Aki was stunned awake by her phone going off next to her.
Looking around in confusion, she realised she didn't recognise her surroundings, which scared her. After a few seconds she remembered she was in a safe house, which did nothing to make her feel better. After all, her entire week had been ruined thanks to Divine. Ignoring her phone for a little while longer, Aki looked around at the bare grey walls around her. The safe house was about as barren as it could be, the bedroom only having a desk and a bed. The only other room in the whole thing was a conjoined kitchen and living room, which amounted to a stove, fridge, microwave, counter top, couch and TV.
Reminding herself to answer the phone, Aki shifted and looked at the phone.
Calling: Luna
What could Luna want? Aki could't think of anything, but it would have been rude to keep her friend waiting. Picking up the phone, Aki answered it with a yawn.
"Hello?" She asked groggily.
"Aki!" Luna shouted, sounding scared. "Where are you?! Are you okay?!"
"W-What?" Aki asked.
"We heard about Divine!" Leo's voice shouted from somewhere in the background. "Ushio forbid us from flying there, did you know?! That's bullshit! I wanna help you take this guy down!"
"Ushio called us and told us to lay low," Luna said in a calmer tone, "Said we may have been a target for him. Aki, what's going on? Do we know where he is?"
"No," she replied, "we don't, but we're working on it. So just stay in London, okay? It's easier that way."
"No way!" Leo shouted, "we're flying there first chance we get and helping you take him down! Right Luna?!"
"Leo..."
No you are not," Aki said sternly, "Hear me, Leo? Don't come here!"
"But Aki!" Leo exclaimed, "I don't want this guy to hurt you!"
"And I don't want him to hurt you," she replied. "Leo, listen to me. As far as we know, Divine is still in the city, and until we're sure otherwise you're staying in London, got it?
"But-"
"Leo!" Aki hated yelling at the young man, but sometimes it was the only way to get through to him. After a few seconds of silence, Leo sighed.
"Fine," he moaned, "we'll stay put. For now, anyway. But if we hear Divine's hurt you-"
"Thanks, Leo," Aki said. "I appreciate the concern, but I'm a grown woman. I can take care of himself myself."
"What are you going to do?" Luna asked. "Is there a plan?"
"...All we've got is keeping me off the street for now," Aki said. "Other than that there is no plan unless the police find him."
"As if that's going to happen," Leo snorted, "he escaped The Facility unnoticed! What, are some beat cops gonna see him getting coffee?" Aki pressed her mouth into a thin line at this, knowing Leo had a point. There was little to no chance Divine got sloppy enough for that to happen now of all times.
"I don't know," she said, "but I'll listen to Ushio and Mikage for now."
"And if that doesn't work?" Leo asked, making her frown.
"Then I'll take it into my own hands," she replied. "But I've chosen to put my faith in them for now."
"That's the responsible thing to do," Luna said. Aki got the feeling she was talking more to her brother than her when she said this. "Trying to dish out vigilante justice would put you in danger."
"And yet it may be more effective than trusting those who can fail," Leo said, sarcastically biting at his sister. Despite the tone of the situation Aki managed a smile at their behaviour.
"Enough, both of you," she said. "I promise, if Divine finds me it's not me you'll have to worry about. Okay?"
"Okay," The twins said in unison, making Aki smile.
"Was there anything else, or did you both just feel the need to scare me awake?"
"We just wanted to hear from you," Leo said sheepishly, laughing awkwardly. "Ushio told us what was happening and we were worried."
"Well," Luna said, "there was something I wanted to ask, but I think it can wait."
"Nonsense," Aki replied as she finally got out of bed and walked to the kitchen, opening the fridge to find nothing inside. "What is it Luna?"
"Um," the girl said quietly, "it's really not important right now."
"Luna wants to go to school in Neo Domino!" Leo shouted over the phone, startling his sister, "she wanted to ask if she could stay with you!"
"L-Leo!"
"What? It's not a big deal! Is it Aki?" Aki smiled to herself as she shut the fridge.
"I thought you were studying in London?" She asked as she put her free hand on her hip.
"I-I am," Luna replied, "But I was looking into how to transfer my credits between programs, and since I really want to go back to Neo Domino..." Aki couldn't help but feel honoured Luna would want to ask her that.
"I have the room," she said, "There is a room in my apartment with nothing in it. That being said, I think we'll have to wait until this whole thing blows over."
"Really?" Luna asked, "you don't mind?"
"As long as you're not bringing boys home late at night," she replied, making Leo laugh.
"A-Aki!"
"May as well not let her then, Aki! She's a wild one!"
"Leo!" Luna wailed, making Aki giggle. "Ugh! We'll talk later, Aki!"
"Bye you two," Aki replied, the phone being hung up by the flustered girl. Giving it some thought, she really didn't mind it Luna wanted to live with her. From what Aki knew of Luna's studies and how transfer between programs went, she may have to go to school for longer than before. But if that was what she wanted, she couldn't stop her.
She realised now how much calmer she felt after the twins' call. Talking to them had relaxed her, if only a little bit. Couple that with knowing Luna wanted to come back to the city to finish her schooling made her excited. Was everyone finally coming back together now? She doubted either Crow or Jack would just decide to come back, but she could see Leo following his sister. Maybe things would be alright.
First things first, she needed Kazuma to buy her groceries if she intended on staying here. As she picked up her phone to ask him, it went off again. Looking down, she was greeted by another call.
Calling: Crow Hogan
She had a feeling this was going to be a similar call to the last one.
Yusei had not gotten any sleep at all that night. He'd been too invested in speaking with Ushio and Mikage about leads to Divine and writing up reports for his team in his absence. He wasn't sleepy, anyway. He was too worked up about everything that had happened.
Finishing another report on Momentum's recent activity, Yusei could hear his phone going off, looking over, he noticed Jack was calling him. What for? It wasn't like he needed anything from him. Oh well, it was best to answer.
"Yeah?" Yusei asked as he answered, wiping the sleep from his eyes.
"Yusei!" Jack's commanding voice shouted as soon as he'd picked up. "Have they found that bastard yet?!"
"Jack, it's been like twelve hours at most since we were told about his escape," Yusei pointed out. "No, they haven't found him."
"Is Carly okay?!"
"As far as I know."
"Good! And Aki?"
"Safe."
"Good, good. Hey, you need my help, just say so. I'll be on the first flight there."
"Didn't Ushio tell you to lay low?" Yusei asked.
"Fuck that!" Jack shouted in defiance, "If Divine thinks he scares me he's got another thing coming! I'll get him back for everything he's done to Aki! To Carly!" Yusei couldn't help but smile at this.
"I don't need anything right now," he said, "but I'll let you know."
"Good. Keep an eye on Aki. Don't let her do anything rash just because it's Divine."
"You think she would?" He asked curiously.
"I can't speak for her, but if I was her I'd be driving around the city until I caught hide or hair of the fucker. I'm not as in the know about Arcadia as you or even the twins, but I know enough. Enough to know Aki's probably pissed, and she's unpredictable when she's pissed."
"We agree there," Yusei said, "I can't help but feel she's just waiting for a reason to track him down herself."
"She probably is," Jack agreed. "she never really got closure about this whole thing, so I'm sure this is torturing her."
"Yeah, she mentioned that last night," Yusei said. "I just hope she remembers she isn't alone."
"Exactly, she has you. In more ways than one I'm sure." Yusei raised an eyebrow at this.
"And what does that mean?" He asked. Jack snorted.
"Please don't act like I'm dumb, Yusei," he said. "The two of you are as subtle as a plane crash." Yusei winced at this.
"Don't talk to me about subtlety, Jack," he said. "Every time Carly visits you on the road she comes back glowing." Jack laughed.
"As she should!" He said, "she's visiting The King after all!"
"Visiting, huh?"
"Visiting, servicing, it's all the same."
"That's gross, Jack."
"You brought it up, Yusei." He had him there, he had done that. "Speaking of Carly, though, I wanted your opinion on something."
"Which is?" Yusei asked.
"...Do you think it's time I settled down?" Yusei stared at his laptop screen in surprise, not sure what to say.
"Jack?" He asked. "What are you talking about?"
"You know what I mean," Jack replied. "I've been on this road a long time, been at the top a while. But...I want other things too. Things that don't exactly coexist well with being a travelling duelist."
"Such as?"
"Being with Carly," he said. "And who knows...Maybe being a Dad."
"Jack..."
"We're not so young anymore, Yusei. We wait any longer and we'll have missed our prime chance, you know what I mean? I'm finally in my thirties. It's time I really gave my long-term future a good long look."
"...I know what you mean," Yusei said after a second of silence. "It's not easy, realising you're getting old."
"Yeah," Jack said, "So what do you think? Is it a good idea?"
"...I do," Yusei said. "I'd talk with Carly about it, but, for what it's worth I think you should go for it. Perhaps it's time the King had an heir." Jack let out a laugh at this.
"You're just trying to get in my good graces so you can be their favourite Uncle."
"I don't need to try to do that, The Prince or Princess would love me anyway."
"Hah, I doubt it. They'd find you as grating as I do."
"I'm so grating you called to see I was okay."
"Shut up." Yusei laughed at this, letting a small smile settle on his face.
"Jack?" He asked.
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
"No problem. Keep an eye on our little rose. Next time we speak, I expect to be told this Divine thing has been resolved and you two have finally gotten in each other's pants."
"Yes sir. Anything else?"
"Yeah. If you see the fucker, tell him I hope he drowns in his own blood." Yusei snorted.
"Will do," he said. "Bye, Jack." As soon as Yusei hung up the phone, it immediately went off again, this time a call from Crow. Rolling his eyes, Yusei answered the call. "Crow?" He asked.
"Yusei!" Crow shouted, "What the hell is going on over there?!"
I assume you mean the whole Divine thing," he said.
"Of course I do! I already got a hold of Aki, she filled me in. He escaped The Facility?"
"Yeah."
"Do we know what he's after?"
"We can only guess." Crow was silent for a moment.
"Aki," he said. "Or revenge on us. On you."
"Probably both," Yusei said. "Crow, I hope I don't need to tell you, but don't come to the city. He may use you to get to us, or the other way around."
"Yeah yeah, Ushio reamed me already. I won't come. Unless something happens to you guys, in which case I'm coming."
"No, not even then," Yusei said.
"You can tell me all you want, Yusei, but I'll swim to the city if I have too." Yusei frowned as Crow snickered, "I might not want to given the harbour is gross, but I'll do what I have too."
"You guys are insane," Yusei muttered.
"Says you," Crow replied. "the guy who tried to storm the Arc Cradle alone. Listen, catch this bastard alright? The last thing we need is for either you or Aki to get killed. If that happens, I'll kill Divine myself."
"Crow-"
"I mean it," Crow interrupted. "If I catch wind of either you or Aki getting hurt, I'm coming there and killing him, got it? No one hurts my family." Despite the brash attitude Crow was giving him, Yusei couldn't help but smile. He knew all the others, from Jack to Luna, probably felt the same.
"I know, Crow," he said. "I won't let him get to us."
Tetsu took a deep breath as he finished reading another file of an ex-Arcadia member, clicking off of it and back to his desktop. He'd been working for the last eight hours, trying desperately to find anyone from the Arcadia Movement that he could link to Divine. Sadly, nothing had come up yet.
"Nothing over there?" Mikage asked. Tetsu looked up to find her watching him from her own desk sitting nearby.
"No," he grunted, "Divine may as well have dissolved into thin air."
"If only it were that simple," she replied as she continued to clack away on the keyboard. "But it isn't. He's out there somewhere, and we need to find him before he hurts someone." Tetsu watched his wife quietly for a moment, trying to figure out what exactly he was going to say.
"Mikage," he said finally, "you should take a break. I'll keep looking."
"No," she replied. "Not until I get a lead."
"And when will that be?" He asked.
"When I find it," she repeated. He watched her again, figuring he needed to bring it up.
"This is because he tried to kill you too, right?" He asked. Mikage's clicking stopped, and she cast him a stern glance.
"That's irrelevant," she said.
"Is it?" He countered, crossing his arms, "because I distinctly remember you and Yusei nearly drowned because of him." Mikage winced at this, so Tetsu pushed. "Mikage, it's okay to admit you're scared of him."
"I'm not."
"I think you're lying." Mikage clenched her jaw at him, opting to instead look back at the computer.
"Okay so maybe I am scared of him," she said. "I should be! The man is a terrorist, a psychopath. He should have been electrocuted the second he captured him back then."
"Couldn't," Tetsu said. "Like it or hate it, he's our only lead in like fifty missing children's cases."
"Missing," Mikage mused, "Dead, more like. Same case as Toby Tredwell. All dead, because of him. We both know he's the most prolific murderer this side of the country! And now he's out! Because we fucked up!"
"So we catch him," Tetsu replied. "And if need be we put a bullet in his head, okay? For all those kids. For Toby." Mikage took a deep breath and nodded, smiling at him.
"For Toby."
The majority of people in Neo Domino had no idea what was happening around them that day. Most people continued on living as they had every day, going to work, going to school, or duelling. They had no idea that the cities most dangerous criminal had escaped prison, nor did they know that he was walking among them even now.
But Divine didn't think about any of that. He only had one thing in mind.
The man sat in the darkened room, up against the wall, playing with the stack of cards in his hands. He shuffled his Duel Monsters deck a few times, drew a starting hand, and stared at it quietly. He remembered all the cards in his hand from before he went to prison, their effects and combos. He knew how to play still, but he doubted that was enough. Knowing how to play wouldn't be enough, not against this opponent.
Standing up, Divine grabbed the nearby hat and put it over his head, then put glasses on over his eyes. Grabbing a nearby briefcase, he left the old warehouse he'd been hiding in, quickly getting onto a street and blending in with the people.
No no, a Duel Monsters deck wouldn't be enough. Yusei was too good at the game, while Divine hadn't played in over ten years. The last thing Divine could do is outplay him. No, he wasn't going to do that. It was too hard, and it wouldn't give him the satisfaction. He needed something else. Something a bit easier to kill someone with.
It didn't take Divine long to find a bus going to the old Satellite. Getting on, he sat down at the back by himself, avoiding eye contact with anyone who might have been looking his way. The city had sure changed since he'd been locked up. Satellite was a glowing metropolis connected to the city again, with nary a delinquent in sight.
But that didn't mean it was hard to find them. Like any city, all you had to do to find the darkness was fall through the cracks.
Getting off the bus in Satellite, Divine headed towards the docks. If he knew one thing, it was that shady people liked to congregate where it was easiest to steal things. Off a boat was the easiest of all.
Reaching his intended location, Divine quickly ducked into the alleyways behind the nearby buildings. If his 'friend' who had 'loaned' him his warehouse hideout had been telling the truth, then their should have been a group of men back here that had what he wanted.
And, sure enough, there they were. The group of four men were standing next to a black van with it's back doors open, the back of the vehicle filled with goods. Mostly stolen goods being pawned from the docks. Yeah, this was exactly what he was looking for.
"Hey man," the man nearest to him said, a bald man with a thick black goatee. "You shouldn't be back here. You might get hurt."
"I wouldn't worry about that," Divine said. "After all, I heard about you boys from Takahara."
"Takahara told you?" The man demanded. Divine nodded.
"He told me to tell you I'm interested in perusing your ramen stall." The man smirked.
"Well, that must mean your a man looking for something unobtainable in the city." He said, "what can we do for you?" Divine hummed as he walked up the van, inspecting the trucks goods quietly.
"I'm looking for a way to dispose of an enemy of mine," he said. "Perhaps a firearm."
"Firearm we can do," the man said, gesturing to a closed box nearby. "We got a guy inside the police. Whenever they get a shipment of weapons he gets us a crate or two, and in return we give him twenty percent of our earnings. What were you looking for?"
"Small," Divine replied, "something I can hide on my person. Quiet too."
"Pistol," the man answered as he opened the box, pulling one out. "small, quiet, and seeing as it's standard issue in the police, harder to trace. Numbers have been shaved off as well, in case you want to dump the thing."
"I see," Divine said as he took the pistol and weighed it in his hand. "And would you happen to have a suppressor?"
"We do," the man said as he tossed one to Divine. "The gun, suppressor and some ammo with cost you, though. two hundred thousand Yen."
"Steep," Divine muttered, "but understandable, given this is an underground trade." Lifting the suitcase up, he opened in between himself and the man to show the money inside. The man smiled at him.
"I see you came prepared," he said. "Seems to be around the right amount."
"Keep it all," Divine replied as he closed the briefcase. "Isn't my money." The man laughed.
"Isn't that the truth?" He asked as he took the briefcase, then grabbing a few magazines of ammunition. "There you go, my man. And, as I'm sure you're well aware, none of us were ever here."
"Mm," Divine hummed, "Neither was I, although you gentlemen won't have a problem not telling on me." The man in charge pretended to zip his lips shut, and Divine did the same.
Before he activated his powers.
Wiping himself from the men's perception of reality, Divine swiped the briefcase back and walked away with both it and the gun, not planning on paying the men at all. After all, why do that when he could just force them to think he was never here?
Divine still remembered when he'd discovered this ability. He'd known for a while he could influence people's minds, since he'd been able to brainwash Aki. But while in prison, he'd trained himself even further. To find a way to get out, and he'd done so. He'd used his powers to wipe his own existence from the guards, the camera's, the other prisoners, all of it. As far as they were concerned, that night, no man named Divine had ever been there. Before he left, he saw a stack of Duel Monsters cards in the back of the van. Figuring there was no harm in it, he stole those too.
Getting back to the old warehouse, Divine walked into the office and slumped into a chair, sighing to himself as he checked the gun over,
"Stop looking at me like that," he said. The man tied to a chair before him, the aforementioned Takahara, whimpered at this.
"Please don't kill me," he said weakly.
"I won't," Divine replied, "and once I'm done here you'll forget I ever existed. But I thank you for your hospitality regardless. You see, it's not possible for me to rent an apartment."
"W-Why are you doing this? What did I do to you?" He asked weakly. Divine made a face.
"Nothing," he replied, "which is why I've just tied you up. I promise you're not gonna die."
"W-Why did you buy a gun, then?" Divine waved the weapon around in his hand, contemplating his answer.
"There are some folks I want dead," he said. "Not you though. People who have wronged me. I intend to get even." Takahara said nothing more, but Divine continued. "I spent a decade in prison because of him. Because of them. And I won't go back unless I've gotten even. Perhaps a man who deals in illegal goods can understand a little." Divine glowered down at the gun, slowly cocking it.
"I won't go back," he said. "Not unless all those who have wronged me are dead. Until then, I need to pay city hall a visit. That little clown Jaeger may have some information for me."
