I wake up in a cold sweat from a dreamless sleep. I'm still on the floor in Crow's hideout sharing a sleeping bag with Freya. One of her arms is still under my head from when we went to sleep and the other is draped over my waist. I slowly move the arm that is draped over me off me and slide my way out of the sleeping bag. I put my shoes on and walk outside in my pajamas. A cold wind is coming in from the sea and the sun is starting to rise in the east. I take time to admire the sunrise, I don't know the next time I'll be able to really enjoy one after everything is done today. I'm going to miss this, but I'm going to do what I know is right. After a couple minutes, Freya emerges from the door of the shed, yawning.
"Hey, are you okay, Kyoko?"
"Uh, yea, I just couldn't really sleep. I thought I would get some free air."
"I don't know how fresh the air here in the Satellite is." Freya says with a laugh while walking towards me. Her hair is down and the wind is blowing it behind her as she walks. For the first time in a long time I feel comfortable with someone else, but I have to leave. Last night was fun, but that's all it can be. Freya walks past towards the edge of the dock. "Come on," she says turning around to smile at me before continuing to walk. We stop at the edge of the dock and sit down with our legs hanging over the water. Freya's arm is resting around my waist and we just sit in silence and watch the sun rise together and I let myself soak up this moment.
After I watch the sunrise with Freya, we get dressed and sit down inside, talking over a cup of coffee until the kids wake up. When they are all up, I head to my D-Wheel to leave, telling all the kids bye on my way out.
"Do you have to leave, Kyoko?" Some of the kids ask, running outside after me to give me hugs.
"I'm afraid so, but maybe if you are lucky, we can all meet again one day."
"Okay…" A bunch of the kids start to cry and run back inside to Freya who was standing in the doorway. I get on my D-Wheel and wave to all the kids, they all wave back to me. Freya waves to me with a somber smile. I could tell this is hard on everyone, but it's time to go. I'm just happy I could enjoy one last day.
We are waiting for you in the Old Moment.
I board my D-Wheel and head towards the middle of the Satellite. Soon, I would finally be face to face with all the Dark Signers. I arrive outside the Old Moment and get off my D-Wheel. The figure of a man stands in the shadows, the only things visible is his white hair and the blue lines running down his outfit. He steps forward, walking towards me. I know that face anywhere. It's Kiryu.
"Hello, Kyoko. How I've missed having you around."
"At least we are back together now." I say, smiling at Kiryu. His appearance had changed so much since the last time I saw him. His pupils were surrounded by pools of black that made up his eyes. His hair had gone whiter and his skin was paler to match. The thing that struck me the most was how skinny he was. This clearly being the work of his time in the Facility before his death.
"So what brings you to wanting to join the Dark Signers?"
"Nothing big," I pause before laughing, "just the destruction of all Psychics." Kiryu gives me a large smile from ear to ear.
"Excellent, you will fit in perfectly here." He grabs my arm and leads me inside the Old Moment. "First we will introduce you to everyone, then we'll talk about our plans for you." We enter a room lit by candle light, a large rectangular wooden table fills the room. Four people are sitting around the table, two of them I already know.
"I see that you made it." Misty says from her seat. "We almost met again at the Arcadia Movement. I know that you were trying to take it down, but we had some revenge of our own to take care of."
"At least she got out before we battled." Carly adds with a shrug.
"Now, for the people Kyoko haven't officially met. This is Demak and this, as you may know, is Rudger Godwin."
"Glad to finally met you, but can we move onto the reason I'm here. I want the powers of a Dark Signer."
"Soon, that is why we got you to come here." Rudger says while finally looking up and meeting me eyes.
"How were you able to get me here?"
"All the Earthbound Immortals are connected inside our minds, that is how we communicate. How we are connected. You have our friend the Heron watching over you. To get the power you want, you must become one with the Heron."
"How exactly do I do that?"
"You must give yourself over to the gods, you must sacrifice yourself showered in the memories of your revenge. Your memories of revenge must drive you. The stronger they are, the stronger your powers will be."
"Then let's get it over with."
"It's not that simple, my dear. We want your powers to be the strongest manifestation we can manage. To do that, you must die at the hands of the people your revenge stands strongest for. A Psychic."
"Well, you should have told me that before now. I had plenty of opportunities for that."
"But those wouldn't have been a real death. That would be yourself giving your life to the Psychics. You are stronger than you know, you must be defeated by a Psychic."
"How am I supposed to do that? I don't have time to go around battling every Psychic I see till one of them finally kills me. I need these powers now! I've waited long enough."
"We know. We have been watching over you, that's why we decided what would be the best option for you."
"Go on."
"You must die at the hands of the strongest Psychic you know. Yourself."
"What? You are telling me to commit suicide?"
"I'm afraid so, unless you don't have what it takes to become a Dark Signer."
"Don't underestimate me. You stay here, I'll be back before you know it. Then I'm coming for your seat at the head of the table." I point my finger across the room at Rudger and turn to head out the building.
"Don't forget, the reason you are doing this. Never forget your past, Kyoko." That is the last thing I hear from Rudger before I leave the room. I know exactly how I want this to end.
"Kyoko," Kiryu comes out of the building as I'm getting on my D-Wheel. "Don't forget, we know what you are thinking." Kiryu reaches pulls a pair of handcuffs out from behind him and hands them over to me.
"Thank you, Kiryu."
"See you soon, Kyoko." With his goodbye, I'm off on my D-Wheel. I'm headed back to the docklands, near Crow's hideout. I don't want Freya to see me, but I feel like I have no choice. If I'm fast enough, she might not even notice.
I stop not to far away from Crow's hideout. It's night time already and there is a cold breeze in the air. This is my perfect opportunity. I take the handcuffs Kiryu gave me and strap one of them around of my ankles and the other to one of the pipes running along the underside of my D-Wheel. The easy part is over. I get back on my D-Wheel and drive a few streets over. I am lined up to where I plan to go. I take a deep breath and I'm off. I'm barreling down the street as fast as my D-Wheel will take me. The buildings around me become a blur. The only thing I see is my target in front of me, the Daedalus Bridge. I keep riding the gas of my D-Wheel, not slowing down for anything. I think about what's making me do this. I'm doing this for power. Not just any power. The power to take down the monsters called Psychics. The power to get the revenge my parents deserve for taking away the life I deserved. Nothing good comes out of Psychics, I would know personally. I think of all the people that I want to take revenge on. Dominic's face flashes into my head first. He's the man who murdered my mother, the man who turned me into a Psychic. Then Jack for not understanding me, wanting to change me, wanting me to change for him. I hope becoming a Dark Signer will be enough change for him. Next my friends, then Aki, Allison, Jonathan, this City. The list goes on. They are the reason I'm doing what I'm doing. They are the rage that fills my bones. I let the rage heat up inside me, its fire. I'm fire. There is no moon tonight, so instead I'll let myself light up the sky. I become my rage, I become fire. The upper half of my body is sheathing with flames. I light the sky and I'm reaching to bottom of the Bridge now. I lean forward, hoping my weight will push the D-Wheel to go forward, faster. I ride up the bridge, it begins to level out, then nothing. The bridge is gone and I'm flying. I am the shooting star in the night sky. I am a Psychic made of fire and nothing more. I'm no longer flying, I'm falling. Then it happens. I crash, into the icy cold water. This is the end, my flames are extinguished and I am nothing. I am drowning. The weight of my D-Wheel on my ankle pulls me down, down, down. I've run out of air and I can feel the water fill my lungs. I gasp, my lungs looking for air, but there's nothing to be found. Only the cold black endless ocean around me. I've lost all feeling in my hands and feet. The cold empty feeling of the ocean has taken over me. I feel my eyes closing and I'm losing my grip of reality. I can see the spots that cloud my vision against the vast black water in front of me. This is the end. I am no longer fire. I am death. Purple stripes of neon color dance in front of my eyes. They are coming closer. I don't stop them, I accept them.
Thank you for my new home. It says to me, then I'm gone. I've reached my end, the world is darkness, and I am made of nothing but evil.
I slowly open my eyes, the water around me is gone. I'm in a small room with a single bed surrounded by grey walls. I must be back in the Old Moment. I stand up and look down at myself. My old clothes are gone and have been replaced by a black long sleeve cold shoulder cropped top accompanied by a long black shirt with a slit to my thigh and black ankle boots. Fashionable but practical. Purple lines run around the outfit similar to the other Dark Signer's outfits. My sleeves go down my arm with pieces that wrap around my middle fingers to hold them in place. I undo the right one and push up my sleeve examining my arm. The purple mark of a Dark Signer covers my arm in the shape of the Heron Nazca line. This is the true proof of my new life. The only thing remaining, reminding me of my past life is the necklace with my family Signet ring. It's the one thing I couldn't let go of before I left, and now. My dark hair falls down to the small of my back and I imagine my eyes are filled with the same black that everyone else's are. A cloak that matches my outfit is folded at the foot of the bed. I pick it and up and put it on heading out of the room. Not only do I look different, I feel different. I can feel the new powers of my body coursing through my veins, I am no longer a human, I am a God. My cloak grazes the ground as I walk around. I look for the main room that I entered in the first time I came here, but I find Kiryu in the halls instead.
"Hello my lady, how ravishing you look now. You look fit to be the Queen of the new world we are going to create." He give me a grin, then sticks his hand out to me. I take it. He pulls me closer and links his arm with mine escorting me down the hall. "What is your first goal, princess?"
"I think the best way to start is by murdering the psychics I once called friends. Once they are out of the way, this should be easy. The only other challenge that stands in my way is that wretched Signer."
"Which one would we be talking about?"
"Jack Atlas," I say, curling my fist up with rage.
"You can have Jack as long as I get to destroy Yusei Fudo."
"I think we are in business then." We both let out a laugh. This new life is the way I want to live, not fearing hurting people, just doing it. We finally enter the main room, a sixth chair has been added at the end of the table opposite where Rudger is.
"Sit, you are now officially part of the Dark Signers. To the people of the living, you no longer exist." I sit in my seat at the end of the table. "Our first order of business is to take on the Signers that oppose us, then it's the rest of the world."
"Why are their six of us and only five Signers?" I ask leaning on the table.
"There is strength in numbers, we must now let our selves fall to the Signers. The more rage we have, the more power we have. Everything will work out in the end. Trust me."
"Then, how or where do we plan on taking on the Signers?"
"We wait, they will come to us."
"We should bring the fight to them, surprise them. They won't be prepared, we can win!" I slam my fist down on the table, I have all the rage in the world and I need someone or something to take it out on.
"Just because we have the powers of Gods doesn't mean we are Gods. The Gods decide when it's time to battle the Signers. But don't worry, it seems like that time will be coming very soon."
"Fine, but I'm going out. I need some time to myself."
"If you concentrate hard enough, you can make yourself appear as the person you were before becoming a Dark Signer." Misty says to me on my way out of the room.
"Also, if you need a D-Wheel, it will appear when it's needed." Adds Kiryu.
Once I'm outside, I concentrate on making the D-Wheel appear. It's black and similar to the one left to the bottom of the ocean, but this ones has orange lines running down the side of it similar to those of my outfit. I think of my old self. I don't want to be her, but looking like her should would make my life a lot easier. Once I have myself situated, I get on my D-Wheel and head out to take it for a spin. I knew the one place in the Satellite I wouldn't be able to go back to again and I wonder if word would go out about what I did last night. I wonder if anyone even saw me.
There are only two other places I know in the Satellite. The Cacoethes Movement and Martha's house. As no one in the Cacoethes Movement is a Psychic, I have no reason to take any revenge on them. Besides Jonathan they always treated me good, but they also made the killer than I am today. I don't think I would be welcomed back with open arms if I tried to go back now. Then, there is Martha's place. One of the few women that acted like my mother and took care of me. I don't want her to see me again, I wouldn't let her see me when I was a monster, and I won't let her see me now when I'm not even alive anymore. My Psychic powers may have faded when I became a Dark Signer but that doesn't change the fact that I still have powers capable of hurting people in a duel. Those are really the only options I have left in the Satellite.
So, after taking the D-Wheel for a spin, I decide to go back to the Old Moment to see if I could talk to the other Dark Signers on their own. I want to know exactly why they are here. I already know what drove Kiryu to this madness. I go to the next person I know best in here, Misty. Though I do ask Kiryu for directions to Misty's room. I stand outside and lightly knock on the door, the knock echos down the halls of the empty metal building.
"Yes?" Misty says from inside.
"It's Kyoko, I wanted to ask you about something."
"Of course, come in, darling." I open the door and enter the room. Misty is sitting up on one side of her bed and I sit on the other side. "So, what is it you wanted to ask?"
"How did you die and what drove you to becoming a Dark Signer?" It's a hard question to ask and I look down at my hands when I ask it. Misty gives me a small sigh before she talks.
"It's okay that you are asking, the Dark Signers are like a family after all." It's nice of Misty to try and comfort me before telling me about her life before being a Dark Signer. Everyone's life from when they were alive is always the hardest thing to talk about. "How I died is easy. It was a Car accident. But the reason I'm a Dark Signer, I'm here for my brother. He died trying to go watch the Black Rose Witch, Aki Izayoi, duel. So for my brother, I must take revenge on her. I would have done so if not for the Arcadia Movement collapsing the day you were there, but that just gives me more reason to wait and try again, with all of you by my side." I give Misty a small smile as she finishes her story.
"Thank you for telling me, Misty. I will help you get the revenge your brother deserves."
"And I too, will help you, Kyoko."
"Thank you. Have a good night." I give Misty a wave and head out of the room. I figured out that Dark Signers don't need to sleep, but it's the best way to pass the time, until the time comes to battle the Signers. The next person I head to see is Carly, I'm happy to finally be able to talk to her on my own after seeing her for the first time at the premiere of Jack's movie. Again, I knock on the door and ask to come in before going in and sitting on the bed.
"How can I help you?" She asks when I sit down.
"I wanted to ask you something."
"Get on with it."
"Maybe two things."
"Faster then."
"First off, why do you seem so different from the last time I saw you?"
"Well dying does have an effect of people." She says, rolling her eyes. I think prefered her better when she was alive.
"Fine. Moving on, how did you die and why did you become a Dark Signer?"
"I was trying to get a scoop on the Arcadia Movement."
"The Arcadia Movement always ends badly for anyone involved."
"You don't think I know that now."
"Of course you do."
"Anyway, I dressed up as a janitor and snuck my way into Divine's office. I'm guessing you know who he is, since you were there on the same day. Anyway, moving on, he found me going through files in his office and challenged me to a duel. In the end, he used his psychic powers to send me flying out a window high up on the building all the way to the ground. I could say that my revenge is all for Divine, but that's not necessarily true. Plus I already took him out and you don't see me satisfied do you? I want revenge on the whole Arcadia Movement, and Jack Atlas." I freeze. She knows Jack?
"What did Jack ever do to you?"
"Why does it matter to you?"
"Because I want revenge against Jack Atlas."
"Not if I get it first." She hisses out through her teeth. Like I said before, I definitely liked her better when she was alive.
"Just tell me what happened between you two."
"Fine. We met soon after the Fortune cup, I helped get him out of the hospital and even dueled with him against, what at the time seemed like, a Dark Signer, but wasn't. After getting him out, he lived with me for a while and I helped him figure out himself since he is no longer King of the City. He made me fall in love with him, then he left, abandoned me. He was the one person I cared about, the one person I could have lived for. Then he just left, he didn't care and he still doesn't care about me, so I want my revenge on him. What do you have against Jack?"
"When I figured out I was a Psychic, I ran away from him and our other friends. I ran back into him during the Fortune Cup. He was surprised I was still alive and that he wanted to talk to me about everything that happened since I left, but I was still just a monster and I don't want him getting close to me. I'll just hurt him. He says that he can change me and that he will change me, but he can't change the fact that I'm a Psychic and I'm not going to change how I act for anyone, especially Jack Atlas. Our history is deeper than it should be and he treats me like the same person I used to be, but I'm not that person anymore and now I'm even more different and I have no intention of going back.
"We will see when the time comes, who exactly gets to take care of Jack Atlas. As long as he is done for, that's all I care about. If that's all you needed to talk about, I would appreciate if you would give me some time alone now.
"Of course," I turn and head back towards the door stopping for just a second to look back, "but I plan on being the one to take Jack out." Then I'm back in the hall and I close the door. The only people left now are Rudger and Demak. I was going to save Rudger for last, but now that I think about it, I don't feel like I have anything to really talk about with Demak. He is a pretty quiet guy who I think would be best left alone, so Rudger it is. I head to his room and stop outside the door, it sounds as if he is talking to himself.
"Yes my lords, we have the girl and we are all gathered together now. We are ready to take on the Signers. This time we won't lose. The darkness will snuff out all the light, we will rule this world. I know you don't want us to kill everyone, but many will still be sacrificed to our noble cause. We will still have our army of slaves when the time comes and we rule this world. We will not allow you to be held captive in the Nazca lines again. You have all been freed for a purpose, and as Dark Signers, we are here to make sure you fulfill those purposes. Yes my lords, I will send out more servants to weaken the Signers and ready the Dark Signers for the battle that is to come." The room goes quiet, and a few seconds later, an army of spiders climbs out from under the door and continues on down the hall. This must be how Rudger makes other people into servants for the Dark Signers. It's no surprise Rudger has this power, considering how unbelievably powerful both of the Godwin brothers are. Then, I knock on the door, for hopefully my last meeting with Rudger before being able to take on the Signers.