They were flying towards the Satellite, and a thunder storm was raging outside. "Lightning Golem, can you make sure the lightning doesn't strike the helicopter?" Alex asked. Lightning Golem said he'd do his best before going outside and using his powers to divert the lightning away from the helicopter.

"The sooner we arrive, the sooner I can get my revenge on Misty," Alex thought to himself. "Alex, you need to calm down," Yubel warned, seeing the rage boiling inside of Alex. "Don't worry, I won't let my anger cloud my judgment," he assured. Yubel looked at Alex with concern before disappearing.

Meanwhile, Mina was telling everyone about the Zero Reverse Incident, and how Yusei's father was in charge of the Ener-D Reactor project. "Wait, why did they put some nobody from Satellite in charge of such an important project?" Trudge asked, but Jack told him Yusei and his father were actually from New Domino City.

"So you're saying this Satellite reject isn't actually a Satellite reject?" Trudge asked. "I was born in the Satellite, Trudge. Got a problem with that?" Jack asked in turn, to which Trudge responded no and turned back around. "That's what I thought," was all Jack responded with.

"Does anyone else feel uncomfortable about this lightning? One strike and we're done for. I think we should turn around," Trudge suggested. "Our primary directive is to reach the Satellite," Mina reinforced. Yusei walked up and tapped Trudge on the shoulder to get his attention, pointing to a park in the distance and telling him to land next to it.

Trudge asked why, but Mina told him to just do it. Trudge did as ordered and landed where Yusei told him. They all walked out and were met by Yusei, Jack, and Crow's childhood caretaker Martha, who ran up to Jack. "Look at you Jacky boy," she said as she sized Jack up.

"Hi Martha," Jack said awkwardly. All the kids ran out to see Yusei, welcoming him and many of them were surprised to see Jack. "Wow, I thought everyone from the Satellite would be creepy and sad," Leo said as he watched the kids ask Jack and Yusei for dueling tips.

"I know, they seem so friendly," Luna added. "These kids deserve a better life than this," Alex thought to himself, understanding why Yusei was so adamant about the bridge. "That's how they trick you. They're all just liars and thieves," Trudge said callously "Yubel, you want to knock him down a peg?" Alex asked, although he was pretty sure he knew her answer.

"Like you need to ask," Yubel responded before making a rose vine sprout in Trudge's path, causing him to trip and land flat on his face. One of the kids, Taka, ran up to Trudge. "Are you okay mister?" he asked. Trudge stood up and dusted himself off. "I'm fine, now what do you want?" Trudge asked.

"You're from Sector Security aren't you?" Taka inquired, noting Trudge's uniform. "Yeah, what about it?" Trudge asked, getting a little annoyed with the kid. "That's so cool. I wanna be part of Sector Security some day," Taka said excitedly. "Do you now? Well, play your cards right, and you just might someday," Trudge commended.

"So Martha, things sure seem quiet around here," Yusei said, noticing that almost no one was there. "That's because the fog's taken everyone," Martha informed before she led everyone inside and they sat down around a large table. "Yesterday, a strange black fog appeared out of nowhere and descended on the downtown area of Satellite, and when it cleared, everyone who was caught in the fog was gone," she continued.

"What do you mean?" Yusei asked. "They just vanished. Fortunately, the fog didn't come here, so we were safe, but I'm afraid everyone else-," Martha began to say, but she found trouble putting the words together. "We haven't seen or heard from Rally, Tank, Nervin, Blitz, or Crow since this happened," Blister finished.

"Are you serious?!" Yusei asked. "I'm afraid so Yusei," Martha confirmed. "I've heard enough," Alex said as he got up from the table and started walking out of the room. "Alex, where are you going?" Yusei asked. "I'm tired of sitting here and doing nothing. I'm going to go do something productive," Alex answered before leaving.

"He sure is an impatient one, isn't he?" Martha asked after he was gone. "I'm worried about him. He's almost obsessed with facing them again," Yusei said, growing more concerned about Alex's vendetta against Misty. "Facing who, Yusei?" Martha questioned. "The Dark Signers. They're the ones responsible for everyone's disappearance," Yusei informed.

Martha asked why Alex wanted to face them so badly, and Akiza told her about what happened to Alex's parents. "I see. So he wants revenge on them," Martha concluded. "Yeah, and that's what worries me. If Alex lets his anger get the best of him, then he may end up losing to them," Yusei added.

Jack got up and left the room as well. "Wait up Jack!" Mina shouted as she ran after him, but when she caught up to him, he was leaning against the playground equipment outside. Mina asked him what was wrong, but Jack just stood there silently. "It's about Carly isn't it?" Mina asked, Jack's noticeable flinching showing Mina she hit the nail on the head.

"Jack, there's something I should tell you. I care about you," Mina confessed. "I appreciate it Mina, but right now my only concern is Carly. Whatever happened to her was because of me. Carly was dragged into this because of me, so it's my fault. I have to find her," he responded. Trudge had been watching the whole ordeal from around the corner and was heartbroken after hearing Mina's declaration to Jack.

Martha walked up behind him and grabbed him by the ear, dragging him back inside into the kitchen. "What are you doing?" the officer asked once Martha released her grip. "I'm getting dinner ready, and you're gonna help," she answered. "You're putting me to work? I'm a guest," Trudge pointed out.

"Here, wear this," Martha said as she handed him an apron and had him chop the vegetables. She looked over his shoulder and saw he was cutting the pieces too big. She bonked on the back of the head with a ladle, telling him to cut them smaller. "Ow. Alright, alright, you don't have to hit me," Trudge responded.

Once he finished cutting the vegetables, Martha had Trudge get to work on cleaning the bathroom. "What does cleaning the bathroom have to do with making dinner?" Trudge asked, earning another bonk from Martha, this time with a plunger. "Nothing, but it needed a good scrubbing," she answered.

"I can help you," Taka offered as he grabbed a broom from the closet and started sweeping one of the stalls. "Thanks," Trudge said before turning to Martha. "He's a good kid. As for you lady, do you treat all your guests this way?" Trudge asked before continuing to scrub.

"Hasn't being active and helping someone else taken your mind off of things officer?" Martha asked. Trudge realized she was right and that he had stopped thinking about Mina. "The best way to deal with a broken heart is to stop dwelling, get out of your head, and make yourself useful. You see, here in Satellite we've had to become very good at coping with sadness and loss. Take Taka for example," Martha said as she gestured to the child in question.

"What about him?" Trudge asked. "When he was younger, he lost his home to a fire, but he was so grateful to the security officers who did everything they could to help that he never forgot their kindness. He decided he wanted to grow up and become a Sector Security officer himself. That's how he deals with his sadness, by trying to be helpful," Martha informed.

"So that's why he keeps following me around," Trudge said before realizing something. "But Martha, the law says that people from the Satellite can't become security officers," he informed with his voice lowered, not wanting to crush Taka's dream. "In this crazy world of ours, nothing is impossible, don't you think so?" Martha asked.

"I hope she's right. He's such a good kid, he doesn't deserve to live like this," Trudge thought to himself, his opinion on people from the Satellite beginning to change. Soon, dinner was served and everyone was in the dining room. Everyone except one person, that person being Alex. "Alex knows dinner is served, doesn't he?" Martha asked.

Luna told her Alex said he wasn't hungry, so Martha said she'd have to set some aside for him. Everyone began eating, the kids saying it was delicious, and when Taka told them Trudge helped make it, they all started thanking him. Trudge said it was no problem and lifted a spoonful to his mouth before swallowing, but his eyes bugged out and he raised his glass to his mouth, draining the whole thing in a couple of seconds.

"It's too spicy!" he exclaimed, causing everyone to laugh. "Hey kids, if we're able to win this battle, Goodwin's going to finish the bridge connecting Satellite to New Domino City. That bridge will bring people together, and will signal the beginning of a new era. One where you guys can grow up to be anything," Yusei promised. "I sure hope you're right!" Taka exclaimed.

"If they win this war, and society does change, then Taka can grow up and join Sector Security," Trudge thought to himself. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck the ground nearby and shattered one of the windows. "What was that?" Yusei asked while Martha checked to make sure everyone was okay.

They looked out the window and saw two figures standing outside. Upon closer inspection, one of them was revealed to be Alex. "It took you long enough to find me," Alex said, seeming to recognize the other person. "Well, I never imagined you would return to the Satellite, Alex," the other person said, still obscured from everyone in the house.

"I had a good reason to come back, Roman," Alex responded, revealing the person's identity to everyone. "Wait, that's Roman?" Yusei asked from inside. "Where's Misty?" Alex questioned. "What, am I not good enough of an opponent for you?" Roman asked, pretending to be insulted.

"I want payback on Misty for what she did to me and my parents. Now you can either tell me where she is or I can force it out of you in a duel," Alex threatened. "If you wish to duel me so badly, so be it," Roman responded as he raised his duel disk. "Not here. I won't let you take the spirits of the people here for your Earthbound Immortal," Alex said.

"Very well. In the spirit of good sportsmanship, you may choose the location of the duel," Roman offered. Alex snapped his fingers and his duel runner drove out of the shadow of the building, his helmet perched on the handlebar. "Impressive trick," Roman complimented as Alex walked over to his duel runner and strapped on his helmet.

"Meet me downtown," Alex said before taking off. "Jack, you stay here with Martha and everyone else, I'm going to follow them," Yusei said as he turned to his friend. Jack told Yusei to be careful and Akiza said she was going with him. They went outside and got on Yusei's duel runner, Yusei giving Akiza his spare helmet.

He told her to hang on tight before he gunned the motor, making tracks for downtown. They soon arrived and saw Alex and Roman were about to start dueling. "It's time to begin," Roman said before they both shouted "Let's duel!"

Alex: 4000 LP

Roman: 4000 LP

As soon as they started, purple flames sprouted in the streets, forming the spider geoglyph. "If you think this is going to scare me, you can think again, Roman," Alex informed as Yusei and Akiza approached from outside the barrier. "I see we have spectators," Roman observed.

"You should be focusing on me and not bystanders," Alex advised as Roman's mark, along with Yusei's, Akiza's, Jack's, and Luna's marks all lit up. "The duel is starting," Jack said as he stared at the geoglyph in the distance. Martha walked up to a door and opened it. "Come on everyone, in here," she said.

"But Taka's not here," one of the children said before another child noted that two other kids, John and Mitch, were also missing. "What? Where are they?" Martha asked before she realized exactly where they were. She rushed outside, Jack following behind her. When she got outside, she looked up and saw the spider geoglyph in the sky.

She ran in that direction, with Jack calling out for her. "I'm on it," Trudge said as he began following Martha. Back downtown, Alex and Roman's duel was just starting. "I'm going first Roman. I summon Evil HERO Stone Guardian in defense mode," Alex declared.

Level 4/Earth/Fiend

ATK 800/DEF 2000

"I end my turn," he concluded. "Interesting. It's my move, and I play the field spell Spider Web," Roman said as the field was covered in a giant spider web. "I never did like spiders," Alex commented. "A reasonable fear. Spiders can be quite dangerous. And I'll prove it by summoning my Dark Tuner Spider Cocoon," Roman declared.

Level 5/Dark/Insect

ATK 0/DEF 0

"I can special summon this monster when there are monsters on your field but none on mine. And now I summon Dark Spider," he continued.

Level 1/Dark/Insect

ATK 0/DEF 0

"And me without my bug spray," Alex jested. "You can make all the jokes you want, but you won't be laughing once I activate the effect of my Dark Spider. Once each turn, I can raise the level of an insect type monster on field by 2 until the end of this turn, so I raise Spider Cocoon's level by 2," Roman explained.

Spider Cocoon: LV 5-7

"And now I tune my Dark Tuner Spider Cocoon with my Dark Spider! When the dark overlaps with the dark, the web of the Netherworld prepares itself to bind its prey. Dark Synchro! Appear, Underground Arachnid!" he shouted.

Level -6/Earth/Insect

ATK 2400/DEF 1200

"But even if your monster's attack is higher, Guardian can't be destroyed in battle once each turn," Alex explained. "Who says I have to battle it? I activate Underground Arachnid's special ability!" Roman declared before his monster shot a web at Stone Guardian, wrapping around him before dragging him to Roman's field.

"What did you do to my monster?" Alex asked. "Once every turn, Underground Arachnid can equip one of your monsters to herself. And now that your monster's gone, Underground Arachnid can attack you directly!" Roman ordered as his monster launched another net of threads that struck Alex in the chest, knocking him onto his back.

Alex: 1600 LP

"Alex, are you okay?!" Akiza asked. "I'll be fine," Alex assured, but truthfully he was a little concerned. "He lost more than half his life points in one turn. Things aren't looking good," Yusei commented. "I place one card face-down and end my turn," Roman declared.

"I draw. I play the Fiendish Fusion spell card. Now I can summon an Evil HERO fusion monster by using monsters in my deck as material. I fuse Evil HERO Wave Rider, Voltage, and Sky Slash in order to summon Evil HERO Raging Tornado!" Alex declared

Level 8/Wind/Fiend

ATK 2800/DEF 2800

"Now that's a strong monster," Yusei said from outside the barrier. "Now Raging Tornado, put your foot down on Roman's Underground Arachnid! Attack with Furious Twister Strike!" Alex shouted as Raging Tornado created a cyclone around himself and charged Roman's monster, stirring up a cloud of dust in the process.

Roman: 3600 LP

"Way to go Alex!" Akiza congratulated. The dust cleared and Underground Arachnid was still standing, but Stone Guardian was gone. "What in the world?" Alex questioned. "Underground Arachnid can save herself from being destroyed by sacrificing one of the monsters she took from you. And there's more. Due to the effect of my field spell, if your non-insect monster attacks, it's changed to defense mode and can't be changed to attack mode until your next turn," Roman explained as threads came up from the ground, pulling Raging Tornado down.

"If Underground Arachnid takes your monster next turn, she'll be able to attack you directly, and you'll lose this duel," he pointed out. "That's only if she's still here," Alex commented. "What are you talking about?" Roman asked as Alex pulled a card out from his hand.

"Since you sacrificed my Guardian, he's now in my graveyard, which is exactly where I need him to do this. I play Dark Calling to banish Guardian and Voltage from my graveyard to summon my Evil HERO Lightning Golem," Alex explained.

Level 6/Light/Fiend

ATK 2400/DEF 1500

"But unfortunately for you, he can't attack this turn," Roman brought up. "He doesn't have to. I activate his special ability! Once every turn, Lightning Golem can destroy any monster on the field. Lightning Golem, make like a bug zapper and fry Underground Arachnid with Voltic Ball!" Alex ordered as Lightning Golem launched a black sphere at Underground Arachnid, destroying her.

"Alright! He did it!" Akiza celebrated. "Over there!" a voice shouted from outside the duel. Everyone turned towards the voice and saw John and Mitch running towards them. "Hey Yusei!" John shouted. "Oh no, what are they doing here?" Akiza asked. "You both need to run!" Alex shouted.

"It's too late for them. I activate Altar of the Bound Deity! During each of my standby phases, this card will gain one Earthbound Immortal counter for every monster on the field in defense mode. And if I sacrifice it when it has four counters, I can summon an Earthbound Immortal from my deck," Roman explained as the altar on his card appeared on the field behind him.

Martha and Trudge were running through the streets, trying to find the three boys. "If I don't end this duel before those counters add up, it's curtains for John and Mitch, and quite possibly myself," Alex thought to himself.

To be continued…