Song Bird Duelists

A Tale of Love and Betrayal in the Satellite

By: June

Chapter Five: New Duty

"Raeven! Raeven, wake up! They moved the boulder! Come on… Please be okay…."

Crow's pleading voice woke me up. My eyes cracked open slowly to almost blinding light.

Almost blinding because the light was indirect, from the now unblocked cellar doors. I shuddered, turning over and nuzzling into Crow's chest without thinking. What snapped me out of it was a grunt of surprise from one of my "rescuers". My cheeks stained redder, and I instinctively cuddled closer to Crow. I could hear him chewing out the "rescuers", but what I focused on was his arm gently wrapped around my back. My heartbeat sped up and my cheeks flushed. My brain couldn't seem to function properly as Crow gently tapped my shoulder. I looked up at him, my eyes probably wide and childlike looking. I hadn't ever remembered feeling this odd about anyone holding me….

Probably because no male had held me. Not like this. Not like I was the only girl in the world.

Stupid! He's just concerned as a friend! Don't get narcisstic fool… He would never… I shut of the thought before it could finish. I couldn't be thinking that way! Not~! I groaned and covered my ears, getting my spinning thoughts back into place. That was a NUTTY idea!

"Raeven?"

"I'm okay. Can we get out now?"

"Yeah. Yusei and Akisa got the boulder loose from the entrance with some help from Luna's Duel Spirits, FINALLY," Crow grumped, giving Yusei an irritable look. I carefully maneuvered out of Crow's arms and onto my not so steady legs. The scarlet haired woman I had seen in my dreams was sitting on the steps, looking tired. A bashful looking young teenage girl was sitting near her on a few steps up, comforting a worried Georgiana and looking kind of pooped herself. I smiled a little uneasily.

"Hey. You're Akisa, right?" I addressed the red haired woman slightly nervously, who looked up in brief surprise.

"Yes. Did Crow tell you about me?"

Her voice was calm but a little curious as she looked at me. Now that I met her, I could sense the power within her. Even though it was different than mine. It seemed…. More pure. Calmer. Not as chaotic as mine. Well, you get the idea.

"No, actually-"

"Hey Aki! You met Raeven yet? She's one of our pals from Martha's house," Crow interrupted, grinning and throwing a chummy arm around my waist. My cheeks flushed scarlet. Why is he being so nice? Why does he like to touch me so much? Eeep stop thinking about it…. You're going to pass out if you keep on these lines….

"Crow, give Raeven-chan some space," the teal-haired teenager interrupted, shooting a sympathetic look at me, "She's probably wanting to get out of here."

"Oh, uh, right," Crow said, cheeks pinking sheepishly.

I wiggled loose from his grip and helped Akisa up. She smiled gratefully as Luna chivvied everyone out of the cellar and into the sun. I winced, wanting to duck into the shade of my favorite oak tree, but it would afford little protection since it was leafless right now. There was snow on the ground, making me shiver in the chill that was slowly creeping into my bones despite the strong sunlight after the rain-turned-snow. Snow covered rocks littered the ground around us, and the snow still fell. The plateau edge was even more ragged as a result of the rockslide that had been triggered by god knows what… Time to distract yourself. I smiled a little, gazing at the falling flakes. Snow had always been my favorite part of winter.

"Crow, only you could get into such a boneheaded situation!"

"Hey, I was looking for Georgiana! It wasn't my fault there was a rockslide at just the wrong time…"

"Still, Crow, why was Raeven with you? What happened?"

I listened to their bantering with a sense of loneliness. Veering off from the group a little, I watched them even as I shivered. What was the old saying? An outsider looking in… That was how I felt as I watched their easy banter and sibling like squabbles.

Crow was arguing his point hotly to Akisa, who was just as irritably replying and poor Yusei was just looking on with an air of half amusement and half consternation. The teenage girl was looking resigned as she, as well, watched the red heads argue. I smiled, feeling claws rake at me again as I turned away, taking a different route to Martha's front door. I knew the woods around the cottage well, having grown up haunting them and the places of the city no child should ever be exposed to. The trees were bare now, leaving me with a lonely and unprotected feeling- like the leaves of the other three seasons had been my security blanket.

Walking along, I froze when I heard smaller, younger feet pounding in an effort to catch up with me through the remnants of autumn's last gift. I turned on my heel, and saw the teal headed girl, running quickly. I waited for her- why, I don't really know. Maybe I wanted someone to be near who could assuage the loneliness for a few minutes.

Panting, she caught up with me. Leaning over and putting her hands on her knees, she tried to catch her breath. Between puffs, she managed, "H-hey. M-m-my name is Luna. Can we talk for a little while?"

"Sure," I said, waiting until Luna straightened up again. Then I started walking, the gray-gold eyed girl walking beside me.

She smiled up at me, "How old are you? I-I don't mean to be nosy, but I can't quite guess your age… "

"Nineteen years old, and I'll turn twenty next year on July 9th. How about you?"

"I'm thirteen. Do you duel?"

I chuckled at the question, "Growing up around the Legendary Trio and NOT dueling? Impossible. Yeah, I duel."

Luna grinned delightedly, "Leo will love that. He'll probably challenge you to a duel right off the bat. What type of deck do you use?"

"Um… You probably won't have heard of it before. As far as I know, my deck's one of a kind."

"Then Leo will be even more eager to duel you. Can you tell me about it?"

I smiled faintly. Over the years, I had poured my heart and soul into my deck. I loved each card like family, probably because I knew each spirit intrinsically, and they knew me in the same way. I know some spirits more than I would like to, I thought with a slightly rueful grin. Like Jynx Merchant. Even though he loves me like a brother loves a sister, I still find him kind of creepy at times and we argue alot.

"My deck is Rave-type monsters."

"How do they work?"

"They're kind of complicated…. Here, I'll show you one," I said, sliding out one of my favorites. Rave Jester wore an odd combination of medieval court jester attire and a punk rocker. His black hair was up in a mohawk that was halfway covered by half of a neon pink Jester's cap. Luna grinned when she saw him.

"Cool. Could we Duel?"

"Later," I said, sighing, "I need to ask you about something…"

"Sure. Ask away."

"Are you one of the Signers?"

Luna gave me a confused look, "How did you know… Well, yeah."

"What's your gift?"

Luna told me about when she was three years old, she had visited the Duel Spirit World. Which had probably granted her her power of seeing and speaking to Duel Spirits in reality.

"You spent time in Duel Spirit World?" I couldn't have been more surprised about that one if this kid had slapped me with a crowbar.

"Yeah… I'm not sure how though. Maybe it was a part of the Signer thing…"

"Maybe. I… Okay, don't laugh?"

"I won't."

"I can call up Duel Spirits. Or, rather, they seem to like hanging around me... Especially the monsters from my own deck."

"What's so weird about that? Duel Spirits do the same thing with me," Luna said, looking confused, "Regulus is usually guarding me, but he's away on a mission for Ancient Fairy Dragon right now, so Kureibon should be around here somewhere."

"Yeah, well, the funny thing with me is that they're always solid when I'm around. It's like my presence makes them real here too..."

Luna's eyes widened, "Wow. That I can't do. I wonder..." She trailed off, looking thoughtful.

I never got to hear what she was wondering, because we then caught up to the other four. Crow was bickering with Akisa over something, while Yusei just looked on in amusement and Georgiana was cheering on her onii-san. My lips twitched ever so slightly as I slid Rave Jester back into my deck holster.

Those three are so silly... And I'm supposed to be the one to save them all from *that* thing... I sobered at the thought, remembering the corrosive evil that had practically oozed from The Breach... And Jack was out there, in the midst of it. Despite that there was no love lost between Jack and I, I didn't want anyone to suffer like that. My body shuddered instinctively upon realizing what life outside Domino would mean for Jack.

"Raeven? Yooohooo... Anyone home?"

I blinked in surprise. Crow was waving a gloved hand in front of my face. He smiled when he realized he had gotten my attention at last. I swatted his hand away, my cheeks heating up. Idiot. Don't go messing with my head if you don't really feel anything for me... I don't think I could take it...

I forced a smile, "Yes? Can I help you Crow?"

"Nah, just checking that you were OK. You kinda seemed like you were going into shock or something."

"I'm fine! Sheesh!" I stalked away irritatedly, turning my back on the puzzled group. I had to have time alone...

Time to digest the fact that I was now the one to save them all... I was so wrapped up in my own world I ran right into Sing. I grunted in surprise, but Sing sorted herself out first. Dark eyes sparkling and white hair muddy, she pounced on me jabbering a mile a minute. I barely managed to sort out one word in three, so I just awkwardly patted her head as the Signer plus one group caught up with us. I didn't have much time to notice much before Sing let go of me, blushing as red as Akisa's hair and babbling incoherently. She was looking at Crow all the while; oddly, even though I had known about my sister's crush on the red headed boy since we were children, my heart felt a vicious squeeze at this reminder.

Crow had been the inspiration for our Dueling names, or so Sing said when asked publicly. We had gotten some publicity about growing up with the Satellite Stars, or Team Satisfaction as they had come to be called. But, I always squashed the rumors of one of us being the childhood love of one or another of Team Satisfaction's members. I hated it especially when I was paired publicly with Jack; for one thing, it didn't make sense, and for another, we had a mutual hatred that prevented even any sort of sibling feeling between us. Or, at least, on my side. I didn't know what the hell Jack thought and didn't care.

On the other hand, I wouldn't mind being paired with Yusei. But from how he looked at Akisa, HIS heart had already long been stolen by the redheaded woman. Crow had always been my sister's man, the one she daydreamed of and wrote those stupid little hearts in her diary for. Once, I saw over her shoulder that she was designing wedding plans... All this when she hadn't even the courage to ask him out... It made me feel even more guilty for that brief rush of feelings when Crow held me. What kind of sister am I when I enjoy being cuddled by my twin's crush? Stupid, stupid... This is only going to get you a hell of a lot of heartbreak in the end... She's the one with the best plumage. Sing's the one with the sweetest nature... All I am is the croaking raven, feeding on the scraps of life...

I was brought back to reality with a snap when Crow asked, "Hey, who are you?"

Sing flushed the deeper red of mortification when she realized this question was directed at her. I bristled a bit, "Crow! You grew up with her!"

"Hey, hey, sorry Raeven!

"This is Sing Soong, my twin sister," I introduced patiently.

Now that I thought on it, maybe they really hadn't been introduced... Whenever I played around Crow or Yusei, Sing had been noticeably absent each and every time... At least, I didn't remember them being introduced. Now, she was blushing to the roots of her white hair to meet her childhood idol.

"Er, good to meet you Sing," Crow said, grinning that goofy grin of his.

Sing looked like she was about to faint as she squeaked a barely intelligible reply. I sighed, "She's kind of a fan girl."

"Oh, really? Do you want an autograph or something?" The awkwardness of the statement told me how uncomfortable Crow was with the idea of having a fan girl. I smiled inwardly; Crow was so unlike Jack.

Sing nodded violently, breathing hard and scrabbling around for a pen. When Crow noticed what she was looking for, he started yelping apologies and looking for a pen himself. Funnily enough, he found one first. Sing was forced to blush beet red as, upon her request, he signed her hand.

Akisa muttered, "Wow. Crow hasn't had a fan quite this age before. He doesn't even know what to do with her..."

Yusei snorted softly in agreement as she stated the obvious. Those two were like awkward teenagers on their first date... My thoughts turned to darker directions at the thought of dates. Martha coming over and fussing over Georgiana and the rest of the 5Ds gang lifted me out of the melancholy, but only for a few moments. I meandered away from the group, Sing distracted by Crow and everyone else talking amongst themselves. I looked over at them and an ache of want filled my heart. Somehow, I knew this wasn't going to be easy. Not when I couldn't be a part of their easy manner with each other.

Why choose me? How am I supposed to guard them? Protect people I barely know? They've been kind enough, but would they doubt me if I said I had been spoken to by the Crimson Dragon? I mean, even I'm doubting my own sanity right now... How am I supposed to convince others that I am not only sane but the one to save them all in the coming wave of evil when I don't even really believe myself?

I felt a hand on my shoulder. Looking behind me, I saw a Duel Monster Spirit who looked a whole lot like Rave Queen. This surprised me because I had never been able to accidentally summon Rave Queen before, like Jynx Merchant. She was too powerful for anything but a purposeful visit. Her black hair was spiked into its usual pigtails, her discordant clothes rustling ever so slightly in an unfelt wind. Her warm, dark eyes locked onto mine for the barest of minutes. Then, in a breath, she was gone.

My resolve solidified. If Rave Queen thought I could do this...

I yelped when I felt something wet and slimy smack into my back. I whipped around to see a grinning Crow looking my way. I had nearly forgotten about the snow… Akisa knelt behind Crow. I glared at him. Crow, oblivious as usual, stuck his tongue out at me as if to say "whatcha gonna do about it?"

I laughed when Akisa hit him square in the back. Suddenly caught up by the spirit around me, I knelt down and grabbed a fistful of the snow that was still falling rapidly and silently. Packing it into a snowball, I stood back up. My heart was beating fast; I was excited. I'd almost never been a part of snowball fights before… And I couldn't wait!

Yusei was standing off to the side, smiling as he watched the girls team up with and another boy run out of Martha's house, identical to his twin sister. I grinned evilly. While Leo (I assumed) teamed up with Crow, I got Yusei straight in that weird hairstyle of his. He spluttered, looking too funny in surprise that I'd managed to hit him. I laughed outright, pointing at Yusei and nearly doubling over.

"Hey!"

"Aww! No fair Raeven! He wasn't even a part of this!"

"Well I am now," Yusei laughed, blue eyes sparkling as he went to join the girls. The boys, Leo and Crow, booed him as he sided with the girl he liked.

"Calm down, calm down, I'll make it even," I said, grinning as I moved to stand by Crow.

"Oh, no fair sis! You're so good at throwing snowballs," Sing pouted, "Join us! Then we'll cream the guys!"

Wow. Even the one you were blushing at before? Huh. Loyalties change fast for you twin….

I was hit in the face by a snowball. Growling, I knelt to scoop another one up to face a grinning Crow. You want the bull? Time to get the horns! I threw it, and that little rat- no, that pesky bird- dodged it. Grabbing up another handful, I threw it at Crow only for it to disintegrate. So much for throwing good snowballs.

Soon it escalated into a full blown snowball fight. I was just as wrapped up in throwing snowballs as the rest, having the time of my life. I'd never been in a snowball war this big. Or, really, this fun.

Outright laughing, I immersed myself in the fight, hitting anyone who got too close to me. I got hit plenty of times too, and squealed at the feeling of snow slush dribbling down my not so thick t-shirt. But even the getting wet part of the snowball fight was really fun. Luna was squealing with laughter while Leo was fussing at her for getting him in the butt; Yusei and Aki had gotten distracted, which meant they were mostly throwing at each other. The same state existed between me and Crow. Martha and Georgiana had headed inside the moment the snowball fight started; Martha probably didn't want Georgiana to catch cold.

What distracted me from the snowball fight abruptly was hearing a very familiar scream.

"Georgiana!"

Crow and I being of one mind, we both raced over to where we had heard the scream. What we found nearly angered me beyond all reason. In a clearing of the forest, a hulking man held Georgiana in a headlock as he turned to go. I couldn't see one of his eyes, because it was swelling up into a nice shiner. But the other one sent chills down my spine. It was all white, as if he were blind, and shone with an unholy light.

"MARTHA!"

When I looked around the clearing quickly, I snarled softly when I found where the only mother I had ever known lay. Martha was prone on the ground, unconscious. At least, I hoped she was unconscious. Because this idiot had better pray on his knees for mercy if she wasn't. Right now, he'd better think again if he thought he was going to make a quick buck carrying Georgiana off to the slavers that still haunted Satellite.

There would be HELL to pay either way.

"Oi! Hey you, yeah you fucker" I yelled, getting the guy's attention.

All he did was grin manically before starting off again at a fast clip. I ran after him, my focus narrowing to that one man. I refused to let him get away from me. Knowing the forest better than he did, I managed to cut him off before getting out of the forest.

"Hey, you scumbag! Let her go!"

His voice was grating, "And why should I?"

I noticed a Duel Disk on his arm. And then I knew what I had to do. Every Rave monster in my deck was clamoring for it, roaring in hatred of the man who had hurt the woman who took me in without reservations.

"Duel me! Whoever wins gets Georgiana, and if I win I get to turn you in to the authorities."

"Suit yourself, little girl," the man said, cackling raspily as he let her down. Unfortunately, he had already clipped on an iron lead onto Georgiana's neck. Tears were leaking from her blue eyes, and she refused to look at me.

"And if I win?"

In a completely reckless moment, I said, "My life. My life is forfeit if I lose this duel."

"No!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I smiled wanly as I felt the huntress come out in my twin. She wouldn't let this man get away with what he'd done, there was no question. Raeven was one of the fiercest people I had ever known. She may have done some bad things before, when she wasn't in control, but I still loved her. I didn't want her doing something stupid, like she had just done. I sighed unhappily.

Raeven. You're being stupid.

#I'm not. Georgiana's life is on the line, Sing. I don't intend to lose, not to a bozo like him... You trust me, don't you Sing?#

We duel together. We never lose together.

#... You know I won't lose. Not with a child's life at stake.#

I'm more worried about your own life, you dummy!

#SING. LISTEN TO ME.#

I winced slightly at the volume she put into the thought. We were different than most twins. Ever since we discovered that we had psychic powers, I could reach out to my sister's mind and speak to her. Funnily enough, she couldn't do the same without me initiating the contact first.

#Georgiana may not be my favorite kid here. But she's still one of Martha's charges. You know we owe her everything, Sing. Don't deny it. I'm not doing this all for the kid, you know.#

…...Oh, fine. You'd better not lose, Raeven.

All I got in return was a cocky feeling. I cut off the link with a bad feeling. Not that my sister would lose, thankfully, more like she had bitten off more than she could chew at one time. Biting my lip, I headed to stand beside Crow as I watched Raeven pluck her Duel Disk from her runner.

Raeven's POV

I ignored Crow's shout in favor of noticing the grim smile that stretched across my foe's tanned face. I could hear Sing coming nearer, after our conversation not bothering to try and convince me out of the duel. Crow, on the other hand, had been trying to get my attention for about five minutes now. I refused to turn my head; Crow would have to wait for my attention.I kept my eyes locked on the man who still held Georgiana by the collar.

"It's a deal then, little bird," he said, his lip twisting, "When I win, I'll break your wings so you'll never fly again."

"Don't get so cocky asshole," I said, smiling calmly at him. I could feel Jynx Merchant materialize beside me breifly as I called my Duel Runner. It was here in seconds, and I reached onto the desk to detach my duel disk. Sliding it on with a firm finality, my focus narrowed to this single Duel. I would finish this cocky bastard if It was the last thing I'd do.

"Let's Duel!"

I know, I'm a meanie head for leaving a cliffie. But I had to update. It's been SOOOOOOOO long since I had any inspiration for this story! Please leave a review and tell me how I did :) I'm really eager to know. What do you think about the first Duel of the fanfic coming up next chapter? Wat do you think of the white eyed man who's about to mess with the WROOOONG deck? What do you think of this title for the next chapter: "Chapter Six- Hell to Pay!"? Or should I just call it "The Duel"? What do you think of Raeven's potty mouth? Was it justified, considering Martha was hurt? Or was it uncalled for?

Leave a review to answer me these questions!

Virtual cookies and hugs to all who review! :)

-June