//------------------------------// // Turn 9: The Calm // Story: Crossover Into Chaos // by dabestgamer //------------------------------// Twilight sprang upright in the bed, sweating and breathing heavily. She quickly glanced around the room to see where she was. She was back in Yusei’s apartment in New Domino City. “What… was that…?” she wondered. “Was it… just a dream…? No… it was no ordinary dream…” She wrapped her forelegs around herself and shuddered. Twilight noticed the light hitting her bed. She gazed outside to notice the sun rising over the horizon. Her mind went back to the dream she had had. She couldn’t help but focus on how real it felt to her, especially during the last few moments. Twilight groaned as she struggled to break free of the shadows. Her horn began to glow. “I don’t think so,” the woman said. Twilight felt a sharp pain in her horn. A shadow had shot from the dark fog where the eyes seemed to float and pierced through her horn, causing the glow to fade. Twilight rubbed her horn. She could feel the numbness present as if something had actually struck her there. In fact, most of her body felt like it was actually restrained. Although she knew that her senses would remind her of the difference between dreams and reality, this time felt very different… as though she were wide awake. “I don’t know of any magic that can do that…” she thought. Twilight was knocked aside once more. As she struggled to get up, she found herself bound to the dirt by ropy-like shadows. The ground beneath her turned black. “It felt like… I was being captured…” Twilight continued. She struggled to recall the end of her nightmare with no success. She collapsed backwards onto the mattress, staring at the ceiling. “What happened…?” The door opened as the woman entered the dark room. “So, how did it go?” the man in the dark gray uniform asked. The woman scoffed. “Almost had it. But she somehow slipped away at the last second. I was so close.” “Good night, Princess Twilight Sparkle,” the woman said, watching the alicorn become covered in shadows. She suddenly found herself blinded by light. “What’s this?!” Her eyes traveled to the crown in her hand, then watched as the shadows covering an unconscious Twilight faded away. “Impossible!” she exclaimed, as the light grew more intense. The woman stood alone next to her Runner on the Duel Lane. “How did she…?” she groaned. She then glanced at the solid object she now felt in her hand. “Huh… well… it wasn’t a total loss.” “Troublesome jewelry…” the woman groaned. “Then we’ll just have to resort to our other plan. By the way, did you manage to retrieve it?” the man replied. The female giggled, holding up a bright, golden crown. “Well, of course. This venture hasn’t been entirely fruitless. Using her power to enter the princess’s dream… and taking advantage of her connection with the Element…” “It’s better than nothing.” The woman tossed the crown towards the man for him to catch in the palm of his hand. “So… the Element of Magic… ours at last…” he said. “We might have the crown… but we still require the princess so that we may proceed. And speaking of… do we know where she is?” “We do. With a Signer, no less.” “Dealing with him won’t be so much trouble, if he’s anything like the one I just fought.” “No. This one is much, much stronger than the others we’ve taken.” “I doubt he’ll be a match for our new power. Why don’t we go see him now?” The woman held up a card in her hand. “Patience. We can’t afford to arouse any suspicion from the people here. It’d be better for us to come at him with a larger force than just the few of us. Once they run out of hiding places, they’ll be within our grasp. It should be noted that this Signer is not one to be underestimated.” “All right, then. We’ll stick to the plan, then. But here…” The woman pulled out another card and flung it at the male. He quickly caught the card between his fingers and glanced at its front. “So… it’s begun, hasn’t it? How far along are they?” “This one was the first. I was told to give it straight to you. Surely, they can’t fight against this.” “Can’t? Or won’t?” “Both,” the female sneered, turning towards the doorway. “But again… this is more of a backup plan in case the current one fails.” “That reminds me… will you have those papers ready by late afternoon?” “Late afternoon?” “Remember, we don’t want to arouse suspicion. Anyone else in your position would most likely wait another day before signing off on the warrant due to the amount of evidence—or lack thereof, rather—presented to them… not to mention who we’ll end up dealing with. Like I said, he isn’t one to be underestimated.” “Very well. Late afternoon, it is.” “Thank you, Judge Celena,” the man smiled. “Of course… Lieutenant Callos,” Celena returned, walking out the door. “Crow, can’t you stay longer?” asked a young boy. “We really missed you!” added a young girl. “Sorry, but I have to go to work. You know. Gotta keep New Domino City safe!” Crow said. “Awwwww,” the group of children replied in unison. There was a momentary silence before Crow sighed. “Fine. I’ll come back and spend the night again.” “YAAAAAY!” The children rushed back into the large orphanage, as a man and an elderly woman walked out to meet with Crow. “Those kids are really something,” said the man. “Yeah, they definitely are, Blister,” Crow replied. “It’s not surprising, really. They really look up to you,” Blister continued. “It’s a shame you haven’t been able to visit more often with your new job at Sector Security,” said the woman. “I wish I was able to come more often, too, Martha. But it’s been really demanding since day one. Even though I’m doing this for them, I feel bad for not visiting as frequently as I’d like.” “I wouldn’t worry too much about that. I don’t think they’d ever hold it against you,” Martha stated. “You mean too much to them.” “Yeah, that’s true.” Crow glanced away for a brief moment. “Something is bothering you, isn’t it?” “Huh? Oh, it’s nothing.” “Come on. I’ve practically raised you and your friends, Yusei and Jack. You can’t hide anything from me. I know it’s not nothing.” Crow remained silent as the lieutenant paced around him. “Look. I know he’s your friend. I know how big of a hero he is… but he isn’t above the law.” “I know.” “This is a serious crime. And if you’re not up for it, I can always replace you with someone else. I’m pretty sure I could find someone more competent if I tried, especially after your last failure.” “What do you mean?” “I know that you sent another officer to Yusei’s apartment.” The lieutenant stopped in front of Crow and leaned his head closer. “What’s your point?” Crow stepped back. “That officer… he’s missing.” “What?! Wait… you couldn’t possibly…” “Yes, an officer’s life is on the line, and we have no choice but to suspect your friend, Yusei Fudo, of kidnapping him.” “But Yusei wouldn’t…” “You think I care about his fame as the hero of New Domino City? It means nothing if he’s committed a crime. Two, at that.” Crow stood silent. “Since you’re his friend... and it’s your home… you can be the one to question him about it. I expect results by tomorrow evening,” the lieutenant stated, walking away from the building. “What was that dream of yours? To give those kids in the Satellite Sector someone to look up to? To strive to be the best for them? I’m pretty sure that’ll go down the toilet if you lose your job here.” Crow clenched his fists as he hung his head. “Have a good night, Officer Hogan,” the lieutenant said. “To be honest… I’m not sure what to think,” Crow finally spoke. “One of my friends could be in trouble with the law… but there’s nothing solid yet.” “Good grief, is that all?” Martha asked. “What?” “You act as if the world is ending.” “Martha, this is serious!” “Of course. I’m fully aware of that. But again, I’ve raised you and your friends since you were kids, and you’ve all grown to be strong people. You’ve all gotten yourself into trouble more times than I can count—with the law, even—but everything you’ve down was always for a good cause and you’ve managed to overcome everything thrown your way so far. I’m positive that you will all get through this as well.” Crow stood as Martha’s words sunk into his mind. “Yeah, you’re right,” he smiled. A sudden ringtone interrupted their conversation. “Officer Hogan speaking.” “Good, you’re up,” said a male voice. “Lieutenant?” Crow replied softly, turning slightly away from Blister’s and Martha’s eyes. “I’ve sent the papers to the judge to have her sign them. You’ll have the warrant to search Yusei’s apartment in the late afternoon.” “Already? But we don’t have enough—” “In the meantime, I don’t want you communicating with him or anyone else regarding this matter. This information is strictly confidential. After all, your future is on the line here.” “But…” “I don’t want to hear it, Officer. I told you that I’m expecting results from you by the end of the day today, and I strongly recommend obeying my orders or you will face severe consequences. I don’t care what you do as long as you’re in my office by 5:00 p.m.” “You can’t be ser—” A click sounded the end of the call. Crow lowered his arm holding the cell phone and scoffed. He stared at the device, squeezing it tightly while taking in the new information. “What happened?” Blister asked. “I… gotta go…” Crow answered, walking towards his Runner. Blister looked at him, curiously. “Crow, wait,” Martha said. Crow stopped and turned his head. “Remember this: You have a good heart, Crow. Same with Yusei, Jack, and the rest of you. I know you’ll do what is right and overcome whatever it is that’s troubling you.” Crow couldn’t help but smile upon seeing Martha’s content expression. “Thank you, Martha. I’ll see you tonight,” he said, walking off. “Let’s head back in, Blister,” she briefly placed her hand on his shoulder to get his attention. “Right…” Blister responded, following her back inside. Akiza let out a yawn as she strolled into the living room of her parents’ home. “Good morning, Akiza,” a male voice greeted. “Oh. Good morning, dad,” she replied, turning her head to see an elderly man and woman facing her. “Wow, you’re already dressed up. Busy day today?” “It would seem so.” “What do you mean?” “Well. I’m sure you’ve heard the news. Someone claimed to have sighted an alien in New Domino City a couple of nights ago. I was informed that this alien was supposedly taken to a lab but was then stolen and hasn’t been seen since.” “Alien…?” Akiza thought. “He means…” “The people are in a bit of a panic with these rumors going around, and, as Senator, I’m going to have a long day ahead of me dealing with this.” “That’s too bad…” she replied. “Should I make something for you to have later or are you in a hurry?” “I appreciate it, Akiza, but I don’t think I can wait much longer than I have. I need to go now,” the old senator stated. “All right, then. I’ll see you later.” “Oh. And one more thing.” “What is it, dad?” “I regret to inform you that these rumors… I’ve heard your friend Yusei Fudo is involved.” Akiza became wide-eyed. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to tell you that you must not see him for the time being.” “But why?!” “If these rumors have any merit to them, I don’t want you involved. I would absolutely hate for my own daughter to get mixed up in what might be severe trouble.” “But…” “This is not up for debate. Listen, I understand that you and he are very close friends… but I don’t want to take unnecessary risks. So please… at least for the time being. If it turns out that he has nothing to do with this, then you can go and be with him whenever you please.” Akiza paused for a moment and hung her head. “…All right.” “Good-bye, Akiza.” The senator headed out the front door towards a black limousine. Akiza silently closed the door. She then slowly walked towards the couch in the living room and gently sat on one of its cushions. “Dear, is something wrong?” her mother asked, standing behind her. “No… it’s nothing…” Akiza answered. “All right… let me know if you need anything,” her mother said as she walked out of the room, her concerned expression unseen by her daughter’s eyes. “I know I should help Yusei and Twilight… but…” What she felt she needed to do was clear: help her friends. She knew there was trouble involved. She also knew that her parents couldn’t stop her once her mind had been set on something, especially when it came to Yusei. However, the last thing she wanted to do was give them a reason to worry about her. It may have been months, but it felt to all three of them like only mere days had passed when Akiza and her parents were finally together as a true family again. “Still… I can’t just sit around and do nothing,” Akiza thought, standing up. “Mom, I’m going to head out.” “Where to?” her mother’s head appeared from behind the corner to the hallway. “Didn’t your father…” “I’m not going to Yusei’s place. I’m headed somewhere else.” Her mother frowned. “I’ll be back soon,” Akiza walked out the door. “Be careful!” her mother replied. “Good grief…” Yusei pulled his Runner into the garage. He let out a heavy sigh as the large door closed. “Hey, Yusei,” Twilight greeted from the stairs. “Oh, you’re up,” he replied. “Did Jack ever come back?” Yusei shook his head. “You don’t think…” “I don’t know. But I’m not going to jump to conclusions yet.” Yusei noticed Twilight’s heart sink from the expression on her face. “What’s wrong?” “I… kind of feel bad for arguing with him last night and want to apologize for it.” “You shouldn’t worry. He’ll come around.” “You… think so?” “Definitely.” “So where’d you go?” “To look for Jack.” “Oh…” “Yeah…” Yusei hung his head. A ringtone was heard. Yusei pulled his phone out of his pocket. “What is it?” “Yusei,” the voice on the other line said. “Blister?” “I need you to meet up with me right now.” “At Martha’s place?” “No. Somewhere else. You’ll need to bring it, too. You don’t have much time.” Crow stood near the water, the bridge between New Domino City and Satellite not too far from his location. He stared into the open body of water that separated the two landmasses. “I’m not sure why this is so difficult… but now I just feel… uneasy,” he thought. “Things have been off ever since I found that horse-looking alien and now my superior is treating Yusei like a criminal. I know he isn’t… something just seems rotten. There’s got to be more to this than what we’re all seeing right now.” “I thought I’d find you here, Crow,” a female voice greeted. Crow turned his head. “Akiza.” “So… it looks like I’m not the only one who thinks something’s been off for the past couple of days,” Crow said. “Yeah. And my dad said Yusei might be in trouble with the law, so I thought maybe you knew something about it,” Akiza replied. “Then can’t you just go to Yusei yourself?” “No. My dad asked me to avoid him so I don’t get involved in whatever’s happening. But I’ve…” Akiza paused for a moment. Crow glanced at her curiously. “Well… I’m going to have to be searching the place later with a few officers. My superior thinks… a couple of things could be found there that would incriminate him.” “A couple?” Akiza looked at Crow confused. “Could he also mean… the officer that I Dueled?” The man collapsed onto the floor. Akiza breathed a sigh of relief as Yusei approached her side. “Good job, Akiza,” he congratulated. “Thanks, Yusei,” she replied. The two then looked towards the man wearing the Sector Security uniform… only to see that he was no longer in sight. “What?!” “Where’d he go?” “He just disappeared,” Twilight answered, entering the room. “Twilight?” Yusei responded. “I… saw the whole thing. Quite impressive, if I do say so myself. So I guess that’s… the Duel Monsters card game you were talking about before? Anyway… as for that human… after you won—so it looked like—I just saw him vanish into thin air. I thought humans couldn’t use magic!” “They don’t. Not normal people, anyway,” Yusei answered. “I don’t think he just simply… ‘disappeared’, either.” “That man vanished without leaving a trace…” Akiza thought. “Does Sector Security think Yusei might’ve—” “Akiza,” Crow interrupted. “Huh?” “Do you know something about what happened?” “Uh… I…” “I can see it on your face.” Akiza remained silent. “I should get going,” Crow said, putting his helmet on and boarding his Duel Runner. “Wait, Crow. You don’t seriously think Yusei is guilty of crimes, do you?” Akiza asked. “I don’t know what to think of that right now, Akiza,” Crow replied. “But I do know this… once I find out the truth… I’ll have no choice.” He started his Duel Runner and drove towards the highway. “Crow!” Akiza called after him, despite her voice not reaching him. She glanced towards the water with a worried expression. “Yusei…” The sun shone brightly, far from the horizon but eased towards it. “Oh, man,” a woman with large circular glasses and long, black hair groaned. Her head lay sideways on a table in the plaza of a coffee shop just across from Poppo Time. A signed labeled “Café la Geen” stood near the building’s entrance. “Where is he? Jack’s usually here by now… I haven’t seen him all day…” “Oh, quit complaining,” said a brown-haired maid. “He’s not even for you, Carly.” “Shut up, Stephanie. He’s not yours, either.” “No, but he will be.” “Says who?” Carly stood up out of her chair, her face up close to the maid’s as the two glared at each other. Their eyes shot sparks at each other that clashed directly in between until they saw two cars and several Duel Runners pull up in front of Poppo Time, all vehicles labeled “SECURITY”. “Sector Security… what are they doing here…?” Carly mumbled, darting away. “Hey! You haven’t paid for your drink yet!” Stephanie yelled after her. “Put it on Jack’s tab!” Carly replied. The maid glared once more. “This looks awfully suspicious. In fact… this could be my big break! It looks like this could turn out to be a major scoop! Good thing number one reporter Carly Carmine is on the case before anyone else! Wait a second… is that…?” Carly thought as she approached the cluster of Sector Security vehicles. She stopped as she glanced at one of the officers. The reporter squinted her eyes as she peered through the glass of the helmet. “Crow?!” she gasped. Crow walked the officers to the door of Yusei’s apartment. “What’s going on…?” Carly mumbled again. “Yusei!” Crow called as he knocked on the door. “You there?” Silence. “Yusei!” “Crow, maybe you should…” another officer spoke up. “Trudge…” Crow responded. “Look. I know he’s your friend and all, but we don’t have much choice. We need to investigate this. For both the you-know-what and the missing officer.” “‘You-know-what’…? Missing officer…?” Carly curiously peered from around the corner. “You have a key to the apartment, don’t you?” Trudge asked. “Yeah… but…” Crow replied. “You probably shouldn’t be doing this just because of bias, but… we have to follow orders. Besides, the warrant’s right here.” Trudge held up a laminated sheet of paper with a signature on it. “Fine…” Crow pulled out an apartment key from his pocket and opened the door. “Yusei!” he called. No response. He and Trudge stepped into the garage. “Yusei, where are you?” This time it was Trudge who called his name. “Yusei?” “You’re wasting your breath, Trudge,” Crow said. The other officers spread throughout the room. “Huh?” “Yusei’s clearly not here. His Duel Runner is missing.” “Sir! You need to come look at this!” one of the officers stated. “What is it?” Trudge asked. “Look.” The two stared at the curved mark on the ground. “That looks… like an imprint from… a horseshoe? I don’t get it. Crow, what do you think? Crow?” Trudge asked. Crow stared wide-eyed at the mark. “No…” he thought. “It can’t be…”