Disclaimer: I do not own YGO 5Ds
I swear I didn't breathe until my feet hit solid ground again. Never mind the flock of helicopters and schools of ships now coming towards the Satellite, I was just relieved I didn't fall to my death! Yay! Forget the hundreds of Sector agents on our tail, forget the 3000 sector security agents still in Domino City*, I'm alive!
Akiza immediately summoned 3 copies of Rose Tentacles. The duel monsters took root on Satellite shore and spewed seeds at the invaders like a giant game of plants versus zombies. Unlike the game though, Satellites has 200 km of shoreline, and Akiza couldn't summon more than five monsters at a time. Nonetheless, she seems to have things under control for now, Blue Rose Dragon flapped a wing to wave goodbye, then shot down another helicopter. That looks like so much fun!
"You're back!" Galen had been waiting by the shore. He gave me a quick hug and let me go just as quickly, "So what's the plan? I have just over a hundred people so I can't hold them off for long."
"You shouldn't have to," I looked on the swarm of sector agents smugly, "Given Rex a call, let him know that we have the Momentum and it's now functional. The threat should be enough to keep all Sector Security out of Domino City indefinitely." People are generally very cautious about attacks when it may lead to mutually assured destruction.
"Sure…" Galen fell in step behind me and as I walked towards our temporary underground headquarter near the dock. Because I refuse to ride Chaos' duel runner again, he was forced to walk behind us, pushing his duel runner.
"Goodwin can't be sure whether taking over the Satellite would force me to detonate the Momentum," I explained, seeing that Galen was not entirely convinced. "There're plenty of people who would rather die than be captured by Sector Security. He doesn't know if I'm one of them, and he doesn't know if I would bring the entire city down with me if it happens."
"Is that something you would do?" Chaos interrupted alarmed.
"Probably not," I admitted, "But I guess nobody really knows until it happens. That's the beauty of it. I don't know, so neither does he. So he's not going to risk it now that he thinks he has the upper hand." And that's why every country wants nuclear weapons.
"That is… Horrifying." Galen breathed out deeply, "And this is somehow implicitly understood between the two of you?"
"I assume so," I did assume Goodwin was smart enough to understand blatant threats of mutual destruction, "If not, we'll make enough explosions to remind him."
"Were you always this cynical or this is Neo Domino talking?" Galen teased, trying to sound lighthearted.
"Nope, this is all me." I replied with a laugh, "Well, Satellite didn't help."
"Then it's a good thing we got you a surprise," He grinned. I could see his dimples whenever he smiles, which made him look even younger than his sixteen-years.
"Surprise?" I asked, amused. The last time I came back from Domino, they surprised me with a hole in my roof.
"Don't worry, you'll love it." Chaos replied confidently.
X
I stepped into our temporary underground hideout with Galen's hands around my eyes, I honestly didn't feel good about this.
"Well? What do you think?" He let go of my eyes and handed me a piece of paper about 3 inches by 3 inches. "Teddy drew it on the tablet and we printed it out. What do you think?"
I said hi to Felice and Cyril in the room, then looked down at the paper in my hand.
I couldn't help gasped when I saw it, it was a portrait, of me! I looked a little older in the picture, though age was hardly the focus. I looked wise and benevolent and powerful! Like I could save or destroy the world at will, but just happened to let it survive. Behind me was the Daedalus Bridge, still half complete, with the wreckage of the Satellite on one side and Neo Domino City on the other. The entire thing was tastefully drawn in varying shades of green, so my radioactive hair fit in perfectly. There was a double border, decorated with two 'X's at each corner. I ran my fingers along the paper and felt the lines making up the picture are actually slightly elevated from the page.
"I love it!" I admitted. While I doubt this had been the best use of our time and resources, I do like the drawing and appreciate the gesture.
"You do?" Felice asked skeptically.
I nodded, no doubt looking appeased. "It's really nice." Weird though, if Teddy drew it, why did it have Chaos' signature underneath?
"Flip it over," Chaos urged with a grin and I complied.
The back was decorated with the same border. In the middle were two Red-Eyes Black Dragons, drawn in shades of green, posed with fire coming out of their mouths. The background was the Dragon Shrine field spell. The poor choice of color scheme took nothing from the image itself and the dragons somehow managed to look fearsome and loyal at the same time.
"This is actually really good," I said sincerely. The drawing did look amazing, though things are beginning to feel a little off. For example, why would they print this picture on the back of the other one?
"I knew you'd like it!" Cyril said cheerfully. "We have more!"
He handed me four more pieces of similarly-sized paper in red, orange, yellow and blue respectively. The front side was all the same, the same drawing of me in front of the Daedalus Bridge, just in different colors. My heart sank a little, beginning to realize what I was actually given. I flipped them over, unsurprisingly, the back had different duel monsters.
The blue one had what was obviously a reprint of Chaos' Black Luster Soldier, complete with his blood stain on the monster's armor. The corners are each marked with an 'L'.
The yellow one had Lightsworn monsters drawn in the foreground. There is a large conspicuous empty space in the back. The double borders had an 'X' at each corner.
"I don't have any of the extra deck monsters yet," Felice explained, "Once I do, I'll get Teddy to draw them in."
"I got Michael, the Arch Lightsworn (lv7, 2600/2000) from Goodwin, I'll give it to you later."
"Cool! Then I can add him to the picture!" Felice said excitedly. "All I need now is Justice Dragon!"
"No. No you cannot." I replied, now having a pretty good idea what I was actually looking at.
As I expected, the orange piece of paper had Yusei's Stardust Dragon with a V at each corner, and the red one had Cyril's Injection Fairy Lily with an 'I' at the corners.
"Galen bet all our money on the Fortune Cup and we were out of cash," Cyril explained, having noticed the twisted expression I had.
"Yuki asked me to!" Galen defended himself.
"So we printed these IOUs and handed them out to our employees instead." Cyril ignored him and continued.
"They can be traded for anything we sell in our stores, so it's not like this is a rip-off," Chaos said a little defensively, misinterpreting the look on my face. "It's not like we're giving people scraps of paper for work they did."
I slapped my face into my hand. "You did NOT just issue currency while I was in Domino!" I honestly would have preferred coming back to a hole in my roof.
"Currency? What are you talking about?" Felice denied immediately, "We didn't print money! This is just something we printed that lets people trade for stuff. It's making life easier for everybody because they don't have to barter with actual goods anymore."
"So instead, these IOUs are being traded for goods and services." I said through clenched teeth.
Felice nodded slowly as the realization hit her.
"And what exactly do you think currency is?" I continued, letting my sarcasm drip into every word.
"I don't know, but it definitely shouldn't have my signature on it." Chaos said reasonably.
"It shouldn't," I agreed, "Except that it now does."
"Hey, we left the biggest bills for you to decide on." Cyril tried to cheer me up, "Do you want Six Samurais or Shaddolls on the back?"
"I guess Shaddoll Win- Wait, no, that's not the point!"
My mind blanked for a second, not sure how to react past the initial wtf phase. Issuing your own currency is just not something sane people consider regularly. Though I guess it might be useful in the Satellite, I mean there has to be a reason every country has their own currency. Right? ... I wonder what that reason is...
"Do you know how messed up this could become?" I demanded. I never went into economics, or really understood it, but routine exposure to the internet did give me an idea of what could go very wrong.
"What are you talking about?" Felice raised an eyebrow, "The Satellite needs money and so do we. What's the problem?"
"Let's say that I were, I don't know, Rex Goodwin," I suggested with a facetious smile, "And I know the Zephyrs don't have a lot of products in the warehouse. So I collect a bunch of the money you issued, and try to cash them all in at once, knowing you don't have enough products in stock. When you can't, everybody in the Satellite would become suspicious and they would all try to cash in too and then the reputation you've built in the Satellite collapse overnight."
Truth is, there's probably many other ideas that I can't even think up because I never understood monetary policy.
"Do you want us to take it back?" Cyril asked, slightly discouraged.
I debated my options. I could take the money back and pretend like it never happened. It would be safer, but at the same time, we'd lose a lot of credit with the public to retract our policies this quickly. On the other hand, our currency would just give Goodwin one more weapon to use against me, which he would when he finds out we stole the Momentum.
On the other, other hand, I look really pretty in that picture.
"Yes and no. We'll issue replace this with new bills not linked to any solid products." There're probably a number other ways this could still backfire, but a relatively independent economic system might be useful for what I have planned next...
"Whatever you want." Chaos had given up trying to understand what was going on about three minutes ago, "What excuse do you want to use?"
"I don't like the design." I supplied immediately, and it was true. "I mean drawings are good, but the designs are completely inappropriate and even the shape's wrong, it's pretty much a square."
"Why can't it be a square?" Cyril asked and I didn't have an answer.
"Anyway, we're not going to have duel monsters on our money." I changed the subject.
"What do you have against duel monsters?" Felice grumbled as she flipped through my side deck, picking out Vigil, Rock star of the Burning Abyss and adding it to her own deck.
"The money we issue is a direct representation of us," I explained, I actually had a good reason this time, "Every time somebody uses money, they are reminded of us. So the symbols we use should bring about a sense of unity and shared identity. There're basically two reasons to put something on currency, either it helps to build a sense of belonging to the Zephyrs, or we're trying to get people to identify with whatever it is we're putting on the currency. So we're not printing duel monsters, and we're certainly not putting a picture of the Daedalus Bridge."
"What's wrong with the Bridge?" Chaos asked, "It's the first thing people think of, if they think about the Satellite at all. It represents hope for this City."
"The future of this city will not be represented by the hope to leave it," I snickered.
Currency is a representation of the State and Sovereignty, 'leaving the Satellite' should not be the first thing people associate the Satellite with. Not our Satellite at least. It's bad for morale.
"You didn't mention getting rid of your own picture," Felice noted with a coy smile, I coughed and looked away, feeling a blush creeping up my cheeks. I reached a hand up to my face, yep, my face was definitely heating up. I will succumb to pride once in a while. Plus, it is a really nice picture.
"We can keep your portrait," Chaos ruffled my hair and pulled his hand away before I could bite him, "What else do you want on there?"
"I don't know," I admitted, "Like the Development, the Pier, the roads we built, even the Momentum. Be creative."
X
"I guess the good news bit didn't go so well, huh?" Galen coughed, a little embarrassed.
"That was the good news?" I asked shakily, flicking the rainbow-colored pieces of paper in my hand, "Is there a bad news bit?"
"Well, do you remember how you told me that you don't want anybody to get you from Neo Domino until we get the Momentum up and running in the Satellite?" Galen took a step back at the twisted look on my face.
"Yes?" I scrunched up the money in my fist.
Galen flinched. "Well, technically, the Momentum is running fine. "
I growled.
"We were worried you wouldn't be safe in Neo Domino," Cyril defended, "I mean we were also worried that if you spent too much time in Domino, you wouldn't want to come back, but mostly the first thing. Plus, it's not that a big deal, I mean, the Momentum's working fine."
"Get to the point." I managed through clenched teeth.
"We've turned the Momentum up as high as it'll go," Galen explained, "But it'll still take years to drain the Netherworld monster dry. In other words, there's no way to make it in time for the Battle between Light and Darkness."
My original plan was to destroy the Netherworld monster by absorbing all its energy using the Momentum. According to Roman, the monster itself is made entirely of energy, so when it's used up, it's gone. This way, we can avoid the final duels between Signers and Dark Signer.
"That's fine. Plans change. Does this machine still take energy from the Ruler of the Netherworld and Crimson Dragon?" I wasn't as upset as I thought I would be. With all the supernatural powers lurking about, I didn't feel confident enough to destroy the Crimson Dragon, and I certainly wasn't going to destroy the Ruler of the Netherworld alone.
"Yeah," Galen replied, "You said that's what you wanted. To avoid this world being overwhelmed with dark energy, right?"
"Right."
Of course, that was complete BS. The whole 'dark energy overwhelming this dimension' thing I mean.
I made it up.
When I realized these 'gods' were made of energy, my initial reaction was to use the Momentum to destroy Ruler of the Netherworld like the Crimson Dragon had asked me to.
Then I actually put some thought into it.
I could completely drain the Netherworld monster of course. That way, I didn't need to defeat any Dark Signers at all, but frankly, I'd rather keep that as a very, very last resort.
In the order of last resorts, it goes:
Defeating Dark Signers in a children's card game;
Dueling all Dark Signers with (inherently crappy) Exodia decks;
Placing a bounty on all Dark Signers to be defeated by dueling or otherwise;
Murder all Dark Signers and hope for less competent replacements; place my last hopes in Yusei;
Then drain the Netherworld monster completely thereby killing it, if all else fails.
You see, maintenance is all about balance. More specifically, maintaining this world is about not having ridiculously powerful monsters run unchecked when the human race cannot yet begin to comprehend its powers.
There's the Ruler of the Netherworld of course, who has powers beyond what we can yet understand.
But there's also the Crimson Dragon, which is equally or arguably more powerful. And it is kept in check by Ruler of the Netherworld...
You see where I'm getting at.
If the Demon dies, the dragon has nothing more to rein it in, nothing more for which it would require human assistance. It doesn't matter if the dragon is 'supposed to be' good, or even if it is Good, a power disequilibrium like that, for millennia to come, is beyond dangerous, it's suicidal. For all we know, the lizard is just a hiccup away from believing the Kuribohs should rule the world. It may not, sure, but the whimsy of a creature we cannot understand is a lot on which to bet the future of our species.
So either both gods live, or both die.
It also doesn't help that I have constantly wondered if the Crimson Dragon had killed me in my previous world. I mean, it would just be too much of a coincidence for the Dragon to choose a mortal of its liking to bring into the YGO world, and then that mortal happens to die of unnatural causes.
Of course I can't say that. I don't know the extent of the powers of the Crimson Dragon, or even if it was omniscient. So I made up the BS about negative energy. I might as well have said the Netherworld demon was messing up my chi.
"So, what are we going to do?" Cyril asked, bringing me back from my reverie, "If we can't destroy the Netherworld monster?"
"We'll have to defeat the Dark Signers one-by-one," I admitted grudgingly.
"Kessler said the Netherworld monster needs at least one Dark Signer in this world to stay here. If you can save Vincent like you did for Kessler, we can take the rest out the old-fashioned way." Felice offered cheerfully.
"Maybe try not to kill Ara," Chaos added, annoyed at Felice's casual violent streak. "She was one of us too, remember?"
None of them seemed remotely concerned what would happened to the rest of the Dark Signers. Then again, I shouldn't judge. I've been mulling over how to destroy the gods.
Inside the Neo Domino hospital, Jack Atlas had had enough lying in around in bed.
"Did you see that?" He asked Carly excitedly as he finished watching the duel for the third time in a row.
"Yes Jack. I did. I watched it before I came over to show it to you. Then I watched it with you every time you watched it." Carly rolled her eyes, trying to push Jack back onto the hospital bed. "I just thought I'd bring you something so you didn't get bored in the hospital." And didn't expect him to get this worked up over a game Yuki had with Sector Security.
"Are you kidding, that was the most powerful deck I've ever seen!" Jack flipped shut Carly's laptop with a click, "She didn't use a single speed spell in that duel and she still won. If this is how far Tono had gotten, I wonder how powerful Yusei is right now."
"I'm sure you can defeat them after you get better," Carly comforted him, "And you'll be my champion no matter what, Jack."
"Thanks Carly," Jack replied uncomfortably, not really sure if he cared at all but still trying not to hurt her feelings, "But I want to be the Champion. Only then would I deserve to be yours."
"Oh Jack!" Carly gushed.
Darn it, he might have gone too far with that line.
The newly minted Dark Signer Greiger torn through Satellite roads, weaving in and out of traffic on his black duel runner until other cars on the road was a blur. He couldn't contain his excitement in facing the Signers and get his just revenge against all those who stole his family away.
His runner glided through the new smooth petroleum roads, jealousy welled up inside him. All along the road, shops were being opened and filled with satellites, those who had money in their pockets for the first time in a decade (that's when currency got phased out) eager to purchase necessities of life they hadn't seen in since Zero Reverse. The shop owners, the more daring of the satellite population, looked much like dogs with a bone, ecstatic over what they have and terrified each shadow would come and steal it away. The roads themselves were being filled with cars and duel runners, the distant humming of machinery signaled the highly profitable electronics churned out along the shores, to be shipped into the world and bring more products into shops in the city. The pedestrians had the look of hopeful determination only seen on those seeing their dreams within reach and working toward them. It was everything he had dreamt of for his village, now he sees it here, after everybody he ever cared about is dead.
Looking back, Greiger could honestly say that he had done everything he could for his family and his village. Yet he still failed, while a kidnapper and liar flourished in the Satellite. Now he could go and make thing right, there's no way somebody who would kidnap children could be trusted to run a city.
He watched with glee as he left other drivers in the dust, watching as they scramble and struggle to get out of his way.
"Eeeoooeeoooeeeooo."
Greiger heard the sirens from the Zephyrs security team and sped up. Those Satellite scum must have caught on to him.
"Would the black duel runner please pull over?"
Greiger ignored the voice behind him and floored the gas.
"The rider in the brown crop top! This is Zephyrs security, please pull over at the side of the road!"
At the second prompt from the Zephyrs security team, Greiger noticed the cars in front of him slowing down and moving towards the side of the road, leaving the road clear. While the Zephyr runners did not yet seem to be catching up, he could see more security runners up ahead, waiting to crowd him off the road. Greiger was forced to slow down as well.
"Good morning, sir," The officer saluted, "Do you have a license and registration within the Satellite?"
Greiger looked at him as though he just tried to perform a synchro summon without a tuner monster.
The officer was obviously used to the confusion and nodded briefly, "I pulled you over because you were driving 250 in a 30 road." He paused, realizing Greiger didn't understood a word he just said. "We have speed limits in the Satellite, motorized vehicles cannot drive faster than 30 miles/hr."
"30 miles per hour?" Greiger repeated, unable to help himself "30 miles per hour?"
"That's roughly 45km/hr," The officer clarified helpfully.
Greiger pulled out a special permit he received from Rex Goodwin when he was still working for that man. "Official Neo Domino business, get out of my way."
"I'm sorry sir, I'm afraid the Satellite is now private property, so permits from Neo Domino don't apply here."The officer explained, not the first time judging by his tone"We have a lot of new drivers." And that's why he was able to leave them all in the dust, Greiger realized.
"Also turbo dueling on the road is strictly prohibited." He ignored Greiger's gasp and continued, "Your duel runner is not yet registered with the Satellite, so I will register it now. You will get 1 demerit point for this first speeding ticket, and 3 points thereafter. Your temporary license..."
He just went on, and on and on. Greiger stared at his lips move with awe, how did the Satellite go from a handful of duel runners to... This? Whatever this is.
Having stayed in the middle of nowhere for most of his life, Greiger struggles to recognize modern civilization, its setbacks and all.
Lazar shuddered, hesitating in front of Goodwin's door, finally working himself up to go inside. A chair smashed against the wall beside him as he opened the door, Lazar flinched again.
"Uh-Director Goodwin, sir," Lazar whimpered. Goodwin had been like this since Tono escaped to the Satellite. Lazar really didn't want to give him more bad news right now, but it doesn't look like he has a choice. "The Satellite sent a message for you."
"Well?" Goodwin turned around, annoyed.
"The kid on the line said they have the Momentum up and running already, and if we don't withdraw our troops from the Satellite, they can't promise what they'll do." Lazar took a deep breath and said everything as quickly as possible, hoping to get out of the room before Goodwin explodes.
"You know," Rex Goodwin mused, "I do wonder if I should have taken your advice on Yuki Tono."
He was losing control, Rex knew, what he threw was nothing short of a temper tantrum. Yuki's escape had stirred up old memories he would rather bury. What are the chances that someone would again attempt to cross the divide between Satellite and Neo Domino City. And how fitting that they only succeeded with help from the god he hopes to tame*. It felt like an old ghost being dug up and flayed back to death.
Then there's the issue of her betrayal. It's not fair to say that he trusted Tono, but he was definitely restrained. When she escaped, her entire stay was proven to be nothing more than a front to steal the Momentum. Any control he had thought he had was an illusion, and the Fortune Cup Tournament he orchestrated became nothing more than a farce. This whole time, she had been playing him for a fool.
"And our troops?" Lazar prompted carefully.
"Vice Director Lazar, on my orders, withdraw our troops from the Satellite." Goodwin commanded shortly. He was fairly sure the Zephyrs would not use the Momentum. But fairly is not good enough. He wasn't going to risk his life on those odds, however slim they may be. And therein lies the power of the Momentum, a deterrent against any immediate and definitive military action.
"Y-yes, sir." Lazar replied shakily, cowering at the quiet fury burning behind Goodwin's eyes.
"Increase tariffs, I mean taxes," Goodwin corrected himself, "On all imports to the Satellite to 100%, and all exports to 200%." Because round numbers are convenient.
"Of course, right away, Director." Lazar agreed, glad at least the anger wasn't directed towards him.
"And tell our plants in the Satellite to be liberal with the rations this month." Goodwin said after a pause, quietly plotting his revenge. Those satellites need to learn their place, there are a million and one ways he could remind them of that.
"Uh-" Lazar thought he must have misheard, "Increase food distribution in the Satellite?"
"Yes, and let's hold imports of all edible products into Satellite."
"B-but sir?" Lazar stuttered, "but, you can possibly! Isn't that going too far, even for the Satellite?" Satellite only had two sources of food, Neo Domino plants and imports. Without the latter, everyone who doesn't have a job at a City plant would starve.
"Don't be ridiculous, Vice Director Lazar," Goodwin's gleeful smile sent a chill down Lazar's spine, "Due to unscrupulous private purchases from the Satellite, there has been increasing reports of food poisoning and general safety concerns in the Satellite, prompting this inspection after public request. We will temporarily suspend all imports for the next two weeks, and review the results at that time."
Lazar nodded mutely. Two weeks, that's how long the average human can survive without food.
"And take a look at the new money the Zephyrs issued," Goodwin was at least experienced enough to recognize these IOUs for what they are, "I want a prototype on my desk by next week."
"Of course Director," Lazar replied smoothly, having collected himself, "You'll get it in three days." He was halfway through the forgeries anyway.
Not taking military actions doesn't mean there's nothing he could do, far from it. The Satellite would soon learn the consequences of angering Rex Goodwin.
* As mentioned earlier, there's one to two hundred thousand people in Neo Domino. Normally, the police force is about 1% of the population, taking into account some minimal security maintenance in the Satellite, I set the Domino Sector Security at 3000 people.
*Everybody in the show seems to think Akiza's mark and her psychic powers are related for some reason, so that's what Goodwin thinks too. And of course, Goodwin wants to harness the powers of both Ruler of the Netherworld and the Crimson Dragon.
A/N: It amuses me to think of turbo duels vs normal roads with speed limits.
A/N 2:So yeah, the 'surprise' is currency in the Satellite. In case it's not obvious yet, the Zephyrs are slowly evolving into a political faction :D And I did mention the Netherworld monster wouldn't be destroyed by the Momentum didn't I？