I struggled.
It was the only thing I could do. I was there again, facing up to Akiza's Tytannial, Princess of Camellias, Sayer watching from a distance. As Akiza's monster unleashed her final attack, I watched as my skin began to rot. Akiza wore a sinister grin on her face, unlike last time, as if she took pleasure in the pain she was dealing, my final moments. Sayer looked over at me, perfectly content to just stand and watch as my body withered away, and death approached me.
I opened my eyes slowly and pushed myself up, every fiber in my body practically screaming at me for even ushering any kind of movement. I must have subconsciously made a sound, because Okita and Liquid both got up out of their beds and rushed over to me as I collapsed back down on the bench I was on.
"Easy, Tyler…!" Okita cautioned.
"Wha…? What happened…?" I mumbled.
"You don't remember?" Okita asked.
"I remember Akiza beating the crap out of me and then Sayer and her leaving…" I muttered. "And… someone came in afterwards…"
"Seria found you in unconscious in Sayer's office and brought you back here after patching you up." Liquid explained.
"Um… What do you mean by 'patching me up' exactly?" I asked, turning myself slowly as my legs hung off the side of the bench.
"Well we don't know. She brought you back here to rest and you already had a new uniform on. Anyway, you're awake now, right? So you start Duel Runner training today."
"I-I… um… wait, what?" I asked.
"Duel Runner training. Didn't Seria tell you yesterday? Apparently, the Arcadia Movement was able to secure exclusive use of the track in the Outer Rim for today only." Okita said. "Sayer said that it was really important that we all learn to ride on Duel Runners."
"Don't worry, we're all in the same boat. Mine starts in a couple minutes, yours starts at noon, and Okita's got his in the afternoon." Liquid jumped in.
"R-Riding a Duel Runner… I don't know…" I was still a little uneasy about the whole thing. I had never even owned a Duel Runner, let alone ridden one. And now I was expected to go through some training course?
"Look, Tyler. You'll be fine." Okita assured me, sensing the look of distress on my face.
"Yeah, I mean, worst case scenario, you'll get thrown off the Runner and get a couple scrapes and bruises. But hey, you'd be in better shape than you were after your Duel with Akiza." Liquid chuckled.
"Shouldn't you be heading to the Outer Rim?" I asked, not really wanting to sit here and listen and listen to Liquid's jokes.
"Crap! You're right! See ya, guys!" Liquid, realizing that he was supposed to have left by now in order to make it on time, turned and ran out of the room, heading to the Outer Rim to begin his Duel Runner training.
"Don't feel too bad for losing to Akiza. She's the Arcadia Movement's best. Some say she's even better than Sayer. A lot of the other members thought you had guts going up against her."
"Great. So everyone in this place knows I lost?"
"Yeah, but no one cares that you lost." Okita sighed. "Well, except for Akiza. She came by while you were asleep and asked about how you were. Then she went on about how one of her opponents in the Fortune Cup said that all she could do was cause pain, and that maybe he was right."
"It's not her fault if she can't control her powers." I said. "Maybe I'd better go talk to her. Let her know that I don't hold her responsible for what happened."
"Well, yeah. I guess you could do that. Just be sure to be at the Outer Rim by noon."
"Wait, so you don't want to come with me?" I asked.
"Thanks for the offer, but I'm thinking of heading to the Reference Room and reading up on what I can about Duel Runners. I'd prefer to be fully prepared and know what to expect then be like Liquid and just wing it." Okita explained.
"Alright, fair enough. You go and have 'fun'… 'reading'…" I chuckled, heading out of the room. In truth, I had absolutely no idea where Akiza's room was. And there was no way that I was going to go and ask Sayer. Instead, I decided to take up Seria's standing offer and head down to the lab. She'd probably know where Akiza's room was, I thought, and be able to direct me to where it was so I wouldn't get lost. But also, I could thank Seria for saving me.
I headed into the elevator and pressed the button to head to the ground floor. Once the door opened, I walked out of the elevator and down a hallway which protruded off to where the lab was. I knocked on the door twice and waited. "Just a sec!" I heard Seria call out from behind the door. A couple seconds later the door opened. I was surprised to see that both Akiza and Seria were in the lab, finishing up a conversation. It looked like I wouldn't need to go looking for Akiza after all.
"Oh! Tyler!" Seria shouted, Akiza twitching and turning to me. "I was just about to come and see you. How are you feeling?" Seria asked me.
"A lot better, thanks to you." I smiled.
"Tyler, I'm… really sorry about yesterday." Akiza said. "I honestly didn't mean to hurt you. The last thing I'd want to do is cause any friction between myself and other members of the Movement."
"It's fine, Akiza." I assured her. "I'm just sorry I didn't put up a better fight in our Duel."
My statement seemed to make Akiza look away, as if she was thinking about something she wanted to ask me. Of course, whatever she wanted, I'd probably say yes! "That Deck you were using wasn't your own, was it?" Akiza asked.
"Um…" I looked towards Seria for guidance, because I had absolutely no idea. Seria looked over at the examination chair in the center of the room and then back to me. Something about her expression told me that she was rather uncomfortable with the way the conversation had headed.
"Tyler was given that Deck as a means of testing his abilities. It's still early days, but once we know what Tyler's skills as a Duelist are, we'll be able to tailor a Deck specifically built to his strengths." Seria explained. "By the way, shouldn't you be heading to the Outer Rim for Duel Runner training?" Seria asked.
"Well Liquid said that mine starts at noon so-"
"Maybe you should head over a little early." Seria suggested. "See how Liquid's doing?"
"If you… think I should…" I muttered. Seria nodded quickly.
"Yes! Yes! You definitely should! Right now!" she insisted.
"Well, okay… um… thanks again…" I muttered. Seria seemed like she wanted to try and get rid of me, but she did have a point. Okita was down at the Reference Room reading up about Duel Runner theory, while I could do the next best thing and head over to watch Liquid. Then at least I'd know what not to do. I said my goodbyes to both Akiza and Seria as I left the lab and then exited the Arcadia Movement Headquarters altogether.
Walking through New Domino City on my way to the Outer Rim was completely different to when Okita, Liquid and I went to gatecrash the Fortune Cup and support Akiza. For one thing, there was no one around, since the whole population of the city was practically packed into the stadium. Now though, there were many people all walking around, a great majority of them wearing fancy clothes and sporting microphones and cameras, all in a rush as if they were running late for something. I caught a couple of them glancing at me out of the corner of their eyes, probably wondering why I was wearing such strange clothing.
"Hey!" a voice called out from behind me. I turned to see this rather seedy-looking guy approach me. He was the only one around that wasn't wearing some suit and tie. Instead, this guy was wearing some mismatch of bright green and a dark brown. He also wasn't holding a microphone or a camera, like so many others were. "You haven't seen that Satellite shithead around here, have you? Apparently, he hasn't left the city yet. We're all tryin' to find him."
"Excuse me?" I asked, not knowing who the dude was on about.
"The scum-fucker from Satellite who won the Fortune Cup?!" the man sighed.
"The Fortune Cup?" I repeated, trying to recall all that had transpired that day. I remembered that somebody won, and it was someone who was familiar to me, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.
The man sighed once more, realizing that his conversation with me was going nowhere very quickly. "I'm sorry. You're wearing that Arcadia uniform. I just assumed you'd know the identity of the person who defeated your best Duelist." The guy ranted. "Look. If you see a guy with a Criminal Mark walking around, call Sector Security, okay?"
"Yeah, sure." I waved him off as I he ran to catch up to one of the other groups of people who were running rampant through the city. As for me, I continued on to my original route. There were no more interruptions and I picked up the pace as I caught sight of the gate to the Duel Runner track. I could hear the faint revving of a Duel Runner from behind the gate as I saw Liquid come around on the course. Even with the movement of the Duel Runner, I could tell that Liquid was shaking like crazy as he struggled to keep upright.
"You're doing fine, Liquid!" a man called out encouragement. "Just try not to take the corners too late! And if you're not feeling comfortable, you can always slow down! No pressure!" the man must've heard my footsteps, because he immediately turned to face me. "Yo! You're Tyler Nochi, right?"
"Yes, sir." I nodded.
The man laughed. "Excellent! My name's Kawasaki, and I'll be taking you through your Duel Runner training in a little bit. You nervous?"
"A little…" I admitted. "I've never been on a Duel Runner before."
"Ah! Well don't worry. These models struggle to go above thirty miles an hour. And I was just saying to Liquid, if at any time you feel uncomfortable, you can stop, it won't matter." Kawasaki smiled gently. His words eased my nerves a little, and I was happy to see that so far everyone in the Arcadia Movement was friendly. Well, everyone except Sayer, which was pretty weird.
I spent the next hour or so watching Liquid make his way around the track several times while Kawasaki and I continued to chat, mostly about my Duel with Akiza. The moment came when I saw Liquid come around again before he slowed to a stop. He got off the Duel Runner and Kawasaki opened the gate. My heart began to race.
"Nice work, Liquid." Kawasaki smiled.
"Thanks. It was harder than I thought, but I think I did alright." He said, scratching the back of his head. "Oh, hey, Tyler." Liquid greeted. "Were you watching me?" he asked.
"Yeah, you did really well."
"Thanks. Well hey, word of advice: you gotta watch out for the obstacles, or they'll really slow ya down."
"Obstacles?" I asked.
"Yep. Tar, dirt, signs, pillars."
"Alright, hold on. I don't think I'm ready for this."
"You've got to have at least tried." Kawasaki urged. "Look, I'll be coaching you through it. You'll do fine."
"Yeah, you'll do fine." Liquid added.
I sighed, trying to slow down my breathing. "Okay, I'll give it a shot."
"Now that's the spirit!" Kawasaki shouted. "Alright, just head through the gate and get on the Runner. I'll direct you with what you need to do after that."
I nodded, walking through the gate and over to the Duel Runner. Liquid had left the helmet on the seat, so I hesitantly put it over my head and got on the Duel Runner. I squirmed a little on the seat as I looked at what was in front of me. I could hear Kawasaki instructing me on what to do, but I wasn't listening. I revved the Duel Runner once, before taking off onto the highway.
Whatever Kawasaki was shouting at me, I was blocking from my mind. I just let the moment draw me into it, the wind blowing past me as I heard the snaps of my uniform. Liquid wasn't kidding when he talked about obstacles either. The signs, tar and dirt I was prepared for, but near the end of the course these two pillars seemed to burst out of the ground. I swerved, dodging both with minimal effort. It was little more than pure instinct to me.
"Bring it in now, Tyler!" Kawasaki shouted. As he instructed, I slowed the Duel Runner to a stop, put it into park and took off the helmet and resting it on the seat. As I walked back through the gate, I saw that both Kawasaki and Liquid had looks of shock and amazement on their faces.
"What?" I asked. "Did I do something wrong?"
"That… was… incredible!" Kawasaki shouted. "You didn't even have to go around for a second run! You dodged everything on your first lap. You've got one of the fastest times. If you can keep that up, you'll be in excellent shape, buddy!"
"Thank you, sir."
I noticed that Liquid was still staring at me, looking as if he was struggling to find words to say to me. Eventually though, he sighed and spoke.
"You were fucking awesome!" Liquid shouted. "You didn't hit the sides once or nothing! There's no way that was your first time on a Duel Runner!"
"Well, I dunno what happened. I got on and I just knew what to do." I said passively.
"Pfft! Sure, that's it! C'mon be honest… you've ridden at least once before, haven't you?"
"I swear to you, that was my first time. Besides, I'm pretty sure I'd remember riding a Duel Runner."
Liquid chuckled. "Well you know what? I had my doubts about you before, but this right here, you're just plain awesome!"
"Thanks."
"No, really. I was acting like such a jerk to you before. I'm so sorry."
"You were a jerk? I didn't notice…" I lied.
"Well, you guys are done for the day, but would you mind going and getting Okita for his Duel Runner training?" Kawasaki asked.
"Sure." Liquid and I both answered in unison.
We began our trek back to the Arcadia Movement Headquarters, which was actually a lot better since I had someone to talk to now. The streets were completely deserted now other than the two of us, or so I thought.
"Tyler? Is that you?" I heard someone call out to me. The voice sent shivers down my spine as I turned to the direction of where the voice came from and caught sight of a young man with spiky black hair with yellow highlights and a strange gold mark on the side of his face. The expression on his face was one of horror, and I was mentally kicking myself, because I knew that I had seen him before somewhere. I took a step back as the same pain that I felt at the Fortune Cup suddenly came back to me, accompanied by more visions.
I was floating above the same ruined city, which I finally recognized as the Satellite, talking to the same four people in the vision that I had at the Fortune Cup. I finally recognized two of the people: Yusei Fudo and Jack Atlas. Among them were a white-haired, dull-eyed young man and a short, spiky orange-haired guy. They… We… were talking about Duel Runners and-
"Tyler! It's me, Yusei!" he shouted, breaking me out of my thoughts.
"Tyler, you don't look so hot. Are you okay? Do you know this guy?" Liquid asked, concerned. I was breathing shakily. Was I having some sort of mental breakdown?
"My head…" I croaked.
"Well, well… If it isn't Yusei Fudo…" I heard a voice mutter. Yusei, Liquid and I turned and saw Sayer walking towards us. "How about you stay out of my business?!" Sayer said hoarsely. "Somebody take him back to headquarters!" Sayer shouted.
Liquid looked at me, then Sayer, then Yusei and then back at me. "Yes, sir." Liquid said, walking over to me. He could tell that I was in no state to move.
"Tyler! Are you okay?!" I heard Yusei call out to me.
I watched, half-dazed, as Sayer approached Yusei. "This doesn't concern you. Leave at once!" Sayer cringed.
"C'mon, let's go." Liquid said as he began walking. I was fighting back the urge to vomit, and I didn't even know why. All of a sudden, Liquid draped one of my arms over his shoulder and we began making tiny, baby steps back to my room. My mind was racing a mile a minute.
I never did make it back to my room though. Sayer caught up with Liquid and I and he insisted that I come with him to the lab. I didn't know what to say or what to do, but Seria was there and told me that it was for good of my health, and then told Liquid with getting Okita to head to the Outer Rim.
As we walked to the lab, Seria clenched one of her hands around me as the same uneasy expression she had when we were talking to Akiza crossed her face again. My legs gave in and I collapsed just outside the lab as Seria carried me in. I was placed back in the same examination chair that I remembered waking up in when I first met Seria and Sayer. Lights and noises were coming out of the various machines that surrounded me. I tried listening in on their conversation, but I could barely make out what they were saying.
"I'm seeing a decrease in the level of consciousness, sir. At this rate, Ty… I-I mean, the subject will pass out on us." Seria said with a concerned tone. I felt a little uneasy as Seria went back to referring to me as 'the subject' rather than my name.
"So the brainwashing is wearing off?" Sayer asked bluntly. Brainwashing? What brainwashing?
"That's right, sir. It appears the subject experienced a great shock related to a past event." Seria said.
"Yusei Fudo…! That bastard! Time and time again, he keeps getting in my way!" Sayer growled, before my eyelids forced themselves shut. "If he gets any closer to this one, it could spell big trouble for us." Sayer sighed. "Let's strengthen the brainwashing so this one can better resist these pests from the past."
"But Sayer! The subject's brainwaves aren't stable. If we push him too far, he could die!" Seria shakily said, obviously concerned for my safety. I would've said 'thank you', I should have said 'thank you', but my mouth refused to open. I groaned, a feeling of despair rippling through my body.
"I see…" Sayer muttered. "We can't afford to lose such an important aspect. Especially after what happened with the last one… Preserving the subject's life takes top priority." Sayer instructed.
"Yes, sir…" Seria mumbled.
"He won't regain his memories, but we'll have to conduct more brainwashing again later…" I heard Sayer speak, and even though I knew he was standing over me, it was as if his voice was so far away. "We're… more power… subject… … …" Sayer's voice disappeared completely, and I was left alone, trapped in my mind, flooded with questions barely able to comprehend anything.
Sayer… stole my memories? Then he… what else did he do to me? Why did he do this to me? Where did I come from?
And just who… who was I?