As we can all agree, 2020 was a bit shit and my first chapter out the gate this year suffered quite a bit from it. As was noted, the original version of this chapter was "terrible". 2021 has not been much better than its predecessor so I've spruced up the chapter, cut a thousand words and re-present it to you as something completely new! (It's basically politics but without me gaining vast sums of money.)
With any luck, some more chapters should start trickling out in the next few weeks. (Again, including a rewrite of the next chapter. (Again, poverty politics.))
Coming to the future had been impressive but there wasn't a steep learning curve to adjust to. Public transport was still a couple of minutes too late to be reliable, government slightly too invasive yet every aspect of the world had been enhanced beyond what Yugi and Jaden could have dreamed. However, they weren't taking a field trip. They were rightly curious about the group intent on killing them and were trying to learn as much as they could without risking altering history once they were safe to return to their own times. This was highlighting a few problems that were usually obscured by nuances of the situation.
"So there's 'Nanashi' but that's not his real name?" Looking at Yusei for confirmation, Jaden had an unexpectedly good question prepared. "Leading the Yliaster that tried to kill you three times before but are now working with you?"
"And tried to drop a city... on the city." Having to say the sentence aloud suddenly made childhood stories a lot more chilling and Musume sat upright on the couch. "How the fuck did you guys end up working with them?" It had been decided to host an early meeting at the penthouse before Akiza went to work. Early enough that the younger redhead had been snoring on the couch when they arrived.
"Don't worry." There was still a lot of bad blood over the reveal. "It wasn't like we had a vote about it." Jack sipping his coffee meant he was in a state of either extreme rage or untroubled calm. One of his staff compared him to a rusty landmine; it may not explode but watch your step all the same.
"Riiight." Jaden knew from experience how well unilateral moves turned out. "Who's in control of the... other side?" After three murder plots and falling cities from the allied group, 'bad' was relative.
"We don't know. Nanashi said they're gathering factions but anyone who joins won't talk to anyone not with them." They seemed to be fanatically devoted towards whoever was leading the rebel forces. Yusei knew that Nanashi probably used torture as freely as he asked questions and was either keeping the answers to himself or had none to give.
"The Duellist who told me to go to France mentioned his name." After Yusei admitting to forming a partnership with a wanton murderer without consulting his family, Crow had felt safe mentioning his side-quest for answers. "It's Atag... Atagchu?"
Being thrown into a shadowy realm, seeing a childhood saviour he had thought long dead and then being thrust back into the world scarce minutes for the hours he had been gone had shaken him slightly. Luckily, he wasn't the only one in the room who knew the name. "Ataguchu."
"Yeah, Ata..." Crow cut off halfway into his attempt to speak the word. "How did you know that?" All eyes turned to the culprit that nobody would have suspected. Frozen under the glares of everyone in the room, Leo changed colour as his mouth flapped soundlessly. Stepping back away from the others only clustered them tighter against him.
Leo? Stepping up in front of him, Phantom placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. 'Qam rimay? Qam yachay shimi? Atiy qam hap'iqay?' Even though the tone was gentle, the words were unlike anything that rest had heard.
"... 'Ari? Qam rimai?'" Yet Leo, albeit haltingly, replied in the same language. "'Kay wiñay kawsay. Ataguchu ayqiy mach'ay!'"
'Qilla, qilla.' Waving away any concern, she positioned herself between the growing horde and her unlikely charge. Could you all take a step back? No gentle smiles as she switched back to Japanese. They would either back off or she would break anyone who took an aggressive step towards Leo.
"Leo?" Being deep in trouble already made Yusei the perfect person to approach first. "How do you know that name?" Turning her head slightly, Phantom made sure that Leo wasn't about to freak out before stepping slightly to one side.
"It's an Incan myth. 'Ataguchu' was the name of a god who saved everyone by finding a way to escape the end of the world through a hidden tunnel in a cave." He could feel the secret about to come out. Unlike everyone else in the room, his clandestine activity was neither important nor extensive. It was merely incredibly embarrassing.
"And why do you know the myth?" Luna knew her twin was incapable of being part of Yliaster. Asking him to hold a secret was like asking him to hold a priceless glass sculpture – expensive and inevitably messy.
"I researched the Signers. Like, a lot." Every time he wasn't taking part in, or waiting to join, a tournament for the past eight years, he had been reading history books and studying mythology. The highlight had been a three-month holiday touring Peru and neighbouring regions to study the history in-depth.
"I don't buy it. You're probably with Yliaster." Luna was saying what everyone was thinking. "Why would you bother doing research?" Everyone in the room had someone they could relate the statement to. Most of them picked Musume.
"Well... Yusei and Jack got super-cool upgrades to their dragons." And then everyone could see where this was going. Even Yugi and Jaden could figure out what was happening after a few days of knowing him. "And I thought that maybe I could find a way to do that for Life Stream Dragon."
"Okay. But what language was that?" Even Yusei didn't recognise it. If Phantom was speaking an unknown language, it probably wasn't good. If Leo was speaking an unknown language, it was probably harmless. They were two very different areas with little room for overlap.
"Quechua. It's what the last Signers spoke. I thought it'd be neat to learn." Taking a deep breath through his nose, Jack knew he was hearing the truth. Leo really was too precious. He probably belonged in the Spirit World where everyone was happy and sparkles were everywhere.
"And why the fuck do you speak it?" Musume had honed in on the more troubling question that had almost been avoided by other revelations. While Leo misguidedly learned an entire language (incredible as it was), Phantom always had a reason for everything she did.
Records indicated that a formal declaration was necessary to initiate a Dark Duel. Backing away from Leo's overwhelming enthusiasm, she felt hiding in the pool might be necessary to ignore the tidal wave of emotion. I hypothesised that it may be possible to alter the conditions of one if I gave the declaration first.
"Huh." Trying to figure out how she had rigged the Dark Duel that night had given Musume a headache. Even reading through the many reports hadn't given her a clear answer. "Fair enough. But no teaching Leo magic!" No matter how slim the chance, she wasn't going to let Leo take it.
You have my word. Everyone relaxed slightly. Their most immature member was universally loved but nobody wanted to worry about his summoning demons over mispronounced Latin.
"No, fuck no!" Hearing Crow swear in anger was a rare experience. Aside from smashing into furniture and the rare accident, he never cursed. Even Jack raised a curious eyebrow as he pointed an accusatory finger towards Phantom. "We've given you a lot of leeway but you expect us to just believe that you learned a dead language in case it was useful?"
Yes. Sarcasm was as wasted on Phantom as a good sandwich.
"Bullshit." It was obvious from the astonished look on Musume's face that this was new territory for everyone in the room. "What else do you speak, Martian?"
Fluent English, Japanese and French. Passable Russian and Mandarin. But I would like to learn Martian. All the looks she was getting were slowly breaking through her usual social difficulties. She would have thought that being in a room of people with everyone speaking at least three languages would have eliminated the freak factor. Apparently not.
"People can't just learn languages because they feel like it." Crow sounded especially angry with the perceived lie for some reason. "'Si vous parlez français, vous comprendrez cela. Eh bien? Peux-tu me comprendre?'" Swapping to French, he threw out the accusatory questions with growing anger.
Oui. She felt a bit more was needed. Je parle français? Keeping with the eternal habit of her life, Phantom made the wrong choice. She could see it in the tightening glare of his eyes.
"'Vous ne trompez personne. Vous ne pouvez pas simplement prétendre connaître une langue en utilisant quelques mots courants'." There was a distinct pause before he spat out the final word. "'Chienne'." Only three people in the group spoke French fluently enough to recognise the word: Crow, for his nearly suicidal relationship with Sherry LeBlanc, Yusei, who regularly spoke with Dr Undercliff of CERN and Musume who had been raised with the second language. But everyone knew the tone of the word.
Exactly what passed was difficult to describe. Phantom seemed to take a deep breath in without actually breathing as the frost crackled over her exterior. Ice shattered in her grin as she smiled beneath her mask. Excusez moi. Turning to the highest authority in the room, her flawless French made the situation suddenly tense up. Autorisation de rendre la pareille?
"Sure. Go ahead." Musume hadn't known that Phantom could speak French. Language fluency was hardly a conversation that came up over the dinners she couldn't eat. Turning back with the speed of an iceberg carried the advanced warning of knowing there was an icy reception coming.
Quoi qu'il arrive pour vous mettre en colère, je suis désolé. Si vous voulez que quelqu'un s'en charge, c'est un rôle que je jouerai volontiers. Mais tu n'as pas la chance de crier après Leo ou quelqu'un d'autre dans ta famille! Even Martha wouldn't have taken that exact tone. 'Calm down' with touches of 'we care about and are here for you' with a sprinkle of 'I can break you'.
"What's she saying?" Standing beside Yusei, Akiza was amazed as the language flowed without a single break or pause. Phantom usually took a lot more care of her words to the point of not speaking. Leaning down to one side, Yusei began to whisper a hurried translation into her ear.
Pensez-vous que vous êtes le seul à avoir des problèmes? Akiza a suivi une formation de médecin pendant huit ans et peut-être rester debout et regarder mourir l'homme qu'elle aime. Flinging an arm around for an instant, she pointed across the room at where the doctor stood as she closed the distance between herself and Crow.
"What was that?" Knowing nothing of the language didn't stop Akiza from recognising her own name and the breath tickling her ear died away for a moment. But the conversation was continuing and he managed to slip past the sentence without drawing more attention to it.
Pensez-vous que quiconque dans cette salle n'a littéralement aucun problème? Même Jack était assez fort pour obtenir de l'aide. Prenez une pause, déterminez ce dont vous avez besoin et tout le monde dans cette salle sera là pour vous aider à le faire. Gripping him by one shoulder, a lot of the chill thawed from her smile. Peux-tu me comprendre?
There was tense silence as everyone attempted to figure out the state of play. "Fuck off." Slapping the hand away, Crow pushed towards the door and practically slammed it open in his rage.
"Fuck me." Leaning back in amazement, Musume hadn't seen anyone so efficiently crushed with compassion before. It was a beautiful sight. "That was impressive."
Pressing a thumb into her right palm, Phantom tried to stop the fingers from spasming. Excusez moi. Opening the patio door with an elbow, she slipped outside out of view around a corner.
Nobody in the apartment knew quite where to look until Yusei made an executive decision. "Jack and I will get Crow. Musume, can you talk to Phantom?" For once, she didn't even offer an insulting response.
The silent armour was leaning in the alcove around the corner from the door. She had been concerned that it might have fled once again. "Hey." There was a little start as she spoke. "You alright?" Super-hearing was probably on the fritz.
My apologies. It has been... a while since I last spoke French to... Folding her arms tight didn't entirely obscure the tapping ring finger. It was beating another staccato beat to the thumb to vent her anxiety. Well, it is difficult. Thinking of my brother.
Musume pretended not to notice the immense discomfort and tried to change the topic to a less depressing one. "Why do you speak so many different languages?" Two or three was the average. If she was telling the truth, Phantom spoke at least five.
Pardon? Drawing her attention to the question, the answer came out with a tinge of embarrassment. Because I was... non-verbal as a child. I thought learning more languages would help. It did not work as... The mirth was building to palpable levels.
"Because you couldn't talk, you decided to learn other languages?" Stuffing knuckles into her face, she tried to keep the smile from growing.
English from my mother, Japanese by myself and French with my brother. Dissatisfaction rang in her tone. Of course, then I could not communicate because of extreme social anxiety.
"Your brother's French?" Every scattered detail she learned about Phantom only increased the headache she appeared to naturally generate.
No, he simply liked the language. It helps to have another person to learn it with. And speaking it again had probably dragged up all those memories of a brother she couldn't see anymore. I... kept studying. After... After I... That beat started to amp up.
"If your mother taught you English and your brother taught you French, why did you decide to learn Japanese?" Hopefully, the question would be enough to help ease the frantic tapping. She was also curious why Phantom had been the one to choose a non-European language.
KaibaCorp is a leading competitor in many fields and many... interesting events seem to originate from Japan. Even from a young age, it had made sense to learn the language to avoid information getting the hatchet from bad translations.
"Well, you speak it good." A glassy look crossed her face. 'Speak it good'. She couldn't believe her brain had let her down like that. "Ah, you'll be okay as long as you don't do a Jack." When confronted with a language he didn't know, an unfortunate habit was for the former champion to speak louder and use crude charades. People often stopped to watch the dancing antics.
"What are you two talking about?" Jack had overheard his name as he opened the door and could see the two women laughing. Towering over the weaker target, he played on the infallible subservience. "Phantom?"
There were seconds until she crumbled under the pressure of being asked a direct question by the most intimidating member of the Signers and they all knew it. Grabbing the back of the boiler suit, Musume bodily picked up her companion and slammed her into the pool. Water exploded in all directions and flooded over the pair still standing on the patio.
"Oops." Brushing a damp lock of hair from over her eyes, Musume sounded unapologetic. "My hand slipped." Silent outrage radiated from Jack as he tried to flap the worst of the water from his coat. "How's it going?"
"We calmed Crow down. He's left for now but I'd advise keeping them apart." Transferring his phone and wallet to trouser pockets, he gripped the neck of his coat and shook it as hard as he could at arms-length. "He spoke to Bolton yesterday." Nothing more had to be said. Musume would know the story of how Bolton had betrayed Pearson. Revisiting that trauma only to immediately meet someone who saw Shadow Duels as a research topic would be enough to anger anyone. "What about her?"
"Remembered her brother. Sounds like she misses him." They didn't need to cover the trauma of losing a family member, even if they weren't dead. Over his shoulder, she saw Yusei and Akiza pulling on their coats. Jack was able to open the door before she literally walked through it. "Where're you going?" After a lengthy argument involving trust, it was ironic that she still had none to spare when it came to Yusei.
"I need to arrange a couple of things at the SRC before I leave. Trudge agreed to give me a lift." Not that he had much choice. Being in charge of Yusei's freedom and a long-time friend, the ICC took any chance to monitor interactions between the two.
"And I thought I'd take advantage of the free ride." Akiza's tone offered no chance for rebuke.
"Sure. Fine. Whatever." Both eyes betrayed the restrained fury she was holding inside. Rubbing the tenseness in her neck disguised a pointing finger and subtle jerk of her head. By the time anyone looked outside for her second shadow, it had already slipped away over the edge of the wall.
Once they arrived at the SRC, Akiza had peeled off to her work with Din while the men went to deal with the bureaucratic nightmare that was the legal department. No sooner had they been greeted by Kamikawa than elevator doors drew back to reveal the wizened form of Hiraguchi standing beside the pencil figure of Pessimal with briefcase in hand. It was clear that he had rushed over as soon as they arrived on the grounds. "Dr Fudo. I trust that I am not interrupting anything?" There was a loaded trap hiding within the simple question. Few defendants would contact their lawyers when it wasn't necessary.
"Not at all. I was hoping to see you." The professionally calm face remained impartial while the air soured slightly. "Kamikawa, is there somewhere we can all speak in private?"
"My office is available." Sparks clashed as the two lawyers watched each other. Theirs was a battlefield where every single move had to be perfect. "Pessimal, speak to one of my assistants."
"Actually, I am here to speak with Dr Fudo." The SRC accountant shattered the silence with twin clicks as he reached for a green folder in his briefcase. "This is my final report of all materials suppliers claim to have sent us. It is, of course, subject to change should they uncover further details."
"What's this now?" A kindly smile settled on Hiraguchi's face. Nobody bought it. "Trouble getting all your nuts and bolts in a row?"
"A minor discrepancy was noted in the form of a double order when Dr Fudo returned from America." The briefcase was sealed shut again as Pessimal received a nod to explain. "He requested a more thorough audit of any similar claims by our suppliers."
"Dr Fudo agreed to not directly involve himself with any ongoing SRC business while the investigation proceeds." The kindly smile switched to a razor-blade tone.
"And this does not qualify as ongoing SRC business." Pessimal coldly responded. The only people pickier than lawyers were accountants. "Or will you charge Dr Fudo with remembering past activities?"
Hiraguchi mulled over the argument for a minute. "Is there any information in there which could require security clearance?" A slight shift of posture drew his attention to Yusei. "In case it were to be stolen or copied without your knowledge."
"Most everything we are supplied with are publicly available." Yusei could tell that reading the thick folder would require days to process. "And the few that aren't are usually obsolete after we're done with them." Military-grade suppliers had tried blocking the SRC before learning that it only meant a few months delay while they built everything from scratch.
"Good day, gentlemen." Leaving the room with a quiet click of the door, Pessimal left Yusei holding the conversational ball as he turned to his lawyer.
"I understand the official rules in this instance are for the SRC to operate independently of my orders." Of course he knew the rules – he had written them in the first place. "Which I why I'm speaking as the defendant and not as your boss: Abi is the priority. I'm willing to accept any plea bargain if it means she can go free."
"You can't be serious." Hiraguchi reacted before Kamikawa could. "I appreciate your devotion to your work but throwing away your freedom for one experiment isn't worth"
"Of course, we will still attempt to seek an arrangement which does not unduly inconvenience you." Smoothly acting as if nothing happened, Kamikawa was already snapping fingers for one of the thronging peons outside his door. "Dr Fudo has asked that we shift focus to preserving the SRC. Research every possibility to protect Abi but try and spare some time for the defendant as well."
"It will never happen." Though he had implied he stilled trusted Yusei, Hiraguchi did not apparently extend that as far as his opinion on Abi's safety. "Regardless of your attempts at sacrifice, it is most likely that the computer will have to be at least partially disabled." It was lucky that Trudge was still standing off to one side. Without the respected policeman as witness, the lawyers might have torn Hiraguchi apart and kept bouncing the blame until the case was colder than Yusei's expression.
"Mr Hiraguchi, I am aware that the Stockholm Treaty would require any AI to be curtailed. But imagine for one minute that I am telling the truth. If Abi is the first case of spontaneous machine intelligence, any forced alteration of her code would be akin to involuntary brain surgery." He was careful to keep to more medical imagery. It was unclear at what level (if any) sentience differentiated from spirit. "She's had five full years to attempt any of the scenarios proposed by your team. So why hasn't she?"
"Maybe it is simply a matter of waiting for the right circumstances. I am not an expert in these matters." As a lawyer, he was charged with seeing how others could be charged. Complex philosophical debates on supercomputers were outside his usual duties. "However, I understand your concern. At the very least, we should sever network access until a more full understanding can be put together."
"That would be like putting a person in solitary confinement for thousands of years without food or water." Biological lifeforms viewed time as a constant. Abi could watch a coin get tossed into the air and write a novel on the result before it landed. "Data input for her is like having eyes and ears for us. Would you consider it ethical treatment to remove them?"
"Wouldn't entering a standby mode until a final verdict be akin to sleeping?" Nobody could escape a basic grasp of digital knowledge but trying to assign basic terms to an unknown variable was dicey at best.
"More like a coma. One which would also cripple the SRC." Raw processing and storage were housed in Buildings One to Three. They were all managed by the complex system in Building Four. Taking her out of the equation would stunt progress for months. "If you really want to keep her under control, treat her as you would any normal person. Give her space when she needs it, let her take time off when she's bored."
"SRC guidelines about computer maintenance were established months before Abi came online." For a moment, it wasn't clear if Kamikawa was on Yusei's side or not. "Most systems are required to take regular maintenance – that includes during investigations taking more than fourteen days." Scoring points in an international legal case nearly brought a smile to those grey lips. As the SRC was an international facility, the ICC would have to observe the rule unless they could prove letting Abi relax posed sufficient danger.
"I see." In more ways than one. Short of destroying the entire computer infrastructure – permanently destroying Abi and voiding any chance of proving their case – he would be forced to give in to their demands. "Well, it seems that we all have plenty to be getting on with." Kamikawa was careful not to express how satisfying it was to watch his opponent leave without another word.
"Is there anything else I can do for you while you're here?" Entire genres of musical glee resonated compared to his usual flat tones.
"Can you hold onto these for me?" Paper crinkled as he pulled a slim stack of envelopes from inside his jacket."In case I don't have the time later on." Which really meant 'in case I get locked away in a dark hole for the rest of my life or am slain by an organisation most people do not even know exists'.
"Of course." Taking the envelopes in hand, Kamikawa secured them in his safe. "Give my best to your family."
"I will." After a brief handshake, he and Trudge returned to the elevator in relative silence.
"Mina also sends her best." He had obviously promised to mention that. He had obviously forgotten to do so. "You should really come for a visit sometime. She hasn't seen you in a while."
"I'm afraid I'll be busy in a few days." Everything they said was probably being recorded and he was careful to avoid any direct remarks. "You know how these trials can get."
"Yeah." Trudge remembered sigils carved across the city, demonic beings filling the sky and an actual city dropping through time to crush them. "You focus on that for now. Drop by when you can." A heavy hand gripped one shoulder for a moment before the door opened again. Covering for Yusei would be difficult but at least he didn't have to worry about being brainwashed again. Merely being held an accessory to crimes against humanity if his friend didn't get back before a verdict was reached.
It had been an unusually quiet day with Din. Nobody had wanted to give the International Criminal Court any more ammunition in their witch hunt and were taking steps to prevent doing so. Not even the brutal genius was enraged enough to try his usual tricks with half the SRC security forces waiting right outside his door. The constant stress of waiting for him to snap was more exhausting than tidying up any resultant mess and Akiza was exhausted long before most people would have even finished dinner.
"So that's it then?" Lying prone in bed, she was enjoying the feeling of Yusei idly toying with loose bits of her hair. "They'll let Abi go and lock you away forever?"
"Probably not." Tucking a tumbling curl behind one ear, he delicately traced the contours with a pinkie. "But I'll agree if that's what it takes. Especially," Leaning down, he whispered into her ear. "If it'll mean more visits like the last one."
Rolling over, Akiza propped her head up with a shark grin. "Okay then." Closing the distance brought him within biting distance. "How about right now?" She knew the idea was tempting by his uneven breathing as she closed in. One hand slipped up under his shirt before running down as he set a shaking hand on her hip. Both eyes closed as he leaned forwards slightly. "Oh, you poor idiot." Her teeth gently nibbled at his ear and caused his disappointed eyes to open again. "What would your brothers think if they heard us? Of course, as soon as they're not." Akiza paralysed him with a passionate kiss to convey the rest of her sentence.
It took a minute to regain his breath as he processed the turbulent changes she had put him through. "You're more stressful than the ICC, did you know that?" At least he could escape them for brief periods of time.
"And what about that thing you refused to tell me this morning?" Not knowing French had also made it impossible for her to repeat the words for Din to translate. As with all established knowledge, he had conquered the subject in a few weeks but that hadn't helped him figure out what she was trying to say.
"I'll tell you," A glint shimmered in one eye. "If you come here first." Wrapping an arm around Akiza, he made sure to pin both arms. Whatever viscousness passed down to Musume would definitely be triggered when he answered her question.
"Okay." Squirming slightly only tightened his grip. Nobody else would have been trusted enough to even get this close. "You've got me. What did she say?"
"Phantom said," Leaning in close to her ear again, he could feel the smile starting to show in his voice. "That you love me."
Akiza said nothing for a while. "She's been through a lot." Snuggling against the pillow was within her limited range of motion as she moved to hide. "Probably has no idea what she's talking about."
"Mmm." Kissing her neck let him sneakily check her rampaging pulse and his lips tightened at the deduction. "I dunno. She seems plenty smart enough. Admit it; you love me."
"Don't push your luck." Leaning up, she was able to peck gently against his throat in a pointed reminder that it was still within biting distance. "Go to sleep. Doctor's orders." There was only one problem in his head as she twisted around to lie more comfortably in his arms. Even though Akiza hadn't denied it, she hadn't said those vital words yet either. Though he wasn't one to push, there was precious little time left until Yusei would become a visiting footnote in a dusty history book. Part of him was worried that – if the worst happened and he met a literal untimely end – never hearing those words would hurt worse than whatever actually killed him.
Truly, French is the language of romance just as surely as reviews are the language of feedback.