in the Facility to stew on his anger. To talk to him right now would be a waste of even more time when they already had none. But Yusei already knew what to do. He hated himself for it, wished he were able to talk to Kalin and explain everything to him the same way he had done with Jack… but they were pressed for time, and as a result, that simply wasn't possible right now. So he lightly brushed Kalin's curled fist off of his collar and stepped back. "Sorry, Kalin. But there just isn't enough time right now. I'm afraid that if you want an in-depth explanation, you'll have to wait until another day." He turned to Jack. "Let's go."
Jack didn't seem to understand, but Yusei didn't bother explaining. Instead, he turned around to face the exterior gate's direction… and ran.
"H-hey! Wait up!" Jack instantly began sprinting after his friend, leaving Kalin alone in the courtyard.
The silver-haired man blinked twice, surprised. He turned around at the sound of approaching footsteps and saw several guards coming closer to him, crying, "Freeze! Put your hands behind your head and turn around slowly!"
Kalin didn't freeze. Without thinking, he turned and raced off into the darkness, hot on his friends' heels.
As Yusei ran, he heard two sets of heavy footsteps catch up to and then fall into pace behind him, and couldn't help smiling to himself. Their little exploit may not have gone quite as well as he'd planned, and they might've had very little time left—nine minutes, to be exact—but Kalin had been broken out. And that meant that their mission was a success.
"Okay, we're here!" called the pilot as he slowly hovered over a wide street in the upper southern district of the Satellite, causing small amounts of dirt and pebbles to be swept aside by the wind of the rotors, right in front of the Facility's southern exit.
"Good," said Goodwin. "Please land."
The pilot complied, and a few seconds later, the hatch had reopened and Goodwin stepped out, breathing in the air of the Satellite—which for some strange reason actually felt cleaner than that of New Domino City. Perhaps it was because the Satellite had experienced less pollution than the city, or maybe it was the fact that it was completely isolated from any other area of Japan—but in any case, Goodwin wasn't here for sightseeing. He was here for Yusei Fudo, and if he was lucky, Jack Atlas.
He walked up to the gate, which was surrounded by Sector Security officers, obviously analyzing the available evidence to try and come up with a conclusion. As Goodwin stepped forward, one of the officers told him, "Stand back. All civilians must keep a strict five-meter radius of separation from the scene."
"I'm afraid you'll find," answered Goodwin, "that I am no ordinary civilian."
The officer glanced at Goodwin and instantly blanched, backing away and nearly tripping in the process. "S-so sorry, Director Goodwin! I-I didn't see you arrive! P-please, g-go right ahead, sir!"
"Thank you." Goodwin stepped forward, turning to the person who seemed to be the leader. "I would like to speak to Chief Armstrong, please."
"I'm sorry?" The man turned around. "Ah! Director Goodwin! When did you get here?"
"The time of my arrival is irrelevant. I would like to see Chief Armstrong."
"Y-yes, of course, Director! He's, ah…" The officer paused, squinting through the crowd of law enforcement. "…right there! I have some of my men questioning him right now, but I'll make room for you right away."
Goodwin nodded. "Please do so."
The officer hurried off, barking orders to a small group of men. After a short exchange, the group broke apart and drifted off to other parts of the crime scene, revealing the rather large warden of the Facility behind. Goodwin quickly stepped in, confronting the rather elusive chief before he could lose him again.
Armstrong turned around and saw Goodwin, which caused his thick face to instantly break into a sneering sort of a smile. "Ah, good! Finally, someone who actually has some pull around this place! Glad to see you here, Director—but, uh, if you don't mind my asking, why did you feel the need to come over on such short notice?"
"I'm here on a rather… private agenda, if you will," Goodwin replied, deftly sidestepping the question, "and as such, I'm sure you understand that I can't afford to divulge information at this time. However, perhaps it might quell your curiosity to know that I have personal business with this intruder of yours."
"Ah," Armstrong intoned, nodding as though he understood. "One of those guys, eh, Director? Not to worry, Director, we all have those people that we just can't let go of, believe me. My list's gotten too large to count, lately…" he trailed off, scowling.
Goodwin didn't respond, allowing the man to draw his own conclusions, whatever they might be. Instead, he simply nodded, continuing with his line of query: "Please, tell me: Do you have any reason to believe that the suspect is still within the building?"
"Nothing concrete, sir," Armstrong said, "as these incompetent and lazy asswipes here"—he indicated the majority of the officers present—"have bogged up my time questioning me, because I'm some sort of 'witness' or something—bullshit, in my opinion—but rest assured, Director, my best men are on the case, and I'm confident that no suspect's leaving the building until we're through!"
Goodwin sighed. Translated, that meant that there was about a ninety-percent chance that Yusei and whatever friends he'd had with him had already left and accomplished whatever they'd set out to do… which meant that the main focus would shift from finding them in the Facility to pursuing them throughout the whole of Satellite, and if Jack was with Yusei, possibly even New Domino City as well… and Goodwin sincerely doubted the ability of Sector Security to keep up with Yusei, who was already keenly resourceful and intelligent just through his father, and who had undoubtedly honed those inborn traits even more through having to live in the Satellite. So in the end, giving pursuit would just be a waste of effort and resources… but Goodwin knew that Yusei Fudo was no fool. He wouldn't risk something as massive as this unless there was something that merited it, and if he could only find out what, then the situation would shift dramatically, because Goodwin would finally have some leverage over the crab-haired teenager, and then he would possess the advantage, not Yusei—he might even be able to acquire the teen as his test subject, as he'd originally wanted—but that would only occur if he played his cards right.
A faint trace of a smile appeared on Goodwin's lips. In the end, maybe this incident, so serious-looking on the outside, would actually play to his advantage… He turned back to Armstrong, reemerging from his thoughts.
"I see. In that case… I thank you for your time, Mr. Armstrong. I must go now."
Who were Yusei Fudo's familiars, he wondered—who, in other words, would the young man flee to after something like this? Goodwin's small smile widened into something larger and far more sinister.
Perhaps the answer was already there.
Running nonstop was definitely having an adverse effect on his health, Yusei noted, and it would be foolish to assume that the same did not hold for Jack and Kalin as well… But he didn't stop, because he couldn't afford to.
As he ran, everything that was happening that moment, as well as everything that had happened to lead up to that moment, seemed to blur together into a uniform sludge of sameness… All he was aware of was the pumping of feet, of the searing pain in his lungs, and of the cool wind brushing past him and ruffling his hair… over and over again as he ran.
Perhaps something to occupy his mind as he ran, to distract him from the exhaustion? How long had he been running, anyway? He checked his watch; it was 11:45. He had first knocked out the two guards and started running at 11:27. His mind feebly tried to calculate how long he had been running that night, but to Yusei's dismay, the answer didn't come immediately, which was immensely alarming—as a skilled Duelist, Yusei prided himself on his ability to do basic mathematical operations correctly, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division—after all, with a Duel being based so heavily on Life Points, Attack Points, and so on, a good mathematical foundation was a prerequisite for being a good Duelist—and the crab-haired man would wager a good amount of money that he was one of the fastest thinkers in the Satellite—which meant that if he couldn't even do a simple subtraction operation right now, he must be seriously fatigued… Was he so out of energy that he couldn't even subtract anymore? If that was the case, then he was unsure if he could make it the rest of the way to Martha's house… how far away was Martha's house, anyway? Were they at least a third of the way there? Halfway? More?
Out of the corner of his eye, Yusei saw a Sector Security officer riding up to apprehend him, and he tensed, receiving a sudden burst of sprinting energy—but then Yusei blinked, and the officer suddenly vanished—was he ever there at all? Was he delirious, perhaps hallucinating due to exhaustion? Yusei had never experienced delirium before, so he couldn't very much know, but the closest he had ever gotten was after his Duel with Roman, when he had fallen into the old Ener-D Reactor…
Suddenly, he could have sworn that the Ghost was hot on his tail, with Meklord Emperor Wisel floating somewhere above and to his right—then he blinked, and they disappeared as well… He was definitely seeing things… It was purely psychological, he assured himself… Every passing shadow was being interpreted as something from his past because his brain was low on oxygen, not because they were actually there… Once he got to New Domino, he could take a nice, long rest… All he had to do was keep on going just a little bit longer.
And through it all, his legs kept pumping, and the heavy thud of running footsteps behind him reassured him that Jack and Kalin were still behind him as well. Yusei felt a small degree of peace and confidence; they could make it—there was nothing stopping them apart from their own endurance—
Suddenly, he reached a corner of an alleyway and blinked—he had no idea where to go. That wasn't right. He knew the Satellite as well as anyone, having grown up there—he should have known this area inside and out, especially as he'd spent time familiarizing himself with it in preparation for the mission. So how could he have forgotten? His stride slowed as he came to a gradual halt, looking around in confusion.
Behind him, he heard Jack and Kalin slow as they caught up as well, both of them breathing heavily, but Kalin in particular, who was wheezing and coughing. Jack quickly caught his breath and walked up to Yusei. "What's wrong?"
Yusei paused before answering. "…I don't know which way to go."
Jack opened his mouth to answer, but then closed it again. He finally let out a hoarse chuckle. "Was that supposed to be a joke, Yusei? Because if it was, it wasn't very funny."
"I would never joke about something like this, Jack." Yusei exhaled, his mind clouding over as he tried, desperately, to recall which direction Martha's house lay in. It was as if his usual sense of direction had been utterly destroyed. "I… just don't know," he concluded. "I don't know where Martha's place is."
Jack began to answer, but Kalin broke in. "Great! Fantastic! You broke me out of the Facility, Yusei, and for what? To just get us all captured again?! I should've known better than to trust you, you—!"
"Weren't you the one who wanted to talk to Yusei so badly?!" Jack shot back. "We came to rescue you, Kalin, out of the goodness of our hearts—and this is what we get?! Mouth from you?! If you've got a problem with the way we do things, you can just go right on back to the Sector Security people and turn yourself in! Big loss that would be!"
And then, as if of its own accord, the right answer suddenly instilled itself back into Yusei's mind, and he suddenly knew which way to go—it was as if he'd never forgotten in the first place. "This way!" he said, and quickly started moving again, closely followed by his two friends.
Crow glanced at the clock hanging against Martha's wall for about the fifth time, tapping his foot impatiently against the floor. "Where are Yusei, Jack, and Kalin?!" he mused to himself. "They're really cutting it close!" It was 11:57, and there were just three minutes left before the hatch on the trash chute to New Domino would briefly close.
"You're telling me," scowled Blitz, who was seated close to window and serving as the "lookout" for the group. "They'd better show up soon."
"You've been saying that for the last ten or fifteen minutes!" Tank rallied from the kitchen. "How exactly is complaining so much going to change things, anyway?"
"It won't," sighed Nervin, who was still shaking slightly from his ordeal with the Duel Runners, "but it's fun to complain and vent your frustration sometimes. After all, aren't you complaining about us complaining right now?"
"Well… yeah, but that's different!" Tank defended, frowning at Nervin. "I'm telling you to stop complaining, which is something that I can actually influence, whereas you guys are just whining about Yusei and the gang to hurry up and get here, which has absolutely no effect on when they actually will get here!"
"It's a stress response," retorted Nervin, significantly more irritable than usual. "You can't stop people from venting when there are things they need to let out—like being frustrated when there are"—he glanced up at the clock—"literally two minutes left for Yusei and co to arrive!"
"Shut up, all of you!" Blitz snapped without looking away from the window. "I'm trying to concentrate!"
"On what, honestly?" laughed Crow. "As long as you're able to tell when Yusei's here, what else is there to concentrate on?"
At this, Blitz really did turn around. "Oh, really? And how am I supposed to see if they're here or not if I'm not concentrating?"
"Um, maybe use your eyes?" the orange-haired man shot back. "You don't need to 'concentrate' to see, you know!"
"In case you didn't know, Einstein, it's dark out there!" Blitz responded. "And yes, I do have to concentrate to see out into an unlit alleyway in the freakin' Satellite when it's almost midnight!"
"Blitz, you're not concentrating right now, are you?" Tank pointed out. "Why don't you actually turn around and do your job instead of arguing with Crow?"
"I was before Crow interrupted me!"
"Everyone!" Rally broke in, startling the others after his long period of silence. "Isn't Yusei the focus here? I don't know about you, but I for one want him to arrive safely, and arguing isn't going to help anything!"
"And what can we do about them arriving safely, anyway? We're just bystanders, observers!"
"Now, now," came a voice from the stairs. All five of the people sitting downstairs turned around to see Martha standing halfway up the staircase, holding several boxes in her hands. "All this arguing is for nothing, isn't it? Crow, I see you still haven't lost that flamboyant streak of yours."
Said orange-haired teen looked down embarrassedly. "I, uh…"
"Why don't you put some of that energy to more constructive use," Martha pointed out, "and help out around the house? Look at the children helping me to clean upstairs! You could learn a thing or two about diligence and hard work from them."
"Hey, I used to do that all the time when I was their age!" Crow defended hotly.
"Of your own free will?" Martha's face shone with quiet amusement. "I may just be getting old, but I don't recall a single time you actually helped me out around here without any coercion on my part. Do you?"
"Eh… er…" Crow looked away again.
"Why don't you come upstairs?" Martha repeated, turning around. "And that goes for the rest of you, too," she directed at Yusei's group of friends.
There was a cacophony of groaning and scraping noises as each person noisily got up from their seats.
"All right, all right," sighed Tank.
"Is she usually this strict?" muttered Blitz out of the corner of his mouth.
"Yes, I am," said Martha sternly, her ears perking at this surreptitious comment. "You're friends with Yusei, right? He didn't tell you about me, who used to take care of him, and what it was like? Tsk… I'd have thought that he would pay more respect to the person who'd raised him, but apparently not… No matter. What matters is that I am usually this strict, and anyone who stays at my humble abode, even if only for a small while, must contribute in any way possible. Now, hurry up, please."
There was a chorus of grumbling as everyone got up and headed upstairs with Martha, looking unusually disgruntled, the only exceptions being Crow, who was used to this treatment, and Rally, who strangely enough seemed quite eager to help, causing Martha to smile at him. "You see? Now, this is an example of a fine, upstanding youth who is ready and willing to lend a hand whenever possible. Yusei did well with you," she informed the red-haired boy, who beamed with pleasure.
At that moment, there came several quick knocks on the door. Blitz, seizing the opportunity to miss out on some work, cried out, "That must be Yusei!" and dashed to the door, opening it without even looking through the window.
Instantly, a group of Sector Security officers leapt in and grabbed him; then, more officers appeared through the doorway, flooding through nonstop until the entire house seemed to be inundated with law enforcement.
"Why, you…!" Crow cried out in indignation, struggling uselessly against the two officers who held him.
"What is the meaning of this?!" gasped Martha, gazing defiantly upon her captors.
Finally, a small gap appeared in the crowd of officers, through which a tall man with long, silver-white hair tied into a long ponytail, a grey suit, and snugly fitting white gloves appeared. "Greetings. I am Rex Goodwin, but I am sure the residents of the Satellite know me much better by another name: the City Director. I apologize for this, ah, intrusion… of sorts, but I am afraid that we shall be remaining here for the time being. However, although I cannot offer immediate compensation to you for our rather unexpected arrival, might I bestow upon you some consolation by telling you this: You are in no way at fault for what has occurred here. We are simply… awaiting someone who I have reason to believe will come here sooner or later."
"Who do you think will come here?" said Blitz, his expression betraying nothing. "I don't know anyone who would come here that would have scraped elbows with Security."
"Oh, come now," chided Goodwin. "Don't play coy. You are not in any immediate danger, so there is no reason to lie to us. While trying to protect your friends is admirable, I am afraid that your efforts are wasted, for I already know the name of the person—excuse me, persons—I seek. Simply remain calm and cooperative, and I assure you, this ordeal will be over in short order."
"What would someone as high as you in the chain of power have to do with anyone from the Satellite?!" tried Crow. "Why not send someone lesser to do the job?"
At this, Goodwin smiled thinly. "I have my reasons. There is a personal interest that I have with this man whom I seek. And I intend to make sure that that interest does not go unsatisfied… even if I have to take drastic measures to do it."
The first part of Yusei's plan is over and done with, even if there were some hitches in the process. However, for the most part, these hitches weren't anything that couldn't be readily dealt with, and Kalin was broken out of the Facility in due time, and now the trio of fugitives is en route to Martha's orphanage, where they intend to reacquire their Duel Runners and make for the city. However, Goodwin has finally intervened, causing an enormous setback in Yusei's plan by storming his rendezvous point and taking Martha and the others hostage! Can Yusei recover from this unexpected blow, or will Goodwin finally gain the advantage over our spiky-haired hero and detain him for good? Find out next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's: Rewriting the Future!