The stinging pain in Kazuto's chest refused to go away. He hadn't slept for almost two days now, and out of desperation he'd gone out to the pool area for some air. Fat lot of good that did; he couldn't feel the wind through his holographic body. Nonetheless, he shivered, it seemed the right thing to do. The sun was barely up, and the morning dew hadn't dried, near as he remembered that meant it was still a little cold. A noise inside caught his attention. Queen was back, it must be later than he'd thought. He walked in (he still tended to walk, even though he didn't need to) and literally through the door.

"Um, Queen?" He said tentatively.

Queen rubbed her temple, "What do you want, Zephyr?"

"I don't think I can do this anymore," it sounded more like a question than a decision.

Queen leaned against the wall, "What brought this on all of a sudden? Don't tell me you're worried about being an 'honorable duelist.' Honestly, you're so naive."

"No, I mean yeah, I mean…sort of?" Zephyr stumbled over his words, "It's just Soulburner's brain was nearly fried because I was too weak to deal with the other two on my own. I just…don't want anyone else to get hurt because of me."

Queen smiled and shook her head, "Well I suppose I understand. After all, you aren't the brightest bulb in the box, and you're much too sentimental, not to mention how terrible you look in green. It's only natural for your confidence to take a hit after coming so close to screwing up."

"I didn't get that close to losing…"

"Not from where I stood," she paused when she noticed his face begin to fall, "But in the end you did manage to win. Your dueling skill is nothing to be trifled with. Don't stop doing the only thing you're good at just because you got stuck with a lousy partner in a tag duel."

Zephyr sighed, "I-I guess…"

"Now then," Queen said, satisfied, "Don't bother me for the rest of the day. Zaizen left behind an ungodly amount of paperwork. If I didn't know better I'd say he did it to spite me."

——

"I left behind an ungodly amount of paperwork just to spite her," Akira smirked.

"Well I'm glad you're in a good mood," Ema snapped, "Considering my account is still suspended and you're unemployed. We have no money, Akira! No. Money."

"What happened to your Swiss Bank account?"

"I'm saving that!"

"For what?"

"A money bin."

Akira rolled his eyes, "Thankfully, I have a few tricks up my sleeve."

"Do tell," Kengo muttered.

"One of the perks of being CEO is that I know the emergency shutdown password for all the security programs. Knowing Queen, she probably won't change them. The downside is that she probably will when we break in."

The purple haired siblings groaned.

"And then what? We get arrested for trespassing?" Ema frowned.

"If I had to guess," Kengo replied, "We'll steal some incriminating data and get it to the police? Am I right?"

"Half right." Akira replied, "The Chess Pieces will just pay off the police, or, failing that, the jury. What we're going to do is send it, quite anonymously of course, to a pair of intrepid reporters whom Aoi has already made aware of the situation. It would be irresponsible for the public not to be made aware of what's going on at that company."

Ema nodded, "How big is our window?"

"If we pick the right opportunity? 15, 20 minutes before they realize something's wrong. Maybe 25 if there haven't been any changes in the security staff."

"And how do we pick the right opportunity?" Kengo inquired.

"I make a few calls," Akira replied, "And hope Queen is still the tyrant she used to be."

——

"Where do you think they're taking us?" Miyu sniffed. She was curled up in the corner of the van shivering, partially from the cold and partially out of fear.

"Probably to the middle of nowhere so no one ever finds our bodies," Specter replied, "But then I'm an optimist."

Miyu whimpered in fear. "I haven't called my mom in days, she must be freaking out, oh gods, I'm going to die having ghosted my mom."

"Oh, stop sniveling."

"And I have to spend my last moments with you, this is my worst nightmare come to life!"

"If it will stop your incessant crying, I was being sarcastic." Specter sighed, "No one would go to this much trouble to kidnap us just to kill us and be done with it. At the very least it will be a slow, painful, thoroughly entertaining death. Unless they want to do something with our bodies in which case-"

"Not helping!"

"I'm not trying to help, I'm trying to get some peace and quiet."

"What if they're planning to mind control us?! You saw Takeru, he was going positively insane, that might even be worse than dying!"

Specter had no response.

They didn't speak for a while after that. Somewhere between a minute and a year later the van stopped.

"We could rush them when the doors open." Miyu suggested.

"And do what? Between the two of us we have the muscle mass of a fly," Specter scoffed.

"We have to try something! I don't want to die here."

"Then just watch and learn."

There was the sound of a lock clicking and the doors swung open. A large man stood blocking the light, but from the smell of salt in the air, they were by the sea. The man smiled sadly and gently grabbed Miyu's arm to lead her out.

"How noble, helping the lady first," Specter sneered, "Let me guess she reminds you of your little sister."

"Daughter," Miyu mouthed.

"How do you know?" Specter mouthed back.

"Trust me."

"Excuse me, daughter. I can't say I blame you, she does have one of those faces. Though speaking of your poor daughter, what would she say if she could see you right now?"

The man's eyes quivered with tears

How would she feel knowing her daddy is willing to lead a girl just like her to a fate worse than death for…what 20 bucks an hour?"

Miyu held up three fingers.

"No, 30. Is her life that cheap to you?"

The man let go and ran off sobbing. "I'm sorry, Emi!"

"Well then, we'll just be going." Specter said smoothly.

"Not so fast, Sp—Subject 004." Hayami did her best to block their path. Knight, who was standing behind her, did a much better job.

Specter raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you?" Miyu asked.

"I'm the new Rook!" Hayami said proudly, "And I'm not going to let some freaky tree guy and psychic chick mess up my first assignment."

"I shall take care of them for you, fair maid." Knight said, grabbing them both by the wrist and pulling them out of the van. They were indeed by the sea, parked on the dock near the gangplank of a massive cruise ship, which Knight was now pulling them towards.

"Well at least chivalry isn't completely dead." Rook smiled, "If the tall one says anything, knock him out."

——

Yusaku awoke in the back of a car, with early morning light streaming in. Where…oh right, the car, the thugs…Ryoken and Aoi! He nearly bolted upright, but the sound of a voice stopped him.

"We should quit while we're ahead." It sounded like the man who'd been leading the thugs. Yusaku's breath caught in his throat. He shifted as much as he dared to look at the reflection in the window. The speaker was definitely the man from last night, facing away from Yusaku and talking on a cellphone.

"Yes…Uh-Huh…" the man started to turn and Yusaku shut his eyes, "I have to go…Goodbye Reina." There was a moment of silence, then a chuckle.

"Don't try that with me; I know you're awake."

Yusaku opened his eyes, but didn't look at him.

"Where are my friends?"

"I had my men drop them off by Stardust Road." More silence, as if he were waiting for an answer, "You're being childish, Yusaku. At least look at me when I'm speaking to you."

Silence again.

"Now."

Yusaku sat up slowly, and turned to glare at his captor, but froze. The green eyes looking back at him were identical to his own. From deep in his mind a long forgotten memory surfaced, like an air bubble in the ocean.

"Dad?"