Shadows of the Small
Chapter 7
"Thank goodness for Vimes. There was something endearing about his desperate, burning and above all mis-placed competence. If the poor man took any longer he'd have to start giving him hints."
"Well, I'll damn well make up something and start saying it a lot from now on."
-The Wonder of Terry Pratchett, Feet of Clay
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Tim
The human mind is a wonderful thing. If it sees something that it doesn't want to be there, it won't see it. This simple process allowed us to get out of the warehouse within a matter of minutes. The sudden power outage was blamed on a short circuit in the back-up generator and some incorrect wiring which allowed this to affect the electric powered automatic entryway to the warehouse proper.
"So sorry that you kids got locked in the warehouse, but we put the correct emergency procedures into action and everything worked exactly as planned."
They have emergency procedures for a bunch of dark disappearing duelists summoning suffocating shadows? I'm impressed.
This same stroke of brilliance allowed the tour guides and the executive official who formally apologized before going back to his office as Vice-Assistant-Secretary of Filling In For People Who Have Meetings or whatever his title might have been to blame the pile of our opponents' duel disks in the middle of the warehouse on vandals. The same vandals were also blamed for our own, hastily hidden duel disks.
None of us had thought of hiding our opponents' disks. That fell under 'somebody else's job.' The human mind is a wonderful thing.
When alarms started going off we were quickly ushered out of the building. Evidently there had been some kind of delayed reaction of some sort which had caused the back-up generator to overheat and catch on fire or explode. It all depended on which frantic usher you listened to. The bureaucrats would have denied that the fire alarm was going off if they could. As it was they weren't going to have even heard the slightest rumor of the fire until they had a memo on their desks.
Fire trucks screamed down the road as Elli drove us home through the rain. What she didn't ask, we didn't tell her. Even Mel didn't speak a word about what had happened.
When we arrived home, each of us went about our usual routines. It took a full half hour for us to realize that we had been promised the chance to duel with the public image producer again. It was Mary who remembered.
"Hey, Elli?"
Our guardian turned from the papers she'd been looking through, taxes or some such thing. "Yes dear?"
"May we go use the duel station now? You did say we could."
"Of course you may. I know how much you children love dueling."
The six of us trooped outside. I had dispensed of the wheelchair for the moment, but Cari carried it. The rain had stopped but the normally difficult terrain would now be impossible due to mud.
Unfortunately our plans were cut short by the sight of a duel taking place. Our original plan would have guaranteed us a spot but we had waited to long. Some pair of duelists had already gotten out of school. There were only two spectators. It was hard to tell from a distance, but one duelist had an array of warriors on the field and the other seemed somewhat lacking on the monster side of things. We headed back inside.
Rachel had just arrived home and Elli was on her way out. We ran into her at the door. Cari, our normal spokesperson, was breathing hard from trying to run while carrying the wheelchair.
"We should have gone down earlier. Our spot's already been taken." Anna said, slumping into a chair and grabbing a book off the kitchen table. The TV was on along with the six o'clock news. The newscaster was about half way through the segment on court cases, disputes, and law suits of interest which meant that the national portion was done and that they were almost done with the international or overseas bit.
"Also of interest, Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corp. and Duel Monsters mogul is threatening to file a law suit against Industrial Illusions due to their recent decision to release more copies of his signature card, the Blue Eyes White Dragon."
Anna looked up from her book, transfixed as the rest of us by the story.
"Industrial Illusions is also planning on filing a law suit against Kaiba for releasing privileged information. However, as the cat is out of the bag so to speak, they have issued a formal press release about the new release and have decided to release the card, along with several others, earlier than expected. You can get the full report on our website at www.-"
The news program was cut short by a badly timed advertisement.
"Are you scared of the darkness?"
The Dark Magician moved across the screen and froze in place.
"Well fear no more, and welcome the light!"
Blue Eyes White Dragon appeared and sent forth a burst of energy destroying Yugi's signature monster.
"New! The Blue Eyes White Dragon is available to the public! To be released in a few short weeks along with new card such as Burst Stream of Destruction, Kaibaman, Blue Eyes Sapphire, and more! Coming soon to a card shop near you."
Rachel started to cook dinner, but after a day of flipping burgers her heart wasn't in it. Mary was glad to take over. After a few more ads, the news came back on.
"And now we will turn to the court cases near you-" the voice briefly to a mechanical tone "West City" and switched back with a new reporter and the view of a courtroom. "Currently the Duel Monster's Champion for the whole of the West City area is standing trial under assault charges. His name is Lucien Morningstar and the court appears to be undecided. He is ably represented by Adolfus Beurreginsky who has put together an almost faultless case here today…"
We all zoned out after that.
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The next few days were measured only in news reports. The weather was awful and unchanging.
"And this is the most rainfall we've had in the city on this date in a year ending in an even digit divisible by three this millennium!"
"Yes, but the millennium is still young."
"There was a major fire at a warehouse in downtown West City today. Officials say that it was caused by a malfunction in the localized power generator. The exact nature of the malfunction has yet to be ascertained"
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"The police has asked the public to be on alert for several Missing Persons including Rodrigo Sanchez, Emily Peterson, Catherine Wesley..."
"And the King of Games has done it again, winning a tournament in Moscow. He has stated that he will be donating all the prize money to charity."
"Yes, but will he donate it to a Russian charity or bring all that money back home to Japan?" I broke in.
"Does it really matter? It will be going to a good cause wherever he donates it." Mary was somewhat irritable. Rachel wasn't letting her cook saying, "Now I know how much you love cooking Mary, but this family needs to have the occasional regular meal." Mary could, of course, cook regular food with ease but preferred not to.
I then demonstrated my skewed (which is not to say that it was incorrect) view of global economics. "It does matter. The money was gathered from the profits garnered from the Russian people, so in order to continue a healthy monetary cycle it needs to go back to the Russian people so that it can be given to the companies in exchange for goods, and be given to the people in the form of wages."
My jaundiced viewpoint was not appreciated.
"An airliner is currently circling over BWI Airport waiting for clearance to land. Due to a lack of maintenance and the recent rains the tarmac is not safe to land on."
Mel cried out. "Oh those poor people!"
"I don't see the problem." Said Cari. "Its not like there aren't five other major airports in the immediate area."
I climbed into the argument. "Yes, but all of the passengers travel arrangements would have been made for BWI."
"Ever heard of a shuttle?" Said Anna, rolling her eyes. "They could be commandeered for use in 'emergency transport. It may not be an emergency, but try telling that to them." She nodded towards the TV or Mel, or possibly both.
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The phone rang at 5 A.M. The person on the early shift at Rachel's restaurant had just quit and they were willing to pay her triple to come in early until a replacement could be found. We all found out because she woke up the entire house with her cursing. Elli had to come out of her room to calm her down. Mary started making coffee as both she and the adults were caffeine addicts.
After coffee she quick fried some eggs and Rachel bolted them. By this time everyone but me was dressed and I was hobbling around in my pajamas. Rachel ran back up to her room to get her purse. As she came down the stairs, there were three knocks at the door. I was in the hall and couldn't see so well, as Elli answered the door, I recognized the boy.
His face was blackened with what looked like soot and there was a scratch across one cheek, but he was unmistakable. It was Lucien, the West City Duel Monster's Champion. I couldn't hear, but he whispered something and fell, panting to his knees.
Rachel had come up behind me in the hall and Elli looked to both of us. We all knew what had to be done.
"He can use Leonard's room."
Elli and Cari carried him into Leonard's ground floor room and Rachel dashed out the door.
I stayed out of the way of the entire process, making my way into the kitchen and pouring myself a bowl of cereal. Mary and Mel went into the bedroom to investigate our visitor.
Anna stayed in the kitchen eating her cereal with the obligatory book in front of her. She maneuvered chairs near me for support with the same natural ease as turning a page.
"What do you think of the new boy?" She didn't look up to speak.
I shrugged. "What am I supposed to think? He'll be interesting to duel, being the region champion and all."
She cast a disparaging glance at me before turning to her book. "That wasn't what I meant. We don't exactly look normal, least of all you. What will he think of that?"
"He's alright. I was out on the steps and saw him last Saturday. He saw me but he pretty much ignored me. Didn't stare and didn't avert his eyes. Just took me in stride as part of the scenery."
Her thin eyebrows furrowed, making them look like a few threads stitched through a pale tapestry. "Well I'm not sure I want to live with someone who treats me like a piece of furniture."
I laughed. "Well we'll just have to see about that, won't we?"
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Lucien
I had no idea where I was. I did an automatic wake-up check of my facilities. Two legs, two arms, one head, most of a brain, check. Familiar surroundings, not check. I could tell that without opening my eyes.
I considered the places I could be. "Aliya?" I ventured.
An unfamiliar sarcastic voice came from my side. "Who's that, your girlfriend? It's not me, regardless."
I opened my eyes and saw the red haired girl next to me. It was a good thing her hair was only light red instead of the deep crimson of my recent adversary's or I might just have fainted again.
"Will moaning in pain help?"
"No."
"I thought not. So, where am I?"
I tried to act calmer than I felt. I wasn't screaming so I felt I was doing fairly well. The tired blond woman from before walked in and immediately started fussing over the burns I hadn't realized I had. The red haired girl walked out of the room in disgust as a green haired one and a brunette walked in.
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Tim
Cari walked briskly into the kitchen and turned on the TV. Anna glowered up at her but Cari had been annoyed by all the attention Lucien was getting and ignored her. She started flipping channels.
"He's got some pretty bad burns. Any fire that could give him those is bound to be on the news."
Soon she was proved right. The local news channel had footage of the fire in its later stages, fire crews preventing it from spreading to the neighboring houses. According to the report no bodies had been found though according to reports all members of the family were inside at the time of the fire. In fact according to the phone calls the police department had made, a considerable amount of the extended family was supposed to have been there as well.
Elli had come back into the kitchen in time to see this part of the report. "Oh the poor baby, he doesn't have any family to go back to."
Cari turned her back on the rest of us. "We managed. Our extended families were alive, but they didn't even bother to identify us."
She hurried out of the kitchen, probably to the room she shared with Mary. The one thing Cari wouldn't do was cry
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Lucien
The woman, Elli, went out shopping for clothes for me. I just told her to get T-shirts and shorts. She bought T-Shirts, shorts, underwear, a pair of sneakers, a few collared shirts, pants, a watch, a raincoat, and enough socks for an army. I'd heard of generosity, but this seemed suspicious. When she saw the look on my face she explained.
"We're on the payroll of both the government and a private corporation. Technically the corporation only provides for our original charges, but they won't notice if we need extra clothes."
My brow furrowed. "A private corporation funds an orphanage?"
She shrugged and tucked back a misplaced strand of hair. "Well, the other children were orphaned in an industrial accident. The company their parents worked for pays all their expenses as they wanted to avoid any potential law suits."
My curiosity was piqued. "What company was this?"
"You know, I'm not entirely sure. It was some all-American toy making company I believe. Not long ago it was bought out by Industrial Illusions, so now the check comes from them."
I nodded. This was interesting. But just then I had other things to think about. "My school will…"
She nodded. "What school do you go to? I'll call."
I shook my head and sat up in the bed. "I have a better idea. I have… a friend I need to see."
She pushed me back down and put one of the shopping bags on my chest. As if that could hold me down. "You're not going anywhere until I've treated your burns. Don't worry, I'm certified."
This was going to be a long day.
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Tim
Mary, Mel, Anna, and I were all out on the front steps when Elli got back from buying new clothes for Lucien. She was clearly very excited about the prospect of a new child to take care of. Normally she would be teaching us at this time instead of looking after some other kid. Not long afterward Ray biked up. Mel sprang up to greet him.
"Hi Ray! Why aren't you in school?" Ray was in his sophomore year of high school at a private school out in the sub-urbs though he lived in on of the apartment complexes down town, on the other side of the park.
"Teacher work day. The teachers all need time to write exams and grade tests. Giving them a day with no classes is supposed to make them do higher quality work. I bet it actually lowers the grade point average because the teachers have time to make it harder." We all laughed and he set his bike against the wall. "So where's Elinor?" Ray always referred to us by our full names. We only accepted it because he did the same to Elli.
Anna closed her book. "She's in Leonard's room with the new boy."
Ray's eyebrows veritably levitated. "New boy? You mean a new orphan? What's his name?"
"Lucien." We chorused.
"Lucien? Lucien Morningstar, the region champion?" We nodded in unison. "He beat me in the tournament! I've been looking forwards to seeing him again. What happened?"
It was Mary's turn. "There was a terrible fire at his house, killing everyone but him."
Ray winced. "Poor kid… Anything I can do to help?"
Mary shrugged. "I dunno, ask Elli."
Ray raised an eyebrow at me as if it say, "What's up with them?" He walked inside and I followed.
Elli was just coming down the stairs carrying a fresh roll of gauze and looking distracted. "Oh, Ray. Anything I can do for you?"
He gave that jaunty grin of his. "I'm here to see what I can do for you. I'm the one trying to accumulate community service hours, Ellinor."
"You must have enough community service hours for half your school, Ray." She sighed. "But yes, there is something you can do. Have the kids told you about our guest?"
He nodded in assent and she continued.
"Well he's convinced that some lawyer friend of his would be willing to contact the school and settle anything that came up in the destruction of the house and his family, wills, insurance, etcetera. He wrote up a note for him. Could you take it down to his office? I'll have Lucien write down the address."
She bustled off without waiting for an answer. Momentarily she re-appeared bearing a folded scrap of paper with a downtown address scribbled on it with the name Adolfus Buerreginsky.
Ray took the paper and headed back outside. I turned to Elli. "How's he doing?"
"He'll be fine, there isn't anything that I can't treat. It's the strangest thing though. In addition to the burns he has some cuts that look like they were inflicted by some sort of long knife, bruises too. The boy practically was a bruise. I don't see how he could have gotten all of those in a fire."
That just reminded me of how sore I was from some of the direct attacks I'd taken in the warehouse. Then I had a thought. There were only a few ways he could have gotten those injuries. It could have been in a duel like the one we had all been forced into. Even worse he could have been one of the people who dueled us. If he was the one who made Mel scream…
No. I was jumping to conclusions. There were other ways he could have been injured. Maybe he was abused.
But there was a fire. There was a fire after our duels.
The fire after our duels had been caused by the generator. He could have lit his own house on fire as an act of retaliation against whichever family member beat him.
I got the others and when Elli had finished with him we stormed the room.
I asked the question. "What really happened?"
He wearily opened one eye. "There was a fire, what does it look like?"
"According to some of your injuries it looks like you were in a fight." I took a wild stab. "It looks like you were in fight with an axe-wielding maniac."
He showed no sign of shock or recognition. "I wasn't. There was a fire. A week before that I was in a bit of a fight, blunt weapons only. Then again you probably know all about that from the news."
"Then how did you get those cuts?"
He blinked. "Probably something flew at me in the fire, I don't remember."
I thought he was lying. As I looked around I was fairly sure everyone else agreed with me. There was the possible exception of Mary, but she hated to think that anyone could do anything so wrong as to lie.
But he was covering himself pretty well and I didn't know what I could do to save the situation. Anna's diamond cut wit saved us. "How did the fire start?"
After a split second his brow furrowed. He was lying, I was sure of it. But he was a cursed good actor. "I think there was something wrong with the oven. I didn't turn it on, so I can't imagine what."
"So you were in the kitchen at the time of the fire, the oven exploded, and some of the shards cut you? That makes sense."
Lucien was clearly relieved and immediately took up the mantle of the scared and confused. "I'm not entirely sure, but that's probably what happened. I don't remember the oven actually exploding but that would explain how the flames came so fast as well as the rushing sound."
Anna jumped on the opportunity. "You're lying. The fire started on the 2nd floor." Maybe she was paying more attention to the news report than I thought. How did she do that with her nose in a book? "So tell us, what really happened."
He'd been caught and he knew it. "I told you what I know. I'm not entirely sure how the fire started."
Can't he just give up?
I gambled. "We do. And we know you do."
"Care to share?" He closed his yes in a relaxed retreat.
Cari's train of thought over took mine.
"A shadow duel."
His eyes flashed open and he leaned up out of bed and grabbed Cari's wrist.
"What do you know?"
She began to pinch his arm, hard (I know from experience), but he didn't seem to notice.
Finally I said. "Let go."
Startled, he did as I said and lay back in bed. "Tell me what you know."
I shook my head. "Only if you tell us what happened to you."
"Too many people are involved. I can't just go and say everything without so much as a by-your-leave. Plus, I don't know what you know and if it would be safe to tell you."
"Well this is silly." Mel broke in. "How about we have a duel. If you win, we tell you everything we know. If I win then you tell us what happened and we may very well tell you what we know."
"If you insist, Just remember that I am Region Champion so the odds are against you."
Anna took over. "What were you before you were Region Champion?"
"I was me."
"And is that supposed to be something special? You think you were fated to be Region Champion? Get over it. You're not invincible. You can be beaten at any time. Mel's got just as good a chance as you in this duel."
She walked out of the room and the rest of us followed and Mary wished Mel good luck. After a delay of a few minutes Lucien came out wearing a plain green t-shirt. Elli would have bought that.
Not long after he and Mel were set up at the Duel Station. Once when Lucien winced just before getting into the station, Mary had rushed over to see if he was alright. I was fairly sure she had also wished him good luck. Cari snorted and I choked back a laugh. When Mary turned, red faced, to glare at us, we were innocently looking in different directions.
The duel begun as both duelists inserted their decks. Mel's gem turned out an earthy brown and green with two curvy blue strips. Lucien's was black.
The spinner appeared and chose Mel to begin the duel.
Mel: 8000
Lucien: 8000
"I'll set a card to each area and end my turn." Her voice squeaked. I mentally hit myself. Why did she allow herself to be intimidated by this kid? Because he's region champion.
He wasn't intimidated at all. You'd think that a single rant by Anna would instill the fear of orphans in him. But no, he remained stoic. You'd think he owned the entire city by the way he stood there, denying emotion, denying need, denying loss.
I realized then what seemed so strange about the situation. Lucien had lost his entire family- to no apparent effect. The only time you would have known something had happened was when he had fallen on our doorstep.
Then I knew it was all a play. Lucien wore masks like we wore faces. His show of weakness at his first appearance was just as likely to be false as his current front.
Where under the masks was there a mask no more? Was their anything left under them all?
Mel had better win this. It's the only way we'll ever know if Lucien is the victim- or the one responsible.
