As we drove away from the crashed pursuit bot, I glanced over at Crow, "So, why are you living in the most dangerous part of Satellite?"
"It's the only place in Satellite that the coppers won't go. With my marker, the only way I can stay out of jail is to stay far away from them, because they know what I do. Plus, the only real danger there is just the structural damage from the earthquake. Most of the other people in that area are just like me, wanting to avoid Sector Security. We all leave each other alone except for occasional border disputes with new people."
We smiled to each other, and I chuckled, "I guess you aren't a total Bird Brain."
"Gee, thanks sis."
Crow pulled to a stop next to one of the giant gashes in the earth, "This is the smallest part of the canyon. Do you think you can jump it?"
I walked to the edge, staring down into the abyss, "Is there a ramp nearby?"
He pointed to a pile of rubble, and I made my way over to it, jumping over a couple piles of junk. For a moment, I thought that Crow was pulling on my leg, because there was no way that this was a ramp. Then something inside my brain clicked, and I could suddenly see the makeshift ramp, "That's amazing!"
Clearly the locals on that side do NOT want Security to have access to them from just any side.
We both got on our runners, driving a fair distance back before lining up for the jump. Crow revved his engine, "Watch, okay?"
As his runner left the ground, two wings stretched out, giving him an unfair advantage on the jump. He neatly fell to a stop, turning and grinning at me, "Your turn!"
I backed up a little bit more, then gunned it forward. My heart skipped a couple beats as I flew over the gorge, This is so freaking amazing!
Crow's smile was splitting his face in half, "Like my runner's special feature?"
"Of course you would have a runner with wings. But where did you get the runner? I didn't think that you knew how to make one."
His smile faded a bit, "A friend made the frame and I finished the rest of it on my own. I call it the Blackbird. By the way, what do you call yours?"
My face burned as I muttered, "Justice."
"Makes sense. I like it, because it ain't too fancy or stuff, and it tells a lot about you. Well, I think your friends are waiting for us."
I gladly started following him, closer and closer to the bridge that represented so much hope for our people. It towered above us, creaking in the wind.
We rounded the final corner, revealing my friends looking around. I rolled to a stop as a group of kids came out of nowhere and started mobbing Crow.
I took off my helmet just as I heard Crow say, "I brought the new ruler of turbo dueling: Yusei Fudo!"
Suddenly the kids were completely surrounding me.
"Can I have an autograph?"
"I watched your duel with Jack ten times!"
"This is so cool!"
"Can I see your deck?"
How many kids does Crow take care of? I feel like I'm in a mob! I cleared my throat, "Can I get off my runner?"
They parted and I walked over to my friends. Aki looked like she was trying to not laugh, "You looked so defenseless with those kids."
"I'll admit, I'm not great with a ton of kids."
Looking over my shoulder, I saw the kids playing with my runner, "Well, at least they have something to make them happy. I don't know what I would do to engage with them."
After the sun set, we were all gathered around a fire, eating beans from a can. Aki leaned next to my ear, whispering barely above a whisper, "Is this what you guys usually eat?"
"Yeah, it's the thing we eat most often. Canned foods are about the only thing that is good when it reaches us, so we don't eat much else to avoid food poisoning."
Crow passed out water bottles, "These should be pretty clean. Stole them from Security's HQ a couple days ago while I was picking up some new cards."
I smiled as I accepted one from him, "Thanks. Wait, I think I brought some food from Blister's place in the city!"
Scrambling to my feet, I heard Blister behind me, "I'm not going to be back there for a while."
Unlocking the seat of my runner, I pulled out two loaves of bread, and handed them over to Crow, "Bread that was baked at max a week ago."
Crow stared as I handed them over, "Why is this bread so soft?"
Aki jumped a bit, looking over at us, "That's how bread is."
We both shook our heads, and I spoke for both of us, "Not in Satellite. Even the bread that some manage to make isn't the best because we don't get fresh anything."
She realized what I was hinting at, "Oh, well then I think that the kids should definitely get some so they know what real bread is."
Crow nodded, "Hey! Get over here! Yusei brought all of you presents!"
The kids mobbed, and he explained, "This is bread fresh from the city. She wanted you to have some."
I watched as each kid was given two pieces of bread, and then they came over and gave me a hug before running back to their cans of beans.
One of them was apparently a fast eater, because by the time we had gotten our bread, he was back, "Crow, can you tell us a story?"
Crow chuckled, "How about the one about the Bridge to Nowhere?"
All of the kids cheered in chorus, "Yeah!"
He lowered his voice, whispering in a dark tone, "There was once a small island where everyone is always sad, and hoping to move to a nearby island, where everyone was happy."
One of the boys interrupted, "We all know that it's the city and the Satellite. Why are you talking so fancy?"
Crow grabbed their heads, "Do you want a story, or not?"
"Sorry."
"We'll be quiet."
Everyone chuckled as Crow continued, "One day, a stranger appeared at the shore, and started watching the city. Then one day, he stopped watching the city and started building a bridge."
A different boy interrupted, "One guy can't build a bridge, it'd take too long!"
"That's what everyone around him said, but instead they came to laugh at him, and stayed to help him build.
"Before this all they had was their work, and not even all of them had work. To have a chance to recycle the garbage into something that meant so much to them was a change they all seized. The progress shot forward, and within a month it looked like it might actually get finished. This encouraged them to work even harder.
"But about this time the Securities came to this side of the Satellite and started arresting anyone they caught working on it. But everyone knew that their real target was the man who started all of this in the first place.
"One day, they finally started chasing him down on his runner, and cornered him next to the bridge, where he had two options. Die in the Facility, or die a legend. He chose to drive off the end of his bridge, and as he shot off it they saw wings fold out of his runner. No one ever saw him again."
This time, it was Rally who shouted, "Someone must know what happened to him! He couldn't just vanish!"
Crow nodded, "You're right, but if ever need to find him…"
"Just look in your heart," his kids said with him, pointing at their hearts. They ran off to their beds as Crow rejoined us.
Blister looked at me, "I've never heard of that story. Yusei, do you think that you could eventually connect the two islands?"
I shrugged, "I don't know," I said looking at what little I could see of the sky, "But we should get to bed too."
Everyone settled down in sleeping bags around the fire, slowly dozing off one at a time. By the last time the last one went quiet, it must have been around midnight.
A/N: Thanks to Let's-Go-To-Vermont for reviewing on the original version of this chapter!
