We've reached the next review shout-out, but because the user has already won a shout-out before, it won't count, so the user who wrote the next review is the winner; SmallFountainLily! Congratulations! The next review shout-out will be by the 925th review.
However, at the 1,000th review (if we make it there), it's going to be special. Like at the 500th review, the one who writes the 1,000th review will win a one-shot written by me! This means that the old winners will get a chance to win again.
There will be a couple of lines from the dub in the chapter because I found a few of them funny and entertaining.
The chapter begins in Estelle's point of view.
Disclaimer: I do not own any Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's characters! I only own my OCs!
Chapter 65: Catch the Thief
After waiting a couple of hours at the garage, while having some breakfast with the boys since I skipped it before rushing to their place and coming up with a plan to apprehend Lazar and his dealer, we drove to Sector Security. We hid behind another building and eyed the main building, watching some of my colleagues going out for a walk during lunch break. We waited for around ten minutes when Sector Security's private limousine parked next to the sidewalk.
"He's coming out", I informed the guys. "Get to your Runners."
We hurried to the Duel Runners and put on the helmets while waiting in a corner. Once the limousine passed us, we waited a few seconds before we drove out to the streets and followed it. It didn't take long before the limousine drove off the main road to the big shopping mall that was close to Sector Security HQ.
"Why's he heading to the shopping mall?" Crow spoke up through the intercom.
"He must've realized we're following him", Yusei replied. "And now he's going to try shaking us off his tail by blending himself into the crowd."
"Don't lose sight of him, boys", I said.
We drove to the parking lot and got off the Runners before hurrying into the shopping mall after the limousine left. We quickly found Lazar, but stayed far behind while keeping him within our sight. We followed him a couple of floors up and hid behind a corner until Lazar got distracted by a food stand that sold many kinds of cup ramen.
"Now's our chance…", I whispered to the boys. "Remember the plan…?"
"Of course…!" Jack nodded.
"Then let's get him…!" Crow smirked.
Jack straightened up and walked first, acting nonchalant and not paying attention at Lazar who was busy looking at each cup ramen while drooling in hunger. Once the tall Signer walked past him, Crow came next and acted nonchalant until he got into position to grab Lazar. Jack turned around and followed his foster brother's example. Now Lazar noticed the two Signers, but didn't react fast enough when they pounced onto him, sealing his arms and legs.
"Alright!" Bruno cheered before the rest of us approached the trio.
"W-What are you doing?! What do you all want with me?" Lazar shouted as he struggled against his two captors' grip before noticing me. "Ms. Estelle, get these two hooligans off of me! That's an order!"
"I don't take orders from traitors", I replied in a cold voice as I crossed my arms.
"Hm?!" Lazar gaped with big eyes, realizing I wasn't going to follow his orders.
"Did you steal the program?" Yusei asked directly, catching the clown off guard.
"Give it back!" Bruno said in a forced demanding voice, since he didn't like violence.
"W-Well, what are you talking about?" Lazar stuttered.
"Cut the routine! We found your fingerprints in our garage and Estelle verified your identity! We know that you were there!" Crow retorted.
"Fingerprints?" Lazar said in surprise.
"That's right! I'll now carry out the revenge for my King Noodles!" Jack growled as he harshly rubbed his arms against the clown's cheeks.
"Let's check his pockets for the drive", Yusei said.
"And then we'll drag you back to Sector Security and tell Goodwin about your crime, Vice-Director Lazar", I threatened him.
Lazar's shocked expression soon got replaced with a mischievous one. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
The next thing we knew, Lazar took a deep breath and popped out of his coat and pants. We watched him roll around like a ball in the air with the same clothes he had left in Jack and Crow's arms. He landed gracefully several meters from us with a laugh.
"See you on the flipside! Ta-ta~!"
XXXXXXXXXX
While chasing Lazar and then two holograms of his realistic image, we split up into two groups; Jack and Crow, and Bruno, Yusei, and I. My group quickly realized we had been chasing a fake Lazar, so we hurried outside to see if we could catch the real clown.
We found Lazar getting into a taxi outside of the mall, so we followed the yellow vehicle down to a secluded area of the harbor. We parked our Duel Runners between two containers and followed the rest on foot. Yusei had his Duel Disk on the arm while I had forgotten my own at home. We rounded the corner and saw how Lazar got out of the taxi and paid the driver before the vehicle drove away. We quickly got back when the clown looked around to see if he was alone before he walked toward a fresh built factory. I knew it was the factory where Primo was building his army of Riding Roids and he needed the program Yusei and Bruno constructed to make them work effectively.
"Is this the location for the exchange?" Yusei wondered.
"Possible", I nodded.
"What should we do?" Bruno asked. "Should we wait for Crow and Jack?"
"No, we don't have time for that", Yusei shook his head. "We have to apprehend Lazar and his dealer on our own."
"This place could be full of traps and surveillance cameras, so we have to be very careful while following Lazar", I added.
Once Lazar stepped through the front door, we ran toward the factory. We ran to the side and tried finding another way in. We found an emergency exit that was unlocked, so we gently pushed it open. The hallways were dark and empty, so we snuck inside and made sure to shut the door without making a single sound.
The corridors felt like they were endless. There was no light at all, so we had to squint to see through the darkness. The aura in the factory felt so heavy and cold that I felt goosebumps all across my body. I couldn't help but rub my clothed arms to keep myself warm.
"Are you cold, Estelle?" Bruno asked.
"A little…", I nodded. "The factory…feels so ominous."
"You're right", Yusei agreed. "There's something off with this place."
We walked past windows and stopped to see if we could find Lazar and Primo, who I suspected was the dealer, but we only saw empty conveyor belts, robotic arms on standby mode, and some abandoned parts on the floor.
"What exactly is this factory producing?" Bruno wondered. "It's almost like the inside of a spaceship."
"Yeah. This is the first time I've seen all these machines", Yusei said.
If Yusei was unfamiliar with the machines here… Then it was possible all the equipment came from the future. Some of them resembled the ones I saw in Z-Yusei's garage.
I jumped when an alarm started beeping around us, scaring the wits out of me. A shutter began coming down in a slow pace to block the open path for us. "Run!" I told the duo.
I ran ahead and dived to the ground and rolled over the threshold, making it safely to the other side of the doorway. I quickly got up and stepped aside when Yusei came next and made it. Bruno, however, tried copying us, but he tripped and fell on the ground just as the shutter barricaded the door.
"Are you okay, Bruno?!" Yusei yelled through the shutter.
"Sorry, Yusei, Estelle! I'm fine", Bruno shouted back.
"Thank goodness", I sighed in relief as I helped Yusei up on his feet.
"We're going to the interior", Yusei told the amnesiac man.
"I understand. I'll call Jack and Crow", Bruno replied.
"We're counting on you!" Yusei nodded.
"Be careful, Bruno!" I called.
"You too!"
Yusei and I ran down the long and slight narrow corridor that seemed to have no end until we spotted a door up ahead. It opened just as we were about to touch it and bumped into someone. Yusei and I were still on our feet, but the other person fell down on his backside at the other side of the door, which led to a large empty storage room with a catwalk on the side of the wall.
"Lazar!" Yusei exclaimed.
"Y-You two…!" Lazar said in disbelief.
"Finally found you…", I growled softly.
Lazar's body shook as he got up on his feet and tried running away again, but Yusei grabbed the collar of his coat and held him back. "Return our program!" the Signer demanded.
"Program? What exactly are you talking about?!" Lazar tried playing innocent.
Yusei must have been on his limits of patience because he literally shoved the clown's front into the wall. "Don't play dumb!"
I almost flinched by the action displaying in front of me. I had rarely seen Yusei being on the edge, but he had every reason to be because he and Bruno had worked hard to complete the engine design.
"Didn't you give it to somebody here?!" Yusei asked angrily.
Lazar groaned as he turned around and rubbed his sore nose. "No! I just came here to check up on the machines!"
"That's a lie!" I quickly said before Yusei opened his mouth. "Sector Security has no connections to this factory! I checked it before we got in here, so don't you dare come up with an excuse, you traitor!"
"N-Now, now, Ms. Estelle, let's be rational…", Lazar's voice shook in fear as he saw both Yusei and I had enough.
The whole storage room suddenly began shaking as a trapdoor opened on the main floor. A large yellow robot was elevated up with a mechanical noise before it stared at us. Lazar screeched and jumped back in fear as Yusei and I looked at the newcomer with caution.
"What is that?" Yusei wondered.
"It looks like a Guard Robot…", I mumbled.
The Guard Robot had several lamps glowing on its head as it slowly turned its head at the Signer. "100% confirmation of subject. Confirmed as Fudo Yusei."
Large and thick metal shutters came down and sealed us inside the storage room with the robot. Even the door Yusei and I came through got sealed by another shutter, so there was no way out.
"This location has been completely locked down", the Guard Robot informed us. "It's impossible to open the lock unless you defeat me in a Duel."
"What?!" Yusei said in disbelief. "So we can't release the lock unless we defeat the robot?!"
"T-That's right!" Lazar nodded nervously. "We're all in this together! Staying here or leaving is your choice!"
"Fudo Yusei, Dueling me under these circumstances…are 100%", the Guard Robot calculated.
"See?! You've got no choice but to Duel, and he did the math!" Lazar told Yusei.
"Shut up!" the Signer snapped at the clown.
I remembered from the anime that Yusei won in the end, but what if something went in the wrong direction? I didn't have my Duel Disk with me, so I couldn't step in if Yusei would lose.
"Fine. I accept the challenge!" Yusei yelled before he jumped down from the catwalk.
I watched as he gracefully landed on his feet before getting into position to Duel. Even to this day, I was in awe of how athletic he was. It briefly made me remember the beginning of my adventure here in this world when I was unable to jump down from the garage after our first Shadow Duel against a Shadow Drone. Now, I had a better condition, but I was far from his level.
XXXXXXXXXX
It didn't take long into the Duel when a neutral AI voice and an alarm echoed in the factory.
"This is an emergency announcement. This factory will self-destruct in ten minutes. Please stop what you are doing and evacuate immediately."
"This place is gonna blow in ten minutes?!" Yusei asked in disbelief.
Lazar yelped when he spotted a holographic screen next to the Guard Robot that showed the countdown for the explosion. "Actually not even! The clock's already ticking! And we're locked up in hereee!"
"Pick up the pace, Yusei!" I shouted.
"I'll try!" he replied.
Only seconds later, we heard familiar voices from the intercom. "Hey, Yusei! Estelle! Can you hear me?!" Crow called.
"Are you two okay?!" Jack asked.
"What happened?!" Bruno added.
"Jack! Crow! Bruno!" Yusei responded as he looked at a surveillance camera above him.
"What are you standing around for?! Hurry up and run away from there!" Jack shouted. "This place is going to explode soon!"
"We know that, but we're stuck here!" Lazar replied.
"Well, get unstuck! You don't have much time left!" Crow said.
"We can't do that!" I replied as I turned to another surveillance camera behind me. "The robot has locked down this room and the only way to get out of here is by Yusei defeating it in a Duel!"
"Then stop wasting time and defeat it already, Yusei!" Jack growled.
"That's easier said than done! This robot is using a troublesome Lock Deck!" Lazar explained.
"There's no more time!" Jack argued.
"Don't worry about us. Run away first!" Yusei said.
"Like we could do that!" Crow retorted.
"Don't worry. I have a plan", Yusei confessed.
"What exactly is fine in this situation?!" Lazar panicked. "Everyone, please help me!"
"There's no time. Go, everyone!" Yusei said.
There was a brief silence before Jack sighed in defeat. "I understand."
We barely heard word exchange between the trio before there was a noise of something crashing against a hard surface. I suspected it was Jack who had punched Bruno who wanted to stay behind and wait for us and put himself in harm's way.
"Yusei, Estelle! We'll be waiting for you!" Crow spoke up.
"Yeah", Yusei nodded. "Jack, I'm counting on you for the rest!"
"I won't forgive you if you die in a place like this!" Jack threatened.
"Yusei! Estelle! You both better come back!" Bruno shouted.
"We will", I nodded.
"Yeah. Now, go, Bruno!" Yusei said.
"Please wait!" Lazar begged.
He had been blabbering nonstop next to me that my right ear almost got deaf. When he didn't get a response from the retreating trio, he fell down on his knees in defeat. "Are we really…done for?" he mumbled while crying waterfalls.
"I never said that I'd given up yet", Yusei told the clown before he drew a card. "My turn!"
XXXXXXXXXX
Thank goodness the Duel ended with Yusei winning, but the Duel had been stalled for such a long time that we only had fifteen seconds to get out of the factory when the shutters were pulled back up.
"Let's go!" Yusei yelled to me and Lazar.
"Coming!" I replied before I jumped down from the catwalk.
I landed in a crouch just as Yusei was about to catch me, so he got thrown off guard by my athletic improvement. I quickly straightened up as Lazar followed my lead and jumped down to us.
"There's no time! Wait for me!" the clown yelled before he landed next to me.
The three of us could hear the AI voice counting down from ten seconds as we were running. We couldn't find an exit, so I was starting to panic. I didn't bring my Duel Disk or my Deck with me, so I couldn't use my psychic powers to summon a Monster to protect us.
Was this going to be the end? The anime Lazar was able to save himself and Yusei from the explosion with a helium-filled balloon, but it was impossible the same balloon could float with my added weight.
When the countdown hit zero, the whole factory began shaking before an ear-splitting explosion roared around us. I closed my eyes and heard myself cry in fear as a pair of arms wrapped around me before the flames swallowed us. The noise of the aggressive flames sounded similar to the cry of a dragon.
XXXXXXXXXX – Normal POV
Jack, Bruno, and Crow made it outside and ran as far away from the factory as possible. They barely made it to a safe distance before the factory behind them self-destructed into a massive cloud of smoke and fire. The trio was pushed down by the force of the explosion, so they quickly shielded the back of their heads from flying debris. When they heard nothing but the crackling of the fire devouring the ruins of the factory, they got up and looked at the building in shock and disbelief.
"Yusei… Estelle…", Crow mumbled in shock.
"They…didn't make it?" Bruno said softly in pain.
"It can't be!" Jack snarled, but he was just as shocked as the other two.
They apathetically stared at the burning factory, not wanting to believe Yusei and Estelle didn't make it out and got burned into ashes. They were silent for several seconds before a dragon cry roared from the thick smoke.
"What was that…?" Bruno mumbled.
"That sounded like…", Jack began before a familiar Signer Dragon flew from the fire and smoke.
"Stardust Dragon!" Crow exclaimed in relief.
XXXXXXXXXX – Estelle's POV
I had my eyes shut the entire time as I was waiting to see the death's door, but something felt odd. The heat from the flames was gone and there was a wind-noise blowing around me along with the same dragon cry I heard before.
"Estelle…", Yusei's soft voice spoke up.
It was then I realized I was still alive and someone was holding me very close to them. I slowly opened my eyes and was met by the sight of Yusei's black shirt in front of me. I moved my head up to see his face only centimeters from mine. He smelled a little bit like smoke from the explosion and his clothes were dirty, but I was sure I was the same too.
"Yusei…", I mumbled softly as I realized I was holding onto his jacket.
"Are you okay?" Yusei asked while he still had his arms around me.
"I… I think so", I nodded before looking up to realize we were sitting on one of Stardust Dragon's palms. "Wait… What happened? Did you summon Stardust Dragon with psychic powers?"
"No", Yusei shook his head. "I have no idea how Stardust Dragon was able to appear on his own."
"That's because we Signer Dragons have the power to enter your world when you are in desperate need of help", Stardust Dragon growled. "You still have much to achieve, Master and Priestess. I shall always protect you when you are in danger because I am your guardian."
We heard Lazar clear his throat, so we turned to him as he sat on the Signer Dragon's other palm. "I appreciate you used your dragon to save us all, Yusei, but I'm afraid I have to leave now."
Without a forewarning, the clown raised his right arm up and blew his balloon out of the sleeve and floated away from us.
"Wait! Who did you give our program to?!" Yusei called.
"Program? What are you talking about?" Lazar asked, playing the not-knowing game again. "Yusei, I'll give you one piece of advice. Don't get any closer to this more than you already have. They're not enemies that you can defeat. I've given you one warning."
His voice faded as he allowed the wind to guide his balloon back to downtown area of New Domino City. Stardust Dragon growled at the clown before he flew to a grassy meadow nearby the harbor and landed on his feet. He slowly lowered his clawed hand down to the ground. I let go of Yusei as he jumped down first. I jumped down on my own as the Signer caught me in his arms.
"Thank you…", I mumbled shyly.
"No problem", Yusei's chest rumbled softly by a chuckle.
I turned around as Stardust Dragon roared to the sky before his body transformed into silver pixie dust, a sign that he had returned to the Spirit World. The pixie dust flew around me and Yusei as we watched it in silence until it was gone.
"We couldn't get the program back…", I mumbled.
"Yeah…", Yusei nodded.
"But I'm sure you can remake the program and maybe even a better version of it", I added.
"You might be right, Estelle", Yusei said. "If Bruno and I were able to make the program once, we can do it again. But I still wonder who Lazar gave the program to."
"Don't worry about that", I shook my head as I turned to him. "I'll talk to Goodwin and give him a report about today's events and all the evidence I've collected."
"You mean the fingerprints at the garage?" Yusei questioned.
I shook my head before gently grabbing the right side of my glasses. "My glasses are more than just a tool for my shortsightedness. They're spyglasses too, so everything I've seen and heard today has been recorded. It should be more than enough to prosecute Lazar and shake the truth out of him."
"Yusei! Estelle!" Crow called.
We turned around and saw Jack, Crow, and Bruno running toward us. They were all safe and unharmed just like us. I couldn't help but smile at their happy faces as I waved my hand to them.
This day had been chaotic with me, Yusei, and Lazar almost dying in Primo's factory, but thanks to Stardust Dragon we came out with our lives intact. Now, I had much work to do to bring Lazar to justice while Yusei and Bruno had to start all over again with the engine program.