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Yu-gi-oh 5Ds: Rise of Darkness and Corruption (Athene/ImaginaryMuse & Razgriz)


"Indeed; with all that has happened, I can appreciate that you realize I'm pressed for time. Perhaps when an opportunity arrives that is more conducive to conversation, we can discuss this in detail. Until then, take care of yourself, Fayth." was his reply, obliging by her request to be called by her given name before Mikage came in and led her out.

With their meeting concluded, Goodwin would see to his own matters...Namely the still-present issue of the theft of Beelze cards, along with the issue of having the randomizer tampered with. With this in mind, he had a message sent down saying the next set of duelists would have to wait while the issue was investigated.

A short delay would do him some good too; he needed to figure who this 'Fiend' was anyway, and make sure that little punk didn't interfere any further. Those Beelze cards were dangerous, even more so now that the rogue elements had them.

Once Mikage returned, he instructed her to see to Jack; now that his prodigy had had his fun, he needed to get ready for the Fortune Cup itself. Even if it was still far away. And of course, the last item was keeping tabs on Fayth Milner; if she truly was a Signer, then it would behoove him to be kept abreast of everything she did. Especially since the duelist named Mister E - he would need to find his real name, if only to stop using what was clearly a fake name - had confirmed a group was hunting these 'Agents of the Light'.

And with everything that had happened so far, he found it better to be safe than sorry. Thankfully, there was one thing that did work out: The recruiting drive for Sector was an enormous success, even with all the trouble those brats in the Satellite caused. But first things first: Get the randomizer checked out by the techs, then get this tournament series back underway. He would get a detail gathered for tracking Fayth's whereabouts later; he had little doubt she would want to do much else after such a trying experience.


"Not a damn clue, Yuna...But best we don't bring it up here. That'd make the next conversations even more awkward." Hotsuma replied, chuckling as she remarked about how Mister E's little stunt got to her. "Damn, he really got under your skin, didn't he?" Hotsuma joked, watching his lover leave the room.

"Hotsuma...So, if you don't mind my asking, when exactly are you guys leaving?" Yamichi then asked, Hotsuma replying "Not entirely sure...We'll definitely let you guys know though. It might be by the end of the week though...Longer we wait, more time Sector has to plan their bullshit." Hotsuma then patted his right-hand man on the shoulder, "And hey buddy...Look, I know we're about to walk right into a shitshow. But I promise, Yuna and I do have a plan. And we will get back out. Name one time I broke a promise..."

And when Yamichi said nothing, Hotsuma just grinned, "I thought so. I appreciate you looking out for me though. Even still...You should see about entering a tournament. Ask Takeshi and Hajime if they want; I know you guys will kick some ass. And once we're out, we'll join right along with you guys."

Yamichi just blinked, before chuckling, "Yeah...Might be a good way to kill some time. Think I'll do that."


About a week and a half later, Yuna and Hotsuma had things - largely - figured out. Naturally, there were some smaller details that they couldn't figure out, but that was because they couldn't really get much else until they were inside. Which suited Hotsuma just fine; they would likely have to play it by ear anyway. And since they would be largely going in blind, Yamichi did them a solid and helped identify patrols that were newer and lower in rank, stating that they would have a better chance of being taken alive if newer officers arrested them.

After all, Hotsuma was - unsurprisingly - the subject of one of the largest manhunts after the assault on the reactor building. They still referred to him by his alias 'Sosuke'. No bounty was offered, but that wasn't too surprising since it would only embolden the criminal elements to track him down, and Sector wasn't keen on handing out reward money to fund their illict operations.

Regardless, with all the pieces set...It was time to put their plan in to action.


With her tournament concluded for now, it was time for plenty of relaxation and planning on how to proceed. Unknown to her, Goodwin had finished putting together an observation detail, tracking her every move. The Director watched keenly each time a report was made; she certainly knew how to lay low. Even so, he needed one more field test...See if she truly was a Signer.

And he knew just how to do it; when he knew she would be home, there would be a knock at her door before a letter came through the mail slot. In it she would find a letter from Jack, reading

"Fayth -

I've had some time to think about what you said, and after what happened with the tournament, it might be best if we met again.
I can't say I'll fully agree with everything you might tell me, but I will promise to listen with an open mind and reserve judgment.
Meet me on the western edge of New Domino past the Sector checkpoint."

- The King, Jack Atlas


And if she noticed, it was written in Braille; certainly odd that he would draft a personal letter, let alone one tailored to accommodate her disability. But he did show a hint of humanity or two last night; and the tournament certainly had its fair share of strange turns during her participation.

Now all that remained to be seen was if she would follow through.
 

Yuna merely flashed Hotsuma a knowing look before eliciting a low 'hmph'. "Of course he did. But hey, not like I was alone in reacting negatively to him. Literally everyone here loved him as much as I did. Not at all, that means."

A smug smirk crossed her face. She hadn't mentally replied to the last message, but it wasn't needed. Hotsuma could fairly assume she'd tucked the words away and would simply keep them in mind. Plus, like he said, it was a talk that should wait for later.

While Yuna headed up, Hajime cleared his throat, signaling to mainly Hotsuma he hadn't left. "I am still right here, silly. Hmmm. I suppose we did have to stay cooped up here for the past few weeks. Maybe I will. Need to make sure I haven't lost my touch; or, if I have, that I can improve on it. So ... "

His head turned, landing on Yamichi now. "That leaves one final question. What do you say? You want in on this offer also?"

And there it was; an affirmative response. "Okay then. I'm gonna retire to look over my deck right quick."
The 'small' details - if one could call them that - consisted of things like whether Yuna should hint whom Sector would be able to recognize her as. Yukio. But in the end, she and Hotsuma agreed to keep that hidden. It was a precious secret that wasn't something to simply hand over to the Sector bastards.

If they found out on their own, fine. That would be ... annoying. But at least not done out of recklessness on Yuna's behalf.

"So ... Hajime? Don't do anything I wouldn't, alright?"

"Heh. Don't need to tell me twice." His face turned stoic as the blue-haired lad looked over to her shoulder. "You sure that's gonna be fine?"

"Yeah. I am. If push comes to shove, we're finding newbies. I doubt they're wreck it so badly it'll be useless. Maybe a bit bruised, but ... nothing I can't handle, okay?"

" .... Okay. You ... better be cautious about that, alright?"

Yuna playfully rolled her eyes, even lightly shoving Hajiime back. "Geez. You're not my dad, okay? Chill. I'll live. I promise."

By now, the sling was gone. As was most of her soreness. Still. Hajime was right. It was just a bit below 100% healed. More like 98 ... 99%. Something along those lines.

It may only be 1-2% away from full health, but even that could make all the difference. Yuna had learned that time and time again in the past.

Within an hour or so, everyone from both Yomi and the Disciples were heading towards their respective destinations, ready to accomplish the goals they had all agreed upon.
Meanwhile, over the past week and a half, Fayth would look ... normal. As if she had been in the Tops her whole life, but opted to live a more reclusive life.

The first thing she did after the tournament was cash her check in and deposit it into her account; something anyone could have fairly assumed.

Every three or so nights, however, she would use her disk in an interesting way. More like a phone, it would be told. The calls were always the same, to some person named Reiji.

Most of the talks had mentions of 'Is it fixed yet?' or 'How are the repairs coming along?', but they were mostly brief and otherwise unimportant.

The night her letter arrived, however, she had heard something new.

"Fayth-san? I'm very pleased with how you've been doing. I have figured out someone to send over." He would raise a hand, pausing her from getting too happy. "Unfortunately, it's not to aid out with your disk. Now, don't take this offensively, but can you honestly tell me you haven't had any troubles while living in that dimension?"

When he saw Fayth's head lower slightly, he nodded, pushing his glasses up. "I expected as much. So, you're going to get an escort of sorts. Someone who has been in the Synchro Dimension before, and even has a deck to blend in. She's one of the top students in LDS' class. She'll arrive shortly."

Fayth nodded, sighing softly. "Alright. Understood. Thanks, Rei -- "

Before she could finish, the knock on her door finally registered. Poor Fayth jumped at the sudden noise, her head quickly turning. Thankfully, Reiji was smart and didn't need to be told to be quiet.

The two would wait, with Reiji only speaking when he was certain whomever had knocked was gone.

"Hmm? Were you expecting someone?"

"No. Definitely not."

"Do you want me to hang up?"

"Not yet, no. I know you're not actually beside me. But ... the illusion is reassuring for me. If that makes any sense."

She couldn't see it, but Fayth definitely felt the smirk that had formed on Reiji's lips. "I think I do understand well enough. Very well. I'll wait."

Walking forward, Fayth would feel the letter ... letters? Were there two?

Odd.

She walked back with them, angling her disk so Reiji could read along with her. His tone easily revealed he had at least one eyebrow raised, but kept quiet until he saw Fayth's fingers reach the end of the Braille letter. "So? What do you make of this?"

"I ... I don't know. I almost scoffed and wanted to crumble this up. But ... he did make the right move during that mini-tournament. Maybe he's not completly bull-shitting me. And you did say even the one in our location eventually got on ... decent terms with Yuya, yes?"

"Indeed, correct. But Fayth ... I don't like this. It feels ... off. If you're going to go, please use caution. Especially because Fuyu needs a few days or so to be fully prepared."

"Agreed. It's not like I'm overly trusting of this Jack. But ... he definitely got my attention. He already found this place somehow. I feel like ... ignoring this would only make things worse for me, not better."

Reiji nodded, still not liking her reply ...but at least understanding exactly where she was coming from. "Fair. Alright. Take care, and I'll talk to you later."

The device hummed briefly for a few seconds before going silent, signaling the call had come to an end.

Fayth pondered what deck to take ... and choes to grab her fairy. Even in the letter, he openly admitted he may not believe everything. So even though it was dumb that he tried to accuse her primary deck of being fake, it was easier. It was more so infuriating because he truly had seen her duel, and her disk work the entire time.

At leeast it was in her mind, to bring the deck there would be no questions asked about seemed like the smarter idea.

Taking a slight breath, Fayth nodded, changing into a different outfit. The nights had been more warm than chilly, hence all the looser articles of clothing.

The walk past the Sector checkpoint was relatively simple to get to. The hardest part, really, was keeping a low profile while getting past Sector and any night officers out and about.

Licking her lips, she let out a low but audible whistle. "I'm hoping you were for real about this meeting, because I'm here."

Hopefully, if push came to shove, she would only need her deck. She really didn't enjoy feeling forced to use any kind of violence like she'd done with the shop owner in front of Yusei.

Then again, he really had earned it.

So ... if this letter was real and Jack truly had wised up a bit, hopefully none of those measures would be needed.
 

As the pair went on their merry way, each riding their respective D-Wheelers, it was certainly a bittersweet opportunity for last words. For all they knew, the pair of them could very well be walking into a death trap. They had no idea what waited for them in the Facility, or even how it was laid out; even Yamichi couldn't find a way to break through the encryption of the City Planner's office and get the blueprints.

Even so, Hotsuma knew this was the best opportunity; with so many people gathering for the tournaments being held, they'd seen a lot of officers get recalled to run protection detail.

Ah well; when they got out, he would try to snag a spot in one of the last few rounds. That was what he told himself anyway. Even so, as they followed a waypoint Yamichi had set for them, the Disciples' boss couldn't help laughing. "Man...Life sure knows how to make you change your view of things. How many times did we swear we would never end up in the Facility? And now here we are, gift-wrapping ourselves to them. If that's not irony, I don't know what is." he said to his partner, smiling a big toothy grin; yeah, even if he couldn't enter the tournament...This was going to be even more satisfying.

"Even with this power, whelp; if you wish for me to remain hidden, try not to provoke them. Much as I too wish to see the surprised expressions of their 'impenetrable fortress' subverted, you're of little use to me dead. I've done some digging through your memories...You have a surprising amount of blood on your hands. You had best hope the ones you run into put personal glory ahead of feelings for vengeance." he then heard the Emperor state, Hotsuma replying
"Yeah, well...There's only so much I can control with Sector. It sucks I had to do it, but it's their fault that those deaths were of their own making. But don't think I'll apologize for it, either." The Emperor just scoffed, "Why would I expect you to? It's your survival against theirs, nature at its very basest form demands it; any one who says otherwise is the lowest form of fool."

At this Hotsuma spoke up more openly, "He is right though; we do need to stick to the plan. Try to be as non-confrontational as possible; and with any luck, all we may get is an ass-whooping with their billy clubs, maybe even shot with a taser." Of course, if this troop happened to be all male and they tried anything, he didn't know if he could hold it back...And he knew Yuna sure as hell wouldn't let those pigs touch in that way.

Regardless, they reached the waypoint soon enough; they had planned for the eventuality of their personal effects being confiscated. And with the patrol not being here yet, they would have some time to stash their Wheelers for later retrieval. No one else was around, the area deserted. Quiet and desolate...And where it not for them expecting Sector to come rolling up on them at any moment.

However...The dull hum of engines started to become noticeable, evidence of their soon to be captors getting closer. "Well...This is it, Yuna. I'll see you on the other side alright?" he remarked to his lover, giving her a quick kiss and a hug before they were in sight.

"FREEZE! STATE YOUR BUSINE...."

And as Sector pulled up, the pair illuminated by the headlights of Security's own rides, one of the officers stopped in the middle of the declaration, seeing Hotsuma's face and his expression blanching a little. "Th-the Fiend...? Oh shit..." he heard the officer whimper; well, they definitely found a newbie alright...But what about the other two with him?

"H-hands up, Sosuke! You're under arrest!" the officer shouted after immediately pulling out his gun, Hotsuma silent for a few seconds before raising his hands slowly, eyes hidden by the dark shades he wore, his voice calm as he replied "Relax...My hands are up. I'm unarmed...I surrender."


Jack had gotten a notice from Goodwin to meet Fayth by the edge of the City; unknown to her, he had instructed all other Sector personnel to leave Fayth be while she met with Atlas and had her photo disseminated so that they would be able to identify her. Unfortunately, with the events of the tournament...Fayth wouldn't know entirely that she was walking right into a trap.

Jack waited in the night, his eyes staring across the bay to the run-down island of Satellite. His violet hues drifted right, seeing the desolate bridge that was never completed and likely never would be. Even in the dead of night, it stood out so prominently, almost begging for people to complete it and give it the life it deserved. However, so long as Rex Goodwin was in charge of Sector, the Tops and Satellite were currently and likely forever would be two sides of the same coin.

Hearing the whistle, he saw the young woman approach, looking over his shoulder at her; he was surprised by her outfit even though it was a decent temperature but said nothing. As she questioned his intent, he just scoffed and said, "As much as it pains me to admit it...Last night had me thinking about a lot of things. And I came to the conclusion that maybe there were some elements that held truth." Turning around to face her completely, he then said, "Even so, I *do* find your tale of being from another dimension quite far-fetched. That being said, I will listen to what you have to say more carefully."

From a side-alley, a plainclothes officer - dressed in a simple shirt and jacket and grey jeans with black sneakers - held a small portable speech booster that fed into an earpiece, letting him listen from far away. "Sir...Milner's made contact, they're talking now..."

Only a short while into their conversation though, they would get another visitor: An engine roared as sounds of sheering metal screeched through the night. A loud curse floated from on high, before long Fayth hearing yet another familiar voice.

"Jack...Surprised to see you out here." Yusei would state calmly, stepping off the second D-Wheeler he'd made before continuing, "I've come back for Stardust and I'm not lea---Fayth, what are you doing here?"

Having approached from an angle where Jack's body hid Fayth's person from view, he didn't see her until he got closer. "Eh? You know this woman?" Jack asked sternly, Yusei nodding "I do...Why is she with you?" Jack just scoffed, "That's really none of your business...Now I suggest you leave; you know what happens when Sector catches people from Satellite trying to cross over." Yusei's hands clenched a bit, his own voice leveling coldly, "Not without Stardust; you stole it from me and I want it back."
 

The ride down towards Sector would be quiet. Almost deathly so. Yuna had agreed to this plan, and even if she hadn't, this was something she'd wanted to do for a long time. It was way too late, as far as she was concerned, to give up. Worse off, it'd be an insult to Yamichi as well as her lover. Both had worked so hard ... no. She couldn't let this opportunity slip.

"Indeed," Yuna agreed, chuckling softly. "Maybe we should rename ourselves to Team Irony, eh? Nah, don't worry. I really am just making a horrible joke. That's far too lame, and we're better than that."

Still, the brief thought made her smirk. It also greatly helped relieve some of the nervousness that had been racing through her mind.

Soon, they would appear at their separation point. Since she was a wild card, it had been agreed Yuna would allow herself to get arrested by earning the proud crime of aggravated assault. In truth, she was feeling a bit too giddy at what they'd agreed upon. But hey, these fuckers really were long overdue. And she'd promised both Hotsuma and Hajime she'd be cautious about her recently healed shoulder.

"Quite the odd thing to be proud of," she heard Rose inwardly comment, making her smirk widen.

"Hey, what can I say? They deserve every bit of bullshit they're about to have coming to them. They disgrace the true concept of justice. No matter. We're about to deliver Karma ten fold."

"Okay, love. I'll see ya soon. Take care, okay?" Returning the quick kiss with one of her own, she sharply turned her D-Wheeler and went into an alleyway in the opposite direction. When she found a parking spot nearby, Yuna turned everything off and activated all of her security locks.

Finding Hotsuma with the officers was easy enough. Even if the poor bastards hadn't meant to be loud, well ... they'd failed in that attempt. That plus having planned this all out ahead of time helped Yuna easily catch up. She'd stay in her hiding place, waiting .... waiting a bit more. And when they started to approach, she ran out and threw a punch at the nearest officer, going right for the dead center of the spine.

She hadn't forgotten she would allow Sector to win. Nowhere close. However, Yuna would have a bit of fun first. Plus, she wasn't going immediately throw this brawl over to them. Nah, it wasn't her style.
.... He better have come over.

The first ten seconds of silence had been nerve-wracking. Terrifying, even. So when Fayth heard Jack's voice, she let out a soft sigh of relief. Her shoulders lightly shrugged. "Fair. I'll understand that yeah, it's hard to believe. But sometimes, having an open mind really helps out."

She'd try to be civil. That was what Fayth promised herself. But there was the keyword there; try. If he fucked up somehow ... well ... she wouldn't hold herself back anymore.

"But ... you even saw my original deck. And that's why I got so irritated with you. If any of those cards were fake, you should know as well as myself the disk wouldn't work. And since you've never seen XYZ cards before, I would have thought that much would help confirm there's some truth to my story. As far as whatever Mr. E was going on about though? That is new to me, honestly. Before I go on with my explanation though, thank you for doing the right thing. I ... I really do appreciate you relinquishing second place from him."

Fayth tilted her head back and took a long, deep breath.

How to go about this?

Her mouth opened as she decided to try starting at the beginning. "Well .... I suppose the easiest way to explain this is giving a summary of sorts. This isn't the only dimension that exists. There are others. In fact, there's another version of you that's in the one I come from, the Pendulum. We don't know when nor exactly how, but the very real threat of them combining and merging into one is something we know for sure will --- "

Fayth's head whipped around, feeling her heart begin to pound as a D-Wheeler approached. She moved, hiding a bit behind Jack in case it was someone from Sector.

"Jack...Surprised to see you out here."

... Wait a second. That voice ...

Even though it'd been a while, the tone was unmistakable, and thus borderline impossible for Fayth to forget, let alone have trouble distinguishing.

"Yusei?"

A smile crossed her face as she peeked out from behind Fayth, nodding in confirmation when Jack asked if they knew one another.

"Well ... if you two need to talk, maybe I should leave. It doesn't feel like a good time for me to be here."

And she probably would have stuck to her words. Except ... there it was. The fuck up she was afraid of. It may not have been against her. But with Yusei being someone she could trust and call more of a friend than Jack for now, it certainly lit a fire in her as Yusei revealed why he was here.

"Not without Stardust; you stole it from me and I want it back."

"... Wait a minute. Then ... is he saying the Stardust you used in the tournament .... that's Yusei's?!"

Eyes narrowed as Fayth scoffed in disgust. "There are two types of people I can't fucking stand," she muttered, not caring if either male paid heed to her words or not. "Those are sexist pricks and thieves. Ugh. Good riddance."

.. So much for any trust she'd had in Jack. Now, she wanted to go back home. It was times like this that she hated Reiji being right. This had been a mistake.

"Excuse me," she mumbled, beginning to walk away from both Jack and Yusei, biting her lower lip she detected a tingling sensation in her right shoulder.

Now you have to get away. I don't even know what that is and ... I don't want to repeat feeling that again.

So the simplest solution, at least in Fayth's mind, was to get back home. Staying in this tense atmosphere, however, was obviously going to do much more harm than good for her.
 

Hotsuma had tried to actually dissuade her from going through with this; even so, it would give them more reason to want to arrest her. If she assaulted an officer, then she would be taken into the Facility without question. Still...He couldn't help worrying about the possibility that they'd hit her shoulder and make the injury open itself again. Much as it had healed, too much stress and she'd lose functionality again.

And when she assaulted the officer to his immediate right, that was when the brawl began. The officer she hit crumpled like a sheet of paper, crying out in agony before dropping to the ground. "The hell..." said the third and second officers near simultaneously, turning their sights only to have the one in the middle get punched in the face and knocked back, the gun dropping from his grip. Given his reputation, it wasn't too surprising he'd join the attack; after all, what was one more assault charge to the dozens he likely had tallied on him? The third tried to level his own firearm, only to catch a hard fist in the gut and lose his wind before feeling a pair of hands slam his nose into the Fiend's knee, the delicate cartilage snapping like a chicken bone and blood oozing from the nostrils.

Hell yeah...He was feeling it now, the utter want to break these fuckers. And even Yuna would feel a shift of sorts; he was supposed to be non-combative, but it was clear he was starting to get out of hand. His aura starting to darken, visible only to her as all his pent-up anger began to seep out. Each time the officers tried to hit him, be it with billy clubs or their fists, he tanked the hits and dealt them back harder.

Knocking the helmet off of one, Hotsuma grabbed the officer by the lapel of his jacket and started punching him repeatedly. Harder and harder, feeling skin break beneath his blows before he heard the third officer that Yuna had been fighting shout,

"STOP RESISTING OR I KILL HER!"

Hotsuma paused in his beatdown to look over to where Yuna was...A female officer, her helmet having been knocked off during their fight, twisting Yuna's bad arm and holding a gun to her temple. "Sosuke! Stand down!" she demanded again, her short brown bobcut matted on her bangs with her own blood and hiding her right eye from view, her own face looking like Yuna had made her headbutt an active belt sander. Her left eye swollen and cut from his lover's relentless barrage, the sharp green iris barely visible

It was hard to read whether her expression was resolute determination or crushing fear or some strange combination of both...But Hotsuma just tossed the unfortunate bastard he'd been beating on aside, his body collapsing with a loud 'Thump' before the officer groaned in pain. Hotsuma figured he may have gone too far, especially since he'd been so adamant about keeping it low key...But something in him snapped, and he could still feel his heart pounding.

"Hostage taking...Can't say I'm surprised; only shows how far you've sunk. Just know this...You kill her, and you lose your only leverage." Hotsuma replied coldly as he raised his hands, head bowed as his voice stayed low and eerily even "A bullet, even ten bullets, won't stop what will happen if that woman dies by your hand. So help me, if you pull that trigger..."

And it was here that his glasses pushed forward ever so slightly, letting Yuna see that his own eyes had shifted from that warm blue she knew to a piercing, bone-chilling red, his tone darkening as he uttered finally, staring right at the officer like he was peering directly into her soul, "I will break you."


Jack's lips curled into a small scowl as Fayth interrupted their talk; true, he had stolen Stardust, but it was because he was tired of going nowhere. And Rex had given him the keys to a new life; sometimes to advance sacrifices had to be made.

And then she dared to backtalk him for it; the hell did she know about his own pride? His circumstances?! And because of that he gripped her arm and yanked her back hard, "You're not leaving until we're finished talking!" making Yusei step in and grab Jack by his coat, "Don't lay your hands on her like that!"

The officer down the alley meanwhile, was starting to panic; who the hell was this now?! No one told him there would be a third to this conversation! "This is Officer Tanaka, put me through to the Director! Now, damn it!" And it wasn't moments later before he was talking with Goodwin himself. "Sir, we have a situation with Atlas! Requesting immediate back-up; it looks like someone from Satellite!" he shouted into the portable radio frantically.

Goodwin, meanwhile, pinched his nose in agitation; now of all times? Go figure...Then again, this could work to his advantage. Calling the checkpoint that Jack and Fayth had met near, he told the CO there, "Mobilize all available units on Officer Tanaka's location ASAP! We have a breach north of the pipeline! Watch out for Jack, he is in the immediate vicinity! I repeat, Atlas is in the immediate vicinity! We have an unknown assailant trying to target him, and I'm rescinding the protection order against Fayth Milner as of this exact moment! If you have to imprison her to ensure Atlas' safety, then do so!"

But before things could get too ugly between them, Jack and Yusei both started feeling uncomfortable as well; both and pains on their right forearms, making Jack let go of Fayth and Yusei let go of Jack. "Damn it...This again?" Jack growled as he gripped his arm in pain, Yusei looking up as his face contorted into a wince while mimicking the same action, "Again? Are you feeling it too?"

However, no one would be able to say anything as that giant dragon from the tournament appeared once more...Both Yusei and Jack's arms then lit up, Jack getting a pair of wings emblazoned on his right arm and Yusei getting a head-shaped mark on his right forearm. The dragon swirled overhead, soundlessly crying into the night as its spectral figure twisted and serpentined through the sky.

However, Sector was quick on the scene, the sirens and lights soon filling the area. "VIP sighted, move in, move in!" "Atlas sir, please back away, let the officers handle this!" said one officer, gently leading Jack away as the rest of the squad moved in to secure the scene. Two officers then roughly grabbed Yusei, the young man trying to struggle as they forced his hands into cuffs, twisting his arm behind his back. "Per Article 3, you are under arrest for crossing over into the Tops, as well assaulting Jack Atlas!"
 

Somewhere in between repeatedly throwing punches at what had been her first target and occasionally looking up to Hotsuma, Yuna let her guard down. It wasn't intentional. It never was. But ... she really couldn't help it. Especially when something really dark began to spread throughout th area. Of course, none of the officers could feel it. But she most definitely could. And she couldn't help but feel confused. Even his Fiend agreed Hotsuma needed to stick to the original plan. Wasn't he helping him risk fucking it up now?

"Oi, what the fuck are you doing Slow down and calm yoursel -- "

"AHHH!"

Yuna's eyes widened as a hand deftly wrapped around the still slightly hurt shoulder. "FUCK, AHHH!" Yuna thrust her elbows back, trying to get a solid hit ... anywhere, truthfully. Gut. Leg. Upper body. Anywhere. If any landed, none were good enough to make th grip loosen befor she felt a barrel pressed against her head. "Hmph... heh. Don't point that if you have no intention of using it properly. You're bluffing your ass off."

Her head nodded as she acknowledged Hotsuma's taunts. "He's right, ya know? Kill me and the chances of getting him in will decrease faster than you can demand for either of us to freeze."

Even Yuna felt her own heart stop briefly as she looked up and saw Hotsuma's eyes change from their normal blue hue to a blood red one. She blinked several times, wondering if her eyes were deceiving her. "Sosuke?" she muttered, swallowing nervously.

"Oi, seriously? What's going on with you? Get a grip, please! Before this does get any worse!"
Fayth gasped slightly, almost stumbling a bit as she was unceremoniously jerked back. "The hell with you! I don't need your consent on whether I can leave or not, fucking tyrant!" When Yusei moved forward, Fayth took advantage and jerked her arm away. "For someone claiming to have a royal position, you're a dumb one. How do you think I got my secondary deck, huh? He was my guide while I bought them in Satellite. And between the two of you .... I trust him way more than you. So unless you can prove he's trying to make a wild story up, no. I don't wanna talk to you anymore. Any trust I started to have in you is gone. You disgust me!"

Oh shit .... no!

Fayth's head shook roughly from side to side. Light blonde locks swayed as she trembled and panted. "No, no, no, no. Not again .... "

Though she couldn't see the guys' signs forming, she did hear that ... they had this happen apparently. "W-Wait ... all of us? The fuck is this?!"

Thankfully, it seemed to skip the bleeding process. Likely because whatever had happened to her already made her bleed. Now, though, the mark that had embedded itself in her flash shined brightly. For a brief moment, it looked a bit similar to Yusei's. However, there was a very distinct difference, and it came in the emphasis of the fangs. They were exposed, almost focused in on, even.

If either Yusei or Jack would have given a bit of an explanation on the odd mark, neither got to give it.

"Per Article 3, you are under arrest for crossing over into the Tops, as well assaulting Jack Atlas!"

Her face paled as Fayth hastily pushed herself up to her feet, fueled on by anger and adrenaline combined. "Now wait just a goddamn second! He stole something form Yusei! Are you really gonna say he can get away with theft?! Is Yusei not in his right to get what belongs to his? And if anything, Jack assaulted me. Yusei just helped me out! You can't arrest him for that!"
 

The seconds ticked by, each one feeling like an hour as Hotsuma stared down the officer; it was clear as day she wasn't going to fire. But the Disciples' leader still glared, that crimson tint never leaving his irises. The silence starting to engulf and crush the area, broken only by the heavy breaths and groans of the downed Sector officers as they tried to stand.

The Emperor, meanwhile, just waited and said nothing; how interesting. This was the first break in his resolve, the first crack that let the corruption in...He knew Sector had wronged the boy, but even he was surprised how deep his hate for them ran. Had the female officer not threatened his lover, this young man would have killed them both. An unseen smile twisted the demon lord's shapeless lips, those jagged teeth showing in the dark recesses of his vessel's psyche.

Eventually, Yuna's voice broke through and Hotsuma blinked only once...And the red coloration of his irises disappeared, back to the normal blue they had always been. Even so, he said nothing in reply...Except a loud yell as one of the officers from before cracked him across the back of the head and made him fall, his face contorting in agony.

"Not so tough now, eh Fiend?" the attacking Sector officer sneered, putting the young man in cuffs after holstering his baton back into the proper loop on his waistband. "Oh, the judge will love sentencing you! You and your little bitch friend! Now get up, we're going for a little ride! Just think, we might make Sergeant because of this! All these warrior's wounds, we survived an encounter with the Fiend of Satellite, hahaha! Well, except for you, Hitomi...You got beat on by a nobody accomplice. I mean, you were ugly before but damn...You look like you lost a match with a cheese grater, hahaha." the second officer chimed in, standing by for the armored transport before helping to load up the two new prisoners for transport to Central Booking.

The ride over was uneventful, and they weren't alone in this truck; several others - some of them even younger than Yuna and Hotsuma - also joined them, one poor young girl crying her eyes out, another young man trying to comfort; judging by how they talked, they were siblings. "Sector has a juvenile wing....Should have figured. Don't worry, kid...You won't be seeing the inside of that prison for very long. Not once I level it to the ground."

And once there, they were photographed and their names and fingerprints taken before going into a group holding cell. "Whoo-whee, Judge-boy's gonna have a full schedule tomorrow! At least Armstrong will get some fresh meat...And the fabled Fiend no less. He's been waiting to get his hands on you, boy; itching for the day you'd arrested." Some of the other captured looked at Hotsuma as he stepped forward, who just smiled and said back, "Does he want an autograph? I left my pen and mugshots in my other pants."

This caused a noticeable grimace, the other officers scoffing before taking their leave, leaving the cellmates to their business. "Not quite how I expected you to play it out, boy...Still, your first hurdle is passed. And there's no doubt you'll be going in now." Hotsuma just smirked, "Yeah...But tell me, was it you that made me lose it back there?" The Emperor just replied with a laugh, "Much as I would love to claim credit...I'm afraid that was all you. Not that I minded; it was...oddly satisfying...to see you that way. Maybe you will be a good vessel after all."


"Fayth, don't...It's alright..." Yusei tried to dissuade her, make her stop before she brought any trouble on herself. However, she seemed determined...And soon she would find herself thrown roughly to the ground. "Hey! Get off her, leave her alone! She didn't do anything wrong!" Yusei protested, trying to help

"Take this uppity bitch in too! Throw her in for obstruction and disturbing the peace!" one officer shouted, his stripes showing him as a First Sergeant, his underlings roughly handling her and slapping the irons on her wrists. By this point, all three of them had their marks vanish, the Dragon having long since faded from view.

The officer in the alley reported all this to Goodwin, who told him to stand down and come back. A small smile crossed his face; a third Signer and he had yet to start even the second set of Selection Tournaments. And with one under his watchful eye and two more going to the security of the Facility, things looked very smooth indeed.

"Finally something goes right...Now I can relax a little." Goodwin breathed, sitting back in his chair a little more as his shoulders visibly relaxed. Yes, soon he would get them all together...Because only then could he get his plan under way.

Jack, meanwhile, just watched this scene unfold. Watching Yusei and that strange woman be taken away in a prison transport, his eyes drifting to his arm; what in the world was happening? "Sir...Would you like an escort back to the compound?" An officer asked timidly, Jack replying coldly "Not necessary; step up your patrols, however. If one got through, who knows how many more."

And with that, he hopped onto his Runner and took off; he had some questions for Goodwin now. Too much had happened in too short a time, and he was getting suspicions this wasn't just coincidence.
 

... You promised everyone we'd come back alive. Don't ruin it by letting your temper get the best you. Please stop. See I'm fine and this dumb bitch is lying her ass off.

Unlike most of her other thoughts, she kept these strictly to herself. Only Rose and - if he invaded her mind - the Emperor would hear them.

Still, her inner pleas held truth to them. After all, Yuna was mostly fine. Yuna could definitely do without the tight grip on her shoulder. But that was the only thing she was even slightly complaining about.

An audible sigh of relief passed Yuna's lips as she finally saw Hotsuma's eyes return to normal. It took every bit of will power to keep from snickering out loud when the female officer holding her began cuffing her.

"You like cuffs? That what you're trying to suggest?"

Yuna weakly shrugged, "Maybe. But what's it matter? At least that's a more understandable kink compared to pure sadism like you fuckers seem to love and indulge in." Yuna hissed, having expected and figured it would have earned her a slap; but all the same, no efforts to further retaliate were made.

"Shame. You probably weren't meant to join him. Don't get why you intervened, but this is your own doing."

"I know. And I'm rather proud of it, thank you very fucking much. At least I don't manipulate the true definitions of words like you guys do to justice."

"Hmph. Let's see how long you can keep that smug attitude of yours while in the Facility."

Yuna merely smirked, not saying anything out loud to that rhetorical musing.

All the while to the Facility, she stayed as close to Hotsuma as she could. The sight of the siblings made her also grimace. Not just because the display was heart-breaking, but it made her think back to her own family. She had yet to find out if she had a younger sibling.

When I get out, I'm definitely seeing about that ...

If Yuna didn't know any better, these officers were ecstatic at the the thought of having 'caught' the Fiend, because the car ride was much quicker than she'd anticipated. Her head remained high, rather than bowed in shame like some broken prisoner they may have wanted. In an almost too proud manner, Yuna gave her actual name when asked. Finally, they were guided - more like shoved - into their temporary cell.

"Mistress? You okay?"

Yuna grinned and quickly nodded, making it look like a mere gesture instead of her replying to a voice in her head.

"Yeah. Shoulder's a bit sore ... and uncomfortable. Fucking idiots forgot to take the cuffs off. But yeah. I'm fine otherwise."

She knew that the more likely scenario was they had been purposely left on. She was here for assault, after all. It'd be one o the few smart precautions Sector would have ever taken. Or at least, any that Yuna actually saw them use.

Leaning her head lightly against one of Hotsuma's shoulders, she moved her lips beside his ear and whispered softly, "You okay?"

Sure, it was way too late to change their minds or anything. But if he wasn't ... best to know now and try to help him out while she had a chance. Otherwise, if by the time they got separated - at least, Yuna was assuming that would happen - then ... this would get even uglier. And that was what they needed to avoid having happen, lest all their hard work and plans end up getting screwed over and becoming useless.
Fayth's head turned, trying to listen to where the officers were. They weren't saying anything ... and that was making her nervous. Nothing good came from the silent treatment, even less so from these Sector bastards.

"... Can I at least get an ... ?? Owwww, shit!"

When she felt her body thrust forward, her arms quickly moved, shielding her face from any further harm. She already had her sight gone, after all; no sense in expanding it to losing another sense or busting her head open. Though she kept anything more from occurring, the shove did its job in dazing her.

"H-Hey! The hell is this for?!"

Panic immediately swept through her as she felt what had to be cuffs wrapping around her wrists. She jerked and pulled against the officers, shaking her head from side to side. "No, that's not what it was! I was trying to clear this up! Oi! Fix this, Jack! You did so at the tournament! You know as well as Yusei I haven't done anything to deserve this! SAY SOMETHING!"

Oh god, no! Fuck no! This can't be happening!

In truth, Sector wasn't the only group to blame for her blindness. The Obelisk Force had been just as guilty, if not perhaps a bit more so. As such, she'd never been in the Facility before. But Fayth had definitely heard all the horror stories about it. And there were what felt like a million reasons as to why someone like her would not do well in that kind of place. And that alone was making her shake.

"Fuck, not so rough! Jack, come the fuck on!"

... Nothing. He got to walk away. Yep. Apparently, the King committing theft was perfectly fine.

Of course. Of-fucking-course.

Fayth's fists angrily clenched as her eyes narrowed. Tons of quips and insults - no matter if they would have been petty or useless - entered her head. But if only to keep this from getting anymore worse, she held onto her lower lip and fought off the urge to speak. It wouldn't be until she was forced in the car, feeling her body bump against Yusei's ... although not overly minding. If she had to be put beside someone, best to be with someone she could trust.

"God," she whimpered, swallowing nervously. "What's going to happen to us now?"
 

Was he fine?

He didn't really know, not for sure anyway...But then did it matter? Much as he was shocked that it might be true, his fear of getting sent in was being replaced by a strange sense of elation. This was it...His moment to finally do something worthwhile. He was going to crack the Facility open like an egg, and let every single man, woman and child that Sector imprisoned out of here.

"Yeah...I'm good." he replied verbally, adding mentally "Sorry about back there; thought I checked all the hate back before we left, but fighting them for so long, guess it's left a bit of a chip on my shoulder. Trust me though...I'm alright. More than alright, actually...Still feels crazy that we're here." he said to his lover; and in truth, hearing her voice was doing wonders. Naturally he kept his statements short, wanting to keep an eye out.

"So...What happens now?" he then asked rhetorically; before long, another cellmate of theirs spoke up, possessing a criminal mark - a thunderbolt-style line across his right cheek - and smiling, "Ah, two newbies to the Facility, eh? We'll get to see his Highness, and we'll have a big trial one by one. I kid...But you'll have a judge rattle off your more serious offenses then have you shipped off to the Facility."

Now this confused Hotsuma, "Wait, they don't just take us there?" The cellmate that told them their fate just laughed, "Nah, Goodwin likes to keep appearances you see. Right now we're being held in Central; we'll go for the true processing in the morning...Make everyone in the Tops think he's doing a good job. So he holds a kangaroo court to officially 'name and shame' us, you know?" Hotsuma couldn't help chuckling, "That right? What are you in for?" The man just shook his head, "Would you believe I managed to escape that shithole? Rat bastards finally caught me though. Going to add another war wound, you know...Another addition of the mark." He paused to turn his cheek, letting them see the yellow brand more directly before continuning, "You two will get yours tomorrow as well...Just be careful, that process hurts like a mother."



Yusei and Fayth rode together, the ride silent save for the jerks of the truck that came from running over the bumpy road; just how far had Jack fallen? He understood letting him get arrested, but Fayth was in the wrong place at the wrong time...Did he really have no decency left to at least speak up for her? Clearly not, but something bugged him; back when he knew Jack, he cared a hell of a lot about them. Rally, Crow, Kalin...It was here that he did stiffen up a little, that was right. Kalin was in there.

One thing at a time though; no need getting worked up. It wouldn't do either of them any good.

Speaking of which, he pondered Fayth's question for a second before answering, "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. I've never been to the Facility myself...I know some people that got let out, and I won't sugarcoat it, they didn't say anything pleasant." He left out that he knew someone currently locked up; she didn't need to worry about that. No, she needed to keep herself safe.

"Fayth...If it's any consolation, I'm sorry this happened to you. I should have backed off, come back later but I let my emotions get the better of me; I didn't realize Sector was so active in that part of the city." he then said to her honestly.
 

"Okay. Alright. Glad to hear that."

For a few seconds, Yuna thought about sneaking a quick kiss onto Hotsuma's cheek. It definitely would have been easy enough. But ... no. Not now. Instead, she let her head gently rest against her lover's shoulder. Her smile weakly spread over her face as she heard his internal explanation ... and tucked it away into her mind. It was .... interesting to see such a change. Thinking on it ... his eye color had never hanged before now, had they? She was almost positive the answer was no.

Which, if that was true, would mean that hadn't been his Fiend's doing.

And truth be told, that made Yuna a tad nervous. Just not enough to freak or focus too heavily on it.

Thankfully, a needed distraction came as one of their other cell mates - a veteran from the way he looked and talked - asked about their status. "Mhm. First tme for everything, after all," Yuna replied, confirming they were indeed newbies to the Facility. When he revealed what would happen, Yuna clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes. "Sooooo creative. Ugh. Whatever."

Shifting slightly against the wall, Yuna tried to get as comfortable a possible while still being cuffed.

"Anything else we may as well know? I'm fairly assuming the guards are as power-abusing here as they are out in the streets. Maybe more so. Did I earn my cigar with that guess or no? Don't worry; you can replace the cigar with some really amazing source of caffeine. That'll work for me."
.... Even he doesn't know what'll happen to us?

Fayth shakily moved her head up and down, signaling she heard Yusei's reply. Slowly, she moved her head, stopping when it found a shoulder and buried into it. Partly for comfort and also to muffle herself. She didn't want anyone else hearing her, not in the vulnerable state she'd gotten in. If her body trembling wasn't enough of a give away, her voice following suit would easily hint she was trying her best not to cry. It was the same as when her encounter with the hop owner and his sexist comment had been hurled over at her ... but much worse.

For obvious and very damn good reasons.

"This isn't your doing. I just shouldn't have come in the first place. Getting that letter from him after our first run-in went so horribly ... " Her head moved from side to side as the tremors strengthened. "I feel like the biggest idiot."

... Was that the real point of meeting Goodwin? Had that bastard somehow made this happened? It wouldn't surprise her too much.

"I've been so stupid ever since arriving here. Never should have bothered with Jack or Goodwin. They're both just .... urgh!"

Her breathing began to quicken, as did her heartbeat. A few whimpers slipped past Fayth's lips before she finally admitted softly to Yusei, "I'm fucking terrified." It was painfully obvious by now, if it hadn't been yet. But being near someone she could trust was one of the very few things keeping her from caving in and fully giving into despair and distress. Even if he just listened .... that was fine. But she needed to tell this to somebody.

And with Reiji out of the equation ... this would be the next best person. Hopefully he wouldn't mind.
 

Hotsuma and their new apparent friend just laughed, the latter replying "You sure you've never been in before? You both talk like you have." with the latter just shaking his head, "Nah, 'fraid not. Doesn't mean we don't know our way around Sector though; kind of have to when they infest like roaches, you know?"

Even still, Hotsuma had been trying to figure out how to get those cuffs off Yuna; she was the only one in here without them. Maybe they were scared after they saw what she did to that female officer. An idea clicked for him to leverage that potential fear.

When an officer would walk by, Hotsuma whistled, "Hey!" The officer immediately confronted, coming to within inches of the bars, "Stow it, slag! You're just lucky you're not in the Facility right now! Gonna wait until after we gather up a few more of you little rats." And at this Hotsuma just chuckled, "Yeah, well, one of these little rats got a weapon...Something you idiots gave her."

"The hell you talking about, no one here would give Satellite scum a weapon!" the officer reacted harshly, Hotsuma smirking, "That so...Well see the thing is, she's still cuffed...And she's a lot more limber than she looks; what do you think will happen if she gets a chance to use those metal rings as a tool? After all...They'll be wondering why an inmate broke an officer's face with police-issue hardware. Ask Officer Hitomi why her face looks like she lost a boxing match with a meat grinder...I'm sure she'll love to elaborate how that happened."

Now this made the Sector officer question that logic; if she turned it against another inmate, that would be no issue. But too many officers had gotten hurt as it was. After being shown who it was, he shouted "Oi, you! Get over here!" before she would be made to turn around and have her cuffs undone; even if they would just have it happen tomorrow again, Hotsuma could at least make sure she wasn't too uncomfortable. "No more funny business, I mean it!" the Sector official demanded, storming off.

Hotsuma just shot Yuna a wink as if to say "Don't worry, I got you." speaking to her mentally, "Well...We might get the chains on tomorrow, but at least hopefully that will make tonight less painful."


"You couldn't have known he would act this way, Fayth; even I didn't think he would let you get taken away when you did nothing to deserve it." he responded, trying to help her not feel so bad about all of this. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm nervous too even if I might not show it. No one ever asks to be thrown in the Facility, after all...And not knowing what's ahead, especially somewhere as dangerous as that, it's unsettling."

Of course, his own voice stayed level and resolute, if only because he'd learned that trying to help panicking people by acting as panicked as they did only made things worse. And when she decided to rest her head on his shoulder, he naturally let her; it had been indeed painfully obvious she was scared, but he wouldn't ridicule her for it.

"You are strong, Fayth, more than you realize...Just don't forget that, and you'll make it through this just fine. Whatever happened to rob you of your sight, you've survived that. You'll survive this too, I know it." And once they arrived at Central, the duo and several others were placed in a different holding wing but sharing the same cell with their group.


Tomorrow couldn't have arrived soon enough, the new wave of inmates herded like sheep into transports to be brought to the Courthouse for sentencing. Each time someone was sentenced, they were immediately taken away for 'branding'...The permanent marking that would identify them all as criminal elements.

Speaking of cattle, it was honestly looking like an operation for culling them; each of them were lined up, legs and arms bound in chains left only loose enough to walk with an officer holding their arms. The judge - an elderly looking male in a black robe with thinning grey hair - presided over the court, the sounds of the gavel falling becoming almost rhythmic as each sentence was handed out.

"Wish me luck" Hotsuma said to his lover through thought, chuckling as he was brought into the chambers. "So...The Fiend of Satellite finally graces my courtroom with his presence. I do hope you appreciate the fact that you're alive, young man; with the rap sheet you've built up, you're lucky we don't have a death penalty. Over one hundred counts of assaulting an officer, nearly two dozen cases of attempted murder, and just shy of a half-dozen cases of murder of an Officer? Just tell me, what exactly goes through your head to make you think that's OK?"

Hotsuma just smiled and replied, "I've heard some of your finest actually resigned after I had that meeting with them; I make them appreciate the fact that they have a life as well. I mourn for the losses I had to inflict in the name of self-defense, but I don't apologize for it. And I never will." The judge seemed unsurprised at this answer, "Well, then this verdict won't come as a surprise to you: Life without the possibility of parole. Next case!" Hotsuma had to restrain himself from laughing; parole, huh? Well, some committee of douches definitely wouldn't be seeing to his release. No...He'd make that happen himself.

However, when he was carried into the next room, he found a surgical chair with some kind of lasing device affixed to the ceiling and hovering over it. "So this is how you mark people...You little bastards really are sadistic fucks." Hotsuma growled, letting himself be strapped down. "Just try to keep your eyes closed and your lips held together; depending on the shape, we may have to go over your mouth and eyelids." Unseen to Hotsuma, a computer screen generated a random image for the branding device to follow, a series of lesser intensity lasers mapping a contour of his facial structure before the final image was rendered.

And needless to say...The man wasn't kidding when he said it was painful; the laser was literally burning into his face. His face scrunched several times, trying his damnedest not to cry out in agony and letting only muted grunts and groans leave him. For what felt like hours, the laser carved and scorched his flesh, leaving behind yellow lines; by the end of it, his face was completely changed over. Even worse was the fact these assholes just did it on one side only. His breathing started to slow, having been heavy and frantic as he endured the torture before he was finally unstrapped.

And with that particular bit of business concluded, after being forced to sign over his Duel Disk and cards to Sector, he would be changed into an orange jumpsuit and led back to another bus that would take him back to the Facility. "Hey, you made it! Nice tat, brother; what the hell did you do to earn that? Never seen someone marked so much for a first-timer!" Hotsuma heard, recognizing it as the veteran they'd talked to earlier. And he was sporting another thunderbolt on his other cheek, Hotsuma laughing as he sat down beside him "Looks like they got you a matching tat yourself." The guy laughed, "Yeah, I told them to at least make it symmetrical, you know?"

Hotsuma then said, "You know, for all you've helped us learn, I never did get your name." The man just smiled, "Suppose not. Morihei Toju, second tour of duty." Hotsuma then replied, "Sosuke, no last name. Guess we're in the deep shit now, huh? But hey...That woman I was with...Where do they go?" Toju replied, "Same place, different ward; the Facility is huge man. Big enough to house both male and female sub-facilities...Though that's not to say women cross over from time to time, as do guys...Got get our fun somehow, especially since we can't Duel in there. Or at least that's what they tell us."
 

Yuna could have endured the rest of the night with her cuffs on. Not easily, no. And it definitely wouldn't have been comfortable. But they weren't too tight they were cutting circulation off. Still, they were making her squirm and fidget every now and again. Each failed attempt to get used to the cuffs made Yuna steadily wish they were off. Yes, they'd return. She'd never be able to avoid them forever. However, any reprieve from these metal bracelets would be a relief.

It wasn't odd that Hotsuma felt the same. It was, though, more interesting he was able to convince a guard to get them off her, even if it'd only be for the rest of the evening. The moment she was asked to come over, Yuna happily got up to her feet, walking in front of the officer before exposing her back to him so the cuffs could come off. Her arms dangled at her sides, only moving so Yuna could massage them and help blood flow through her veins once more.

It'd do her no good to turn around and give a quip or punch. Even if he deserved it for assisting a corrupt group like this. After all, much like how she realized she was guilty by association, it worked vice versa for all these employees.

"Thank you, love," she whispered, sitting back down beside her lover. Given the lack of pillows, Yuna made do with the next best version. Laying her head atop Hotsuma's shoulder, her eyes closed as she tried to get some rest.
But that was this same group, Yusei! I don't know if I can do this!

... While Yusei was much more kind than Jack - at least from what Fayth had seen thus far - she honestly doubted even he would believe her story. If he'd heard any of her talk with Jack, he wasn't bringing it up. Or, he hadn't heard any of it, which suggested he was clueless on the truth about her. And maybe it was best it remained that way, at least for now.

The darkness helped in her steadily relaxing. Fayth's trembling body slowly began to stop moving, eventually ceasing completely save for the movement of her chest rising and falling. Whether she'd wanted it or not, Yusei would see poor Fayth had passed out.
Yuna hadn't thought it'd be possible to get anymore surprised than when the officer ambushed her and put the gun to her head. But when she and Hotsuma were separated, there was something else. Someone, rather. A very familiar face, one which made her mouth fall agape.

".... Celeste? Holy shit, is that really you?"

"Huh?"

When a voice that was definitely not Yusei's registered into her mind, Fayth slowly began to stir. No one else spoke up ... which meant ... someone had watched her in the mini-tournament recently. Her face flushed slightly as she nodded. "Sorta. That was an alias. But umm ... yeah. It is otherwise me."

"I know why I'm here, but ... you? Mind me asking what happened?"

"Bullshit," Fayth bitterly muttered, causing Yuna to chuckle softly.

"Well, yeah. Sector's good at that, but --- "

"No. This is all our tyrant's fault. He set me up and allowed me to be taken when someone else was just helping me out."

Yuna frowned, "Tch. Tyrant indeed. Damn. Hey, listen .... " Yuna would move closer, knowing her own 'trial' of sorts would likely be coming up soon. She leaned forward and gently whispered, "I know we just met, but can you trust me enough when I say I'll help you. Be your eyes, if you would. Whomever was arrested with you ... we don't know how many times - or if at that matter - we'll be able to see them again. So ... at least for while you're away from them, how's that sound?"

" .... Amazing. But .... can I ask something?"

"Shoot away."

"Why are you ... alright with helping me out?"

Yuna smiled, lightly tracing a fingernail over the blindfold. "Honestly? If I were in your spot, I'd have done the opposite. Freaked out. Probably failed to adjust, even if it were necessary. But seeing you in that tournament, giving it your all ... that was ... admirable. I envy you. You're braver than I could ever be. And I did feel a kindred spirit within you while watching you duel."

"... Thank you. You're the second person too tell me that. But ... I don't feel it."

"Why not?" Yuna asked.

"Because it's this same group that made me this way! How am I supposed to ... ??"

Yuna frowned, her eyes angrily narrowing. Really? So Sector was fine with unjust arrests? Okay, she'd known that. But brutality to the point of forcing someone to become blind? That was a new all-time low, one she could not accept. "We are going to get through this. I swear, alright. So, what is your real name anyw -- ??"

A loud clang rang out as the bars were smacked at with an officer's club. "Okay, ya dykes. Break it up already! You! Miss Special Treatment from last night! Get up! It's your turn!"

"I'll see you soon," Yuna whispered quickly to Fayth, standing back up to her feet. Poor Fayth grimaced, clearly not liking the thought of being forced to be alone. Especially because, from what she'd heard and assumed, Yusei wasn't around. So now ... who was she even with? Other strangers. And unless they would give her any signs of faith ... well .... she only had more reasons to be more on edge than try to trust anyone else who may be with her.

"And who the hell are you?" Yuna was immediately greeted with upon entering the faux courtroom.

"They didn't tell you my name?"

"Hmph. That's not what I mean. What I am saying, however, is we looked up your record. You were perfectly fine before last night. So who are you that would dare tarnish your clean record and stain it with something as major as assault?"

"Well ... since you asked, I suppose ... " Yuna's eyes narrowed as she began elaborating. "I'm someone who's sick of seeing you fuckers lie and disgrace what justice truly is! And for the record, my record was never as clean as you found. You just aren't looking hard enough. I simply never got caught before now; that's all."

It would be the closest Yuna would allow to reveal she had been disguised as Yukio without just revealing it outright.

"You've got quite the mouth on you," the judge finally replied. "Let's see how long your bravado can last though. Take her to get her brand and get the next one in here."
 

As Yuna and Fayth would go in, Yusei wouldn't be too far behind them; what was the point of this, he wondered. Even if he hadn't been in, it was fairly obvious this 'Judge' was against them. Anything Sector said regarding criminals was gold, and there was nothing he could do to change that.

As the 'trials' went on, Hotsuma spent his time shooting the breeze with his new acquaintance Toju. Apparently, even though it was the same Facility throughout the complex, they had different entrances for everything: Loading, screening chambers, a lot of regulatory and informational trafficking, the list went on. And as he listened, even Hotsuma was impressed; he just thought people sat in cells and got beaten whenever they felt like. But no, Sector seemed to keep a very tight lid on all the various factors that could contribute to a potential power upset inside.

Luckily for him...He and Yuna, more so Yuna, were unknown quantities. They were expected to be dangerous, but even Sector wouldn't know how dangerous they were going to be. And it would make ripping that box wide open all the more sweeter.

But they were sure taking their sweet time 'processing' prisoners; it was here that Hotsuma asked "So, no one from the Tops thinks this fake court bull is unethical, unacceptable or anything like that?" Toju just laughed, "Nah, man; Goodwin's got them all so scared shitless about us they all think we should just be put away for good. That's why his little shtick of airing these 'trials' works so well; all those that do pop off just make it worse." At this, Hotsuma grinned sheepishly, "Yeah...Might have helped with that image myself." Toju just smiled and shook his head, "Even if you didn't, the damage is done, Sosuke. We're branded for life. The chips will fall where they fall you know?"

Hotsuma could only, stating "Wish they'd hurry it up though; my ass is starting to fall asleep." Toju just grinned, "Trust me, depending where they put you, you'll be doing a lot more sitting than this. Just saying."


Yusei's trial, too, was over fairly quickly; no one had said that 'justice' was fair, especially when it came to people from the Satellite. No, they looked for any excuse to put them away. And given that he was arrested directly by Sector...Yeah, wasn't looking good for him, not that he really expected much different.

For him, he was given a small set of marks below his left eye; unlike others though, he was surprisingly still. Especially given how painful the process was, but overall it wasn't the worst pain he'd felt. In the back of his mind, he worried about that blind girl Fayth; he just hoped she would be alright...But knew better than to dwell on it. He would find someway to help her if he could.

The first bus was nearing capacity, himself surrendering his Duel Disk before being forced to board, and apparently he was the last one, because a Master Sergeant came aboard and bellowed everyone to quiet down. The bulky vehicle sputtered and sped up, soon taking the load of prisoners to the Facility to begin their new life behind bars.

With the first busload offloaded, they were soon greeted by none other than the Warden himself flanked by a large number of armed Sector guards. The inmates were forced to line up in a row, the gigantic stocky male walking along their ranks. "That's the Warden, Hotsuma...Trust me, you do NOT want to piss him off. He might look like a tub of lard, but he's strong as hell." Toju warned, Hotsuma grinning "All the more reason I should then."

Toju could be seen grimacing in worry a little; was this guy insane? He'd been accepting of his advice so far, but now he was going to pick a fight? "Huh? You little pussies say something? Was it you, shitstain?" Armstrong said, getting in Hotsuma's face who immediately crinkled his nose, "Speaking of shit, did you brush with it this morning? Your fucking breath could strip the varnish off a footlocker, good god." Armstrong's brow twitched, "You just got here, meat, so I'll let that one slide...'Sides, I got some special services in store for you, Fiend."

Hotsuma just laughed, "Alright...But my safe word is 'Fatass', in case you're wondering." This was immediately met with a hard hook across the jaw, Hotsuma's eyes swirling as he saw stars. Ok...Definitely stronger than he looked, but that wouldn't deter him. "You still think you're funny, punk? Around here, I'm the boss! And if you want to live to see tomorrow, you'll cut the crap! Got it?!" Armstrong roared, Hotsuma slowly standing up, a smile breaking his lips as his temple bled and his head pounded, "At least if I die, I won't have to see your ugly ass face anymore." By this point, Armstrong was looking ready to explode, "Damn it, get them inside! I'm so fucking riled I can't even break these maggots properly! ON THE DOUBLE, ALL OF YOU! AND PUT THE COMEDIAN IN SOLITARY!"

However, as Yusei started to walk past, he just said as he grabbed his shoulders, "Not you, worm...You and I are going to a different part of the Facility. Special instructions for you." He then barked, "Unlock this one from the rest of the chain gang! We're taking a little trip!" Yusei seemed confused, but followed; after seeing what he did to that other inmate, he knew to keep his head down. He was unarmed, cuffed and didn't have his Disk; what was that guy thinking, he wondered. He was heavily marked...Was he a repeat offender?

And for Hotsuma, solitary confinement was where he would have ended up anyway. But now he was being manhandled by two Sector guards before being roughly tossed in, the heavy iron door closing behind him. "Sleep well, Fiend...You like the dark so much, so you should feel right at home here." said the guard in a chastising tone, him and his partner chuckling stupidly before wandering off.

"Just because you and I are bound does not make you invincible in your fleshy mortal shell; do you have a death wish?" the Emperor chided, Hotsuma laughing "Nah...Just wanted to see a few things for myself. Besides, now that I'm in here...You and I can have a little chat."



Across the bay, Hajime, Takeshi and Yamichi had safely crossed on some spare Runners they had kept hidden around Satellite. They knew there were still some tournaments to attend...But, there was also a bit of a persistent nagging feeling.

"Man, this doesn't feel right..." Yamichi stated, Takeshi adding, "Yeah, I know...But think about it this way. Whatever Hotsuma and Yuna are doing, we can't help them as we are. They're likely inside by now, which means until they get out, we're on our own." Yamichi just muttered, "If they get out." to which Takeshi socked him in the shoulder, "Don't talk like that; what happened to Raiko isn't what's going to happen to them."

At this, Takeshi looked over to Yuna's blue-haired lieutenant, "You agree with me right? Those two are gonna fine and out in no time! You know they will!" Yamichi rubbed his arm and just said, "Look...Let's just find somewhere to eat, alright? I'm getting hungry, and we really should find out where we need to go to get into one of those Selection Tournaments."
 

As Yuna was dragged away, her head turned. She peeked over her shoulder, finding that Celeste was indeed nearby. So was another young man. And she couldn't pinpoint why ... but he stood out. Not simply because of his wild hair cut, though that was partly true. He had a very good aura. Another potential ally, perhaps?

Maybe. Only time would tell.

Her more immediate concern, in all honesty, was how would Celeste handle all of this?

"Oi, move your head, bitch!"

"Hmph. Prick. I can curse too, ya know?"

"Judge is right though; let's see how long that attitude will stay for, huh? So, assaulting an officer and proud of it, huh? Change the ink for this one! Give her red; she seems to love beating people, so why not?"

"Aww, cute. You're thinking of me. Appreciated." Of course, even she couldn't deny that being strapped down in the device with that laser thingy hovering over her was very nerve-wracking. Admittedly, getting a tattoo was something Yuna heavily considered. But they would have been on her terms. Now, she was about to gt her second, the first having hailed from Arcadia.

Maybe third time will be the true charm, taking several deep breaths as her new brand officially began getting engraved under her right eye.
Poor Fayth, meanwhile, was shaking like a leaf. That in itself made the judge already question a lot. From how long would this girl last to would she even be able to survive? Unfortunately, the thoughts weren't fueled out of pity, but rather, a more sadistic side. Almost hoping the mental replies would be she simply wouldn't.

"State your name and what you were arrested for."

Fayth turned her head, attempting to cross her arms over her chest. The only thing that stopped her were the cuffs still on her wrists. "Don't know?" she bitterly shot back.

"... " The judge sighed. Another time waster. Go figure. "You're right. I suppose that doesn't matter, does it? At the very least, pique the curiosity of this court by answering one question. Did you truly allow and even assist for that last boy here to assault our King?"

Fayth scowled, eyebrows narrowing as if she were trying to glare through her blindfold. "You all are so stupid! Yusei did nothing wrong! The only thing wrong in this picture is your definition of what justice truly is."

"Jesus Christ, are you Miss Takeda's sibling or some shit?"

" .... No. But if I'm not the only one questioning your motives, it means you're doing a lot wrong, aren't you?"

"OUT! GET HER OUT! AND REMOVE THAT CLOTH WHEN YOU GIVE HER THE BRAND!"

If they could, her eyes would have widened in horror. "W-Wait, no! No, no! Leave that alone!"

Of course, her pleas were ignored. "Damn brats," the judge mumbled, "Who do these arrogant kids think they are anyway? Heh. No matter. None of today's shipment will survive even a week. Especially that last one."
Yuna groaned, finally feeling her body unstrapped and guided off the device. It'd only taken ten actual minutes, but felt at least two to three times longer. "Too much for ya, bitch?" one guard taunted Yuna, quickly frowning as she flashed a smirk.

"Nah. Too slow, if anything. Got a mirror on ya by chance? I wanna see what you did."

"... That'll have to wait till you get into the main building."

"No, no! Seriously, please leave that alone!"

Yuna's head quickly turned again, feeling her heart sink as poor Celeste was dragged in. She was jerking her head roughly, trying to keep unwanted hands from gripping the blindfold. "Don't worry," one of her watchers reassured her, "You can indulge in your kinky crap soon enough. We need this to make sure that --- "

Even Yuna's mouth fell agape. She hadn't thought the sight underneath would have been good to begin with. But she never imagined it would be as dire as it actually ended up being. Where there should have been a pair of eyes, there was nothing. Literally nothing.

So ... not only did these fuckers cause her to be blind, but they ... operated on her or some shit?

Yuna's fists clenched angrily as she squirmed against her assailants. "JESUS! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU ALL?! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO HER?!"

"... Excuse us?"

"Ohhhh, don't play dumb! She told me! This was your guys' doing!"

Fayth frantically moved her head from side to side, trying to beg for Yuna to go silent.

"... What kinda lies are you spouting, young lady? You could have said literally almost anything else. But this .... was not our doing. You know that."

"Liars," Yuna bitterly mumbled, wincing as a clenched fist landed against the back of her head.

"Shove it. You shouldn't be here. Get this one on the bus!"

.... Hang in there, Celeste. I'm not breaking my promise; I swear.

... That definitely made Fayth's head turned. She had to have heard things, right? But that voice ... that was definitely that girl's. What the fuck just happened?

"Turn your head, bitch!" she heard spat at her, followed by another hand gripping a fistful of hair to make her comply. "Hmmm. Something ... new or you. You're an unnatural one, and deserve something to prove as much. Alright. Here we go."

"W-With wha - AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!! NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

... Between the four of them, it was obvious who had the worst time staying still. And, just as Yusei and Yuna had assumed, it was that much worse for poor Fayth. Her blind state made the pain more amplified for her.
Yuna tapped her feet impatiently on the floor under her. Where the hell was Celeste? She was okay. Right?

Finally, the doors opened once again, and a shaky Celeste was dragged in.

"Since you seem to be her advocate or some shit, here you go, Miss Takeda."

"Fuck off already," Yuna shot back, turning after they were as alone as could be. "Hey. Hey, Celeste? You alright?"

The blindfold had been put back on. Likely after Celeste's new mark was completed. She felt ... torn, uncertain whether to scoff, chortle, or do some sort of combination of both.

Well, if nothing else, they've got good taste in art, Yuna inwardly thought, eliciting a defeated sigh as the bus started up, taking her, Celeste, and the others to the Facility.

"... She better keep her fucking word," Hajime bitterly mumbled. He wasn't sure what was making him the most annoyed; that he had failed to talk Yuna out of this plan or knowing even if that much had succeeded, she would have found a way to sneak by him and do it anyway. His head bowed as he leaned forward, resting his head atop the handlebars of his own D-Wheeler. If his hair hadn't given away his mood, the almost defeated look spelled it out.

" .... I should eat. I dunno. I'm not overly hungry. But at the same time, I know I need to."

In fact, he hadn't had anything since Yuna and Hotsuma left.

".... Still. Maybe there will be somewhere .... "

As if a light bulb appeared over his head, he looked over to Yamichi. "These tournaments ... wasn't there some sort of a hint that Jack was linked in creating them or something? There a way you can hack and find that out somehow? Like ... into his office, a phone of his? Something so we know exactly where to go instead of riding around and having no clue on where to go?"
 
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"I know, Hajime...It sucks, but we can't do anything now. Takeshi's right, we need to hold faith they'll make it out" Yamichi replied, taking out his datapad; thankfully, it looked like one of those overly large tablets some of the rich Tops kids had, so he wouldn't look too out of place with it.

Hajime's suggestion, however, put Yamichi's own thoughts into action; he had a point. If the 'King' was connected to these tournaments, someone with his ego would most definitely want to watch over all of them to get the best idea of what kind of competition he would face. So if he could somehow hack into the network...He could find where Jack Atlas was, and by consequence, the location of the tournament.

"C'mon...We can find out more after we get some chow. I'm starving here." Takeshi grumbled, Yamichi chuckling "You're just lucky we got some funds for spending...Courtesy of Sector's officer's personal carryings." Tapping some info into his datapad, there was a ramen stand not too far from where they were. When they got their meals, they would find a seat and allow Yamichi to do his work.

"Well, Yamichi? Got anything good?" Takeshi asked, Yamichi nodding "Man...I thought the security here would be tougher. I'm patched into the cameras all over the city..." Tapping his fingers across his screen, his eyes rushed over every little image, "And though I would never do it myself - at least not in plain view - there are more than a few ATMs with questionable firewalls. And someone...is making a very large withdrawal. Now where are you going...?"

He scrolled through page after page, his display getting narrower and narrower until he found a camera overlooking a very large Arena. Having followed a series of signals and locking down the location on his feed view. Showing his friends the feed, they would see Jack Atlas being escorted into a far entrance away from the main entryways. And from the looks of it and the banners located outside the gates, it was definitely where they needed to be. "Hey guys...I think I found it. It's not too far away, either; about a five minute ride, and it looks like they're getting ready to start welcoming contestants. Must be holding a lot of rounds today if they're starting this early."

Yamichi pulled out his Deck; it wasn't much, and it was a super risky build...But he saw how Hotsuma's deck worked, and he had to respect the guy for going with a straight power build, relying on the opponent using effects to destroy his monsters to summon more powerful beaters. His own cards worked differently, using his own cards to fill his graveyard and rebuild them into more powerful beasts. There was an art to destruction, and this deck helped capture that spirit.

Plus...He remembered his boss saying no one would expect a self-destructing deck, and he would be able to use that to his advantage. "Man...How long has it been since we even got the chance to Duel? I'm sure I'm going to be rusty as hell." Takeshi asked, shuffling his cards before getting his Duel Disk ready.
 
Hajime ​

"I know. I just wish they would have at least given us a hint as to why the fuck they're so certain of themselves. As far as we know, they stormed in without a plan of any kind and .... ugh."

He'd been with Yomi and Yukio - Yuna, he reminded himself - for a good three or so years. He knew it wasn't like her to rush in blindly. But this was the goddamn Facility they were talking about too! Never once had their leader sounded the least bit worried. Which was just a bit weird. And they hadn't really spoken about what had happened in Arcadia much. Why not? All of those mental questions and more continued to swirl through the blue-haired male's mind, each one making his eyebrows furrow just a bit more.

When Takeshi started whining a bit more about his appetite, Hajime flashed the other Disciple a coy smirk, "I suppose Mr. Tech Genius does need food to properly think and function, eh? Alright. I'll try to join you two. I'm still not feeling overly desperate for food, but I'll try."

The three would be half-way into their walk when his pocket shook. A low groan elicited as Hajime pulled his cell phone out, rolling his eyes as he seemed to recognize the number. "Well ... I suppose I should have informed him before leaving," he muttered, quickly pushing on the green icon to accept the call.

"Are my eyes deceiving me? Or are you actually gone? Has Hajme started getting a social life?"

Hajime smirked, shrugging lightly. "I suppose I am, yeah. What of it?"

"Awwww. I'm so proud of my ototo. Why didn't you tell me any of this?"

"Because I knew you'd over-exaggerate like this. I think - hope - you had a real reason for calling me, yes?"

A sigh resounded from the phone. "I suppose it can't be helped," the other voice replied, "Yes, yes. I do. So .. if you're gone ... does this mean what I think it does?"

"If it's anything along the lines of you're in charge, yes." Glancing up and making sure only the other Disciples were immediately in ear shot - and trying to gauge how far away they were from their destination - he immediately shifted to a more cryptic method of speaking. "Onee-sama is away and will be for an undetermined amount of time. Hopefully not too long. Until then, aniki, it's your obligation to take care of things. I should be away for little more than a few days. That's not too much for you to handle, is it?"

A chuckle would be the first thing Hajime - and any of the others, if they paid enough attention - would hear before Eikichi, Yuna's third-in-command, finally spoke up. "Goodness, no. This is just ... new. Onee-sama doesn't usually have to step away this often, you know?"

Hajime nodded, unable to argue with that. "Very true. Okay then. I'll leave it up to you, Eikichi-aniki."

... So maybe cryptic wasn't the best word to use for how he'd talked. It probably sounded relatively normal. And while he wasn't actually the blood brother of Eikichi, it was a running joke among the members of Yomi and even some of the Disciples that they were due to their exotic hair colors.

"He's right," Hajime mused a bit after they entered, grinning as he began scanning the menu. "Even I didn't think there would be a day it'd come to Eikichi taking over. This does feel kinda weird. Well .. let's make it worth the risk those crazy leaders are taking."

It felt a bit forced on his behalf, but he opted to order a simple bowl of miso soup and some tea. It was mainly to keep him, too, functioning. Especially if they were going to duel soon while the leaders were incarcerated and they were out and about.

"We're all likely rusty in some regard. In fact, if it weren't for the knowledge Eikichi knows he's needed back 'home', he'd gladly join us. I have no doubts. He's been as restless as anyone else to duel. Actually sorta envious of Hotsuma and Yuna and all the opportunities they've had. Just ... been respectful enough not to whine about it in front of them."

His own hand reached down and pulled his deck out. Hajime wasn't really a huge believer in Fate or anything. But it was almost ironic how similar yet different his deck had been compared to Yuna's. Warriors ... but a very specific group. The X-Sabers. Was it this that actually made him Yuna's right hand? The knowledge that if push ever came to shove, they could be a very competent and deadly tag team?

Maybe a small part of the equation. But Hajime knew that definitely wasn't it.

"With three of us, though, at least one of us should have a high enough chance to earn a high enough spot into this tournament. If we're gonna keep believing in our leaders, then may as well apply that to ourselves."

Seeing Takeshi place his deck in his disk, Hajime would follow suit ... though not before taking the chance to throw over a quip. "Oi, oi. You guys are Disciples; shouldn't you throw in a prayer before we head out? Wouldn't kill ya. And hey, I'll join in if it helps."

Either way, it was clear he was feeling much better compared to a few minutes ago. Standing up after the bill was paid, he'd get over to his D-Wheeler, proceeding to begin following Takeshi and riding to the arena that was getting set up. There definitely was a very satisfying feeling knowing soon, he would be able to duel once again. And it would be for far more better things than his own selfishness.

... I know I was only half-joking. But if anyone's listening, don't let all our efforts go to waste. And don't let those idiotic leaders of ours die, will ya, Kami-sama?

Taking a long, deep breath, Hajime revved his engine, continuing to tag behind the two Disciples.
 

Yamichi and Takeshi both withheld their snickers as Hajime talked with his 'brother' Eikichi; related they may not be, but they knew how to look out for each other. It was one of many reasons they were joked about as being family, but it was good all the same that they shared a close bond like that. In this period where being a narc was a preferred method of survival against not just Sector but the other Duel Gangs, such relationships were hard to come by.

And joke as they might Eikichi and Hajime were two people most well trusted to lead Yomi in Yuna's stead; even so, they kind of wished they could bring everyone over. But there were those that had to watch over Yomi, not that they objected. But if they had other tournaments, Yamichi at least would see the others got a chance to duel too. And over here, there wasn't any fear of being arrested for them. No one knew who they were, and aside from looking a little roughed up they seemed in decent enough shape to pass as people from the Tops.

"Don't worry though, Hajime. We'll make Yuna and Hotsuma proud while they're being their crazy selves." Takeshi called out over the roar of their D-Wheeler's engines, turning and twisting through the streets until they reached the massive Duel Stadium. It was truly an impressive sight to behold: Banners of various Duel Monsters flapped gently in the wind, both new and old creatures of Duels past. The ever present Sector Security patrolling around the perimeter, on the lookout for troublemakers as people began lining up; thankfully, the three of them were lucky in the sense that their bosses were more the focus of Sector's attention than the underlings.

"Hey, Yamichi...So what can you tell us about this tournament?" Takeshi asked, Yamichi pulling out his datapad. "Looks like a bracketed tournament. Sixteen contestants total for this round, final four get a spot in the Fortune Cup and a cash prize. First Prize is 500000, Second Prize is 250000, third and fourth both get 125000." Takeshi whistled, "Even if we don't get top two, that's a good bit of money. Would go a long way. Any chance Atlas is competing today?" Yamichi frowned, "Unlikely. He's already in, so if anything he's just here for stage presence."

Takeshi just smiled, "Aw, man; I was looking forward to kicking his butt in Hotsuma's stead. If anything, I could have teased him about fighting Atlas while he was out." Yamichi laughed and powered down his device, storing it in his holder at his hip as he replied, "Yeah...But that's what we're here for, right? Even if it's not Atlas, we're still doing this in part for them."

Looking to Hajime, Yamichi then said, "You said you wanted in on a prayer? Well, we don't do one often except when we're going really deep into the shit. And this kind of counts right?" Takeshi gave a firm nod, "I agree...'Sides, a little faith never hurt."

Bowing his head, Yamichi and Takeshi would hold their hands together, "Kami-sama, I ask of you, lend us your ear. Watch over us this day, and may the tide of victory wash us along the paths of fate." Takeshi then chimed in, "Through countless trials, through harrowing sorrow, we have persevered but we ask of you: Lend us your divine will once more."

Both would then say together, "Let the blood of our fallen be the fuel for our triumph, and let not history leave their names to wither in the annals of legend. Kami-sama, we beseech you. Arigato".

And with that completed, the three (not known to others) members of Satellite's resident 'trash' population were registered, Yamichi sporting the number '12' and Takeshi being given the number '9'...Much to the young man's displeasure. "Man...Figures you get the good number." Takeshi muttered, frowning as he looked down at his number tag. Yamichi just smiled, "Don't worry about it too much; we got this. We're three of a kind, right? All we need is for one of us to make it, and we can help out everyone."
 
Hajime ​

Poor Hajime felt like his brain had turned into a hamster running frantically around on a goddamn wheel. It was definitely spinning and racing at about that pace, anyway. He found himself going back and forth, changing his focus. Sometimes it would drift to Hotsuma and Yuna, praying like hell they were fine. Then it'd go to the more current situation, knowing soon he'd join Takeshi and Yamichi in joining this tournament. And a few times, it even wandered about what would happen after this tournament.

Granted, that last silent inquiry would honestly depend.

While he hoped one of them could get far enough to secure at least some of the money, they were only three people. Sure, sixteen was a fair enough amount.

Still, as someone who had dueled for a good chunk of his life, Hajime wasn't immune to defeat. He'd seen more than enough times how quickly the tables could turn.

... You need Yuna to slap sense into you. Maybe it'd help you shut up and focus on what matters most.

And now that the trio had arrived and ensured they all at least earned a place among the other thirteen opponents, the tournament was even higher on his priority list.

... Well, he was trying to make that be the case.

Oddly enough, it would be the prayer that finally helped his concentration return to a mostly normal pace.

... Oh, shit. I was only half-joking ...

Hajime didn't know if he should feel more embarrassed or amused. Faith was just one of those things - especially when the situation was more than appropriate enough - that you shouldn't joke about.

.. Hopefully they hadn't taken the request as an insult.

Taking a slight breath, Hajime closed his eyes, listening solely to the rather simple but still poignant prayer the two Disciples were giving.

"Arigato," Hajime would chime in as the two reached the end. "I already kinda said one in my head on the way here. Plus, you both covered anything I would have added so ... hope that didn't sound too half-assed or anything."

Whereas numbers didn't matter from the last tournament they watched, the opposite was true here. Everyone was assigned one, apparently.

"Seven, huh?" Hajime mused, offering Takeshi a reassuring smile. "Pretend it's a six, maybe? Or just don't dwell on what you actually ended up getting? That may be for the best; just go out there when it's your turn and kick ass like you always do."

Slowly, Hajime began looking around, trying to get a decent glance at the other opponents. Even before learning Yuna was a woman disguised as a man - used to be, anyway - he'd always been a silent advocate for female duelists. So when he saw several feminine faces, he was very pleased at this. Variety was good to have every now and again.

"Welcome everyone! Contestants? Can I have your attention please?"

A middle-aged man wearing a very fancy outfit was standing up in the center of the stage. In their right hand was a microphone. The left, meanwhile, held a clipboard.

"In order to help prevent repeating any ... incidents like the last tournament had, we have decided to go about hosting this in a very unique manner. You may have noticed we didn't bother with names, but rather, handed numbers out. We do, however, know which face represents each number so don't worry about that. This is to keep a more anonymous factor."

There would be a pause, likely to give everyone a chance to soak all the information in.

"To strengthen that, this dueling field will be one of the first of its kind. Essentially, it will be cloaked. Once both duelists take their place in front of either podium, a barrier will activate. The audience and spectators will not be able to see what exactly is played. You will be able to see life points, labeled with the respective numbers. You will even be able to view the attack and defense of any monsters played. What exactly they are, however, will be kept a secret. Only those dueling will know what the other is playing."

Quite a few of the others were wasting little time in whispering to one another.

Not that Hajime couldn't blame them; he could, however, wait for the poor guy to finish doing his job before asking the others what they thought.

"While there is not going to be an official rule stating for you not to share what type of deck your opponent had, it's discouraged. Honestly though, it's ensuring no tampering with anything will try to happen like it did with the most recent one. With all of this being said and done, the tournament will begin soon!"

Finally, a hint on what the clipboard had appeared on a nearby screen. As it flickered on, the brackets would be seen.

Thankfully, it appeared none of the trio would be forced to go against one another in the first around; no doubt a blessing in its own rights.

They would all see the following sets of numbers.


3 vs. 16
4 vs. 9
13 vs. 2
1 vs. 11
10 vs. 12
7 vs. 8
14 vs. 5
6 vs. 15​

"Aww, boo. I gotta wait a while, it seems. Oi though, Takeshi. Looks like you won't have to wait too long. Look!"

Nodding his head towards the list, Hajime would point out - if Takeshi had yet to realize this - that he would be going second, apparently.

The official start began ten minutes later. Sure enough, after the duelists stepped in front of the podium, they were enclosed by a bright barrier. Almost like a force field ... though maybe that was exactly what it was.

Hajime definitely wasn't going to be dumb enough to try determining what this was or how it worked. He was curious, but not that much.

When it finally ended, it would be noted that numbers 3 and 16 had been really close. It wasn't one-sided ... something that was rare to find nowadays.

"Well ... good luck!"

As Takeshi started walking forward, another male sauntered forward. Though his bangs hid his eyes, a rather smug grin was already starting to spread across his lips.
 

"If only it were that easy, Hajime..." Takeshi muttered; clearly he was unsettled, but anyone who knew anything about folklore would see why he was unsettled. They were in dangerous territory (for them anyway), alone with no one but each other, and in a tournament that attracted some of the best (and in other cases, the worst as the first tournament they'd seen had shown) Duelists to compete for a chance to enter the Fortune Cup.

"Doesn't help that they lined the top either; could have just inverted the sign...Oh well, here's just hoping." he tried to joke; in truth though he was nervous. He hadn't had a chance to duel in a while, and he built his deck to try and counter the swarming tactics of Sector's officers. How it would fair against other Duelists, especially ones that didn't have to worry about those fascists breathing down their necks...Well only time would tell.

Yamichi laughed as Hajime playfully pouted about being so far down the list, "Hey, I'm right there with you...Poor Takeshi's going second." Takeshi's face reddened, "Hey man, that's not funny! I knew this number was a bad draw!" The young tech just chuckled, "Relax, Tak...You're going to do fine. Just duel like you know how, and I'm betting you'll win." Takeshi paused for a moment, then gave a weak smile, "You think so?" to which Yamichi gave a firm nod, "You know how much crap we've gone through? And we're still here and kicking; this is our boss' way of letting us have some fun. So let's just enjoy ourselves, yeah?"

Having come to a mutual understanding in that department, they would watch the first duel...Well, the numbers at least. "Man...I know why they're doing this, but just watching this field...And numbers? Takes some of the fun out of it, you know? I like watching the holograms, seeing the monsters move and attack. Only way we'll get to see anything is if we actually Duel ourselves." Takeshi mused, watching the respective LP get lower and lower on both sides. Yamichi's eyes watched the dueling field with keen interest; how had they done that, he wondered.

"Yeah...But at the same time, it makes it even more interesting. You don't know your next opponent's strategy; in a way, it's kind of ingenious. Makes you focus on who you're really facing: Seeing the cards they draw, the plays they make. Keeps you on your toes. I wasn't expecting this...But now I'm getting kind of stoked. Takeshi, want to trade?" Yamichi asked teasingly; however, the match soon came to an end, with the duelist on the farther side of the arena being the victor. Duelist Number 3, to be exact. "Never mind then...Ah well..." Yamichi snickered, still smiling all the same.

As much as he wanted to start exploring the systems, he knew it was probably a bad idea to go rooting around after the fiasco from the first tournament. They were trying to keep a low profile, after all...Besides, now it was Takeshi's turn. "Hey, Takeshi...Keep a level head, man. It's all you" the tech encouraged, both of them giving a hard armshake. "For Hotsuma and Yuna...Hell yeah, I'm going to win this!" Takeshi concurred expressively, hearing his number be called before making his way to the arena.

And as he stood across from his opponent, it felt surreal: Having worked in the shadows for so long, he felt kind of exposed...And it was more than a little unsettling. All these unfamiliar faces looking at him, wondering if he would win or not. He didn't look like much, that he knew...

But then he remembered something Hotsuma told him...Something that seemed oddly fitting.

"Just remember, Takeshi: It's the still waters you have to watch for. They hide the biggest dangers. People don't assume much when they look at you...Use that. Show them how bad it is to underestimate you."

And looking at his opponent, he was a little peeved at the smug grin. Oh, he was going to have fun wiping that off the guy's face, his Duel Disk activating

"LIFE POINTS: 8000! DUEL BARRIER, ENGAGE!"

And in a matter of minutes, the two of them were encased in the sphere of light: Now it was truly a one-on-one fight...And he planned to emerge the victor.

"DUEL!"
 
Hajime ​

Hajime raised an eyebrow. "Damn, dude. I mean, I think I get where you're coming from but .... panicking isn't gonna get ya anywhere. Take some deep breaths."

It wasn't that he wasn't afraid. On the contrary, he was on edge. Hajime was simply better at hiding at because his own leader had taught him several tricks. Hell, she acted so ... natural while under the guise of Yukio. Even though there had been a small handful of times the blue-haired male had suspected something was hidden about Yukio, it had never been enough to dare question his identity of all things. It thus seemed fitting that, of course, he'd been told long ago to just act like yourself. Should you run into any overly nerve-wracking situations, don't freak out.

Because ....

"The moment that happens, you can - and likely will - lose any and all control you had. In the case of duels, you've all but handed victory over to your opponent."

"You got this. We've got actual reasons for coming here and kicking ass. I doubt these people have much of a real reason aside from the money. So go do what ya do best; duel!"

Soon, Takeshi would vanish from sight, making even Hajime's brows furrow a bit. "God, that really is as awesome as it is intimidating. The barrier, I mean." There was at least one saving grace, he supposed, and it came in the fact they knew one another's numbers. And since those were labeled, he could follow along and take note of the life points changing.

She may - and very likely had - succeeded in fooling a good majority of the live and at-home audiences when she made her appearance recently. But Daisuke knew perfectly well Celeste wasn't whom she claimed to be. Courtesy of some information gathering from numerous Academia sources, he knew a bit about the girl ... including that Reiji seemed to have a bit of a soft spot for her. That was a good reason why Leo had so adamantly sent him, Daisuke, over to retrieve her. She was a very important piece to making the war in the Pendulum Dimension and ensure that Academia would end up winning.

Alas, she was good at hiding it seemed.

No matter. That was the true point of partaking in this tournament; to find any possible links that could point him to Fayth. She was blind after all. Even if only from one person, common sense implied someone had helped her out.

It was his job to somehow figure out whom that was.

Besides, it wasn't like he'd been sent out here alone. Oh no. At least one other of his comrades had secured a spot here ... and would help him out soon enough.

"Duel~"

The voice Takeshi would hear Daisuke use to elicit the single declaration was ... calm. Almost a sing-song voice even. "Hope you don't care if I start us off? I'll summon Marauding Captain. I then activate his ability to special summon King's Knight onto the field. Your go."

Hajime whistled. Even without being able to see any exact details, it was noticeable that whoever this was, they had played a card that allowed something else to be placed on the field. "I guess ... they didn't set anything? Hopefully that's a good sign. Still, they're not ... well, that's dumb. Of course they aren't gonna hold any punches back; not if they have even half a brain."

... Hopefully that prayer will kick in. It'd suck if that was put to waste, Hajime inwardly added, leaning back against a pole behind him as he observed the ongoing duel.
 

Takeshi seemed a little put off by the way this guy was acting so calm; even still, he just figured this was his adrenaline finally kicking in. Well whatever, he was going to show this guy he was no pushover. No matter what he thought of him before now, he intended to make it through this. No way was he going to be among the first eliminated.

"Turn order doesn't matter, my friend." was his response, seeing his opponent already summon two monsters to his field. But that was all he did; no face-downs? Could mean he had something in his hand...But he couldn't think of any cards that boosted ATK from the hand, not for Warrior-types anyway. "Bah, overthinking it...Just focus, you got this Takeshi." he mentally amped himself, declaring, "My turn! I draw!"

He then took a look at his cards; not a bad hand, he thought. He had some back-ups in case things went south...And with this deck, it could go south very quick. But...That was enough wallowing. It was time to put his game plan into action.

"From I activate the Field Spell - Undead World!" Takeshi stated, sliding the card into the Field slot on his disk; within moments, their entire space was filled with black. Hands reached up through gravemounds, rotting corpses coming to life and encircling the pair. "With this, all monsters on the field and in the Graveyard become Undead-types, and neither player can Advance Summon anything other than Undead monsters. And next, I summon Shiranui Samurai to my field!"

Outside the Dueling Barrier, Yamichi watched, seeing the bright hemisphere become tinged with black; a notifier on the screens showed that a Field Spell was in play, and that a monster with 1800 ATK was just summoned. "Takeshi's making a move...You can do it, man." he muttered; now he was kind of seeing the point Takeshi made earlier. He wanted to see exactly what was happening...But he supposed he would have to wait.

"Samurai, attack Marauding Captain!" the young man then said, pointing at the 1200 ATK monster on his opponent's field; Samurai seemed to vanish after sliding his katana out of its sheath, a streak of light appearing through the other monster before it split in two and broke, his opponent's LP cut by 600 as Takeshi's Samurai then reappeared on his field. And with King's Knight being 1600, he didn't have to worry about battle destruction; even still, he was hoping that the opponent didn't have a card like Dark Hole or something.

"I set two cards face-down and end my turn...Your move." was Takeshi's final statement, two face-down cards appearing on his back-row...And now he just had to see what his opponent had in store for him.
 
Hajime ​

Undeads, huh?

If nothing else, this would definitely be amusing. Oh, but it only got better. Daisuke's head tilted, clearly intrigued as he summoned his first monster. "Oh? Interesting. The Six Samurai Clan, I have definitely heard of. A zombie version though?"

Most definitely not. And given he, too, had hopped around the other dimensions like a certain female ... he had certainly heard of rumors. Ones that a very small handful of people caught wind of, and even less believed in. Now, though, this deck started to make him ponder that maybe there really was a sixth dimension; the Spirit World. How else could this deck be explained? If they were simply another group of samurai, why not be put with the Six Samurai then?

Because, obviously, something tragic had happened.

What exactly, however, was staying unknown.

Probably the wrong person as far as Fayth goes. Even still, Leo-sama will appreciate learning all of this ...

And who knew? Even if Fayth didn't yet have a link with this man, time could change many things, including those types of possibilities. Always best to keep unknown factors close to oneself, after all.

"Well then," he stated as Takeshi ended his turn. "Draw! I activate Raigeki! Sorry, but ... "

"Trap card open! Shiranui Style Swallow's Slash!"

Daisuke watched, still looking more calm than any other emotion. Far more than any other person likely would have, too; especially as the trap not only negated Raigeki, but forced his field to be wide open. " ... Huh. Most people don't plan that far ahead."

Alas, even Takeshi would understand he hadn't simply uttered a half-assed excuse. He'd know from his own experiences that tended to be true. "With that being the case, then, I suppose it would be your turn."

Hajime's eyebrow raised. It looked like Takeshi's opponent started to activate something ... but ... it got stopped? Not that he was disappointed in Takeshi, per se. But ...

"Man. This cloaking ability really is becoming kinda annoying. We're gonna have to hear from Takeshi what the hell's going on, I suppose. But it looks look the duel's staying in his favor, from what I can gather."
 

Takeshi was immediately glad that he had set his face-downs as he did; if he hadn't, his opponent's King's Knight would have had a clear shot at his Life Points, especially if he managed to summon another monster. Even still...He seemed unsettled by his opponent's words. Six Samurai? Was that another archetype?

So when his opponent activated that staple card in most decks, a card that clears even the most powerful of fields, he knew it was either activate his trap or risk taking an even bigger loss. Putting aside those distracting thoughts for now. "I chain this! Trap Card Open! Shiranui Style Swallow's Slash! I tribute Shiranui Samurai, then destroy Raigeki and your King's Knight!" A spectral aura burst out, shattering the armored warrior and the blue card that had been activated. "Next, by the effect of Swallow's Slash, I banish one Zombie-type monster from my deck...Sayonara for now, Shiranui Smith." And with that, the young man slid a card into the banished card slot of his disk.

Only to look up in surprise as again his opponent played nothing, the turn coming back to him; not even a monster? Did he have nothing in his hand? This felt...Nice, but even so he was kind of hoping for more of a match.

"Uhm....Alright...My turn, I draw." he then replied, less energetically than before. He was feeling a bit put-off; this guy had a completely open field like him, but...Was he even trying? "I activate the Spell Card, Book of Life - Forbidden Magic -. I target the Shiranui Samurai I tributed last turn, as well as the Marauding Captain in your Graveyard. By Book's effect, Shiranui Samurai is reborn...And your Captain is removed from the game!"

He could see it now...This would be one hell of a play, he thought. "Next I summon the Tuner Monster, Zombie Carrier! I tune it to my Level 4 Samurai! Synchro Summon! Level Six - Deathkaiser Dragon!" And after the sequence completed, the undead Synchro monster appeared, its rotting wings spreading wide as its empty eyes stared down his opponent. "I activate Deathkaiser's effect! When this card is Summoned, I can target one Zombie-type monster in your graveyard and Summon it to my field! Which means your King's Knight is mine!"

In a flash, King's Knight reappeared...Though looked far less regal from his last appearance, his skin decaying and holes punched into his flesh and armor to show bone and sinew. "I then activate Carrier's effect in the graveyard! I return one card from my hand to the top of my deck and Special Summon it!" Giving a slight grin, Takeshi just said, "You probably know what's coming, but here it goes anyway. I tune Zombie Carrier to King's Knight! Noble warrior, bear of the torch of your ancestors and rise from beyond to strike against darkness! Synchro Summon! Blade God - Shiranui!"

And just like that, the audience would see that two level six monsters with over 2000 ATK had appeared under Takeshi's number; and despite them not seeing the action for themselves, they seemed to be just as happy as Yamichi was for his partner-in-crime. "Damn...Looks like he's on a roll!" Yamichi cheered, honestly happy that - what he imagined at least - Takeshi was doing so well. "See, didn't we tell him to be cool? He's going to score a huge lead here!" the young tech shouted jubilantly to Hajime.

Takeshi couldn't help smiling, seeming quite pleased with himself; even if it was just a card game, he felt a hint of pride in knowing he built a half-decent deck. "Now, Deathkaiser and Blade God! Direct Attack!" Blade God's sword seemed to glow a ghastly but powerful white, a spectral image of itself shooting forward before the undead dragon shot a massive ball of flame. Both strikes impacting his opponent and cutting his LP from 7400 to 2500.

Giving his opponent a smug grin of his own, as if to say 'Better hope you draw something', he then just said, "And with that, I end my turn."
 
Hajime ​

Takeshi was definitely not alone in his desire for putting up more of a fight. In fact, this was ... very rare indeed. Equally irritating as it was interesting in its own warped, twisted ways. And yet, it was exactly because of how thing were going thus far that he felt all the more certain about a few things. One, this boy had to move on. After all, there wasn't a rule against losers being able to watch the rest of the tournament, and that was exactly what Daisuke would do.

Two - and just as vital as the first point - there as indeed something important about this Takeshi.

What exactly?

He didn't know. But he wouldn't have been able to find out should his deck have replied to him.

"Actually," he replied, allowing Takeshi the courtesy of finishing his Synchro Summon before continuing, "I couldn't say I knew what exactly was coming. You see, just as you looked a bit clueless on my Six Samurai reference, I can't say I've seen or heard of your Shiranui clan. In that regard, we appear to be the same. They are quite the interesting group though; that much I'll definitely admit out loud for free."

... So maybe he gave the slightest of hints he probably didn't belong here.

Oops~

Ah well. Unless he could prove anything about his words, it wasn't like Takeshi could do anything about it. And even if he put two and two together, then what? It wasn't like Daisuke had done anything wrong. ... Not right at that moment, at least.

Glancing down towards his hand, he looked once more at what he had. In truth, one of the few monsters he stared at had been something he contemplated playing. And if Raigeki had gone through, he very likely would have. Ah well; this would allow him a slim chance. But not one he was expecting, as it would mean Takeshi would have to make an incredibly rookie mistake.

"Well ... it seems circumstances have forced me to do the only wise thing I can. I set a monster and end."

Hajime cringed, watching Takeshi's opponent finish their turn. "Damn. I mean, glad for Takeshi but ... ouch. That's gotta be the worst display of crappy luck I've seen in a looooooong time."
 

"Yeah...But maybe this will help his confidence? I mean, I know I would be feeling pretty good about winning by such a large margin" Yamichi replied, seeing that a monster was played in face-down defense. He did agree that Takeshi's opponent was rather unfortunate in regards to playable cards, but...All the same, it showed an ability of his comrade to capitalize on the misfortune itself, and make viable plays.

Takeshi meanwhile, just narrowed his eyes as his opponent continued to state his perspective; just who was this guy? Shiranui were an uncommon archetype, sure...But most duelists had at least heard of them. And his choice of words were odd too...Admit for free? Was this guy hiding something?

Didn't really matter though, because unless it was a card like Man-Eater Bug or Snowman Eater, he didn't have to worry about much else from where he was standing. "My turn, I draw!" Takeshi declared, readying to attack...But if he did, what sort of monster could it be? If the attack went through, he would be able to finish it with Blade God.

Even so, he remembered Hotsuma's advice: Show him why it was unwise to underestimate him. And he had an opening...All he had to do was take it.

"Deathkaiser, destroy his face-down!" Takeshi commanded, the undead dragon roaring before sending an incinerating ball of fire that vaporized his defense monster, allowing him to direct attack with Blade God...And with that, his opponent's Life Points dropped to zero. "WHOO!" Takeshi yelped almost too loudly as he jumped for joy, his cheeks flushing as he realized he maybe was a bit unsportsmanlike. "Eh-he...Sorry about that. Good duel though!" he tried to recover, walking forward and holding a hand out for a friendly handshake as the energy barrier came down. The screens revealing number '9' as the winner.

Yamichi meanwhile, didn't seem to mind being joyous for a perfect win. "Hell yeah, Takeshi! That's how you get it done!"
 
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