Birds of a Feather
It's been a short while since Yusei, Cody and all the others had their encounter with the duelist called the Black Rose. They decided to head over to Blister's garage. Of course, Leo and his friend Dexter headed home. After the gang settled down in Blister's garage, Cody and Yusei decided to tell each other what they'd been doing since coming to the city. Yusei told him about his time in the Facility and the reason why he'd been through things in there, like dueling Chief Armstrong...
"So you're saying Goodwin put you through that just to confirm that you have this strange mark on your arm?" Cody asked.
"That's right." Yusei nodded. "The Mark of the Crimson Dragon. That's what Yanagi calls it anyway."
"The Mark of the Crimson Dragon indicates that its bearer is destined to save the world from inevitable danger." Yanagi explained. "The fact that a mark appeared on your arm means that you're a Signer, just like Yusei."
Cody stared at his arm, the mark missing. "Come to think of it, I think I noticed the Black Rose's arm glow when I dueled her."
The old man widened his eyes. "Then she must be a Signer as well!"
"Get out of town!" Kai scoffed. "That's just some crazy bogus."
"Then how do you explain the way those marks appeared?" Blister asked.
"Or how the Black Rose was able to cause real damage with her psychic powers." Cody added.
Kai looked ready to retort, but he couldn't come up with anything. "Okay, you got me there."
"Wait, Cody." Yusei turned to his friend. "What do you mean 'psychic powers'?"
Cody didn't say anything for a moment before answering. "While I was looking around for the clues my parents hid away in the city, I ran into someone. Someone who turned out to be my childhood friend."
"Your childhood friend?" Yusei repeated.
Cody nodded. "Yeah. Her name is Misty Tredwell."
Yanagi laughed a bit. "My ears must be messing with me, because I thought you just said Misty Tredwell."
"Actually, I heard it too." Tanner replied.
"We all did." Kai added.
"What?" Yanagi looked surprised. "You're saying you're friends with Misty Tredwell? The number 1 supermodel in the world?"
"Yeah, I was pretty surprised myself when he mentioned that to me." Kai said with a smirk. "How did you manage to score a girl like her?"
Cody blushed at that. "It's nothing like that!" He then composed himself. "Anyway, after running into her, I told her what I've been doing. I also told her I faced two strange duelists... who were able to bring their cards to life, just like the Black Rose."
That surprised the gang. "You mean there are other duelists with crazy powers like her?" Blister asked.
"That's right, and according to Misty, there's an organization where psychic duelists are trained. They're called the Arcadia Movement."
"Arcadia Movement?" Tanner repeated.
"After explaining my situation to Misty, I went out to find the others." Cody continued.
"What do you mean? What happened?" Yusei inquired.
Cody frowned. "Well..." He then told them everything he'd been through.
"No way!" Yusei widened his eyes.
"It's true." Cody nodded, his gaze focused on the floor as he was sitting on the sofa. "It was the Morningstar Foundation that did all of this."
"Man, this is just messed up." Blister muttered.
"So let me get this straight..." Tanner said. "You were born from a wealthy family, who ended up being dead because of that Morningstar Foundation. And then, you somehow ended up in the Satellite with no clue about who you were. And now, you've been wandering around in the city to find some recorded messages from your parents, telling that Morningstar has been developing war machines to sell to military. Not to mention some stuff to give to Sector Security?"
In response to that, Cody clenched his hands. "And if that wasn't bad enough, they're holding Jeremy and the others captured."
"Oh dear." Yanagi whimpered. "There are even more people being kidnapped?"
Cody gave the old man a curious look. "What do you mean?"
Yusei approached him and pulled out the photo of Rally and the others. "Goodwin sent me an invitation to participate in the Fortune Cup, and said if I don't come, the guys back in the Satellite will pay."
"What?!" Cody exclaimed. "Why would he do such a thing?"
"My guess is he wants my mark to appear again."
Cody started to look angry. "Kidnapping our friends just to make some mark appear? That's messed up!"
"Well, I'm going to make sure they're okay." Blister replied. "As I told Yusei earlier, I found a workboat that'll take me to the Satellite tonight."
"You can get to the Satellite?" Cody asked, surprised.
Blister chuckled. "Yeah, Yusei already asked me that. Don't worry, I'll make sure they're okay."
"I appreciate it. But what about Jeremy and the others? I have to find them."
"We'll find them." Yusei replied. "I know you're worried about them. I'm worried as well. But we have a better chance finding them if we look together."
"Yeah, what he said." Kai added. "I can even have my guys looking around for ya."
Cody became silent after hearing that. After everything that happened up to this point, he didn't like the idea of getting his friends involved. But then, he remembered what Misty told him.
"You can't always do things on your own. Who knows how many people from the Morningstar Foundation are chasing you?"
He then remembered Kai's words from earlier.
"I hear ya, but you gotta be crazy if you're gonna do this alone. We're talking about a serious company here. You'll need all the help you can get."
He then even remembered what Yusei told him before they set off to New Domino City.
"We really don't know how dangerous the people who attacked your parents are. It's too risky to do it alone."
With that in mind, Cody nodded. "Alright, let's do it then."
"Then it's decided." Yusei said. "Well start looking tomorrow."
"And in the meantime, I'll go check on the others." Blister added as he began gathering a few things.
Unbeknownst to the gang, Lazar was outside the garage and eavesdropped on them. And he certainly looked concerned. "Oh dear, this was not what I expected to hear. I'd better report this to the Director." He muttered as he left the place.
However, Lazar had no idea that he was being watched himself. And the person watching him from the top of a nearby building, was no other than Mason's secretary, Veronica.
Next day, early in the morning.
The gate of a garage opened, revealing a certain green and purple duel runner with a bird-face.
Cody approached the Emerald Phoenix. "Time for a ride."
Meanwhile, somewhere back in the Satellite, there was a building with the SECURITY logo on its front. The interior of this building could be described as a warehouse of sorts. And there was a suspicious looking individual going through many drawers, humming to himself. "Ah..." He stopped in front of a particular one and opened it. "Jackpot!" He rummaged through it before pulling out a deck of cards. "These cards are just what I'm looking for." He said with a grin before loading more cards into his bag.
"We've got reports of a suspicious person out by the Impound lot. Looks like some underground dueler might be trying to get his deck back."
"Unit five-nine en route." One of two Security officers replied as they approached the building. When they arrived, they got off their vehicles and found a certain black and yellow duel runner with wings. "Whoa, looks like our suspicious person's got some style."
"I've never seen a duel runner like this before, partner." The other officer said.
"Now this is a crime." The thief commented as he kept rummaging through the drawers, loading more and more cards into his bag. "Keeping sweet cards like these locked up in here, while players back home can't even make up a decent deck."
"Check it out." One of the officers said as the duel runner suddenly beeped while flapping its wings. He stepped up and touched the thing with one hand. The moment he did that, a light flashed on the console, while he yelped when he received a shock. "Ugh! Now that's an alarm."
"Well, whoever's this bike is, it's Sector Security's now."
And the thief was still filling his bag with cards. "Crow, the Satellite's gonna love you for this!" He said with a grin.
As for the Security officers, they were getting ready to take Crow's duel runner away. "Aw man. This runner's gonna look sweet in my garage. Uh, I mean the Impound Center."
But what they didn't know was that it started to send a signal to a black duel disk strapped on Crow's left arm. "Looks like Sector Security's earlier than usual. Time to make my exit." Crow looked up at the barred vents, high up on the wall. "But I don't think the air vents are gonna work this time. Looks like it's plan B." He backed up and looked down a hallway. He then pulled a set of infrared goggles over his eyes. This allowed him to see the hallway full of security lasers. "Sweet! Plan B's my favorite! Ha!" He said with a grin as he pulled the goggles aside and dashed down the hall, tripping the security alarm, which sounded everywhere.
"Attention!" A voice said through the loudspeakers. "There's no way out! Surrender now!"
"There he is!" Crow noticed two Securities chasing after him. "Stop running and drop to the floor!"
"Oh I'm dropping to the floor alright... to the ground floor, that is!" Crow replied before smashing through a window and landed on top of a truck that was right outside the building. Right after that he jumped down to his duel runner. And right before he landed on it, he took off his duel disk. "Time to ride!" And then connected it to his duel runner. He put his helmet on. "Thanks for keeping an eye on 'er, but me and my ride gotta take off now. Try to keep up if ya can, officers!" And with that, Crow raced towards the gate, kicking up sparks from his wheels.
"Close the security gate, fast!" One of the officers ordered as another one made the gate to start closing.
"It's gonna be close...!" Crow said as he got closer to the gate. And then, just as the gate was closed... "Ah!" Crow made his duel runner jump. The officers were shocked to see him practically fly over the gate and get away.
They then reopened the gate and chased after him.
"Just try to keep up!" Crow then accelerated.
"He's getting away!" The officer chasing him cried out.
"Time to fly!" Crow pressed a button on the throttle.
"Flight mode engaged." His duel runner unfolded its wings before the jets on its rear turned on. And with a boosted speed, Crow turned to the right where there was a ruined building that looked like it collapsed a long time ago. He used one of its fallen walls as a make-shift board that allowed the runner to soar through the air and then fly over a fence, getting away from the officers.
"Nice try, folks!" Crow grinned to them. "But this bird's not going into a cage this time!"
But, because his eyes were focused on the securities chasing him, he failed to notice a puddle of black liquid on the ground he was headed to. And, at the moment he landed...
"Whoa!" His runner started to slip. He tried desperately to steady himself, but he ended up spinning out of control. "Whoawhoawhoawhoa!" This went on until he reached the edge of a small pit. So small, in fact, that it only had enough room for the front wheel of Crow's duel runner. "Aaah!" But it was enough to make his runner tilt and send him flying without it this time. "Ooff!" And he landed hard nearby. He groaned due to the pain before slowly getting up. He then took his helmet off and shook his head. "Man, talk about slipping away. But I'm sure those Securities won't quit that easily. Better take flight before-ugh!" It was then something hit the back on his head. And then, everything turned black.
Meanwhile, Cody was driving the Emerald Phoenix, going through the city. "Where could they be?" He muttered worriedly. "Any luck, Yusei?"
"Nothing yet." Yusei's voice was heard from his helmet.
"Man, where are they?!"
"Don't give up yet. We'll find them." Yusei assured him. He was on his duel runner, searching through another part of the city. "Especially with our friends helping us looking around."
Tanner and Yanagi were walking around the area near Bootleg, where Yusei first met Blister.
Kai was with some members of his gang, searching through an area full of old, abandoned buildings.
"So we'll just keep looking."
After hearing Yusei's words of encouragement, Cody nodded. "You're right. Let's keep going!" At that, he accelerated.
Meanwhile
"Ngh..." Crow groaned as he felt like he had a headache. He opened his eyes and found himself lying on the floor. He slowly got up. "Where am I-huh?" He then noticed that a chain was wrapped tightly around his waist, with a padlock. "Huh? What is this chain?"
"Look who's finally awake!" Crow turned to face the source of the voice and saw someone standing right in front of him. It was a guy wearing a black hoodie, with the hood covering his head, sunshades and black pants. The guy grinned to him. "The old birdbrain from the Enforcers. I was wondering when we would catch you."
"What the...? What's going on here?" Crow demanded. "Who are you?"
The guy scoffed. "Pretending that you don't recognize us, are you?"
"Us?" Crow repeated.
"That's right." Another voice spoke up from a bit away from the black-hooded guy. It was another person wearing a hoodie. A red hoodie, to be exact. He was also wearing blue jeans. He had some blonde hair sticking out and concealing his eyes. "You're dealing with us! The Street Phantoms!"
Crow widened his eyes and snapped his fingers. "Oooh, right. I remember now." He then smirked. "You're one of those weirdo gangs me and my pals dealt with long ago."
"Zip it!" The guy in red hoodie snapped. "You and your so called pals humiliated us and took over our territory!"
"And for that, you're gonna pay!" The guy in black hoodie added. He then grinned and pointed to a corner where a light shined down, revealing Crow's duel runner and bag. "And your stuff over there is a good start."
Crow widened his eyes before glaring at the Street Phantoms. "Hey, those things don't belong to you! Give them back!"
"Sorry, but that won't happen." Red replied.
"Unless... you can defeat us."
"Defeat you?" Crow blinked.
"That's right. We want to humiliate you in an appropriate way before we make our comeback in the Satellite." Red explained.
"And what could be more fun than taking you down in a tag duel?" Black added.
"Tag duel?" Crow repeated. "But I'm the only one you bozos are facing."
"Not exactly." A female voice spoke up from his left.
Crow turned to that direction and saw a familiar woman standing next to him. "Officer Storm?!"
"It's been a while." She simply greeted. She was dressed in her uniform again. And just like Crow, she had a chain wrapped around her waist.
"These guys caught you too?"
Cindy almost grimaced. "Unfortunately, yes."
Flashback
"I was on my usual patrol, keeping my eyes open for trouble."
Cindy was driving her Sector Security issued duel runner, going through the sector.
"And then, I happened to find these guys sneaking around for some reason, and decided to investigate."
She noticed the hooded duo sneaking into an old building. She pulled over before following them inside.
"But... they got the drop on me."
The moment she entered the building, the black hooded guy snuck up on her from behind, and struck her head with a metal pipe, knocking her out.
Flashback end
"After that, I woke up here." Cindy finished.
"Meaning that we get to take down one of those annoying Sector Securities as a bonus." Red said. "And with the pleasantries out of the way, let us begin!" With that, more lights turned on in the area. Thanks to that, Crow and Cindy could see that they were inside an abandoned storehouse.
"Now to explain the special rules of our tag duel." Black said. "For starters, each of us has been chained to a nifty machine."
It was then Crow noticed that he was standing on a conveyor belt. And Cindy noticed that she was standing on her own conveyor belt. Both of them turned around and saw what was right behind them. Behind each conveyor belt, was a big machine that had a cylinder that the chain was attached to. And above it was some kind of press.
"The machine is going to be linked to the duel disks we'll be using." Red explained. "And here's what makes it more interesting. Every time your team loses life points, you'll be dragged closer to the press."
"And as soon your life points reach 0..." Black trailed off with a grin befor clapping his hands. "SPLAT! Game over!"
Cindy gave the Street Phantoms a look of disbelief. "You want to beat us and then crush us? Are you insane?!"
"Relax, toots. Our team is chained up as well, making this fair and square." Red replied, pointing his thumb to the machines behind him and his partner.
"Then you realize that you'll be crushed if you lose, right?" Crow asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, we're not worried. For we can't lose." Black replied. "Now go ahead and pick up your duel disks."
Crow and Cindy looked down, and saw a grey duel disk placed right in front of each of them. Both of them picked them up. When they did, they each saw some kind of small black box that their respective duel disk was placed on.
"Oh right, we almost forgot." Red said. "Each of us has a special box as well. The boxes you have are linked to our duel disks, while our boxes are linked to yours. And each box contains a key that can be used to unlock the padlock that keeps your chain in place. So if you somehow manage to beat us, your boxes will open, allowing you to use the keys that will set you free."
"But let's not kid ourselves, cuz there's no way we can lose!" Black added. "Now then, shall we?"
Crow turned to Cindy. "Guess we got ourselves stuck in a crazy situation, huh?"
"Understatement of the week." Cindy replied. "As much as I want to stop this, we probably have no other choice. Think you can keep up with me?"
Crow grinned. "Funny, I was about to ask you the same question?" He then activated his duel disk. "You ready?"
Cindy smirked as she activated her own duel disk. "Sure thing."
The Street Phantoms activated their duel disks as well.
"LET'S DUEL!"
Crow & Cindy: 8000
Street Phantoms: 8000
"I'm up first!" Black drew his sixth card. "And I summon Fire Cracker in attack mode!" A dark-blue demon with small wings appeared. It had a bunch of firecrackers wrapped around its chest, forming an 'X'. (ATK: 1700 DEF: 200 LV: 4) "Then I activate Dark Room of Nightmare!" A spell card appeared on his field. "Every time you take effect damage, this card gives you an additional 300 points of damage."
"That's not good." Crow said.
"You got that right. Especially after I play my Ookazi spell card!" Black held up the named card. "This card allows me to cause 800 points of damage to you! Now feel the burn!" The spell card shot out a stream of flames that enveloped Crow, who grunted while holding up his arms.
Crow & Cindy: 8000-7200
"Man, that's burning alright." Crow muttered. "Huh?" He then noticed the blue demon lighting up a sparkler. "What's that guy doing?"
"Oh, you mean Fire Cracker? That would be his special ability. Every time you take effect damage, he gets a counter. Speaking of effect damage, the one you took from Ookazi will cost you another 300 points, thanks to Dark Room of Nightmare!" The named spell card glowed as a purple aura enveloped Crow, who grunted again.
Crow & Cindy: 7200-6900
"And of course, that gives Fire Cracker another counter." The demon lit up another sparkler. "Now that the two of you just lost life points, you're getting closer to getting crushed!" Black said as the machines behind Crow and Cindy started to react and drag them closer while their conveyor belts rolled at the same time.
"We're off for a bad start here." Crow commented.
"You think?" Cindy asked sarcastically.
"It gets worse." Black said as he inserted two cards into his duel disk. "I place two cards facedown and then activate another one of Fire Cracker's abilities. Once per turn, during the end phase, all counters he received due to his own effect are removed, and each one causes you 300 points of damage." The blue demon tossed his sparklers, one of them landing in front of one of the opposing players. And then, the sparks they emitted intensified, making Crow and Cindy cover themselves with their arms.
Crow & Cindy: 6900-6300
"And that gives Fire Cracker another counter while Dark Room of Nightmare gives you 300 more points of damage!" While the blue demon lit up a new sparkler, the spell card glowed while a purple aura enveloped Crow and Cindy.
Crow & Cindy: 6300-6000
"And Fire Cracker gets one more counter." The demon lit up another sparkler.
As for Crow and Cindy, they were getting closer to the presses. "They sure don't waste any time." The latter muttered before turning to her partner. "You think you can take it from here?"
"Well, let's see what I can do." Crow replied before drawing his sixth card and looking over his hand. "Hmm... Alright. I'll start by summoning Blackwing - Sirocco the Dawn in attack mode!" From a flash of light, a black-feathered bird-like figure appeared. It had scaly ostrich legs and a human face covered in a headdress resembling a bird's head. (ATK: 2000 DEF: 900 LV: 5)
Cindy blinked. "A level 5 monster?"
"Yeah, I know." Crow smirked. "This monster would normally require one sacrifice, but if my opponent has a monster on the field while I don't, I can summon it without sacrificing anything. With that done, I'll end my turn with two facedowns of my own." Two cards appeared near his feet.
"I hope you know what you're doing, because now we're taking more damage!"
And true to Cindy's words, Fire Cracker tossed his two sparklers at both of them, letting their sparks assault them.
Crow & Cindy: 6000-5400
And while Fire Cracker lit up another sparkler, Dark Room of Nightmare shot a beam of energy at Crow and Cindy.
Crow & Cindy: 5400-5100
And after the blue demon lit up one more sparkler, Crow and Cindy were dragged even closer to the presses.
"Then it's my turn." Red drew. "And I summon Mucus Yolk in defense mode!" The monster appearing in front of him was a reddish glob with a glowing core in its centre. It turned blue right after it appeared. (ATK: 0 DEF: 100 LV: 3)
"Really?" Crow raised an eyebrow. "After what your partner just pulled off, I didn't expect a lame monster like that from you."
"How's this for lame?" Red held up one of his cards. "I play Mystical Space Typhoon! Now one spell or trap card is destroyed. You can say goodbye to the one on the right!" The spell card released a whirlwind that hit one of Crow's facedown cards and shattered it into pixels. "What do you say about that, birdbrain?" Red asked with a grin.
However, Crow was grinning back. "Hate to break it to ya, but that card was a boobytrap."
"Eh?" The Street Phantoms gave him a confused look.
"Or, more precisely... Blackwing - Boobytrap!" The pixels gathered together and formed a face-up trap card. "And since you destroyed this facedown card with a Blackwing monster on my field, your team takes 1000 points of damage, and I get to draw a card." The trap card released a whole bunch of black feathers that enveloped the Street Phantoms.
Street Phantoms: 8000-7000
And with that, the two of them were dragged closer to their own presses.
"Not bad." Cindy said with a smirk.
"I do what I can." Crow replied while drawing his extra card.
"Cheap shot. Not that it helps you." Red said while inserting a card into his duel disk. "I'll end my turn with one facedown."
"And that means Fire Cracker strikes once again!" Black added as the blue demon tossed its two sparklers at Crow and Cindy.
Crow & Cindy: 5100-4500
It then lit up another sparkler while Dark Room of Nightmare shot out another energy beam at them.
Crow & Cindy: 4500-4200
The demon then lit up another sparkler.
"Alright, Officer. I hope you can take care of those fireworks." Crow commented.
"I'll try." Cindy drew. She looked over her hand. 'This might do...' She smirked. "First I activate the field spell, Harpie's Hunting Ground!" The entire area was engulfed by a transparent image of the familiar mountain area.
"What's with these mountains?" Red wondered.
"Just something to even up the playing field. From now on, all winged beast type monsters gain 200 attack and defense points. That includes my partner's feathery friend over there."
Crow smirked as his bird-like monster glowed with a blue aura. (ATK: 2000-2200 DEF: 900-1100) "My kind of field spell."
"I'm just getting started. Now I summon Harpie Dancer in attack mode!" From a flash of light, the platinum haired Harpie clad in black and grey appeared. (ATK: 1200-1400 DEF: 1000-1200 LV: 4) "When she's on the field or in the graveyard, her name becomes Harpie Lady, which triggers the second effect of my field spell. Whoever summons a Harpie Lady or Harpie Lady Sisters must destroy one spell or trap card on the field. And I think I choose the one the 'Red Riding Hood' just played."
Red's facedown card shattered into pixels. "Why you..." He growled.
"And next I activate Harpie Dancer's special ability. Once per turn, I can return one wind monster I control to my hand in order to summon another one. So I'll take back my Dancer..." The Harpie vanished. "And then summon Harpie Queen!" And with that, a new Harpie appeared. This one was clad in a blue bodysuit, and had white feather wings and green hair tied in a long ponytail. (ATK: 1900-2100 DEF: 1200-1400 LV: 4) "And just like my previous Harpie, this one counts as a Harpie Lady while on the field or in the graveyard, meaning I get to destroy another spell or trap."
One of Black's facedown cards shattered into pixels.
"And now Harpie Queen, attack their Fire Cracker!" The Harpie charged forward.
"Nice try! But I still have one trap card on the field!" Black's remaining facedown card flipped up and glowed. After that, Harpie Queen was suddenly stopped by an invisible force. "It's called Gravity Bind, and as long as this trap card is in play, all level 4 or above monsters can't attack!"
Cindy clicked her tongue. "Just our luck. I end my turn."
"Then you take more damage from Fire Cracker!" Black grinned as the blue demon tossed its two sparklers at Cindy and Crow.
Crow & Cindy: 4200-3600
It then lit up a new sparkler while Dark Room of Nightmare blasted them.
Crow & Cindy: 3600-3300
And with that, the blue demon lit up one more sparkler.
"That's right, feel the burn!" Black cracked before he and Red laughed while Cindy and Crow were getting closer to their presses.
Meanwhile
Cody met up with Yusei and the others. "Did you guys find anything?" He asked.
Yusei shook his head. "Nothing."
"Same here." Tanner added while Yanagi looked slightly ashamed.
"Nothing at my end either." Kai added. "Not even my gang could find anything.
Cody looked frustrated. "Man, where are they?!"
"Calm down, Cody." Yusei told him.
"I can't calm down!" He replied angrily. "Jeremy and the others are kept who knows where! Who knows what Morningstar Foundation is doing to them?"
"Just take it easy, okay? Those people are after your family's secret, so I'm sure they're keeping them alive."
Cody lowered his head. "Yeah, but for how long?" He then noticed a tall building in a far distance. It had a big insignia in the form of a 'M' and 'S'. "Wait, what's that building?"
Kai followed his gaze and widened his eyes. "Oh! That would be the Morningstar Foundation building."
Everyone else gasped.
"Oh my..." Yanagi said in awe.
"Well, what do you know." Tanner added.
"I'm surprised we didn't find that place." Kai commented.
Cody narrowed his eyes and started to walk away. But Yusei grabbed his arm and stopped him.
"Wait Cody! Where are you going?"
"Where do you think?" He asked.
"You're not headed to that place, are you?" Yanagi wondered worriedly.
"Why not? If our friends are kept somewhere, it must be there."
"Cody, you can't rush into there." Yusei said sternly. "If you just walk into there, then it's all over."
Cody clenched his hands. "Yeah, but..."
"Listen, I want to rescue them as much as you do, but we have to think of this carefully. Think about it. Mason Morningstar is holding them hostage just to get to you. If we're going to rescue them, then we need a plan."
Cody was trembling in anger. But it lasted just for a moment before he sighed. "... You're right."
"Good." Kai pitched in. "Then how about we head back and brainstorm a rescue plan?"
Everyone nodded and started to head back.
They came out of an alleyway and walked down the street. No people who passed by seemed to pay them any attention... except for one person. A mysterious woman clad in a grey coat and a red cloth that kept her hair hidden. The woman turned to the gang. Specifically, she turned to Cody. She noticed his face right before he put his hood on and she gasped.
While all of this was happening, a pure white limousine was on the road. And, the person sitting inside of it, on the passenger seat, was none other than Director Goodwin. And he was currently in deep thought...
Flashback
"And that's all to it." Lazar said.
After eavesdropping on the conversation Cody, Yusei and the gang had last night, he returned to Sector Security HQ and told Goodwin everything he heard.
The director narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure you heard everything right?"
"Believe me, Director, I know what I heard."
The director folded his fingers. "Well, I certainly didn't expect something like this. I always thought there was something familiar about Cody Cooper. And now it's all clear. Cedric and Sandra Cooper. The former owners of New Domino Techno Corp. Those who met their tragic end over 10 years ago, with their only son gone missing for reasons unknown."
"And that missing son is Cody Cooper? But that would mean that he's not truly a Satellite." Lazar deduced with wide eyes.
"Indeed. And who would have thought that the CEO of Morningstar Foundation would be the one behind that awful incident? This is most troubling."
"So what should we do, Director?" Lazar wondered. Though the director remained silent.
Flashback end
'I think I need to confront Mr. Morningstar.' He thought to himself.
However, he failed to notice that his driver, dressed in a black uniform, had an evil smirk on his face.
Meanwhile, somewhere else
"Oh dear, this just got complicated." Lazar muttered as he walked down a hallway. "I just hope the director knows what he's doing..."
"Are you okay?"
"What happened?"
"Hm?" He looked ahead and noticed something was going on from a distance. "What's going on here?" He rushed over to the commotion and was surprised by an unusual sight. He saw two maids helping out a black-haired man who, for some unknown reason, was wearing nothing but his underwear. "What is this?!" He asked in a shocked tone.
"We found him lying here unconscious." One of the maids replied.
The man grunted while rubbing his head. "I... I was on my way to the limousine, when someone attacked me from behind and stole my uniform."
Lazar had a horrified look. "Oh dear. Then that means..."
Back to Goodwin
The limo kept going until it stopped inside a parking house.
Goodwin noticed this. "What are you doing? This isn't our destination!"
The window separating him and the driver opened. "Actually... it is." The driver said before tossing a metallic sphere at him. It then instantly released some gas. Goodwin ended up coughing while the window closed itself, allowing the driver to watch as the director eventually lost consciousness. He then reached for his earpiece. "Target acquired."
"Excellent." Veronica replied from a different place, smirking. "Now there's only one thing left to do." She pulled out something from her pocket. It was a disc.
Back to Cindy and Crow
"Now, what to do?" Black said and began his turn. "I know! How about I activate the spell card, Final Flame!" He held up one of his cards. "Thanks to this, you take 600 points of damage!" The spell released a stream of flames that briefly engulfed Cindy and Crow.
Crow & Cindy: 3300-2700
"And you know what happens next, right?" The blue demon lit up another sparkler while Dark Room of Nightmare blasted them again.
Crow & Cindy: 2700-2400
It then lit up another sparkler, while Cindy and Crow got even closer to their presses.
"And since my Fire Cracker has a total of 4 counters now, the damage you're about to take is even bigger than before!" The blue demon tossed all four of its sparklers at them, making them get assaulted by the sparks.
Crow & Cindy: 2400-1200
And while the demon lit up a new sparkler, Dark Room of Nightmare blasted them again.
Crow & Cindy: 1200-0900
It then lit up one more sparkler, and the Satellite and Security got really closer to the presses.
"We're almost out of life points." Cindy pointed out nervously.
"Good thing I have a way to fix that." Crow said with a smirk as he began his turn. "First, I summon Blackwing - Hurricane the Tornado in attack mode!" Another humanoid bird appeared. It was shorter than Sirocco the Dawn, but was quite muscular, like a bodybuilder. It had black feathers all over its body, but there were feathers on the top of its head that were split into two colors: Dark pink and yellow. It was wearing a white muscle shirt and black pants. (ATK: 0-200 DEF: 0-200 LV: 1)
Cindy gave him a weird look. "No offense, but is that really the best you can do?"
"Relax, Officer, I know what I'm doing. Since I happen to have a Blackwing on the field, I can summon this birdie from my hand. Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind!" Another humanoid bird appeared, about the same size as Jin. It had mostly violet feathers on its body, with its face covered in green feathers. It also had a white tuff on its chest. (ATK: 1300-1500 DEF: 400-600 LV: 3) "And that was a special summon. Which means I can activate a trap card known as Black Return!" Crow's facedown card flipped up. "This lets me select one of your monsters, and then, I gain life points equal to that monster's attack points, right before it goes back to your hand. So... there goes your Fire Cracker!"
"What?!" Black exclaimed as the blue demon was enveloped by a blue aura. And then, the same aura enveloped Crow.
Crow & Cindy: 0900-2600
And then, the blue demon vanished from the field. Black growled.
"Now we're talking." Cindy said with a smirk.
"And now, check out Sirocco's special ability! He combines the attack points of all Blackwings I have in play for one master blast!" Sirocco and Gale each gathered a ball of purple energy in their talons/wings. And then, they wrapped it around Hurricane, giving him an aura of the same color. The cocoon of energy shattered as he flexed his feather covered muscles, feeling more powerful than before. (ATK: 200-3900) "Now go ahead and attack them directly!" The muscular humanoid bird charged forward and delivered a right hook on Black, knocking him down on his conveyor belt.
Street Phantoms: 7000-3100
After that, the Street Phantoms were dragged closer to their presses.
"And to wrap things up here, I'll end my turn with a facedown!" Crow concluded while inserting a card into his duel disk. (ATK: 3900-200)
"Don't think you'll beat us so easily!" Red scoffed and drew. "First I'll switch my Mucus Yolk to attack mode." The glob turned red. "Then I activate the spell card, Back-Up Rider!" Red held up a spell that released some red energy that was absorbed by the glob. "With this, I can increase a monster's attack points by 1500 for one turn." (ATK: 0-1500) "And guess what. My Mucus Yolk can attack you directly. So this is gonna hurt!" The glob core glowed even brighter before shooting out a beam of energy.
"Not so fast! I activate the trap card, Fake Feather!" Crow's facedown card flipped up. "By sending 1 Blackwing from my hand to the graveyard, I can use a normal trap card from your graveyard. Now, let's see what you have to choose from." As he slid a monster card into his graveyard slot, a couple of holographic card images appeared right in front of him. After looking at them both, he grinned. "Nice! This one will do!" He pointed at the one of the left. And then, the card images vanished. And after that, the image of his own trap card changed. "Magic Cylinder!"
The Street Phantoms paled. "Uh oh!"
"Uh oh is right! Because with this trap, I can send your attack right back to you!" Two giant cylinders with question marks appeared. The energy beam was absorbed into one cylinder. And right after that, it came out of the other one and was sent right back at the Street Phantoms.
Street Phantoms: 3100-1600
They then got even closer to their presses. Red growled. "Don't think you'll be so lucky next time. I end my turn with three facedowns!" He inserted three cards into his duel disk. (ATK: 1500-0)
"Looks like we're not out of the game just yet." Cindy said as she began her turn.
"I activate my trap! Dust Tornado!" One of Red's facedown cards flipped up. "This lets me destroy one spell or trap card on the field. And I'll destroy your field spell!" A whirlwind enveloped Cindy, who almost yelped in surprise. And then, her field spell trey opened up, causing the transparent mountain environment vanish. (ATK: 2100-1900 DEF: 1400-1200) (ATK: 2200-2000 DEF: 1100-900) (ATK: 1500-1300 DEF: 600-400) (ATK: 200-0 DEF: 200-0)
"That's not good." Crow said.
"I'm not too worried." Cindy replied. "I summon Harpie Dancer again!" The platinum haired Harpie appeared again. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 1000 LV: 4) "And she's about to give Harpie Queen a tune up!" She took flight.
"But she's not a tuner monster!" The Street Phantoms protested.
Cindy smirked. "True, but the monster I'm synchro summoning can use a Harpie as a tuner." Harpie Dancer turned into four stars, which then turned into rings of green light and surrounded Harpie Queen. The green-haired Harpie was then replaced by four stars that created a beam of light. "And she's known as Cyber Slash Harpie Lady!" The light died down and revealed the dark pink haired Harpie in golden armor. (ATK: 2600 DEF: 1400 LV: 8)
"Nice move." Crow complimented.
"Too bad my Gravity Bind is still in play." Black reminded them.
"Like I said, I'm not too worried." Cindy said as she inserted a card into her duel disk. "I'll end my turn with one facedown."
"My turn!" Black drew. He looked at his new card and grinned. "First I summon back my old pal, Fire Cracker!" The blue demon appeared again. (ATK: 1700 DEF: 200 LV: 4) "Then I activate the spell, Thunder Short! Now for each monster the two of you happen to have on the field, you take 400 points of damage."
Crow and Cindy gasped. "And since we have a total of 4 monsters in play, that makes 1600." The officer said.
"Plus 300 from Dark Room of Nightmare, making it a total of 1900." Black replied. "And as you know, Fire Cracker gets one counter for each effect damage you take, meaning once this turn is over, you'll take 600 points of damage from him!"
"Plus another 300 points from that Nightmare card." Crow deduced, looking thoughtful. "That makes 900 in total. 1900 + 900 equals..." His eyes widened. "Uh oh!"
Red grinned. "That's right! The two you are about to get crushed."
"Now let them have it!" Black shouted as his spell card shot out bolts of lightning.
"I had a feeling you'd do that." Cindy siad with a smirk. "Which is why I prepared the trap card, Pikeru's Circle of Enchantment!" Her facedown card flipped up and created some kind of magic circle that appeared on the ground before expanding until it surrounded both her and Crow. And then, it created a barrier that blocked the lightning bolts.
"What?!" Black exclaimed.
"What just happened?!" Red demanded.
"Simple. My trap card makes it so any effect damage me and my partner would take during this turn is reduced to 0."
The Street Phantoms looked annoyed.
"So much for the big combo." Crow commented with a grin.
"And there's also my Cyber Slash Harpie Lady's special ability." Cindy continued. "As soon as a spell or trap card is activated, I can have her send a monster on the field back to its owner's hand. So you can take back Fire Cracker."
"Not again!" Black complained as the blue demon vanished again. He then growled. "This is far from over! I'll end my turn with a facedown." He inserted a card into his duel disk. 'Good thing I have a second Magic Cylinder prepared. If the birdbrain attacks with his low-level monster, I'll just block it!'
"Looks like it's my turn then!" Crow drew.
"I activate Breakthrough Skill!" Red interrupted as he revealed one of his facedown cards. "This lets me negate the special abilities of one of your monsters for the remainder of the duel. And I choose your Sirocco!" Sirocco fell down to one knee as a red aura enveloped him.
"That's not good." Cindy muttered.
"Ha! Now you can't combine your monsters' attack points!" Red pointed out with cockiness in his voice before glancing at his remaining facedown card. 'And of course, if you try to summon another low-level monster you can attack with, I'll just unleash my Torrential Tribute and destroy all monsters on the field. It's over for you!'
But, despite this turn of events, Crow was smirking. "You may have neutralized Sirocco, but thanks to my partner, I can use Hurricane's ability."
"Eh?" The Street Phantoms gave him a confused look.
"You see, if there happens to be a synchro monster on the field, Hurricane can copy that monster's attack points for one turn!"
"Oh!" Cindy looked interested.
"Which means her Cyber Slash Harpie Lady will now borrow her strength!" A green aura enveloped the Harpie before spreading over to the muscular bird, who flexed his muscles. (ATK: 0-2600)
The Street Phantoms gasped.
"So now he's ready to go! But before that, I activate a trap card from my hand. And this one goes by Delta Crow - Anti Reverse!"
Cindy blinked. "From your hand?"
"You can't do that!" The Street Phantoms protested.
"I can when I have 3 Blackwings on my field. After all, birds of a feather flock together, and you're on the wrong side of the nest. Now Delta Crow destroys all the facedown spell or trap cards on your field!" Their facedown cards shattered. "And that leaves you defenseless. Now Blackwing - Hurricane! Take out that Mucus Yolk!" The humanoid dashed over towards the glob.
The Street Phantoms panicked for a moment before looking at each other. They then nodded before reaching into their pockets.
At that moment, Hurricane landed a punch on the glob, making it explode.
Street Phantoms: 1600-0000
After that, the boxes Crow and Cindy had opened up, each one of them revealing 1 key.
"Looks like we're free." Crow commented.
But Cindy frowned. "Those two, on the other hand, aren't so lucky." They then turned to their opponents' side, where the presses crushed them... or, that's what they thought. But to their confusion, there was no sign of their bodies there. "Huh? Where'd they go?"
"Take a look at their chains!" Crow pointed to the objects in questions.
Cindy followed his finger and noticed that the padlocks on the chains have been unlocked. "Look at that. Do you think...?"
"Spare keys?" Crow filled in.
"Spare keys." Cindy repeated.
"You got that right!" The two of them turned and saw the Street Phantoms on Crow's duel runner.
"You may think we are sore losers, but who cares?" Red grinned.
"Time for us to leave with the goods!" Black added as he revved up the runner and started to take off.
"Oh no you don't!" Cindy quickly unlocked her padlock, freeing herself, before jumping off her conveyor belt with a flip. And just in time to land a hard kick that got both of them off the duel runner. They ended up hitting on a nearby wall, where they were now lying on the floor with swirling eyes.
"With the kind of stuff the two you just pulled, I believe you'll be spending a looong time in the Facility." Cindy remarked with a smirk. She then widened her eyes when she heard the sound of an engine, and turned around just in time to see Crow racing off on his duel runner, with his stolen goods at hand.
"Hate to duel and run, but I've got some delivery to do. See ya!"
"Hey, come back!" Cindy called out, but Crow was long gone. She sighed at this, but smiled a bit. "Oh well..." She then turned to the downed Street Phantoms. "At least I got these two.
A little later
Crow continued onwards through the Satellite, until he arrived at a certain shelter where the kids he'd been taken care of was playing around until they saw him.
"Look! It's Crow!"
"He's back!"
All of them rushed over to him. "What'd you bring us? What'd you bring us?"
"I wanna see!"
Crow took off his helmet. "First, have all you kids been good?"
"YEAH!"
"Well, in that case..." He pulled out some of the cards he stole, "Tada!"
"Thanks, Crow! They're great!"
"Are they ours? Like for keeps?"
"Every kid needs a duel deck! And Uncle Crow just found these lyin' around. Just promise, that you won't let Sector Security see ya playing with these cards. Cuz if you do..." Crow pointed to his heavily marked self. "then they might just come looking for this face. But I promise that one day Sector Security won't bother us no more."
The kids cheered.
Crow then looked up to the sky. 'Come to think of it, I hope they didn't stop Yusei and Cody from getting to New Domino City.' He then shrugged. 'Nah, I'm sure they're fine.'
As for Yusei and Cody, the two of them, along with the rest of the gang, were walking down the street in silence. And, from a distance, the mysterious woman followed the group. After a while, they gang walked into an alleyway. The woman was about to get in there as well. But right before she was about to get around the corner, a hand grabbed her arm, surprising her before she was dragged in and pinned down against the wall.
And the person who kept her in place was Tanner, and he was not happy. "I thought that someone was following us!" He said as all the others surrounded the two of them. "Now, who are you? Why are you tailing us?"
"You better not have something to do with the Morningstar Foundation!" Kai said, glaring at her. "Otherwise, I don't care if you're a lady, I'm gonna be rough on you!"
The woman struggled in Tanner's grip but couldn't get loose. She then noticed Cody (with his hood on) standing next to Yusei. "M-Master Cody?"
"Huh?" The gang looked confused. Especially Cody.
"Master Cody?" Yanagi repeated. "What's with that?"
"You tell me?" Kai replied.
Yusei turned to his friend. "Cody?"
He got a little closer to the woman. "Who are you?"
"Master Cody..." The woman repeated. "Is that really you? I always wondered what happened to you after your parents' murder."
Cody remained silent for a moment before he widened his eyes. "Wait a minute! Could it be...?"
Sorry, everyone. I've been lazy and took more time working on this chapter than intended. I just hope the wait was worth it. Until next time, I wish you all Happy Easter.