A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF LAST OF US OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS OF BOTH!
Chapter 2: Friends
10 Months Later…
It had been ten months since Yusei arrived with the Fireflies. He had already faced the Infected a couple times and he knew that he would never be able to get over the feeling it had on him when he first killed one.
Now, he was with Marlene in a Quarantine Zone, grabbing weapons from a guy named Robert.
"Here's the money," Marlene told the weapons dealer, handing it over.
"Pleasure doing business with you," Robert responded handing over the guns. He nodded at Yusei and Marlene, who nodded back in respect.
The two Fireflies walked out and went up to a hideout in an old factory. They set the guns on the ground and Marlene stated, "Next up is to get these to the guys hiding out on the rim."
"What're we going to do at Salt Lake City?" Yusei asked.
"Our base is at a hospital there," she explained. "We'll get any wounded treated and try to find out why your immune."
"That's still bugging me," Yusei responded.
"Come on," she stated with a grin.
They picked up the weapons again and carefully walked through the city. They reached the point and Marlene sent out a whistle which was immediately returned with the same one. Two Firefly soldiers, Max and Donald, appeared behind a gate to the outside. Yusei and Marlene silently handed over the weapons.
"Alright, you two, get these to Salt Lake City. Yusei and I will find our way out," Marlene ordered.
"Yes, ma'am," they agreed before walking off.
"Come on, Yusei," she called and they began to run back.
"Yusei, we'll be rendezvousing with our group at the Capitol Building first," Marlene instructed.
"Why?" he asked.
"Because they'll be escorting you to Salt Lake," she answered.
"What about you?" Yusei asked.
"I'll meet you there after I make sure the last base is cleared and safe," Marlene replied.
"Alright," he agreed seeing no reason to argue. "Just make sure you get there in one piece."
They slowed down to a walk and began to move through the back alleys to avoid detection from the military.
"Hey, you two!" yelled an officer. They looked at him. "What're you doing in these back alleys?"
"We're walking," Marlene answered bluntly.
"Well get out to the main streets," the officer ordered.
"Why?" Yusei asked.
"Don't make me repeat myself," the officer ordered. He paused. "Wait, you're Fireflies! I would know that woman anywhere! Get down and get ready to be shot!"
"Not a chance," Marlene responded. She then whispered to Yusei, "Run."
Yusei nodded slowly and they took off in the opposite direction. The officer shot a couple rounds but stopped as they got out of view. Yusei looked at Marlene to see her clutching her side, with her hand covered in blood.
"Marlene, we need to stop. You need medical attention," he told her.
"Yusei, you're fully capable of getting out of the Quarantine Zone and to the Capitol Building on your own, right?" she asked.
"Of course," he answered.
"Then I need you to do that," she ordered.
"No way, Marlene. Not with you hurt like this," he refused.
"Yusei, as your leader and friend, I am ordering you to get out of here and to the Capitol Building," Marlene ordered.
Yusei sighed in defeat. "Alright. But I better see you at Salt Lake," he agreed before they ran off in separate directions. Yusei reached the secret exit quickly and looked back once before running through.
As he entered the surrounding, abandoned cities, he slowed down again and pulled out his shotgun, readying it to shoot an Infected if he needed to.
. . .
Jack, Crow, Akiza, Leo, and Luna were hanging around the garage. It had been ten months since Yusei disappeared and they were beyond worried.
"Where do you think Yusei is?" Luna asked, disrupting the silence.
"I don't know," Jack answered.
"Do you think he's alright?" Leo asked.
"I hope he is," Crow answered.
Suddenly their marks started glowing bright. "What's going on?" Akiza asked as their arms began to release a light.
It soon engulfed all of them and they blacked out.
. . .
Jack and the others slowly woke up. They looked around to see themselves in a destroyed, wrecked office building.
"Where are we?" Crow asked as Akiza walked to a window.
"It's almost like a bomb hit this place," Jack commented.
"Guys," Akiza called and they looked at her, "you might want to see this." They walked beside her to see an entire city looking as if it was destroyed and bombed.
They heard a clicking, almost chirping sound coming from behind them and turned as a humanoid creature with fungus on its face walked in, almost like a zombie.
"What the…?" Crow muttered.
It snapped to them, screeching loudly. It began to run at them, with obvious intention of killing them. Suddenly, a gunshot went off and the creature's head exploding into a mesh of blood and flesh.
"Who did…?" Jack began but a familiar voice cut him off.
"Are you guys okay?" they asked and the group looked to see Yusei walking up.
"Yusei?!" Akiza exclaimed.
More clicking sounds came and Yusei ordered, "Get down and be quiet!"
They all crouched behind a fallen bookshelf when a couple other of those creatures walked in. They were all shocked how serious and focused Yusei was as he watched the creatures. He looked around and saw a brick next to them.
Yusei looked at his friends and told them in the smallest of whispers, "Whatever you do, stay right behind me and don't make a sound." They gave him confused looks as he picked up the brick and tossed it away from them. It hit the ground and shattered with a loud thud. The beings jumped and began to hurry over to the brick. "Follow me," he ordered his friends again in a whisper.
He began to silently walk passed the creatures. His friends were quick to follow. When they were out of the room, Yusei led them down the stairs silently until they reached ground floor. Yusei paused for a moment and looked around. The others were shocked to see humans walking around like zombies, only they had veins popping out and cut marks on their bodies and their eyes were glazed over.
"Great…" Yusei muttered. He pulled out a bow and aimed an arrow at a person.
"What're you going to…?" Crow was cut off as Yusei released the arrow into the person's head and killed him. Yusei launched another arrow at another and killed that one. He then killed the last one.
Yusei seemed to focus for a moment before walking out and yanking his arrows back and placing them in a sheath. He looked at his friends who seemed in a state of shock.
"Come on, guys," he ordered. "We'll talk once we get to a safe area."
"Like where?" Jack asked.
"We'll find out when we find it," Yusei answered. "For now, follow me and stay close. Can't have you getting infected."
"Infected?" Luna repeated.
"Come on," Yusei pushed and they walked out of the building without any more trouble. They walked for a while before they found themselves in a large building that was obviously amazing in its prime.
"What is this place?" Akiza asked.
"This is the Capitol Building," Yusei answered. "We'll be safe here for now. Just be ready to run at a moment's notice."
"Run from what?" Jack asked.
"Infected or military," Yusei answered.
"Why is the military after you?" Crow asked.
"They're not after me specifically. They're after the group I'm in called the Fireflies. They see us as terrorists but really, all we're doing is surviving," Yusei explained.
"Yusei, why did you kill those people?" Luna asked.
He looked down. "Those weren't people anymore," he answered vaguely.
"What do you mean?" Jack asked.
Yusei looked back at them. "They were Infected. You did notice the first creatures that I saved you from, right?" he replied and they nodded. "Those are Clickers. They are what happen to those who have been infected for a long time. Some even become Bloaters. Infected are people who have been infected with the Cordyceps Brain Infection disease. Also known as CBI for short. It's a fungus that, once it's in you, takes control of your mind and body. It makes you aggressive and want to kill everything in sight. In a way, I am giving them mercy by killing them."
"What about people who aren't Infected?" Akiza asked. "Like the military. Do you have to kill them too?"
"Only out of self defense. I will usually try to sneak passed them," Yusei explained. "The only things I will kill without hesitation is Infected. Now explain to me how you guys got to that building and why you were there in the first place."
"We don't really know," Crow answered. "We just saw a big light from our marks before we blacked out."
"Better hope you can find a way back," Yusei answered. "I need to get to Salt Lake City." They looked at the dead bodies around them. "And considering all that's here is bodies from other Fireflies," Yusei's friends turned back to him, "I would say I'm heading there on my own."
"No way, Yusei," Jack immediately refused. "You'll need our help."
"And what do you think you'll be able to do against the Infected?" he responded sternly.
"We can fight them too," Leo replied.
"I'm not sure about that," Yusei responded. "If you want to face one of these things, you'll want to use a gun. And I know none of you have any experience with a gun."
"We still want to be by you, Yusei," Akiza responded.
Yusei sighed. "Alright," he agreed. "But you'll have to do what I say when it comes to facing the Infected and military."
"Yusei, if you get Infected, how long does it take before it starts to affect you?" Luna asked.
"A couple hours, at most," Yusei answered. "It's not something you'll want to see, either."
"Is there a cure?" Akiza asked.
"Not one known. But the Fireflies think I'm the key to a vaccine," Yusei replied.
"Why is that?" Jack asked.
Yusei turned a bit so he didn't face them. "Because I'm immune to the virus," he answered.
"You're immune?" Luna repeated.
"How is that possible?" Akiza asked.
He looked at them over his shoulder a bit. "That's the question, isn't it? They're going to find out at the Salt Lake City base," he replied.
"Wait, how do they know you're immune?" Crow asked.
Yusei turned to them completely and yanked up his left sleeve to show his bite mark. They all gasped at the sight of it. "Don't know when I got bitten but it's been at least ten months since I did. I should've turned long ago," he explained.
"But you didn't," Akiza commented.
"No, I didn't. I haven't even shown the effects of it," Yusei responded. "So they think I'm immune to the virus. And the only way to tell why is at Salt Lake City Hospital." Suddenly people giving orders as the sound of a couple trucks pulling up caught their ears. "Alright, follow me and stay right on me. If you lag behind and get caught, they'll kill you." He began to run towards the stairs. "Come on!"