Yu-Gi-Oh! CD: Salvation Falls

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This fan fiction is based in the same universe and time period as Gailson's "Yu-Gi-Oh! Call of Destiny".
Comments and Critiques are both appresiated.
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[spoiler=Prolouge]
From the time on Yugi Moto all the way to Jaden Yuki's Graduation from Central Duel Academy, the world was under going a change that not even the King of Games could have foreseen.

As the world continued to push on, as it always had, the game of Duel Monsters started to become more and more integrated into every facet of society. In many respects, this was beneficial, and people who where already Duelists found themselves with plenty of opponents and ways to improve their skill. For the rest of society, however, the world as they knew it was changing dramatically. Duel Monsters had become not only the main source of entertainment for everyone, but also a social and even political tool to gain power. The stronger a Duelist was, the higher their connections. The higher their connections, the more influence they had over social affairs. As a result, people turned their families into a single Dueling unit, guaranteeing them a position in upper class society. This, in turn, created what came to be known as the "Duel Class", which was at the very top of the social hierarchy. This meant that the new chain of command in terms of class was the lower class, the middle class, the rich class, and finally the Duel Class and Duel Families.

With these Duelists in positions of power all across the world, everything began to change. Art, science, math, sports, and every component of civilization began to include Duel Monsters into its criteria. Not only that, but as higher families began to gain power, most of them created their own, private Duel Academies for extremely gifted youth, i.e. members of the rich class. Due to these new academies, the 5 main Duel Academies all around the world had to open up their doors to students from all across the world, constantly competing with each other over coming of age Duelists.

At the same time, corporations all over the world developed new ways to capitalize on the need for Duel Monster card. Entire companies spring up over night to compete with Kiaba Corporation for control of the market. One corporation in particular stood as the fore runner for Duel production and technology: Salvation Industries. The company seemed innocent enough in the public eye, but behind the scenes, Salvation was hiding a secret that threatened the very foundation of civilization.

This is the story of ordinary girl with an extraordinary destiny yet to be revealed.
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[spoiler=Episode 1- The Shrouded Man]
A pair of double doors opened inward into a large conference room. The walls were lined with rich, elegant wallpaper in shades of red, the moldings on the ceiling and floor corners carved into detailed and beautiful designs. In the center of the room was a large, rectangular conference table with a grey granite top.

A group of man wearing black suits walked into the room, single file, in two groups, each taking a seat in the furthest chair around the table, leaving only a large, red leather chair at the far end.

The men remained silent as they placed their briefcases on the table in front of them, opened them, and proceeded to take out various folders and papers for the impromptu meeting that had been called. After everyone had their materials in front of them, the men waited patiently for their boss to arrive.

Davis, the newly appointed Chief of Staff for the company Salvation, lightly ran his hand over his gel back, blond hair before letting out a sigh. He leaned over to the chief of Duel technology, Kageshima Hiashi, whom was sitting to his right.

“M…Mr. Hiashi…” Davis tried not to stammer as he forced out the words. “Do you know w…why we were called to? Is s...someone i…in trouble?”

Not one to normally make small talk, Hiashi felt the corner of his eye twitch ever so slightly when Davis used his name. The Japanese chief of technology wore the same black suit as the other chiefs in the room, only with a black tie with red Japanese calligraphy on it that translated to “Through Iron and Steel, The World Presses On”.

“If you wish to address me by my proper name, Mr. Clemens, I would appreciate if you used my last name in place of my first. To answer your question, I was not made aware of the circumstances of this meeting either. I suggest that you remain silent until-”

At that moment, the double doors in the front of the conference room once again swung open to revealing a man with long, dark brown hair that extended down his back, crimson eyes, and an “X” shape scar on his neck. He wore a cheerful smile as he walked around the table to sit in the red leather chair, humming a catchy tune under his breath as he walked.

After sitting down, the man began to organize the papers in his hands, reading them over carefully as he continued to hum silently to himself.

Davis began to feel a cold drop of sweat inching down the back of his neck as he bit down on his lower lip. He felt his throat go dry at the very thought of breaking the seemingly endless silence.

“E…excuse me…Mr. President…”

A sudden, thick tension encompassed the room; the other chiefs of Salvation tensed up as they looked to their newest member, as if he had just broken some unspoken taboo. Nevertheless, Antonio Muyana looked up from his paperwork with the same smile as before.

“Yes, Mr. Clemens, you have some to ask?”

“Y…yes, well no…I mean… I hope I’m not being to forward, but I was just c…curious as to why you called us all here.”

Antonio set his papers down and leans back into the firm cushions of his chair before letting out a small chuckle under his breath.

“I apologize, Mr. Clemens. I should have made clear to you how exactly these meetings are formatted when I promoted you. These meetings between the chiefs of Salvation are more often than not random and can be called for at any point. I hope this was not an inconvenience for you.”

“N…no…not at all sir. I just wanted to make sure.” Davis pushed himself back into his chair, regretting that he had spoken up in the first place.

“Please do not sound so down on yourself, Mr. Clemens. After all, you’re new to our joint chief meetings, so it is only natural that you would be unfamiliar with its protocol. However, Mr. Clemens, in the future, I would make it a point to raise your arm before speaking out during these meetings. It’s a juvenile sentiment, I confess, but never the less, I would prefer things to progress in an orderly fashion.” Antonio lightly shut his eyes, tilted his head to the side, and smiled at Davis. “A more than reasonable stipulation, wouldn’t you say?”

Although he wasn’t entirely sure why, Antonio’s charming smile only made Davis’ throat dry and tighten further, feeling as though the President had his hands around his neck. Davis silently nodded, not wanting to make the situation worse by speaking.

“Very good then, let us begin.”

He reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved a remote control. Mr. Muyana then proceeded to raise his arm to the ceiling and press a large button in the center of the remote, causing a flat screen to descend on the opposite side of the conference table. A series of images flashed over the surface of the screen as the President continued to press buttons on the remote.

Images of ancient Samaria, Egypt, and Mesopotamia appear on the screen, each running through a slide show. The progression on pictures finally stopped on an image of a cargo ship with the words “S.S. Yuban” on the side.

“Gentlemen, I am happy to report there has been major break through in our search. After persuading various sources to divulge information, we have discovered that eighty years ago, this vassal traveled from Palestine to Spain then finally to Ellis Island in 1912. Sources confirm that a woman fitting the description embarked on this vassal. It is now only a matter of time until we match this individual’s passage signature to one in the archives at Ellis Island.”

The man sitting to the right of Antonio raised his arm slightly, trying to call the attention of his President. The man had black hair and blue eye with a single patch of black hair in the center of his chin. He was wearing a suit that was dark blue instead of traditional black, in sharp contrast with everyone else in the room.

“Would you like to add anything, Mr. Abuzu?”

“Yes, Mr. Muyana. I don’t wish to speak out against your effort, as they have yielded such vital information. However, I feel the urge to ask why you choose to work outside my department in obtaining this in tell. As the Chief of Research I would have been more than happy to have given you all the recourses that you require.”

Antonio looked at the man for few seconds before allowing a corner of his lips to rise into a cheerful smile. “You are right, Mr. Abuzu, when you say that it is your department’s duty to use all available recourses to hunt down new leads. However, I regret to inform you that there have been many discrepancies in your findings recently.”

“Discrepancies, sir?”

The brown haired man reached for a file lying under his papers, opened it, and then proceeded to walk over to Mr. Abuzu, stopping directly behind his chair. There was an eerie thickening in the atmosphere of the room as Antonio turned and slipped the file in front of Mr. Abuzu.

“This file contains a set of documents. One of them is a series of reports and testimonies from Lebanon, conducted by your people. After examining these reports carefully, a noticed a few inconsistencies in people’s stories, so I took it upon myself to send a team there to make sure that the information obtained was legitimate.”

The president reached across Mr. Abuzu and opened the file to a page covered in yellow highlighter. “I discovered that only ten percent of the testimony gathered was correct. It was at this point that I personally interviewed members of your staff about their visit to this city.” He placed a finger on the top page and slid it over to the side to reveal another report. “And their reports match those of the testimonies of the men I sent.”

Ryan Abuzu started to feel large beads of sweat forming on his forehead as he snatched up the papers and looked over them frantically. With a sense of distress, he looked back up at his boss.

“Mr. Muyana, I-”

“Ryan, it would appear that someone has tampered with these reports in the hopes of derailing our search.”

Antonio placed a hand on his employee’s shoulder, his thin fingers digging in to the muscle of Ryan’s arm.

“There is a mole in your department. This is quite a serious situation, wouldn’t you agree, Mr. Abuzu?”

Pain shot through Ryan arm as he tried desperately to regain in composure, his hand grabbing at the side of the table.

“Please, Mr. Muyana,” The grip tightened, causing Ryan to almost shout the words in pain. “I swear I had no idea that this was happening. You were my friend before my president; I would never do anything to deceive you.”

After a few more seconds of increasing his grip, Antonio released Ryan from the grasp. He took the file and return to his chair at the front of the table. “I realize that, Mr. Abuzu. It is true that I hold you responsible for the actions of your department but I do not believe that you are the mole. Nevertheless, I expect you to find this leak and seal it. Quickly. Is that understood?”

Placing a hand on his shoulder and lightly rubbing it to relax the pain, Ryan nodded his head weakly. “I understand, Mr. Muyana, and I assure you that I will do everything in my power to make sure that this threat is handled.” Ryan looked over at his shoulder to see the fabric of the suit darkness as blood began to seep from his skin.

“Thank you.” Antonio smiled and sat down, again organizing the papers in front of him before he continued to speak. “Gentlemen, I want to make this clear to everyone.” His voice became much more solemn than before. “We are closer to our goals than we have ever been. We cannot afford to be hindered any further.” He stood and pressed the remote, causing the screen to change to the image of an ancient Samarian statue of a poorly depicted woman.

“Our society stands at the very cusp of collapse. It is our job- no, our duty to ensure that we do not fall to ruin. We, gentlemen, will save this world from itself and restore it to the image it once was…” His pause caused everyone in the room to tense up.

“Salvation will fall upon this world…”

On the opposite side of the county, in Charleston, South Carolina, the sun started to rise over the coast line. The songs of the ocean birds and the sound of waves rocking back and forth over the beach pierced the walls of a local house near the shore. Sun rays weakly began to peak through the thin, pink bedspread that served as a curtain over the window. As the sun continued to rise from the distant horizon, more and more light broke through the pink veil. The light illuminated what appeared to be a room that belonged to a girl, pink walls, a vanity mirror, and a desk full of makeup clearly distinguishable.

Suddenly an alarm cloak on a shelf next to the bed stated to buzz, prompting a hand to extend from under the covers of a bed and tap press the SNOOZE button. A young girl wearing blue and pink pajama sat up from the covers and lifted her arms above her head, letting her sore muscles breath after a long nights rest. The girls light brown skin shimmered under the morning light, her shoulder length, black hair complimenting her eyes of deep purple.

With a cheerful smile, the girl, Amani threw the covers to the side and hopped out of bed, almost skipping over to her closet. Her hands were shaking from excitement as she reached in and grabs a set of clothes that she had selected days before. She walked back and laid the clothes on her bed before continuing her morning ritual.

She proceeded to take a shower, brush her hair and teeth, and put on her makeup, finally coming back to her clothes nearly a half hour later. She slipped on her purple jeans and her light blue shirt with purple trim before putting on a pale blue poncho that cover her arms down to her wrist. Turning to the mirror, she looked at herself for a while and then went a picked up her book bag. As Amani place the strap over her shoulder and descended the stairs, she tried to control her breathing, her heart beating faster from the anticipation of the days events.

She took a deep breath in, trying to calm herself down. {It will be okay. This will work. Just don’t act like an idiot.}

Just as Amani reached for the door knob, someone stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head to see her mother wearing a long sleeved blue-green sweater and a long green dress, a white apron over it. Nawal spoke to her daughter in Arabic.

[i]You’re not planning on leaving without eating breakfast, are you Amani?[/i]

Turning back to her mother, Amani couldn’t help but blush and curl her arms under the protection of the poncho from her mother catching her while trying to sneak out.

[i]W…well…I did mean to forget, mother. It’s just…Sarah is waiting for me and we need to…um…get to school early and go over our notes.[/i]

Nawal narrowed her eye and took her daughter by the wrist.

[i]She can wait two more minutes. You’re too skinny as it is.[/i]

After a rushed breakfast, Amani grabbed her pack again and rushed back out the door, but not before kissing her mother goodbye.

[i]Love you, mom.[/i]

[i]Love you too, sweetie. Make sure you eat lunch today. I swear, sometimes I think you don’t eat at all.[/i]

Down the street, a tall, brawny girl wearing a sleeveless shirt leaned back against a stop sign. She had olive eyes and light brown, wavy hair which nicely complimented her tight fitting yellow shirt that was stretch thinly over her large chest. The girl let out a sigh just before she caught sight of Amani running down the street towards her. Sarah smirked and walked over to meet her friend midway.

After reaching each other, Amani had to lean down on her knees to catch her breath. “Sorry I’m late. My mom would let me leave without eating first. I’m really sorry.”

“Wow, two sorry’s in one sentence. That must mean you’re extra super sorry.” Sarah leaned over and lightly kisses her friend on the top of her head before she placed a hand on her back, pushing her forward down the sidewalk. “Don’t worry about it, hun. We still got plenty of time till Marcus walks down 70th. Just do what I said and you’ll have a date by the time we get to school.”

They both walked down the street, Amani clutching her arms to her chest under her poncho in the attempt to slow down her heart rate.

“Just play it cool,” said Sarah as they approached the intersection of Main Street and 70th street. “All you have to do is let him know you’re interested. Walk along side him and make small talk. A few laughs here and there won’t hurt either, even if what he says isn’t funny.” When they hit the intersection, Sarah turned and stopped Amani. “And for god sakes, if your mind starts to wonder again, think of puppies or something. We don’t want a repeat of last time.”

Amani felt her face redden at the thought of what happened the last time she tried to speak to a guy that she liked. But before she could complete the thought, Sarah unexpectedly ran off to the opposite side of the street. Slightly surprised by being all alone, Amani started to feel her heart rate increasing again.

It was then that she looked over to see a boy walking down the street towards her. Her knees began to shake as the boy walked closer, finding it difficult to slow down her breathing. Closer and closer still, the boy with spiky, dark brown hair wearing a navy blue jacket walked towards Amani. It wasn’t until he was a few feet away that Marcus noticed the poor, red-faced girl hiding her arms under her poncho and stopped.

Marcus tilted his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. “It’s Amani, right? Amani Kannan? Are you okay, you’re lookin’ a little red?”

“I’m…I’m fine. I just. Um…well I was wondering if you wanted to, I mean if you have other plans that’s fine, but I-”

Reaching out, Marcus placed the back of his hand on Amani’s forehead.

“You’re burning up, are you sure you wanna go to school today? You feel hot.”

At his touch, Amani’s eyes shot open as her imagination got the better of her, causing her mind to wonder away from her.

Across the street, Sarah smacks her palm against her face. “Dammit, here we go again.”

Although what Marcus said was innocent enough, Amani suddenly found herself imagining him without a shirt and leaning against an adjacent lamp post, a lit cigarette in his hand.

[i]…Amani you’re so hot you’re burning me up…[/i]

No longer able to contain the building pressure, Amani placed her hands over her nose just as blood came shooting out, covering her hands. Taken aback, Marcus took a step back then leaned forward again.

“Amani! Are you ok!? What happened? Should I call someone?!”

Her eyes now filled with tear, she turned and ran in the opposite direction. “I’m sorry!”

Confused and at a loss for words, Marcus just stood there with a bewildered look on his face for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, out in front of Millburrow’s High School, the two girls sat behind a bush, Amani in an upright fetal position with Sarah patting her on the back.

“Don’t beat yourself up too much, hun. For you, talking is one thing, but touching is a completely different subject.”

She lifted her still reddened face and looked over at her friend. “He probably thinks I’m a freak now.”

“No he doesn’t. You say him: he was more worried than horrified. Which means that he actually cares. You still got a shot. All you need to do is get him alone again.” Sarah’s words helped Amani to smile as she began to feel better about the entire situation. She smiled, stood, and hugged her friend close, chuckling under her breath. “You’re gonna be fine, hun. Now come on, we should get to class.”

With a nod Amani followed Sarah into school, the events of the day melting away with every new step until all that was left was the same eagerness that she had when she woke up.

As the two students entered through the double doors of the school, a black car out front rolled up its windows. Inside were two men in black suits with binoculars. The man who had been looking out the window turned to his partner and nodded his head.

“Make the call. Tell Mr. Muyana that section 28 is potentially positive. One subject in sight.”

The other man nodded and pulls out his phone as the car drives off.
[/spoiler]