A big thank you to all of you out there who are still reading this story. It's amazing how people are still following and favourite-ing this story after it's been going on for so many years. You are the reason why I continue to write, why this story must finish. Thank you once again, and I hope you enjoy what this chapter has to offer.
II - Cradle
"Aki... Aki?"
Kiryu was calling out to her as they rode on their beasts, but Izayoi Aki was in no mood to answer. She simply directed her dragon to head towards the coordinates she was given and ignored the sounds Kiryu was making behind her.
"Aki? I'm sorry, okay? If you're still upset over me not finding Yusei and Crow earlier, it was all on me, alright?"
"Kiryu, just be quiet, will you?" Exasperated, she finally consented to give a reply, but only got some amused chuckles from him in return.
"Aki. Aki, Aki, Aki. You've talked non-stop about having had enough of Fudo Yusei, and yet when he comes up to your face, it's still difficult, isn't it?"
"I'm not really feeling up to it right now, Kiryu." She shot back, feeling thoroughly annoyed with what he was implying. "Don't judge others by what you're capable of, alright?"
"Not saying that I'd be able to do it in your shoes. Geez. Sorry." Kiryu showed no signs of wanting to stop the conversation. "To be completely fair, I won't be able to put Jack or Crow six foot under unless the situation really called for it. So I'm not blaming you or anything. Just pointing out you'll probably have to make the decision soon though."
"You couldn't do it?" Aki paused as she heard this and reined in her dragon, causing Kiryu to narrowly miss her mid-air. "And here I thought you are much more invested in your goal than in your friends."
"Hey hey, that depends on the situation, even for me." Kiryu gave her a lopsided smile as he flew alongside her. "You, however, are a little mistress of rage right here, and you're not going to realise your true potential for as long as you remain tied to the people you used to know. Just pointing out that if you're truly committed to giving liberty to Psychic Duelists, priorities will have to be tweaked."
"I swear, if Yusei comes between me and that goal, either as a representative of the City or out of his own will, I will not let him go, no matter what." She growled in response, her dragon giving out a small whine as its mistress tightened her grip on its scales.
"Good, because you know where we're heading towards, right?" Kiryu stopped as their destination came into focus, even though the rain started to fall as an incessant drizzle all around them. "It's one of the last facilities left still using Psychic Duelists to supply Yusei Particles to Momentum. Once Rudger-san and the rest of the team get them all down, we would be in the best position to face the City since the very conception of Neo Domino."
"The fact that Security got there to stop our men is a bad sign. It could be the City already realised the scope of what we're doing." Aki lowered herself on top of the dragon as the wind picked up, and the cold rain began to cut into her skin.
"It is Rex Goodwin we're ultimately going up against. Rudger's brother. Genius scientist, just like the rest of that team. I'm not surprised." Kiryu started to descend towards the top of an office building, around which the flickering light of Security vehicles could be seen.
"Rex Goodwin... He must be destroyed no matter what. He is cause of the entire land's suffering." Aki whispered furiously in return, a sound that was lost in the coming storm and went unheard by Kiryu. Both of them had landed on the roof of the building with a thud, the feet of their dragons digging gashes into the concrete.
"Ready to go, Aki? We might have to expect the worst here. I don't know how our men ended up and we don't know how many Security officers are out here."
"Ready when you are." Aki replied as she nimbly jumped off her dragon and dismissed the beast. The monsters disappeared into thin air as she and Kiryu ran along the roof and dashed into the stairwell, the dank air of the old and ill-kept building hitting their faces as they descended rapidly towards the ground floor.
"Baby Dragon, go scout and distract. Don't hesitate to attack if you are in danger." Kiryu pulled out a card from the deck of weak monsters he kept around for daily use and activated it on his black Duel Disk. The small monster promptly flew off through the door and obediently set off to its goal.
Duel Monsters summoned in this way were not mere mirages. They exist as actual creatures. While they can still be destroyed with enough appropriate force, mystical creatures have hides that can well withstand the impact of bullets and possess claws that can tear through cloth with ease. That was why Kiryu had veered towards using dragon-type creatures whenever they faced Security, and it was also one of the reasons Aki have become more reliant on her own dragon as time went on, particularly as her plants – even though they emitted fire – can be eliminated simply with an axe or a fire extinguisher.
Defeat dif not affect the physical card in any way, but Aki was learning that it seemed to affect the cards'... morale, if morale is the right word to use here. Monsters become less obedient and less aggressive, and Aki find herself thinking of the information she has on Ruka, of how that girl has the ability to communicate with 'spirits' that apparently dwell within pieces of cardboard. It almost seemed... absurd.
But who was she to talk about absurd?
They arrived at the ground floor via the stairs soon after. The voices of Security officers, getting ready to leave the building and gathering up their men, could distinctly be heard as the two of them walked along the decrepit, mouldy corridors.
Vaguely, she heard the officers discussing what could might be the state of the City, and Yusei Fudo's name was definitely mentioned.
The thought of Yusei distracted her and she slowed her steps, letting Kiryu walk ahead of her into the dark passage echoing with distorted, undulating voices.
"You're not holding back now, are you?" Kiryu did not miss her display of hesitation. He turned around, and even though she could not see him clearly in the absence of light, his voice remained warm and bright with encouragement and enthusiasm.
"Come on. We can do this, together. Aki. Remember why we are here. The people who were here may have already been taken away, or worse, finished off... But we can't let that thought stop us. Aki..." He took one step towards her, his boot scraping against the rough floor, "Fudo Yusei hasn't managed to shake your resolve, has he now?"
"No... No, he hasn't." She stood still and took a deep breath of the mouldy, still air in this forgotten place. "I know why I am here. I know why I am fighting."
This facility, like many others scattered around Satellite that they had raided before, was in truth a supply centre for Momentum. The power of Psychic Duelists was required to stabilise the dimension-warping power of that machine, that man-made construction defiling the physical laws of the world to create energy from nothing. Each one of these facilities were connected to the Momentum network and kept under careful guard, with Rosewood being the largest of them all. She had been taking over what facilities were still left, often with Kiryu's help, and freeing Psychic Duelists whenever she could. Some of these people thanked her, but many no longer had the capacity to do so. Many were taken from their families at a young age and had all but perished inwardly when she rescued them, perennially drugged and reduced to mere shells that were hardly capable of independent thought. She was lucky. She wasn't put here as soon as her family realised what she was capable of, but that was because she was a Senator's daughter.
A perpetrator's daughter.
The governing bodies in City all knew. Rudger informed Aki of that fact. This blight, this over-abundance of Psychic Duelists, was brought upon themselves by Neo Domino's breach of dimension and space. It was a phenomenon that fed into itself, producing more and more Psychic Duelists the more Momentum churned to create power, and in turn requiring a constant stream of these 'gifted' enough to use their minds to harness it.
How dare they play with the lives of their citizens in this way.
It was a horrible crime done to her and done unto her people. No mercy was shown to Psychic Duelists such as her, nor would she be gracious in her revenge.
But it was also her father's crime, her friends' crime, her City's crime, her lover's crime. She was someone who benefited from the results, and she enjoyed the outcome of this sin until she herself was thrown into the callous abyss her elders have hastily built.
She will bear all of that and fight back, fight for the justice that was never offered to her and her suffering kin.
"I won't stop, Kiryu. I... I can't stop."
-/-/-/-/-/-
The dark, rain-drenched night was only broken by the chirping birdsong, the sole symbol of a grim daybreak. The sun rose behind heavy clouds and did nothing to signal its arrival. Gloomy storm clouds continued to occupy the sky over Satellite even as the rain dissipated away. More moisture rose from the baked summer seas and continued to envelope Satellite in its shadow, promising more downpours to come. The entire night of rain had left a definite chill that lingered in the summer morning air, and Jack couldn't help but shiver as he stepped out of the warm confines of the orphanage to check up on the garage and the state of their vehicles.
"Up early, Jack?"
"You did too." Jack growled. He bit back the curse that was going to leave his throat as soon as he saw Crow's blazing orange hair. He checked himself on time as he was greeted with a small, cheery, and familiar voice. Carly bounced delightedly towards Jack from the other side of the garage, her big smile completely incongruous to the depressing atmosphere around them and the heavy thoughts on his mind.
"I got up early to have a feel of what Satellite feels like, especially in the morning. I've never been here, after all, and it wasn't all that nice to sit inside that container while we were being transported here." Carly answered his unspoken question, looking unfazed at his upraised eyebrows.
"How Satellite... feels like? I could have told you. It feels depressing as hell."
"No, I don't mean what it feels to live here. This is how I get a grasp of the story before getting to the reporting." Carly pouted slightly at Jack's unenthused reply. "I get to the grounds and feel the air by breathing and touching the place, then I figure out what might have happened here and what the people might have done. I want to stand where the people in my stories stood and see and feel everything they did and put myself in their shoes to understand everything better."
"So, what does Satellite feels like then?" Jack narrowed his eyes further, his expression still containing a healthy dose of suspicion.
"Mmm, it feels... fresh." Carly briefly closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the humid, salty air that Jack had grown to associate with poverty and restlessness, two words that summed up his early teens. "It feels wild and actually alive. The City has this tasteless and ridiculously clean air all over the place, unless you deliberately go to the parks. This Satellite kind of air feels like it's always ready for a change, for a revolution. Maybe that's what Aki and Kiryu felt. Maybe that's what it actually feels like to live here."
"Your lady friend has a pretty good grasp on the issues in Satellite. Pretty spot-on for a City person, if you ask me." Crow looked up from behind his black-and-gold D-Wheel.
"No one asked you." Jack rebuked instinctively, a reflex that came from years of habitually arguing with Crow after they left Martha's orphanage – this very place they were now standing in.
"Just giving you a piece of my mind. Maybe you should pay more attention to the people you brought here, you know." Crow shot back, standing up from where he was crouched behind his D-Wheel.
"Get out of my business." Jack puffed and rolled his eyes as Carly fell silent next to him. He wasn't too concerned with dashing her enthusiasm. He was intending to get her to go back to the City as soon as possible anyways. "More importantly, are the D-Wheels all fit to leave Martha's place soon?"
"Yeah…" Crow's voice fell off as he patted his hands and looked around, then turning and fixing a meaningful gaze on Jack. "All of them are."
Jack didn't realise what was wrong with that statement until his brain, still slightly drowsy, started to remember everything that had happened as they were racing towards the orphanage yesterday.
"Wait… even Yusei's D-Wheel?"
"Yep. Even Yusei's." Crow heaved a sigh. "That's what you get for being the King of the City. Top-end construction for the D-Wheel. Sure, the fell dented and bent some pretty surfaces, but nothing major was broken at all. I bet the only damage that D-Wheel got was some extra wind resistance from losing a smooth curve or two. Doesn't look as flashy as before, but I don't think it'll pose a problem."
"You don't think?" Jack raised his brows. "I don't know if I should trust your mechanic skills."
The blond man moved to walk deeper into the garage, but surprisingly Carly grabbed hold of his sleeve.
"Jack, wait –"
"Get off, Carly. Now this is really not your business." Jack quickly shrugged her off and stepped beyond his own vehicle, moving towards that curved shadow deeper into the building, which was probably Yusei's D-Wheel.
He was adamant to get Yusei to leave here as soon as possible. He had briefly believed that perhaps Kiryu and Aki really would not attack this place, but he was wrong. There was nothing stopping those two from coming in and slaughter the innocent in the name of hunting down Yusei. The sooner Yusei left Satellite, the better it would be for everybody. That was why he was so bent on making sure the King's vehicle was fit for travel. He certainly didn't want to drag a useless chunk of steel all the way back to the City.
Crow stretched out his arms and stopped Jack.
"Jack, no. You can question me all you want, but Yusei's checked his D-Wheel himself. It's fine."
"Yusei…" Jack blinked.
Crow tilted his head back almost imperceptibly, towards the back corner of the garage where Yusei's D-Wheel was. Jack saw that vague shape then. Someone was lying on the ground in the narrow space between the D-Wheel and the wall. Judging from the shape of the hair and the outline of the jacket, it was most likely Yusei.
"He was already here when I got here." Crow said in a low voice. "He looks pretty bad. I think he hardly slept."
"I was trying to tell you that, Jack." Carly whispered next to him. "We shouldn't disturb him. I don't even know what we can say to him."
Jack looked hard at the small figure huddled there and took a deep breath.
"Tell him to face the goddamn truth, that's what."
"Jack!"
Crow and Carly both cried out as Jack loudly proclaimed what was on his mind. Crow's tone was one of surprise, while Carly's was almost accusatory. Jack didn't care. Every one of them got into trouble because of Yusei and Aki's feud. There was no denying that.
"I hear you, Jack, and I will face the truth."
Carly whipped around at that calm, low voice, her long black hair almost smacking Jack as she did so. Jack grimaced.
"King!" But Carly missed all of that. She was evidently too concerned about Yusei to notice. "I didn't know you were awake! Sorry for waking you up –"
"No. You didn't. It's fine."
Jack watched as that dark shadow slowly stood up and walked towards them, until the faint light of the early morning was enough to illuminate Yusei's tired, pale face.
Crow was right. Yusei looked like crap.
"I'm so sorry for what has happened, King." Carly stuttered as Yusei approached, clearly at a loss for words. "I –"
Yusei simply shook his head and brushed past Carly.
"Where are you going, Yusei?" But Jack wasn't going to let him pass.
Yusei stopped before Jack and turned slowly to look at him. Jack stood his ground. There was a strange aura about Yusei, one that Jack had never seen on him either in person or in the television screen.
"I'm going to save her." Yusei muttered. "I'm going to find her and help her."
"So, you've finally figured out what you think about her?" Jack's tone remained challenging.
"It doesn't matter what I think about her anymore." Yusei's tone was flat. "We've all seen what she has become. I need to stop her."
There was a brief flinch on Jack's face before he lifted his fist and planted it straight into Yusei's stomach.
"What the heck, Jack?!"
Yusei instantly doubled over at this unexpected assault, while Crow lunged forward and tried to grab Jack's hand. The taller man nimbly dodged away from Crow's arm and demonstrated absolutely no remorse towards what he has done.
"If that's how you're still thinking about Izayoi, you can pretty much say goodbye to her." Jack all but growled towards Yusei. "If that's what you want, then I'm happy to help you kill her."
"Kill?! No! I –" Startled, Yusei looked up, his eyes full of alarm.
"You still haven't figured out by now? Even after she came screaming to your face? You're not going to be able to 'save' her anymore. She's long past that, Fudo Yusei!"
"If I was going to let her die, then I wouldn't have kept on her trail for so long." Yusei grunted as he got up again. His clear, determined eyes were full of buried anger as he glared right back at Jack. "That's not what I came here for. I won't let her come into any more harm."
"Then are you going to allow her to keep rampaging through Satellite and into the City? Because that's what she wants to do, and you know she damn well will fight you if you try to stop her."
"But I won't... I won't allow that." Yusei all but growled. "That's not who she is -"
"Stop saying that!" Jack took a full step forward, almost pushing his face into Yusei's. The King instinctively flinched back. "You really think she got completely changed just because of Satellite? You really think she was that complacent and meek even back in the City? Your whole night of thinking didn't get you to see the truth at all. You need to see her as who she truly is, and not who you thought she is or who she should be!"
"And who are you to lecture me? Do you know any Psychic Duelists yourself?" Yusei, as if he has finally had enough of Jack's words, shot back at long last. "Don't presume you know anything about Aki –"
"Don't presume you know anything about her yourself, Fudo Yusei." Jack was not backing down. "Your blindness towards her is one part of the reason why she ended up here, so why don't you open your eyes and see that she has grudges too, and those are not going to go away just by you telling her to give them up!"
Yusei did not respond and only breathed heavily, as if he was holding back something that was on the verge of breaking out of him, something that he struggled to contain. Jack waited for Yusei's rebuke, but it never came. Yusei took a long, deep breath, and Jack could visibly see Yusei's jaw clench with some kind of resolve, something that he didn't know if he should be apprehensive about or not.
"I – um – why don't we just, you know, all figure out what we should do now?" Standing amongst these tense figures, Carly keenly felt just how antagonistic the atmosphere had suddenly become. "You know, why don't we just all sit down and discuss the next step in everyone's plan?"
"I need to leave this place. My presence is putting Martha-san and the children in danger." Yusei responded flatly. "There's no going around that. Aki and Kiryu will try to chase me down, so I need to avoid staying at places where the innocents can be affected. As to exactly where I will go..." he paused, almost despondently, "I don't know that much about Satellite to figure out."
"Good. At least we agree on something." Jack rolled his eyes. "I want all of us to leave this place. Aki may be after you, but Kiryu probably has more of a grudge towards Crow and me. The two of us staying here will invite more trouble for Martha and the kids as well."
"My thoughts exactly." Rarely, Crow also agreed with Jack. "I know places we can hide in. I can get us all around the districts of Satellite, in fact. Aki and Kiryu wouldn't be able to find us any time soon if we keep moving."
"I don't think you should just keep running and hiding though." Carly chirped in. "I... What do you think about the claims against Momentum that Aki-san made?"
"I haven't thought too much about it, frankly." Yusei gave out a bitter chuckle. "I don't know what to think, if I'm gonna be completely honest. It's ironic how I'm named after the Yusei Particle that my father discovered and utilised in the Momentum, but I still don't know the actual secrets of that machine... I can't even rebuke the claims Aki made towards it."
"I just think that, rather than getting upset at you or the City for abandoning her, Aki-san sounded angrier because of what she went through here in Satellite, and she seems to blame it on Momentum. You've already seen where she was staying. You've already been to Rosewood, and there was nothing there. Do you think maybe it would be worth it to visit the old Momentum site, and there could be something at that place?'
Yusei, Jack, and Crow all looked at Carly, as if she just said something that none of them were expecting at all.
"Carly's actually right." It was Crow who spoke up first. "I was way too concerned about what Kiryu was doing with the black Duel Disks to think about Momentum. Now that you mention it... It actually makes sense."
"What sense?" Jack blinked, not realising what Crow was talking about.
"Those black Duel Disks are apparently channelling the power of Momentum in reverse, which is why they is able to copy the ability of Psychic Duelists. At least that's how the gangs explained it." Crow turned to Jack. "Now that Carly mentioned it, it actually seems like whenever Psychic Duelists and their abilities pop up, the word 'Momentum' is somehow attached with it."
"But the old Momentum site collapsed." Jack frowned. "That was why the team abandoned the site. The area is all cordoned off since those big accidents. I don't even know if we can access those seaside caves."
"It will be hard, but not impossible." Crow concluded. "I've never tried it myself, but I believe you can still climb along the seaside and the cliffs to sneak in."
"Momentum seems like something Aki-san was really attached to, so it would be great if we can get some information about that place." Seeing her theory was being agreed upon by her companions, Carly perked up instantly. "What do you say, Yusei?"
"I'm not opposed to it." Yusei consented. "And I agree that we should get more information on that area before we head there physically. I thought I did enough research on Rosewood before I left... But as you all know, that was certainly not enough."
"If you're looking for information on old Momentum, you're not going to find it here." Jack shrugged. "There are almost no records of anything in Satellite. The best bet would be Rua and Ruka, but even they won't be able to access anything about Momentum. That whole project is treated as a national secret at this rate, and you're not going to be able to get your hands on it unless you are high in the City's government."
"I wonder if that's how Aki-san got to know. Maybe her father, the Senator, actually knew something." Carly mused. "I guess there's not much we can do then..."
"Martha."
"What?" Jack turned quickly when Crow, standing beside him, muttered in an awed voice.
"Martha. She could know." Crow continued in an awe-stricken voice. "She was here when the research team moved in, and she always said she knew everyone on the team personally. She might know something."
"We would have to see her before we leave anyways." Jack sighed and nodded. "Don't know when we will get to see her again, especially as the situation gets worse in Satellite. She may even have to re-locate briefly if Kiryu keeps coming back."
"Then there's no time to lose." Carly bounced up. "Let's find Martha-san before we leave, and we can see what she knows."
"Yes, before we leave." Jack gave Carly a pointed look. "The three of us are going to go towards the Old Momentum site, but you are going back towards the City and ask Security to escort you back. Or you ask the twins to send some Security this way to take you back."
"Not this again!" Carly positively pouted.
"I'm serious." Jack frowned.
"I can take care of myself, and I want to do my duty as a reporter!" Ignoring Crow and Yusei's incredulous eyes on them, Carly puffed up her chest and stood up to Jack, refusing to listen to what he was saying. She and Jack stood face to face and glared at each other for what seemed like a long time, until Jack finally coughed and lowered his head.
"Fine. Just remember what you said." Jack mumbled in a weary voice. "Don't run into trouble if you can help it."
"What's with this ruckus?" Just then, an old and cautious voice came around the corner, and the youths turned around to see Martha coming into the garage, still rubbing her eyes from sleep.
"Martha!"
Martha evidently wasn't prepared to have everyone's attention turning to her in such an eager way, and probably wasn't expecting all of her guests to be up and about at such an early time. She visibly widened her eyes at the sudden exclamation of her name. Carly jumped at the opportunity.
"Martha! We were just hoping to talk to you!" Carly immediately went forward and got in front of Martha. "We've decided to head to the Old Momentum site for more information, and we're wondering if you can tell us more about it."
"I... Sure. "Martha was still recovering from the surprise of.
"We've decided to leave as soon as possible, Martha-san. Thank you for your generous hospitality." Yusei took over the reins of the conversation then, smoothly thanking their host. "We would be extremely grateful if you can tell us what you know about getting into the Old Momentum site. Aki and Kiryu keep mentioning the relationship between what is happening now and the power of Momentum, so we believe there could be clues over there."
"I can definitely do that." Martha nodded. "You are all leaving? And so soon?"
"Not all of us." Jack shook his head. "Carly needs to stay and get back to the City with Security."
"That's good to hear." Martha gave a heartfelt smile. "It's better for you to stay here, Carly. Much safer for a young lady to stay here than to roam around Satellite."
Carly visibly stiffened at this. Behind her, Jack sighed again and decided to intervene.
"We're hoping to come back soon, and then we'll decide what to do." With a shake of his head, Jack diverted the topic.
"I can certainly give some pointers about how you might get into Old Momentum. It's all the way out to the sea and will take a few hours' drive even on a car from this place."
"Then we should set off at once." Crow concurred.
"Let me get you guys prepared then. You should at least take some food and water." Martha nodded. "Why don't we get that sorted and see you on your way."
It didn't take much work to get all the D-Wheels out of the garage and into the courtyard. For once, Jack was thankful of the rough earthen ground that served as the children's play area. The rain had thoroughly soaked the place through, and the ground was compact enough to not stir up dust when the D-Wheels were pushed across. A fancier ground would have caused the vehicles to slip. Martha and Crow had hurried back to the main building and were busily preparing some sort of food and water for their journey. The two of them soon emerged again, holding bundles and starting to load them onto the back of the D-Wheels.
"These aren't too fancy but should do the job." Martha answered Yusei's curious looks as Crow loaded the last bundle of food. "Just do stay safe and come back soon."
"We can always stay in one of my hideouts around Satellite if we have to. Don't worry about it, Martha." Crow reassured her. "We're gonna be fine."
The next half hour or so was spent packing what little belongings they brought. Jack was secretly glad of how rapidly things were progressing. With the sudden appearances of Kiryu and Aki, Jack was no longer sure of his strength. Yes, he knew he was probably a better duelist, but that was before the game became all too real.
Would he wield a black Duel Disk, if it was offered to him? Yusei refused, and Crow only did so under duress. Jack would not refuse though, at least he thought.
If the power to protect those he cares about came into his hands, he would not hesitate to utilise it.
"You probably remember that the Old Momentum was located in the caves next to the ocean." Martha explained as they prepared to leave. "The accidents that caused the team to pull out all those years ago have collapsed a lot of the original road. You'll have to approach along the beach now. I don't think the old machine was actually removed, so you might still see it, if it hasn't collapsed over the years."
"There was a lot of Security presence there too." Crow joined in. "I remember no one could access it for years."
"All the more reasons for you guys to be careful." Martha frowned and put her hand on Crow's shoulder. "The lack of maintenance around that place is no laughing matter."
Crow spent quite some time guaranteeing Martha about their safety. Jack appreciated that Crow took the time to put Martha's mind to rest. Martha was a mother to all of them. No matter how often Jack put himself in danger, he didn't want Martha to worry pointlessly about the possible situations he could end up in.
Besides – Jack saw that a strange smile that lit up Carly's face as the younger woman stood patiently next to Martha, waiting for her chance – Martha will probably need that reassurance to face Carly's questions.
For all of Jack's disapproving words against Carly, he never doubted the validity of her own choice or the capabilities of her skill.
Something that Fudo Yusei seemed to still struggle with towards Izayoi Aki.
-/-/-/-/-/-
"Martha-san." As soon as she and Martha waved off Yusei, Jack, and Crow, Carly turned to the older woman. "I've been researching the history of Momentum with Jack while we were at the City. I'm wondering if I can ask you some questions about the history of the research team and what happened to Satellite after the establishment of the project."
"More on Momentum then? You kids seem all very interested in that all of a sudden." Martha turned her kind, intelligent face towards her. "I will do what I can, but I'm afraid I don't really know all that much. The team never talked about the science behind it, even back in the foundational stage."
"I'm not after the science or any of the theories behind it." Carly offered a smile back. "I'm more interested in the people and Satellite. Could you tell me about the people involved in the research team back then, and what exactly they did?"
The two of them soon got themselves settled down in the Martha's living room after the older woman made some elementary preparations towards breakfast for the children, and then passed the rest of the cooking duties to the older children. Ever the studious and careful reporter, Carly had diligently taken out a notebook and a pen instead of her usual recorder and computer, and had every intention to note down everything Martha would say.
Out of all the people who were initially involved with the team that built the prototype Momentum, Martha was probably the only person Carly will ever be able to get this close to. Most of the team have either left Neo Domino, disappeared, passed away, or enshrined among the elites of Tops, never truly descending back down to interact with the rest of the people. Carly knew there was no way she would ever be able to sit down like this with Yusei's father or Rex Goodwin, the last two veterans of the project who still remained in the limelight. Martha was an invaluable alternative as an information source.
"What do you want to know?" Martha looked curiously at all of Carly's setup.
"Why don't we start from the beginning." Carly smiled in a friendly way. "Let's talk about what the team did when they first came to Satellite."
"Let's see… That was when Neo Domino City was first trying to develop itself, when we were just an ordinary city that have not established our power yet. " Martha mused, narrowing her eyes. "That was more than fifteen years ago. Everyone in the world was invested in discovering new energy sources, and we were trying to do that too. A lot of money was given to the scientific community and they were encouraged to develop new things as much as possible. Yusei's father was one of the youngest professors the City had produced, and he was permitted to take a team of researchers with him to experiment as much as they want here in Satellite."
"Why Satellite?" Carly queried. "Even fifteen years ago, when the City was less developed, Satellite would not be the first spot to set up a major construction."
"You're right. This was probably the last place in Neo Domino where one would want to build something big, or find enough resources to make Momentum viable." Martha smiled in a nostalgic way. "But the government was also trying to develop Satellite back then. After all, this is the old Domino, where our city started and where Duel Monsters first flourished. We all welcomed Fudo's presence, since he brought us more money and attention. Perhaps they simply saw Satellite as a better place with less limitations – there were no existing tall buildings that the Momentum project must not block, no city planning locations that Momentum could not utilise. That did make people more surprised than ever when Fudo ultimately chose the area next to the abandoned docks, the cliffs next to the ocean, to build his 'omnipotent machine', as they called it then."
"That was an even more derelict place than the rest of Satellite, wasn't it?" Carly nodded.
"It was completely abandoned after some earthquakes ruined the docks and made the area more like a cliff than an old harbour. It was quite dangerous as ruins go, but Fudo's team made the best of it and managed to build the prototype machine in some of the caves along the cliff." Martha continued.
"Have you ever been there?" Carly queried.
"No. It was not exactly ever open to the public... Particularly not after the incidents started occurring." Martha gave a slight frown, as if remembering something.
"We in the City never got to hear about those incidents until that final malfunction, after which new Momentum had to be re-built in the City." Carly probed in a low voice. "What can you tell me about these earlier incidents?"
"It was nothing major at first, just some parts of the cliffs collapsing. People attributed it to how the area was unstable to start with." Martha shook her head. "But that wasn't the important part. People... started to die."
"I... have definitely heard that some people in the research team went missing." Carly frowned.
"They started to suffer. Not physically, but mentally." Martha sighed. "The first problem started when people visited the local hospital... or me."
"You?" Carly lifted up her eyebrows.
"There were not many facilities here in Satellite back in the days. Just a small hospital, and me for the orphans." Martha shrugged. "Professor Fudo and his team came here regularly and sometime even played with the children. That was when I started to hear about the anxiety and depression that was cropping up in the team. Of course, everyone assumed it was just the stress of the job, but then the team had its first suicide."
"That... could still be argued as due to the sheer stress of the project." Carly hesitated before offering her explanation.
"As much madness as we saw with them? I sometimes feel genuinely scared, even in hindsight." Martha slowly shook her head with visible disbelief. "Hallucinations, paranoia, even coming to fear their own project and machine... some scientists were sent home because of medical concerns, and some were allowed to go back to the project after a while. It was very hard to see them, and it didn't make it any better for Prof Fudo and the Goodwin brothers."
"What do you think about them as people?" Carly leaned forward. "There is hardly any information about those days, and these people are not talking about themselves or their experiences anymore. Not to mention... I just realised in the past few days that Rex Goodwin actually had a brother. How come we never heard of him?"
"A long story." Martha sighed. "But they are – or were – all nice people. Prof Fudo was wise and careful beyond his years, and he tried his best to keep his team together and maintain morale. He did always seem a little detached, but he has a heart in there, and he cares about his people. Rudger and Rex Goodwin were younger than Prof Fudo and were much more energetic. They loved and believed in the project more than anyone else, and both were Fudo's assistants. They were made to be scientists."
"But...?" Carly offered cautiously. They both knew what happened to Rex Goodwin, but Carly did not know how he ended up where he was today. As for the other brother, she could only hope Martha would offer a reliable glimpse to the concealed history of the City hidden here in Satellite.
"There were no 'but's for a long time." Martha gave a small, nostalgic smile to Carly. "Despite the human setback, the project went along smoothly in the technical aspect. The Goodwin brothers even continuously visited the children here. Those were the good days for Satellite. The government had high hopes for us, and Satellite was going to get more facilities. Everyone was happy, and Satellite had a serious future. Things only went downhill when it became obvious that no matter who worked on the Momentum project, including new researchers fresh from the City, they would start to lose themselves."
"Including... Professor Fudo and the Goodwins?" Carly asked, incredulously.
"They were perhaps affected the least, and I still don't know why." Martha shook her head. "More people started to commit suicide, and the number of accidents and deaths started to climb really alarmingly about four year after the beginning of the project. The prototype Momentum machine was already completed and was operating by that time. There were also the occasional earthquakes and collapses around the Momentum chamber, and that was marked down as just the general instability of the area. Thinking back now, I can't exactly say if those experiments with dimensions contributed to the shakes. Satellite folks definitely had the superstition that it was the Momentum machine, in its cave churning away, that drove its creators mad."
"So, you do believe Momentum was the cause of the incident that ultimately destroyed even more of the Satellite district?" Carly narrowed her eyes.
"I can't say. I don't believe that machine of science has the ability to drive people mad, or to make the ground shake." Martha sat up straighter, and a defiant light was shining in her eyes. "But I believe working on that machine stressed people out like nothing else. I have seen what havoc that machine did to people's mood, especially towards the end. Prof Fudo believed everything was finally calming down during that period of time, but then Demak jumped into machine itself... it was a very heavy blow for what was left of the team."
"Into... The machine?" Carly gasped. She had never visited the actual machine, but she knew the machine was an empty cylinder with the insides full of the mysterious energy it harvested. The entire column had an impressive height. It would be horrifying to fall through that empty gap until one hit the ground.
"The massive explosion that almost destroyed the prototype machine happened very soon after that." Martha nodded gravely. "Rudger Goodwin disappeared almost immediately after Demak's death, and we never heard about him again. Rex didn't take that very well, losing his older brother like that... that probably contributed to him leaving science for good."
"Do you know anything about what happened to Rex Goodwin after the end of the prototype team, then?" Carly frowned curiously and noted it down.
"Nothing concrete. He stayed in this district for a little while, acting as director for a few charitable organisations around Satellite, but never stayed at one place for long. He returned to City a few years after the final incident, and I lost all contact with him. The rest is history – he became a politician, and finally became the veritable ruler of the City. Talk about a strange turn the events."
"And Rudger Goodwin?" Carly asked curiously.
"Before he disappeared, you mean?" Martha grimaced. "He was the stronger brother, both mentally and physically. He was always more optimistic than Rex, loved to joke, adored the Momentum project. I don't know what happened to him, but I can only imagine he was removed from the project or had an accident without the higher-ups letting anyone know. "
"Rex Goodwin was very close to his brother, then...?" Carly paused as she said this. The idea of Rex Goodwin being emotionally attached to someone was... alien.
"More than you could have guessed." Martha shrugged. "They were always together, laughing and investigating together, a big contrast to Prof Fudo, who was always quiet and thinking. Rex was very withdrawn after Rudger disappeared, and I don't think he ever recovered."
"And that accusation Izayoi-san had about Psychic Duelists being exploited for Momentum... What do you think about that?" Carly asked lastly, trying to gauge whatever information she could from Martha.
"I don't believe it at all." Martha lowered her head and answered in a low voice. "I don't believe it. Momentum may have caused enough damage, but it was because it was a machine that disrupted the very fabric of the physical world. It was science, and not about Psychic Duelists. Not at all."
"But... has it ever occurred to anyone that those driven mad by the Momentum might have become... Psychic Duelists?"
"Psychic Duelists are not mad." Martha turned to look at Carly sternly. "Besides, how many Psychic Duelists have you heard about?"
"I... none, except Izayoi-san." Carly stuttered.
"That's right. Psychic Duelists are rare. They don't just pop up dozens at a time." Martha slowly shook her head. "It doesn't just happen like that. And even though Izayoi Aki is unstable now, she was not mad before her ordeal here. Her ability is not attached to madness, and none of the affected scientists were ever shown to be Psychic Duelists."
"I suppose…" Carly concurred reluctantly, knowing it would be hard to get more out of Martha.
"Momentum was constructed as the hope that would bring Neo Domino to international prominence." Martha concluded on a stern note. "I watched it being built, watched the passion and hard work that went into it, watched the people giving their entire beings to it. I will not have people suggest that it was some voodoo machine that relied on the misery of Psychic Duelists. Momentum is built on science, not magic."
Carly quietly called an end to the interview at that stage. Her instincts and experience as a reporter told her she had thoroughly disrupted Martha's internal view on the world, and it was time to stop. She rapidly thanked Martha and asked if she had any means to contact the internet, answering Martha's curious look with a quick explanation to dissuade any suspicions.
"Jack and I are working together with some well-informed people in the City to put together as much information as we can about what happened with Old Momentum, so I would like to send what I've found back to them." Carly grinned. "Hopefully you don't mind."
Martha visibly softened and sighed. "I see. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have thought of you in that way. Suspicion is something that comes naturally after living in Satellite for your whole life. I'm just trying to look out for the children here."
"I understand, Martha-san." Carly smiled in return. "Just out of curiosity, did Jack and Crow ever interact with the Momentum team back in the days?"
"Every kid who was at the orphanage interacted with the Momentum team." Martha gave a nostalgic grin. "Crow and Jack were probably too young to remember though."
As Carly sat down in the room that Martha gave her and started to compose her message to Ruka and Rua, she couldn't help but recall the conviction with which Martha spoke of the Momentum project. Carly paused half-way through a sentence as she sought to wrap up the document to send to the twins and sat silently in the room in sudden thought.
"If we put everything together..."
Carly quickly put her laptop aside and whipped out a pen and a new piece of paper instead. Nibbling a little on the bottom of the pen, Carly flattened the paper on the rough wooden table and started to put her thoughts down.
What we do know from the official records of the City is that approximately fifteen years ago, Professor Fudo and his team came to Satellite to build a prototype for Momentum based on the Yusei Particles they recently discovered. It is well known that Rex Goodwin was his assistant at the time. However, it appears Rex Goodwin's older brother, named Rudger Goodwin, was also an assistant in the team, and had disappeared during the construction of the prototype Momentum. The team also suffered heavy casualties despite their best efforts to create the machine. At the end of the prototype project, the prototype machine malfunctioned and caused a major earthquake, and threw Satellite into further ruin.
It is logical to assume that Rudger Goodwin never returned to the City, since Rex Goodwin would have had the power to find his brother in his current position. It could be that Rudger was already deceased by the end of the prototype project. Rex Goodwin then left his promising scientific career and entered philanthropy, followed by politics. Neo Domino City rapidly became the most powerful city in the world following the successful development and utilisation of Momentum and continued to prosper until this day.
However, Izayoi Aki and Kiryu Kyosuke claim the power of Momentum was in fact rooted in the power of Psychic Duelists. They argue that the entire Momentum project is based on 'harvesting' the mental power of Psychic Duelists, which are effectively used as 'fuel' for the machine.
Psychic Duelists is a unique phenomenon seen almost exclusively around the districts of Domino. Duel Monsters, the most popular game in the world, first came into prominence here and many legends surround the initial duelists decades ago. Psychic Duelists, however, can manifest holographic projections of Duel Monster cards into real monsters, and these people have always been feared in Domino. Psychic Duelists are very rare and many would never have met one in their entire lives. I certainly have not heard of any Psychic Duelists other than Izayoi Aki, even when I went back through the archives for past cases. The only other recorded Psychic Duelists were almost a century ago in the days of the legendary duelists when old Domino, the area now known as Satellite, was still the main city and area of habitation.
But again, is it possible that the City has been purposefully gathering up Psychic Duelists, therefore making it rare for the public to ever hear about them?
Carly sat back and looked at what she wrote, then looked back at the detached, matter-of-fact report that she had composed in her laptop. She thought for a while with furrowed brows, then reached over for her laptop and proceeded to erase everything she had typed. She then typed up what she had written on paper, word for word.
She felt that whatever reasons behind Izayoi Aki's change of personality had a genuine impact on the Senator's daughter. It could have been a lie, told by Kiryu to Izayoi to manipulate her, but Martha's description of the misfortune that fell upon the prototype Momentum team disturbed Carly. She could not deny that Momentum itself was probably responsible for the physical destruction of Satellite and the mental disturbances of the team, especially as those events hardly occurred before or after the Momentum team's stay at Satellite.
What could be the truth? Who was given a lie?
Carly sent the document to Rua and Ruka and watched as the twins pinged back a message, saying they had received her information and have arranged for her to leave with a Security escort back to the City later in the day. Carly blinked, and for the first time, felt everything was so surreal.
She was here, in Satellite, a place that no one in the City ever went to. The reverse applies to the people living in Satellite, who were forever living under the shadow of the City but were never allowed to visit. Carly briefly felt confused as to which side was the true face of Domino. Would it be the new, flamboyant, technologically-advanced Neo Domino? Or would it be the old and nostalgic Satellite, a place for long-forgotten secrets?
Carly simply sighed and closed her laptop. First thing first, she will wait for the Security escort that the twins arranged. Jack was right. She would need to ensure her own safety before she dove even deeper into the questions and doubts that now surround Momentum.