Disclaimer: I do not own YGO 5Ds
A/N: Btw, can't decide if I should let Yusei keep his scar or not. I think Yusei looked little bit better with the scar, but it seems unfair for Yuki to not save him from the Facilities, especially seeing as I'm writing a more realistic version of what the Facilities would be.
Arcardia were unlike the Dark Signer's lair in every way. The Arcadia towers rose above the crowd even in Domino City, a star in business and on the surface at least, a leader in the community. Never a man to deny himself earthly pleasures, Divine piled modern conveniences and exquisite antique alike into his living quarters, making the inside look more like a modernized Victorian mansion than the head office for an evil organization.
"Keep an eye on her then," The red-haired duelist said impatiently into the phone, sitting with his feet stretched out on the desk, "And if she seems tempted by that cursed satellite again, get somebody else to take over the pier. She's not actually psychic, there shouldn't be any trouble." He slammed the phone into the receiver (remember people? phones used to have cords and receivers). Really, the nerve of these people, to bother him with the trivial details about day-to-day operations. He was not some meandering middle management, he was Divine! He was the man who would soon conquer this earth! Yet these mortals, these ants, they dared defy him. They'll be sorry, once he ruled this world, they'll all be sorry. The psychic duelist's powers resonated as his thoughts grew dark, causing the objects in his room to rattle and float dangerously.
"Sayer? You wanted to see me?" A soft feminine voice sounded at the door. Divine frowned at the name. Sayer was the name he was born with but he had long risen about that, after the discovery and development of his talents, after the foundation of Arcadia, after even the Director of the City conceded to his demands, he had named himself Divine. That's what he was, and one day the world is going to recognize that.
"Akiza, my Black Rose" Divine rose to greet his most valuable asset, the girl who was going to win him the world, "have a seat."
Akiza Izinski sat down uncertainly in front of Sayer, she trusted her mentor beyond all else, but even she would admit he seemed a little off sometimes. And this was definitely one of those times.
"Akiza," Divine began, he didn't miss the hint of uneasiness on Akiza's face. Good. The Black Rose is too powerful even for him to physically control, thus he needed her to fear him. It helps with her, compliance. "There's been a slight glitch in the Satellite, a bunch of riff-raffs that the Black Rose should get rid of, before they can do any damage to our cause."
Akiza nodded silently. She never quite understood what Sayer said about their mission to this world, but he saved her from her own desperations, and she was determined to repay him.
"I'll take care of it," she said once Sayer had stopped talking. Standing up, she shook her hair lose. Gone is the mild-mannered Akiza Izinski, in her place is Black Rose, the duelist who instilled fears in both sides of Domino City. She spared Sayer the barest of nods before making her way to destroy this new threat. Nothing has been able to stand in the way of her powers and nothing ever will.
"Ms. Tono," The impeccably dressed man addressed me cordially, as though he hadn't just sent his goons to kidnap me. "I'm glad we finally got a chance to meet." Rex Goodwin sat behind his desk while the guard who brought me here left me standing in front of it. I secretly growled in annoyance when I realized I didn't even get the benefit of being able to look down at him.
"Well, you did make it happen," I replied drily, as though commenting on the mud caked on my shoes. Classic Roman (not his brother Roman) features, perfect skin, muscles that could barely be contained in that business suit, if he weren't Goodwin, but was rather a decent human being, I know a couple of people who'd probably hit that. But him being, well, him, getting screwed by him just doesn't seem that appealing. I mean, it is exactly what I'm trying to avoid.
"Well," He paused, "I'm afraid our circumstances have dictated this meeting. I've been very concerned about your activities in the Satellite, Ms. Tono."
"Why?" I demanded, righteous anger slowly rising. I would admit, if only to myself, that everything I did had a selfish reason, a good reputation and a couple of reliable followers were much more valuable than anything else I could have gotten in that dump. Nonetheless, I might have done more for that city in a week than Goodwin did in the past however many years he was the director the Domino City. Not Neo Domino City mind you, the entire city, from which his government profits, and yet felt responsible for only half of it.
"What troubling activities did I do?" I repeated the question, "was it giving these people access to water? Mildly improve security where I live? Or are you worried about fewer kids dying from hypothermia and malnutrition? What was it, Director Goodwin, out of everything I did, that arose your concerns?"
"Mr. Tono, I can see that you're understandably upset," The bastard continued smoothly. "You have done some very admirable things for the people of the Satellite, but I'm afraid that you've caused more chaos than you intended."
"I have?" that gave me pause. I didn't believe in any magical mumble-jumble way-back-when, this world is a whole other bag of worms. Here, I know magic was real. Who knows, maybe the decreased moisture in the air would anger some comatose deity that would destroy the world? Well, it's no more ridiculous than the plot-dictated reasons for destroying the world.
"Yes. The world needs order, Mr. Tono," Crawford, I mean Goodwin, continued, "and Domino needs order, now more than ever. You see, both Neo Domino and Old Domino had each reached the perfect balance of light and dark, good and evil."
"Wealth and poverty," I interrupted. "With Neo Domino's wealth derived from the poverty of Satellite lives." I have no problem with capitalism, but equal opportunity is the whole foundation of it. Not equal results, but at least equal opportunity.
"But that's their place in the world," Goodwin responded lightly, "oil in the engines of our great society, keeping the economy afloat, keeping the wheels of our world turning so to speak. That's their place, that's the life into which they were born, anything else would simply be preposterous. Of course, we leave a chance for everybody, even in the Satellite. Sadly, trash remains trash, and so few of them ever grasps the chance."
"So you locked the doors up, set the building on fire and left a window ajar on the 20-feet tall ceiling," I retorted, "and you're the champion of the people. Most people in even Neo Domino, and more in the Satellite get burnt out in this engine of yours, see their dreams go up in smoke then disappear as 'pollution of the world'. If that's the fate of the majority, you're doing something wrong." It's like in an exam, if more than half of the class failed the test, chances are, the problem isn't with the students.
"You're too stubborn for your own good, Ms. Tono," Goodwin grinned viciously, "You satellite scum need to learn your place." Despite myself, I shuddered. This is a man willing to destroy the entire world, and now, as much as I hated to admit it, he could do whatever he wanted to me without even fear of repercussion. Perceiving my fear, Goodwin let out a single satisfied chuckle.
"If you don't have something more substantial than a vague desire in maintaining the status quo, I'm afraid we can't possibly reach an agreement" I suddenly said. I didn't have the protection of being a Signer, nor did I own any powerful monsters that could physically come to my aid, but I'll be damned if I surrendered to something Konomi and 4Kids cooked up. "But let's stop this bickering, you could have had any of your lackeys dispose of me if you so choose, so there's a reason you chose to spend time on this Satellite scum. Let's cut to the chase, shall we? I have actual work to do."
"How very perceptive of you," Goodwin's feral grin faded, "I'm interested in your last duel with the satellite Yusei Fudo, just as I'm sure you would be interested in remaining on the good side of the Neo Domino government."
"Domino government," I corrected automatically, then understood what he said, my duel with 'Yusei', "I would have thought your spies have told you all about that," unsure of what exactly he knew, I disguised my caution under a thick layer of sarcasm.
"As you must understand," Goodwin looked annoyed at my question, "it is much faster to gain such information from the source, rather than test it ourselves in countless experimentations. And it's much easier for you to talk now, than being encouraged to change your mind later."
Part of me wanted to tell him everything and plead for my life. I've never actually been in a situation where my life was in direct danger before, and I'm sad to admit that I wasn't handling it very well. What kept me going is the frustration of my current lifestyle (if you can even call it that), and knowing that this man is ultimately at fault, or at least enough at fault that I could blame it all on him.
"How about we duel for it then," I suggested. I didn't have a lot of cards to play, so I picked one I thought he might fall for. "Put all our cards on the table." No, I couldn't resist the pun.
"I don't see why not," Goodwin leaned back onto the couch, "I understand you don't turbo-duel, that's fine. I'll even give you the chance to duel our champion, Jack Atlas."
A thinly veiled threat, I've only revealed my dislike for being extremely distracted while driving to a select few. Well, two can play at that game.
"So, do you want me to win or lose?" I asked with all the sincerity I could muster, Goodwin snarled.
"Come, Director Goodwin," I sniggered, "Jack Atlas isn't a bad duelist, but I certainly wouldn't be the first duel you've staged for him."
"I've seen you duel," Goodwin countered, losing his cool, "and I'm confident you would be no match for Jack."
A bluff, I decided, I never did enough to mark myself on the radar for somebody of Goodwin's, I shudder to say it, status. And I doubt even Sector Security recorded and stored random street duels by nameless duelists.
"Let's set our wagers then," I ventured, "I'll duel Atlas..."
"You want more than being released," Goodwin noted, amused.
"Obviously," I answered drily, "I do realize that Sector Security may pick me up anytime they wish, so I must insist on getting something out of these little visits."
"There is something you have in mind," Goodwin noted again with a glint in his eye.
"That's right," I confirmed, "Dr. Zigzix is a known expert in energy usage and production-"
"No problem," Goodwin waved his hand dismissively. "Beat Jack Atlas, and he's all yours."
'I was hoping he would design a mass-producible heater for the Satellite,' I choked back and began a violent coughing fit. I must have bluffed my hand extremely well, my entire life isn't worth a year of Zigzix's time. Screw the 'all lives are precious' BS, some lives are inherently worth more than others due to the effect they have on humanity. Zigzix produced the closest thing humanity might ever get to a perpetual motion machine, he was the Einstein, Tesla, Newton of this time, or at least amongst the ranks of Fleming or Leibniz; revolutionary in his own field if not destined to change the dynamics of the world.
To put things in a more practical perspective, there're at least hundreds of hypothermia-related deaths in the Satellite every year. Nervin had been able to design several prototypes for a heater, but nothing that's both safe for the underage population and mass-producible with the limited resources in the Satellite. Then there're other, less 'life-saving technologies I would gain access to.
"Cool!" I managed, my brain temporarily at a blank. "Get me a contract, and let's duel Jacky."
"Well," Cyril sat back down, "I've laid out all the pros and cons, and Yuki is still in the hands of the Sector. What should we do?" Normally, briefings are Nervin's job, but seeing as Kalin was present and impossible to get rid of, both Vincent and Chaos agreed that it was best for Nervin to perhaps 'nap' upstairs during this meeting. Also conspicuously absent was Greiger, who had returned from his undisclosed excursion, but Vincent had made a concious effort to exclude him from any discussions of importance.
"We go save her of course!" Galen said indignantly, his pink hair bouncing with the effort of his words. He didn't expand any further as he felt there was no need for explanations.
"With what?" Vincent demanded, standing up and walking wildly around the room, flailing his arms for effect. "We can't exactly rush into Domino City. If any of us can even get to Domino City, we wouldn't be here anymore."
"We could..." Teddy said hesitantly, "I heard Yuki talking to herself about some sort of tunnel, that we can use to get to Domino City." The room fell into an uncomfortable silence, each pondering the implications of a way out of the Satellite, and Yuki's secret knowledge of that passage .
"Let's check her room then," Cyril said, carefully weighing his words, "see if she left any hints or designs behind." He wasn't entirely sure what he wanted to do if he found it.
Vincent didn't object this time, nor did he expect anybody else to object. If nothing else, he wouldn't mind knowing where that tunnel was. He would prefer having Yuki back of course, her ideas sounded like dreams, yet somehow he saw her building it up into reality each day. But saving her from the Facilities is just not practical. He was past the age when he would risk everything to save a hero, and he had the rest of the Magicians to worry about.
"Before we go," Felice interrupted to Vincent's surprise, "I think we should decide what to do with the information in case we find it. Is any of you going to do something about Yuki?"
"Of course!" Galen replied, then paled when realized he was the only one, his eyes shot accusingly to each member of the group.
"No," Chaos replied decisively for the group. "We can't. Satellite, and I mean the whole of Satellite, finally has a chance. We're expanding, Galen, we have 30 people now, we're growing to 300 this week! Can you imagine what we can do in two months, two years? The Satellite has real potential for change here, maybe not to Domino standards, but to provide some semblance of a normal life. We're not going to squander that chance to save a single person." It pained him to the core to remember who brought about that chance, but that was in the past now, and in the Satellite, those who reminisce about the past is usually buried with it.
"She was going to save you!" Galen shouted angrily, his large brown eyes glistening with tears, "When you were caught, she was going to save you. She had everything all planned out! And now you're just going leave her in some cell?"
Chaos nodded, looking solemn but his mind already elsewhere. He wasn't a smart man, he knew. He liked to call himself street-smart but the fact was, he knew he wasn't a smart man. He can't run this place on his own, not without running it to the ground. So when they do search Yuki's room, he must make sure he's the one to find any traces of information about that tunnel, and destroy it. If the tunnel is discovered, there's no way he could stop any of these people from going to Domino City and selling their patents now that Yuki is gone. Then their Satellite factory falls apart, and with it any hope the Satellite has of becoming anything different than the dump it was.
I knew it, Kalin smiled maliciously, the expression on his face drove the entire room silent, even though he refused to say a single word. All your 'friends' are useless, or worse than useless- selfish. Everything you tried to do for this place, and just when you need them, they'll stab you in the back just like everybody else.
Thanks to Kalin's illusions, the only person who saw him when he brought Chaos back was Cyril, and even he didn't see Chaos with the blue-haired duelist. And Kalin certainly wasn't going to offer them the easy way out. Maybe when that girl realized the truth about this world, she would be converted to his views and give up trying to save it, just like he did, Kalin mused a little sadly, almost feeling like mourning the part of himself that withered and dead within Domino cells.
"Psst," Felice stayed behind as the others rushed upstairs to look for any information pertaining to this secret tunnel, carefully placing herself beside Kalin without making it obvious, "Don't do anything stupid."
Kalin looked curiously at the white-haired girl beside him, so she thinks rescuing her friend is stupid?
"Yuki has a plan," She continued, "she always does. All we need to do is hold down the fort, and not ruin it for her."
"You think she can come back," Kalin remarked, sounding completely nonchalant.
"I know she can," Felice replied with such energy in her eyes that she reminded him painfully of Yusei from their Enforcer days. She glanced over, seeing him obviously not convinced, she added, "tell you what, transfers to the Facilities take at least three days, let's take two days to gather information, devise a plan. And if Yuki isn't back by then, we'll act." Even fear for the infamous Kalin Kessler wasn't going to stop her.
"You're not concerned they would find the tunnel," Kalin said again. If anybody find the tunnel and was discovered outside the Satellite, security around the leader of their gang would naturally be enhanced.
"Galen ran up there first," Felice replied with a malicious smirk that rivaled Kalin's own, "that used to be his room, if there's anything inside, he'd find it first and destroy it."
Kalin nodded and didn't say anything more. Maybe this group was a little better than his own.
A/N : Black Rose-Akiza is really scary, and I mean really scary when you consider the kind of damage she can do and would be willing to do.
A/N 2: I've made another attempt to humanize the OCs, not sure how that's been working out so far.
I mean, nobody owes Yuki their loyalties, and she was what brought the group together. Her little gang hadn't had time to merge together yet, which is why they were falling apart immediately after her departure. I think realistically, she'd be lucky if she got as much support as she did.