The Lockdown Duel
It's been about half an hour since Cody and Jeremy watched the video of Eric dueling Cindy. They all decided to go to sleep. Cody, however, couldn't sleep at all. He was concerned. And for good reasons. 'Morningstar Foundation. They're using my parents' company to make war machines. They even designed a few things for Sector Security to have. But why? Why that place? What is Mason up to?'
He inhaled deeply before letting out a long sigh. When glanced towards a nearby window that showed him the night sky, something came to his mind. "I wonder how Yusei's doing."
Yusei was currently led through a dark hallway, accompanied by a couple of security guards. When they reached the light at the end, they've entered a large chamber. "Welcome to your new home-sweet-home." One of the guards said mockingly. "We call it, The Hive!"
The Hive, as they called it, turned out to be a large tower of sorts, rising endlessly upwards out of sight, with cells dotting the walls. It also had a number of walkways on different levels going between the walls. While being 'escorted' by the guards, Yusei noted the many inmates that stared at them from the balconies, each of them giving an intimidating look.
"This is where Chief Armstrong likes to house the worst of the worst." The other guard added. "Come on, keep walking!" He then pushed Yusei, forcing him to keep moving.
On the very top of the place, Armstrong laughed loudly as he watched this. "This should be fun!" He said with an evil grin on his face. "Hope you have a pleasant stay! The Director General sends his regards!"
After a short while, Yusei was escorted to one of the many cells. "Get in there!" One of the guards pushed him inside. "Don't expect a mint on your pillow." At that, the guards slammed the door closed.
"Aw, man! And I was just getting to being on my own." The occupant of the cell, who was sitting on the lower bed bunk, said. He was a young man with violet hair, wearing a blue and white sweater and black jeans. He also had a small yellow marking on his left cheek. "Say, uh, if it's not too much trouble, take the top bunk, would ya? I used to crash up there, but I kept rolling over in my sleep and falling off the edge. The name's Alex, and I'd really appreciate it if you-huh?"
Yusei climbed up to the top bunk and laid down, without saying a word. "No arguments? Nice. Yusei. right? My last roommate was named 'Skelter' or something. I don't know. He wasn't much of a talker. I like talking..."
But Yusei didn't pay any attention to Alex. He was in deep thought, his mind going back to his duel against Jack, where the Crimson Dragon appeared. 'Was I really able to bring out the Crimson Dragon? I mean, it came out of nowhere, and then it just disappeared. That mark on my arm... could Yanagi be right?'
Flashback
"You must be a Signer, Yusei." Yanagi whispered.
"Signer?" Yusei repeated.
"I heard about them long ago. I thought the whole thing was just a legend. But now, the tale of the People of the Stars may actually be true."
Now Yusei was really curious and let the old man speak further.
"You see, long ago, there was a tribe. They were brave and they worshipped a crimson dragon. And some of them could even summon the beast; they're called Signers."
Flashback end
'But why me? And why now?'
"Hey, is it true what they're saying about you?" Alex asked as he approached him on the top.
"What are they saying?" Yusei asked.
"Lots, that you stood up to Tanner in a duel and that you royally schooled him! That's awesome! I challenged Tanner once after he and his buddies sort of... well, they locked me in the laundry room for two days. But yeah, it was kinda funny cu-"
"I have a headache, Alex. Can we save the chitchat for later?"
"Sure, okay."
"Psst. Hey, Yusei!" Someone whispered through the cell bars.
Yusei sat up right and was surprised to see Yanagi outside the cell room. "They brought you here?"
Moments later, Yusei and Yanagi went to the middle of the nearest walkway, where they met up with Bolt Tanner. "You're here too, Tanner?"
"How are ya, kid?" The former pro duelist asked. "Glad to see you made it here in one piece."
"I hate to interrupt, does anyone know what we're doing here?" Yanagi asked worriedly. "This is the long-term maximum security zone! There must have been a paperwork error. I was at the top of the release list!"
"Hey, you and me both, grandpa!" Tanner replied.
"What's going on, Yusei? You know what this is about?"
"What did they tell you when they brought you here, tanner?" Yusei asked.
"Oh you know, some nonsense about restructure the system, blah blah blah. I don't believe a thing they say."
"So what do you know about the guy who's in charge here?"
"Armstrong's a bully. he does whatever he wants. He's a tyrant. He lies. And when he's got a bone to pick, he'll do anything to pick it. Why do you ask, kid? Did you go and do something to get on that gordo's bad side? Are we here cause of you?"
"GYYAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Armstrong was watching Yusei through a security camera in his office. And he appeared to be outraged. "There's no way that kid's a Signer! No way! He's a worthless little punk from the Satellite! That's all he is! I know garbage when I see it!"
Flashback
"If he's a Signer, I'm a school girl!" Sometime after running some tests on Yusei, Armstrong had a discussion with Director Goodwin.
"You looked everywhere for the Mark of the Dragon?" Goodwin asked without facing him.
"Yes, everywhere!"
"Well then, perhaps we need to challenge Yusei to a duel of some sort."
"I'll take that piece of garbage on right now!"
"Armstrong, we need Yusei to want to duel you. Perhaps that is the key to making his mark reappear. You must arrange a situation where that Satellite will want to duel."
Flashback end
"I know just what to do!" Armstrong said with a maniacal look in his eyes.
"Alright fellas, it's lockdown time! Sweet dreams!" A guard announced as most of lights in the Facility turned off while spotlights were turned on, moving back and forth.
And with that, all the inmates were back in their cells. Including Yusei and Alex. "So what'd they tell you when they transferred you?" The latter, who wasn't in bed yet, asked. "That you're gonna be here for a short time while they process some paperwork? That you'll be back in the normal detention area before you knew it? They tell everyone that, but no one ever gets out of this place. I was transferred here after starting a food fight in the Facility cafeteria. They told me I needed a few days to cool off. That was 4 years ago. So I decided to take matters into my own hands."
Yusei watched as Alex approached to the bottom bunk. "Here's the real reason I wanted the bottom bunk." He pulled up the mattress, revealing a big hole in the concrete surface. "It's amazing what you can do, with a knife, a spoon and a whole lot of time, Yusei."
After that, Alex guided Yusei through the hole, which went to the Facility rooftop. "Watch out for the lights." Alex warned him as they reach the corner of the rooftop. "Check it out." He pointed up to the upper level of New Domino City and the moon in the sky. "The real moon and everything. That opening is the gateway to freedom, my friend."
"...It's kinda high." Yusei noted.
"I got some friends on the outside coming tomorrow night."
"What about these beauty marks?" Yusei pointed to his criminal mark. "As soon as you get out of here, they'll start transmitting a signal and they'll find you..."
"No they won't! One of my friends is a hacker with super-skills. He'll jam the system. I'll have a window about an hour after I escape to disappear. So, what do you say, roomie? Are you coming with? This a one-time opportunity, buddy, cuz once they realize how I got out, they'll those openings and that'll be that."
"I'm in, but there's just one thing." Yusei said. "Well... two things, actually."
"Right, let me guess. Tanner and the old man?" Yusei nodded.
Alex sighed. "Fine, they're in. But those two better not hold us back. I mean it, man. If they slow us down and we blow our chance of getting out of here... there won't be another."
Next morning, while it was still dark, Jack Atlas was speeding through his personal track, trying to summon the Crimson Dragon.
'Come on! Why can't I make that big lizard appear? I've been circling this track for hours and still nothing!' He thought back to the night when the dragon first appeared. 'It seems I can't summon it by myself. Maybe the only way to make the Crimson Dragon appear, is to duel Yusei again. And when I do, he's gonna wish that mark of his never appeared!' He accelerated around the track as the sun started to rise.
Later on, back at the Facility.
Tanner was sitting quietly inside his cell, until the cell door suddenly opened. "Lunchtime already?" He joked.
The one entering his cell was Armstrong, who walked towards him and leaned his arm against the top bunk, so he could face him eye-to-eye. "A little birdie told me you had some magazines smuggled in here. That's a no-no."
"Magazines? Hmph, I'm not too interested in keeping up with celebrities. Your little bird's singing a lie!"
Armstrong smirked. "Are you talking back to me?" Before Tanner could retaliate, two guards grabbed his wrists behind him. "Break him, boys!"
A little later, Tanner found himself inside an interrogation room, with his head slammed onto a table.
"So, how'd you get those magazines in here?" Armstrong questioned. "Surely, you couldn't have pulled it off by yourself. One of your buddies must have helped you."
"Yeah right! We both know you're the one behind this!" Tanner struggled to hold his head up, despite one of the guards holding it down. "And even if did do it, I would never sell out for anyone."
"Is that so? Well then, let's how far your loyalty to your pals gets you!" Armstrong gripped Tanner's jaw and actually tried to rip it off. It was so painful that Tanner's screams could be heard throughout the Facility.
Eventually, Tanner was tossed by Armstrong's guards on one of the many walkways criss-crossing the tower structure. The prisoners couldn't help but look at him worriedly as he looked bruised and scarred.
"Leave him alone!" Yanagi called out from his cell.
"This can't be good." Yusei muttered.
"I found smuggled magazines in Tanner's cell!" Armstrong announced. "You all know that's agains the rules, but I know he couldn't have gotten them alone! His accomplice has one hour to step forward! After that, everyone here's gonna pay the price!"
All the prisoners argued. "Oh, c'mon!"
"You can't punish all of us for something one guy did!"
"That's right!"
"Don't like it? Then you ought to figure out who helped him out! If I were you, maggots, I'd start by questioning his friends!"
That made Yusei angry. Armstrong had no right to treat them like this, inmates or not.
"Look people, there's no need for everyone to suffer." The chief continued. "Tanner's friend just needs to fess up. If he doesn't, I got no problem putting all of you in permanent lockdown! That would give me time to kick back and watch my soaps! GHEHAHAHAHAHA...!
"Get real!"
Armstrong stopped his laughter when he heard Yusei call out. "You got something you wanna say, newbie?!"
Yusei let out an inaudible growl. "There are no magazines, we both know that!"
"GHEHAHAHA! No magazines?! So I'm just punishing Tanner because I feel like it?!"
"I don't know why you're doing this, but I know that Tanner wouldn't do anything wrong! You're abusing your authority, Armstrong!"
"Whoa-ho-ho! You just accused me for being cruel and unfair! That really hurts my feelings! Come on! Show me the love! Tell me you're sorry, Satellite!" But Yusei remained silent. "So that's how you want it? Well, I can't just stand here and let you accuse me of being unfair in front of everyone! To prove that I'm a reasonable man, I'll let you duel me out here where your fellow inmates can watch, and if you win, I'll pardon Tanner's offense. But, if I happen to win the duel..."
"Then no one here but me gets put in lockdown." Yusei finished.
"Huh?" Alex gave him a surprised look.
"You got a deal! We duel tonight at 8:30 sharp! Don't be late!"
"Don't worry, I'll be there."
"Wait, tonight?" Alex questioned. "But tonight's the night we're supposed-"
"What are you doing?! Put your hands off of me!" Yanagi pleaded as two guards dragged him towards Armstrong. "Put me down! Put me down!"
"Check it out, Boss. Contraband!" The guards found his cards all over his person. "This guy's got cards stashed all over the place!"
"No! Wait! Those are my treasures! I traveled all over the world to find those! You can't just take them!"
But Armstrong simply swung his left arm and knocked the old man down. He then presented the confiscated cards to the prisoners. "What have I told you clowns about cards?!" He snarled. "Alright, maggots! This might be your last hour of free time! Stretch your legs and enjoy it while you got it!" He left the place while the prisoners where whining.
"Yusei, we're supposed to sneak out tonight!" Alex argued. "What gives, man?!"
"...I had to, Alex."
As soon as the cell doors unlocked, Yusei rushed out of his cell and made his way to the one where the guards threw Tanner and Yanagi into. "Hey guys!"
"What were you thinking?!" Tanner tried to get up, despite his bruises.
"I know, I know."
"You can't duel him! You don't even have a deck! If you were hoping to use mine, Chief took my cards from me earlier."
Yusei gasped. Yanagi got up and sat on the bottom bunk, feeling really depressed. "He took mine too. My beloved treasures!"
"Bolt, are you alright?" A bunch of other prisoners rushed in and tried to help him.
Yusei walked out of the cell, where Alex leaned waited for him. "You get it yet? Armstrong did all this to set you up." He implied. "He figured he can either make you think he was trying to turn the others against you, or he could take advantage of the friendship you have with Tanner. Either way, man, it was checkmate. He had you in his hand from the get-go. Look, let's... let's just escape, the two of us. Those guys are dead-weight in their current state."
"...I can't leave them behind."
"Sure you can! You don't owe anybody anything, man! Come on!"
"I won't ditch my friends for my own benefit." Yusei defended. "I'm not leaving them behind just to get ahead. That's just not what I'm about, Alex!"
"Grrr! You're a real piece of work, you know? Forget you! Sheesh!" Alex ran off defeated.
"Your name's Yusei, right?" Yusei turned around to face a group of prisoners. "A bunch of us would like to see you on the middle walkway."
"We wanna talk about something."
And soon, Yusei was surrounded on both sides of the walkway. He could only wonder what those inmates wanted with him...
And soon, it was 8:30 and Yusei's cell door opened. "It's time, kid!" The guard said.
As Yusei left the cell, Alex was sitting on the bottom bunk. "So long, pal." He said acidly.
Yusei stopped to face him. "This isn't goodbye."
"Move it!" One of the guards pushed him.
Moments later, Yusei was taken to the meeting point of several gantries, where Chief Armstrong waited for him. "Well, there he is. The punk with the big mouth. And I thought you might back down. After all, you're not allowed to have a deck in the Facility." He sneered. "And you have to have a deck in order to duel someone. So, uh, since you're showing up empty-handed, I guess that means I win by forfeit! Easy enough! Now get him out outta my sight!" The guard were about to obey...
"I have a deck..." Yusei pulled out a deck of cards. "Right here."
"WHAT?! What the...?! Where did you find those?!" Armstrong demanded.
"You don't get it. You think we're a bunch of punks who'd gladly turn on each other. That's not how it is."
Flashback
Yusei was surrounded many prisoners. He wasn't sure what would happen, until one of them stepped forward.
"We know the Chief is lying about what Tanner did, so we want to say thanks for risking your freedom to save ours. And to make sure you beat the Chief, take this." He reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a Duel Monster card before giving it to Yusei. "It's my most prized possession."
Another gave prisoner stepped forward and gave Yusei another card. "Cards are illegal in here, but we all got that one favorite card we just couldn't let go of. I hung on to this one for sentimental reasons. It's a trap card, but it could come in handy."
One after another, each of the other prisoners gave him a card. One of them had one hidden behind a photo. "This guy may look cute, but he packs a mean punch."
Another one had a card hidden under his dreadlocks. "This spell card got me out of a lot of tough jams."
They had different kinds of hiding places for their cards. Inside a book, under a mattress, even under a toilet seat.
"You can equip this onto almost any monster!"
"Use this card to put Armstrong in his place!"
"I kept this card hidden in my shoe. Hopefully it doesn't smell too bad."
Yusei looked over every card the prisoners gave him. "With everyone giving me one card... we can win this!"
All the prisoners cheered as Yusei now had a deck prepared for his duel against Armstrong.
Flashback end
The Chief growled. "Well alright, then! even though you're breaking a rule I'm willing to uphold my end of the deal. You two! Hurry up and prepare the duel disks!" Each pf the guards equipped each duelist with a duel disk. The one Armstrong got was more black than the one Yusei had.
He also noticed the chain attached to it from the floor. "What's this chain all about?"
"Oh that's, uh, just to make things a little fun. Every time you take life point damage, that chain will sort of give you a little tickle."
"Wait, what kind of tickle?"
"You'll find out soon." Both of them inserted the decks and started the duel.
"Let's go!"
Yusei: 4000
Armstrong: 4000
'So Goodwin thinks this Satellite is special.' Armstrong thought. 'Well, let's find out how special he is!'
"The first move's mine!" Yusei drew his sixth card and quickly took out another card from his hand. "And I summon Great Phantom Thief in defense mode!" A gentleman wearing a blue top hat and cape, and a red mask appeared and kneeled down in front of Yusei. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 3)
"Alright, yeah! That's my card!" One of the prisoners cheered.
"Your move, Armstrong!" Yusei concluded.
"This'll be tough." Tanner said. "Sure, he scraped together a deck with everyone's cards, but it's a big pile of mismatched monsters and traps. And he hasn't have much time to strategize."
"He can pull it off, I know it!" Yanagi replied.
"I hope you're right."
"I draw!" Armstrong drew his sixth card. "I summon Iron Chain Repairman!" From a flash of energy, a greasy man with iron-grey skin appeared, wearing overalls with chains for straps, a red bandana, and goggles over his eyes. He was holding an immense sledgehammer with one hand, while letting it rest on his right shoulder. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "This big fella's way more powerful than that sorry specter of yours! Repairman, smash that pathetic phantom into the floor!" The big man leapt up with his hammer high above him, and then in one swift, he swung it downward on top of the phantom, shattering him into pixels.
And the owner of the destroyed monster wasn't happy. "Aw man. Lotta good that card did him."
"That phantom may have been in defense mode, but Repairman's got a special ability. When it destroys a monster in battle, it also gets to slam you with 300 points of damage." Armstrong's grin widened. "Brace yourself, Satellite. This part might be a little shocking."
And then, to all the prisoners' horror, a surge of electricity shot from the chain connected to Yusei's duel disk, shocking him for real. He screamed in pain as the shock ran through him.
"What is that?" Tanner asked in disbelief.
"He's getting zapped!" Alex said in worry.
Yusei ended up falling down to one knee.
Yusei: 4000-3700
Armstrong laughed loudly at Yusei's misery. "Sorry about that, but I did say it was gonna be shocking. These duel disks we're using have been souped with static-generation devices." He patted the duel disk on his arm. "When one of us takes any kind of life point damage, this bad boy here generates a little... jolt."
"What?" Yusei growled.
"This is a correctional facility, Yusei. Everything that goes on here is for the betterment of society. Mess up and do something wrong, you get a little shock. Maybe that'll teach you to make the right choice next time. I place two cards facedown." Two cards appeared near his feet. "Your move!"
Yusei managed to get up on his feet. "Here goes!" He drew. "I summon The Kick Man in attack mode!" From a flash of light, a pot-belled man with pallid purple skin appeared, wearing brown leather pants. (ATK: 1300 DEF: 300 LV: 3)
"My dad gave me that card when I was five!" Another prisoner said. "Go, Yusei! Come on! Kick him into the next century!"
"Next, I hook this guy up with the Stim-Pack equip spell! This buffs him up another 700 attack points!" Kick Man roared as his muscles expanded, making him look more intimidating. (ATK: 1300-2000) "Alright, Kick Man! Time to take out his monster!" The muscled man leapt up, getting himself ready to deliver a powerful kick.
"Too bad that attack's just gonna slam into my Soul Anchor!" One of Armstrong's facedown cards flipped up before Repairman roared as a purple aura surrounded him. "Now, by equipping this trap card onto Iron Chain Repairman, I can render him indestructible in battle!" When Kick Man's kick connected, his foot only bounced off Repairman's chest, and he was sent back to his side of the field.
"Maybe, but you're still taking damage!"
Armstrong: 4000-3600
"Alright!" Yanagi cheered.
"Let's see how much he likes getting a little jolt." Tanner smirked.
Armstrong let out a scream like he suffered some pain. But that scream changed into a hearty laughter, much to everyone's shock. "Oh, I don't believe this! My static generator isn't working! Maybe they didn't wire it right."
"Yeah, that's it!" Yusei snapped sarcastically.
"You have got to be kidding me." Tanner muttered in disbelief.
"You cheater!" Alex shouted. "That duel disk of yours was never hooked up to shock you and you know it, Armstrong!"
The Chief laughed loudly again. "I resent what you're applying there, kid! I can't help it this thing breaks, can I?"
"So, fix it!" One of the prisoners demanded.
"You're a liar!"
"He's not being fair, Yusei!" Alex called out. "Stop the duel and walk away!"
"He can't walk away. And he won't be walking away unless he decides to give up and forfeit the match to me. But if he does that, the he's going straight to the hold, where he can spend all his time thinking about how he just gave up! Moving on!" Armstrong drew. "I summon Iron Chain Snake!" A snake appeared on the field. Its body resembled chains. (ATK: 800 DEF: 1200 LV: 3) "So much for your Kick Man's defense boost!" The snake leapt up in the air and landed on top of Kick Man, before it transformed into an actual chain that kept him down because of its weight. (ATK: 2000-1200) "And now's the perfect time for my Iron Chain Repairman to attack!" The Repairman slammed his hammer onto Kick Man. After that, Yusei suffered another shock.
Yusei: 3700-3300
"Don't forget, every time Iron Chain Repairman manages to destroy one of your monsters in battle, you get hit with a whooping 300 points of damage!" Yusei cried out upon going through another shock.
Yusei: 3300-3000
"This is ridiculous!" Alex said.
"Yusei!" Yanagi and Tanner called out.
Yusei gasped as he fell down to one knee.
"That's not all. Since Kick Man was saddled with Iron Chain Snake, you have to send one card from your deck to the graveyard for each of his level. Look, it's obvious you're losing, but I want you to know, if I'm being hard on you, it's all in the name of rehabilitation. You see, you left me with no choice but to use you as an example for the others, kid. Now get rid of those three cards!" Yusei reluctantly drew three cards from his deck and slid them into his graveyard slot. Armstrong laughed. "If you think you can still win, get up. If not, stay down and we'll call it a day. GHEHAHAHAHA!"
"Yusei!" Many of the prisoners called out.
"Don't give in!" Tanner said.
"Rise up, Yusei!" Alex urged.
"Rise up! Rise up! Rise up! Rise up!" The prisoners chanted, trying to motivate the Satellite to keep fighting.
"I'm gonna make sure you don't leave the Facility for a long time, Yusei. And no matter what you try to do to stop me from winning this duel, I'm not taking my eyes off the prize!" Amrstrong cackled.
Despite all the shock he received, Yusei managed to get up on his feet.
"I'm glad to see this duel isn't too shocking for you, Satellite!"
"Well, that's easy for Armstrong to say." Tanner said. "Especially since his duel disk isn't connected to the static generator."
"It's my turn!" Yusei drew. "And I think I'll start by playing the spell card, Nightmare's Steelcage!" The moment he played the named card, a dome-shaped cage covered in spikes materialized around him.
"Don't you know you're already behind bars?" Armstrong questioned.
"Yeah, well, these bars are gonna keep me safe from your static generator shocks, for the next two rounds."
Armstrong smirked. "Hmph. That little cage won't save you."
"We'll see. Now I lay down a facedown and end my turn." Yusei inserted a card into his duel disk.
"Steelcage! That was my card!" One of the prisoners said. "See, I told you my deck wasn't lame!"
"Listen, I said that you were lame, not your stinking deck." His cellmate replied.
"Shut it you two! You're both lame!" Armstrong snapped as he began his turn. When he glanced at his new card, he smirked. "Now you might think you're safe with that Steelcage stopping my monsters form attacking you. But I don't need to attack in order to win this duel. And here's why, Yusei! First I'll play Iron Chain Snake!" Another snake with a chain-like body appeared. (ATK: 800 DEF: 1200 LV: 3) "And since I have Iron Chain Repairman already on the field, it's special ability lets me bring out another monster. So I think I'll bring out another Iron Chain Snake!" The Repairman slammed his hammer onto the floor, causing the first snake to appear from a flash of light. (ATK: 800 DEF: 1200 LV: 3)
"Next up, I'm activating these two spell cards!" Two spell cards appeared. "And with them in play, this match is all but a lock for me, because with Iron Chain monsters on my field with a total level of 10, Poison Chain now forces you to send 10 cards to your graveyard if my monsters don't attack. And when your deck runs out of cards to play, Satellite, you know happens, don't you?"
Yusie looked at his duel disk which emanated a purple aura. "I lose."
"Now I hope you didn't planned for the next couple of years, Yusei, cuz once I win this duel, you can wave bye-bye to your future!"
Yusei drew 10 cards from his deck and discarded them.
"So with those 10 cards gone, you've only got 19 left!"
"At this rate, Yusei won't survive for 2 more rounds!" Tanner pointed out. "Come on, grandpa, there's gotta be something Yusei can do to stop Armstrong's spell!"
"There is, but I don't think the guards are gonna let him run away and hide!" Yanagi whimpered.
Armstrong pointed to one of his spell cards. "Now I play the card, Paralyzing Chain, which shocks away 300 life points whenever you suffer the loss of cards from your deck!"
Yusei suffered another electric shock.
Yusei: 3000-2700
While this happened, Alex looked at clock in his cell. "It's almost time." He pulled up his mattress and revealed the hole he dug. "Sorry I can't wait any longer. You had your chance, Yusei." With that said, he jumped into the hole.
Yusei struggled to stand up after receiving that shock.
"Looks like that cage isn't so safe after all, huh, Yusei? Guess those cards are as useless as the people who gave them to you."
Yusei gave him a glare before beginning his turn. "Ill show you useless!"
Armstrong grinned. "I'm sure you will, if you can last!"
Meanwhile, Alex arrived on the rooftop of the Facility. And when he did, he noticed a flashing light on one of the giant roadways above. "That's my signal." He was ready to escape. But then... he hesitated and stood up. "Maybe Yusei was right about not leaving his friends here..." He the thought back to when he argued with Yusei earlier.
Flashback
"Look, let's... let's just escape, the two of us. Those guys are dead-weight in their current state."
"...I can't leave them behind."
"Sure you can! You don't owe anybody anything, man! Come on!"
"I won't ditch my friends for my own benefit." Yusei defended. "I'm not leaving them behind just to get ahead. That's just not what I'm about, Alex!"
Flashback end
Alex clenched his hands. "Well, I'm not about that either, Yusei!"
Back at the duel
"I draw." Yusei drew and looked over his hand. "I'll throw down three facedowns!" Three cards appeared near his feet.
"And I'll play this! The spell, Psychic Cyclone!" Armstrong's facedown card flipped up. "Now I can choose one of your facedowns and if I can guess if it's a trap or spell, not only do you lose it, but I get another draw. And I got a feeling in this game, the house always wins! Eeny, meeny, miney moe. Heh. I... say the left one is a trap card! I'm right, aren't I?"
"How?" Yusei asked as the spell card released a cyclone that blew the targeted card away.
"What can I tell you, Yusei? My instincts never let me down. Now with that trap card out of the picture, your chances of beating me and getting out of here just got a whole lot slimmer!"
Yusei growled.
"No way. I smell something fishy here, and it's not his B.O." Tanner said.
"And now I can draw one card due Psychic Cyclone's effect, Satellite." Armstrong grinned while drawing.
"I'm just gonna play a facedown for right now." Yusei inserted a card into his duel disk. "Your move."
Armstrong chuckled. "Then I guess I'll draw!" He drew his next card and looked at it before grinning. "I summon out Iron Chain Blaster!" From a flash of light, a violet armored warrior with a cannon of rock set into his chest plate appeared, spikes of rock jutting out from his back. Chains adorned his armor, and he was forced to crouch down to hold his weapon down steady. (ATK: 1100 DEF: 0 LV: 2) "And since I can't attack you because of your Steelcage's effect, I'll use Blaster's special ability! I'll load him with Iron Chain Snake to break through your barrier and deal 800 points of damage to you!" One of the snakes turned into energy that flowed into Iron Chain Blaster's cannon. He then fired it out, blasting Yusei, who cried out when he received another shock.
Yusei: 2700-1900
"Shocking move, isn't it, Yusei? And it's only gonna get worse, cuz now I can bring back Iron Chain Snake due to Iron Chain Repairman's special ability!" The repairman slammed his hammer onto the ground, making the snake appear again. (ATK: 800 DEF: 1200 LV: 3) "And now, my Poison Chain spell card forces you to send 12 more cards to your graveyard. So with them gone... next round, y'all finished!"
Once again, Yusei sent most of his cards to the graveyard.
"Don't be mad, this is just a game." Armstrong said while gently pulling his beard. "Of course in this game, if you happen to lose, you have to kiss all your freedom goodbye. But in the meantime, what do you say we let the effect of my Paralyzing Chain put a charge into this duel!" The spell card glowed while Yusei cried out due to the shock he received.
Yusei: 1900-1600
"Yusei, if you don't stop the Chief soon, his monsters are gonna totally destroy you!" Tanner called out.
"That's metaphorically speaking, of course." Armstrong pointed out. "But that's to say that with your Steelcage vanishing this turn, their attacks are going to shock you into submission." The giant cage dissolved while Yusei was panting, trying his best to stay in the game.
Armstrong chuckled. "Looks to me like your time behind bars backfired. I mean, all you have left are a half dozen cards and that joke you call a deck."
That struck a nerve for Yusei. "These cards the heart of hope of every man in here!"
Now it was Armstrong's turn to let a nerve get struck. "Then I'll be sure to destroy them as soon as I'm done with you!"
"I won't let that happen." Yusei said as he was about to draw...
But then, the entire place suddenly turned dark.
"Somebody, turn on the lights!" The Chief ordered as the lights turned on just as quickly. He then whispered to a small intercom on his collar, making sure nobody was looking. "What was that?"
"We're not sure, sir. But we're checking the generator control room now."
"Hmph." He then focused on the duel. "Let's get back to business."
Yusei looked towards his cell and noticed that Alex was no longer there. 'Alex. He's gone. That blackout must have been caused by his friend from the outside. Wish I was with you, but I got my friends to think about. Good luck, man' He the focused on the duel. "Okay, Chief, I'm playing this trap card. Jar of Greed!" One of his facedown cards flipped up. "And thank to it, Armstrong, I draw one more card." He drew.
"Ha! With each card that you remove from your deck, you're one step closer to losing this duel!"
"Not if I play my trap, Call of the Haunted!" Yusei revealed another card. "This lets me bring back a monster from my graveyard. And guess who I'm bringing back with it, Armstrong. You should get a big kick out of this!" At that, The Kick Man appeared again. (ATK: 1300 DEF: 300 LV: 3)
"You brought back Kick Man?" Armstrong mocked. "He's as valuable as you are."
"You shouldn't underestimate the power of any card. Especially one that can join forces with the card in my graveyard."
"But your graveyard is full of-"
"Cards you forced me to get rid of. So it seems like your strategy is one that backfired, because now I can call upon Axe of Despair to give my Kick Man an extra 1000 attack points!" The Kick Man was given a grotesque-looking, fiendish axe. (ATK: 1300-2300)
"Nice one!" Tanner smirked. "Of course, I did the same combo back in my pro days on the circuit!"
"And next up, I'm summoning Exiled Force!" A shady looking group of knights appeared. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 3) "Kick Man, attack!" The Kick Man leapt up before swinging his axe downwards, shattering one of the Iron Chain Snakes into pixels.
And right after that, something happened that surprised everyone. Especially Armstrong because now he got shock from the generator.
Armstrong: 3600-2100
"Hold on! His duel disk finally shocked him!" Yanagi noted.
"Yeah! Looks like someone finally turned the power back on!" Tanner realized.
"Now, Exiled Force! Move in and slay that serpent of his with a direct attack!"
"Hold on! Time out! Wait! There's something with my..." But Armstrong's words fell deaf as the group of knights sliced the other snake into pieces, giving him another shock.
Armstrong: 2100-1900
Smoking like a roast, the Chief said. "If I find out that the person who turned my duel disk back on knows you, Yusei, they're gonna wish they never met you!" He the fell face-first on the floor.
"Now Yusei was really confused. Why did Armstrong suddenly receive a shock?
"Chief Armstrong." Armstrong's intercom called out. "An intruder has been caught and restrained in the power generator room. We're bringing him to you ASAP.'
"Now let's see who did this!" Armstrong growled as he forced himself up. He then shook off any remains of fatigue.
"Sir, here's the culprit." One guard saluted while two others led a person to the gantry. "This was Yusei's cellmate!"
In other words... the culprit was Alex.
"No! They caught Alex!" Yusei gasped.
Now Armstrong demanded some answer. "How did this punk sneak out of his cell?!"
One of the guards walked up to him. "Sir, he dug a hole, got to the power room, and fried the mainframe."
"He did what?!" He then leaned closer to whisper. "Go fix it! My duel disk has been shocking me."
Alex heard him and said, "Exactly, and it's not going to stop."
"Gah...! I SAID FIX IT!"
"I'm sorry, sir, but the mainframe can't be repaired." A guard through a communicator from the control room. "Which means that shocks running through your duel disk will continue for the remainder of the contest!"
Armstrong growled, starting to get real mad. "As soon as I'm done here, punk, you and I have will have a nice long conversation!"
"But first your duel. And with the playing field evened up, I'd be shocked to see you win." Alex joked, much to Armstrong's annoyance.
"Why'd you come back, Alex?" Yuse questioned.
"Well, I couldn't just leave you here. I had to try and help you, Yusei. That's what friends do to each other. Just like you put your friends ahead of you, I wanted to do the same for you."
Yusei nodded to him before turning to Armstrong. "It's time we add to the stakes, now that your duel disk is working once again. I say we battle it out for Alex. I win, you don't punish him. I lose, and he goes into lockdown, like me."
"Um, Yusei..." Alex began to say.
"Sounds perfect! You're done next turn, anyway!" Armstrong agreed before pointing a finger towards Alex. "Let Alex watch his future disappear!"
"So then let's keep going!" Yusei announced. "I sacrifice Exiled Force to destroy Iron Chain Repairman!" The warriors vanished, along with Repairman and Soul Anchor. "It's your move, Chief!"
"This is it." Tanner said. "One draw, one card, and if it's a monster, Yusei has to throw away all of his cards."
"So, um, what's so bad about that?" Yanagi asked.
"What's bad about it is that he'll lose! Didn't you ever find a rulebook when you were traveling the world? Man, it's talking about this to my dad."
"But you called me gramps."
"Never mind."
"Here we go!" Armstrong drew his next card and looked at it. It turned out to be a spell card. "Well well, looks you're okay. At least for now, you are." He then grinned to himself. 'But what Yusei doesn't know is that I've been watching every move of this game since draw 1.' He then glanced at nearby cameras. 'Thanks to my security cameras, his cards are about as secret as a primetime lineup. And premiering tonight are Yusei's facedown cards. And I got a feeling it's gonna be something of a tragedy. The facedown card on the right is Taunt, a trap caed he can't even use this turn. And on the left side, Battle Mania. Now that trap could be trouble, since it forces our monsters to fight each other. And as long as Yusei's Kick Man swings that Axe of Despair, he's got the upper hand. But with Battle Mania gone, I win. And I've got just the card to get rid of it!'
"I think I'll mix things up with my spell card, Reload! Now I'll just put all my cards in my deck, shuffle them up, and redraw!" He inserted the two cards he had in his hand into his deck, and let his duel disk shuffle the deck itself. He then drew two new cards and looked at them. Both of them were spell cards. He laughed loudly before revealing one of them. "I play Mystical Space Typhoon! This destroys one spell or trap card on the field. And I choose the facedown card on the left! Say goodbye!" The card released a whirlwind that blew the card away. But right before it got destroyed, Armstrong was shocked to see what card it was. "What?! It's not Battle Mania!"
"No, but the right one is. Check it out!" Yusei pointed towards that trap card flipped up. "So now monsters have to attack and that means I don't lose any more cards in this round."
"He did it!" Tanner smirked. "Yusei must have switched all his cards around when the blackout happened. Now Yusei's Kick Man can win this!"
"Hey, what's going on?" Armstrong whispered to his intercom. "This is supposed to be fixed so that I win."
"Don't worry, sir. We've stacked your deck with the most advanced Chain monster combos available. Yusei's not the only one who knows how to duel with dragons."
The Chief gritted his teeth. 'Alright, Yusei. I didn't go through all the trouble to cheat just so you would win. Time to show you the rest of my Chain gang!' "I activate Pot of Greed! Now I can draw two more cards!" He drew his new cards and looked at them. "Next I summon out my Iron Chain Coil!" A strange with a cone for legs, a sphere for both body and head appeared, its arm chains ending in gloves, large white eyes decorating its torso sphere. (ATK: 1100 DEF: 1600 LV: 3) "Then I activate the spell card, Star Changer! This lets me change a monster's level by one. And I choose to increase my Coil's level!" (LV: 3-4) At that moment, the creature was replaced by four stars that turned into circles of green light. They surrounded Iron Chain Blaster, who became transparent and revealed two stars.
"And I'll tune him with Iron Chain Blaster to synchro summon Iron Chain Dragon!" Armstrong cackled as the whole thing created a beam of light, form which a new creature emerged. It was a dark-blue dragon with a serpentine body, great plates of black armor defending its head and spine. Stag-like horns rose from its head, and its only limbs were bat-like wings. Links of chain wrapped around its chest, and its tail, which ended in a feather-like flap of skin, lashed wildly at the air. It let out a roar. (ATK: 2500 DEF: 1300 LV: 6) "Here's where it gets fun! See for every Chain monster that I remove from my graveyard, my dragon gains 200 attack points. And right now, I've got 5. So with an extra 1000 attack points, Yusei, I'm attacking you with my Iron Chain Dragon!" (ATK: 2500-3500)
"Trust me, Chief." Yusei said. "That's a bad idea."
"I know it is... for you!" The dragon spat out a stream of greenish flames that easily destroyed The Kick man, while Yusei cried out in pain as he was shocked.
Yusei: 1600-0400
"Did I forget to mention that his special ability automatically activates? You see, whenever he inflicts battle damage, you have to sends three of your duel cards to the graveyard." Yusei drew three cards and discarded them. "And with Paralyzing Chain's effect, you lose 300 more life points!" And with another shock from the generator, Yusei ended up falling to the floor by fatigue.
Yusei: 0400-0100
"YUSEI, NOOOO!" Alex cried out.
"His life points!" Tanner said.
"He's finished." Yanagi whimpered.
Even the other prisoners started to worry about him.
Yusei struggled to get up, with his bangs covering his eyes. Eventually, he stood up again. "My turn..." He then drew his next card... which turned out to be the last card.
"Oh!" And Armstrong before letting out another laughter. "You've got nothing left! You're down to 100 life points and your very last card! Your deck's empty and you don't have a single facedown!"
"I know, but all I need to win is one card." Yusei said before looking with a determined look on his face. "And a little of your help!"
"My help?!" Armstrong repeated.
"You spent the whole duel trying to send my cards to the graveyard. You thought my entire deck was useless, just a mishmash of cards given to me by your prisoners. My friends. And maybe on their own, they wouldn't stand a chance against your supercharged chains, but together they will... with this!" Yusei slid a card that was hidden in his hand.
The Chief widened his eyes.
"I knew you would use the security cameras to spy on the cards in my hand once the match started. But I also knew you wouldn't see this..." Yusei revealed the card in question. "It's called Rubble King. I hid so your little surveillance friends couldn't big-brother it. So as soon as you picked the wrong trap card to destroy, I just had to keep you sending cards to the graveyard."
Armstrong growled. "For what? To lose?"
"Not quite. I'll show you after I summon him." Yusei slapped the card on his duel disk, making the monster appear. It was a fiendish figure clad in purple robes, wearing a granite crown, and sitting on a throne of jagged rock. (ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1) "Now if there are over 30 cards in my graveyard when Rubble King is summoned, like you so thoughtfully provided, I get to use a trap. It comes down to my very last card." Yusei held up a trap card before inserting it into his duel disk. "I activate the trap, Blasting the Ruins! If I have 30 or more cards in my graveyard, which you know I do, you automatically lose 3000 life points!"
"3 what?!" Armstrong exclaimed as all the cards Yusei was given appeared before turning into stone shards.
And by command, Rubble King led the raid of rocks to attack and charge Armstrong. Once they all rained down on him, the Chief suffer one more shock before collapsing on the floor.
Armstrong: 1900-0000
"You beat him, Yusei!" Alex said.
"He won! He won!" Yanagi cheered.
"Never a doubt!" Tanner replied.
"You see that? You took out the Chief with all of cards!" One of the prisoners said.
"Yusei! Yusei! Yusei! Yusei! Yusei!"
The chanting came to a stop when Armstrong got with a furious look on his face. "Put them both in a lockdown!"
"What?!" Yusei gave him a look of disbelieved.
"But what about our deal?!" Alex questioned.
"We don't have any deals, take them both away, now!" Armstrong ordered.
"I don't think so, Mr. Armstrong."
The Chief was shocked upon hearing the new voice and looked up to one of the upper walkways, where everyone could see none other than Director Goodwin.
"I saw the entire duel, and the only person going away is you, I'm afraid. I don't see how the Facility can run effectively if no trust exists between the guards and the inmates. pack your things, Armstrong. You're fired."
Yusei stared at Goodwin as he walked away.
Next day
Later on, Yusei, Tanner, Yanagi and Alex found themselves in the same room where Yusei dueled Tanner.
"So what now, Yusei? You're free to go!" Tanner said.
"Something's weird." Alex wondered out loud "Why did Goodwin show up just then. Seems funny..."
Oh, be quiet!" Yanagi said. "Thanks to Goodwin, we're all getting out soon, too."
"I know, and that's why this whole situation just seems just seems strange. Yusei wins, now we're all gonna be free? Just make sure to watch your back."
"Maybe he's right." Yanagi reached into his clothing and pulled out a card. It was the Totem Pole trap card. "So please, take this gift."
"I can't take your card." Yusei said.
"Yes you can!" Yanagi insisted as he gave him his card. "I figure you'll probably have more use for that card than I ever will."
Yusei stared at the card for a moment before nodding to the old man. "This is incredible. Thank you."
"Hold on! I got something for you as well." Tanner held up a card of his own. It was Giant Ushi Oni. "This card's gonna help you get your runner back. I overheard the guards talking about your sweet ride, and how it's locked up in the Impound Center. Now, take this to store named Bootleg, order some milk, and ask for Blister. He'll help you out."
Meanwhile at the Security headquarters
"Are you sure about this?" Lazar asked. "If you let him go, we might never find him again."
Goodwin got up from his seat and walked over to the window of his office, revealing the security monitoring room. "It's obvious to me that Yusei's Mark of the Dragon won't reappear while he's trapped inside the wall of the Facility. It's time for change of scenery." He turned his eyes back to Lazar. "Besides, I never said that we were letting him go."
"You're going to track him! Oh, you are so sneaky!" The clown-like man laughed.
"With Yusei free to roam New Domino City, I have selected an elite task force to keep him under surveillance and watch for any signs of his mark reappearing. Now, as long as no one interferes in our affairs, all we need to do is watch and wait."
Yusei walked through the Facility gate and out into the city, heading to the bar Tanner mentioned.
But what he didn't know was that someone watched from an area above, mounted on a Sector Security duel runner. This person was Officer Trudge. "Hello again, Yusei." He took off his helmet, revealing a long scar on his left cheek. "I heard about the little task force Goodwin put together. You better hope they get to you before I do!"
Meanwhile, Cody, Jeremy, Eric and Mimi walked together through the city. Unbeknownst to them, someone was watching them from behind a corner. It was Mason's secretary.
"We have target in sight." Someone spoke through an earpiece she had. "Shall we engage?"
She reached for it. "Not yet. We need to wait for the right moment. Remember, we can't afford more mistakes. So standby."
"Yes, ma'am."
And that's that. Since many of the chapter I worked with up to this point was mostly focused on Cody, I decided to return the focus on Yusei.
Before I wrap this up, there's something I'd like to tell you.
You see, recently, I received a message on PM from a fanfic user named WOLFWATCHER12. And it was written like this:
"I'm letting you know I'll be changing my fanfiction name come November 5th next Sunday, so all the stories I posted will be taken down and brought back in my new ff account that will connect to my Google one because this was still connected to my Yahoo account, but I don't use that anymore. So, I'm making a change. Tell everyone who has read my stories, my followers and those I have followed all about this change. And I plan to come back November 5th, 2023!"
I don't know if any of you follow this person, but I figured I should mention this, just in case.
That's all. Until next time.
