"So…"
Lazar shielded his eyes from the glare of a desk lamp. Jack had insisted on setting up an interrogation room. He'd strung up a sheet to block out any other light. Before anyone could say otherwise, Jack had hauled Lazar away.
"Time to spill it," Jack growled, angling the lamp further into Lazar's eyes. "You promised to tell us everything."
Bruno, Crow, Yusei, Lise, Leo, Luna, Akiza, Carly, and even Sherry stared at Lazar. The clown gulped and laughed a little bit. There were many expectant faces staring at him, more than he'd imagined.
"Talk already!" Sherry threw a card impatiently.
Lazar squealed and dodged the card.
"What iz zhe relationship between zhe Public Security Maintenance Bureau and Yliaster?"
The clown cleared his throat, regaining his composure. "Well, first of all, I did enter the Public Security Maintenance Bureau. After that, Yliaster became further involved." Lazar pulled up a ramen cup. "Everything all started with this cup ramen…"
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Lise muttered. This was turning into a longer story than they'd bargained for.
Lazar ignored her. "My family has run a small circus tent for years, but only a few people came. Which meant we were short on daily meals as well."
Jack gasped and slammed his hands down on the table separating Lazar from everyone else. "Damnit, where did you get my Spicy Red Dragon Noodles?!" He pointed dramatically. "It's the very last one! Give it back!"
Carly's hand fell on his friend's shoulder. "Calm down, Jack. He's just getting started. We need his info."
"Fine!" Jack growled. He turned his back and crossed his arms. His lips set in a definitive pout. "Eat it!"
"Yes!" Lazar slurped up a mouthful. "Delicious!"
Jack sniffled, tears blooming in the corners of his eyes. "Of course! Now keep talking!"
Akiza rolled her eyes. He's so worked up over noodles.
"Yes, someone introduced me to cup ramen. My mother. She did what she could to feed us, even selling some of the circus costumes. All for us to have one cup ramen."
"Oh damn," Lise's eyes widened. "Ya'll were super poor."
Lazar nodded. "The best cup ramen I ever had was on my birthday all those years ago." The clown had a wistful look in eyes, tears flowing down his cheeks. "Ramen will always be delicious thanks to my mother."
"Wow, clowns go through rough times too," Crow inclined his head a tad.
Jack was also sobbing. The feeling of sharing ramen when they were little kids? It all came flooding back to him. Lise, Yusei, Crow, and himself all eating cup ramen together was something he still cherished. "I know exactly how that feels! At Martha's house, we always shared our ramen with friends! I will never forget that sweet taste! Take this!" He started slamming box after box of ramen down on the table. "Take all of this back for your family!"
"I thought he said that was the last one?" Leo frowned, pointing at the cup still steaming in Lazar's hands.
"Such rare products! Are you sure?!"
Jack grabbed Lazar's clasped hands. "Absolutely! I, Jack Atlas, am surer than I have ever been!"
Carly paused in writing her notes. "Thanks for that, Jack."
"This is all nice, but what does this story have to do with Yliaster?" Yusei crossed his arms. His patience was wearing out. We're SO close to answers and all they can think about is ramen?
Sherry decided she'd had enough too. She sliced through one of the six ramen boxes, ruining all the cups inside. The rest toppled to the floor.
"D-Don't worry! I'll get back on topic!"
"Faster, si vous plait."
"Of course. From that birthday on, I swore to eat cup ramen. I wanted to help feed my family, so I started working for Public Security. I became Director Goodwin's Secretary. Eventually I was promoted to Vice Director. I was able to give cup ramen as a gift to my family and even my parents." Lazar paused to finish off his current cup ramen.
"What about Yliaster?" Sherry yanked Lazar up into the air by his collar. "I'm waiting to 'ear about zhem, not your life story!"
"Whoa, easy Sherry. As much as I'd like to punch him too, he's not gonna tell us anything if he's in the hospital," Lise reasoned.
Sherry released Lazar. Slowly. Her green eyes bore into the small man.
"Are you avoiding talking about Yliaster?" Bruno asked softly.
"Well…it's still hard. I don't want any harm circling back to my family."
Crow smirked. "Well, I'd be a lot more worried about the people here doing you harm before Yliaster." He tapped his chin thoughtfully, his eyes indicating his friends, Sherry especially. She cracked her knuckles accordingly.
"Right…"
Yusei took a deep breath. "If we don't find out what else is coming in our fight, then no one will be able to enjoy cup ramen and smile anymore. The city could be destroyed with no one left."
Lazar sighed, mulling things over. He'd left his wife and son with Martha. They would be safe there, but at this rate…for how long? "Okay, I'll tell you what I know."
Lazar went on to tell everyone…basically everything they already knew.
"We already know Yliaster tried to destroy Momentum to change the future in favor of the Dark Signers," Jack said.
"And that they're trying to erase New Domino City from existence," Yusei added.
"But how? How do you know everything already?!" Lazar trembled in his chair. This wasn't good.
"Because we went to Yliaster," Lise said. "This all started basically because one of Yliaster's members went rogue. In his quest for power he's sent agents into the world to try and change the future. He really believed this is the incorrect timeline, and so do his followers."
Leo gasped. "The Emperors!"
Akiza nodded at him.
Carly was scribbling furiously. "We just need to connect a few dots!" She scowled at Lazar. "But if only we'd managed to get some new information."
"Yeah, so much for your story! I'm taking these back!" Jack started piling boxes back into the kitchen where they belonged.
"Wait!" Lazar jumped to his feet. "I think there's something else I remember! Phone!"
Yusei frowned down at the clown. "The phone?"
"Seriously?" Sherry wasn't impressed either.
"Not that! I remember one I got a call from an outside company who sent the three directors!"
"What's the company's name?!"
"It's in a database recorded by the Public Security Maintenance Bureau."
"And where is that?"
Lazar bowed grandly like back in his circus days. "Please, follow me."
/
"An arcade?" Akiza shook her head. "This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder."
"Zhis better not be a joke," Sherry growled.
"No joke!" Lazar insisted, index finger pointed high. "This way!" He lead them further into the arcade.
Normally the blinking lights and game previews would have been enticing. The twins found themselves having to wrench their attention away from some of the flashing games. An arcade was a place full of distractions; perfect for hiding covert information.
"Ta da!" Lazar stopped near the back of the arcade at what appeared to be a turbo dueling mini game.
"This seems way too exposed," Crow commented, hands on hips.
"Only a few people know this is here," Lazar pointed out.
"But this is just a game!"
"Exactly! Nobody thinks that a database with access to the terminal stations would be in such a place!"
"He's got a point," Lise shrugged. "We've been here on dates before, and never imagined there was sensitive information here too."
"Yep, high score team," Yusei said quietly, subtly fist bumping Lise.
"But here in the arcade, even if someone is following you, the data remains safe," Lazar hopped into the driver's seat. He used the controls to input his custom code.
"Is that why the data is hidden like this?" Crow still wasn't convinced. It looked like any old game to him.
"Well, you can goof off playing the game on duty," Lazar admitted.
Leo wasn't happy to hear an adult goofed off at such an important job. "Um… This is…"
Luna nodded. "I can't tell if this is awesome or not awesome."
"Now…" Lazar clicked a button.
"Cup Ramen Man?!" Just when Crow thought he'd never have to see that strange duel monster again.
Yusei's blue eyes widened. "Oh, another simulation duel."
"Yeah, instead of a password, it's a simulation turbo duel! There are two problems which you can only answer three times. If you answer incorrectly three times, the PC will lock you out!
"In this simulation, my life is at a thousand. Cup Ramen Man has eighteen-hundred lifepoints. We both have four speed counters. He has Basokiyan with an attack power of sixteen hundred. I have Jester Lord with zero attack points. I have one facedown card and 2 cards in my hand."
Jack blinked. "Zero attack points? So you have to raise it's attack power to win the duel."
"That's right! As long as Jester Lord is the only monster on the field, it's attack power is raised by a thousand for every spell and trap card on the field."
"Move over!" Jack shoved Lazar out of the driver's seat. "Let the master of faster take this one!"
"Oh brother," Crow rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, go Jack!" Leo cheered.
Jack: 1000
Cup Ramen Man: 1800
Jack grinned and touched one of the screens.
"Oh look, it's a tiny version of you!" Lise pointed. "That's so cute!"
Jack grinned at his chibi self driving along. "I set the speed spell Speed Energy! Next, I activate Raigeki Break! I can destroy a card on the field by discarding a card in my hand. I discard Jester Confit in order to destroy Basokiyan!"
"But Basokiyan's effects activates! When he's destroyed, he also destroyed all the cards in your hand!"
"I don't have any cards in my hand," Jack grinned. "Jester Lord's attack points rise to one thousand thanks to my set card! Jester Lord attacks you directly!"
Jack: 1000
Cup Ramen Man: 800
Cup Ramen Man did a flip on his duel board. "Sorry, dude, but I have eight hundred lifepoints. You're supposed to win in one turn!"
"Wait, what?!"
"You've been rejected, dude!" Cup Ramen Man sprayed soy sauce on the field.
Jack's duel runner slipped in the sauce and crashed. Failure scrawled across the screen. His chibi self was crying.
"Maybe the master of faster should go back to school," Crow quipped. "I think I have a strategy that might work."
"Wait," Akiza put her hand up. Her brown eyes had been studying the screen intently the entire time. "Let me do it."
"Akiza?" Crow stopped.
"I've been training hard. I think I know what to do, and I wanna help!"
"Then by all means," Lise swept her hand towards the driver's seat Jack was vacating, looking like a kicked puppy.
"Yeah, you can do it, Akiza!" Crow grinned.
"Right," she grinned at her friends and sat in the driver's seat.
"You can do it, Akiza!"
"Yeah, win it!" Luna grinned up at the older girl.
Akiza smiled at them and turned her attention to the game's puzzle. This duel needs a unique strategy… I'll work with Speed World 2's effect…
The new game began. This time, a tiny Akiza sat in the driver's seat. She wore a red helmet with heart goggles.
"Aw, mini Akiza is so cute!" Lise gushed.
Akiza shot her friend a smile, keeping her determination for the duel at hand.
Akiza: 1000
Cup Ramen Man: 1800
"I play Speed World 2's effect! I remove four of my speed counters, and I have one speed spell in my hand, so Cup Ramen Man loses eight hundred lifepoints!"
Akiza: 1000
Cup Ramen Man: 1000
"Alright," Crow pumped his fist. "Now is life is at a thousand!"
"Now I set the speed spell Speed Energy! Then I activate my trap Raigeki Break! I discard a card from my hand to destroy a card on the field! I send Jester Confit to the graveyard to destroy Basokiyan!"
"Basokiyan's monster effect activates!"
"But my hand is already at zero!" Akiza smiled. "there's one spell on the field, which means Jester Lord's attack power is at one thousand! Jester Lord attacks Cup Ramen Man directly!"
Akiza: 1000
Cup Ramen Man: 0
Cup Ramen Man fell off his duel board in a grand explosion. Chibi Akiza winked and smiled as the screen flashed "Winner!" at her.
"Alright!"
"I get it," Lazar tapped his fist into his other hand. "I had to remove my speed counters to reduce Cup Ramen Man's lifepoints by eight hundred first!"
"Now that's turbo dueling," Crow high fived Akiza.
"Nice job."
Yusei nodded. "You did good, Akiza."
"Don't celebrate just yet," Sherry pointed back towards the screens. "Zhere's another question."
"My turn next!" Lise held up her fists, excitedly shaking them back and forth.
"By all means," Akiza stepped out of the way.
Lise slipped into the driver's seat. Her leg bounced with pent up energy as the new level booted up. A tiny version of her popped up. Chibi Lise had her kitty ears helmet, and sported goggles with stars on them.
Lise: 300
Cup Ramen Man: 4000
"Okay, so my lifepoints are at three hundred, and I have ten speed counters. He has four thousand lifepoints, and ten speed counters too. He has three monsters on the field, and in addition to Jester Lord, I have Jester Queen on my field. Jester Queen's ability allows her to attack for each card in the spell and trap card zone if she's the only monster on my field. I have two facedown cards, and four cards in my hand."
Crow pointed to the pig shaped cup ramen monster. "Menraado, when it's destroyed, destroys all monsters the opponent controls." The other monster he pointed to resembled a woman in pink carrying a tea kettle and sporting a cup ramen for a head. "Donuuno, when destroyed, destroys all spell and trap cards the opponent controls. Including Basoyikan's effect, it's quite the trap."
"All right, I think I know what to do," Lise clicked the screen, her left leg bouncing faster. "Spped World 2's effect activates. I remove four speed counters, and I can deal eight hundred damage for every speed spell in my hand. I have two, so that's sixteen hundred points of damage!"
Lise: 300
Cup Ramen Man: 2400
"And I'll use Speed World 2's effect again! Take another sixteen hundred points of damage!"
Lise: 300
Cup Ramen Man: 800
"Thirty-two hundred points of damage all at once," Yusei whistled low.
"Just gotta shave off the last eight hundred lifepoints."
"Next, I activate Speed Energy. When I have two or more speed counters, I'm able to raise the attack of one of my monsters by two hundred for every speed counter I have! Jester Queen's attack raises by four hundred points, from eight hundred to twelve hundred! I set two cards face down, and activate the speed spell High Speed Crush! When I have two or more speed counters, I can destroy one card to destroy another card on the field! I destroy Jester Lord to destroy Basoyikan."
"Basoyikan's monster effect activates!" Cup Ramen Man said.
"But I have no cards in my hand anymore," Lise's chibi smiled along. "And now Jester Quen's effect activates. I have four cards in my spell and trap card zone, which means Jester Queen can attack four times! Jester Queen attack Menraado!"
"Uh oh, Lise wait!"
But she'd already pressed the button and couldn't heed Yusei's warning. Jester Queen attacked.
Lise: 300
Cup Ramen Man: 200
"When Menraado is destroyed, it destroys all monsters the opponent controls!"
Lise's fingers froze over the controls. Her leg stopped jiggling. "Oops."
"You have zero monsters! You fail!" Cup Ramen Man forced Lise's chibi to crash too.
Lise's little chibi sobbed in defeat as "Failure" flipped across the screen.
Lise hung her head over the controls. I messed up, and now we can't lose again! What if we can't get the info and-
"It's okay," Yusei broke Lise out of her panic spiral with a hand on her shoulder.
"D'accord?" Sherry scowled at them both. "We only 'ave one shance left!"
"And one chance is all we need," Yusei reminded her curtly. His voice took on a softer tone as he offered his hand to Lise. "Mind if I take your place?"
Lise's cheeks flushed pink. "No," she allowed him to take her hand and pull her to her feet.
Yusei squeezed her hand. She had lost, and so had Jack, but it was by no means the end of their efforts.
"Save the flirting for later, you two," Crow laughed and shook his head. "We're in public."
"I wasn't flirting!" Lise's face turned deeper red.
"I was," Yusei whispered teasingly into Lise's ear so Crow couldn't see. She couldn't help but giggle a little. He pressed a quick kiss into her hair, and took his seat.
Jack rolled his eyes. He broke into a pout. "Course when I lose, I get scolded."
Carly chuckled a little and patted his arm. "Tell Crow you'd prefer he was kinder when he insults you."
"Lise wasn't wrong to use Speed World 2's effect twice," Yusei said. "But the timing was off."
Sherry raised an eyebrow. "Timing?"
Yusei restarted the duel. His little chibi self had his red helmet and vizor. His tiny self even had his mark.
"So cute…" Lise murmured.
"Maybe we should play this some other time for fun, huh?" Akiza bumped her friend's arm.
"Yeah!" Leo clenched his fists. "Then we all get to be little and cute!"
"You're already little and cute," Carly pointed out with a wink.
Yusei: 300
Cup Ramen Man: 4000
"Like Lise did, I'm activating Speed World 2's effect!" Yusei said. "I remove four speed counters, and I can deal eight hundred points of damage to the opposing player for each speed spell in my hand. I have two, so Cup Ramen Man loses sixteen hundred lifepoints!"
Yusei: 300
Cup Ramen Man: 2400
"Okay, and here's where you would deal the damage again, right?" Leo tapped his chin as he remembered the last duel.
Yusei nodded. "Normally, you would keep on dealing damage, but instead I'm going to stop and…" He reached for his hand on the screen. "…play the speed spell Speed Energy! Speed Energy's effect gives Jester Queen two hundred attack points for every speed counter I have! So she goes from eight hindred attack to two thousand. Now I activate Speed World 2's effect again. I have one speed spell in my hand, and by removing four speed counters, I inflict eight hundred points of damage."
Yusei: 300
Cup Ramen Man: 1600
"But that's a waste of thirty-two hundred damage," Jack insisted.
Akiza was onto Yusei's strategy. "He did halve the damage to eight hundred…"
"But this strategy increases Jester Queen's attack power even more," Crow finished her thought.
"Next, from my hand, I activate the speed spell High Speed Crush! I destroy Jester Lord and Donuuno!"
Cup Ramen Man was ready though. "When Donuuno is destroyed, it destroys all the spells and traps in your spell and trap card zone!"
Akiza blinked at the screen. "Why Donuuno?"
"Without facedown cards, Jester Queen's effect becomes useless," Luna said.
"I still have the traps from my hand, so I set Discord and Customs of the Court. This allows Jester Queen to attack twice! Jester Queen attack Basoyikan!"
Yusei: 300
Cup Ramen Man: 1200
"Basoyikan's effect! All the cards in your hand are destroyed!"
Yusei smiled. "My hand is already at zero, so now it's time for my second attack! Jester Queen destroy Menraado!"
Yusei: 300
Cup Ramen Man: 0
"Oh no!" Cup Ramen Man screamed. Once again, he fell into an explosion.
Yusei's chibi smiled at the screen. He flashed everyone a thumbs up as the screen declared "you win!"
"You did it!"
"Alright!"
"We're in!"
"We did it together," Yusei smiled up at them.
Sherry shoved Lazar forward. "zhe data."
"Of course," Lazar took the driver's seat as Yusei left it. "It logs communication from the outside." He pressed a couple buttons, then enter. The binary code began to formulate an image. "This is it. This is the company that sent the three directors."
The code settled into the form of a logo. A white gear was on top of a shadowed pentagon shaped gear. On top of both gears was a heavily stylized letter 'M.'
"Zhat's…"
"Momentum Express Development Company," Bruno's eyes narrowed.
(Finally got around to writing the next chapter! I loved reorganizing the fun puzzle duels! I normally don't like puzzle duels, especially in the games when you HAVE to do them to advance. Oh well, but this episode allowed me to have fun with dialogue and switch things up.
Once again, thank you for reading! I hope you're all staying safe and supporting organizations like BLM! Also wanted to shout out to the Yu-Gi-Oh Forever Discord server! Just a couple months ago I had no idea it would grow so large! Thanks to all their support and the support of you readers! Stay strong, stay healthy, and we'll keep going forward together! Thank you!)
