A week.

A whole god damn week.

Aki stared at the roof of her safe house blankly, letting her mind wander around wherever it pleased.

She had already been stuck in here for a week.

She figured herself a bit more mentally resilient than this, but apparently she wasn't. Apparently all it took was a week of minimal contact with humans for her to feel like she was losing her mind. All she wanted to do was see her parents, or Yusei, or anyone that wasn't Kazuma delivering her food. No offence to him, but it was grating on her sanity more than she had expected. What the hell was she going to do if they never found Divine?

A knock at the door distracted her, so she got up from the couch and walked to answer it. On the other side of the door stood Kazuma, casting her a warm smile she tried to reciprocate.

"Kazuma," she greeted. "What is it?"

"Not much," he said, lifting up his hand that had a coffee cup in it. "I just figured you might want a drink." Aki smiled as she took it.

"Thank you," she said as she took it from him. "Would it be too much to ask for some company too?"

"Aki, you know I can't-"

"Kaz," she said, "please." Kazuma watched her quietly for a second before he sighed and gestured for her to step back. Smiling, Aki stepped back and allowed him to come inside. The blue-haired man had barely changed since the old days, except his hair was shorter than before. He was now an Inspector in the police force, and was heading her protection detail. She appreciated that Ushio had put a familiar face in charge, but it barely helped.

"Any news from outside?" She asked him as she sipped the drink he'd brought her. Kazuma sighed.

"No," he replied. "He haven't seen Divine at all. Wherever he is, he's hiding pretty low." Aki frowned at this.

"How is it this city is so modern," she snapped irritably, "and we can't catch a single frame of the bastard on a traffic camera?" Kazuma scoffed and shrugged.

"Same reason he escaped The Facility," he replied. "He doesn't want to be found. For whatever reason."

"Hm," Aki hummed, sipping her drink again. "I can think of a few things he wants." Kazuma didn't reply to this right away, letting Aki stew in her annoyance.

"I've read the files on Arcadia," he said, "The stuff he got up to there...It's horrific."

"We," Aki corrected," I was right there by his side, remember?"

"Aki," Kazuma said, sounding annoyed, "Don't do that. You were manipulated just as much as anyone else there. Probably more so. What Divine did was not your fault."

"Helped him along, though," Aki replied. "Probably got more than one kid killed. Like Toby." Kazuma exhaled loudly, looking annoyed with her.

"Being manipulated by a psycho does not make you guilty," he said. "In any case, we'll find him Aki. And we'll make him pay for all those people he hurt." She nodded along with his words, only half paying attention as she tried to come up with literally anywhere Divine could be. Sadly, nothing came to mind.

"Might be easier to just kill him," Aki told him.

"Justice is always easier when you can just choose to kill the guilty," Kazuma said. "I'd wager closure for those left in their wake comes first though."

"...Yeah," Aki agreed. She gave this thought for a moment. Closure for those left, huh? "I suppose you're right."

"I should get back to work," Kazuma said as he turned around to leave. "Keep your head up, Aki. We'll catch this bastard." Watching Kazuma leave, Aki resigned herself to her room, sitting down at her desk. She opened her laptop, intent on losing herself in internet videos until she got sleepy. She was interrupted, though, when her email pinged. Opening it, she saw it was from Administrator Reiki.

Aki,

I hope you are well. I now understand your hesitation in informing me why you couldn't start this week, as Police Commissioner Ushio had since spoken with me. With your life in danger from such a dangerous criminal, I understand why you can't come in to work. Rest assured, there will be a spot for you here once this madman is caught.

All the best,

Reiki

This news gave Aki a little bit a respite from the monotony, as it was nice to know she wasn't out of a job. She'd been reluctant to tell Reiki why she was indisposed, as Ushio told her not to tell anyone unrelated to the news that Divine was free. Thankfully, the man seemed to have taken this into his own hands for her so she didn't lose her job.

Another thing at risk because of Divine.

If she really wanted too, she knew she could overpower Kazuma and his officers with her power and escape. She could find Divine on her own terms and make sure he never hurt anyone ever again. But that was probably his plan. He wanted her all alone, to get at her and make her his own again. The idea made her skin crawl. She never wanted to see him again truthfully. So knowing he was out there somewhere trying to get here...

It was horrific.

He wasn't going to be found, she knew that much. Not unless he wanted to be. So what were they supposed to do? How were they going to get through this? Sighing, Aki threw herself down on the couch and continued to stare up at the roof as she thought about her options. There wasn't many, and she wasn't super fond of any of them. So she would wait.

For now.


"Fiona, I'm telling you, you need to take my place at this committee meeting!" Yusei shouted for the last time.

"I'm not the head scientist!" Fiona Wright, his colleague, shouted back. "They want to hear from you!" Yusei rubbed at his eyes angrily. He was really trying here, but Fiona was making it difficult.

"Fiona," he tried again, "I'm in protective custody. I literally am not allowed to leave here. Do you understand that?"

"Of course I do," Fiona replied with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "But we just got a call from the Mayor! He said unless someone shows up to argue for our funding, we won't get any! He said the other committee members will bully us into cutbacks!" Yusei narrowed his eyes at this.

"He did?" He asked.

"Yes!" She replied, "which is why we need you over there, Yusei! If we don't get any funding-"

"Than we all go under, I know," Yusei grumbled. "Listen, let me talk to Jaeger. I'll get him to let you in, okay? I'll call you right back."

"Yuse-!" Yusei didn't listen to what she had to say, hanging up and leaning back in his chair with a sigh. This was all going so horrible wrong.

First of all, his date with Aki was interrupted. That in and of itself was bad enough, as she had been going after his belt to undo it. But to be told that Divine was out? Horrible. That they needed to be put into protective custody until he was caught? Even worse.

And now, after a week being protected, Yusei was being told he needed to get to a meeting?

He knew politics could be cutthroat, but surely there wouldn't be cutbacks right? Jaeger had to know that his job was the only surefire thing standing in between them and Z-ONE's future. If Yusei lost his coworkers and the money required to keep an eye on Momentum effectively...

Growling, Yusei picked up his phone and dialled Jaeger, tapping his fingers on the desk in annoyance. The Mayor picked up quickly, sounding happy.

"Yusei!" he exclaimed,"Are you on your way?"

"Jaeger," Yusei said as he tried to be patient, "you know I can't go to this meeting. Ushio told you that!"

"I know, but we've already put the meeting off a few days!" Jaeger cried back, "We need to have it, Yusei! If no one from the Momentum Management Team shows up-"

"Let Dr. Wright in to argue our case!" Yusei shouted angrily. "She's been my right hand for the last five years for God's sake! Jaeger, I can't come in myself! My life is in danger, you know that!"

"Yusei I know!" Jaeger replied, equally as mad. "What am I too do?! The other committee members want to speak to you only! They want you and no one else!"

"I can't!" Yusei shouted, feeling himself reaching the end of his rope. Silence came over the line for several seconds, neither saying a word.

"Yusei," Jaeger said after the silence, "listen to me. I know this is screwed up. I know you can't come in. But if you don't, that there's a good chance that you won't get the money you need. This won't be my decision, it'll be the committee's decision. I can't change that!"

"...Such is politics, huh?" Yusei asked after a while, rubbing his face. Jaeger hummed.

"It is," he said. "Yusei, you need to come in. Even if it's only for five minutes, okay? I'm sure the others will understand. This is too important to let slip by." Jaeger was right. if Yusei didn't go, that meant they wouldn't get the budget increase they needed to keep doing their research. Hell, if he wasn't there to argue his case, then it was entirely possible that there might even be cuts to the budget for other areas of the city. If he couldn't keep this team going, if he couldn't keep studying Momentum as he had been...

Z-ONE's wrinkled face flashed in his mind. He remembered the tone of voice the man had used when speaking of the future caused by the genocide. It was a future he claimed was set in stone as long as Momentum existed, as long as Neo Domino did. He couldn't allow that to pass. He needed to protect this city. The city that had already been damaged almost beyond repair by his family.

He couldn't explain it, but he suddenly had an unrelenting urge to attend the meeting. It couldn't possibly be bad to leave for a little bit, could it?

"...Fine," Yusei hissed after a while. "Damn it all, fine! I'll find a way to escape the safe house and get to city hall. I swear, I won't be longer than ten minutes, got it?"

"Yes! I'll inform the others, that'll do nicely! See you then!" Jaeger hung up, leaving him to hang his head. Now he needed to escape the safe house and police guarding him in order to get to city hall. How was he going to do that, exactly?

Thinking quickly, Yusei went to his room and dug into his clothes, pulling out a blue sweater. He then went to his door and knocked on it four times, which was the signal for the guard stationed down the hall from him to come and see what he needed.

"What is it, Dr. Fudo?" The man asked curiously.

"Sorry to bother you," Yusei replied, "but could I trouble you to go and get me some of my notebooks from my office? I need them for a report I'm writing up."

"What notebooks?" The officer asked.

"My colleague Dr. Wright can point you too them," he replied. "I need them. Can you do that?"

"Yes, of course." The man said. "I'll be back soon, don't worry." Yusei nodded and closed the door, waiting as he heard the man walk down the hall and the stairs. After a few minutes, he heard an engine rev outside. That was his cue. Opening the door, Yusei walked down the hall and tried to keep to himself, as the safe house was just an apartment. He walked down the stairs, saw on of the officers he'd been told was guarding him, and waited until he walked out of the lobby. Yusei took his chance and quickly walked out the front door, and onto the open street. He pulled the hood up as he did so, as to mask his identity to any guards nearby.

It occurred to him as he looked for a taxi to flag down that this was reckless and stupid. That he wasn't making the best decision for his safety. Then again, when had he ever done that? Besides, Jaeger had been pretty persuasive on the phone. He needed that budget increase.

Getting a taxi to stop for him, Yusei climbed in and closed the door.

"City hall, please," he said. "And quickly.

"Yessir," the man replied, pulling away from the safe house. Yusei watched his window go, wondering to himself just what he'd gotten himself into now.

The ride to city hall was relatively uneventful, except for the bad traffic that made him antsy. After a while, though, they finally pulled up to the building that had been erected some ten years ago after the Arc Cradle had been destroyed. Walking inside quickly, Yusei was directed to the room where the committee was meeting. It occurred to him as he was about to entire that he was wearing a hoodie and jeans, and probably looked a bit frantic. Taking a deep breath and smoothing out his sweater, Yusei entered.

And his heart stopped.

"Hello Yusei," Divine purred from the seat at the end of the table. "How have you been these last few years?"


Yusei did his best to take in the scenario around him. Every committee member, including Jaeger, was frozen in their seats, unmoving. Divine had done something to them, surely. Getting a better look at the man, Yusei saw his red hair was now short and slicked back, revealing the gruesome scar Carly had given to him all that time ago when she tried to kill him. It had healed somewhat, but it still made his face a gruesome sight.

"This is quite rude, Yusei," Divine said with a smirk. "It's courteous to greet someone back."

"...Sorry," Yusei said. "I just wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Yes, I suppose not," Divine replied as he put his legs up on the table. "After all, I'm supposed to be in prison. Oh, I suppose you already know I escaped. I didn't exactly make it hard to find out."

Yusei said nothing.

"Have you no questions?" Divine asked with a smirk. "How I did it? Why I came here and intercepted your committee meeting? What I'm after?"

"I already know that," Yusei said. Divine scoffed.

"Do you?" He asked, "enlighten me then."

"It's Aki you want," Yusei answered right away. Divine watched him for a moment before he laughed.

"Oh, Yusei!" He said, clapping his hands. "It's wonderful! Truly, exactly what I imagined you would think. Yes, Aki would be your first thought. Don't you worry, Fudo. I'll get to my darling Aki soon enough." Yusei's eyes widened.

"...You know where she is?" He asked weakly. Divine smiled at him.

"Not yet," he replied. "Oh, and don't worry. I won't ask you. You wouldn't tell me and, even if I probed your mind I doubt you even know anyway. But hey, we aren't hear to talk about her, Yusei. I'm here for you." Yusei blinked at him.

"For me?" He asked. Divine nodded, taking his legs off the table and intertwining his fingers and resting his elbows on the table.

"Sit down, Yusei," he said. "We have much to discuss. I even saved the other end of the table for you." Yusei did not, instead he scanned the room for a potential escape. He looked around the room as long and hard as he could, not sure what he was going to do.

"Yusei," Divine said, his voice now low and dangerous. Yusei's stomach dropped as Divine reached into his black trench coat, pulling out a pistol and resting in on the table. "I won't ask again. Sit. Down." Realising he had no way out except to talk, Yusei pulled the chair out and sat down slowly, watching Divine all the while.

"Happy?" He asked the psycho, only making him smirk.

"Not yet," Divine replied. "I just want to make sure you know the situation you're in. Surely you know? No, you don't. Because you guessed it was about Aki. Well, partially I suppose, but not entirely. Such is the selfless hero type, huh Yusei?"

Yusei said nothing.

"Yes, Yusei the hero. I used the computers around here to see what I've missed. A whole load of incidents happened, huh? The Dark Signers, the W.R.G.P, the Arc Cradle. If I didn't know any better, I'd say your fetish was rescuing people."

Yusei stared him down.

"Hm, I suppose that's why, back then, you didn't focus on saving yourself. You just focused on outing me to that damn Misty and her supersized gecko. You focused on Aki's well being and not your own. You...You...It's all your fault!"

Divine's whole personality changed.

He went from the cold and calculated villain to a man completely deranged. Anger burned in his eyes, and his smile dissipated.

"You took everything from me!" Divine shouted, picking up the pistol. He fired off a shot, and Yusei gasped as it hit his left arm. He gripped the wound as blood flowed, but Divine wasn't done. "You took my movement! You took my standing! You took MY Aki!" Divine fired again, this time hitting Yusei in the shoulder. He leaned back in the chair and groaned as his body reacted to the shots.

"I had everything I needed!" Divine yelled as he stood up and aimed the gun at him. "I had my army, totally devoted to me! I had the deals set up, to ensure I could tear down those who opposed me! I had my secret weapon, totally and completely broken and by my side! And you took it ALL from me! I lost everything! Because of you, Fudo!"

Divine fired again, hitting Yusei's other arm.

"You're so full of shit!" Yusei shouted back. "You did it to yourself by being a psychopath! You killed children! How many did Aki watch you beat down and fight like Leo?! How many?!"

"Aren't you mouthy?!" Divine asked. "You should be nicer to the man with the gun, Yusei!" Yusei could barely think through the pain, but he kept his blurry vision trained on Divine.

"Ugh..." He hissed as his body pulsed with pain. Getting shot was probably the worst pain he'd ever felt. Even worse than all those real duels.

"I had everything!" Divine shouted again. "I was set! And then you. You ruined it all! You show up and all of a sudden Aki is doubting me! Doubting Arcadia! That stare she had, the one she grew after the Fortune Cup, she had it because of you! She was so suspicious of me after that day!"

"If that was all in took to sway her," Yusei quipped, "I guess you overestimated your hold on her." Divine' growled at this.

"I had it all," Divine repeated as he sat down again and ran a hand through his hair. "Even now I can imagine how things could have gone if you never showed up. You ruined my life, Yusei Fudo. All of it."

"Who cares about your life?" Yusei demanded. Even though he was bleeding everywhere, his temper began to boil over. "Does Toby Tredwell care about your life, Divine?! Do the other kids you kidnapped and murdered care about your life?! I bet they'd all want you to rot in prison. You're human garbage, Divine. You're more akin to an animal than human!"

"Do you think about Aki that way, Fudo?" Divine asked. "Do you also consider her as garbage? Less than human?"

"Wha-"

"After all, she stood by me as I did those things," he said. "Even now, I remember her watching as I assaulted that Leo boy, ignoring his sisters pleas to save him. What is it that sets us apart, hm? Is it that she repented? That she feels guilty? Or is it that she's good enough in bed for you to forget what she's done?"

Yusei felt his mind overriding his pain with anger.

"What did you just say?" He demanded.

"I asked you if you're bedding her," Divine replied with a smirk. "Is it her body that makes you think differently of her? It may be. I know it's wonderful. Too bad I beat you too it."

"You son of a-!" Yusei tried to stand, but was cut off by a gunshot and a bullet tearing through his thigh. He fell back in the chair and groaned, trying to stay conscious.

"Silly boy, don't threaten me." Divine said with a laugh. "I said I was holding the gun! Given your reaction, I assume you didn't know that. Why would our precious Aki hide that from you, I wonder?"

"Probably the shame," Yusei hissed, "of knowing she lowered her standards so much."

"You've sure got a lot to say, don't you?" Divine asked. "I wonder where you learned that. I don't recall you being much of a joker back then."

"Helps deal with the pain," Yusei answered.

"Hm, whatever. It matters not, I suppose." Divine drummed his fingers on the desk a little. "Let's get back on topic. What is it about Aki that sets her apart from me, Yusei? Why was she given forgiveness? Immunity, even?"

"Because she has a good heart," Yusei managed weakly. "Aki is a good woman. You tainted her with your evil. Tried to turn her heart of gold as black as yours. But you failed. You only made her stronger. She's a Doctor now, did you know that? She wants to help people!"

"How noble," Divine mused, "for her to help the society that rejected her."

"...What?"

"There is no place in society for psychics as it is, Yusei." Divine replied. "We are outcasts, witches, evil beings. Less civilised places would kill us for our abilities. All psychics in our movement were the same as Aki. As me. We were all thrown away. I gave them a home, I made them feel they had a place in this world. Am I evil for that?" Yusei stared at him for a long time, trying to form a sentence.

"That part of Arcadia was noble," he hissed through his teeth. "it was the killing that fucked it up."

"I didn't kill anyone," Divine replied. "They were simply not strong enough to be useful to me."

"And why did they need to serve a higher purpose?!" Yusei demanded as his rage flowed. "Why is it bad that they were just normal psychics?! Isn't that the whole point of wanting to be accepted?! How can you claim to want acceptance and then kill those who weren't strong enough?!"

"I don't care about acceptance," Divine replied stoically. "Not anymore. I want revenge. Revenge on the society that rejected me. Rejected those psychics. Rejected Aki. And I needed an army for that, not weaklings."

"Society has not rejected them," Yusei hissed. "Aki uses her powers to heal! Tons of other former members have found jobs! They've integrated!"

"As long as they serve the higher collective and drone on as helpful, I'm sure." Divine spat. "What would happen if Aki's powers got someone's father killed? Would the family be happy she did that? What if her powers went crazy and she crushed a kid? Would society still accept her? Yes, you see Yusei, it's not about accepting them. It's about breaking them, conforming them to their standards of normal. And hey, if their powers serve the collective, all the better. But the second they don't, the second Aki or any other psychic accidentally toes the line, they'll be right back where they started. Seen as demons. As evil witches who want to kill and thirst for blood."

"...Is that why you're so messed up?" Yusei asked as he tried to keep his eyes open. "Did society reject Divine? Did they try to make you conform?" Divine's eyes flashed with anger.

"It did," he said. "They tried to make me just like any regular schmuck. Normal. Because if you're not normal, if you're not in the collective, nobody cares. Normality or death, it's the name of the game."

"Bullshit..."

"No, it's truth. It's gospel. Yusei, you should know what I meant. Born in Satellite. Ostracised from the collective. Abnormal. Society's trash. Had you died in Satellite, would anyone have cared? No, because you weren't needed. Just like me. Or Aki. Or anyone else like us."

"I'm nothing like you..." Yusei tried to shout, but it came out a whisper.

"And yet you are," Divine said haughtily. "Let's compare, hm? Outcasts, those born under a curse. Me a psychic, you as the son of the man who caused Zero Reverse. Me, who was thrown out of his own house because he had no control of his psychic powers. You, who were cast into a horrible life in Satellite because men you had no control over decided you were subhuman. What is different between us, Yusei?"

"I..." Yusei tried, "I...wanted to change the status quo, not destroy it."

"And how much longer do you think it would have taken for you to grow angrier?" Divine demanded, "For you to want to take down not just the status quo, but those who enforced it? Do not lie, Yusei. There's only so much a man can take. And you are a man of action, I know it. How many more years in Satellite would have turned you into a man of hatred?"

"If you're looking for sympathy," Yusei said, "you lost it when...you shot me."

"I don't want your sympathy," Divine said as he played with the gun. "I want your understanding. Hm, no, not even that. I just wanted to know what the selfless Shooting Star was really like. And I think I found out."

"And...?" Yusei asked, "...what did you learn, Divine?" Divine smirked.

"I found out he's a man who I cannot agree with," he said. "A man I fundamentally oppose. And not just because he's the man who ruined my life, but because he is just too opposed to my vision."

"And what is that vision?" Yusei asked.

"The destruction of our norm," Divine said simply. "Revenge on those who would reject me. Revenge on society for doing what it did to me. But most of all, revenge on you, on those who ruined my life. I don't care if you disagree or if you think I'm crazy. And maybe I am. But you know, Yusei, crazy isn't always born. Sometimes it's made."

Silence fell between them, but Yusei was just doing his best to remain conscious. He didn't want to pass out in front of Divine, not in this situation.

"What will you do after you kill me...?" He asked weakly. Divine snorted.

"Kill you?" He asked, "no Yusei, I won't kill you. Not yet, anyway. That would be too easy, I think. That's not what I'm going to do. Want to know what the plan is?" Yusei didn't reply, but Divine got up and walked across the room to him. "I'm going to ruin your life, Fudo. I'm going to make sure that you can only watch as I kill the rest of those Signers. And then, I'll kill that god damn Carmine who tried to kill me. Then, once I've broken my little rose again, enslaved her to my will, I'll come back to you Yusei. Do you want to know why?"

Yusei didn't answer, but Divine did. Yusei felt the barrel of the gun press into his lower back, and Divine smirked.

"I want to take everything you love away from you. Just like you did too me. Any thing to say?" Yusei gritted his teeth.

"Yeah, Jack told you to drown in your own blood."

Gunshots rang out.