A/N: The Choten counts as a member of his own army, right? And man, do I really like giving people fancy (or in this case, Finnish) full names! C'mon, canon, gimme something to work with.


August Rojalti had never quite been fond of galas. They were much too crowded, the food and drinks were all terrible, and there were far too many people trying to schmooze up to the richer folk. But, here he was, dressed to the nines because of that exact last complaint. A rather rich politician had given him a grant for his inventions, and even allowed him to use one of his unused yachts as a sort of 'work-space' for testing.

But, that wasn't the current discussion topic at the current moment. A slight problem had manifested within the rich folk, with many men and women claiming that they'd lost bracelets, necklaces, and watches that they swore that they'd brought with them. Oddly enough, no wallets or purses had been snatched, almost as if the thief had attempted to make it look like an accident, and got a bit ahead of themselves.

Amidst the panic, he did notice something else out of the ordinary. One of the waiters from across the room, though he couldn't see their face, was shoving and pushing past some of the panicked guests, as if they were trying to get away. In order not to look suspicious, he followed suit at a quick walking pace, almost certain that they were the guilty party.

Once the both of them, The Choten and thief alike, had gotten out of sight of the others and up into the higher portions of the building, they paused. The thief, to catch their breath, and him, to take in his surroundings. The highest floors of the building had been in severe neglect and disuse for quite some time, but this one now had a new purpose: a hideout and stash for ill-gotten gains. Blankets and crates were stacked around in circles and a few gold necklaces and expensive other jewelry had been thrown into a messy pile.

August had barely any time to confront them before the thief's head suddenly turned, and the door slammed shut behind him. Without given any warnings as to what might happen next, he was violently dragged upward and kayoed by something else in the room. As he came to a short while later, his head rang feverishly as he tried to get himself back in one piece. But this was going to be a bit trickier than he had previously assumed, which he realized when his vision cleared.

His wrists had been tied above his head with thin silver cables, which sliced deep into his arms when he attempted to struggle out of them. A high-pitched and dissonant giggling could be heard behind him, which he recognized from an Evil Toy. But, what most shocked him was the figure that stepped out of the shadows before him. A young girl, no more than 11 or 12, with a bitter expression that seemed almost comical for a child to have.

"Why were you stalking me?" she asked accusingly. The Evil Toy that had subdued him crawled next to her on all fours, still holding the cables tightly around its claws. Razorkinder Puppet of Miasma Pit, as he had recognized it, apparently had left the Darkness Realm to befriend a young girl. Glancing further, he saw a pearl necklace dangling around its neck. "Speak!" the girl said, folding her arms and glaring harder.

"You know, it's not nice to take things that aren't yours," He said. "Didn't your parents ever teach you that? I'm sure they must be worried sick about you."

"My parents are gone," she said bitterly. "And I need this to live, thank you very much." The puppet looked between her and him, tugging on the cables a smidge as threat display. She shook her head and gently pushed down on the creature's claws, saying "Not yet."

"How did you come across that monster?" August asked, now curious at the bond that they'd held. He'd never seen anything like it between a duelist and creature, let alone a duelist and a Darkness creature.

"He was the one that found me," the girl said, patting it on its head as it emitted a strangled purring sound. "He's my friend, and he's here to protect me from the real monsters." She seemed confident now, her angrier persona now melting away. When he cocked only a confused eyebrow, she sighed deeply and rolled her eyes. "You know! I know you've seen them, everyone does, but they're just too afraid of them. The light ones, with wings of golden steel and the… zappy… power things?"

So, not only did had this girl tamed a Darkness creature, she knew about light creatures. And, if there was any way that he was going to get out of this with all of his limbs still intact, August knew he'd have to convince her somehow to drop him. "You know, I could help you to be rid of these creatures once and for all. All you have to do is get your little…. 'Friend' to let me go."

She scoffed. "As if! You're just going to tell the police that I'm crazy! And have me taken away!" Razorkinder hissed loudly, yanking even harder on the cables. August grunted in pain, and tried to rethink his plan of verbal attack.

"You've learned so much just by yourself, you know. Imagine how much more you could know if you'd just listen to me! I think Razorinder would appreciate it just as much." The girl held a hand out in front of the puppet, shocked by this statement. Even the Evil Toy was shocked, and slacked the wires momentarily. "How do you know his name?" she asked, walking closer.

"Because I'm a duel master," He said with a smile. "And you have the makings of an extremely powerful duelist. You could join me, learn the weaknesses of these other 'monsters', and we'd be unstoppable together. What do you say about that?" The girl thought it over for a second, and then ordered Razorkinder to release him. August rubbed his writs, wincing a bit, and the girl tugged on the side of his coat to get his attention.

"Alakshmi Verma," she said, extending a hand once she'd gotten his attention.

"Lord Choten," he responded, taking her hand and shaking firmly. "You've made a wise decision, Miss Verma. Consider me at your disposal for any questions you may have."

"Well, there is one," Alakshmi said, pulling his tech gauntlet out from her back pocket. "Do you want this back?"