Me: *Has on the hugest grin and is making incomprehensible squeaking noises*
Jack: What's your problem?
Crow: Her problem is everything.
Jack: I didn't ask you!
Me: *Blinks* I SAW IT IN TARGET!
Sky: …What did you see?
Me: PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE MIRACLE MASK! I've seen all three trailers multiple times and I WANT THAT GAME SO FREAKING BAD!
Sky: Is that all?
Me: No, my friend also let me borrow Pokémon Black 2 even though I want White 2 and in the newest episode of Criminal Minds Reid actually hit the softball! …And then the weird picture-taking stalker appeared again. Totally ruined the mood.
Sky: Huh.
Me: Yeah. Well, I guess I should get on with the chapter, so… You should know the disclaimer by now. Hope you enjoy the newest addition to Blue Sky! It does go back and forth between POV's, so I hope it isn't too confusing…
Chapter 37
Third Person
Minutes earlier…
Yusei knew something was wrong. He could feel it in his gut. Oh, he had a suspicion when Trudge called saying that Jack had escaped his cell. But now, as he sped down a Combat Lane he had seen some powerful attacks coming from, his gut was screaming it.
Crow joins in the chase now, pulling up alongside Yusei.
"Have you seen Sky yet, Yusei?" Crow asks.
"No."
"Oh. I hope that shattered barrier back there has nothing to do with her then."
"Shattered barrier?"
Yusei realizes he had been focusing on the strain of attacks farther down the Lane than to pay attention to the safety barriers.
"Yeah, I wonder what caused that…" Crow trails off, and then gasps in surprise. He comes to a halt, and Yusei copies.
Jack and Red Dragon Archfiend are blocking the Combat lane. Not far off to the left, the barrier is also shattered.
"Jack! What are you doing?" Yusei asks.
Jack simply smirks, and lifts his hand. Red Dragon Archfiend makes a barrier of fire between them and it lasts for a few seconds. When it fades, both Jack and the dragon are gone, and a lone card is sitting on the ground.
Yusei gets off of his Duel Runner to grab the card. When he sees it, he nearly stopped breathing.
The card was Celestial Dragon-Quasar.
XXX
Sky's POV
When I woke up, I had expected to see either the roof of my apartment or the roof of a hospital. So, when I see what appears to be darkness and purple mist, I'm quite a bit confused.
I'm also confused by the fact that I'm not feeling any pain. The last thing I can remember is that I had fallen off my Runner right after I lost to that Imposter Jack. I should be hurting really bad right now.
"Sky? What are you doing here?" a familiar voice asks.
I attempt to spin around, but some type of rope tied around my arms, legs, and waist keeps me from doing so. "Is that you Jack?" I ask in return.
I hear him humph. "Of course it's me," he says.
"Sorry, it's just that I saw the Imposter of you," I say. "And to answer your question, I have no idea what I'm doing here."
"That's lovely."
"Yeah, it is." I try to move again, but the ropes keep me from doing so. "Jack, can you move?"
A few seconds later, "No, and when I can move, whoever tied these ropes is going to be in a world of hurt."
"Ditto."
And that's when a weird screen of some sort appears in front of me and, I assume, Jack. It was really just a large oval of light. Then the light slowly dims, and there's a scene on it.
XXX
Third Person
"He wouldn't do something like this," Yusei says for the umpteenth time.
"We know that Yusei. But what else could it be? No one else has a copy of Red Dragon Archfiend, heck, I don't think there even are other copies, and there's definitely only one Duel Runner like Jack's," Crow says.
Yusei shook his head. "I still don't think it's him. I feel like we're missing something."
Crow yanks his hair in frustration. "C'mon Yusei, what else could it be?"
"That there's an imposter running around," another voice says.
Both young men look up and see Carly standing by the door. "How long have you been standing there?" Yusei asks.
Carly shrugs. "Long enough to know what you guys were talking about." She pauses to pull something out of her bag. "Anyways, you need to see this."
She hurries down the short staircase, waving her camera around. "Okay, I know this'll sound really weird, but there are two Jacks running around. I started snooping around, because I know Jack wouldn't do what he was accused of."
"We all do," Yusei says. He glances at Crow. At least I hope so.
Carly nods. "Well, I found this couple and they showed me a picture from the night that Jack escaped. I had to scratch up a little money, but they gave me a copy."
She holds her camera so that Yusei and Crow can see the screen. On it is a picture that clearly shows two Wheel of Fortunes, and their riders. Both riders also appear to be Jack Atlas.
"Bu-How the heck is that even possible!? Jack's Runner is one-of-a-kind!" Crow exclaims.
"I was sort of hoping you guys could tell me," Carly admits. She returns the camera to her bag. "So, um, if you find anything, can you call me? I'm hoping to write a story to clear Jack's name, but I need some more facts first."
"Sure," Yusei says. Carly grins and leaves.
"Well that changes things," Crow says, ending an awkward silence.
"Yeah." Yusei stops, and remembers something. "Crow, wasn't there two spots of that safety barrier that was shattered?"
"D'ya think you're on to something?"
"Think about it. If Sky crashed through the wall, she wouldn't have made two holes in the barrier, especially not that far apart."
"There was a person who crashed before Sky did."
"Maybe."
XXX
Sky's POV
On the screen-thing, the image shows part of a cliff. Whatever this is comes with sound too, because I can hear someone talking. It's Yusei.
"Crow, I don't think anything's here."
"Wait," I hear the reply, "I think I see something. It's at the bottom of the cliff."
My ginger haired friend comes into view on the screen.
"What the *h-word* is this?" Jack asks from behind me. I still hate the fact that I can't move.
"I think this is happening right now," I reply.
Is that what it is, Reshiram? I think. There isn't an answer, which shocks me.
But before I can go in depth into this discovery, there's a gasp of surprise from the screen.
"Oh no," Crow's voice sounds. On screen, his face looks like it's in shock. He's looking at a card, but the image only shows the edge of it.
"What is that? Is it one of Jack's cards?" Now Yusei appears on the screen, bending down next to Crow.
Crow's face scrunches up in pain. "It's Trust Guardian. He-he wouldn't drop this." The card falls out of Crow's hand. "Something's happened. I-I can't believe I said all that mean stuff to him!"
"Crow, calm down."
"No… He could be gone, and-and… I'm sorry Jack!"
Behind me, Jack snorts.
"Hey, it's not funny!" I say, wishing I could move my arm to whack him. "Neither of them know where we are. How would you feel if, oh, Carly vanished and no one could find her?"
Stunned silence follows, and I concentrate on the screen. I expect to see more of what Crow and Yusei were doing, but the scene shifts.
XXX
Third Person
"It's Trust Guardian. He-he wouldn't drop this." The card falls out of Crow's hand. "Something's happened. I-I can't believe I said all that mean stuff to him!"
"Crow, calm down."
"No… He could be gone, and-and… I'm sorry Jack!"
Yusei picks up the dropped Trust Guardian. "Just what happened?" he whispers.
A sudden ringing noise gets Yusei's and Crow's attention. Yusei grabs his phone and answers it.
"We've got trouble," Carly's voice says.
"What is it?" Yusei asks.
"Jack's been spotted on the highway again, and Sector Security is after him!"
XXX
Sky's POV
Now we're staring at the Imposter Jack, and he's laughing. It also appears that he is racing down a highway.
"Let me go!" Jack shouts with anger. I hear him struggle against whatever was holding him, but to no avail.
"Who are you?" I ask, hoping that the Imposter could hear us.
"And what do you think you're doing, pretending to be me?" Jack adds.
The Imposter stops laughing. "You don't get it, do you?" he asks in return. "I am you, Jack, a better you!" Then he laughs again.
I clench my fist and tug at the strange ropes. "No you're not!" I shout it anguish. "You're not!"
Now the Imposter is silent, and we can hear someone in the background shouting, "Come on, Jack! You're only making things worse-turn yourself in!"
I faintly recognize the voice to belong to Kaz, the officer that Jack had helped a few weeks ago.
Jack growls behind me. "When I get my hands on this Imposter, I swear I'll-"
He stops, because the screen shows three Sector Security officers and the Imposter enter a tunnel. The Imposter runs his Duel Runner against gravity and rides up the wall, across the ceiling, and down the other side.
When it runs across the ceiling, it shatters multiple lights. The glass flies down and makes two of the officers crash. Thankfully, it wasn't Kaz.
Kaz drives out of the smoke from his partners' crash and shouts, "Jack, stop! This isn't like you! You're a good guy!"
The Imposter laughs, and then speaks directly to Jack. "Did you hear that? He thinks you're a good guy! How very sweet… I guess it's safe to say he doesn't know you very well, isn't it?"
"Stop ruining my name!" Jack shouts. He struggles again, and when he can't break free of his ropes, he screams in frustration.
What comes through the screen next is completely unexpected.
XXX
Third Person
As soon as they got the call, Yusei and Crow rushed to the site Jack had been seen at. They see Kaz is the only officer still chasing the imposter.
"Hey Officer Kaz!" Crow shouts, getting both the officer and the imposter's attention.
"Stay back guys, you can't get involved," Kaz says towards the two.
"That isn't Jack, Kaz, it's some sort of loser imposter!" Crow shouts back. Yusei and Crow pull up alongside Kaz.
Kaz looks at Crow, shocked. "What are you talking about, of course it's Jack?!"
"No, it's not! He's a fake!" Yusei replies.
"A fake?!"
The Imposter laughs. "Sounds like someone can't accept that I finally decided to be who I really am!"
Crow looks up, angry. "You are not Jack Atlas." He lowers his head slightly. "Sure, Jack's an arrogant and selfish ego-maniac, and he always eats my cereal, but he's my buddy, and 'cause of you I said some horrible things I can't take back now! You know what it's like to know you might not be able to apologize to your friend?"
XXX
Sky's POV
On screen, the Imposter laughs. "Sounds like someone can't accept that I finally decided to be who I really am!"
Crow looks up, angry. "You are not Jack Atlas." He lowers his head slightly. "Sure, Jack's an arrogant and selfish ego-maniac, and he always eats my cereal, but he's my buddy, and 'cause of you I said some horrible things I can't take back now! You know what it's like to know you might not be able to apologize to your friend?"
"I'm right here Crow!" Jack says.
"We're both here…" I whisper, and continue watching.
Crow is continuing his rant to the Imposter. "But even if I can't tell my friend that I'm sorry, I can at least try to do things right by kicking your sorry butt," he says.
I bite my lip. "Crow, that Imposter beat Jack and me. I don't know if you even have a chance."
"You lost to that loser?" Jack asks in shock. "I thought you weren't supposed to lose to anyone."
"Maybe if I hadn't gone in to that Duel angry and thinking you were dead I wouldn't have lost," I snap. I blink, realizing what I said. "Sorry, I'm a little frustrated right now."
"Heh, so am I," Jack says.
Back on the screen, the Imposter smirks. "Go ahead and try, pipsqueak," he says. Then he slows down, right in front of Crow. There's a flash of light, I hear Crow scream, and Jack shouts, "No!"
The screen shows the Blackbird flip, and Crow land on the ground. As Yusei passes him, he asks, "Are you okay?"
"Ahahah, that little joke thought he could take me on, but a champion like me devours pipsqueaks like him on a daily basis!"
I shake my head. Is this what Jack sounded like when he was the 'King'? Geez, he is annoying.
"No way!" Yusei shouts. "If you were really Jack Atlas, you'd know that 'little joke' is one of your best buds, and you wouldn't do anything to hurt your friends."
The Imposter rolls his eyes. "A champion has no use for friends; only losers sit around and depend on friends, champions reign alone!"
"That's a lie!" I shout, just as the screen starts to fog up.
Apparently it's not the screen; the fog was actually there, because Kaz yells, "Look out!"
I hear a shout from Yusei, but the fog completely blocks the image.
"Yusei!" both Jack and I yell at the same time.
"That does it!" I screech, and struggle harder against the ropes.
"No one messes with my mates and gets away with it!" Jack shouts. He also struggles, and I hear electricity buzz for a few seconds.
There's a blinding light, and then I see nothing, but I feel the ropes have broken off. I reach up and pull off a visor, turn, and see Jack do the same thing.
"You okay Jack?" I ask.
"I will be once I stop that Imposter," he says in reply.
We look around and discover we're in some sort of cave. Luckily, whoever put us in here also put our Duel Runners in here.
"Great!" I exclaim as we get on our Runners. "Let's go catch up to them!"
Jack starts his Runner and races through some wooden boards that were covering the entrance. It's almost sunset, but that doesn't bother us.
All we have to do is get to the Imposter before he hurts someone else.
XXX
Me: And that's a wrap! *Blinks* Oh God, I think I spent too much time in Pokéstar Studios.
Sky: Uh…
Me: Never mind. I'm not really in the mood to talk right now, so I'm just going to ask for reviews-
Crow: I'll flame it!
Me: Yeah, and then for people to check out the Professor Layton video game series. It needs to be much more known. I attempted to dress up as Descole from it, but everyone said I was the Phantom of the Opera. AGH! *Runs out of room*
Sky: Wow.