With the media scrutinising his every move and those of his friends, Yusei had spent a week successfully putting together a tactic that had forced the International Criminal Court to assess Abi as a person as opposed to a pile of machines. One week had given him the time that he needed to pull off the impossible.
In the same week that the old guard had concocted the perfect plan, the newest Signer had struggled to adapt to difficult circumstances. Most of it had involved plummeting face-first into the dirt wearing little more than a pair of baggy trousers and a sports bra. By the sixth day, she had managed to achieve a struggling distance of fifty feet before landing awkwardly on one arm and gaining a bad sprain. Her only response had been to knot her discarded shirt around the injury and continue on as if nothing had happened. Day thirteen had extended that distance towards almost two-hundred feet before she twigged onto the idea of using the other appendage as a sort of rudder to steer. Eventually, she finally felt good enough at the activity to attempt a proper journey.
Luna was sketching at a table by the pool at her old penthouse that morning. Her artistic skills weren't limited to simple drawings of the next fashion revelation and she kept her talents honed by practising drawings when the mood struck her. All that she needed was a thick paper pad and a few pencils to sketch outlines of what she saw. In reality, in her head, it all flowed out onto the paper. Except when she was carefully sketching a leaf that had somehow blown all the way up into pool and it was suddenly washed over one side as a heavy object landed in the middle of the formerly calm waters.
"When people say to 'drop in'," Looking up with a graceful smile, she watched the impossible sight drag itself onto the lip of the pool and clamber out with an enraged glare. "They don't usually mean it so literally." A towel was languishing on a nearby chair in the event that Luna had decided to take a dip when her sketch was completed. Snagging it with one hand as the other closed her drawing pad, she tossed it over to the uninvited – but not unwelcome – guest.
"Thanks." Drawing it over her face, Musume changed several shades in the process of ruining the towel. She had also left a noticeable trail of grime spreading from her swim through the water. "Where's your brother?"
"Play computer games at the SRC with Abi." Catching the glance, Luna gave a slight shrug to indicate that weirder things had happened and she wasn't phased. She didn't realise that Musume had been completely out of contact until the minute that she dropped into the pool "Long story. What about you?" Both wings were still fully resplendent but Musume wasn't showing the same level of discomfort that had gripped her every second since they had first burst out of her.
"Took up flying lessons." Finally tearing the tattered shirt from her arm, she rotated the limb in order to ensure that it was back in working order. For some reason, the damage had taken a lot longer to fix than any of the cuts and scrapes that she had endured during the attempts. Any hint of blood had healed over inside of seconds but the sprained arm had taken far longer than any of the others. "Still haven't figured out the landings yet so I decided to use the pool here to avoid breaking anything." Picking a few twigs from her hair, she moved onto the more pressing questions than if she had meant her bones of the buildings she might crash into. "What have I missed?" Since entering that impossible bar, she had realised that there was still more to come. No matter how much she wanted it all to be over, Musume wasn't going to let her family be in any sort of danger if she had the means to avoid it.
"Nothing much. Yusei's got the ICC to assess Abi properly, Leo's being used to compare how an average human reacts under pressure. Jack and Crow have been off doing their own thing." Picking up her pad, she followed the still dripping Musume back inside and ignored the fading footprints that she was leaving behind. "Akiza's still taking shifts at work but she was concerned when you left without saying a word." Leaning on a counter as the intruder riffled through her fridge, Luna would admit that she had been both as concerned and a lot less than her friend. "Crow managed to talk her down from calling in every favour Trudge could reach before she got too frantic though."
"Didn't have a phone." Grabbing a tray of sushi, she was sating the sorts of hunger that came from not eating for three straight days. "Would have left a note but then you would have known where to find me." Apologies would have meant admitting that she had regret. Musume refused to regret her actions, ever. Even with her friend giving her an accusatory stare. "Don't worry," Even as she downed enough orange juice to replace an orchard, she caught the very pointed look that Luna was sending her way. "I'll tell them I'm back." Giving her shoulder a cautionary sniff, it was disgusting enough to almost turn her stomach. "After I've had a shower."
"I was going over in a while to help Akiza get ready." Like her gaming brother, Luna could let hours slip away when her pencil was sketching out new ideas just waiting to be made into reality. Lunch was meant to have happened a while before and dinner was looming in the near future. Carefully picking an apple from a fruit bowl, she carefully used a knife to start forming a childhood treat to keep her blood sugar up. "She's going to the ball tomorrow. You're welcome to join us." Even with Musume coated in blood, muck and using her shirt for rags – or maybe because of that – Luna felt that some shared 'girl time' was just what the wild young woman needed.
"Ball? What ball?" Even for those in the know, the exact details of the masquerade were a closely guarded secret. Politicians, bankers, shakers and movers from all over had been invited to an exclusive – not to mention anonymous – event to celebrate the new King of Games. Whilst word had inevitably leaked that New Domino City was holding some sort of event, nobody on the outside knew any of the particulars.
"Lazar arranged a masked ball for Yusei." Perched on the chair and eating the delicate rabbit ears she had cut from her apple, Luna was one of the few people in the city who knew any sort of details about the event. Namely that the star guest would be making an appearance. "Apparently, he wanted to give Yusei a celebration where he wouldn't be swamped by people trying to take advantage of his new title. Since the trial dampened his mood, Lazar asked Martha to ask Akiza to make sure that he goes." More accurately, Lazar had mentioned to Yusei's mother that it was doubtful that anyone could cheer up her son since he was refusing to attend the party being thrown especially for him. Martha had then reached out to the very lovely woman who lived with her son and had the ability to wind him around any finger she wished. By the time Lazar's polite suggestion finally met its target, it had gained the momentum of an avalanche.
Being taken to a ball of the wealthy and famous was most people's dreams but a very real worry to Musume. It would mean a large crowd of potentially dangerous people constantly flocking her mother at every opportunity. "Luna?" Musume had spent the last several days living rough in the wilderness, drinking from a stream and surviving off snacks that she had taken from Poppo Time. Making her presentable would take several small miracles and intervention from a different god than the one burned into her back. "Can I ask a favour?" Giving a slight grunt, she managed to get the wings and tail to recede back inside. It had taken a while to perfect the trick but Musume finally appeared to have it all under control. 'Appeared' being the operative word.
Once the pair arrived at Poppo Time, they were met with the grim sort of silence that usually followed – or preceded – a murder. Yusei looked ready to throttle his brother and Jack seemed to be chanting a mantra under his breath to keep from doing the same. Nobody gave any sort of indicator they had noticed Musume's return – a sure sign of looming entertainment.
"Hey." Having not sated her appetite back in the penthouse, Musume ducked under the sparking glare and headed straight for the food cupboards. "What's going on?" Drawing a vast pile of freshly stocked snacks into her arm, she slid back to stand beside Luna again. Not wasting time, she dribbled a handful of small crabs into her mouth and began crunching as the drama started.
"My moronic brother made a stupid, reckless deal." Noting the silent presence of Crow by the top of the stairs, Musume leant forward with a question plainly on her face. "Yes, I'm talking about Jack!" It was unusual of Yusei to snap but the group seemed to sense that he had earned it. "Do you know what he did?" There were a lot of things that Jack could be being accused of. As long as it was nothing that would blow back on her, Musume was content to simply sit back and let the argument unfold. "He went ahead and made a deal with (as far as I can tell) Akiza's phone that if I went free, he would give up Red Dragon Archfiend."
Inhaling a messy array of semi-chewed crustacean, Musume began choking and spraying the mess across the floor as Luna pounded her on the back with unsuspected strength. "What?" Although she had been physically present for the discussion, her mind had been hazy at best. Between the fever, delirium and on-going audio hallucinations, she was certain that she had imagined the deal.
"Oh, didn't he tell you?" Toning dripping with sarcasm, he seemed ready to break something. When he had seen Akiza's phone light up with the message 'Visit Cafe La Geen for coffee and cards' and recognised her own number on the screen, it had taken barely three questions to discover the meaning. When she had visited him in The Facility, Akiza had said that someone had messaged her with a way in. She had never mentioned the cost.
"Stop it." Her father had been a stressed man. Not angry, never violent but constantly under pressure from his job. "Just stop it." Setsuko had taught her daughter the value of allowing him to let some of the steam out in harmless ranting before calming him down further. A delicate touch was required. "What would you have done in his position?"
An ongoing power struggle seemed to be developing in the group. Maybe not a 'struggle' exactly. Just that Akiza had an uncanny habit of forcing Yusei's stubborn streak into complete submission. "That's entirely different and you know it." A delicately raised eyebrow indicated that there was a gaping flaw in his argument because nobody was seeing any difference.
"What if we just don't let them have it?" Breaking apart the argument with a single ludicrous question, the otherwise silent Leo had been sulking at the table in the kitchen area. The ICC had asked him to take some time off and rest from his gaming marathon while they reviewed their current findings. Mainly because Abi had refused to keep playing with someone who kept making blunders as a result of exhaustion and quit the party. "I mean, Yusei's not really free yet. Hiraguchi said that it could take months before they have a final verdict."
"Something tells me that they're not going to see it that way." Now that the aggression had stepped down slightly, Jack was able to stop chanting his mantra without exploding. "I agreed to hand over Red Dragon Archfiend to get Yusei out of prison. He's out. That's good enough for me." Loathe though he was to admit it, their contact had pulled off a minor miracle in finding a way to get Yusei out of the inhumane conditions of his holding cell.
"But what if," Leo was still trying to push the same point but to no avail.
"What if they take back their word when I go back on mine?" There had been plenty of time to think of ways out during the trial. Without enough legal expertise to do more than watch the trial, Jack had spent his time attempting to find a way to keep both his brother and his signature card as well. There was still no viable plan. "Are we okay with letting Yusei go to prison?"
"I'm fine with going back." Nobody paid any attention to Yusei's suicidal demand for imprisonment.
"Face it, this is what we agreed to." Ignoring his brother's reminder that no, he hadn't agreed to anything and there was still time to call it off, Jack continued as if nobody had spoken. "Unless it's in my hands, it's just a card. Nobody is going to get hurt." Again, there was a good chance that Musume could probably utilise the more supernatural evolutions but the average Duellist – whoever the new owner happened to be – would be unable to access them.
"Jack," Came that patient tone.
"Yusei." For the first time that they could remember, Jack was using that same patient tone that had broken up countless arguments between himself and Crow. "We agreed it was worth the price." Again, 'agreed' was a strong word. Jack had acquiesced and the rest had wisely decided not to argue the issue with veins literally pounding against his skull. "If it helps," Placing a comforting hand on Yusei's despairing shoulder, Jack's face was perfectly at ease with the news he was about to break. "I wouldn't have done it for Crow."
"Hey!" Even with the years of anger management having turned his brother into an arguably reasonable man, Crow still felt that he could do with a few more mental tweaks. "Well, I'd do it for Yusei but not you."
"Shame that they had taste in cards." It was clearly not a violation of his therapy to casually throw crude hand gestures at both brothers as he sauntered down the stairs with screams of outrage forcing Yusei to tackle his remaining brother to the ground. Only the women in the room realised how sneakily Jack had taunted his brother into distracting Yusei so that he could make a clean getaway.
Ever since the trial, Cafe La Geen had seen plenty of traffic. Polite chatter that filled the air died away as Jack was recognised in the doorway of the shop. Sensing the sudden shift in mood, the server at the counter looked up without surprise. "Jack." Plenty of reporters and police were still in the shop. Sorry, not-reporters and not-police. Which made it strange when the queue for ordering vanished as he grew closer to the counter. "It's been a while." Notes were being taken on all sides. Reporters wanted scoops, police wanted gossip for Trudge. No official record of such an order existed but those not-police with the juiciest information would find their expenses being covered in trade.
"Stephanie." Whoever had been sending Akiza messages appeared not to know the cafe was full of people or simply didn't care. There was no easy way to ask if a mysterious stranger was lurking around to take Red Dragon Archfiend from him. He would have to try for small talk. "How've you been?"
"Business has been good." Casting a look around the room caused a lot of people to take an overwhelming interest in the walls, ceilings and tables. Not a single pair of eyes seemed to find the counter worth noticing. Even with such levels of pointed ignorance, nobody noticed the polite evasion.
"New outfits?" Unlike the maid dress that she had worn when working as little more than a server, Stephanie had taken to wearing a suit similar to Mina's when she had worked for Jack. Only the colour was different, a formal black instead of professional blue.
"Manager uniform. We've got a few shops across the city now." There was no need to explain she ran them all. Such a commanding air was unmistakable. "Congratulations on the Pegasus Trinidad Tournament." Lips twitched slightly. Outside of his family, only a few people would be allowed to mention the humiliating lapse of professionalism. Stephanie had the decency to indicate she was talking up the younger man in the Duel as opposed to insulting the one before her now.
"Leo definitely has potential." Not even placing an order, she was already serving up a small cup of his favourite coffee. "I can see why Crow chose him as a replacement for his team."
"From what I have seen, his solo act is certainly one to be rivalled." Placing the cardboard cup – having correctly assumed that he wouldn't be choosing to stay in the overflowing cafe – on the counter, she gave a careful little smile. Anything too hearty would be reported. Anything too cold would turn the comment into an insult. "Polishing his team game should round out his skills a bit more." Watching him reach for his wallet, Stephanie waved away the attempt at payment. "Never mind that. You paid for two cups last time and had to run off before you finished your first one."
"Yeah, my ride to the airport said they would be delayed and then showed up early." Not exactly a newsworthy story, reporters sullenly relaxed in their chairs. "That was ten months ago." Not many opportunities arose where he was in New Domino and fewer where he could stop by his favourite coffee shop. "Here," Before he could stop her, a few notes were slapped onto the counter. "For the next few customers." Looking at the notes and then at the not-police – who couldn't accept the offer for the fear of being reported for taking bribes – and the competing clashes of not-reporters – who wouldn't accept the drinks for fear that she would tamper with them – Stephanie couldn't help but smile at how Jack had matured over the years.
"That's wicked." Putting the notes to one side, she carefully placed a weight atop the money to keep it from being swept away. "See you around."
"Stephanie, wait!" Pens clicked in the silence as he hurried down the counter after her. "Shove off!" Other words almost replaced 'shove' before years of anger management kicked in as Jack turned to stare down the crowded room (and even a few heads clustering in at the openings to outside). "I'm just trying to see if anything was left for me." Disappointment flashed across her face for an instant before Stephanie actually laughed in the silence.
"A package arrived for you in the post this morning." Dozens of people over the years had tried to make contact with the top-tier Duellists living in Poppo Time by sending mail to other buildings around the square. This was the first time that anybody had come looking. "Give me a minute, it's out in the back." Crossing his arms, Jack tapped his index finger in an irritated beat as he slowly glared his way around the room. A few hardened souls tried to meet his gaze and quickly found themselves overpowered by the look in his eyes. Only one person eluded that gaze by virtue of being unnoticeable in the corner. As part of neither the police or reporter camps, nobody was paying any attention to somebody who genuinely seemed to have come simply to sip a drink and read a small book.
If anyone had paid a bit more attention to the figure, they would have realised that the book was on ancient civilisations and that the reading glasses seemed more designed to reflect light than focus the reader's gaze.
"Here you go." An arriving cardboard box spared the bravery of several customers around the shop as Stephanie returned from her brief search. "Care to explain why I'm acting as your mail collector now?" Everything she said was deliberately innocent even while the words forced him into uncomfortable corners with the world listening in.
"Just a joke from a friend." Using that word in connection with the one extorting him was the last thing the wanted to do but ears were still pricking.
"Apologies for opening it." Only a few inches in every direction, the box itself was innocuous enough and – though he hated the fact she had unknowingly taken a risk – at least Stephanie had proven it wasn't a trap. "Your 'friend' added my name as well." Looking at the label on the front of the box, let to Jack's ears reddening slightly. Whoever was toying with him had addressed the delivery to 'Stephanie Atlas'.
"Sorry about that." Deciding that nothing could be lost by having a quick peek, he opened the lid. Inside was a plain sponge cake, the sort that could be brought just about anywhere or made on a budget. Not the type of thing used as a gift or intimidation. Perfect to send a small message. Three words had been written in thick frosting. Keep the card.
"Everything alright?" Opening the box had meant reading the message and Stephanie had seen far deeper than the simple words. Only one card would be worth trading from Jack's collection. Offering to give it away meant that something dire was going on.
"Much better." Actually offering her a genuine smile – phones were dragged from pockets as the rare sight vanished before a photo could be taken – Jack momentarily calmed her fears with the one expression she had rarely seen before. Suffering the embarrassing joke was worth the expense of retaining his irreplaceable card.
As Jack entered Poppo Time and the reporters were able to flock for the exit, a customer from a quiet table in the corner stowed their book away with the smile and camouflaged themselves in the departing crowd. Stepping around the corner that led to the road instead of heading for the stairs, they hopped over the barrier that led into woodland and vanished amongst the trees before anyone noticed their departure.
"How did it go?" Trying for sympathy, Crow was finding himself actually feeling bad for his brother. He could only imagine just how desolate he would feel if someone extorted Black-Wing Dragon from him.
Slowly walking up the stairs with a heavy tread, Jack was staring at the box with a sort of empty dumbfoundedness. "They didn't want it." Still struggling with the sudden twist of events, Jack was starting to realise that they had collectively managed to pull it off after all. Yusei was free, the ICC was giving Abi a fair hearing, he was being released from his part of the bargain that had started the entire legal effort. "I went to hand it over but they didn't want it."
"That makes sense." Adapting to the realisation faster than his brother, a wicked grin started to form on Crow's face. "I mean, nobody in their right minds would want your dragon when mine was available." Nobody in the room would slight another's dragon but Crow's jab was light-hearted and more in the line of boasting his own.
"Shut it!" Lobbing the cake – box and all – at his brother, Jack allowed himself the juvenile act as it was out of jubilation and not anger. Alarmed eyes watched as it sailed through the air to splatter against the wall behind Crow's ducking head. A couple of thoughts went towards how long it would take to get the frosting out of the wallpaper but those thoughts were brief as the cheap cake disintegrated to reveal a surprise ingredient dropping to the floor. Wrapped tightly in plastic was a thick black chunk that a few more excitable minds mistook for a deadly explosive. Especially when it lit up on one side.
"BOMB!" Reacting faster than most people could think, Crow grabbed Luna around the torso and threw them both backwards down the first flight of stairs. While his brother heroically took the brunt of the fall, Jack sprinted down the hallway and dove into the first room he could. Being less understanding of how dangerous bombs actually were, Leo grabbed a pan from the sink, crammed it atop his head, flipped the kitchen table for cover and tucked himself under a chair. If first-person shooters had taught him anything, it was that furniture could stop shrapnel better than body armour.
Composing an odd trio of hopeful, faithful and suicidal, Yusei, Akiza and Musume watched the antics unfold. If whoever had been helping them wanted to commit murder, there were far more discrete ways – starting with just letting Yliaster win the trial against Yusei. Even if that wasn't a factor, they had ample opportunities from America to strike. Which didn't stop Yusei from edging in front of Akiza slightly. As for Musume, she was almost morbidly curious if a bomb would even be able to kill her. Maybe her cells would just piece themselves back together as the shards pierced through her. Although it might shorten her life slightly, the spirits inside her had patched her right back up in Paris. From near-death to fighting form in bare seconds. Maybe it was that uncaring impulse which let her approach the plastic package while the more cautious family members sought cover.
"Not a bomb." It was funny enough to watch Crow throw himself down the stairs but seeing Leo with a dirty pan crammed onto his head as a protective helmet really rounded the experience off. Unwrapping the plastic sheeting, she uncovered a much more conventional device. "A phone."
"A phone bomb!" Desperate to recover some sense of decorum, Leo was feeling the uncomfortable trickle of dirty water sliding through his hair. Down on the landing between the garage and floor above, Crow was trying not to move because parts of his spine were screaming how misplaced they were.
"No, just a phone." Musume carefully balanced it on one palm as text flashed up on the screen. Pressed against the floor for whatever minimal protection it would provide, Jack carefully inched out from the bathroom as she read the message aloud.
Nobody can help you. Keep the phone close.
~ Para5yte
It wasn't a particularly pleasant line to read. Being told that they had no allies was like being reminded that your grandmother had sex – everyone knew it but nobody wanted to talk about it. "At least we have a name." Trying to explain that they had been talking to Akiza's phone this entire time sounded more than a little mad. Being able to name the voice coming from the other end made their conversations a lot easier.
"Parasyte?" Vague recollections stirred in the back of his head. Like Yusei had read the name somewhere before yet couldn't instantly place it. There had to be some reason why it sounded familiar if they operated in completely different circles.
"Do you know them?" Akiza had operated on blind faith since her phone had seemingly started speaking to her. If she hadn't spoken to Abi previously, she might have assumed it was the computer. Even so, it appeared that Yusei had an inkling to their true identity.
"Maybe... It'll come back to me." Despite his reassuring words, he had the look of someone mentally chewing over a problem. Like a song with no lyrics stuck in his head, Yusei was stuck going over the slim piece of information that he had and hoping that something resonated with it.
"I'll hold onto it, for now." Any number of annoying problems could be lurking in the tiny device. It could be tracked, listening to every word they said or – despite their dismissals of Crow's slightly dramatic alarm – a bomb just waiting for the right moment to go off. "Besides," Holding the mobile in one hand, she could feel the heavy weight lying against her palm in a chill pressure. "It's about time I got a phone." Certain advantages came from not technically existing – no taxes, easy to stay off radars that most people didn't know were watching them – while certain disadvantages kept Musume reliant on her friends. Money was a good one. Getting identification was another. At least she might now have the means to keep in contact without having to physically drop by.
"I remember now!" Excited at maybe uncovering a connection to their shadowy contact, the words came out a bit louder than was necessary.
"Great." Rubbing his knee from where it had smashed into the underside of the table in his shock, Leo sounded a tad rueful in his agony. "What'd you remember?"
"It was when I was on some unlisted websites a while ago." Terms like 'dark net' or 'deep web' tended to conjure up shady websites that sold illegal materials. While such places existed, some websites were just kept hidden from the public for more innocent reasons. Navigating them was always a mixed bag. "One of them mentioned a hacker called 'Parasyte' had traded them some classified information."
"What sort of information?" Turning the phone over and over, Musume tried to understand why a custom device would have been sent when a stock model could have worked just as well.
"No idea." Hackers could shed identities as easily as changing a name on a screen. Keeping one long enough to build a reputation let them stand above the rabble drastically raised the risk of being investigated by authorities and tracked down. On the other hand, reputation was everything in the hacker underground. "It wasn't the sort of place that you asked questions." No reputation meant no respect meant no authority meant no questions.
"Wouldn't selling classified information set the authorities on them?" An expert in annoying the authorities himself, Crow was struggling to get inside the mind of a cyber-criminal. It was about as different from his 'recovery excursions' as tax evasion was from stealing a bag of candy.
"Not if it wasn't from governments." For two people who seemed unable to get along for more than five minutes at a time, Jack and Crow were often able to balance each other out. "Stealing from companies can pay a lot better without drawing the sort of attention that people don't like." Industrial espionage was a given. Why cut back on profit margins for research when you can just buy the competition and reverse-engineer it for next to nothing? It was also safer on the criminals as well – the targetted company would typically just retaliate against their rivals, sometimes with the same hackers who infiltrated their own systems. "But why would a hacker randomly want to help us?"
As the discussion continued without progress, Jack's question – despite being the most crucial one – was only half-right. Yes, the quiet voice that had been communicating through Akiza's phone definitely had programming expertise that was used for 'legally dubious' reasons. But as far as random went, they had very good reasons for interfering.
If there's one thing you should focus your reviews on, it's this: the cake wasn't a lie!