Reaching Annapolis had been easier than expected. With most of the Yliaster forces having been accidentally deployed in the wrong area, there had been only the occasional bought of traffic to slow any progress. Speed limitations had still flared up at frequent intervals for the first hour. After that, Obake had worked the same cursed skills that had brought him into the mess and crashed all the signals between Lexington and Baltimore. It was sloppy but efficient work. When they finally managed to negotiate down the divide between Baltimore and Washington to the small peninsula that housed Annapolis, it was immediately clearer that far more of the Duelling teams had failed than passed.
Having managed to check in with one of the various officials around the town, they had been directed to a chain hotel by the name of Westin. As a four-member group, Team 5D's had been granted a pair of twin rooms to stay in as they awaited more instruction. The first port of call had been to sleep for about twelve hours apiece. Even Yusei – who had once made it two entire weeks without rest – was feeling the effects of the week-long sprint to the finish line. With Jack and Crow taking the beds, there had been little complaint when he slumbered beside a lit lamp. Especially with Crow waking up every few hours.
Whatever that Shadow Duel had done to him had been brutal. Crow had been breaking out in sweat, hearing things, the occasional scream through each nightmare. It was still too raw to open up about but he was managing as best he could. From the scraps he had shared so far, it had been a lot longer for him than it had been for them and not a second of it anything but unpleasant. When the clock finally ticked past eight in the Saturday morning, Crow gave up on sleep and threw back the duvet.
It was quiet in the room, plain. As one of the more higher-ranked teams, the tournament had given them a better room than most. A television, lamps for each bed and a small desk tucked away in the corner. It was nice but hardly luxurious. Though the lamp in the corner had been left on, Yusei was nowhere to be seen. Crow's bed was only separated from the bathroom by a wall while Jack had somehow ended up closer to the window. Swinging his legs from the bed, he stretched and stumbled around the edge of the bed.
Flicking on the lights and extraction fans, Crow entered the tiny bathroom and splashed some water on his face. It wasn't possible for him to be in the dark right then.
It had been dark down there. No light but a sick, reverse darkness. Able to see only through the inverse blackness that highlighted certain areas more than others, he was lost somewhere beyond normal physics. Something moved behind him, reflected in the mirror and Crow whirled around in panic.
"Relax." Stretching in the doorway, Jack was slow to the rude awakening his brother had accidentally caused. "I was just going to fill the kettle." For some weird cultural reason, the local Americans didn't stock their rooms with electric kettles. With the rest of his personal entourage having arrived long in advance, Jack had broken the unspoken pact of not reaching beyond their small group to have one delivered to the hotel. "Do you want some?" Perched on the edge of the bathtub, Crow looked positively haunted.
"What can you do?" It was a shorter list of what he couldn't do. Breve, long black, cortado, espresso, espresso romano (which was apparently an entirely different affair). Macchiato, chai latte, dirty chai latte, four different eyes (red, black, dead and lazy) and only the lack of whipped cream from a Vienna. After that, Jack really started getting enthusiastic.
"But all I've got with me is Blue-Eyes Mountain." Pouring a careful measure into one cup, he sifted the grains around as the kettle boiled in the bedroom. "Any idea where Yusei is?"
"Probably taking a walk." Yusei had actually found his way to the roof to watch the sunrise. It was a beautiful sight, even with the hordes of reporters desperate for a scoop camping on the other side of the road.
"I'm sure he's having a nice time." Twitching at the unpleasant occurrence of Jack uttering pleasantries, Crow smelled a rat. Actually, he smelled two very welcome cups of caffeine but the rat was implied. "And how did you sleep?"
"Are we on camera?" Both parties had been prey to some particularly inventive intrusions over the years. An unexplained switch in hotel rooms had moved Crow's room high enough that a cameraman could be lowered down to peer through his window. An internet whisper campaign had gone viral and lured Jack to a reclusive coffee shop when he was passing through Florence one time. It had been the perfect venue but for the way the tiny alley could be blocked off by a mob of reporters. Jack still refused to detail exactly how he had escaped from that one.
"Why do you think that?" Leading them back into the bedroom, Jack took the padded leather seat by the desk as Crow perched on the edge of his bed.
"You're being unusually nice." Both nostrils flared as he resisted the urge to hurl himself across the room and throttle his little brother.
"Okay, you got me there." Continuing to apply some of the finest anger management techniques known to his therapists, Jack kept his calm. "I was a bit worried about your behaviour since," There was no easy way to finish the sentence so he simply left it implied. "And I wanted to know if there was anything I could do to help." In the upcoming weeks, Crow would berate his trauma as the sole reason he let the opportunity of a lifetime slip on by.
"Just let me work my way through some things." Dragging on the bitter brew, he helped the burns and stimulants push away the nightmares. "Maybe take a break once this is all over." It had been three years since his last relaxing escape. Another one was sorely needed.
Hearing the lock disengage, the pair broke the moment as they leaned back in their respective seats. "Hey," Sneaking back into the room, Yusei was surprised by his brothers already being awake. "You're up." Seeing the cup in Crow's hand, filled with Jack's coffee, he also smelled a rat but was smart enough not to press the point.
"Where have you been?" Closing the door behind him, Yusei engaged the bolt as well, just to be safe. It wouldn't be the first time a reporter steal a hotel key and gain access to a room.
"Up on the roof." Taking Jack's bed in return for his chair, Yusei shuffled against the pillows to let them all look at one another in a triangle formation. "Watching the sunrise and answering some emails." Certain members of the SRC, city government, national government and international partners were not exactly pleased with his holiday plans. It had been a struggle not to delete half the lot and be done with it.
"How many of those left?" Jack was unnaturally patient waiting for answers but even several years of relentless therapy could only curb his natural impulses for so long.
It had been a bombshell of news but overshadowed by the nuclear device that had been Musume's unfiltered past. Even so, both brothers – including the apparent one-time father of their new friend – quickly come around to the more imminent problem. If Yusei only had so many years left to live, they would try and make the most of them. But he did not have those years.
"Maybe a year, if I'm lucky." Crossing his arms, he slouched against the headboard and forced himself not to look away from his family. "It's some sort of neurological problem. Every time I go to sleep and lose consciousness, I have a seizure. Damage to my brain is cumulative." Both his brothers could handle the more complicated details but he was keeping the talk short and to the point. "I've been working on it for a few years now but there isn't anything out there like what I have. Only one thing has even made a dent." Reaching into his pocket, he held out the small device that let him sleep.
"Brain chip? I always knew you were weirdly into computers." If Jack only knew about the little computer that could back at the SRC.
"It's a cerebral inhibitor." Pressing the small button on the side, Yusei let the lights glow for a moment. "Some friends over in Missouri sent me the design." Turning it off, he tossed it over to Crow. "After a few minor tweaks, it let me get close enough to sleep to give me an extra year or two." Done with his cursory examination, Crow threw the incredibly expensive device across the room like a discus to Jack. "It suppresses higher brain functions. Muscles keep moving but just about everything else stops."
"How do you breathe?" Ignoring the horror that Jack might not understand basic biological functions, Yusei caught the disc and slipped it into his pocket. "Or wake up?"
"There's a timer function. It's a bit dodgy though." Which was one of the reasons he had let Din access the designs. A few too many days had been lost after it failed to terminate properly. If he could somehow manage to make the minutes count, it would balance out all the ankle-bites Din had done over the years. That mess at the bar, that would always get a secret pass for being awesome. "But there's a problem I can't overcome, resilience. The more I use it, the less effective it is. Akiza found me during a seizure. She was meant to spend the night with a friend so I wasn't using it. You both know how persistent she can be." They did. When Akiza set her mind to something, it would be done. "I already had her working on the problem in case there was something I missed. She wasn't pleased to find out who her patient was."
"Why didn't you tell us?" In comparison to say, finding out their brother was dying, the deception was insignificant. In contrast to having three limbs broken at the same time? A bit worse. Not that Jack let that slip into his tone a lot.
"In eight months, I'll be taking a leave of absence from work. I was going to tell you all then." By 'leave of absence' Yusei actually planned to source out an acceptable replacement to take his role. There were only a few people qualified enough to play the part and fewer who were available. Part of him just wanted to die and leave the mess to be sorted out as a last joke.
Chance spared him from more questions as the phone in his pocket sounded. Fishing it out, Yusei read the message on the screen aloud. "Meet in our room? Leo." He typed a reply aloud for his brothers to confirm. "Be there in ten?"
"Twenty." Jack wouldn't dare set foot outside the room without a shower. Showering in the Grayston prototype may have taken the edge from his smell but five days near-constant riding had left them all 'fragrant'. His bathroom visit the evening before had taken a full hour before he felt comfortable in his own skin. With Akiza and Luna sharing Leo's room – with no word as to where the young man would sleep – the three men had to share the one small shower and forced themselves not to murder Jack for his lengthy incursion.
When they finally made it to the adjacent room forty minutes later – Jack's back somehow bereft of knives – the mood was not as good as could be. Leo had made a rookie mistake and tried to take a few laps in the hotel swimming pool without realising that the room didn't require any sort of guest credentials to reach and would be swarming with undercover reporters. By the time hotel security finally got the situation under control, three cameras had been smashed, a few noses broken and what could only be reported as a 'minor impalement'. After that, the women had been very clear that Leo could only leave the room with an escort.
"How does somebody get impaled at a swimming pool?" There had been many bizarre and painful methods of survival in the Satellite but the three men were stumped by the vague description.
"Don't ask." Even though he had tried his best to diffuse the situation, seeing various news crews fighting over his attention had been a bizarre experience.
Their room was a carbon copy of the three brothers'. Akiza had taken the bed by the window. In the event that somebody managed to get a clear shot into the bedroom, she didn't want them to get pictures of either twin. Judging from the jumble of borrowed blankets and stolen cushions hustled under the desk, Leo had gallantly taken the floor for himself. With her hair wrapped in a towel, Luna had already filtered through the bathroom and was perched back on the bed for the conversation.
"What's the plan?" Still adjusting to the weird reality that she might be some weird pseudo-mother, Akiza was hungry for anything to distract herself with.
"For the tournament or for Yliaster?" A glare at the not-father of her not-daughter only confounded the doctor more.
"Same difference." Standing ramrod straight, Jack looked like a statue in the door-frame. "We win the tournament and stop Yliaster from owning the next King of Games – me."
"Please," Also glad of a distraction, Crow bantered on instinct. "I'd bet that Leo can beat you." Staring down the length of his nose at the young Duellist, Jack weighed to odds for himself.
"If I win, you have to do your entire next league in yellow shorts." Forcing himself to actually pay attention now that stakes were being debated, Crow quickly thought up his own ante.
"If Leo wins, you have to publicly endorse me." It was a serious bet now and they sealed it with an electric glare.
"What do we do about Obake?" It was Luna who raised the question nobody else would have considered. After leading them to Annapolis, Obake had stopped at the edge of the small city and then simply disappeared. Literally. One minute, he had been in the cockpit and the next he vanished in the twilight crowds without a word of parting.
"Who?" It wasn't just Jack that was stuck for a face but Crow and Leo as well. They had barely spoken more than a few words to the pale man and simply labelled him as 'Akiza's friend'.
"He'll be making his own way back to New Domino." Exactly how he would be doing that had not been covered. Obake didn't have a legitimate passport but had somehow evaded the gaze of Yliaster, border control and then every law enforcement across the country. Yusei had a feeling his former friend would be capable of getting away as cleanly. "With any luck, Yliaster will never know he was involved."
"Where's Musume?" Leo was quick to bring up the elephant in the room before Luna could remember the urgent warning over the CB radio.
"Probably still enjoying her Duel Runner." After a careful examination of every inch – Musume only trusting Crow to help with the machine – and the utter ignoring of the manual, she had enjoyed every second of the journey. Dilucesco handled like an absolute dream and could outpace even the constantly improved Wheel of Fortune. When Team 5D's had securely parked their Runners in The Westin's underground parking for the night, she had still been driving about the town beneath the shining white helmet.
"Are we going to talk about what she said?" Nobody dared look at one another when Akiza broke the question.
"It was the future." Talking over the physics, Yusei struggled to ignore his own plight. "By coming back, she stopped it happening. Another will replace it."
"That's it?" Leo had seen one too many science-fiction movies to let the idea go so easily.
"What else did you expect?" Angry at being cheated from his life, Yusei was unnecessarily brusque. "Maybe some events will be the same, others won't." Finally recalling that Yusei didn't have much time left to live, Leo wisely decided not to push the issue and let the conversation drop.
"We should get ready for the next stage." After almost an hour in the shower, Jack was arguably the least ready and bickering quickly broke out.
Acting at once, all their phones sounded as an announcement went live and cut the squabble short. "Congratulations on passing Legend of Duellist Kingdom, the second stage of the Pegasus Trinidad Tournament." Around the world, alarms started going off. Somewhere hidden nearby, a dark figure remained unnaturally silent as it tossed a stolen phone away. It had already guessed what would come next and headed off to watch events unfold.
"Wait, I thought we were in the Legend of Duellist Kingdom?" Confused by the sudden change, Leo could sense the imminent arrival of something bigger as the tournament organisers gave pause between messages to let the information sink in.
"Really?" At registration, they hadn't been told that. Pre-registering had only spoken of 'being able to take part in the Legend of Duellist Kingdom'. "Whatever gave you that idea?" Yusei was amazed at the complexity of the competition and that was really something to behold. They had intentionally leaked the wrong name and spread just enough mystery to draw in the biggest names in Duelling. Now they were unveiling the final stage and it was as significant as the previous stage.
Elsewhere in the hotel, Musume had been quick to figure out the trick, almost as fast as her mysterious benefactor. Trinidad – trinity – tri – three. The Pegasus Trinidad Tournament, three challenges in one. Three ways that had decided the original King of Games. Puzzles, Duellist Kingdom and the third entry, adapted for modern times and complete with a subtle nod to the old Genex tournament.
"Sixty-three teams remain in the tournament. By tomorrow evening, that number will be reduced to four." Another message flaring up, they hung to every word. "Each team must participate in at least one Duel to continue through to the final round. If any single member of a team loses, their entire team is disqualified. From dawn on Monday to dusk on Tuesday, the entire city of Annapolis will take no traffic, allowing for seamless Turbo Duels." It had taken serious time to swing that one. Even from beyond the grave, the mastermind behind Duel Monsters had taken every precaution and arranged everything to perfection. "Any vehicles on the road are to be treated as emergency vehicles and avoided." It had been the only way to allow such heavy restrictions. In event of an emergency, the citizens were still allowed to use vehicles and were guaranteed safe passage. "No Duellist may refuse a challenge, even if they have already secured a victory. Upon defeat, you must relinquish your tournament identity card over to the victor. The first four teams to win a Duel and secure another tournament identity card will be going through to the final part of the competition and continue the journey to secure the 'King of Games' title. Only one event remains – Riding in Battle City!"
Like Lazarus, Jesus and that one bloke who woke up in the middle of his funeral, I have risen again! I burnt out slightly writing Monday-Friday but I'm back with a new pack of chapters. Now then,
*Enters Oprah mode*
You get a chapter! You get a chapter! Two chapters for you, and you! Chapters for everybody!