Update time! Since we're all stuck inside because of Coronavirus, I've got nothing better to do than to play games and write chapters. I hope all of you are staying safe in these trying times, and for any of you who do have Covid-19, stay isolated and save lives.

That's all from me, now, enjoy the return to the Satellite.


Chapter 22: Investigation of Chaos

Title Song: Those of Us Who Fight! - Phyrnna Topic


"Your drop zone is coming up! Opening rear bay!" Sarah heard the pilot call out through the intercom. As he said, the back door of the helicopter opened.

The two Satellites mounted their duel runners, and Marcus reluctantly climbed into the sidecar. "I would like for you both to know… I hate you," He groaned, before Yusei backed out of the bay, followed by Sarah.

Both runners dropped onto a slope of trash, and Sarah glided her bike down it calmly and with ease. She gripped the brakes, stopping the runner next to Yusei. The three gazed up at the helicopter flying back to Neo Domino City. As they did, they noticed light shimmering off some glass. Focusing on the glass, they realised it was a duel runner with a rider.

He had orange hair beneath a black, beak shaped helmet with plumes sticking from the sides and an orange visor. He wore a brown sleeveless jacket over an orange/yellow T-shirt and blue jeans.

Dismounting, the rider removed his helmet, revealing a spikey hair style. "You got some explaining to do pal," He said. "So start talking!" He started sliding down the rubble.

"First things first…" Yusei walked forward, the two riders raising a fist.

"You asked for it!" The orange haired young man smirked darkly. Marcus expected them to fight, so he was surprised when they grasped hands and fist-bumped.

"Hey Yusei!" The stranger said.

"Good to see you Crow," Yusei smiled back.

Marcus stared with a dumbfounded expression while Sarah walked over to the boys. "Look who it is, I see you're still rocking that ridiculous hairstyle birdbrain," She grinned, pulling Crow away from Yusei and into a hug.

"Good to see you too spook," Crow laughed. He noticed Marcus. "Who's the tagalong?" He asked.

"Oh, Crow, meet Marcus Cersy, he's volunteered to help me and Sarah with a problem the Satellite seems to be experiencing, Marcus, meet Crow Hogun," Yusei said.

Marcus walked over. "Interesting way of greeting those you know," He said.

"Don't worry, just a little inside joke between us," Crow said. "You're from the City, aren't you?"

"Anyway, what have you been up to Crow?" Yusei asked.

"Oh you know me, still fighting the good fight, robbing the rich to feed the poor, that sort of thing. I see Sector Security finally got to you," Crow shrugged, then pointed at Yusei's mark.

"He ain't the only one," Sarah pointed out.

"Yeah, well…" Yusei didn't know how to explain to Crow. "I see you finally learned how to use a wrench," He observed, looking at the runner.

"Yeah, finished her last year, she's a beauty, isn't she?" Crow grinned.

"Mind if I have a look? I'm studying duel runner mechanics in the city," Marcus asked. Crow looked to Yusei, then nodded.

Marcus examined the machine, "Whoa… this thing is cool, I'm seeing a theme here…"

"I call her the Blackbird, aside from my deck and my nest, she's one of my most important treasures," Crow said.

"Are you a Winged-Beast user Crow?" Marcus asked.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Crow asked.

"The name, the runner, Sarah's comment," Marcus said. "Maybe one day, we could have a duel."

"Maybe. Oi! Kyrian! You alive back there?" Crow called.

"It's a bust dude, no CPU in here," A voice called back, as a second young man walked over the hill.

Marcus' eyes widened slightly. He was wearing a tattered black and red hoodie with the wings of a dragon on the back, scuffed and ripped dark blue jeans and a pair of black fingerless gloves. On his face, from his right eye to his mouth was a yellow facility mark.

His eyes flicked between Yusei, Sarah, then set on Marcus. "I'll head back to the nest, don't worry about me, remember, I'm faster than you on foot."

Marcus' fist clenched. That was him… Emma's friend… He thought. I've got to get a chance to talk to him, tell him about her.

"Now that introductions are aside, how about we hit the streets for old times sake?" Crow asked.

"Sure," Yusei nodded.

"I'm game," Sarah added.

"Am I invited?" Marcus asked.

Mounting up, the three runners and four riders took off down the broken road, all participants enjoying the fast-paced ride.


After a couple of races around the block, they stopped overlooking the plaza. "So Goodwin captured your friends and forced you to compete in that tournament?" Crow asked. "And he threatened old man Mako with a trip to the Facility if Sarah and Kione didn't join in?"

"That's right, fortunately, my finishing placement in the Fortune Cup was apparently acceptable to the point that Mako got away free, but we're not sure about Rally and the gang," Sarah frowned.

"That's partially why we came here, because we want to check on them," Yusei said.

Marcus was sitting on the side, listening quietly to the three Satallite residents talking. "Hey Crow…" He asked. "Is… it always this deserted?" He asked.

"Nah, it's gotten crazy quiet lately, these wacky cats have been preaching around, gathering Satallite members and taking them deep into the industrial sector," Crow said. "Look down there," He pointed to a pair of dark robed individuals leading some people. "They spout these weird teachings and get you to follow them."

"Then we'd better look into this. But first we check on my friends," Yusei said.

"Then let's head on over to your old hideout," Crow suggested.


"What?!" Daiki asked. "Marcus and Sarah went with Yusei into the Satallite?!" He was on the phone to Goodwin.

"They volunteered. I am glad though. Both will be invaluable to helping Yusei in these times," Goodwin explained. "How goes your own investigations?"

"Kione and Emma went to see Leo and Luna, to make sure they stay safe. Jack's gone off the grid, haven't heard a peep from his deflated ego lately," Daiki said, choosing not to reveal that a fan of his had carefully extracted him from the hospital.

"I'll have someone look into that," Goodwin dismissed the worry.

"As for me? I'm trying to decide the best way to get into the Arcadia Building to see Akiza," Daiki reported.

"Good thinking, we will need her help in this fight to come," Goodwin said. "I'll let you figure out the best way to proceed."

"Of course Director. Now if you'll excuse me," Daiki ended the call. Emergency Teleport would work, but they'll detect it right away. I might have to try something a little more… unorthodox… He thought.


Marcus was back in the sidecar as the Black Spirit trailed behind Yusei and Crow. "Hey Yusei!" A young voice called out into the tunnel. Marcus spotted a subway station ahead, with tarps and tents, as well as a ramp. "You came back!" A young boy smiled. He wore a yellow bandana over brown/red hair, and a tattered blue coat over a yellow shirt and ripped pants that looked a size too big.

He was flanked by Blister and a scrawny young man with dark blue hair, small spectacles and wearing a white shirt over a dark green waist coat and brown pants. "Hey there Yusei!" He cheered.

"Yusei?!" A short but well-built young man asked, poking his head up.

"Did you say Yusei?" Asked another, wearing a blue bandana. He was around the same height as the smartly dressed man.

Yusei dismounted, tossing aside his helmet. "Did I miss anything?" He asked with a smile.

"The craziest things happened while you were gone Yusei," the boy ran up, hugging him.

"Well now that I'm back, I'm going to set things straight," Yusei grinned.

The two in the back walked over, the shorter man was wearing a brown waistcoat held together by one button. Under this was a grey sleeveless shirt, and he wore black pants held by a belt. His friend in the bandana wore a white shirt over a blue long-sleeved shirt and blue jeans.

"Blister, thanks for looking after my friends," Yusei addressed the only familiar face to Marcus.

"Not a problem," Blister shrugged.

"So… is this an exclusive club or can anyone join?" Crow walked up, removing his helmet.

"And is it a boys-only club?" Sarah smirked, doing the same.

"Whoa, hey there Crow, almost didn't recognise you with the helmet and the runner," the bulky man said.

"And Sarah, haven't seen you in forever!" The spectacled man said.

"Marcus, I want you to meet my friends," Yusei said. "Meet Tank, Blitz and Nervin," He said, pointing to short, bandana and spectacles. "And this is Rally," He put a hand on the kid. "Guys, meet Marcus, he was a big help to me in the city."

The group all nodded respectably to him, as he saluted back. Rally walked up, "Thank you for helping him, he's kinda my role model."

"No problem kid. He's an inspiration to us all," Marcus smiled back.

Crow turned to his runner, puffing up his chest. "Yeah, Yusei's not the only turbo-charged turbo duellist in the Satallite anymore. And it ain't just me either." At this, Sarah smiled, leaning against her own bike.

"This is Security!" A loud voice blared through a megaphone above them as sirens blared. "ID No. AWX74098, give yourself up!"

"Heh, and they're not the only ones with a knack for ticking off Security," Crow added, tapping the line on the left of his face.

A small sphere dropped in, before exploding with smoke. "They're trying to smoke us out?! Nervin asked.

"We need to split up. Let's meet at the Daedalus Bridge in two hours, that's where my hideout is," Crow said.

"Roger that. Runners, let's give them a distraction, something to chase," Sarah suggested.

Crow took the lead, shooting up the stairs and out into the open streets. Yusei soon gave chase, worried about his friend. Marcus settled into the sidecar and gripped tightly. "You ready down there?" Sarah asked.

"All set. Let's go!" Marcus nodded, grunting as Sarah revved up the stairs, before peeling into a quick U-turn, speeding past a fancy Security truck.

Inside, two Security agents were about to begin a duel against Crow, when they got an alert of a nearby runner.

"Secondary suspect identified as Sarah Radcliffe!" The first cop said.

"It's not her sister in the sidecar though. Running facial recognition…" His ally said. The screen ran a scan, flicking through hundreds of faces before stopping on one. "Identified as Marcus Cersy, the duellist who tied with her in the Fortune Cup."

"What are they and Yusei doing in the Satallite?" Asked the first man.

"Who cares, they're aiding a fugitive!" The second said, he activated his radio. "Requesting backup chasers to pursue black and purple duel runner heading southbound on Viewpoint!"


"You think we got their attention?" Asked Marcus, glancing back.

"Yup, I think we did," Sarah said.

"Duel Runner signatures closing fast," Said the computer. Marcus glanced at the small screen on the inner rim of the sidecar, two red dots were coming up from behind.

"We're taking the Viewpoint highway, hang on," Sarah called, yanking the controls. "Just in case, you might wanna put your deck in the sidecar, I dunno what these guys have been working on since we left here."

Marcus did so, fascinated by the fact the sidecar was a miniature duel runner. "Amazing…" He said.

"ID No. AWR60009, you are wanted for assisting a known fugitive, pull over for questioning!" Demanded one of the officers. Marcus raised a brow when he heard the woman speak up.

"No chance officers, Crow's our friend, we won't let you have him! Not now, not ever!" Sarah called back.

"And what about you Mr Cersy? What's your role in all this?" Asked the second officer, a man.

"The friend of my friend, is my ally. Until he gives me a reason to turn him in, I will not let him get put back in the facility," Marcus spoke up.

Sarah smiled down to him. "Nice comeback, brace yourself, because here they come!"

"Fine, if you two won't come easily, we'll have to duel you and force you to surrender! I activate the Speed World Field Spell!"

Marcus blinked as the screen in front of him came to life, the five monster zones, spell/trap slots and deck zone swelling to life with Momentum.

"Not how I expected to have my first turbo duel!" He called up to his partner in crime. "Not to worry though. I always thought this day would come; I've had a Turbo deck in the works for a few years now. Duel Academy provided those on our course with speed spells and traps to make a proper deck!"

"I like a guy that comes prepared!" She blinked when her screen and Marcus' both switched to duel mode. "Looks like they caught both of us in the Speed World field! I'm guessing it's a tag duel!"

"Bring it on!" Marcus smiled.

"DUEL!"


Sector Security: 4000 SC: 0
Marcus/Sarah: 4000 SC: 0


"My move!" Officer 1 spoke.

"Sorry to interrupt, but do you two have names? I feel better duelling those I know the name of," Marcus asked.

"If you must know, I'm Officer Juliet," The first officer spoke.

"And I'm Officer Cal," Her partner added.


All: SC: 1


Juliet slapped down a card. "I'll start by summoning Gate Blocker in defence mode!"

"GODDAMNIT!" Sarah yelled as a familiar orange and black wall with an eye appeared before the four wheeled runner.


Gate Blocker – EARTH/Rock – Lvl 4 – (100/2000).


"You duelled Officer Trudge in the Fortune Cup, correct? So, you'll obviously remember this lovely piece of hardware," She said. "However, we got some upgrades. Meet Gate Blocker II!" The wall got much larger, with two eyes open instead.


Gate Blocker II – EARTH/Rock – Lvl 6 – (100/3000).


"I can summon this monster by releasing Gate Blocker. And he has the same effect as the normal one," Juliet laughed. She slapped down a facedown.

"OH COME ON!" Sarah griped.

Marcus was next. He looked at his hand, noticing that it was a good start. "I draw!"


SS: SC: 2
M/S: SC: 1


"I see why you hate this thing. It stops every viable play! Don't worry, let me set the stage," Marcus said to Sarah. "I have to get the ball rolling, so I'm going to open with a bang! Overboost speed spell activate! This increases our speed counters by six, but they come right back down when I'm done with my turn."


M/S: SC: 7


"Next, I'll play Angel Baton! Since I have two or more speed counters, which I obviously do, I can draw twice, but must send a card in my hand to the grave!" He drew, grinning at what he pulled.

Hello my lord… He thought, before putting a card into the graveyard.

"Next, another speed spell, Trade In! Also if I have two or more speed counters, I can discard a level 8 monster to draw twice," Marcus said.

He put another card in the graveyard.

"Finally, before I summon normally, I'll play Summon Speeder!" Another speed spell. "And since I have four or more counters, I can summon a level 4 or lower monster! I'll bring out Galaxy Serpent!"

Marcus finally graced the field with a monster. His faithful little dragon with white and stary scales appeared.


Galaxy Serpent – LIGHT/Dragon – Lvl 2 – (1000/0).


"But I'm not done there! Now I summon Eclipse Wyvern!" He called out.

Marcus smiled at the appearance of his monster, the mix of a black and white dragon appeared, on one side, there were red vein-like lines, and on the other, there were blue.


Eclipse Wyvern – LIGHT/Dragon – Lvl 4 – (1600/1000).


"Galaxy Serpent! Give Eclipse Wyvern a tune up!" Both dragons burst into the air. "Mighty Dragon; spread your crimson wings and soar to new heights! Synchro Summon! Soul of Scarlet, Red Wyvern!" Marcus chanted. The monster that emerged from the bright green flash was a red draconic monster, with two wings, legs and a long tail snaking behind it.


Red Wyvern – FIRE/Dragon – Lvl 6 – (2400/1000).


"I'll place two face-downs and end my turn!" He said.


M/S: SC: 1


"Whoa, you don't mess around do you?" Sarah asked him.

"Nope, and I'm not even close to being done with my plays," Marcus winked back up to her.

"My draw!" Cal called out.


SS: SC: 3
M/S: SC: 1


"Just gonna pause you right there officer, I want to even the playing field a slight bit, so I'll play the effect of Arkbrave Dragon in my graveyard!" Marcus called.

"What? You don't have him in your graveyard!" Cal protested.

"I did when Angel Baton happened. Now that she's in my graveyard, in the standby phase after she was put there, I can use this power and summon a mighty ally of hers, the only requirement being that they must be level 7 or 8! Now, please put your hands together and give a huge Satellite welcome to my lord, Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand!" Marcus yelled. "Go Draconic Resurection!"

A shining silver light appeared, before being drowned in gold. Marcus smiled as he watched his ace take flight and join them, flapping his large wings with amazing grace.


Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand – LIGHT/Dragon – Lvl 8 – (2800/2800).


"Marcus, if we get out of this, I might buy you your own duel runner!" Sarah grinned. "Do your thing Felgrand!"

Marcus nodded with a laugh. "She has the right idea! See, when my lord Felgrand is revived from the grave, he comes with some special features. He can target any monster on your field, or in your graveyard and remove it from play."

Gate Blocker 2 suddenly began to shine with gold light, before getting swallowed into Felgrand's maw. "And my lord gains 100 attack and defence points for every level your monster had. Six levels means 600 points!" Marcus grinned.


Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand – (3400/3400).


"Just try to overcome him!" Marcus grinned.

Cal growled. He looked at his hand, before smirking slightly. "This should look familiar, Angel Baton speed spell!" He called, drawing two, then discarding one card.

"Perfect. I summon Gate Defender in defence mode!" He called out. The new monster was a large head made of stone. Two yellow eyes shone as they examined the field.


Gate Defender – EARTH/Rock – Lvl 4 – (0/2000).


"Another Gate monster? What does this one do?" Sarah asked.

"I'm glad you asked. Once a turn, I can negate one attack you begin," He said.

"At this point, I'll cut in! I play my facedown, Defender's Mind!" Juliet called out. "With this trap, all monsters on our field are switched to defence mode, and then their defence points are doubled!"


Gate Defender – (0/4000).


"Not even your dragons will beat that!" She snarked.

"For now, maybe," Marcus shrugged.

Cal smiled, "Thanks for that, I'll place a facedown and end my turn."

"Then I'm up!" Sarah said, pulling her card.


SS: SC: 4
M/S: SC: 2


"I think this is the best time for this little baby," Marcus interjected, causing the officers to gasp as the card flipped up.

"No way! Slipstream!?" They both were shocked.

"Marcus, you are amazing!" Sarah beamed from ear to ear.

"Slipstream means that we can finally have some speed to make a decent play, we get speed counters to match yours!" Marcus explained.


M/S: SC: 4


"How good is your remaining backrow?" Sarah asked.

"A+," Marcus smirked. "But I've got this sneaky feeling we won't need it."

"Alright then, with the power given to me by my teammate, let's get busy!" Sarah said. "First, I'll play my own Speed Spell – Trade in, ditching a level 8 to draw 2." She pulled her cards and couldn't help but laugh.

"Here we go! At the cost of four speed counters, I activate the powerful speed spell, Advanced Ritual Art!" Sarah called out. "I'll be sending Dragon Core Hexer from my deck to the grave, allowing me ritual summon!" Eight flames lit around her, before moving ahead, drawing out a monster shape.

"Wings of brilliance, spread now and show true power! Ritual Summon! Divinity descends! Shinobaron Peacock!" She called out in chant.


Shinobaron Peacock – WIND/Winged-Beast – Lvl 8 – (3000/2500).


The male of her ritual aces graced the field, with a small crown on his head, a white and blue kimono with the pattern of a peacock's feathers all over, a black belt across his chest, golden sleeves and a sword in his hand

"I'll give you a chance to surrender without me thrashing you into the ground," Sarah offered.

"Like we'd even do that, just finish us already!" Cal growled.

"Alright, Baron, do your thing. See, when he's summoned, up to three monsters you control are returned to the hand." Gate Defender shot back to Cal. "And I can summon another level 4 spirit monster from my hand, ignoring any restrictions. I choose to introduce you to the ever faithful servant. Shinobird Crane!"

Her reliable birdwoman appeared, bow in hand.


Shinobird Crane – WIND/Winged-Beast – Lvl 4 – (1500/1500).


"Now, Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand, Shinobaron Peacock, together now! Attack!" Sarah called out, their signature monsters looking at each other, before Felgrand breathed golden light onto Shinobaron's sword, who slashed it.


SS: 0
M/S: 4000


"Thanks for the chance to test my turbo deck!" Marcus waved, as the Security runners powered down.

"Smell ya later pigs!" Sarah grinned.


Emma: Wow, you guys kicked butt!

Kione: Hah! That'll teach Security to keep away from big sis!

Daiki: I think next up is my own task.

All: Next time: Operation Black Rose!