Yu-Gi-Oh!: Death Race 5D's

Chapter 6: Stage 2:Part 1

The Pieces Come Together

A/N: Hey. So again, I apologize for the wait. As the title suggests, this is the part of the story when most of the mysteries and questions are resolved. If anyone is having trouble with the names, Phantom is the name Yusei's given when he's participating in the Death Race. Very few people outside of his team know that he and Phantom are one and the same. Rose is a name that Akiza gave herself when she was first introduced to Yanagi and the team before Yusei was sent to the Facility. No one, with the exceptions of Rex, Roman and Lazar know that her real name is Akiza Izinski, and the reason for it will be revealed in this chapter. So, with that said, let's get to it.

While "Rose" stayed behind with the team, Yusei, dressed up in his Phantom persona was being escorted back to his private cell by Lazar and of course, his two lapdogs. As they passed by the other cells filled with the majority of the Facility's inmates, just like before, they chanted Phantom's name in unison. Despite having come in last place, he was the only one out of all the surviving duelists to defeat both of his opponents. It also didn't hurt that he destroyed part of the track, and completely erased Hunter Pace and Chief Takasu off the map.

However, none of that mattered to Yusei at the moment. And part of that scared him. Not just 5 minutes ago, he didn't just kill Hunter and Takasu; he destroyed them, down to the last atom. There wasn't a spec left behind. All that remained was their charred, broken down wreaks of their duel runners. And yet, he didn't feel a thing. All that was on his mind at the moment was why his duel runner hadn't worked the way it was supposed to. Just before he was escorted back through the prison, he could faintly hear Bruno calling out to Yanagi that everything was working correctly.

But how was that possible? He distinctly remembered that his deck wasn't able to produce a monster, or spell or trap whenever he crossed over one of the tracks numerous sword or shield pads. The only conclusion that Yusei could summarize was that someone had sabotaged the runner before the race. Which meant, that if it wasn't Yanagi or his pit crew, that left only one person. Rose.

Just as he had finished collecting his thoughts, Yusei was in front of his cell. As the door opened, and Yusei's cuffs were undone to allow him to change back into his prison uniform, Lazar came in to collect the Phantom attire, and spoke briefly. "Shame that you came in last place, and you were the only one to beat both of your opponents."

When Yusei didn't say anything in response, and continued to ignore the sniveling, dwarf clown, the little man left with one thing to keep in mind. "But hey, everyone loves a comeback." With that said, and everything gathered together, Yusei's cell door was closed behind the jester midget, as he and his guards left Yusei to ponder over his new revelation. One way or another, he was going to get answers...

Up in Goodwin's office, Lazar had just come into the room, when he saw someone he hadn't seen in a good while speaking to his boss. "Ah, so the older Goodwin finally decides to grace us with his presence."

Turning around, the man in question sneered down at the small, irritating, annoying little tyke, and reminded him of his place. "Hold your tongue, Lazar. Do not forget whom you speak to, lest you wish to become Yliaster's next victim."

Hurriedly, and nervously, Lazar bowed to his superior in fear, rather than respect, and gave him his sincerest apologies. Getting on the bad side of a Goodwin was a costly mistake, and guaranteed a short life expectancy. "A-Ah f-forgive me. W-Won't h-happen again."

With a disgusted look present among his face, Roman growled his disappointment and didn't hold back his contempt for the little man. "Quit your grovelling and leave. I'm sure you have other business to attend to and not waste me, or my brother's time."

Immediately, without saying a word, Lazar left the Goodwins to speak privately, as he left to head back to his own quarters. After he had left, Roman waited another minute to be sure that his younger brother was the only one left to hear what he had to say. "Urgh, how do you put up with that clown? If I were you, I'd have ripped his arms off and beat him to death by now."

The younger and frankly, more calmer and cooler head of the two spoke up, unamused by his elder brother's sick joke; if only he was joking. "Come now, brother. What's a king to do if he doesn't have his trusty jester by his side to entertain him when he is bored? Nevertheless, it matters not. He's harmless, and trustworthy. He knows what to expect if he steps out of line."

"For his sake, I hope you're right." As he moved alongside to stand next to his brother, Roman saw what his brother was currently watching; the replay of today's recent Death Race. More specifically, Yusei's last turn. Roman crossed his large, bulky, burly arms across his chest, as the duel played out. However, upon seeing the Stardust Dragon card being played, his entire demeanor changed. "Tell me, do my eyes deceive me! Is that the-!"

Before he could utter his last finishing words, Rex interrupted and finished for him. "Yes, it's all too true. That is indeed, the one and only, Stardust Dragon. The card that once belonged to our champion's mother has been passed along to her son." Clicking a button on his office chair, the video ended as soon as the camera's view was all but static, as the dragon's cosmic energy was too powerful for the recording to handle. Turning around, Rex looked up to his older brother and asked, "Tell me, is it ready?"

Regaining his composure, Roman, looked down at his junior, and replied, with a sick, ugly and sadistic smile, "Yes, she'll be ready before the next stage of our little game. And of course, before you ask, I have taken all the necessary precautions. No one will know what hit them, come for the next race."

With an equally, evil and malicious grin, Rex replied. "Excellent." After the meeting between the brothers were over, Roman left Rex's office, as he went to his own quarters, deep beneath the Facility's structure, putting on the final touches of what would become, the ultimate death machine.

The next day, Yusei had asked to see Goodwin. One way or another, Yusei was going to get the answers he wanted, even if it meant costing him his freedom, and whether or not Goodwin was willing to tell him what he wanted to hear. While on his way to Goodwin's office, once again being escorted by the purple haired midget, Yusei's mind drifted to thoughts of Leo and Luna. It had been six months since the last he had seen of them, and he worried for them. He hadn't received any news of their whereabouts after his initial arrest, nor had he heard of anything from them since his incarceration. They were the only family he had left, and he was theirs. If only he knew where they were….

A few minutes later, Lazar opened the door to his boss's office, letting Yusei go through first, followed by Lazar and his guards. When Yusei arrived at Goodwin's front desk, he saw the name of a woman with a striking resemblance to Rose; Akiza Izinski. The name sounded familiar, but before he could see anymore of the file, Goodwin stached it away inside his drawer, away from the prying eyes of the man standing before him. Lying his elbows down on the desk, entwining his fingers together, and resting his chin atop of his hands, looking very much like the typical villain in a movie, he asked Yusei, "So, what do I owe the pleasure Mr. Fudo?"

Getting straight to the point, and cutting around the pleasantries, Yusei demanded to know what his role in the Death Race was supposed to be if Goodwin was just going to allow his runner be sabotaged, and if he had anything to do with it - which he did. "Cut the shit, Goodwin. I know you have some part to play in screwing with the duel runner you had me duel with yesterday. Why the hell would you want me to race for you, if you're just going to try to have me killed? Fuck you, you bastard, and damn you and your "Death Race". Find someone else to be your puppet; I'm done."

As Yusei finished, Lazar and his two guards immediately pulled out their batons, ready to give Yusei the beating of his life, when they were stopped by Goodwin, whom raised his hand. Obeying to their master's whim, like dogs on a leash, Goodwin politely told Lazar and his guards to leave himself alone with Yusei and to undo his shackles. "Stop. Lazar, take Mr. James and Mr. Matthews with you, and undo Mr. Fudo's shackles, if you would so kindly. I need a moment to speak with him. Alone."

Lazar looked at Goodwin like he had finally lost his marbles, but the glare he received convinced him otherwise, and like a good little pet, did as he was told, and soon left Goodwin with Yusei alone in the former's office room. Yusei stayed planted in his spot, while Goodwin stood from his chair, pulled a file out from his desk drawer, and sat back down. As the young man stared down at the folder, he saw the names, Leo and Luna at the top left corner. Grabbing the young man's attention, he politely asked Yusei what he would do should he win his freedom, already knowing the answer. "Tell me, Mr. Fudo, what would you do, if you were to win tomorrow's race, and win your freedom? What would be the first thing you would do?"

Staring down at Goodwin, Yusei responded coldly to the older man. "You know damn well what I would do. I'd find my brother and sister, and bring them home."

"To the home where you murdered their adoptive mother? Your foster mother? Is that the home you're referring to?"

Yusei's reactions were just what Goodwin had hoped for. Despite being normally in control of his emotions, everyone has a breaking point. You just need to know where to apply the right pressure, and eventually, even the hardest of wills will crack. Continuing, Goodwin decided to push even further. "Unfortunately, that, will not be happening, if you do not fulfill your end of the deal, and win your fifth race. As for that little stunt from before, I needed to see first hand how you dealt with unpredictability and under pressure, and I must say, you performed perfectly."

Goodwin could already see the muscles tightening in Yusei's jaw and neck. His teeth clenching, fists balling up. The veins in his arms popping out. "Just a little bit more."

"As for Leo and Luna, do you recognize these people?" Opening the folder, and pulling out a photo, Yusei saw that his adoptive brother and sister had been placed in the foster care system, and would be going to two separate families in a few months time. The picture was the last that the two twins had taken together at the foster home where they were currently staying at for over three months now. Looking further down the file, Yusei's eyes widened when he saw who owned that particular foster home. Rex Goodwin.

Goodwin's lips formed a faint, dark smile as Yusei had reached his boiling point. But what's stopping Goodwin, when he could keep going? And keep going he did. "These people will be their new families in just a few months time. It must be a hard life. Knowing that your only family you have left, the one person that found you starving and withering away on the street, was the same person that killed the only person that would take you in. But all that can change, if you continue to duel and race for me Mr. Fudo. All you have to do is win one more race, and that freedom you so desperately crave will be yours."

Yusei, for the lack of better words was beyond pissed. He had played right into Goodwin's hands, and there was nothing he could do, but what he had originally intended. What's more is that Goodwin was pulling the strings behind everything. He orchestrated the events that led to Martha's death and him being framed for the crime. But there were still answers he didn't know. Why would Rose, or as Yusei's learned, Akiza sabotage his runner, knowing that it could have cost her her life as well as his? And what was Primo's and Yliaster's gain in all this?

Whatever the case may be, for now, Yusei had only one thing to say to Goodwin, and he wanted to say it to his face, with no space between them. Slowly, Yusei approached Goodwin, with the latter's hands around the sawed-off shotgun, strapped in place beneath the desk, aimed at Yusei's crotch should he try anything. However, Yusei wasn't interested in losing his jewels just yet, and simply took the photo of Leo and Luna, and put it away in his pocket. Leering his eyes at the older man, Yusei spoke slowly and with a cold indifference that would have scared him, had Goodwin not provoked him. "You wanted a monster? Now you've got the devil."

Afterwards, Yusei left Goodwin's office, and was led back to the "Shop" as the inmates called it. However, Yusei was in no mood to fix up his duel runner for tomorrow's race, instead, he went outside to the prison's yard, and sat on the bleachers. Pulling out the photo of his adoptive brother and sister, he started tearing the part of the photo that had the unknown couple holding the twins, eventually leaving only their pictures in the torn photo. Though he didn't look behind him, he heard Yanagi come up, and sit down next to him, catching a glimpse before Yusei put the photo away.

Yusei turned to the elderly man, and for the first time noticed something different about him. Unlike all the other prisoners incarcerated in the Facility, including himself, Yusei saw that Yanagi's prisoner uniform didn't have a set of numbers. "Hey, Old Man, how come you don't have any numbers like the rest of us?"

Turning to the younger man, Yanagi simply said, "Because I'm not a prisoner, Sonny." This confused Yusei. If he wasn't a prisoner, then what the hell was he doing here? And so, Yusei asked, "Then, if you're not a prisoner, why are you still here?" At this, the old man chuckled, and replied, "Oh, plenty, and nothing. I was sent here because I had acquired some illegal cards that I wouldn't sell nor part with. After some time, I spent all of my term here, and made it as far as the gate before I was stopped. Apparently I have some kind syndrome or disorder, whatever you call it, and sent back here. Besides, the world's changed since the last time I wasn't behind these walls. Don't much care for it and don't want to. But this? Despite all the bad, this I know. I know how it works, what the rules are, and what's expected of me here. So, what do we owe the pleasure of your company, Sonny?"

Yusei tried to play it off that he was sent here for murdering his foster mother, but Yanagi knew better. "I killed my foster mother." Yanagi gave Yusei a good, hard knowing look before replying, "Bullshit. You may be a hard man, and you've killed before because you had to, but a stone cold, heartless killer? Son, I've seen all types, and you my good boy, the way you looked at those kids, there's no way in heaven or in hell that you killed yours and their foster mother, so to that, I call bullshit."

Pulling out the photo again, Yusei looked back up to see a few prisoners with what looked to be like tracking bracelets on their wrists. Remembering that horrible night so long ago, just before Yusei blacked out, he saw a man wearing those same tracking bracelets, just like he saw the same exact gesture from Primo during yesterday's duel, from the man that killed Martha; reinforcing Yusei's belief in what he already knew. "What if I told you, Yanagi, that Goodwin had Primo kill my foster mother - their adoptive mother - and had me framed for it, so that Goodwin could have me become his "Phantom" and continue with these Death Races? What would you say to that bullshit?"

Yanagi said nothing as he saw the anger, the rage, the quilt and the pain present in Yusei's eyes. Offering nothing but a pat on the shoulder, Yanagi returned to the "shop", and Yusei as well, taking one last look at the bus that was on the prison yard, most likely emptying out "good" prisoners to fix up the track for tomorrow's race...

As hours passed by, Yusei tirelessly worked on the runner, keeping his mind and his thoughts busy, and away from what he really wanted to do. However, the team, most notably Bruno was worried for him. Yusei hadn't slept since yesterday's race, and if he wanted to win, he would need all the rest he could get to focus on the race for tomorrow. Setting down what he was working on, he approached Yusei nervously. Having heard of what had happened prior, he didn't want to get on Yusei's bad side before, but now… things would get very, very ugly, should things go sideways.

Tapping on Yusei's shoulder, Yusei stopped what he was doing to turn around and face Bruno, when the latter said, "You should get your rest, man. I'm not trying to pick a fight, but you need to focus tomorrow, and to do that you need your rest."

Though, Yusei understood what Bruno was trying to do, Yusei's mind was a whirlwind of emotions right now, and he had spent sleepless nights before, so with that in mind, he tried to politely tell Bruno that he was fine. "Bruno, I got this, okay? I'm perfectly fine."

However, Bruno wasn't having it, and tried again to get Yusei back to his cell, to get a somewhat, goodnight's sleep. "You say that now, but what happens if you fall asleep when dueling tomorrow? Rose can't drive for you, and you could end up getting yourself and her killed. You need to get some sleep, whether you think so, or not."

Bruno was a nice guy, he was just trying to do what he thought was right, and no one can blame him for it; however, Yusei wasn't in the mood, and this time, he wasn't going to hold back, only he stopped before he even got a chance to start; something else caught Yusei's attention, and it wasn't good. Primo was walking, almost strutting by, going back to his own pit. And the rage that Yusei felt couldn't be held back any longer. Stopping what he was doing, he told Bruno that he might just take him up for his offer. "You know what, Bruno? Maybe you're right. Maybe I will go take a break."

As Yusei left his team's pit, he followed behind Primo to his own. While back in his pit, Crow came up beside Bruno to check on what Yusei was doing and commented on his poor grinding skills. "Hey, good call on taking that break. Dude can't grind for shit." Kalin came up beside Crow and also commented on Yusei's skills, but rather than condemn him for his effort, he took a crack at Crow, instead. "Better than yours bird-brain." Immediately, Crow looked at Kalin with contempt and started bickering while Kalin just ignored him. Meanwhile, Bruno looked in the direction that Yusei was walking into, and realised that he was going the wrong way, and instead went towards Primo's pit. "Uh-oh… uh, guys… I think we may have a problem…."

As Yusei made his over to Primo's pit, he didn't find any sign of him, until he was attacked from behind. Someone took a wrench, and hit Yusei from behind his knee, instantly putting him on the ground. Before he could counter, never mind get back up to his feet, Jakob, the powerhouse of the three, took a heavy, iron chain, wrapped it around Yusei's neck, and pulled him up by the reigns, effectively choking him. Yusei struggled to grab hold of the chain, trying to seperate it from his throat to give himself from breathing room, only for Lester, the psycho of their little group, gut punch him, knocking the air out of him.

Combined with a strong choke hold around his neck, Yusei was fading fast, when he heard Primo speak. Controlling his breathing, and regulating it, so he only breathed through his nose allowed him to stay conscious, if only for a moment. "I don't care if King Prick wants you for the race. No one, and I mean NO ONE disrespects ME, or YLIASTER and gets away with it! Say hi to your whore of a mother for me when you see her!"

As primo raised the wrench in his hands, he stopped just an inch from Yusei's skull, when a piercing pain shot through his shoulder. Turning around, Bruno was standing behind him, with a shaky hand letting go of the flathead screwdriver that he just stabbed into the leader of Yliaster's shoulder. Seething with rage, Primo reached from behind and yanked the screwdriver - turned weapon - out of his back, and before Bruno had a chance to run, tripped the taller man, and stabbed the screwdriver through his hand, into the concrete floor, earning an ear splitting scream, that disturbingly had Lester laughing with glee. "Ooh! Another playmate! What happens when I step on this little piggy?!" And just as he proclaimed, Lester smashed his foot atop Bruno's fingers, unable to move, with the screwdriver jammed into his hand.

As Lester continued to torture Bruno, Primo picking up the dropped wrench, turned his attention back to Yusei's engineer, and with an untapped rage, began stalking towards the blue-haired giant. "What...the hell….? Huh?! What….do you…. Think…. You're doing?!" Pushing Lester aside. Primo lifted the wrench in his hands once more to smite down Bruno until…

CLANK!

Turning around, Primo saw with wide eyes, Yusei stomping Jakob's foot, forcing Jakob to release his stronghold on the young man. Thus, allowing Yusei to push all of his bodyweight into the burly old man, knocking him into the blocked off fence, and then with all of his strength, Yusei grabbed Jakob's head in a headlock, and flipped the older man over his shoulder, before grabbing hold of one of the numerous shelves full of tools, and just dropping it on top of Jakob, leaving the man unconscious.

Primo charged at Yusei immediately, hoping to get him off guard, only for Yusei to counter his preemptive strike, kneeing him in the gut, knocking the wrench out of his hand, then tossing him through another shelf full of tools from head to toe, causing it to collapse on top of him. With Primo occupied trying to get up, Yusei stopped Lester from further torturing Bruno, by hitting a pressure point just below the hairline, causing the youngest of the three to fall unconscious. Helping Bruno, Yusei pulled the screwdriver from Bruno's hand, and threw it in Primo's direction, nailing him in the knee, instantly dropping the silver-haired man to his hands and knees. Stalking towards Primo, without an ounce of mercy, Yusei kicked Primo's other knee in a way that bent it at an impossible angle. Screaming in agony, Yusei dragged the man to his feet, only to topple him through another set of shelves, completely trashing Yliaster's pit. Picking up a rusted out pipe, Yusei walked over to Primo, as the latter trapped himself between Yusei and a wall, pleading for his life. "C-Come on, man…. I-It was G-Goodwin… H-He m-made me do it…. P-Please….l-let me g-go….I-I'll… d-do a-anything…."

With a coldness and darkness in his eyes that Yusei had never held before. Crouching down to Primo's level, he whispered softly, without a shred of mercy, or kindness in his voice, he said. "There's only one thing I want you to do. I want you to die." Standing up to his full height, Yusei lifted the pipe up in his hands, and just when he was about to slam it onto Primo's skull, both he and Primo were suddenly subdued by Lazar and his guards using tazers. When the two men were down on the floor, Lazar hysterically said, "Now, now boys. Save it for the track, okay?"

The day of the race, Bruno and the others were waiting for the bus from the Women's Facility to come by, while Yusei sat in his cell, waiting to confront Akiza with what he's learned. Bruno and he formed a plan to jam his cell's cameras for a number of minutes, so that he could question her about her involvement with Goodwin, and why she's working with him, whether she's being forced or not. Bruno however, wasn't happy with his friends right about now. "What the hell, guys? I mean, seriously? I'm the only one who goes to help Yusei, while you two bicker about who's the better grinder?! Are you fucking kidding me?!"

As Kalin scratched the back of his head, trying to come up with a plausible answer as to why he didn't help, Crow looked outright offended by Bruno's accusation. "Us?! What about Old Man, Yanagi?! He didn't do shit either?!" Bruno gave Crow a deadpan look, and was about to tear him a new one, when the bus arrived with the remaining female navigators.

As Akiza stepped off the bus, she made her way to the pit, noticing Bruno's bandaged hand, and the look he was giving Crow and Kalin. "Bruno… what happened?" Turning his attention to Akiza, he almost said her real name, before catching himself. They didn't want to let her know that they knew her real name, until everything was sorted out with Yusei. "Oh, hey Ak- I mean, Rose! This? Oh, uh, long story short, Yusei got into a fight with Primo and Yliaster, I tried to help him, but just ended up getting in the way. While these two were arguing over something completely stupid, and didn't help!"

Noticing Bruno's slip, Akiza was suspicious of the guys, but hearing that Yusei and Bruno got into a fight with Primo and Yliaster, and neither Kalin nor Crow tried to help took her immediate attention. "What?! You two let Yusei and Bruno to fend off Primo and his goon squad on their own, and you didn't do anything? What the hell is wrong with you?!" Now they were in for it, Bruno just had to tell the girl that Crow and Kalin didn't help in the scuffle. Just when she was about to tear the boys a new one, Yanagi came over, and told her that Yusei needs to see her, now. "Rosy, before you go ripping bird-brain and slenderman over ther a new asshole, you should go see Yusei in his cell. He needs to speak to about something important."

Looking in Yanagi's direction, she was wondering what was so damn important that Yusei couldn't tell her while they were riding. Shrugging it off, she left to go through the secret tunnel. Once she was gone from view, Bruno started up the program to jam all cameras within distance to Yusei's cell, so that no one from Goodwin's office could hear, or see their conversation. Unfortunately, despite being one of the best hackers in New Domino, or even the world, the equipment he has set up at the Facility was less than adequate. At most, Yusei had 15 minutes before the cameras came back on.

As Akiza made her way through the tunnel, her mind was going through a different kind of tunnel. A different train of thought, actually. "What's so important that Yusei needs to speak with me before the race? If it's about his distraction from before, then I'll gladly listen. He almost got us both killed." As she was thinking these thoughts, she regretted what she had just thought, and then it hit her, what if Yusei found out? What if the team found out? How much did they know, and who told them? "Ugh, I shouldn't be the one talking. With that jammer in hand, I disabled Yusei's runner from being able to use the pads on the track. Any one of those could've helped us out. And the way that he came back, was - unbelievable…. Wait…. Could that be what he wants to talk about? B-But how? How did he - they know? Who could of - Ugh, just keep it together, you won't know until you confront him anyway…"

What Akiza failed to realize, was that was exactly what Yusei had wanted to speak about, and after almost killing Primo last night, Yusei wasn't in the mood to play games. After finally making her way through the tunnel of the Facility and her thoughts, she found Yusei sitting on his bed without the suit's upper body clothing, and without the mask. As she got closer she could see him looking down at his hands, and how they were shaking. She also noticed that without the suit's jacket, she could see his lean, musculed, wiry frame, and the numerous scars that adorned his body. One in particular drew her attention to his lower abdomen, where there was a large scar, where it looked like something jagged had cut into his skin.

Shaking away the thoughts that dared to penetrate her mind, she tapped on the cell door to get Yusei's attention, and was allowed in. Immediately, she got down to business. "Okay, I'm here, Yusei. Now tell me, what's so important that you couldn't tell me outside?" Already she could feel the tension hang in the air, fearful of what's to come. Grunting in pain, Yusei slowly got up to his feet, letting Akiza get a front row seat to his muscular stature.

As he turned his back towards her, she saw a most interesting tattoo. Actually, it looked kind of like a birthmark. It was crimson in color and in the shape of what appeared to be a dragon. With a head, two large wings, a slender frame, two claws, one of which held what looked like a heart, and a tail with what seemed to be a second face. Putting on the Phantom Suit's jacket, Akiza quickly shook herself from her daze, and awaited Yusei's response.

Turning back around, Yusei faced her directly, and said what she was most afraid of. "Why don't you tell me, Akiza?" The lady in question, her true name revealed, could only stare into his royal blue eyes, gulping the lump in her throat, unable to speak. Unfortunately, that one action proved to Yusei all what he needed. Shaking his head, he asked her one simple question. "Why?"

When her face paled, and she didn't say anything further, Yusei started getting aggressive. Worst case scenario, she did it of her own free will; best case, she did what she had to because Goodwin is holding something over head. Either way, Yusei was going to get answers. Even if it meant he had to throw away his normally, calm, cool, collected personality. "Well?! Say something! Anything! You know what you did, so why did you do it?!"

Akiza was visibly shaking. Yusei's outburst suddenly reminded her of her father when he was angry all those years ago, and again years after that with the man she thought had taken her to a safe haven, only to realise all too late, that it was a facade. Desperately trying to regain what little of her dignity she had, she huffed and turned away from Yusei, speaking in a smal, almost weak tone. "Hmph, t-that's private…"

Whatever happened to the old Yusei was hidden beneath all of this anger, rage and betrayal he felt right now, and Akiza's unwillingness to answer him clearly wasn't helping. "Damn it, Akiza! It's no longer private when you almost got us, killed! Do you hear what I'm saying?! It's not just me that could've died, but you too! Don't care at all?!" However, Akiza wasn't the scared little girl she used to be, nor was she the shy, broken woman she had been. Turning back to face Yusei head on, she slapped him right across the right side of his face, and started to wail on him with accusations and tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

SMACK!

"What the hell do you know?! You know nothing about me! You know nothing of what I've been through! All the pain, all the suffering! Why do you care so much!? What's the point of knowing about my past?! WHY should I tell YOU anything about ME?! You're just a criminal and scumbag! Fuck you! You don't deserve the name Fudo!"

And that did it. In a fury and speed Akiza had never seen, Yusei closed the distance between them in an instant. Trapping her between himself and the cell door, Yusei stared into those golden brown eyes, and for once, could see what she really hid beneath the surface. Just as he stared her down, she did the same, and she too could see everything that was normally hidden behind his mask. All the rage and anger. And all the...pain and guilt he held in his heart… Backing away from her, Yusei repeated what she had said to him, "Don't pretend like you know me, Akiza. I'm not what you think of me. And don't ever, ever disrespect me, or my family's name again."

When the tension between them settled, and all the anger and hate passed through their systems, Akiza was the first speak, with her head down, and bangs obscuring her face from Yusei's gaze. Weakly she spoke, "Why? Why do you want to know? Why is it so important for you to know?" Stepping forward, Yusei raised a hand, and hesitantly approached Akiza, like she was a wounded animal, and gently tried to move her head up to look at him, but she moved away from his touch, and he let his hand fall to his side, before speaking, in his normally calm tone. "I-I'm, sorry. I shouldn't have reacted that way. It's no excuse, but I've learned a lot this past 24 hours, and it's been putting me on edge."

Blinking past the tears, but still not looking up at him, Akiza said, "That isn't an answer…" Taking a breath, Yusei calmly replied, "You're right, it isn't. I don't need to know everything, Akiza, I just want to know why you would sabotage the runner. You don't know me, so there's no way you could've known that I would be able to handle driving and dueling in a situation like that. To say we got lucky is a massive understatement. You could have gotten yourself killed, surely you realize that? I just want to know why you would risk it."

Wiping away her tears, but still not looking Yusei in the eye, she weakly responded, "I-I can't tell you." Fearing to hear another outburst, Akiza braced herself, but when there was nothing, she slowly picked her head up, and finally looked into Yusei's eyes once more, and it took her breath away. Gone was the anger and the rage that was present before. Instead, it was like she was looking at a completely different person. She only saw kindness and a gentleness in him that she hadn't seen since the first they met, which wasn't that long ago at all, but to her it felt like years. Suddenly without warning, she collapsed into Yusei's arms, crying with her head buried in his chest.

At first, Yusei was stunned, and didn't know what to do, or how to react, but after a moment or two, Yusei tenderly and gently held her in his arms. Oh, if only Martha could see him now. Despite being almost thirty, she could make Yusei blush and embarrass him just as if he was a hormonal teenager again. After some time, Akiza stopped her crying, and was held at an arm's length from Yusei, but neither letting go of the other. Taking a deep breath to calm down, the two eventually let go of the other, and Akiza took the floor to speak. "Okay, thank you for that, Yusei. But I can't tell you. Goodwin could be listening in, and if he hears me speak any word of th-"

Before she could finish, Yusei, feeling a little bold, shushed her by putting a finger to her lips. Instantly, the young woman developed a slight pinkish blush that was easily missed. Removing his finger and pretending not to notice, Yusei spoke up, "Before I asked the team to tell you to come here, I helped Bruno create a program to jam the camera's signals. The output isn't great, so we only have around 10 minutes left before the sensors come back online. So you're safe to say whatever you need to say."

With relief, Akiza began to tell Yusei her story. "All right then, Yusei. I'll tell you everything."

"My real name is Akiza Izinski. My father is Hideo Izinski - a senator of New Domino, and my mother - Setsuko Izinski - is a stay at home mother. I haven't seen them in years now, not since after that. But before we get there, we have to start from the beginning. For a time me and my parents lived together happily, until my 5th birthday. I was a little girl whose father was always busy with work. Back then I didn't know the rigors of the political world, nor did I care for them. I just wanted to play with my father who was able to stay at home for the first time in a while."

"My father bought me my first dueling deck that day, and promised we could duel later on that afternoon. Well, as you could probably guess, it all went to hell after that. During the middle of the duel, my father got an urgent call to come back to the office, immediately. However, trying to explain that to a 5 year old little girl who has been waiting for months for her father to come home and play with her, only for him to leave in the middle of it, to go back to work, you could picture how well that went. Somehow my emotional distress unlocked a latent power within me, and in a rage I activated a trap card that inflicted real damage, sending my father through a wall."

"I was so scared of what was happening to me, I didn't know what to do. My mother heard the commotion from downstairs, and rushed into the room, to find my father - her husband stuck in a crater in the wall. After pulling him free I tried to go to him, to tell him I was sorry, but…."

Akiza went silent for a moment, remembering the hurt of those words that her father had said to her. In front of her mother, and she did nothing to stop him, until it was too late. Though time was of the essence, Yusei never interrupted her, and allowed her to continue at her own pace, and just listen. Taking a breath to compose herself, she started up again.

"But, he told me to stay away. That I wasn't their daughter anymore, and that I had become a monster. Horrified, and believing what he said, I ran out of the room, with my parents apologizing, but the act had already been done, and that was the start of it all. As time went on, I grew further away from my parents and my friends. All of them thinking that I was a freak. At one point, my father had hit me because I had hurt someone at Duel Academy with my powers. I couldn't control them at the time. I didn't learn this until much later, but my powers are tied to my emotions, so whenever my emotions were out of control, my powers would flare up, and despite my efforts, I couldn't stop them."

"Eventually, my parents thought it would be best if I lived in the dormitories at Duel Academy. They thought the school could fix me. But what I have, isn't a disease, it's a gift. If only I had known that back then. When I couldn't handle the stares and whispers behind my back any longer, I ran away back to the one place I could still call home. However, what I saw through the living room window, shattered my already broken heart. My parents were laughing, having a good time, like they always did before I got my powers, and now they were doing it again, and this time it was because I wasn't in their life anymore. My powers and emotions exploded, and in a fit of rage, I blew out all the windows in the building, and ran away from home, vowing to never return."

"After that, I lived on the streets for a time. Moving from place to place, scavenging for food and shelter when I could. That's when I heard about Underground Duels. Illegal duels that people took part in to win some quick cash. In duel academy, I was the top student, so my chances were fair, but I needed a disguise, so I came up with the Black Rose Witch persona. There in those duels, I could let my powers run free, I didn't have to hold back. If I'm being honest, I hated hurting people, but after all the pain I had endured, dishing out some of my own, I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy some of it. It was around that time, that he found me."

Hearing the emphasis on the word he, Yusei got the distinct impression that this man, whoever he was, had hurt her in ways that she wouldn't recover from for years to come. However, Yusei continued to listen, and never interrupted her.

"His name was Sayer. A psychic duelist like me. He persuaded me to come with him, to live in a place that was home for people with special powers, people like me, and after living on the streets for six months, I gladly accepted the offer. That would be the greatest mistake I would ever make. He took me to a place called Arcadia, a building and company he owned. And he didn't lie, at least not yet, anyway. It was everything he had said, and more. A place where psychics could live in peace, away from all the discrimination and hate of the outside world, and a place where we could hone and master our skills. Supposedly, anyway."

"After some time getting acquainted with the place, and honing my powers, Sayer had me do several tasks for him; to recruit young psychics to join us, and for a time, I did it without question. I mean, he did save me from off the street, right? He could do the same for others couldn't he? And that was my second mistake. While training there, he taught us to let our powers govern over us, let them be in control. And for a while, I believed it. But after spending a number of years in Arcadia, I started noticing less and less psychics around. Curiosity filled me, and one day I followed Sayer back to his home office, and that's when I learned the truth."

"Sayer was speaking to a hologram of Goodwin, whom I didn't know of at the time. Apparently, they had been part of some kind of partnership that no one was aware of. But to understand their partnership, we first have to look back at Arcadia's rivalry with Yliaster. Yliaster is a group of powerful men and women, whom have infiltrated world governments, and are at the seats of the world's greatest powers. Their goal? World domination. Owning everything from local supermarkets to the seats of the political godhead. Arcadia, in reality, was supposed to be a place where psychics were trained to be powerful duelists and warriors to overthrow Yliaster."

"However, everything changed after Zero Reverse. When your parents were removed from the project's head, Yliaster went ahead with the experiment despite your father's warnings, and just as he predicted, Ener-D went into meltdown, and eventually, split New Domino in two. If it wasn't for their self sacrifice, all of Japan would have wiped off the face of the map. However, despite the loss of Ener-D, the aftermath removed many of Yliaster's enemies, and crippled their long time foe, Arcadia. So, in order to survive, Goodwin made a deal with Sayer; he would let all of the missing persons, unexplained deaths,and any other legalities Arcadia made under the bridge, if he traded over the more powerful psychics to be used at that point in time, Goodwin's Death Duels."

Stopping her story for a moment, she let all of what she had said sink in. Yusei couldn't believe it at first, but the more he thought it through, the more it made sense. Goodwin wasn't employing Yliaster, he is Yliaster. Primo, Jakob, Lester and all the others are just his enforcers. And now Yusei also knew the truth of his parents. All his life he had been ridiculed and shunned away by others because of his heritage. Though there were few that believed they were innocent, one of the families being Akiza's, they were few and far between, and by that point, Yliaster had control over almost everything in New Domino, and it was easier to blame the creators of the project, than coming clean, and admitting that they had caused Zero Reverse. After some time, Akiza continued with her story.

"That was when Sayer caught me, or more specifically, he already knew I was there. Over the years I had grown close to Sayer, he was the father I never had, but his infatuation with me became more than just familial… Goodwin, knew that at a certain point in time my powers would become greater than even Sayer's, and that when that happened he would be able to obtain me, but until then….. I was Sayer's….toy…."

Hearing that, turned Yusei's stomach. The look of fear and pain and suffering was present all over Akiza's face, and though she tried to remain strong, she couldn't stop the tears from flowing. As she remembered and relived, every, single, moment of that time….

"H-he did things…. Made me do things…. He used me and abused me …. U-until…"

For the first time since she started telling her story, Yusei pulled her to where he was sitting, and wrapped an arm around her, gently stroking her back, and quietly shushing her, as she couldn't stop the flow of tears from falling down her face. Knowing she wasn't done with her story, Yusei let her cry her heart out until she was ready. Time was of the essence, but Yusei didn't care, he wasn't leaving his cell, until Akiza was ready. After some time, Akiza regained her composure, but stayed by Yusei's side to finish the rest.

"T-Thank you, again, Yusei. Well, after that, I had suffered through all of that for eight years, until just as Goodwin predicted, my powers overthrew Sayer's own. I tried to run away, but he found me, and a fight ensued between us, and …. I killed him, in self defense. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough. Because Goodwin and Yliaster owned ¾ of everything within the city, his lawyers were able to buy the case before I could be released, and he forced my father's hand. Though I didn't know it when I was younger, the people I recruited into Arcadia were some of the people that Sayer "gave" to Goodwin. They were also some of the people that went missing, and a few of them turned up dead, effectively making me an accomplice; an unwilling, but accomplice nonetheless. In exchange for Goodwin's silence, my father was to never speak of any of this to anyone and allow Goodwin to take me to the Women's Facility in Satellite, or else he would kill me, then my mother, and finally him. Like wise, if I were to breathe a word of this to anyone, and he would know if I did, he would kill my parents, and then me. Despite the love loss between us, I still loved and cared for my parents, and for them, I did what was expected of me."

"I…. haven't just sabotaged runners Yusei…. I've….killed people for him….made them look like accidents... in these Death Races of his…..I'm tired of it…..the lying ….the guilt…..the haunting nightmares of those tortured souls…..I-It's too much…. To answer your question….yes, Goodwin had me use a jammer to shut down specific functions of your duel runner…. You're a great duelist Yusei….if you managed to win that race…..you would have had your ticket out of here…..either that, or he'd try to have me kill you, if that failed…."

Yusei, now had learned everything thanks to Akiza. And with the knowledge of what he knows, he was going to take him down, He was going to take them all down, but he couldn't do it alone. If wanted to cut off the head of the snake, he would need help, and Yusei had just the person in mind. Turning back to Akiza, he couldn't express anything. How could he? What was a name for the kind of pain and suffering she went through? There wasn't, so he did the only thing he could do. Reaching over, he pulled Akiza into his chest, stroking her back and smoothing out her hair. At first Akiza didn't know how to react, or what to do, but eventually she returned Yusei's embrace, and laid her head into his shoulder, whispering, "Thank you."

A/N: Well that's chapter 6. So yeeeeaaah….that was pretty dark towards the end, huh? Also kind of in the middle too. I don't think we've ever seen Yusei get like that before. He didn't go "dark side", but there was a part of him that wanted to. He's the only Yugioh male protagonist to not go dark side, at least in the anime, so I experimented with what could happen should Yusei reach his breaking point. And Sayer? Yeah, he's dead, but still….that was some effed up shit. And Goodwin may be worse! Chapter 7 is the real stage 2 of the race, and we'll also get to see what the other Goodwin has been up to all this time. And sorry poetrymagic12, you're gonna have to wait a while longer before they get more "acquainted" with one another, if you catch my drift...