Chapter 5: Alex - Blast From The Past (Part III)

"Okay, this is it!" Kalin said. All five of us – Kalin, Jack, Crow, Yusei, and me – were grouped outside of the old abandoned warehouse that was home to Team Non-Securities, the final duel gang that our duel gang had to pound into the dust in order to conquer all of Satellite.

"I'm gonna enjoy this," I grinned, stepping up between Crow and Yusei.

"You're all ready, right?" Kalin asked, turning to face us from the entry gate Jack and Yusei had kicked down moments before. "I'm not known for my patience!"

"I'm not askin' you to wait!" Crow smirked. "I'm itchin' to get moving right now!"

Yusei spoke up, "This may be the last turf battle, but its no place for a letup."

"Yeah," I agreed. "We can't get cocky until we beat them." Normally, I would have added, "and you'd better remember it, Jack!" but I couldn't spit the words out. This was too serious a situation for making jokes.

"Whoever's out there waiting, let's meet 'em head-on!" Jack said.

"Enforcers, let's go!" Kalin yelled, running through the gate.

"All right!" Crow cried, running in after him.

Jack, Yusei and I all looked at each other, nodded, then ran in after our leader and the village idaron.

"The purest of light will illuminate even the darkest of hearts! Golden radiance, envelop the earth! SYNCHRO SUMMON!" I cried as my third ace dragon began to take shape between my two Judgment Dragons. "Shine on, LIGHT END DRAGON!"

I could practically feel those two cowards' fear as they beheld the trio of dragons about to seal my victory.

"Now teach these punks not to mess with the Enforcers! Go, Inevitable Judgment and Sanctuary Sentinel Blaze!"

"GUAAAAAH!" the two guys I had been dueling at once – that's right, two on one, and two guys against one girl, no less, where's the respect? – cried as a bright flash of light came from my dragons, enveloping them and the cold night sky around us. I heard a faint "boom" as the duel disk cuff I had caught them with destroyed their duel disks when their life points hit zero. Smirking, I yanked the cord back and looped it back through my belt, satisfied with my work.

I flashed a raspberry at them with my tongue and a peace sign with my left hand. "Seeya, idarons! Wouldn't wanna be ya!"

I ran across a narrow bridge of metal to another roof. Yusei and Kalin had told me earlier that they were going to confront the leader, but I couldn't seem to find –

"AHHH!"

- them!

I ran as fast as I could towards where I had heard Yusei yell – and found it all too soon.

Kalin was hunched over the side of the building, a broken metal railing on each side of him, and seemed to be struggling with something.

"Yusei!" he yelled downwards. "Hang in there! I'll get you back up here in no time!"

WHAT? Yusei had fallen off the building? Where was that stupid Non-Security responsible? I'll kill him with a rusty spork or worse!

"Kalin!" I heard Yusei, his voice muffled, call back up.

I nearly screamed but clapped a hand over my mouth before it escaped as Kalin's right knee slipped on the concrete, his arm muscles trembling.

"Ugh!" he grunted.

"It's not working! Just let go!" Yusei yelled. "Keep this up and you'll fall too!"

"Are you nuts?" Kalin cried. "I can't just leave you! No way!"

Kalin nearly slipped and fell again. I tried to run over to him and help, but the signal to move my brain was sending to my feet wasn't getting there.

"I'm…DEFINITELY…not letting you…go! You're my…GRAAAH!...friend!"

I heard a sinister chuckle nearby and whipped my head around, only to see a guy in a maroon vest and stupid aviator helmet who I assumed to be the leader of this gang on the other side of another metal bridge.

"Well, isn't that precious!" he sneered at my friends, not noticing me. "You two just warm my heart. I never thought that trap would actually work, but it snared both of you! Just smashing! But I wonder how much longer you can continue this little game of friendship…all I have to do is hurt you just a little to get you to let go, am I right?"

He crossed the bridge, slowly approaching Kalin and Yusei. Kalin turned his head as much as he could and growled at him.

"Let go, Kalin! I'll be okay somehow!" Yusei cried.

"I'll never let go…" Kalin grunted. "…even if it means the end of me!"

That was it! I grabbed the nearest hunk of scrap metal off of the floor and flung it right at the leader's ugly head, where it connected with a resounding thunk. (Proof that there was nothing in there.)

"Hey!" he snapped, whirling around in my direction.

"Now I'm really angry," I snapped back, striding over and planting myself right in front of the head Non-Security.

"I'm sorry, who the heck are you?" he asked.

"Who am I?" I yelled. "I'm PISSED OFF! You're not even going to lay a finger on my friends as long as I'm here!"

"Alex!" Kalin cried. "We're okay here, I've got this! Just put that guy in his place! I wish it could be me, but…I've got my hands full, so to speak!"

"Do I have to duel him, Kalin?" I growled, turning to look at him. "I'd much rather kick him off the building so he knows what it feels – "

"Watch out!" Kalin and Yusei both yelled.

I turned back around just in time to see the leader running at me, one hand outstretched, no doubt intending to try and push me off too! I whirled off to the side just in time, grabbing his forearm with both hands and bracing my feet against the ground to gain leverage, then hurling him away from us. He skidded to a stop on his feet just in front of a door to a stairway that lead to the inside of the building.

"You yellow-bellied, scum-sucking bottom feeder!" I screeched. "That was just dirty!"

"I'll teach you to insult me, little girl!" he yelled, face contorted in anger, taking a single step forward…before the door swung open behind him. He turned to see who or what it was and was greeted by a roundhouse kick from Jack, which sent him tumbling to the floor – or should I say roof? Jack and Crow both came running out.

"The gig is up, Gushizawa!" Jack declared with his trademark cool and collected yet oh-so-cocky look. So that was the leader's name. Jack must have learned it from one of his goons.

"Crow!" I yelled over, gesturing for him to come and help me and Kalin. He immediately joined me, and with our combined strength, we were able to get Yusei back onto solid ground.

"Where'd this Gushizawa character go?" I asked Jack when he came over to make sure we were alright. "I've got a bone to pick with him!"

"He bolted before I could even duel him," Jack shrugged.

Kalin sighed. "Such a pathetic guy!"

"Kalin, Alex…" Yusei said. "I'm really sorry about that."

"Yusei, what are you talking about?" Kalin asked incredulously. "We're friends! Friends always help each other out!"

"And to top it off, this area is under our control now," Jack added.

"That's right!" Kalin nodded, smiling. "Finally, Satellite is united!"

Yusei smiled, too. "We finally did it."

"WHOO-HOO!" Crow and I whooped, jumping and pumping a fist in the air.

"Jack, you were a big help!" I laughed. "I wouldn't have been able to take Gushizawa by myself!"

"And I wouldn't have been able to save Yusei alone," Kalin added.

"Exactly," Yusei said. "Everyone contributed, and that's how we were able to win this battle. Isn't that right?"

"Ha, it sure is!" Kalin said. "I tell you, I've got the best friends in the whole world!"

"GROUP HUG!" I cried, jumping Yusei and Kalin, and we all ended up on the ground in a tangled heap of arms and legs, laughing like hyenas. Crow and Jack laughed, too.

And so, the Enforcers were able to fulfill their dream of uniting all of Satellite – wait a minute, what am I doing? I feel like a narrator or something!

A Few Days Later… Gah, why am I narrating again?

Yusei smiled. I knew that look, even in a just-for-fun duel like this – he was getting ready to blow someone away. In this case, me!

"Now, Nitro Warrior! Send her Lightsworn Rogue to the scrap heap and end this!"

"Aah!" I cried, dropping to my knees as Rinyan shattered off the field and my Life Point counter scrolled to zero.

"You okay?" Yusei asked as he walked over to me and helped me up, smiling in a much different way now.

"Yeah," I laughed. "I just can't believe you beat me again! I can beat Crow, Kalin, even Jack, but never you!"

"Don't remind me about the beating me part," Crow groaned from where he had been lounging against the windowsill watching our duel, rolling his eyes playfully.

Yusei chuckled, too, but didn't say anything about my remark. Too modest, I guess. "Thanks for the duel, Alex. You really whipped me back into shape."

"Yeah," Crow agreed. "Kalin's seemed a bit out of it since the turf battle, too. Maybe everyone's just burned out a bit."

"Probably," I said, looking up at the ceiling for a moment. Deciding, I deactivated my duel disk, slipped my deck back into the holster at my belt, then headed towards the door. "Maybe I should go see how he's doing. Be right back!"

"Okay!"

I ran down about three flights of stairs to the first floor of our hideout. Since I didn't see Kalin anywhere, I headed out the door, looking around.

"Hey, Kalin!" I called. "I wanted to see if you were al – "

Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw next.

Kalin and a young green-haired boy – he couldn't have been older than nine or ten – were standing near the edge of a bluff that went straight down to the sea, seemingly engaged in a duel. The boy looked absolutely terrified.

"Aw, what's wrong?" Kalin mocked him. "Is that all you've got? You're no match for me at all! You don't have any right to call yourself a duelist!"

The boy sniffed and stifled a choked sob. A feeling of pity welled up in my chest; what was Kalin doing to this kid?

"Crying won't make anything better!" Kalin yelled. "Now come on, it's your turn! Go on and bring out that pathetic little card I know you wanna play! It won't save you!"

"Kalin!" I yelled, running towards him. As I reached him, I grabbed his shoulder. "What the heck are you – "

"Get outta my way!" Kalin snapped as he shoved me away from him roughly. The force of the push was enough to make my feet leave the ground for a split second.

"Ack!" I cried, hitting the ground with a thud. A throbbing pain began spreading up my right forearm, where I had absorbed most of the impact, but I chose not to acknowledge it as I scrambled to my feet, shot Kalin an utterly confused glance, and ran back into the building as fast as I could manage. I couldn't get Kalin to stop this on my own.

"Yusei, Crow, Jack!" I yelled as I dashed through the door of the hideout. Thankfully, they were all gathered on the first floor.

"What's wrong, Alex?" Crow asked, obvious concern on his face. "Why so jittery?"

"Alex, you're bleeding!" Yusei exclaimed, running to my side.

"What happened to you?" Jack asked, watching as Yusei tied a strip of cloth around my scraped-up arm. The explanation was just rising in my throat when Crow started bantering again.

"Sounds like somethin' big is goin' down outside, I wonder what hap – "

Gah! Stop talking already!

"KALIN'S DUELING A LITTLE KID, IS TOTALLY CREAMING HIM, IS EXTREMELY ANGRY OR SO I GATHERED BECAUSE HE SHOVED ME AWAY AND I COULDN'T STOP HIM, YOU IDARON!"

"What?" Crow exclaimed. "Really? Kalin? We gotta go stop him!"

"NAW DUR, GENIUS!" I screamed.

"Let's go!" Jack yelled, running outside. We all followed him, Yusei sticking a little closer to me than necessary.

When we found Kalin again, there were no monster holograms in sight – the duel was over. And judging by the look on that little boy's face, the outcome had been in Kalin's favor.

"You losers need to quiet hanging around in front of our hideout!" Kalin sneered, slowly walking towards the boy. With every step Kalin took, the boy took one back, fear evident on his tear-stained face. "Listen, if you're going to duel…duel with all you've got!"

"Kalin, stop it!" Crow yelled, reacting faster than we did. He ran over and rammed his shoulder into Kalin's back, knocking him away from the kid. "Hey, you!" he yelled at the boy. "Get outta here!"

The boy didn't waste any time taking off running away back towards the main part of town. My eyes followed him until he was out of sight.

"Whaddya think you're doing, Crow?" Kalin shouted angrily.

"I'd like to ask you the same thing!" Crow yelled back as Jack, Yusei and I ran over. Yusei kept one arm around my shoulder, the other hand resting on my other shoulder, holding me protectively as if he were afraid Kalin would hurt me again. I didn't think anything of it; there was no time. "What do you think you're gaining by doing this!"

Kalin retorted, "Weeding out the weaklings, that's what! And if anyone's not rolling with us, they're our enemies! How else are we gonna conquer all of Satellite?"

"You think we have to start hurting little kids like that, though?" Crow growled. I could understand where Crow's motivation was – after a few years of helping him with his orphans, my maternal instincts had managed to surface early. Seeing – or feeling first-hand – Kalin hurt his own friends was bad enough, but I was strong enough to take it. Hurting kids, though…that was even worse. It was just dirty!

"Yeah, we do!" Kalin answered. "We don't need ANY wannabe duelists around here, no matter how old they are!"

Crow fell silent, a look of both contemplation and disbelief on his face. "…I thought dueling was about the ability to have fun whenever you want, no matter who you are. What gives you the right to take that away from any of us? Huh, Kalin?"

"What?" Kalin exclaimed.

"I'm done," Crow stated simply. "I'm through with this team."

"What?" I cried. Even Kalin looked shocked.

"Crow…" Yusei trailed off. Crow turned around with a glance at me, Jack, and Yusei, but never Kalin, and walked away.

"Hey!" Kalin yelled after him. "I thought we were a team! Crow! You're just gonna turn your back on your friends like that?"

A dead silence hung in the air for a moment. Then Jack looked down, eyes obscured, and walked after Crow.

"Jack!" Kalin yelled. "Hey! Jack! Crow!" He turned towards Yusei and I, an almost pleading look in his eyes.

"Yusei, Alex, we're a team, right? We're friends, right?" he asked desperately.

Yusei was silent. Meanwhile, my thoughts were a whirlwind.

This Kalin was not my friend Kalin. Not the Kalin who just wanted to make Satellite safe for everyone. The Kalin who had saved Yusei's life. The Kalin I had fought with for so long. The Kalin I had dueling with, won with, been defeated with, laughed with…

This Kalin was willing to hurt me, young children, and probably anyone else who got in his way.

"Come on, say something!" Kalin pleaded.

I looked down, a few strands of my unruly ponytail falling into my face, then wrenched out of Yusei's arms and began walking away, too.

"Alex…"

I turned at the sound of Yusei's voice. The look in his eyes was similar to Kalin's: pleading.

I hardened my heart and let it roll off my back.

After giving Yusei and Kalin each a long look, I slowly turned around again and forced myself to walk away, all the while feeling my hardened heart crumbling to bits.

The Next Day… I don't really care that I'm failing at breaking this narrating habit…

I was just as shaken up as I had been yesterday. I had gone straight to Crow's after the fight, hoping to find solace, but instead only finding an empty shack and an empty space outside where Blackbird, his Runner, had been. I had decided to take up his idea as well, and had ridden White Lightning around Satellite the whole night. My only semi-experienced hands and the ever-present danger of getting caught by Security made it impossible to think about anything other than mechanics and possible escape routes – exactly the point of the ride. To not think about the incident until I was with a friend – a friend who hadn't gone insane – again.

But now it was morning, I couldn't ride forever, and the pain was back.

Furious at myself that I hadn't been able to block it out for good, I parked my duel runner in a narrow alley and headed back up the road to Daedalus Bridge, pretending that the cracks in the pavement were absolutely fascinating.

"Sissy!" Itsuki cried as I rounded the corner of Crow's place. "You haven't been here in forever!"

I cracked a humorless smile. "It's only been three days since I was here last, Itsuki."

He looked up, as if trying to remember something. "Oh…yeah. But it felt like forever!"

"Where's Crow? I looked all night, but I couldn't find him anywhere.

"He's up on the bridge," Itsuki pointed. "He seemed pretty down in the dumps. Did he get into a fight or something?"

I sighed. "You have no idea…I need to talk to him. I'll catch you later, okay, little bro?"

"Okay! Bye, Sissy!"

I quickly scaled the bridge after waving goodbye to Itsuki, and sure enough, there sat Crow where the unfinished bridge ended, looking out into the red morning sky. If he had heard me approach, he didn't show it.

I sat next to him. Although we acknowledged each other with a quick glance, we didn't say anything.

And it was silent…

And silent…

And silent…

And just when I thought the silence was going to drive me insane, he finally spoke.

"Alex…you remember the story I told you, about the man who tried to liberate Satellite, right?" He still didn't look at me.

I nodded, looking ahead, too. Crow had told me a few years ago, and we had often retold it to his orphans together. "Yeah, Crow. I remember."

Then I began reciting:

"A long time ago, a man came riding into town on a very strange looking Duel Runner. He would come to this exact spot and just stare off into the distance towards the city. Every single day, without fail. He's just come and look."

Crow took over. "But one day, he stopped coming. He found a purpose in life. He knew he had to build a bridge to connect Satellite with the city…Daedalus Bridge. Everybody said it couldn't be done and that he was crazy for even thinking about it."

I looked down at the wooden planks of the bridge, tracing the spot beside me with my fingertips. "But he never gave up…those people who made fun of him at first gradually started thinking maybe, maybe he would finish it…for those people with no bright future, the bridge became their symbol of hope." I then muttered softly, "Our symbol of hope…"

"Unfortunately, some folks showed up that didn't like the idea of this new bridge being built," Crow continued. "Securities. Construction was stopped and the person who started it all hit the top of the most wanted list. Everyone gave up on the idea and said it was doomed from the start. They figured he'd get arrested. Eventually, Securities did catch up to him. He had two options…one was to turn himself in and spend his life in a cell…or he could turn himself into a living legend."

Together, just as we did when telling it to the kids, we said:

"He chose to become a legend."

"A legend not bound by common sense or any kind of powers…that's why he jumped," I said softly. "Nobody knows what happened to him after that."

"But if you really want to find him…"

"Just look in your heart," we finished together, finally turning to look at each other. It was quiet for a moment.

"I have so much respect for him and what he tried to do…" Crow murmured, looking away from me again. "He's basically the reason I started dueling in the first place. But now…after Kalin…" He trailed off.

I nodded, looking away also and squeezing my eyes shut. My throat was burning and my eyes were dampening. "I know…I never thought that…the team would end this way and I would have to…I just couldn't…" My voice broke on the last word. Aw, crap, come on! I thought I was stronger than this! I couldn't even remember the last time I had cried!

"Alex?" Crow asked, confusion in his voice. I quickly jammed the heels of my hands into my eyes to try and force the tears back.

"C'mere," he whispered, pulling me into a comforting hug.

Letting go, I buried my face into his vest.

And I cried.

I didn't try to talk, didn't think, just cried. I felt weaker, more defenseless, than I ever had, but I didn't care.

I didn't know how long we were there, and it didn't really matter, anyway. At least, until –

"CROW!" a little-girl type voice that I recognized as Itsuki's friend Annie's cried. Crow and I quickly turned and stood, surprised, and I dragged my intact left forearm across my face to erase as much evidence of my emotional splurge that I could. "Oh, Crow, thank goodness you're here!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Crow said as Annie stopped in front of us, breathing hard form having climbed all the way up the bridge. "Calm down! What's up?"

"Something real bad!" Annie panicked. "Kalin is fighting against Securities all by himself!"

"What?" Crow cried.

"Where?" I echoed.

"In the building that used to be the hideout for one of the duel gangs you guys beat, Team Black 'n' Blue!"

"GAH! That idiot!" Crow yelled, sounding angry now. "What's he thinking?" He turned to me, a new fierceness in his eyes. "Alex! Get everyone together and let's go help Kalin! I'll go look for Jack, you go find Yusei! Last I checked he was at the hideout, if not, just look around! Meet back up at the hideout when you find him! I'm countin' on ya!"

I was stunned by Crow's outburst for a moment, but then nodded. "Right!"

All three of us ran back down the bridge, and while Annie ran off to find Itsuki again, Crow and I split paths, him running to the north and me running west towards the Enforcers' – no, our – hideout.

I wasn't sure I would be able to handle facing Yusei again after blatantly walking away from him like that. I wasn't sure that I would be able to handle facing Kalin again after witnessing what he had done yesterday, and again after I blatantly walked away from him.

But whether I could handle it or not, it had to be done. Kalin may have made a stupid mistake, but he was still my friend, and I couldn't just ditch him like I almost did.

I just hoped I wasn't too late…

Yeah, yeah, most cliché chapter-ending line ever, I know. But you lubves me anyway, right? *puppy dog eyes* 83