Disclaimer: I do not own YGO 5Ds
XXXTHIS IS A DIVIDERXXX
The next ten days flew by.
Zigzix's technological expertise, coupled with a transportation route outside, seemed to suddenly put our operations on the fast-track.
Each day felt like an eternity, but looking back, the entire week was a blur, probably due to the lack of sleep, which I racked up 42 hours of in the ensuing week and a half. At this rate, I'll never grow past 5'.
I had naively thought that I would need to make up some work to keep my crew busy for a while, to keep them from immediately fleeing to Domino City. Ah how I miss that naivety.
Taking the boats we 'repossessed' and following the shoreline (because anything further requires a GPS system which requires satellite access), our teams scoured the country. Galen and Vincent went north, Teddy and Chaos went south to promote and sell our now numerous lines of consumer electronics. Yes, Teddy, the 14-year-old who was still learning to read, that's how short-handed I was. Though to be fair, team selection were as much based on their likelihood of coming back as actual skill.
Given the shortage of experienced and literate staff (only Nervin and I from the original crew), Ara and Blizzard had largely taken over operations inside the Satellite. I trust both of them completely, despite knowing next to nothing about them. Being wanted by Arcadia and Domino respectively, they have nowhere else to go.
Cyril is keeping an eye on that as well as recruitment, so... Nothing major had gone wrong that I know of.
Felice somehow managed to straighten out Adaros enough to keep ships moving despite Arcadia's influence. I didn't ask how she did it, just like I didn't ask why she wanted Vincent's rocket launcher or whether the blood on her clothes were hers.
Even Crow had been promoted to full-time babysitter, technically vice-principal of our elementary school (elementary school because everybody over 12 was participated in at least some sort of work-study arrangement rather than going to school- yes, yes, I know I'm going to hell).
Me? I got into construction, a field I frankly never thought I'd be involved in, thanks to: Professor Zigzix's Ultimate Road Warrior, patent pending.
Full disclaimer, he named all his inventions himself.
It's a three part machine that, when driven across untamed terrain, levels the soil, builds a foundation, and lays the cement or petroleum, up to 8 lanes wide and 5 meters deep. For best results, combine with Professor Zigzix's Road Scout, removing all hazardous obstacles above and below ground; Professor Zigzix's Road Armory, supplying materials to the Road Warrior; and Professor Zigzix's Sidewalk Defender, which builds the sidewalk and seals the sides of the roads.
Professor Zigzix's Road on the Go, designed for the conqueror, I mean infrastructure enthusiast in you. Each sold separately, also available for rental, some conditions and restrictions apply, see website for details.
Sometimes, I wonder if Zigzix should be the main character, an idea that's equal parts intriguing and terrifying.
I had started with a straight road from our location to the pier, which was apparently a bad idea, due to minor details like underground bomb shelters and the weight-bearing capacity of the ground when the soil had been dug out from under them.
The Satellite now has several convenient entrances to the subway system, in case we ever wanted a subway.
On the plus side, nobody has dead yet. A couple of severe injuries mostly related with our new 'subway entrances', which eventually prompted the kidnapping of multiple doctors and the establishment of a hospital, but no deaths. Yet. I can't take all the credit though, at least half of that was luck.
Frankly, it's just a matter of time. Our staff roster have gone from the 'accident-prone' 300 to the current 'injuries-are-entirely-acceptable' 460 and projected to reach 'somebody's-gonna-die-eventually' 600 by next month. Even the people who knew what they were doing hadn't done it for the last 17 years, so like I said, the entire week was a blur, possibly due to my subconscious suppression of those memories.
Having been thusly occupied, you can understand my temporary disorientation when I saw the pretty ex-Adaros leader at my door on my one day off.
"Ara?" I asked begrudgingly, "What's wrong?"
I had had somebody to deal with visitors, I distinctly remembered. But the first one had an engineering background and is now managing a team of 40 people to build our second apartment complex (the first we built is now being used as a school because we forgot the plumbing system); the second one came from Domino City so Chaos took her as a guide when he left.
The third time I was careful to select somebody nobody else could possibly want, so I ended up choosing Lug, remember Lug? Lenny's barely-adequate sidekick? Anyways, Crow wrangled him out of my hands because he was literate. He's now teaching grades 1-3 languages and maths.
Also our school isn't exactly a chief priority at the moment.
"Sorry to bother you," Ara smiled apologetically, "Yusei Fudo left the Satellite last night and hasn't come back yet, I thought you'd like to know."
"Yusei? Left?" My eyes must have bulged out, all traces of sleep now scared off, "To duel Jack? What else do you know?" And more importantly, how did she know.
"I'm afraid not much," she shook her head and her cerulean-colored hair literally rippled like in a shampoo-commercial special effect, "Felice said she'd send back whatever information she gathers by noon. Something wrong?" She asked at the mixed expression on my face.
"No, nothing," I denied it quickly.
When I first found myself stuck in the Satellite, the plan was to risk my life and escape to Domino on the night Yusei dueled Jack, taking advantage of the blackout somehow. Now I can get to Domino at any time, but there're too many things holding me back.
"And you came here to tell me that?" There's no way she could have known the importance of this information.
"Not quite," Ara messaged the bridge of her nose, "Yusei left last night, he was supposed to have come back this morning by boat, he's still not back yet. We think he's been captured by the Sector."
"By boat?" I repeated, now completely alert. The only boats Yusei could access from the Satellite were ours. "Who authorized it?"
"Nervin told me you did, the night you met the Black Witch?" She gave me a strange look, "Yusei was supposed to have come back by boat when the tunnel would be closed."
I felt the sleep-deprivation headache coming back.
Aiding in Yusei's escape back to the Satellite would turn the Sector against us, likely leading to the shutdown of our entire operations even without Goodwin's extra attention. We have already invested too much into the Development, and thus, unlike our protagonist, we can't just leave everything and rideals away.
Naturally, Nervin didn't ask me because he knew I would say no.
"At least he has a plan to come back," I chuckled.
The tunnel between the Satellite and Domino City only opens for three minutes a day. In the original anime, Yusei made no mentions of how he would return to the Satellite. Even if he managed to evade the capture and waited until night, he can't take the same tunnel without being caught by Trudge who just has to be waiting at the other end.
"Of course he would plan on coming back," Ara said confusedly, "He would be a wanted man in a completely foreign city with not even a penny on him- he might not last that long."
"Never mind that," I chuckled at the joke only I could understand, "What bring you here?" Ara wouldn't consider Yusei being missing my problem, no reasonable person would.
"Crow wants to go to Domino to rescue him," Ara sighed, "I'm not sure how long Cyril can hold him back."
"God," I rolled my eyes. "What about the school?" We have already recruited every literate person we know.
"He handed that over to Martha" Ara explained with a sigh.
Martha had been invited to run our hospital (is it still a hospital if over half of the staff is kidnapped?), I had made sure to only meet her once when she was recruited. Her uncanny (deliberate? subconscious?) resemblance to Whoopi Goldberg always made me uncomfortable.
"Nobody can run education and healthcare at the same time," I grumbled, "Not without ruining both."
"So?" Ara waited for me to continue.
"Let's go."
If our chief babysitter leaves, we'd have 60 kids running around on a giant construction site, even I knew that's a bad idea.
XXXFF NET HAS BEEN MYSTERIOUSLY AND RANDOMLY ERASING THE NORMAL LINES I INSERTXXX
"Brother," Rex Goodwin strode into Roman's lair as though walking into his own office and immediately took a seat at the Dark Signer table, an irony Roman did not miss. "How do you do?"
"I didn't call you here for pleasantries Rex," Roman paced around the room irritably. With every passing day, he feels his sanity slipping as the Shadows claimed yet another part of him. "Why have you not detained that satellite? She's just one more variable we cannot afford."
Pacing, Rex Goodwin scoffed inwardly, Roman can barely control his own actions, he's lost it.
"I was told," he leaned back, a move that made the stone-carved chair look comfortable, "that she was there on your orders, to assess Jack Atlas. And possessed information she otherwise shouldn't have." He added at Roman's disapproving look. "It had been more than sufficient to convince me of the truth in her words, though judging by your reaction, I must have been mistaken."
"Don't play games with me Rex, "Roman Goodwin gritted his teeth in annoyance, he stopped directly behind his brother and leaned in, the whisper a quiet promise that echoed the underground lair. "You never like it when you lose, and you always lose."
"What games?" Rex Goodwin chuckled, completely unaffected by Roman Goodwin's fingers at the base of his neck, where it could snap his spine in a split-second, "Big brother, do you not trust me?" He asked with mocking indignation. "I'm wounded."
"How could I? Already, parts of this city is barely recognizable from your last visit. Isn't that what you wanted to do? Fixing the Satellite, standing up for the weak, change you can see." Roman leaned forward further, his breath caressing the back of Rex Goodwin's neck, "Ten years ago, you would've worshipped the ground she walked on."
"I'm not the man I was ten years ago Roman, you of all people should know that." Rex Goodwin's voice turned into steel, he stood up and brushed his brother's hand off him, "I'd check your own ranks if I were you, your Immortals may be omnipotent, but your own magic seems to have its limitations."
Roman's eyes flickered in the candlelight. "How's Yusei Fudo?" he asked, changing the subject.
"Rest assured, he's at our detention center right now." The younger Goodwin relaxed again, leaning against the table to face his big brother, "I'm sure you've seen last night's commotion, I'll send you a full report when I have it."
"And the Fortune Cup?" Roman pressed. He felt an instinctive disquietude toward the situation, exacerbated by the abnormal ascent in the powers of the Netherworld Ruler. "Are all the Signers assembled?"
"Of course," Rex Goodwin replied smoothly, "all possible candidates and disturbances will receive invitations they can't refuse. Victory is just a matter of time."
"We've gone too far to turn back Rex, so don't fail me now." Roman Goodwin said slowly, studying his brother carefully as though to etch him into memory, "And if I don't see you again until the final battle, good luck. The fate of humanity rests in your hands."
"And humanity shall flourish," Rex Goodwin replied in complete honesty.
From his hands will rise a superior human race, with him as its god of course. The current plebeian existence will be wiped from the memories of this planet like the dirt it is, and humanity, largely gone from the current human race, will once again flourish.
XXXI DON'T KNOW WHYXXX
"Yuki-sama," Blizzard stood up as I walked into the now-empty factory floor, "what brings you here?"
I smiled and nodded to Zigzix exercising at the far side of the room. It always makes me feel better just looking at Blizzard.
At least I was feeling better until I spotted a figure in the corner of the factory.
"Yeag- I mean, uh, what are you doing here?" I asked looking at the Vice Director of Domino City, locked in one of our unused glass control rooms.
We have many unused control rooms right now, because half of the manufacturing line was torn down to provide the materials for Zigzix's Road Warrior ensemble. Of course, as were over half of the people we hired, so it all evens out.
Lazar mouthed something silently while clinging to the glass. I walked over and turned off the sound-neutralization system on the window.
"Let's me go you barbarians! You can't keep me here!" The clown-turned-politician pounded on impact-resistant glass with renewed energy.
For a second, I wasn't sure what to say.
"What are you doing here?" I repeated, asking the most logical question I could think of.
"Well, Ms. Tono," Lazar sounded vicious, almost victorious at my question, temporarily forgetting his current predicament. "I'm here to extend to you the invitations for the Fortune Cup, which will be in 10 days' time. Be sure you show up, if you don't want the entire Development torn down." He looked pleased with the pun.
"We have personal permission from Director Goodwin," I used the same bluff I used on the Sector, which was technically true, Rex Goodwin essentially wrote me a blank check in terms of permits. That, combined with the right money in the right pockets, had been enough to keep Sector Security away so far. Goodwin's plan was pretty clear, with my investmentd here, I'm tied down. And the more people I recruit, the more vulnerable I become. In his eyes at least.
"I'm sure the Director would be more than happy to withdraw these permits if he doesn't see you at the Fortune Cup matches." Lazar replied smugly.
"Hey Yuki," Cyril looked up at the sound of our conversation. Eagerly dropping the newest shipment records, he walked over from the other side of the room, his blue eyes nearly as bloodshot as my own.
"Are we keeping him here against his will?" I turned to the white-haired teen, feeling more amused than anything else.
"We have been feeding him," Cyril replied defensively, "and he eats a lot!" He gestured to the pile of empty instant noodle boxes by the trash, "I gave him your share of the food by the way, I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all," I shuddered at the memory of these noodles. I'd much rather eat battery acid cubes, at least those you didn't need to chew. "But getting back to the point, why are we keeping him here?"
"He knows stuff!" Cyril replied excitedly, ignoring the glares Lazar sent him. I mean really knows stuff! Like stuff that none of us knows!"
I must have looked as confused as I felt, because Cyril elaborated.
"Like how to allocate resources in fighting a fire, getting the upper hand over the Commercial Administration Department, appropriate education curriculums for illiterate adults, security force training protocol, international trade customs, loopholes in Neo Domino sanctions, logistics of water transportation, negotiating mortgage rates, maintaining a positive media and community presence, the optimal demographic of our workforce, streamlining hospital triage procedures- " Cyril counted off his fingers until he ran out, then started afresh.
I felt my migraine pulsing a little faster with every item on that list.
"Okay, okay, I get your point." I had to cut him off.
"You know, the stuff that none of us knows how to do." He finished.
"And he knows all that?" I asked skeptically.
"He knows about them," Cyril replied, "and that's more than we do."
He was right of course, none of us, arguably with the exception of Ara, knew anything about management, or business, or politics or even geography, (which is very different from what I learned), and the list goes on. And on. And on. And on.
"You can't keep me here!" Lazar protested warily, seeing the gleam in my eyes. "Domino will look for me."
"No," I agreed, even an inept bureaucracy like Domino would react if its vice director was kidnapped by its own citizens, "but what do you say to a consultant job?"
A lot of politicians have consultant jobs in my previous reality, the only difference being, Lazar would actually be doing something useful.
"Not a chance!" Lazar rejected the idea outright.
"We'll pay you," I offered him the one thing I thought he couldn't refuse, money.
I didn't know much about Neo Domino economics, but I do know Lazar was living in the streets just days after leaving his job. Vice Directorships usually pay better.
Lazar swallowed, "you can't buy my loyalties," he sounded a lot less resolute this time.
"I don't want you loyalties," I replied sincerely, what the hell would I want his loyalties for? "Just your knowledge and experience, your expertise really." I said sincerely.
Management was much harder than I thought, so was coordination and logistics, something Lazar had more experience with than all of us put together. "How do you think we should deal with the tax revenue agency at Tokyo?"
"That is very valuable information," Lazar nodded gaudily. "And very expensive."
"We'll give you ramen!" Cyril interrupted impatiently, I was about to tell Cyril off when Lazar nodded again.
"That would indeed be appropriate for my position as Vice Director."
I will never understand this world.
And I'm okay with that.
"Vice, vice director?" Blizzard interrupted incredulously. "The Vice Director? Of Domino City?"
"Ah, finally, somebody who appreciates the importance my status and skill," Lazar stood up taller, sounding smug despite being stuck in a glass cage.
"Of course, Director Lazar, Lazar-sama," Blizzard nearly fell over himself rushing forward to open the door, and practically lunged towards the clown inside, "I'm flattered. It's truly an honor to meet you, I'm-"
I snickered. Lazar-sama. I mean yes, Lazar is the Vice Director of Domino, but I just never associated him with anything of, well, importance.
Lazar instinctively flinched as the blond approached, "What do you want?" he asked guardedly, shielding his face from any attack. It's unfortunate that Blizzard chose similar wording to mine when I first met Lazar, so he's sincerity didn't exactly come through.
"He wants nothing," I directed Lazar towards Cyril, "and I want you to optimize our manufacturing team before you leave."
"I can't believe we're actually hiring Lazar." Cyril shook his head, "this is ridiculous, and getting more ridiculous by the second."
He gestured towards Blizzard, now clinging onto the man about half his size, layering on flattery by the bucketful. Lazar looked like he was on cloud nine, probably doesn't get a lot of people who took him seriously.
"You said you'd take anything that moves," I rolled my eyes, "and he would actually know what he's doing." Unlike the rest of us I mean.
"I'll take it from here," Cyril muttered disdainfully as he grabbed our lavender-haired visitor by the arm, dragging him away from Blizzard and towards the back office.
XXX
"So… Should I get Crow?" Blizzard asked sheepishly as he placed a cup of tea by my hand, a luxury item he acquired during his short stent as the leader of the Adaros.
I looked at the tea wistfully, I needed something so much stronger.
"Where is he?" I asked, "I thought he'd be here, fighting Cyril tooth and nail."
"Crow and Nervin are with Martha," Blizzard answered, "Martha said she would keep Crow here until we could convince him to stay."
Martha. I shuddered.
"That's okay." I replied, not wanting to risk meeting Martha, it's freaky, okay?
"I already told Crow," Ara said calmly, "he should be here any second. I asked Nervin and Martha to stay and keep an eye on things at their end."
I smiled at her gratefully.
"Can you get in contact with Akiza?"
"Contact Akiza for what?" Crow barged in, "I told you that I was going to Domino to get Yusei out and that's final. Now tell Nervin to give me my engine back!"
So that's why he's still here.
"I think so," Ara glanced at him sideways, and answered my question, "do you need anything?"
"Tell her Yusei has been arrested," I grinned, "that's as much as I can do from here, let's see how this plays out."
"That's all you're going to do?" Crow demanded, sounding a little less angry.
"It's our best course of action," I replied, "Sector Security is just looking for a reason to shut us down right now."
Sometimes, we can't get the best of both worlds, and sacrifices must be made.
This is not one of those times.
"Plus, he's Yusei, he'll be alright." I added. Rex Goodwin is counting on it.
"I know Yusei can handle himself, but…" Crow trailed off.
"I must remind you that our priorities still lies with the Satellite," Blizzard replied icily, "We must discard our individual greed for the bigger good. It is our duty to fix the Satellite and feed the millions who struggle to survive within it."
I know he's defending me to make up for earlier, but frankly, he's overdoing it. I don't even believe the stuff he's saying.
"I'll let Akiza know then," Ara said gently, "I'm sure she'll get Yusei out okay. And if anything goes wrong, we can go save him then."
XXXAND I DON'T THINK I'LL EVER FIND OUTXXX
A/N: Sometimes, I wonder if the world is going to hell or if I'm just getting older and therefore more aware of everything that's wrong with it. At least infrastructure and economic improvement can be easy in fiction, or at the very least, I could choose not go into detail about the hard part.
A/N 2: I love writing the Goodwin brothers, their methodical insanity just comes so easily to me.
A/N 3: It remains difficult to make economical and social development interesting.