Soul of the Dragon

Chapter 5: Locked Up Part 1

"Hello? Can anybody hear me?"

Lise wandered blindly through utter blackness. Her blue eyes scanned for signs of life.

"Is there anybody here?"

I am.

Lise turned towards the new voice. "Who are you?" Squinting through the darkness did little to help Lise understand who she was addressing.

Why does that matter? You will eventually join me.

"Join you?" Lise wracked her brains. I know I recognize this person, but I've never met them! Is that possible? Maybe I just forgot...

You will join us. You can't hide. There is no escape. Darkness will envelope the light. You can't run. No one can run from their destiny. The darkness will follow you; there will always be darkness. It is underneath your feet in a shadow as you walk. There is no escape...

Her throat seemed to close up as Lise struggled to follow the dark figure. The black fog had become suffocating. Her breath caught in her throat.

/

Doctors monitoring the sleeping girl consulted their clip boards as Lise's heart rate accelerated. She was strapped to the bed, but she struggled heavily against the shackles.

Slowly, she drifted into a more peaceful dream. Her fingers relaxed on the white hospital slash research bed sheets.

/

A disciplinary building loomed over the street as the skyscraper came closer. Hearings and background checks were mandatory for those caught doing things they shouldn't. Yusei's trial had begun.

"Who's next?" the judge said in a bored tone. Yusei sat in a chair with a bright spotlight over him. His gloved hands clenched the arms of his seat tightly.

"Yusei Fudo? Look at him, he's a boy, what's so bad about this kid?" the judge sounded exasperated. "Let's check out the complaint. Mr. Yusei Fudo, turbo dueling without a license, blah, blah, malicious mischief, blahdy blah, blah...entering New Domino City without a permit! Well now, we can't have that can we? So here's a little tracking die."

A machine that looked like a large white and gray gun descended from the ceiling. Instead of firing bullets, the machine squirted out a yellow liquid. The die traced a line from Yusei's eye down to the bottom of his jaw with a small triangle on the left to finish it off.

"Is it supposed to tickle?" Yusei questioned sarcastically.

"It's supposed to make sure that we can keep an eye on you. Now to discuss punishment; I believe a few months in the Facility should do it. Not to worry young man, think of it as a sort of summer camp. Lots of time to yourself, arts and crafts, colorful characters. After your sentence, I mean, vacation, is over, you're free to go back to the Satellite. As long as you never duel or set foot in New Domino City again!" the judge decreed.

Before Yusei could protest, he was walking onto a truck headed straight for the Facility. The city rushed by as the mostly quiet facility goers sat and awaited their arrival.

"Hey kid!" an old man exclaimed, talking to Yusei. His disheveled gray hair flopped to the side. His gray kimono with a sash and yellow vest were slightly askew. The wooden flip flops he wore clanked annoyingly on the truck floor.

Yusei turned away from the old timer. That didn't stop the elderly man. "How ya doin'?" He pushed himself up to be in-between the truck wall and Yusei's back. He smiled quirkily at Yusei. Yusei turned away again, but the man followed. "I'm sure ya heard of me, young fella, name's Yanagi! Adventures my name, and famous relics are my game! Put her there!" Yanagi held out his hand to shake. Yusei stared at the city, ignoring Yanagi's kind gesture. "Guess you're not into shaking hands. Well that's all right. Wait a second, I never forget a face! You were at the Kaiba Dome! I saw Sector Security take you away! So was it you who made all the power in the city go out? Hang on, there was a girl with you! Is she here too?" Yanagi wondered, looking around as if he hoped Lise would pop up through the floor of the speeding truck. "Did you two make that dragon appear? Cuz if ya did, not bad! I mean that was the most amazing thing I've ever seen!"