I couldn't help but smirk as I drove Justice along the dirt highway. Kiryu didn't trust the car Martha gave him with a journey this long, so he was riding behind me. Not ideal when you are strangers, but since he was practically my boyfriend, neither of us really cared.

The only thing that was bothering me at the moment was the heat.

Now I understood that we were going to a town in the desert, but I had never been in so much heat before.

Satellite was muggy, but the smog kept the sun from beating down on us.

In the city, there was air conditioning everywhere, along with shade and water.

I was not prepared to be driving over 150 kilometers with someone sitting directly behind me with no shade. I was discovering pores on my back that I was not aware of until this point, "What is your friend's name again?"

"Sergio. He has two kids, Nico and West."

Blinking sweat out of my eyes, I shifted, "How much farther? I don't know if Justice can take the heat for much longer."

He shifted slightly behind me, "Shouldn't be too much farther, but Sergio couldn't give me exact details."

Sighing, I shook my head, "If Justice breaks down, you owe me a really nice dinner."

My body vibrated as he chuckled, "I already do. You are going out of your way to help me out after I nearly killed you four times."

I twisted my head around, "I don't recall that many."

"Attacking Security, that wrestling match in the rain, and the two Dark Signer attacks."

Shaking my head, I clarified, "I don't see you being responsible for those. Your visions were starting to bleed into reality and you couldn't think straight."

"Three dinners then. One for taking me here, one for taking down anyone who threatens us, and a third for forgiving me."

I chuckled, "With the money you are making, just stick with one, unless you want me to pay."

A wave of emotion flashed through me, and I quickly slowed down, before pulling to a stop, "Something is wrong. Up ahead, someone is...upset? No...they are scared. And in danger."

Kiryu climbed off, "Then we better stay low."

We crawled along the ground, and peered over the edge of a cliff, only to see three men running for their lives. Their heads kept turning back to see if there were people pursuing them, and Kiryu hissed, "Sergio."

My eyes scanned the bottom of the cliff, locking onto what looked to be a makeshift graveyard filled with duel disks. Before my mind could process that information, two runners pulled up, both men on them laughing in a chilling way. All three men on foot burst towards the cliff face, panic coming from them in waves. While two of them attempted to climb up the steep cliff face, the one that Kiryu said was Sergio threw a necklace up the cliff, and it landed right in front of me.

Kiryu almost stood up, but I pinned him down and watched.

One of the men who had just got off the runners casually placed a card down on his duel disk, and immediately all three men collapsed screaming. Even from the top of the cliff, I could hear the buzz of electricity.

As the men flailed on the ground, the second man played a card, causing my pulse to speed up.

Carefully, I got up, pinning Kiryu to the ground with my foot so he wouldn't get up, "What are you doing?"

They both glanced up, and the skinny one replied, "Oh, we are just making sure these guys know better than to ditch work again."

Kiryu hissed, and I tilted my head, "But was the electricity really necessary?"

The guys laughed, brushing off my comment completely, "If you are a duelist, you will be welcomed in our town."

I fought to keep an impassive look on my face as the three unconscious men were dragged away, only letting Kiryu up once they were out of eyesight, "Yusei, why did you pin me down like that?"

"Since when do you think before jumping into action?"

Crossing his arms across his chest, he stared me down, "Fair point. But you do too."

"Only if I am attacked. Most of the time I try to weasel my way out of a problem."

He dusted himself off, "Okay. We need to find the kids and make sure that they are safe."

I nodded as I picked up the necklace, "Let's just hope that everything works out."

We got on Justice again and rode the rest of the way into town, parking on the outskirts just in case.

Kiryu reached out as we headed into town, and grabbed my hand, "I don't want any of them bothering you while we're here."

I smiled on the inside, while remaining calm on the outside, "Alright."

He stopped at a flower shop, "Sorry, we're new here. What can you tell us about the village?"

The lady smiled at us, "This is Crash Town. Most of us moved here because the city wasn't kind to us. Everyone here is either a duelist or an innocent."

I raised an eyebrow, "Why are all of the children being rushed inside?"

"Because it is almost dueling time. Between the beginning and end of the sunset, one duel per day is allowed. Most often the duels are between the two gangs in town. The Malcolm family and the Ramon group. They wear red and black respectively."

As she spoke, two groups wearing the mentioned colors pulled up on runners and in cars.


The duel only lasted a few minutes, but it shocked me to see what they did with the loser, "This is even worse than Satellite."

Kiryu stood silently beside me, only giving a brief nod to my comment. As the crowd dispersed, my eyes fell on a small boy that heavily resembled Sergio. I pointed him out to Kiryu, who carefully drifted his way, crouching next to him, "Hey Nico. I'm Kiryu."

The small boy smiled, "Thanks for coming. Are you going to save Dad?"

Kiryu nodded, and led him back to where I was standing. Looking around, I spoke softly, "Let's go to the edge of town so we can talk without being overheard."

We drifted to where we left my runner, and we flopped down on the ground. Nico pulled his legs to his chest as he started talking, "Dad was one of the duelists in Malcolm's gang. He lost about a week ago, so he was sent to the mines. No one questioned it because we need the stuff in the mines to keep the town going."

Loud voices came from further in the town, and we all hopped to our feet, "We'd better get some distance between us and them just in case things get bad."

I picked up Justice, and pushed her away from the town as Kiryu walked with Nico, continuing the conversation from earlier, "So, in other words, everyone figures that keeping the mine going is more important than helping each other out?"

He nodded, "Not just that, but no one helps us kids if our parents end up in the mine."

We arrived at the top of the hill, and covered my best creation under piles of brush, "This looks a little conspicuous."

Kiryu smiled, "It does, but it's better than leaving it in the open. Nico, where's your sister?"

Nico's smile disappeared, "She was taken to be a water maid in the mines. They figured that she'd be more useful there."

Kiryu looked at me, "We need to get inside of that mine and get them out."

I nodded as I put the last branch over my baby, "That is easier said than done. We don't even know where the entrance is."

"We could each join a gang and throw the match against each other."

That brought a laugh out of me, "I don't know if I even CAN throw a match. My mind has evolved to think that losing equals death, so it would be extremely obvious that I didn't want to win."

He nodded, "I can make it look real, but you'd have to find a different way in there, especially since every duelist here is a guy."

Rolling my shoulders, I tilted my head, "How about you throw the match, and I'll follow you to the mine."

Kiryu smiled, "Alright, but I'll need you to save me again."

I messed up his hair, "I'll always rescue my damsel in distress."

He exploded into hysterical laughter, "I guess that our relationship is kinda backwards. You are the strong independant one with an income and I am the one living at home babysitting."

I smirked, "Go join a gang."

"Never thought I'd hear that come from you."


The hot summer air seemed to pin the two of us to the ground as Nico and I waited for the wagon to come by and lead us to the mine.

Nico drank from a canteen, "They normally come this way after collecting the loser."

Seeing a small kid in as much danger as I was anymore was concerning, Am I ever going to be ready to have a family? Will my enemies and past ever allow for it?

I had barely managed to push that thought away, when another thought floated in, Of course, for me to have a family, I need to get Kiryu back.

That thought got shoved out, just like the first as I made sure to keep my breaths even and quiet, barely shifting despite the fire coming from the sand below me.

Slowly, the creak of wood became more prominent, and a wagon appeared on the road. Nico whispered, "That's the loser's wagon."

We silently watched it go past us, and only moved our heads as it headed toward the formidable mountain, "So that's where the mine is."

"Yeah, but no one knows where the entrance is except them."

As they rounded a bend in the road, I slipped to the next hiding place, and nearly froze as I caught a glimpse inside. When Nico joined me, I whispered, "Do they normally have two losers?"

"No."

Kiryu, did you destroy him with you?

The mine entrance was finally in sight, and I was surprised that no one had found it yet. We rushed forward to another large bush, and carefully watched them go inside with the guys. Nico glanced at the duel disk on my arm, "Can you run with that on?"

I smiled, "I once lived a life where you did everything with a duel disk on. So yeah."

When the doors closed, and we heard the lock slide shut, we got to our feet and walked closer to see if there were any other entrances.

As we got closer, I noticed air vents, which all smelt of sulfur, "Ugh, not looking forward to going in there. Nico, help me find a big one."

"Sure thing."

He walked one way, while I walked another. Most vents my size were far off the ground, but they had bars on them, Probably where some of the workers have escaped from in the past.

"Yusei, I found one!"

Rushing over, I peered into one that was about shoulder height, "Perfect."

Nico climbed up my back before I could do anything, "No, you aren't going in there!"

Facing puppy eyes for the first time in a while was challenging, "I have to find West. Don't worry, I'll stay out of danger."

Arguing with him would be hypocritical, so instead, I just hissed, "Fine, but you better be careful."

I waited a few minutes so I could be sure that no one saw him or that he didn't get stuck before heaving myself up, "Alright, here goes."

The tunnel was extremely claustrophobic, and shook occasionally. My breathing slowly became more and more shallow, and the trip felt like it went for hours. The sane part of my mind kept trying to calm me down, but it failed.

Finally emerging from the tunnel, which was even higher from the ground than it's outside counterpart, I got behind cover and regained my breath.

When my heart slowed enough to think properly, I peered out from behind the broken machine and noticed that everyone who was working had a metal collar around their neck, just like Sergio when we had seen them.

Perfect. Something I can handle. But first I have to find Kiryu.


A/N: Thanks to Nozomi Higuarshi (for reviewing twice) and sharkisawesome for reviewing on the original version of this chapter!