A/N: Okay, so, I PROMISE I'm working on Pokemon: Digital Journey and The Dark One, I SWEAR it. I'm just having mucho writer's block, and it's frustrating. Don't even get me started on Things Happen, I cringe whenever I sit down and try to write it. But I promise that I'll put out more chapters for my other stories soon! By the way, I REALLY appreciate all the reviews, so please keep them coming! Anyway, time for another installment o what has become my pride and joy, YuGiOh: Quest for the Crests!
Yusei, Jack, Crow and Davis all look up in their duel runners, riding suits and helmets on as they tear onto the streets of Satellite side-by-side.
Going Fast Makes Me Feel Alive!
Davis and Yusei look out at the rising sun in New Domino City, Exveemon and Stardust Dragon above them.
My Heart Beats!
Akiza and Kari look over their heads as the two dragons fly over, their owners leaping down in front of them.
In Hyperdrive!
TK and Tai face off on opposite sides of a duel arena.
Do You Think You Can Win?
Davis and TK square off against Matt and Tai.
Only If I Lose!
Jack and Yusei race around a track on their runners.
Just Let Destiny Choose!
Davis races down a burning street with Kari behind him.
I Can Hear You Breathin'!
Kalin and the other Dark Signers grin maniacally at Yusei on his runner.
I Can See You Comin'!
Ken as a the Shadow Emperor stands tall over Davis on his runner.
I Can Feel The Wind!
Davis soars into the sky with DemiVeemon, Veemon, Flamedramon, Raidramon, and Exveemon flanking him, his helmet materializing and the shadow of Magnamon appearing behind him.
It's Blowing Me Around!
Yusei soars into the sky flanked by his own monsters, his helmet materializing and the shadow of Majestic Star Dragon appearing behind him.
Take A Shot At Me Runnin' Side By Side!
Tai and Davis race forward, Exveemon and WarGreymon summoned.
It's A Blur As I Go By!
TK and Angemon race next to Leo and Power Tool Dragon.
See The Sun Arising, Fire In The Sky!
Goodwin and Gennai appear above the sky over Davis, who's eyes are hidden behind his helmet.
Greatness Thrusts Itself Into Our lives!
Davis, Yusei, jack and Crow leap their runners over a mysterious bridge, their signature monsters behind them, the song ending with Davis and the other Crest Guardians standing with their Crest Spells out, looking into the camera and grinning.
Yu-Gi-Oh: Quest for the Crests
Chapter Seven: Brothers
New Domino City Duel Academy
"Wait, what?" TK and Leo asked with the same stunned expression that everyone else wore. Tai and the older kids had come over too, and were currently flabbergasted by the two young men with golden facial marks currently planting their fists in each other's faces.
"ME?! YOU'RE THE JACKASS YUSEI!" Davis yelled at the dark haired young man.
"ARE YOU KIDDING?! THAT TITLE BELONGS TO YOU RUNT!" he responded.
"Uh...what?" TK and Leo reiterated, still baffled as to what exactly was going on. That state of confusion only mounted, however, after they separated, falling flat on their asses. That in and of itself wasn't what caused the additional confusion, it was the borderline maniacal laughter that followed that made everyone gathered go slack-jawed.
Yusei was the first to recover "Oh man, it really is you Davis!"
Davis grinned wider than any of the others had ever seen "Yusei, you took the words right out of my mouth!"
Both of the Satellite natives stood up at that point, and embraced in a hug that, yet again, left everyone else gathered stunned. TK finally recovered enough to look disbelievingly at the pair and asked "Um...could you two explain just what in the heck that was, exactly?"
They looked at each other briefly, before looking at the others in confusion "What do you mean?"
Leo sputtered out "You guys slugged each other!"
Yusei and Davis glared at each other briefly, and answered shortly "The jackass deserved it!"
Tai sweatdropped "Uh...you guys are worse than me and Matt."
Matt nodded "I mean we slug it out, sure, but...just hug and make up just like that?"
Cody sighed "I've given up attempting to understand Davis..."
Davis and Yusei shrugged, the former saying "It's a Satellite thing I guess."
Yusei smiled at him "It's seriously good to see you again Davis."
Kari cocked her head to the side "Um...not to ruin the moment...but can we do this somewhere other than the school courtyard?"
Davis nodded "Good plan. Got any ideas?"
Izzy grinned and perked up "How about my garage?"
Tai nodded "Alright then, I'll ride with Sora, Kari and Davis. Matt you grab TK, Jun, Yolei, Cody and Mimi. Izzy, you take your runner I guess. Uh...Leo, Luna and uh, Yusei...huh."
Yusei waved a hand "I have my own ride."
Leo and Luna nodded "We've got our own ride too, just shoot us the address."
Izumi Residence, Izzy's Garage
Yusei whistled in appreciation at Izzy's runner "Very nice!"
Davis scrutenized Yusei's runner "Ugh, you settled for a WGE-900X? You'd better have customized it more than the standard version."
Yusei narrowed his eyes "...the hell do you take me for?"
Davis laughed "Fair enough! Man, all in all it's a pretty sweet runner Yusei."
Tai cleared his throat "Uh, I think it's time we got to introductions. I'm Tai Kamiya."
Matt shot a peace sing "Matt Ishida."
TK waved "I'm Takeru Takaishi, Matt's little brother, and the leader of our little group."
Sora smiled "I'm Sora Takenouchi, I'm Tai's girlfriend."
Mimi smiled brightly "I'm Mimi Tachikawa
Jun smiled softly "I think we may have met before, but I'm Jun Watanabe, I'm Matt's girlfriend."
Izzy nodded "I'm Izzy Izumi, and thank for the praise on the runner, I owe it all to Davis."
Yolei smiled "I'm Yolei Inoue."
Cody bowed "I am Cody Hida, it is a pleasure."
Kari beamed "I'm Kari, Tai's younger sister. I've heard a lot about you!"
Leo and Luna smiled "Well you both know us already!"
Yusei cracked a smile "I'm Yusei Fudo, it's nice to meet all of you."
Davis grinned "Man Yusei, looks like we're both branded, huh?"
Yusei sighed as he absent-mindedly touched his mark "Yeah, I guess so. Well, I know why I'm out off the Facility, how about you? I mean, they basically pegged you for all the stuff we did, right?"
Davis sighed "Yeah, they grabbed me while I was halfway to Crash Town; I was gonna lay low there for a while. But I got ambushed by about half the Securities in Satellite, they took me in from there."
Tai raised a brow "So that's how you ended up with that neat little mark?"
Davis nodded slowly in confirmation before continuing "...I think I can trust you guys. You haven't thrown me out yet, which I honestly expected after..."
TK sighed "Davis, whatever that was, it's okay. Honestly. We talked it over and decided you deserved the benefit of the doubt. Well, after Kari beat Tai within an inch of his life."
Kari smirked in satisfaction as Tai and Matt shuddered at the memory. TK suppressed a chuckle and continued "You can tell us what happened. You don't have to go into specifics, but we're all curious."
Yusei put a hand on Davis' shoulder "Let's show 'em. It's who we are Davis." Davis nodded, and removed his school blazer, loosening his tie and unbuttoning his shirt as Yusei pulled off his jacket, until they were in their vests. Kari's face immediately went red as the group watched, making Sora and Mimi smirk. TK's gasp brought their attention back to the two young men, and they saw what he was looking at; on the back of their right shoulders sat an intricate tattoo, which consisted of a Celtic in cobalt blue, within a black flame with a gold outline.
"Dude...those are awesome" Tai said in admiration.
Davis shrugged as he put his shirt back on (much to Kari's disappointment) "We all got one. It was after we won our first territory."
Yusei smiled wistfully "The North Docks. That was against the Black Turtle Gang."
Matt frowned "Gang?"
Yusei nodded "You see...in Satellite we're all ruled by Sector Security's iron fist, but in general the streets run themselves. This led to the formation of duel gangs that took control of their respective territories. When I was too old to remain in the orphanage, Davis and I struck out on our own, which is when we met Kalin. So, me, Kalin, Davis, Crow and Jack became the Enforcers."
Davis nodded "We had one goal: free Satellite from the duel gangs and unite under one banner."
Izzy raised a brow "To what end?"
Yusei shrugged "Never got that far honestly, but I think Kalin just wanted to clean up the streets so that kids wouldn't have to hide all the time."
Davis nodded "I agree. We got close too, so close..."
Kari frowned, plopping down beside him "So what happened?"
Davis sighed "Jack up and vanished, that's what."
Yusei frowned "I know you haven't been here long, but surely you've seen...?"
Davis' fists clenched "That's he's running around on a fancy duel runner on the pro circuit? Yeah, I noticed."
TK gaped "Holy crap, you're talking about Jack Atlas!"
"WHAT!?" Matt and Tai roared, falling flat on their faces.
"No way, The King is from Satellite?!" Cody yelped.
Yusei and Davis sweat dropped "Uh...yeah."
Leo snickered "Just figuring it out, huh?"
Luna sighed "You only know because Yusei told you."
Izzy frowned deeply "...this is getting really weird, guys."
Davis shrugged "Anyway, once Jack left a lot of the earlier gangs we squashed started to pick up their disks again and get back on the streets. Without all five of us, we didn't stand a chance."
Yusei sighed "Then Kalin started to get...brutal."
Davis cringed "Yeah...he started using me as a weapon to keep the smaller gangs in line."
Kari grit her teeth "That's so wrong...!"
TK nodded "That's not right at all!"
Davis sighed "Regardless, it's what happened. Anyway, Sector Security finally got wind of our little group, and decided to start picking us off. However, we were all good enough to avoid getting caught...that is, until Kalin took it too far."
Yusei glanced nervously at his surrogate brother "He...he picked a fight with a guy named Homura Fuko."
Matt's eyebrows shot up "Wait, that guy you curb stomped Davis?!"
Yusei's head snapped sideways "He was here?!"
Davis gulped "Uh...maybe?"
TK shook his head "Maybe? Davis you put the dude in the hospital!" This, of course, led Jun and Sora to smack the blonde over the head.
"Davis!" Yusei yelled at the crimson haired boy.
Davis recoiled slightly "Don't tell me he didn't deserve it!"
"That doesn't make it right!"
"What would you have done? He came after me in public!"
"So you respond by cutting loose at the drop of a hat?"
"Dude, what do you want from me!?"
"A little self control, Davis!"
"After what he did?! HELL NO!"
"ENOUGH!" yelled Cody, shocking every other person in the room "Would you two please fill us in?!"
Yusei continued to glare at Davis, who had effectively shut up "To understand that you need to understand the life we lived. The resources spared to Satellite were scarce, and only a few of the local orphanages could take in kids. Once they hit about 12 or 13, it's out the door. But even then, there are still kids who grow up hungry and alone. Davis, Crow and I decided to make a change for those kids, so we used the money we won from our gang duels to set up a permanent living space for the street kids."
Kari, who had subtly grabbed Davis' hand for comfort, looked at them with a kind smile "That's really amazing."
Yusei smiled at her "Yeah, I guess so. Anyway, we knew that we'd need somebody to keep the kids safe when we were out on our raids. Then, as fate would have it, we met a girl named Alexis Goro, although she only let Davi call her Alexis, we all called her Alex. Actually, she dueled Davis to win some food and water he was carrying back to our little hideout. Got her tail kicked, but she agreed to come help us out. She was a few months younger than me too, so we all got along great. That is, until Kalin picked his fight with Homura. Kalin dragged Davis along and roughed up some of his crew a bit, so Homura grabbed Alex and demanded that Davis go face him...alone."
Tai frowned "That didn't happen though...right?"
Yusei hung his head, and Davis sighed "Alex...she was very important to us. Patched us up after our gang raids, fed us when we were hungry, let us cry on her shoulder when we needed to...she was our rock. So you can bet your deck that a soon as I heard where she was, I took off on my runner with no regrets."
Yusei shook his head "But...Kalin...I don't know what was going through his thick skull..."
Davis planted his forehead on his knee "I never got to Homura. By the time I got through his flunkies he was already on his way out. That's when the Securities showed up. Homura...he panicked. Thought I was the one who called them. I tried to reason with him but he..."
Yusei clenched a hand on Davis' shoulder "He wouldn't listen. Crow and I got there just before the Securities did but we...well we couldn't save Alex."
Mimi, Jun, Sora and Yolei gasped, placing their hands over their mouths, while the others had similar reactions of shock and disgust on their faces. TK and Kari, however, had already heard that particular part of the story, although TK did hang his head while Kari squeezed Davis' hand tighter. Davis let out a shaky breath "I managed to distract the Securities away from Crow and Yusei long enough for them to get away. I was on my way to hide out in Crash Town outside Satellite's border, it's a Dyne mining town, when I got ambushed."
Yusei sighed "And you still took out half of the jerks before they caught you."
"Still got caught" Davis said with a shrug.
Tai sighed "I'm sorry we jumped to so many conclusions, if we had realized..."
Yusei held up a hand "The only reason I told you anything is because Davis seems to trust you. And I trust him. By the way Davis, how in the hell did you get out of prison? Last I heard you were in solitary confinement."
Davis glanced around "Goodwin...he offered me a deal."
Matt frowned "What kind of deal?"
Davis frowned "He said he wanted to open up opportunities for other Satellite kids stuck in the system. Though after all that's happened..."
Yusei raised a brow "Weird stuff happening with you too?"
Davis gave him a puzzled expression "Wait, what's been happening with you?"
Yusei scratched his chin "Goodwin's been keeping his eye on me too. Can't be a coincidence."
TK nodded "Maybe we should tell you our little secret Yusei..."
Unknown Location
"It seems as i the pieces are moving" a man in a cloak said as he sat at the head of a large dining table.
"Indeed. Perhaps we should accelerate the pressure on the boy?" a second figure asked.
"No...he's not ready yet, his soul isn't black enough. By all rights he should've killed that useless pawn."
"Yes...those other children are going to pose a problem...I wonder what Goodwin was thinking?"
"I'm not sure...probably wants him to destroy them from the inside out."
"We cannot allow that girl to compromise our plans. Especially now that the Signer has come into contact."
"Hmm...perhaps. But in the end she is expendable. We'll deal with her later, for right now she is inconsequential, in fact if we dispose of her later on it will only fuel the darkness in his heart."
"Hehe, this why you're in charge."
"Precisely. Now then, go prep the next candidate for the immersion; he'll become a valuable piece later in the game."
"Right away Master."
Izumi Residence, Izzy's Garage
"Duel Monster Spirit World?" Luna piped up after TK's explanation.
Sora nodded "Yeah. Why, do you know something about it?"
Luna practically exploded with excitement "Know about it?! I've been there!"
TK went slack-jawed "Wait, what?! We were supposed to be the only ones capable of going there!"
Luna shrugged "I'm not sure who told you that, but according to the spirits I talked to, humans have been going there since the days of the King of Games, Yugi Muto!"
Matt pinched the bridge of his nose "...this is too much..."
Davis sighed, standing up and saying "Whatever the case, it's clear Goodwin's up to something. And as long as I have this damn mark on my face I can't exactly do anything about it."
Yusei smirked "I may have a solution."
Kari frowned "What do you mean?"
Yusei pointed to his own mark "Goodwin's goons were keeping tabs on me in the DAIMON area until I met up with a guy named Blister. He disabled the tracking device that was implanted with the mark, I'm sure he could do the same for you Davis."
Davis rubbed his chin thoughtfully "I guess...yeah, it's worth a shot...WAIT! DID YOU SAY THE DAIMON AREA?!"
"Uh...yeah."
"YOU JACKASS!"
"WHAT?! HOW AM I THE JACKASS?!"
"I'VE BEEN THERE THE WHOLE TIME!"
"HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW?!"
"ENOUGH!" Cody yelled for the second time that day.
"Geez Cody, I didn't even know you could yell..." muttered Tai.
"What about your runner, Davis?" Yusei asked.
"Far as I know, it's still impounded" Davis replied.
"Well then, that settles it; we're going to have to bust it out" Yusei said, folding his arms.
"Whoa whoa whoa!" TK said quickly "You guys can't be serious!"
Davis gave him a hard look "TK, you're a smart guy. You know there's something weird going on here."
Matt frowned "That doesn't mean you can just go breaking the law!"
Davis shrugged "I'm not asking for your help. This is my problem to deal with."
Yusei nodded "Your Crest cards may make you important...but these guys've been messing with our home. And that's something they won't get away with."
Izzy and Cody shared a glance, then looked at the pair with determined faces, and Izzy said "Then Cody and I are in."
"Izzy, Cody are you crazy!?" Yolei yelled.
"I'm with them" TK added folding his arms.
"TK!" Matt roared at his younger brother.
Kari sighed, but stood up and marched over to Davis "If you're gonna do something stupid, I obviously need to come along and make sure you don't get yourself into trouble!"
Tai glared at her "Like hell, Kari!"
"ENOUGH!" TK yelled this time, getting everyone's attention "Izzy, Cody, Kari and I are going to help Davis, no matter what you say. Besides, Davis and Yusei are right; something well and truly screwy is going on, and I intend to find out what."
"This is crazy guys! We barely know Davis, and we only just met Yusei!" Sora cried.
Leo and Luna quickly moved to the other group, to which Yusei gave them a smile, turning back to face the others "Here's something you guys really need to think about: Davis and I? We're brothers, in all but blood. So whether or not you like it, we're doing this. This isn't about your little city kid safety net you're clinging too. Whatever's happening, it affects all of us."
Davis nodded "You guys may not like it, but this isn't about me. Or you. Or any of us!"
TK nodded "We are going to do this. And as group leader, I'm ordering you guys to stay behind and protect the gateway."
Tai clenched his fist "If you think I'm just going to roll over..."
Davis sighed irritably "Then duel me."
Matt put a hand on Tai's shoulder "You duel him, you duel me too."
TK shook his head "Actually, you're dueling me and Davis together. We win, Izzy, Cody, Kari and I go with Davis and Yusei to get his runner back and hopefully find some answers. You guys win, we'll stay put, and Davis goes with Yusei alone."
Tai and Matt nodded in agreement, and Davis shot TK a quick glance to which the blond only nodded, prompting him to say "Fine then, let's do this."
They quickly made their way outside and stood on opposite sides of the duel field Izzy had constructed
"DUEL!" they all yelled.
Tai and Matt - 4000LP
TK and Davis - 4000LP
Kari frowned "This...should be interesting."
Leo raised a brow "Why? TK's better than both of them, and Davis is better than anyone I've ever seen."
Cody shook his head "Maybe, but Tai and Matt hold the Academy's all time record for tag team dueling. They conquered last year's inter-city tag team tournament."
Yusei nodded his head "Having experience together can be good...but Davis has taken on worse."
Tai glared at the pair "I'll go first! And I'll summon Agumon in attack mode!"
Agumon: Dinosaur/Effect, Level 4, Fire, Atk - 1600 Def - 1800
"Now I activate my spell card, Warp Digivolve! This let's me bring out WarGreymon with two of his three overlay tokens!"
WarGreymon: XYZ/Warrior/Effect, Rank 4, Fire, Atk - 3500 Def - 2300
"Next I'll throw down two face downs and call it a turn!"
"...I really hate the way you guys summon those freaking things" Davis muttered, before saying "Mind if I start this dance TK?"
TK grinned "Be my guest amigo!"
"Well alright then, I draw! Now since I control no monsters I special summon DemiVeemon from my hand!"
"Now I activate his effect, allowing me to special summon Veemon from my deck, and with Veemon's effect DemiVeemon becomes a Level 4! Now I tune them both to Synchro Summon...ExVeemon!"
Exveemon: Synchro/Dragon/Effect, Level 8, Wind, Atk - 2800 Def - 2400
"Next I activate my spell card, March of the Noble Dragons! This lets me banish one Dragon Type monster from my hand and special summon two Level 5 or lower Dragon Type monsters from my deck! I banish Teal Dragon Squire to special summon Veedramon and Veemon!"
Veemon: Dragon/Tuner/Effect, Level 4, Wind, Atk - 1400 Def - 1000
Veedramon: Dragon/Effect, Level 5, Dark, Atk - 2200 Def - 400
"Now with I'm gonna tune them! Burst forth in a shining light, Paildramon!"
Paildramon: Synchro/Dragon/Effect, Level 9, Wind, Atk - 3100 Def - 2500
"But I'm not done yet!"
"This guy's ridiculous, keep your eyes up Matt" Tai muttered, the blond merely nodding.
"So he's always been like this?" Kari asked Yusei curiously.
Yusei nodded "Always for the overkill."
"I activate my spell card, Monster Reborn! I bring back...DemiVeemon! And of course, since I control 2 or fewer cards, I can special summon Veemon from my graveyard too! Now, time for one more tune up!"
"Oh come on!" Matt growled.
"I tune DemiVeemon and Veemon to Synchro Summon...Stardust Spark Dragon!"
Stardust Spark Dragon: Synchro/Dragon/Effect, Level 8, Light, Atk - 2500 Def - 2000
"With that..." Davis gave TK a look, to which the blond nodded and he finished "I'll throw down two face downs and call it a turn!"
Matt glared at him "I draw! And I summon Gabumon in attack mode!"
Gabumon: Beast/Effect, Level 4, Water, Atk - 1200 Def - 1600
"Now I activate my spell card, Warp Digivolve!"
Davis deadpanned "...I really hate that card."
Matt smirked "Well believe it! Now I summon MetalGarurumon from my extra deck with two out of three overlay units!"
MetalGarurumon: XYZ/Machine/Effect, Rank 4, Water, Atk - 3500 Def - 2300
TK grit his teeth "Damn, they're going for gold, Davis!"
Matt and Tai grinned at one another, and Matt continued "I now activate mmy spell card, DNA Digivolve! This let's me fuse WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon to Fusion Summon...OMNIMON!"
Omnimon: Fusion/Warrior/Effect, Level 10, Light, Atk - 4000 Def - 3000
"...that's not good" Davis said lamely.
Matt glared at him "Not for you it isn't! I attack your Stardust Spark Dragon with Omnimon!"
Davis grunted as he was tossed to the ground harshly "Yeowch!"
TK and Davis - 2500LP
Izzy grimaced "Man they are pissed off..."
Sora nodded "What do you expect?"
Mimi folded her arms "Yeah, you guys are crazy for going along with this, Izzy. You could get hurt!"
Izzy pinched the bridge of his nose "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, Mimi."
Mimi gave him a nervous look, Sora silently placing a comforting hand on her shoulder "Damn it Izzy, you can be even more dense than Tai sometimes..."
Matt smirked "Let's see you recover from that! I place two cards face down and end my turn!"
TK grinned "Watch and learn big bro! I draw! First I activate the face down Davis left me, Trap Stun!"
"Oh hell..." Tai muttered.
"Not so fast little bro, I activate my own trap, Dark Bribe! With this...!" Matt began, but was cut off by TK.
"I activate Paildramon's effect! By banishing a Dragon Type monster form our graveyard, I can negate your trap's activation and destroy it!"
"Gah!" Tai growled in frustration.
TK smirked "Hey Davis, mind if I wrap this up?"
Davis mock bowed "Be my guest!"
"Well then I'll go ahead and summon Patamon! And now I activate his effect, which lets me summon an Angel Token!"
Patamon: Fairy/Effect, Level 4, Light, Atk - 1200 Def - 800
Angel Token: Token, Level 4, Light, Atk - 0 Def - 0
"And now I activate my spell card, Consequences of Hope! This lets me summon Pegasusmon from my deck, but I also have to pay half my life points!"
Pegasusmon: Fairy/Effect, Level 8, Light, Atk - 3000 Def - 500
TK and Davis - 1250LP
"Time to kick this up a notch! I activate the other face down Davis left me, a quickplay spell known as Equalizing Gambit! By paying 1000LP I can make the levels of all monsters on my field equal! And I choose Level 8! Now I overlay Patamon, Angel Token and Pegasusmon to build the overlay network! I XYZ SUMMON SERAPHIMON!"
Seraphimon: XYZ/Fairy/Effect, Rank 8, Light, Atk - 3300 Def - 2600
"Well...shit..." muttered Matt.
Tai took a deep breath "Omnimon's still got more attack points..."
TK grinned "Not quite! I activate my spell card, Tribute to the Fairy Kings! I can now sacrifice up to two monsters on my field and add their attack points to another monster I control, and I choose Seraphimon! I also activate Serphimon's effect! By removing an overlay unit, I can half your monster's attack points!"
"DAMMIT!" Matt and Tai roared in unison.
Seraphimon - 9200 ATK
Omnimon - 2000 ATK
"Sorry guys, but this is our answer! Seraphimon, attack! Strike of the Seven Stars!"
"AAAAAAAAAGH!" Matt and Tai yelped, getting knocked clean on their behinds.
TK and Davis - 250LP
Tai and Matt - 0LP
"And that's a wrap" Davis said, fist bumping with TK.
"Dammit...I've never been embarrassed that bad before" Matt muttered.
Kari sighed "Listen, we're a team guys. I trust Davis as much as I trust any of you, and he's right; whatever is going on, it affects us directly. I can't be the only one who's noticed our Duel Spirits haven't been talking to us for quite some time."
Tai reluctantly nodded "...yeah, I noticed."
TK nodded "Then it's clear what we have to do. Izzy, Cody, Kari and I will help Davis and Yusei find the answers we need, while the rest of you hang back and keep a close eye on the Academy. We won't be gone long...maybe two or three days at the most. We'll be safe and careful, you have my word on that."
Yusei nodded "Davis and I have a knack for keeping people safe, I give you my word they'll come home in one piece."
Matt sighed "...fine. But be careful. This isn't a game."
TK grinned "D'aw, it's nice to know you care!"
Davis face palmed "Way to kill the moment TK..."
Yusei smiled "Well...if we're gonna do this thing, we need to get to it."
Davis sighed "Alright then. Izzy, take your car, Yusei and I will take the runners if you don't mind."
Izzy shrugged "Sounds good to me."
Yusei scratched the back of his head "I know a back way into the DAIMON Area, that way you guys won't have to check in at the front gate."
Davis nodded, stretching his back "Then let's do this. Where am I meeting you, Yusei?"
"At a place called Bootleg, it's an old bar in the south east sector. Stay low and hide out there for me. I'll drop the others off with Blister and from there we'll figure it out."
Davis nodded "Alright then."
Leo and Luna marched forward "We're going with you."
Yusei sighed but relented "Fine. Now come on, we need to get going."
At Izzy's Van
Mimi tentatively approached Izzy just as he finished loading up some fresh supplies, and tapped him on the shoulder. He whirled around in slight surprise "Oh, hi Mimi!"
Mimi grinned at him "Hi Izzy. Listen...what you said in there...I just thought it was really cool."
Izzy blushed at the praise "Y-You mean it?"
Mimi giggled "Yeah, I really do."
Izzu grinned "Well...thanks!"
Mimi shifted nervously "Um...I just feel kinda useless, y'know? You guys are going off to do something cool, and I'm just..."
Izzy grabed her shoulders "That's not it at all Mimi! You're not useless, I mean you're not the best of us, but you're the kind of person who never gives up! Not anymore! You're caring, funny, smart when you want to be, and pretty! Don't doubt yourself!"
Mimi gazed at him curiously "You...think I'm pretty?"
Izzy blushed furiously "Well..yeah...of course!"
Mimi smiled brightly at him, leaning in and kissing him chastely on the lips. She winked at him as she pulled back, and said "Come back safe, okay?"
Izzy just nodded lamely, making the girl giggle and skip away (clearly very pleased with herself). TK, who had seen the whole thing, placed a hand on Izzy's shoulder "You did good buddy, damn good."
And that's where we'll call it for now. I really wanted to show Davis as a dual personality type with this chapter; From brooding over his dark past to smiling and dueling alongside TK. Yusei might seem a little OOC, but I figure his character might have been a little different if he had someone like Davis always at his side growing up. Anywho, off to write the next chapter...AND DIGITAL JOURNEY AND THE DARK ONE AND THINGS HAPPEN. Hopefully *cries*