Chapter 2 : The Tale of Jack Atlas
"Ok everyone! Lunch is ready!" declared Blitz his voice echoing against the subway walls.
"What are we eating today?" asked Tank eagerly.
"Noodles in gravy!" replied Blitz, clearly proud of his cooking.
"I'll eat later...", said Yusei indifferently.
Nervin sighed. "You've been working on that duel runner for four weeks now! Why don't you just take a break already?"
Yusei didn't reply and continued on working, while Rally jogged over to the couch beside Kazuki, who had just finished reading the weekly dueling magazine.
"Hey Kazuki! You hungry? " asked Rally hyperactivity.
Kuro shook his head. "Naa, I'm good".
"Are you sure? These noodles are pretty good!" urged Rally cheerfully.
Kuro smirked. "Alright then...pour me a small bowl".
Rally smiled and rushed over to fetch Kazuki some noodles while the others were all gathered around the kitchen table.
"Kazuki...why is it that you don't want a haircut? I'm sure you'd be much better off with a mohawk", suggested Nervin.
Kazuki chuckled and he allowed his hair to fall over his eyes. "Why would I need to cut it? Girls dig long hair! It's sexy!"
All of a sudden, Tank and Blitz burst out laughing. Of course, Kazuki had intended it to be a joke, even Rally thought it was funny considering that his hair was the longest. It was a good way to start the day off.
It had been almost a year since Kalin Kessler had been taken away to the prison facility. Yusei, Jack and Kazuki had now decided to live independently in the abandoned subway system with a bunch of friends, and not only was the place still relatively close to Martha's, living underground provided the perfect shelter with a lot of space to work and duel.
"Does anyone know where Jack went?" asked Kazuki curiously.
"No idea!" replied Nervin who was clearly too concentrated on his meal to care.
Tank sighed. "He's probably in that abandoned theater. You know how he prefers being alone these days".
Kazuki nodded in understanding and strolled casually over to Yusei. "Hey Engine Head...need a little help?"
Yusei looked up and smiled lightly. "Naa...it's Ok. It's almost finished anyway".
Kazuki smiled back. "You said that two weeks ago!"
Yusei nodded. "I know...but this time I'm sure. It should be finished within a week!"
Rally and other grinned at the sight of Yusei smiling. It was rare to see him happy these days, but Kazuki always had a way to cheer him up and enlighten the mood
After lunch, Kazuki stacked the empty bowl with the other dirty dished and made his way towards the subway exit, up the old concrete stairs to the ruined Satellite streets, where Kazuki would head over towards the abandoned theater.
Upon his arrival, Kazuki was happy to find Jack Atlas seated on a sort of throne place at the center stage of the theater. Nowadays, Jack always seemed to be troubled by many things. He prefered to hide his feelings much like Yusei, though lately he rarely ever dueled and spent his days doing nothing more than stare blankly at nothing.
Kazuki approached Jack via the long red carpet which lead to the stage, slowly passing the old rows of dusty seats. He watched as Jack's concentration was disrupted and smiled lightly as Jack exchanged glances.
"Hey Kazuki...what brings you here?" asked Jack calmly, still clearly depressed of the present situation.
"I just came to talk about the old days...thought it might cheer you up a bit", said Kuro plainly.
Jack huffed. "No need for a history lesson! How is Yusei holding up? Still working day and night non-stop on that duel runner?"
Kazuki sighed and nodded. "It will be a miracle the day it does work".
Jack smirked lightly. "Yeah...though suppose it did work...what would we name the duel runner?"
Kuro smiled. "I don't know...it depends if that duel runner brings us good fortune!"
"Fortune...", whispered Jack. "How about...D-Wheel of Fortune?"
"Not a bad name...though considering it's Yusei who been working on it, he'll probably be the one to decided", stated Kuro.
Jack nodded slowly. "Yeah...I guess your right".
One week later...
The duel runner was finally complete and as expected, the runner was named "Wheel of Fortune". Rally, Blitz, Tank, Nervin watched as Yusei introduced all the gadgets and gismos he had adjusted the light grey D-Wheel and began to steer it around, intentionally trying to impress his friends. He then summoned out his favorite card "Stardust Dragon" on to the duel disk he had installed. A large hologram beam above the duel runner, the special effects presenting the majestic beast with divine beauty against the beaming sun. It was a sight never to be forgot.
Kazuki and Jack had their backs leaned against the wall of a large ruin building situated right beside the old road, observing the action from behind their group of friends.
"He did it! Yusei managed to complete it! Can you believe it!" expressed Kazuki cheerfully.
Jack forced a smile. "Yeah...it's a miracle".
"What's wrong? You don't sound happy", asked Yuko curiously, having sensed a lack of conviction from Jack's response.
Jack took a deep breath and sighed. "Kazuki...you know what this means, right?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean...Yusei will now be able to escape this junk yard and leave to New Domino City", murmured Jack.
Kazuki pushed himself off the concrete wall and positioned himself opposite Jack, his hands placed over the blond's sturdy shoulders. "Don't be like that! What makes you think Yusei will leave us? He's our friend after all!" expresses Kazuki in a comforting tone.
Jack smirked. "So is Kalin... I fear Yusei may do something stupid and attempt to help his old friend escape out of the prison facility".
Kuro remained silent. Jack had made a good point. Why else would Yusei so desperately want to build a duel runner? He had put so much dedication for a simple duel runner, it was obvious Yusei was aiming to achieve something important.
Jack expression remained indifferent as he exchanged glances with Kazuki. He then nudged Kazuki aside and began to make his way back towards the theater, his hands in his pockets.
Kazuki scratched the back of his head with irritation. "What happens now I wonder?" he thought, before wandering back towards Rally and the others.
2 weeks later...
"Guys! I can't find Rally or Yusei anywhere!" yelled Tank, clearly out of breath.
Nervin crossed his arms. "Something definitively isn't right. Something bad must have happened to Rally and Yusei's probably gone out to investigate".
Blitz's expression became twisted with anger. "Damn it! Why is it that Rally is always getting himself into trouble! If I find that the police have him..."
Kazuki shushed the group and walked out of the subway entrance, having heard the outbursting argument from downstairs.
"Whats wrong? Who kissed who?"
Nervin tried his best to shake off the humor. "Kazuki! Now's not the time for jokes! Yusei and Rally are missing!"
"Don't worry about it! I'm sure their fine. If you want, I'll go find them and phone you guys when I've caught up with Yusei", said Kazuki reassuringly.
Blitz nodded and patted Kazuki on the shoulder. "Ok...and be careful just in case..."
Kazuki smiled. "Don't worry! I'm old enough to take care of myself!"
The harbor. It was obvious that if Yusei was ever to attempt escaping Satellite, it was gonna be by boat. Though Kazuki didn't know how Yusei would enable himself to sneak on board any of the arriving boats, but he assumed that Rally would probably be there to help Yusei out.
"What must he be thinking!?" thought Kazuki angrily as he ran through the Satellite street alleyways. He had been running for about twenty minutes and was almost at the docks, his chest and throat now searing with pain. All he had to do know was cross the old highway, and as he did so, his attention was momentarily drawn to a loud humming sound approaching from the right.
Having recognized that grey duel runner to be Yusei's, Kazuki stopped dead in his tracks and spread out his arms, while he prepared his stance in attempt to stop the runner and knock some sense into Yusei. However, something wasn't right...the driver was Jack Atlas, recognizable from his spiked up blond hair and long white, coat tails.
Having been taken by surprise at Kazuki's sudden appearance, Jack pushed hard against the breaks, allowing the duel runner to slide round unto a halt.
"Kazuki! What are you doing! I nearly ran you over!" yelled Jack, his voice a little shattered.
"What am I doing? What are you doing with Yusei's duel runner!?" shouted Kazuki, his fists clenching up.
Jack's eyes widened, taken aback by Kazuki's unusually furious reaction. "That's none of your business..."
"What do you mean none of my business!"
"I mean what I say!" boomed Jack, his eyes strangely irritated. "Kazuki...I need to do this".
"Do what!? Steal your best friends duel runner?" said Kazuki in a vicious tone, allowing his psychic powers to fuse in with his now activated duel disk.
Jack shook his head. "Remember what I told you about Yusei, back when he summoned out Stardust Dragon for the first time?"
Kazuki nodded. "What of it?"
"Well, you see back then...I explained that Yusei would leave use behind and find Kailn. I was actually referring to myself".
Kazuki remained silent, now having understood Jack's true intention.
Jack sighed. "From now on...don't come looking for me! I did what I had to do for the sake of an old friend...and for your sake.
Kazuki stared blankly at Jack depressive expression. "I understand that you want to help Kalin...but for my sake? What...what has happened?"
Jack huffed. "You could say that I've made a deal with with the devil, and that I've had to betray...Yusei.
"You've betrayed Yusei?" muttered Kazuki in disbelief.
Jack closed his eyes and nodded slowly. "Though...I didn't mean to. It was all meant to be an act!"
Kazuki watched as Jack switched on the duel runner, allowing the engine to roar vibrantly. He then turned to face Kazuki with cold, piercing eyes.
"Don't tell Yusei...don't tell anyone what I've just told you. They mustn't know", expressed Jack guiltily.
So many unanswered question, yet Kazuki knew that Jack wasn't going to simply submit all the details of his confusing situation. With an urge of wanting to know more, Kazuki picked up the top cards of his deck, and positioned himself in case he need to use his psychic power to stop Jack from passing by in case of any quick get aways.
"Don't do this, Jack!" begged Kazuki desperately. "Just tell me what's wrong! I'm sure me and Yusei can help out. We're the Enforcers for crying out loud!"
"No...we're not...not anymore. I don't want you to try and stop me! It'll make things worse", declared Jack, before racing around Kazuki and back down the empty Satellite streets.
With that having been clearly stated, Kazuki fell to the ground, his head cradled in his hands, causing the cards while he had held to scatter across the concrete floor. What had happened Kazuki couldn't understand why...only that it had been serious enough to have made Jack cry
"Kazuki!" amplified a distant voice.
Kazuki looked up and found Yusei sprinting towards him, followed closely by Rally. Their clothes were both soaked with water, and Yusei clearly exhausted, on the verge of collapsing.
Kazuki got up slowly, to ashamed to look his friend in the eyes.
"Why did Jack ...", started Kazuki, before Yusei strongly embraced his friend.
"No...It's ok. I'm sure he didn't mean to...", whispered Yusei, his voice soothing Kazuki's depressive sentiments.
Kazuki tried his best to hold back his tears. "What exactly happened to you guys? Why are you both so wet?"
"I'll explain later...but for now, lets all get back home. I'm sure the others are extremely worried about us", whispered Yusei, and lead both Kazuki and Rally back towards the abandoned subway system.
The alliance of "The Enforcers" was no more. Kalin had been taken. Jack had left abandoning his friends. Crow had gone, having many responsibilities to attend to all over Satellite. Was Yusei the next leave?
Author: Yes! I admit that this is looking grim...but things will get better! ^_^ I hope you all enjoyed and I'll try to submit chapter much more frequently ;3 Please don't forget to Review XD