Disclaimer: I don't own ygo 5ds
Roman have always had a Messiah complex, Rex mused, rolling his eyes childishly into the back of his head as far as it would go. His big brother just has to play the hero, even though both of them knew it was only pretend.
For all of Roman's indignation, he was still the one who had fallen to the Shadows, and for good reason. Roman is greedy. Always had been. It wasn't enough that he was part of professor Fudo's team, his unqualified little brother had to be too. It wasn't enough that he had the mark of the Crimson Dragon, he needed the Other. It wasn't enough for Rex to fight for the Light, Roman wanted to manipulate both the paths of Light and Darkness, even after he had fallen victim to the Ruler of the Netherworld.
In this little setup he's got, either the Ruler of the Netherworld wins and Roman lives to serve his Lord. Or the Crimson Dragon wins and Romans gets the satisfaction of knowing he saved the world; and of course, all the glory his younger brother would undoubtedly pile onto him after his death.
He was so fearful of his derailing his own pathetic plans he was careful to pick exactly the ones whom would pose no threat to him, the ones whom he would easily keep under his thumb. Therefore understandably, none of them were too bright. He's expecting his little brother to fall in line just like the rest.
But Rex had no plans of playing the pawn in somebody else's grand design, whether that plan belonged to a mythical beast, Yliaster, or his own older brother. He had had enough powerlessness to last him a lifetime. Soon, he would be the god that reigns over this dimension. After all, only a human can understand what Humanity needs. He had witnessed countless horrors, suffering, pain, death. Humanity's endless cycles of self-destruction cannot be permitted to perpetuate lest it leads to the doom of this species and this world, as Yliaster foretold it would.
Humanity needs a Savior.
Humanity needs him.
Rex let the door slam behind him as he stepped onto the bridge leading away from Dark Signer's lair, side-stepping the amorphous pool of energy as they lapped at his feet, leaving Roman in the darkness still clutching at trading cards.
Chaos' duel runner screeched to a stop at the pier, where Fudo and Izinski were finishing up yet another tag duel with the Sector. According to the reports he received, Lazar had tricked them into these duels by promising to let both into Neo Domino if they can defeat the Sector Officers in their way, every Sector Officer in their way. The pair had just defeated four people in their last duel, but neither looked victorious, it seems like they finally realized the Sector's tactics as well. Lazar had gathered Sector agents here to stall for time. Regardless of their individual victories, the Sector has enough people to keep them here for 24 hours at least, by then, everything would be too late, for the fight with Dark Signers and for that little girl Luna.
Not that the pair ever had a choice- it's a concession to a ridiculous demand when you're a lone hero struggling against the bylaws of your local authoritarian municipal government (Yuki's words, not his). Security agents armed with actual weapons kept a close eye on Izinski, ensuring her cooperation with these games instead of physically forcing her way into Neo Domino.
Residents of the Satellite have gathered to watch their duels as the spectacles it is, public duels were always entertaining for the audience regardless of the participants or what was at stake.
"Izinski," Chaos interrupted, "Fudo. Let's go, we don't have time to waste on games likes these."
"Chaos!" Yusei looked up hopefully at their visitor, "Leo and Luna are trapped in Neo Domino. That monster we saw in the sky, that was Luna asking us for help!" Yusei said as though Chaos didn't know that, presumably assuming anybody who knew would be trying to break into Neo Domino like he was.
"The Satellite needs your help, the half a million people from the Satellite needs you. The existence of the entire world may be on the line," Chaos said flatly, lowering his voice as he approached the pair, wary of onlookers, "You both know this, why are you wasting your time on saving one or two people when the stakes are infinitely greater?"
"I won't let my friends down, I can get Luna and Leo out to safety and come back in time for my fight against the Dark Signers." Yusei insisted.
Chaos snorted. He couldn't believe Fudo actually had the nerve to look hurt, fixating on his foolish principles against all logic. He's heard enough about Fudo to know just what he had in mind. The kid was no doubt planning on facing off against large groups of sector agents at once in hopes of defeating all of them in time. Trying to beat Lazar at his own, heavily-stacked game.
Thankfully, Chaos no longer had to resort to such desperate measures.
He glanced at the crowd, a blue-haired man in his twenties walked out.
"I'll duel the Sector, Chaos-sama" Lenny said. "If the Sector is trying to keep you here, they must be trying to stop you from helping the Satellite."
Twisted logic, but it's generally accepted by the public here.
"So I'll do my part, however small it might be. I'll duel the Sector." He repeated.
Chaos nodded with a small smirk.
"I'll duel the sector too!" A purple-haired girl stepped out from the crowd, Chaos recognized her as one of the kids he had hired when Zephyrs started their assembly line, "I won't let the Sector destroy what we have here."
"Count me in, Yusei!" A red-haired kid in a yellow hat shouted. Chaos thought he (she?) looked vaguely familiar, what was his name, Reggie? Relly? "Even if it means being arrested by the Sector!"
"Nobody is getting arrested by the Sector," Chaos was startled at things going a little off script, but he continued reciting his lines to reassure the general public, "Not while our security forces are still around." He gestured to the squadrons stationed around the area. Not enough to duel (god forbid) all of the Sector, but enough to provide these satellites with a sense of security.
"I'll duel the Sector." Lug squeezed his way out of the crowd, finally getting to say his lines.
Chaos waited patiently and saw the expected flux of satellites valiantly volunteering themselves for some harmless children's card games.
"We don't have an army like yours," He turned to address the Sector, "But we have this town on our side. If you want to duel Fudo and Izinski, you have to get through all of us first!"
"You're really loved in the Satellite," Yusei said as he watched pedestrians who had nothing to do with these games walk into duels with Sector Security on his behalf, on the Zephyrs' behalf. He felt his face flush and his heart speed up, this was what he had fought for as an Enforcer, to protect the Town they love and in turn be loved and protected by it. The Enforcers never got anywhere close.
Yuki might have said something like 'We are really loved in the Satellite', or some crap like that to get Fudo's loyalty, but Chaos' didn't want that. Frankly, he despised the kid.
"That should speed things up," Chaos ignored Fudo's comment, deciding to omit the harmless little stunt he pulled. "Come back to headquarters, you can defeat the winner when this finishes."
If not Fudo, at least Izinski should come in handy.
Jack entered the dimly-lit room with a flourish, his entourage following closely behind. Yuki was the first person he wanted to see in the Satellite, he couldn't stand for the woman who defeated him to be in such a pathetic state. And it was indeed a sorry sight.
Yuki laid awkwardly on a loveseat, with her head on one side, one leg resting on the other armrest and one leg on the floor. She was either staring intently at the television or had fallen asleep with her eyes open, the television was blaring some shopping channel, with the announcer passionately promoting bulk purchases of potatoes and corn. If she had heard them coming in, Jack certainly couldn't tell.
"Jack..." Mina prodded his arm hesitantly, worried he might approach this in a typical Jack-Atlas fashion. She was the one who told Jack about Yuki's recent glum, on Goodwin's orders in an attempt for Jack to challenge Yuki again. This was before they found out Luna was a Signer. Director Goodwin had withdrawn his order since then, but Jack has gone on charging at full steam.
"Yuki, snap out of it!" Jack demanded.
"Huh?" I started, grateful to have been woken up from yet another nightmare, this one involving me as a duel monster card, inside a pile of cards that had just caught on fire, with Greiger still shooting our way. Sometimes my overactive imagination works against me.
"Hey guys," I stifled a yawn as I greeted Jack, Mina, Carly and Trudge. Weird, normally somebody would let me know before they let people in. Or maybe they did and I wasn't paying attention? I have been drifting in and out of sleep since last night. "Snap of out what?" I looked towards him blankly, trying to disguise my disorientation as nonchalance. I can't appear weak right now, least of all in front of Goodwin's employees.
"Look, I'm sorry about what happened," Jack said gruffly, "But you can't stay like this. You have to take charge again, get back onto the field. You don't belong on the sidelines, you never have. This, this is pathetic!"
"Sector keeps taps on the Satellite," Mina offered helpfully.
I nodded graciously, glad to see the human side of Jack, human for Jack at least. But I mean, I think I know what I'm doing.
"I can understand how hard it must have been hard for you, losing your cards like that." He continued.
"Thank- wait what?"
"I missed the chance to duel you while you were at your best, but I'll wait for you to build a deck again then we can duel again."
"No, wait, back up. You're sorry because I lost my deck?" I sputtered, now fully awake, "Not that I was shot and could had died and may have been critically injured, but you're sorry I lost my deck?"
"And that you missed a chance to duel with me while you were at your best." Jack added hastily, as though embarrassed by having acted like what he imagines to be a decent human being. "But you'll build another deck, and we can duel again. You built a winning deck from scratch once, you can do it again. Then we can play again and I can defeat you!"
Yep, that's definitely Jack's version of pleasant human interaction. Flattery even.
"Um, thanks Jack." With my elbow prodded against the table, I rested my head in my hands, feeling the veins on my forehead pop, "But maybe throw in something about me almost being dead next time. I think it'll help your delivery."
"What's she talking about?" Jack turned to Carly, who laughed, shaking her head indulgently.
"Life's cheap here, Tono, you of all people should know. That's how you got thousands of people in this trashheap of a town to follow along in your little schemes with nothing but empty promises." Trudge interjected rudely, shrugging. "I guarantee you, every single one of them are a thousand times more sorry for the loss of your cards than your life. With your old deck, any average Joe can keep this little operation going. Now that you lost your deck, the entire Satellite is a sitting duck. Nobody cares about your personal pity party, they're probably all wishing Greiger had had better aim, then the Sector wouldn't be closing in right now.
"Trudge!" Mina reprimanded. Trudge took a step back to stand by the door instead, looking a little defiant though he didn't say a word.
"Yuki, we were sent here by Director Goodwin to discuss the situation with Dark Signers," Mina took the lead, reading me no doubt to see how I reacted to Trudge's comment.
"Goodwin says he reached a deal with his brother," Jack said recklessly, ignoring Mina and Trudge's astonished looks, "Each Dark Signer would wait to defeat each of the Signers at an assigned location. That way, we end this whole thing once and for all, fair and square!"
Jack always had that confident naivety that I both envy and ridicule, but if that's what Rex wants me to believe...
"Sure, let me get my team together and we can discuss this." Where is everybody anyway?
"Who are you?" Misty questioned suspiciously, studying the blue-haired woman in front of her, that's definitely not Yuki Tono.
She stood in the alley of the worst, and most populous part of Satellite, surrounded by mortals and duel monsters alike. The power radiating from her nearly solidified into visible light.
Misty was determined to avenge her brother's death at Akiza and Sayer's hands, it just worked out perfectly that Akiza was the Signer she was set out to destroy. Instead of waiting at the location Roman gave her, she had impatiently ventured out on her own to find her enemies. Though she quickly met a not-unexpected problem... She couldn't find the enemies she was looking for. She couldn't find anybody. This is no longer the age of Internet, it's not even the age of radio. It's actually fairly difficult locating complete strangers when you can't follow them on Twitter or Instagram. So even though Akiza was being surrounded by a couple of hundred people just across town, Misty had no idea.
Instead, she decided to follow Greiger's advice and enlist the Zephyrs for help.
"Felice." The woman said shortly, then added with a placating smile, "You're that Dark Signer Misty, right? You wouldn't happen to know where Vincent is, would you?" Felice had volunteered to parole the city hoping to find her friend, so when the Zephyrs security tried to contact anyone in charge to report Misty's activities, she was the closest to the incident.
"Zephyrs will help me find Akiza Izinski and Sayer," Misty completely ignored Felice's request, "If you want this town to survive."
"Guess not." Felice erased the smile from her face, it was worth a try."I'm not here to cut a deal. We don't make deals with people like you, and we certainly won't be threatened." As Yuki had discussed previously, they can't afford to compromise with every thug that threatens to cause some sort of social unrest, it'll only set an example and encourage more people to follow suit.
"Then what are you here for?" Misty asked, surprised a mortal would stand up to a Dark Signer.
"I'm here to defeat you," Felice replied, "Obviously."
"A mortal, against an emissary of the gods?" Misty giggled, "Are you sane? I will crush you in a duel!"
"You're looking to duel Akiza, right? Why don't we duel first? If you defeat me, I'll bring you to her." Felice offered helpfully. Their general strategy remains to defeat as many Dark Signers as possible with card games and reserve Izinski in case any of these people aren't satisfied with a duel fought with holograms alone.
"I'm looking to destroy Akiza, for the misery she wrought on my brother and my family." Misty corrected. She paused, her challenged looked barely twenty years old, certainly young to die in a game like this. "Nothing will stop me on my path to vengeance, stand aside if you want to live."
"Let's duel!" Felice locked the Dark Signer into a duel as quickly as she could- Dark Signers not in duels are liable to summon real monsters instead. Purple Nazca lines appeared in thin air, extending on the charred Satellite soil to form the rough outline of a lizard, separating both duelists from the Zephyrs security forces that guarded the area.
X
Turn 1: Misty's Turn; Felice 4000 Misty 4000
"Very well, I'll start!" Misty drew her first card. As soon as she did so, purple flames rose out of the ground in the shape of a giant lizard, enveloping them both in its cold light, separating the duelists from the Zephyrs security team outside. "I'll begin with the field spell, Labyrinth of Mirrors! Now you can know what I feel like, searching for answers in an endless maze that looks exactly the same every step of the way."
"Oh for god's sake." Felice muttered under her breath. What's with these people who thinks each card need a backstory? Do they design their decks based on card effect or how well each card ties into their autobiography?
"Next, I set one monster face-down." Misty obviously didn't hear her opponent's sidebar commentaries, "I play the spell card, Sad Story- Sorrowful Memories! Now that this card is on the field, any monster cards we draw are automatically reshuffled into the deck. And thus begins my tragic saga. My brother Toby had disappeared after he was recruited into the Arcadian Movement, according to all the official records, it's like he never existed. But I know the truth, I know it was Sayer and Akiza who had..."
Misty trailed off.
It must be really lonely being a Dark Signer, Felice reflected a little absentmindedly, for somebody to tell her life story to a stranger like this. Roman Goodwin probably isn't a good listener. Still, that's no excuse to leave a monster with 100 attack on the field.
Turn 2: Felice's Turn; Felice 4000 Misty 4000
"I draw." Felice drew and showed her hand, "Card Destruction. Perfect, I think I'll play that right now. Since this is not our normal draw phase, my spell isn't affected. Next, I summon, Garoth, the Lightsworn Warrior (1850/1000). Garoth, attack and destroy Misty's facedown monster!"
The knight charged, he sliced in vain into the back of the card. Misty's Reptillianne Gardna (lv4, 0/2000) was flipped face up.
"I'll place one card facedown and end my turn." Felice announced.
Turn 3: Misty's Turn; Felice 3850 Misty 4000
"My turn!" Misty revealed the card she drew, "Sad Story- Unwavering Truth, this spell card makes sure we shuffle all spell cards we draw back into our decks. Welcome to part two of my sad story. The last trace of my brother I could find was at the Neo Domino dock. He was a big fan of that witch Akiza. The day he went to the docks to see her, that was also the day she lost control. I never saw my brother again after that."
Misty stayed quiet for a second before speaking again, her voice breaking just slightly, "I vowed I would find him, even if it's only his body. He must be scared out there all alone, I have to bring him home!"
"My condolences," Felice said awkwardly, she had no trouble imagining the Black Rose on a killing spree. Izinski's got her strengths but her powers and psychological issues just weren't a good combo. Not that she wasn't sympathetic, she had gotten used to tragedies growing up in the Satellite. One or two deaths just doesn't affect her as it would someone who grew up in privilege. Still... "If you know how hard it is to lose someone, how can you fight for the Dark Signers? Every time an Earthbound Immortal is summoned, hundreds of people are taken again. They're all somebody brother, sister, parent, child. How can you do this to them, when you've gone through the same thing yourself?"
"I have to find my brother, no matter what the cost." Misty deadpanned, "The Ruler of the Netherworld is the only thing that can grant me enough powers to do so."
"That cost shouldn't be somebody else's brother," Felice said after a long pause to select the least offensive answer she could think of, biting back the 'hypocrite' and other such comments. Every time any Earthbound Immortal is summoned, hundreds of people from the Satellite is sacrificed as this 'cost'.
"I have exhausted all other ways of obtaining my revenge, who else can I turn to except the Ruler of the Netherworld?" Misty shot back, irritated at the thinly veiled accusation. "I play Dark Eruption, allowing me to bring back Reptilianne Viper and Reptilianne Vaskii to my hand. Next, I'll activate a trap, Ojama trio, to summon three Ojama tokens onto your field!"
Felice looked on curiously, looks like this Dark Signer has something up her sleeves after all.
"Now, I summon Reptilianne Viper (lv2, tuner, 0/0) and tune her with Reptilianne Gardna to synchro summon- from the depths of the jungle hails the ultimate predator- Reptilianne Hydra (lv6, 2100/1500). Her effects destroys all monsters with 0 attack on your side of the field and I get to draw a card for every card she destroys, I count three. And allow me to remind you, when Ojama tokens are destroyed, they deal you 300 damage each!"
Felice grunted as she felt the impact of the attack. Shadow duels were every bit as taxing as the rumors claim.
Now, Reptilianne Hydra, destroy her Warrior! Venomous Blockade!"
"Activate trap, Lightsworn Barrier! By sending two cards from my deck to my graveyard, I can block your attack." Felice smirked, that trap has never failed her before.
"I shall place two more cards face down and end my turn." Misty announced.
Turn 4: Felice's Turn; Felice 3850 Misty 4000
"I drew Charge of the Light Brigade," Felice showed the card to Misty and placed the card back to the deck.
"Now I summon Lyna, the Lightsworn Summoner (lv3, 1000/1000) and I activate her special effect. I discard from my hand Dawn Knight to bring back Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn (lv4, 1700/1000) to my field. I activate his effect to discard two cards to the graveyard. Garoth's effects activates, allowing me to discard two more cards to the graveyard from my deck. Since one of those cards is a Lightsworn monster, I get to draw one card!"
"Now, I tune my lv3 Lyna with my Lv4 Raiden to synchro summon, the bane of evil and defender of light, Michael, the Arch Lightsworn (lv7, 2600/2000). His effect also lets me banish one card on the field, and I choose your field spell, Labyrinth of Light.
On reflection, Felice still doesn't know what the field spell actually does, but getting rid of it served a different purpose. All Earthbound Immortals require a field card in order to have their full powers, without them, these otherwise fearsome beasts are just normal monsters with a higher attack. The mirrors that surrounded her shattered into a thousand shreds, disappearing back into the darkness from whence it came. Once again out in the open, Felice could just make out the faint outlines of the Zephyrs team outside Nazca lines.
"Michael, attack and destroy Reptilianne Hydra!" Felice commanded.
"You wouldn't dare!" Misty's face twisted in anger. Felice studied Misty's empty field thoughtfully, it seems designing your deck to revolve around a backstory isn't very efficient.
"Next, Garoth, attack Misty directly"! Felice commanded again instead of answering her question.
"Activate, Scapegoat!" At Misty's words, four fluffy sheep-shaped tokens appeared on the field in defense mode. Garoth destroyed a sheep token before she ended her turn.
"Michael sends 3 cards per turn to the graveyard, and because one of them is Felis, the Lightsworn Archer (lv4, 1100/2000), I get to bring him to the field. Garoth's ability activates also, one of the two cards he sent to the grave is Jain, the Lightsworn Paladin, so I get to draw another card."
Felice trailed off as she saw comprehension dawn on Misty's face. "No, I didn't choose the deck because of the name of one monster," She answered before a question was posed. "I don't play for sentimental reasons, I play to win."
Turn 5: Misty's Turn; Felice 2750 Misty 3400
"The card I drew was Reptillianne Gorgon (lv3, 1400/1400), I now return her to my deck." Misty barely acknowledged Felice's explanation or even looked at the card she drew, "And activate the last card in my trilogy, Sad Story- Atrocious Day! Now any monster, spell or trap cards we draw during our draw phase will be shuffled back into our decks."
"Well?" Felice prompted when the Dark Signer didn't continue, "What's the last part of your story?"
"I don't know yet," Misty replied, "My story isn't finished, I still have to make Akiza and Sayer pay for what they did. My Atrocious Day will probably be the day I find Toby."
Felice smiled ruefully at her implications.
"Time to move on from this part of my story so I can get to the end." Misty pointed to her facedown card, "I activate my trap card, Sorrowful Chain. When I control all three cards in this Sorrowful Story series, I can special summon Dragon Queen of Tragic Endings (lv6, 1900/2600) from my deck. Next, I special summon Reptilianne Vaskii (lv8, 2600/0) from my hand by tributing two scapegoat tokens. With her special ability, I can destroy Michael, the Arch Lightsworn!"
A beam of green light sliced into the white dragon on Felice's field, enveloping him and dragging him down to the bottomless abyss below.
"I place one card face down and end my turn." Misty announced. She saw no point in further attacks until she could get rid of Felice's Lightsworn Barrier trap card.
Turn 6: Felice's Turn; Felice 2750 Misty 3400
Felice drew and replaced Solar Recharge into her deck, taking a deep breath, she braced herself. It's time to invite Misty's Earthbound Immortal onto the field.
"I'll start my turn by playing the field spell, Realm of Light!"
"Next, I tribute Felis to destroy Reptilianne Vaskii." Felice watched as the archer turned to dust, taking Misty's reptile with him. "Raiden's effect activates, allowing me to discard two cards to the graveyard, this triggers Garoth's effect to discard two more cards to the graveyard. Since Lyna the Lightsworn Summoner was discarded, I can draw one card from the deck."
"I tune my lv 4 Raiden with my lv 4 Garoth to synchro summon, the light that pierces through darkness, Light-End Dragon (lv8, 2600/2100). By her effect, I increase her attack by 500 and decrease the attack of your dragon queen by 1500, down to a mere 400 points!"
"Light End Dragon, destroy Dragon Queen of Tragic Endings, Shining Sublimation!"
The attack also destroyed 2700 of Misty's life points. She hissed in pain, her teeth clenched against the attack. In a Shadow Duel, neither player is not immune to the pain it inflicts, Dark Signer or not.
"I'll place one more card face down and end my turn," Felice gestured for Misty to continue, "Make your move."
Turn 7: Misty's Turn; Felice 2750 Misty 700
"I return Reptilianne Medusa to my deck," Misty began her turn. "You played well, Felice. But I'm afraid you made a mistake by playing that field card, and this mistake will cost you your life. Thanks to the spell Reptilianne Spawn, I special summon two Reptilianne Tokens (lv2, 0/0) by banishing Reptilianne Gardna from my graveyard. O God which resuscitated our lives, now I offer you my soul! Come to me, Earthbound Immortal Ccarayhua (lv10, 2800/1800)!"
A black hole appeared in midair, a vague figure could be seen trying to emerge from it. Hundreds of strands of purple light rose from the Satellite and fed into the growing gap in the sky, Felice knew each was a life in the Satellite. Finally, a lizard-shaped monster standing on its hind legs emerged and landed on the ground with a thud. The mortal realm is broken into by yet another Earthbound Immortal, thanks to the efforts of those who once had been mortal.
"Earthbound Immortals can attack directly and they're not affected by any of your spells or trap cards. one attack and you're finished!" Misty cackled. She no longer looked like the grief-ridden women seeking revenge against those who tore her family apart. She looked, for lack of a better word, crazy. "This is the end of your story, for now and forever. Earthbound Immortal Ccarayhua, attack Felice and finish this duel!"
"I banish Necro Gardna from my graveyard to negate your attack." Felice announced calmly. Of course she was prepared for the attack before playing a field spell.
"Any move you make merely delays your inevitable death," Misty paused to examine Felice's graveyard, there're still two Necro Gardnas inside. She huffed in annoyance. "I also send Sad Story- Sorrowful Days to the graveyard to bring Dragon Queen of Tragic Endings back from the dead in defense mode! It's time for me to leave my sorrowful days behind me, so I can start afresh from the dead!"
Oh great, this stuff again. Felice scratched her head, trying not to look bored. Just as she was impressed by Misty's skills, she brings up this delusions of reference stuff up again.
Turn 8: Felice's Turn; Felice 2750 Misty 700
"I play a spell card," Felice said after returning the trap card Solemn Warning back to the deck, "Soul Charge. By paying 1000 life points, I special summon Michael, the Arch Lightsworn back to the field. I pay another 1000 life points to activate his effects and banish your immortal from the field!"
As she had hoped, as soon as the Immortal was banished from the field, the markings on Misty's face also disappeared. The Nazca lines surrounding the duel wavered as though about to go out any second.
"Whew, let's stop the duel, what do you say?" Felice offered with a grin. Misty will have to go to jail for threatening civilians and the damage she caused, but Felice conveniently forgot to mention that part for now. Also Zephyrs didn't have a jail yet, but she'll figure something out.
"Stop the duel?" Misty repeated. She didn't seem to be controlled by the Ruler of the Netherworld anymore, but her tone did not change. "You forget, I started this duel looking for answers, Dark Signer or not, I will get my revenge on Sayer and Akiza for what they did to my brother!"
"Well," Felice hesitated, but decided to be honest anyway, "I mean, you're about to lose, right? Even if you go to jail, it's still better than dying, right?"
At Misty's confused look, Felice elaborated.
"Yeah, we're gonna probably try you for destruction of public property or something. And you might end up in jail for a while, I don't know how long yet." Felice briefly wondered who's job it is to decide on a sentence, seeing as they didn't have a court, or a judge or anyone who really understands law, but decided to save those questions for later.
Misty smiled at her words, it was refreshing to hear something so... mundane, after everything that had happened.
"You have an odd way of convincing people," Misty replied. "And a very odd way of, I guess you think you're helping me?"
"You might not believe it, but this is Justice." Felice shrugged, explaining her own interpretation of the idea, "To have a legal system where the punishment fits the crime, where everyone is equal in the face of the law. To make sure an impartial set of laws are carried out regardless of how powerful or helpless the perpetrator is. Justice is the only way to ensure Order, and Order is exactly what the Satellite needs right now."
"What about Sayer and Akiza then?" Misty demanded. "If I were to concede this duel, can you ensure that they are met with the same Justice you claim to defend? Can you grant me the Justice I seek?"
Well... Felice hesitated. Justice against Sayer, sure; she had no doubt he would be tried to the fullest extent of the law (after they've made up some random laws probably just to try him). Izinski, on the other hand, had proven herself to be quite useful to their group; more importantly, she's fairly likeable as a person, after you get past the destructive side. Even if Felice were presiding over the case, if Yuki stands in as a character witness, Felice can't promise her own judgement wouldn't be skewed.
Everybody is equal in the eyes of the law, Felice is beginning to understand how some people may be more equal than others.
"Can you do it?" Will you do it?" Misty asked again.
"I guarantee an unbiased investigation and if there is enough evidence, we'll give them both a fair trial. I can't guarantee the result, that's not for me to decide." Fudo, Yusei Fudo is probably the best person for the job, Felice felt a light bulb going off in her head. If half of the things they say about him is true, that kid is as honest as they make 'em.
"So no." Misty interpreted her hesitation as a lie, she spoke quietly but firmly. "I have had enough of these 'unbiased investigations, but I know Sayer and Akiza's guilt regardless of what your 'investigations' claim. It seems that there is no justice except that which I obtain by my own hands. Let's finish this duel!" The purple Nazca lines had shrank to barely knee-high. Now with Misty's mind made-up, it grew stronger, surrounding both duelists in its cold glow.
Felice had two cards in her hand and a level 8 synchro dragon on her field. Misty only had Dragon Queen of Tragic Endings. Misty isn't looking to win anymore, she simply wants to bring an ending to her story.
"Fine then, I activate the effects of Electromagnetic Pulse Attack!" Felice commanded before the Nazca lines could shield them both from the outside world again.
"I'm not familiar with the card," Misty noted with her characteristic nonchalance.
"It's not really a card," Felice grinned apologetically. The Zephyrs security that had surrounded the duel since the beginning trained their guns at Misty, and shot her down before she could utter another protest.
A/N: I didn't end up deleting the Halloween thing, moved it to the end of the last chapter.