Disclaimer: I do not own YGO 5ds.
For a brief second, clouds gathered over the edge of Satellite, as though signaling an impending storm. To the careful observers, they can also see a giant red form made of light, roughly in the shape of a dragon, hidden amongst the clouds. Those more familiar with the Satellite would recognize the center of this magical energy as a house formerly occupied by the Magicians, now the property of one Yuki Tono, and the site for a flourishing new plant in the area.
…
"So that's it?" Crow sounded utterly unimpressed and remained completely oblivious of the Crimson Dragon's appearance or the earth-shattering information I had just acquired. All he saw was the blinding light of Exodia's attack and the destruction of his Blackwinged Dragon, as well as my obvious change in countenance after that attack. "You stayed up all night and built an Exodia deck so you could beat me 1:21?"
"It's a little more complicated," I protested automatically. My mind already fully preoccupied by what I just learned. Crow was being a little snarky, but that was understandable considering I did just force him into 22 duels through blackmail and kidnapping.
"Well?" Crow demanded, "Do you want to duel again or can I go to bed now?" By our third duel last night, Crow claimed that he gotten to know me well enough, through dueling apparently, to realize I wasn't actually going to do anything to the kids. This idea was reinforced when he actually saw those kids this morning before his nap (the same nap that I interrupted), and found them in much better shape than they had ever been. Naturally they would be. You can't have a 16 year-old like Crow taking care of a bunch of 10-year-olds and expect positive results.
"Right." I scratched my head, remembering the second ex-Enforcer in the building, "Umm, Yusei's here for you...
I briefly pondered the possibility of telling Yusei the truth, or at least some of the truth, and gaining the help of the protagonist... But how do you start that conversation exactly? 'Hi, a giant magical dragon spoke to me while time was frozen for the rest of the world, this world will be destroyed unless I save it'. Yusei probably already thinks I'm crazy. And if he doesn't, well, could I trust anybody who actually believed that?
"He was worried," I finished instead.
"Yusei!" Crow grinned, "I should have known he'd be here by now. Did he give you a hard time?"
"Not quite," I smiled, trying to feel a little better about myself. Yes, there is possibly a looming destruction of the world, but to have my life controlled like a puppet, I might as well be dead. "You should probably find him and talk him down a little though." And preferably get rid of him before the third ex-Enforcer wakes up, at this rate, we'll give Kalin brain damage.
"Sure, I'll talk to him," Crow agreed, "then I'm gonna get out of here. It's been fun beating you and all, but I have to get back to business."
"What is your business?" I asked curiously. Crow apparently doesn't have any territory, and he's not exactly the 9 to 5 type. Being one of the Enforcers and under close scrutiny by Domino City, there doesn't seem to be much he could do.
"I take what I can from the Sector," Crow sounded positively smug over his criminal activities, "other than that, I get whatever else I can, whenever I can for those kids." That hit me a little harder.
I was about to offer for Crow to stay here before I remembered that I had already extended the same offer to Kalin, I probably shouldn't get the two to meet at this point, not if I want to stay undetected in the Satellite.
Not having stepped outside, Yuki remained as oblivious as Crow about the scene Crimson Dragon made during its appearance, her hope for anonymity was just crushed by a magical lizard.
"Take this," Greiger put the 6-year-old boy who had managed to crawl on top of him into Cyril's arms, the whitehead stood shakily under the new weight that clung onto him. Satisfied that neither kid would be able to follow him, Greiger nodded to Cyril, "I will return shortly," he said before making his way out of the house. Rex Goodwin would certainly want to know the details of the most recent development.
Greiger remembered back to his siblings and the rest of his village, just barely surviving despite his best efforts, unlike many similar villages that simply disappeared with the passing of time, their occupants either had a chance to leave or didn't. Spying went against everything Greiger believed in, but the welfare of his family and friends laid on the line. And surely reporting on a woman who kidnapped children, to the proper authorities no less, it was the right thing to do. Thus reaffirmed in his beliefs, the brunet proceeded to send the details of the recent events to the Director of Domino City.
...
"The Crimson Dragon!" Roman Goodwin struggled out of the old Reactor site with some difficulty and stared at the giant beast in awe and fear. Not fear for his own life, he was past that the day he chopped off his own arm, but Roman was terrified of what the premature appearance of the Crimson Dragon meant for the rest of humanity. Standing at barely 20kms away, he can't even detect the power emanating from this supposedly almighty beast. Instead, the burning of his arm has radiated to a pain that seared through his very soul, pulsating impatiently as the Demon from the Netherworld grew more eager as the Crimson Dragon's powers waned.
One month, Roman thought, maybe less before this evil resurfaces. If the Signers are not ready by then, all shall be lost. Perhaps if Rex could find the source of this drain on the Dragon's powers, destruction might be delayed, or at least our impending doom would not be accelerated again.
...
"The Crimson Dragon." Rex Goodwin mused as he watched the storm clouds gather over the Satellite. "Has Yusei visualized his mark already or was this the Black Rose?" He spoke aloud, safe in the privacy of his own office.
It wasn't supposed to have happened this soon, and Jack isn't nearly ready. Rex wasn't even entirely sure of the exact identities of the Signers yet. The date to the Fortune Cup must be readjusted. If the promotions were to start immediately, the event could be arranged within the month without looking too hurried. First and foremost, he must discover the cause of this unexpected appearance and how he might use it to his advantage.
"How is…?" I asked Chaos furtively, looking around to make sure Crow was out of sight, tilting my head towards the upstairs room where Kalin is, hopefully, still sleeping (unconscious) in my bed.
"He's fine," Chaos assured me, understanding my need to not mention Kalin's name in case the other two overhears. "Greiger left though, didn't say where he's going either."
I nodded, a little confused. My duel with Crow wasn't exactly discrete, but at the same time, Greiger is very unlikely to have heard of it, what could he possibly have to report to Goodwin? Most likely the arrival of Yusei Fudo, I decided, I have to get rid of that kid quickly. "This is not a priority for him," I replied, "We'll just have to keep that in mind if he comes back."
"He has been great with the kids," Chaos agreed, "Felice and even Teddy have become so busy with sales now they can't possibly go back to babysitting."
"Sales?" I asked, I hadn't been keeping up with the business side of things, what's with 'political and magical forces destroying our lives' and all, but last I check, we had enough supplies left to last more than a month. I say supplies because the Satellite had largely regressed back into a barter system, it physically hurts me to think about the economy here.
"Lazar had cracked down on Sector Security buying our products," Chaos informed me, somehow knowing more than me despite only having gotten back last night, "and there aren't many people from Domino who can regularly come to the Satellite."
"We can't do anything about our distribution channels yet," I said thoughtfully, it couldn't hurt to lay low for a while after Yusei's visit. We have time anyways, there's still 6 months till the Fortune Cup, I naively thought. "But that doesn't mean we can't attract more people to come here."
"How?" Chaos asked skeptically, "it's a crime for Domino residents to come without a valid reason affirmed by the City."
"I'll figure something out," I smirked. I had the perfect idea, if I could just talk to Yusei and monopolize duel runners he creates, I would advertise them before the Fortune Cup and make a killing after.
Chaos nodded but didn't ask. I waited and waited, wanting to reveal my ingenious (and surprisingly not stolen) idea and have him marvel at my brilliance, but he said nothing. It took me a couple of days to figure out that he had gotten into a really weird habit of not doing anything beyond what he thought was his job description, supposedly to enhance my authority over the group. I didn't know I had authority over the group, or authority in general.
"I'm going to go find Nervin," I grumbled finally, realizing our staring contest was getting a little strange. Chaos followed me as I turned to leaved, I understood why when I looked up and saw Crow walking over alone.
"Hey Yuki," Crow greeted me with a large grin usually reserved for somebody who never hired a thug (aka Greiger) to toss you into a bag. He wants something, I realized immediately. I was more relieved with the idea than anything else, I would be happy to pay to offset the animosity I currently have with the protagonists, they would carry a lot of influence and power very soon, not to mention I was still drooling over Yusei's technological prowess.
"Hey," so I smiled back, though how to explain away multiple kidnappings is a little more difficult, "Where's Yusei?"
"Oh he had some other stuff to take care of, but I'm right here! I'd be happy to help you with your friend," Crow offered'. Tono had asked for his help in rescuing somebody from the Facilities, he wasn 't get Yusei caught up in that. Yusei belongs in a better place, he deserved it.
"He," Right, Chaos, the reason I grabbed Crow in the first place. See, this whole mess could have been avoided if Kalin had just communicated with me in a timely manner, or if we had some sort of high-tech long-distance communication device. I couldn't exactly tell Crow that Chaos was rescued by a Dark Signer, your mortal enemy who also used to be your friend, "he escaped before they could get him to Domino City," I said instead, it sounded suspicious even to my own ears, "This is him right here." I pointed to Chaos, hoping to add credibility to my true (ish) story.
Still standing behind me, Chaos hmphed as acknowledgement of Crow's existence.. I missed the flicker of recognition that flashed through their eyes.
"That's, I mean that's good to hear," Crow stuttered, his original speech disrupted by the most recent turn of events.
I waited. I would have apologized, but if there was something these two wanted, it might give me an upper hand to have him say it first.
"What would it take to keep those kids here?" Crow finally blurted out.
'Keep them kidnapped?' I almost asked before I stopped myself.
"This isn't a kindergarten," I said instead. And I don't want to be held responsible for a bunch of kids. I mean technically I'm already responsible for a herd of minors, but also technically, they're workers here (and I'll probably be going to a special place in hell for it), thus nobody would hold me accountable.
"What are you willing to do for these kids?" Chaos interrupted.
"Anything." Crow replied with a cocky smile, his words both a promise and a thinly veiled threat. "Trust me, you don't want me on the other side."
The orange hairball had a point, Crow could wreck a lot of havoc if he wanted to, certainly more nuisance than a couple of kids would cause. And it's not like I can hurt him. I was deep in thought, and thus missed the mildly disapproving glance Chaos sent Crow, Crow retaliated by by sticking his tongue out.
"For your services then," I relented. I'll just have to keep him and Kalin from ever meeting, what could possibly go wrong. "As long as you stay, they stay."
"Done," Crow agreed, "and if I have to leave, they'd better be here when I come back."
"Where are you going to go?" Chaos asked with an uncharacteristic sarcasm, "Still hang up on leaving the Satellite like the Legendary Rider? You never did grow out of that story."
"Even if he was caught by the Sector, he still brought hope into the Satellite." Crow defended his hero automatically.
"Come ON!" I snickered, exasperated, "The guy rides motorcycle off a half-built bridge to avoid the cops, was never seen again, what do you think happened?" I mean, I know it was Rex Goodwin, but that story was a least a little far-fetched.
"But-" Crow protested, "they never found the body, and nobody saw him again, remember?"
"No, they claimed to never find the body, so the Satellite has one more fictional character through whom they could live vicariously." I rolled my eyes, even for an anime designed to promote a children's card game, this was incredibly politically ignorant.
"But he started building the Daedulus Bridge!" Crow countered, "That's our hope for escape to a better life!"
"Only if you believe in BS," I responded lightly, earning a (well-deserved) resentful glare. I had serious plans for Crow if he were going to stay, so I was going to disillusion him quickly. "The physical water was never what separated Old Domino City from the new. There're countless people who could cross through the tunnels, by boat, heck even swimming across, but anybody from the Satellite caught in Neo Domino City is thrown into jail for a year or two and tossed right back. How do you think having a bridge is going to be any different?"
"But, they can't stop us from crossing the bridge if it's there!" Said the orange hairball again.
"Why not? Because it would be mean?" I answered sarcastically, "All they need is a handful of guards at the end, and worst case scenario, blow the bridge up again. You have to understand, it's the Neo Domino City that is keeping us in the slums, not the physical isolation of the Satellite."
"So what do you propose we do?" Crow asked, "Duel sector security to overthrow the government?"
"What?" I managed to get out between the bouts of uncontrollable laughter, what was it with people here and plotting drastic political upheaval around a children's card game? It took a good thirty seconds before I could speak in full sentences again. "What in the world are you talking about? Duel to-" I burst out laughing again.
"What's so funny!" Crow demanded angrily. Even Chaos seems to have taken his side on this.
"You can't take over a government by dueling, guys" I struggled to explain. It was like trying to describe the color purple or why one plus one equals two, rudimentary concepts that I have taken for granted for as long as I could remember. "You just can't! Beating everybody in a card game so that they wouldn't play with you anymore isn't part of running a government." You can't even take over a playground with that.
"Then how do you take over a government?" Chaos asked for Crow, he seemed much more serious about this topic.
"I don't know," I replied honestly, thinking of the few successes and many tragedies civilian uprisings have caused, "which is why that's not what I'm trying to do. I just want increase living standards here a little, for everyone else, but also for myself, and we'll see where we get from there."
Crow lowered is head, the orange ball of hair had fallen despondent at the realization that the quest of his Hero was doomed from the star.
"Let me show you around, and we can focus on the matter at hand" I rolled my eyes, changing the subject I grabbed Crow's arm because I can't reach his shoulders, deftly guiding him away from the upstairs bedrooms, "Greiger just took an unexplained leave of absence so you'll have to take care of the kids for now. And also you'll have to learn the entire curriculum so you can teach them, preferable within the day or two."
Rex Goodwin fingered the piece of paper that contained Greiger's message, it barely reached him before sundown (due to the woeful absence of many modern conveniences despite clearly available technology). He had apparently underestimated the importance of this new girl. She does not have any magical powers that he was aware of, yet Yusei's duel with her had brought out the Crimson Dragon. Not having the full details of the situation, Goodwin naturally assumed that Yusei, the known Signer, had been the one responsible for summoning the magical beast of light.
Yusei had progressed far faster than he anticipated, and though Jack's improvements has been considerable since leaving the Satellite, he was nowhere near ready. Goodwin had sent Lazar to entice Jack with ideas to antagonizing Yusei further, just in case Yusei had forgotten about his Stardust Dragon and relented to his survival in the Satellite. So if all goes according to plan, Yusei should make his way to Domino within the week. Rex Goodwin had counted on both duelists being on par in both skill and power when that happens, so the clash of their Signer Dragons could bring out the Crimson Dragon right here in Domino City, offering Goodwin a chance to study the Crimson Dragon as well as the effect it has on its Signers.
Of course, it's not difficult to correct this imbalance in power. If that satellite runt could bring out the Crimson Dragon in a duel with Yusei, surely she could do the same in a duel with Jack Atlas. It would be a matter of course to get her here.
Goodwin looked out the window in his office and smiled, he smiled again at the sinister expression it reflected back.
Shaking myself like a dog after sleeping the whole night on a wooden plank again, I stumbled up the stairs to the shower.
"Morning," Chaos greeted me as he came out of my room, that's right, my room.
Both Chaos and Kalin slept in my bed last night.
I just wasn't in it.
Chaos and Kalin were physically vulnerable enough that it wasn't a good idea to move them very far, and my room was the most comfortable room in the house, so I spent the night on the table/piece of wood (there is no couch.)
"Kessler's going to wake up at around 9," Chaos said with a disconcerting amount of certainty. He had fed Kalin something yesterday while the latter was still barely awake, that presumably, caused Kalin to sleep till this morning. "You should probably make something up right about now."
"I'll deal with Crow first," I put Kalin off for as long as I could, it wasn't a conversation I was looking forward to.
"I'll take Hogan," Chaos didn't even give me that chance, "there're too many kids to teach them here. I'll secure perimeters around a building close-by that we could use as a school. We'll need some more security if this is going to last though."
Security, right. We can't afford security right now, but it's definitely on the agenda.
"I'll go get something to eat then," I said carefully, choosing water and battery acid over Kalin Kessler for the time being. It's a little more complicated than having knocked him out. I had ensured Kalin's assistance so he could duel against the Signers, whom I thought I couldn't win against without supernatural assistance. Now that the Crimson Dragon is weakened, I'm sorely reminded that Kalin isn't good for much else, and keeping him here risks angering Roman Goodwin, the guy with the power to magically brainwash people. I turned back downstairs deep in thought, forgetting completely about my shower.
"Ugh, Kalin," I groaned out loud, messaging my temples which were beginning to hurt at the mere thought. How do I explain away knocking him out the second time, and this time right after he saved Chaos.
"Kessler?" Felice asked.
"Yeah," I admitted, "Chaos knocked him out yesterday when Yusei showed up, so we wouldn't have the death-duel of the year here, but now I get to deal with the mess."
"He's fine now." Felice grinned, "I talked some sense into him." I was truly impressed, talking sense into a brainwashed antagonist, that's quite a feat. I didn't give her enough credit.
"All he needs to understand," Felice elaborated for my benefit, "is that nothing has changed. Everything that made him want to join us, is still valid right now, so what happened is really no reason for him to change his mind."
Distorted logic, I decided, I like it. I'll stuff whatever logic I can get into Kalin's head and call it a win.
"He's still recovering from whatever Chaos did to him, you'll find him in your room." Felice told me.
"Thanks," I patted her on the shoulder and ran off, a little more comfortable with facing the undoubtedly still-pissed Dark Signer.
Kalin looked surprisingly peaceful as he leaned against the headboard of my bed, reading. Hearing me come in, he glanced upwards and greeted me with a half-smile, looking at me with a pair of golden eyes dotted with specks of the purest black. I was reminded of a large cat, curled up in the corner of a cave, licking its own wounds, slowly perking up its furry ears at my approach and greeting me with a low purr. That's it, I don't care what he's good for, I'm definitely keeping him.
"Good morning," I smiled back and waited for him to bite my head off.
"Well?" Kalin raised an eyebrow, a playful smirk on his lips.
"Kalin," I laughed quietly, taking a seat on the bed beside him, "You could've found Yusei and challenged him at any time, but for whatever reason, you didn't. So I'm going to guess I didn't ruin your dark plans."
"My dark plans remain undisturbed," Kalin agreed with a smile, "the same can't be said for my head."
"If you can get to Domino legally, you should probably get it checked out," I told him sincerely, there were no medical equipment in the Satellite, but he should at least get a CT or something.
Kalin chuckled, obviously not taking my advice seriously.
"Come down stairs," Seeing that he was mostly over our past acts of aggression, I stood up, "we're having a meeting at 10."
"Meeting?" Kalin repeated, feeling lost not for the first time in this house. "You're not worried that I'll steal all your secrets?" He asked curiously.
"If I were, I wouldn't have invited you," I rolled my eyes, "Now come, we have actual work to do." Work that doesn't involve card games or fate of the world.
…
The meeting went much as most other meetings I had been to, it was tedious, boring and I didn't understand half of what people were saying, and I ran it. It mostly involved me delegating stuff I was supposed to do to other people. Here's what I gathered roughly from the notes Nervin took.
According to Cyril, we were about to go bankrupt, so Nervin agreed to develop new mp3s for sale. I don't know why I insisted on the 3, it just felt right. While Crow taught (babysat) kids, Galen agreed to run the financial side of things, starting with building a school that didn't look like it was about to fall. Felice and Vincent were doing fine with sales, this time focusing on promotions to attract people to the Satellite. Chaos and Kalin would start, as soon as we can afford it, to start a security force. It was my secret plan for Kalin to control the psychic duelists if we managed to get any, but that's too early to say. Cyril had agreed, in addition to overseeing productions, to start hiring more people, a decision we would all soon regret dearly. Even Teddy was charged with information gathering.
The only two people left free were Greiger and I. Greiger because I reserved special, less-legal tasks for him. I, personally, was determined to clean up this place, literally, starting with personal hygiene. I had limits, they're now fairly low but I still had limits, and I was very close to them.I must really insist on regular showers, oral hygiene, and for god's sake, clean clothes! I know teenagers generally aren't too concerned about cleanliness, but surely even they had a bottom line. Yet these jerks insists that I needed to see the real Satellite to be converted to their point of view (they refused to consider hygiene an issue), despite my futile protestations.
And that's how I found myself wandering and 'sightseeing' in the Satellite, with Chaos (who managed to escape Crow's clingy claws), Kalin, Cyril and Vincent. With three duel runners between us, we soon crossed half the city and attracted somebody not quite unexpected, Sector Security.
"Yuki Tono!" I thought the whirring of helicopter overhead was a tad overkill as the guy yelled down at me through a loud speaker and his colleagues surrounded us on the ground, "you are wanted by the order of Neo Domino City. Come peacefully, I repeat, come peacefully. We at Sector Security tries to ensure the safety of all our citizens…"
"So now we're citizens," Vincent grumbled.
Chaos took one looked at Kalin and immediately took off his own jacket, putting it over Kalin's head where it hang like an oversized trench coat. Good thinking, I smiled at him appreciatively while Kalin muttered about personal hygiene. See, now he gets it.
"Yuki Tono!" a Sector Security officer stood twenty feet away and shouted at me thought a loud speaker. To my relief, Kalin didn't seem to attract much attention. "Please come with us, the Director wants to see you."
"Are you sure?" I couldn't help speaking my mind, I thought I had remained pretty low-key since I got here. Even if I did antagonize Yusei for a while, I had done nothing serious enough to reach Goodwin's ears.
"It's probably the dragon," Chaos told me matter-of-factly.
The dragoon, I nodded, that makes sense, "wait, how did you guys know about the…?" I cut myself off, almost choking with the effort, not wanting to mention the name of the Crimson Dragon in front of Kalin. He did have other loyalties, even if he agreed to help out.
"Storm clouds and a giant dragon appeared on top of the house yesterday," Cyril informed me, "it was a little hard to miss."
Well, that explains Goodwin's invitation, he probably thinks I'm Signer or something. I gnawed on my lips, this might end poorly if he finds out that I'm not. But it's not like I had a choice, I sighed and made my way towards the Sector guards.
"Yuki, you can't go," Vincent blocked my way on the spur of the moment, "there's no way they would let you come back. You'll just be another name to disappear in the Facilities"
"We can disappear them too, Yuki, remember that." Chaos had made his way to the end of the street behind the Sector guards. He was just one man, but it was clear he was cornering the whole Sector Security team.
"No! Bad Chaos, down!" I joked, "That's not how we do things." Violence is not the answer, especially not when the other team is so much stronger than you are. Rex Goodwin is fully capable of destroying each and every one of us (except maybe Kalin) if he so chose, so not cooperating is not yet an option.
"She has to go," Kalin had remained silent ever since Sector Security showed up, to my great concern. He finally spoke gravely, as though reading my eulogy. These people were driving me nuts. "Just like the man who built the Daedalus Bridge, she can't escape from Neo Dominos forever."
"Here!" Cyril grabbed me from the security guard and put me onto Kalin's motorcycle, turning it to the direction of the bridge "Ride!"
"Off the bridge and to my death?" I sputtered, "Are you people out of your mind?"
"You don't know Goodwin," Vincent muttered, parting his hair back to reveal his mark from the Facilities.
Of course I know Rex Goodwin. This is a man who went from infamous disgraced scientist (for having participated one of the worst calamities of the century) to outlaw/hero who single-handedly built half a bridge (!), then somehow to the director of one of the largest cities in Japan, in a ridiculously short span of time, and then be adored by the Neo Domino populace at large. If nothing else, Rex Goodwin is an accomplished politician, the most difficult type of people to deal with. So he wasn't a man I could escape from. Everything I achieved thus far remained at the mercy of Neo Domino City, thankfully, not for too much longer.
"I think I know Goodwin," I reassured them, "Tall guy, early forties, greyish hair. Yeah I know him. I used to wear my hair like that. Never got studs though, I always thought long hair went better with hoop earrings."
For that, Kalin wacked me upside the head, "we'll get you out." He whispered in my ear, I hugged him tightly, more for his comfort than mine. He had starved to death in those cells, this must hit him harder than it did me.
I had a plan, sort of. I had long ago devised a plan to evade the attention of Rex Goodwin. The goal of that plan is now impossible thanks to a certain magical lizard, but the plan is still good. After all, I have the perfect model to follow, somebody arrogant, vain, ambitious, but not quite smart enough to see the big picture. Somebody who managed to blackmail Rex Goodwin and get away with it. I am, of course, talking about Divine, the man who thinks he could control Goodwin, but was barely a side plot in the grand scheme of things. I just have to follow his example to convince Goodwin I'm no real threat, and more trouble to get rid of than keep.
Otherwise, well, let's just say I've never been very optimistic about the plan I came up with to save Chaos.
A/N: 'They need more plausible plot' was the first thing that came to mind f when I heard Crow's 'legendary man' story, so I'm putting it here. I consider this plothole on par with Kalin's 'take over the government with 4 people' idea, both contains multiple levels of 'what's wrong with you'. And honestly, if Goodwin had managed to build it (!), they could just blow it up.
A/N 2: Rex Goodwin mentioned that the Crimson Dragon could only be summoned if all 5 Signers were present, but the lizard was obviously there in Yusei and Jack' s duel, so I'm using the assumption that Crimson Dragon can only be summoned in its full form and reveal the future, etc. when all five Signers are present. Otherwise, it can appear, but not in its full form.
A/N 3: So this story used to be a harem fic... And I don't mean the lovey-dovey kind, it was the hardcore, extenuating-circumstances, dubious consent kind. Obviously, the plot had undergone some serious adjustments, but some fragments of it is still showing up here or there, hence the acquisition of Crow and Kalin. More shall follow.