Boss Rush
III: Guardian of Order
Let me tell you a story:
Once upon a time (and all good stories begin like this)...
…there was a princess locked up in a tower by an evil witch until, one day, the handsome prince came to save her and called out 'fairest one, I shall pluck you down from these harsh stones!' or words to that effect. And while being saved from the witch's tower may not have been a sound basis for a prudent relationship, the princess concluded that the chances of her encountering a man of appropriate class, chivalry and, most importantly, dragon-proof armour were remarkably remote, and so she was plucked off her feet and whisked away to live happily ever after.
And once upon a time there was an evil dragon...
…that was slain...
…and an evil wizard...
…who drowned in his own bubbling cauldron...
…and a monster of a thousand, thousand teeth that reared its ugly head from the sea to devour the ships that passed above, as the green lightning fell and the waves crashed, and it was mighty and eternal...
…and it was eventually killed...
…and all things concluded, everyone who had ever been wronged by the darkness that waits just outside their bedroom window...
… lived happily ever after.
Once upon a time.
That was then. This is now.
Somewhere in London, the bells tolled.
Fog blew in from the Thames, up to Clerkenwell itself even in the relatively humid spring.
Yamamoto Koichi liked this weather. Even in a grey zipped-up hoodie, a T-shirt that bore the slogan: 'Light up' in electric blue, jeans and grey running sneakers, he was barely touched by the cool wetness of the fog. Even his ice blue hair that reached to his shoulders was untouched, although his light green eyes, fair skin, runner's build and relatively average height would usually have him pegged as a not very memorable loiterer.
Perfect for a private detective, in other words.
Yamamoto Koichi was running, his feet pounding along the Thames as he sought to catch up. "Dammit!" he swore as the roar of an engine sounded in the dark fog. "Nimbusman, you lost them?"
His cell-phone rung as soon as he even spoke the words.
"Yamamoto," he answered.
"Yo," the male voice greeted. "You know the perp? We lost the signal. She escaped."
"Lee is throwing a fit?" Koichi guessed.
"Actually, he's wondering how to break the news to the ice queen across the seas."
Koichi actually winced in sympathy. "Good luck, then. Polaris isn't merciful. I mean, the so-called hypnotist that tried to take over the British Arcadia Movement escaping? She'll have someone's spleen!"
"We didn't know, Polaris iced her so well she couldn't hurt a fly!" the caller protested. "She lost her powers, man!"
"Well, she got them back, anyway," Koichi pointed out. "Call Interpol. Also, where's Madison headed?"
"Erm, the report here says that she was whispering: 'Neo Domino, Neo Domino'," the caller answered.
"Right, as a favour to Lee, I'm throwing myself in the line of fire," Koichi answered. "Get me a plane ticket to Neo Domino City, Japan."
Hidden in the fog, Cheryl Madison coughed as she climbed the rickety ladder up the side of the tanker.
"Welcome aboard, Cheryl," the man greeted as she got onto the planked deck. "I see prison's done something for you."
Cheryl glared, but without heat. Her long green hair was matted, and frayed from being braided around her neck, her light violet eyes were ringed with eye-bags, and overall her face had that gaunt, sunken look of madness. "W- Who are you?" Her voice, though, had every echo of the Queen's English reflected.
"Natashi Kiyomi," the man confessed. "Marguerite told me you'd be here."
"M- Marguerite?" Cheryl echoed, her body relaxing. "S- She sent you?"
"Here, inside," Kiyomi offered as she was ushered into a cabin.
A blanket, hot chocolate and a plate of bread later, she was set and all too willing to talk.
"Marguerite," Cheryl slowly said. "S- She came. She asked if I wanted my powers back. A- After what that bitch did... I don't know."
"Setsuka Shimotsuki," Natashi nodded. "Marguerite visited me too. She wanted to give me a 'seed' of power. Power that could easily change the world, with or without the Arcadia Movement."
"You think that bitch would let you?" Cheryl scoffed. "I don't care. I'm not taking orders. Not from you, not from her, and not from anyone. I'll live how I want with this power. Thanks for getting me out of the Holloway hell-hole, but the first thing I'm going to do is take the ice queen down. Hard."
"Your power has limits, you know," Kiyomi casually mentioned. "Geas, was it? Setsuka Shimotsuki has no obligation to you, and in fact you owe her more than you know. She took you in from the juvenile centres, she trained you, she paid for your education. In the mystic point of view, you broke your geas first."
"And you?" Cheryl rebutted. "What's your mysterious power, then?"
"Fragarach, the Answerer," Kiyomi answered. "There are others like us, of course, but the fact remains that you cannot take on Setsuka Shimotsuki alone and win."
"Why not?" Cheryl growled. "I have to if I want to take the Arcadia Movement!"
"She has the Morrigan," Kiyomi waited for that to sink in.
"S- she... the Phantom Queen?" Cheryl's face turned ashen. "How much more powerful can she get? She's already a powerful psychic, so... why...? Why did Marguerite give her the 'seed'...?"
"Marguerite never gave anything," Kiyomi answered. "Either way, the sole reason we are here, is because Setsuka Shimotsuki is here."
"Excuse me?" Cheryl repeated.
"Well, Ms Madison," Kiyomi considered. "It might not amaze you to know that Setsuka Shimotsuki has great influence in both mortal and spirit worlds. In fact, too powerful. Setsuka Shimotsuki is too powerful, to the point that she is called the Winter Queen. We're going to check that. So, we have an alliance, yes?"
"... what does your 'seed' do?" Cheryl considered.
"Oh, it's a lie-detector," Kiyomi answered, shrugging. "As far as I can tell, it's also a weapon of psychometry. Object-reading."
"Okay..." Cheryl considered. "If I refuse, are you going to throw me overboard?"
"Hmm... who would throw overboard a criminal wanted by Interpol when I could claim the finder's fee?" Kiyomi rhetorically asked.
Cheryl paused. "...fine. But I want the first crack at her."
"Oh, this is your intended target," Kiyomi slid over a folder. "Your job is to pull him to our side, the only other psychic in the world willing to stand up to Setsuka Shimotsuki."
Cheryl pulled out the papers to glance at the photograph. "Oh, wow..."
"Well?"
"Done!" Cheryl's voice turned incredulous as she wiped a bead of drool from the corners of her mouth. "Definitely~!"
Kiyomi's smile could have matched the Cheshire cat's own. "I'm glad we see eye to eye."
The phone rang, waking Ariyashi Kaido from his dream. Groggily, his fingers scrabbled, reaching to pluck the device from its cradle on his desk. "Arcadia Movement, Ariyashi Kaido speaking."
"You sound like you woke up and there's no coffee, Kaido."
"I'll effing kill you, Shinamori," Kaido swore at him, running his other hand through his dark brown, shoulder-length hair. "It's..." He picked up his glasses to squint through the lens to the digital clock. "...seven am in the morning. What do you friggin' want?"
"Someone woke up on the other side of the bed."
"For one thing, it's my desk. For another thing, I had an all-night-er. I'm entitled to be grumpy at you, Mr Constantly Late. Did you have to go out on another Duel tourney or something?"
"Nope, this Trailblazer is free for the next few weeks," the voice of Shinamori Satoshi turned from light-hearted to serious. "So, when are you moving out?"
"Satoshi..."
"Kaido, the work is getting dangerous. I have no clue how things work in the Movement, but you got your life or whatever it is you gave to Shimotsuki. Please, Kai, I'd feel better if you weren't at the epicentre of shit blowing the wrong way."
"I'm writing a piece on the correlation between magicians and psychics," Kaido gritted his teeth. "My publisher is also hounding me for the deadline. I don't have anyone to help me move, Satoshi, and I don't have that luxury of resources. Here, I'm still getting paid to carry out research."
"Lucky you, then. I'm coming over right now."
"What?" Kaido was awake, awake and yelling at the other man over the phone. "You're persona non grata!"
"Shimotsuki got my ban lifted last week. Something about good behaviour."
"Well, it's seven! I don't have coffee!" the last part was lamely added, but Kaido was incapable of physical functions at the moment without the drink.
"Do you want black for your dignity, or the triple-deck whipped cream mocha you take when you're buried in work, and to hell with dignity?"
"Well, er, erm, you don't have to," Kaido rebutted.
"The triple-deck it is."
"Oi!" Kaido yelled, but without heat. "I'll just get some from the commissionaire. It's fine! I don't have to move just yet... right?"
"Kai, we're going through with this the moment you said yes to cohabitation. Let's appreciate that I know you, so shut up and sleep, and I'll thrash it out with Shimotsuki. Good night."
"I hate you," Kaido rebutted but hung up and went back to sleep on the desk.
On the other side of the city, the D-Wheel called the Trailblazer swerved onto the Daedalus highway.
Its rider whooped as he clicked a few buttons on the console, switching off the call function as amber eyes crinkled in amusement. The fingerless gloves he wore were chipped, clear signs of long use. The red vest, T-shirt and jeans hardly seemed safe enough for D-Wheel wear, but he was a professional.
Shinamori Satoshi laughed, the baritone good-natured and happy. "I can't believe he really did it, that Kai... well, maybe I'll get him some extra mint."
Fudo Ryuusei woke up at eight am with a sense of foreboding curdling deep in his stomach and a sense of utter isolation. He hated it.
Sighing, he hauled himself from the futon. The Fudo household was rich enough to afford beds, but for some reason he could not sleep anywhere but the floor. That confession had earned him looks from his mother, but he got a good futon. Granted, it meant some extra work in airing it out, but he usually left it hanging before he left for school in DA Kings.
His father had openly wondered if he intended for any future girlfriends to sleep on the floor. Ryuusei had given him an odd look and asked. After that it had been his parents worrying about their son's apparent asexuality. Or mostly his mother.
"Good morning, Nii-chan!" Seika greeted as he entered the kitchen, the smell of frying and rice a welcome aroma.
"Morning," he muttered quietly, sitting opposite his father. "Morning, Dad."
"Morning," Professor Fudo Yusei sounded tired. "Ryuusei, you had a late night again?"
"No, Dad. I slept at eleven."
"... small concession," Yusei conceded. "What's this about an attack at Kings?"
"Hazuki lost control of Black Garden," Ryuusei answered. It was partially true, anyway. "Just an accident."
They didn't need to know about the seeds, or anything odd. At least, not until Shimotsuki found the bare facts that were buried in the mysteries surrounding Marguerite. For one thing, Summer...
Night Rose Knight... Tytannial had called him that when he killed her.
The rice suddenly felt horrible in his mouth.
It was nine am in the morning, and Alexianna LeRouge was nervous. Even as she clung onto her fiancée's waist as the Vahallander II swerved into the car-park of the Clubs' House, Alexianna had a bad feeling. Like when her older brother Jean was arrested for drug possession by the gendarmes, or when Takeshi left Oslo for Japan and in a near-suicidal decision to end the Arcadia Movement in Japan. And the bubbling nervousness of wearing her polka-dot skirt as opposed to the plain skirt that matched her black hair and red beret better.
"You okay?" Ishihara Takeshi whispered. Being male and of average height, with light skin, his long black hair was wrapped in a ponytail. Brown eyes were focused on parking the D-Wheel as his muscles flexed under his jeans and T-shirt underneath a blue vest to control the vehicle. A pair of cracked goggles rested on his head above his eyes, some memento of the person they were about to visit.
"I... well, this is the first time I'm meeting your family," Alexianna offered. "You've seen Jean in Maison d'arrêt de Fleury-Mérogis but I haven't seen anyone else. It's..."
"Yeah, I know," Takeshi laughed. "Remember when we told Jean about our engagement? He tried to give me the Big Brother talk. Through the glass panel. At least Nee-chan won't be like that."
There was a bored receptionist at the Clubs' House when they entered the foyer. "Names?" the man's eyes lingered on Alexianna.
Takeshi bristled.
Alexianna walked up, directing her eyes that flashed red momentarily as she smiled at the man. "Ishihara Takeshi and Alexianna. Could you direct us to Ishihara Kaname?"
"N- No problem," the man suddenly turned much more willing. "Second door, west wing."
"Thank you, help us fill that form in, please?" Alexianna simpered as she dragged Takeshi off.
"I hate it when you do that," Takeshi groused as they walked down the corridors to the west wing.
"It got us entrance in," Alexianna defended, even though she knew that they could have gotten past easily, just with much more trouble.
Takeshi opened the door to the ward. "Nee-chan."
Ishihara Kaname was an attractive woman of average height, with short and messy brown hair and cerulean blue eyes. Even in the bed as she was, she still possessed an air of adamant strength, as she glared at the pair. "Takeshi. Who's the girl?"
Takeshi twitched. "Alexianna, this is my older sister, Kaname. Nee-chan, this is my fiancée, Alexianna LeRouge."
Kaname dropped all pretence to gape at him. "Fiancée? Idiot brother, you got engaged and you never told me?"
"Hey!" Takeshi defended. "I was busy! Besides, doesn't Shimotsuki update you anyway? You joined for this reason, right?"
"I told her not to," Kaname defended. "I can't do anything for her anyway."
"Nee-chan, well, I brought soup," Takeshi offered, holding up a Thermos. "So, how are you?"
"Fine," Kaname scowled. "But... sometimes I forget whole days. After the accident, that is..."
Alexianna looked at her. "You look fine."
"Thanks," Kaname answered, but without heat. "You look like a good girl. I should tell you to stay away from this useless brother, but then I'm an older sister. Break his heart and I'll hunt you down."
"I'm part of the Movement as well," Alexianna offered. "Well, usually the European Movement, but I'm here in Japan for a while, so I'm currently taking jobs with the Central Movement."
"Oh?" Kaname perked slightly. "I was... well, I guess I still am a member. Not that being a member actually saved me from that accident..."
"It's not your fault, Nee-chan," Takeshi defended. "We got revenge already. That's why, Nee-chan, forget it. Shall we?"
"Sorry, Takeshi..." Kaname whispered sadly. "I'm still not ready to step out into the light."
Takeshi nodded as he set out the soup. "Nakamura-san sent this."
"He did?" Kaname stared. "I never figured him as the type to cook. Though, seeing Boss, someone has to..."
"Shimotsuki is capable of cooking," Takeshi answered.
"Yes, Boss is so good at it!" Alexianna chipped in, and soon enough, the flow of conversation had washed away the awkwardness.
Kaname slumped back against the pillows as Takeshi and Alexianna left. "Sorry... I can't manage it just yet."
"Healing what the other wounds and wounding what the other heals, the cycle of pain perpetuates itself," an amused voice murmurs.
"Who?" her head whipped around as Kaname beheld the female magician. Her robes had a puffed-out collar, like petals, and her dark blue hair itself was arranged like a pistil. In her hand was an ornate rose-head staff.
"Good morning," the magician answered wryly. "I am the Sorcière de la fleur Temps. I go by the name Marguerite."
"W- Why are you here?" Kaname was about to reach for the call button.
"Wouldn't you wish to change?" Marguerite's words echoed something that caused her to stop.
"C- Change?" Kaname repeated.
"Words, once it has left your mouth, it cannot be uncalled," Marguerite nodded. "It cannot be nullified. People don't understand how strongly they're tied down because of it. But they continue to use that lock. Words are something living and sometimes, it can even tie down a person's life. You have tied yourself down, with the words... 'destiny' and 'fate'. Yet, there are things that are beyond the power of words. I can give you that power to take a gamble, to free yourself from this cage of words, to finally manage to overcome your limits... to make the seeds bloom. Well?"
Kaname should have demanded more answers. She should have done something like call for help. Yet, the promise hung tantalisingly, like water just out of the reach of the thirsty as she glanced at Marguerite. "You... you'll lead me to change."
"Yes, child of the eyes of Skuld," Marguerite nodded. "I will give you a 'seed', a 'seed' that will risk yourself in a gamble for change and power. Well?"
"I... I want to change!" Kaname answered.
Marguerite smiled, right as the aura around her changed. "Excellent. Then let us form a contract... and I shall grant you that chance, Beira."
With that, Marguerite disappeared once more, leaving nothing save for the intense smell of flowers as Kaname sunk back into the bed and writhed.
The Puzzle Area was somewhere near the Daimon Area itself. From even before the combination of the twin cities, it was already bad, an area just one step above Satellite. Even after the improving conditions, the Puzzle Area remained contaminated with the riff-raff of humanity in Neo Domino City, where delinquents and gangs still made their bases and homes right next to one of the most prosperous areas.
All the gangs there knew who to look out for. Once in a while there were people who decided to try slumming it in the Puzzle Area. Usually they ran out fast. Unless they were sent by Setsuka, in which they took out their DuelDisks and rapidly defeated anyone there.
The Duel Gangs and the Underground might be rather more stable in this area, but it was already clear which organisation was going to survive against the Arcadia Movement; none. Shimotsuki was not know to be merciful to disorganised gangs.
Now, the Arcadia Movement's black car was rolling past the area. A typical car owned by the Arcadia Movement was rather standard. It was black, came in a variety of makes, and had the Arcadia emblem of a castle and a lightning bolt. The lightning-struck tower, the sign of disaster to anyone who saw it, apparently.
There was no one stupid enough to try an extortion scheme. The one time an idiot had tried it, Shimotsuki had had the man run over. And his skull crushed. After which the body had mysteriously disappeared. There were no witnesses. The rumours of the current one inheriting her mother's powers were thus set in stone.
Saiga was waiting as the car peeled up to him. The doors swung open, and Setsuka came out, dressed in a thick jacket over her black uniform. "Saiga-san. Have you found him?"
Saiga pointed into a derelict building. "He's in there. Goes by Yoshiwara. Can I go now?"
"Then go. If you are lying, I shall find you and extract my price."
Saiga shuddered, even as he ran. Without showing any apprehension, Setsuka approached the building.
The door fell open to a well-placed foot as she entered. The interior was shrouded in shadows, but hardly a detriment to her as the inside was lit by a fire in a tin barrel. Boys in untidy uniforms of the well-established Domino High were hanging around here, and some of them bore DuelDisks.
"Who're you?" one of them sneered.
"I am hardly anyone you would know," Setsuka answered. "Is Yoshiwara here?"
"Well, what's a girl like you want with him?" the air grew tense as they gathered to stare at her, their eyes hostile and stances aggressive.
Setsuka's eyes narrowed. "How rude."
The sixth lout had hit the floor when Setsuka leapt out of the way of an explosion. "Yoshiwara, I presume?"
"Well, well, Shimotsuki Setsuka herself came to see me," the teenage leader bowed. "That witch said that you'd come, and if I kill you, I win."
"The arrowhead of fairies, I see," Setsuka nodded. "You've met Marguerite?"
"She said that one of us must be strong enough to kill you," Yoshiwara gloated. "If I kill you, I'll get more power, more than this lousy thing."
"How crass," Setsuka remarked as the next explosion sounded.
"Yes!" the man yelled. "I did it! I killed her!"
"Did you now?" Hands tightened around his neck as Yoshiwara was bent to an impossible angle back to face Setsuka, now behind him. "In these sort of battles, you're severely lacking. I absolutely refuse to die at the hands of someone like you. Where is Marguerite?"
"Don't... know..." he wheezed.
"The arrowheads of fairies," Setsuka pronounced as she took the small bag that hung around his neck. "Quite a valuable gift, I suppose. Tell me, why did you get them?"
"To... kill you..." he wheezed.
"Impudent boy," Setsuka sniffed. "Jenny."
The Dance Princess of the Ice Barrier nodded, her arms restraining Yoshiwara with deceptive strength.
"Drown him."
The monster pulled him under into a seemingly shallow puddle, bubbles frothing fiercely on the surface for three minutes before it stopped altogether. His body never surfaced.
The Dance Princess surfaced.
"Mmm," Setsuka nodded. "Excellent work. Since he does not know anything, and these powers are due to the arrowheads, obviously Saiga has not fulfilled his promises. We should go."
They left, and later the gang would wake up to find their leader gone. They would panic, they would scream, and several would swear to have seen a demon or a witch. Either way, the legend of Shimotsuki Setsuka would grow once more, yet unlike her mother the White Witch, or even before her the Black Rose Witch, another name would come...
… the White Queen.
Fudo Ryuusei could not remember seeing Duel spirits, or the first time that he had seen Duel spirits. Perhaps when Aunt Ruka came to visit and he asked, at three years old, why was there a unicorn in the living room. This of course led to many painful questions, especially with four years later, when his psychic powers began to bloom.
Even so, Ryuusei did not ever see a spirit partner. When he raised this question next, Aunt Ruka had looked more distressed than ever as consulted Regulus. The talking lion had given him a look and flatly declared that he needed no such thing.
Dangerous, Regulus had said.
Still, he saw the Botanical Lion one day, and Dandylion thereafter. The Plant monsters, oddly enough, became his constant companions soon after. Botanical Lion may have faded as he approached thirteen, but Dandylion remained.
The next day, Ryuusei stirred into the waking world as the tiny spirit bounced above him. "Good morning, Dandylion."
The spirit flicked its nose, frowning and crossing its leaf-forearms as Ryuusei sat up.
Ryuusei looked at the clock. Five minutes late... he needed a new alarm. "Thank you, Dandylion."
The spirit affectionately nodded, bouncing about to perch on his shoulder, purring.
Ryuusei glanced out to the sole plum tree blooming outside the apartment complex. Somehow, the only tree that remained blooming and ripe all year was outside his room. His parents had been at a similar loss to explain why his affinity with plants stretched that in the years that the Fudo family had occupied the apartment, the tree had always been blooming.
A knock sounded. "Oi, wake up!"
"Rex?" Ryuusei blinked. "Oh, right. It's Sunday."
Dandylion purred in agreement.
"Why is it... that you're the only one I can see?" Ryuusei murmured as he absently petted the creature. "You're always hiding from Chase, Rex, all of them."
Somehow, the plant-lion just shrugged.
"Even Shimotsuki... say, I think Chase can see spirits," Ryuusei murmured. "What do you think?"
The plant merely remained silent, as all plants were wont to do. What Ryuusei had not realised was that plants had their own language, a language that was quiet and beyond the comprehension of others. It was... an ineffable language.
"You're late," Rex said as he jabbed his friend in the forehead. "You're not running a fever. Pull an all-night-er again?"
"No," Ryuusei answered. "Just... slept late. Where's Chase?"
"Here," Chase got out as the toilet flushed. "You're late!"
"Sorry," Ryuusei smiled, the smile small but sincere. "So, who's the opponent today?"
"They're all preparing for the Stygian Dirge," Chase pointed out, looking at him as the three took breakfast. "So, we'll just be having a look at the teams that Team Black Knights will be facing."
"Well, there's obviously Kings' rival, Team Night Sky," Rex pointed out. "Shimotsuki, Kujaku and Tenjouin, reserves Hinamori and Himemiya."
"Then there's also Team Central, with Elvin," Chase argued. "Night Sky isn't our only enemy."
"Team Ragnarok is also participating," Ryuusei said. "The problem is our lack of reserves."
"Oh, that," Chase shrugged. "Since it's not a school thing, Youkai's filling in. After all, Riding tournaments like these are super popular nowadays, that's why even people like Ryokai and Hibiki-san are in it."
"The Stygian Dirge is a tournament with many, many participants," Ryuusei considered. "There are standing Duels, and there are Riding Duels. There's even a rumour that this time it'd be fought in Battle Royale format."
"Huh. So a team strategy is needed," Rex concluded.
Chase remained silent, although his eyes continued flickering to the fine, invisible vine-like chains that flickered over Ryuusei like a veil of spider-web. "What is that? This is the first time I'm seeing it..."
Is it? Rei whispered. Then it is close, the Crown of the Summer.
The dragon's green eyes flickered to the small Dandylion who held the chains together, the small Duel spirit squirming before it disappeared.
Ryuusei might not have realised the language of the plants, nor the warnings portended, but he would. He would, in time, know... Like others, he will learn what it means, to be equal to the Winter Queen.
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