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


Yamichi's eyes seemed to gleam a bit as he finally felt his deck responding to him; even if the plays hadn't been spectacular, the fact that he managed to survive so long against Judai's relentless assault was a testament indeed. "I'm just sorry it took me so long to get over feeling sorry for myself; thanks for not letting me fall down into depression, Judai. Seriously, I'm glad I got the chance to face you. My turn! Draw!" he then said, seeing the final piece to his puzzle be pulled from his Deck into his hand.

A low laugh left him; now, NOW of all times it decides to show up. "Where the hell were you ten turns ago?" Yamichi wondered, but just stared at Judai and declared, "I activate the Field Magic, Scrap Factory!" And moments later, the brunette would get quite the treat in terms of Field Spells: The half of the city that Yamichi was on was torn down almost instantly, the glorious buildings being replaced by giants vats, a huge blast furnace blowing molten iron to be formed behind him, and various hydraulic presses that surrounded and made a hell of a racket.

It was kind of fitting though, that they would both use their Field Spells this match: It showed that they would fight to the bitter end.

"Next, I summon Scrap Beast from my hand! Then I activate Scrap Dragon's effect! I target Scrap Beast and the set card on your field to my left, then destroy them!" And just like that, Yamichi would get a glimpse of what Judai had in wait. "Ouch...That would have definitely hurt me if you had a chance to use it Judai. Your deck's dangerous, you know that?" Yamichi complimented, adding "But now I activate Beast's effect! When it's destroyed, I can add a 'Scrap' card from my Graveyard to my hand! I then chain Searcher's effect in my Graveyard with Factory's effect! I'll Special Summon a Scrap Golem, then Summon Scrap Searcher from the Graveyard!"

Staring down Judai now was a massively hurting force of 5300 ATK combined, Factory's presence amping his monsters by 200 ATK points. "Scrap Golem! Scrap Dragon! Direct Attack!" Two powerful hits later, Judai was down to 4400 LP. "Sorry, Judai...But I'm not done yet. I use Golem's effect to Special Summon the Scrap Orthos from my Graveyard...And I'll tune it with my Scrap Golem to Synchro Summon Scrap Twin Dragon!"

With Yamichi's summoning of a second Scrap Dragon variant, the tech would just say "Turn end...Your move, Judai."



Reiji was certainly praying for the best; it was bad enough Fayth was blind, but he also had seen and heard how barbaric some of the Commons residents there - apparently called 'the Satellite' in that dimension - could be. And while she was no slouch when it came to Dueling, it would only help her so much. And plus...If Fuyu found out she was in any real trouble, even he shuddered to think of what might happen to those who threatened her.

Needless to say, he was surprised to hear his communicator going off so soon; a small scowl was on his face, evidence of his not being pleased with what he assumed was the case. And when Fuyu spoke, he got the confirmation; he'd had a bad feeling about Fayth going to visit that man. And thinking back, he should have tried harder to dissuade her from going.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised..." Reiji replied at first, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose a little. "I do have an idea where you can try looking; before we broke contact, she was contacted by that dimension's Jack Atlas. Truth be told, I should have tried harder to keep her from going to meet him; from what she communicated to me, their first meeting did not go well. But what was strange, he had sent her a letter, you see, asking to meet her again."

Letting out a small sigh, he then added, "In any event, I suggest you attempt to locate Atlas there. She was trying to enter a tournament, from what I understand; and if that Atlas' reputation is anything to go by, I've little doubt he'll be watching at whatever tournament the city may be hosting. Find out if one is being hosted and where, and I'm more than certain it will lead you to Atlas...And with any luck, information or the location of Fayth." Adding in a less cold tone, he then said "I know you can take care of yourself, Fuyu...But do be careful, alright?"
 

"Cool, cool. I was wondering if your Scraps had their own field or not."

More often than not, the answer was typically yes for almost every archetype. All the same, something having a high chance of being likely didn't mean it was a guarantee either.

Judai smiled, studying the new atmosphere across from him and taking the scenery in.

"Heh, yeah. Like I had to tell Takeshi during our duel, my own isn't great at playing nice. I do know though, most definitely."

Judai gripped his lower lip. With how uneventful his last turn had been, he knew there was no way to stop the incoming attack; even less so with his Drowning Mirror Force being destroyed by Yamichi's Scrap Dragon. So ... he was about to receive the full end of this attack.

Originally, he'd found it weird that the life points were upped to 8000. Now .. he was finding it to be quite the blessing.

Judai hissed and winced through gritted teeth, panting slightly as he watched his life drop from over 9,000 to 4,400 in one blow.

While the pain wasn't amplified, it most definitely did still exist.

"Ahhh! Itai, itai, itai, itai, itaiiiiiii .... damn. Haha! It's ... whew .... been quite some time since anyone got that huge of a hit off on me. Kudos for that. Draw!"

... And there it was. Confirmation this duel was indeed about to end. His hand began to raise and fall atop his deck .... but stopped. That'd be an insult; to both himself and Yamichi. Besides, even when he ended up losing, Judai never surrendered. He fought until the end.

Since he couldn't quite do that though, he resorted to the next best thing.

"Omedetō, Yamichi. You earned tthis win, most definitely. I literally got nothing so .... your turn. I know my deck's dangerous, but your own packs quite the punch. Try to make the next hit just a bit gentler, if possible, eh?"

Judai chuckled softly, sighing as his arms stretched out by his side, knowing he could only wait for Yamichi to get to his battle phase.
"... Jack Atlas is here also?"

Now that was odd. How? Why even? How was he in two dimensions at the same time? Was this an effect from whatever Leo was trying to succeed in accomplishing?

Too many questions, but not enough answers; an - unfortunately - common issue that Fuyu seemed to run into when it came to fulfilling any duties associated with her position as a Lancer.

"Well then ... you bet I intend to have quite the talk with him. I just hope he's not expecting his title as 'king' to get him out of our conversation, because I'm not accepting that crap. I'll try to be civil; but I can't make any promises about that."

A ghost of a smile crossed her face as she heard Reiji implore her to be careful.

"I intend to. Now that the mission has changed into likely a more dire one, I'm not going to be easily stopped. I'll contact you again when I get an answer so we can determine where to go from here on out. Fuyu out for now."

With a quick movement of her right index finger, Fuyu ended the call.

Following through with Reiji's advice was painfully easy. A few taps on her disk and she locked onto the ongoing tournament. The hard part ... was how to get there.

Walking would likely take too long. There was only one thought even starting to cross her mind. It was definitely not her more orthodox choice she would normally resort to. Unfortunately, Fuyu was in a very different situation. Desperate times truly did call for desperate measures.

With how late it was, she didn't easily believe the tournament had just started. It'd likely begun some time ago.

As Fuyu exited Fayth's residence, she found her prayer seeming to be answered after walking one block. The loud revving of a D-Wheeler made her raise her arm up. And just as a precaution, she whistled to make damn sure the driver heard her and stopped.

"Well, well. What can I do for ya?"

"Simple. Get me to the ongoing tournament at this location." She allowed the man to lean close to her duel disk and read the address still displayed.

"It's probably --- "

"Look," Fuyu interrupted, "I'm actually in a bit of a hurry. I'm going there to meet up with a friend who's waiting for me. If it's an issue, I'll pay you for your troubles."

... She wasn't sure whether to feel more relieved or annoyed that the bribe had worked. For now, Fuyu opted to follow the former, if only because she truly was on a race to beat an invisible timer.

"... Alright. That works. Hop on. I don't usually have company, so I don't have an extra helmet. So hang on tight."

Like I wasn't gonna, Fuyu internally shot, replying instead with a nod. "Will do," she merely said out loud.

"Okay! Here we go! Hang on!"

No sooner than the driver uttered his declaration, he zoomed off after revving the engine a few more times.
 

Yamichi just grinned as Judai confirmed his suspicions; it seemed that luck truly had a fickle way of choosing who it would benefit and who it would hurt. He had no doubt that if he didn't get those Scrap Goblins out, he would have had no chance of winning this Duel. And as it stood, it seemed he was going to surprise even himself and win this; honestly, he didn't expect to. Most of his cards had been from hand-me-downs and prizes from raids their group had committed on Sector warehouses.

"I'll try, Judai...But because you really did help me feel better, I want to show you my strongest monster. I hope you don't mind!" Yamichi asked, finally all smiles and doing what he was supposed to be all along. Just enjoying Dueling, the very ideal the Disciples had been aiming for, and he was getting a taste of it.

Yeah...Definitely worth fighting to obtain, and he knew now that he wasn't ever going to give up.

"I summon Scrap Mind Reader...And now I tune my Scrap Searcher and Level 8 Scrap Dragon with Scrap Mind Reader! Burn, erupt and destroy! Raise your three heads and howl in fury! Incinerate my enemy with the power of the sun! Synchro Summon! Level 10! Atomic Scrap Dragon!" And for the second time today, he would summon his ace. The single most powerful monster in his deck in terms of raw power. And would it be a glorious sight, seeing the three-headed beast of fire and radiation spread its metal wings and roar to the heavens, causing quite an approving and accompanying roar of applause from the audience.

Unfortunately, Judai had more than enough Life to withstand Atomic's attack...Which meant Scrap Twin Dragon would also be making an attack. "Eh-he...Sorry in advance, Judai! Atomic and Twin Dragon, direct attack!" Yamichi declared, Atomic's energies gathering just as Scrap Twin's were...Judai's form momentarily disappearing as he was engulfed in a wall of fire; thankfully, he would notice that it wasn't nearly as damaging as it could have been, but even still his Life would drop to zero...Making Yamichi the winner, not just to enter the Fortune Cup, but also a sizable sum of money to help Yomi's operations.

"And there you have it, folks! This contest is over! Give it up for Yamichi Hizumara! And let's give a big hand for Judai Yuki, he helped put on an amazing display of skill between two ferociously competitive decks!"

The applause and cheers were nearly deafening, Yamichi's face plastered all over the big screens next to Judai's, his picture reading '1st' underneath and Judai's reading '2nd'. And at this point, Yamichi had crossed over to shake Judai's hand, "Seriously, man...That was crazy fun."

And soon enough, Yamichi was bearhugged from behind by Takeshi, "Fuck yeah, man, I knew you could do! But man, Judai, I've never seen anyone push someone so hard! You're one crazy dude, you know that?" Standing up and patting Yamichi on the shoulders, he just said "Man, half a million yen and a spot in the Fortune Cup? How does it feel up there?" Yamichi just grinned sheepishly, "Feels...good to be honest...Just wish more of us were here to celebrate it."

"Aw damn...I know Yamichi, but this is you, dude! Enjoy it just a few moments more!" Takeshi thought, giving a confident grin, "Hey, Yamichi...Don't worry, once we get back, we'll figure out a plan. And once Yuna and Hotsuma are out, they'll help us too. You know they will."

Up in the private viewing boxes, Jack stood flanked by his two guards, having watched the last match from about the middle point. How interesting that a Fusion user would place so high; as far as he knew, Synchro Summoning was the big new thing now. And this Yamichi character, even he could admit, had quite a unique style of deck to use. Not many would focus on cards that destroyed themselves, too risky. Regardless, with it over, he had little more business here...He needed to see about certain things, once that were brought about because of Fayth's arrest.

Little was he aware of just who he would run into.
 

Strongest? He's got something even stronger?

Judai smiled at the thought. "Please do! Bring whatever you've got out!"

Soon ... it appeared. Atomic Scrap Dragon. Judai stared at it ... and finally found himself only able to reply with a whistle. He wasn't kidding; this would have easily beaten most of his own monsters. At least, before having power-ups or effects kicking in. And even then, there was no guarantee he could beat it. "Damn. Not bad. Not bad at all."

And now ... the painful part. At least he knew this was coming. Still, it didn't remove all of the agony. Judai shuddered, panting and breathing somewhat heavily. Not as much as it could have been, but enough to hint the last two consecutive hits had really hit home against him.

"Whew ... hah .... hah .... "

Judai's legs trembled. He turned, looking for some type of support. It wasn't the best ... but it was the first thing he found. A railing attached to the platform behind him. The brunette reached behind and gripped tightly to the wooden support, grinning as cheers resounded from all around him and Yamichi. More of it was probably for Yamichi ... but that was perfectly fine with Judai. He'd never fretted about glory or whatnot before; no reason to begin now.

For the time being, he stayed silent. This was Yamichi's moment. He'd allow the blonde duelist to bask in the glory. Words could wait until they were in a more discreet location. Besides, this would give Judai ample time to regain his composure before being forced to move again.
Come on, come on, come on ...

Even though Fuyu was riding on the back of a motorcycle, it felt as if it were going slow. Painfully so. But that went to show just how worried for Fayth she was. While the wheels on the Wheeler spun, so did Fuyu's mind. What had Jack even wanted to talk to Fayth about? That was about as baffling to her as the thought he existed in another dimension aside from the Pendulum one.

No matter. She'd find out soon enough.

"Here we are!"

The words helped her snap out of her thoughts. Turning her head, she saw a crowd not too far away. Nodding in approval - feeling satisfied she'd been guided to the right spot - Fuyu got up to her feet. Her hand lowered, as she dug a hand into one of the pockets of her jeans and pulled out a wad of yen. It wasn't a huge amount like the winners were receiving, but it was clearly more than a chauffeur or taxi driver would get from a typical tip.

"Thank you. As promised, here you are."

"Pleasure. Take care, sweetie."

Fuyu ignored that last word. To make damn sure she didn't have an outburst, she bit on her lower lip, letting go as she strode quickly towards the gates.

"Miss? The tournament just ended, actually," one of the bouncers announced. "

"That's fine. I'm not here for that. I'm here to meet someone."

"Could we help you with that?"

... As easily as it could be for Fuyu to use her disk, maybe accepting this offer would be ... better? It definitely would make her less shady. Still, was it worth risking telling the truth - and possibly having too many guards around her? She was only here for Jack, after all. Finally, her head moved from side to side, opting not to take that chance. Just in case. "No thanks. He's more than easy enough to find. I'll definitely know when I see him."

Walking past the two, she waited to blend first into the crowd. Her left arm pressed tightly against her tank top, making certain only she could immediately see her duel disk. A few rapid taps and the tracking of this location disappeared. Soon, her screen displayed the exact location of Jack Atlas. She wasn't an expert, but she was good enough of a hacker. And hell, there were more than eough cameras around here. It was all but child's play for her to pinpoint where he was, as well as being able to confirm this was indeed the right spot.

Thank god for this being the right place, she inwardly praised, hurrying over and beginning to use her surroundings to instruct her feet which direction to move.

It took a bit of trial-and-error. Within a few minutes, she saw the King in sight, with the same two guards beside him. Deleting the feed off of her duel disk, her arm lowered to her sides as Fuyu briefly contemplated whether to be subtle about this or not.

... You? Subtle? Maybe for another mission, but not this one.

"Atlas!" Fuyu finally called out, crossing her arms over her chest. "I know you were the last person who saw and spoke to Fayth Milner. I need to know where she is. And please, don't try to deny it. I saw the letters you gave her, Braille and normally written out. So unless you can prove those were forged, I won't accept any other answer. Now where is Fayth?"

... That would be the most civil he'd get, it seemed. Sure, the words were probably really honest. Brutally so, even. But when Jack turned to look at Fuyu, he'd see she definitely didn't care. Her eyes held a sense of determination and resolve; the look of someone ready to beat up anyone who tried to stop her from finding out what she wanted to know. And to only in a duel. Physicality wasn't normally her forte ... but this just linked back to the 'desperatetimes call for desperate measures' proverb. Because Fuyu was certainly ready, willing, eager, and very able to follow it right now.
 

It was definitely a euphoric experience for the tech. Both overwhelming and overjoyed, as all the finalists minus the mysterious 'Aki' character - strange how she didn't seem to have a last name - would be called back up. A representative of the tournament committee presented each of the finalists with their own badges, as well as checks for the tournament winnings. Yamichi of course, receiving the greatest prize of 500000 yen, Judai receiving one for 250000, and Shimoda himself receiving one for 125000.

The issue regarding the abduction of a Duelist was not brought up, likely to help preserve peace and keep anyone from getting too freaked out; really, their ability for damage control was remarkable. Just sucked that it was Hajime that was getting swept under the rug...But once they got back to Satellite, they could figure out a better plan of attack, in a manner of speaking.

And once the ceremony was completed, they would then be allowed to go on their merry way, as the saying went. Once outside the Stadium, however, Takeshi would turn to Judai and say, "Hey, Judai...You still want to help us find Hajime? We could definitely use the extra set of hands." At this Yamichi seemed to grow a bit contemplative, "Uhm, Takeshi...You think that's a good idea? He doesn't know about us, or where we're from."

At this Takeshi laughed, "True, but he's shown he's stronger than he looks. Think about it, Hajime...We're down three people, and if we got someone that we can trust, I don't think us bringing in outside help is ever a bad thing. Think about how Hotsuma used to operate...He barely let us do anything except clean-up at first. Besides...." At this Takeshi would give Judai a smile, adding "I know he's plenty capable."

Giving a small shrug, Takeshi then said, "What do you say, Judai? Up for a tour of the Satellite?"


Jack Atlas was about ready to leave the arena, content on seeing more of the talent that would be brought into the Fortune Cup, when he would hear his name being called out. And he was all too content to just keep walking, perfectly fine with ignoring some pest...Until she would shout a certain name.

"I know you were the last person who saw and spoke to Fayth Milner. I need to know where she is. And please, don't try to deny it. I saw the letters you gave her, Braille and normally written out."

Those were details that only someone who truly knew her and properly investigated would retain...Who was this woman? Twice now, people seemed to mention her by name and come to her defense, whether she was here or not. First from his former ally and friend, next from this stranger.

He couldn't ignore this now, not with the risk of her causing a scene. The two guards, both much larger in size than Fuyu, stepped forward but Jack just said, "No...Let her approach." He then focused his violet eyes on the white-haired woman, "Not here...Follow me." And after they would exit the arena, she and he would be in a secluded corner, Jack having ordered his guards to let no one else disturb them.

"I don't know who you are, nor how you know Fayth Milner. But her fate is out of my hands, unfortunately." he began, resolutely standing before her as if he had done nothing wrong. And in his mind, he hadn't; of course, he could have tried to tell them that she didn't do anything wrong...But Rex told him to leave all of his past life behind, and to make sure that anyone who crosses from the Satellite be reported, especially if they came after him. "If you're looking for your friend, I'm afraid she's gotten herself arrested. I apologize if that's not the answer you wish to hear, but it's the truth."
 

Judai would stand alongside the other two duelists, basking in the glory. Buuuut ... he would allow mostly the others to enjoy it. Not to say he didn't enjoy his own share, so to speak, but he didn't want too risk doing what a lot of duelists tended to resort to. Getting too full of themselves. Granted, it'd be justified. At the same time, it'd lead to him being someone he wasn't, and that was the only - main, anyway - reason for his caution. He would walk away with the Disciples, unable to help butt whistle as he held his check, choosing to wear the badge on his shirt.

"Yep! Definitely do!"

Judai chuckled, shrugging casually as Yamichi doubted him helping would be a good idea. "Very true. I don't know much at all. But frankly, I'm not gonna start learning by wandering aimlessly around. Better to begin finding these things out from a more trustworthy source than otherwise, yeah?"

His grin spread as he rose his empty hand into the air. "Definitely! So ... this is the Satellite then? Odd name for a rather pompous area. Anyway, lead on!"

Judai would look in a mix of shock and awe - far more the latter - as they arrived at the parked D-Wheelers. "Those are amazing! We never had any motorcycles!"

This must be what the expression about being a kid in a candy shop means, he mused, smiling as he looked between the vehicles.
Good. This one's seemed to wise up faster than the other.

Not needing to be told twice, she followed Jack, relieved the guards were going to ensure no one saw and intervened with their talk. Perfect; this would make things even easier. She didn't have to hold back. And ... it already started to sound like she would have to play 'bad cop'. The way he started speaking and the words he chose, it sounded as if Fayth were dead.

Okay. One law suit coming up for a wrongful death ...

The good news for Jack Atlas was the moment he revealed she was alive, it made Fuyu merely contemplate that idea. Her eyes blinked several times, and already she was having a hard time buying his words; that much would be easy to be seen. "Arrested?" Fuyu slowly paced back and forth, always remaining in front of Jack. Not so close as to invade any personal space he could try to demand, but enough that he was well within arm's reach.

"Okay. Let's pretend you are being honest. What crime did she commit, hmmmm? Because .... I will admit, Fayth can be ... hasty. Impulsive. But it damn well better be serious. Why not start from the beginning, Jack? The fact you called her out when anyone last saw her ... I don't easily believe she was rightfully arrested. She's got enough intelligence to know her limits. One of them is she would not do well in any prison, plain and simple. So for her to get arrested? Umm ... yeah. I'm not easily buying that. So please, by all means, ... do prove me wrong. Simultaneously, don't try to lie to me. Now .... what all really happened? Because depending on your answer, I do think that you actually may have a way to get her out. But know even if you absolutely insist you can't, I will find a way myself."

Fuyu's fingers tapped quickly against her denims. He'd given information .... so as a sign of good faith, she opted to briefly shift to the 'good cop', figuring that would help him keep cooperating.

"Assuming you have met Fayth, you know of her handicap. I was sent to be her ... guide. Escort of sorts. Ensure that things exactly like this didn't happen wrongfully to her. So if I sound just a bit upset, it's because - quite simply - I am. But I'll try to offer benefit of the doubt. With what I found though? This really isn't looking good for you. Not at all."

Right when it looked as if Jack were about o speak, an idea came to Fuyu. She quickly lifed her right finger up, moving her head from side to side. "There's one more person who needs to hear this. He's not here at the moment, though, soo ... "

And finally, the first more concrete bit of proof that Fayth's XYZ cards may have been more real than the King wanted to admit arrived.

Duel disks, while advanced and amazing pieces of technology, could only do so much in the Synchro Dimension.

So when Jack watched and saw her literally use it as a phone - and succeeded, hinted when Reiji's face appeared - it would maybe help him understand tha as ludicrous as half of what she'd said sounded, there was more truth to it than he'd originally assumed.

"Now, Jack, kindly tell Reiji and I what exactly happened and how Fayth got arrested."
 

Takeshi just grinned, "Alright then! Hop on, you're riding with me! Yamichi, you got your tow cable right?" The tech just nodded, "Yeah, I do; going to be a pain to get it through the pipeline, but I'm not leaving his Runner here for some dick to strip apart." And as Yamichi would get to hooking up his comrade's Runner, Takeshi would lead Judai to his runner - a fairly plain white one with hints of red as decals running along the sides of his vehicle - and pulled another helmet out from a side compartment.

"Sorry if it's not in your size, but I suggest you hang on; the ride back is going to be a little bit rough." Takeshi warned; and only once Judai was on would he start up the engine. Judai may not have had motorcycles where he came, but he would see that these would be no ordinary motorcycles sooner rather than later. Not right now though; didn't need to have them getting locked into a Turbo Duel.

"Might need to stop by a bank first, Yamichi...Gotta collect your winnings, right?" Takeshi mentioned; true, there wasn't a whole of banking done in the Satellite. Even if it was dangerous to have that much money laying about, they could keep it secured well enough. Plus, a check wouldn't do much good by itself.


Jack Atlas stared at this woman as she prattled on about Fayth's handicap, painting him out to be the bad guy; he hadn't expected Yusei to come over then, and even less so that he too knew Fayth on some level. Though this woman's relationship seemed to be far more personal, especially given how it was very obvious that she looked down on him from alleged mistreatment of his friend.

And it seemed to get more interesting as a new face appeared on the woman's Duel Disk; Reiji waited on the other end, prepared to listen. "I do suggest you talk quickly, Mr. Atlas; Fuyu isn't exactly known for her patience." Reiji warned honestly; while she might not be the greatest fighter, there were more than a few Academia soldiers who were quite sorry to have crossed paths with her. Even more so when she was in a truly foul mood.

"I'll keep it simple then. I had wanted to ask her about where she came from; she made an outlandish claim that she was from another dimension. Hopefully even you can see that I would find it a bit ridiculous." he started, Reiji only nodding for the moment. This definitely confirmed the theory that the dimensions hadn't begun to merge yet. "Understandable...But I still don't see how this led to her being arrested." the grey-haired genius replied, Jack adding "I was getting to that. She was unfortunately caught when a former friend arrived to resolve a dispute...She tried to intervene and was taken in for disturbing the peace by the local Sector patrol."

"This doesn't sound right...Not for Fayth." Reiji mused, speaking up, "I apologize if I don't fully buy your story, Mr. Atlas. Knowing who Fayth is, hasty as she is, she waits for good reason before getting involved in disagreements. There was more to this, wasn't there?" Jack narrowed his eyes, "That involves personal history that doesn't concern you."

He then looked at Fuyu and tacked on, "I don't know what all is going here, but I intend to find out. If she was sent to convince me I was wrong about her deck or something, mission accomplished. I don't know how these Xyz or Pendulums work, or how they came to be." Reiji then took his turn to interrupt again, "They're new Summoning methods, plain and simple. But I still ask: What happened to cause Fayth to jump in?" Jack just crossed his arms, seeing that this man wasn't going to give up...But neither was he in a mood to oblige his request to sit here and be interrogated.

Far as he was concerned, they had their answers.

"And I told you, the argument in question is none of your business. Suffice to say, she got herself involved with something that was not her place to take part in." he replied; at this, Reiji let out an audible sigh and pushed up his glasses. This one seemed to be even more stubborn than his Pendulum counterpart...And as much as they needed to find Fayth, he also didn't want to place Fuyu in danger unnecessarily. With Masumi out on assignment, he simply didn't have any other reinforcements currently and they would need to pursue.

"Fuyu...Let him go now." he would then say, adding "Thank you for your time, Mr. Atlas. Just one more question...Where is she imprisoned?" Atlas just huffed, "You'll have to cross into the Satellite. Good luck getting a meeting with the Warden...But if you want to try and help your friend, there's a small law office a few blocks to the west that works to get sentences reduced for Satellite prison inmates. Tell them I sent you, and they'll be happy to help you." And with that, he considered their talk done and walked past her, his bodyguards following suit.
 

Judai nodded, accepting the helmet while keeping his own check held in one hand. "Wheeler? That's a new term to use for a motorcycle. He mentally shrugged the thought off. If that was one of the many new things about how stuff worked or was called here, Judai would just have to remember it. The helmet was a bit small ... but not so much it hurt his head. "I think I should get my own check taken care of."

What he didn't mention - but the two soon found out upon arriving at the bank - was poor Judai hadn't had an account already set up. And if that wasn't frustrating enough, his forms of ID were back at the place he'd been staying at. With him not having heard nor realized there was a point to 'crossing' from the Tops to Satellite and vice versa, he hadn't felt a need to tell anyone.

Oops.

Luckily, the bank employees were eager enough to get done with their shifts that even though he didn't have most of the proper proof to verify his age or anything, they made the account anyway. Maybe not for the best of reasons, but that was also fine with Judai. As long as they were legal, he didn't otherwise mind what was or wasn't done.

Once the two were done, the trip resumed, taking a shortened ten or so minutes thanks to the Wheelers. Judai would walk inside, making sure to give Takeshi the spare helmet back before forgetting it, and followed them inside Yomi's base.

"Nice place," he stated, not seeming to mind that Satellite was the less 'elegant' of the two locations. Truthfully, it sorta reminded him of the Osiris Red dorms in a way; looked down upon due to their typically not-so-well-maintained state. But they certainly held their good qualities and traits to them. The same applied to the people who lived in them.

"So ... for this plan, we probably should go in a room. Bring only whoever you can be sure you trust and want to hear this."

Eikichi had bee waiting near the front door. So when he saw the Disciples return without Hajime and with Judai instead, his eyes narrowed. "You already know my question, I think. Where is my -- ??"

Judai quickly raised a finger up to his own lips. "I suppose that makes you one of the others. We're about to discuss that."

"Discuss?" He repeated, looking a bit bewildered. Discussions were usually for if someone was in an ... iffy state. If they were missing in action and it wasn't known whether they were still alive or not. So already, this wasn't sounding good to him, and Eikichi made no efforts to hide his disdain by narrowing his eyes. They'd stay that way the whole walk up, with the four eventually entering one of the many rooms of the base. "So, who the hell are you? Doubt the answer is the rookie."

Judai moved his head from side to side, "Nah. My name's Judai Yuki, and I'm here to help out. With that being said and done ... before ... we get too deep in discussion, I wanted to give a bit more about myself. There was a real reason I had a thought on how to lead Takeshi to the barrier. If that'd help get rid of any doubts anyone may have -- well, even if that wasn't an issue, it'll help explain my trains of thoughts."

"I'm all for it," Eikichi eagerly vouched. "The fewer secrets, the better."
A non-believer even here? Yeah, that - sadly - sounds right.

He'd supposedly gotten better with accepting things that sounded new and otherwise impossible in the Pendulum Dimension, but that had also been quite the flaw from what she'd heard back home. Well ... that explained where he got that trait from.

"Well, isn't that just perfect for you, huh? An ex-friend arrives and Fayth gets involved? Bull. SHIT! We're not stupid. What did you really do to Fayth?!"

Her hands shook as she stared at the violet orbs across from her. Now her patience was gone. But worse than that, her violent side was begging for a chance - no matter how brief - to kick his ass. Beat him. He'd screwed Fayth over; that was what this talk was implying to Fuyu, anyway. He deserved it. Letting him go would be an insult to Fayth! "YOU!" she growled, her starting to reach for Jack's throat. "This situation smells of a set up; one caused by YOU! You may be king, but you're not the judge, jury, and fucking executioner too! You're already breaking the fucking rules by being here also! This is going to screw us in the long run, Reiji! I can't just --- "

"Fuyu...Let him go now."

Her hand stopped, mere millimeters away from strangling Jack. Her head turned back to the monitor and then whipped around to stare back at Jack. Fuyu opened and closed her fist several times, finally slamming it agains the brick wall beside Jack's head. "Be glad I called him. He's the only reason you're walking away tonight. But I promise you, oh yes I sure as shit do, you will get your karma for all the people you've wronged. Maybe not from me, nor Fayth, nor even Reiji. But it will happen. Get the fuck out of my face before I change my mind and go against Reiji anyway!"

It took every ounce of will power to keep her promise ... or even spit on him. With the lack of distance, it would have been easy enough. Her gaze didn't turn to look at Jack leaving; instead, she stormed further down the secluded and empty path, taking advantage of the fact soon Jack and his bodyguards left. This way, she could keep talking to Reiji and not get odd looks.

"The fuck do we do? Even if that law office is real .... do we have a guarantee they'll work quickly? I'd rather see this Warden myself, personally. If she's really ... an inmate ... then she should have rights, even in this dimension. Convicts are entitled to visitors, after all. Goddamnit .... "

Fuyu's voice had been cracking. Her right arm rose, though it wouldn't hide completely the fact this was making her sob tears of wrath.

"This fucker has to pay somehow. And honestly? I don't really care with what. That's .... we've baically got enough evidence in physical and verbal form to ... don't we?"
 

Luckily for Yamichi, everyone at the bank saw who he was from the broadcast televisions in the lobby, and was able to set-up an account relatively easily. He also had a good portion of the winnings taken out immediately, something that surprised him; maybe he looked more like a Topsider than he realized, given how they were so trusting. It was so hard to find a half-way decent one in the Satellite, and these guys had them everywhere! Even with the few times he'd crossed over with Hotsuma, he still couldn't believe how vastly different everything was from the Satellite.

Something he was a bit surprised Judai didn't comment on when they crossed the pipeline; much of the remote island was run-down and looked like hell. Maybe he was from here originally? No, it was unlikely...Even so, both him and Takeshi couldn't seem to help but want to trust the guy.

They took their meeting to Hotsuma's room; being relatively isolated with a large iron door to block the entryway, it made for ideal talking space. Plus...They would need to go back out there later and try to answer any questions the others would have. The four of them would have to do for now as an emergency 'get this shit together' committee.

"First order of business. Eikichi, you deserve to know...I'm not sure if you were watching the duels or not, but Hajime got kidnapped. We don't know who did it or why...Only that she took him." Takeshi started off, Yamichi adding "Another thing. She seems to know who Yuna and Hotsuma are...I faced her in my semi-final match, so I can only presume that she was somehow involved with their weeks-long disappearance. Wherever they were taken is more than likely where Hajime is now."

Takeshi nodded, "And unfortunately, the only two who know where that might be are currently locked up...Of their own choosing." It definitely seemed bleak, but both of the Disciples knew no one was about to give up on Hajime's well-being. "Finding him will be a top priority, as is safeguarding this location...That means one of us should try to pose as a visitor to either Hotsuma or Yuna, see if we can't pass off the message somehow about Hajime." Yamichi stated, adding on "Of course, the moment we do, we'll be painting a huge target on our backs; they're definitely going to be checking both of their visitor logs. Anyone who talks to them is going to fly a huge red flag, especially for Hotsuma."





Reiji figured this would go that way; while this Jack seemed a bit more open than theirs had been at first, he knew all too well that pushing him too hard could work counterproductively. And the man could understand Fuyu's feelings in all this, he really could...But at the same time, they were playing a dangerous game. He wanted to get Fayth out just as much as she did, but if they planned to get her free of the Facility's grasp, they needed to be smart about it.

Because if the Facility in this Dimension was anything like the one they had here, breaking in solo would not only be stupid...It could very well be potentially suicidal.

"I feel it would be in our best interest to try his suggestion; I've no real data on this 'Satellite' location other than what our limited scouting expeditions have revealed. If it's anything like the Commons here, it's run-down and chock full of rogue elements...Not without good reason, mind you, but I don't many of them will be very civil." he would state, pushing his glasses up as he contemplated their next move. Ultimately, it would be up to Fuyu to decide how she wanted to go...But he would still provide his insight for her to use however she saw fit.

"And if this world's Atlas is like our own...He's an icon, and right as you might be you are an unknown, Fuyu. It's extremely improbable that they would take your claims seriously, especially with how vaguely he was speaking. Though I suppose that is my fault; I tried to get him to slip up, but whoever he knows clearly helped him learn how to answer loaded questions without giving away too much detail. I'm afraid even with our evidence, they would accuse us of trying to defile the King's image...And would have you imprisoned on charges of slandering."

"Though if you feel that is not the best way, we can always try to schedule a meeting with the Warden or even go visit Fayth in person; my information regarding their power structure is limited here, however, so it might be wise to try and find a correctional officer and ask them yourself."
 

Eikichi tilted his hand. "Saw, sure. But that barrier made it effectively useless to keep up in terms of visual aid. I just know what I saw when it vanished; blood on the floor and Yamichi looking as if he took a fuck of a beating. Piecing together what happened ... not so much." His hands began to shake as the news quickly went from bad to worse in a matter of seconds. First some mysterious bitch gets a hold of Hajime? Worse off, she hints knowing of Yuna and Hotsuma?

"So then ... the blood I saw was .. ??"

When affirmative nods were seen, he quickly shoved his hands tightly into his pockets. Eikichi kept a firm hold on the interior, lest he starting losing his own composure. To make up for wanting to punch the walls behind him, he paced, sneaking glances every now and again at Judai. Eikichi quickly shook his head at Takeshi's suggestion. "Why should it be one of us? He wants to help, right? Let him. Besides, you sounded like you wanted to say something, hm?"

Judai chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yes, yes. I do. I just .... figured I'd let everyone get their own pieces and such out of the way first. And - quite honestly Yamichi and Takeshi? He may have a point. I am perhaps the better option, nor would I mind allowing myself to take that risk. You see .... I'm not from here."

While those words sunk in, he took a long breath, closing his eyes. Over the years, he'd managed to make the 'change' more of something that happened on his own will, rather than simply being pushed because he was too angry or scared. When his eyes next opened, they were different. Even his voice would be. In fact, it was better to say there was another, as a secondary tone could be heard along with Judai's normal voice.

"My deck isn't simply one with Fusion monsters because of preference. I come from a completely different world where ...none of this exists. No Synchros, no Wheelers, nothing. This is all very foreign to me. I'm not even sure how I got here when I was metaphorically shoved out of the Spirit World."

Eikichi's mouth started to open, stopping half-way as Judai held a hand up.

"I was gonna get to all of that. Don't worry."

And so, Judai went into great detail about everything; the island, all the people he'd met; good, bad, or otherwise, Yubel and how they ended up fusing together, and explaining the layout of both his world and the Spirit World.

"So when I told you, Takeshi, I had good sixth senses, it wasn't a complete lie. However, what I really sensed from that woman was power. Nothing to sneeze at either. It's ... incredibly strong, and ridiculously dangerous. Even if I were to compare her with Saito or any of the others, she'd make them look like a joke. Now then ... I all but have a clean slate here. Even if they try to look for anything on me and realize there's next to nothing - maybe only what the tournament got - that's fine. It at least won't link me to you. It'll allow you keep planning in secret, maybe find something that'll be likely to help in your endeavors."

"... Why would you offer yourself like this? You got a death wish?" Eikichi inquired.

"Not at all. Besides the fact you were trying to volunteer me, well ... I did return with intentions of helping."

"This still isn't your battle to fight," Yubel bitterly mumbled.

"No," Judai calmly replied, "But it is my decision to make." His eyes shut again, opening once more. This time, they'd be the normal hazel orbs everyone had seen before. "Obviously," he added, "I wouldn't go in my altered state for obvious reasons. I certainly could go though and make sure to buy you all time and opportunities. I suppose I view this more akin to a test of sorts. If I fail or it seems like I ed up trying to betray you guys somehow, I'll understand and accept whatever comes to me. Plain and simple."

Eikichi scoffed, chuckling as his head moved from side to side. "You're fucking crazy."

"Yeah, well ... maybe that's your cue to know it won't come down to the worst case scenarios, hmm? Otherwise, you'd be completely right. I'd gain nothing and lose ... probably everything. I have no intentions of doing that though."

Judai went quiet once more, knowing this was a lot to take in for the others. Hell, after that display, he half-expected them to lose any trust they may have had in him. And at the same time, he was hoping there'd be enough to remain so he could put them all at ease. Accepting Eikichi's idea to be the one to visit would probably be the best way to go about this.
Ugh. Of course it'd be similar to our world.

No, she didn't have proof yet. But it wouldn't amaze her at all if Reiji's guess was correct. In fact ... if she didn't know better, parts of this world were copies of their true one. Or some odd shit like hat. There were too many similarities for it to b a coincidence though.

... Her head shook. None of that mattered. Not right now.

"... Exactly." When she heard Reiji agree that, in the end, the law office would likely become useless, she moved her arm away. A few stains still lingered on her face, but most of the tears were otherwise gone. "If it's going to be something resulting in a waste of time, I'm not doing it. I'd rather speak directly to an officer, if not the Warden himself. I doubt they'd mind. If there's enough corruption - obviously enough to wrongfully imprison a person - then, if anything, they'll welcome me. Even if only to pretend I'm behind their bars."

Sure, her direct presence would put her own target on herself as a new person of interest.

But that was actually sorta what she was going for. If the opportunity ever arose and Fuyu could get ample evidence, then she could use that. And it would be strictly to her advantage. So lest the entire Facility wanted word to get out about how unjust their workers and the place could be, they'd work with her, not against her; more so if she opted to use the law office.

"As soon as I can get enough information on this prison, including its location, I'll head out. Likely within the next few days. I'm not waiting too long unless absolutely needed though."
 

"Yo, Eikichi....Be easy, man...This guy gave me the idea to go up and investigate in the first place. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have believed what Yamichi said at all." Takeshi replied; he knew all too well how the guy was feeling, but there wasn't any reason to push all that anger off on Judai. "He's a guest, that's why; he only offered to help, we're not going to..." he started to say, but stopped when Judai intervened...And then they all got the surprise of their lives.

If the different eye colors weren't enough of a shocker, then the change in voice certainly was. None of them could place what it was, only that it sounded...Ancient. Definitely a figure of power; what the fuck was going on? Even more so when he explained his journey; well, that certainly made his choice of deck more explainable. Hardly anyone used Fusions any more, and if they did it was just a means to get a material ready for a Synchro Summon.

It was hardly a believable story to the average person...Then again, with everything that happened today, it seemed like believability was the last worry on their minds. But what got Takeshi next was when Judai went with Eikichi's suggestion and actually volunteered to play the messenger.

"Dude, Judai...I'm stoked you want to help, but you don't know these guys..." Takeshi started to say, but Yamichi interrupted, "And aside from a name and a face, they don't know him either. I'm not thrilled with Judai's welcoming party being 'go to the Facility'. But even if they try to find anything on him, all they'll find is wherever he's staying and a bank account. He'll have no history, no criminal record; it will just look like a friend coming to visit. And they'll be monitoring Hotsuma's location more heavily, meaning they'll pay less attention to Judai and Yuna having a talk."

"Yeah, but if they know she's with him...Won't that tip them off?" Takeshi asked, Yamichi shaking his head, "Unlikely; as far as their plan went, she was just a passerby who wanted to knock around a few Sector skulls. I doubt they'll have any real idea why she jumped in, so that'll make passing the message along easier on them both."

He then looked to Judai, "But...If you are going to do this, you'll need to be discreet all the same. Try not to mention him by name if you can help it...That is, of course, if you really don't mind helping us out like this."


Reiji was kind of hoping Fuyu would be more discreet about this, especially since she could use her status as an unknown quantity to move about more silently. Of course, all he could do was offer advice; he wasn't actually there with her, after all. He would need to trust her judgment and hope that Fayth was holding out well. Knowing her, she managed to find someone who was like-minded; though doing that also wasn't very hard. Sector in the Synchro Dimension was just as bad as, if not worse than, the police here in the Pendulum Dimension.

"Even if it is a useless gesture, at the very least he did try..." Reiji muttered almost inaudibly, adding more aloud, "Very well...Just remember not to play your strongest hand at the start, Fuyu. The Topsiders here are more - how to put it - paranoid about unknowns here than they are in our world. Just...Try to use some discretion, if only to save yourself a headache down the line."

"If you want my suggestion, go to a local precinct and ask one of the officers how to contact the Warden; getting a face-to-face is unlikely, but if you could at the very least ask how to send a letter to him...That may get you a good start. And if you play it right, you might just figure out where Fayth is being held." he then suggested to his accomplice.


FOUR DAYS LATER​

It had been some time since Hotsuma had last seen the sun; the Warden had tried many things to break him, but the Fiend was living up to his reputation of being someone who could take a beating. Naturally, he was forbidden from Dueling unless they obtained express authorization to do so...Which he quickly figured out meant whenever the guards were looking for some meat to be set against each other like rabid dogs. Each inmate just had his deck, after all; without the Disk, they were useless except to trade with.

Not that it mattered; Armstrong kept Hotsuma under lock and key for so long that he didn't even get a chance to meet most of the others. But honestly? He was just hoping Yuna was alright...All the while though, he would be getting stronger. The power his contracted spirit had shown him taking better hold, himself now able to lift his entire deck with ease, and even split the tendrils to hold individual cards.

"Huh...Looks like I finally got the hang of it." Hotsuma mused, the Emperor chuckling "You mastered only its most basic ability, worm...But for now it will suffice. Besides, I believe they'll be letting you out of solitary today. So put it away, lest we reveal our hidden weapon too soon."

And sure as one can be, two guards came over, one speaking through the slit "Fiend! Time to step into the light, asshole; Armstrong says you can come out now. Back against the wall and hands through the door!" And moments later, Hotsuma would re-emerge from solitary, seeming no worse for wear and the black mass on his arm safely retreated. "Time for the yard already? And here I thought I was going to enjoy some more nap time" Hotsuma teased the two officers, earning a hard glare as one would say, "You best mind your tone, boy; the Warden'll have no trouble throwing you back in here. No yard for you today though; we're going to have some fun! The Warden just got a call; you're getting a visitor! And guess who it is?"

Hotsuma just grinned, "Told you your mother couldn't get enough of me." This earned him a hard smack to the back of the head, "Shut it; no, much better. The good Director himself wants to see you! I can't wait to see how he rips you apart; you've caused him and us a lot of trouble, you know." At this the Fiend just laughed, "Oh, then let's not keep the good man waiting! Double time, Jeeves!" Both guards were surprised that he was actually eager to meet with Goodwin; hardly anyone in Satellite actually wanted to face the man.

And soon enough, he was seated in an interrogation room. Waiting for the good Director to make his presence known.
 

Judai nodded in agreement as Yamichi concurred with all he'd said recently. "Exactly. No links back to you guys. It's for the best I take this up. And hey ... I'm just gonna be visiting. They can't randomly do anything to me, so long as I don't break any rules."

Well, that was how it was supposed to go. Unfortunately, Judai hadn't been in this world too long, and thus hadn't seen just how corrupt people truly were.

"Discreet .... yeah. I can figure ways to make that work."

It wasn't normally his forte; but for at least one day, he'd make it work. Not likely even one full day. It'd only probably ake twenty to forty-five minutes, depending on how long it'd be to arrive at the Facility and finish with check-in procedures as a visitor.
That was actually a bit of a problem, one Fuyu was a bit amazed Reiji hadn't picked up on. She wasn't as random anymore. Not now that she'd confronted Jack personally. And with the brief talk she had with the 'king', she had no idea if word got around about her being here or not. Discretion was always best for her to follow when Fuyu felt fine with the concept of waiting.

Unfortunately, this was Fayth they were talking about. And so, as Reiji was noticing, her impatience was getting the best of her.

"Save myself a headache or save you one?" she teased, allowing her Ice Queen demeanor to briefly fade away. "Hmph. I will. Don't worry."

After eliciting a long, deep breath, Fuyu glanced around, making sure no one had found or noticed her in this lone area.

"Well ... while I have yet to be found, I'm gonna return to Fayth's place and figure something out. I'll get in touch when more progress has been made. Later."

Standing slowly up, a still very pissed off Fuyu exited the alley and navigated her way back to Fayth's. She'd try to be civil. Alas, the keyword was just that; try. Only time would tell if she'd be able to succeed in accomplishing that, or even using discretion as best as possible.
FOUR DAYS LATER​

To help out with his endeavor today, Yamichi, Takeshi - and even Eikichi - helped Judai practice everything. Moreover, he was give quite the number of rapid lessons. What to expect, how to speak, how to act, and that was just the bare basics.

Judai had taken everything in stride but ... holy crap. Was this world really as harsh as they made it sound?

Guess you'll find out soon, he decided, noting he would be leaving soon enough. With a bit of Yamichi's help, he got in touch with the Facility and arranged to come in as a visitor. They'd warned him, of course, of all the procedures that would need to be followed.

With little to any second guesses, Judai agreed o them all. There were a few that definitely made the brunette a bit nervous ... but failing to comply would defeat the purpose of everyone helping him out.

Part of his 'fitting in' process came in the literal form of even giving him clothes to look as if he were a more natural member of the Satellite rather than someone who hailed from a completely different dimension. He felt a bit silly in the rather punkish outfit, but it certainly wasn't the worst set of clothes he'd worn either.

Black stitll suits Manjoume much better than me though, he mused, chuckling at remembering his comrade making the odd change into the white clothes from when Saito had brainwashed him.

... Yeah. White really hadn't looked great on him at all.

"Okay. Well, guess I'll get going. I'll be back; I promise." Offering a wave to everyone, he turned and exited Yomi's base. Judai had made damn sure to remember where to go. To help out, he used a map function which was included in his duel disk. Slowly bu surely, he began making his way towards the Facility.

Yuna, meanwhile, had indeed been fine. Ironically enough, she was more concerned for Hotsuma instead of herself. Most of the guards left her and Fayth alone. There were still the occasional 'dyke' comments, but it was otherwise nothing neither couldn't handle.

"So ... when you leave here, you got a place to go to?"

... There it was again. That odd confidence. Yuna always sounded certain she'd find a way to escape. But it'd been ... how long already? Three? Four days? Longer than even she wanted to acknowledge. Her head bowed as Fayth sighed softly, "Kinda. I mean, I had a place before this bullshit arrest. What would help more is ... a guide or escort of sorts. I don't know if anyone has come over yet. I know it was in the works. But whether Reiji has gotten time to do that or not is another story."

Yuna smiled, glad to hear another name aside from 'Yusei'. Not that she didn't trust the other male. Still, Yuna knew as well as Fayth the blind teenager wouldn't always be able to go to Yusei for help.

So hearing she had someone else was a relief for Yuna also.

"Alright," Yuna replied, "Just keep hanging in there. You've been doing great."

The sound of a club dragging along the bars made her thoughts stop. A sly smirk crossed Yuna's face as she looked to one of the more usual guards who arrived to check in on her and Fayth. "Lunch time?"

"Only for her," she said, nodding to Fayth, "You're gonna have a visitor soon. So you're staying here."

... Oh?

It wasn't necessarily unexpected. The fact it was happening this soon, however, slightly was. But certainly not unwelcome, either. It'd make up for Yuna not having been able to see Hotsuma in the past four days. A familiar face would be nice.

"Fine. If I have to stay here, so be it. I expect her to be guided right to Yusei."

"Yeah, yeah. Will do. Get over here. Back against the bars and wrists behind your back."

Yuna merely sighed and nodded, already knowing what this was for. She didn't need to turn around ... but in case Yuna had any doubts, the familiar feeling of handcuffs going around her wrists registered that had been exactly why she was given the odd order.

Yuna moved away after the cop finished, sitting against the wall. The door opened and Fayth slowly moved out. Before she completely exited, her head turned to look at Yuna.

"I'll be fine. This isn't the first time I've missed a meal. I'll live. You go on though."

Fayth nodded, her smile widening as she exited. The cell door was soon shut with a loud clang accompanying Yuna. Soon, the forced Psychic was left alone, even if only temporarily.

To say Rex Goodwin had been unhappy over the past near week would be a massive understatement. Quite a bit was happening, and a large chunk was a major threat to his own reputation. First, that Mr. E bastard had the skills and audacity to tamper with the equipment in the first tournament. Now, one of the participants from the most recent one was abducted -- and by one of the final four, to make it worse.

It was exactly that very fact which made it conflicting. Unfortunately, Aki had earned her spot. Even he couldn't exactly relinquish that.

At the same time, justice did need to be served ... somehow. How to go about that was the main problem.

Now, however, he had something more pressing to tend to; the Fiend himself. Unlike Judai, he didn't need to worry about the 'standard procedures' due to his status. He was able to walk freely inside, entering the same room Hotsuma was being held in with little to no interference.

"So ... Sosuke. Or should I use the Fiend? Either way ... I have some questions for you. You can probably guess them though, yes? I'm curious ... how'd you come across the Beelze cards? Or, if you don't want to answer that, why Beelze over any other card?"

Rex leaned forward on the table, holding a rather confident look in his eyes. One that implied he seemed unafraid of being harmed due to an array of reasons; from the man across him being restrained to guards being nearby.

"These are rather simple questions. You can agree to that much, yes? So, let's not tread down the 'hard way', shall we? Just make it easier on yourself."

Alternatively, he did have other options. He just didn't want to use them unless it felt absolutely necessary.
 

The events here in the Facility were nothing really worth writing home about, even though that's exactly what some people did. At least not to Hotsuma it wasn't...But the Director wanting to come and see him personally? That was new. He figured something must have gotten him peeved enough to finally leave his iron throne.

And there he was, the greedy skeezy fuck in all his ill-gotten glory. How many people did he subjugate and alienate to get to his position now? Lord only knew how many, but Hotsuma knew he wouldn't be able to count them all. And worst yet, the dickbag probably held a notion he was actually somehow doing them a favor. And that possibility really made his blood boil.

But for now, he would try to be civil, watching as Rex Goodwin himself - flanked by several armed guards - sat before him. "Well, as I live and breathe. The true King of New Domino, Rex motherfucking Goodwin." Hotsuma started off by ignoring Rex's question of what he wanted to be called, adding "Your boys too afraid to interrogate me themselves, that why you're here? Well, half of me is flattered...You don't want to know what the other half feels. Though some of your officers already learned that the hard way."

And there it was, the reason the good Director seemed more than a bit miffed. "Beelze, huh? Funny, I just had the last of them handed out before I landed in this shithole. I imagine some of the others will have great fun in using that card to beat your bitches with, again and again. A lot of them looking for payback, you know. All the shit your officers have done...So when I heard you had a truckload full of them, well, even you must be able to appreciate my drive in ridding the enemy of a deadly weapon." Letting a small laugh escape, Hotsuma just grinned "And when I showed them that card, you should have seen their faces. It was like Christmas came early or something."

"But something tells me it isn't just Beelze that brings you here to visit little ol' me. Come to gloat over having me in chains? The big bad Fiend finally off the streets of the Satellite? Well, congratu-fucking-lations, you have me."


Yusei, meanwhile, had no real idea what these 'special orders' were; he found the whole situation odd. He was given a nice cellmate, sure...But the fact that he was pulled aside from the first day he got here still unsettled him. Granted, his being from the Satellite meant that the violence he saw in here wasn't too surprising...But some of them were especially barbaric, even more so when they were forced to Duel for the officer's amusement and betting pools.

Then there was the mark on his arm...And the fact that it appeared on Jack and Fayth too; was there some truth to Yanagi's words? It was too much to be purely coincidence, so there had to be some elemental of reality towards what the elder was claiming.

"Hey, Fudo! Got a special guest for you!"

At this, the woman who was incarcerated with him was roughly shoved down into the seat at the table, the guards laughing as they would steal a piece of food from her tray. "That's for being your personal escort service, bitch...Consider it a tax." one of them joked, the two sharing a high-five as they waltzed off.

Yusei could only scowl, but otherwise said nothing; he didn't need to cause her any more trouble by getting involved. "Fayth...Well, I have to admit, I'm glad to see another friendly face here." he said, a small smile gracing his face; even if he didn't know the real reason she couldn't see. "Hopefully you haven't received too much trouble from them.


Moments later than that, Yuna would find herself hoisted out of her cell by another guard. "Time for your appointment, tramp...No funny business, got it? We'll be listening, so don't even think about using this to send a message to whoever you got on the outside" the guard manhandling her growled, dragging her quite viciously through to the visitation area.

And when she was seated, she would find that there was someone that she didn't know waiting for her. Picking up his phone, the brunette just said, "Hey...Name's Judai. You might not know me, but I'm a good friend of Hajime. He's not feeling well, otherwise he'd come see you himself."

Trying to stay slightly upbeat, he then asked while doing his best to stay neutral in attempting to deliver the message, "He asks about you a lot, you know. I think he likes you." This made him cringe a bit, his inner voice replying "The hell, Judai...You can do better than that. But I can't just say Hajime got taken by that Aki; Sector would think that's super weird."

Not knowing that Yuna could very well hear his every thought.
 

" ... Interesting. Have your reputation and mannerisms weakened since your stay here?"

Mind you, that was fine with Goodwin. The smoother this all went, the better, really. He had enough as it was to deal with.

"No matter. True. The card is a strong one. But it's not the only one though I suppose given we didn't have many other supplies, fair enough. No, no gloating. I really am here merely for questions. So far, so good."

Almost too good in fact. His composure stayed calm and collected; but deep down, he was finding himself wondering if there was a catch or lie attached to these answers. And the only thing keeping him from ordering a guard to smack Hotsuma several times was because the reply sounded more than sincere enough. For now, he was safe from being hit while defenseless.

"Okay. Next inquiry then." An amused smirk crossed his face as he asked, "I didn't think you even had a partner-in-crime, let alone a female one. Word went around you didn't really take alliances of any kind. So ... what is Miss Takeda really to you? I'm not counting on siblings with the mismatched surnames. Moreover ... she came from all but nowhere. We don't have records of any 'Yuna Takeda' existing. That's a bit ... worrying. So, mind shedding some light on her? Alternatively, if you're going to say 'Go ask her yourself', I had full intentions of visiting her plus another who is here anyway."
Poor Fayth was tense the entire walk through the Facility. She was always more calm when Yuna was helping her. At least these guards weren't being dumb and sneaking unwanted gropes in. A few had, sadly, resorted to that. But most were caught by either Yuna or another higher-up. Depending on whom caught the culprits, they were actually given a beating or simply threatened with losing their jobs if they kept it up. She had used her time wisely, and managed to remember well enough where the major rooms were.

According to the rough guiding, this was supposed to be the right direction to the mess hall.

"Hey, Fudo! Got a special guest for you!"

Fayth felt a smile cross her face. Good. They'd listened to Yuna. The grin quickly turned ino a scowl as she was forced o sit down. "Fucks sakes, I can move myself. Bastards." Her arms rubbed over her shoulders, looking as if their touch had been something as filthy as dirt and she needed to get it off her prison uniform. Her head tilted. Itt took Fayth a few moments to realize the 'tax' hadn't been anything directly off her, per se, but part of her meal. "Hey!" she protested, sighing as they walked away.

"Whatever," she muttered, taking a deep breath to begin piecing together what lunch was.

... Of course. It's always what you would have wanted that they take. Pricks.

It was at least still edible enough ... but now with one less item on her tray, not nearly as much either. "Heh, not really. They don't give too much trouble, no. I could do without the constant 'dyke' insults though. It's getting really old now, and Yuna's already proved she's not one anyway."

Gripping her fork, Fayth slowly began to eat. While there was still time for lunch, no point in wasting any second or minute. "What about you? You been okay? I ... " Her voice trailed off. On one hand, she did still feel real crappy and pissed off he got arrested for a stupid thing. Just like herself. But ... she knew it wasn't her fault. So by now, there probably wasn't much point in apologizing. Instead of doing that like part of her contemplated, Fayth changed her original train of thought, "Am also glad to be around another friendly face. It's been one of the few things making this stay even somewhat tolerable."

Finally, there was something else that had been on her mind. Fayth just had never had an opportunity to bring it up before. Her voice lowered as she whispered softly, "Before we were dragged here .... what happened exactly? With the burning sensation on all of us, I mean? I felt ... you and Jack also had the same thing as me. Have any ideas what that's about?"
Yuna rolled her eyes and started to open her mouth to argue about the insult ... but decided against it. There'd be no point. More than anything, she really was curious on who exactly had come to see her. Causing too much of a fuss would be an easy way to lose the ability to find out, and she didn't want to make whomever had taken the time and effort to have that wasted. "Goddamn!" Yuna hissed through gritted teeth, "Excessive force much? You pricks can get in trouble for that shit too, you know? Especially when I'm not doing anything to give you consent to resort to such actions."

Her teeth latched onto her lower lip, hiding most of the pained noises she otherwise wanted to elicit.

Before the guard was too far out of reach, she cleared her throat and pulled at the cuffs binding her wrists. "Oi! Dumbasses! I won't be able to talk unless you undo at least one wrist. If it makes you feel more secure, attach the other one to the chair or something. But Christ, let me be able to pick up my phone."

The idea must have been more than satisfactory enough, because it was complied with ... though not without Yuna receiving a slap across the face. "Bitch," she heard muttered as the guard walked away.

"Prick," she shot back, finally lifting her head to look at the man across from her.

... Hmm? Who the hell?

Picking her phone up with her free left hand, she held it up to her ear and gave an affirmative nod. "Indeed, I definitely don't know you." An eyebrow raised when he tried to insist he knew Hajime. "Oh? Sorry but ... that's honestly new to me. Eikichi's been one of the few people he's openly told me of. And Hajime isn't one to keep secrets from me. So why hasn't he ... ??"

And that was when Yuna heard his inner thoughts.

... Excuse me?! Hold up, hold up! You're sure it was Aki and not someone else?

Her head would quickly nod, hinting he hadn't imagined or heard things and she had used telepathy to talk to him.

It's a long story on how I became a telepath, and one I don't really have time to repeat. If this was what you were really here for, keep voicing your true thoughts this way. They don't know I have this ability, so we're clear on that behalf.

She chuckled softly, pretending to pick up at the semi-faux confession that her right-hand man may or may not like her. "Does he now? Well ... it's not that I don't care. The better wording is he's too late. But if it helps, I probably would have returned those if I never met Sosuke."

... Please. Start from the beginning. What do you mean Aki took him? How and when?

"But ... I have missed everyone back home. Including him."
 

"Maybe; then again, I never really cared for the spotlight. I honestly don't give a fuck what you think of me, because it's clear as fucking day you don't care about anyone in the Satellite except for your little goon squad." Hotsuma retorted, more than a bit angered at his nonchalance. He knew it, this prick thought he was totally in the right for building this fucking prison...Which made the plan of leveling it beyond repair even more satisfying.

And it was for that reason alone, to know that he would get the true one-up on this asshole by destroying his Facility and letting out all the 'animals' he'd imprisoned for what were likely bullshit charges to begin with. And if no one in the Tops was working to get them out, he'd do it himself.

"Funny, you must be a mind-reader, because I was going to tell you to ask her yourself. Pretty far leap to think she's with me, yeah? You ever consider there are others who feel the way I do? People who are sick of the bullshit your officers pull on a daily basis?" was the Fiend's reply, adding in a heated tone, "And for the record, there are others like me. Maybe they don't actively assault Sector patrols, but I've seen them. Heard them. And if it falls to me to make sure they get some kind of justice, some kind of retribution for all the crap they've been put through because of you, then I'll suffer for it. I'll suffer my whole life if need be."

Leaning in a little closer, he then stated, "And you know what's really nice about you, Goodwin? You're so high up there, you can't even see the turmoil you're causing, the misery you're allowing to fester and roil. And soon, it'll all blow up in your face. Which means when you finally fall, you'll fall hard." Sitting back up straighter, Hotsuma finished with "Now, any more stupid questions?"


"No one ever said Sector was known for their wit..." Yusei tried to joke; humor never was one of his strong suits. "But I am glad you're better."

However, her next question he was surprisingly prepared for, if only because Yanagi had told him about the mark itself and the legend behind it. "I think I do, actually...But it's only because my cellmate seems to know a lot about it as well. I still don't know if it's fully true, but it seems like it would be. Too much of it coincides for it to be pure chance." And with this, he would relay to her what Yanagi had told him. About the People of the Stars, what the Crimson Dragon was, and what their mark likely meant.

Whether she believed it or not, he couldn't control, but at the very least since she experienced it too. "The thing I don't understand is, and even Yanagi couldn't explain this, is how it chose us. If it chose us at all."

All the while, Armstrong - following Goodwin's orders to keep an eye on Yusei - watched and heard the exchange between him and Fayth. Writing everything down on a pad of paper; and when he'd heard enough, he folded it and said to one of his juniors, "Go and give this to Goodwin; he should be just about finished with his interrogation." The note would contain small details, mostly about how Yusei contacted Fayth again, and how they both seemed to be Signers, and how Yusei learned about the legend. "Still can't believe that piece of crap is a Signer; the hell did he do with his life to get that kind of power, eh?" Armstrong muttered bitterly.


Judai almost instantly froze as he heard Yuna's voice in his head, only for a second though as she nodded affirmatively that he wasn't going crazy. It was weird enough sometimes to hear Yubel in his mind, but to have another talk to him telepathically was a shock.

"He does, and he understands." Judai managed to recover, Yubel now working in concert to help divide up the task of talking verbally and mentally. It was an unknown but very welcome reprieve, as Judai would then add mentally, "We started off at a tournament to try and get into the Fortune Cup. I met Hajime, Takeshi and Yamichi there during the course of the Duels. Yamichi won it, by the way..."

"Judai, if you're going to tell her this and get involved, try to at least stay on topic." he then heard Yubel say in his head, Judai grimacing almost invisibily. "Don't worry, she's with me; no one hostile. And to quote you, a long story and one I don't have time to repeat."

"But yeah, they all miss you too. It's quiet without you around. I don't really know what you were thinking; the news said Sosuke was trouble, didn't they?" he then added in speech, helping to add to the illusion that he was a friend of hers and that she simply got mixed up with the wrong guy. "But when Yamichi went to fight in the semi-finals, he went up against Aki...And it seems like you know her. And she knew you too, and this 'Hotsuma' guy. From what Yamichi told me, she held him hostage...Somehow made the Duel damage real and inflicted it on Hajime. And when the Duel was over, she threw Yamichi back and teleported out of the arena."

He would then add in "I'm sorry, Yuna...I wish I could be of more help. But they wanted me to ask you...Is she with the people that made you guys want to go in here? I apologize if I sound amazed, but I can't think of anything that would want to make someone have themselves imprisoned. Especially not in a place like this."
 

Rex merely gave a 'Hmph' as Sosuke had his bitch fit. Typically Satellite brat, especially those who were so sure they were better than Sector. It was nothing new. Annoying at worst, but he could handle it. Maybe the better wording - given his position - was he had to. Either way, it wasn't any skin off his nose. Goodwin patiently waited, opting to allow the Fiend to freely speak; a false lie of allowing him freedom when, in truth, he was simply analyzing the details for the very reasons that had been listed. It was simply to see if anything could be exploited, even a loophole; all while saving his own skin.

"Not a mind-reader, no. But you're not the first punk I've spoken here with. Just the first in a long while. Before I go to her, I'll give you my own replies. It's a bitt too convenient that she happened to be nearby when you were arrested. Also, the officers told me of your reaction when she was held hostage. She's not simply a random stranger. You don't say 'I'll fucking break you if you shoot her' to just anyone. No. That belongs to the more special people. So already, I kknow she's .. something to you."

Standing up to his feet, Rex allowed his eyes to narrow at the Fiend. "You can also think whatever you want of this place and the people in it. But just as you're no as weak and stupid as many would assume, the same is true with myself. And your incarceration only strengthens this statement ... I always get what I want. So best hope this Yuna is as tough as you, if not a bit more. When it comes to information, gender doesn't matter nor save a person. Not forever, anyway."

Rex then shifted his gaze to the guards. He nodded to Sosuke, clearing his throat as he spoke, "After he eats a late lunch, put him in with Prisoner 5K648X."

As Sosuke was being jerked out, Rex flashed a sly smirk, quickly adding, "Enjoy your new cellmate."
It wasn't much ... but the attempt to joke did make Fayth weakly chuckle. "I suppose ... fair enough."

She honestly hadn't expected an overly detailed answer. So when Yusei began to give her just that, it was quite the pleasant surprise. Fayth made sure to listen very carefully, taking in every detail. As someone who was able to hop from dimension to dimension, she couldn't simply shrug the story off. Sure, it sounded a bit crazy. But at the same time ... it did make some sense. The main thing hat took her off-guard was the same concern that Yusei voiced.

"That .... really is .... odd. I'm not even from here. Nor the Tops. So ... how indeed were we chosen? I can understand you and Jack a bit more but .... "

Her head shook slowly from side to side. "Now, more so than ever, I definitely don't get how I earned this. I've had mine for a while; it's just never activated as much as it has since ... recently."

There was only one link, and it came to her as she finished the next bite. "We do all have Dragons in our deck. I know Jack has his own and not just the Stardust he stole from you. He has others. But .... that still doesn't fully explain the connection. That's the best guess I have, really."

It wasn't much; hell, it really was a mere theory. But hopefully, it'd be even the smallest of starts. If nothing else, Fayth wanted to help Yusei out somehow. After all he'd done thus far for her, it was the right thing to do as far as she was concerned.
Yuna grinned, both acknowledging the internal reply as well as the very convincing and accurate lie. "Yeah. He's .... my right-hand because of his loyalty. I really have appreciated it .. I just ... I guess I haven't really expressed that very well."

That was the sad part; she was being completely honest, too. Particularly when she was Yukio, Yuna really had taken his loyalty and quite a bit else for granted. Now ... it was coming back to bite her in the ass.

Heh. Good for him. I'll have to properly congratulate him when I get out.

Her head tilted .... ohhh? This Judai also had someone in his head. Now that was interesting.

Heh. Don't worry; if it's sorta like how I got Rose fused into me, I think I get it. You can skip your explanation.

Yuna shrugged, not looking remorseful when the topic shifted to her opting to ally herself with Sosuke. "Yeah. This is true. But we both have one thing in common; our hate for this place. Sometimes ... that's all you need. He was the only one to even take me a bit seriously, as a woman or guised man. There are tons of others who don't even deserve to be here at all. I'll admit; I was dumb. I earned my spot. But I don't care. I'm sure you've heard - and maybe seen, even if only in duels - that Karma can be a real bitch, right? I feel like she'll come for her due to this shit hole soon enough, especially now that we're here."

Now Yuna was beginning to shake. The description matched ... at least someone from Arcadia. But it couldn't be Aki. Could it?

I ... I'm sorry if I don't easily believe you. She helped me get out of Arcadia. I'll believe this is their doing - Arcadia's, at least. But I'd rather believe this is the work of another female member. That may be possible; I didn't see everyone, after all. I guess ... I need to re-pay Divine a visit when I get outta here. I'm not letting them keep him locked away. Fuck and no.

A smirk crossed Yuna's face as the last of Judai's thoughts echoed into her head.

Well ... let's just say I have much more than the ability to talk with you this way.

Her mouth began to open, only to be cut off as a guard grabbed the phone and forced Yuna to hang up. "The fuck was that for?!"

"Different visitor. More like a VIP for you."

Yuna scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief, "Heh. I'm not sure if this is my luckiest or unluckiest day here yet."

"Plan more for the latter. This one isn't nearly as friendly as he was. Now get up to your feet!"

'Thank you' Yuna mouthed to Judai, wincing as she was jerked up. "Fuck! God, I only hesitated for a few seconds! Okay, okay, shit! So who is this person, exactly?"

"You'll soon see," she merely got a response. Once the guard finished re-cuffing her wrists behind her back, Yuna was pulled out of the visitors area and led towards the same room Hotsuma had just left.
 

And so, here they were at a stalemate. Rex had gotten nothing of value from him, and Hotsuma got very little in terms of a reaction back. It seemed neither of them would be getting what they wanted. And it seemed that Rex was definitely more intuitive and thorough than Hotsuma initially believed; so that was how he was going to play it.

A low laugh emitted from him, Hotsuma replying "Oh she is. And in some ways, even tougher. Being a woman's not easy, I've seen what your officers have done first-hand; some times, they're no different than the people they lock up." Some of the guards definitely seemed to take offense to this, but were stilled when Goodwin ordered he be taken to the commissary to have food. "Oh, you're giving a playmate? That's a bad idea, hahaha." Hotsuma snickered, soon after being yanked to his feet and allowed to be manhandled.

"You're a pretty ballsy son-of-a-bitch, I'll give you that, Fiend; not too many of you dirtbags would talk to the Director that way." the guard stated gruffly, Hotsuma just grinning "I ain't afraid of some ego-driven dick that won't even get his own hands dirty." At this comment, the guard slammed him against a wall, growling "Goodwin's out of earshot now, asshole; you wanna be able to even chew, I highly suggest you shut your mouth."

"Whatever you say...Officer."

The Sector patrolman grimaced before finally getting him back to the main area. "Get your food, then sit the fuck down. I'm not here to hold your fucking hand." Hotsuma bit his tongue at this; he could have made a tired cootie joke, but he decided not to. And with that, Hotsuma was allowed find a place to sit...And what would you know, he managed to find Toju. "Finally out of solitary...Man, you're insane." Toju grinned, Hotsuma replying "Better off too. Guards probably got tired of me banging on the door and causing a ruckus. Least I'll get a new cellmate, so I'll have someone else to bother."


While Fayth and Yusei would talk, another figure watched them from the sidelines, sitting a few tables down. His fists clenched at the sight of them, especially the male she was sitting with. So...He finally got thrown in the slammer.

It was so tempting to go over there and just start hammering him. He'd dreamed of it, ever since that day. The damned traitor, actually smiling...But this gave him another idea. No...He knew the guy, a person who didn't care if *he* got hurt. He cared about others far too deeply to ever be that selfish...And a wicked grin crossed his face as a new plan blossomed from that fact.

"Yusei...You made a big mistake letting me see your face again." the silver-haired young man thought, a malicious and quiet snicker leaving him as he was soon escorted back to his cell.



Rex Goodwin was on his way to meet his next appointment, the woman named Yuna Takeda, when he was stopped halfway by another guard. This one handing him a note from the Warden, taking a moment to open the letter and read it. His eyes widened a little in surprise, but smiled. "As you were." Rex replied, the officer giving a crisp salute before resuming his duties.

Well then...This was certainly going to get more interesting. Especially if everything Armstrong said was true; Hotsuma seemed fairly confident in Yuna's resilence. But how would that fare when she learned that he knew of her connection with Fayth, a woman who was seemingly far less so? He wouldn't use it right off the bat though.

And moments later, he was seated across from Yuna herself. "Yuna Takeda...Funny, there's nothing really to describe you. Foolish, so far, seems to be the best word. As far as my officers were concerned, you were a nobody. So it seems odd that you would join with the Fiend in brutally beating down some of my officers...But no matter, it fits that you're here."

Flashing her a confident smile, he then asked Yuna directly "So, since your lover decided to confidently admit to stealing the Beelze cards, why don't you go ahead and tell me why you decided to go after them? You don't honestly think it was the only weapon we had, do you?"
 

Fayth frowned, quickly shaking her head. Her senses were kicking into overdrive ... a flaw that came with her forced state. Still, one definitely thing she couldn't help but notice was Yuna had yet to return. Not to say she wasn't glad her cellmate had a visitor; on the contrary, Fayth was a bit jealous if she had to be completely honest. But ... weren't those supposed to be timed? By now, wasn't it getting close to the point where Yuna would be guided back here?

Or had it simply been too late for her to come to the mess hall and she'd gone ot her cell?

Hopefull option B, Fayth prayed, which led her to the next thing bothering her. There were eyes upon her.

Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't bother her. She was in a crowded area. It was o be expected. However, most of the stares weren't ones filled with hate. Her head moved around every now and again, trying to track where it'd come from. " ... Yusei? Did you feel like someone was watching us?" Fayth softly asked. Maybe she simply was over-thinking. It didn't tend to be the case ... but she had been wrong before.

"Ten more minutes, you two. Start finishing up."

Fayth grimaced, nodding rather than arguing about Yuna not yet being back. It didn't take a genius to know most of the guards here were already annoyed she was getting - in their minds and eyes - 'special treatment' by having Yuna as a personal bodyguard and escort. No sense in rubbing salt into any wounds that may still be open. Her head bowed as she tried to focus on finishing her meal. Her brain, however, kept going back to whomever had been looking in her and Yusei's direction. The sensation was gone now, but ... whom had that been? She wanted to figure it out, if only to help herself in determining ways to avoid said person.
Yuna shrugged, smirking as Rex arrived and described her as foolish. "I'd like to say 'ambitious', but I'll give you half-credit. They do tend to go hand-in-hand pretty well. So, what's this for all of a sudden, hm?"

Her head lulled forward as she hid her face. Yuna bit down on her lower lip ... trying to hide her reaction. She couldn't keep it concealed forever, though. Within twenty seconds, her head lifted as she began laughing. "Wow, wow, wow. Oh fuck, that's rich. Okay so .... not only are you confused about my existence but you can't comprehend why I'm working with the Fiend? Shit, Goodwin. Well ... "

Yuna's smirk spread further, her head moving from side to side as she shrugged again.

"I don't know what to tell you -- well, that's not completely true. I actually kinda do. You clearly don't have many capable workers here. Seems like that should be ... dealt with. This is more pointless than I even originally thought; good riddance."

Admittedly, Rex using the word 'lover' to describe Hotsuma did make her tense up. It took everything in her to keep Yuna's eyes from narrowing, or her face to react in any form or fashion.

... He must have pieced that together. No fucking way he'd just reveal that freely to him.

"Truthfully?" Yuna replied, "Right now, it does seem like that was your best weapon. And now ... poof. They're all gone. Tough shit, huh? Only, no. But some of the few ones that would have done you fuckers any good? Most definitely. I don't get what you're trying to pull. But if it's scaring me, you're failing miserably."
 

Hotsuma didn't get to spend very long in the commissary, having maybe about twenty minutes after all was said and done. Soon enough, he was being approached by two Sector guards, and Toju seemed to have his own personal escort as well. "Man, how many people do they have here?" Hotsuma chuckled, Toju adding with his own grin, "Not enough apparently; they should just paint the walls blue. Seriously."

One guard just said, "Alright, skuzballs. Fun's over, back to the cages with you. You, Fiend. Hands behind your back. You're moving." Shooting Toju a smirk, Hotsuma just said "Same time tomorrow?"

And over at Fayth and Yusei's table, it was just about time for them to finish...Only for Fayth, she wasn't going back to her cell just yet. "Sorry, blind bitch...You have a different destination today. A special visit from a special someone." one of the guards said, roughly slamming her down on the table and placing cuffs on her.

"Hey, leave her alone!" Yusei tried to protest, only to be met with the same fate as he was overpowered. "No heroics, boy, or we'll beat you black and blue." Nevertheless, Yusei tried to struggle, but found his wrists restrained. "Move your ass, girl!" the guard restraining her shouted, hoisting her along and the others dragging Yusei back to his own cell. "Fayth! Nrgh! Let me go!" he cried out, to no avail as she was dragged away.

A few minutes went, Hotsuma being forcibly moved until he was in the D-block of the Facility. "Here's hoping you fare better than his last cellmate, Fiend." the guard chuckled, opening the door and throwing him in roughly. "Play nice, you two." was their next comment, walking off and leaving Hotsuma alone with his new cellmate. Himself standing up and brushing off his sleeves. "Fucking dicks..." Hotsuma growled, the silver-haired male snickering. "I don't what you did, but you seemed to have pissed them off a good deal. Color me impressed." he said lowly, keeping his eyes on the book he was reading

The Fiend just smirked, "Not to brag, but I like to think I've hurt them pretty good." Holding out a hand, he then said "Sosuke, no last name." There was a moment of silence, but then his cellmate returned the gesture after snapping the book closed, "Kiryu Kyosuke." And when the man's golden hues looked at Hotsuma's own, his slight smirk widened a little more. "You look like a man of action. I can see it; you enjoy beating down Sector." Hotsuma just shrugged, "Like a bad habit. But that's alright; I don't plan on staying long."

Kiryu leaned back on his cot, saying smoothly "That right? You sound like you have a plan to get out." Hotsuma just chuckled, "I might...Going to be chaos though, if things work out in any fraction how I plan it to."



Rex wasn't surprised that she acted the way she did; if she was with the Fiend in any intimate sense, it was because they both held a deep distrust and hate for Sector and the Topsiders. Even so, he let a ghost of a smile pass over his face as she tensed; even if she didn't react with her expression, anyone with a comprehension in reading body language could see that it affected her.

So, lovers then? More than friends with benefits, that much as certain.

"I won't lie to you; you certainly hampered us by thieving the Beelze lot. So, you get a congratulations for that...But, Miss Takeda, you have a long way to go before you understand anything about how I operate. About how Sector operates. Besides, just as you've done your homework, I've done mine."

And with this, he would turn towards the door and say calmly, "Bring her in." And not two seconds afterward, the guards seated Fayth roughly next to Yuna. "You see, just like I noticed how you and the Fiend were more than he let on, you two are rather close as well, are you not?"

Leaning forward, he then addressed them both, "Both of you are looking at a long hard stay. You especially, Miss Milner; assaulting the King? No judge in their right mind would ever think of granting you parole of any kind, and he's a hero to many of the officers working here. What would happen if it got out that you attacking him was the reason you wound up in the Facility?"
 

... I guess it's not dyke anymore but still ... ugh ...

Her head tilted and an eyebrow rose. "Oh? And who would that .... ahhhh! Hey, hey! Why so rough?!"

Fayth would have otherwise gone along quietly. But now that the officers were being rough, so was she. She threw her head back, trying to get a decent headbutt against the closest guard behind her. Fayth squirmed, whimpering as each struggle failed. "W-What are you doing to me?! Stop it! Yusei!"

Fayth's body shook, her wrists aching as she jerked and pulled against the metal bracelets. Alas, her efforts were futile. Soon, she was yanked up and led ... where was this, anyway? She'd never been here before. That made Fayth gulp nervously. The unknown was especially terrifying for her. It was always bad enough she was literally left in the dark. Not having a clue on what to expect made it that much worse for her.

Yuna merely let out a "Hmph," turning her head away. "I don't really give a flying fuck how you or Sector work. I only care about seeing it all burn one day."

Her head turned when Rex hinted he'd done his own homework. That .... was a bluff. Right? Yuna started to search his eyes, looking for an indication that was the case. There were very few things those words could have implied, and none were good. Before any cues could be found there, the sound of the door opening made Yuna's attention shift. And even now, her face couldn't help but pale slightly. "You piece of shit!" Yuna growled, standing hastily up, grunting as she was shoved back down into her seat. "What? Can't get your hands dirty so you gotta use a hostage, huh? Tch. Figures."

"Y-Yuna?" Fayth murmured aloud, relieved to get an internal reply back.

"Yeah. Goddamn this prick. I didn't think he'd sink this low. Sorry."

"Is this where you've been the whole time?"

"No. I did have a legit and much friendlier visitor. After that, I had my ass dragged here."

Fayth nodded, deciding that seemed fair enough. Over the four days, she'd learned this was one way to discreetly speak with Yuna. Although Fayth still didn't understand how it was possible, she didn't pry. She just was glad to have an alternative.

The relief turned t anger as she detected Rex's voice. "You!" she snarled, digging her fingernails into her palms. "I have literally nothing to --- no! That's not true! If anything, Jack assaulted me! HE SET ME UP! And I wouldn't be amazed if you had a hand in it!"

"... I see. You know him then?"

"Sadly."

"Fair. Okay, Fayth? Listen to me. Step one .... calm down. Panicking and anger are your worst enemies right now. That's exactly what he's wanting, if anything. Ignore him. Think of literally anything else but Rex."

Fayth nodded, taking shaky, deep breaths as she tried to heed Yuna's advice. Her eyelids slowly covered the empty sockets underneath as the breaths stated turning to a more normal pace. There was only one thing - person aside from Yuna - that was even slightly helping her out; Yusei.

"So clearly you have done your homework," Yuna taunted, opting to speak so Fayth could keep her concentration. "But it's gonna take way more than this to get what you want, you selfish prick."
 

Kiryu couldn't help smiling as this one confirmed the presence of a plan; oh sure, there had been plenty of others who spoke of grandiose to simple schemes of escape. Very few succeeded; this place was a fortress. He couldn't exactly tell what was making Sosuke so confident...But somehow Kiryu could determine that he was going to succeed.

And if that was the case...He'd get out too, and finally have a shot at some payback. Much deserved, much overdue payback.

"Assuming this suicide venture of yours has any chance of working...Need someone to help out?" Kiryu offered, Hotsuma raising a brow. "I didn't picture you the type as quick to trust. I won't turn down good help if you're serious, but I gotta know you'll commit." At this Kiryu just laughed, "Let's just say there's a certain someone outside these walls I want to suffer. Can't exactly do that trapped in here, now could I?" Of course, he was speaking in the long term...But his new friend didn't need to know that. Plus, if he was going to get his vengeance, he didn't want these Sector assholes breaking up the fun.

"Careful, whelp...This one could very well stab you in the back." Hotsuma heard the Emperor comment mentally, his vessel replying "For a demon emperor, you can't see the look in his eyes? You're not very bright...This guy's serious. Whoever wronged him must have done some serious shit, probably even got him locked up here in the first place." And at this, Hotsuma verbally replied in a hushed tone, "Alright...But I'm going to level with you. I'm not just here on vacation...I let myself get arrested because there's someone I need to find too. Help me find him, and I'll carry you out personally."

Kiryu's ears perked a bit; this guy actually came here of his own volition? This did earn a chuckle, however, as Kiryu smirked, "You might just be the craziest motherfucker I've ever met. We got a deal...Who's the mystery man?" At this Hotsuma motioned Kiryu to come closer, checking once more to make sure that they weren't being eavesdropped on, before whispering a name into his ear. Something that made Kiryu's eyes widen in shock.

"I know that guy...He's your older brother? Shit man, he's in The Hole. Special lockdown unit right next to the Warden's office."

Now this made Hotsuma wonder what the hell his brother did to earn that kind of punishment, "What? The hell did he do?" Kiryu just shrugged, "I have no clue...One day they just swept by his cell and hauled him out kicking and screaming. And honestly? He didn't look too good." The Fiend's fists clenched, not long after slamming one against the wall in anger. "Those fucking assholes. And let me guess, only the Warden has the way to open it." Kiryu didn't even need to say anything for Hotsuma to know that was the case.

"So....Now that you know this, how do you plan to get him out?" the Emperor asked, Hotsuma only saying "I wait...Then I break the Warden. Then I bring the Facility down to the ground, in that order."



Rex just waited and watched, saying nothing as Yuna cursed at him for using Fayth like this. Only choosing to reply a moment after she went so far as to accuse him of setting her up. And while part of that was slightly true - even if it was an unintended consequence - he was actually hoping their talk would have her come back with Jack. If only so he could keep a close eye on her.

And at this, he couldn't help laughing a little before resuming his resolute stare at the two. "Both of you are fairly amusing, you know that? Such outlandish statements. But allow me to address Fayth's point first. My dear, I had nothing to do with what happened between you and Atlas. My only guilt in that was convincing him to speak to you; he told me what transpired during your first encounter, and suffice it to say I was piqued in curiosity. So I sent him, thinking that if he asked you instead of me, he could help me make sense of it."

He then turned to Yuna, "And my dear, I already have what I want for the most part. The guilty party for the theft of the Beelze cards and countless atrocities against my officers, here in prison. Of course...Depending on how you behave, just know that you can't protect dear Fayth forever...Nor can you be at her side every minute of every day. With a snap of my fingers, I can have her moved to the isolation blocks instantly. Or even the Supermax block for that matter."

Smirking a little more, he just added, "I can see how she clings to you for protection...Someone with her 'ailment' will always need someone somehow to guide her through this world. So, do you and your new friend a favor, Miss Takeda, and try not to get on my bad side."

Motioning to the guards in with him, he then said "But for now...I think we're done here. You two have been quite helpful..." And with that, he would leave Yuna and Fayth to be chained and led back to their cells for the rest of the night.
 

Blah, blah, blah go fuck off ...

It helped well enough to have Fayth ignore the part that it wasn't all of Rex's fault she ended up arrested. Even if that was true ... he admitted it was at least partially his fault. That was all it took, in her opinion, to say that he was indeed guilty. Her head merely turned as Goodwin shifted to Yuna.

"I don't think you do have all you need, actually. That's just a bullshit lie you're telling yourself. After all, you were confused about who I am. I can tell you this for free; I've always been in the Satellite. Just under a disguise, if you would. Use that - if you're really so desperate to kow how I am - to finish your new assignment."

Why you!!

Yuna bit hard on her lower lip. Fayth grimaced, her eyes shutting tightly under her cloth. Nothig needed to be said; the message was painfully heard and understood. Although while Yuna's back wasn't able to be seen, she quickly rose both her middle fingers ... not minding the smacks to the back of her head that came from making said gesture.

The walk back was mostly quiet. Fayth was unchained without any scoldings. Yuna's guard, however, was hesitating on removing the cuffs.

"Well?" Yuna inquired, "Gonna get them off or not?"

"I shouldn't. After the stunt you pulled with Goodwin, you don't deserve it. But .... it'd be bad if you lost all your circulation so .... " A light clink and finally the metal fell away from her wrists. To make up - at least hat was what Yuna assumed was the reason for the next action - for having o free her wrists, she was shoved roughly into her cell. Enough that she fell to the ground, landing with a pained hiss. "We've got ways to make tough bitches like you crack, you know? You're not that special; just a slums brat."

Heh, that's what you think, Yuna internally quipped, fighting off a smirk as the doors were closed. Soon, the guards left, leaving th two girls alone.

"Fayth? You alright?"

"He's right ... "

Yuna turned, frowning as she saw poor Fayth beginning to shake. "What part?"

"You ... you and Yusei. I can't keep .... relying on you both for help. I didn't ask for this enough from Reiji so .... is there any way you can teach me how to fight? At least defend myself?"

Yuna looked around, making damn sure no one was around. Gently, she took a hold of one of Fayth's arms, helped her sit down on the bed, and held her close. "Play along. Let anyone who passes assume what they have since day one, okay? You've trusted me so far." Moving her lips closer, she began to whisper in Fayth's ear ... making it otherwise appear as if it were 'sweet nothings' rather than an actual answer. "Best chances will probably be during night, when lights go out. I'm sure you can figure the problem with that, right?"

Fayth thought a bit before nodding. Too much noise will guide the guards to us?

"Exactly. And the moment they see, Rex probably will use his ability to transfer one of us. So ... extra caution is going to have to be used. You also can't half-ass this. It's gonna be a literal example of tough love from me. It's gonna hurt .... but if you really want this, you have to endure."

And there would be the last chance for Fayth to decline. Both knew why that point had been emphasized. If pain from the laser machine made her pass out, Yuna was honestly unsure how well she'd be able to deal with punches and grapples.

"I'll do it. I'm sure, yes?"

Yuna chuckled softly, smirking, "Don't tell me you're starting to learn how to rad my mind, are you?"

"No," Fayth answered with her own grin, "But it's common sense. Sounds like something you'd add or ask to make sure."

"Damn straight. Okay. We'll start once 'lights out' time arrives. Save your energy until then. You're gonna need it."

The two pulled away, merely laying atop their respective beds. When the appropriate time did roll around, Yuna kept her word. And thus began Fayth's official night of self-defense training.
 

The night came and went without much else in turns of eventfulness. For one night at least, the Facility was quiet. Then again, there had been talk of those that broke the rules of curfew. And most were smart enough to fly under the radar, or at the very least be smart enough to keep activities hidden while the patrols were coming around.

And when morning came around, first order was to do the morning head count. Which meant standing outside their cells and letting them be cataloged to make sure everyone was where they were supposed to be. It was a lengthy process for sure, and one inmate caught one in the for saying 'Hurry it up, piggy'. After that was done, it was time to feed the inmates their first real meal of the day and let them wander about the Facility for now.

However...Today would be quite eventful for a number of reasons. The first would be not for any of the prisoners, but rather one of the guards. One that two of the inmates knew quite well, but had little idea as to the well-being of. At least after the failed raid on the reactor building.

He was assuming a post in one of the bubbles in the female wards as part of his rotation when he saw a familiar face with a blindfolded female inmate . One that made him pale a bit, blinking his eyes and rubbing them to make sure he wasn't seeing things. "Y-Yukio? What is he doing in the female wing?! Hey you! Call Armstrong! Do it now!" he then shouted to one of the other officers. And minutes later, the large dark-skinned male lumbered in, shouting "Eh, the hell's your deal, Officer Tsunohire? A man in the woman's wing? What kinda shit you trying to pull?"

At this Raiko shook his head rapidly, "No, you don't get it! That's Yomi's overboss, Yukio!" At this Armstrong went and took a look for himself, snarling a bit, "You spent too much time in the Satellite, because it's fucking with your vision! That's the mouthy bitch, Yuna Takeda, with her little dyke pet Fayth Milner!" And it was here that Raiko took one last look again; no, he was sure that was Yukio! He'd never forget a face. "But...Are you positively sure that looks like Yukio?" Armstrong then asked, Raiko nodding "Trust me, Warden...You know I'm good with faces, and that's him...Er, her, apparently. I should have known it was a fake name, but I never thought they'd go so far as to assume a different gender." At this, Armstrong just smiled, "I think we just found our first contestant for the fight rings today...Thank you, Officer, now get back to your patrol. Make sure this Yukio-slash-Yuna bitch doesn't cause us any more trouble."


So, now that Hotsuma knew where his brother was, it was time to try and formulate a plan to get him out. He couldn't just barge in there; as far as Sector knew, Miyamoto was completely unrelated to him. And he didn't intend to place his brother in further danger by revealing he was associated with 'The Fiend of Satellite', especially after Kalin told him that his brother didn't appear to be in the best of health.

"So...What's your plan, Hotsuma?" Kiryu asked while they were seated at the table eating their food, Hotsuma replying "Honestly? I don't really have a set plan yet...The only thing I planned out so far was getting in here. Being from the Satellite, that wasn't too hard, obviously. So much as look at Sector wrong and they'll beat you down and throw you in this shit hole." Kiryu just chuckled at this, "Don't I know; when this certain someone I'm intending to meet last saw me, they got me thrown in here. And all I did was try to get some payback for all the hurt these bastards inflicted on others, you know?"

"I do, so amen to that" Hotsuma affirmed; so, this guy was betrayed. Not that he hadn't seen it before; people selling others out just to make sure they stayed out of prison. Fuck that shit, he thought. And he added, "Well, whoever he or she is, I hope you give them what they got coming. Eye for an eye, you know?" At this Kalin grinned, and happened to see Yusei, Fayth and a third woman sitting together from the corner of his eye, saying "Oh I plan on it...And if you do help me out, you can consider me a good friend once we get out of here."

Across the way, Yusei had been talking with Fayth some more, pleased to see that she did find a friend of the same sex. Not that friendship mattered on gender, but he felt it would probably be better overall if another woman helped her out as well, if ony to create better familiarity.

However, both parties would get a surprise as guards first approached Hotsuma and Kiryu's table, followed by another small posse that arrived at Yusei's table. "Kiryu Kyosuke, stand up..." one guard said, Kiryu just grinning "Oooh, who's the fun one today?" Hotsuma stood up to protest, but got slammed right back down, "Don't move, Fiend...You'll get your turn." At this Kiryu explained, "It's alright, Hotsuma...Just a little fun the guards like to have. Plus, plenty of benefits for the winner!"

And when Yuna got grabbed, Yusei too tried to intervene, but found himself pressed against the wall in a painful half-nelson. "What's going on?" Yusei demanded, a guard smirking "She's been selected for a little trial...Since you Satellite scum seem to love underground dueling so much, we're granting your wish!" Another guard whispered, "If it's any consolation, sweetheart, I put a good deal of money on you. So you better hope you win!"



Meanwhile, Judai had returned to Yomi and let everyone know how the talk went, now dressed in his normal clothes. Namely his Academy outfit. Most if not all of the others, including himself still were surprised that she was able to talk telepathically. But that didn't seem to so much bother them as what he said about Yuna's reaction to him mentioning that it was Aki who took Hajime. "Yuna didn't believe you when you said it was Aki? Why?" Takeshi asked, Judai shrugging, "I don't know...She just said that she'd rather believe it was someone else than her. Said she was responsible for helping her to get out at all."

At this Yamichi sighed, "I just hope she didn't think I lied; I know it was Aki. She even said it was her herself, and she mentioned her by name! Why would she deny it? It doesn't make any sense." Takeshi shook his head, "If she did help...Maybe it's because she acted differently? But in any event, it doesn't really matter; at least she believes it was this Arcadia place's fault for them taking Hajime. Judai, were you able to find out anything else?" At this the brunette shook his head, "No...The officers dragged her off before I could ask her any more about it. Seemed like it was important, or at least whatever they decided was important."

Yamichi just nodded, "It's alright; at least we have a name of the place. Now, we just need to find it and figure out how to get in and rescue Hajime." Takeshi took his turn, "But, if Aki's from there, doesn't that mean there would be more like her? None of us are equipped to deal with people who can make Dueling actually hurt you." Now Yamichi seemed a little despondent, "So...Then what? What can we do?"
 

All things considered, Yuna was pretty damn impressed with how Fayth's first night of training had gone. It was nowhere near perfect. But she had taken her advice to heart. She didn't half-ass anything, and she endured the pain, as well as managed to return some back to Yuna. "You did very well," Yuna would whisper. Soon, the two would pass out, easily earning a very well-deserved night's rest.

Indeed, the day was full of many surprises. The first of which was at the head count. While Raiko did his own double-take, Yuna had to do her own.

Oh-ho? Well, well, well ....

And should her assumption have been wrong, hearing the Warden refer to him as Officer Tsunohire confirmed she wasn't seeing things.

My, oh, my. Hotsuma will love to hear about this.

For now, her thoughts were staying strictly to herself. Even Fayth was being kept out of the loop. No sense in dragging her into this battle when she truly wasn't involved. Instead, Yuna simply wore a smug smirk in front of both Raiko and the Warden. Never saying anything - not out loud, anyway. But implying she was having quite a few gears in her head spin wildly. "Don't know what you're going on about but later, guys~"

Free time was one of the first 'periods' of the prisoner's day. A slightly odd thought, but oh well. Yuna wouldn't complain. She felt Fayth trying to lead her, and smirked slightly as she looked down at her blindfolded companion. "Looking for anyone in particular?"

"Yeah. Yusei. I want you to meet him."

"Mind describing him? So I can know for sure we go the right way."

Fayth nodded and started to whisper -- only to realize she didn't know that answer. Her face blushed in humiliation, with Yuna chuckling softly. "Sorry, sorry," Yuna quickly apologized. "I should have realized that was a dumb question. Well ... you know his voice?"

"Y-Yes."

"Okay. Keep your ears open then."

It took a bit, but the moment she registered her male friend's voice, Yuna was led to Yusei. "Morning Yusei!" Fayth greeted, grinning as she sat beside him first. "This is the Yuna I've been speaking of."

Yuna snickered lightly. "Geez. Am I some legend now or something?"

"I suppose something like that, yeah."

"Heh. Fair enough. I guess there are few people who'd willingly side with the Satellite's Fiend." Reaching over, Yuna extended her hand out. "For real though, thanks for helping watch over Fayth. She talks about you quite a bit. I guess you met soon after she moved here or something?" A smug smile crossed her face as she took the effort to lean forward and whisper in Yusei's ears, "Think she may like you, actually."

"Y-Yuna! Oi!" Fayth stammered, her face turning even redder.

Both Fayth and Yuna would turn as the two heard footsteps behind them. "Hmm?" Yuna inquired, growling as she was given little more than an upward yank to her feet. "Fuck sakes, what now?! I haven't done shit!"

"Y-Yuna?!"

The raven-haired woman quickly shook her head. "I'll live. Let Yusei guide you and we'll all see soon enough what they're going on about. I've had a shit ton worse injuries than these fuckers are giving ... oi! Okay, okay, I get it!" The forward shoves were enough to cue Yuna in that the guards wanted less talking from her and more walking.

Fayth was shaking a bit. What was going on now? Her head turned, following where Yusei had been pinned and held her hand out. "Let's ... let's heed her words. Please."
 

And as Hotsuma would see the chaos unfold, more officers swarmed to quell a potential riot. All dressed in assault gear, too; made sense, considering the number of inmates that were in here. Even so, no one else really made a move.

"Hey, Sosuke! You should come watch me! I've only been in a few of these, but I haven't lost one yet!" he then heard Kiryu shout, drawing his attention away from the commotion. "Someone want to tell me what the fuck is going on here?" Hotsuma demanded, storming off after Kiryu as they were led somewhere.

Yusei meanwhile, was finally let go after Yuna was pushed off, only looking down to see that Fayth was holding out her hand. "Don't worry, Fayth; we'll figure out what's happening and how to stop it." he replied, taking her hand gently.



It didn't take the small crowd much time to follow the officers to where this was being held: It was a fighting pit, and both Yusei and Hotsuma seemed to get what was happening. "These motherfuckers..." Hotsuma growled, while Yusei said to Fayth "It looks like there's an underground dueling circuit here too. Probably hosted by the officers as a gambling ring. So this is how low they've stooped..." His face didn't change all that much, but his voice certainly held very subtle inflections of disgust.

"Step right up, step right up! Place your bets, this is the final call!"

An officer went around and started collecting bundles of yen from the others, even some inmates getting in on the action with their own commissary stamps. "Wait..." Hotsuma realized; who was Kiryu fighting?

"ALRIGHT! HOOK 'EM UP! LET'S GET THIS SHOW STARTED!"

Kiryu came out first, officers placing what appeared to be metal bands around his neck, arms and legs. But when they revealed who his opponent would be, he just about flipped his lid.

Yuna was in there!

"OI, THE FUCK YOU DOING TO HER, HUH?! GET YOUR HANDS OFF...." he shouted quite loudly over the noise, storming through the crowd to try and get them away...Only to catch several clubs and a taser to the back and make him fall hard on his stomach after howling in pain. "Sorry, Fiend, no interruptions. Boss' orders; don't worry though, you'll get to have your fun soon enough." an officer chuckled, pressing his booted foot on the Fiend's head.

And when he was able to look back up, he could see the Warden himself was present in the center. "Okay, maggots! Welcome to the Pain Pit! The rules are simple as fuck! These lovely numbers you're hooked up to? They deliver shocks that get increasingly more intense the lower your Life Points drop! And if any of you are dumb to try and tamper with them, that'll shock you too! 'Course, none of you scum are really worth giving a crap about, ain't that right men?"

Giving a loud laugh over the roars of approval from his officers, Armstrong continued, "Now then, we have a number of matches today! But just like always, this game comes with a winner's prize and a loser's prize! The winner of each match today can get one request approved by yours truly! The loser, however, gets their weak ass thrown in solitary for a year! No chance of release, bahahaha!" Most of the officers gave a loud 'Ooooo' in mocking as Hotsuma paled; shit, if Yuna lost, she'd be in solitary under lockdown for a year?!

"Now, let's meet our two contestants for the first match today! To my left, we have someone who's been undefeated in each of his matchups, Kiryu Kyosuke! Can he keep this streak alive!?" And as Kiryu waved to the crowd, his eyes found Yusei's...And a devilish smirk split his lips; Yusei's eyes widening in surprise as his grip on Fayth's hand tightened ever so slightly. And if she were to feel, it would be the same uneasy presence as when she had detected the first time.

And with a much less enthused tone, done on purpose, Armstrong commented, "And we have the dumb bitch who got caught with the Fiend. Yuna Takeda...And just because I know she's going to say something stupid...Here's a little demonstration of what happens when you lose Life Points!" And with a surprising amount of dexterity, he produced a flip-switch and hit the button for hers...Surging her body with a massive discharge of electricity.

"Whoops, sorry Takeda...Forgot how strong that could be." he commented crudely, shouting afterwards with utter disregard for her well-being, "Coin toss time! Call it!" Armstrong shouted, Kiryu able to call out 'Heads!' as the coin was caught and revealed. "Heads it is! Kiryu gets the first turn! And....Let's get this party started!"

Drawing their first five cards each, Kiryu looked down at his hand; not the greatest starter, but he could make it work. "I'll set a card face-down and monster face-down. Turn end."
 
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