Chapter 7: The First Ride – Part 2
Over the roar of my engine, I hear the words, "Autopilot, engaged. Activating Speed World," and around me, the world begins to resemble a miniature city that has been splashed with a coat of purple paint. Purple wraps around the buildings, snakes its way through the winding streets below, fills the sky and blocks out the sun and clouds.
"It's over, Satellite scum! You can't run anymore!" the officer yells out, his voice seeming to come through a speaker near the console of my Duel Runner. "Surrender and come quietly!"
I can hear the whir of his engine several yards back, a high-pitched whining noise that seems… more annoying than anything, really. Looking back over my shoulder, I can see him quickly gaining, the siren on the front of his vehicle flashing red and blue. I can't see much of the man himself; a white helmet with a gray visor covers his head and shields his eyes from the sun and from my view.
I attempt to rev my bike further, to try and pull ahead. My eyes dart back and forth searching for some sort of turn that I can take that may throw him off, but every time I see some side road that looks even remotely interesting and I try to turn, I feel my Duel Runner being steered back onto course.
"Didn't I just tell you that you can't run anymore?!" shouts the officer, a bit of annoyance in his voice. "My Security Runner has forced you into Turbo Duel mode—your autopilot is on, and you're stuck on this track!"
It takes a few moments for me to fully understand his words; a Turbo Duel, right… that's that… thing. I bite my lip as I realize that I don't actually know what a Turbo Duel is.
Great.
[Cue in opening theme: "Imagination" by Caleb Hyles feat. Gareth West (English cover of the first opening for Haikyuu!)]
As the sweat rolls down my face, sweltering heat comes in waves
We open on a shot of Ben's face, staring up at the sky as the shadow of a cloud passes over his face. As the cloud drifts past and the sun beams down on his face again, he begins to smile.
I hear our voices echo, as we're standing side by side!
The camera begins to zoom outward, revealing that standing in a circle around Ben is each of the Omni-Heroes; in no particular order, Escuridão, Great Tornado, Absolute Zero, Nova Master, Gaia, and The Shining.
An open window lets in light, I turn my eyes up to the sky,
Now the camera shoots down to the ground, looking up at the assembled group of heroes and their leader as the urban sprawl of Skyscraper shoots up above them
Questionings if to someone will come our way, Mr. Future
Ben's face focuses in on the camera as we see the shadow of someone's legs stepping in front of us. We can see Ben grin as his heroes fall in line beside him.
(Oh come on, come on) If there is still a chance…
A sudden swift upward shift from the camera, and we're viewing Ben and his heroes from above, and in the shadows of Skyscraper, dark figures begin to form, faceless phantoms that stand to oppose our hero.
(Oh come on, come on) Go and get… it!
Taking the first step, Ben leads the charge as his heroes run forward at the shadow figures. Great Tornado streaks through the sky, a bright green wind trailing behind him as The Shining appears alongside him, bright light emanating from his body. Absolute Zero and Nova run right beside Ben, leaving trails of ice and fire in their tracks, respectively, while Gaia stomps alongside, and Escuridão dodges from shadow to shadow, as dark as darkness itself. Just as they reach the figures and begin to fight, a bright light suddenly consumes the screen.
You can't move me, you can't break me!
The light dissipates and shows the heroes at battle. First, we see The Shining lashing out for a punch, his fist enclosed in a blinding bright aura as it smashes into the stomach of Crab Turtle. Next we see Great Tornado blasting away a slew of Spellcaster monsters, namely Endymion and Breaker, among others.
You will always look right through me!
Nova Master appears on screen next, its full body aflame as it lunges toward Frost and Flame Dragon, Absolute Zero combatting the Flame half as Nova Master prepares to strike the Frost half.
I will falter, I will stumble, but I'll keep on suffering!
Gaia raises a massive boulder above its head, hurling it at Doom Dozer as the insect is restrained by shadow tendrils courtesy of Escuridão.
Never give up, never give in—I can't let it end in failure!
We spin to view Ben now, his fist clenched in anticipation as we begin to rotate, revealing that all the battles are going on simultaneously. Finally tired of seeing his heroes fight at his command, he charges into the fray as well—focusing specifically on one shadow figure.
Oh, my imagination's fighting to believe—
Ben throws a punch of his own as he reaches the character, the air around his fist blurring as he strikes mere shadow—though as the figure disappears, we get a sudden glimpse of gray hair…
Believing in something!
The shadows, Skyscraper, and the heroes all disappear at once, leaving Ben standing in the subway tunnel with Rally and the rest of the Satellite crew, looking at him hopefully.
Oh-oh! Believing in something!
Ben mounts his Duel Runner, pulling his helmet on and giving them a grin.
Oh-oh!
And on the last note, he speeds off down the tunnel, the shot fading to grayscale on his friends waving him off. The title, "Stardust Accelerator: A Hero in Time" appears in bright gold lettering, standing out against the gray as the form of the Crimson Dragon wraps around it.
Before I even realize what's fully happening, the dusty old screen on the Duel Runner's console flares to life, the colors a gaudy jumble of pinks and greens and yellows as the map screen disappears, a clear indicator at how… "lightly used" the machine probably was. From its spot in front of said screen, the tarnished orb on my Duel Disk blooms a brighter blue than usual as the cards shuffle themselves, and once more spit out five cards. I take them in hand, a bit annoyed at being forced into a Duel.
Forced into a Duel… that's become a recurring theme since I came to the Satellite, hasn't it? my inner thoughts state in an amused tone.
"DUEL!"
Ben: 4000 LP / Sector Security Officer: 4000 LP
The deck slot bestows one more card upon me—I suppose this means that I get the first move. However, further examining the console screen, after the tacky garden of colors disperses, I see a bit more than just Life Points as expected in a Duel.
I'm blessed with the layout of the field, which lays empty for now, as well as a rudimentary map that shows what's directly ahead or behind but not much else. In addition, on either side of the field, one on my side and one on his, there exists an oblong shape, pale gray, with several small holes of a darker gray set in two rows on it.
A sense of euphoria runs through me. Wind rushes all around me, blowing out the tangles in my hair as the machine speeds down the old highway. Something about this all feels… right. So many things have felt right to my empty mind—and all of them have had something to do with Duel Monsters.
Before I have time to ponder this thought any further, the officer shouts at me. "Hurry up and make your move! You do know how to Turbo Duel, don't you?!"
On both oblong shapes, the first dark gray hole becomes filled with a white dot. My Duel Runner seems to accelerate of its own accord then, as does his own, placing us more or less neck-and-neck with one another.
Ben's Speed Counters: 1 / Officer's Speed Counters: 1
I take a moment to examine my hand, not dignifying the officer's harassment with a response. At first glance, it all appears to be a typical Hand: mainly monsters, with Hero Barrier and a… Speed Spell? …Yes, it's Miracle Fusion, the Speed Spell I found after I first met Rally. But, I can't help but wonder what makes it different from a regular Miracle Fusion—and why it's called a Spell and not a Magic card.
Hesitantly, I pick one of my typical starting moves. I fully release the handlebars then, my hands shaking somewhat as I place my trust in the ability of my autopilot. Without my own guidance, the machine seems unsteady at first, rattling and swerving a little and causing my heart to jump into my throat each time it moves in even the slightest wrong way.
"Take the field, Elemental Hero Woodsman!" I call out, my voice sounding triumphant above the wind despite the pit of nervousness my Duel Runner is making in my stomach.
Rather than in front of me like in a normal Duel, Woodsman appears at my side this time, between my Duel Runner and the officer's, seeming to be frozen mid-jump as he keeps up with my speed. Every now and then, one of his legs will touch some bit of invisible "ground" and once more he'll make another great bound to match my pace.
"Next, I'll activate the effect of Elemental Hero Forg—huh?" I stop myself mid-sentence, Elemental Hero Forger in hand. As I attempt to activate his effect, however, a large red X flashes on the beat-up old display. Despite this, I start slipping the card into the Graveyard slot on my Duel Disk, but the card spits back out almost immediately.
"Well, uh… guess not… then I'll set a card facedown and end my turn there," I say, my confusion as clear as if it were painted on my face.
I soon hear the mocking laughter of the officer coming through the speaker. "What's the matter kid, never Turbo Dueled before? Can't figure out what you need to do?" he taunts.
Ben's SC: 2 / Officer's SC: 2
A second white dot fills a gray circle as the officer draws a card. "This will slow you down! I summon the monster Gate Blocker—in Defense Mode!" he states. The screen shows his card being placed on the field and gives me a view of the monster's stats as the creature appears out of a green portal. "With Gate Blocker on the field, you won't gain Speed Counters each turn! You're stuck at 2!"
I've never seen any monster like this before, though given my lack of memory, this likely isn't news to any of you. It has the appearance of a tall rectangular slab of stone or concrete, with a single red eye in the center of it. Most of its body is some shade of blue-green, though a thin line of orange runs up through the center, encompassing the eye. As it comes to the field, however, it becomes covered in a shade of purple similar to the world around us. (Gate Blocker: Level 4, EARTH, Rock-type; 100 ATK/2000 DEF)
However, the moment I get a good view of that monster, specifically that single staring eye, a sharp jolt of pain runs through my head, not unlike when I first dueled Rally. I squeeze my eyes shut in response, gasping in shock as I become very glad for the autopilot on my Duel Runner. My hands clench into fists, nails digging into my palms until I can almost feel the skin breaking beneath, and then the memory comes, foggy, but… it's something.
A winding road. A massive chunk of gray rock, with jagged edges and an angry face… I see it looming overhead, and pass underneath it, and hear it thud down behind me. And then… laughter. Not the cold, cruel laughter that I remembered for… as long as I can remember, but warm laughter, the kind one might elicit around friends. But wait—moments later, as the wind around me rushes through my hair, it evokes the sensation of someone playing with my hair… gently, lovingly.
Tears swell in my eyes, a few stray beads leaking down my cheeks and leaving a shining trail as I rapidly blink to rid myself of them.
"What, you gonna cry now?" says the officer. "I haven't even done anything yet! They'll eat you up at the Facility!"
I don't respond, overcome with strong emotion that I cannot place one way or the other. It's equal parts sorrow and joy, warmth and despair, all topped off with a nice helping of loneliness that bites down to the core. It's… almost like homesickness, feeling that you don't belong.
The laugh remains in the back of my mind, urging me on as we speed down the old highway.
"Silence won't save you in front of the judge, kid. Go ahead, make your move!" the officer states. The monolithic slab floats alongside him motionlessly, though that one eye watches me, unblinking.
Ben's SC: 2 / Officer's SC: 3
"I draw!" I declare, pulling another card from the top of my deck. As I draw, I notice that on my side of the screen, the gray circle remains unchanged, but on his, he gains a third white dot, though I leave it be as I still do not understand the meaning.
I do notice, however, that as his third white dot blinked into existence, his Duel Runner picks up speed and passes me.
Looking down at my hand, I note the card that I drew—Elemental Hero Ocean… I should be able to do something with this. "I activate the effect of Elemental Hero Woodsman! During my Standby Phase, I can add Polymerization from my Deck to my Hand!"
Expecting to see the card pop from the deck slot like it always does when the effect activates, I feel myself diving deeper into confusion upon seeing that it has not done so.
The officer laughs. "Kid, haven't you realized? You can't play regular Spell Cards! The Turbo Duel system won't let you get Polymerization!"
My eyes widen as the realization dawns on me. Speed Spells. Couldn't use Forger's effect to find an Equip card. And now, I can't use Woodsman to find Polymerization… what am I going to do? Drifting back to the day Rally found me, I recall a compartment on my Duel Disk containing the Speed Spell – Miracle Fusion, but I don't have that in hand now.
I take a look at the Speed Spell in my hand, which bears the image of a blond angel dressed in white, holding a ball of light in its hands. Examining it further, I can see that it mentions something called "Speed Counters," and I further connect the dots—specifically, the white dots that fill up the gray circles.
Pursing my lips and trying to work it all out in my head, I finally state, "I activate my Speed Spell – Angel Baton! It says here that when I have two or more Speed Counters, I can draw two cards, but then I have to discard one! …I think I have two Speed Counters," I add in a less certain voice.
My heart leaps when I see the second card—it is none other than Miracle Fusion, the card that will allow me to put my Fusion Deck to work! Taking a moment to look at my hand and decide who goes, I discard Forger to the Graveyard; after all, I can bring him back with Ocean if my need is great enough.
Feeling the triumphant grin come across my face, I call out, "I now activate my next Speed Spell – Miracle Fusion!"
I place the card onto my Duel Disk—or I try to, as I'm soon met with the same red X flashing upon the screen. I try two more times before I read the card and realize that I need three of those Speed Counters, and realizing further that I'm making a fool of myself in what may or may not be my first Turbo Duel.
"Well… I suppose I can't do that, then…" I say sheepishly as I return it to my Hand—worst of all, now he knows that I have Miracle Fusion. Whether or not he knows what it does, or if it bothers him, I can't say. "In that case, I'll summon my Elemental Hero Ocean in Attack Mode!"
He leaps out of the green portal with a somersault, seeming to be dripping with seawater as he lands beside Woodsman, joining in stride with the half-tree. His skin is blue, and covered in what looks quite a bit like scales that shimmer purple in the purple sun. Two sharp yellow eyes stare out of a blank face, with a long blue fin like a shark's extends from his head. In his muscular arms, he carries a long staff weapon that resembles a trident, but with two curved prongs instead of three. As he starts to keep pace with Woodsman, he switches to carrying his weapon with one hand. (Elemental Hero Ocean: Level 4, WATER, Warrior-type; 1500 ATK/1200 DEF)
"Summon all you want, kid! You can't do anything with those puny monsters," says the officer, "and you can't play your Miracle Fusion either, because Gate Blocker prevents you from gaining Speed Counters!"
Refusing to look at the officer, my eyes fall upon my monsters, knowing full well that they on their own do not have the strength to overcome the rock. On their own, my Heroes aren't heavy hitters, their strength lying in their Fusions, and their ability to get them out fast.
But, is that really an advantage when I can't play the magic cards that summon them?
"I really don't have anything else to do, so… I'll end my turn," I say.
Ben's SC: 2 / Officer's SC: 4
The officer draws another card, and summons a second Gate Blocker, which falls into line beside his own as he pulls further and further ahead of me, so far away that as the wind rushes around us I can no longer hear his voice on its own, rather I need the speakers on my machine to hear his annoying, ceaseless taunts.
In addition to Gate Blocker, he sets a face-down card. He seems awfully smug about it as he ends his turn. "And when I've caught you, I'll find out all about where you Satellites are getting your Duel Runners from! I'll put that idiot Trudge to shame…"
Defiantly, I yell back, "How can you catch me if you can't damage me?"
Over the wind, I can practically hear that damn smirk cross his face. He doesn't even say anything, but I can feel a sensation of pure arrogance streaming back at me from beneath his helmet.
"I draw!" I declared, placing my hand on top of my deck and attempting to channel some sort of energy from my hand into my cards, to try and draw exactly what I needed to get out of this situation… and with a flourish, I draw Elemental Hero Heat! Seems to me that things are beginning to look up for me—with the boost he gets from having Woodsman and Ocean on the field, he'll be able to take down those Gate Blockers with ease!
The Speed Counters update once more, placing the officer at 5, but this time rather than letting me go on with his turn, he flips up his facedown card.
"Before I let you get any further—I activate my continuous trap card, Speed Edge! Now, during each Standby Phase, as long as I have more Speed Counters than you do, you'll be taking damage equal to the difference times 300! And right now the difference is three, so you'll be taking 900 points of damage!"
A sharp jolt of electricity, different from the one that signifies a recovered memory, runs through me as my Duel Runner shakes roughly. For a moment, I worry that it is about to fall apart, and I tighten the grip my legs have on it.
Ben: 3100 LP , 2 SC / Officer: 4000 LP , 5 SC
I bite down on my tongue hard as the Duel Runner, shaken from the electrical burst, bumps over a pothole, and I feel the iron taste of blood in my mouth. I spit into the wind and pay it no more mind as I begin to plan ahead for my victory… starting with my next move!
"We're getting into the home stretch now, I summon Elemental Hero Heat in attack mode!"
The green portal opens up with a burst of flames, as if a round of fireworks were shot out of it when it opened. Blazing like only a man of fire could, Heat—both the monster Heat and the sensation of heat—come roaring forth as flames ripple off of his body. He strikes a pose as he takes his place beside me, punching the air with enough force to send a burning shockwave through the air. (Elemental Hero Heat: Level 4, FIRE, Pyro-type; 1600 ATK/1200 DEF)
"1600 ATK? Haven't you realized that my Gate Blockers have 2000 DEF each, or can you Satellites not do math either?" the officer taunts, his abnormally large mouth apparently aware of Miracle Fusion's Speed Counter requirements, but not aware of Heat's boosting effect.
"Clearly you don't know about Heat's ability! With every face-up Elemental Hero I control, including himself, his ATK gets upped by 200!" (Elemental Hero Heat: 2200 ATK)
The officer's mocking falters for a moment, but only briefly. "Not that it matters—with Speed Edge still on the field, your next turn will be your last! Even if you can destroy one Gate Blocker, the other will still prevent you from gaining Speed Counters!"
That is true—but at the same time, I got one perfect draw, what's to say I can't get another? I just need something that will close the gap on Speed Counters, or get Speed Edge off the field, or let me deliver 4000 points of damage straight to his smug face… well, that might not be so easy after all, but still! My Duel Runner seems to roar in delight from beneath me, or else the engine is just that close to its last legs and I'm trying to impose my own need for encouragement on an inanimate object, but that's not important right now.
What is important, is Heat's attack! "Go on, Heat! Crush through that Gate Blocker with Flare Blitz!" I call out, throwing my hand out like a general giving a command to his subordinate, and at once Heat lunges forward, flames surrounding him like the tail of a comet as he closes the distance between my Duel Runner and the officer's. The massive slab of Gate Blocker sets its singular eye on the fireball just in time for a white hot fist to smash into it, shattering it to bits that scatter invisibly into the wind before my Hero returns to my side, standing beside Ocean.
"And with that, I'll end my turn there!"
"Then I'll draw—and begin preparations for arrest!" says the guard, his voice making him sound certain that he's won. But he hasn't—not yet!
Ben's SC: 2 / Officer's SC: 6
Another shock rocks the Duel Runner, this one stronger than before as the disparity between Speed Counters climbs higher and higher. More damage comes my way, and it doesn't seem to be doing the Duel Runner much good. I grit my teeth, already dreading what more work might need to be done after all this…
Ben: 1900 LP / Officer: 4000 LP
"I'll summon my Search Striker in attack position!" he decrees, and I soon see the card appearing on my screen as the familiar portal opens up once more.
The creature that comes through looks… an awful lot like what one might expect a robot would look like if it joined the police force. A metal helmet covers its head, with two beady greenish eyes peering ahead, searching for its quarry. Over its probably metallic body, it wears a long navy blue coat that covers up most of its being, tied down with a silver belt and covered in all sorts of machinery. On either shoulder, a round black shape not unlike a satellite dish juts out, with all sorts of wiring and circuitry crisscrossing its back until tucking into a metal device like a backpack. And on either arm—I would have thought they were its arms, had I not seen two tiny hands grasping at the triggers—are two long rifles. It seems to be skating through the air as it moves alongside its master, swift and sleek and deadly. (Search Striker: Level 4, WIND, Warrior-type; 1600 ATK/1200 DEF)
"I might not be able to take on Elemental Hero Heat, but I can douse his flames a bit! Search Striker, take aim and fire upon his Woodsman!" the officer orders.
Search Striker swivels around, turning to face my monsters and I. He raises his rifle arms and levels them at Woodsman, and I can hear the boom! as he fires. If this would impact, it would bring my life points down to a range where next turn would see them wiped out by Speed Edge… but then I remember my set Hero Barrier.
Feeling a sudden surge of confidence, I yell out, "Stop right there! I activate Hero Barrier, to negate your attack! Woodsman remains on the field, and Heat remains strong enough to crush your last Gate Blocker."
"Grr… keep fighting all you want, but you won't be able to evade arrest much longer! On my next turn, Speed Edge will take out your life points and I'll be taking you in for questioning!" he growls, ending his turn.
"I wouldn't count on that! I draw!"
Ben's SC: 2 / Officer's SC: 7
After drawing my next card, which is the Speed Spell called Overboost, once again my Duel Runner is tossed about by the electrical shock of Speed Edge, which throws me with such a force that I swear I see a bit of the body come off and fall behind. When I try to look behind, though, I can see nothing but the road speeding away behind me. Looking forward, once again the officer is getting further away.
Ben: 400 LP / Officer: 4000 LP
Reading the text of Overboost, I can't help the grin that comes across my face; running through a bit of quick math, I realize that my victory is finally at hand.
"First off—I'll activate my Speed Spell – Overboost!" I can hear the shock in his voice as he gasps. "When I activate this card, I gain six Speed Counters, but at the end of my turn it gets reduced to one."
Ben's SC: 8 / Officer's SC: 7
"And here comes the finisher—Speed Spell – Miracle Fusion! By removing those six Speed Counters I just gained, I can Fusion Summon an Elemental Hero by removing from play monsters from my side of the field or Graveyard," I say, proudly placing down the card I had attempted to play at the beginning of the duel. As I activate it, a part of me wants to fuse Woodsman and Ocean into a card… whose name I cannot remember… a wave of sadness runs through me as I realize that I cannot name it, and I feel as if I'm betraying an old friend. I overcome it, however, and continue with the play. "By fusing Elemental Hero Woodsman and Elemental Hero Forger, I can summon the card that will end this duel! Elemental Hero Gaia!"
Woodsman and Forger spin away into a vortex that opens up overhead, a swirling maelstrom of colors that flashes a rainbow of colors across the field.
Let us win together, Ben! says a voice in my head, rumbling like an earthquake.
"Burying foes with the power of earth, the hero that has been hand-carved by Mother Nature herself bursts onto the scene! Rock on, Elemental Hero Gaia!"
Evoking the memory of that gray slab that I cannot place, the massive man of rock crushes onto the field with a slightly off-putting weightlessness as he lands. One would expect the world around us to shake, but my Duel Runner remains stable as his enormous feet stomp down onto the ground. (Elemental Hero Gaia: Level 6, EARTH, Warrior-type; 2200 ATK/2600 DEF) (Elemental Hero Heat: 2200 ATK)
"And thanks to his effect, your Search Striker will be getting cut down to size! By halving your monster's ATK, Gaia will gain that much ATK in return—putting your monster at 800, and Gaia at 3000!" (Elemental Hero Gaia: 3000 ATK) (Search Striker: 800 ATK)
"This scum is a cut above the rest…" I hear the officer say begrudgingly over the speakers.
"The compliment is much appreciated, officer. Now, let's get this over with! Gaia, crush his Striker with your Crushing Clay Fist!"
A savage blow that carries the power of the planet itself sails through the air and impacts the cyborg cop, sending it careening through the air before shattering into nothingness, the shockwave left from where the punch landed throwing the officer's Duel Runner violently.
Ben: 400 LP / Officer: 1800 LP
"Now, of course, Heat is going to smash through your last Gate Blocker, but there's one more thing to do! I activate my Quick-Play, the Speed Spell – Speed Energy!" I state, activating the second card I had drawn from Angel Baton's effect. "When I have two or more Speed Counters, I can choose one monster on my field and it gains 200 ATK for each counter I have, which means Ocean is going to be brought up to 1900 ATK!" (Elemental Hero Ocean: 1900 ATK)
As Heat's flaming fist smashes Gate Blocker to rubble, Ocean charges in through the debris with his weapon and swings it across the Sector Security officer's back; and this time, rather than getting tossed about the field, his Duel Runner stops abruptly, steam erupting from it.
Ben: 400 LP / Officer: 0 LP
"You won't get so lucky next time, Satellite!" I hear him shout as I leave him in the dust, the purple world fading back to its normal colors.
It's just after nightfall when I return to the subway at last, slowing way down as I make the bumpy ride down the steps. It's rough going, and while I go slow I can't say I'm too cautious, a bit of paranoia that I'm being followed by Security officers causing me to be a bit clumsy with my maneuvering. Here and there, a bit of cracked staircase becomes even more cracked as I charge down before finally coming to a rest on the platform.
The moment I put the Duel Runner in park, Rally and the others come rushing over from a burning campfire that sends smoke spiraling up toward the crack in the ceiling. Rally is the first to reach me, practically bowling me over as I climb off the machine.
"Ben, we were so worried about you!" he says, putting his arms around my waist and hugging me like a vise grip. "What took you so long?"
"And how come the Duel Runner is so beaten up?" asks Nervin, crouching beside my vehicle and looking over it with the amber glow of that old flashlight. "It looks like it's been through a warzone…"
"I had a run-in with Sector Security," I say, taking a deep gulp of air as I gently pry myself free of the powerful arms of Rally Dawson. "But I won… left him behind somewhere on that old highway."
The mere mention of Sector Security causes my friends to freeze, each of their eyes turning to me, wide like animals caught in the headlights of oncoming traffic. They bring me over to the fire where I'm given an old metal bowl that contains the contents of the night's can of meat, which I eat up greedily despite the less than appetizing taste and smell. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until they put it in front of me.
After recounting the tale of my defiance and daring escape from the clutches of that Sector Security officer, Nervin shakes his head. "Shouldn't be surprised… with Yusei getting through the Pipeline, there's no doubt going to be more of those Security creeps around. I'm glad you're okay though, Ben."
"Yeah, but those guys don't take too kindly to losing," points out Blitz. "Even if he got away this time… Ben, you need to be more cautious about taking your Duel Runner out. What if they follow you back here next time?"
I frown; I hadn't thought of that. "Then they'll consider you all my accomplices… and I don't want you guys to get in trouble," I say.
Silence settles between us again, before finally Rally speaks up. "Then… you can start running the tunnels, like Yusei did!" he says, looking at me from across the fire. The flames dance in his eyes, flickering and twisting. "You can't let this set you back too much, the day the Pipeline opens up will be on us soon enough!"
"And the damage from the duel… we'll need to get that hammered out before then," Tank agrees after a moment, nodding along with Rally's point.
"Yeah! Forget those goons, we've got to get you to the City!" Nervin echoes, pumping his fist in the air.
After a moment, Blitz gives a firm nod. "I know I said be careful… but that doesn't mean give up! We didn't go through all that crap with those thugs to get that Duel Runner for nothing!"
Setting the plate by my side, I give them all a broad grin. "Then… it looks like we've got some work ahead of us, huh guys?"
AND THAT'S WHERE WE'RE CALLING IT! Hopefully the wait wasn't too long for this chapter, I'm going to try and get back into uploading every other week for a bit, then hopefully getting into a weekly schedule. This was actually meant to be up last week, but I came down with the flu and wasn't able to finish it.
Anyways, not going to take up much time with this one either. I hope the duel made up for the shortness of the last chapter, as well as us getting to see another memory. I don't think it's difficult to tell what the memory comes from, so if you figure it out go ahead and put what you think in a review ;) but that just leads to more questions—who exactly is Ben, and where does he have this memory from? (Also I hope that Turbo Duel wasn't too terrible. I've never actually written a Turbo Duel in all my attempts at fanfic, so I'll admit I lack a bit of experience in that field).
So, to close as always,
Take care, brrrrush yo hair, I'll see ya when I see ya, PEACE~!
~Chase
(Edit: Thank you, Time Thief, for pointing out the hanging sentence after Gate Blocker was summoned! I'm not sure how I missed that, but I appreciate you catching it for me! And while I won't confirm or deny any of your theories, I will say that everything will start to be revealed once he's out of the Facility ;) )