Me: Uhm… I really don't have much to talk about right now, so I'm just going to cut to the chase. There are three death scenes in this chapter… Hehe, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds, but I do own my OCs and, I think, Z-ONE's backstory for the moment. Enjoy…?

Chapter 61

My mouth is moving, but words aren't coming out. I want to voice my questions, but I can't seem to find my voice. If… if that's really what gives Psychics their powers…

"Surprised? I was too; we all were," Z-ONE says. "The revelations in that journal—which was only a record of the experiments they ran—didn't stop there. Oh, there were many that were just as surprising. Like the fact that those who see Duel Spirits don't concentrate Momentum for their ability. Or the fact that Psychics are dependent on the Momentum in their hearts—remove it, and they die a painful death within minutes."

"What sort of experiments were they running?" I ask in horror.

"Ones where some of the participants didn't survive," he replies. "Oh, but those aren't the worst of them. The worst has to be the one about them figuring out how to control Psychics. Of how to let them function normally, but fully conformed to the will of whoever controlled the machine."

"How is that worse than figuring out an easy way to kill people?" I ask.

"Because… Divine—the man you call Sayer—he was the one in charge of the machine."

Oh, that's lovely. If Divine is anywhere near the level or evil that Sayer is, then him having control of a device like that doesn't sound good. At all. I mean, Sayer was willing to kill people to get what he wanted. Divine has killed people, if he helped in these experiments.

Then I remember what he said about the mind control device being the worst of them. "What did… What did Divine do with the device?"

XXX

The lunch table is missing several people. Aki, Rua, Angel, Ruka. All nowhere to be seen. Crow looks a little unnerved by this, because his sister is one of the missing, and the rest of the table's occupants (other than Jack) are clearly worried. Natsumi has the second journal, and is looking through it.

"Why aren't they here?" Yusei asks.

"I have no idea," Crow replies. "I know Angel was called for early release last period. Something's fishy though, because whenever she gets called, I get to leave too. And I don't remember there being any type of appointment today…"

"Am I the only one who finds it strange that the people who are missing are affiliated with the Arcadia Movement?"

The table's occupants turn around to see a dark-haired girl with thick glasses staring at them. She blushes a little, and adds, "Uh, I was… just saying…"

"You're probably right, Carly," Yusei says. "Last night, Crow stole two journals from his uncle's office—he's working with Divine on something. We just don't know—"

"Uh, guys!" Natsumi exclaims. "I think I just figured out what it is!"

"What?"

A sudden commotion at the entrance of the cafeteria blocks out what Natsumi was trying to say. The crowd of noisy people parts at one place, and someone runs through—Rua, in an Arcadian uniform, breathless and with a bruise across his face.

"Rua! What happened to you?" Yusei asks.

"They, the machine… he… Divine turned it on… not themselves… tried to kill me…" The green-haired boy stops, takes a few breaths, and steadies himself. "Divine turned on the machine that lets him control people and now all of the Psychics, no…" he shakes his head, "just Angel and Aki. They've both gone berserk, and he ordered them to kill everyone! I… I don't know where Ruka is, either. We got se-separated inside…" At that statement, he bursts into tears.

"It's started, then," Natsumi says as her brother comforts Leo. She holds up the journal. "Rudger… he wrote out what he suspects Divine's plan to be. He-he plans to get rid of all the people in the Movement he doesn't need, and then… and then use the remaining ones to storm Father's workplace and take control of Momentum! Do you know what he could do with that power?"

"He needs to be stopped," Yusei says.

"Let's formulate a plan first, alright?" Alice says. "Then we'll cut school and try to stop them."

XXX

"We were foolish, to think that a half-baked plan created by a few teenagers was going to change anything," Z-ONE says. The emotion in his eye is regret as he continues, "We thought that they'd still be at Arcadia HQ. Angel and Aki were, but not Divine or… or you. You were already at Father's workplace along with Divine and Rudger."

XXX

Yusei, Natsumi, Jack, Alice, Crow, and Rua are running through some sort of hallway. Other than them, it's empty and relatively silent; just their footsteps echoing off the walls.

And then they turn the corner.

The first thing they register is the overwhelming scent of copper, or rather, blood.

The second thing they register are the bodies. Dozens of them, all on the floor, in puddles of their own blood. Dead or dying.

The third thing they register is the lone person standing at the end of the hall. Aki. She looks at them but doesn't see, her eyes giving off a dead light rather than the normal energy.

"Aki! Did you do this?" Yusei asks.

"Divine has no room for weaklings," she says coldly. "Nor is there room for people who would interfere with his plans!" In one fluid motion, she slams a card onto her Duel Disk.

Her signature dragon appears in a storm of rose petals, and roars.

Jack steps in front of the group. "Izayoi! Duel me!"

"Jack, what are you doing?" Alice asks. "You're going to get yourself hurt… or worse…"

"I'm buying you guys time! Keep going!"

"I'm not leaving you!" his sister retorts, folding her arms.

"I'll… stay too… Need to… catch my breath," Rua agrees.

Jack snarls a little, but turns to Yusei, Natsumi, and Crow. "Then you three keep going. We'll catch up as soon as I defeat Aki."

"Defeat me?" Aki asks. Then she laughs, "I accept your challenge, Atlas!" She removes Black Rose Dragon from her Duel Disk, and returns it to her Extra Deck.

Crow and Natsumi start running again, and Yusei reluctantly follows them. As they run past Aki, the magenta-haired girl shouts, "Angel will deal with you!"

XXX

They turn into another hallway, one with about as much carnage as the one they found Aki in. The only difference is that Crow stops, shouting, "Ruka!"

One of the bodies in the hallway belongs to the green-haired girl, who has her eyes shut and mouth half-open. Upon hearing her name, her eyes shoot open. "Crow?"

"Dammit Ruka, you nearly gave me a heart attack," Crow replies, running over to her side and helping her off the floor.

"Sorry! I didn't know if either of them would come back, so I just played dead to my best ability," Ruka replies. "Is Rua alright?"

"He's back in the other hallway with Jack and Alice… and Aki," Yusei replies.

Her golden eyes widen. "With Aki? No, she's only going to… I have to go back there! I have to stop Aki!"

Crow catches her before she starts running. "No, you don't. Jack's taking care of it, and trust me, he's gonna win, not some brainwashed person."

"But…" Ruka looks longingly down the hall, like she still wants to make a break for it. "Okay, I… I trust you." She turns to face the other direction. "Here, I'll take you to Divine's office. If he's still here, that's where he'll be."

XXX

The four step off of the elevator, and Ruka points to the right. "It's at the end of this hallway," she says.

"Well, what are we waiting for? There's an insane sociopath to stop!" Natsumi announces, moving to the front of the group.

"Wait," her brother says, grabbing her arm. "Something doesn't feel right…"

As he says this, there's a faint zipping sound, and an arrow whizzes through the air, narrowly missing Natsumi—it's less than an inch from her face—before it lands in the wall and quickly turns to dust. The black-haired girl—and her friends—all have the same reaction. That is, to drop to the floor, anticipating more arrows.

The anticipation is correct; two more fly overhead before one of them can locate the archer. Angel stands at the end of the hallway to the left, eyes with the same dead look that Aki had. A bow is in her hand, with another arrow already notched. She aims it at Ruka.

"Angel! Stop it!" Crow shouts.

Understanding returns to her eyes just for a moment, and Angel asks, "Crow…?" But then she blinks, and the lifeless look returns. She aims the arrow at Crow this time.

Crow's face pales as he quickly scrambles off the floor, dragging Ruka up with him. "We'll lead her away from here, Yusei! You and Natsumi keep going!" Then he motions to Ruka, and the two run at the brainwashed Angel.

The orange-haired girl lowers her bow and frowns, like she's trying to remember something but can't. She shakes her head and turns—because Crow and Ruka have already run past her and turned the corner—and chases after them.

Yusei helps his younger sister off of the floor. He looks in the direction that his friends went. "You think it's possible to break someone free from the mind control device?"

"Well, Angel did, for a second," Natsumi replies. She turns to face the right side of the hallway. "No time for that, though. If Divine is here, then he's in there," she points to the door at the end of the hallway, "just like Ruka said."

The two slowly approach the door, exchange looks, and then open it with a stolen key card. They walk into the room. It's large, with the exterior wall entirely glass, like a giant window. There are several statues and bookshelves against the dark walls, and there is a desk on the other side of the room. There is a chair there, its back turned towards the two Fudos.

"Divine! We know what you're planning, and we won't let you do it!" Yusei declares.

A short chuckle comes from the other side of the chair. "Oh, Yusei, I am not Divine." The chair spins around, revealing Rex Godwin is sitting in it. He clasps his hands together and rests his elbows on the desk, placing his head on top of his hands. "Are you absolutely certain you know what Divine is planning?"

A flicker of surprise crosses Yusei's face, but it quickly disappears.

"He's going to attack Father's workplace, and take control of Momentum," Natsumi replies.

"Yes, but for what?" Godwin replies.

"It doesn't matter what for; what matters is stopping him!" Yusei replies.

Godwin shakes his head, "Such narrow thinking. I see you've both inherited that from your mother."

Rage flares in Yusei's eyes, "What do you know about her?"

Natsumi gasps. "You can't possibly…!" She looks at her brother, "Yusei, remember what Sky said, before she ran away? She mentioned the name 'Godwin', and we assumed it meant Rudger… but…"

"She was probably referring to me," Rex finishes. "After all, I was there when she killed your mother."

"You're lying!" Yusei snaps. "Sky would never kill anyone, much less our mother!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, you're forgetting the mind control device," Godwin replies. "Sky was the first successful test subject to use it on. …Too bad your mother had to poke her nose in where it didn't belong." He unclasps his hands and stands up. "And then Ryuu began to get suspicious, so we had to leave Sky alone. A shame, too. She was the first successful subject in many of our experiments."

"Quit talking about my sister like she's some sort of object!" Natsumi shouts.

XXX

"The rest of that conversation ended up being Godwin talking about why he and Rudger helped Sayer with all of the experiments—supposedly, it was all for science," Z-ONE cuts it as the scene mutes and fast forwards at the same time.

Now it has Yusei yelling at Godwin, and Natsumi, fists clenched and head down, clearly about to burst…

XXX

"…You're lying," Natsumi says when her brother stops mid-rant to take a breath.

"Hmm? And what makes you say that?" Godwin replies, staring at the younger Fudo.

"Well, for starters, it's your field of work. You're a politician, not a scientist," Natsumi starts. "And you certainly weren't at some sort of position like being the Director of New Domino back when this started—you wouldn't have been able to cover much of anything up back then. Combined with the fact that Rudger's second journal doesn't mention you at all until several years after the experiments first started. So… why you? Why did you start helping them?"

A look of surprise fills the older man's face. Stuns him to silence, in fact. "I… I can't… say."

"So you admit you never wanted anything to do with it?" Natsumi asks.

Godwin's face turns white, and now he clenches his fists. He grits his teeth. "I. Can't. Say."

"Because you're scared of Divine aren't you? Because he's listening to this entire thing, right?"

Silence.

Natsumi smirks. "Your silence speaks words, Godwin. See, I think I've got your motive in this figured out. You had no idea this entire thing was going on, but then Rudger told you about the entire thing. Divine wasn't going to let this stand, so it was either stay quiet and join… or die like… like my mother."

More silence.

"I don't think it started there, either. You were helping Mother, weren't you? The two of you were going to come clean with everything to Security. Buuuuuut that's when Divine ordered the brainwashed Sky to kill her, and you had to bury your plans deep. Divine must've still suspected something, so instead of directly threatening your life, he got your daughter into the project. That's why Angel's out in this building, trying to murder Crow and Ruka—"

"That wasn't part of the deal!" Godwin snaps. As soon as he does so, he flinches back, shaking his head. "Gah…"

"And… what was the deal?"

Godwin glares at Natsumi, "I… I would stay quiet about the event, and in return, my family would be allowed to live. I never wanted Angel in this, but when she developed psychic abilities… Divine jumped at the chance to further blackmail me into submission. Then… then it became a deal of keeping Angel out of the… the experiments where the participants would probably die."

The room goes quiet again.

"I was right, then," Natsumi says, breaking the silence. "I didn't think you were so… uncaring when it came to human lives. You were doing it all to keep Crow and Angel and… Miyuki is your wife's name, right? You were doing it to keep them safe."

"What… what does it matter now?!" Rex snaps, actually on the verge of tears. "You've doomed us all!"

"Doomed us?" Yusei asks. "What are you talking about?"

The door—the only exit other than the window, but considering the room is many floors above the ground, that isn't an option—makes several strange clicking noises and shuts by itself. Yusei whips around and tries to open it back up. The reader rejects the card, and he can't seem to find a decent enough grip on the door to get it open.

"What did you do?" Yusei asks, turning around and staring at Rex.

"What did I do? No, this is Divine's doing, and now we're all going to be dead in moments!"

The grey-haired, grey-eyed man slowly turns around to face the window, and shrugs off his suit jacket, revealing the white long-sleeve underneath…

…And a black device with a bright red countdown strapped over it tightly.

01:00… 00:59… 00:58…

"Is that a…? Why didn't you tell us about that in the first place?!" Yusei shouts.

"He only started the countdown once I mentioned the deal!" Godwin replies in an equally loud voice.

"What can we do?" Natsumi asks.

"Nothing, unfortunately. Now that the timer has started, it won't stop, nor can you defuse it," he replies.

00:46… 00:45… 00:44…

"So you're just giving up?" Natsumi asks.

"I have no other choice…" He closes his eyes and shakes his head. "I'm sorry. For all that it's worth, I'm sorry."

"Then let us help! We can defuse the bomb!" Yusei replies.

00:33… 00:32… 00:31…

"Not with less than half a minute left. Divine showed me the device before he forced it on me. It's… a very complicated device, and that's putting it extremely lightly," Rex says. "There… there is another way out of here, though. The two… the two of you can try to… put a stop to Divine's plans."

"Not without you!" Natsumi shouts. "I… I've heard how highly Crow and Angel talk about you! You… you can't just… die!"

The man smiles sadly at the two siblings. "Then, when this is all settled… please, tell them I'm sorry and that I love them."

"Godwin—"

00:04… 00:03… 00:02…

Rex moves something on the desk, and a trap door opens below the two Fudos. For a split second, they stare at him in shock, before gravity kicks in and they fall.

00:01… 00:00…

They can feel the force and the heat of the explosion even as they fall.

XXX

Yusei and Natsumi are on the former's Duel Runner, the latter holding on to the seat and her brother as they ride throughout the streets of New Domino. Yusei is trying to focus on the road and not cry, while Natsumi, taking full advantage of being the passenger, is silently letting the tears flow.

"We… we're going to have to tell them… what-what happened…" Natsumi says, voice cracking.

"I know," Yusei replies. "And if we don't make it there in time…"

They'll have to tell Angel that she killed her brother.

"We'll make it," Natsumi says confidently. "We're only a minute away."

The two fall silent, if only for a moment. A moment, because the computer announces, "There is an incoming video call from Father. Do you accept or deny it?"

Yusei doesn't even wait for the CPU to stop talking, "Accept! I accept the call!"

The screen blinks and changes, to where the background is a fuzzy grey, and at the center is a blurry form of Dr. Fudo, running as fast as he can. It looks like he has the arm with his phone in front of him, and held relatively steady.

"Father!" Yusei shouts. "Father, just keep running! We're almost there—we're pulling into the parking lot right now!"

"No!" Dr. Fudo shouts through the call. "No, you have to turn around! Find your friend Sherry, and get as far away from here as possible!"

"She's hardly a friend, Father. I barely know her," Yusei says. "But why Sherry?"

"She has one of the two keys for Divine's plan to fully work. You… you have the other."

"I don't understand. What keys?"

"The card, Z-ONE, and… the heart of Momentum."

"The heart… of Momentum? But isn't that the Reactor?" Yusei asks.

"It… it was, before—"

A loud sound like an explosion comes from the other end of the call, blocking out their father's words. The background is no longer blurry, because Dr. Fudo has stopped running. He slowly looks down, and both Yusei and Natsumi's eyes widen in horror when the video link reveals why.

There is a bullet hole in his stomach area, profusely spitting out blood.

Another miniature explosion, and a second hole appears in his chest. And Dr. Fudo falls to the floor.

The phone crashes, and the computer abruptly turns black.

"No!" Yusei shouts.

"Father!" Natsumi sobs. Her face scrunches up, and more tears start falling. "Why… why him…? Why did they have to take him from us too?! FATHER!"

She lets go of the Duel Runner and moves to having her arms around Yusei, burrowing her head in his shoulder and just letting it all out.

XXX

"Alright, something's wrong here," Natsumi comments bitterly as they walk through the hallways of MIDS. "We haven't found anyone, regardless of whether or not they're dying or already dead. There is absolutely no sign of the bastard or any of the people he brought here. So… where are all of the people?"

"I don't know," Yusei replies. "We should stay on our toes, though. I don't… I can't lose you too."

"Ditto," Natsumi agrees. "We'll find Divine and make him pay for everything! I'm sure of it!"

They continue walking in silence, looking in every room they pass for signs of life. All of them are practically the same—neatly packed away aside from several stray coffee cups or some papers.

After looking in the seventh room, Natsumi perks up into 'alert mode'. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Footsteps. Not our own, and… following us, I think," she replies.

They look back the way they came. Yusei frowns and shakes his head. "I don't see anyone back there. Maybe you were just—!"

"Yusei! Look out!" Natsumi shouts. She'd turned back around, and must have seen something, because the next thing Yusei knows is his face meeting the carpet.

"Oof," he mutters, rolling over. "Next time, don't push me to the—Natsumi!"

All he can see now is the slightly curved blade, stained with red, sticking out of his little sister's chest.

The owner of the katana slowly pulls it back, and with the leverage gone, Natsumi falls to the floor.

The sword-wielding stranger all but forgotten, Yusei jumps to his sister's aid. He flips her over… and realizes there isn't anything he can do.

The blade had gone through her heart.

To be continued…

Sky: *Slams head into the wall repeatedly* Why was I expecting something different from this…?

Me: What were you expecting?

Sky: *Stops banging head* Uh… more fantasy-like deaths or something? But the mundane ones are… arguably better, I think. And what was that about the heart of Momentum?

Me: *Evil grin* You'll find out, either in the next chapter or the one after. Depends on how detailed Jack, Rua, Ruka, Mrs. Fudo (in a video), Aki, and Rudger's deaths are.

Sky: What about the other me? What about her death?

Me: Yours is the last, and comes after Divine explains everything.

Sky: Lucy's told you about it?

Me: Yeah, in a rough outline…

Sky: Great, sounds lovely…

Me: *Shrugs* It probably will be. Eh, I don't have anything else right now, so I'm just going to ask for reviews! They always make my day!