Chapter 3: Not Your Kind Of People
It's almost frightening how easy I find it to lie to their faces. Jack takes one look at me and walks off, and I turn towards Yusei. "What's eating him?" I say, just letting my own confusion guide me. I have an inkling of why, but otherwise I don't know. And as I told you before, the best lies are lies of omission, the ones where you don't actually lie. Being economical with the truth is just as effective.
"Don't mind him," one of Yusei's friends tells me, the short and wide one. "Jack's not exactly the friendliest person around." I turn towards him and open my mouth in an 'oh' expression. "I see," I say, choosing my words carefully. I recall what read from the dossier the old man was so kind as to supply me with, and it fits… to a degree. Really, looking at him, you'd think he was jealous of Yusei.
...hold on a minute.
I turn towards Yusei, and I wait a second or two. "Was he always like that?" I ask after my short bit of deliberation, and Yusei himself takes a second to answer. "No," he says, but he says it in a weird tone that makes me half think that he's lying. I'm not sure what to think, but Rally gives me the piece of the puzzle I'm missing.
"He and Yusei had a duel earlier today," he says. "Jack won. He's been like that all day now." And just like that, I think I might have an idea of what's eating at him. "Yeah," another of Yusei's friends says, one with blue hair and a small pair of glasses. "He really gave Yusei a dressing-down after that one."
"Jack's become a hothead over the years," the third one - wearing a piece of cloth over his head says. "He was always a confident one, but it's something else these days."
"Really?" I say, and I have to bite down the urge to utter my thoughts out loud. "That's weird. Anything happen to him?" Yusei looks like he wants to answer my question, but he doesn't say anything.
"Don't worry too much about him," the one with the cropped hair tells me. "I'm Taka. That's Blitz," he says, pointing at the second one who walks rather hunched over and wears a pair of small glasses, who gives a light "yo" as a formal greeting. "-and that's Nerve," he says, pointing at the guy with the bandana who waves a little to acknowledge himself.
"Hey," I say with a smile. "I'm Jay, as you know. Thanks for letting me stay for a bit with you guys."
"Again, it's no problem!" Rally says, almost shouting. Kid's got a lot of energy that he isn't spending, but his mood is practically infectious. I barely even have to try to seem happy, he's doing the work for me.
Yusei and his friends lead me deeper into the Satellite, down into what must have once been a train station. There, hidden by toppled-over support pillars underneath a cracked ceiling, made by hanging up a variety of blankets and carpets there's what could be a home. Rally runs ahead and pulls away one and directs me to an empty 'room' with a cobbled-together sleeping arrangement.
I stand there, stumped for a second. I'd forgotten where I was for a moment, and comparing this to what I have back in the City, in the old man's mansion… fuck, I really have just been taking that for granted. Rally notices me not saying anything, and I quickly have to say something before I start seeming suspicious.
"Sorry," I utter to break the silence. "I guess it hasn't sunk in yet, being a runaway."
"It's okay," Rally says, looking at me with those big, bright eyes of his. I find it hard to look directly into them and I don't know why? He's just some kid that I'm lying to until I can get to Atlas. So why is his stare that affecting?
I take my backpack off and place it beside the almost paper-thin mattress, and I open it up. I've forgotten that Rally is still there, because when my Duel Disk is visible I hear him gasp in awe. "Is that-" he says, and I realize my mistake. Shit. Alright, no point in hiding it. Better play along. Better to feign ignorance than be found out.
"What?" I say, acting like it's nothing special. "It's just my Duel Disk. Took it with."
"You have a City Duel Disk?!" He says in surprise and awe, and I hear the others approach. "Yeah, I came here from the City. Why, is that a problem?"
"What's it like?!" Rally immediately says, practically yelling, his eyes big, wide and full of curiosity. By now, Blitz, Taka and Nerve have gathered around Rally as well. If they aren't caught up by Rally's excitement, they're at least worried about housing a City-dweller. Yusei isn't there, though. Why isn't he?
My first instinct is to start a profanity-laden rant about why I hate the City. About how it's just a golden cage where you're really slaving away for the sake of the elite, for my old man. That you're watched over by a veritable army of Security officers, all of whom are just waiting for an opportunity to throw you in the slammer if they don't like the look of you.
That it's no different than Satellite, the only difference is that instead of a Marker you just have a job.
But I can't say that. Not to Rally. Not when he's looking at me like that.
So instead I sit down and pull some jerky out of my bag and hand it to Rally. He looks at the bag with wonder, and starts looking for a way to open it. With an involuntary smile I show him how to open it and as he starts nibbling down on it, I figure out where to begin.
"...have you ever looked at the City during nighttime?"
Rally nods.
"You should see what it's like. All these beautiful lights everywhere, like fireflies. They fly around the tallest towers…"
I keep going for a few hours, and Rally listens to every word I have to say. I even catch Yusei outside, bent over his D-Wheel. But he's listening, I know he is. He's pretending not to, but I know he is.
He's an interesting one, alright.
During my talk about the City, the subject inevitably comes back to my Duel Disk and Dueling. I show off my Deck a little, show a few monsters and Tuners here and there and one of my favorite Synchro Monsters, the Level 6 Dark-Attribute Celestial Wolf Lord, Blue Sirius. A solid 2400 ATK plus an effect that can turn a bad situation around if it's destroyed.
"Maaan, that thing is fierce," Taka complains. "You really do have all the good cards across the pond. We just have to make do with improvised strategies."
"True, but that doesn't mean we're doomed card-wise," Nerve then speaks up. "You've seen Yusei and Jack, they don't need City cards to pull off combos. It all depends on knowing how to use them," he says with a slightly haughty tone, causing Taka to give him an annoyed glare.
"He has a point, you know," Blitz says, speaking up. "Even Rally makes do, and all he has are old Union monsters."
"I still don't get why they even made those," Nerve groans. "Why waste a Normal Summon on a small boost when you can just summon another strong monster?"
"You sound like my classmates," I reply, and Nerve's earlier haughtiness drains from him. I've caught him in a moment of hypocrisy, and he knows it. I could twist the knife, emphasize that he and a lot of people in the City aren't any different, but I need to keep my cover. Best to just let it go.
"No, Nerve is right," Rally then speaks up whilst munching on jerky. "But you're forgetting one thing."
"Which is?" Nerve says, his earlier slightly haughty tone back again. Rally just smiles. "A Union monster is also a one-use protection against destruction."
"What?" Nerve goes, but then his face twists in realization. "Right, of course! Turbo Cannon has no Attack or Defense, so you use Union monsters to keep it protected!" Rally nods in affirmation.
"I think I know that card, Turbo Cannon," I say. "It destroys a monster once per turn and deals its Attack as damage to its controller, right?"
"Yup," Rally confirms. "It's a strong effect, but it's only a Level 3 Synchro and it has no Attack or Defense to speak of. So Yusei suggested I use the Union monsters I found to help."
"That Yusei," Taka says. "He's one hell of a duelist. I don't doubt that he'll trample them over in the City."
That gets me to listen. He wants to cross the pond, all the way over to Neo Domino? But… that's impossible, is what I immediately think. There's no way he can do that, there's no way anyone can do that. Nobody is getting across, that's a fact. I should know, I'm the son of the guy put in charge to make sure that nobody ever will get across.
But then I remember that my job here is to get Jack Atlas, a citizen of the Satellite to go to the City.
So how is he intending on getting across? I have to know, now. But I'm not gonna ask. Not now, at least. I must already be suspicious thanks to that slip-up earlier. I can't risk ruining everything - I don't feel like being stuck here.
"What do they duel like?" Blitz then says, pulling me out of my earlier reverie of thought. "Over in the City, I mean."
"I can't imagine it's much different," I reply. "Different cards can only do so much, you know? Everyone's got their own way to duel, and all the people I've Dueled were Academia students around my age. Everyone there runs their own thing, something they've cobbled together themselves."
"Really?" Blitz says. "I would've thought they would all be using structure decks."
"At the lower grades, sure," I reply. "But when you get older they want to see what you can do with your own understanding of the craft. Any idiot can use a premade deck and win with it. Besides," I reply, fishing out one of my own cards to show it off. I pull out one of my more tactical monsters, the Level 7 Synchro Monster Dark Highlander.
"Over-reliance on a certain way to win can cripple you," I say, showing off the card. "Too many people rely on Equip Spells and Synchro Monsters. So having something to deal with both," I say, letting its effect sink in. "-that's a real way to win."
Once a turn, pull off any and all Equip Cards on a Monster and deal the opponent 400 damage for each one. And as if that wasn't enough, as long as Dark Highlander is on the field then nobody can Synchro Summon. I'm already packing Discord as a weapon in that regard, but there's nothing like pulling Dark Highlander out, using its effect to peel off all the good parts on an enemy monster and then punch a big hole in their defenses with its gigantic 2800 Attack Points.
"Those are the kinds of cards they have over in the City, huh?" Taka says, eyeing Dark Highlander with envious eyes. Suddenly I'm struck by a slight feeling, a sting - every card I have was bought for me. Sure, I put the deck together myself but every card here cost money.
My old man's money. It makes me look twice at Dark Highlander. It makes me wonder how much it cost. And how long it would take these guys to earn that kind of money. It makes me feel guilty and I hate it. I'm just working with the cards I was given, how the hell was I supposed to know how bad things were here in the Satellite? I've never been here before.
Even now I feel the old man's presence bearing down on me. And here I thought that getting to do my own thing for a few days would help. I shouldn't have been that naive. I'm carrying a direct damn comm-line to him in my pocket and I have to check in with him every day. It's more of a leash than a rope, wrapped tight around my neck.
And if I fuck up, he's just gonna tighten it even more until I learn my lesson, like a good dog. Just the thought of it makes me antsy, makes me wound-up and angry. I want to punch something. I want to punch someone.
I let out a shaky sigh, and everyone's eyes turn to me. "Are you okay?" Rally says with a concerned voice, looking at me with those big eyes of his. I nearly snap at him, but I manage to stop myself. I take a deep breath to try and shake off the nervousness and force a slight smile. "I'm fine, Rally. Just a bit of stress, nothing more."
That's the first lie I ever regret saying.
It's late at night. I haven't called the old man yet, and it's as dark as can be. For once the smog has lightened up and the moonlight filters down through cracks in the ceiling down on us as we lay there, sleeping.
As I quietly sneak out of the rooms, making sure not to alert Rally, Blitz, Taka or Nerve as I go I'm stopped by the soft whine of an engine. The engine of Yusei's D-Wheel.
I turn my head to the right and there he is - sans jacket, but still awake and if he was tired then he sure didn't fucking show it. He's lit up just a little by the moonlight, I can just about make out his slightly tan skin and distinctive haircut.
And he hasn't noticed me yet. He's fully engrossed into his work, into… whatever he's doing. I'm no mechanic. I've got no idea how the hell a D-Wheel works. All I know about Riding Duels is that one time I saw the champion, Himuro I think his name was, duel some other loser on TV.
I could just sneak around him. He wouldn't notice me. He's hyper-focused.
...but I'm intrigued. If he's really intending on getting to the City, I want to know why. Or rather, I want to know how. It might come in handy to convince Atlas.
"Hey," I say, announcing my presence to Yusei. He doesn't turn around, but I see him pause for a second. He's noticed me now alright. "Sorry for waking you up," Yusei says. What a real nice guy he is.
"You didn't, I needed fresh air." Yusei hmphs in affirmation, and returns to his work. He's that kind of person, huh. Not exactly one to spill the beans yourself, are you, Fudo? You'd rather someone open the can first. Well, that I can do.
"Why are you building a D-Wheel, anyways?" I say, and I need to choose my words carefully now. I need to provoke a strong enough reaction in him to get him to talk, but if I come off too arrogant I'll end up insulting him. Better go with a more neutral angle to be sure.
"There's not many roads here in Satellite to ride on," I say. "They're all over the pond."
"Then I'll just have to ride on them," Yusei replies. Alright, time to sink my teeth in.
"How? There's no way across. And even if there was, the moment you're seen the Bureau will swarm all over you. Then you get thrown back here sans D-Wheel and cards but with a Marker in exchange."
"You're not a very hopeful person, are you, Jay?"
I raise my hands in mock-surrender. "You got me there. The City's just as much a cage as the Satellite is. Only difference is what your chains look like. Besides, as I said, there's no way across. The Bureau combs every single ship going to and from the Satellite."
"The garbage channel. It's a direct path."
I stand there, staring at Yusei like he's just said that he was actually born in the Tops. "That's suicidal. That channel is miles long, and only stays open for three minutes. There's no way you can make it across that fast."
"Yes there is," and Yusei emphasizes his point by revving the engine of the milky-white D-Wheel.
On one hand, I think he's crazy. Completely fucking crazy, or that the guy has a death wish.
On the other, I think I just had an idea. A diabolical one, one I'm almost ashamed for having thought up.
"You're crazy," I say and Yusei just smiles at me in a "we'll see" kind of way. "I'm gonna go out for some fresh air. Be back in five."
And with that, I ascend back up onto the Satellite surface and pull out my satellite phone. I type in the number, say the code phrase and after a few minutes, the old man finally picks up.
"You're late."
"Can you keep the garbage chute to Satellite open on command?"
"Excuse me?"
"The garbage tunnel the City uses to dump its trash to the Satellite. Can you hold it open manually?"
"I'm Director of the Bureau. Of course I can. Why do you ask?"
"Because I think I know how we can get you two Signers with one move."
"...I'm listening."
Chapter 3: Not Your Kind Of People - END
Author's Note: First off I would like to apologise for the month-long wait for this chapter. Like an earlier case, this one ended up being quite difficult to write and so I ended up deciding to split this chapter in two, because it was simply too much for just one chapter. I hope that this results in a much more coherent chapter structure where not too much happens every chapter so it becomes overwhelming.
Second, allow me to once again give a massive shout-out to my good friend EibonVirgo, whose kind comments got me out of my earlier rut and got this chapter finally finished. Her story To Be Human is an excellent read that I highly reccommend you check out, there's nobody I know who can write like her.
Apart from that, I won't bloat this chapter with any more unneccessary filler from my side. I hope you enjoyed it, and I'll see you in Chapter 4. Take care.