Disclaimer: I do not own YGO 5Ds

"Yuki! I can't believe you're back!" Though Kalin had never been exactly laconic since I met him (crazy/unhinged, yes; aloof, not quite), I had never seen such a display of affection from him as he drew me in for a rib-crushing hug. Hearing the slight tremble in his voice, I stayed in place despite the pain and gently patted him around the waist.

I heard Zigzix's stumbling footsteps as Mina pushed him off the car, and then the all-terrain vehicle behind me zoom off before I could say goodbye. I don't blame her, Mina was no doubt eager to get away from this toxic smell. Wait, where did the toxic smell come from?

Mina's car being so much more comfortable than the table on which I slept last night, I dozed off 10 minutes into the ride. By the time our car stopped, we were already surrounded by this noxious stench.

Kalin bent down to make sure I was alright, that's when I saw it.

"Guys," I stared speechless at the gaping hole where my room used to be. "Guys?"

Kalin released me and coughed, looking uncomfortable for once. Nervin looked at Greiger, Greiger looked at Nervin, both looking embarrassed and oblivious. Everybody else seemed to have gained a sudden interest in the composition of the dirt in our front yard. You see, it used to be paved (covered with cobblestones during Cyril's artistic phase), now there's only dirt. My eyes rested briefly on Chaos, in a tattered form-fitting black t-shirt and clear whip marks on the exposed skin, I would love to learn more about that later.

"Where did my room go?"

They certainly all looked guilty, but I can't even imagine how any of this could have happened.

"And why does the entire place smell like gasoline?" Does the Satellite even have gasoline anymore?

This is not the first impression I wanted to make on our new head of science, I'm trying to keep him here, not to convince him minor armed conflicts occur here on a regular basis.

"Ahem. Well team, may I present to you Dr. Zigzix, the leading expert in thermoastro physics and the founder of EnerD!" Clap! I tried my best to send the message with my eyes. They eventually got it and a slow applause started from this post-hurricane scene.

"He'll be joining us, for the time being," I added with a broad smile, can't let Zigzix think he's trapped here forever,

"How about I take you on a tour," Nervin read the situation correctly for once and firmly steered Zigzix away, chatting all the while, leaving me to sort out… whatever this mess is, "I'm a huge fan of your work professor, your paper on the sequestration of irradiated photons using Yusei particles..."

Vincent nudged Greiger in their direction, the brunet gratefully followed, feeling too out of place to concern himself with, whatever it was that happened here. After all, it was just a Satellite gang fight, why would the Director of Domino city be interested?

"So..." I twirled around prettily (I thought) thanks to the knee-length white dress Mina got me while I was in Domino City. It went well with the radioactive green hair and eyes combo. Yes, even though I defeated her beloved Jack, Mina was sweet enough not to hold it against me and take pity on me for the truly disastrous garments I adorned. It's not my fault, limited water supply, remember?

I was not feeling remotely pretty. The only thing that seemed intact was the frame of the main house, half the extension wing was gone, as was our front door and all windows, like a demolishing job had been canceled halfway. In fact, every building in a 100 meter radius was either half-demolished, charred or both. The entire area smelt so heavily of gasoline I was worried it might spontaneously combust, and what roads we managed to lay has been utterly restructured into common soil.

"I was gone for a day," I tried my best not to shriek, "Less than a day! I left this morning! What could have possibly happened?"Was this a normal thing in the Satellite that I just never saw yet?

"The Black Rose." Vincent replied significantly as though it should mean something, and it did.

I was vaguely aware of Akiza's powers, which she used to do some very interesting things to Yusei during the anime, and also suggest an extremely fascinating relationship between the two. Usually, the girl isn't the one with the tentacles…

I didn't consider the full destructive potential of her powers outside of the duel arena, but now that I see it…

"This is so cool!" I had a completely different opinion of the incident. "So she did all of this all by herself? Did she summon monsters or use spells? How do I get powers like that! 'Cause there're-"

"That's all you have to say?" Felice cut me off, gesturing to our decimated surroundings, "about all of this? That it was 'cool'?"

"But this is superpowers!" I protested loudly, my mind entirely occupied by superheroes and real duel monsters for the time being, "She has actual super powers!"

"She also tried to kill us," Galen informed me flatly, "and almost did."

"Oh," That took a bit of wind out of my sails, probably shouldn't be this excited, but I wasn't about to give up just yet. "Why did she come here anyways?"

"Who knows why that crazy witch does anything?" Cyril said, he didn't say witch.

I had at least part of the answer, Akiza is still under Sayer's control and is unlikely to deal out this kind of damage without at least a prompt from him. Why Sayer would want something like this, I didn't know. He doesn't have enough screen time for me to assess his motives.

"Go back inside," Chaos' hand on my shoulders felt a little stronger than necessary, "you're probably tired from the day. We'll clean up out here."

"Aren't we going to talk about this?" I asked blankly, "somebody just blew up half the house and you want to clean up and move on?"

"The Black Rose is like a natural disaster," Vincent shrugged, obviously agreeing with Chaos, "There's nothing we can do about it so there's nothing to talk about." He looked at my incredulous expression and asked exasperatedly, "Do you have a better idea?"

"Well, there must be some recourse," I dragged at least part of my IQ from superhero land back to this reality, "I mean, doesn't the Sector take care of these things? Doesn't Domino?"

"Why would they?" Cyril asked bitterly, "no government property was damaged, why would they care what happens to a few satellites?" Judging from Domino City's treatment of the Satellite as a whole, his response seemed to make sense. Until you consider the bigger picture.

"It's not about the damage!" I protested, "This is some comic book stuff going on here! Magic! And superpowers have just been definitively confirmed! Doesn't anybody care about that? Is this a new species? Is this a new direction of evolution for the human race? Is this engineered by new technological advances? I mean, it's…" I sputtered for a lack of words, "It's magic!"

Even if Rex Goodwin didn't care, shouldn't the human race as a whole be more concerned with duel monster cards materialized by another member of their own species? Why isn't Akiza locked up in a lab that only wants to drain her blood and take her ova? I had little doubt regarding her fate had she been in my previous reality.

"The Satellite is never short on magic," Kalin reminded me. True, but magic wielded independently is completely different from powers granted by members of another species. This is a representation of the strength and potential of the human race!

"Let the big wigs worry about that," Chaos pushed me inside, "How about you guys go inside too, Galen and I will clean up out here."

"Thanks!" Cyril was the first to go back in. There's also a ton of work to do inside the house, but it'll be a walk in the park compared with cleaning up the outside. Vincent looked a little concerned but said nothing more as he followed, taking Felice with him.

Still hung up about the confirmation of magical powers, I mentally downgraded everybody else's IQ by 12 points for not agreeing with me on the importance of Akiza's demonstration of superpowers.

Galen struggled against Chaos' hands, "Let me go! She has a right to know!"

"We need to talk about it first," Chaos pleaded threateningly, somehow. "Yuki…" He turned towards me, his intent obvious.

"Alright, I'll get out of your way," Whatever secret they had, I trusted them enough at least to let them decide amongst themselves first. "Oh, before I go," I fished the Black Luster Soldier from my new deck, curtesy of Jack Atlas, "I think this is yours." Being an ultra-rare card even in my reality, Domino didn't have another copy, so the card I received is the one Chaos lost when he was arrested. I know because Chaos marked it with his own blood with he was 12. "I don't have the rest of your deck yet, but I think we'll work something out."

Staring at the card in my hand for a full three seconds, Chaos picked it up and let out a long sigh.

"Thanks Kessler," He turned towards Kalin and nodded dismissively. Kalin gave him a hard look.

"It's fine, Kalin," I assured him, "Why don't you go upstairs and get some sleep." I did not forget that Crow might still be stopping by tonight. The youngest ex-Enforcer did not yet know about Kaln's presence, and I'd like to keep it that way.

"I need to check with the Dark Signers," Kalin turned towards his motorcycle, "I should be back soon."

"Well?" I prompted after Kalin left, neither of them spoke, "it's just the three of us, so if you want to say something, you might as well do it now."

"Yuki," Galen finally stepped up, looking ashamed and apologetic. "A letter came for you two days ago."

"Okay…"If it came two days ago, why didn't he give it to me before I left? And who still send letters nowadays? Second thought, that's not exactly true. Letters were becoming obsolete in my reality, but it's actually a big deal in the Satellite. There's no postal system, so any correspondence by paper must be delivered by a specialized carrier, working in the grey areas of the law. It's usually reserved only when the information communicated required a higher security level than emails. "From Industrial Illusions."

Well that's a name I never thought I'd hear again.

"Pegasus Industrial Illusions?"

Galen rolled his eyes and pointedly ignored the question, "Anyways, I thought you should know about it, before something like this happened again."

"We read the letter," Chaos added contentiously.

"There's still an Industrial Illusions?" I still can't get over that. I mean it made sense, if Kaiba's company lasted this long, there's no reason Pegasus' wouldn't, keeping in mind that Industrial Illusions was clearly the larger of the two. I do wonder who took over Industrial Illusions after Pegasus died, the duel monster creator certainly didn't look like he would father an heir.

"Pegasus moved his company to North America after Kaiba built Duel Academy," Chaos explained when he realized I wasn't going to concentrate on the conversation until I was finished with the gossip, "but they still have significant stakes in Japan. They're interested in the water generators Nervin produced and they're extending you an offer."

"What is it?" I think I'd be more interested if Pegasus was still there, but as it is, I had little interest left in the company that created Duel Monsters.

"These offers are all the same," Galen said, "if you sell them the patent, they'll move the company to Tokyo."

"So what do you guys think?" I asked carefully, trying to gauge the opinions of the two people before me. It wasn't hard to deduce they had hid this letter from the rest of the gang, to my immense relief. I was tasked by that lizard with winning this battle of light and darkness (whatever that means), which meant I was stuck here. If the Crimson Dragon loses, or Rex Goodwin wins, going to Tokyo wouldn't exactly escape the destruction of the world. But if everybody insisted on leaving the Satellite, our little group would fall apart faster than I could say 'end of the world'. Then it would be even harder to defeat the Dark Signers, I presume, since I didn't have a plan yet.

"I think it's a good opportunity," Galen smiled a little sadly, "you should take it. Tokyo has a lot more to offer than the Satellite."

Chaos looked like wanted to say something, but seeing the card in his hand, stopped half way.

"I don't think it's a good idea to relocate at this point in our development," I bluffed confidently, "We already set up a solid foundation here, production costs have stabilized, and there's a very low overhead." I'm not entirely sure what I said, but it sounded convincing, so I didn't understand the weird looks I was getting.

"There's no relocation," Chaos said drily, "They're hiring you, not the rest of us. You don't honestly think the corporate suits would bring a hundred people out of the Satellite for a single patent? When you get there, they'll set up everything from scratch, and you'll never have to decide between toothpaste and bedsheets again." (I chose toothpaste by the way, I'm sleeping on a table, why would I need bedsheets?)

"And you thought I'd leave you guys here?" I was honestly a little hurt, after going to face Goodwin solo, they still think I'd leave?

"You don't belong here, Yuki-sama" Chaos sighed, placing his hand over my head. I growled, but since he was still injured, I resigned to not struggling, "It was obvious from the very start that you don't belong here." Was it the struggle to eat food that give me away? "Your place is in the City, driving the fastest cars and fighting the hardest duels. You'd do very well there." He paused, I felt his hand stroking my hair with a little more force than was comfortable, "But I'm glad that you've decided to stay, otherwise I may be forced to change your mind. The Satellite needs you Yuki, more than Tokyo ever will. And we can't stand losing hope again."

As much as I liked Chaos, sometimes (frequently) he gets really creepy.

"Anyways, one thing at a time," I tried to sound a little more light-hearted, "Black Rose, superpowers, remember?"

"Attacks like that are pretty common here, but getting a chance to leave is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." Galen reminded me solemnly, "You may not ever get a chance like this again."

"Don't forget to repave the lawn," I said over my shoulders, ignoring his comment, "I think Nervin can show you how to mix some cement."

Akiza limped through the dark alleys she would barely look at a couple of hours ago. When her summoned monsters are destroyed, especially outside the duel arena, a corresponding portion of her energy is drained. So now, the most powerful duelist in Arcadia barely had enough energy left to summon Copy Plant (lv1, tuner, 0/0). She wasn't an experienced fighter, but she was smart enough to realize that she should keep a reserve when she's alone in the Satellite at dusk.

Using a piece of wood as a walking stick, the redhead gritted her teeth and hobbled cautiously towards the pier.

"Hey, are you okay?" She looked up at hearing the energy and optimism she never expected in the Satellite, to a crab-haired duelist on a motorcycle. There was no malice or lust in his blue eyes, not even the calculating look she often saw in Sayer, this teen was, or at least looked, genuinely concerned for her wellbeing. "I'm Yusei," he offered when she didn't say anything, "Do you need a ride? It's not safe for you to walk alone like this."

Yusei rarely rode his duel runner in broad daylight, but he made an exception when he saw the thick smoke rising from the Magician's house. He had met Crow half-way and helped settle Crow's students down. When he had finished, the fire had already dead down. Yusei had planned to check on the place just in case when he met the injured redhead.

"Thanks," Akiza nodded, appearing distant even as Yusei helped her on his bike "I need to get to the pier. I'll show you the way." And if he tried anything, Akiza assured herself, it wouldn't be difficult to get rid of him from the back.

"Hold on tight," Yusei cautioned as he sped off and felt Akiza grab the back of his jacket.

"Mr. Atlas," Lazar walked quickly so as to not be left behind as Jack strode away from the arena where he had just won another duel under the watchful eyes of his adoring fans, "You mentioned that you wanted to see me?"

"Yes," Despite his recent victory, Jack's lips were pursed into a thin line with the memory of his defeat, "Go ahead and send the chip into the Satellite, it's time to wrap things up with Yusei."

"But, are you sure?" Lazar asked carefully. More specifically, Lazar wasn't sure what Goodwin thought, he hadn't had time to confirm the original plans with the Director since Jack's defeat.

"Yes I'm sure!" Jack brushed Lazar aside forcefully, "I need to deal with the past before I can move on to my future!"

Thanks to Vincent's attempt to keep him away from their affairs, Greiger had managed to slip away undetected this time. He shredded Goodwin's message and tossed the scraps into the river. He was to continue his surveillance of Yuki Tono, but return in two weeks time, 5 days before the Fortune Cup, to prepare for the event. In the meantime, keep an eye on anything that would ensure or interfere with Yuki's attendance of the event.

Greiger wasn't comfortable with the whole spying business, but it's for the best, and it's only on somebody who'd kidnapped kids, he reminded himself.

A/N: I was truly awed by how little everybody cared about Akiza's superpowers. I mean, her powers strongly suggest that magic was real, duel monsters were real and humans are able to harness such forces independently without the assistance of some vague holier-than-thou magical creature. Imagine if X-men were suddenly confirmed, and we discover another world filled with Transformers ready to obey human command. You'd think it'd be a bigger deal.

A/N 2: It's harder for me to write scenes involving my main character... Any scene with canon characters or even other OCs come to me pretty easily, but I have trouble writing Yuki... This might be a problem.

A/N 3: I should probably manage my chapter lengths better. One of these days, I will go back and fix things, one of these days.