FallingStar93: You can't kill me; it's only been like three months since the last update, and I only promised it wouldn't be six again...

ElodieKumari94: That and we only have one more full chapter after this one written.

FS93: Well, we have more than that written, there's just this one part we never decided on how to write... I'll have to figure that out once my muse decides to stop hiding under my bed. Believe me, it's a been a pain with the other fics I'm working to too so...

EK94: On another note, if you haven't read Star's Angels and Devils you won't quite know one of the characters that comes in this chapter, and it won't seem like as big of a deal that he/she is there...

FS94: This hasn't been proof-read. Just warning ya. All mistakes are mine.

EK94: Neither of us own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, just our OC's. (:

Chapter Eleven – The Traitor

'This is bad,' Naomi thought as the sirens wailed and the wind whipped her hair around her face. "This is really bad!" she spoke aloud. Instinctively, she reached back, and she felt Ryan's and Alex's hands clasp in hers. Despite the situation, Naomi felt a wave of relief at their touch; it was so good to have them back.

"Are you telling us we're stuck up here?" Jack yelled.

"No," Elodie snapped. "Getting down just got a bit trickier, that's all. "You did cover the vent back up before coming up here, right Jack?"

"Of course I did!"

"You guys go," the warden spoke suddenly, sitting down heavily and leaning back against the cabinet. "I'll stay up here. Charlie and I will get help once we have our strength back."

"No way!" Crow objected, returning to the group. "We can't just leave you up here!"

"If you take us, we'll only be a burden to you. We're in no condition to fight anyway. We'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Elodie asked anxiously.

"Don't you worry about us, Ms. Kumari. We will try to contact the Security Bureau once we get out of here. You guys just get out of harm's way."

The six friends all exchanged glances and nodded once. They knew the warden had made his decision and that he wouldn't back down from it.

"Alright," Jack said. "So we continue with the original plan?"

"I think so," Elodie confirmed as Naomi nodded. "We're just going to have to be more careful."

"What plan?" Crow, Alex, and Ryan all asked at once.

No one answered them as Elodie took out an extra radio set she had taken from a captured S.S guard and gave it to the warden. "Use this if you ever need to contact us," she told him, "but be careful not to give away obvious information. They could be hacking the airwaves."

The warden took the radio and nodded before leaning his head back and closing his eyes with a pained sigh. Elodie turned away and walked to the edge of the roof, activating her duel disk, her eyes glowing gold. "Crow, I'm going to have to borrow one of your Blackwings."

The Bird Duelist immediately understood what the rest of the plan was and handed Elodie his Blackwing: Armor Master before backing away. Elodie took it and a card from her own deck and slapped them down on her duel disk. "Blackwing: Armor Master, Midnight Pegasus," Elodie declared, "mind giving us a lift?"

Alex and Ryan gaped as, in two floods of light, the two monsters appeared on either side of her. Midnight Pegasus stomped his hooves and threw his head up, snorting in anticipation, and the Blackwing crouched down, weapon in hand, waiting for a signal.

"A psychic duelist!" Ryan whispered in amazement, eyes wide.

"Sweet!" Alex exclaimed. "Wait… Are we flying on those things?"

"Yup!" Naomi confirmed without much enthusiasm. "Yippee-skippy."

"Crow, Jack, and I will take the Blackwing," Elodie proclaimed. "Naomi, you, Ryan, and Alex can take Pegasus. Is that alright?"

"I guess it'll have to be," Naomi sighed as she approached the giant winged horse. "Not much other choice."

"Are you sure this is safe?" Ryan asked hesitantly.

"It should be, as long as I'm in control," Elodie replied as Crow, who was already on the back of the Blackwing, helped her up behind him. "Just don't fall off."

"That's reassuring," Ryan retorted dryly.

Elodie grinned. "I can tell you're Naomi's brother." She turned to said girl. "Oh, by the way… Catch!"

Naomi grinned from atop the Pegasus as she caught her hat. "Honestly didn't think I'd get it back…" She pulled it one over her hair before reaching down to help Ryan up in front of her. Alex climbed up behind, and Jack mounted the Blackwing behind Elodie.

"Well keep up above the clouds," Elodie explained, "until we find a clear spot to land in Satellite. We can't let Security spot us. Everyone ready?"

"Not really," Ryan muttered, tangling his fingers in the Pegasus' mane.

"Let's go, already, before they think to check up here!" Jack yelled and, in unison, the two monsters launched themselves off the edge of the roof and into the sky. Naomi cried out and wrapped her arms tighter around her brother's waist; behind her, Alex did the same. The Pegasus galloped up into the clouds, its wings beating powerfully on either side of the three riders. Bitter cold rain from inside the clouds soaked them through, and, for a moment, they were blinded by the dark, wispy clouds. But then the winged beast rose above the clouds, bathing them in moonlight beneath a blanket of stars. To their left, Blackwing: Armor Master emerged from the clouds and soared beside them, the two monsters in perfect unison. Their master looked around, and her golden gaze met Naomi's. Elodie flashed an encouraging smile, but it didn't quite hide the tension on her face; they may have gotten out of the Facility undetected, but they weren't out of the woods yet.

"Whoa," Ryan exclaimed, and Naomi looked up to see his face slack and eyes wide in amazement. "This is… incredible!"

"We're out!" Alex said excitedly. "We're finally out of the Facility, man!" He looked down at Naomi, his eyes bright and loving. "And it's all thanks to you!"

"Oh, I couldn't take all of the credit," Naomi replied with a smile. She turned to look at the three onboard the Blackwing. "I had some pretty amazing people help me out."

POV CHANGE (Unnamed first person)

"So who are we looking for exactly?" I asked the division leader. "What does the prisoner look like?"

"His name is Crow Hogan," the captain answered bluntly. "Bushy orange hair, lots of criminal markings. You should have a picture of him and other designers in your profiler."

I eased a hand off the handle of my duel runner to tap at the screen before me. After hitting a few touch-screen buttons, the list of profiles came up, showing me our query. Crow Hogan was third on the list, and he was just as the captain described.

I had to bite my lip against the pang I felt in my stomach at the sight of his face. Of course I knew exactly whom we were looking for; it had been stupid to ask the captain. I could never forget the face of Crow Hogan.

Right above him was Jack Atlas, his dark scowl and amethyst eyes glaring at me through the screen; above him – first on the list – was Yusei Fudo, sapphire eyes staring up from under his black and yellow, crab-like hair. After Hogan was a brown-haired, hazel-eyed girl name Elodie Kumari.

"Got it," I told the captain, who nodded once. There were only four other S.S men in our division, and we were all streaking through Satellite on our duel runners. I could hear more sirens all around us, along with the whir of helicopters above us as bright search lights swept over the dilapidated city. My heart was pounding as adrenaline rushed through my veins, making me shake with excitement and anticipation. The uprising had become a huge deal, and I had the feeling that tonight all Hell was going to break loose.

"We should split up," the captain declared, breaking through my thoughts. He pointed at the two guards on his left, farthest from me. "You two search the East District." He swung his finger back to the two behind him. "You two take the Downtown. I'll take the Western portion." Finally the captain pointed to me. "You will head for the South. Communicate by radio if you find anything of interest."

"Yes, sir!" my fellow officers and I chorused, and, one by one, we all split and sped off through the night, having to my laughter. I had only been on the force for about five years, but I never got tired of the rush that came with a big search like this; it was just one of those things that never got old.

But then I remembered what I had to do to get on the force, and I felt small stirrings of guilt. I had hurt a lot of people, lost a lot of friends, took the freedom of those closest to me, and even caused the death of one girl. Worst of all, though, I had lost the trust of the one girl I had ever truly cared for…

'Snap out of it!' I scolded myself inwardly, shaking my head to clear the dark thoughts. 'You have a mission: Recapture Crow and take Fudo, Atlas, and Kumari if you can. That's all that matters now.'

I was approaching the edge the Southern District. It was one of the larger districts in Satellite, covering most of the southern coastline plus several miles inland. It was a place I knew well; it was the place where I used to hand out with my friends… until…

"Knock it off!" I muttered to myself, slamming on my runner's brakes. The bike skidded to a halt, sending pebbles and loose gravel flying, and I shut off the sirens. I had always thought they were stupid, good for nothing but blowing cover. Disengaging my duel disk and attacking it to my arm, I checked that my gun was still in its holster and my deck still in its box before dismounting and pushing my runner into a dark corner behind a few trash cans, where I could easily retrieve it later. Then I set off at a run, moving as quietly as I could. This was what made me so valuable to the Security force: I had once been a criminal so I knew how to track a criminal.

I knew I had to be the one too catch them; if I did, then my five, long years of waiting would be over and they would finally move me to the City force.

Little did I know, I was looking in the wrong place.

There was a whoosh of air above me, and two dark shadows passed in front of the cloud-choked moonlight. I staggered to a halt and looked up just in time to see two large, black shapes descend from the clouds. What the deck… Were those duel monsters?

My hand flew to my utility belt and yanked out the pair of night-vision binoculars on my hip. Pressing them against the visor of my helmet, I looked through and discovered they were duel monsters! One of them I immediately recognized as Crow's – his favorite Synchro monster, Blackwing: Armor Master. The other was a midnight black horse with wings. They weren't just holograms either; they were real. They gave off their own body temperature and, from the outline, appeared to have passengers!

Each monster seemed to have carrying three passengers. Six people. The four designers and two accomplices, maybe? It was impossible to tell – they were too far away – but it seemed likely.

I watched silently as the duel monsters descended and landed just a little ways off. I took off at a run again, going as fast as I could without making too much noise. They couldn't be allowed to escape. This was my big chance!

"I never, ever, ever, not in a million years, want to do that again!" came a soft, baritone voice.

I almost froze at the sound. There was no way… It couldn't possibly be…

"Oh, come on, Ryan," said another, slightly louder male voice. "You've gotta admit that was cool!"

"Will you two quite yapping so loudly?" came a third, irritated voice with an Aussie accent. "Unless you really want to be chucked right back in the Facility again!"

I slowly approached the next corner of the street, my heart threatening to break right out of my chest. I would have known the first two voices anywhere, even after five year. But still… There was no way it could be true…

But it was. Pressing my back against the wall, I carefully peered around the corner and saw them all, clear as day even in the darkness. As I glanced around, I noted that the duel monsters were nowhere to be seen. I instantly recognized three of them as the designers from my profiler – Crow, Atlas, and Kumari. The other three were just as easy to identify, but I didn't need a computer to tell me. Their faces were unforgettable, permanently engraved in my memory, after all of the time I had spent with them… and everything I had done to them.

Alex Haru, and Ryan and Naomi Mori.

Naomi…

With a shiver, I realized this was exactly the same spot I had seen them last. Oh, the irony!

All at once all of the memories from that fateful night came flooding back, playing like a movie reel through my head. The shouts, the shock, the betrayal, the anger, the hatred… the gunshot… and Naomi. Naomi and all of her sharp words and hate-filled shouts. Her furious, beautiful face swarm before my eyes, the last memory I had of her, with green eyes full of agony and betrayal.

But she didn't like that way now. In fact, she looked almost happy. Maybe a little anxious and scared, but other than that, I had never seen her so confident. She stuck close to her brother and, even from where I stood, I saw Alex reach out and squeeze her hand comfortingly. Was that and adoring look she was giving him? She had never looked at me like that!

"Calm down, Jack," Crow was saying. "They just got out of the clink, give 'em a break."

I had to bite back a groan. Why did Crow have to be here too? Why did he have to be involved? My plan had been to forget about him and never see him again. It was shocking to see him standing just a few yards away. He had grown up a surprising amount since I have last seen him five years ago; he was more filled-out and muscular, and he had to have at least three criminal marks. 'What have you been getting into, my old friend?'

"They can celebrate later," Atlas snapped. He and Kumari were both dressed in Security uniforms so it was easy to assume who had performed the breech. "We have to get a message to Trudge and Mina, and, if these two keep chatting like this, all of Sector Security will be on us in seconds!"

"It seems to me as though you're doin' most of the yappin', Jack," Crow returned. "Either way, I kinda hope we run into some officers," he continued, cracking his knuckles. "I would love to knock their heads and give 'em a piece of my mind!"

"You might be able to do that sooner than expected, Crow," the Kumari girl suddenly spoke. She whirled around, and the next thing I knew her fiery gaze was burning a hole through me. "We have company."

There was something very wrong about that girl. How did she know I was here? Why were her eyes glowing amber? They had been hazel in the photo. Something tugged at the back of my mind, and I remember reading in her profile that she was psychic. So she must have been responsible for the living duel monsters as well. Not that it was important now.

Before any of them could react, my hand flew back to the pouch on my belt, and I whipped out a pair of clamps connected by a long roll of rope. I threw one of the clamps lasso-style, and my aim was true. It latched onto Naomi Mori's duel disk.

"Hey!" Ryan shouted as I stepped out of the shadows, walking towards the group with a big smirk on my face.

"What gives?" Alex added angrily.

I took a deep breath and inwardly braced myself. Show no fear. Show no regret. Show no remorse. That was what my trainers in Sector Security had taught me. Now I had to put their training into action. I chuckled darkly as Naomi tried unsuccessfully to remove the hook.

"That won't do you much good, Naomi Mori," I called to her, attacking the second hook to my duel disk and activating it. "That little hook won't come off until after we duel. And at the end of the duel –."

"The loser's duel disk is destroyed, we know!" snapped Jack Atlas, glaring at me indignantly. "You stole that trick from the Enforcers!"

"How do you know Naomi's name?" Kumari asked, her eyes still boring into me. Yami, that chick was creep! It was like her gaze was peeling away every layer of my skin, right through to me soul. "Naomi, do you know him?"

I stopped and turned to face Naomi. She was staring across the rope at me, her jade-green eyes trying to peer through my visor at the face it covered. But she suspected who I was; I could see it in her face.

I laughed again. "What's the matter, Naomi? Don't you remember me? What about you, Ryan? Alex? How about you… Crow? Can't you recognize your old friend?"

"Enough games!" Kumari barked. "Who are you –?"

"Jori."

Naomi spat my name out like a foul word. And there it was again, the expression that had been engrained on my mind since the last night I had seen her. I could see it all, right in front of my eyes, my memory taking my back to that night…

"How could you, Jori?" Naomi accused me in a whisper. "How could you?!"

I forced myself to laugh through the guilt and hurt I was concealing in my heart. "You should already have an idea of why, Naomi. Remember our conversation yesterday? This is my key out of here! I work for them long enough, and eventually Sector Security will send me to the City to work!"

"But why my brother?" she asked, he voice strained with pain and anger. "Why Alex and Mieke? Why didn't you turn me in, too, since you obviously knew I was here?"

That question stung me. After everything we had been through, she really thought I would betray her? 'Well,' came the unbidden voice in my mind, 'You did just do it to Alex and Ryan… and Mieke…'

I forced myself not to look over at Mieke's body lying several yards away. Killing her had NOT been part of the plan. Someone was definitely going to hear about that when I got back to headquarters… but I could grieve later.

"Isn't obvious?" I asked softly, crouching down in front of her shaking figure on the ground pressed against the wall. "It wouldn't make sense to mark up your beautiful face."

Startled by my answer, Naomi looked up and met my gaze. It tore my up to see all of the pain in her beautiful, jewel-like green eyes, but there was something else there too… Familiarity, like nothing changed… and small stirrings of hope.

"As soon as I can get out of here," I continued soothingly, "I'm gonna take you with me! That's why I told you yesterday that you had to be strong and hold on."

"But why pretend to kill yourself?!" Naomi demanded. "How in the world did you even manage to fake it?"

"I had to find a way to completely disappear, a way that no one would come looking for me. As for how I managed that… Well, that's a bit of secret I'm not allowed to tell! But I just have to keep helping Security round up this Scum; then we'll have our ticket out of here, I promise!"

That did it. I opened my big mouth just a little too far. Something snapped in Naomi's eyes and her expression suddenly twisted into anger and hatred.

"My brother is NOT Satellite Scum!" she shouted. "Alex and Mieke aren't either! How DARE you say that they are?!" She got to her feet and moved away from the wall, her eyes shooting poison darts at me. "If you consider them to be, then I am too!"

"Now hold no just a cotton-pickin' minute –!" I began angrily, standing up as well.

"You really believe working for them is going to get you out of here?! They're using you, Jori! They'll never send you to the City because you're only valuable to them here! As soon as you can't help them anymore, they'll dispose of you by sending you to the Facility! And believe me; you won't have many with all the people you'll end up sending there!"

"Would you like to follow your brother and Alex to the Facility?!" I yelled, losing my temper. My heart was sinking into my stomach; I didn't want to believe that she might be right. "If not, then I suggest you watch yourself, or you'll be following them shortly! Sometimes you have to make a sacrifice to get what you want – to get what you deserve! –."

"But you don't sacrifice FAMILY!" Naomi screamed at me. I had never before seen her so furious. Her eyes were like emerald flames and the fury and hatred in her expression made her almost unrecognizable. "You don't sacrifice everything you ever cared about! You're such a hypocrite, Jori! You're the one who taught me that family is the most important thing there is and that NOTHING is worth sacrificing it for! And now, here you are, telling me that freedom is worth more than my brother! Well, let me tell you something, Jori: I DON'T AGREE!"

Naomi had no idea just how much those words hurt. She was throwing a truth in my face that I didn't want to hear. I didn't want to be told what I had done wrong; I already knew that. Hearing it from her made me want to go and join Mieke.

Instead, I turned that pain into anger and shot back, "Well, let me tell YOU something, Naomi! If you don't watch your mouth, that pretty little face is gonna have an ugly Criminal Mark on it!" I took a deep breath and squeezed the bridge of my nose, trying to get my anger under control. Then I spoke again, this time softer. "You realize that I'm doing this for you, don't you? I want you to have the chance to live out all your hopes and dreams! Don't you see that, Naomi?"

But Naomi's expression didn't soften. She stood her ground, her fists clenched at her sides. "No, you're doing this for YOU, Jori," she stated bluntly, "and no one else. The only person you ever cared about was you. I don't know how I ever trusted you or called you my friend. You're just like THEM."

She spat the last words out like venom. She had to know how much they stung. I took a startled step back, feeling as though I had just taken a dozen strokes of a whip. Even worse was the realization of what I had really done: I had lost Naomi Mori. Permanently.

I forced out a laugh, not letting my heart-break show, and said coldly, "Well, Naomi Mori, if that's the way you really want it, then I'll be leaving now." I turned to walk away, but before I had even taken a step, I added, "But just to clarify: I'm nothing like those thugs."

"Oh, really?" Naomi retorted with a sharp, humorless laugh. "Because it would seem to me that you both like to push people around and betray them in order to get what you want."

My self-control snapped. Like a possessed demon, before I even knew what I was doing, I spun around and rammed my outstretched arm into Naomi's side. She cried out in a surprise as she was thrown back into a pile of wooden crates near the wall. The snap and crackle of splintering wood filled the air, but I had already turned on my heel and ran out of the ally. I jumped onto my new Sector Security duel runner, revved the engine, and shot away, heading back to headquarters.

I felt badly about what I had done; not just for pushing Naomi, but for everything else as well. Every particle of my being was screaming at me to go back and fix what I had done, to beg Naomi for forgiveness, to get Alex and Ryan out of the Facility, to somehow, anyhow, bring Mieke back…

But I couldn't. It was done. I had chosen my path, and Naomi had chosen hers. There was no going back now. So there was no point in dwelling on what was now history.

All the same, I could not stop the tears that slowly fell from my eyes as I drove away that dark, fateful night.

It hurt to see all of that anger and resentment thrown at me through her eyes again. Her face had twisted in hatred and betrayal, her teeth bared, and I could almost see the old wounds I had left on her heart opening. The pain was the worst. In her eyes, I could see the five, long, biter years of pain I had condemned her to.

And she could never know how sorry I truly was for it. She never could – more she never would because I would never have the chance to tell her.

"That's right, Naomi," I cackled, burying remorse beneath the oath I had taken upon joining Sector Security, hiding my pain behind the curtains of my instructor's teachings. I grabbed my helmet and ripped it off my head, letting it fall to the ground, revealing the rust-colored hair, brown eyes, and freckled face that was Jori Kuma.

"I'm back!" I sang as my former friends stared at me in utter shock. "Did you miss me?"

FS93: Anyone see that coming? *evil grin* Believe me, we have plenty more surprises in store in the next couple of chapters! *evil grin widens*

EK94: If you review, Star will send you a preview! We have enough of that chapter we can do that anyway... Right?

FS93: Yup!

Both: Thanks for reading!