Good evening everybody, it's time for the next chapter of Yugioh: Chaos Unleashed! College is going decent enough, though my Calculus IV professor is making this class harder than I feel it should be. That's the college life for ya, I guess. Anywho, it's time to check in on our heroes! As for the disclaimer;
Jack: The following is a non-profit fan-based fanfiction. Yugioh, Yugioh GX, Yugioh 5D's, and Yugioh Zexal are all owned by Konami, 4Kids Entertainment, Toei Animation, and Kazuki Takahashi. Please support the official release!
Chapter 23: One Location, Many Memories
Dani awoke early that next morning, having slept soundly after that crazy Duel the night before. She took a moment for reflection, still laying on her cot, realizing the crazy turn her life had just taken. Two evenings ago it had been business as usual in the Satellite, surviving one day at a time with her favorite Dragons. Then the Crimson Dragon saw fit to drop two ancient legends on her back and she had been brought into the middle of a crazy conspiracy trying to take over the world. Dani sighed as she realized that the people she was currently bunking with were the only ones who truly knew about the Chaos Movement and that they were the only ones who could stop the Master's crazy scheme.
"What the hell am I doing here?" she asked herself, "I'm not as good as the Turbo King and I needed to be saved by Yugi just to survive against that crazy zombie maniac." She shuddered at the memory, her crippling phobia causing the involuntary reaction. Dani rubbed her arms, trying to wipe away the crawling feeling on her skin. She hated her phobia, but she mercifully didn't encounter it as often as others encountered theirs. As soon as Dani got over it, she continued her little monologue to herself. "Hell, even my rival has joined the Chaos Movement." The Maiden with Blue Eyes glanced over at the unconscious Noah in the corner. "Though I have to admit, he didn't seem all that willing, not as much as his brother. He didn't have any crazy glowing mark like Alex did either. Maybe he's not a member of the Chaos Movement after all."
Dani glanced around the room, noticing she was the only one awake at the moment, daylight beginning to creep over the horizon. It looked like it was going to be a gloomy day with the cloud cover. Kaiba was dozing in the corner, facing the door as he had tried to take up guard duty after the escape of Alex. Dani briefly recalled being woken up by Crow shortly after she'd gotten back to the hideout with Akiza's help after that crazy Duel against an Egyptian god. It had been a bit of a blur in her exhaustion, but she recalled the smell of smoke when that ninja chick from earlier had let off smoke bombs to cover her and that gladiator's escape with the more important one of their two prisoners. She chalked the ease of their escape up to the Master's freaky powers, but at least they had one of the two brothers still.
The Maiden with Blue Eyes found a relatively intact mirror and decided to touch up the marks she'd drawn on herself. Makeup products had come a long ways in recent years, much to every female's satisfaction. As she made sure her 'marks' looked as fierce as they did yesterday, her mind wandered back to why she drew them on herself in the first place. Dani smiled to herself. Some people would call her tough girl act a simple façade, and while it was true that she had a soft spot, Dani didn't want to show off that soft spot. People take advantage of that all too easily. The marks were as much a reassurance to herself as they were to others that she was not to be messed with. She made a few faces in the mirror when she finished, then sighed.
"You're out of your league Dani," she told herself, "putting on this mask, trying to look tough, why? You know it's going to come down to Yusei and Yugi when they find the Master. You aren't good enough. Hell, you had to be bailed out by Seto Kaiba last night! What can you possibly bring to the team that hasn't been covered already? Face it, once this is all over, you'll be back to being the Satellite outcast nobody remembers."
"Do you really believe that?" Yusei's voice came from behind her, making her jump. Dani whirled around to see the Head Signer stretching from his position on the floor.
"How much did you hear?" she asked hesitantly. Dani glared at him, trying to make him look away, but Yusei just stared right back at her.
"Enough," Yusei responded, sitting in the small chair next to Dani and her impromptu vanity. "I'll admit, I don't know you very well. We only met yesterday and spent a good amount of time separated in the maze. I've only seen you Duel twice. That being said, you aren't that different from all of us like you think."
Dani snorted. "Really? A guy who has everything comparing himself to a girl who has nothing but her Deck. I know you got those marks from Sector Security, right before you became a shooting star if the rumors are true. I know you're from the Satellite. You somehow got out of here and won the Fortune Cup, freaky things start happening around here and that's been the only time you've come back, isn't it? The threat of ten thousand years of darkness is the only thing that could bring the mighty Turbo King back to the dregs of the lowly Satellite!"
Yusei was stung by her words, but he didn't let it show. He placed a firm hand on Dani's shoulder, keeping it there despite her half-hearted attempt to shrug it off. "Dani, I will never forget my origins here. How can I when my father gave his life to save me before Zero Reverse?" He visibly shuddered as he remembered his nightmares about that fateful incident. Though he had accepted that he wasn't responsible for the deadly incident, Yusei still felt some guilt about Zero Reverse, never mind that it had been Roman who'd overloaded the Ener-D reactor.
"I watched my mother die a slow and painful death because of Zero Reverse," Dani shot back hotly, "What's your point?"
"My point is that, despite the fact I grew up here," Yusei continued, meeting Dani's fierce gaze, "I haven't let that slow me down. I will never forget my past. How can I? I have too many friends here to care for. Rally, Kalin, Tank, Nervin, Martha, they're all still here in the Satellite. As long as they are here, I will always have a reason to come back. It's our past that makes us who we are today, but we can't let our past define our future."
"That's all fine and dandy, but at least you have friends. Who do I have?" Dani asked, "The only friend I had was taken away by Sector Security and I never saw her again. Imagine watching your only friend framed and branded as a criminal when you were only ten years old. Can you possibly know the pain I've been through, growing up alone?"
Yusei shook his head. "No, I can't say I've ever truly been alone. Not like you." He continued as Dani opened her mouth to continue her rebuttal, cutting her off. "But, I have seen a close friend become a Dark Signer and try to kill me, multiple times. After he'd been taken by Securities no less."
Dani was silent for a moment, trying to comprehend his somewhat cryptic statement. "That was Kalin, wasn't it?"
Yusei was astonished, to say the least. "How could you-"
"Akiza told me," Dani said quickly, "She told me everything about the Dark Signer's attempt to take over the world."
Yusei nodded. "So I can relate to your pain, sort of. I care for my friends."
"Since when have I been your friend?" Dani asked, narrowing her eyes.
"A friend of Akiza's is a friend of mine," Yusei answered, causing Dani to widen her eyes in surprise. "I've heard good things about you from her, risking your life to try and get Akiza out of her Black Rose Witch state of mind."
"I think Leo had more to do with that than I did," Dani admitted.
Yusei shook his head in amusement. "My point is, you helped us. You matter more to this team than you realize. Not to mention Crow seems to have taken a liking to you. I guess it's because of your marks, even if they are fake."
"Him?" Dani was curious, but didn't inquire further. "Neat. So what, am I a part of your gang? Am I going to get a Signer mark now or something?"
Yusei chuckled. "I've been told there are only five Marks of the Dragon, so I doubt it. However, the Crimson Dragon has done plenty of stuff I don't entirely understand, so who knows? I wouldn't get my hopes up." He stood back up and made his way towards the exit. "I'm going to get food for everyone, I'll be back as soon as I can." He spared a glance at the sleeping Noah on the floor. "Maybe you can get some information out of him when he wakes up."
Dani grinned. "It would be my pleasure." She looked down at her rival as Yusei left the room. It wasn't the first time she'd been this close to her rival and she knew how big he was compared to her, but this was her first time with him while he was unconscious. Dani was surprised to see how peaceful he looked while sleeping, though she figured most people looked nice when they weren't awake, either trying to beat you in a Duel or otherwise. Either way, Dani wasn't sure whether they should ask for information nicely or try to beat it out of him. Looking down at him, she realized that the latter option was going to be difficult. He stood taller than Kaiba and was obviously stronger than any one of their group, so it was going to take some doing to explore that option. A glimmer of light on the table caught Dani's eye and she smiled as she realized what she was looking at.
"Those silly Bushido boys," Dani laughed to herself as she realized just how she might pry whatever information she could out of him.
Later
Yusei strolled into the hideout, carrying multiple bags of breakfast sandwiches bought from the McDonald's in New Domino and a couple gallons of orange juice. There were times where being the Turbo King had its perks, as he'd simply walked in and people got out of the way when he explained he was in a hurry. Heck, he'd even gotten the juice at a discount.
"It's amazing how being great at Duel Monsters earns you such respect from fans," Yusei chuckled to himself as he climbed the stair to where everyone had been sleeping. "Guys? I brought food!" It seemed everyone had woken up while he was gone and they were going through their morning routines as best they could given the conditions.
"Thank goodness, I was starving!" came Crow's excited response. Yusei handed the bag of sandwiches off to him and sized up the situation.
"Where's Noah?" Yusei asked when he finally realized who had been missing from the scene.
"On the roof," Jack answered, "He started throwing insults around and we put him up there to keep Dani from tearing out his throat."
"I wasn't going to kill him!" she said defensively when Yusei looked at her suspiciously. "But if you'd heard the things he said-"
"I get it," Yusei cut her off, rubbing his forehead. "Next time I'm sending Jack for food."
"Ramen for breakfast? No thank you!" Crow said as he tore into one of the McMuffins Yusei had brought.
Jack snorted. "Please, Jack Atlas deserves more credit than that."
"You got McDonald's?" Dani glanced at the bag with a bit of apprehension. "I got food poisoning last time I had that. Granted, I stole the leftovers out of the guy's fridge, so I'm not sure how old it was, but still, the burger tasted nasty."
Akiza laughed. "Their breakfast is better than their lunch, don't worry. I'm sure Yusei got it fresh."
"Nice to see some things never change," Yugi commented as he grabbed a McMuffin for himself. He was relieved to have one of his god cards back, but Ra was still out there, which meant there were greater challenges ahead. The King of Games wondered if the Master would give Ra to one of his minions or if he would use it himself against him. Then again, it might be Yusei that faces the Master.
'I think the Master is going to need more than one person to take down,' Yami projected into Yugi's thoughts, sensing Yugi's mood.
Yugi nodded in understanding. 'Like when we teamed up with Kaiba to take down Dartz.'
'Precisely. And I can tell you now, I'm going to enjoy working with Yusei,' Yami commented, 'we have a lot in common.' With that, the Pharaoh returned to the Puzzle to leave Yugi to his breakfast.
"I'm glad you're back," Dani said to Yusei as she grabbed a McMuffin. "I need someone to play good cop to my bad cop."
Jack laughed. "You? Playing bad cop? This'll be interesting."
"Cuz a pretty little rich boy like you will do so much better," Dani shot back with a glare. She stormed out of the room, heading up the stairs to the roof.
"Scathing," Kaiba commented dryly from his corner of the room, drawing a glare from Jack.
"Will you guys put your egos to rest?" Akiza asked, getting between the two before Jack could respond. "I swear, both of you are so similar."
"Please, I'm nothing like him," Jack sniffed.
Kaiba grinned. "Yeah, I'm richer, better at Duel Monsters, and have done more for the game that you ever will."
"Why don't you put your money where your mouth is?" Jack shot back, seething at the insults. He picked up his Duel Disk. "Let's go a few rounds and see if that decrepit Deck of yours can keep up."
"Now's not the time for infighting," Yugi warned. His voice was quiet, but it somehow got the attention of both Jack and Kaiba. Yugi stood up, looking at both of them. "This is what the Master wants, us at each other's throats instead of after his."
"Aww, I wanted to see those two Duel," Leo muttered.
"If you two can't work out your differences now, then take it outside," Yugi finished, ignoring Leo. "But try to save it for after we've stopped the Chaos Movement." With that, he bit into his McMuffin and sat back down. A roar from the rooftop got everyone's attention.
"Shouldn't you be playing good cop right about now?" Kaiba asked Yusei, who didn't respond but instead bolted up the stairs to the rooftop.
Rooftop of Old Enforcer's Hideout
Dani emerged onto the rooftop and beheld her rival, finishing off her McMuffin quickly. He was tied to a pole set up on the rooftop, fully awake and glaring at her. She grinned at his predicament as she strode up to him, stopping a few feet away from him. "Morning."
"Morning," he grunted back at her, then nodded at her left hip. "Does my brother know you're wearing his sword?"
"This?" Dani asked sweetly, putting a hand on the katana hilt, "Probably not. His Chaos Movement buddies rescued him in the middle of the night apparently, but left it behind."
"So why bother keeping me around?" Noah asked, glaring at her, "I know we're rivals and all that, but that was nothing personal."
Dani attached her Duel Disk to her arm nonchalantly and activated it. "Sure it wasn't. Just like this won't be personal at all. Now you're going to tell me what your brother's friends are up to."
"Or else what?"
Dani smiled, though there was no warmth to that smile. "Or else my Blue-Eyes is going to have some fun tossing you around." With that, she put her Blue-Eyes on her Duel Disk, summoning the dragon to the rooftop with a mighty roar.
Noah laughed. "You're trying to intimidate me with holograms? Really? You're going to have to do better than that."
"Believe me, I'm just getting started," Dani warned, "There's a woman downstairs who can bring my dragon to life, as well as any other Duel Monster I choose. If I have to get her up here, then I can't guarantee you'll get out of this intact."
"You're bluffing!" Noah's face didn't seem quite certain.
"Am I?" Dani was enjoying this. "You know me well enough, would I lie about something like that?" Blue eyes bore into brown, daring the other to make a mistake. Noah broke the silence with a chuckle.
"You know, trying to interrogate someone doesn't work as well when you have crumbs all over your face," he pointed out, snickering at her flustered reaction.
Dani was furious with herself as she brushed the offending remains of her hasty breakfast off her cheek. Mercifully, her mind came up with a quick comeback. "No point in asking questions on an empty stomach. Now tell me, did your brother tell you about the Chaos Movement's plans?"
Yusei burst onto the roof, took in the scenario at a glance, and strode forward. "Dani, don't do anything stupid."
"And Satellite's Shooting Star feels the need to grace us with his presence," Noah said sarcastically. "Well well, Dani you really have made some powerful friends. What makes you think I have anything to tell you about my brother and his more powerful friends?"
Yusei looked at him, back to Dani, and decided to take the lead. "Because I guess you care about your brother very much and what he's doing, working for the Master, is only going to lead to his own destruction. We're trying to stop the Master and your brother is standing in our way. We just want to know what you know about the Chaos Movement."
"Just how is that going to work?" Noah countered, "What if me helping you ends up destroying my brother?" He glared at Yusei, daring him to say otherwise.
"Your brother versus the entire world," Dani commented, patting the holographic Blue-Eyes on the flank, "I understand how that can be a difficult decision to make."
"This coming from the loner," Noah shot back, "You don't know what it's like to have someone to care for."
There was the sound of a sword exiting a scabbard and Noah suddenly found the cold steel of his brother's blade at his own throat. "Really?" Dani's voice was cold. "You remember the day we first Dueled? The words you first said to me out on the street?"
"Dani?" Yusei was scared, the situation was spiraling out of his control. He didn't want anyone, especially one dragged unwittingly into this mess, to die. He spoke gently to Dani. "Put the sword down."
"Shut up Fudo," Dani growled, pressing the blade closer to Noah's throat. "Well, Bushido, do you?"
For a man with a sword held at his throat, Noah was surprisingly calm. "Yeah. 'Where's your friend?' What about it? You two seemed like close friends, then she just disappeared."
"She had been taken by Sector Security you idiot!" Dani shouted, "And then you make that callous remark about her, a day after I had been left on my own again!" Yusei noticed the sword point quivering as Dani shook with rage. "We Dueled and you thrashed me. That's where our rivalry began, all those years ago." She took a deep breath and lowered the sword. "Don't you dare say I've never had someone to care about."
"How's it going guys?" Akiza asked, coming onto the rooftop. "I can't stand Kaiba and Jack spraying testosterone around the room like that, so I thought I'd see how you were doing."
Noah's eyes went wide when he saw the newcomer. "The Black Rose Witch!"
Akiza flinched. "I don't like that name."
"Keep that Witch away from me!" Noah's face had genuine fear on it as he beheld Akiza. "Alex told me about you, how you destroy everything when you Duel!" He looked at Dani. "You weren't bluffing!" Akiza looked hurt at the accusations.
"She's not that kind of person anymore," Yusei told him. "Now tell us what we want to know. Please. What's the Chaos Movement planning?"
"I don't know!" Noah answered, eyes not leaving Akiza. "Alex said that they were going to strike at the Signer's hearts through other attacks today. Something about an orphanage. Other than that, I don't know what they're planning or where they're at. Alex never took me to their meetings. He only said it was in B.A.D."
Yusei gasped as he realized what that meant. "Oh no… Noah, you have to tell me everything you know, quickly!"
"All I know is that they're apparently getting serious about stopping you guys!" Noah said, squirming a little when Akiza took a couple steps towards Yusei and conversely him. "That was why Alex got the Egyptian god card apparently. The others have new cards too, something weird too. Have you ever heard of XYZ monsters, cuz I haven't?" Yusei exchanged glances with Akiza and Dani, who looked very concerned about that prospect.
"Noah, you sure you don't have anything else to tell us?" Dani asked, "Because she can tell if you're lying." Dani pointed a thumb at Akiza before returning her fierce gaze back to Noah. "And you won't like her if she finds out you're lying."
Noah swallowed nervously before answering. "I swear on my honor as a Bushido, that's all I know about my brother's comrades."
Yusei looked at Dani. "Can we hold him to that?"
Dani nodded. "We can. If there's one thing that never changes about a Bushido, it's his sense of honor." She held the sword up and pointed to one of the kanji's on the blade. "See? Honor. Right there. I guess this means we can let him go now?"
Yusei nodded and addressed Noah. "You aren't the man we need to stop. However, you know more about your brother's friends than we do. Perhaps you can help us bring down the Master."
Noah hesitated. "Listen, it sounds tempting, cuz I've been quietly trying to get Alex away from those guys for a while now, something about them just creeps me out. But, I'm not going to fight my brother. If I join up with you, I just know it'll happen. So thanks, but no thanks. I need to go it alone to figure out exactly what's going on." His wary glance at Akiza spoke volumes, but Yusei decided to let it slide. It wasn't the first time that something like this had happened and he doubted it would be the last.
"Fair enough," Yusei said simply, "We're not going to hold you here. Dani, untie the ropes, will you?"
Dani nodded and stepped forward. To Yusei's surprise, she swung the sword at Noah. Everyone but Dani flinched, and there was a pause.
"What was that for?" Noah demanded.
Dani scowled as she peered at the ropes tying up Noah. "I was trying to be cool and cut you free without hurting you, but I missed."
Yusei shook his head in amusement as Akiza giggled. "Just untie him without the sword. If what he told us is true, we need to get moving now." He left Dani and Akiza on the roof, Dani muttering angrily to herself about needing to practice some cool sword moves, and dashed downstairs. The mood downstairs was still a little tense with Kaiba glaring daggers at Jack from across the room, but otherwise the twins brought a sense of cheeriness as they tried to teach Yugi the nuances of Turbo Duels.
"So how do I lose these Speed Counters?" Yugi was asking.
"It happens if you take major damage!" Leo replied excitedly.
Luna smiled. "Don't forget certain Speed Spells can lower your Speed Counters, remember Jack's Overboost?"
"Guys, we need to get ready to go, now!" Yusei interrupted. Jack and Crow hastily began to gather supplies, noting the urgency in his voice.
"What's wrong?" Yugi asked, meeting Yusei's gaze.
"According to Noah, the Chaos Movement is striking at people close to us," Yusei answered, "Which means that Martha's probably in danger."
"Martha?!" both Jack and Crow froze, remembering the kindly woman who'd taken great care of them while they were younger.
"Yeah," Yusei answered quickly, "He mentioned they were going after an orphanage. We have to get there to protect Martha and the children!"
Kaiba was quiet as he watched the frantic preparations. They were obviously from this orphanage, as why else would they be so worried when it's been threatened. Maybe there were more to these Signers than he'd first estimated. Kaiba frowned as he made his way downstairs, ready to move when everyone else was ready. He watched Noah leave, escorted by Dani who let him go with one final warning. His retort made Kaiba smirk, though he was impressed by Dani's response, or lack of it. She just let him go and went back into the hideout.
'Maybe she's finally maturing as a Blue-Eyes Duelist,' he thought to himself confidently. 'Don't stoop to the level of the lesser Duelist.' It was several minutes later when everyone came piling out of the hideout and into the various vehicles.
"I've programmed Martha's orphanage into your car's GPS," Yusei explained to Akiza as she sat in the driver's seat. "Our Duel Runners are way faster, so we're going to go on ahead, hopefully the Chaos Movement hasn't attacked yet."
"Good luck," Akiza said simply, leaning forward and kissing Yusei on the cheek. The blush on both their cheeks was obvious for all to see.
"Hang on tight, we're about to get moving!" Crow shouted to Dani, who simply clung to him tightly as the black and white Duel Runners accelerated away. Yusei was quick to follow and Akiza was left behind with the twins and the Duelists from the past. While she drove fast in her convertible, the Duel Runners quickly sped out of sight.
"If Yusei and the others grew up in an orphanage," Yugi began slowly, "Then what happened to their parents?" He noticed Akiza grip the wheel a little too tightly. "I'm sorry if it's a sensitive subject."
"It's okay," Akiza said, staring straight forward for a while. She took a deep breath. "Have you heard about what separated the Satellite from New Domino?"
"Dani mentioned something called Zero Reverse, but she didn't go into much detail about it," Yugi replied. "Is that what happened?"
"You could say that," Akiza said, biting her lip. "A little over 18 years ago, Satellite and New Domino were one and the same, mainly because this island didn't exist."
"You're kidding!" Yugi was astonished, but that was just the beginning.
Martha's Orphanage
Martha sighed as she placed the last dish in the cupboard. The day had started out dreary and the list of chores never seemed to be done. Still, she reflected as she heard the giggles of children chasing each other around the living room, it was well worth it just to see the smiles on her adopted children's faces. Martha glanced out the window at the gloomy sky once more. She had a bad feeling in her bones. She hadn't felt this way since the Dark Signers had attacked her little orphanage.
"I do hope Yusei and the others are doing alright," she said to herself, looking into the distance. "This seems like it'd be right up their alley." A crash from the living room brought her back to the more important matters in her view. "Kevin, you better not have broken anything playing that ninja game of yours again!"
"It's Crow's game, not mine!" came the indignant response. Martha smiled before putting on a stern face to confront her hyperactive orphans.
Outside, a few miles away
It was slow moving for Hueso, moving his small army towards the orphanage. He couldn't wait to see the looks on the Signer's faces when they discovered what he had planned for their old home. He knew it'd be worth the wait, watching them despair as death took them all. Hueso laughed to himself, trudging onwards, leading his veritable horde onwards
Outside Martha's Orphanage
"It doesn't look like the Chaos Movement is here yet," Yusei commented, relief evident in his tone as the trio of Duel Runners pulled up to their old home.
"It sure looks that way," Jack agreed, purple eyes scanning the house. "But if there's anything we've learned about these guys, it's that looks can be deceiving. Be careful." He dismounted from his Runner, Yusei and Crow right behind him. Dani got off the Blackbird and shook her hair out from the helmet she borrowed.
"So this is the place you guys grew up," she commented. "Interesting."
"How come Martha didn't find you?" Crow asked her, watching her examine the old building. "She's generally good about finding orphans in the Satellite, particularly younger ones, and bringing them here."
Dani shrugged. "My hideout is all the way on the other side of Satellite. Maybe she just simply missed me." The female Blue-Eyes Duelist eyed the old house, her expression unreadable to Crow.
Yusei marched up to the door and was getting ready to knock when the door opened. "You're alright!"
"Of course I'm alright!" Martha said with a huge smile. "It's so great to see you Yusei. I heard engines and had to see who decided to visit me all the way out here. And I see you brought Jack and Crow with you. It's nice to see everyone together again."
"Great to see you too Martha!" Crow said excitedly while Dani hung back, unsure of how to deal with the reunion.
"And I see someone new!" Martha said after hugging the three Signers. "Who might you be young lady?"
"Her name's Dani!" Crow said before Dani could open her mouth.
"I can introduce myself, thank you very much!" Dani retorted hotly. She walked up to Martha and bowed respectfully. "My name's Dani Aoimoku, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Such manners!" Martha exclaimed. "Welcome Dani. Come in, all of you!" She led everyone inside where they found themselves swarmed by a dozen different kids, the eldest of them being no older than 9 by the looks of it.
"Look, Duelists!"
"Not just any Duelists! It's Yusei Fudo, the Turbo King!"
"And Jack Atlas, the King before Yusei!"
"So cool!"
"Settle down everyone!" Martha said. Her quiet voice still carried throughout the ruckus and the kids stopped poking at the Signers. With a satisfied nod, the older woman turned towards the teenagers. "Now Yusei, what brings you back here?"
The question brought Yusei back into the serious mood. "We're here because we got intel that said you might be attacked because we're fighting against the Chaos Movement."
"Oh dear, that sounds dangerous," Martha said simply, "You haven't been hurt fighting these guys, have you?"
"Not seriously," Jack answered, "Just a few bumps and bruises so far."
"Well I'm glad you decided to stop by," Martha mused, looking out the window. "You're the first visitors I've had today, though the day is still pretty young. Will you stay for lunch?"
"Sure." Yusei looked at the crowd of children. "Anything to keep these guys safe."
Crow started, apparently remembering something. "Guys, you don't think that they know about the Crow's Nest, do you?" He looked at Jack and Yusei hopefully.
"You better get going if you want to reach them in time," Jack said simply, "From what I've seen from the Master, he definitely knows."
"I was afraid you'd say that," Crow lamented. He gave a quick hug to Martha. "I'm sorry I have to leave so soon, but those kids depend on me."
"I understand," Martha smiled at him. "I'm proud of you for taking on such a responsibility. Now go, protect your family."
"You got it!" Crow gave a thumbs up sign. With that, he turned and darted out the door. To Yusei's surprise, Dani followed him, though for what, Yusei couldn't guess.
"Oh, is she his girlfriend?" Martha asked innocently.
Jack chuckled. "If you'd seen her yesterday, you wouldn't ask that."
"Really? Then why don't you explain what's been going on?" Martha sank onto the couch. The younger kids, sensing a story, gathered around her, looking at Yusei and Jack expectantly.
Yusei glanced at Jack, who simply nodded before responding. "I don't see why not. It all began a couple of nights ago, Akiza and I had just put in a movie…"
Outside Martha's Orphanage
Crow was putting on his helmet and starting his Duel Runner when a shout got his attention. Looking up, he was surprised to see Dani jogging after him.
"Look, I gotta get going," Crow said hastily, revving the engine of the Blackbird, "I have to make sure they're alright!"
Dani smiled at him. "I know. That's why I'm coming with you."
Crow was surprised. "You? Why?"
Dani climbed onto the Blackbird behind Crow, putting on the spare helmet. "Because going it alone is stupid. And I wanna see this Crow's Nest of yours."
Crow grinned. "Well then, hang on tight!" With that, as soon as he was certain she was ready, Crow zoomed off into the Satellite towards his hideout, a grim fear underlining the smile on his face.
Akiza's Car
Yugi was quiet after hearing the whole story about Satellite. The fact that this Ener-D reactor had basically gone nuclear without the fallout was eerily similar to the more recent nuclear horror stories Yugi had grown up hearing about. The further class divide caused by that event, the general darkness caused by this Roman character, Yugi was astounded by the amount of devastation still around, despite the long time that had passed since the initial explosion.
"It's apparently getting better since the Daedalus Bridge was finished," Akiza concluded, "But we've still got a long way to go before we can finish restoring Satellite to its former state."
"What part of Domino City did the Satellite come from?" Kaiba asked, speaking up for the first time.
"Most of downtown New Domino broke off when the reactor blew," Akiza answered, "It's why it looks so seedy, because a big chunk of the criminal element ran amok in downtown. It's one reason why they set up Sector Security to keep people from the Satellite on the Satellite."
"Including the innocents," Kaiba noted, looking around. He was making some serious mental calculations as he watched the surrounding area speed by.
"Thanks to Sector Security, most of the real criminals were locked up within the first few years of the Satellite's existence," Akiza continued, "Then, they started abusing innocents and it became a mess."
"They were worse than Gotham's Police Department!" Leo piped up, "At least that's how Yusei put it."
"So why haven't we seen any of these guys?" Yugi inquired.
Akiza spared him a glance before turning back to the road "Ever since the Bridge was finished, the New Domino Council actually did their job for once and cleared out most of the corrupt officers. They're training new ones, but for now they're leaving Satellite alone for the most part."
"Convenient," Kaiba commented. He was almost finished with his calculations. When he was done, he gasped. "It can't be…"
"What?" Luna asked innocently. Kaiba was silent as Akiza turned the corner, Martha's home coming into view. The sky appeared to dim considerably, as a dark cloud, darker than the rest of the cloud cover on this gloomy day, was spreading from a point in the not so far distance.
Kaiba didn't answer as Akiza parked next to Yusei's and Jack's Duel Runners. Instead, he slowly got out and walked up to the entrance of the ancient house. After a pause, he turned and faced Yugi as everyone else joined him on the porch. "It's like you said Yugi, some things never change." With that, he turned and knocked on the door, leaving the others to their confusion.
Luna looked at Yugi, perplexed. "What did he mean by that?"
Yugi was thoughtful for a second before the realization hit him. "Kaiba, are you sure?"
"Positive."
Yugi turned to the twins. "You may not know this, but Kaiba and his younger brother were adopted. What Kaiba is saying is that this is the same orphanage he grew up in before Gozaburo Kaiba adopted him and Mokuba."
"Whoa," was all Akiza could get out.
"What happened to his real parents?" Leo asked.
"I don't know," Yugi answered, looking at Kaiba. When the Kaibacorp executive didn't answer, Yugi shrugged and turned back to the twins. "Gozaburo wanted Seto to take his place at the head of the company, so he trained him rigorously, making Seto the way he is now. I didn't realize we'd be visiting his past while here in the future."
"Funny how it works out like that," Leo said as the door opened.
"Hey guys!" Yusei greeted them. "Come on in, Jack's just finishing telling Martha about what's been going on." Kaiba shouldered past him, not saying a word.
"Don't mind him," Yugi said gently, "Apparently this was also his old orphanage."
"His WHAT?!"
"Yusei! Bring our guests in sweetie!" Martha called from the living room.
"We'll tell you in a bit," Leo promised. Nodding in agreement, Yusei led the others into the living room. There was an audible gasp from all the children before the King of Games found himself swarmed by little kids.
"NO WAY!"
"IT'S YUGI MUTO!"
"He's so short!"
Amidst all the confusion, Luna hung out in the back, as shy as usual. A sound caught her attention. It was as if someone was humming. Curious, Luna left the room. She saw a light hovering on the staircase, giggling to itself in a gender-neutral voice.
"Kuribon?" Luna called hesitantly. The light seemed to hear her, and flew down the staircase, hovered around Luna for a second, as if examining her. With another giggle, the light zipped past Luna, into another room. Luna gave chase, curious as to what it was. It wasn't a merry chase, but because everyone was in the living room, listening to the story Yusei and Yugi were telling, Luna was left undisturbed. It led her to the back door in the kitchen and phased through it, almost beckoning for her to follow. Luna stopped, unsure as to whether or not she should follow without letting one of the others know. The light giggled again and began to float off into the distance. Luna made up her mind and opened the door, intending to follow the light for a little while longer. Unknown to her, someone else heard the giggle.
"Someone's playing Twilight Princess?" Kaiba asked to nobody in particular as he entered the kitchen, "Even after all these years?" Looking around, the Kaibacorp executive shook his head. 'Glad nobody heard that,' he thought to himself, 'I last played that game in this very orphanage. Still, something had to have made that sound.' He poked around until he happened to glance out the window of the back door and saw Luna running after…something. What it was, he couldn't see, but she was after something. Kaiba watched Luna head into a nearby grove of trees and decided to follow. He'd noticed the darkness of the clouds and suspected something wasn't exactly right. Without alerting Luna to his presence, Kaiba followed her, intent on keeping an eye on her.
Crow & Dani
"Did you notice that?" Dani asked Crow over the radio intercom in their helmets.
"Notice what? I'm driving here."
Dani pointed at the sky. "The further we're getting from Martha's, the lighter the clouds are getting. Something dark is headed that way." Crow pulled over on the impromptu highway and looked upwards. He scanned the clouds and nodded.
"Yeah, you're right." He looked back towards when the orphanage stood. "This is probably the Master's doing too." He activated the communicator on the Blackbird and made to call Yusei. "Yusei, come in!"
There was a lot of static for a moment, then Yusei's voice broke through. "What is it?"
"There's trouble headed your way," Crow said quickly into the mike. "And whatever it is, it's gonna be there soon."
"Thanks for the heads up. We'll be ready." With a final click, Crow cut off the connection and began speeding down the road again.
"So, how far away are we?" Dani asked.
"About a half hours ride," Crow replied, zooming past some Satellite scrubs.
Dani sighed. "Great."
Martha's Orphanage
"Trouble?" Jack asked as Yusei finished speaking into his communicator.
Yusei nodded, his expression grim. "That was Crow. Apparently, whatever's coming our way is almost here. We have to get ready."
"Why is it so dark outside?" one of the kids asked, looking out the window.
"Is this Master guy coming?" a little girl asked.
"I sure hope not," Yusei said quietly, looking at the young ones around the room. "For their sake."
"Where's Kaiba?" Yugi asked, looking around, "It's not like him to miss out on something like this."
"Where's my sister?" Leo asked at the same time, looking around for that familiar head of blue-green hair. "Luna!"
Jack was getting irritated at the chaos. "Alright everybody, settle down!" Taking charge as everyone looked at him, Jack continued. "Listen, we can't scatter about like a bunch of ninnies at the first sign of trouble. Martha, take the kids upstairs. Let us know if Kaiba and Luna are up there. The rest of us will post up at each entrance, to keep an eye out for whatever's coming. I'll take the front door, Yusei can take the back door, Yugi gets the kitchen and Akiza will remain here, as backup to whoever may need it. Any questions?"
"Where's the kitchen?" Yugi asked.
Outside
"Wait!" Luna called, chasing after the light through the trees. The light just giggled again and flew just out of reach. "Why are you here?"
"It was a guide," a female voice said, causing Luna to gasp. She stepped into a small clearing in the grove and beheld the Ancient Fairy Dragon hovering over a small pond in the center of the clearing.
Luna pulled out the card of the Dragon in front of her. "Why go to such lengths to bring me here then?"
It was hard for a dragon to look irritated, but somehow the normally serene Dragon managed to make such a face. "A great power has been awakened. Chaos threatens the land."
"The Master," Luna said simply.
"Yes." The Ancient Fairy Dragon now looked sad. "This was the only way I could contact you, because the growing darkness has been affecting the Spirit World as well. This small grove is one of few places that remain free from the spreading turmoil."
"Do you need my help?" Luna asked, concerned.
Ancient Fairy Dragon shook her head. "No, but I thank you for your offer, little Luna. We are holding our own. Regulus has done wonders in helping our world become stronger. The reason why I have called you here is because of the great evil that's drawing ever closer as we speak."
"The threat everybody's been talking about on the orphanage?"
"Yes. You must stop him here, otherwise this world and ours will be lost. I am here to help you Luna, for you will need me if you are to stop him."
"Who? The Master?" Luna was interrupted by a sound in the trees. Whirling around, she saw Kaiba stepping into the clearing. "Kaiba?" She turned around, but the Ancient Fairy Dragon was gone.
"You were talking to the air," Kaiba said simply, "What are you doing out here?"
"What are you doing following me?" Luna countered.
"Making sure you're safe," Kaiba answered, then looked around the grove. "Someone's here."
Luna followed his eyes into the darkness of the trees. "Are you sure?"
"Get behind me," was all Kaiba said, stepping forward. Addressing the trees, he shouted "Show yourself!" A dark figure detached itself from the shadows of the small forest and shuffled forward.
"Something's not right," Luna murmured, watching the figure. When it raised its head and groaned, both Kaiba and Luna recoiled. No human alive could make that sort of sound. Not only that, but with the fatal wounds all over the figure's body, so bad they couldn't tell if it was male or female. One thing they could figure out; it was a zombie.
Kaiba was both perplexed and scared. "What the?"
"We need to get out of here!" Luna cried, pulling on Kaiba's arm. Nodding in agreement, Kaiba made to lead Luna out of the grove, but was stopped by several more zombies coming in the opposite direction. Kaiba Spartan-kicked the closest one back into a group of its 'friends' and held Luna close, looking for a way out. As the horde moved in, Kaiba shielded Luna, intending to go down fighting to protect her when as if given a signal, they all stopped. Black flames sprung up all around the clearing, the kanji for death appearing in the sky.
Dark laughter echoed around the clearing. "So, it seems you got here in time to protect the orphanage. Well done." The firewall parted and through it stepped Hueso, surrounded by a vanguard of zombies. "But it will not save you."
"No way!" Luna gasped as she recognized the Undead Lord, "How did you get out from the explosion?"
"Death has no power over me!" Hueso declared, "For I hold power over death itself!"
"Typical ravings of a madman," Kaiba muttered, stepping forward, "Let's see what you're made of then, if death can't touch you."
"You are inconsequential," Hueso boomed at Kaiba, "I have come to destroy that orphanage and I will. On the way, I will take out the spiritual factor of the opposition."
"Spiritual?" Kaiba repeated with a laugh.
Hueso motioned to his vanguard. "Remove this pest." The zombies stumbled forward, reaching for Kaiba. Needless to say, the Kaibacorp executive was stubborn
"Oh no you don't!" While he struggled against the dozen zombies, Hueso approached Luna.
"You, I will take out in a Duel," Hueso said, watching the Signer Mark on Luna's arm light up. "And then, when I have your soul and your body serving me, your friends will fall and chaos will consume the world!"
Luna quivered, the fearsome setting scaring her. She heard the Ancient Fairy Dragon in her head. 'You can do it Luna. You have to.'
"Let him go!" she told Hueso as she got her small Duel Disk out of her backpack. Nodding, Hueso snapped his fingers and his zombie vanguard backed off of a shaken Seto Kaiba, leaving only two to hold him down.
"Go, my undead horde," Hueso commanded his zombies, both in and out of the wall of black fire encircling everybody, "Destroy the orphanage!"
"No!" Luna cried as the zombies left, leaving only the 3 humans and the 2 undead in the circle.
"You want to stop them from devouring your friends?" Hueso asked, holding up his black Duel Disk, "Then you better stop me here."
Martha's Orphanage
Yugi had settled in to the kitchen when movement outside caught his eye. Stepping out onto the small porch, he saw the kanji in the sky. "Oh no…"
'This is bad,' Yami said to him, coming out of the Puzzle and observing the kanji. 'I sense Kaiba and Luna over there, as well as a roiling dark presence. Plus, there are a lot of smaller dark beings coming our way.'
"I don't see anything," Yugi commented as he took a few steps forwards. The dark cover from the clouds made it difficult to see too terribly far, but it wasn't long before Yugi saw the zombie horde coming towards the house from the grove of trees not too far away. The King of Games took one look at the mass and sprinted back to the house. "Nopenopenopenopenope!" He slammed the door shut, quickly moved the fridge to block the door, and ran to find Yusei in order to inform him about the dire situation.
Chaos Movement Headquarters
The Master was meditating. He was expending plenty of power into enabling his necromaniac to try and recreate a zombie apocalypse, but even he had his limits. As he recovered his energy, he cast his thoughts out to try and defeat these pesky Signers. His complex mind came up with several ideas, but each was discarded as he realized just where he had to start.
"Cut off the head and the body will die," the Master said to himself, using his chaotic powers to bring up a picture of Yusei Fudo on his computer, not moving a muscle. "It won't be easy, but I think I have a way around the Crimson Dragon's bothersome meddling." As soon as he felt he had recovered enough energy, the Master got up and began to make a call.
"You wanted me Master?" the voice of LJ came over the speaker.
"Yes," the Master answered, "Do you still have those shrapnel bombs you talked about? I think I may have found a use for them in pest control." He looked at the picture of Yusei and laughed long and hard.
And there we have it, another chapter in the books! Yeah, there's no Dueling in this one, it's mainly for character development, including some links between the future and the past, the orphanage being the big one, a little bit of foreshadowing (I won't say where, you figure it out) and of course there are outside references I couldn't resist making. Still, every story has these moments, the action will start picking up again in earnest soon, trust me. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!
Responses to Guest Reviews (in order with which they reviewed)
Guest 2: Glad you enjoyed it
Corina O: Thank you for pointing out the obvious, lol, what's the point of having a big bad evil guy if he isn't evil? The insanity is just a bonus, I mean, just look at the Joker
Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Reviews are always welcome, as is any and all respectful criticism. As an author, I'm always looking to improve.
From your Nutty Buddy,
The Eagle Nut
PS: Happy Halloween in advance! Expect the next chapter sometime around either Thanksgiving or Christmas! It's a busy life here at Towson, but I'm managing.