Domino's history dates back almost as far as that of Edo, now known as Tokyo. And in its long history, the city has been very lucky as far as disasters, both manmade and natural, have been concerned.
Despite being a port city, no tsunami has ever hit. No serious hurricane has ever struck.
When the United States decided to use the atomic bomb to end World War II, Domino wasn't even on the list of possible targets. The citizens mourned for the lives lost in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but they said prayers of thanks that they were spared.
The only major incident that might have been called a terrorist attack was Nightshroud's invasion several years ago. KaibaCorp's offices were destroyed, but Nightshroud had the decency to take the populace hostage before destroying anything. So when Jaden sent him packing and the dust cleared, everyone had survived.
Our luck may change…
For the first time in our history, a potentially deadly terrorist attack has paralyzed our city. It came without warning, and we had no defense. Nor do we have any way to fight back or escape. Jaden isn't here any more, and even if he were, he couldn't duel his way out.
This terrorist has one demand, and it concerns me…
One thing for certain…
If I survive this, I'm never leaving the house again.
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CHAPTER ONE
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
City Under Siege
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
Nicholas lay on his back, sighing.
Who would have believed that the Queen of Games was both a lover and a fighter?
It was funny. Just two months ago he was fully prepared to force himself on her if she refused him. That wicked succubus had promised her to him as a reward for some favors.
He should have realized that the promises weren't worth a thing. Shogarr had nothing planned for Yumi except a lonely prison made of gemstone. He likely had the same thing planned for him as well.
He was thinking right now of asking her to a proper date this weekend… The old dinner and a movie standard. The allowance he got from Scotland Yard to support himself wasn't near as much as Rasputin gave him, but it was enough. He wondered if Yumi would go for that new all-cheese restaurant that just opened.
He chuckled. He wondered how hard it was for the guys who washed the dishes in that place.
He opened his eyes.
Strange… The lights from the kitchen where Yumi had had gone were off… So were the lights from the buildings outside. The only sources of light came from the scented candles in the room…
"Nicholas!" shouted Yumi's voice.
"What?" he asked with a start.
"Get dressed," she said. "We've lost power… I think the whole city has lost power…"
"What?" said Nicholas. "That's impossible… Domino's power is supplied by the hydroelectric plant outside of town. We have subterranean power lines, and they're made of titanium-alloy steel. The only way we could have a blackout is if the dam or the plant itself were destroyed."
Yumi sighed.
"Something's up…" she said.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
At the headquarters of the DCPD, Chief Yamaguchi was thinking that this crisis couldn't have come at a worse time.
He was due to retire in a month. With full benefits. He and his wife were booked to tour France and Italy to celebrate…
His station couldn't restore its own power, not even with the backup generators, and to make matters worse, even battery-powered radios weren't working. The only light in the room he was in came from an old-fashioned flashlight that he had found with some difficulty.
"Chief," said someone walking in.
"What is happening out there?" demanded Yamaguchi.
"We're trying to maintain order," said the officer. "But reports are coming in, slowly. It seems that it isn't just electric power that's been shut down.
"Cars and other vehicles have lost power. Battery-powered appliances won't run… Basically anything with moving parts that you don't pedal or crank has lost power."
"So everything in the city is paralyzed?" asked Yamaguchi.
"Almost everything," said the officer. "From what we can garner, a few buildings still have power… Hospitals, retirement homes, the airport… Basically, anywhere where a loss of power would cause death."
"So we're dealing with considerate terrorists?" he asked. "This is crazy…"
Then the television next to him flashed on.
All over Domino, every other television turned on.
"HELLO, Domino City!" said a cheery female voice. "You're all probably wondering, what the Hell is going on, and who cut the power in the middle of primetime?
"Well, I'm not shy… I'll let you see me…"
The screen flickered, and a young woman appeared on the screen, reclining on a couch. She looked about seventeen to twenty years old, with short, black hair, and was wearing a green halter that revealed her cleavage, and a matching miniskirt.
"Hi, everybody!" she said, waving. "You can call me Daala for now, if you must. Now, let me explain what's happened, in as simple terms as I can…
"Using KaibaCorp's computers as a focus – and thanks for the help, Ms Arachne, by the way – I'm now able to control anything within a twenty-mile radius of the KaibaCorp building that has computer circuitry inside it.
"That's a lot. In fact, it's almost everything. You'd be amazed at how many things rely on computers to function these days. That's why so many people were scared of the Y2K problem so many years ago. Heck, I'll bet that in a thousand years, people will be scared of something that they'll call Y3K. Go figure.
"Now… Since I've used this incredible power to practically take Domino City hostage, you might consider me a terrorist…
"Hmm, let me think…
"Well, I guess that fits the description of what a terrorist does, doesn't it? So I won't deny it. But admit it… Have you ever seen a terrorist who was this beautiful?"
She stood up and made a sexy pose, and then blew a kiss at the camera.
"Anyway…" she said, sitting back down, "you might try to find me, but don't think you'll succeed. I'm not even in Domino, and you can't reach me. The United States Army couldn't reach me, in fact. Even if they knew where I was, they couldn't take me out even if they used a nuclear missile! The place where I am simply can't be reached by a method that a law enforcement agent or soldier can get to. And any attempt to lure me to you will fail. This place keeps me in as well as it keeps you out. I'll tell you right now, I don't represent any nation, religious group, or political faction, so you have nothing to use to bargain with me. I'm calling all the shots.
"Well, since I've admitted to being a terrorist, you likely expect me to make demands. Well, I only have one… But I won't make it to any cop or any official. I want to make it to the winner of last summer's Duelatopia Tournament.
"That's right… Yumi Mouto, if you are listening, come to Kaibaland's movie studio at eight in the morning. If you hear my demands and agree to them, I'll happily restore power to Domino and leave the city alone for now.
"If you don't… Well, remember, I control everything in this city with computer circuitry. So unless you want me to make a gas main explode right under Domino Children's Hospital…
"Show up… I mean it.
"After all… I just admitted to being a terrorist… And terrorists rarely have any concern for civilian life, right?"
The screen went dark.
"Any chance you were able to trace that transmission?" asked Yamaguchi.
"Using what?" asked the officer.
Yamaguchi sighed.
"Send someone to Ms. Mouto's apartment," he said. "See if she'll cooperate. I don't like giving in to a lunatic, but it's our only chance right now. And see what Arachne is doing while you're at it."
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
One hour later…
In her apartment, among more lit candles, Yumi and Nicholas were eating from pint containers of ice cream. They had little choice, seeing as it would melt anyway.
They were well aware that this strange woman would only deliver her demands to her.
Yumi was nervous. Was this Daala another follower of Shogarr? Was she going to demand her life in exchange for Domino?
It didn't make sense though… If Daala controlled every computerized system in the city, why couldn't she simply take her out by taking out this building?
There was a knock at the door.
"Who is it?" shouted Yumi.
"It's us, Yumi," said Ren's voice.
Yumi sighed, and went to the door. She opened it, and sure enough, Ren and Chelsea were there.
"You two walked up ten flights of stairs in the dark just to comfort me?" she asked.
"Well, it was good exercise," said Ren, as they walked in. "And we might have a clue. Hi, Nicholas."
Chelsea shined a flashlight inside, as Ren put a very large book on the coffee table.
"I knew that the name 'Daala' sounded familiar," he said, "and I found a reference to it in this book."
Chelsea shined a light on the cover, and Yumi looked at it. It was a book called Monsters, Martians, and Madmen: An Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Villains.
"Is Darth Vader in there?" asked Nicholas.
"Are you kidding?" asked Ren. "He has a six-page entry. But I found a reference to someone named Daala…"
He opened to the D section. The picture accompanying the entry didn't look like the woman who had been on the TV. It was an older woman, coldly beautiful in her own way, dressed in a futuristic outfit.
"Admiral Daala," said Ren. "One of the most notorious villains in the Star Wars: Expanded Universe novels. Remember Moff Tarkin from the first movie?"
Everyone nodded.
"Well, although he was married, this was his lover and the woman he truly loved," said Ren. "He promoted her to Admiral, and put her in charge of the Maw Installation, a place where the Empire's most powerful weapons were designed, including the Death Star."
"She probably only got that position because she was sleeping with him," said Nicholas.
"That what's a lot of Tarkin's men believed," said Ren. "One of them dared to actually say it, and when he found out, he put the man in a space suit, and threw him out of an airlock, with the communicator in the suit turned on, so everyone could hear him scream as his air ran out."
"That does sound like something he'd do," said Yumi.
"Anyway," continued Ren, "Daala was just as cruel as her lover. She survived the fall of the Empire, and joined a group of warlords who gave the New Republic trouble for a long time. She had designed even deadlier weapons than the Death Star while at her position, such as the Sun Crusher, a craft that had the power to destroy a star.
"Anyway… Daala was eventually defeated, but never for good. Most assume that she simply retired after deciding that there was no way to rebuild the Empire."
"And now someone has named herself after her," said Yumi. "A cyber-terrorist who's named herself after a villain who could design weapons that could destroy planets…
"Just great…
"Listen everyone… I'd best try to sleep. And I'm going to Kaibaland alone tomorrow."
"Yumi…" said Chelsea. "But…"
"No buts, Chelsea," said Yumi. "If I need your help this time, I'll ask for it…
"If Shogarr is making his move, we'd best prepare for war…
"We must stay on our guard, or innocents will suffer the same sad fate as Rasputin…"
There was another knock on the door.
"Better wait…" she said. "That would be the police…"
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
At six AM, Yumi unlocked the chain on her bicycle in the parking garage of her apartment building. It would take a while to get to Kaibaland.
The police saluted her as she rode down the street, past stranded cars towards the large amusement park. No-one impeded her, but several folks watched from buildings where they were hiding.
At seven-fifteen, she reached her destination.
As Yumi expected, Sheena met her at the gates. She looked almost dead, clearly having gone without sleep for a long time.
"I'm so sorry about this, Yumi," muttered Sheena. "We're trying our hardest to regain control of my computer system. But I'll take note of anything said. Hopefully, we can help any way we can."
"Understandable," said Yumi. "Let's get this over with…"
They walked towards the large movie theater, which now had police officers at every entrance point. Sheena led Yumi into the main theater.
"I guess now all we can do is wait…" muttered Yumi.
The screen flashed to life.
"No need, Yumi," said Daala's voice. "I don't mind you coming early. I did have to leave my book club meeting, but… I hadn't read it yet anyway, so I was looking for an excuse to leave. Don't tell anyone, 'kay?"
Daala appeared on the screen, still reclining on her couch. Two men dressed in clothing that suggested Arabian were fanning her with large fronds.
Yumi noticed something about her that she hadn't noticed before. Daala's head was wreathed in dark flames, like some sinister halo.
"Have a seat, Yumi," she said.
"I'd rather stand, if it's all the same with you," said Yumi.
"Suit yourself," said Daala. "So, how has the Queen of Games been?"
"Let's cut to the chase, Daala!" shouted Yumi. "Just what are you?"
"There are some things in this world that you are not meant to understand, Yumi," said Daala. "Suffice to say, I'm complicated.
"But, I will tell you one thing… While you are the Queen of Games in your world, I'm the Queen of Games in mine. Like you, Duel Monsters is my life. So you might say I kind of feel like a kindred spirit to you, Yumi."
"Your world?" said Yumi. "What are you talking about?"
"I'll get to that in a minute," said Daala.
"Fine," said Yumi. "What do I have to do for you to spare Domino?"
Daala chuckled.
"Okay, Yumi, it's rather simple," she said. "I want you to turn down Sheena's offer to playtest her virtual world…
"…and instead, playtest mine."
"Yours?" said Yumi.
"My home," said Daala. "A realm that I've created, and that I rule as queen. Not only the Queen of Games, but the actual ruler. It's called Xanadu. And like Sheena's Dueltasia, it's a place where duelists are everywhere.
"Now, when I took over Sheena's computer, I made a little adjustment to her project. The devices that Sheena intends to use as entrances to Dueltasia now lead to Xanadu."
"You miserable…" shouted Sheena.
"Pipe down!" laughed Daala. "Don't get your panties in an uproar. I didn't destroy Dueltasia. It's quite safe. You just can't reach it until I'm done with Yumi.
"Of course Yumi, my world is… far more dangerous than Sheena's. Let's just say that it's a video game with very high stakes.
"But don't worry… I promise to give you a fighting chance.
"Now, you can choose to come alone if you want… But, if you want to bring your henchmen with you, that's fine too."
"Henchmen?" asked Yumi.
"Those four guys who helped you take down Unus," she said. "Bring them too if you want. The more, the merrier, I always say.
"But no-one else! I mean that. Xanadu isn't quite ready to handle an influx of tourists yet. Our chamber of commerce isn't even built yet.
"Anyway, Yumi, you have until two this afternoon to decide. I'll restore the power to Kaibaland so that Sheena can use her equipment.
"If you're in Xanadu by then, Domino gets its power back…
"If not… Well, you know the answer to that…
"Any questions?"
"One…" said Yumi. "Exactly why is your head on fire?"
Daala looked at her.
"Oh, uh that…" she said. "Well… That's one of the things you aren't supposed to understand…"
She looked nervous.
"No more questions!" she shouted. "You have a choice…
"Good luck, Queen of Games… If you ask me, you're gonna need it…"
Daala vanished.
Yumi frowned.
"I'll bet she just doesn't want to tell me," she muttered.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
It was now noon.
Chief Yamaguchi was now speaking to the town officials in a conference room.
"So, it's official," he said. "We will start the process of evacuating Domino City…"
"And just how will you do that, Chief?" said Sheena's voice.
She walked in.
"Daala can control every car, plane, boat, and train in a twenty-mile radius of my building. The only way out of this city is to walk out. What's more, she can raise the bridge if she doesn't want people to cross it."
"Can't you do something, Arachne?" he shouted.
"I've tried!" she shouted. "For sixteen straight hours, I've tried to reestablish control over my computer. I can't. Daala may look and talk like a party girl, but she clearly must be the greatest computer genius on the planet in order to hijack KaibaCorp's system.
"Three hours ago, I made a terrible decision. I decided to pull the manual kill-switch, which would have destroyed the computer by melting its central processor. I knew that doing so would likely cripple my company for years, but I was willing to do it to save Domino.
"I thought that I was the only one who knew about this kill switch, but I was wrong. Daala had somehow found out about it, and had disabled it.
"I wouldn't give up! I went to grab the fire axe in order to destroy the computer the old fashioned way! Then Daala herself appeared on the screen, telling me in no simple terms that if I didn't drop it and leave at once, she'd activate my counter-terrorist system.
"My deadliest defense in that building… It can seal the room and flood it with nerve gas in case of a terrorist attack. And she was going to use it against me… Ironic.
"I was forced to flee for my life. Soon after that, I collapsed from exhaustion. I woke up in time to come here."
"So there's nothing we can do?" asked Yamaguchi.
Sheena nodded.
"And it's going to get worse…" she said.
"Worse?" shouted everyone.
Sheena nodded again.
"Communications may be shut down," she said, "but it won't be long before the military realizes that there's something wrong, and sends some people to check on us. And as soon as their vehicles enter the twenty-mile radius, Daala will seize control of them too."
"Military vehicles carry weapons!" screamed someone from across the room.
"We're doomed…" said someone else.
"Daala doesn't need them," said Sheena. "She now has dozens of ways to reduce the city to slag. She can rupture gas mains, electric generators, or simply smash everything to pieces with large vehicles. Worst case scenario, she might use my computer to increase her power and range, and start to spread her influence to other supercomputers in other cities. With each one, she would gain more power, and her influence would spread like a cancer.
"She wouldn't stop after taking control of Japan. She might eventually gain control of the computers belonging to the Chinese military. Then the Korean military… Then the Russian military! Before long, she'd have access to arsenals of nuclear or even biological weapons capable of wiping cities off the map…
"We can try to run… But soon, there'll be no place to run to…"
There was dead silence in the room.
"But there is one small bit of good news…" said Sheena.
She paused.
"Yumi has agreed to her demand…
"May God have mercy on us all…"
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Alone in her room, Yumi sighed.
She moved aside a picture of Yui Maki (a Japanese pop star that she admired) revealing the wall safe behind it. Fortunately, this was an old-fashioned safe with a simple combination lock, unlike the high-tech one that her parents had in their room.
She opened it, and took out a large envelope that was sealed.
On it was printed:
Do not open until the death of Yumi Mouto, or her unexplained disappearance for longer than six months, or in the event that she enters a comatose state that she cannot be awakened from for longer than six months.
She hadn't told her parents that she had written a will. But since she knew that she was still a target for a demon lord, she had done so.
She tossed it on her bed. Then she started to undress. She tossed her school outfit aside.
Then she chose a far more fitting outfit. She pulled on a black leather skirt, and matched it with a leather, strapless halter, which she covered with a jacket made of the same material. Then she put on a pair of black, fingerless gloves, and a pair of boots.
She strapped a belt around her waist that had two pouches. One held her regular deck, the other her side deck.
Finally, she placed her Duel Disk on her arm.
"No tournament this time…" she muttered. "This time… it's real…"
She walked out of the apartment.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
It was one-thirty as Yumi was back at Kaibaland, walking into a very large building where the entrance was blocked by a sign that said "Under Construction".
As she walked inside, she was surprised as both Ren and Chelsea ran up beside her.
"What are you two doing here?" she shouted.
"We were invited, remember?" said Ren, lifting his Disk.
"We can't let you go in there alone, Yumi," said Chelsea.
"Guys…" said Yumi. "I don't think this is a good idea…"
"Hey, no problem," said Ren. "We're not gonna let you down. We'll show this Daala bitch just like we showed Unus!"
Yumi sighed.
"You aren't asking me, are you?" she said.
"Nope," said Chelsea.
"Fine," she said. "Then let's go. And by the way, I won't say 'I told you so' now, but that doesn't mean I won't later."
They entered a large chamber full of monitors and consoles. As they expected, Sheena was working on one of them…
But they didn't expect Sam and Erik to be there.
"What?" said Yumi. "You guys too?"
"I tried to talk them out of it…" muttered Sheena.
"Hey, listen Yumi," said Sam, pointing, "if you're gonna go in there to save Domino, there's no way I'm letting you go without me. No way I'm letting you take all the credit and all the reward."
"And I'm with Sam," said Erik. "Where she goes, I go."
"I warn you guys," said Yumi, "the danger is great, and the rewards may be slight to none."
"Understood," said Erik. "Now if we can just be shown to the virtual pods…
"Uhm, check that… Maybe we should use the bathroom first…"
"No pods, Erik," said Sheena.
Everyone looked at her.
"No pods?" asked Ren.
"This system uses a new technology called virtualization," said Sheena. "I've spent billions of yen and years of work perfecting it. It doesn't just send your mind into the virtual world. It transports your entire body there, by transforming it into a virtual construct. In a sense, your human body made of flesh is transformed into an avatar made of ones and zeroes.
"Think of it as kind of like the teleporters on Star Trek. The reason I invented this system is simple – if pods were used, guests at Kaibaland would have to wait forever for them to become available."
"So this thing can actually transform matter into energy?" asked Chelsea.
"Well, no…" said Sheena. "Your virtual forms won't truly be made of energy, per se. The best way to explain this is, it lets humans assume an incorporeal form that can exist in the virtual reality. In a sense, it turns matter into… phantoms."
"You know…" said Ren, nervously. "This might explain why you wanted our parents to sign all those forms…"
"The forms are invalid now," said Sheena. "I will take complete responsibility for anything that happens.
"Even if that means going quietly to jail."
"Have you even tried this on a human yet?" asked Chelsea.
"No…" said Sheena. "I was planning on sending a well-paid and well-insured volunteer to Dueltasia a few times before sending you guys. But I assure you, the cats and monkeys that were sent there and brought back are still alive and healthy.
"Now listen…
"I don't know what to expect. However, when I designed Dueltasia, I designed its entry point around a town called Gateway. This town would act as a way of getting to all other locations in Dueltasia, by using both roads and portals. Not all portals would be available right away, of course. You'd have to progress in the game to unlock many of them. Just like completing quests in most video games unlocks additional parts of it.
"I don't know how Xanadu works, but I can only assume that its entrance has a similar system.
"One other thing you should know…
"Dueltasia would be exited via means of a password. I would tell each participant to choose a password, and they only had to say it in order to leave, and reassume corporeal form. I would tell them to choose something that they were sure to remember, which wouldn't likely come up in casual conversation.
"But from what I can tell, Xanadu does not have this feature. Once you go in there, you'll most likely be Daala's prisoners until I figure out a way to get you out."
There was a long pause.
"Understood," said Yumi.
A door in the back of the room opened.
"All you have to do is walk into that room," said Yumi. "Just relax, and breathe normally."
"Okay," said Erik. "But try not to make any mistakes, okay? I don't want to end up with my arms where my legs should be, and my eyes on my chest. Can you imagine that?"
"No," said Ren. "Let's go…"
They walked into the room, which seemed to be a perfect cube, with mirrored panels on the walls and ceiling.
Sheena looked at them on her screen.
"Here goes," she said, as she input the commands. "Don't worry children… While you're in there, I'll be working on a way to regain control of my computer system… I promise, I won't abandon you…"
She watched, as the five duelists started to glow with energy…
Then they simply dissolved into grains of light and vanished.
Sheena collapsed in her chair. Tears ran down her face.
"Until then…" she said, "you're on your own… Be careful… please…"
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
At that moment, Domino came back to life. The lights went back on, and everything that was once halted started moving again.
"She kept her word," muttered Yamaguchi. "Unbelievable…"
"Should we try to evacuate the city now?" asked an officer.
Yamaguchi held his chin as he thought.
"Let's not tempt fate," he thought. "Keep everyone on yellow alert for now, and increase patrol. Impose a midnight curfew.
"We won't hide like scared rodents… We'll try to move the city along… Life will go on.
"But if Daala tries something again, we're going to be prepared…"
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coming up next:
Yumi and company arrive in Daala's Xanadu, only to find a place that's almost deserted… Almost that is. The first challenge appears, but what is the purpose?
The intros are over… They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Step one now begins.
Coming up next, "Standing at a Crossroads".