Hey guys! So this chapter begins what I like to see as the first sort of climax of this fic. Don't worry though, this is only the beginning for this work. However, due to mounting commitments with college and life in general, I may not be able to support this fic as much as I would like. So if a new chapter doesn't get posted for a while thats the reason! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy.

Chapter 17 – The Enemy Revealed

The vent that they entered was barely big enough for Tanion to fit into. He was careful to make as little noise as possible as they moved through, although he noted that there was little noise being made by their movements. It had been almost two hours since they had landed outside the city, and yet there was still such a long way to go. The only way I can go is forward, he thought to himself as his shuffled along. It's the only path left for me to take.

After what seemed too long for his liking, they made it to the end of the vent, and dropped down into a ditch within the city of Eravand itself. Taking off his night vision goggles, Tanion noticed that they seemed to be in a trash disposal area, but this was not where they had meant to come out. The vent they had been in was supposed to have led straight into the President's foyer. Were the maps we had wrong?

"Yusei…" Jorann whispered worriedly.

"I know," Yusei whispered back. "Get out of sight. I'll contact Alpha."

Their black clothing helped them blend into the cover of night as they hid amongst the trash and garbage that had been created by the city. It made more sense to Tanion that the vent that had come from the sewers would lead to the garbage disposal area than the President's foyer, but why were the plans they had wrong? Had their surveillance been wrong? Or did their mole feed them incorrect information? Considering he had no idea where the plans and maps had come from, Tanion was left to fret over the details.

"Missions never go perfectly to plan," Jorann whispered to him as they hid. "Survive and adapt. That's how we're still here today."

Tanion looked over the mounds of rubbish that lay before him as Yusei relayed with Alpha. He could see the city of Eravand beyond the walls of the disposal area, and it looked like it was still under construction. Cranes dotted the skyline, and even from his distance Tanion could still make out a lot of the scaffolding and building framework that filled the city. He knew that the city had only been under construction since The Grand Order first attacked, but he didn't realise just how much further the city had to go before it wasn't still in the building process. Beyond that was the citadel itself, no doubt the first thing to be constructed.

Much to his surprise, as he looked around at the other members of their group, he noted that none of them seemed to be worried about the development. I suppose they would've been on many missions before, he noted. Unlike me, they're used to things not going completely to plan. But for an operation like this…

"There's spotlights on the citadel," Jorann noted in a whisper. "I wouldn't doubt that there's a lot of guards also."

"Then how are we supposed to get past them?" Tanion asked in a hushed tone.

"That's for Yusei to figure out, not me," Jorann said.

"Alright listen up," Yusei said finally. "I'm having schematics uploaded to me as we speak. Once I have them, we will be moving out. Les, I want you to stay here and make sure that no one comes to this area. If you do, take them out."

The woman who had unlocked the maintenance door before nodded in understanding. After a few moments, Yusei seemed content that he had received the schematics, and so he urged for the remainder of the group to follow him. Taking a deep breath, Tanion fell into line with only Jorann behind them, as Yusei began to lead them through the city of Eravand.

Getting out of the garbage disposal area was rather simple, as there were no walls surrounding the dump, and the only building being the one that they had come from. However, as they made their way further into the city, they began to use back streets and abandoned buildings to make their way forward. Tanion had expected to see more guards by this point, but as Jorann pointed out, they were still in a rundown part of the city, undoubtedly a remnant of the very early days. Some of the buildings they were passing through were likely treated as nothing more than early housing for the builders themselves.

Eventually, they made it to their first obstacle. It was a four metre high wall, no doubt put in place to separate the city from the old worker's village. The only way through the wall was a checkpoint that had six visible guards stationed on it. He doubted that the men and women rostered here ever saw anyone or had to do anything, and so they really didn't want to draw any attention to themselves. Not only would that be an abnormality in their usual routine, but it would also blow their cover.

"There's a water drain just under 100 metres west along the wall," Yusei said, looking at schematics on a device similar to the ones Tanion had seen being used at Stromberg Castle. "It looks like it'll be big enough for us to slip through one by one."

Making their way away from the checkpoint, they found the grate in the wall pretty much exactly where Yusei had predicted. Fortunately, none of them were too big to fit through, and after making sure that it was clear to proceed, they squeezed through one by one, Tanion once again thankful for the waterproof clothing.

"Where to now?" one of the group members whispered once they were all through.

"Ian, take up a scouting spot nearby," Yusei directed. "The rest of you follow me. If these schematics are right, we should be able to stay out of the guard's way until we get to the wall surrounding the citadel itself."

Much to their fortune, and the Jorann's concern, they made their way slowly but surely through the city of Eravand towards the castle in the centre. Along the way, Yusei dispersed those among them to make sure that they had a secure route back through the city and out once the job was done. By the time they reached the last wall between them and the citadel, it was down to Yusei, Jorann and three others. However, in order to reach the castle itself, they had to somehow sneak past more guards than Tanion could count while also staying out of the spotlight's sightline.

"What the hell are we supposed to do now?" Tanion whispered.

"Besides the main gate, there has to be another way in," Yusei replied in a hushed tone. "A back entrance for supplies, maintenance crew, something. There'd be too much traffic otherwise."

"Well we can't just walk around the entire wall," one of the people with them said impatiently. "The longer we take doing this, the more chance there is of one of our men being found."

Yusei seemed to think to himself for a moment, then moved to the side and began speaking into the radio. From what Tanion was picking up in his headset, Yusei was trying to get the scouting squads to see if they could find a spot in the wall that they could get through. Since it was slightly elevated over the rest of the buildings, there was a chance one of the groups would see something.

"Something is off about all this," Jorann said worriedly.

"You'd think they'd have guards patrolling the outside of the wall too," one of the others said.

"It's not that," Jorann said with a shake of the head. "We've met no resistance up until this point. To me, that just screams trap. And with the sewer system layout being wrong, surely you three can see it too?"

Tanion nodded with the others. "What can we do though?" he asked finally. "We're here, and we just have to see it through to the end."

"Didn't expect to hear that from you, boy," Jorann commented.

"I'm terrified," Tanion admitted. "But I can't allow myself to get bogged down at the thought of dying here. If I do then I'll freeze, and if I do that it could mean the deaths of everyone else. I couldn't live with myself if I was the reason why this plan fails."

"You're that guy from Eden aren't you?" one of the others asked. "Been talk about you."

"I am," Tanion said.

The other person seemed to nod. "Maybe those guys in the Coalition weren't mad in bringing you here after all."

Tanion allowed himself to smile slightly, although it was impossible to see behind the mask he wore. They waited for what seemed like forever as Yusei relayed with the scouting teams, but eventually, thanks to some meticulous searching, they found what appeared to be a way in and out of the castle that didn't involve the main entrance. Upon hearing this, Tanion turned to Yusei, and just as he had thought, the man was walking back towards them with purpose in every step.

"There's a back entrance around 20 degrees around the wall from here," Yusei told them, pointing to his right. "From what the guys can tell, it appears to be a back entrance and exit for the higher-ups to use for whatever reason. We'll go in through there."

"Is one of us going to stay behind here?" Tanion asked.

Yusei shook his head. "We'll need everyone once we're inside. We'll just have to start leaving markers. I'll take care of that."

"Do you know how to get to the President's room from the entrance?" Jorann asked as they began walking.

"I know where the back entrance and the room are in relation to the main entrance," Yusei answered. "I'll figure it out in my head as we go."

Jorann seemed content enough with this, and so they began to head for the rear entrance that had been spotted by their scouting squads. Tanion was fourth in the line they formed, with Yusei leading and Jorann bringing up the rear. They soon made it to the back entrance which, much to Tanion's worriment, was unguarded. It seemed he wasn't the only one that bristled at this discovery.

"Yusei…" Jorann growled.

"We don't have a choice," Yusei snapped back. "If they know we're here it's already too late. We just have to keep pressing forward. It's all we can do."

Heading through the open archway built into the wall, they snuck up as quietly as they could to the door that led into the castle, its giant form looming high above them. Somewhere within was the one who had led this world into ruin, the one who had orchestrated all of the death and suffering that those in the rebellions had experienced. Even though he hadn't been there for the worst of it, Tanion couldn't believe someone like that was now so close to him.

Sneaking through the door once Yusei had pried the lock, Tanion noted that they seemed to be in the disposal area of the castle's seemingly massive kitchens. It made sense for this to be another access point into the castle, as taking food right through the castle was more than likely quite inefficient. Having it delivered straight to the kitchens was a much better alternative. Once inside, though, Tanion's mind began to set him on edge. When they weren't causing noise themselves, the castle seemed far too quiet.

"The President's room is in the middle of the tower, behind an almost vestibule kind of room," Yusei explained. "If we take the stairs that should be on our right, then we can go straight to that floor."

"I'll contact Alpha," Jorann muttered. "Time to get Playback rolling."

"Playback?" Tanion asked.

"It's one last security measure," Yusei explained as Jorann spoke with base. "We've access to the recording software of the security cameras within the castle for some time now, even though we've been unable to get the vision itself. So what we're going to do is loop the last thirty minutes of footage that the cameras have taken, and if our knowledge of the guard and important individual's movements is correct, those watching the cameras should be none the wiser."

"That's impressive," Tanion noted. "To have that much knowledge of the enemy…"

"It's been five years," Yusei reminded him. "We have had many geniuses at our disposal over that time. It's certainly helped."

With Playback set in motion, they followed Yusei up the stairs. They were cautious as they approached each landing, but with a soft step and a bit of fortune, they managed to slip past without attracting attention from the other side of the doors. Eventually, they made it up the spiralling square staircase to what Yusei believed to be the floor that the foyer and living quarters were on.

"This should be it," Yusei whispered as they waited on the stairs just below the next landing. "The tricky part is going to be getting through without getting spotted by potential guards waiting on the other side."

"Knock," Jorann said. "If there's anyone within hearing range, they'll come looking, and we ambush them."

Yusei nodded. "As silly as it sounds, that might be our only option. Jorann, Tanion, get on the far side. We will wait here. Stick to the shadows and get ready to strike."

Once they were in position, Yusei gave the door a small knock and they waited, sweat tripping from Tanion's brow. After a moment, the door opened, and he tensed and prepared to fight as the man who opened the door walked through. Before he could react, Yusei was already on top of him, holding a hand over the guard's mouth as he forced him to the ground, Jorann shutting the door quietly behind them. Eventually, Yusei forced the man down the stairs a bit, and glared at him with cold, unblinking eyes.

"Let me make one thing clear," Yusei said darkly. "When I release my hand, if you try and do anything to alert others, I'll snap your neck, understood?"

The man simply nodded, fear spread throughout his face, but Tanion was horrified. This is not the Yusei I know, he thought worriedly. Has the loss of his friends and Akiza, along with the war, really destroyed his resolve this much? Has it really stripped away this much of who he was portrayed to be in the show? Surely there has to be more to it than that.

"Jorann, watch the door," Yusei ordered. "Pete and Wendy, watch the stairs on either side. Don't let anyone interrupt us."

"What about me?" Tanion asked.

"You listen and make sure I don't miss anything," Yusei said. "Now, once I release this hand, you're going to tell me everything I want to know, got it?"

The man nodded, and Yusei released his hand just like he said. The guard sucked in air, as Yusei had been blocking his nose also, but fortunately for them, he seemed to make no effort to try and alert anyone else. As he looked closer, Tanion realised the guard was probably only just older than him, 20 at a stretch. There was no way he was going to risk his life for something like this.

"Now answer my questions," Yusei ordered. "Is the President's quarters on this floor?"

"Yes," the guard replied in a voice slightly higher than Tanion had expected, probably out of fear.

"How many guards are between us and the entrance to the vestibule before it?'

"There are two guarding the door, and no others nearby."

"No one inside the vestibule?"

"No."

"Good. Masks on people."

With that Yusei slightly opened a canister of sleeping gas and held the man still as the gas made its way into the man's lungs. Before long, he was slumped against the wall, and fortunately for Tanion, he had reacted quickly enough to avoid being in the same position as the guard.

"I thought you already knew guard rotations," Tanion asked Yusei.

"This was the final confirmation that I wanted," Yusei answered. "The rest of you stay here. I'm going to take out the guards watching the door and bring them back here. It should just be to the right of us. Once I've done that, then we can move in."

Making sure not to get in his way, Tanion waited with Jorann, Pete and Wendy as Yusei worked his magic on the two guards watching the door. Within two minutes he was back, holding one guard under each arm. Tanion was surprised at how quick and easy that had been, but it did mean that they wouldn't have to wait much longer to reach their goal.

"Alright I'll make this very clear," Yusei said. "Once we're in, Pete, Wendy, you bar the door. Jorann, Tanion, have your duel disks at the ready. We don't know what could be waiting for us in there so be prepared."

They all nodded in agreement, and Tanion readied his disc. They exited the stairwell one by one, making their way as silently as they could to the entrance doors to the foyer. It seemed as though the entrance to this floor was on the other side of the vestibule and room as there were hallways on either side of the doors in the centre. As Yusei threw open the doors, Tanion took his place beside him, with Jorann on his left, and they walked in.

As Pete and Wendy quickly sealed the door behind them and proceeded to guard it, Tanion walked up the stairs in front of them beside Jorann and Yusei. As they headed up, Tanion realised that they weren't alone in the room. However, it wasn't the trap that Tanion had expected, with many guards in the room. Instead, a solitary figure sat in the throne-like seat at the far end of the vestibule.

And it was someone Tanion immediately recognised.

"It took you long enough to get here," said Seto Kaiba drearily. "You've kept us waiting, old friend."