Team 5D's Garage...
It had only been a couple of days since they had defeated Director Goodwin- and the signers had gratefully used them to catch up on sleep and- in the twin's case- homework. Yusei Fudo could describe his emotions with one overall word: relief. Relief that the battle was over, and his friends were all safe. Misty, Kalin and Carly were all freed from the demonic possession, and had been brought back to life. They had returned to their former lives as much as they could; Kalin worked with Yusei, Jack and Crow in the shop, while Misty was hanging out at Akiza's place till the public calmed down. Tonight was a celebration for many things-Crow becoming a signer, Goodwin being defeated- and everyone being together. Sherry LeBlanc, Elsworth and Bruno had also joined the party, having met Team 5Ds- as they were now known- at the Fortune Cup.
Misty, Kalin and Carly had already apologized profusely to everyone, and then individually apologized to each of their signer counterparts. Misty, Akiza and Carly had developed an immediate friendship, and were laughing away with Luna in a "girl's chat". Akiza was always smiling now, and seeing her so happy made Yusei want to smile. She was so much happier compared to her time under Sayer and the Arcadia Movement as the "Black Rose Witch", and she was finally being adopted into real society. She'd also changed quite a bit. Instead of always wearing her trademark dress, she was also being more of a 'normal' teenager. Misty had managed to convince her to come to the party in jeans, a casual T-shirt and a mid-arm, short jacket. She'd even managed to get Akiza to replace the old hair ornament for controlling her psychic powers; instead she wore a limiter necklace, and was letting her hair grow longer;a few long bangs framed her face, while the rest was left untouched. It was truly a miracle what a few friends were doing to the once feared and misunderstood girl.
Leo was gleefully scarfing down any food that could be found in the little celebration wasn't too fancy, so it didn't have much food, but its purpose as a little celebration was still completed. Mina and Trudge were busy with Sector Security's investigation into Goodwin's property, so they randomly texted Yusei or Akiza, asking about how the party was going (only Mina, since Trudge wouldn't dare admit that he was curious about the party) Crow, now a signer, was constantly arguing with Jack, while Kalin stood and watched his two younger "brothers" with a smile on his face. Sherry was talking with Bruno about the latest runner models and Elsworth was quietly monitoring the situation, wincing as Leo scarfed down food without manners. Yusei smiled, standing off to the side as he finished reading Carly's latest post about the Dark Signer battle. That is, until Trudge called him- which meant that there was something serious. Yusei, serious at once, moved upstairs as to not disturb everyone else.
"Yusei! Get everyone-especially Misty and Akiza- down to Goodwin's mansion.Now. Sector Security found something..." he hesitated "nightmarish. Just come here quick!" Yelling was heard in the background "Team Caesar is already on their way." Yusei sighed, putting away his phone. It would have been nice to have one relaxing evening in his 17 years of life. But life didn't really seem to care at the moment. He walked down slowly- and then sped up remembering Trudge's tone. His serious face immediately caught everyone's attention; the laughter soon died. Everyone looking at him, he open his mouth to speak-
"Yo, Yus! What's up? Is there some-" Crow began loudly.
"If birdbrain would SHUT UP, maybe we could actually find out." cut in Jack. Kalin whacked them both over the head, eliciting a few yelps, when he sensed the head signer's glare.
"Do us all a favor and both shut up." rubbing his hand. Their heads were hard. "Whatever it is, it's gotta be pretty important if Yusei's glaring at you like that."
"But Jack-" Crow began.
"-will be punished later. You, shut up. Now." Akiza looked both straight in the eyes. Both gulped and shut up under her glare, all protests dying in their throats.
"Thanks Aki. Now, I hate to spoil your fun, but Trudge called us all over to Goodwin's mansion. He said they found 'something nightmarish.' He specifically said that Misty and Aki needed to go."he finished, motioning to the two girls on the couch. Akiza and Misty immediately rose.
"Maybe they found something on Toby!" Akiza turned to Misty, hopeful expression on her face.
"I swear, if he hid something about my brother from me.." Misty's fists were clenched " I hope hell is burning really hot right now."
"Faster we leave, the sooner you'll know." pointed out Leo.
"Be a bit more sensitive Leo!" Luna whacked her twin on the head.
"Let's get going." Yusei turned towards the runners. "Leo,Luna, Misty and Carly can take the Jeep. The rest of us can ride our runners."
Leo sighed in disappointment- he'd been looking forward to bugging Jack about riding his runner. They split up, getting onto their various rides scattered around the garage. One by one, they all peeled out of the garage and turned to the outskirts of New Domino City-where Goodwin had summoned his Earthbound Immortal.
Akiza rode beside Yusei on her runner, watching her friends in front of her. She turned to look at the person beside her. Yusei was her savior- he rescued her from Sayer;from herself-he'd given her another chance. He'd even taught her how to ride a runner-which was more than Sayer had ever done for her. He'd repaired her relationship with her family, and given her a circle of friends that she used to dream about. She couldn't help but marvel at the strength and courage her must have to do everything. He was their leader- the strongest of the signers, and always supported his friends- no matter what.
Yusei couldn't shake the odd feeling that had come over him since Trudge had called. It was a feeling her hadn't had since he had found out that his sister was gone-more like disappeared. He gripped the handles tighter and clenched his teeth. He'd gone out for 5 minutes- 5 minutes- to find something for them to eat, and when he got back, she was gone and her precious deck- her first gift from their parents- was scattered all over the floor. She treasured her deck from her parents, just like him.
Flashback...
Yusei was 5 and a half years old; Yuki was 4. His mother was taking them to visit his Dad, who was working on the Ener-D reactor. He had no idea what it was, but it sounded cool. When they got to the room though, he heard shouting, and few moments later his Dad ran out, holding several cards. His Dad had quickly told his mother something, and she visibly paled. His father had handed his mother a stun gun to use, then grabbed them and ran for the nearest emergency launch pad. Yuki, frightened, had started crying, and was clinging to Yusei tightly. When they got there, his Dad had handed him one set of cards, and gave the second set to his sister, patting her head like he would any day. His mother had hugged them quickly, while crying.
"Take care of Yuki, okay?" she whispered. She gave both a quick kiss on the forehead, and their Dad had tousled Yusei's hair, like he would when he was proud of him. Then, he had pushed them into the emergency capsule, and pulled the lever. The last thing Yusei saw of his parents was them smiling as the windows behind them exploded. He'd called for his parents, reaching his hand out as though to grab them before blackness overtook him...
End Flashback
When she vanished, he'd gathered her scattered deck- including her favorite, Tsukiyomi Dragon- and stored them in a small box he found. He knew she was much too attached to her cards to treat them that way, so something must've happened. He'd looked for her all over Satellite-that's how he had met Martha, Jack, and Crow. He'd only told Martha about his sister- he couldn't bear to tell anyone else because he'd failed his sister, his parents and himself and he didn't want to drag anyone else in.
Akiza watched Yusei's facial expressions, changing from thoughtful, to tense and pained. Rarely would he let his emotions show on his face like this- unless something was really disturbing him.
"What's wrong Yusei?" she called over the bike intercom.
"..."
"Yusei!" she called again, now certain something was wrong.
"Sorry. What's wrong?" he replied, startled.
"That's what I was asking, because I've known you long enough to know that you don't act like this unless you are dueling, working or trying to figure something out. And the first two don't apply, so..." she trailed off, looking at him.
"It's nothing important." he called back,not wanting to worry his friend. And besides, when had he become so easy to read?
Akiza noted his answer, knowing that is Yusei didn't want to talk about it no one could get him to talk.
" 'kay. Race you to the mansion!" she said, revving her engine to pull in front.
"You're on!" he called back, pushing his memories to the background.
As they pulled up at the mansion, the first thing Yusei noticed were the ambulances and sector security vehicles. Detectives had been expected, probably with some Sector Security for safety, but the medics were unexpected. He wondered if there had been some sort of accident. Crow, Kalin and Misty were already talking to Trudge when Yusei and Akiza pulled up. Mina was talking to Sherry and Elsworth, while Jack waited with the twins and Bruno, staring up at the bleak mansion. Luna was hiding behind her brother, holding onto Kuriboh, frightened of the dark,looming mansion where Jack,Yusei and Crow had dueled to save the world. It still gave he nightmares. Leo was silently looking at the building,for once quiet and serious. Jack,it seemed, intended to keep his distance from the entire place.
Yusei and Akiza joined Kalin,Misty and Crow quickly, parking their runners near the jeep. Trudge had been talking about various documents that they'd found in Goodwin's office-plenty regarding the Ener-D reactor, and the separation from Satellite.
"Good, you're all here. Jack, you, Sherry and Elsworth may also want to hear this," said Trudge. Leo and Luna drifted over too, silently looking around, along with Bruno, who was questioning Mina. The newly arrived Team Caesar joined the group as well, Kai tossing his arms around Yusei & Jack's shoulders. Rei greeted Akiza and Crow, while Sato said a quick hello before going over to talk to Bruno.
"Hey Yusei! Introduce us!" said Kai, gesturing to Misty and Kalin. Yusei sighed; turning to Akiza and pleading her to do it for him.
"Kalin, Misty, this is Kai Tatsuno, and Rei and Sato Yukimura of Team Caesar. Team Caesar, this is Kalin Kessler, and Misty Treadwalker." said Akiza, pointing out each person.
"Now that everyone knows each other can we please continue with our previous topic?" interrupted Trudge, rather annoyed at being ignored. Yusei, Jack and Crow were startled. It must be pretty bad for Trudge to be using the forbidden word "please".
"Does everyone remember the close ties that Goodwin had with several "mysterious" benefactors to the city?" questioned Trudge. Leo and Luna shook their heads, along with Team Caesar, who had been abroad touring in Europe for several years. "Well-"
"One of them was the Arcadia Movement." interrupted Mina, startling the whole group. Akiza sucked in a sharp breath, while Misty's fists instantly clenched.
"That's not good..." mumbled Luna. Mina looked at the youngest signer.
"You're spot on, Luna. Why do you think Sayer let Akiza participate in the Fortune Cup so easily? Arcadia was generally known as being rather secretive regarding its top members. Goodwin and Sayer were working hand in hand- but Sayer didn't know about the Earthbound Immortals or Goodwin's plans regarding the signers. Goodwin, however, knew everything about Arcadia- he has some of the deepest and darkest files on Arcadia in his study. It seems he planned to have one of his Earthbound Immortals take care of Sayer- at least until Carly did it for him." Carly winced at the memory of her transformation into a Dark Signer and the destruction of the Arcadia Movement headquarters. "Misty, do you remember what Sayer said about your brother's location?"
"Hold up. What does Misty's brother have to do with any of this?" asked Rei.
"My brother was a 'test subject' for the Arcadia Movement." seethed Misty. Rei nodded, while Akiza calmed the older girl down and answered Mina's question for her.
"He said that the test subjects were sent to an "unknown" location..."
"Right. Unknown to you and to himself. But Goodwin knew where." she said. " Right under his wonderful mansion- in a sort of 'prison'."
Stunned silence reigned- none of them had imagined Goodwin to be that cruel. Then Misty lunged forward, grabbing Mina's shoulders. The poor woman dropped her files in surprise, stumbling backwards.
"Is Toby there? Have they found him? Is he okay?" she began, grasping Mina like there was no tomorrow. Kalin gently pried Misty off the startled Mina, while Trudge gathered the fallen files. Everyone who had known the super model was surprised, having never seen her act like this before. Akiza calmed the older girl down, forcing her to take deep breaths, "Misty, calm down. You're a nervous wreck, and it won't help."
Misty steadied herself and nodded, apologizing to Mina. "You're right. I'm sorry for loosing control."
"Actually, it would be easier for you to understand the situation if we all went there right now. If there was confusion as to the medics... well, you'll see soon enough." said Mina.
Mina led the way toward the makeshift hospital tent that had been set up outside in the gardens outside the mansion. Misty, albeit having calmed down, ran desperately towards the hospital, and only stopped when she saw the occupants of the hospital. Most were haggard and beaten; it was visible that they were all clearly malnourished. All were older than 20- some almost 40 years old. But the most common feature was that they all carried the same criminal mark on their cheeks. Most were men, but a few women seemed to be scattered here and there. They all looked up at the newcomers with tired, expressions, seemingly devoid of all emotions, and will.
"It seems that many were criminals from Satellite who had small offenses, but minor powers, specifically psychic powers. They were targeted as subjects for Arcadia. Those who weren't psychic were brought here because they had some relationship to someone important in New Domino City- for example, there are records of a cousin of one of the heads of department. Those from Satellite already had the criminal mark, but the Arcadia subjects who came from New Domino City- like your brother, Toby- were branded so that they wouldn't stand out if someone came to know of this place. Goodwin planned it so that he could claim they were all high security psychic prisoners- and no one would be the wiser. Especially because they came from Satellite." said Mina. Akiza felt sick as she looked upon rows and rows of beds with their frail occupants.
"Even Satellite criminals get better than this,"commented Yusei, "and if they weren't even grave offenders..."
Misty scanned the mass of people, one by one, hoping to see a familiar face. A cry from the corner caught her attention.
"Sister!" cried a feeble voice from the far corner. Misty turned to see a boy, not older than 18, with midnight black hair, and her same eyes. Misty tore through the rows of beds, crying; then threw her arms around her younger brother.
"Toby! You're alive! You're alive.." she repeated hysterically, sobbing into her brother's shoulder.
"Yeah..." His arms were full of cuts and bruises, and they could only imagine as to how he looked underneath his shirt. He winced as Misty held him tighter.
"Sister.."
"Oh! Sorry!"she exclaimed, immediately releasing him. Akiza moved towards him, bent on making things right.
"Toby, I'm really-"
"It's okay Akiza. It wasn't your fault at all. I went there on my own anyway." he cut in.
Akiza smiled, but Yusei could still see that she felt guilty for having brushed him away instead of helping him.
"Why're you all cut and bruised?" asked Leo, out of childish curiosity. Misty too, turned to look at her brother for an answer.
"They forced us to have psychic duels..."he mumbled quietly, "everyone, psychic or not. Even little Yuki..."
"Yuki?"
Toby turned to see a teen with spiky black hair shot with gold, wearing the logo of Team 5Ds on a blue runner jacket. "Mmm.. Yuki Fudo. She was at least two years younger than me. Why?"
"Did she say anything about her family?" persisted Yusei, standing at Toby's bedside.
"Umm...She mentioned having an older brother named Yusei who owned Stardust Dragon...But still, why are you so interested in Yuki?"
Yusei didn't wait to give an answer; he ran straight to Mina, who had gone to talk to one of the doctors about Toby, and demanded the list of people that had been found. When he didn't find her name on the list, he grew anxious. Kai, who had understood what was going on, grabbed Yusei's shoulder spinning him around.
"Yusei! Calm down. From what I've understood, they still haven't found everyone. She could still be in the mansion." Turning towards the group, he called Akiza over. "Hey Akiza! We might need your help on this."
"Akiza?"
"Yusei, its a prison for psychics. There is no way we are going to get through those cells without the help of a powerful psychic- strong enough to break the barriers at least." replied Kai.
"I'm still in the dark about this...Yusei, you have a sister?" interrupted Akiza.
"Can I explain it later? To everyone?" said Yusei as he began walking towards the mansion. Akiza nodded and followed along with Kai.
Back with the group...
"Misty? Why was he so interested in Yuki Fudo?" questioned Toby.
"Toby, you were talking to Yusei Fudo, the owner of Stardust Dragon."
"Oh.. So that's Yuki's big brother?"
"Hold on. Yusei has a sister? Since when?" demanded Jack.
"He never told anyone... wonder why." pondered Crow.
"Because he was upset with himself. He felt as though he had failed his sister and his parents." murmured Luna. Everyone look at her in surprise. "That's why he was so close to his friends, and why he fought for them so much. He didn't want to loose them like he lost his sister."
"How do you know that Luna?"asked Misty, noting the looks of surprise on everyone else's faces.
Luna looked up slowly, her eyes slightly glassy. "Ancient Fairy Dragon told me so."
"Are you a psychic?" questioned Toby, rather surprised at this revelation.
"She can talk to duel monster spirits- rather, she is connected to the Spirit World." responded Rei in her place. She noted that the youngest signer was swaying on her feet- most likely weak from connecting to the Spirit World.
"That explains it... By the way, I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting everyone." responded Toby.
"Right. That's Jack Atlas, Crow Hogan, Leo and Luna, Sherry LeBlanc and Elsworth- her butler, Bruno, Rei and Sato Yukimura, Carly Carmine, Mina, Officer Trudge, and Kalin Kessler." said Misty, pointing out every person individually. " The brown-haired that left is Kai Tatsuno, leader of Team Caesar."
"Pleasure to meet you all." said Toby, smiling brightly.
"Where'd Yusei go?" asked Leo curiously.
"Probably to see if he could find his little sister..."
Meanwhile Inside Goodwin's Mansion...
Yusei sprinted down the various corridors, Kai and Akiza not far behind. He scanned all the cells in this corridor; they were all open, but a dark corridor further down caught his attention as a few rays of moonlight cascaded down, probably from an open window.. It was't obvious; it turned a sharp corner and looked like a dead end, but something was causing his mark to pulsate. Kai and Akiza joined him looking down the corridor.
"Is it just me, or is there something telling us to go down this corridor?" asked Akiza, gazing at her softly glowing mark.
"Mm... It looks like it was designed to be hidden.." threw in Kai, analyzing the architecture.
"Really? The moonlight illuminated it quite well..." said Yusei.
Both Kai and Akiza stared at him, rather surprised.
"Yusei, there is no window. We're 10 feet underground." said Kai.
"Might've been a lantern then..." he said, brushing it off. Then, he remembered a time when the same thing had happened- it was late at night and he'd been running away from gang members with Yuki...
Flashback...
The figure of a boy and little girl could be seen running through the narrow alleys of Satellite. Desperately running from the laughing figures behind them, them turned corner after corner, the little girl desperately holding on to her brother's hand.
"Run little mice,run! It'll just make the chase more exciting! Those cards will still be mine come dawn!" called a rough voice behind them. The little boy paid no heed, pulling even harder. The little girl, caught unaware, stumbled from the change in speed and fell.
"Yuki! Are you okay!" asked the boy, kneeling beside her.
"I-I don't know.. my ankle hurts." whispered the little girl, "Yusei, you should go!Take the cards and go hide. They don't want m-me..."
"I'd rather hand them the cards than leave you behind. Come on; we can hide somewhere." He pulled his little sister up, and looked for a place to hide when she pointed out a hole under some rubble.
"Why not there? It's big enough for both of us..."
Once the danger had passed, they waited for a bit before getting out and going in the other direction. Yuki still limped badly, so Yusei gave her a piggy back ride for a while. When they settled down behind some rubble for the night, Yusei grew curious.
"How did you see that hole under the rubble, Yuki?"
"Some moonlight hit it..." Yusei was confused. It was the night of the New Moon, so there wasn't any moonlight, on top of that, it would have been from the wrong direction...It didn't matter. It saved them, that was all that mattered...
End Flashback
He'd written it off as pure chance, but it could've been the exact same thing- a sign of some sorts.
"Let's try it. It seems to be the best chance right now." he said, moving into the darkness.
"Here! Catch!" said Kai, tossing him a flashlight. Yusei nodded in thanks.
The light hit a large steel door, bolted and with a keypad. Yusei and Akiza's marks were glowing ever more fiercely as they neared;when they came to the base, Kai whistled.
"Is your sister a psychic, Yusei?" questioned Kai.
"No, definitely not..."
"You know I remember reading some file that Sayer gave me about a little girl who was under intense security because of her heritage- she wasn't a signer, but something similar, just for a different dragon." mentioned Akiza, looking up at the doors, "He told me that Goodwin was very interested in both her and her brother...Do you think he could have been talking about your sister?"
"It's possible, seeing as he was also interested in me because I was a signer..." muttered Yusei, "Do you think you could destroy this door Akiza?"
"I think Black Rose Dragon can handle it...you might want to step back a bit though."
Both males stepped back towards the walls giving the more powerful psychic enough space to manage to summon her famous beast.
"I summon Black Rose Dragon!" she yelled drawing the card onto her duel disk. Black Rose Dragon materialized behind her, vines whipping the air. The dragon roared and nudged Akiza's shoulder, looking at her owner with intelligent eyes.
"Black Rose is telling me that she can't sense any malicious intent, power or feeling from beyond the doors, so its safe to go in." said Akiza, "Black Rose, can you please remove the door- gently please?"
Black Rose Dragon advanced on the door slowly, using the thorns on her vines to pry the door off it hinges.
"That's good enough! Thanks Black Rose!" said Akiza. Black Rose Dragon roared once, then disappeared. As her dragon disappeared, Akiza stumbled backwards. Yusei ran forward, catching her and setting her next to the wall.
"Sorry.." she breathed out, "I'm still not that good at mentally controlling my powers..."
"You've gotten way better though. You should rest here for a bit; we'll be back soon." he said, ruffling her hair. Akiza pouted but agreed, knowing that she would only drag them down. She curled up against the wall and was soon sound asleep.
Turning to Kai, Yusei nodded, and they slipped through the hole to the other side.