...

"M-Minoru..."

I can scarcely believe what I'm seeing and hearing.

Right now, being broadcasted to the entire Alba City, is a hostage situation aimed at Sangria.

No... it was more accurate to say it was aimed at me.

Minoru was kidnapped...

"Saionji-sama, are you okay?"

Amanda rushed over to my side, placing an arm around my shoulders.

A horrible feeling sinks to my chest.

"...I'm fine."

"Saionji-sama, what should we do?"

Dengorou is already on standby to move out with Division A, B, and C to find Minoru.

My head is spinning.

"MOM, FORGET ABOUT ME!"

My head perks up as I hear Minoru's strained voice from the TV screen.

"DON'T COME! THESE GUYS ARE BAD NEWS—"

A titanium duel disk smacks Minoru in the back of the head.

He passes out instantly, slumping in his chair.

Blood is running down his face.

"MINORU!"

I scream and reach out on instinct, but I know it's pointless.

I can't do anything to help my baby boy when a whole TV screen is separating us.

Just when I got him back, I lost him again...

"Those bastards...! Oi, Sanematsu! Get me any and all information available about Sunglow now! We don't have time to waste, they'll kill Saionji-sama's son if we don't do something!"

Dengorou is barking off orders and the Divisions are immediately moving out.

Amanda is consoling me, patting my back and telling me everything is going to be okay.

I'm trying to keep calm, but despair is poisoning my heart right now.

Once again, because of this Wing, I've endangered my family...

The first time with Tsubasa was bad enough...

But now Minoru too...?

"We'll be waiting. Two weeks from now."

That mysterious voice echoes, taunting me to come.

"M-mom..."

Hearing his weak voice... it hurts, hurts so much.

"Minoru... Minoru, I'll come save you!"

"Don't bother trying to find him either. If you do, we'll kill him."

Upon hearing that, everyone grinds to a freezing halt.

The threat is serious, because they hooked the titanium duel disk above his head using a flimsy piece of string.

At any moment, they could cut it and make it fall on Minoru's head like an anvil.

"Wait for the designated day. That's when we'll meet."

And with that, the broadcast goes silent.

But Minoru's bloodied face and the duel disk hanging above his head remain.

I bury my face into my hand and take deep breaths.

"...Saionji-sama, what should we do?"

"If we fail to heed Sunglow's warning, Saionji-kun will die."

Dengorou and Amanda are waiting on my decision.

But to be honest, I don't know what the right play is here.

It's like I'm staring down a board of five negates and I only have four extenders.

What's haunting me the most is that live feed of Minoru.

Two weeks from now... will he even be able to survive until then?

What should I do?

Every second I waste thinking about this is a second wasted on Minoru's life.

I have to act now. I have to decide now.

I can't let my familial bond with him influence my emotions so much.

I have to stay calm and think rationally.

If Sunglow want to meet in two weeks, that means they need time to prepare.

It'd be more efficient for me to mobilise all my free troops into concentrating finding Minoru.

That way, we can both rescue him and launch a surprise attack on his captors.

I'm also expecting offers of help from other Wings in finding him since this was broadcasted to the entire city.

Even if I choose not to move, other groups will. Either to free Minoru, or take advantage of the situation.

Basically, it was almost wholly advantageous for me to strike early while an opportunity was present.

Instead of staying quiet and waiting patiently like they want, I'll create a ruckus so loud it'll make Sunglow regret ever targeting me, my Wing, or my son.

I'll teach them a lesson they won't forget. I'll let them know what a mother's wrath is.

"Everyone... we're going to find Minoru and save him. This is now Sangria's number one priority. I want all members on board!"

"Yes ma'am!"

And with that single order barked over the intercom, the entire Sangria Wing begins to move out.

I grab my deck and rush downstairs to my Lilac End.

As I do, I make a phone call to Yuuto.

"Hello, Yuu?"

Immediately, he answers the call.

"Yuuri-chan... I saw what happened. I'm moving out right now."

"Perfect, thank you. Do you have any idea on who these guys are or what their goal is?"

Since Yuuto spent his free time sleuthing around Alba, he's privy to a lot of underground information.

"Unfortunately no, but I think I have a vague idea on who might be behind this..."

"You do? Who?"

I slow down as Yuuto goes quiet on the other side.

"Yuu, my son's life is in danger here... don't joke around."

"Sorry, I just... look, it's a shot in the dark, but..."

"But? Spit it out already. This is no time for hesitation."

"I'm hesitating because you might freak out if I say it."

"What...?"

I've made countless enemies, but none of them have ever made me freak out before. Well... except one.

"If I say this name, please don't do anything irrational."

"I won't."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Yuuto sighs, finally giving in.

"...Mario Enmitsu."

I stop.

"...what?"

"I'll explain later, but that's my hunch."

My hand begins shaking. I nearly drop my phone as Yuuto utters that name.

"You think... you think Mario's involved in this...?"

"Yuuri-chan, please calm down. I know it seems far fetched, but..."

"Mario was banished from this island ten years ago! There's no way he could come back! The President of Alba would never—"

"He's the only person audacious enough to challenge you again!"

"And that's your reasoning...?"

I felt like ending the call right there and then, but Yuuto continued.

"It's a combination of multiple factors, but yes, that's my main one. Everyone you've crushed has never stepped up to you again out of fear. But not Mario. Back when he was a legal duelist, you obliterated his Wing on three separate occasions. Despite that, he still came at you a fourth time. And well... you know what he did on that attempt."

I swallow the lump in my throat.

"...please, don't remind me."

Mario Enmitsu is the only man to ever make me surrender.

Not because of what he did to me... but because of what he did to Tsubasa.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to dredge up bad memories."

"No, it's fine... even though it's been a decade, I still haven't moved on."

I locked away a certain trauma in my heart and pushed away my only son because of it.

Just when I felt like I could walk forward again, a ghost of my past comes back to haunt me.

For a moment, it felt like the world around me came to a halt and froze.

"I don't want to make you unnecessarily worry, but... Mario might end up doing the same thing to Minoru if we're not careful."

"...then it's even more reason to save him then."

"It's good to hear your serious voice, Yuuri-chan."

"I won't let Minoru suffer the same fate as Tsubasa. I swear."

"Yep. The only way we'll fail is if Sunglow has some stupidly strong duelists."

"It's a good thing Sangria and Claret have even stronger duelists then."

I get inside my duel runner and start up the engine.

"I'm going to check out the sewers. That was Mario's favourite hiding spot, after all."

"Good idea. I'll come join you."

"Sure thing. See you in a bit."

"Yeah. Stay safe, Yuuri-chan. Don't do anything reckless."

"I'll try. If I run over someone, it's an accident, alright?"

"I'd rather you run a red rather than an actual person..."

"I'm only kidding."

"It's hard to tell with you sometimes."

I chuckle to myself lightly.

It's a nervous chuckle, though.

For the first time in ages, my body is shaking.

The danger of this situation is tensing my nerves.

If Yuuto is right, then it means Mario Enmitsu is somehow here on this island.

And the only way he could do that is...

"Actually, Yuu."

"What?"

"Could you check on the President of Alba for me instead?"

"...right. Yeah, I'll do that."

Immediately, Yuuto understood what I was worried about.

"I'll meet up with you after then."

"Yeah. Until then."

"Love you, Yuuri."

"...I love you too, Yuuto."

I end the call and take a deep breath.

Minoru... I'm coming for you, darling.

Mommy will save you.

...

I just finished watching Mika beat a duelist known as "Hiryuu Sousuke" on the TV screen.

Apparently, he had beef with her because her Wing, the Archangels, won in a turf war against his Wing, the Royal Gambit, and annexed their strongest land, Sector 11.

As a result, the Royal Gambit became a laughing stock and its members slowly abandoned the cause, leading Hiryuu to lose everything and go down a path of revenge.

"How unfortunate. Hiryuu-kun, return to base."

I could hear Mario's voice in the distance giving orders to his cronies. On the screen, Hiryuu turned his back on Mika and phased through the wall, but when Mika tried to chase after him, he had disappeared.

She hit the wall multiple times, but nothing happened. Then, behind me, I could hear a faint buzzing, and the clacking footsteps of another person. A cold sigh that was unlike Mario's echoed in the room.

"...sorry about that, Enmitsu."

It was Hiryuu, the man who was on the screen moments ago.

"Don't be. You did your best. That's all I could ever ask for."

Mario chuckled slightly. I heard a button being pressed. At the same time, a wall rose up behind Mika, and my mouth went agape.

I couldn't do anything but watch helplessly as Mario trapped her in the dead end of the sewer.

"Huh? Hey! What's going on?!"

By the time she realised, it was too late. Mika was stuck, unable to escape. She banged on the walls, screaming hopelessly for help.

"Oi! Anyone! Anybody! Can anyone hear me?! Let me out of here! Hiryuu-san, let me out!"

"It's a shame she didn't surrender. If she just gave up earlier, I wouldn't have to resort to such cruel tactics."

Mario chuckled lightly to himself. Mika continued to bang on the walls, crying for help.

"Oh well. This is for the best."

"So this is the kid, huh...?"

Hiryuu walked over and stared at me from above. He had a terrifyingly cold aura...

"He looks all beat up. Saionji's not going to be happy when she sees this."

"That's the point, Hiryuu-kun. When she inevitably comes into this room to find me, I want to see the look on her face when she finds her only son on the brink of death instead."

"What, like a face of despair?"

"No... certainly not. Saionji is a strong woman. Things like "despair" and "fear" don't affect her. For Saionji, the face she makes when something bad happens to her is... something else. Something unique. Something you can't get from anybody else."

I could almost imagine Mario grinning creepily as he vulgarly talked about the faces mom could make.

"I saw it once, long ago... yes, it was during my fourth duel with her. It was that fight where I managed to break her. That perfect poker face shattered in an instant when she saw what I did to her beloved husband."

...her beloved husband? Is he talking about dad...?

"That moment... is forever etched into my mind. The face she made that day was beautiful. I want to see it again."

Hiryuu sighed.

"I thought you wanted revenge on her..."

"What better revenge than to take away the last precious thing she has and to destroy it in front of her own eyes?"

"Don't tell me..."

At that moment, Hiryuu shut up.

"Speaking of Saionji... let's see how she's doing, shall we?"

Mario switched the screen of the TV to show footage of mom speeding down the sewers on her duel runner. It seems she still hasn't reached her "dead end" yet...

I'm guessing the maze Mario laid out will lead her to here, judging by the conversation he had with Hiryuu. It made me wonder how deep I was if she still hadn't found me yet.

However, instead of ending up here like I imagined, mom stopped at a dead end she found.

"Did I take the wrong path...?"

Taking off her helmet, she went to check the GPS coordinates Dengorou sent her. As she did, another duel runner parked next to her.

The person riding that took off their helmet and looked at mom.

"Oh... it's just you. You also ended up here, huh?"

It was Amanda.

When I saw her face, my head started hurting.

A vague memory bubbled to the surface of my mind... but when I tried to remember it, it started fading away.

Whatever it was, it had to do with Amanda.

I was sure of this much, even with my hazy, half-functioning brain...

"Saionji-sama. I know where your son is."

"You do? That's great. Lead the way."

"Okay."

However, instead of turning around and guiding mom to where I was, Amanda got out of her duel runner and put on her duel disk.

"Amanda, what are you doing?"

"Leading you to Saionji-kun."

She took out her deck and plugged it into her duel disk, approaching mom intimidatingly.

"It doesn't look like you are."

"That's because you first need to beat me in a duel to find out where he is."

Mom narrowed her eyes at Amanda.

"...so now you finally decide to reveal your true colours, huh?"

"I'm sorry, Saionji-sama. I had no other choice."

The deep sangria purple Amanda wore to signify which Wing she was part of disintegrated into sunglow yellow.

"Save it. I always had a funny feeling you were the traitor in Sangria's midst... Amanda."

My eyes widened.

That's when I remembered everything.

The moment I was knocked out...

...was when I drank the tea Amanda gave me.

"If you suspected me, then why didn't you do anything about it?"

"Because I trusted you."

"Trust is a fragile thing, Saionji-sama. You and I both know this very well."

"Sure, but what's the point in having a Wing if I can't even trust the people in it? Unlike other Wings, I wanted Sangria to be like a family, one where everyone puts their faith in each other and believes in each other no matter what. If I went against that basic epithet, then I'd be no different from Amasawa, or Logan, or any other Boss."

Taking out her duel disk, mom strapped it on while getting out of her duel runner.

"That's why, even if you betray me, I won't betray you until the bitter end. Not until things have crossed the point of no return."

Amanda lowered her head, a shadow casting over her eyes.

"...I see. Then, if I told you that I was the one who kidnapped your son... would you ever forgive me?"

Mom plugged her deck into her duel disk, smiling cruelly.

"No, I wouldn't."

"...good."

Amanda raised her head, her eyes hollow and devoid of light.

"Duel!"

<[Sangria] Saionji Yuuri (8000) vs [Sunglow] Amanda Kuushu (8000)>

"You won't mind if I take the first turn, do you?"

"Go ahead. You play a back row deck, you'll need it."

No matter who her opponent was, even if it was her close advisor like Amanda, mom was as ruthless as ever.

"In that case, I'll normal summon Dinomorphia Therizia and use her effect to set a "Dinomorphia" trap directly from my deck. I'll set four cards face down and end my turn."

I really hope mom has a Harpie's Feather Duster in hand, that'd be really useful right about now.

Amanda:
Hand: 0
LP: 8000
OOXOO
XXXXX

Saionji:
Hand: 5
LP: 8000
OOOOO
OOOOO

"So you've even switched decks now that you're part of Sunglow? I see."

"It'd feel wrong to use S-Force now that I'm part of a different Wing."

"You're more sentimental than you look. Draw! I normal summon Starliege Seyfert!"

"In response, I activate my trap card, Dinomorphia Frenzy. I pay half my life points (8000 > 4000) to Fusion summon a "Dinomorphia" monster by using a monster from my deck and extra deck as material. I fuse Dinomorphia Stealthbergia and Dinomorphia Diplos to Fusion summon Dinomorphia Kentregina."

"Then, I'll chain Kentregina's quick effect to pay half my life points again (4000 > 2000) and copy the Frenzy in my graveyard to activate its effects. Once again, I fuse Dinomorphia Stealthbergia and Dinomorphia Diplos to Fusion summon Dinomorphia Rexsturm."

"Rexsturm's effect, you cannot activate the effect of monsters that have ATK equal to or more than my LP. Kentregina's effect, she loses ATK equal to my current LP. (4000 > 2000)"

"I see. I activate Seyfert's effect! I send Absorouter Dragon from my hand to graveyard and add a monster with the same level from deck to hand. I add Noctovision Dragon! Absorouter's effect, when he's sent to graveyard, I add a "Rokket" monster from deck to hand. I add Rokket Tracer! Now open the circuit of victory! The summoning condition is 1 Level 4 or lower Dragon monster. I set Starliege Seyfert in the Link Arrows. Circuit combine! Link summon, Striker Dragon!"

"Chain link 1 Striker, chain link 2 Noctovision. When I special summon a Dark Dragon monster, he special summons himself out too! When Striker Dragon is summoned, I add a Boot Sector Launch from deck to hand! Open the circuit of victory! The summoning conditions are 2 Dragon monsters. I set Striker Dragon and Noctovision Dragon in the Link Arrows. Circuit combine! Link summon, Hieratic Seal of the Heavenly Spheres!"

"Noctovision's effect, when he's used as material for a Link summon, I draw a card. Turn end!"

Because of Rexsturm, mom wasn't able to go full combo... she was forced to play conservatively and grind out the game since his effect prevented her from being able to activate her monster's effects. It was basically a Skill Drain on legs.

Amanda:
Hand: 0
LP: 2000
XXXOO
OOXXX

Saionji:
Hand: 6
LP: 8000
EMZ: X
OOOOO
OOOOO

"Draw. Moving into battle phase. Kentregina attacks Heavenly Spheres. (3000)"

"I activate Heavenly Spheres' quick effect! By tributing itself, I bounce Rexsturm back into the extra deck! And since it was tributed, I special summon Galactic Spiral from my deck, but it's ATK and DEF become 0!"

"In that case, I redirect Kentregina's attack on Galactic Spiral. (3000)"

"Galactic Spiral is destroyed!"

"Therizia will attack directly. (1500)"

"I'll take it. (8000 > 6500)"

"Moving into main phase 2. I change Therizia to defence position and set one card face down. Turn end."

Amanda:
Hand: 0
LP: 1000
XOXOO
XOXXX

Saionji:
Hand: 6
LP: 6500
OOOOO
OOOOO

"It's my turn, draw! I activate Chaos Space! By discarding a Light or Dark monster, I can add a level 4 to 8 monster with the opposite attribute that can't be normal summoned from deck to hand! I discard Tracer for cost."

"In response, I activate my trap card, Solemn Judgment. By paying half my life points (1000 > 500) I negate the effect of your spell card. Kentregina's ATK increases. (3000 > 3500)"

"Alright. I activate Boot Sector Launch! Since you control more monsters than me, I can special summon "Rokket" monsters from my graveyard equal to the number of monsters you control! I bring back Rokket Tracer! The effect of Noctovision Dragon from my hand, since a Dark Dragon was special summoned, I can also special summon him out! Galactic Spiral's effect in graveyard, since I control two Dark Dragon monsters, I can special summon him in defence position!"

"I activate my trap card, Ice Dragon's Prison. I special summon Absorouter Dragon from your graveyard to my side of the field, then banish two monsters from both of our fields that have the same type. I banish Absorouter and Galactic Spiral."

"Are you that afraid of my rank 8s?"

"Yes. If you summoned your beloved Zombiestein and he battled my Kentregina, I'd lose. The difference in damage would be 1000, and I'm only at 500 LP. I can't let that happen."

"You know me far too well, Amanda. That was exactly what I was thinking."

"I do. I know you far better than anyone else... Saionji-sama."

"If that's the case, then tell me. Why did you turn your back on Sangria?"

Amanda lowered her head, a shadow casting over her eyes again.

"I can't answer."

"So in other words, you have no good reason to?"

"No... that's not it either..."

"Then which is it?"

"It's... a personal reason. Something that I can't tell anyone... not even you, Saionji-sama."

"Fine. Let me change the phrasing of my question. Why did you join Sunglow?"

"...because I had no other choice."

Mom's eyes widened slightly, before she nodded in understanding.

"I see. Then I'll set you free from this curse, Amanda. Wait for me."

"...S-Saionji-sama?"

"Open the circuit of victory! The summoning conditions are two monsters, including a Dark monster. I set Rokket Tracer and Noctovision Dragon in the Link Arrows. Circuit combine! Link summon, Dharc the Dark Charmer, Gloomy!"

"Noctovision's effect, I draw a card. Dharc's effect, I special summon a Dark monster from your graveyard to a zone his Link Arrow points to. I special summon Dinomorphia Diplos! I then normal summon Rokket Synchron! His effect, when he's normal summoned, I get to special summon a level 5 or higher Dark Dragon from my graveyard in defence position, but it's effects are negated. Come back, Noctovision Dragon! Open the circuit of victory! The summoning conditions are three or more effect monsters. I set Link 2 Dharc the Dark Chamer, Gloomy, Dinomorphia Diplos, and Noctovision Dragon in the Link Arrows. The strongest weapon forged from the toughest steel, cut through the adversities and slash open a path of victory! Circuit combine! Link summon, Link 4! Borrelsword Dragon!"

"Battle! Borrelsword Dragon attacks Kentregina! (3000) Borrelsword's effect, when he attacks a face up monster, he gains ATK equal to half of that monster's current ATK, and that monster's current ATK is halved! Since Kentregina is at 3500 ATK, Borrelsword will be gaining 1750 ATK! (3000 > 4750)"

"And Kentregina will be reduced to 1750 ATK. (3500 > 1750) When your Borrelsword attacks, I activate my trap card, Magic Cylinder!"

"I knew it. You wouldn't go anywhere without that card."

"Yes. Magic Cylinder to me is like how Zombiestein is to you. Both are special, irreplaceable cards which make our decks uniquely ours. I negate the attack and inflict damage to you equal to Borrelsword's ATK!"

"Indeed. I agree with that... (6500 > 1750) That's why it's a shame it's come to this. Borrelsword's quick effect! I change Rokket Synchron to defence position, and Borrelsword can attack again this battle phase! (4750)"

"...this is my loss. I accept it. Iyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! (500 > 0)"

Even though she lost, Amanda didn't look upset. In fact, a part of her looked relieved.

However, mom didn't waste any time and grabbed Amanda by the collar.

"I won, so show me where Minoru is. Now."

Amanda nodded as she began doing the same trick as Hiryuu to phase through the walls. However, this time, she was bringing mom along with her.

"What a shame. We're reaching the grand finale this quickly?"

Mario chuckled to himself.

"I don't understand... why didn't Kuushu use her last face down, Summon Limit? If she did, she would've won the game."

Hiryuu sounded displeased.

Summon Limit was a trap card that forbid both players from special summoning more than twice a turn. If Amanda had activated it, there would be no way for mom to make Borrelsword.

She'd be forced to play the grind game, which Dragon Link would struggle immensely under so many floodgates. Amanda could've stopped mom from winning by using it, but she actively chose not to.

I was also confused by this... who's side was Amanda really on?

"It's simple. I ordered her to let Saionji win."

"Huh? You did...?"

"Yep. I can't enact my plan if I don't fight Saionji. This duel was just an excuse to scope out her current deck and see what she was now using."

"Was this really necessary? Dragon Link is super common. I don't think it'd be hard to research around."

"There were rumours about her using a new 60 card version. I just wanted to make sure what I was going up against. Better safe than sorry, after all..."

I could hear Mario getting up from his chair.

"And even if I didn't order her, she would've let Saionji win anyways. At the end of the day, Amanda-chan's heart lies with Sangria, not the Sunglow."

"Yeah... I thought it was suspicious when she said she was doing this against her will. What the hell did you do to convince her to join?"

"I blackmailed her into joining. Did you know that Amanda-chan never actually graduated from Neo Duel Academy? She flunked the final exam and never got a diploma."

"...seriously? That's what she's trying to hide?"

"Wouldn't you be humiliated too if everyone found out you never graduated from high school? It's a highly embarrassing thing that she's kept a secret from everyone. Even to her beloved master, Saionji."

"How'd you find out?"

"Kazuraba-san did some digging for me. She's good at collecting this kind of dirt, heh. Speaking of her..."

The screen switched from mom and Amanda to Kazuraba duelling someone...

It was Takanori Yuuto.

For some reason, even though they're my kidnappers, I wanted her to win against him...

"Who's the jobber?"

"That's Takanori Yuuto, the Boss of the Claret Wing. He's nothing special, but Kazuraba-san has a grudge against him because he broke up with her to be with Saionji. It's a petty love affair, but it's what she wanted."

...eh?

These two used to be a couple?

I suddenly want Kazuraba to beat Takanori even more now!

Go on, Kazuraba! Put him in his place! Beat the ever loving Mokey Mokey out of Takanori and his degenerate Drytron deck!

Then afterwards, make up with him! Make out with him! Reconcile your love and make him break up with mom!

I believe in you, Kazuraba! I'm rooting for you! I'm supporting you all the way!

Go take back Takanori so mom can be single again!

...thinking all these loud thoughts made my head hurt since I was so tired, so I stopped shouting in my mind.

"Ah. It looks like she's here."

Mario stepped out of the darkness, letting me see him clearly for the first time.

He was a dirty old man. An ugly bastard, even.

His face was punchable, but the rolls of fat on his body made him look physically terrifying.

Overall, if you told me this man was a plumber who fucks, I'd believe you.

"It's time for the sunset."

The doors of the room opened, causing a thick smog of white mist to spread out.

As it lingered in the air, two shadows emerged from the haze.

It was Amanda and...

Mom!

Mom was here...!

"Mom! Mooooom! Mommy!"

I suddenly started screaming out loud as I could see the figure of mom come closer and closer.

"Minoru? Minoru?!"

Mom rushed over, her face becoming clear through all the mist.

"Mommy..."

I cried as mom came to save me.

However, just as she was about to hug me—

Everything went black.