There wasn't an escape route in sight for Susan. The robed men had surrounded her before she could grasp what was happening. One man had even grabbed her cell phone from her purse and smashed it on the ground, giggling childishly as he did so.
"I don't have any Duel Monsters cards!" she screamed at them, trying to keep track of all five men.
"Hey, the lady said she didn't have cards, so get lost!"
"Who are you?" asked one of the men, removing the hood from his robe, revealing an old, sickly looking man with spiked gray hair.
Before them was a tall boy in an orange biker jacket, holding his helmet in one arm. "The name's Tristan! Don't bother introducing yourselves because I don't care. Leave the girl alone."
Another boy came running up next to Tristan. The blond boy had an odd hairstyle, and was also holding a helmet in one arm, with a Duel Disk clipped to his other. "What's taking so long, Tristan?" He stopped as he saw the girl and the group of men, who had all stepped back into a single line behind the female. "Eh? Who the heck are these circus freaks?"
"I don't know, Joey, but they're messing with this girl and it's pissing me off," Tristan said, clenching his fists.
Susan recognized both of the boys from school, but she also knew of Joey Wheeler as the runner-up at Duelist Kingdom. She talked to them a few times during class, but she was always too busy with schoolwork to hang out with them. Hopefully they would be able to get her out of this situation she found herself in.
The men noticed the Duel Disk on Joey's left arm, gleaming sinisterly.
"What are you freaks lookin' at?" Joey questioned. He followed their stare to his arm. "My Duel Disk? What do you want with my Duel Disk, huh?"
The man in the middle of the line pulled back his sleeve, where a similar Duel Disk was attached to his bony forearm. "I challenge you to a duel, Joey Wheeler!"
"Don't do it, Joey," said Tristan, anxious for a fight. "These guys can't be trusted. I say we waste 'em right now and get this over with. What about it, bud?"
"Sorry, Tristan," Joey began, setting his helmet down next to him. "But I gotta do this. This guy's askin' for a butt whoopin', and I'm just the guy to give it to him."
Tristan grumbled, stepping back behind his friend reluctantly. "Alright, but I got your back if they pull anything."
"Thanks. So what do I call you, huh?"
"You can call me Seeker. I'm a Rare Hunter!" proclaimed the old man, holding out his hands.
"Rare Hunter? What the heck is that?"
"Duel me and you'll find out!"
"Meh, whateva." He looked at his Duel Disk, trying to figure out how to work it. He'd only just gotten it that day. He fidgeted with some of the buttons, finally pressing a blue button on the bottom that activated the mechanism. Two bird-like devices flew out from the sides, landing on the ground and illuminating with a brilliant array of colors. The Duel Disk lit up with yellows and reds. "Alright, let's do this! But first, let the girl go!"
"Fine! We don't need her anyway," Seeker said, gathering up his cards. "When I beat you, I'm going to take your rare Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"
"We'll see about that." Joey motioned to the girl. "Go on. Get outta here. We got these punks."
"T-thank you," Susan muttered, scampering off the battlefield past Joey and Tristan.
She made it out of the street and down the next block before running right into another robed man. His palm smacked into the back of her neck before she could let out a scream, knocking her unconscious. He scooped her up in one arm and walked back into the alley.