Go ahead and tell her. I really don't care.

Sayer's could feel Amrbosine staring him down, the contempt radiating from her face, as she tried making sense of what told her. He couldn't look her in the eyes, couldn't even begin to think up a suitable excuse as to why Yusei was there, in that hotel. Gripping his clutches tightly, he fixed his gaze on the floor, the words building up in his throat. He didn't dare move from his spot, the humiliation seared onto his face as he waited for her to say…anything.

In fact, I'd prefer if you did.

Word had gotten out of the casualties in the hotel. Dubbed, the "Mizaki Massacre", fifty staff members were found dead in the hallways, and another hundred were injured. The survivors couldn't remember anything, other than the screams and cries they heard from their colleagues. As for the guests, a majority of them were either in their rooms, or in the ballroom, enjoying yet another fanciful party organized by corrupted, high rise officials; no one important saw the devastation that'd taken place outside. Which, of course, was one of the reasons why Amrbosine was on edge; to think that a murderer had gone gleefully killing, striking down anyone in his way, and practically no one even heard the tiniest of pleas.

And yet, despite that, he could still see Yusei's eerie, blank face in his nightmares. He could still make out the stubborn flames surrounding that monster's dark frame, the cold eve of the twilight shrouding him with mystery.

And anger had filled him all over again.

"Sayer."

Sayer winced. He took a deep breath, and timidly looked at Amrbosine. Her frustrated, yet emotionless face outlined his expectations, though it was more frightening than he anticipated. But he remained silent, unwilling and unable to speak.

"What else did he say?"

He tensed at the memory. Before long, he turned away, his own reluctance and fear strangling his throat. "He's looking for a fight."

She huffed haughtily. "He really is an idiot then, isn't he?"

"What'd you-?"

"For years, he hasn't done anything," she murmured amusingly, as she folded her arms in her lap. Sayer stiffened when she smiled, that predatory glint in her eyes taking over her now hostile gaze. "We're pushing the boundaries, and now that Fallen's grown again, he's starting to take action."

He narrowed his eyes. "Amrbosine-"

"It's true though, isn't it?" Amrbosine instantly interrupted. He could see that unmistakable arrogance on her face, so very familiar to the politicians he'd seen on TV, or even to Goodwin, who thought he ruled the world with an iron fist. She settled back in her seat, a smug smile tugging at her lips. "That little incident at the General Hospital just shows that we are capable of killing him. Looks like the Rose has lost his thorns after all."

Sayer clenched his fist. "So your goons were the ones who started the fire."

"I honestly didn't even think he'd be there. Honestly, I was only aiming for a couple of traitors who went behind my back."

"But you knew I was there…"

"And here you are, alive and well. With your clutches, I might add. Broken arm too?"

Sayer brushed aside the stinging comment. "You shouldn't underestimate him-"

She wheeled her chair around, turning toward the dark skyline arising from the subtle dawn. "He hasn't done anything to stop us now. From what I can understand, there's been a bit of a power struggle between the elites that witch. The fact he's now trying to mobilize his soldiers into fighting is a testament to how serious things are. The factions are getting stronger and stronger everyday; soon, they'll be decentralized enough to the point where we can annihilate them easily."

"And how, exactly, did you come up with that?"

"My guess is that he's desperate," she continued, ignoring his sharp glare. "He's seen what we can do, and now he's trying to reclaim his authority. It's so predictable it's pathetic."

Sayer shifted his gaze sideways. Although he knew the animosity between Yusei and Amrbosine, he'd absolutely no clue what'd happened. And since he didn't know anything about Yusei, that was yet another disadvantage crippling him. Getting a bit of leeway with Akiza was still a goal, but he couldn't even talk with her unless he knew what was going on. Yusei was an incredibly close friend to her after all, and until he had evidence against him, Sayer knew his options were limited. More than likely Goodwin already told her what was going on, and judging from the expression on her face the night she saw him at the hospital, it didn't look like there was a chance she'd even believe him.

It'd be more fun that way.

Sayer almost flinched at the recollection of those words, but nonetheless, he managed to shove them aside. "Amrbosine," he began, "what exactly happened between you and Nikolai?"

A dreadful pause slammed itself into the conversation. At once, he could feel the remaining warmth in the air slowly dissipate from them, the contempt gradually gaining ground. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the same, feral shadows making their way towards, him, the ominous air little more than a warning of what was to come. And yet, despite that, Sayer stood firm, and waited for her to answer.

Finally, she turned back, a hollow frown on her face. He could remember that frown, the same one that model had, when she'd lost her little brother. It was the same look every person in society had, when they realized their loved ones were psychics. So painful, so cruel, so merciless, yet they had the gaul to pretend that they were the innocent ones, that those psychics persecuted themselves the moment they were aware of their powers. They were all so…naive, just like Akiza.

He could use this.

"So, you finally believe me?" she mused.

"I can't think of any other reason as to what I'd seen."

"The truth might shock you even more."

He smiled to himself. He'll keep the little tidbit about Akiza to himself; he didn't want Amrbosine sinking her claws into the girl, nor did he want her to belong to anyone else. Besides, Amrbosine has proven more than capable of handling herself. Who knows? Perhaps, in the near future, he could use her.

So he nodded, and accepted her challenge. "That's fine."

It was the first time Akiza saw them come up to her like this.

It was a normal Monday morning, and just like any other day, everyone was tired, either from the late night study sessions, or from barely passable hangovers. Students kept dropping dead left from right, and even the teachers seemed a little fatigued. The twins, likewise, incredibly irritated at each other. Apparently, Leo couldn't put down a simple game to go study, while Luna kept trying to goad him into doing said studying, knowing what'd happen should they slack off. Still, her warnings never deterred the boy, and he countered her passive threats with a simple shrug.

It seems that, out of everyone here, Jaden and Alexis were perfectly fine. Jaden even smiled today, so that was something. Though Alexis was a bit less enthusiastic as she usually was, in the end, Akiza couldn't help but wonder exactly what'd happened between the two. No, they weren't glowing or anything, but at the time, something changed between the two, so much so their happiness was infectious. So when they came up to her, smiles and everything, she only returned their grins. "Hi," she said calmly.

Jaden nodded, while Alexis grabbed both her hands and started swinging them around. "Hi Aki," she said. "What's up?"

"Nothing much. Hey, about last week-"

"Yeah, sorry about that," she replied apologetically, as she placed Akiza's hands firmly back to her side. "We were a little busy with something."

"Oh?"

Jaden sighed. "Guess who forgot about calc?"

Akiza narrowed her eyes, as she turned back to the blonde. "You really are…"

"What?" Alexis stated, as she tugged her bag to her shoulders. She gently nudged Akiza and Jaden toward the illustrious corridors of the Academy, taking shelter beneath the gentle shadows. "I get things done."

Jaden barked out a harsh laugh. "Yeah. Like, two seconds before it's due."

"Oh yeah, that reminds me." She leapt in front of Akiza, promptly grabbing both her hands once more. Then, with pleading eyes, she whimpered, "Help me with an essay?"

It took Akiza a full minute to process what she'd said. Finally, she sighed. "No."

"Please?"

"Your lit class is in an hour, isn't it?"

"It's not that much work," she mumbled softly.

"How long?"

"Ten pages."

Akiza's eyes widened. "Alexis!"

"What?"

Jaden simply scoffed. "Aki, don't even bother. And Lex…don't drag Aki into this! It's your own fault."

Alexis huffed, letting Akiza's hands slip through her fingers. She leered toward him, with a mischievous grin on her face. "I highly doubt that."

"How's it-?"

"Hey, Aki!" Alexis suddenly whispered. "It really isn't my fault. The reason why I couldn't do any of it last night…was because Jaden and I have been playing."

Akiza chuckled awkwardly. This she could afford not to hear. "R-right…"

Jaden gritted his teeth. "Alexis-"

"You know," Alexis continued, "naughty kinds of games."

Akiza leaned away. "Lex…"

"The one with checkers and stickers and all that."

…What?

Still, Jaden tried grabbing her, only for the girl to escape his grasp. She instantly howled with laughter, as she swirled around Akiza. "It's true, isn't it?"

"Stop making it sound like that!" he shouted, as he grabbed one of Akiza's shoulders and raced around her. It was then they started running around in circles, with Akiza in the middle. The redhead only stared at the two amusingly, before checking the clock; they were still pretty early.

"Aki, you know what else we did?" Alexis chimed humorously.

"Hold still!"

"What?" she barely managed, the bright grin happily plastered on her face. "You wanna tell her?"

"There's nothing to tell!"

Akiza scratched the back of her head. "Hey, c'mon guys…"

"We had lots of fun!"

"Alexis…!"

"Hot and heavy-"

Jaden almost grabbed her, but somehow, Alexis managed to slip away, the same, quirky smile on her face. Before he could take another step, she scampered away, her hair strands quickly slipping out of his fingers. Akiza watched as her tiny frame raced off into the distance, the carefree expression on her face embedded into her mind.

Jaden clenched his fists, and started to run after her, when Akiza remembered something. "Hey, Jaden," she said immediately, before the boy could run off. "I talked with that reporter yesterday."

He stopped.

Slowly, he straightened, and turned towards her, the surprise on his face. She could practically see him trying to piece the situation together, though his eyes never left her face. After a few seconds, he nodded. "Huh."

"It looked like she was worried about you both."

He placed both his hands in his pockets. "Worried?"

"She just wanted to see if you two were doing alright. Nothing too personal."

"So, what'd she ask?"

Akiza paused, for a brief moment. A part of her regretted telling Jaden…anything. If she'd known it'd come to this, she would've kept her mouth shut. However, she couldn't help but wonder what was to come from this, what could possibly going on inside his head. The strange look in his eye, was familiar somehow, both familiar, and foreign at the same time. She couldn't remember when she'd seen that expression on his face, but nonetheless, she still had to answer him somehow.

And it was through that logic that she managed to find her voice. "She asked if you were both ever hospitalized."

His lips parted slightly. Then, without hesitation, he shook his head, the humor slowly coming back to his face. "I think I'd remember that."

Akiza could recall her answers to Angela's questions, could remember the details from which those questions had come. She replayed the words in her brain, before looking up at Jaden. "When did you two transfer in?"

"Last year," he replied easily.

"If you don't mind me asking-"

"Lex had some relatives here. My parents work abroad, so I live here, with Alexis."

Akiza nodded thoughtfully. "Where do they work?"

"England. They're engineers. Speaking of which, Yusei was talking about you."

Her ears perked up. She didn't think he was that close to Yusei, though for some odd reason, it made sense. "Really? You talk often."

"Yeah. You know, it might just be me, but I think he really likes-"

"What're you two doing?!" a girl screamed from far away. The two turned back, and saw Alexis standing there, arms folded, the prideful gleam in her eyes easily distinguishable from her dark surroundings. Akiza couldn't help but giggle at the curiousness of her innocent expression, one devoid of jealousy or sorrow. She was just like a child, that one. "We're gonna be late!"

"Ten minutes to class, dumbbell!" Jaden shouted back as Alexis walked over. When she was near, she pressed her side against Jaden's, her chin neatly situated on his shoulders. "You're the dumbbell," she muttered. "Oh hey-"

"We watched TV," he interrupted, effectively cutting her off. "That's it. We didn't do anything."

Akiza, of course, didn't believe him. Still, she shrugged off the topic, and turned back to Jaden. "What about Yusei?" she asked.

"Right. I think he likes you."

Akiza automatically dismissed the notion, though she could feel the heat slowly spread across her cheeks. She bit her lip, mentally kicking herself for even blushing at the notion, especially with what'd happened over the last few weeks. But she took a deep breath, and smiled, shoving all her troubling suspicions away from her. "We're just friends."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Liar."

"Shut it."

Alexis stuck out her bottom lip, but even that display didn't last long. Her brain was already flying to a different topic, so much so Akiza could see her thoughts passing her by. "So anyways, there's a festival this weekend, in downtown Neo Domino. It's inside, so we won't have to worry about the rain. You wanna go?"

Akiza easily nodded. The guys were probably just going to train for the WRGP, and she's already ahead anyways. "Sure, I'll go. What's it about?"

Jaden groaned, as Alexis enthusiastically bounced up and down. "Horror," she answered. "You know, like Jack the Ripper and stuff."

"…Huh…"

"It's totally free! You've only got to pay for the food."

Jaden flickered his eyes toward Alexis. "That's not what she meant."

"You're volunteering there, so you don't get an opinion. So, what'd you say Aki?" the blonde said then, as she extended her hand toward Akiza. "Pretty dark stuff."

She blinked. "I said I'd go, didn't I?"

"You sure?"

She smiled easily. "You asked me."

Yusei stared down at the keyboard emptily, the eerie silence shrouding the room coating the already tense atmosphere. Slowly, he flickered his eyes around the garage; both Jack and Crow out for whatever they had planned for the day, leaving him to clean the oil stains on the floor. He bit the inside of his cheek, before returning to the computer screen. From the corner of his eyes, he could still make out the box of cyanide sitting on the floor, the contents already throughly examined, with the ugly name Nikolai sticking out from the covers. He endeavored writing more of the program, though in the end, he even failed to accomplish that much. Slowly, he stood up, and walked toward that box.

As far as he was concerned, neither Jack nor Crow knew Yusei still kept it. He'd already gotten rid of the gun, knowing full well it didn't serve him any use of keeping it. Sector Security closed the case long ago, and, with Yusei's influence, wiped the case from the files altogether, and replace them with more mundane explanations. "Terrorists"; that was what the public labeled his coven now. Everyone in Neo Domino bought the lie so easily, so much so it was almost funny to think about.

He reached down, picked up the box, and scrutinized the pills once more. Before long, he picked up the tiny piece of paper, and read his alias again. Probably sent from someone from the lower divisions, most likely a knight. He'd seen this handwriting before, and since there hadn't been any incidents connected with the knights in particular, the person who delivered this had no idea the position Yusei was in. Did Yusei give the order? No, he didn't remember anything like that. So either the knight was incredibly incompetent, or extremely dangerous. The fact that they actually knew Yusei was staying here already put him at a disadvantage. If they somehow found out that Jaden and Alexis attended Duel Academy, it'd complicate things, a lot more than they already have.

He walked over and placed the box on the table, the paper still in his fingers. As time passed, the tainted light growing fainter by the minute, the same, annoying surge of memories pressed against his skull, ready for their unwanted debut. Jaden and Alexis said something about wanting to go to Duel Academy, but he couldn't recall paying for their tuition fees. According to Jaden, they were staying at one of the high-rise apartments, and though they could access the bank account Yusei set up, only government officials were allowed to touch it. It complicated matters, since the account name was set up under their old names. Yusei couldn't even check up on it, at least, not without arousing suspicion; in other words, as of this point, most of his financial assets were frozen.

Over and over again he tried remembering exactly what'd happened when he came to this city. Those two were excited as usual, eager for Yusei to meet the mysterious woman who'd replace their former leader. They were there, right in front of him, about to introduce him to the newest addition to in their makeshift families, then, all of a sudden, everything turned to black. The next second, he found himself with Kalin, who was on the verge of forming the Enforcers, implanted with false memories, and that was that.

So what'd that make Jack and Crow then? After all, they carried the same marks on their arms, didn't they? And what about the Dark Signers? Were they just test subjects too? He remembered talking with Goodwin, but as soon as Yusei entered into the Fortune Cup, it seems the man forgot everything about that. That stupid final duel was just a testament to how blinded he was. The fact that things returned to peace, the prejudice vanishing before everyone's eyes, was a bit odd as well. It took time for prejudice to die, even more so, judging from the audience's reactions when they realized a Satellite had won the championship.

And not only that, but Crow was acting strange yesterday. He kept asking Yusei if he was okay, if Yusei knew that he could on Crow when things got tough. He asked about the marks too, and with a character like Yusei Fudo, when Yusei answered, Crow should've left it at that. He would've believed his friend, and carry on with his business. The guy wouldn't be that concerned if Yusei did escape the danger, even if it was a fire. Something must've happened then, to make Crow behave this way.

His behavior didn't match any of Neo Domino city's population. As the moments wore on, and Yusei thought back on the memories, he couldn't help but see how everyone took everything around them. It was like nothing ever bothered them, those people, and if something did, they'd keep quiet about it. They'd wear those painted smiles like ornaments, and continue on with their day, happy to know they've still got their positive attitudes. With both Jack and Crow, it was different; they weren't behaving as they normally should. It couldn't be due to the marks, since Leo and Luna were also Signers.

The one example that stuck out in his mind was during that afternoon, when he was talking with Akiza. Yusei had her drink drugged; people saw her slumped over on that table, with a glassy look in her eyes. They saw her slowly slump to the floor, her being comatose becoming painfully evident the moment Yusei took her in his arms and carried her back to her house.

And yet, no one reacted. All they had were smiles upon smiles on their face, not even bothering to realize the unconscious woman lying at their feet. They simply chattered away, as if there was not a single lie in the world, the tragedy and sorrow vanishing before them in an instant.

Why?

Still, that wasn't a priority, at the moment. Sayer knew his old name, so that was a bit troubling. The surname, Izinski, of all things, was comprised in that fake name, and he'd absolutely no idea where that came from. Neither Jaden nor Alexis would do something like that; not even they were that sick, and he knew full well the dangers of carrying that alias. No one from the coven knows about Akiza, and as for the senator, he's isn't that corruptible. There's no fun in messing with him, much less ruining his life. And even if he did have to come up with an alias, he would never use use old name.

So who did it? Who made that name up? No one in the coven should even know about his past with Fallen. Sayer mentioned something about Yusei supporting the Arcadia Movement, and while he could vaguely recall some aspects of that, he couldn't remember anything else.

Whoever rewrote their memories…did they have something to do with it? And if that was the case, what'd that make Akiza? Yusei killed her that day, so why was this…thing here? Fallen had been growing stronger, hadn't they? Did they have something to do with this?

And yet, one of the more important issues he needed to address, was how he could've let things get so bad.

But Yusei brushed the thoughts aside, as he tucked the box beneath his arm. By now, Sayer's probably told Amrbosine about what's been going on. The man will gain that woman's trust, and as soon as he does, she'll let down his guard and open up to him a little more. By the time Yusei visits Sayer again, he'll more than likely try to fight, thinking he's got everything figured out, though it'd be useless. He doesn't even realize that the reason Yusei even allowed Sayer to be around Akiza anyways, was for insurance. If he acts up, Yusei can just get Akiza to make him behave. And if that doesn't work, he could always rely on his own power.

But even that was a risky gamble; Yusei had no idea what that creature was capable of, and right now, Jaden and Alexis were testing her out. He might even have to go there too, just to make sure they're safe; she did survive that ghastly hospital fire after all. And who knows? Maybe he'd take their place and have them go after Fallen. He did make her a target after all.

At any rate, the stage was set. If this all works out, Fallen will be finished within the week. Amrbosine was just one person, and even after all the demons she's managed to create, he'll more than happily shut them all down. How far the organization's branched, he didn't know. But he needed to destroy them, and fast; looking at them was just another painful memory for him.

So, who's holding the revolver now?

Yusei paused at his own words, recalling the vivacious night he asked her why she did what she did. Russian roulette, was how she described it, how Akiza described it. Now, as he tucked the box beneath his arm and headed outside, the fountain just up ahead, he couldn't help but chuckle a bit. There was no one around, no cameras either.

"I guess we are," he repeated effortlessly.

He came to the fountain, and dumped the cyanide into the water.