Thanks for the reviews and support from readers! I'm really thrilled writing this!
CyberAngelVivian: I only played a couple tales games, but for this fic I also based it on the Valkyria Chronicles games and in series like Westworld, movies like Matrix.
Astlexis: Thanks! I haven't played the Symphonia, so far only the Phantasia, Abyss and currently I'm playing the Vesperia, but I did like the story of all those (Abyss was my favorite so far). I wanted the crew of the GX to already be friends here, and we'll eventually get some explanations on what happened and how come they're good friends.
Chapter II
Request
Extract from the book "Dummies Guide for wannabe Summoners", chapter one: Summoners are beings, human or not, capable of gathering inner energy called scientifically duel energy, this energy is canalized to summon a monster. This monster, also known as duel monster, hails from another dimension. Too complicated? Imagine that summoners are medieval mages and they're summoning their familiars or rock golems, that's basically it! Our summoners are great at magic and magic is a talent not everyone was endowed with!
There are cases of monster spirits summoning other monsters into our realm, and it was proven possible, however, summoners are mostly humans (as far as we all know, maybe there are aliens among them, the topic needs to be studied).
Summoning requires a great amount of energy from the caster, the stronger the monsters, the more energy it demands, thus Ultra Rare summoners carry gems. No joke, we've seen summoners dying or getting a long trip to the hospital, so be careful while you summon and always mind the level of your monster as well as your rank!
Gems are catalysts and precious stones too (you wouldn't believe how much they're sold for at the market, or you'll once you need to buy them). It can store power and enhance the performance of the summoner. With a bit of input, a single gem can help a summoner maintain a rank 7 or higher monster for delonged periods of time, while without it, it would be nearly impossible or threatening to the life of the summoner to achieve such a feat.
If you see a suspicious person selling gems for the price of bananas and promising success, don't trust that guy, he's trying to hook you into shady stuff!
All Summoners are required to be registered and ranked under the law of the empire or ruling laws of their respective homelands. Once a summoner acquires a Ultra Rare rank, they may attend ranking exams each 2 years to comprove they still hold the skills to maintain their rank. Yeah, I know, but you can't just be an Ultra Rare rank forever without some proof. It's also required that they finish a certain amount of jobs before each year ends, so don't be a lazy bum!
As many things in life, summoners have a light and a dark side. While the light side are the registered summoners who use gems and their own power or life force to summon. There are summoners categorized as "dark-summoners". The creative name aside, those people aren't very hilarious.
The term is wide and refers to any summoner who uses unorthodox methods for summoning or/and also ethically disapproved methods. If a normal summoner uses their own life force to summon, a dark-summoner relies on everything but his own life-force, get it? Some people refer to them as "leeches".
In our age, the term "dark-summoner" is popularly used to refer to outlaws or non-officially registered summoners, in majority of usage, as a pejorative title, although the original meaning of the word expresses dark-summoners are people that have special methods of summoning other than relying on their own duel energy.
Dark-summoners commonly exploit an external source of power that's not theirs, despite also using gems and being able to summon with their own energy (and this is where the thin line marks the difference between them and normal summoners), they have a distinct approach in summoning that we will touch upon soon. Many of the said dark-summoners are people who originally held no power and by unknown means, became capable or forcefully summoning monsters. There are also those who simply gave up utilizing their powers as summoners and changed sides because they see benefit in enslaving others.
A summoner has a pure and sacred bond with their spirits (aww, this is true for many summoners, guys and girls, I hope you're like this too). They have contracts to summon the said spirits under their rules and act respectfully towards each other, both worlds live in harmony like this, some even treat their spirits as friends or family, making no boundaries between them and humans. On the other hand, dark-summoners do not require a contract. Using mysterious techniques, they bind a spirit to their whims and forcefully bring them into the world, which frequently causes a distortion of the spirit's nature.
Most dark-summoners conjure evil spirits that were corrupted by their 're talking about quasi-cartoony red-eyed evil spirits that are not the Red-Eyes Black Dragon here, and they're very destructive.
To muster the energy to summon, they can use gems; they are able to drain power from other summoners and use as their own, they just prefer not using their own energy most of the time (or they can't in the case that they weren't originally summoners); they're able to drain energy from the environment, nature and all living things included and use it as theirs too.
It's said some dark-summoners can wither an entire forest in a matter of minutes when summoning a high level creature, paying no heed for life. Theories speculate that dark-summoners seek longevity and are linked to chaos. It does not come without a cost, it's discussed between academic researchers many summoners sold their souls to the spirit world's evil masters in exchange for contracts and powers. Some dark-summoners simply vanished and other times, lost control over their spirits due to not having a bond, others were devoured by the spirits, they often met gruesome ends.
"What about you? Are you on the side of the summoners or of the dark-summoners? Which type of summoner do you aspire to be?"
The dark-skinned boy sighs after reading out loud to the class the whole excerpt, scratching his yellow bandana as if he doesn't get the point of it:
"Teacher, why do we need to read books for dummies?" His eyes drop along with his mouth, he feels stupid. "This is so basic."
"Yeah, tell us some interesting stories about your school times." A dark-haired girl interferes. "You were here at the same time that famous summoner, the Kaiser was here, right? And it was during the war too, why don't you-"
"Hassleberry, Flannigan, everyone has to start somewhere. I had to read the dummies book in my time too." The blonde teacher smiles fondly of them, her tone is polite. "I understand your enthusiasm, but comprehension of what you are here for is also important. Who knows, maybe you can make your own legend and leave it marked on the annals of the academy. History is an essential part of who we are and also tells us where we want to go and where we don't and knowledge about oneself is necessary if we want to grow as people."
Crowler nods consenting to that proudly, watching from the sidelines and smiling while taking notes about her conduction of the class. She hears the students mumbling in disappointment. Nostalgia permeates the air, she scribbles a few points on the blackboard, many memories crossing her mind. For some reason, their teacher was in a very good mood.
At the Destroyed stadium
There are many men in military uniforms mixing white and dark-blue with golden borders, the colors of the empire. They inspect the ruins and debris, although the fire was extinguished, it left marks. Monsters and humans work together to clean the destruction. Machines lifting bent pipes, monsters flying around and assessing the damage. Some soldiers pointing at a blueprint of the dueling stadium.
The general looks up at the mud golem lifting a rock and carrying it away, dust and crumbles falling onto his expensive frilly golden shoulder pad. He swipes it, his mouth curving down in distaste as he adjusts his dark-blue cloak tied around him with lines of pure gold braided together, his military white suit is adorned with the imperial blazon, medals and the shiny buttons keeping it closed in the middle.
His ashen eyebrows raise in distaste, his hair is a dark-blonde with two silvery strands on each side, all combed back elegantly; his eyes are a leftover tinge of a blue that turned into a greyish tone through age and he has lengthy lower eyelashes. His parted chin lifted haughtily upon watching a young summoner shout:
"Clayman, put it in the truck together with the others!"
The master of the giant is a brown-haired youngster, he shouts with all his might, and receives a deep grumble as response from his partner. The general approaches him, a glance from up to down at the sloppy red jacket of the conjurer, he's dressed in torn jeans and a black shirt that lost partially the color with a short and eye-catching red jacket that barely reaches the end of his ribcage; a topaz-yellow gem tied around his wrist by a worn out and thin rope, above his duelist black glove with metal knuckles, such lack of elegance. He wouldn't expect less of a third-rate summoner like him.
"Jaden Yuki. I'm General Garius."
"Nice to meet you, gen!" He salutes playfully.
"Are you aware this site is under the jurisdiction of the Dominian Empire?"
"Oh, yeah, I just thought I could help, Clayman is very useful!"
He beckons at the mud creature that simply spares a look at him, then continues its works removing as much rubble as possible.
"Jaden Yuki. I believe you don't understand what I mean, so I'll be clearer: you're not allowed to be here. You aren't an official worker neither your assistance was required, so I politely ask you to leave."
"Eh? Why? I'm helping."
His eyes open wide, he genuinely can't understand which alien language the man is speaking, causing a nerve to pop on the general's forehead.
"You and your filthy Elemental Hero are not welcome her-"
Before he finishes the sentence, a big rocky hand pinches his cloak from behind, raising him high with only two fingers. He flings his arms and legs, embarrassed at the unbecoming act, the giant clay face stares at him, mumbling in a deep, rocky tone at Jaden.
"Put me down! You foul creature!" He complains, his head fuming in rage. "How can you let those creatures run wild?! Can you not control your monsters?!"
"Hey, Clayman! Let go of him, he did nothing wrong!"
He swings both arms in a down motion, to appease his Hero. The reply is again, a gross, low muttering that seems to form a sentence with higher and lighter pitches in the voice.
"Come on, Clayman, I'm sure the general Graius didn't mean that. You don't have to feel offended. I particularly think you're very cool!"
"It's Garius!" The man yells in disbelief.
"Buddy, put him down, will ya?" He quickly shifts his gaze to the man, trying to explain. "General, he didn't like your tone. He said it was very 'outrageous'."
Clayman utters some more grumble-language complaints and slowly moves the man down. Garius clenches his teeth, adjusting his cloak and beating off the parts where he was touched, a nasty curve on his mouth.
"You summoners… Talking to beasts as if they're people… Don't stand in the Empire's way, do you get it?" His accusing finger is pointed at Jaden.
A grave rumble soars by his side, he jolts and yelps hoarsely, the clay giant bends onwards in a threatening motion, staring at him with its geometrically carved eyes that have no pupils or irises.
"Clayman, the debris."
Jaden grins nervously, his monster complaining a tad more before standing straight and resuming the work, shaking off its head in annoyance.
"Sir, I don't get how I'm standing in the Empire's way if I came here to help."
"You dumb-"
"Jaden?!"
A familiar voice startles them, above their figures, a shadow hovers, the sunlight blinding them to the silhouette of the young man. He holds himself on the feet of Elemental Hero Avian, who soars in the sky, diving down low enough until the man drops to the ground with a steady plop.
"Aster!" His arms raise as much as he can to welcome him.
The silver-haired man greets with a low raise of hand, his brows arching puzzled at the scene. His garments consist of a very tidy white suit with two lines of buttons, all closed; a neatly done purple necktie, a silver gem attached to it; his black undershirt contrasts with the other colors, his white pants included, his shoes are a lustrous black, adorned with amethysts imbued into a silver frame glued to one of the sides of each shoe, a small chain coming out of it making an arch around the frame of the jewelry; his fingers have a couple of rings, on his right hand, there's a thick-circle ring with a diamond-shaped indigo-blue gem imbued into it; a thin rim ring with a small purple gem shaped like a sphere; and on his left hand, there's only a longer silver ring coming from the base of his finger to his knuckle with a pointy end, carved with filigree and a very small circular ruby in the middle.
"Aster Phoenix." The general forces a smile. "You know him?" A bob of head is enough to confirm it. "Good grace!" He exhales in relief. "Tell your friend that he's not necessary here. Please."
The sentence comes between his teeth, the last part accentuated, with a flick of his cloak back and a smug "humph", he stomps away. Aster's eyes track a line back at Jaden.
"I swear I did nothing wrong this time!" He clasps his hands together to avoid a scolding. "Clayman got a bit upset, he's very sensible! B-but it was just a minor misunderstanding!"
"Relax, Jaden. General Garius is known for easily snapping at people. And for openly disliking summoners." He puts a hand around his friend's shoulder, tapping it a few times before continuing: "So, what brings you here?"
"Huh… I thought of… helping." He gulps, roaming his eyes all around and avoiding his colleague's face.
"I was officially hired to help them clean their fantastic mess." He folds his arms, scoffing. "You should know they don't let anyone who's not requested to be near. They're already under a lot of pressure from the public for letting this happen under their watch, if people find out they allow just anyone to come and help, they'll be even more criticised."
"That's… Incredibly insightful." He gapes amusedly. "You're so smart! No wonder they like you."
"They don't like me as a person, just my skills. Anyways, why are you truly here? You're not good at lying. You've been avoiding eye contact so hard I'm starting to feel like a bad guy."
"Ugh… You're sharp as usual, Aster." He comes closer to his friend's face, bending a bit, as if he's about to tell the utmost secret, Aster bends in compliance, to listen to it attentively. "I hoped I could find the Neos card among the debris or at least, to hear a clue about its whereabouts, that's why Clayman is digging through rubble right now."
"The prize of the tournament?" He recovers his posture.
"Yeah."
"Jaden, you know it's probably gone, right? Those terrorists most likely swoop it."
"But-"
"I know you've been in a frenetic chase of those Neos cards lately, but…" He pats his friend on the upper back, to comfort him. "But I'll be frank. They probably took it."
"Aw, man…" His shoulders drop in dismay. "I hoped I could find a clue, at least…"
"We're investigating it. The fact the Empire is hiring outside summoners like me shows they want to cover all ends and also, they don't want to look like they're sitting idle on their fancy thrones when this event was supposed to be a welcome party to the prince of Satellite, it'd be indecorous and the Empire's relations to the Kingdom are already strained as it is because of the last war…" He trails off, letting out a heavy sigh. "I don't get why terrorists would be interested in Neos, he's a strong spirit to tame, but… If I hear anything about it, I'll tip you."
"Really?" A sparkle of life lightens up his eyes. "He's one of the only ones missing!"
"Really. Even though I think you're trying to make higher summons than your budget allows you… Shouldn't you think more of improving your rank before going for the ultra rare spirits?"
"Harsh."
"I know you love those Neos cards, I'm sure they appreciate having you as their master. Now, you should get going before Garius the grumpy comes back. I have to work."
"Oh, right! I'll be on my way, then, thanks!" He scratches the back of his head. "Clayman! Time to go home!"
He shouts from across the site, waving his arms into the air hectically. The earth elemental drops the big rock in confusion, scaring a few workers around him. He's concentrated on his master, his body starts shining, becoming a bright light, the amalgam of light darts towards Judai like a comet, entering the card he raises to the sky. He tucks it in his pocket and bye-byes Aster with a grin.
"That guy doesn't change." The silver-haired sneers, a smile pulling the corner of his lips.
At an underground Pit,
The electric current creates dark, evil sparks that are visible to the audience, they hoot in delight watching as the body of the man crumbles down to the ground. A pair of green eyes sizing him down, the underworld king himself, watching the torture with such inexpressiveness it made those people wonder whether he's human or a machine.
His dark cloak flutters as he walks to the exit of the cage, ignoring the unconscious man who just lost the duel, he doesn't look at anything else but the path ahead, this chilly personality of his just makes the spectators adore him more.
"You look unusually quiet, my King." Shroud rubs his hands like a salesman, he's always ready to drag his fishy trades into the topic. "Is there anything wrong?"
"I'm just bored." He flatly declares. "This is all so dull."
"I see, even the king needs entertainment sometimes." He sniggers. "I must admit, you have changed. When I first allured you to those death pits, your heart was disquieted, conflicted even, but now, I don't see a single whit of emotion in you, you truly hold the semblance of a King."
"Spare me from the nostalgia. You liked to see me suffer, didn't you? Let's not pretend you're the shiny angel that blessed me with the powers to be a king. We all have our nasty flaws and I know mine as good as I know yours." He glances over to the side, his eyes narrowing. "You brought me here, but I usurped the throne on my own from your previous 'king'. This glory belongs to me and no one else."
"I understand." He forces his lips in a polite smile, this arrogant side of Zane only sprouted after his underground times, he created the monster himself. "Well, if you are indeed so bored as you say, there are many ways to arrange that, I could find some good place and nice gi-"
"I'm not interested in your idea of fun, Shroud. What I want is something more… Unique. A challenging duel."
"I see. If that's the case, I promise I can find a worthy opponent for your duels, my King." He smirks devilishly, a soundly laugh, his glasses occulting the shade of his eyes.
On that account, perhaps not having an opponent to contest his throne has made him rusty, more than that, it was this "peace". This sense that no one could beat him bothered profoundly, twisting his entrails and that's because he knew something's wrong. For no one to dare come here and face him with so many strong people outside, it's iffy.
It's been long since he heard about dark-summoners, and he's been in the underground world for a couple years by now. The disturbing tranquility. It's eerie. If the Shadow Riders indeed made their move towards the underground realm, he will use his net to bring them here, to face them.
"I'll see you next time, then, my king, and I'll bring a duelist worth your time." He takes off his hat, stepping back into the shadows of the dark corridor, like a true creature of the night hiding from the lamp posts outside.
Zane stops upon seeing a black limo awaiting for him, a man in a suit tips his head towards the vehicle, opening the door of the car. He accepts the invitation, his brows making a bridge as he notices the trajectory is off.
"Where are we going?"
"Someone requested your presence at your brother's place."
He was dropped off at the entrance of the fancy apartment building in which his brother lived alone. Syrus officially was known as a programmer, in truth, he was doing much more than that and Zane had to admit, the kid had a talent for invading systems and extracting info, he's the basis of their information net and the one gathering as much intel as he could that can help them.
In the past, Syrus was neglected and forced to study under many tutors while their grandfather had only eyes for the talented summoner of the family: Zane. However, the boy managed to worm his way to the academy and after studying there along with their friends, he has learned such an absurd amount of techniques and theories about hacking, programming that he became a talent himself in the matter.
He scoffs, reminding how his brother used to chase him in school and look up to him, and now, he has become such an independent and also reliable person. After they graduated, they lived together in this apartment on the top floor for some months until Zane decided to move to dedicate himself to his underground career and avoid showing connections to his brother for their own safety.
The apartment was owned by their parents, Syrus wanted to keep it, it's the place they spent part of their childhood, as emotional as he was, he simply couldn't let it go. He bought it from their grandfather after legally forcing him to sell it by threatening to reveal some dirt under the rug he found out about the Truesdale. He can't help but laugh at how much it must have been rubbed at Byron's face that the kid he looked down upon turned the tables around in life.
Zane takes the glass elevator, neon-blue lights flash as he ascends to the top, the door opens with a muffled mechanical sound, he steps into the corridor of mirroring grey ceramics. There's a device with numbers highlighted in dark-blue and an electronic reader at the door, he slides a card in front of it, a click happens and he grabs the knob turning it around freely.
The air in the apartment is a bit still, he gazes around, everything is the same as usual: from the grey ceramics to the clean long padded white couch; to the chandelier with glassy pearls cascading down and the bulb shaped main lamp at the middle of it; even the glass center table with a vase that was put in the exact same spot their mother used to, it's like his brother had a millimetric notion of which things went where, he really preserved it the way it was, with a more modern touch.
His footsteps proficiently trace the path to the corridor at the side of the living room, leading to the rest of the rooms in the apartment and to Syru's office, the place where he spent most of the day.
"Sy! You called me here?"
He knocks on the door with the back of his hand, tilting his head down, the metallic door opens automatically, his head raises, the office consists of a decently sized room, it has the glossy black desk of Syrus located across it, and his fancy padded black chair, a laptop on his desk, a plant vase beside the table, in front of the closed white blinders covering the glass windows that take up the upper half of the whole wall. The plant is fake, though. Syrus never had a touch for taking care of real ones.
There are two short leather couches in a dark-brown tone centered symmetrically on the room, divided between a small and not as tall wooden table. His eyes meet something that shouldn't be there: a young man.
He knows the face, it's also spread in many medias: dark spiky hair reaching shoulder length, big blue eyes, slightly tanned skin and the white suit combined with purple pants and shirt. The young adult stands up after looking at him, he's around the same size as Syrus, a bit taller, but as old as Zane himself.
"Mokuba Kaiba?" He raises a brow. "To what do I owe the visit of the vice-president of the Kaiba corporation?"
"Please, sit down."
The light-blue haired man stretches his arms, one to each side, as if to mediate the conversation, taking a seat on the padded couch. His older brother sighs heavily, sitting across from the guest, crossing a leg on top of the other.
"Zane Truesdale. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Equally." He nods very faintly, an inexpressive semblance, but the other man can tell he's distrustful.
"I assume you have business with us? But why here of all places?"
"I didn't want to be followed and I didn't want anyone to notice I'm directly speaking to you. Since your brother's office is known for selling information, I thought this place would be more comfortable."
"I guess a famous figure like you wouldn't want to be seen with an underground thug like me."
"That's not it at all, you are an esteemed summoner. But for the service I want to request… I don't want anyone to know about it. Also, I don't want them to know I asked you to do it."
"Secretive, are we?" He folds his arms conceitedly. "Does the Kaiba corporation not have many summoners at their disposal? Why does it have to be me?"
"Your background. You took part in the war of the south before graduating from the duel academy, didn't you? At a young age of fifteen too. You are one of the summoners known as part of the 'generation X', your talents proved to be an immeasurable help in the war and the Empire won thanks to your generation."
Zane adjusts on his seat, despite the innocent appearance, the man had quite the shrewd glance, yet he was measuring words, to be educated. He can't hold it against him, he got the skill to be a negotiator.
"Fine, I'll listen." He uncrosses his arms.
The reply is a brief smile, so fast he isn't sure whether it happened or not, Mokuba grabs the suitcase stationed on the ground and carefully puts it on top the table, taking out a bunch of papers, among them, he opens a folded map and spreads it over the woody surface. Pulling a bit the sleeves from his wrists, he points at the south.
"The south region of the Empire?" The Kaiser lifts his eyes to him, then lowers it to the paper again.
"Kaiba corporation owns many mines on both west and south."
"You still do business with the south? I thought they were broken forever after the war…"
"It's not as glamorous and lively as in the past, but I guarantee the mines are still a valuable resource. Even though the war crumbled apart the general economy and many cities were devastated, there are still cities striving to survive and thriving around the mines and they're the only font of the economy there now. Plus, the south is the only place that has not only gems but also minerals like metals. In other words, it's where our company acquires the raw material for crafting duel disks and all the technology we own."
"So you get the raw resources from there? Interesting."
"We ship everything from there to our region, it arrives at the eastern coast by ship and is carried to all our factories on the east and west. Recently we had a problem."
"Which type of problem?"
"One of our cargo ships."
He rummages on the papers of the suitcase again and takes out a picture of a giant cargo ship named. "White Dragon". Syrus and Zane raise a brow, the love of the Kaiba chairman for his Blue-Eyes White Dragon isn't a secret to anyone who has read about him in papers, it's his favorite monster, to the point of obsession.
"This ship with all the gems and materials we mine from the south should cross the ocean and anchor on the east in two weeks…" Gliding his finger through the paper as if he knew the route by head, he shows the trajectory. "It will bring all necessary materials for our factories there."
"Did it not arrive?"
"It's still bound for arrival in four days."
"I don't get the problem." He hears a deep sigh.
"Over a week ago when it departed, we lost contact with it."
"Shouldn't there be summoners defending the cargo?" Syrus raises a point, bending over the map and fixing his glasses to take a better look.
"There are. We lost contact with them too. The ship simply vanished from our radars, we're not sure which sort of disturbance affected the waves that send the GPS signal, nothing was wrong with the equipment from all we know, nevertheless, that's not the main issue. Some days ago, we finally recovered the signal of its position and the data of where it had been, the ship took a detour, it stopped in more than one point of the south and we still didn't make contact with our crew, but the radar tells us the ship is coming to the east like planned initially."
"Wasn't it just some mechanical problem?"
"No. This never happened before and… The place it stopped… It's known underground as a popular illegal trading zone, a city called Port Lamia. It goes without saying that we from the Kaiba corporation would never condone such acts and certainly wouldn't include such places as part of our trading routes. We think the ship was… Taken over by criminals."
"I get it. You want me to go there and check if your goods are intact and deliver some punishment to the criminals. I'll ask again: why me? I'm not the only one that participated in the massacre in the south and has connections to the underground. Hell, even people from the empire have connections to the underground. But you want me to be a pawn to Kaiba Corporation?" He smirks, shaking off his head as if there's nothing in for him in the trade.
"If our suspicions are correct, this case could be related to the influential rebel groups like the Shadow Riders. Not only that, we think the tunnel goes deeper and it's possible some of the said "rebel groups" might be Imperial servants under disguise… We expect big names involved and to fight them, we need the strongest. The war took a toll on everyone. Me and my brother, we're trying to rebuild a better world in which everyone can duel in peace. We don't need wars like what happened to the south, no one wants to see that ever again."
"I know the Empire donated the island for the duel academy, but the true masterminds behind its foundation were you, the Kaiba brothers. Of course, the Empire wanted to look good and also take advantage, so they turned the academy into some indoctrination institute to raise soldiers, making it look great for every single soul to serve the Empire and stealing the students' hearts… It's a shame your corporation does not get more recognition."
"I get that you want someone capable and your brother is busy managing a company and fending off assassins that come after his life, but what about Joey Wheeler and others? I know Yugi Muto is guarding the God cards from thieves with his life for the Empire and from the Empire, but aren't there other options? Why do you want to hire my older brother?" The younger one inquires, a slight frown forming on his forehead.
"I understand your concern, we do not mean harm. Of course the job is dangerous, but we trust your brother is capable. Joey Wheeler was… Incapacitated."
"Incapacitated?" The siblings say in unison, exchanging a shocked glance.
"A dark-summoner. They used techniques we did not see before, according to Joey himself, he was unable to summon with and without gems, his gems were instantly drained out of power and they had something preventing him from using his own duel energy. We're still investigating the matter, but the situation doesn't look bright. That's why… We're cautious and checking all sides. With how the ship disappeared for a while to reappear right now… We think it could be related… This is the reason we started spreading our recruitment underground too. We wanted someone that was not from the Empire and on a more hidden spectrum. We would like you to investigate the matter, evaluate the situation and tell us anything you can find out."
"Rebel groups, huh? Do you really think the Shadow Riders are involved?"
"We suspect as much, but in the end, we'll only find out after an investigation. Zane Truesdale. I'll be honest with you. The main reason we chose you is… We know you don't agree with the Empire's current ruler. We also know that on many occasions you had troubles or entered summoning fights against Imperial soldiers and influential names and have shown your disapproval of their government. Kaiba Corporation does not support the Empire's current ruler either, and if we can find proof the Empire is involved in underground business, that's a start, the longer times goes, the more they try to spread their influence into our company and we do not want that. We will find a way to leak any bad information we can find about them, this may help you make peace with your past, and it also help us keep the Kaiba Corporation away from their sullied hands and build a better world for the people living under the empire's rule."
"Sounds great to me." He supports his hands on knees and stands up straight. "Getting some forbidden connections the Empire has and use it against them? I'm up for it."
"Zane?!" Syrus gapes in surprise.
"What? I was getting bored on those underground rings anyways. When do I travel to the east?" He stretches his hand, Mokuba smiles, with a firm handshake, they seal the deal.
"You'll not regret helping us, Mr. Truesdale. I'll start the preparations asap and contact you tomorrow, you'll be paid half in advance and half after you conclude the job."
"I don't want monetary payment." He declares, a tricky smirk playing on his lips. "Let's leave this as a 'favor' that Kaiba Corporation is owning me. How about that?"
Mokuba gulps at the dangerous trade, a real underworld businessman, he thinks, but he nods firmly, assenting to it. He's not called the king of the underground for nothing. As soon as he leaves, Syrus stands up from his comfy seat, slapping the table, a reproving scowl cast at his older brother.
"Zane, this isn't a joke! If you poke the Empire too much, this won't end well! We need to be careful! Haven't we been preparing this whole time to gather enough power and resources to pull a fight against them? You can't just start a fight now if we're not fully prepared! You know how long it took for Aster to be trusted by them?! And how Chumley had to work hard to become a diplomat between the Empire and Pegasus corporation!"
"You worry too much. If we wait forever, nothing will happen, Kaiba corporation will be a great ally. We do the job for them and we will get the favor paid back, with some luck, they might join the cause permanently."
"You're still wounded!" He exclaims, almost running out of breath.
"So what?"
"Being the King of the underground for so long must have gone up to your head, this is serious! You can't-"
"Sy." His tone is louder and graver, forcing his brother to stop blabbering, his green eyes lock onto Syrus'. "I told you before, I'm not letting the Empire do as they please and pose as saints while torturing people and compelling them into their schemes, denying their freedom. Someone has to stop them and this is the closest we ever got to a good plan, you know that. It's about time we make our move and I'm tickling to see just which sort of secrets I'll find out about them…"
With a somber smirk, he leaves the office, going to his own apartment. The Empire, Kaiba Corporation and summoners, many pieces weaved together, chaos stirs in the air. Soon, the tensions will break out into a greater conflict.