Roxy's Reports 26: Clarice and Sandalphon
At Café Matsuo, in the living room, during the early afternoon, three days after Chapter 64...
"I. Hate. Online. School."
"It's only for a few weeks, and then things will go back to normal."
"You guys think you're having it rough? I'm still banned from using the Internet!"
This exchange of words was said by Arashi, Yuhiro, and Herald in that respective order. With Den Academy having shut down due to the Turf War events, the school decided to do online learning. At least until new secure measures are put in place. One of which was putting a temporary police force around the school.
"Okay, you guys. Get your butts over here. We need to document some duelists." Roxy told the trio. Within a moment or two, Yuhiro and Arashi got up from their seats while the former picked up his duel disk, the three of them heading over to the living room afterwards.
"Just what is this exactly?" Arashi questioned, as they sat down on the couch opposite to Roxy.
"A while back, I had this idea of documenting the people we encountered. By analyzing their decks and strategies, we'll be prepared to effectively duel them should the time arise." Roxy explained to Arashi. "Oh, and you must swear to never repeat what we discuss to the general public. Otherwise..." She smiled as she tightened her fist. "Like I did to Yuhiro a while back, I'll clobber you."
"I've been there, Arashi. You do not want her to clobber you." Yuhiro advised, having remembered what happened following the Cyberse Quest. Roxy assumed that he was hitting on Miyu upon seeing his head on her lap, and proceeded to clobber him not only for that, but for almost having the systems get hacked by a sadistic criminal.
Arashi nodded after hearing both explanations. "Noted." Roxy pressed a button and opened two blank templates before pressing a button at the TV, which showed Clarice and Sandalphon. "I don't think we encountered those two before."
"E.M.S got the information on them, as well as surveillance footage on the duels." Yuhiro explained.
"E.M.S is so small that they evade detectors. One of Roxy's best inventions, if I may add." Herald commented.
"Stop, Herald! Your flattery's making me blush!" Roxy stated, before snapping out of it. "Anyhow, let's get down to business. The woman on the right is Sandalphon, but I found that her real name's Mandy Hutton."
"Mandy Hutton..." Yuhiro muttered, pondering over this information. "While we don't know her age, we do know her gender, and aliases such as Clarice's daughter, Beta's enforcer, and Pianist of Pity." The words appeared on the profile for Sandalphon. More specifically, in the 'Gender', 'Aliases', and 'Name' sections.
"Considering her outfit, she's obviously dangerous." Arashi stated. "I mean, when you take into account her mask resembling a skull, the sharp blades attached to the back of her head, as well as the golden blades on her shoes and sleeves, it makes sense."
"She's a deathstalker, Arashi." Roxy told him. "In other words, an assassin for the Beta Branch." Words then appeared on Sandalphon's profile in the 'Job' section. Once that was done, Roxy pressed a button on the TV remote, which showed footage of Blue Girl and Sandalphon's duel. "So, boys. What can you tell from this duel?"
"Uh, Blue Girl had difficulty against this Sandalphon?" Herald asked.
"Of course she did, Herald." Arashi told him. "I mean, this woman obviously has musical instruments that are possessed by ghosts for a deck!"
"The musical instruments aren't necessarily possessed, Arashi." Yuhiro said. "That deck is known as 'Orcust', an archetype that focuses on banishing cards to Special Summon other monsters from various locations. While the Link monsters of the archetype have diagonal arrows, they have an immunity effect when linked, and a second effect that must be activated by returning banished Machine monsters to the deck."
"And look at this, Arashi." Roxy added, getting his attention as Sandalphon activated Orcustrated Babel. "With Orcustrated Babel, the 'Orcust' deck can activate their monsters effects as Quick Effects, which messes up the opponents plans. In other words, banished monster recycle plus blanket protection plus disruption makes the 'Orcust' deck a deadly weapon." More words popped up on Sandalphon's profile, which were placed in the 'Deck' section.
"Then I'm glad I didn't duel this deadly assassin. After all..." Arashi put his hands on the back of his head. "I think I'd struggle against that deck."
"Arashi, that deck's one of the strongest to ever exist." Herald said. "According to World Legacy Lore, Ningirsu made those machines in his quest to revive his sister Ib, which resulted in the creation of Galatea. And then everything went to Hell." As if on cue, words popped up on the 'Deck' section of Sandalphon's profile.
Yuhiro narrowed his eyes. The fact that someone would destroy the world just for his precious sister was something unimaginable for someone to do. His grief motivated his actions, he realized. In Yuhiro's mind, he swore to not go down the same path as Longirsu did. After all, who knows what would happen if he did?
"Uh, Yuhiro?" Arashi waved his hand in front of his face, which successfully made Yuhiro snap out of his stupor. "You feeling alright?"
"Yeah. I... zoned out for a bit." Yuhiro answered. "Anyhow, where were we? Oh, yes. While we necessarily don't know Sandalphon's current whereabouts, thanks to E.M.S., we know that she led a team of former deathstalkers to free their enslaved sisters." More words were typed onto the profile, only they popped up onto the 'Residence' section.
Roxy thought over something for a moment before something popped into her mind. "I was doing some research, and found that Beta's deathstalkers were freed through a red mist. Sounds familiar, right?"
"Come to think of it, it certainly was." Herald added. "It's similar to how the Widows were freed in that Black Widow movie."
"Please don't tell me you have a crush on Natasha Romanoff or Yelena Bolova. You already have enough crushes on the Servants from Fate: Grand Order. Otherwise, you'll be no better than Flame." Yuhiro said with a smirk, much to Herald's embarrassment and Arashi and Roxy's amusement.
"That's so not true!" Herald protested.
"Oh, really?" Yuhiro raised an eyebrow out of amusement, which made Herald blush red.
"Okay, okay. Settle down you guys." Roxy told both Yuhiro and Herald. Arashi was glad he wasn't the target of that comment. After all, he didn't want to get clobbered by Roxy. "Anyhow, there's some more information on Sandalphon. She, along with the other deathstalkers and Tsubaki, were basically treated as tools. But thanks to Rosetta and the others, all the deathstalkers were freed from enslavement, and Sandalphon made sure her scumbag of a mother was locked in jail for a long time."
"Well, that's good news. After all, the more people that are locked up, the better the world is." Arashi said with a frown.
"You doing okay, Arashi?" Yuhiro asked him.
"Yeah. I'm fine. I just need to rest from recent events." Arashi replied. "Anyhow, where we at?"
"Ace monster, Arashi. And it's a big one." Roxy told him, as the screen changed to Sandalphon Link Summoning Orcustrion.
Arashi gasped upon seeing it. "Okay. Now that's one big pipe organ."
"According to the footage, Orcustrion is a Link 4 monster with 3000 attack points." Yuhiro began explaining. "Not only can it not be destroyed by battle or card effects, Sandalphon can shuffle three of her banished monsters into her deck and reduce the attack and defense of all monsters it points to straight to zero, as well as negate its effects."
"It's a packed music instrument, in that case." Herald commented. "So what duel grade are we giving this Sandalphon?"
"Duel Grade?" Arashi raised an eyebrow. "Are we ranking these duelists based on how tough they are? Or their personalities? Or..."
"It's something like that." Yuhiro explained. "The ranking is from D to SSS. D for Dismal, C for Crazy, B for Badass, A for Apocalyptic, S for Savage, SS for Sick Skills, and SSS for Smokin' Sexy Style." Upon hearing the last one, Arashi laughed.
"Are you serious on that one? You could have come up with something better than that!"
"Oh, come on! I had to come up with a higher grade!" Roxy pouted at him before composing herself. "Anyhow, in my opinion, Sandalphon gets an A for Apocalyptic. Her deck is one of the trickiest to duel against, as well as if you take into account her ruthlessness as a duelist." Words were then typed into the 'Duel Grade' section.
"I'm with you on that one." Yuhiro agreed. After Roxy put the information into Sandalphon's profile, she showed it to the others, which looked like this:
Name: Mandy Hutton
VRAINS ID: Sandalphon (the name is based off of the angel of music. As Raguel's name means justice and redemption, Sandalphon's name basically derives from music. The irony here, as the person naming herself Sandalphon assassinates people rather than helping them).
Other aliases: Clarice's daughter, Beta's enforcer, Pianist of Pity
Gender: Female
Age: Unknown (looks like she's in her early 20s-30s).
Residence: Unknown (last we checked, Sandalphon and a team of deathstalkers were on a mission to free their sisters. Hope that's going well).
Job: Elite Deathstalker (in other words, Clarice's right hand woman).
Skill: Unknown (obviously. She's only participated in a Master Duel so far).
Deck: Orcust (a deck that focuses on banishing cards to Special Summon other monsters from various locations. While the Link monsters of the archetype have diagonal arrows, they have an immunity effect when linked, and a second effect that must be activated by returning banished Machine monsters to the deck. With Orcustrated Babel, the 'Orcust' deck can activate their monsters effects as Quick Effects, which messes up the opponents plans. In other words, banished monster recycle plus blanket protection plus disruption makes the 'Orcust' deck a deadly weapon).
Ace monster: Orcustrion (a deadly Link 4 monster with 3000 attack points. May even rival Revolver's Link 4 monsters. The fact that this monster not only can't be destroyed by card effects or battle, but can also drain a monster's attack and defense points to zero, as well as negate their effects makes it deadly).
LINK VRAINS History: Sandalphon was made into the Beta Branch's strongest deathstalker by her own monster of a mother. Luckily, she was freed by the efforts of Rosetta and the others.
Currently, she's leading a team of deathstalkers to free the others that were traumatized by Clarice (who knows? We may run into Sandalphon in the future).
Duel Grade right now: A (A for Apocalyptic) (Makes one hundred percent sense, as a deck such as Orcust is really tricky to fight against).
Notes: Sandalphon, along with the rest of the deathstalkers (Tsubaki included, poor girl), was controlled by her own mother. In a way it shows she sees everyone the same in the worst way, as tools and toys for her to use as she pleases.
Luckily, Rosetta and the others freed all of them from enslavement. What's more, Sandalphon provided so much testimony that she was able to get Clarice in prison for a really, really long time. And here we thought Ryoken had parent issues.
Once that was done, Roxy closed it up before opening up another one. "And next up is a douchebag named Clarice Hutton. Also, in my opinion, known as The Worst Mom Ever." Those words were inputted into the 'Other Aliases' section.
"While we don't know her age, we do know that she's currently in the Den Penitentiary for her crimes." Yuhiro added, as words were inputted into the 'Residence' portion of the profile.
"Once again, the more people that are locked up, the better the world is. Good riddance." Arashi repeated.
"Arashi, are you sure you're okay?" Herald inquired. "You've been quiet recently."
"Of course I haven't! And like I said before. I'm just recovering from dealing with that Turf War." Arashi snapped back, much to Herald's surprise and Yuhiro and Roxy's concern. "Sorry. That... came out harsher than I expected."
"We all need to process the events that happened." Yuhiro said, as he recalled the events at the hospital. Ace will honestly pay for the carnage in the real world, he thought.
"Aside from us knowing that her name's Clarice Hutton, her gender being a female, her job being the Beta Branch's leader, and the fact her Skill's unknown, we do know the operations she oversaw." Roxy stated, as words were inputted into the 'Name', 'VRAINS ID', 'Gender', 'Age', and 'Skill'. "Those operations include occupations of prostitution, nightclubs targeting mainly men and their lustful desires while also preying on weak willed women. In addition, she throws the ones she doesn't like to the low class jobs while the ones she likes get a worse fate, being sterilised and controlled, even to her own daughters."
"Daughters?" Arashi repeated. "So Sandalphon had a sister?"
"From the file footage during Blue Girl and Sandalphon's duel, the latter said she had a sister, who died after failing to meet Clarice's requirements." Yuhiro clarified, as words were typed into the 'Notes' section.
"I can't..." Arashi gasped. "I can't believe people like her exist in this world."
"The world isn't in shades of black and white, Arashi. It's filled with obscure truths that are meant to be uncovered." Roxy told him, as she pressed a button on the TV remote, which changed the screen to show Rosetta and Clarice's duel. "Based on this footage, it seems Clarice uses the 'Amazoness' archetype."
"Amazoness?" Herald repeated. "Isn't that an old archetype?"
"Not exactly, Herald. I heard they got some support recently." Yuhiro answered.
"No matter the support this archetype got, it was able to put this Tsubaki you guys speak of into a corner." Arashi stated.
"I guess it makes sense there. After all..." Herald narrowed his eyes at the screen. "The 'Amazoness' archetype focuses on strengthening themselves or weakening their opponents. Combined with field-flooding and field control, it can annoy you if you're not on guard." Words popped up on the 'Deck' section of Clarice's profile.
"Keep in mind that the support didn't come up until after the Battle City Tournament. And if I recall, it was a Mai Valentine that used the archetype." Roxy recalled.
"And said duelist ended up getting defeated in said tournament. Though I'm not sure how, as that footage wasn't released." Arashi added.
"It's better to focus on the now than in the past." Yuhiro told both Arashi and Roxy. "From what I'm seeing, Clarice had two ace monsters. Both of which were Fusion monsters."
"Good eye there." Roxy commented. "First, Amazoness Empress is a Level 8 Fusion monster with 2800 attack points and 2400 defense points. Not only can she deal piercing battle damage, Clarice can Special Summon 'Amazoness Queen' from her hand, deck, or Graveyard should Empress leaves the field by battle or card effect."
"So all in all, a Fusion monster that can break through defenses and retrieve her previous self." Herald capped off, as words were typed into the 'Ace monster' section.
"Hang on a minute. Is Clarice's other ace monster a liger?" Arashi asked, looking at the screen closely. "Because if it is, it's like The Walking Dead, where Ezekiel and Shiva became a tag team of terror against zombies. At least until Shiva was overrun and devoured by zombies in the Season 8 episode Some Guy."
Roxy gasped at that comment, while Yuhiro rolled his eyes and sighed. Uh-Oh. That... wasn't good.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHIVA'S DEAD?!" Roxy exclaimed, going over to Arashi and grabbing him by the collar of his shirt before shaking him out of pure fury.
"Easy there, Roxy! He didn't know!" Yuhiro said, pulling Roxy away from Arashi, the latter obviously terrified by her fury.
"Arashi! Are you not aware of what spoilers are?!" Roxy furiously inquired, as she sat down on the couch. "I loved that tiger!" Upon saying that comment, Yuhiro raised an eyebrow at her, which made her embarrassed. "Well, Progleo's far better than Shiva, but still!"
"Okay. I'm sorry. I honestly didn't know." Arashi apologized, still shaken by Roxy's attack on him. He now knew what it was like to feel Roxy's wrath. "Anyhow, on the topic of ligers, it's a Fusion monster, right?"
"You're correct, Arashi." Herald confirmed, glad that the incident was over, even if it was amusing to him. "According to the footage, that monster is Amazoness Pet Liger, a Level 7 Fusion monster with 2500 attack points and 2400 defense points. Not only does it gain 500 attack points during damage calculation, it lets the owner target one monster the opponent controls and have it lose 800 attack points. What's more, Liger prevents other 'Amazoness' monsters Clarice controls from being attacked, except for it. So in other words, a true guard liger." Words were typed into the 'Ace monster' section.
"So with ace monsters and everything being discussed, what duel grade does a scumbag like Clarice deserve?" Yuhiro asked the others.
"Uh, honestly? A B for Badass?" Arashi answered with hesitation, afraid that Roxy would pummel him if he answered wrong. Seeing her nod seriously, he breathed a sigh of relief. "I mean, don't get me wrong, but for an archetype like Amazoness, it does have a way of surprising the opponent, as it's one of the older archetypes in the game." Upon hearing this comment, Roxy raised an eyebrow at him. "What? All I'm saying is that it has the element of surprise, like Pendulum monsters."
"Good save there, Arashi," was all Roxy replied with. "Anyhow, with this information, the profile's done." After making the finishing touches, she showed Yuhiro, Arashi, and Herald the profile, which looked like this:
Name: Clarice Hutton.
VRAINS ID: Clarice Hutton.
Other aliases. Tyrannical ruler of the Beta Branch, The Worst Mom Ever.
Gender: Female.
Age: Unknown (estimated to be early 40s-50s).
Residence: Den Penitentiary (good riddance to people like Clarice).
Job: Leader of the Beta Branch.
Skill: Unknown (Clarice only participated in a Master Duel thus far).
Deck: Amazoness (an archetype that focuses on strengthening themselves or weakening their opponents. Combined with field-flooding and field control, it can annoy you if you're not on guard).
Ace monster: Amazoness Empress (a Level 8 Fusion monster with 2800 attack points and 2400 defense points. Not only can she deal piercing battle damage, Clarice can Special Summon 'Amazoness Queen' from her hand, deck, or Graveyard should Empress leaves the field by battle or card effect. All in all, not a bad Fusion monster), Amazoness Pet Liger (a Level 7 Fusion monster with 2500 attack points and 2400 defense points. Not only does it gain 500 attack points during damage calculation, it lets the owner target one monster the opponent controls and have it lose 800 attack points. What's more, Liger prevents other 'Amazoness' monsters Clarice controls from being attacked, except for it. So in other words, a true guard liger).
LINK VRAINS' History: Clarice ruled over the Beta Branch with an iron fist, and was responsible for turning women into her personal assassins. One of which was Tsubaki. Luckily, Tsubaki was able to end her reign of terror for good, as well as provide a blow against Ace's operations during the Turf War.
Duel Grade right now: B (B for Badass) (since Amazoness is one of the older archetypes, its old playing style can catch duelists off guard, especially as they use decks of the modern age, which mainly consist of Pendulum Summoning. That, and Clarice's reputation as the leader of the Beta Branch made a mark not only on Rosetta and Sandalphon, but on many other girls as well)
Notes: Like Go and so many others, she uses her real name.
The Beta Branch's operations include occupations of prostitution, nightclubs targeting mainly men and their lustful desires while also preying on weak willed women.
Throws the ones she doesn't like to the low class jobs while the ones she likes get a worse fate, being sterilised and controlled, even her own daughter.
Correction: Daughters. Sandalphon's' sister died when she didn't meet Clarice's expectations.
Makes Ace and the Guzik Family seem good in comparison.
Satisfied with both profiles, Roxy saved them both before turning off her computer after a few moments passed.
"So, Arashi. What did you learn today?" Roxy inquired in a tone that spelt impending doom if Arashi didn't answer correctly.
"Uh, One. Don't reveal spoilers. Two: Don't judge an archetype just for being old. Three: Don't make fun of your grading system for duelists." Arashi hesitantly answered, while Yuhiro and Herald just laughed.
"It's your first time, Arashi. Give yourself a break." Yuhiro told him, as he patted him on the back.
"If it's any consolation, Yuhiro and I, along with Ai, had to go through Roxy's wrath multiple times." Herald assured Arashi.
"That's right. I may be sweet, but I can certainly go all mama bear when needed." Roxy stated firmly to everyone. "Anyhow, I think it's time for some lunch. Can you cook some fresh burgers for us, Yuhiro?"
"Yeah sure." Yuhiro answered, as he stood up and headed towards the kitchen. Arashi attempted to follow him, but Roxy grabbed him by the shoulder.
"As for you, mister. You're going to help me bake some brownies. After all..." Roxy leaned over and whispered into Arashi's ear. "Brea's a sucker for sweets. But don't tell her I told you this."
Arashi widely smiled. Oh yeah! That will certainly work! "Then let's get baking!" He and Roxy then went over to the kitchen while Yuhiro began making burgers. These guys may be messed up, but it's in a good way. In a sense, it's like having another family, Arashi thought with a smile. One wacky family that I'm proud to be a part of.
Meanwhile, at the Kinoshita Residence...
Tsubaki and her dad were eating dinner in silence, as the news popped up on the television.
"Clarice Hutton, the leader of the Beta Branch, is now standing on trial for her various crimes," a female reporter said. "These crimes include prostitution, kidnapping, forced sterilization, and murder amongst others. Judges and prosecution are predicting a sentence of twenty years in jail should she be proven guilty..."
Seeing Tsubaki's concerned face, Hideki turned off the TV. "You're awfully quiet, honey. Everything okay?"
"Yeah, yeah. Everything's fine." Tsubaki answered quickly. She wanted to change the subject quickly. However...
"Tsubaki, I know this Turf War stuff's been bothering you." Hideki gave her a light smile. "You can tell me anything. You know that, right?"
"I..." Tsubaki hesitated. If she told her dad the truth... that she was sterilized by Clarice... At that moment, words popped into her mind.
"Your father loves you. He risked everything just so he can reconcile with you. So he can have his daughter back. If that's not what love is, then I have a ton of other examples I can add as well."
"It's ultimately your decision on whether or not you want to tell your dad."
"It's alright. There's no judgment here." Hideki assured her.
Hearing this, Tsubaki sighed. "Dad... you know how I got caught up in the Black Market after what happened to mom?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, Ace, or Akihiko Akutagawa in the real world, sent me to the Beta Branch for training." Tsubaki started to tear up. "There, they have this graduation ceremony. One where they... sterilize you..." She started crying. "That woman, Clarice, sterilized me after my training. Because of her, a part of me was forever removed."
Hideki gasped upon hearing this. It wasn't something he expected to hear, especially when it came from his daughter's mouth. "Honey... I'm so sorry. I really am. But know that what happened doesn't define who you are."
"It doesn't?" Tsubaki looked up at her dad.
"Of course not." Hideki confirmed with a smile. "By becoming a Charisma duelist, you're on the path of becoming a role model for girls everywhere. What's more, you're leading by example in saying that no matter what you did, it's never too late for redemption. And if that's not enough, you took down the Beta Branch and brought Clarice to justice. In doing so, you not only saved the lives of those who suffered under her, but prevented other girls from going through that awful experience. You should be proud of yourself, sweetie."
After hearing this explanation, Tsubaki smiled. "Thanks, dad. I... really needed to hear that. Oh, and I made some friends with the girls, especially with a girl named Mandy, who's Clarice's daughter."
"That's good for you, Tsubaki. Being a part of a community, especially one where people went through a similar experience, is one road to healing." After Hideki said his piece, Tsubaki narrowed his eyes. "Tsubaki?"
"Even though I took down Clarice, the real threat hasn't been stopped." Tsubaki said. "And until Ace is defeated forever, the battle isn't over yet."
"You're right on that." Hideki agreed. "Just know that you'll always have support from me, and spend some time with the friends you have now. I have a feeling you'll need all the help you can get in the coming days."
"Of course, dad." Tsubaki promised, the smile coming back. "After all, it's important not to waste precious time with those you care about."
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Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS Obscured Truth: Roxy's Reports 27: Yeshurun and Wyatt
Author's Notes
Hello, everyone! I hope you enjoyed the profiles for Clarice and Sandalphon! I encourage you to continue reading the reports prior to Chapter 65, as all of them contain post-credit scenes containing how the characters are doing regarding to the Turf War's aftermath. Stay tuned!