Chapter 14: Flames of the Future
Hey everyone! It's me, sakuraphoenix, and I'm back with a new chapter! I know, I'm late with the update! My finals are coming up and I'm stressed like a mad woman! Well, not exactly like a mad woman, but… you know what I mean! Onto the disclaimer!
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's. I also do not own Grace and Rex. They belong to my boyfriend Detroid434. Also, I do not own Winston, Sia, and Rina. They all belong to D.J. Scales
Enjoy!
After what happened to Grace's brother, he was immediately transferred to New Domino Hospital. Naomi on the other hand had her back turned to us and her face turned to the door. I know that she was trying her hardest not to cry. Frankly, I didn't blame her. Ever since she moved to New Domino City about a year ago, she's had this neutral face, but she never once cried, not even when Krystal, back when she was her old bully self, had insulted her about her being American. The fact that she was trying to not let her tears show… she's really hurt inside.
"Naomi…" started Grace
"Just leave me alone." Naomi said while not even moving an inch from her position
"Hey, don't feel bad Naomi. You didn't know… we all didn't know." Said Dawn
"Stop trying to cheer me up. Facts remain facts. Grace's brother is in the hospital, and it's my fault." Naomi said while getting up from her chair
Before she left, Igneous appeared in the hospital room, and he was about to say something, until he saw Naomi's current state. After that, he just stayed silent. Not long after he entered the hospital room, Sia and Rina entered the hospital room.
"Hey. You okay Grace?" Sia asked as Grace was crying over Rex's unconscious body
"Think about it. My brother was working with a bunch of goons who wanted to steal people's souls. Lost a duel, and had his soul taken! How do you think I feel?!" Grace exclaimed before saying:
"Sorry. I didn't mean to shout. It's just… it's been so long since I saw him, and when I finally found him again, he's now here in the hospital."
Just as she held Rex's hand, her Wind mark began to glow the same time Naomi's Water mark did. When the glow from both of their arms died away, Rex started to open his eyes, earning a shocked look on Grace's face.
"Brother! You're awake!" Grace exclaimed as she began to cry tears of joy
"Sis? Is that you?" asked Rex
"It's me brother. It's me." Grace said while still crying tears of joy
She then pulled Rex into a hug, to which he returned. I then noticed that Naomi had smiled a bit before she left the hospital room, with Igneous following suit. I have to admit, we were all relieved that Grace was okay, especially now that Rex was awake.
"So, aren't you forgetting something Dawn?" asked Grace
"Am I?" asked Dawn
"Uh, let me give you a hint. Four letter word that starts with 'D', and it's not your name." I said
"AH! My date with Winston! I can't believe I almost forgot about it!" exclaimed Dawn
"Guess you found someone to love, Dawn." Said Grace
"Considering the credit card bill I'm gonna have to pay, it better be worth it." I said
That got everyone except for Dawn to laugh.
"I hope I can find love soon." Grace said while staring off into space
"I'm sure you will sis." Said Rex
"I hope so…" Grace trailed off
The next evening…
Dawn's P.O.V.
Okay, I do have to admit, this cocktail dress was a good idea to wear, but why in world is Sakura here? She told me that she had other plans tonight. So why is she here? She better not be spying on me. Thankfully, she's a few tables away, so I can hear her without a card. Not long after I noticed her, Trudge, Mina, Grace, Yusei, Jack, and Crow showed up! Okay, now I know she's not spying on me, but what's going on? Sakura never treats anyone to an expensive dinner. The steak here is expensive! The only reason I know they have steak is because a waiter just sent seven steaks over to them. For once, I'm glad I'm not Sakura. Still, what's going on over there? The only reason I'm curious is because I can hear Crow stuffing his face with the steak.
"So this is how the rich people eat. This is great. It's like the best food I've eaten ever! Come on guys. Dig in already. It's not every day we get taken out to fancy restaurants like this, uh, no offense girls." Said Crow
"None taken. Though I don't like eating out too much. Too unhealthy." Said Sakura
"I agree with Sakura. Don't you think this seems odd?" asked Grace
Both Trudge and Mina cleared their throats. Yep. They want something from them.
"Wh-what's odd about it? What are you talking about? We just wanted to take you guys out is all." Said Mina
"You know what Martha used to always tell us? Nothing in this world is free. Everything comes with a cost in one way or another." Said Yusei
"Here's the way I'm seeing it. You wouldn't blow your meager government salary on us if you didn't want something in return." Said Jack
"That's… we're just being nice." Said Trudge
"So why take us all out to the most expensive steakhouse in New Domino City if that's the case. Fess up. What do you want?" asked Sakura
"Sakura, seriously, there's nothing we want! Well, there is this one, actually, two little favors, but that's…" started Trudge
"I knew it. Let's hear it." Said Grace
"It's nothing. There's just this guy and girl, and they've got amnesia, and they were found on the beach last week and well… security can't watch them, but they don't know where else to go." Said Mina
"And what does that have to do with us?" asked Yusei
"They've been staying with me and Trudge at our apartments, but they're kinda small and Trudge has a cat, and I have a dog, and this guy is allergic to cats and the girl is allergic to my dog, so…" started Mina
"So you want to dump these guys on us?" asked Jack
"Yeah." Said Crow
And he stuffed his face again with the steak. For once, I'm so glad I'm not my sister.
"Just for a little while." Said Trudge
"No way." Said Yusei
"I'm still trying to get used to having Dawn around. It's more or less a transition period for me at the moment. I'm sorry, but I must decline." Said Sakura
What does she mean by that, huh?!
"Come on your five. These guys need help." Said Mina
"Not a chance." Said Jack
"Sorry. No can do. I'm busy." Said Grace
"I'll beg if I have to." Said Trudge
"Don't bother." Said Crow
"So you won't help us, but you'll gladly wolf down the very delicious and very expensive dinner we buy you?" asked Trudge
"Well, when you put it like that… so where are these amnesiacs? Are they here?" Crow asked while looking around
"Well they… they should've been here by now. But, uh…" started Trudge
"Well, if they're MIA, then there's nothing we can do. Oh well." Said Crow
"Hey Dawn. Sorry we're late." Winston said while scaring the heck out of me
"Winston! It's okay. I actually arrived early to get a spot." I said
"So, what's up with Sakura? Didn't she say she'd have other plans tonight?" Winston asked while he was looking at the table the boys, Grace, Trudge, Mina, and Sakura were at
"That's what she told me this morning when I asked if she wanted to come with me so she could have some dinner. She's not here to watch me. I know that for sure. But still, for Mina and Trudge to ask them to come in like this, something's fishy." I said
Sakura's P.O.V.
After the dinner Mina and Trudge gave us, I felt it was only fair to pay for the portion they gave us. Thankfully I have a lot of Duel Points and more in dad's bank account, which has turned into my bank account since I turned 18 during the Fortune Cup.
"Man. That was close. We almost got saddled with some random roommate." Crow said as we all walked towards our Duel Runners
"Only because you let their Trojan Horse roll right in by accepting their dinner and then pigging out and enjoying yourself." Said Jack
"Hey, you laughed at the movie they took us to as well." Said Crow
"I did not." Said Jack
"You did so! At the part where the monkey was climbing on the…" started Crow
I noticed two guys, well, one guy and a girl, working on Jack's and Grace's Runners! The guy had blue hair and wore a pretty big jacket while the girl had wavy dirty blond hair with pink highlights. She also wore a red and black one-shoulder top, jeans, and orange boots.
"Guys? What are they doing to our Runners?" I asked
"Hey!" exclaimed Jack
"What are you doing?!" exclaimed Grace
"There we go. All better." The guy with blue hair said
"That should get the handling more stable." The girl said
"What in the duce do you think you're doing to our Duel Runners?!" exclaimed Jack
"Huh?" The guy and girl both wondered in unison as they turned our way
"I eat little bugs like you for breakfast!" Jack exclaimed as he slugged them to the ground
"Ouch, that's gotta hurt." I said while wincing
"Don't even look at my Duel Runner again! Good night ladies and gentlemen." Jack said before riding off
"Hang on Jack!" exclaimed Yusei
"Man, it's one thing for him to get steamed. It's another to slug a girl to the ground." Sighed Grace
"So, you okay? You're not hurt, are you?" I asked the girl
"What about you?" Yusei asked the guy
"Forget these guys. Let's go." Said Crow
"Hang on Crow." Said Yusei
Well, considering the fact that they were in pain from Jack slugging them to the ground, I'd say that they're okay.
"Fellas! What happened?" Trudge asked as he ran over to us
"What's going on?" asked Mina
"We got down here and saw these yahoo's messing around with Jack's and Grace's Duel Runners. Like they were trying to steal them or something." Crow said as he pointed to our mystery dudes
Both Trudge and Mina seemed to recognize them.
"Uh, boys and girls, this is…" started Trudge
"Bruno! Mel! Why didn't you two come up to the restaurant?!" Mina exclaimed in fury
Looks like they were in a panicky situation.
"We saw those incredible Duel Runners, and I just had to start poking around!" Bruno exclaimed as he bowed up and down to them
"And I when I saw the other Runner, I saw there was something wrong, so I couldn't help myself but to try and fix it!" Mel exclaimed as she did the same
"So, I'm guessing these are the strays you wanted us to adopt." Yusei and I said in unison
"Yeah. The guy in the jacket is Bruno, and the girl with wavy hair is Mel." Said Mina
"Are you serious?! What do you think we should do you guys?" Crow asked while turning to us
"What are you asking us for?" asked Grace
We then heard the sound of a Duel Runner, and Jack was back.
"Look. Jack's back." Mina said before he grabbed Bruno
"I'm gonna borrow this chump." Jack said before he rode off
"Huh. I didn't see that coming." Said Crow
"But I do see a scuffle coming! Let's hurry!" I exclaimed as I got onto my runner
"Mel, you can ride with me." Said Grace
"Thanks." Mel said as she put on a spare helmet
After chasing Jack back to his place, we got there in time to see him toss Bruno to the ground.
"Please, let's not do this. I think I'm a pacifist!" exclaimed Bruno
"Any you guys know what a pacifist is?" asked Crow
"Someone who hates to fight." I said
"Oh." Said Crow
"Actually, I'd like to talk to you too Mel." Said Grace
"Me?" asked Mel
"Spill it fast you little thug. What did you do to my Duel Runner?" asked Jack
"Same goes for me." Said Grace
"Huh?" I wondered
"Why do you think they did something?" asked Yusei
"My Duel Runner's boosting power's recharging faster." Said Jack
"And my handling's improved, plus the torque's quality is a lot better than it used to." Said Grace
"It is?" Yusei and I asked in unison
"I front-loaded the DTR and adjusted the way your CP punches algorithms. That's all!" exclaimed Bruno
"And I adjusted your Runner's handling with a coolant rod since your runner's input system seemed to heat your whole runner up! That's it! I swear!" exclaimed Mel
"Okay? Um, I have no idea what you two just said, but it sounded like you managed to give Jack's runner more oomph and gave Grace's hot runner a little cool down, is that right? And it only took you two a few minutes?" asked Crow
"You sabotaged it. I know it." Said Jack
"You've gotta show me how you did what you did." Yusei said as he walked to Bruno
"You and me both. Grace came to me a few days ago with her handling problem, and even I never thought of that!" I exclaimed
After plugging in their runners into one of the computers in the garage, schematics of both Grace's and Jack's runners appeared on the screen.
"See how the boost is running through the core processor? I tweaked the code lines so the timing would start earlier, so the energy generates from the get go." Said Bruno
"But won't that overheat the intake manifold?" asked Yusei
"What are they saying?" asked Crow
"A tiny brain like yours could never understand. Just don't let your guard down anytime soon." Said Jack
"This line coding is relatively universal, so Bruno and I can make the same adjustments to your other Duel Runners too to give them a little more kick." Said Mel
"Really? Do mine next!" exclaimed Crow
"Didn't you hear what I said to you? Don't trust them!" exclaimed Jack
"Sure thing. And hey, also, if you want, I can reroute your alternators output through an solenoid, and bind the whole connection with an expansion strut, which oughta increase your overdrive a little." Said Bruno
"Ooh, yeah! Yeah! Do that!" exclaimed Crow
"Ugh!" exclaimed Jack
"So, your name's Bruno, is that right?" asked Yusei
"And you're Mel?" I asked
"Yeah, I think that's my name. I don't know if Trudge and Mina told you, but Melody and I are having trouble remembering some things about ourselves." Said Bruno
"Melody?" I wondered
"That's my full name. Mel's just a nickname." Said Mel
"Well my name's…" started Yusei
"You're Yusei. I know. And Crow. And you're Jack Atlas." Said Bruno
"Along with you guys. Sakura Phoenix and Grace Baxter. Still, I can't help but think that I heard your name somewhere before Sakura. Oh well, guess I'll find out when I remember." Said Mel
"So listen. There's something Sakura and I are having a hard time with. Look, maybe you two can help us figure this out." Yusei said as the engine design popped up on the screen
"Is this a planetary particle engine design?!" exclaimed Bruno
"Uh, yeah. How did you…" I started
"Have you constructed it yet?!" exclaimed Mel
"Not one that works." Said Yusei
"Well, the control program looks pretty tight, but… wait, is that an automatic retro fit that's running? That could be a problem right there. Without an intermediate complier built into your code, you could be losing processing time. I could work on building one into your program for you if you want me too." Said Bruno
"And I could help." Said Mel
"We still don't know what these guys are after! You can't just say 'hey, look. Here's all my top-secret designs'." Said Jack
"Come on Jack. Not now, okay? We're trying to have like, a real conversation here." Said Yusei
"Wha? You… are you implying that you and I don't have real conversations?!" exclaimed Jack
I just plugged in mental earplugs at this point as all four of us started to work on the engine model.
Grace's P.O.V.
Man, did Jack just get blown off?
"Uh, Yusei?" asked Jack
"Stop trying to bother them Jack. They're in the middle of a 'real conversation'. They're talking about things that 'a tiny brain like yours could never understand'." Crow said while mimicking Jack's accent
"You're the one who… oh forget it!" Jack exclaimed before walking off
"I'll head back to my house for the night. Why don't you stay here and supervise them?" I asked
"Wait, why me?" asked Crow
"Because I have a brother at home and I need to catch up on old times with him. Later." I said as I grabbed my helmet and Duel Runner
Not long after I got out of Yusei's garage, I couldn't help but think about the last God Signers. They're out there somewhere, and if my theory is right, they had to have been in the hospital room when my brother woke up. As I was thinking about it, I almost ran into Igneous! Good thing I pulled the brakes in time!
"Ow…" I trailed off
"Sorry about that Grace." Said Igneous
"It's fine." I said
Come to think of it, Igneous was there too when Rex woke up. Could he be a God Signer too?
"Uh, this is a random question on my end, but did you receive a new card lately?" I asked
"No, why do you ask?" asked Igneous
Darn it! There goes plan a. Plan b.
"No reason, but since we're both out here, and you have your duel disk on your arm, why don't we have a duel?" I asked
"Well, I'd love to, but, don't take this the wrong way or anything, but right now isn't exactly the best time, and this isn't exactly the best place. Think about it. Two psychic duelists dueling against each other? It won't be pretty." Said Igneous
"Hmm… good point. Tell ya what. The old Arcadia Movement building's been converted into a duel arena for psychic duelists. We could duel there." I said
"Sounds good to me." Said Igneous
Once Igneous and I headed to the arena, we strapped on our Duel Disks and slid in our decks.
"Let's duel!" Igneous and I exclaimed in unison
Igneous LP 4000/ Grace LP 4000
"I'll let you make the first move." I said
"Thanks. I summon Laval Blaster in attack mode! (ATK: 1200/ DEF: 800/ LV: 4) I'm ending my turn with two face-downs!" exclaimed Igneous
Igneous LP 4000/ Grace LP 4000
"Draw! I summon Jet the Master in defense mode! (ATK: 1800/ DEF: 1900/ LV: 4) You do remember what my Jet does, right?" I asked
"Yeah, I know. When it's summoned out to the field, it destroys one card on my field, but you do realize that I saw this coming." Said Igneous
"How so?" I asked
"You'll see." I said
"Well, your Laval Blaster will be taking the hit of it all, and since I was able to successfully destroy a monster on your side of the field, I can special summon Wind Master Shao Khan in attack mode! (ATK: 2500/ DEF: 2300/ LV: 5) And when he's successfully special summoned, you take damage equal to the number of monsters on our sides of the field times 500!" I exclaimed
Igneous LP 3000/ Grace LP 4000
"But instead of my usual combo, I'm trying something a little different this time, but first, I activate Wind Changer! Now my Jet is a tuner monster! I'm not stopping there! I activate the spell card, Shadow Down! This lets me decrease a tuner monster's level down by two levels! Now, I tune Jet with Shao Khan to Synchro Summon this monster! Winds of the day, storms of the night, seek out the enemy that hides from your sight! Synchro Summon! Let your enemies fear your might! Champion of the Winds! (ATK: 2700/ DEF: 3500/ LV: 7) Now that I've successfully Synchro Summoned it, I can sacrifice half of my life points to dish out damage equal to my Champion's attack points!" I exclaimed
"Say what?!" exclaimed Igneous
Igneous LP 300/ Grace LP 2000
"That's it! Now I am steamed!" exclaimed Igneous
"Good luck trying to get past me." I said as I placed three cards face-down
Igneous LP 300/ Grace LP 2000
"It's my turn! I summon Laval Miller! (ATK: 300/ DEF: 400/ LV: 3) Now, I'm gonna activate the spell card, Double Summon! With this card, I summon the tuner monster, Laval Coatl! (ATK: 1300/ DEF: 700/ LV: 2) And if you think that's hot, this is really gonna get you fired up! First, I activate Call of the Haunted! This allows me to bring back Laval Blaster! And now, I tune all three of my monsters together!" exclaimed Igneous
The moment he did, his eyes became distant, as if he was possessed and his right arm began to glow red, not crimson like the other guys when their marks glowed, but fire red.
"Fires of night, flames of day, burn away the corruption of the shadows! When darkness knows fear of light, burn away to a brighter day! Synchro Summon! Let fire give you life! Fire Master God! (ATK: 2500/ DEF: 2000/ LV: 9)" chanted Igneous
"I knew it! You are a Signer!" I exclaimed
"Fire Master God, attack her monster!" exclaimed Igneous
"Are you crazy?! You'll destroy your own monster!" I exclaimed
"When Fire Master God is destroyed in battle, you take damage equal to its attack points." Said Igneous
"Not happening. I activate the Trap Card, Wind Attraction! Instead of just me taking the damage, we're both gonna get hit with the same amount! This duel is over!" I exclaimed
Igneous LP 0/ Grace LP 0
The moment our duel ended, Igneous held his head as if he was having a bit of a headache.
"Man, what happened?" asked Igneous
"The most amazing duel I've ever had happened! I knew it! You are a Signer!" I exclaimed
"Wait, press the pause button. I'm what?" asked Igneous
"Check your right arm." I said
He moved the sleeve of his shirt to reveal a fire red marking on his arm, with the symbol looking like the character for fire.
"What the?! Where did this come from?!" exclaimed Igneous
"I'll explain everything." I said
The next morning, Sakura's P.O.V.
I must've dozed off because the first thing I woke up to was hearing Bruno saying something along the lines of 'stupid cellophane' or something like that.
"So, seriously, how do you know all of this?" asked Yusei
"Know all of what?" I asked while stretching and yawning
"Oh, morning Sakura. Sleep well?" asked Mel
"I didn't even notice that I drifted off. Must've been my internal body clock talking last night." I said as I finished stretching
"Well, Bruno and Mel here seem to know about our parent's work." Said Yusei
"They do? How?" I asked
"I don't know. It's just, as soon as I saw Yusei's planetary engine design, something inside me, and Bruno as well, just… clicked. I have no idea how it happened, but it's an amazing gear construct, ya know? It's so simple and yet every part is connected with each other. There isn't a piece in this design that can't function without the other in place." Said Mel
"I know what you mean, right Yusei?" I asked
"Yeah. This is gonna sound kinda cheesy but I sometimes think it's kinda like me and my friends. We depend on each other and if you take one of us away, things don't work right." Said Yusei
"I get it. I think that's a great way of looking at it." Said Bruno
"Sorry if it sounds like I'm prying, but what's the last thing you two remember about yourselves?" I asked
"Uh, waking up on the beach a few days ago." Said Bruno
"Hmm… maybe you were in a boating accident or something." Said Yusei
"I remember running from something, but I don't remember what. Next thing I know, I'm on the beach, like I was washed in with the tide." Said Mel
"Maybe you and Bruno were in the same boat, not to bring attention to the expression." I said
"Yeah, maybe. I really have no sense of who I am you guys, but for whatever reason, working on your Duel Runners just feels right." Said Bruno
"I hear ya. Listen Bruno, if you want, you can crash here with us until you figure things out." Said Yusei
"And I have plenty of room over at my penthouse. You can crash there if you want Mel." I said
"Yeah? You don't mind?" Mel and Bruno asked in unison
"I've gotta make this new engine model before the Grand Prix." Said Yusei
"We gotta you mean. Yusei, we're in this together. Plus, with their help, I'm pretty sure that we can do just that." I said
"You're right. So, wanna help us build this baby?" asked Yusei
"Yeah. Think of me as one more piece of machinery joining up to make sure everything is working right." Said Bruno
"Same goes for me." Said Mel
"Well then, let's get started." Yusei said while extending his right hand
"You got it." Bruno said while reaching out his left hand before realizing his mistake
Grace's P.O.V.
After hearing from the boys that Sakura, Mel, Bruno, and Yusei were gonna be AWOL for a while, I decided to make a house call, and by that, I mean visiting Igneous to brief him a bit about what Naomi told me the other day. His apartment wasn't hard to find, seeing that he's been making Duel Points off the duels he's been winning. When I found the apartment, I knocked on his door.
"Uh, just a sec!" Igneous exclaimed from the other side
"Igneous, it's just Grace." I said
"Grace?! Hang on, I'm getting the door." Igneous said as I heard the lock
The door opened to reveal Igneous, well, it looked like he was half-way doing into his hair.
"Uh, is this a bad time?" I asked while pointing to his hair
"Not exactly. I'm almost done with the gel anyways. Come on in. Sorry in advance about the mess. I wasn't exactly expecting company." Igneous said as I walked into his apartment
"Yeah, sorry about the sudden house call. So, how are you taking it?" I asked
"Uh, slow, but I'm getting used to it, being a Signer and all. So, why are you here?" Igneous asked me
"I wanted to talk to you about something." I admitted
"What is it?" asked Igneous
"Something Naomi told me the other day." I said
*Flashback*
I was about to leave the hospital when I heard footsteps running behind me.
"Grace, could I talk with you?" Naomi asked me as she was catching her breath
"Sure, what is it?" I asked
"It's something I need to get off my chest, but, it's something Rex said to me in our duel." Said Naomi
"My brother? What did he say?" I asked
"He said that the God cards and the Seal of Orichalcos have a connection. Have any idea what it means?" asked Naomi
"Hmm… well, you know how there are six Signers for the Crimson Dragon, seven if we counted Sakura's Twilight mark. If I had to guess, there are six God Signers, one for each element, but that's my guess." I said
"Maybe, but it's a good guess." Said Naomi
"Thanks, and please, don't be upset about, you know, not knowing that Rex is my brother." I said
"It's okay. I feel better now that he's awake." Said Naomi
"By the way, are you by any chance in a relationship?" I asked
Naomi blushed tomato red the moment I finished asking the question.
"W-who told you that?" Naomi said while stuttering
"No one. I just took a wild guess." I said
Naomi then blushed so red that her face looked like a strawberry.
*End Flashback*
"And that's what she said to me." I said as I finished explaining what happened the other day
"Whoa." Said Igneous
"Yeah…" I said while trailing off
Sakura's P.O.V.
I have no idea how many sleepless days and nights Bruno, Yusei, Mel, and I were working on the program, but when we finished, it was so worth it!
"And done!" exclaimed Yusei
"I think we did it you guys. This design is gonna work." Said Bruno
"Yeah." Said Yusei
"So, considering that it's been about three days since most of us slept, I think I'm gonna go crash into a pillow now." Said Bruno
"We'll install the programming into the processing unit tomorrow." Said Yusei
"You three go ahead, I'm gonna make a back-up, just in case." I said as I plugged in a flash drive into the terminal
"Good thinking." Said Mel
"Yeah, I mean, what happens if there's a blackout in the middle of the night? We'll lose our data. Just a few clicks here, and bit there… and done. One safely installed back-up, complete." I said as I slipped the flash drive into one of my pockets
The next morning…
"The design program was stolen?!" Jack exclaimed, while waking me up
"Okay, who in the what now?!" I exclaimed as I feigned having a heart attack
"Sakura, do you still have the design program back-up?" asked Mel
"Uh…" I started
I checked every single one of my pockets before I breathed a sigh of relief that my flash drive was still where I left it.
"I think so. I'll have to check on the computer first." I said
I opened up the laptop I brought back from my penthouse the other day, and accessed the file, which was thankfully still there.
"Okay, I still have it." I said
"Great, but whoever stole it must've copied it to another drive and then deleted it from ours." Said Yusei
"We were so tired last night we didn't think to back it up or anything, well, except for Sakura that is." Said Bruno
"You two aren't fooling me! You took it! This was your plan all along!" Jack exclaimed as he held Mel and Bruno
"What?! I didn't take it!" exclaimed Mel
"Me neither!" exclaimed Bruno
"Calm down Jack." Said Yusei
"Seriously. Cool your jets a notch or two." I said
"They infiltrated us so they could get close to you and steal your design Yusei!" exclaimed Jack
"You don't know that's true." Said Crow
"And you don't know that it's not true!" exclaimed Jack
"So you're saying that Bruno and Mel faked amnesia so they could get in with Trudge and Mina, so that they could trick all of us, so they could steal the design that they didn't even know existed, and now that the design has been stolen with Sakura's copy still here, they're still hanging around here just 'coz." Said Crow
"That's… you're right, but… fine. Good thing you guys don't have to make the program again." Said Jack
"Yeah, besides, if we started from scratch, it wouldn't be that simple. Still, whoever took it last night; they knew what they were doing." I said
"What do you mean?" asked Jack
"The moment I found out that the device was stolen, I secretly asked Grunika and Flamvell Baby to look around for clues. They didn't find anything out of the ordinary. No fingerprints, no nothing." I said
"She's right. Whoever this perpetuator was, he must've been wearing gloves of some sort, 'coz I'm not seeing any fingerprints anywhere." Said Crow
"Ah, so suddenly you two are forensics experts?" asked Jack
"Huh? That's weird." Said Mel
"What is?" I asked
"There were four noodle to go-go cups here when we went to sleep." Said Bruno
"What?! He stole my noodles to go-go?!" exclaimed Jack
"No, but he left something behind. Instead of taking your noodles, he had a snack. Anyone got a pair of tweezers?" asked Mel
"They're in that drawer next to you." Said Yusei
Mel pulled out the tweezers that the boys had, and picked up the cellophane that was in the trash bin with her left hand.
"Looks like we have a fingerprint after all." Said Bruno
"He's right. While our criminal was waiting for the data to transfer to the drive, he treated himself to one of your noodle cups." Said Mel
"He what?!" exclaimed Jack
"What a jerk." Said Crow
"Like me the other day, he was having a hard time with the cellophane, so he had to take his gloves off." Bruno said as all four of us got to work
"Please tell me you're not doing what I think you're doing." Said Jack
"If we can find an exact match for this fingerprint in the Security Bureau's database, then we'll know who our bad guy is." Said Yusei
"But won't their database be encrypted and protected by firewalls and detection systems and all that, and won't they trace your hack and then arrest us all?" asked Jack
"You're talking to the best hacker in New Domino City here Jack. How else do you think I escaped the Research Facility all those years ago? I had to learn how to hack through the highest level security in the world, which was basically what Goodwin had set up. Thing is, I had to hack a closed circuit system, and not an open system server like this one, but if I could hack into Kaiba Corp, then I can do the same here. We'll be using a relay hacking connection through a bunch of random small servers around the globe, but this technique is used to buy time. This one's gonna take a while, but we need five minutes or less to get in. Otherwise, the system will kick us out and we'll all be arrested." I said
"Think you two can do it?" asked Yusei
"Possibly, but it'll be close." Said Mel
"What she said." Said Bruno
"Your call Jack. Want us to stop?" I asked
"You haven't asked for my input during any of this? Why start now?" asked Jack
"You gonna knock me and Bruno around if we fail?" asked Mel
"Of course I'll knock you two around!" exclaimed Jack
"Okay, let's do it. We're going in now." Said Bruno
"And they've started tracing us. I'll do all I can to stall for more time. How's it looking?" I asked
"It's a relatively simple FTP system. I should be able to crack it." Said Mel
"So what are you thinking Crow?" asked Jack
"I'm thinking that Bruno and Mel seem to really know what they're doing." Said Crow
"Nice! One more wall and we're inside the system." Said Bruno
"Hang on, I recognize this system. It was based off a system Industrial Illusions once used. Once we pass through this wall, we need a password." I said
Once we got through the wall, a Duel Puzzle appeared on the screen. The opponent had 2300 life points while we had 1000 life points, and the cards on the field were, on the opponent's side, Red Gadget, Yellow Gadget, Green Gadget, Stronghold the Moving Fortress, and Ancient Gear Soldier, and there was only one face down on the opponent's side of the field with an activated Dark Door trap card in play. With us, there really wasn't much to go with. One face-down, Tragoedia, and six cards in our hand.
"Huh? What's going on? How come a duel screen just popped up?" asked Crow
"Looks like an endgame." Said Yusei
"They must be using the endgame of a duel approaching as the main system password." Said Mel
"So if we don't win this duel, we can't move forward?!" exclaimed Crow
"In a nutshell Crow. And uh, newsflash, we have four minutes." I said
"Oh great, I mean no pressure or anything." Crow said sarcastically
"Don't worry. We can do this. The opponent's got 2300 life points, and we've got 1000. They've got five monsters on the field, and in his spell and trap card zone, he's got one face-down card." Said Bruno
"And there's an activated spell in play. The Dark Door." Said Jack
"Right. Meanwhile, we've got Tragoedia on our field. It gains 600 attack points for every card in our hand. We've got the max limit at six at this point, so Tragoedia's packing 3600 attack points." Said Mel
"So basically, we gotta win this thing in one turn." Said Crow
"Our main worry is that face-down card on the field. Who knows what card that is." I said
"Alright, well this is finally the part where I get to step up and save the day! Move over mainframe and let me do my thing. I've got a powerful monster on the field and the Shooting Star Bow – Ceal equip spell in my hand, so this is a no-brainer! By equipping the enemy's Green Gadget with Shooting Star Bow – Ceal, I can take away 1000 attack points! Bam! And now Tragoedia can get in there and clean house! Watch and enjoy!" exclaimed Crow
"Activating Mirror Force. Access Denied." The computer said
"A Mirror Force?! Oh come on!" I exclaimed
"Huh?! That didn't work." Said Crow
"And because of the Dark Door spell, each duelist can only attack once and we only had the one monster out, so we can't win this turn." Said Yusei
"You messed up and you wasted what little time we have!" Jack exclaimed as he grabbed Crow by the shirt
"It's not my fault!" exclaimed Crow
"There's an upside to this guys. At least we now know that his face-down card is Mirror Force. That's good info, if you two bone-heads know how to use it." I said
"Yeah, yeah. That's exactly what I was trying to find out. That's why I did all of that. Seriously." Said Crow
"Let a real duelist handle this. Real dueling is about increasing your own power at every opportunity and then crushing the other guy, so no sneaky weakening spells for this guy, thank you very much. I'm equipping Tragoedia with the Axe of Despair! Now Tragoedia has 4000 attack points! Go Tragoedia! Bring the axe down on Green Gadget!" exclaimed Jack
"You idiot! You forgot about the stupid Mirror Force!" I exclaimed
"Activating Mirror Force. Access Denied." The computer said
"Come on! We knew that card was Mirror Force!" exclaimed Crow
"I was seeing if they changed up the face-down card between tries!" exclaimed Jack
"Ugh, everyone knows that face-downs in Duel Puzzles never change you idiot!" I exclaimed
"I hate to interrupt but, there's only two minutes left." Said Yusei
"Let me try and take a crack at it." Said Mel
"What?" asked Jack
"Can you do it?" I asked
"The only thing I can really remember is my knowledge of physics, engineering, and dueling. Dueling is clearly a part of my life, and who I am. I have to try." Said Mel
"Melody… go for it." I said
"Thanks Sakura." Mel said as she sat down in front of the computer
"You're putting this in her hands?!" exclaimed Jack
"Why not? It's not like you were much help. Come on Mel, I know you can do this. Be the cards." Said Crow
"Wait, I think I have it! Okay, first of all, the obvious problem is that Mirror Force trap card. We can't let that thing activate. Of all the monsters on the field, the only one that can seal away Mirror Force is Ancient Gear Soldier. It's special ability allows one to negate spells and traps until the end of the damage step." Said Mel
"Well great, except Ancient Gear Soldier's on the opponent's field." Said Jack
"That's why I'll be using Tragoedia's special ability. By sending a monster in my hand to the grave, I can control one monster on the opponent's field with the same level. Ancient Gear Soldier is a Level 4, and the only monster we have is Alector, Sovereign of Birds, and that's a Level 6, but thankfully, we have the spell card, Cost Down. By activating Cost Down, at the cost of discarding a card in our hand to the graveyard, Alector becomes a Level 4. So, from my hand, I activate the Cost Down spell card! By discarding Remove Trap, I can decrease the level of Alector, Sovereign of Birds by two, making its level 4! Now, thanks to Tragoedia's special ability, by sending Alector to the grave, I take control of Ancient Gear Soldier!" exclaimed Mel
"Great, now hurry up and equip the Axe of Despair and then get in there and attack Green Gadget!" exclaimed Jack
"No, not yet." Said Bruno
"Why not?" asked Jack
"Bruno's right. Even if we use Axe of Despair, Ancient Gear won't have enough attack points. Even if we used Shooting Star Bow – Ceal, it won't be enough." Said Mel
"So what do we do?" asked Jack
"Well, Stronghold the Moving Fortress is on the field." Said Mel
"Good thinking." Said Jack
"What do you mean? He's got 3000 attack points." Said Crow
"Only if Red, Yellow, and Green Gadgets are on the field, but not for long. If one Gadget is taken away, Stronghold's attack becomes 0!" exclaimed Mel
"Let's finish this." Said Yusei
"You got it. By sending Shooting Star Bow – Ceal to the graveyard, I can activate Tribute to the Doomed! Say arrivederci to Green Gadget! With Green Gadget gone, Stronghold's attack becomes 0. Now I equip the Axe of Despair spell card onto Ancient Gear Soldier! Ancient Gear Soldier, throw out the welcome mat for Stronghold! Attack!" exclaimed Mel
"Access Granted. Welcome." Said the computer
"Alright!" Both Jack and Crow exclaimed in unison
"With ten seconds to spare." I said
"Let's get a match on that fingerprint." Said Bruno
The fingerprint went through the system, and we were all shocked on who it was!
"Him?!" exclaimed Jack
"You know him?" asked Mel
"Regrettably. He's with the Public Security Bureau. His name's Lazar." I said
Done for the year! Sakuraphoenix took a while but it's done. How did Lazar get into Yusei's data to steal then delete his work? Find out in the next chapter and how Grace, Naomi and Igneous are connected to the seal. Anyways, please vote on my poll on my profile. Thanks. This is Detroid434, saying for his girlfriend, I Heart You, signing off for now, Kan... Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Card Stats:
Shadow Down
Type: Spell Card
Effect: Decreases a monster's level by up to 4
Champion of the Winds
Type: Warrior
Attribute: Wind
Synchro
Requirements for summoning: 1 tuner + 1 or more non tuners
Effect: When it's successful Synchro summoned, you can pay half of your life points to deal damage to the opponent equal to this monster's attack points
Fire Master God
Type: Warrior
Attribute: Fire
Synchro
Effect: When this card is destroyed in battle then the opponent takes damage equal to this cards attack points
Wind Attraction
Type: Trap Card
Effect: If an effect from an opponent's monster targets you only then instead of you taking the damage, both you and the opponent takes the damage at once