Here it comes, another episode, ready for action! You know the drill. Also, did anyone get the reference I made to Naruto in the last episode? I know Naruto is really popular so I put that in for snits and giggles.
Goodwin sat in his office chair, conversing with Cassandra, who sat across from him. She was about to ask him a question when there was a knock on the door.
"Come in, Yusei." He said, already knowing who it was.
Yusei walked in carefully, since he was still in fragile condition after his duel with Kiryu. Cassandra stood up, expecting Goodwin to send her out.
"It won't be long Cassandra. You can wait outside." He told her. Cassandra nodded politely and walked out of the room as Yusei took the seat where she had been sitting. As she exited and closed the door behind her, she put her ear to the door to listen in on the conversation.
"Am I safe to assume that this is about the arrangement I have made for Sidney to marry Jack?" Goodwin inquired, suspecting Yusei's response.
"If you really intended to protect Sidney, why did you do it?" Yusei asked.
Goodwin laughed. "You don't seem to understand the concept of 'keeping up appearances', Yusei. Sidney needs one of the Signers to look after her, and it would look odd to have someone following her around as a bodyguard, and it would seem strange to demote Jack to such a position. Besides, Jack has taken quite taken with her, I've been told. So, the idea of a marriage makes sense, doesn't it? It's a perfect disguise."
"If that's what you think of it, than I'm completely convinced this will go nowhere. Sidney isn't safe with Jack. Do you have any idea how he's been treating her?" Yusei voiced was laced with anger. On the other side of the door, Cassandra's eyes widened. Goodwin sighed.
"If the Dark Signers capture her, they'll do worse things than anything Jack might be doing…and trust me, Yusei, if there are Dark Signers in New Domino City…I can be certain at least one of them is being sent to hunt her down…Tell me, Yusei…what's your business in all of this? Why does it matter to you?"
Yusei restrained himself from losing his grip.
"Jack treats Sidney like she somehow belongs to him. He thinks he can just do whatever he wants to her and it doesn't matter what Sidney or anyone else thinks about it. Nobody should have that kind of power. It's abusive and it's hurtful."
"I can't change the way Jack expresses his passions…" Goodwin trailed off as another thought occurred to him.
"Do you think you'd make a better guardian for Sidney than Jack? Because I seriously doubt you can do anything of the sort until your injuries have healed."
"I'll do what I have to. Sidney and the rest of us are in this together…I don't want anything to happen to any of them. But it's more than just having someone to keep her safe. She needs to feel safe with that person…and I know she doesn't feel that way about Jack." Yusei explained contemptuously.
"You mean she doesn't love him? Do you think it matters how she FEELS? Do you think I have time to care about some teenage girl's feelings when I'm in a war…"
"Of course it matters! It always matters how someone feels, even if it won't change anything…" Yusei's voice started to get soft, almost heartfelt.
"You can't force a person to do something that hurts them…"
Goodwin's eyebrow rose as he made a realization.
"I think I understand. You're smitten with Sidney, aren't you?"
Yusei said nothing, as he was unsure about how to respond. Cassandra's heart beat fast as she wondered what was going to happen.
"I…I care about her! …I don't want her to be hurt or miserable." The words came out slowly and decisively.
"I see…" Goodwin closed his eyes, and there was a long silence before either of them spoke. Finally, Goodwin looked up at Yusei with a serious face. Perhaps there was a way he could use this to his advantage.
"If you can prove to me that you would be a better guardian than Jack, then I will not force Sidney to marry Jack. However, there is a catch…"
Just as he was about to tell Yusei his proposition, the darkened sky began to glow again with the faint aura of the Dark Signers as the hummingbird and lizard symbols reappeared over the Arcadia Movement Headquarters. Yusei's mark began glowing intensely. An image of Akiza appeared in his mind, along with a brief image of Sidney.
"It's Akiza! She's a in a Shadow Duel…I can feel it. But…I can sense someone else. Sidney's nearby… but what's she doing there!?"
"Well, looks like you're starting here. You'd better get going Yusei." Goodwin smirked. Yusei got up and walked to the door.
Cassandra could hear footsteps and stepped back to protect herself from being suspected by Goodwin of her eavesdropping. However, just as she stepped back, she turned around to see Lazar and Mina coming up the hall.
The knobbed turned and Yusei walked out.
"I need to get to the Arcadia Movement Headquarters."
"We saw the lights, too. But…why do you need to…?" Lazar was cut off by Yusei's interruption.
"Akiza is in a Shadow Duel and Sidney is nearby. I have to go and make sure they're ok…" He said, but remembered his Runner was back at the auto shop. Cassandra had a worried look on her face as she looked out the window at the signs.
"I can give you a ride." Mina offered. She was there when Yusei confronted Goodwin on the aircraft and had the feeling that Jack and Sidney's engagement wouldn't be in place for much longer.
Cassandra tried to speak when Lazar ushered her away.
"Goodwin called me on my why here and wishes that I take you home."
"Wait Lazar…" Cassandra looked back out the window and back at Yusei and Mina as they were leaving. The person who had sent the Shadow Drone would be coming for her again, as he had promised to her in a dream not long before.
"Let's go." Yusei nodded to Mina as he followed her down the hall and to the elevators. All he could hope for now was that things wouldn't go from bad to worse until he got there.
…
Demak piloted the black helicopter as Kiryu and Rudger sat across from each other. Rudger looked out the window, as if he was impatient.
"I'm glad the two of you agreed to come with me. After I received word that two Dark Signers had been recruited, I knew that I would have to make adjustments to my plan." He said. Demak looked ahead to keep focus, but spoke freely.
"What's so special about this Cassandra that you keep trying to capture, Rudger?"
Rudger gave him a sharp look. "It's not yet a matter that should be of concern to either of you."
"…And you asked me to leave my Runner back in the Satellite. The Oracle of Twilight is IN New Domino City; I could have a chance to go after her!" Kiryu smirked.
"It's not a good time. Here, the Oracle will be more heavily protected. And don't forget that we have the Star Princess to deal with." He warned Kiryu.
Everyone was silent.
"If we can capture her as well, I suppose she wouldn't be much of a problem now, would she?" Kiryu remarked.
"Everything has its place and time, Kiryu. We will indeed snatch the Princess from underneath them, but only when the moment is right. I have a sense that moment won't be too long from now… All I can ask is that you all have patience."
…
Sidney had quickly changed into her purple tank top and gray skirt as well as her gray short sleeved jacket, as the air began to cool as a light eerie fog swept over the streets. As they sped off down the rode, the occasionally saw lines of blazing violet flames creating a barrier around the city in the shape of the signs that hung in the air like ominous clouds.
As they got closer to the building, Sidney's marks glowed and intensified. Midori felt the dark power overwhelming her senses as her head started to ache.
"It's ok you guys, just hang in there." Laura said as she made a narrow turn down a side street since the main road was blocked. They twisted and turned and swirled around to navigate to the building, almost as if trapped in a maze due to the obstacle of the burning otherworldly fire.
It was about a half hour before they reached the building. Each of them proceeded to hop out of the car when, suddenly, a strange object appeared in the sky, hanging over the city. It looked almost like a seashell amulet, pulsing like a beating heart with dark violet veins.
"Oh no! I think an Earthbound Immortal is about to be summoned!" Sidney exclaimed as they beat on the front door, which was locked now that evening was upon the city. Midori stepped back.
"There's got to be another way in!" Midori cried. Sidney got an idea in her head as the pain from her marks intensified, signaling the coming of the Earthbound Immortal.
She whipped out a card. "Gladiator Beast Andal! Break this door down!"
The huge black, purple armored bear appeared before them and roared as it grabbed the door with its mighty claws and ripped it open, and allowed the three girls to run inside before disappearing back into its card.
As Midori looked back, she could see people in the distance disappearing into orbs of light that were drawn to the object in the sky.
The reception desk was deserted and the decorated red and gold staircase seemed go upward a long ways. Chandeliers hung in various places, still illuminating the place. They could all hear two people exchanging dialogue several floors above them as the orbs of light out side the window transformed into streams as they wrapped around the object and a dark mist formed on the ground outside.
"How are we going to get up there!? We'll be exhausted by the time we reach Akiza!" Laura gasped.
Midori got an idea. "Sidney, you can summon a monster that flies and we can fly up there! After all, isn't that one of your powers?"
Laura smiled. "Yeah! Summon Tiger Dragon! Or any of your other dragons …Just like back when Sayer kidnapped you! Of course…you can fly there yourself…"
"She can? Is that apart of her Star Princess power, too?" Midori blanked out for a bit before shaking her head. Sidney's wing and foreclaw marks started glowing more brightly as she floated up into the air. She pulled a card from her deck.
"Lunar Solstice Dragon! Give my friends a lift!"
A massive, ivory scaled Oriental dragon appeared in the lobby, with a blood red belly, feline-like midnight black eyes, red whiskers and long crimson horns. The dragon also bore a blue orb-shaped jewel on its forehead. Laura gasped as she and Midori pulled themselves onto the dragon.
"Wow…your Synchro monster is so big in real life…probably just like the other dragons…they looked pretty big even on TV, Sid!"
They held on tight as the dragon flew up several floors like an arrow shooting upwards, with Sidney floating close to it, trying to keep up.
A tremor radiated through the building, causing everyone to shake for a brief moment and fly past the two people engaged in a duel in the hallway around the staircase. The floor they were on seemed to be transformed into a coliseum, which they supposed was caused by a Field Spell of some sort.
The person on the left was Akiza, and things didn't seem to be going so well. However, her Black Rose Dragon stood on the field, its eyes blazing with furry. Akiza seemed to have a cut on her arm as well. Assuming it was a Shadow Duel, Sidney supposed, it was caused from an attack from her opponent. The other duelist had a monster largely resembling a green Medusa that hissed at Black Rose Dragon.
Lunar Solstice Dragon floated back down to hover next to Sidney, with Midori and Laura in tow. Sidney stared blankly at Akiza's opponent, completely dumbfounded when she recognized who it was.
It was Misty Treadwell, the supermodel who had spoken with herself and the young journalist, Carly at the New Domino Honors dinner. She still had the same stylish raven hair, and the emerald teardrop headpiece hanging on her forehead. But, her serene eyes were now blackened like Kiryu's had been back in the Satellite, and glowed an intensely neon around the irises. Blood-colored markings resembling lizard claws seemed to be tattooed on her face beneath her eyes, almost like Indian war paint. Her outfit consisted with a black robe with a green pattern trimming covering a similarly designed dress that she wore with a white skirt visible underneath the dress.
"Wait just a darn minute! That looks like the supermodel, Misty Treadwell!" Laura exclaimed. Misty turned her head. Her eyes were full of rage, but her face seemed as calm and serene as it always had been.
Akiza looked around too and was shocked when she saw the three girls. Lunar Solstice Dragon allowed Midori and Laura to slide off onto the opposite side of the staircase before disappearing into Sidney's deck. Sidney came to land beside them as Akiza and Misty stared at them from afar.
Misty sighed. "Sidney Clay-Jacques…you are the Star Princess! I guess my hunch was right after all. I sensed your power the night I saw you at the New Domino Honors. It's a shame you had to be one of them."
"Misty? But how?"
"I was chosen by the Immortals when I was close to death. In return for aiding their cause and becoming a Dark Signer, I get to stick around in this world. You see, they chose people who have unfinished business here. And mine is finding out what happened to my brother!"
Akiza shook her head. "For the last time! I don't know what happened!"
"You can deny all you want, Black Rose, but I know you had something to do with it, because all he could talk about before he left was YOU…" Misty pointed her finger accusingly before looking up. A faint smile ran across her face as a shout came from upstairs.
"Look's like your friend Sayer is about to lose his duel…Now, you shall lose as well, say hello to my Earthbound Immortal!"
There was another terrible tremor. Everyone looked around, but couldn't see anything. Akiza stood confidently as she scanned around for the monster.
"Where is your Earthbound Immortal? You just summoned it, didn't you?"
"Indeed I did, Black Rose. But, it is nothing like you've seen before. Just turn around and look out the window if you don't believe me."
Akiza turned around to face a nearby window, and saw a huge, green and black eye staring at her from the other side. She gasped in horror. Midori nearly fainted as her eyes grew distant. She saw a vision of the monster standing outside.
"It looks like a giant black reptile…like a lizard, with a weird green pattern all over its body…and it's almost as tall as this building!" Midori's short red hair seemed to stand up on end. Her sea green eyes widened as the creature took a deep breath that seemed more like a gust of wind. Laura's jaw dropped in disbelief.
Sidney was also frightened, but after seeing the Immortal Yusei fought against, she was as nearly taken aback. Suddenly, her marks started pulsing, and a bad feeling rose up inside of her.
"Oh man, there's another one coming…"
"Yes. My friend upstairs is dueling Sayer, and she is also a Dark Signer. She just joined us. But, I have a feeling she will win one for our side." Misty explained. Sidney got an eerie feeling. Would the new Dark Signer be someone she recognized as well?
Suddenly, light started flashing on the other side of the building as a loud screech boomed through the room. A black could of mist formed, and out of that mist, a black, bird-like creature with an orange pattern covering its body emerged. It seemed just as massive as the lizard.
"The hummingbird…" Sidney leaned against the rail in awe.
"Girl, how is that a hummingbird!? That looks more like a huge Pterodactyl than some little bird!" Laura grabbed Midori's hand as her body started shaking.
"We've got to get out of here now!" Laura exclaimed.
"No! We're not leaving without Akiza!" Sidney objected.
Akiza couldn't help but smile at her determination, even though she knew it was probably wiser for Sidney to listen to Laura.
Suddenly, there was a loud crashing noise. Sidney looked out the window to see the orange-marked creature had stabbed its beak into the side of the building. A loud scream came from upstairs and Akiza cried as she saw pieces of ceiling and light fixtures beginning to come down from above. A thick purple fog formed at the ground floor as a figure descended downward with the falling debris.
"Sayer!!!"
To be continued in Episode twenty-eight. Wow…has it really been that many episodes? Anyways, please continue to submit reviews, because I truly appreciate it. See you next time! Be here or be square!
