I'm back with a new chapter and we're heading straight back to the anime plot.
Special thanks to CitrusUnshiu for beta-checking Aki's point of view in the chapter.
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 95: One Step Closer
A couple of days had passed since we celebrated Yusei's birthday and Tanabata. Leo and Luna were currently visiting me to have a Duel or two, but the main objective was to get some of their summer homework done. The reason why they crashed at my place was because Yusei, Jack, Crow, and Bruno had gone to a remote area of downtown city, like the old Daimon Area, to buy a new and popular type of cup ramen. From what I heard, Jack had been very persistent to go and buy more than a dozen of them, hence why he dragged Yusei, Crow, and Bruno along.
Aki was busy training with Sherry on a Duel course that had been repaired after the destruction that Primo had caused a while ago. Speaking of, it had been eerie quiet from Iliaster's side, but that didn't mean we could relax just yet. They had attacked us before with plans that didn't originate from the anime, so we had to keep our eyes open for their next course of action.
The twins and I were in my bedroom and sat by the coffee table that was covered in books. Leo and Luna sat next to each other as they studied as hard as they could. I sat across from them while reading a book on my own. You could say I was supervising the twins and was on standby in case they needed help with a subject. From my observation, Luna was a good student, but Leo had less concentration ability when it came to subjects not related to Dueling.
Leo groaned loudly in defeat before resting his face onto the notebook in front of him. "This is too much! Why do the teachers give us so much homework?! It's supposed to be summer vacation!" he complained loudly.
"Get it together, Leo", Luna scolded her twin brother. "The more we do each day, the sooner we'll get done with the homework."
"I know, but still…", Leo sighed as he turned his head, so his right cheek was now resting on the notebook. "I already finished the homework in Dueling, but the rest is just boring." He turned to me with curious eyes. "How was summer vacation for you when you were our age, Estelle? Did you get summer homework too?"
I looked up from my book when I heard the question. "No, not really", I replied.
"What?!" Leo exclaimed in shock. "You got no summer homework?!"
"Well, the Swedish school system is different compared to Japan's", I explained. "The new school term begins in autumn, so we got around three months of summer vacation with no homework. We have the winter vacation, but there's no homework there too and same with the spring break and a short autumn break."
"The kids in Sweden must be very lucky to not receive any homework during vacation", Leo sighed.
"The only times I got some homework to do was when I was taking a long vacation visiting my parents' home country in the middle of the school term, but that was it", I added. "If I wanted to get better grades, I did some studying on the side."
"Still… Lucky Swedish kids…", Leo mumbled before digging his face onto the notebook, accidently crumbling the paper sheets.
"Leo, sit up and do the homework!" Luna told him before she grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him up.
I held back a chuckle while watching the twins' interaction. Leo was the oldest between them, but Luna could act like a big sister in times like this. It only showed she was the mature one while Leo was the outgoing one.
I blinked my eyes when my smartphone played the ringtone of a message being sent to me. I picked the smartphone up from the table and opened the Line app where Yusei had written a message in the group chat.
Yusei: Guys, we found Lazar, but he got away. Meetup at the garage in twenty minutes.
"Well, it looks like you'll be able to take a break from the homework", I told the twins. "Yusei sent a message and says we need to be by the garage in twenty minutes."
"Alright! Free time!" Leo cheered as he threw the notebook over his shoulder.
"What happened?" Luna asked.
"Apparently, Yusei and the others had a run-in with Lazar", I replied.
"Lazar? He's been found?" Leo blinked in surprise.
"He's been missing since April, right?" Luna asked.
"Correct, after he stole the first engine program that Yusei and Bruno worked on and it later turned out that he gave the program to Primo to use it for his Riding Roids", I explained.
XXXXXXXXXX – Aki's POV
It felt nice to practice my Duel Runner techniques again. As soon as the construction of a repaired Duel course was done, Sherry immediately booked it so we could practice and not get rusty when the preliminaries of the World Racing Grand Prix was going to resume in just a few weeks.
Sherry, Mizoguchi, and I were the only ones by the course and practiced for a couple of hours, taking turns while the others observed the data on a laptop. Mei and Sakura were on a date, so they couldn't be with us right now. They had been a huge help for our team, but it was clear they wanted to spend some time together while they still had time during the summer vacation. Maybe they went on a study date, since we did have lots of homework to do, and wanted to have a quiet time together. Or maybe they went to the movies. Or maybe…
"-ki? Aki!"
Sherry's voice snapped me out of my thoughts about my friends' date. "Y-Yes?" I stuttered softly while the blonde stared at me with her large emerald eyes.
"Are you okay? You didn't respond when I called the first time", Sherry said as her eyes shifted into a slight concerned expression. "Is the sun too strong? You can stay in the shade if you want."
Mizoguchi was currently on the course driving while Sherry and I checked his Duel Runner's data and compared the timing for each lap. He drove past us as he continued with the fourth lap.
"I'm okay!" I replied quickly while waving my hands frantically. "I'm used to this heat and I make sure to drink a lot." To emphasis my point, I grabbed my water bottle and took a few sips of the sports drink I had prepared back at home.
Sherry studied me with suspicious eyes before she shrugged and let it go. "If you say so, but make sure to stay hydrated. The heat in Japan is more intense than what I had first imagined."
"Are the summers in France cooler than here in Japan?" I wondered.
"Yes", Sherry nodded. "At least a bit, I remember there were a few heat waves that struck France every now and then. Those times were so hot I was unable to be outside riding my pony."
"You had a horse when you were a child?" I wondered.
"He wasn't really my horse. I used to take horse riding classes and the trainers let us choose a horse that we could use for the courses", Sherry explained as the corner of her lips twitched upward. "The pony I chose had white fur with blonde mane and tail. I adored him and felt an immediate connection when I saw him the first time. He was also really fast, which is why I named him Sturm."
"Sturm…", I repeated softly as I eyed Sherry's Duel Runner that was parked next to mine. "Is it possible…that you named your Duel Runner after him?"
"Partially", Sherry nodded. "The name was mainly inspired by a German literary movement that I enjoyed reading in my free time, 'Sturm und Drang'. I assume you've read about it in the academy?"
"I've heard about it yes", I replied. "I didn't know you speak German." I was surprised at this information about the tall woman. After all, I assumed French people didn't speak German.
"I'm from a region that is quite close to Germany", Sherry explained as she folded some papers together to then use them to fan herself. "My parents thought it might be useful to know German in future. I mainly learned it by reading books. Of course, that includes reading the classics like Goethe and Schiller, the later of them even wrote one of my favorite books 'Kaballe und Liebe'", she added with a smile.
"Ah… Alright", I just said, not really knowing what books she was talking about. She seemed to notice my confusion.
"I assume you haven't read the book?" she questioned.
"No…", I replied honestly with a sheepish smile. "Actually, I'm not really into literature. In fact… I still haven't figured out what I really enjoy at all."
It was moments like these I remembered I didn't have much time left in the Duel Academy. I was going to graduate in March and become an independent adult next year, but there was one obstacle in the way.
What do I want to do? What do I want to achieve in life?
I didn't exactly have a goal in mind. I was considering becoming a professional Duelist, but it felt like everyone else had the same goal. I wanted to do something different. Perhaps professional Dueling could be a backup plan while I was looking for the profession that I knew that was it.
Sherry placed a hand on my shoulder, bringing me out of my thoughts. She gave me a soft smile that made my heart flutter like butterflies. "You will one day find out what you want to do. Don't pressure yourself, Aki", she told me in a gentle voice.
I blushed softly and nodded slowly. "I won't…" I soon calmed down before a question appeared in my head. "Say, Sherry…"
"Yes?"
"After we defeat Iliaster and you get your…revenge… What will you do?"
Sherry stayed silent as she let go of my shoulder and stared at the course with a serious expression. "After we eliminate Iliaster, I will reclaim my father's company and become its successor. I'll make sure there will never be another corruption again."
"Ah…", I nodded before a sad thought struck me. "So I guess…you'll leave Japan after the Grand Prix?"
"Yes… After I destroy Iliaster once and for all", Sherry responded as she raised her right hand before clenching it into a fist, showcasing her determination of crushing the evil organization.
I knew since way back when I met Sherry the first time that she was only here in Japan to find Iliaster and carry out her vengeance for losing her family, but now that I've gotten closer to her my heart hurt by the thoughts of her leaving the country. I was scared not to see her again.
Even though we've gotten somewhat closer, I still feel like there was a thick wall between Sherry and me. It was understandable; it was because of her survival and not wanting to let anyone inside her bubble because she didn't want them to get hurt by Iliaster. I could understand the feeling of wanting to protect the people you care about, but at the same time I couldn't help but feel sad that we might never be able to have a really close relationship because of that.
I snapped out of my deep thoughts when I heard my smartphone play the ringtone of a sent message. I picked it up from the desk and saw it was a short message in the group chat.
Yusei: Guys, we found Lazar, but he got away. Meetup at the garage in twenty minutes.
"Yusei found Lazar?" I mumbled to myself, somewhat confused.
Sherry turned to me, her face showing concern. "What's wrong?" she asked softly.
"Yusei wrote that he found Lazar, but the clown got away and I need to get to the garage in twenty minutes", I replied, the sad thoughts from earlier that turned my mood gloomy were almost completely erased.
"Isn't Lazar one of the key individuals who have a direct connection to Iliaster, like Director Goodwin?" Sherry asked.
"Yes. He's the one who stole Yusei and Bruno's first engine program and gave it to Iliaster", I explained. "We've been looking for him ever since then because, apparently, he still has connections with Iliaster."
"There's no time to lose", Sherry's voice shifted into serious mode as she opened the intercom to connect directly to Mizoguchi through the laptop. "Mizoguchi, we have to stop the training session now!"
"What is the matter, Milady?" Mizoguchi replied.
"We just got an opportunity to confront Iliaster once again."
XXXXXXXXXX – Estelle's POV
Leo, Luna, and I met up with Aki, Sherry, and Mizoguchi outside of the garage in twenty minutes and found the Satellite Trio and Bruno waiting for us inside. The four of them sat around a table they had set up in the garage that had a single cup ramen of the new brand Jack had been looking forward to try out. They gave us a summary of how they found Lazar after he exposed himself with his voice, even though he was in a disguise, and how he got away after they cornered him. The reason why he got away was because Jack was still angry after the clown ate one of his cup ramen the same night he stole the first engine program and his anger had been enough distraction for the others.
"So he ran away while being chased by four guys?" Aki said unamusingly.
"Why?" Luna asked.
"What?" Leo added.
The four young men had their heads bowed down in shame while Jack had his arms crossed with a frown and Crow had an irritated frown on his own. He had finally gotten the cast and brace removed, so his shoulder had finally healed up on its own. "At least I don't hold a grudge against someone who stole his cup ramen", the Blackwing Duelist muttered.
"I'm not to blame!" Jack yelled back in defense.
"Whatever", Crow retorted.
"I guess you aren't so athletic now after the Enforcers was disbanded", I commented. "You should work out more in the future."
"Yeah…", Yusei mumbled as if he was a little ashamed.
"I expected more from my…temporary allies", Sherry spoke up. "How difficult is it to catch a single rat?"
"It depends on how skilled the rat is to avoid traps, Milady", Mizoguchi replied.
"But now we kinda know where he could be hiding", Bruno pointed out. "And since he has a family to protect, he wouldn't want to stay far away from them."
"Yeah, because Iliaster could still be looking for him", Yusei nodded. "After all, he has information about them that he shouldn't know."
"Meaning they want to…dispose of him before he can spill out the beans to us", I added.
"Should we try to pop out and catch him again?" Jack suggested.
"I don't think he can be easily found", Bruno pointed out.
"From what I remember, his family is supposed to be hiding inside a drainage tunnel", I spoke up. "I know they had one way in and out, but I don't know if they have an escape route inside the tunnel itself."
"Meaning we must lure Lazar out and catch him before he can run back to his family and help them pack up their stuff and run away again", Aki added.
"And since Lazar is a sneaky guy, his family might be just as sneaky as him", Leo said.
"They might not be too easy to catch", Luna nodded.
"That damn bastard", Crow muttered loudly.
Jack glared intensely at the cup ramen on the table before he blinked his eyes in realization. "I got an idea!" he exclaimed.
Everyone turned to him with confused eyes while the Master of Faster's expression changed into a dark evil face with a very deep chuckle like the Devil himself.
"What did he just think about…", Crow mumbled in a cold sweat.
XXXXXXXXXX
Jack told us about his plan of using Lazar's weakness to lure him out into a trap. While the blonde Signer was the King of Games, he came up with his very own cup ramen brand that sold like hot cakes; Red Demon's Noodle. The original name was supposed to be Red Dragon Archfiend's Noodle, but it was too long, so they shortened it to Red Demon's Noodle, much to Jack's disappointment.
For anyone who was wondering, the flavor of the cup ramen was almost as strong as fire. I ate one a while ago and got a burning tongue afterward. I could only eat ice cream for the rest of that day and the next half day.
Since Jack was the creator of the brand, he still had access to the factory where they made the cup ramen. The chef and employees in the factory treated him like he was no different from before he lost his crown. After all, the cup ramen was still popular to this day.
Jack came up with the excuse of hosting a promotional event downtown and was going to give the winner a year's supply of Red Demon's Noodles, so that was easy enough to get several packages of cup ramen. The factory helped us set up a stage while we took care of the rest, meaning the costumes. The costumes were the same as in the anime, except I urged Leo, Luna, and Aki to use wigs to better hide their identities. Therefore, Leo and Luna picked a short red wig and a short light pink wig to match the ingredient headgears. Aki chose a wig that was similar to the wig she used for her Halloween costume last year; long brownish-grey wig with some curls.
The anime Bruno had been on stage, but he chose to stay as a bodyguard in front of the stage with Mizoguchi instead, so he got a black suit and sunglasses. He and Mizoguchi were going to use hair gel to slick their hair back and make them look more like the real deal.
I decided to take Bruno's place on the stage, so I got dressed into the same type of costume as Aki's, but I picked a long orange wig that matched the sunglasses.
Jack, Yusei, and Sherry were going to hide backstage and be on standby to catch Lazar before he could flee.
The one who got disappointed was Crow. He got to cosplay Cup Ramen Man after losing to Jack in rock-paper-scissors. He did protest first that he refused to cosplay a cup ramen, but he shut up after Jack literally threw him into the fake cup costume.
That evening, when I told Goodwin about the sighting of Lazar, he told me to call him immediately as soon as we caught Lazar because he needed to be part of the interrogation.
XXXXXXXXXX
The next day, we were ready to commence the trap AKA the fake promotional event. We started the event one hour before noon, since we thought Lazar would be on hunt for food around the same time, so it was perfect timing to attract him with some delicious cup ramen.
"Today, we bring you the spicy Red Demon's Noodles!" Luna spoke in her microphone, catching the bystanders' attention.
"Welcome to the third anniversary sale! We're please for you guys to come here!" Leo added, speaking in his own mic.
"Today's special guest is…Cup Ramen Man!" Luna announced.
On cue, Crow walked out on stage wearing the large ridiculous costume and a standard Duel Disk strapped on his arm to not expose his true identity. "Everyone, sorry to keep you waiting!" Crow called in a raspy voice while waving his arms to the audience.
Aki walked up next to him and honked a small trumpet to raise the excitement, but it didn't really help much. I couldn't exactly help out since I stood next to the table with the huge amount of parcels with Red Demon's Noodle cups.
"So to start this off, we'll have a spicy Red Demon's Noodle Duel tournament!" Luna quickly continued to keep the attention on the stage.
"You'll have to fight the strongest Duelist, Cup Ramen Man, in a Duel", Leo explained. "And if you win, you receive a one year supply of spicy Red Demon's Noodles as a present!"
Now that excited the audience even more. Who wouldn't want to miss the opportunity to get a one year free supply of food?
One by one, the Duelists came onstage, escorted by either Bruno or Mizoguchi, and challenged Crow. Crow had prepared a completely different Deck for the event, so he didn't use any of his Blackwings. Even so, he defeated one Duelist after another, but there were still no signs of Lazar and the time was ticking.
Crow was losing his patience and I was certain he was feeling too hot in the cup costume. "Now, who the heck's next?" he called.
Without warning, a small black figure jumped onto the stage. They were a short individual, dressed like an emo punk with a guitar case on their back.
Our rat, Lazar in his disguise, has arrived.
"I will be your next opponent", Lazar called trying to mask his voice. "I'm not like the others! Yay!"
I turned to the curtains where Jack, Yusei, and Sherry were hiding and gave them the hand sign we agreed on that I would make if Lazar was going to show up. The others onstage recognized immediately Lazar's voice as Aki slowly snuck around him to corner him. Mizoguchi and Bruno slowly walked up onstage to not catch the clown's attention and figure out this was a trap for him.
Crow chuckled at the sight of the disguised clown. "A pleasure to see you again", Crow called in his normal voice.
"Hold up, you've seen me somewhere?" Lazar asked.
It was then he noticed that Aki, Bruno, Mizoguchi, and I had blocked the way behind him. We removed our glasses, revealing our true identities to him. Lazar shrieked even louder when he saw Yusei, Jack, and Sherry walk out onto the stage to confront him.
"You won't get away this time!" Jack yelled.
"I've been waiting!" Crow rapidly removed the cup part of the costume and threw it onto Lazar, trapping him inside of it. "I have you now!"
"You're persistent, however…!" Lazar growled from inside the cup before a large cloud of smoke erupted from it and engulfed the whole stage.
I covered my nose and mouth while fanning the smoke away, hoping it would soon clear up. I heard something fly by me and Lazar shouting something, but there were too much noise to hear what he said. Luckily, it didn't take long before the smoke cleared up and found the cup empty, meaning the rat had gotten out of the trap.
"You bastard, Lazar!" Crow yelled angrily.
"Where'd he run off to?!" Jack shouted as he looked left and right.
"He ran away again", Leo sighed.
"Too bad, 'cause we got him", Luna mumbled.
"Did the backup plan work?" Sherry asked Yusei.
"Yep", Yusei replied.
"What backup plan?" the twins asked simultaneously.
XXXXXXXXXX – Normal POV
Lazar had dropped his wig during the commotion on the stage, but he didn't care about it. He could get any disguise whenever he wanted to hide his identity from Sector Security and Iliaster. What he didn't know was Yusei had managed to plant a transmitter on the back of his jacket in the middle of the chaos and he hadn't noticed it at all.
Lazar reached the industrial area where his family was hiding while constantly looking over his shoulder in case one of the Signers and their friends were chasing him. Luckily, he had no one in pursuit of him, so he slowed down to catch his breath when he was meters away from the entrance of his family's hideout.
"Those guys will never be able to catch me", Lazar chuckled loudly.
"You mean us guys?!" Crow's voice yelled from above.
Lazar looked up at one of the many platforms in the industrial area and shrieked in surprise when Jack and Crow's Duel Runners jumped down from above and landed gracefully in front of him, blocking his way from entering the drainage tunnel. Lazar tried running the other way he came from, but Crow quickly drove around and blocked the way.
Yusei and Sherry drove up to them and made sure to block the way so Lazar wouldn't be able to escape through their human and Duel Runner barrier.
"How did you guys find me?" Lazar asked in pure confusion, since he knew he had no one following him.
"We couldn't let you escape again, so we planted a transmitter on you", Yusei explained.
Jack had gotten off his Duel Runner and removed the helmet and now approached Lazar while cracking his right fist. "Now then, you cup ramen thief!"
"Can you tell us all you know about Iliaster?" Yusei asked before his childhood friend could beat Lazar into a pulp.
"Yusei!" Jack yelled at him for trying to be rational with the clown.
"I'm telling you guys nothing!" Lazar retorted.
"Oh really?" Sherry said as she removed her helmet and got off her Runner.
Lazar got nervous by the French's murderous aura and tried to make a run for it, but Sherry swiftly approached him and grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up in the air. "Start talking or else I'll make you talk my way!" she demanded.
"I-I-I w-w-won't te-tell you an-anything!" Lazar yelled while getting shaken by the blonde woman.
"Good, Sherry! Hold him there while I beat him into submission", Jack growled as he prepared to use Lazar as a sandbag.
"That's not our way of negotiating, Jack", Crow stepped in before violence could break out. "I have another idea. We'll settle this in a Duel."
"What did you say?" Lazar said.
"If you win, we'll leave you alone", Crow explained. "If I win, then you'll tell us everything you know about Iliaster."
"You're being soft-hearted", Sherry told the carrot-head.
"I'm just being rational", Crow argued calmly. "And what other way can we make him talk? If we beat him up, he'll be less willing to talk."
Sherry was silent as she stared intensely at the Blackwing Duelist. In the back of her head, she knew he was right, but she had always been able to make her prey talk by scaring them into submission. Her allies' way to convincing the enemy to talk was still foreign to her.
Without a word, Sherry let go of Lazar. The clown dropped down to the ground and landed hard on his backside. He yelped in pain and rubbed his sore buttocks before he stood up on his short legs.
"So what do you say, Lazar? Do you accept the challenge?" Crow asked.
The dwarf-adult looked over his shoulder and looked at the tunnel where his family was hiding. He couldn't afford to put his wife and young son in danger, so he got no other choice but to Duel. "Very well. You won't win against my talent", he claimed.
Lazar pulled his clothes off and revealed he had been dressed in his usual outfit underneath the disguise. He opened the guitar case and pulled out his Duel Disk and Deck. Crow strapped his hybrid Duel Disk onto his Wrist Dealer and inserted his Deck into it. Sherry, Jack, and Yusei stepped back to make some space for the duo to battle it out.
"Duel!"
XXXXXXXXXX – Estelle's POV
I feared for a moment that Yusei and the others were going to be unsuccessful in apprehending Lazar, but they returned with the clown and his family in their clutches. It was swiftly decided that Lazar's family was going to stay hidden in Martha's place for the night, since it got late, but Blister was going to drive Lazar to the garage the next day where we were going to interrogate him with Goodwin. The reason we chose Martha's house was so Lazar's son, Fabian, could play with children his age.
It was Jack's idea to turn the living room and kitchen dark and set it up like an actual interrogation room. He was deadly serious to get out more of Lazar since he was still very angry at him for eating his cup ramen.
After some negotiation and forcing Lazar to talk about the main issue and not telling us his life story, plus Jack giving several boxes of Red Demon's Noodles to him, he finally spilled the actual beans for us. Most of the information was basically the same that Goodwin told us a while ago, but there were a few things that not even my adoptive father knew about. It could be that Lazar had remained loyal to Iliaster after the Dark Signers incident, but Goodwin cut all ties with them as soon as possible.
"That is all", Lazar said after he finished talking.
"Are you sure?" Yusei asked.
"That is what stood me up to help you", Lazar nodded.
"No, Yusei apparently knows more about this", Bruno spoke up.
Lazar yelped in surprise. "How now?" he asked.
"They revealed the purpose of Iliaster when they appeared before us after they destroyed the city", Crow explained.
"Iliaster tried to change the future by destroying the Original Ener-D Reactor eighteen years ago", Goodwin spoke up. "They appeared in the ancient times during the first war between the Crimson Dragon and the Earthbound Immortals. They used their influence to manipulate the Shadows and forced my brother to become one of their servants to destroy the Reactor."
"Now they're trying to erase New Domino City from existence", Yusei added.
"By transporting a massive structure from the future that will crash down on New Domino City and erase everything in its path", I finished.
"I-Is that true?!" Lazar exclaimed in pure shock. "That's Iliaster's true objective?!"
"Idiot, weren't you listening to that?!" Crow growled.
"So much for the story! I'll go ahead and take these back!" Jack shouted before removing the packs of cup ramen from the desk.
Lazar panicked by the sight of losing the cup ramen he received and tried stopping the blonde Signer. "Excuse me for that! I-I believe there's something else I remember." He trailed off before he got the lightbulb expression. "I-I got it! The phone!"
"Phone?" Yusei repeated confusedly.
"What about it?" Sherry asked.
"One day, at some point after the Dark Signers incident and Director Goodwin was currently out, I got a call from an outside company who claimed to be affiliated with Iliaster and asked me whether the seat for the Director of Sector Security was vacant or not", Lazar explained. "They wanted to send three new directors, but were unable to because Director Goodwin is alive."
"Those three 'new' directors must've been the Three Emperors of Iliaster we met", Sherry concluded.
"Why did you never inform me about it?" Goodwin asked sternly.
"I-I wasn't allowed to, since the caller threatened to harm my family if I ever told you, Director Goodwin", Lazar confessed.
"What's the company's name?" Yusei asked.
"They never revealed their name, but…", Lazar began. "Most of the stuff has been recorded in a database by Sector Security."
"So where is the database?" Bruno wondered.
"It's at…", Lazar stalled, since he didn't want to reveal the database's location.
"As amusing as it sounds, Sector Security's database is located in an arcade called 'Game Paradise'", Goodwin confessed. "Only a few people know it's there."
"An arcade?" Aki repeated in surprise.
"Why an arcade of all places?" Luna wondered.
"Arcades are where you play games, right? Aren't you worried the officers might lose track of time if they get lost in the game?" Leo cold sweated.
"That is exactly why only a few subordinates in Sector Security know about it", Goodwin explained. "You need to type in a special password and solve two Duel Puzzles in order to gain access to the database."
"Where exactly is this arcade?" Yusei asked.
"I'll give you the address so you children can go with Lazar and find out the company's name", Goodwin replied. "If I go with you, people will grow suspicious."
"I don't think it will be necessary with all the trouble", I spoke up, surprising everyone. "I think I know the name of the company, but I need a computer to look it up."
"Oh yeah! You should know about it, Estelle!" Leo exclaimed before he placed his fist on his palm.
Yusei gave me access to his computer, so I sat down and opened the web search. I typed the two key words "Momentum" and "Express" and immediately found the full name of the company affiliated with Iliaster.
"Moment Express Development Organization?" Bruno read out loud the name of the website for said company.
"I think I've heard about them…", Jack rubbed his chin.
"Moment Express has been around for over fifteen years", Goodwin explained. "Their work involves Ener-D related projects and they receive financial support from around the world, including Japan. They claim to be searching for a permanent solution for eternal energy without any risks of malfunctions."
"It looks similar to the particle accelerator they finished constructing in Switzerland while I was a middle school student", I said as I checked the pictures of Moment Express from outside. "I still remember the false headlines that a black hole was created when they activated the accelerator and scared more than half of my world."
"We at least have a clue now whether it could be them or not", Yusei stated. "We should go to the arcade and confirm it."