Disclaimer: I do not own YGO 5ds.
"Kalin," I was genuinely happy to see the blue-haired duelist this time. If some magical forces had prevented me from winning my duels, Kalin's magical powers could come in handy. I'll just brainwash, I mean convince, him. How hard can it be? This kid had never had a formal education beyond grade school, never seen the world beyond his hometown, never accessed books or even the internet beyond how to fix his duel disk. This is the kid who thought he could overthrow an autocratic government with 4 people (or 1 depending on how you look at it).
The Dark Signer was standing in the shadows, with one shoulder hunched over and his head tilted to the side, as though under some type of strain. Aside for myself, nobody seemed to see him as they walked right by, not sparing him a single look.
"It's a power of mine," Kalin said dismissively in response to my confused look, looking and sounding completely sane.
"What brings you here?" I asked will all the nicety I could muster, remembering that I wanted recruit him for his magical powers, "are you feeling better?"
Kalin's lips twisted into a crooked smile. "Much better," As soon as he spoke these words, I noticed a mostly healed scar on his forehead. Instinctively, I comprehended the use of his powers- he didn't exactly change his appearance, rather his powers ensured that I ignored the scar until he wanted me to see it. Much like how people around us ignored him when they passed by.
"Let's talk somewhere a little more private," Kalin suggested. Still maintaining that awkward stance, he followed me upstairs to my room. It's where 'Kalin Kessler' is least likely to be discovered.
"What do you want to talk about?" I acted as friendly as I could.
"This," Kalin released his magic and revealed Chaos whom he had carried on his shoulders. The purple-haired man looked worn out, but much better than when I saw him last.
I could have glomped Kalin if I wasn't worried about him magically cursing me or something. Kalin is a little like a stray cat right now, weary of strangers, very defensive, and capable of dealing a lot of damage if he wanted to. He's clearly beginning to trust me, and I don't want to ruin that.
On the other hand, he couldn't have given me a heads up? I kidnapped children and antagonized a main character for this!
"This doesn't mean we're not enemies," Kalin declared aloofly as he gently laid Chaos down onto my bed, "He did get me to a doctor, so this evens the score."
"Uh-huh," I nodded, obviously not convinced.
"I have no difficulty walking into holding cells and bringing somebody out," Kalin explained even though I didn't ask a question, "It was very simple with my powers of illusion."
"Uh-huh," I agreed again.
"So now that we're even," Kalin looked mildly annoyed at my insincere concessions. "I have more Dark Signer business. Roman would not learn of your location, as was our agreement." It was a second gesture of goodwill, which gave me hope. I didn't know what exactly his powers were as pertained to dueling or anything else, but it might come in handy given what had just happened with Crow. (It was later revealed to me that like the Crimson Dragon, the King of the Netherworld can help turn a duel around for their chosen duelists, but only if the duelist is passionate enough about that given duel, as was the case with Crow.)
"What do you think of a second job?" I smirked, secretly satisfied to see Kalins eyes widen like a startled cat as he understood what I implied.
"You want to recruit me?" Kalin was too surprised to be angry or insulted, "what gave you the idea?"
"Why not?" I smiled, "I need more people and you look like you could use some more disposable income, it's a win-win situation. At least give it a chance and hear me out." I added just in case.
"I suppose I can give you a chance, seeing as you're following my path. Revenge against Neo Domino would be most satisfying." He smiled back, his eyes remained untarnished by the darkness, reflecting light in its original golden hue.
"Exactly what path do you think I'm following?" I asked skeptically, temporarily derailed from my original plan. Sometimes it's good to hear feedback from an impartial observer to learn how the rest of the world sees you.
"It's obvious, isn't it?" Kalin reached an arm around my shoulder in what could almost be described as a one-armed hug, "it's a path to overthrow Neo Domino, to take over the City, to give control of the Satellite back to the satellite and build this place from the ground up."
I facepalmed. That can't really be how people think of me!
"I don't know how to tell you this," I sighed, "but that's really not what I'm doing. Not even remotely."
"You can't claim to want to run a small business," Kalin said sarcastically, "you can't even fool the Sector with that."
"No, that's not it either, "I admitted, then focused on the real issue here, "but I'm not trying to overthrow Neo Domino, it's not possible at this stage."
"Of course not," Kalin read way too much into my words "we will be patient, you have to wait till you take over all of Satellite first. I failed, but that doesn't mean you will, you can destroy the Sector once and for all."
"I can't! Domino City wouldn't concede to losing Satellite just because you beat them in a couple of card games! They have armies! Like trained soldiers with actual weapons, that kill people. Unarmed, untrained, barely motivated civilians can't defeat the federal army, there's no mind-over-matter with this."
"That doesn't mean we should just give up and resign to our fate, we need to keep fighting no matter what" Kalin clung onto his ideals, "I was stabbed in the back, but if you pick the right time, get enough support and don't get involved with traitors-"
"No!" I've been saying that to him a lot, "you really don't get it do you? To overthrow the Domino government by force requires a group capable of overpowering Sector Security. I know you don't think they're much, but they have mobility, numbers, technology, logistics, weapons, ammunition, training, and the backing of the rest of the country on their side." I could go on but I think i made my point, "We have uneducated kids in the Satellite."
Kalin still looked unconvinced, I sighed exasperatedly.
"Okay, let's have it your way. Let's assume for a minute, that by some miracle, you do manage to drive Sector Security out of the Satellite, what then? They have food, and water, and employment, and energy, and you know, food! What are we going to feed people once the Neo Domino support is cut off? Then there's transportation, trade, even Sector Security. Yes, even Sector Security is necessary to this dump. We can't possibly run a city, it's ridiculous even to think that!"
The current social structure, however problematic, has stabilized. It would be foolish to destroy it without a ready replacement. Neo Domino does less than the bare minimums for the Satellite, but it still keeps the place running, which is more than I could even begin to fathom. Or so I thought.
I didn't know how wrong I was, but then again, I was limited by my understanding of science and technology, which used to take incredible amounts of research and resources back in my reality.
"They didn't think anybody could rid of the Satellite of duel gangs either," Kalin said simply.
Cute. The 'nothing's impossible until you try' bit, but there're degrees of impossibility and all attempts have consequences. In this case, worse if we succeed than fail.
You don't have to be a genius to think up 101 ways Tokyo, aka the federal government could obliterate a self-proclaimed rebel site located completely within its borders. And then there's Momentum. All Domino has to do is shut off power for two days and the people of the Satellite would hand over Kalin's head (or mine if I tried it) on a stick. Surrounded by hostile states and with no resources, if this was a game of Civilization or Red Alert and I had cheat codes, I'd probably still die.
"This is a little more complicated," I said in the understatement of the century. "Destruction is simple, but creating and maintaining something is much more challenging. And neither of us are cut out for stuff like that."
"It doesn't have to be. Sure, most of the satellites have never set foot outside this dump, but together, we can change the world!"
"Technically true," I admitted. Technically true as in statistically speaking, he has a better chance of winning the lottery, "But that's not your case. There is no 'together'. You had a crew of 4 people, and three of them were completely against the idea of taking over the Satellite." Just like the necessity of education, I can't properly explain the need for an organized structure in a local government. I do know that a single person would not be enough.
"Then what's your plan?" Kalin asked angrily, "Waiting peacefully until Sector Security locks you behind bars? That's the argument you're using to convince me to join you?"
He was right to a point. It's likely that Neo Dominos, more specifically Rex Goodwin would indefinitely detain our little group if he suspected we were attempting to take control of the Satellite. Or arrange for our accidents in a timely manner, though in Goodwin's mind, that might require more time than us satellites were worth. Either way, we'd probably be screwed. That's where knowing the plot comes in. Goodwin might last another couple of months, I just have to escape his notice before then, and escape Satellite immediately after. Kalin's help is really just a backup, in case I needed to duel anybody with magically-enhanced skills again.
"Our chance lies with Tokyo," I replied confidently, "If Satellite becomes profitable enough, Tokyo would naturally want to gain direct control over the city rather than having its revenues be monopolized by Domino. Then we just need a petition, the right national propaganda, and we can cut ties with Domino City for good."
This alternative method of freeing the Satellite from Domino control might be the most practical if it weren't for the magical elements in this dimension. Though much more difficult to execute than winning a few card games, I don't need to execute it, I just need to convince Kalin that I could, so he would do my biddings (to a limited degree) until the whole Dark Signer arc blows over.
Kalin's eyes shone like the stars as he listened. For the first time, somebody told him a viable way to improving the Satellite. Escaping to Domino City wasn't going to work, even if it did, the Enforcers would be stuck in back alleys running from the Sector for the rest of their lives. Fixing up the Satellite hadn't worked, and he couldn't defeat Sector Security, even though he still believes had he succeeded, he might have changed the Satellite completely.
"And you think you can do this?" Kalin demanded, grabbing me by the wrist. He looked almost predatory, his eyes trained on me, studying my every micro-expression, trying to gage the truth of my words.
"Give me two years," I smirked. The Dark Signer arc starts in less than 6 months, and I thought I'd have no need for Kalin after that.
Kalin nodded forcefully, "Whatever you-"
He was cut off by our front door being banged open, looking out my window, I could see the teenager standing tall in the front yard in a simple blue jacket and black pants, towering over Vincent despite being almost half a foot shorter.
"I'm here for my friend," The teen announced his presence confidently, addressing the entire house as Teddy hid himself behind the large redhead and both retreated in fear.
"Yusei." I recognized immediately. Right, I guess that makes sense. Of course he'd show up, Greiger grabbed Crow in broad daylight, that news is bound to spread. I would have remembered that if I hadn't been preoccupied with the whole 'a magical lizard deity had predetermined the outcomes of my children's card games, and likely my entire fate and the Fate of Humanity' thing.
"Yusei!" I heard Kalin behind me. The ex-leader of the Enforcers recognized his teammate also, his eyes immediately clouded with darkness, obscuring its original golden hue, as his speech turned into a screech.
Two Signers, one light one dark, dueling it out in my front yard (I assume, since Yusei didn't have a runner with him), both attracted here by actions of my own doing (undoing?), so much for not attracting any attention. Rex Goodwin would be amiss if he didn't arrest me to reduce the uncontrolled variables in his global domination attempt. And I don't even want to consider what would happen if Kalin didn't want to toy with Yusei this time and defeated him outright.
Plonk, plump.
I looked back in surprise, and saw Chaos sitting up in my bed, holding an unconscious Kalin. The newest Domino fugitive scooted over in bed and carefully moved Kalin to a lying position beside himself. I couldn't help feeling a little sorry for Kalin, though I will admit it has been very effective in stopping him.
"I thought you might not want them to duel it out right here," Chaos grinned, "They have a history, it won't end well. Kessler will be fine, he should be awake in a couple of hours."
… On the one hand, I appreciated the gesture, it probably saved me a trip to the Facilities. On the other, who's gonna duel Yusei now? I was just trounced by Crow!
"You're feeling better," I said instead, not wanting to worry him when he just escaped Domino control.
"Domino City had to treat my injuries before they could inflict more," Chaos said briefly, "I woke up when he was struggling to carry me up the stairs. I didn't want to let Kessler know, in case he wanted to try something. What happened?"
Excellent question.
"Don't worry about it, just focus on getting better for now." I didn't have time for this, I needed to get rid of Yusei Fudo before he shuts the entire factory floor down.
"Was it true?" Chaos asked with a caution that was very unlike him, "what you said about Tokyo, and freeing this place from Domino control?"
"God no," I laughed, while I could fool Kalin, there's no point lying to the people around me. Long term decisions like that would affect every step of future decision making, "To escape from Domino and fall into Tokyo's clutches? There's a better way, trust me. I'll fix this place up until it's the envy of Domino City, you have my word." I felt like I owed him that, I also felt like I could do it. Not a succinct plan yet, but a rough idea, a futuristic Silicon Valley is beginning to build up in my mind.
"What do you want to do with Fudo?" Chaos asked, changing the subject as he struggled to get up. Being conscious is still very different from being well.
"I'll take care of it," I assured him with much more confidence than I felt, "go back to bed, and keep Kalin with you."
"Nervin?" Rally studied the visitor carefully, "is it just you?"
Blitz and Tank had finally filled him in on Nervin's whereabouts and activities.
"Nervin!" Tank greeted the spider-haired man with a tight smile.
"What's wrong?" Nervin asked urgently, "you said Yusei needed my help right now, I came as soon as I could."
"Yusei went to save Crow," Blitz replied solemnly. The two adults in Yusei's crew had planned on making up an excuse to get Nervin back, and try to convince Nervin to rejoin their group. Neither of them expected to hear the news this morning of Crow having gone missing, "he's been kidnapped by the Magicians."
"Yeah," Rally added, "aren't those the people you're staying with, Nervin?"
Nervin remembered back to his brief, interrupted conversation with Crow last night uncomfortably, "Crow's fine, Yuki's just working some stuff out." He was pretty sure.
Truth is, even before leaving these tunnels, he had forced himself to be optimistic about Yusei's plan for some time. Not able to save the Satellite, all they could do was save themselves, at least that's what he told himself. So when an alternative came along, he followed it on the spur of the moment. The plan had been coming along as his new neon-green-haired gang leader promised, and he would trust Yuki with his life. On the other hand, that doesn't mean he trusted her completely. She always looked like she's hiding something, has an ulterior motive of some sort. It's become an open secret within their little group, and part of him felt like his current group was sitting on a ticking time bomb, just a matter of time before the whole thing explodes. To begin with, how did a girl who was obviously accustomed to the finer thing (insert Yuki's sobs here) in life end up in the Satellite?
"So this new girl's in charge," Blitz noted.
"Yeah well, this new girl kidnapped Crow, and now all the kids he takes care of disappeared too." Tank said, determined to reveal to Nervin the evils of his new gang.
"Yusei left to get them out," Blitz informed him, "Can you get them back?" Blitz wasn't optimistic about Nervin's status in this new secret organization, but if Nervin was willing to at least try, it meant he was still on their side.
"I think so," Nervin answered, he wasn't sure what Yuki wanted with Crow or any of the others she had apparently taken against their will, nor if he had enough influence on her to get her to release them, so he wasn't going to try. The Magicians trust him enough that he could just go in and let everybody out, the confrontation would have to come after so to avoid raising any alarm.
"Ah, I see you got the nerd back, so now it's three on three," Nervin turned, startled by the grating voice, to see its owner, a younger man in his early twenties, nondescript except for a Facilities tattoo and his cocky attitude.
He looked back at Tank and Blitz, both of whom were alarmed at the intruder.
"Get out of here Lenny," Blitz said more pleadingly than threatening, "we don't want any trouble."
"I'm just here to collect," The blue-haired young man sauntered over as though it was his own territory, "you know, I hear you guys got a duel runner down here."
"It's none of your business," Tank summoned up what courage he could and blocked Lenny's way, trying to hide the duel runner from view. Yusei worked for over a year on that runner, he wasn't going to let it get stolen again.
"But it is," Lenny sniggered, "you see, I think I'll let you pay me back with the runner instead a new pair of shoes."
"Yeah!" A large redhead flanking Lenny said, "because of you guys, they docked our pay! Now you're gonna pay us back!"
"What happened?" Nervin turned to Rally.
"That's Lenny, he tripped Tank and Blitz after work, and now he wants them to buy him new shoes," Rally replied in a frightened whisper.
"Look," Blitz stood in front of the runner also, "we have plenty of cards here, you can take whatever you want, just leave the runner."
Nervin felt unexpectedly uncomfortable with the scene, made worse by the realization that Tank and Blitz were acting exactly the same way he would have a week ago. In the past couple of days since he began living above ground, he had seen more of the Satellite than the couple of years before that, and arguably done more too. Working with Chaos and Vincent, he had gotten used to their philosophy of being the source of the problem rather than the target. In short, he refuses to take this crap anymore. It also helped that he knew if he did get into any sort of trouble, Yuki would raise hell to get him out.
"Why?" Nervin stood up from his customary place on the armchair. "Blitz, if you and Tank and take Skinny Lenny here, I can take the fat one." He ignored the short, hunched over brunet on the side, the poor man looked like he could barely stand.
"We can't!" Blitz protested anxiously, "what if they reveal the duel runner to the Sector."
"Yeah!" the redhead concurred loudly, the idea obviously just occurred to him, "give us the runner, or we'll report you to the Sector."
His logic make Nervin's head spin.
"I can make sure that they can't," he assured Blitz confidently, then reeled back in surprise at the omnious implications of his own words and the look on the faces of his audience.
"Le-let's not be hasty," Lenny said quickly, "I'm from Domino City you know, a lot of people would be upset if something happened to me. Tell them Lug"
"Yeah!" The redhead, Lug, supplemented, "a lot of important people!"
"Then you'd never end up here," Nervin decided to bluff this out, "I assure you, your body would rot before anybody realized you went missing."
Lenny gritted his teeth, looking at the runner with both longing and fear, "how about we duel for the runner then, to the winner goes the spoils."
"The runner's not up for debate," Nervin replied decisively, "if you win, we'll pay you back for the shoes and let you leave. If I win," he hesitated, there's really very little he'd want from his opponent, then he remembered who might, "if I win, you come with me, there's something I want you to do." The plant is coming up with a new line of products to better compensate the loss from giving away the Murray WGs, so some insight from an ex-resident of Domino City might be useful.
"Fine then, but we'll duel in tag teams," Lenny suggested shrewdly, recognizing Nervin as the only one yearning for a duel, "two on two, Lug and I will take on any two of you rejects."
"Yeah boss! We'll show them what you're made of!" Lug pumped a fist up in the air.
"Of course we will," His boss, Lenny replied, "Trash is trash, and you have to know your place. Today's your lucky day, 'cause I'm going to show you garbage in the Satellite what dueling is all about."
The third smaller man stood hunched over at the side, and laughed "teeheeheeheehee."
Nervin wasn't surprised that nobody made a fuss over that comment, he was however, surprised at how much that comment bothered him.
"Boss' right you know," Lug added confidently, as though his boss' comment didn't include him. "We're stuck in this misery where we belong, but he wasn't born into this, he has a future."
"Teeheeheeheehee," The third member of their gang laughed again, Nervin grumbled quietly in annoyance.
"Blitz, take my deck," Nervin offered his new Monarch deck to his friend, leaving himself with his old Gadget deck. Monarch decks are pretty easy to use, and with what he now knows, he can see Blitz as an excellent duelist, if a little reserved and overly cautious. "I have a backup, let's take these two on."
Blitz had been watching Nervin's exchange with their visitor silently, he nodded with determination, and stood beside Nervin.
"Alright then," Nervin said, holding out his duel disk, "it's time to duel!" Nervin had begun using the expression for good luck almost as soon as he heard it from Yuki, supposedly it was first started by the King of Games himself.
Turn 1, Lug's Turn; Lug/Lenny 4000, Nervin/Blitz 4000
"I'll start," Lug drew a card without waiting for his opponents to protest, "I summon, Danipon (600/600, when destroyed by battle and sent to grave, add 1 insect monster with 1000 def or less to hand), in defense mode and end my turn"
Turn 2, Nervin's Turn; Lug/Lenny 4000, Nervin/Blitz 4000
"That's it?" Nervin laughed, trying to pass on his confidence to his friend. "I discard Green Gadget and Machina Fortress to special summon, Machina Fortress to the field! Next, I summon Red Gadget, in attack mode. Red Gadget, destroy Danipon!"
The little larva-looking thing was destroyed, using its special effect, Lug brought an insect monster, Grasshopper (lv7, 2350/1000) into his hand.
"Now Machina Fortress, attack them directly," Nervin ordered. Lug struggled against the impact created by the hologram, and Lenny was forced to take a few steps back. Their LP dropped to 1500. "I finish my turn by placing two cards facedown."
He was no longer the newb who would put traps down at the beginning of a turn.
Blitz gasped at the results. None of them had focused on dueling, and just sort of assumed it wasn't something they would be good at. This new side of Nervin was something he had never seen before.
Turn 3, Lenny's Turn; Lug/Lenny 1500, Nervin/Blitz 4000
"Don't count your cards yet!" Lenny muttered darkly, adjusting his collar. Nervin looked at Lenny's almost-new jacket, then at his crew's tattered clothing that Yuki would no doubt label as 'wouldn't sell in a thrift store', and thought back to himself. It's funny what you notice when somebody gives you a fresh perspective.
"Now it's my turn! First, I summon Pinch Hopper to the field (1000/1200), next, I'll activate Retribution of the Antlion. Now every time a monster is destroyed, its controller takes 800 damage!"
"For my next move, I activate Dark Hole!" Lenny exclaimed victoriously. He lost 800LP while Nervin lost double that as all three monsters on the field were destroyed. "When my Pinch Hooper is destroyed, I can special summon an insect monster from my hand, and I choose, Metal Armored Bug (lv8, 2800/1500), in attack mode!"
"And just in case that won't finish you off, I'll summon this," Lenny countered, "Doom Dozer (2800/2600), in attack mode! I can special summon him by banishing two insect monster from my graveyard! Now, my insects, attack!"
"I activate," Nervin announced, "Windstorm of Etaqua! It changes the battle position of all your monsters, so your bugs are stuck in defense mode this turn!"
"I place two cards face-down and end my turn. So you got a lucky hit, scum like you can never stand up to my mighty insects!" Lenny bragged, his insects roared in response.
Turn 4, Blitz's Turn; Lug/Lenny 700, Nervin/Blitz 2400
"Look at the size of those things!" Blitz exclaimed, obviously impressed. "How am I going to defeat that?"
"We still have 2400 LP, and they only have 700," Nervin rolled his eyes, "plus you have a fresh hand. This should be a piece of cake."
"We don't have any monsters powerful enough to take him on!" Tank complained from the sidelines for all to hear. Nervin couldn't help but wonder if he had been that pessimistic also.
Nervin knew that there were at least 10 cards in Blitz's deck that can win the duel, after all, both of Lenny's monsters were in defense mode, and Metal Armored Bug only had 1500 defense, not to mention the numerous monster destruction cards. Their opponent only had 700LP left, any monster destroyed would sent him over the edge. But he didn't say anything. A tag duel, he believed, was a test of both duelists, having one duelist dictate the duel went against the spirit of the game. It's a matter of honor, which he tries to defend (except during his first tag duel, which he reluctantly admitted, he was scared senseless).
"I place one monster facedown and one face-down card," Blitz said, "and I'll end my turn.
Turn 5, Lug's Turn; Lug/Lenny 700, Nervin/Blitz 2400
"Hahaha, it's my turn again. Thanks boss, for leaving me all these powerful monsters. Now I'll finish them off for you .First, I switch both of my monsters into attack mode, then I summon, Insect Knight (lv4, 1900/1500)."
"Activate trap," Blitz flipped over the facedown card he just placed, "Bottomless Traphole, which destroys your monster."
"No! We lost!" Lenny exclaimed, then looked around confused as he saw his life points standing at 700, "what happened? Why didn't we lose?"
"Bottomless Trap Hole banishes the destroyed card instead of sending it to the graveyard, so Retribution of Ant Lion's effect is not activated," Nervin felt compelled to explain. Feeling a little disappointed at the stupidity of his opponent.
"That's okay, because boss still has his monsters on the field, Metal Armored Bug, attack!"
"I activate," Nervin was glad to see Blitz activate his facedown trap, "Negate Attack, which stops your monster and ends Battle Phase." Blitz said, relieved.
"Then I'll put a card face-down too, and I'll end my turn." Lug responded as Lenny's face darkened. With Retribution of the Antlion of the field, he'd lose the rest of his life points if any monster was destroyed.
Turn 6, Nervin's Turn; Lug/Lenny 700, Nervin/Blitz 2400
"I play, Giant Trunade, which returns all spell and trap cards on the field to the hand." Nervin started off cautiously.
"Then I think I'll activate my trap, Waboku," Lenny smirked, Nervin was reminded of Yuki emphasizing this card's superiority over Negate Attack because of its chainability. "When this card is activated, none of my monsters can be destroyed this turn and I take no damage! And next turn, next turn I'll destroy you!"
"We're doomed!" Tank cowered on the side, acting like an anti-cheerleader, "We can't destroy any of his monsters this turn, and next turn, they'll crush us!" As if sensing his fear, the giant pill bug turned its head towards the audience and waved its pincers menacingly.
"Hardly," Nervin grinned, there were no more spells or traps on the field, so he could carry out his plan. Waboku does have its weakness, in that it still allowed the battle phase to proceed, "I discard Yellow Gadget and Green Gadget to special summon from the graveyard, Machina Fortress in attack position."
"Did you forget the trap card I just played?" Lenny taunted, "Not only is your monster is weaker than mine, none of my monsters can be destroyed this turn!"
"True," Nervin admitted, "but my monsters can. Machina Fortress, attack Doom Dozer!"
The giant machine charged and was sliced cleanly in two by Lenny's insect. The 300 difference in attack, plus 800 damage from Lenny's spell card, dealt a total of 1100 damage.
"Now, when my monster is destroyed by battle, its special ability allows me to destroy one monster on the field, and I choose your Metal Armored Bug. Because this is a card effect, it's not affected by your trap card."
"So what?" Lenny countered, "I still have my Doom Dozer on the field, and it's going to finish you off next turn."
Nervin blinked, "As part of Retribution of the Antlion's effect," he enunciated every word slowly, explaining Lenny's card back to him,"it deals 800 damage to the controller when a monster's destroyed."
As if on cue, the large pill bug's shell cracked, then burst into greenish goo, which quickly disappeared. A giant mutated ant crawled out of the spell card, and bit its owner, decreasing Lenny's LP to 0.
"So, he got defeated by his own card?" Rally was amazed, Nervin was a little pleased to be the target of admiration from the youngest member of their group and tried his best to hide it.
"I-" Lenny collapsed onto the ground, while his lackeys rushed to his side. No more 'teeheehees' were heard.
"Stop by the water plant tomorrow," Nervin instructed, proud at winning his first solo duel (yes Blitz was involved too, but Nervin chose to ignore that), "you don't want to make me look for you."
Lenny nodded. These Domino types always try to be honorable, if not, the threat should suffice.
"So, you're moving on to greener pastures?" Blitz asked bitterly upon realizing Nervin had no intentions of staying.
"I have something bigger to fight for now." Nervin explained as a way of apologizing, "This is more than you, or me or Yusei or even leaving the Satellite. We're trying to change this town so people don't need to escape anymore, I can't just abandon this."
"So you're abandoning us and our plans instead." Blitz pointed out.
"Come on," Nervin grinned teasingly, "Let's admit it, it's not that good of a plan. First of all, even after Yusei left, how is he going to come back without being caught by security? Are we really counting on Jack's morals?"
"And your new gang's better?" Blitz pressed him further, hiding his irritation. They were all vaguely aware of the flaws in their plan, but none of them dared pointing it out for fear of bursting the only bubble they had.
"I think we'll have enough sway to arrange for Yusei's ride back." Nervin replied, smiling widely. With great power comes great responsibility. But at the same time, great responsibility usually also means powers that comes with people depending on you for their daily lives. As the water generators spread through the Satellite, Yuki might gain influence even she didn't expect.
"Nervin?" Tank asked, as though seeing their nerdy friend for the first time. After leaving for less than a week, Nervin had changed beyond recognition. Tank couldn't quite name it, but he does think Nervin reminds him a little of how Yusei acts. The blue-haired man stood a little straighter, laughed a little louder, sounded a little surer, wasn't as scared of the Sector, and did a little more about what went on around him. If Nervin's group does this to everybody who joins, Tank thought hard, but he couldn't predict what the outcome would be, but it's probably a good thing, he finally decided, and it might be dangerous to get in their way.
"If Yusei's at our headquarters, I'll get him back," Nervin promised.
Elsewhere in the Satellite, Greiger reported Crow Hogan and Yusei Fudo's appearance to Rex Goodwin through a secret messaging system.
Elsewhere in the Satellite, Roman Goodwin sent out his spiders, securing the assistance he would need in this upcoming battle.
Elsewhere in the Satellite, Divine listened, annoyed, at the reports of this new group (they haven't even named themselves yet, amateurs) rapidly gaining support, even a few of their own members seemed swayed by their rhetoric.
Elsewhere in the Satellite, though not in the same dimension, the Crimson Dragon waited for the last chance this dimension has, the chance it sacrificed everything to secure.
A/N: As you may or may not have noticed, this story started out as a long rant about the 5D's series, the Enforcers is one of those rants. If I had a week I couldn't list all the reasons Kalin's 'let's take over the Satellite' attempt wouldn't work.
A/N 2: Dark Signers do retain some of their original personality and desires, it's just overshadowed by their desire for revenge. So Kalin still does want to free the Satellite, but not nearly as much as he wants revenge against Yusei.
A/N 3: I never could understand why Yusei's crew doesn't seem to duel at all, it's not exactly a hard game, and Yusei clearly has more than one deck. I had to put it to the whole 'know your place' thing, which Nervin finally broke out of. Oh and I wrote the duel and didn't want to delete it so this chapter's a little longer.
A/N 4: Btws, I named this chapter "How to Free the Satellite" because it's not Kalin's ridiculous 'duel a way out' attempt, or even Yuki's only-slightly-more-likely "Silicon Valley" idea, but rather through changing the thought patterns and behaviors of people like Nervin, that the Satellite can manage to save itself. Any substantial hange needs to be effected by the majority.