Disclaimer: I do not own YGO 5Ds
A/N: I do not necessarily endorse anything any of the characters believe in this story.
Luna and Leo stayed crouched down in one of the many abandoned warehouses while Sayer's soldiers searched for them throughout the Arcadia compound. Their numerous close calls were only possible thanks to Luna's Kuribon, who's floating by them right now. The duel monsters Luna summons can choose to become invisible to humans who do not possess any magical powers, so Kuribon has been acting as their scout to avoid the guards. But even Luna knew this wouldn't last long, it was only a matter of time before Kuribon is seen by a psychic duelist.
"Go." Luna urged again. "Go get help, it's our only chance."
"I can't just leave you here Luna!" Leo repeated. "I'm your big brother, it's my job to protect you!"
"But-" Luna protested weakly, cut off as Leo held a hand over her mouth to stifle her gasp of pain as another guard inched closer.
"Can't you send your monsters out for help?" Leo whispered.
"I can't send them out that far yet," Luna whispered back, "If they get too far away, they disappear.
As previously mentioned, cellphones are not accessible to the public due to the lack of commercial satellites, despite the technology being readily available. This again illustrates the importance of a reliable police force, as well as why two ten-year-olds shouldn't be left alone in a metropolis, whether or not they have enough money to survive.
"We can't keep going like this," Leo muttered, "We have to find a way out! Maybe if I can just distract them long enough, you can go get help!"
Both kids knew, their 'help' lies in their friend Yusei, who resides in the Satellite, but neither knew how to find him.
"There is a way," Luna murmured softly, "Maybe I can get Yusei to come find us."
"How?" Leo barely had time to ask before Luna suddenly ran out into the open. Despite wearing sneakers, her footsteps echoed in the empty hallway, catching the attention of the guards.
"Luna!" Leo chased after her without a second thought.
"I'll go with you." Luna said shakily, her voice gradually getting louder as she spoke, "As long as Sayer beats me in a duel!
X
"You? Want to duel me?" Sayer laughed at the girl in front of him. They're not much more than half his height and looked like a leprechaun standing in front of him. "I'm afraid I have no interest in dueling you, dear Luna. I am well-aware of your powers and have no need to test them in a duel. Your brother, however, remains a mystery."
"Fine, then I'll duel you! And if I win, you'll let us go!" Leo demanded firmly.
"You must first claim victory before naming demands." Sayer dismissed him. Of course he wasn't going to let them go. If Leo win, it just speaks more to their potential. Either way, as long as he has the boy in his possession, Luna isn't going anywhere.
Luna looked at Leo worriedly. They know not to trust Sayer to keep up his end of the bargain, even ten-year-olds were taught not to trust strangers who tried to kidnap them. But it was the only way they could think of to get in touch with Yusei.
"We won't duel you here!" Leo interjected, "I don't trust you, who knows if you have something that can spy on us! I'll only gonna duel you in the open!"
"So you're planning an escape?" Sayer jeered.
"I would never run from a duel!" Leo looked insulted. "We just want to duel you fair and square! Then there's no way we can lose! Tell you what, we'll duel you up there!" He pointed angrily to the roof of the Arcadia building, "Well? Are you game or are you chicken?"
"I'll teach you the rules of Arcadia in a duel first, perhaps then you'll learn to behave properly in front of your elders," Sayer agreed to the duel. As a psychic duelist, he can give Leo a duel he'll never forget.
"Let's duel!" Leo said after they had followed Sayer up the elevator and onto the roof.
Turn 1: Sayer's Turn. Sayer 4000, Leo 4000
"Allow me to begin," Sayer said in a characteristic condescending tone. "I summon Psychic Snail (lv4, 1900/0) in attack mode. I'll place two cards face down and end my turn. The field is all yours. I am eager to learn of your potentials, do not disappoint me."
Turn 2: Leo's Turn. Sayer 4000, Leo 4000
"If you want to win, you'll definitely be disappointed!" Leo shot back, "Your monster may be powerful, but I got a few tricks of my own up my sleeves. Me and my machines are gonna totally wipe the floors with you! I summon Morphtronics Celfon (lv1, 100/100) to the field. He's not much to look at, but his effect lets me roll a dice and look through that many cards in my deck. I rolled a 5, so I get to look at the top 5 cards in my deck and special summon any monster I like. I choose Morphtronic Scopen (lv3, tuner, 1200/400) in attack mode. Scopen will help me to special summon Morphtronics Boomboxen (lv4, 1200/800) to the field. I tune my Morphtronics Celfon to my level 3 Scopen to synchro summon, Armory Arm (lv4, 1800/500). Next, I'll equip Boomboxen with Armory Arm, increasing his attack by 1000 to 2200! Boomboxen, attack and destroy Psychic Snail!"
The magical humanoid snail was sliced to pieces by the crude imitation of a boombox.
"And now, my Armory Arm's effect activates," Leo said smugly. "Every single one of your Psychic Snail's attack points will be dealt to your life points as damage."
Sayer's face tightened as his life points dropped to 1800.
"That's not all." Leo continued with a cocky laugh, "My Boomboxen has a special effect too, he gets to attack twice per turn so I can wipe your life points out in one turn! Boomboxen, Sonic Blast!"
"I activate Emergency Teleportation to bring Krebon from my deck onto the field, in attack mode!" Sayer flipped over one of his two facedown cards. "I pay 800 LPs and Krebon negates your attack!"
"Aww," Leo pouted, "I almost won in a single turn. Oh well. I'll beat you next turn then. I'll put one card face down and end my turn."
Turn 3: Sayer''s Turn. Sayer 1000, Leo 4000
"I applaud your efforts Leo, there may be some hope for you after all." Sayer clasped his hands together, "But let's finish the duel first. I will start by summoning Serene Psychic Witch (lv3, 1400/1200). I tune her with Krebon to synchro summon Magical Android (lv5, 2400/1700) in attack mode.
That's stronger than his Boomboxen already, Leo winced, but at least he laid a trap down first.
"I hope to finish this quickly, so I will continue with a spell, Polymerization!"
"A fusion monster?" Leo gasped. Ever since the advent of Synchros, fusion monsters had largely fallen out of favor, so you can bet when one shows up, it's going to be powerful.
"I fuse Magical Android on my field with Mental Seeker in my hand to fusion summon, Ultimate Axon Kicker (Lv10, 2900/1700)!"
"Wow that's a big dragon!" Leo arched his neck to study the duel monster on the field, it was even more powerful than his powertools dragon!
"Ultimate Axon Kicker, attack and finish this duel!" Sayer ordered.
"Hah! Not so fast! I activate Sakuretsu Armor!" Leo flipped over his facedown card victoriously. "This is the armor of the fallen, their combined spirit will destroy any attacking monster! My Boomboxen is safe!"
"Not quite." Sayer replied, "Ultimate Axon Kicker's special ability protects it from being destroyed by any card effect."
"What?" Leo said disbelievingly. "That's just not fair!"
Sayer chuckled at the childish comment, "I will also aid him with a spell card from my hand, Battle Fusion. For this turn, the attack of my monster will increase by the attack of the monster it attacks."
"Ultimate Axon Kicker already has 2900 attack points, if you add Boomboxen's 2200, that's... That's... Um.. That's" Leo struggled.
"5100." Luna couldn't help interjecting from the sidelines. Even in the middle of a duel, she couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed. She had always told Leo to study harder in school instead of spending all his time in duel monsters.
"5100!" Leo repeated, before the force of the attack knocked him backwards, causing him to almost fly off the roof.
"Leo!" Luna rushed forward as Leo's life points dropped to 1100.
"I, I'm f-fine, Luna." Leo managed to get back onto his feet, trying to stop his body from trembling in pain so Luna wouldn't worry. "It's nothing. He can't beat me that easily."
"This is a psychic duel," Sayer stated dismissively, "I'm a psychic duelist. All the damage I deal will be felt by my opponent Ultimate Axon Kicker uses that energy to heal me. Thanks to his special ability, I gain life points equal to Boomboxen's attack." Sayer's life points now stood comfortably at 3200.
"I'll still defeat you!" Leo glared at Sayer, "No matter how much you try to hurt me!"
"You have already lost your chance at victory and it's sad you don't see that." Sayer replied, "Because now I activate the spell, De-Fusion. I return my monster back to the deck to special summon Mental Seeker (lv3, 800/600) and Magical Android (lv5, 2400/1700) to my field."
"Leo..." Luna murmured. Though both of them knew their goal was never to win this duel, it still hurt her to see Leo like this.
"Now, Mental Seeker, attack!" Sayer commanded.
"Wait, stop!" Luna shouted from the sidelines. "Why are you doing this?"
Every attack by Sayer's monsters are dealing Leo real damage. With 1100 life points remaining, Sayer's Magical Android is more than enough to finish the duel.
"Both of you must learn, Luna," Sayer turned to her with a mirthless smile, "Disobedience will be punished."
Mental Seeker's attack hit Leo first, bringing him to his knees. Before he could get up again, a blast from Magical Android sent him toppling backwards, until he tripped against the ledge and fell off the roof.
"Leo!" Luna screamed. A bright red light shone through her right sleeve as her arm is finally tattooed with the Hand of the Crimson Dragon.
Before Sayer even did anything, a Kuribon appeared, catching Leo in its mouth and dragging him back into safety. In calling to her powers, she had summoned a physical monster for the first time to save her brother.
She rushed to her brother's side, cradling Leo's head on her knees. Leo was barely conscious, blood oozed out of his mouth at an alarming rate.
"That was an unforeseen setback, I see no reason he shouldn't recover fully very soon under our care," Sayer looked down at the two kids, explaining himself away.
Luna didn't answer, instead, she picked up Leo's deck, carefully searching through it.
"Do you want to play too? I've seen your duels Luna, I'm afraid you have even less chance than your brother." Sayer commented. "That is not where your strengths lie. You're a psychic duelist, and you must learn to harness that power for the sake of psychic duelists everywhere. Too long we have been shunned for our skills, when it is clear that we are the superior species, a new direction for the human race. They fear us, just like you must have heard the whispers behind your back, accusing you of being weird, stupid, insane."
Seeing his words having little effect, Sayer changed his tactics. "How many friends do you have other than your brother?"
That finally got Luna's attention, she frowned slightly without looking up.
"Why do you think Leo is so protective of you?" Sayer continued, "If not because he knows what's out there waiting for you. He might have the same powers you do, don't you want to build a world where your brother won't be shunned for what he is?"
Luna finally found what she was looking for. She took out the Powertool Dragon from Leo's deck and summoned it. The large mechanical dragon raised into the air far higher than the duel disks would allow. Luna struggled, channeling all her powers into the monster so it would grow larger and fly even higher.
Sayer tensed up instinctively, before realizing this was merely a hologram like Luna's previous conjurings.
"And what good will that do?" He asked, then his brain clicked. "You little twerps, you wanted to come to roof to summon that monster all along!"
There was no way for the twins to get out, but Leo's signature monster flying in the sky might just be enough to get Yusei and Akiza come sniffling around.
"I will never help you, Mr. Sayer," Luna looked up, standing up. She was hardly at eye-level with Sayer, but she nonetheless looked every bit his equal, "I have heard from Akiza what you do, what Arcadia does. Psychic duelists aren't accepted yet, I know that. I would have had a lot more friends if they were, I know that too. But I won't help you attack innocent people who just happened to be scared of the power we have. I'm scared of it, why shouldn't they be?"
"You realize what this means?" Sayer warned ominously.
"I was raised by duel monsters, Mr. Sayer," Luna replied firmly, "And they raised me better than that."
Another problem child, preteen verging on rebellious teenager. Sayer rolled his eyes, what else is new? Not like he hadn't dealt with a hundred and one of those kids before. Nothing a bit of Stockholm Syndrome won't fix.
"Where's Yusei?" I asked, "Actually, forget Yusei, where's Akiza?"
Akiza's the linchpin of our entire plan, being the only one with magical powers to summon magical beasties to fight against other people with magical beasties.
"They went to the pier," Galen offered absentmindedly, "They said they felt another Signer in distress, and after seeing the hologram Powertools Dragon, they set off towards Neo Domino."
Great, Luna. I realized immediately. Leo's the only one with Powertools Dragon and Luna's the only one who can summon a hologram like this, it's not rocket science to put one and one together.
"Actually, we have another problem," He began.
"Just do whatever you want," I dismissed. I had to get them back. Sector Security has been watching Satellite shores closer than the Fortune Cup finals, there's no way either of them would cross into Neo Domino without start a small war.
X
"Pick up a ten-year old girl?" Lazar muttered angrily, "What's next, walk his dog? Water his plants? I'm the Vice Director of Domino City for god's sake, not some glorified maid."
Rex Goodwin had disappeared from Neo Domino, leaving behind him only the instructions to locate and obtain the ten-year old girl, Luna. At least Satellite's paying him for getting her to safety, so he'll get something out of it.
X
"Jack?" Mina stepped into the room of his champion cheerfully, "Director Goodwin finally say yes. The helicopter's ready, we can go whenever you want."
"Great! Good work Mina." Jack complimented, the good news distracting him from the pain in the mark on his arm"Let's get back to the Satellite."
He took a deep breath, ready to face the past he thought he had left behind.
"Hey Jack, wait for me!" Carly snapped her laptop shut, there's no way she was gonna miss this story.
Late into the night, deep inside the Old Reactor, the duel between the leaders of Light and Darkness had just ended. Hidden from the eyes of the public just like the entire Battle itself.
"What happened?" Roman looked so grave he could have been mistaken for a dead man that was never converted to Dark Signer status. He all but ran across the dueling arena, crouching onto the floor on all fours, fumbling around to look through Rex's deck. Though having just lost the duel, Rex couldn't help jeering at his brother's hysterics.
"What happened?" Roman demanded again. He stood up abruptly, grabbing Rex by the collar of his shirt and pulling his younger brother up into a kneeling position from where he had been sitting on the ground. "What were you thinking? You can't win with a deck like this!"
"And so I didn't." Rex replied breezily, sitting back onto his heels on the floor.
Roman looked into his brother's eyes, seeing naked ambition burning inside his grey eyes for the first time, after his younger brother finally decided to drop the mask he had been wearing all these years. For the first time since his death, Roman felt fear.
Before Roman had fallen victim to the God of the Netherworld's powers, he had entrusted the Sign of the Crimson Dragon to Rex Goodwin, his own flesh and blood. In this Battle of Light and Darkness, Rex was supposed to lead the Light to victory.
Roman had taken the utmost care in selecting his fellow Dark Signers, duelists whom he thought were equal in skill and ability to the Signers
Let's be honest, they weren't the brightest marbles in the drawer. He could see them win a couple of local championships, but he doubt any of them would even make it nationally. Nor did he spend too much time on procuring the best decks for himself or the others. Struggling against his Destiny had only brought him pain and misery in the past, so this time, Roman would leave the Battle and the future of humanity to Fate and Fate alone. Then Rex has to come ruin his perfect plans.
"But why Rex?" Roman could barely keep his voice from shaking, "You were the best chance the Light will ever have."
"Light? Is that what you call It?" Rex mocked. "I call It the Crimson Dragon."
"What's the difference?" Roman asked hurriedly. He still gets breaks when his mind is free from the Ruler of the Netherworld, but those times are becoming shorter and fewer in between.
"The difference Roman?" Rex repeated incredulously. "Millions die every year from war and famine. Both entirely preventable, yet humanity has been living and dying in misery for as long as it remembers. Under the Crimson Dragon's reign, we suffered through four world wars in three centuries, until the human population is a mere fraction of what it had been, and you call That Beast the Light?"
"This is a battle of the Gods, Rex. This is not a war for us to interfere." Roman had learned the feeble nature of humanity's fight against these magical beasts, he was not about to repeat that mistake. That's why he had hand-selected Dark Signers who were perfectly matched in ability to the Signers. In the countless simulations he had ran, the each side would win exactly 50% of the time without the help of either god.
If thiis Battle is between the gods, let them fight without assistance or deterrents from humanity.
If this battle was to decide the Fate of Humanity, then let Fate decide which path Humanity would lead.
"We're stuck in the middle already Roman. Humanity happens to be their battlefield and we're the pieces they're playing with. After These Beasts had watched humanity's sufferings the past five thousand years, do you still call them your God? Where was the Crimson Dragon when plagues roamed the land? When the flu took millions of lives? When slums became the norm rather than the exception after the last war? When I toiled and starved in the Satellite? Or when Professor Fudo was blown to a thousand pieces and begged for death all the while?"
"So you think you'll pray for mercy from the Ruler of the Netherworld?" Roman laughed derisively. No one knew the nature of that beast better than him, and Rex truly is insane if he thinks the Darker of the two gods were a better Ruler for this world.
"Of course not." Rex replied immediately, "I have no intent in establishing either Creatures to their reign."
He would have gladly worshiped at the feet of anything that would bring peace and prosperity to humanity.
The Ruler of the Netherworld isn't that god.
Neither is the Crimson Dragon.
"Humanity hardly needs you as its god!" Roman exclaimed in disbelief as he finally understood Rex's implications.
"Humanity hardly needs the gods it has." Rex rebuked
"If I were the sole bearer of the Mark of the Crimson Dragon and the Ruler of the Netherworld, they would have no choice but to channel their powers through me. With that power, I could reshape humanity to the way we've always dream of! For once, that power would actually be used for good!"
"You're insane." Roman asserted with a resigned finality.
"Change doesn't originate from hopes, dreams or willpower, brother. To exact change, to be the change you want to see," Rex chuckled at the cliched expression, "You need power. Andvnow I'm finally at a position to get that power. I can change this world. I can right every wrong we've ever seen, transformed this world just like I've transformed Neo Domino. I could shape humanity into the way it was meant to be!" Rex did indeed have an insane look in his eyes, "All I need is both gods under my control!"
"How do you know I won't stop you? You may have won the duel, but right now, you're not nearly as strong as you might think." Roman answered.
"And what are you going to do, o brother mine? Kill me?" Rex beamed up at his big brother with an almost coquettish grin, having complete faith in the other man's concern for him. He waved his intact right arm in front of Roman mockingly, on it was the off-pink shape of a vulture, the markings of Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca. Roman had instinctively given it to him to save his life.
Roman paused to weigh that option seriously before discarding it almost immediately. Humanity might be at stake, but there was no way he would murder his little brother to save it. What did he care about the human race if Rex wasn't part of it?
"This is too dangerous." Roman said finally. "For you."
"I made a deal with the Devil just to get out of the Satellite," Rex shrugged, "I have nothing left to lose."
A/N: I really liked the Goodwins' scene in the anime, it offered quite a bit of depth to Roman's character in less than a minute. Roman's surprise and dismay at having won the duel with Rex was very suggestive of his true plans.
I went a bit further with that.
As you might have already noticed, I'm rather fond of Roman Goodwin. He's the sane Dark Signer, and one of the few people in the show whose actions mostly make sense. I did always feel like the Dark Signers' decks were frankly pathetic relative to the amount of resources they had. Roman literally had 17 years, during which he had the support of an evil demi god and the power to brainwash people, and his only job was to get good cards and good duelists. He still ended up recruiting 2 people (Carly and Greiger) at the last minute. He's either the worst procrastinator in YGO or he's got something else on his mind.
Plus, the people whom he presumably recruited first, Devak and Misty, both sucked at the only thing they needed to be good at, children's card games. They lost miserably to people like Yusei who had to, you know, survive. Or Akiza, for whom card games never really were a priority. Or even Leo and Luna, ten-year olds with homework and school and the inherent handicap of being ten years old. It must take some talent to be that bad at a children's card game.
When he recruited Carly in the anime, I took it as a sign he just didn't want to win. XD
Anyway, I took the idea and ran with it. I thought it really explains the Signers' victories better than dumb luck.
A/N 2: Also, does anybody know what Luna's last name is? I have half a mind to name her Luna Lovegood LOL
A/N 3: Happy Halloween! XD If the Satellite actually celebrated Halloween and took it seriously. Halloween content has been taken down owing to the fact it is no longer Halloween, what's more, I'm completely out of candy.