Chapter Ten

Bonnie & Clyde

A shrill scream prevented my response. The kid from Crash Town ran towards Rain and attempted to tackle her. She stood strong at first, but he struck her midsection with his fists. Her face twisted in pain, her arm wrapped around her ribs, and she toppled. The kid shouted, "Kalin, run! Rain's one of the bad guys, and she hates you!"

I sighed and dropped to a knee beside her. "Are you alright?"

Rain remained flat on her back and yelled, "You little idiot! I was lying! Don't you get it? Someone's always listening in Crash Town, so I lied to you!"

"H-huh?" West's expression collapsed in guilt. "Oh. Uh. Sorry."

"I'm surprised you couldn't tell," I mumbled. I hooked an arm under Rain's back and helped her to a sitting position. Heavy breaths racked her body. "You can rest here-"

Her burning glare gave me pause. "There's no time. We have to make sure everything's running as smoothly as possible with what's happening in the mines."

"…What are you talking about?"

Rain's eyebrows furrowed. "You don't know? All of the collars are deactivated. Isn't that how you got out?"

"Are you serious?" West shouted. "That means dad can escape!"

"Hold on. That's not how I got out. How do you know they…" I thinned my eyes at her. "What, exactly, was that explosion?"

She coughed into her fist. "I, um, learned from the guy running the place that if a certain machine went down, so did all the collars. The machine… broke."

"Jesus," I muttered, looking to the night sky. "You're incredible."

"What're we waiting for?" West ran towards the mountain and hauled himself up the side. "We have to go save my dad!"

"Right. Knowing those assholes, they're probably rounding them up like animals. I'm going back!" I shot to my feet. A pull on my duster's tail kept me from moving forward. "Rain? What's wrong?"

"I, um." Her hand dropped. "C-could you help me stand?"

"Yeah. Yeah, of course." I knelt and offered my arm. She held on with all of her weight, and I stood slowly. Her legs were shaking. The sight numbed my heart. I whispered, "It's okay. You've done plenty. I'll take care of the rest. I promise."

Rain released me and took slow, sure steps past the gun disk graves. By the time she reached her destination – a brown-tinted runner – sweat beaded her forehead. She sat sideways on it. "Do me a favor… and show them freedom like a true Satellite can."

My focus held onto the palm of my right hand. Satellite, with goddamned Security flexing their goddamned power over anyone and everyone they wanted to. The red scarves in the mines acted the same, whether it was someone like me or someone innocent like Sergio. I clenched my fist. "Everyone should have their right to true freedom."

"I'll join you when I can," she said. "In the meantime, we'll take a little break from our 'no hurting,' okay? Until this is over, at least."

Her lopsided smile suggested she took many breaks. I returned it, saying, "If you're allowing it."

West hollered, "Hey, what are you guys waiting for?"

I faced the mountain with determination I didn't know I missed. "Hey, partner. Thanks for giving me the best duel I've had in a long time."

"Someone has to keep you humble."

"What did you just say?"

She cupped her ear and pressed her finger against her lips. "Can you hear that? It's a small, gentle sound, I know, but I hear it in the distance… yes, the asses in the mountain. They are in desperate need of kicking."

I grunted and started up the ridge. "I'm not forgetting what you said."

"Because I'm so afraid of a quitter!" she shouted back.

I sighed through my nostrils and remained silent the rest of the way. The kid was having an animated conversation with his sister and Yusei. "Then there was this sparkling black dragon, and wham! Kalin got totally wrecked!"

"…Um."

"Oh! Hey, Kalin! I didn't realize you'd be… back," he said. "I was just telling Nico and Yusei about what all Rain did! And that she's not evil anymore."

Yusei grasped his own chin. "It's this 'Rain' who's the source of chaos in the mines, then. Kalin, is that the girl you-"

I held up a hand. "Let's not talk about it. The point is, I'm done being a complete jackass. Again."

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself," my old teammate said.

"…You have no goddamned right to say that to me." Before he could retort, I said, "Focus on what's important. We're going into the mines to free everyone."

He huffed, no doubt at my stubbornness. "Okay, but you really think this kid should come?"

"I can't exactly stop him."

He pumped a fist into the air. His sister appeared at his side and asked, "Are you sure? It'll be dangerous."

"You know we have to help dad!"

"Alright, then I'm going, too." West nodded, grabbed her hand, and ran up the mountain. A rumbling in the distance had me rooted in place.

Engines? Ah, shit. "We have to hide."

Yusei straddled his red duel runner. "I'll distract them while you three go in. I'll find you later."

The kids and I ducked into a tunnel and watched the lights fly by. Nico said, "I knew he'd need his runner. It's a good thing we brought it."

"…Are you sure you weren't followed?" They exchanged concerned looks. "Whatever. Yusei will take care of them. I know where your father is."

West's jaw dropped. "You saw him?"

"Look. We can use this to go faster." Nico pointed at an old mine cart on a set of tracks. The dark tunnel yawning before us breathed hot air and carried the sound of distant shouting.

West hopped in and yelled, "Kalin, push!"

"…Are you always this demanding?"

Nico jumped in beside him. "Please?"

"I didn't say I wasn't going to do it." I pushed it forward until it had enough force to move by itself then leapt in beside them. Squeaking wheels chugged over rumbling rails. Warm air whistled past us and picked up my lengthy tendrils of hair.

Nico and West sat with their backs against the cart. Nico hugged her legs and asked, "What was our dad like? Did he talk to you?"

"Yes." I watched for any sign of light. We rushed through the dark. A curious thrill associated with the sheer mystery of where we were headed rushed adrenaline through me. "He said he thinks about you two every day and wants to see you again more than anything."

The corners of West's eyes sparkled. "Does that mean-"

"Incoming," I said. Light blinded us. Before I could adjust, the cart came to an abrupt halt. The three of us were tossed flat on our backs. I groaned, blinked, and sat up. Discarded pickaxes and metal collars surrounded us. A nearby holler caught my attention. West and Nico started to stand; I held out my arm. "Stay here."

A group of miners were cornered by two red scarves pointing guns at their chests. The miners had their hands behind their heads. One of the red scarves exclaimed, "Don't move or you'll end up like that poor sucker."

He jerked the barrel towards a man twitching on the ground. Though he was clearly incapacitated, I saw no blood on him. They must've been using stun guns. Made sense… they wouldn't want to damage their property.

I strode forward and slung my arm around the nearest red scarf's neck. He struggled against the headlock. I ripped the gun from his loosened grasp. I kept his body as a shield between me and the other slaver. He shot wildly. Two yellow orbs streaked past me. The third struck my shield's chest. I wouldn't be able to hold him with one arm if he were limp, so I fired at the red scarf with my stolen weapon. His hand reached for his shoulder before he collapsed.

"Why do you always have to cause problems, Kessler," he hissed.

One of the former slaves brushed his hands off on his pants. "Obviously he's here to make it up to his master."

I stooped over the other red scarf, swiped his gun, and threw it at Ramon. It hopped in his hands a couple of times before he fully caught it. I said, "Make yourself useful and get this group out of here."

"What did you say to me? Don't you realize who you're talking to?"

"A loser," I said, "just like the rest of us."

"Why're you helping us now?" asked one of Ramon's companions. He and a few others I recognized while others I didn't. They all pinned me with the same judgemental glare.

…How much of this had I created? "If you don't hurry, you'll be cornered again. We didn't pass anyone in the cavern by the mine cart. It's your safest bet to escape this hellhole."

Ramon didn't need more convincing. The others reluctantly followed. I walked to the top of a nearby hill. West and Nico appeared at my flanks. West said, "That was so cool how you-"

"The last time I saw your father, he was near that conveyer belt." I slid down the dusty ridge. The guard who'd led Sergio away had been headed towards a cavern opening. "They took him this way."

I peered into the next chamber. The kids were behind me. I hoped they'd stay quiet this time. The group of red scarves appeared to be more in control of the situation than the last. Two stalked around several slaves, whose wrists were bound by rope. I spotted Sergio among them. Two other slavers were chatting close to my location. One was expressing concern about whether Malcolm would show or not and if the special-tasked runner riders would manage to round up the massive number of escapees.

I whipped the barrel towards the nearest slavers and fired two blasts. Two bodies fell to the dust. I could hear their loud complaints as I dove to a nearby cluster of rocks. Shot after shot whisked over the boulders.

"The backup finally showed! Get over here and lend a hand!"

I peeked above a rock and fired at the newcomer. Disbelief paralyzed me as I worked through what I was seeing. My bullet bounced off of a shiny surface and into one of the original guards, who fell limp among the slaves.

"You're a damn fine shot, Kessler!" Rain grinned and spun whatever it was she held in her hands. She strolled to the nearest red scarf. He was aiming at me and clicking away at his empty ignition. She bashed the back of his skull and watched him crumple.

Rain touched the deck at her side, and an alien monster appeared. It passed her one of its swords; she sliced apart Sergio's bonds. He rubbed at his wrists and commented, "That scarf came in handy. You're a regular snake in the sand, Rain."

She was busy cutting through other slaves' ropes. Her monster was working with her, and any people it neared tensed when it knelt beside them. She said, "You're leaving with Kalin and the other two. Go back the way you came, partner. I'll take care of these folks while you save him."

Sergio asked, "What do you mean 'the other two?'"

"Dad!" the kids shouted together and ran into their father's arms. The relief washing over him was plain on his face. It took the form of tears for West and Nico.

"Demon!" One of the fallen slavers twitched his fingers. I guessed it was all he could do. "You're supposed to be on our side!"

"I'm supposed to be an outlaw. I chase what I want, sides be damned." Rain cut through more bonds. The already free slaves were helping alongside her, working together to untie their comrades. She said, "Kalin. Why is Yusei dueling?"

"He distracted some red scarves on duel runners who were after us. How do you know he's dueling?"

Her eyes rose to mine, and I swore I saw the color red in her irises for a split second. "Hunch. Get them out of here, please. You can come back later and help out if you feel the need."

"But you-" She glared at me with too-familiar fury. "Alright, alright. I wanted to know, though. How'd you deflect the shot?"

Rain glanced at the blade she'd borrowed from her monster. "I'll tell you later. Time is of the essence, as they say."

For someone begging honesty, she dodged a lot of questions. I approached Sergio. "Sorry to break up the reunion, but we need to split."

"Of course," he said. The children remained attached to him. "Let's go, West, Nico. We'll follow you."

I guided them to the conveyer built, and the four of us clambered up the incline. The two incapacitated guards shouted, "They're in here! Get 'em!"

The faint roar of engines reached me. "Shit. Back in the cart!"

West and Nico hopped in the same mine cart we'd arrived in. Sergio asked, "What's happening? Where are we going?"

"Just push it, dad!" West urged. It was nice to know not even his father was spared from the aggression. He helped me apply enough force to the mine cart for it to move on its own. By the time we jumped in beside the kids, three headlights flickered behind us.

The trio of approaching duel runners gained on us quickly. We ducked into the mine cart, and shocks sailed over our heads. I popped up and fired once. A man grunted, and a duel runner skidded out of control. I fired at another but heard a faint click. I threw the empty gun at them for good measure but missed.

I dropped to a knee. Nico had her hands covering her head. "What do we do? Now you can't hit them!"

"…I wouldn't be too sure of that."

I hauled myself over the mine cart and leapt at one of the runners. I landed my fist on his cheek and grappled control of his runner away from him. He fell into the tunnel's dirt rolling.

A whip snatched onto my arm. The last red scarf yanked at me, and my grip was slipping. Another runner zoomed past his. He had backup, and I was about to fall. West, Nico, and Sergio would have to fend for themselves-

Brakes squealed. The red scarf's jaw crunched against a stiff arm. His whip fell, he tumbled off, and the runner that had stopped sped up to meet me in milliseconds. Passing lights fell upon the rider's black visor, revealing a pair of blue eyes. She loosed a maniacal laugh. "Son of a bitch got totally clotheslined! That was hilarious!"

I wanted to speak but I couldn't think beyond the sight of her eyes under her helmet and the terrible scratches on the side of her runner's frame. A distant shout ringing with frustration and desperation split my mind: "How are you not getting this through your thick skull? No freedom is worth losing you!"

"Hell-ooo?" Rain called. "Whatever. That's totally fine. Just gloss over how amazing that was."

"Of course it was," I said. "You rescued me. Again. You know how to show up at the right time."

"You do tend to get caught in less than ideal situations when you play hero."

…Play? "I need to ask you something."

"I got it!" Nico leaned over the mine cart and exclaimed, "Bonnie and Clyde. I got it, Rain!"

"…What is she talking about?"

"Watch out," Rain said, tactically ignoring every question again. "You might want to hop in with them."

I followed her line of sight to where the tunnel was rapidly coming to an end. I leapt off of the stolen runner and clambered into the cart. Nico wore a silly smile and West was babbling about "cool action moves" to his father. Rain was forced to turn brake as we were carried into a circular chamber holding only cart tracks. I doubted they would carry her runner if she tried to follow.

I said, "This didn't happen when we took this path before. It led outside the mountain."

"Someone probably changed the tracks," Sergio explained. He pointed to a ripped apart section of track, which would send us falling into the abyss we were spiraling around. Judging by the dark depths, we likely wouldn't survive. "Someone who wanted us to go that direction."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/

My runner's wheels halted dangerously close to the edge. Pebbles tumbled into the gaping hole leading to the mountain's heart. I watched Kalin, Sergio, Nico, and West round the deep cavern.

Adrenaline exploded from my heart. The ancient energy of the Crimson Dragon known as the crimson spark flowed through my veins; my incisors extended into fangs, and my eyes transformed to red. The ruby red glow of a sign, the Crimson Dragon's head, sparkled in my mind's eye. The Dragon said, Yusei is in danger. He requires your aid. I will guide you to him.

I readjusted my runner and followed the Dragon's instructions. He led me down a divergent tunnel. The end held a jagged wall surrounded by lanterns and pickaxes. "What now?"

The wall is thin. We will break through.

"As usual, by we, you mean me, don't you?"

Crimson line patterns lit up where my skin was bare. The Crimson Dragon broke free of me and shattered through the wall. I revved along with his flight path. You can provide your gracious praise later, young dragon.

He retreated into his vessel: my body. I smiled with fangs and pushed my runner to its limits. The Orichalcos energy fueling it allowed me to catch up to the two dueling runners deeper into the tunnel in seconds.

Yusei's red rocket sped beside Lawton's massive, black runner. Yusei called, "I halve the attack of my Drill Warrior, allowing it to attack you directly! Its attack is 1200, 200 more than enough to drop your life points to zero!"

Why, exactly, does he need my help?

The Crimson Dragon said, Keep with them.

"Not so fast. I can remove my trap, Explosive Wall, from play!" Lawton said. "This removes from play your attacking monster and every card I control-"

Metal screamed against metal. A mine cart merged into our tunnel and slammed into Lawton's runner. He spun out of control and struggled to regain it. Kalin said, "Am I interrupting something?"

He's here. He's here he's here, and there's light at the end of the tunnel. Wait. Why were there only three people in the cart? Where was-

"Demon!" Lawton had broken his focus from the newcomers and was watching me. "Prove who you work for. Use those powers Malcolm praises and take care of these punks!"

I was caught so off-guard by the request a laugh tumbled out of me. "Oh, my bad. I completely forgot you thought I was on your side. Fact is, Lawton, you're surrounded by a team."

I expected him to roar about me being a traitor or fall into despair knowing he was cornered. Instead, he was silent. Contemplative. The crimson spark alarmed me as he pulled two items from his runner: a lighter and a stick of dynamite. Orange sparks flew from the fuse. "Then you've chosen to go down as a team."

Yusei pleaded, "Don't do this-"

Lawton lobbed the dynamite at us. He braked and watched us with a satisfied smile.

I swore to wipe it away. The Crimson Dragon materialized and carried the mine cart and Yusei's runner in his claws. I swiped the flying dynamite into my hand. The fuse was less than a centimeter and burning swiftly. I turn-braked and threw it back at Lawton. His mouth evened in shock. I was almost happy before the fuse sizzled out too soon.

The dynamite exploded in my face. The Crimson Dragon was forced to return to me as a sudden slam of pain stole my consciousness.