Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Reverse of Arcadia ❯ Chapter 2: Blast from the Past – Old Memories, A Team’s Bond Part 4 ( Chapter 5 )

Reverse of Arcadia

Game novelization by Sakura (aka L-sama no Miko)

Chapter 2: Blast from the Past - Old Memories, A Team's Bond

Part 4

We barely made it back to the hideout, Sector Security dogging us throughout the ruined streets almost the entire way there. It was a good thing Kiryu knew so many shortcuts and detours so I was able to follow him as we sped off on our D-Wheels.

We were all tired, but none of us cared. The one thing on all our minds was our leader's increasingly disturbing behavior though none of us could work up the guts to confront him about again.

“Damn those Security slime balls!” Kiryu grumbles, “They just had all show up at once! They're so damned pathetic that all they can do us gang up and bully people!”

“Glad to see you've made it back, Kiryu, Iolanthe,” Yusei says joining us, Jack and Crow following.

“But we can't relax just yet,” our spiky blond teammate warns, “The town's crawling with Securities right now”

“Yeah it's best if we just lay low until things cool off,” Crow adds.

“What are you guys talking about?!” our leader protests, “I know it's impossible to take them all on, but if we take them out bit by bit we can win. We're Team Satisfaction! We're the best there is!”

“Stop being so cocky!” my redheaded housemate scolds, “Sure we're an awesome team, but going against Sector Security would be suicide!”

“We won't know unless we try! It's not like they have an endless supply of members!”

“Will you listen to yourself?!” Crow yells, slamming his hands on the map table, “We just can't rush out and kick their butts like we did with all the other gangs! You've gotta calm down here and start thinking this through! Do you want them to invade Satellite completely?! `Cause that's what'll happen if you don't!”

“Hmph!”

I glance at Yusei, silently pleading with him to say something. Kiryu had always listened to him before. The spiky brunet gave me a sympathetic look of his own, but kept silent. Things were pretty bad if our voice of reason couldn't think of anything to say.

“We should stay here for now,” Jack says, “The way the streets are now, it'll be easy for them to spot us.”

I gasp as the tense atmosphere was made worse with the screech of many sirens. How the hell did they find us?!

“NO… WAY!” Crow shouts and rushes to check outside. Mere seconds later, he's back with a panicked look on his face. “There's a ton of those jerks out there!”

“We know you punks are in there,” an arrogant voice bellows, obviously amplified by their communications devices, “We've got the place surrounded, come out with your hands up!”

“Looks like we have no choice…” Jack mutters.

“You're absolutely right,” Kiryu says. Jack and Yusei stare at him, warily. Had my boyfriend finally come to his senses? “We've got no choice but to beat the crap of them now! I know with all five of us we can do it!”

“Kiryu!” Yusei protests, “There's just too many of them! Even for us! Just stop this insanity!”

“What?!”

“This is one battle we can't win, even if we did all fight. Innocent bystanders could get hurt if this got out of hand, which it will. I do have an idea though…”

“Well, let's hear it,” Jack says, still not sure we all could escape from this safely.

“I... can't tell you, you'll just have to trust me.”

“Yus, you sure about this?” Crow asks. It looked like he was getting the same sinking feeling I was.

“Oh come on guys!” Kiryu insists, “We'll just bust our way outta here and take `em by force! We can do this!”

“I'm gonna have to go with Yusei on this,” refused my housemate and best friend, “The consequences will be really bad if we try to resist `em. I mean think of the kids living around here.”

“Even if we did manage to beat them and escape, we'll only have a bigger mess on our hands next time,” Jack adds.

“Tch… fine. What's your bright idea Yusei?”

“Jack, Crow and Kiryu… you guys sneak out the back without letting them see you. Then… head on over to the old bowling alley. Iolanthe and I will meet you there.”

“Sounds good to me,” approved Crow, “Just don't get yourselves caught either you two.”

“Don't do anything stupid. No crazy heroics,” Jack added.

Kiryu looks over to me, waiting for my opinion. I sigh. “I'm sorry, Kyosuke,” I say, “but I think we all better go with Yusei on this one.”

“Fine,” he snaps, making me feel like a heel for not backing him up, “You'd better be at that bowling alley.” He runs out from our war room, followed by Crow and Jack.

“We'd better get going as well, Iolanthe.”

I follow my spiky haired friend down the stairs in silence. As we reach the entrance level, Yusei stops and turns toward me, a solemn look in his handsome face. “I'm going to turn myself in,” he says with all seriousness.

“What?!” I gasp! “Yusei what are you…”

“You're all irreplaceable friends… I'm gonna do what I can to keep this bond of ours alive. It's the most important thing to me.”

“Yusei…” I start, feeling tears beginning to well up at the corners of my eyes.

“If I turn myself in as the leader of Team Satisfaction, they may arrest me, but they'll leave everyone else alone. It's the best way you can avoid any more trouble. Once they leave, go to the bowling alley and tell the guys what happened.”

I glare at him, then promptly let him know what I thought of his `idea'.

“Iolanthe!” he cries, holding a hand to his now red cheek.

“You dummy!” I shout, “Do you really think I'd let you suffer through this by yourself?! We're a team! Family! Family don't desert each other, no mater what! If they take you, then I'm coming with you! Maybe together we can find a way out of this mess.”

“Iolanthe…”

“No buts, Yusei. You're gonna be stuck with me and that's that!”

“Nothing's going to make me change your mind is it?” I shake my head, “Very well. I do appreciate you wanting to cover my back, Iolanthe. You're a good friend.”

I smile sadly as we march out the front door. Yusei puts up his hands and continues forward, I stay back eyeing the uniformed men warily. “I'm the leader of Team Satisfaction,” he says calmly, “It's me you want. I'm the one who attacked Sector Security. The others have nothing to do with this.”

The guards just stand there, not saying a word. The sinking feeling I had earlier was back again, this time even stronger than before. Just what is going on?

“Aren't you going to arrest me?” Yusei asked, getting worried himself.

“You were right,” one of the officers jeer, “We were under orders to arrest the leader of Team Satisfaction, which is why we don't need you punks anymore. So get lost and go home.”

“What are you talking about?!”

“Have a look over there,” he says, smirking smugly as he jerks his head off to one side. I couldn't hold back the gasp as we spy Kiryu flanked by to officers, their hands firmly on both his arms. “We sent the other two that were with him home. They put up quite the fight, but well it's pretty obvious what the result of that was. If I were you, I'd give up on this scum. Rebelling against Sector Security is a very serious crime. You won't be seeing him again for a very long time.”

“Yusei!!!” my boyfriend and leader bellows, in utter shock, “You went and sold me out! Didn't you?! You betrayed me!”

“Kiryu, I did no such thing! I swear I didn't know this was going to happen!”

“Yusei's right, Kyosuke!” I add, “You know none of us would think of betraying you!”

“We were friends, Yusei!” The officers start dragging Kiryu off when he began struggling against them. “Yusei!!! Yusei!!!!” he repeats over and over. The tears come down my cheeks in uncontrollable streams. I had lost not only my boyfriend, but my savior as well. It was Kiryu who introduced me to Crow after finding me wondering the streets and alleys in an amnesiac state. If it wasn't for him, I'd probably be still homeless or worse. There was no doubt I'd never see him again. We all knew, once you got sent to the facility that was it. No one ever came back from there.

“Kiryu!” Yusei calls back, but they had already shoved him into a car and drove away. “I…”

I rush over to Yusei and clasp unto his shirt, burying my head on his shoulder. I could no longer keep myself from falling apart and crying my shattered heart out.

**********************************

It wasn't until a whole month and a half later that I was able to keep myself from crying almost every waking moment. I looked as horrible as I felt for my sleep was plagued with the memory of that horrible, horrible night and I would either wake up screaming or crying.

Crow did his best to help me through all this and to tell the truth I was glad he was there. He never asked about the nightmares, just held me until I could stop sobbing.

As for Jack and Yusei, I hardly saw the other two members of our now disbanded team. Imagine the shock and anger I felt when I learned that the boy I'd seen as a big brother had stolen Yusei's most prized card - the Stardust Dragon along with his D-Wheel and snuck into Neo Domino with them! How could he do that to Yusei?! To me?! It was because of Jack's betrayal that it was taking me so long to move on.

I tried my best not to let the last remaining members of Team Satisfaction know how much of a wreck I really was on the inside. I'm sure Crow wanted to tell Yusei about the nightmares, but he never did. He always seemed to know how I was feeling and knew just what to say or do when I was in a difficult mood. If my heart didn't still, and always will, belong to Kiryu, I would have definitely fallen for the redhead this time. Having Crow there to pick up the pieces was a great comfort to me.

**********************************

“Hey Io-chan,” Crow says to me as I enter the kitchen for a glass of water. “Those jerks still won't let you see him?”

I nod, desperately biting back my sniffling. Each and every day I would take my D-Wheel over to the facility and beg and plead with them to let me see my boyfriend. And each and every time, I would be denied and forced to turn back.

“You don't look so good. Why don't you get some rest and I'll take care of dinner this time, ok?” I give my housemate a grateful smile and head to my room.

“Kyosuke…” I whisper as I lay down on my ratty and lumpy bed. Yet again, I cry myself to sleep for the umpteenth time since that night.

*********************************

What surprised me was that this time I wasn't reliving that night. No, this was entirely different. I was surrounded with nothing but utter and complete darkness. I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face.

“Iolanthe… Iolanthe…” a voice calls.

“K-Kiryu?!” I shout, “Is that you, Kiryu?!”

“Can you hear me?” it says, coming across much more clearer now. It wasn't my beloved boyfriend. This voice was both masculine and feminine at once. It seemed to come from all around me and nowhere. Whatever or whoever it was, I got the sense that it was powerful and just as ancient.

“Who are you?” I ask in return.

“Finally,” the voice replies, “I got through to you.”

Suddenly, the darkness fades and I find myself in the most beautiful forest I've ever seen. It seemed to go on and on forever, there were so many trees!

“This is the Spirit World, where all the duel monsters live,” my mysterious dream host, begins, “I know you're probably thinking this is all a dream, but it isn't. This used to be such a peaceful place where we all dwelled in harmony. But now something evil is getting closer and closer to the Spirit World. It's trying to control and corrupt this world for its own evil purposes. What's even worse is that it's trying to do the same for your world. If the Spirit World is conquered by this evil, then so will your world. In the land of humans is this world's only hope… a young girl whose pure heart is connected to our world. It is her heart that can drive out this foul presence. She is still young however and lacks the bravery she needs to vanquish this evil. You are like this young girl, Iolanthe. Though, yours is not as strong, your heart is connected to the Spirit World as well. I beseech you to find and help this girl… protect our world together and destroy this evil…”

“Wait!” I shout as I feel myself being dragged away from the voice. “Who are you?! What girl?!”

*****************************************

I wake up in a cold sweat. Just what was that dream all about? How could find this girl if I didn't even know who she was or even what she looked like - let alone protect a world I was sure didn't even exist. I really must have been stressed out big time to have a dream like that.

“Mornin' Iolanthe-nee!” Itsuki calls as I trudge over to the kitchen. “Whoa, you don't look too good. You're all sweaty!”

“Just a weird dream, squirt,” I say. There was no need to tell him. Dreams were just that, only dreams, right? “So where's Crow? I don't see him around.”

“He's been out since earlier,” the kid replies, “He's still not back yet?”

“Why don't you go play with Annie for a bit, Itsuki. I'm gonna look for Crow.”

“'K!” he says heading out of the house, “You still gonna duel me again right?”

I smile sadly. It'd been a long while since I'd been in the mood to duel. “We'll see kiddo. I really need to talk to Crow right now.”

“Don't forget you owe me a duel, Iolanthe-nee!” he says as he leaves to find Annie.

I leave the house a few minutes later once I've finished my cup ramen.

“Finally woke up, I see,” Crow says returning from whatever he'd been up to. Probably more stealing again knowing him. “For a while there, I thought you'd turn into Sleeping Beauty. You were so zonked out even the kids couldn't wake you. You feeling ok? You haven't got a cold or something have ya?”

“I'm fine Crow. I guess my body needed the sleep. You know I haven't been sleeping well since…”

“I know. You're the one who got hit the worst by what happened. But still…”

“Crow, please. I know you're only trying to look out for me since Kiryu can't, but I… I can move past this. I just need a bit more time.”

“I just hate seeing you being so mopey all the time Io-chan.”

I smile and give him a peck on the cheek. “Thanks Crow,” I say, “for being my best friend.”

“I-I-Io-chan!” he stammers, blushing profusely.

“By the way, Crow. I'm glad you're back. I really need to talk to you. You're the only one I can tell.”

“Sure, what's up?”

“I had a dream last night, not the usual one about Kiryu. I mean a different one. It was really weird.”

“A weird dream, huh? About what?”

I told him about being in the Spirit World, about the mysterious voice begging to go find a girl and help her vanquish some kind of evil.

“Whoa that is weird! But I'm confused what did that voice mean it was a dream and not a dream? Still, I can't help but wonder if it was some kind of message or something. But the Spirit World's not real right?”

“Yeah. But I'm glad I told you, Crow. I really needed to get that off my chest.”

“Hey, you know me. I'm always glad to listen to anything you need to tell me, Io-chan,” he says blushing slightly, “Anyway. Sector Security's been on the move a lot around here recently. It could be because of what happened back then or it could be `cause of something else. So just watch yourself, Io-chan. There's also a bunch of rumors about weirdoes running around too. So just be careful ok?”

“Yeah. I will. Thanks for the warning, Crow. How about I go look for something for us to eat. It's my turn to make dinner right?”

“You don't have to Io-chan, I don't mind…”

“No. It's ok. You go on home and I'll be back in a bit. Keep an eye on Itsuki for me. I think he was worried about you again.”

“Jeez, that kid… ok. I'll babysit you go on, but hurry back ok?”

I nod and start heading for one of the few shops that still sold food.

“Pardon me,” a man says approaching me. I eye him suspiciously. The shirt, pants and vest he wore were too fancy, too clean for someone who lived in Satellite. Great, just what I needed some self righteous, buttinsky of a social worker. “I'm Divine of the Arcadia Movement.”

Ooookaaay. So maybe he wasn't a social worker. I still didn't like the looks of this guy. Could this be one of the weirdoes Crow was talking about?

“If it wouldn't be too much trouble,” `Divine' continues, ignoring my obvious suspicion of him, “I'd like to talk to you for a few minutes. It won't take much of your time. Now I'm sure you must have heard the rumors going around about us….but rest assured, I'm not going to harm a lovely lady like yourself. If I were someone truly suspicious would I have given you my name?”

“It could be fake,” I say, backing away slightly, “How do I know that's your real name, huh? Where's the proof you're not some sicko who preys on girls!”

“I see…” he says, disappointment coloring his voice, “You leave me with no other choice. I really wish you had considered coming with me.” He pulls out a Duel Monsters card and holds it up. I see the words `Brain Control' printed in white against the green background. What the?!

Suddenly my mind felt like it was being stuffed with cotton. I grab my head as it starts to throb painfully. I could barely focus on anything around me. “Don't even try to resist,” Divine says, grinning evilly, “You should feel honored. You're soon going to be a nice loyal little member of the Arcadia Movement.” He then lets out a sinister chuckle.

I inwardly scream as my body starts to follow Divine down the streets, my mind helplessly locked away and unable to stop myself.

*************************************

“Divine-sama!” I hear a woman say as I wake up. I am once again in the strange lab where I met Seria. Wait! Where were the others? That's right! I was kidnapped by some weirdo named Divine. “The subject's awake!” I hear Seria say again.

“Increase the brainwashing regimen. We need this subject under our control completely. Otherwise, were she to be in contact with her friends…” He glances over to one of the various monitors. “It's wearing off?! Speed up the process! Things will get messy if the subject manages to break free! Increase the output! We must make sure the brainwashing is never again reversed!”

“But sir!” Seria protests, “The subject's vitals are too weak! She could die, it's just too dangerous.”

“I am well aware of the danger, Seria. Keep going as far as you can without killing her,” I hear as I once again black out.