(81.4) False start, but real hope

We waited and waited for someone to show up, totaling 30 minutes of nothing, before the sound of boots hitting the ground grabbed all our attention.

I turn to Yasuna and say through bated breaths. “Here they come.” I raise my duel disk right after.

She just nods, her expression stuck in an uncomfortable poker face. “Yes, this is it. I hope there aren’t that many.”

I hear grumbling on my right and turn to see a security guard muttering. “Forget about numbers. What matters is if they have any duelists with them. This will be simple if they don’t.”

‘That’s true, but I doubt they would even try this if they didn’t have any duelists with them.’

As the group exits the clearing, the seriousness of the situation we’re in rapidly raises with every passing second.

I start counting their numbers, but give up after reaching 35, with more still exiting the clearing. ‘Holy shit! How many did they bring? Straddlers, my ass! This is the entire army!’

In comparison, we only have about thirty duelists who stayed here to fight; And that’s counting me, the cheerleaders and my ex-roommates, which already makes up 1/3 of what we have. The rest either took off their disks and held up in the hotel as civilians or went with the others to the escape pods. The point is: We’re outnumbered.

The expression on the guard’s face reflects my own: Hopeful ignorance, turning to terror as more and more soldiers reveal themselves.

Whispers of uncertainties start to flow from each duelist present on the makeshift wall.

“How many are they?” Asks a student wearing a yellow uniform with the letters JFI highlighted on the collar.

“This can’t be… What’s going on!? They didn’t say there were so many!” Whines a girl wearing a blue uniform, a student of the Dynamic Corp Dueling College going by their initials on her shirt.

“I wanna go back… Can I?” Begs yet another student, a girl wearing a red uniform from the AGVA.

Hearing this going on, Yasuna turns around, yelling with determination. “What are you saying!? We can’t give up now! Show them we won’t mess around! Raise duel disks!”

That seems to calm them down, if only for a second. As the thirty or so duelists that stayed, raise their disks and draw cards.

Turning back to the group of soldiers, I spot three individuals with slightly different armored space suits, blue highlights, to be exact. ‘They’re probably the leaders… That guy even has a bit of gold showing on his suit…’

The group stop after only a couple of meters away from the clearing, deciding to inspect our fortifications.

“What do you think they’ll do now?” Asks Yasuna. “They can’t just rush in, right?”

I shake my head. “No way, that’d be stupid. We have the firepower advantage.”

Confirming my suspicions, one of the three leaders of the group steps up in front of the rest, raising a pole with a black-and-white striped flag.

“They want to talk.” Says the guard to my right. “They’re asking for a representative.”

Before any of us can offer ourselves, the guard lunges over the wall, putting his hands up.

I look down at him and ask. “Are you sure about this?! What if they shoot you?”

He shakes his head. “They won’t. You’d retaliate should anything happen to me.”

I can’t say I’m happy with this, and neither is Yasuna, as she voices. “Why don’t you let me go instead?”

He shakes his head again while walking towards the group. “They’ll see you as a threat. I only have my pistol with me. You have a duel disk.”

‘…When did that sentence start to make sense?’

While reluctant, I can’t help but agree with him. “It’s going to be fine, Yasuna. He may even come to a non-violent solution.” I didn’t know the guard well enough to say I knew him personally, but from what he’s done, I’d trust him with this any day.

With reluctance obvious on her face, Yasuna furrows her brow and hesitantly accepts. “…Fine! Just don’t get them to shoot you.”

With that, the guard simply gives her a thumbs up and walks away.

—

We hold out hope behind our makeshift fortifications that a peaceful resolution can be reached, but I’m personally not expecting it. ‘Now that I think about it, will these tables really do much in front of gunfire? Probably not. Well, they should never get hit, anyway. We got our barriers up for that.’

Another worry in my mind is if these duelists will really remain where they stand if bullets start flying. Honestly, there are so many holes in this plan that I just hope we can figure something out.

“He’s coming back.” I hear Yasuna say after a couple of minutes.

I look at the field, confirming Yasuna’s observation. The soldier is stomping over here, a sheet of paper hanging from his hand.

‘An ultimatum perhaps? Makes sense if their aim isn’t to slaughter every civilian on the station… Which it probably isn’t.’

As he approaches, the guard waves the note around and shouts. “I have an announcement to make. Let me in.”

Me and Yasuna nod to each other before offering him a hand and pulling him over the wall.

He breathes heavily after we place him down, then makes his way to the middle of the space and yells. “Your attention, please!” His expression is somber, which I doubt is a good sign.

As the duelists standing on the wall turn around and face him, he peeks at me from time to time.

I can’t help but raise an eyebrow, gulping. ‘So that’s what they want…’

He coughs, grabbing everyone’s attention. “Well, the good news is… They are allowing all of you to escape before they capture the hotels. That includes the civilians—”

His announcement’s interrupted by thunderous cheers from the rest of the duelists. They are more than happy to learn they won’t have to face a platoon of trained professional soldiers.

Waiting for them to settle down first, he continues his explanation.

—

About half an hour has passed since the evacuation of the hotels began. First went the civilians, who were even more eager to get out of here than the duelists. Then, the duelists filed out, but that’s when everything began slowing to a crawl. According to the guard, the soldiers specifically stated that duelists were only to evacuate in groups of 5, which then would move in the direction of the escape pod’s exclusively.

At first glance, it seemed like just another safety measure for the soldiers to guarantee their own safety. Yet, the manner in which the guard delivered that excuse made me realize the true purpose of it: Hide who the soldiers really wanted to stay behind.

And, as the space behind the makeshift walls became quieter, it was clear who these five duelists were…

I look around the park. Only ten people, excluding the guards, remain.

Me, Yasuna, Aiko, Mia, Aya, Anna, Haruna, Nanako, Naeko, and a random duelist from the SFI.

The guard walks over to me, but turns away without a word, and starts gathering what I assume to be the last group which will escape this soon to be battlefield: Anna, Haruna, Nanako, Naeko, and the SFI duelist.

But he tries to separate Anna from Aya, something relatively foolish as Anna protest. “No way! I’m not leaving without Aya!”

The guard grumbles. “Ma’am, please don’t worry.” He turns to the blond girl, who’s clutching Anna’s core like a child, and gulps. “She will go out with the last group.”

Before this turns into something else, I make my way over to them—Eliciting a side glance from the guard—And before Anna can say anything; I tell. “Don’t bother, you can’t separate them.” I turn to Anna with a cheeky smile. “I know that for a fact.”

Anna smiles, concurring. “That’s right! Now move along!”

The guard lets out a heavy sigh. “Alright, we’ll get you out with the rest.” His eyes inch over to the group of three girls happily conversing while this is all going down.

As he walks over to them, I can’t help but sigh as Anna asks me. “So, this is it, huh?”

Closing my eyes, I nod. “Looks like it.” I continue in a teasing tone. “Unless you can figure out a way for us to get out of here without endangering everyone?”

She unfortunately shakes her head. “No idea. Fighting sounds like our best option here.”

I harshly turn to her. “Are you sure you don’t want to get out? I promise. I’ll protect Aya to the best of my abilities.”

She eyes Aya, who’s still clutching her chest. “I don’t know. What do you think, Aya?”

Aya’s head tilts up, and she begs. “Please don’t leave me…”

Anna simply smirks and lets out a breathy laugh. “Well, that’s decided then.” She looks back up at me. “I’m staying.”

I can’t help but smile at the couple. “Very well then.” I turn to the cheerleaders, readying myself for another tense conversation, but leave the two with a comment. “Aya is lucky to have someone like you.”

Leaving the couple with that, I walk over to another increasingly complicated situation as the guard fails to convince the three cheerleaders to leave with him.

Haruna seems to be the most hesitant of the three. “I’m telling you, we aren’t leaving without Yuumi and that’s final!”

Naeko backs her up with an observation. “Yeah! Why did you allow group changes at all before if now you’re denying them!?”

Contrary to Naeko’s informed remark, Nanako simply comments. “Something’s fishy about this. I can feel it.”

Seeing them figure it out made me happy. I smile and stand near the guard, feeling a bit cocky. - They turn to me right away with furrowed brows and expecting looks.

The guard also looks at me, but his helmet prevents me from seeing his expression. Regardless, he’s probably out of options here; People refusing being rescued from what’s possibly a death sentence is not something you see twice in a day.

Sighing, I start. “Right… So you figured it out.” I glance at the guard for a moment and say. “Why don’t you go get the other duelist and wait out the front? I’ll come tell you if there’s any point in coming back.”

Nodding, he accepts my proposal. The guard turns away and goes over to the other duelist, who accepts being escorted out without needing convincing.

Behind me, Haruna hollers, her arms crossed. “He’s not coming back, is he?”

I turn around, blinking tightly before responding with a single word. “Unlikely.”

Nanako tilts her head and asks. “Wait, I thought the guard said we were all getting out? What are you saying?”

Her naiveness never ceases to amaze me, and the way the rest of the girls look at her after scoffing tells me this isn’t a onetime thing. “No Nanako… The soldiers want us—Well, not ‘Us’, ‘Us’. They want me, and my ex-roommates specifically… And Aya.”

Naeko glances at the couple and asks. “Is that why she’s holding onto Anna so tightly? They’re basically conjoined twins at this point.”

Glancing at them myself, I say, shrugging. “I don’t think so… Honestly, I don’t even know how they ended up like that so quickly… Anyway.” I turn back to the cheerleaders. “If any of you want to escape before this all turns into a battlefield, you’re free to go with the guard. Unfortunately, I can’t be joining you. That would put everyone in danger.”

They look among themselves, sharing nods rather quickly. Haruna then reaffirms. “We’re not leaving without you Yuumi. If you’re staying here, then we’ll stay here with you! You’re part of our squad now, and we won’t leave you to face danger alone!”

I turn to Nanako and then Naeko, and they nod back. Seeing this, I cross my arms and say. “Very well then.” I glance at Nanako. “I don’t need to tell you to prepare for a fight, right?”

Nanako’s mouth opens wide, and she rashly replies. “Hey! I’m not that dense!” She raises her left arm in front of her chest, extending her duel blade. “If it’s a fight they want, it’s a fight they’ll get!”

Seeing her resolve, Haruna and Naeko also extend their blades, creating a trio of orange, pink and red duel blades—From Naeko’s, Haruna’s and Nanako’s duel disks, respectively.

As we appear to be doing a show off, I also extend my duel blade, pure white. “Bet!”

—

After confirming the cheerleaders wanted to stay, I made my way to the guard with a terrified duelist standing behind him.

As soon as he notices me, he crosses his arms and demands. “Is there anyone else coming?”

I shake my head. “I’m afraid not.” Looking over the guard’s shoulders at the duelist, I continue. “He’s the last one.”

The guard sighs. “Shame we have to end it like this. I hope you don’t perish in this hellhole.”

Seeing as this is goodbye, I ask. “What’s your name, by the way? You never told us.”

He shakes his head. “It would be best you didn’t know. Why would you want my name, anyway?”

Giving him a wide smirk, I tease. “So I could tell dad who to give a raise, of course. You did such a good job, at least you should be rewarded for your efforts.”

The ‘Guard’ stumbles, rushing out a stammer. “H-How did you know!?”

My smirk widens into a smile. “I didn’t, just had my suspicions. There’s no way an actual security guard would go so far as creating an entire perimeter and start conscripting duelists into defending a hotel; That’s insane! Did you also persuade the real guards into this? Or were all of them part of your team?”

He shakes his head, sighing. “You’re too smart for your own good… Yes, they were all with me. For all I know, the real security force of the station is currently in a deeeeeeep slumber… Or they’re getting the rest of the station under control; The radio silence part is genuine; We had their radios since day one.”

“…Woah, I didn’t expect you to just… Tell me.”

The agent shrugs. “The cat’s out of the bag. Might as well tell you everything before I leave you to… I’m sorry, we can’t help you; We don’t have the resources to fight—Ohh.”

Holding a hand up to stop him talking, I say. “I know. You don’t have to make excuses. None of us could have predicted this.”

Yet he insists. “That’s not an excuse for me to leave you here to face those guys alone… I should’ve been more careful.”

—

The guard eventually walks out with the last duelist in tow. He informs the stationed troops that the hotel is clear of bystanders. Honestly, it should’ve been like this from the beginning. If they have a problem with me, then let them come. I will face them alone if I have to.

Looking out from the walls with my duel disk firmly strapped to my arm, I see them advance.

From my right, I hear Yasuna say. “Now THIS is it.” She looks my way with a smirk. “Orders?”

I smile, looking around the wall where all my friends stand proud, with their duel disks raised. Well, except for Aya, she’s holding up with Anna behind us, so 7 out of 8. But nevermind that, I eject a card from my duel disk and get ready to place it down on the blade, looking at it one last time. ‘Why is it that every time I try to get away, I just come back to you?…’

Seeing this, the girls copy me, also getting their signature cards ready.

I nod and shout. “Barriers up!”

The sound of 8 duel disks firing up reverberates around the deck, chased by the noise of glass forming into 8 spherical, interconnected, barriers along the length of the wall.

With that finished, I order while also raising my left arm. “Summoning! Appear! The circuit that leads to the future!” - A portal appears above me with a link circuit on top of it - Seeing it, I exclaim. “Arrowheads confirmed!” while showing my card. - Four orbs of blue light exit my duel disk, converging on the corresponding link arrows - “Circuit combine! Appear wielder of the spear that pierces the past and brings the future! Blast away my foes and bring me strength! Emerge! Accesscode Talker!” - The circuit explodes into a wide pillar of light.

On my right, Yasuna takes the cue and starts her summoning by grabbing three white cards from her extra deck, placing them on her disk. “Essence of speed and wind heed my call!” - Instead of their corresponding monsters, the cards form into seven spheres of green light and five corresponding green rings. - She lifts her duel disk arm into the air and shouts. “Clustering crystal dreams, open the door to a new evolution! Become the light which brings the future! Synchro Summon!” - A pillar of light skewers the arrangement, leading to one last call from Yasuna. “Show the path to the horizon! The evolution of light, Shooting Quasar Dragon!” - Yet another explosion of light floods the space.

Further along the line, to Yasuna’s right, Mia also picks six cards from her deck and places four down on her blade. “Lord of darkness and Light! Heed my tribute!” - The partially formed monsters disintegrate in an instant. - Mia hastily shoves the cards she just placed down back into her duel disk and goes about slamming the two remaining cards down. - “I address from the heavens above, just ruler of paradise, Ehther the Heavenly Monarch!” A large pillar of white light forms in front of her, yet she continues. “Next! I call from the depths of the abyssal domain, absolute ruler of darkness, Erebus the Underworld Monarch!” Another pillar shoots up, this one cloaked in a purple light which saps some of the light from her first summon.

Then, even further down the wall, to the right of Mia, Aiko takes seven cards out of her disk and goes about taking advantage of them. She singles two of her cards out and places them on her blade. “I won’t let you down! Set scales!” - Two small robots rise into transparent pillars of light with a swinging pendulum forming between them above the schoolgirl. - Aiko raises her left arm into the air and shouts. “Pendulum of destiny, swing into the future! Pendulum Summoning! Appear, my monsters!” She places the remaining cards down on her disk. - The pendulum swings wildly, forming a portal above her from which five rays of light shoot out. The five spheres materialize into small robots wielding office supplies. But Aiko isn’t done yet. “Deskbots! Power up!” - The small robots suddenly grow exponentially quickly overshadowing the opposing troops. - “Deskbot 009! Converge!” - Four of the deskbots shrink to their original size, but one of them grows even bigger, matching the hotels behind it in size.