Disclaimer: I do not own YGO 5ds.
A/N: I changed a couple of details this chapter, previous chapters have been adjusted to match this adjustment. I'm hoping nobody would notice.
"We need a name," Cyril informed me seriously . "We're releasing the newest line of mp3s, and this not having a logo thing is getting ridiculous."
Apparently he thought this was as important as cleaning up the half-destroyed house where we would sleep tonight. I can't say I disagree. Brand name recognition is important.
"Um," I had already spent many hours searching in vain for a decent team name. "what about the Underground Alliance." This name first came to me when I met Nervin, since I lived underground, and he lived next to a subway, which is also called the underground, I thought it would be a cute pun.
"I thought you said you ran this company by Goodwin and it's legal," Vincent condemned my idea without a second thought.
"Then you guys think something up!" I grumbled. I'm much better at finding problems with ideas than coming up with them.
"This isn't hard you know." Vincent said, "Let's see, a lot of people name their group after their deck, what deck do you use?"
"I haven't decided on one yet," I admitted, "I don't want to make that kind of commitment." I mean, now that monsters are real, I'd want to meet them, maybe grab a drink, watch a movie (once I build movie theatres), discuss life and career goals, expectations, that sort of thing before I settle down.
"Use a spellcaster deck," Vincent suggested, "then we can call ourselves the Elemental Sorcerers, and adjust our decks so our decks each have a different attributes."
Then at least one person was going to lose every duel, I mean, how are you supposed to make a fire-spellcaster deck? Plus, even not counting Kalin and Crow, there was already 7 of us.
"That's the single dumbest thing I've ever-," I stopped myself, remembering back to numerous suggestions I had received involving sweatshops, saving the world and taking over the world, "second thought, I take that back, that doesn't make the top ten dumbest things I've heard this week, but it's still a dumb idea. So no. Next!"
"I thought Team Satisfaction sounded really cool, we should come up with something like that." Felice suggested.
"Sure... But maybe a little less, um, prostitution-y..."
"Since we're going to transform the Satellite, why not call ourselves the Transformers?" Cyril looked very satisfied with this idea.
"Copyright infringement."
"What?"
"Just take my answer and don't question it."
"Our team is aiming for the stars, right? So we should call ourselves Team Rocket!" Cyril said without a trace of irony.
"That's not a good idea, trust me."
"We're trying to fix up the Satellite, so it's like treating it, right? What if we called ourselves The Doctor?" the white-haired teen remained unfazed.
"Cyril… you really need to stop talking."
"Since we're hoping to defeat Fate, we can be the Conquers of the Divine." Chaos surprised me with the idea, I really expected better from him.
"That just sounds like we're planning on doing some very bad things to Divine, keep thinking."
"The Seven Angels of Destiny? Or better yet, since we're getting back what's ours, The Karma Seven." Chaos tried again.
"We're not limiting our team to seven people, you're already excluding Kalin and Crow, and it sounds like a bad band name."
"Oracles of Destruction? Or Oracles of Creation." Vincent helped.
"Oracle doesn't feel right…" I do 'predict' the future, but 'now' the word 'Oracle' refers primarily to the database management firm.
"There's gotta be some name you like," Galen rolled his large brown eyes, "The Duelists of Destiny?"
"Too generic."
"The Elites?"
"Boring."
"Riders of the Revolution?"
"It's a company name, we're trying not to get arrested."
"The Guardians?"
"Not a newspaper."
"Now you're just being difficult," Felice said a little annoyed, "let's see, Underworld Riders, Justice Riders, Forgotten Riders."
"I don't ride duel runners. Oh and from now on, if you want to duel on a runner, make sure it has at least three wheels. Preferably four. With a seat belt. Maybe with something to block out the rain, and an exterior to protect the rider." Under her glare, I cowered and admitted the truth, "Okay, so I really think you should at least drive a monster truck when you play cards, that way at least you wouldn't be as hurt in an accident."
"Rebels of Light?" Galen ignored my comments and continued.
"Once again, not trying to get arrested or start a band."
"The Twilight Equinox? Treading between good and evil, darkness and light. Sounds pretty cool." Vincent give it another try.
"I'd like to come more than twice a year." I can't help the associations my mind makes.
"The Crusaders sound cool. We're on a Crusade to defend a just cause and right the wrongs of this world!" Galen said.
"While I like your sentiment, that's exactly what the actual Crusaders thought and that was the exact opposite of what they were actually doing. Plus things didn't end too well for them. So I'm still going to say no."
"I give up," Cyril rolled his eyes. "Give me a name by tomorrow morning so I can slap the logos on. I have too much real work to deal with this."
"This shouldn't be this hard!" I exclaimed in exasperation, "People have named multibillion dollar companies after fruit and still made it work." I grabbed at the first idea that came to me, "The Zephyrs then."
"Why?" Vincent asked skeptically
"I like the Z symbol," I thought for a bit and decided that was probably the best name I could come up with, "and this world does need a breath of fresh air." Plus, if a company named Micro-Soft (!) can reign the computer industry for decades, and another named Apple can succeed it, names are probably irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.
"So just a 'Z' for the logo then?," Cyril shrugged, "I like it, it's cheaper."
"We're here," Yusei announced as he came to a stop, tilting his bike to allow his passenger to get off.
Akiza stared at the familiar dock, everything looked exactly the same as any of her other return trips, except the ship that was supposed to pick her up was nowhere to be found. The discovery wasn't completely unexpected or even a surprise, but she was disappointed nonetheless. Thanks to her injuries and hobbling around in the Satellite, she was over two hours late to the designated meeting spot, so naturally the ship had left. But Sayer didn't even bother leaving a contingency plan, get somebody to look for her or even wait here to see if she'd show up. Then again, Sayer never was the type to go out of his way to take care of her. Sometimes she wondered how long it would be before Sayer knows, if she had died on one of her missions, it's not something she liked to think about, but the shadows of doubt encroached on her thoughts constantly.
"Are you okay?" Yusei asked when the red-haired girl behind him didn't move.
"No." Akiza replied, rage and misery welling up at the prospect of once again being abandoned and alone, this time in the Satellite, "I'm not." She could feel the reins on her power beginning to slip, and rubble began to hover dangerous in the air in response to her emotions.
Yusei thought he understood, this girl was obviously waiting for somebody or something that didn't show up, probably something that would help her get back to Domino City. Dirty as they were, even the clothes on her back screamed Neo Domino. There's no way this girl came from the Satellite.
"You're welcome to stay with me if you like," Yusei offered candidly. From any other person, the proposal might have had an unavoidable lewd undertone, but there was nothing of the kind in the ex-Enforcer's words. Akiza blushed nonetheless, it's been a while since somebody offered to help her in a time of need, Sayer had been trying to instill into her that she needed nobody but him, except when she needed somebody, he was never anywhere to be found.
"With us I mean," Yusei added, a little flustered, "until you find somewhere else."
Yusei looked back alarmed as he heard the clatter behind him, finding only debris typical of the Satellite on the dirt roads.
"I think I'd rather be alone," Akiza said coldly. Not that she didn't appreciate the offer, this way of speaking had become second nature to her, "I will need a place close by the pier." She can't be too careful in the Satellite. Plus, if this man learned of her powers, he would probably run like the rest of them, she reminded herself as her opinion of this Yusei character cooled again.
"Do you know anywhere you'd like to go?" Yusei asked, he didn't think she did, the frozen expression on her face told him as much. "I can show you some places around here where you're less likely to be found," he offered, "and you can pick one you like." The implication being, he wouldn't know where she was staying either.
"That would be fine," Akiza didn't understand what Yusei was hinting at, though she vaguely felt it was to her advantage. Maybe she should give him a chance? No, she berated herself. There's no point, none of them can understand what you're going through. He'll just be another person terrified of what they can't understand, or trying to use her powers for his own gain. She can't trust anybody.
"I know a couple of places that lets you see the pier from the window," Yusei commented. For some reason, he found himself talking a lot more than usual. Exhausted from the day's activities, Akiza nodded off to the reassuring voice. She didn't notice herself leaning into the solid shoulders in front of her, until her breath touch his neck. She jumped, he almost drove the duel runner into a wall. It must be the spring weather.
"That took you a while," Demak commented as Kalin entered the Dark Signers' underground lair, where weather was clearly irrelevant.
"I couldn't find anything," Kalin replied by way of an explanation, "nothing in the Satellite should be able to affect the Underworld King."
"Not even the Crimson Dragon?" Demak asked ominously.
"That dragon was summoned in Yusei Fudo's duel," Kalin said what he honestly thought was the truth, only neglecting Yuki's involvement, directing his answer at Roman "and since you didn't want me to kill him yet, I couldn't approach him. I only have so much self-control."
Roman knew Demak was only leading Kalin with the series of questions so the youngest Dark Signer could explain his absence, so Roman wouldn't get suspicious of Kalin's whereabouts. He also knew the other two were at least a little scared of him and had secretly dubbed him the craziest of their group, a title that he held with good humor and an inexplicable tinge of pride.
But he didn't suspect Kalin, why would he? What was left in the Satellite that could sway Kalin Kessler from the Shadows? Not that Demak's concerns were entirely baseless. As the Ruler of the Underworld's powers grew, Roman could feel his sanity slipping, as the Darkness took over his mind and soul.
"Give it a rest Roman," Kalin drawled, "the entire situation is beyond mortal control. We'll do what we can, and let things turn out as they will." It wasn't what Kalin believed, but he knew the sentiment would resonate with Roman.
Roman nodded, as much as he disliked the idea, he couldn't deny the truth in Kalin's words.
"Very well. Soon our labors would come to fruition, for better or for worse. The Fortune Cup will be over in three weeks," the older Goodwin announced to his most trusted allies, "After which the Signers would be identified, and our battle will begin."
Kalin concurred mindlessly. Roman had gone into some detail regarding their battle with the Light, yet what would happen after remains a mystery. Kalin still wasn't entirely sure what the actual victory of the Shadows, or indeed victory of the Light would entail, but he should probably try to get that little group out of the Satellite before then. The hundreds of teenagers they just hired though, that might be a problem.
The morning is (supposedly) the best time to get things done. Kalin was still at the Dark Signer's, and Crow is teaching at our 'school', so our hideout is once again magic free, giving us mortals time to deal with a very non-magical problem.
"Alright, what've we got?" Taking a deep breath, I sat down at the table, ready to tackle the hardest battle I have yet to face, finances. Made worse because of the damage Akiza dealt and the costs to repair said damages. Vincent was right about one thing, Akiza did about as much damage as a small natural disaster.
"Let's start with the reconstruction," I decided.
"We have enough manpower…" Galen started hesitantly. We had enough people because we hired too many, without the concurrent upgrade to our raw (recycled) materials, equipment or manufacturing machinery, leading to around 150 kids with nothing to do. That led to a slew of its own problems, but they'd probably rioted if we tried to fire them now. Well, at least this renovation project would keep them busy.
"We'll have to crank up sales then," Cyril continued the thought, "we have production under control at HQ, but if the sales team doesn't pick up the slack, you can forget construction, we'll all be starving pretty soon."
Did I mention that I regret hiring hundreds of people without adequate planning? Even feeding them is becoming a serious issue.
"We're doing the best we can!" Felice defended her efforts.
"Our ad campaigns haven't reached their desired effect," Vincent added, "don't worry, we'll tweak it a little and send it out again."
"I'm afraid I have some bad news in that regard," Nervin grumbled, sounding dejected, "Neo Domino is getting a lot stricter on shipments from the Satellite. We knew this was coming but it's been a lot faster than we expected, our black market has been shrinking." I wondered if punching Lazar had an effect on that at all as Nervin continued, "Even if it hadn't, the black market wouldn't be large enough to accommodate our current volume of productions or generate the revenues we need to stay afloat."
I nodded calmly, it's a little annoying but not all that unexpected. Neo Dominos didn't allow a single person from the Satellite to move into its perimeters in almost two decades, there's no reason to suspect consumer goods would be any different. There's no legal avenue for Satellite-produced goods to be shipped or sold at Domino.
"We shouldn't give up hope on black markets just yet" Galen jumped in enthusiastically, "This is the Satellite, black market is what we do. We'll run from the Sector like we've always done."
"It's not feasible in the long run," I rejected the idea. With Rex Goodwin as its leader, Neo Domino wouldn't hesitate to lock us up for life and seize every cent we made if we were caught. And it's hard not to get caught with hyper-advanced surveillance systems. "It's too risky, nearly impossible at higher production levels." Not being the ever-optimistic protagonist, I didn't think 'staying hopeful' would save our asses.
"Yuki's right," Vincent agreed, "if we keep up like this, we're all just one surveillance video away from moving to the Facilities for good."
"But restricting sales to customers within the Satellite severely limits our potential client base. Our production volume has already exceeded sustainable sales fig-" Nervin frowned, saying the lines that he had obviously rehearsed in his head.
"So what do you wanna do, four-eyes?" Vincent turned away quickly, his red pony tail slapping Nervin across the face. So Nervin grabbed the offending hair and pulled. Vincent responded by taking Nervin's glasses and holding it above his head, watching the shorter man trying to grab it in vain.
And these are the people I work with.
"Ahem," I coughed emphatically, hiding my desire to join in. Somebody had to act the adult, and I was apparently the best candidate among very sparse pickings. "We can't sell to Neo Domino, but there's still the rest of Japan and the rest of the world."
I saw their eyes widen in surprise. Of course, when you've been confined to one corner of a city for all your adult life, when your one dream is to move to the other half of that same city (I still maintain the Satellite is part of Domino City), it's easy to lose perspective of the bigger picture. Remember in the Z-one arc, when Z-one wanted to destroy Domino City (only the city mind you, not even any of its residents), to prevent a likely future destruction of the entire goddamned world? And Yusei fought him tooth and nail, because our protagonist didn't want 'the world' to be destroyed? That's true as far as Yusei knew, Domino was all he knew, it was his world. But it sure as hell wasn't mine.
"We can't," Nervin protested instinctively, "the Satellite is completely isolated from the rest of the country when it broke off from Domino City." I saw nods all across the room, that's the story they had been taught, and they never looked further.
"Isolated with water," I responded, chuckling "in case you forgot, we live conveniently next to a river on one side and the ocean on three." Thanks to Zero Reverse that is. Sure, constructing ships may be even more challenging than duel runners for a variety of reasons, but transportation from Satellite to the rest of Japan remains unhindered due to federal restrictions on local governments controlling economic activities where one party was outside of their jurisdiction.
"It wouldn't be difficult to steal the boats," Vincent said thoughtfully, twirling his ponytail with his finger, "but I doubt we could get away with it. With all the GPS and surveillance, Domino would catch on pretty quick. What?" He said in response to the look I gave him, "it's not like we can afford one."
"If we blackmail Domino companies operating in the Satellite, we might be able to use one for free," Cyril added, sounding like he was the voice of reason.
That's the first thing they think of? Really? Sure gives me insight into their lifestyle. Even Felice didn't protest the suggestion.
"Maybe we can rent one instead," I offered weakly, refusing to be led astray on this runaway train of thought.
"We don't have enough collateral." Galen shot me down without a second thought, "I guess robbery is out of the question?"
"Too obvious," I agreed, somehow finding myself drawn into the conversation, "we can't afford to get caught. Lazar's just looking for an excuse to shut up down."
"If we blow up a boat just right," Felice rubbed her chin, "I think we might be able to buy it at a discount from the scrapyard, then do the repairs ourselvse."
"I'll take the rap for it," Galen offered cheerfully.
"Don't be ridiculous," Chaos ruffled his hair, "You're just a kid, I'll go. I know the Facilities pretty well by now."
"The degree of damage, then, is critical to our success," Nervin brought us back on topic, "we need somebody familiar with the system, so we deal the minimum damage to the ship while making sure it still ends up discarded."
Wait, no, that wasn't the topic. Maybe I should try hanging out with a more law-abiding crowd, I thought not for the first or last time.
"First, we will approach some shipping companies," I deadpanned, dragging our discussion away from criminal activities, "to inquire about their rates and availabilities. We'll keep an eye on scrapyards, but will not add to their collection."
Vincent had the guts to look disappointed.
"But before all that, we need to defeat Ara." Felice said matter-of-factly.
"Right!" Galen concurred enthusiastically, "and I know you can do it!"
"Wait, who's Ara?" It's always annoying when they discuss things I didn't know like I should know them.
"She's the leader of the Adaros, you know, the Mermail gang." Galen clarified for my benefit, "she uses a Mermail deck, they say she's a vengeful water spirit coming to exact revenge on all those who have wronged her in a past life."
"More reliable rumors say she's part of Arcadia," Chaos added, "those rumors are probably right."
Where do these gangs pop up from? I grumbled mentally, but I guess better an illegal Satellite organization than the Domino City government. Even if she is using a Mermail deck, which remains very powerful despite the lack of XYZ extra-deck monsters and XYZ summoning.
"The Adaros have monopolized the waterways around Satellite for a couple of years now," Nervin continued, focusing on facts rather than hearsay, " If we want access to the river or the sea, we're going to have to win that territory from them first."
"Easier said then done," Cyril rained on our parade, "That port brings in at least six figures each year for Arcadia, that's why they have Ara defending it. She hasn't lost a duel in the past five years.
"If we do take their territory though," Galen's large brown eyes brightened hopefully, "can't we take their boats too?" He looked absolutely adorable, if only he wasn't this excited over committing a felony.
Robbery should probably not be encouraged, though I admit I also find the idea very tempting.
"We could seize their assets," Vincent admitted begrudgingly, "but Arcadia would come at us with a vengeance. And unlike Sector Security, they're good at what they do."
"It's too risky," Cyril agreed, "Arcadia has reaches all over the country and can attack our HQ at any time."
"But it's the fastest way," Chaos argued. "We'll be clashing with them over territory anyways, it'll make no difference what else we take."
His sense of morality still needs a little work, but I do see his point.
Hm... I think Divine was arrested at the end of the Dark Signer arc. How long after the Fortune Cups did the Dark Signer arc end? I can't remember, but it was in days or weeks, definitely less than a month. So that's a total of less than two months away.
The details of each event might change, of course, I don't think I changed anything significant so far, but I can't predict the results of each ripple I caused. The big picture, however, remains the same. If Divine wanted to take over the world (apparently a legitimate goal in this dimension), Arcadia would focus its efforts on increasing Akiza's exposure and popularity until the Fortune Cup, and Divine would fight for control over Akiza with Yusei after that, I doubt financial matters would be on the forefront of his mind.
Unlike those of us stuck in the Satellite, Divine didn't need to worry about food.
"We'll be fine," I said with finality. "Arcadia wouldn't be a threat." There's a risk of course, but it's a risk worth taking. More specifically, it would be much safer and realistic than trying to obtain a boat by any of the methods my colleagues have thus far suggested.
"So we'll discuss sales again after this is over?"
I nodded at Felice's question.
"One last thing, Teddy told me the Black Rose is still in Satellite," Cyril said gloomily, "we need to keep enough people at HQ in case we need to evacuate again. Especially if we're sending people to duel Adaros."
First of all, I regret teaching him the word 'HQ' yesterday. Secondly, what was Akiza still doing in the Satellite? What did she not yet accomplish? Whether or not her remaining mission(s) involved us, our conflict with the Adaros might be complicated with her roaming free in the Satellite.
Specifically, I was concerned about all of us dying from duel monster attacks. With access to thousands of different monsters, Akiza was much more powerful than all of us combined, even when we're armed with make-shift grenades. So I must prevent such a confrontation.
"Don't bother, I'll take care of it," I replied.
...
Greiger glared at the tiny form in front of him. He had little doubt that he could crush her skull with his bare hands. Yet here he was, listening to her orders. Goodwin had better make good on his end of the bargain.
"What was it that you wanted me to do?" He asked threateningly, not because he didn't hear her the first time, rather so she would have a chance to change her answer.
"I need you to kidnap a girl, Akiza's her name, I'll give you the address later." I had no intentions to change my request. Having Greiger around has been awesome. He is physically capable of carrying out the less desirable tasks, and is protected by Rex Goodwin so that he remains immune from the law. Now I fully understand why a gang always needs somebody to do the dirty work, it's so convenient!
I noticed Greiger's face twitch, his teeth clenched so tightly a vein popped out of the side of his forehead. That's doesn't look healthy.
"What makes you think I'd do it?" Greiger asked calmly, the fury behind his words were evident even to somebody as thick as me.
"You did it before…?" I answered instinctively before realizing that was the exact wrong thing to say. "Look," I laughed sheepishly, trying to pull my foot back out of my mouth, "I know how it sounds," in fact, I just realized how it sounds, asking a grown man to kidnap a teenage girl in a place where law enforcement was at best optional, "but I need you to keep her out of the loop for a while. Like a day maybe. I don't even need to see her, in fact, I'd prefer it if she didn't know I existed. And," I added as an afterthought, "If it makes you more comfortable, I can get Felice to go with you?"
"That won't be necessary," Greiger replied tersely, "I shall carry out the mission as instructed."
"Perfect!" I smiled, relieved. I didn't have anybody else who could keep Akiza out of commission temporarily, not without Sector Security coming after us at least. I really needed to wrestle the rights to the river from Arcadia's hands, and real-life duel monster attacks wasn't going to help. "You'll need to rush her," I advised, "Don't ask, just trust me on this. Rush her, knock her out, and keep her unconscious for 24 hours. I think Chaos has something that might help with that." Great, I need to hear myself before I say things. I could almost see Greiger's disdain grow, and I can't even blame him.
"And my payment?" Greiger asked. His true payment would come from Rex Goodwin of course, in the form of infrastructure commissioned by Kaiba Corp, but the technology he received from this girl would also have a profound impact on the lives of his village.
"Zigzix just finished a heater design last night," I scratched my head, "You can take the design now or the prototype when we have it. I'll get him to make it solar-powered for you." Being the energy expert (there's probably a more technical term for this that I'm not aware of), Zigzix had designed a heater with readily available materials from the Satellite. The key, he said, was to replace the copper elements regularly, rather than wanting to find a permanent fixture like Nervin had been attempting. I didn't understand him, but it worked, so that's good enough for me.
"I'll take both," Greiger said simply, "and the address for the girl."
"Tomorrow," I added just in case, "we need her out of commission for tomorrow, say, from 10 am?" I don't think I'd get up before then, "24 hours should be enough. If it's not, we'll let you know somehow."
In hindsight, I might have been more influenced by my criminally-inclined friends than I thought. Taking that into consideration, it's great that I had Greiger around so I was never charged for any of it.
Greiger had never been more confident in his decision to spy on this Satellite scum. Though there were undoubtedly many honorable and respectable people in this town, she was definitely not one of them. This was the second person he had been asked to kidnap in less than a week, he had little doubt as to her other activities. In the meantime though, he could only comply with her orders. He came to Domino to save his village from poverty and despair, it was beyond his powers to save the residents of this Satellite as well.
A/N : I was always very amused when they mentioned the Satellite as being completely isolated in the anime, thus distanced from human contact and the rest of civilization etc. So you're on an island, so's the entire country of Japan. Humans have learned to deal with nuisances like that with the help of prehistoric technology like boats.