"Oh no," Nervin whispered to no one in particular. "It's an insect duel. Ever since that cockroach nested in his ear, Yusei freezes up when he hears the word 'bug'."

"Yeah," Crow agreed. "I avoid saying it in general. Ringer threatened me and almost started a fight with Spark." He patted the fox's head, earning a happy sound from deep in his chest.

"Aw," Lenny cooed. "Does someone need that mutt to protect them from big scary bugs?" This sent Lug and Larry in a fit of laughters.

"Yeah," Lug gasped, "maybe he needs a bottle, too." Yusei stayed silent. He didn't really hear the insults thrown at him, or the comments from the sidelines. He was more focused on the threat in front of him. The insect. He did hear the protective growl from Ringer and felt the warmth from the fox pressing his body to Yusei's stiff legs.

"I summon Shield Warrior in defense mode and lay one card face down." The warrior turned blue, showing his status on the field. He took a knee, shield held firmly in front and spear in hand.

"I think he's afraid, boss!" Shouted one of the spectators. Probably, Lug. Yusei didn't really pay attention, too focused on the creature on his opponent's field and the comforting warmth Ringer gave off.

"Well, let's give him another reason to be scared." Lenny drew his card. "I summon Pinch Hopper in attack mode." This insect, too, was large, but didn't size up to Chainsaw Insect. This one was about Ringer's size, green, and resembled a grasshopper. See thru wings sprouted from the monster's back. "Now, I activate Insect Costume. By sending Pinch Hopper to the graveyard, I can add a card from my deck to my hand."

The earth at Lenny's feet opened, and a yellow beam of light was sent into the air and down upon the insect duelist. He stumbled, shocked and confused as to what hit him, sending his life points down to 3200.

"What was that?"

"Hey, knucklehead!" Called Blitz, mocking Lenny, "did you forget your own trap?"

"No. It's all part of my plan." Even Yusei could tell that was a lie. His opponent had forgotten the card was even in play. "Thanks to the special ability of Pinch Hopper, I get to special summon Metal Armored Bug from my hand." The six legged creature was hidden under the sheets of crafted metal, bent and cut to fit it's body. Green eyes stared at Ringer, who held the gaze and took a threatening step to the hologram.

"That's not all," Lenny said. "I remove Insect Knight and Pinch Hopper from play, in order to summon Doom Dozer." His monster was the largest, yet, it's thick, orange attena brushing against the ceiling. It's body was slimmer than the other two, and more colorful. It looked like a centipede, a really big centipede. "How about some action? Chainsaw Insect attack his Shield Warrior." The monster snapped its pincers together, threatening and charged at the warrior.

"I activate my face down." The card on Yusei's field flipped up. The Scrap Iron Scarecrow emerge out of the card and between the two monsters. "Now, Shield Warrior is safe."

"Well, not for long," Lenny said, shocked and weary of the trap placed back on the field. "Metal Armor Bug, attack his monster." Yusei shielded his eyes from the attack, the shards of his monster passing through him. Retribution Of The Ant Lion activated, causing the duelist to cry out in shock and subtract 800 life points. Ringer whined a question of concern. Doom Dozer was the next to attack, following its master's orders and crawling at a fast pace. The life point meter dropped to a dangerous 400.

"You can't handle the power of my Insect deck," Lenny boasts. "No Satellite can. That runner is mine." Yusei didn't say anything, didn't need to as he drew a card calmly. Ringer's stance loosened, backing up to stand next to him.

"I summon Speed Warrior in attack mode, then activate the spell Double Summon. This allows me to summon another monster." Yusei cracked a smile. "Come on out, Junk Synchron." The monsters stood side by side, ready for their orders. Whatever clothes they had stayed in place, no turbo duel winds to make Junk Synchron's scarf twist and curl. His friends cheered, Ringer yipped next to him. They knew what he was going to do.

"I tune my Speed Warrior with my Junk Synchron and summon Junk Warrior." The monster stared at the opponent with blank red eyes. What little light seeped through the ceiling, bounced off the warrior's blueish- purple form, hiding the silver frame. White scarf hung from its neck and fell to the monster's knees.

"Wait," Lenny said, shock and utter worry across his features. "How do you own a synchro monster?" Yusei ignored his question, continuing his turn.

"I equip Fighting Spirit to my Junk Warrior. Now, for every monster on your field, he gains 300 attack points." The warrior's attack increased to 3200 in a blink of an eye. "I activate Domino Effect and send my Junk Warrior in for an attack." The metal warrior dove at it's target, and punched the monster. Chainsaw Insect roared and fell onto it's comrade, Doom Dozer, then onto Metal Armored Bug. Fighting Spirit and Scrap-Iron Scarecrow was sent to the graveyard, shattering into tiny white and yellow shards. Lenny's monsters did the same. "Since you lost monsters, your Retribution of the Ant Lion activates and takes 2400 of your Life Points. Plus, the 800 point difference between Chainsaw Insect and my Junk Warrior."

Lenny's Life Points plummeted to 0. He dropped to his butt, a look of pure shock and defeat on his face. He had lost, but stood back on his feet. Yusei ignored the bully at first, kneeling down to Ringer and stroked his head.

"Thanks, Ringer." The fox closed his eyes and gave a yip of welcome. Yusei got back to his feet, Lenny now standing next to him. The blue haired duelist offered a hand, which Yusei took. "You did have me a couple of times. You just gotta have balance in your deck."

"I'll keep that in mind," Lenny smirked. "You got skills. Maybe next time you won't be so lucky."

Yusei gave a small smile and peered down to his partner. "We'll look forward to it." The three left, but not before hanging out with the group, and apologizing to Tank, Crow, Spark, Nervin, and Blitz, for a few hours. The sun was almost under the horizon when they did leave.

The gang was getting ready for bed. Crow was chasing Spark around, trying to get his limping partner to calm down and get some sleep. Rally tried helping, though that mostly included tripping over his feet and colliding with Crow. Blitz and Nervin tried cleaning up, picking up loose ends and clearing their sleeping places. Tank pulled thin blankets and poor excuses for pillows, out and started setting them in the cleared areas.

Yusei put the finishing touches on his runner for the night, Ringer sat by his side, rushing to grab whatever tools the duelist needed. Mostly bugs and minor fixes here and there, something simple and could be done in thirty minutes, but it took a bit longer. Thoughts of his plans destined for tomorrow, plans that will change the way he and his friends will live.

He peeled his eyes from his work and to the crevasse in the ceiling, the moon now full and bright in the sky. Ringer nuzzled Yusei's arm, trying to tell him everything was going to be okay and will work out. It eased his worry and, probably, Ringer's, too.

"Hey, Yusei," Crow breathed. The younger duelist didn't lose his breath in the small chase. Spark laid in his sleeping spot on the floor next to Crow's bench in the old car, panting harder than his partner. The only remains of the chase was a tired Rally and a bit of a mess. "You gonna work on your runner all night? Or are ya gonna get some sleep?"

"I'll be there in a minute, Crow." Yusei placed the tool in his grip, back. "Just gotta put some stuff away." Crow seemed satisfied with the answer, leaving to settle down for bed. By the time Yusei was finished, everyone was already under their blankets.

Spark had found his way next to Crow, basically lying on top of the teen, wet black nose pressed to one of Crow's yellow marks. Rally took the other seat in the car, curled under his thin blanket and his light blue jacket, red hair freed from that yellow beanie. Tank laid in the middle of the car on his back, arms laid down on either side just above Nervin's and Blitz's heads. The skinny teen's glasses were set down on the table in the middle of their hangout. Blitz's bandana wrapped the piece of metal and glass, protecting it from any fall it might take.

Yusei grabbed his blanket and pillow and placed them on one of the benches just outside the subway car. He shrugged off his jacket and laid it on the floor. Ringer nosed his way under the fabric and curled up under it. Yusei kicked off his shoes, unfolded the blanket, and laid down with a hand behind his head.

"Night, guys." It was Rally who starts it, the chain of 'good night's and 'sweet dreams'. Crow answers with a sigh, throwing an arm around Spark, who didn't utter a sound. Tank was next, giving a yawned response. Nervin grumbled his, Blitz doing the same.

"Night," Yusei whispered, knowing the younger teens were already asleep. Pulling his hand out from under his head, he grabbed Ringer's ear and petting it softly. The fox gave a kind of purr, a cross between a yip and a growl. Soon, the hideout was filled with the sounds of Tank's loud snores, Blitz's heavy breathing, and Ringer's throat noise. It lulled Yusei's busy mind to sleep, reassuring the safe atmosphere.

Hey, guys. Yes, I know it's been a while since I updated this book. Hope you enjoy this chapter and ready for the next one.

~ClairvoyantTeen17