Goodbye, Robert. Sorry I couldn't make lunch.
Awkward silences are numerous throughout human history but there's a particular significance in the first awkward silence with a new friend. To their combined credit, Joey had really thought that the question "How did you get first mixed up with this Yliaster stuff" would be innocent enough a question for someone helping save his best friend's life and Yusei (being an objective, scientific mind) hadn't seen the issue with answering;
"My father died."
Mai enjoyed the looks of horrified confusion sparking in the men. It wasn't that she had a type for 'dumb hot guys' but seeing two objectively handsome men turn to idiot putty before her was stirring some interesting feelings. "Well, shit." Joey cracked first. "Dude, I'm sorry."
"It's alright." Yusei shrugged. It still hurt like an open wound, and probably would for the rest of his life, but he knew how to cope.
"Did they kill him to get at your secret family legacy?" Reality returned as Yusei tried to not fall into the trap of telling Joey that he was right.
"There's more to it." Splitting the difference didn't save him from the power of Mai's smirk. He knew that he'd make the sort of mistake in opening the door to the couple that most people made in not believing the stories about Din. Joey looked at him like the new shiny toy that his best friend had sent him and Mai...
Yusei knew Mai's history; dolled up by an emotionally abusive father to distract his equally disgusting business partners during their poker games from the day she turned fifteen, only to cut out on her own when she was sixteen to use those disgustingly forced talents to manipulate any Duellist that crossed her path. Even the former rank 2 in Japan, Rex Raptor, had failed overwhelmingly in face of her advanced con tactics. She saw targets, ways to eliminate and befuddle until they lay helpless and crushed before her while she moved on to the next conquest – which was why it was deeply unsettling to be apprised like he was about to be the next pile of rubble or inducted into her circle of trust. (A/n: As mentioned in TLA II Ch 74, these versions of the original series characters are from the MyAibou Revival and Identity series - some minor changes were introduced by that author, including Mai's backstory. Any future differences will also be indicated in the chapter headers.)
"Huh." Each purple iris seemed to be evaluating different aspects of him while boring directly through to the back of his skull. "Exactly how much more?"
'Do not let her meet Akiza, do not let her meet Akiza!' Yusei struggled to marshal his inner terror. Being stared down by the strongest female icon in Duel Monsters history forcibly educated him on how she had made it to the quarterfinals of Battle City and the semifinals of Duellist Kingdom. "Y'know, future stuff. Can't tell ya without screwing up the timeline." Joey was rubbing off on him too much, right down to that overly casual speech pattern. "Sorry, what were we talking about?"
"That Synchro thing?" Yusei's brain quickly went through a soft reboot as he picked up his Deck from the desk. Right, Joey had knocked on the bedroom door to chase him up on the notion of a Synchro Summon. Right before he'd been hung up like a rack of prime wagyu beef in a discount store with a single glance. Oh fuck, she was doing it again!
"Sorry about not getting around to that." Burning a million yen of equipment in two minutes had been mildly distracting.
"Hey, is your Duel Disk even going to work here?" Although the machine strapped to his wrist looked similar to the mass-produced items they knew, Mai had picked out the slight design changes and the dividing line in the centre as they walked down the hallway. After his experiment with the computers, she had a few doubts about Yusei's capabilities.
"Absolutely." Yusei reassured himself at the same time. One of the few positive facets to come from fighting Paradox was proof that Duel Disks were universally compatible for at least the next century. KaibaCorp kicked out a few upgrades every couple of years but they had clearly perfected the software the first time out.
Snatching the phone from the cradle by the doors to the elevator, Joey threw himself against the wall with a cocky grin. "Garry!"
"I thought his name was Greg?" Yusei murmured in confusion to Mai.
"Really?" Both eyebrows wrinkled back at him. "I thought it was Grant."
"Are you guys talking about Gideon?" Wandering past, Tristan had caught half the conversation.
"You're a lifesaver." Hooking the phone back into its cradle, Joey continued to revel in the luxury that came with being back by the King of Fop. "Gavin says that there's nothing planned for the conference hall on floor fifteen – it's ours for the day."
"Greg." Yusei corrected absently, not entirely sure he was being toyed with.
"What about him?" Joey was nonplussed by the correction – enough that a little ding went off went his thoughts finally arrived.
"Lift's here." While the group had been guessing names, Mai had been getting on with events and trying to calculate the exact overlap between dumb-genius and genius-idiot. It was somewhere above forty, maybe fifty.
Walking into an elevator in a sumptuous penthouse and being spit out into the clinically bland/comfortable balance of an office environment was equally weird as walking past a botany lab and seeing Din fighting off an unnaturally toothy plant. (No, that was less weird – Din had created that plant himself and could start a fight with a coma patient.) "Does Rebecca think she can MacGyver something together for you?" It wasn't often that Joey was the intellectual superior and he enjoyed the confused look on Yusei's face as they walked down a statistically perfect hallway. "Can she fix the computers?" Colloquialisms aside, he knew what Rebecca was capable of but the fire had too large to entertain even him.
"Not so much." The confusion vanished as he pulled a much different face. "She did throw a book at me and tell me I could start learning."
"What book?" With such a boasted intelligence from the far future, Joey couldn't imagine how anything in the present could compare.
"'The Internet For Dummies.'" If Joey was laughing before, what followed Yusei revealing the bruise on his ribs was outright howling. "It's not funny!" He'd not expected her to throw the book like that. Knives, chairs, bottles of chemicals, anything not nailed down at the SRC was fair game when the scientists got mad but throwing books was sacrilegious.
"It's pretty funny." Acting as both referee and onlooker, Mai was still siding against the incipient challenger.
"You realise that she let you go first so that she can analyse my strategies, right?" Whoever went against him first would play at a disadvantage. Everyone in their present analysed the Industrial Illusions team but Yusei had studied versions of their Decks they had yet to put together while they had no idea about the underlying fundamentals of his strategies. Throwing the sacrificial lamb under the bus would give Mai a stronger chance for victory and the opportunity to study the tactics in safety.
"It's also because I won the coin toss." Mai was suddenly too busy checking her nails to imply that maybe letting her toss the coin could have possibly tilted results in her favour.
Pulling open a heavy door, Joey dramatically ushered the group into a vaunted conference hall two floors tall. "We'd usually go to the roof but I felt it'd be better to do this indoors. Keeping you a secret and everything." He'd seen enough (being all) films on the topic and knew that the wandering hero always let slip their secret identity by doing something perfectly normal only to later discover that it had alerted the villains to their presence.
"Don't be surprised if I win. I've had plenty of practice with Yugi." Smirking, Joey was already probing away at that game face. He had enough experience battling one King of Games, he knew the ways they thought. Leaning against a heavy oak table at the middle of the room, Mai silently watched from the side as they shuffled each other's Decks respectfully.
"You should meet my brother." Yusei remarked dryly. If Mai teaming up with Akiza was dangerous, the Joey/Crow mix was pure chaos.
(Turn 1)
Joey: LP: 4000 Hand: 6 Field: None Graveyard: None
Yusei: LP: 4000 Hand: 5 Field: None Graveyard: None
Luck was already favouring his opponent with the coin toss from the start. "I summon Armored Lizard (L4/1500/1200)!" An enraged blue lizard reared up on Joey's side of the field with a wild screech. It was a solid opening move for any era but something was off. The card was subtly different from the one Yusei knew and he was struggling to dismiss his concern as natural paranoia. Cards could have dozens of different versions over the years and he didn't have the encyclopedic knowledge of Leo to determine if this was simply an older version or not. "That's it for me."
(Turn 2)
Joey: LP: 4000 Hand: 5 Field: 1 Monster Graveyard: None
Yusei: LP: 4000 Hand: 6 Field: None Graveyard: None
It was already happening. Only two turns into the Duel and those achingly familiar cards he'd never seen were starting to appear. That earlier tingling of paranoia was starting to look more genuine than crazy. Still, it had an interesting enough effect that could work very well with his Junk Synchron. "I set one card and end my turn."
Most people from Yusei's time would have an automatic advantage over Joey. The points thresholds had gradually shifted over the years and his opponent's outdated Deck was weaker than the future averages. However, Yusei tended to favour weaker monsters and their effects while Joey had an uncanny streak of luck about him and his gambling strategies. It could go either way.
(Turn 3)
Joey: LP: 4000 Hand: 6 Field: 1 Monster Graveyard: None
Yusei: LP: 4000 Hand: 5 Field: 1 Monster Graveyard: None
Any face-down monster served one of three objectives: bluff, defence, or the eternally worrying trap. "I summon Sasuke Samurai (L2/500/800)!" A tiny warrior appeared before him, the face a large orange blob without a mouth or nose. "When attacking a face-down monster, it automatically destroys the target without revealing it or conducting a battle!" A flat-blade screwdriver was briefly seen before it dissolved in a shower of rust. "With the way clear, Armored Lizard is free to attack directly!" Yusei was barely able to slide away from the monster before the lizardman carved a line down his chest. "I'll set one card and end my turn."
"Good move." Dropping his Life Points down to 2500 by the second turn was as strong a start as any of the Duellists in the future could do. "My turn."
(Turn 4)
Joey: LP: 4000 Hand: 4 Field: 2 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None
Yusei: LP: 2500 Hand: 6 Field: None Graveyard: 1 Monster
Yusei examined his hand. A few options were open to him but the goal was to show Joey the danger of Synchro monsters. That meant he had to follow the example for now. "I summon Bright Star Dragon (L4/1900/1000)!" The crudely hewn beast always appeared to Yusei to be a prototype of his Stardust Dragon. "Attack Sasuke Samurai!" Even for a monster with elusive ninja training, the samurai was unable to escape the glittering blast. Constant struggling was the norm of this time and he was prepared to match blow for blow. By the time the dust settled, Joey's lead had shrunk to a mere 100 Life Points.
(Turn 5)
Joey: LP: 2600 Hand: 5 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster
Yusei: LP: 2500 Hand: 5 Field: 1 Monster Graveyard: 1 Monster
A dragon, eh? It seems that the new King of Games was more like Kaiba than Yugi. But 1900 ATK was pushing the upper limit of monsters that didn't require tributes. Getting a solid advantage was as simple as getting the first powerful monster onto the field. "I tribute my Armored Lizard to tribute summon the Divine Knight Ishzark (L6/2300/1800)!" Clad in gleaming holy armour and wielding a greatsword larger than either of them was a warrior more fit for a church than the battlegrounds. "Slay his dragon with Breakdown Distortion!"
That attack made Yusei certain that something was happening – as far as he knew, Divine Knight Ishzark should remove any monster it destroyed from play yet his graveyard was beeping demand for Bright Star Dragon to be sent there. But he couldn't afford to be distracted now, the discussion would have to wait. Joey had just stolen another 400 Life Points and the chances of victory were slipping more and more to his favour.
"I set two cards and end my turn." All that he had left in his hand was M-Warrior #1 and Star Blaster. Enough to retreat behind if necessary or adequate materials to push further. But he could do better.
(Turn 6)
Joey: LP: 2600 Hand: 2 Field: 1 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Monster
Yusei: LP: 2200 Hand: 6 Field: None Graveyard: 2 Monster
Yusei couldn't help his eyes from narrowing slightly at the corners as he drew his card. It was a tiny slip yet Joey picked up on the subtle display of joy. "Good card? Not anymore! Drop Off sends it straight to the graveyard! Wait, there's more." His other trap sprang up triumphantly. "Since you currently have six cards in your hand and I have less than three, Gamble lets me toss a coin to see if I can increase my hand to five!" Calling it right would more than double his hand, getting it wrong would cost his next turn. "Heads!" Spinning a coin through the air, he slapped it to the back of his palm with a wide grin before drawing his new cards while Yusei's was consigned to oblivion.
"Very impressive." Each one was powerful in its own right yet Joey had magnificently chained them together to increase his own reserves before destroying Yusei's hand which he needed as a condition for the later card. "But luck's on my side this time. Return, Regen Warrior (L4/0/0)!" Flames billowed and unfurled as the showy warrior erupted onto his field like a flamenco dancer. "The first time I summoned this monster was in a Duel with my entire world on the line. I think you're a suitable opponent for him." Regen Warrior had last been used in the deadly struggle against Z-One and helped summon the Black Rose Dragon. Now – ninety years in the past – it would serve to call forth a different dragon. "From my hand, I summon the Level 1 Tuner, Righty Driver!" Sliding a hand over the screen of his Duel Disk revealed his usual assortment of Synchro monsters. "Since Righty Driver has been summoned, it can special summon Lefty Driver from my Graveyard." Appearing from the scrap heap was the flat-blade match to the crosshead already by his side and the flaming dancer behind him.
"That's a nice line-up you've got there." Joey could blame himself but the fault lay solely with his luck. Few cards could resurrect themselves from the graveyard and fewer relied on the rare instance of being discarded. "Guessing you're going to tribute them three for something big?" He was already revising his strategies. Besides the Egyptian God cards, a narrow handful of monsters required (or permitted) the use of multiple tributes unless they were a Ritual monster.
"Not quite – I'm going to show you a Synchro summon." Both the blondes instantly paid more attention to the moves. "Lefty Driver can increase itself to Level 3 when it's special summoned and that adds up to one thing. I tune the Level 1 Righty Driver, the Level 3 Lefty Driver, and the Level 4 Regen Warrior to bring forth a glimpse of the future." All three monsters dissolved into revolving lights as winds swept through the room and risked tearing the lengthy curtains from their perches. "Take flight, Stardust Dragon!"
"Holy shit!" Joey had seen gods do battle and was still impressed by the presence across from him. It was more than nearly any other monster he had ever met.
"Stardust, take down his monster!" A divine knight was lower in the hierarchy than the direct servant of a true god. Even though the raised sword was able to withstand the cosmic flare for a few moments, the metal soon melted and erased the wielder in the same deadly stream. "I set one card and end my turn."
From her position between the pair, Mai was still weighing up the odds. Yusei's approach seemed to be based on lower-level monsters and effects. Such Decks tended to be tricky and use a variety of interconnecting options to consume the field. On the other hand, Joey's Traps advantage could provide an edge to keep him in the game. It all boiled down to how effective this new brand of monster was.
(Turn 7)
Joey: LP: 2400 Hand: 6 Field: 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 3 Monster, 2 Trap
Yusei: LP: 2200 Hand: 3 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 4 Monster
"Cool." Even though his eyebrows were definitely singed. At least his Gamble had given him everything he needed to strike back. "From my hand, I summon the Level 3 M-Warrior #1." It was apparently the way to summon monsters in the future and Joey could always accommodate good manners when he had the upper hand. "The Star Blaster dice will increase its Level by the number rolled and then swap it out for a monster with an equal level. Here. We. Go!" A giant red dice clacked and rolled across the field until it lay between them – a four. Yusei didn't need to be a genius to figure out where this was going. "Oh yeah! Come on out, Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" Darkness gathered on the opposite side of the field in stark contrast to the light behind Yusei. A malevolent ruby gaze burst through the miasma as a roaring bellow drove back the clouds.
"This is getting good." Mai could admit that Yusei might be equal to Yugi but Joey was matching each advantage with a trick of his own. Taking down this shining new dragon with Red-Eyes was below the points threshold but he still had three cards left in his hand and (doubtless) another step to the plan. It was only a lead of 200 Life Points but this could be the final advantage against the newcomer.
"From my hand, I equip the Dragon Nails equip spell!" A gleaming metallic sheen coated the mighty claws of the dragon. "Dragon Nails comes with a boost of 600 ATK!" Carefully unfurling, the monster glared across the field at its victim. The increase in power made it a match for another Red Dragon Yusei knew of. "Attack with Dark Mega Flare!" Stardust bellowed a stream of light to counter the dark fire streaming across the fire. Light eventually gave way to the forces of darkness and his monster was scorched into an outline on the wall. "Not bad, amiright?"
"History doesn't exaggerate your talents." Yusei had been so sure that conserving his hand had been the better choice since Joey played the odds on both sides of the field and reached into the graveyard for good measure. He hadn't expected Joey to take advantage of his careful play and switch the entire state of play in a risky gamble. Foolish, Joey was known for the strength of his luck. "Got anything else for me?"
"Only a face-down." Was it another gamble? An outright trap? Studying Joey from a historical viewpoint, an intellectual viewpoint was nothing in regard to such random skill. Nothing could determine which way his fate would roll.
(Turn 8)
Joey: LP: 2400 Hand: 1 Field: 1 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 4 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap
Yusei: LP: 1700 Hand: 4 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 5 Monster
Yusei couldn't help it – he wanted to win. He really, really wanted to win. This was only meant to be a small Duel to demonstrate the nature of a Synchro Summon yet Joey kept pushing him further. Losing against Joey Wheeler was an honour in itself but he didn't want to lose at all, not now. After eight years of sleep-walking his way towards his demise, the threat of Yliaster, the adventure of the Pegasus Trinidad, and the mystery of these strange new-old cards was waking Yusei up to a challenge with dreadful stakes and he wanted every second of it. He didn't care where these cards were coming from, he didn't care what danger they spelt, or whatever 'calamity' was bearing down on them. Right here, right now, he wanted every advantage he could get and he wanted them badly.
"I draw." He peeked at the new-old card and instantly grasped the mechanics behind it. Exactly what he needed. First step was to set the right tune with the right card. "I summon the Mystic Piper (L1/0/0)." 0 ATK and DEF monsters usually came with a special ability and the tooting clown had an eccentric slant to his music. "By tributing it, I can draw a card and, if that card is a monster card, I can then make a second draw." His first card was Speed Warrior. His second... well, if his original draw that turn had been good then this one was perfect. "And now, I activate Necroid Synchro!" Clawing back out of the ground was the rotting carcass of Bright Star Dragon, screaming in a desire for retribution. "By removing Tuner and non-tuner monsters from my graveyard, I can use them to perform another Synchro Summon." Rearing up triumphantly, the regenerating dragon dragged up the screwdriver weaponry of Lefty and Righty Driver as Mystic Piper played an eerie tune from the great beyond. "Return to me, my dragon!" Screaming triumphantly, a blossoming light grew from within to envelop the decaying remains and Yusei's side of the field. Exploding from out the ball of light was the fractured mirror image of his star monster in all its swollen glory.
"That's gotta be cheating by now!" Joey was still smart enough to realise that there was more to come. The new monster was equal in strength to the original and still outstripped by Red-Eyes. "Come on, show me what's next!" He knew that Yusei was going to have to overwhelm the black dragon to have even a hope of winning the Duel and had planned accordingly.
"I equip Phoenix Battle Wings!" A second pair of wings grew beneath the silver membranes, coated in a thick layer of dull golden feathers. "And, with the effect of Double Cyclone, I can destroy one Spell or Trap card on both sides of the field." Dragon Nails was going to be a non-problem in a second but at least one of those cards Joey had hidden could spell Yusei's downfall. "I choose the card on your left!"
"Damn." Joey flinched as his Nutrient Z was poured down the proverbial drain. It would have given him an additional 4000 Life Points if he suffered even half that amount in damage.
"Due to the effect of Phoenix Battle Wings, its destruction is negated and it can double the attack of the equipped monster!" While the spiralling plume of dirty wind had blown away Joey's trap, Yusei's dragon roared in enjoyment as the golden wings on its back ignited into a shining radiance. "Stardust, show his dragon who's in charge!" Drawing in a glittering breath, the powerful chest inflated with cosmic force as both wings brushed the upper ATK limits with 5000 points.
"Not so fast!" Yusei had been half-correct in his assumption that one of Joey's cards could spell his undoing – both of them could do it. "I activate Take One Chance!" Although it was supposedly at random, Take One Chance could forcibly activate any one card in Joey's Graveyard and the odds were usually on his side. "Let's see how another Gamble pays off!" Neither of his signature Dice cards had made an appearance yet and Skull Dice had a 5/6 chance of securing his victory in this final battle.
"Too slow," Throwing Joey's objection back at him was Yusei's trap. "By sending one card from my hand to the Graveyard, Join Future will negate your trap! And my last move is to activate the effect of Junk Dragonlet in my graveyard." Swallowed momentarily by his Duel Disk, the card was instantly spat back out. "By removing it from my graveyard, I can increase my monster's attack by 800 points!" Even as the attack continued to grow in scope, Joey realised the powerful truth of the move – if he'd waited until his next turn, he'd still have 400 Life Points and Take One Chance would have worked.
"I see why Yugi likes you!" Yusei had planned for Joey to overcome his original counter and retaliate with a move of his own – it was the only way that he could discard Junk Dragonlet and use its effect in that turn. Even as he ducked from the shockwave and the explosive stream of light obliterated Red-Eyes Black Dragon, he had to admit that it was always something special to Duel against the King of Games.
Game Over
Winner: Yusei Fudo
Yusei let out a slow breath as he tried to unwind from the stress of the Duel. That last exchange had nearly exploded his heart out of his chest and he had a smile spreading inside. But later. For now, he pulled the Junk Dragonlet from his pocket and was in time to see the change as it happened. It was akin to a perception illusion, like the elephant with no feet or the vase that was two people looking at each other. He saw Junk Dragonlet at the same time that it was Backup Warrior, a very different Level 5 monster with 2100 ATK. Both well known to him, both long allies. Then the illusion collapsed and the card in his hand had always been Backup Warrior and he had no idea where Junk Dragonlet could have come from.
"That was awesome!" Being punched in the face was an insult. Being destroyed by a last-minute finisher that was the result of ninety years of advancement and freaking time travel was like being told that nothing less was worthy of his talents. Joey was comfortable being second-best behind Yugi (and could even pretend that a dramatic business mogul in an expensive white coat had a fraction of his boasted talents) but being shown that he could rank for the best Duellists in the century was the best consolation prize that end of history. "I didn't expect you to have two of those dragons. It really took me by surprise."
"Me too." He wasn't sure about that second one. It was wilder, less restrained than the normal version of Stardust. Using it was a sickening freedom he'd never known before, like the first adrenaline rush that dragged new riders to push their Runners to dangerous speeds. "I was expecting your Divine Knight to have an effect. I guess I must be early." By how far, he couldn't tell. But enough to watch his opponent's eyes widen with childish glee.
"Ishzark's gonna get an effect?" Maybe whatever foreshocks of the calamity were causing these news cards only affected the people from his time. Mai and Joey certainly seemed unfazed by the unpowered knight he had summoned. Ninety years was a long time and these were still the earliest days of Duel Monsters – anything could still happen.
"One day." Neither of the two was directly involved with card design and the monsters would be replaced by the time Jaden rose to prominence. Even if he had inadvertently spilt information from the future, the fallout was minimal. "Miss Valentine, if you'd care to show us how it's done, I'd be happy to put myself under your guidance."
"Sorry," She deflected coolly. "I forgot to bring my Deck along." Which was both imminently reachable in the penthouse if she wanted to get it or just barely far away enough to be out of reach if she didn't. How horribly convenient.
"That's a shame." While he and Joey had been thinking up strategies to use in the Duel, Mai had already crafted plans for in the Duel, avoiding the Duel, manipulating both players like a curl of hair around her thumb, and more. Yusei was duly impressed and fearful. "But, it's probably for the best. I was hoping we could go back upstairs anyway."
"Oh?" She watched the flicker of a tell deep inside one eye. "Why's that?"
"There's something I have to tell you, and I want to do it in person." This was easily the worst part of his job.
"I'm sorry." Confused faces searched each other for any hint of further information. Imprints still surrounded Rebecca and Duke's eyes where they had been carefully soldering salvaged computer parts back together, Téa still had that dispassionate look on her face, and Tristan looked very specifically irritated with Yusei for his timing on this announcement while Serenity looked as serene as her namesake. (Joey had taken one look at the deviation in their expressions and it had taken Mai's influence to keep him under control.) "I thought I could show up here and simply solve everything. I assumed that it would be easy, that I could beat this trap because I knew it was there. I'm so used to seeing you all in history books that I didn't stop to think about you all as living, breathing people."
"Tristan won't be one of those for much longer." Joey muttered pointedly before Mai nudged him back to sullen silence.
"I thought I had all the answers, that my plan was foolproof – it wasn't." A tacky smell of smoke still lingered through the floor and curdled in the air. (Yusei wasn't familiar with the shampoo in his room but he had no doubt it was expensive and effective since it had managed to save his hair in a single wash, instead of the usual three showers it took him with stuff from the local convenience store.) "I didn't account for the differences in my technology, I didn't think I'd be here for more than a few days, and I especially didn't expect to start the fire."
"Don't worry about it." Rebecca waved aside the problem like she had burning fumes. "Totally worth it as far as I'm concerned."
"Speak for yourself." Duke muttered, sporting several tiny burns on his fingers. He was more an inventor than innovator and spending a day hunched over doing soldering had ruined both his spine and his back.
"My point," Yusei was struggling to keep the conversation on track. "Is that I've been treating this as something only I can do but it's clear that I'm not enough. This is your time, a trap that was designed for your King of Games in settings that you are familiar with. I'm a stranger here, I need your help far more than you need mine – if you'll give it to me."
Tense silence lingered through the group as they processed the apology. "And you don't have any other ideas?" Rebecca asked bracingly. She liked having someone to talk science with but was wise enough to be wary of more fires – no matter how incredible the science that preceded them.
"Not really." Yusei shook his head in disappointment. Without even a starting point, they'd be facing an uphill struggle from the start. This group had no idea how insidious and terrifying Yliaster could be. It was like finding a camouflaged needle in a haystack of,
"If it was as easy as checking the news, Yugi would have noticed something going on and had time to prepare." Quantum physics wasn't Tristan's expertise but tactics were and he didn't need to know anything more complicated than 'second chance' to get started. "This guy probably spent some time acclimating to living here and is using normal cards to keep from being noticed."
"Or girl." Smiling dangerously, Mai was ready to let Joey off his leash at the unintentional oversight. "People underestimate us ladies a lot more than you think – if this Yliaster(?)" She looked to Yusei for the correct pronunciation. Nodding confirmation, he felt that he'd missed a step in the conversation. "Wants to be invisible, they might send a woman. You'll need to keep an open mind on that."
"People can't drop out of the sky and land themselves in a job." Téa pointed out. "I'd say to look for someone without medical issues and a spotless history that we can't confirm after a point."
"Wait a second," Yusei tried to interject
"They'll need some sort of ID and something they can sell to get funds for it." Serenity interrupted. "They might have done some underground Duels to get started – we can ask Pegasus what Industrial Illusions has heard from the Rare Hunters. Maybe reach out to Marik and Odion as well." If there had been any Duels involving unusual cards, they'd be sure to check in with the unusual suspects.
"Hold on a minute!" Raising his voice slightly, Yusei forced the conversation to a halt. This wasn't what he'd been expecting at all.
"What?" Picking one of the burns on his hands, Duke sounded bored as he twisted his dice through the fingers. "You said you were out of ideas. Got any problems with what we've said so far?"
"No, but." He ground to a halt as his brain failed to create an end to the sentence. Apologising hadn't been that hard for him (a widely-known, little-used secret to being a good boss was knowing when to apologise) but admitting he couldn't help was tough. Even when asked his opinion on topics that he knew little about, he always knew where to steer events so that everyone was satisfied. Without even realising it, Yusei had become accustomed to a certain level of authority all because he tried to help everyone all the time and people had started to trust him unconditionally.
"It's like you said." Stepping into her role as head of the pack, Téa took advantage of the prolonged gap. "We're going to help you find the person here to hurt Yugi and you're going to help us stop them. How is it any different to what Yugi's doing for you?" Even if they hadn't been trading favours, Yusei knew that they'd still be willing to help him. How had he forgotten that?
"You're right." Taking a deep breath, he felt some of the burden lift from his shoulders. "Okay then; what do you think we should do?"
All eyes turned to the raised hand in surprise. Of everyone in the room, Joey was neither the first choice at hunting down people who didn't want to be found nor the genius capable of putting together the sort of system that would take an international conglomerate to get working. "Anyone else?"
Anyone? Anyone will do! Even reviewers!