Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Going to the world of one of your favorite anime sounds very appealing on paper. Appearing in the office of, and in front of one of the most powerful, influential, and straight-up evil people in said world, not so much.

We stare at each other for only a moment. I promptly rammed my fist into his smug face before he could get a single word out.

Divine went down with a hard thud. The crunch against my knuckles indicated that I had likely broken his nose, among other damage.

I waited for a moment to make sure he wasn't getting back up. Considering this was the first time I was so scared of another human being, I think the moment felt a lot longer than it actually was.

I must have nailed him good. He's out like a light.

Judging by the blood rushing from his nose and the bruises rapidly forming on his skin, getting laid out like that won't be good for his complexion. 

I nudged his ribs with my foot to double-check before kneeling down and putting a hand over his mouth. Not sure if it’s good news or not, but I didn’t end up shoving his nose back into his brain as he’s still breathing.

Only now did I turn my attention to myself. While I was dressed in my normal clothes, there was an addition that I didn’t notice until then. My fingers probed the outline of something on my face. Upon taking it off, it looked like it was an old ceramic face mask that covered my nose up to my hairline. When I put it back on, it was black on my left side and white on my right side, vaguely reminding me of the Yin-Yang symbol. With the hood of my jacket pulled up, only my hands and the lower half of my face were exposed.

“The hell?” I muttered.

Looking back at Divine's unconscious form, I find myself amused at being able to punch the most punchable face in this world.

That amusement only lasted for a second before my face almost certainly paled in abject horror as I came to terms with my first thoughts on my situation.

I was in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.

Shit.

After taking a few minutes to compose myself, I glanced back at Divine in an attempt to figure out what to do with him.

I could finish him off right now... no, I don't want to take his life. Not because is it wrong, but because he may come back as a Dark Signer if my luck is truly horrendous.

Plan B it is, then.

Searching Divine's pockets, I found his wallet. On his desk, I saw his golden Duel Disk complete with Divine's deck. Mine now.

Looking around the room, I see the secret area where Divine keeps Godwin's dirty laundry.

I take what I can, before taking pictures of the rest with the camera on my phone. The more protection I have, and the less protection Divine has from Godwin, the better. 

I dash back into the main office area, fully aware that the longer I stay here, the more likely someone will walk in on this. God help me if Aki is the one to do so.

I managed to find what I assume to be a bottle of sake and a cloth, though I had to scramble around in the drawers to find a lighter.

With my improvised molotov cocktail in hand, I step back into Divine's hidden storage area. Popping off the cap of the sake, I stuck the cloth in.

I glanced back at Divine as I lit the lighter. I could just... no, no matter much he deserves it, I have no urge to take his life. 

So I'll take his freedom instead. Let's see if Divine can keep Godwin off his back without any proof of Godwin's dirty little secrets.

I lit the cloth and threw it into the hidden room, setting Divine's protection against Godwin ablaze. When I ran, I all but slammed the door behind me.

Chapter Text

Sooooo... yeah. I just committed arson and assault. Totally the best two things to have on my resume.

"Way to go, dumbass..." I grumbled to myself.

Both of those were bad enough on their own and would get me sent straight to Satellite if Security could identify me. Strangely, this didn't bother me as much as I thought it would, but I'm not getting my hopes up. Especially since going to Satellite would be preferable to facing down a particularly pissed-off Aki and her Black Rose Dragon.

Actually, scratch that. If I wound up going to Satellite, I would be sacrificed to the Earthbound Gods during the battle with the Dark Signers. The fact that this was the entire point of Satellite's separation from Neo Domino City only served to piss me off.

As soon as I started the fire, I bolted. Since I knew Godwin had what seemed to be satellite surveillance of the entire city, I made sure my hood stayed up before running. Not a fool-proof disguise, but it will make identifying me from a distance more difficult. Since it was nighttime, I stuck to the shadows whenever I could.

I eventually stopped at a public map board, both to catch my breath and figure out where the hell I was in this city.

As I looked it over, I realized the map itself looked suspiciously like the game map used in Tag Force 4, at least if memory served me correctly. 

I had no idea if using my game knowledge would help me out much, but it was better than my alternatives.

If I ran off the assumption that the city's current layout is similar to said map and used the locations I could travel to in that game as my landmarks, the closest known location would be Carly's apartment. I doubt she could, you know, help me evacuate from this plane of existence entirely, but having any allies at all is better than what I have to work with now.

Or at least it would, if not for two reasons.

One, she is always looking for that big scoop. Considering my literally otherworldly status, I cannot afford to attract that kind of curiosity and attention to myself. The longer I'm around her, the more chances there are that I'll slip up.

Two, unless punching out her would-be killer changed something through the butterfly effect, she was to become a Dark Signer in the near future. If she becomes aware of my situation before then, I have no way of knowing how the Dark Signers as a whole will use that information. Whatever it is will be to my massive detriment regardless.

The only way they somehow wouldn't use it is if they considered me to be that far beneath the realm of their consideration. Or if Carly wrote me off as crazy, which may or may not be worse.

I didn't know if their arrogance or intelligence would win out in the end, and I didn't want to find out.

So Carly's apartment and its immediate vicinity were out of the question. What were the nearest alternatives?

The Downtown District, the Tops plaza, and... Misty's apartment, located in Tops.

Which is another place I will avoid like the plague for the same overall reasons as Carly's apartment. Except that Misty, in all likelihood, already is a Dark Signer. Worse, she is a Dark Signer able to walk amongst normal people, completely undetected.

And if Carly was my only functioning example, I'd rather avoid having my fortune told by her at all costs.

I already knew that Misty had foretold Carly's death in canon. And guess what happened a mere eight episodes later?

My only real saving grace was that Misty specifically needed to see your face to read your fortune. My mask was looking more and more valuable already.

Speaking of Misty, I also knew that Satellite and Neo Domino are separated for the sake of limiting the area of influence the Dark Signers have and the damage they can cause. However, Misty defeats that entire purpose just by being here. Did Godwin ever even stop and take that possibility into consideration? 

With a touch of irony, I realized that Neo Domino City was still the safest place for me at the moment, despite Misty's presence. Being able to walk amongst normal people undetected works to Misty's advantage right now, so she isn't going to do anything big just yet. 

Calling on even one of the geoglyphs was about as far from subtle as one could get.

Those things cover a lot of ground, destroy everything in their path as they form, and they emit giant purple flames. Each one was a real contender for the world's largest neon sign.

So with Misty's apartment and its immediate vicinity written off entirely, that left the Tops plaza and the Downtown district. Tops plaza was out of the question as well.

I couldn't possibly go to Tops without standing out like a sore thumb. That place screamed high-class society in this world. And would I blend in there? The answer was a big, fat nope.

That left the Downtown District. It's far from perfect, but it was my best bet as far as safe havens go. Even if 'safe' was the operative word here.

As I took my first steps toward my first real destination, I took off the mask I was wearing before stuffing it into my coat.

Considering it was a new addition that came to this world with me with no explanation, I should've probably just tossed it.

However, my gamer instincts were acknowledging it as a "key item". It was likely far too useful for me to ditch it, even if I didn't actually know anything about it. At least it wasn't behaving like the masks that Darkness wore in GX.

Yet.

I had been walking for an hour by this point. During that time, I mulled over who or what could have possibly dragged me to this world.

From what I could recall, dimensional travel (or something to that effect) has happened in every single installment of the anime at least once, but it was Arc-V that really focused on it as a plot point.

The first possibility that came to mind was Yliaster. Z-ONE and his group were already capable of messing with time, and Placido's sword allowed its user to create portals to other locations, so messing with space was among their skillset as well. If I recall, messing with time almost always entailed messing with space, so it didn't seem like that much of a logical leap with regard to his capabilities. 

Nonetheless, I wrote off the possibility about as quickly as I came up with it. I had no intention of doing what Z-ONE wants, regardless of his reasons. Also, the idea that Z-ONE would bring me here just didn't seem like the sort of thing he would do, even if he was capable.

Which was, probably, a generous assumption on my part. I felt he was more likely to send someone back in time to shank me at the moment I arrived.

The reason why they haven't yet was a mystery that I was in no hurry to solve.

The second possibility that came to mind was the Crimson Dragon itself. I knew it is capable of messing with time thanks to the Bonds Beyond Time movie. Much like Z-ONE, it wasn't a stretch to speculate that it might be able to do this. Hell, last I checked, it could very well do anything it put its mind to.

But would it? I didn't think so. Its direct intervention has only happened every so often, and every single thing it has ever done in that fashion has involved the Signers in some way. I am not a Signer, so that was out of the question.

All the other possibilities after that got more implausible with each one that came to mind. When I somehow managed to get to Daitokuji's cat of all things, I decided to just drop the issue for now.

The sun was rising by the time I got to the Downtown District. The streets I walked were starting to get busy with foot traffic, but nothing like rush hour. 

I adjusted my posture to something a bit more relaxed. I spent the entire trip making my best impression of a coiled spring, but now that I was in a crowd, I needed to stop looking like a cornered animal. 

Although my mind was still very alert.

Navigating this place was nothing like the anime or the games made it seem. The fact that I didn't benefit from "fast travel" or the like further cemented that fact in my mind.

I found myself desiring Placido's sword a great deal. But I would probably have to rip the arrogant android to shreds in order to get my hands on it, and he doesn't even come back in time yet, so that is literally impossible for me at this point.

I did not want a D-Wheel, though. Even Yusei with his homemade ride could be forced into a duel when Security activated Speed World. Whatever I went with, I wanted my ride to be as free from those limitations as possible.

Maybe it was because I was actually a part of this world now, but a normal, mundane vehicle had never been so appealing to me.

As I continued on my travels, I listened to the people around me. 

Most of what they actually said was utterly meaningless, at least to me.

Things like being late for work or being pissed at some boyfriend. 

What wasn't meaningless was the fact that I could understand what they said. Shouldn't they be speaking Japanese?

But... even if they were bilingual, it still wouldn't explain why they all spoke English. It's not like they had to.

Glancing around, I saw what looked like a newspaper stand. 

Walking up to it, I picked up and started to read. It wasn't breaking news or anything, but the fact that I could read it at all was comforting to me. I would have been lost otherwise.

As I read, I traced my finger along the text from right to left- Wait, what?

I shook my head for a brief moment. You don't read English from right to left.

Squinting my eyes, I refocused on the page. Now that I was actually aware of it, I could see actual Japanese kanji. I was reading this thing like a native and I didn't even notice the difference.

"Kaiba, your past life called. He wants his auto-translate back." I muttered.

... And somehow, somewhere, I was sure that Kaiba was groaning from the mere existence of that sentence.

*grumble*

My stomach made a very unpleasant noise. Right. I haven't eaten at all since I got here.

"I should find something to eat," I muttered the obvious.

Thus, I turned to take my first step toward the first grocery store I could find.

Only to stop when everyone started screaming.

Confusion set in as I looked around in an attempt to figure out the source of the commotion. After tracking the general direction everyone was looking in, I looked up.

And was greeted by the sight of a huge cloud of billowing smoke.

I was already running towards it before I could really process that a building was most likely on fire.

Chapter Text

I was probably doing something stupid.

It hasn't even been 24 hours since I screwed over one of the most influential people in this world and I was probably doing something stupid.

Somewhere along the way, my brain finally decided to acknowledge that fact, but I was still running.

Common sense stopped being my friend hours ago, and any hope I had of being able to actually relax and process things was shattered into a thousand pieces.

Now, here I am, behind a building that would likely collapse within the next few minutes.

The place looked average enough for Neo Domino's standards. If you disregarded the fact that it was, oh, you know, on fire. 

Why did I suddenly have a horrible feeling about this?

On the bright side, the flames haven't reached the side of the building I was standing out of. But it was only a matter of time before this side was consumed by the flames as well. 

On the downside, I could hear someone on the other side of the wall in front of me, crying out for help, though her attempts were messed up by her incessant coughing. Smoke inhalation, my brain supplied.

How I heard her at all, I'm not sure. Maybe there were vents somewhere and her voice carried over, but I didn't bother looking for any. There certainly wasn't a back door to this place. 

Any complaints I had for the architects regarding such an obvious design flaw took a back seat when I realized something.

Even if someone had called both an ambulance and a fire truck before I got here, they would likely still take time to get here. And even then, the fire needs to be put out before the medics can get in to do their jobs.

This was the most likely scenario I could think of.

If nothing was done, this woman would die.

I whipped my head around, looking for something, anything, that I could use. 

My eyes locked onto what looked like a decently sized steel canister. It will have to do.

I had to empty the thing of its contents before I could really use it as I intended, but I soon had it in position. Searching, I found a section of the wall that seemed weaker than the rest. From fire damage or not, I didn't know.

I charged into the wall as hard as I could, with the canister acting as a battering ram. A small hole opened up from the impact.

It took a few more charges to make the hole big enough for a person to fit in, but after that, I was able to pull part of my hoodie over my mouth and get inside.

The damage was about as bad as I imagined. The flames raged on the other side of the building and were quickly encroaching on what little was left. The flames completely blocked the entrance and lit the interior of the building with a bright orange hue.

The woman I was looking for was lying on the ground a little to my left. I wasn't sure if she was still conscious, and I didn't have the time to find out.

I needed both hands to lift her up, so I took a deep breath and then dropped the hoodie from my mouth.

Picking her up wasn't impossible, but stress had a funny way of making things harder than they had any right to be.

Pulling her up into a fireman's carry, I turned around and made to exit the burning building.

I was almost through the wall when a massive jet of flames surged from within the building.

"Hot hot hot!" I hissed, letting out some of my breath in the process.

While the flames licked my back, it was the sudden surge of heat that nearly knocked me over then and there. This was really pushing the limits of my ability to tolerate high temperatures. Which, by my own estimate, was hot garbage in and of itself.

With a few more shaky steps, I made it to the nearest wall that wasn't going to collapse in on itself anytime soon and put the woman on my shoulders down against the wall so that she was sitting upright.

Standing up to catch my breath, I idly took note of the rescuee.

Trifocal glasses. Orange vest. Black hair.

What the hell is Carly doing here?

After finally catching my breath, I distantly heard the sound of sirens. Help had arrived.

I needed to get them over here somehow. Smoke inhalation was one thing I didn't actually know how to work through, and getting them over here meant whatever medics were available would not be far behind.

But Security's justice system was a joke. If I could help it, I would rather not be put through the kangaroo court over something like this.

Or anything, really. I know I broke a law somewhere when I decided to pull this stunt.

So I needed to get them over here without being seen.

But how to do that...

I looked around for a brief second, before finding a discarded piece of the burning building nearby. Whatever it was before, the fires that engulfed the thing had run out of fuel to burn and the leftover material had been reduced to something resembling a piece of charcoal roughly the size of a football.

Taking it in my hands, I found that it was not yet so brittle from the fire that it would crumble in my hands. It was still very hot to the touch though, and my hands couldn't hold it for more than a second.

Using my sleeves instead, I picked it up and headed around the building, thankful that the path wasn't narrow enough for the flames to hinder me.

Peering around the corner, I saw fire engines, ambulances, and Security duel runners.

If things were different, I would have simply stayed hidden and pretended I never saw anything.

Instead, I simply tossed the charcoal as close to a Security officer as I could and bolted.

I just barely rounded the corner in time to hide from them as they found Carly. 

The medics weren't far behind, either. Hopefully, they can help her. 

At least they will not bother looking for me yet. 

I can't say for sure if I got to her in time, but at least she has a chance to make it through this.

I turned around and ran in the other direction. In all likelihood, they would start looking into the cause of the fire, which meant looking for potential suspects. I needed to get out here before that happened.

About thirty seconds into my exit, I looked over my shoulder to see the building finally collapse in the distance.

I shivered at the thought of being crushed beneath the flaming wreckage.

Chapter Text

Divine and Carly.

Thinking back on the fire started to put some things into perspective for me.

In the last 24 hours, I have made a slight impact on the lives of both the killer and the victim.

Not that it really did much good for me.

Divine will probably want me dead, and Carly didn't even see me when I (hopefully) saved her. No one did.

But I was fine with both results.

I may not want to kill Divine, but beyond that, he can get eaten by Ccarayhua for all I care...

Or be impaled on Assla Piscu's beak...

Or fall a thousand feet to his death...

Yeah, I really didn't care much for Divine.

That aside, (hopefully) saving Carly was, in itself, a good deed on my part. 

I decided to take a little satisfaction in that.

After finding another map board and determining my then-current location, I started heading towards the Security HQ.

It would take skirting around the Tops plaza, and it was probably one of the last places I wanted to go to, even more so than Carly or Misty's apartments, but as long as I present myself as an ordinary Neo Domino citizen, I shouldn't get into trouble with Security.

Plus, my only other alternatives were the Stadium and the Hospital.

Unless I considered chewing out Jack for betraying his friends to be a worthwhile use of my time, the Stadium had nothing of interest to me.

And as much as I'd love to go to the hospital and confirm that Carly is ok, that could and, likely, would lead to questions that I couldn't possibly answer.

That wasn't even mentioning Carly's curiosity, which, again, is one kind of attention I didn't want to attract to myself.

By the time I got to the Security HQ, night had fallen once again.

My feet were killing me. I was tired, hungry, sore, and exhausted, so I looked around for a fast-food joint.

The fact that all my usual options from back home didn't seem to exist in this world was adding a headache to my list of short-term problems.

When I eventually did find a fast-food joint, I decided to put Divine's wallet to good use.

Looking through it revealed quite a sum of cash. There were also some credit cards, but without the PIN number, those were useless to me.

I gave the cashier my order and went to my table so I could rest my sore and stiff muscles.

I've traveled farther in the last 24 hours than I have in my entire life.

By this point, I was already loathing physical activity with the rage of a thousand suns, but I knew it was necessary.

Until I found a way home, I needed to stay on the move.

I really wanted to go home.

Ramen was far from my first choice when it came to picking my meals, but since burgers and some of my other go-to options hadn't been found yet, it was what I went with.

But that in itself was fine. I was eating the instant stuff, but it was edible, which is all I could really ask for.

Eating it with chopsticks was the part that proved to be a pain in the ass.

I still went with it since I wanted to at least try to blend in.

When the cashier took one look in my direction, her face filled with abject horror, I knew I was handling the chopsticks in a way that could only be described as horrific.

I pointedly chose to ignore the stares and finish my meal as quickly as I could.

And if I looked like I was in a hurry on my way out, well, that was my business.

About an hour after I left the place, I started thinking about my situation once more.

Divine will likely take quite some time to recover from what I did to him. And even then, he might never recover fully.

I took his shield against Godwin, and I stole his deck, the one thing that made him truly dangerous, as well as the one thing that theoretically could have sped up his recovery. And I felt little reason to worry about him having extra decks since he wasn't like Daichi Misawa.

On top of that, I doubted that he could turn to his convenient super-soldiers for help. He can't even give any of them a phone call to come to his office with their decks, alone, take their decks, and then silence them to preserve his public image. After punching him out, his voice would be all messed up by his broken nose.

Really, aside from Divine's ego, the Arcadia Movement itself is what slows his recovery down significantly.

A big part of its sales pitch is that it "protects" Psychic Duelists. 

If Divine, its leader, was discovered to have gotten the crap kicked out of him by a random nobody with no superpowers, then regardless of the circumstances, the faith that Psychic Duelists have in him would be jeopardized.

More than anything, Divine needs to be seen as someone who can protect Psychic Duelists. He needs to be seen as powerful. And without the faith that Psychic Duelists have in him, none of his plans, whatever they are, would even be possible.

Forget Godwin, forget the entire world, Divine's real enemy is his own PR.

In the grand scheme of things, I forced Divine onto the back burner, on top of robbing him blind.

I wasn't even firing on all cylinders at the time, and I set his plans back immensely and took away some advantages he can't simply replace.

He has to recover in secret, and he has to heal like the rest of us normies.

And the Arcadia Movement itself will become unstable for a while since Divine won't be able to keep them organized. He can't show his face to them, and he can't even speak to them.

I'm the one that did it, and I still can't believe how thoroughly I actually screwed him over.

I idly wondered if it was eating him up inside, knowing how easy it would be to deal with him.

That said, when he does finally recover, I can fully expect him to drop whatever else he was doing.

For as intelligent and suave as Divine can be, that facade is only surface level. When things don't go his way, one shouldn't expect his mask to stay on for long.

Divine will recover eventually, and when he does, he's gonna want me gone.

And I need to find some way to prepare myself before that happens. Fighting a defensive battle against a particularly pissed-off Divine with nothing but the clothes on my back is no different from a death sentence.

If my guess is right, it will take, at minimum, two or three weeks for Divine to fully recover. That's my deadline.

But I still wanted to prepare as much as possible and as quickly as possible.

Divine was never seen being punched in canon, and as such, he likely isn't used to it.

Above all else, I should expect Divine to do something he normally wouldn't after what I did to him.

When I think of that, I can't help but feel like the butterfly effect is a real bitch.

Finding a place to sleep was... a new experience, for lack of a better phrase.

Ever since I came to this world, I was effectively homeless, so I was restricted to the streets for the time being.

The hardest part was mentally adjusting to the fact that my options were vastly different than before.

I have no form of identification, no desire to get one, and a single wallet to my name, which isn't even mine.

But since taking it was probably screwing Divine over, I decided to take a little satisfaction in that.

Was it petty? Maybe. Probably.

Did I care? Not really, no.

Eventually, I opted to sleep against a tree in a nearby park. 

Angling myself in such a way as to remain out of sight, I sat down.

Anyone who passed by would probably think I was simply taking a nap here.

And to be fair, they wouldn't be entirely wrong.

I eventually decided to close my eyes and try to get some sleep.

It was about an hour later when I finally fell into a dreamless sleep.

Chapter Text

When I finally woke up, the sun was already high in the sky. 

Even after resting for as long as I did, I felt pretty sore from yesterday.

Slowly getting to my feet,  I remembered my previous predictions on what Divine will do, based on his personality, his needs, and the time his recovery might take.

Then, I started to mentally run through what I needed. 

Namely, I needed some way to defend myself beyond my own bare hands.

Preferably lots of ways. The list of possible combinations of cards that any given Psychic Duelist can have was theoretically endless.

Which was, in turn, a theoretically endless variety of ways for me to die. Horribly.

I, on the other hand, would be limited to thoroughly mundane weapons and methods.

Knives, stun batons, tasers, trash can lids, pipes, crowbars, and more. You get the idea.

To win, I would have to fight dirty. Very dirty. 

At least I don't have to duel with them to keep myself alive. The only cards I had on me were taken from Divine, and I had no real desire to play by the rules of this world.

I knew that this world generally ran on the logic that Duels decided everything, but when you have someone like Divine to worry about, it's pretty easy to disregard that logic.

Someone who can, and will kill you outside of a duel if he ever really felt like it was one thing I didn't need or want to fight fair against.

Besides, if he has his way, there won't be anything left of my corpse by the time he's done with me.

I, for one, like to exist, thank you very much.

After a bit more wandering, I decided to relax in an alleyway.

Just deep enough that I stayed out of sight, but also not deep enough that it would be easy for someone to make me... disappear.

Even while knowing, more or less, what I needed, I wasn't quite sure how to get them.

I knew that weapons could be found in this world. Saiga had some explosives at his disposal, after all. 

What I didn't know was where and how I could procure them. Not without raising several questions.

I was pretty sure a background check was required as well, and I didn't want to subject myself to one for obvious reasons.

And even if I could get my hands on them, I should only use explosives for distractions and sabotage. 

For anything else, they're way too loud for my tastes.

The other thing I needed was glitter bombs.

Why? Because if I was going to die, I wanted to at least see Divine covered in glitter. I wanted to see him get pranked.

Was it the single most juvenile thing I could do? Maybe. Probably.

But I wanted to do it anyway.

I should try to have some fun despite my situation.

I didn't have a destination in mind just yet.

Still, I felt I should get moving.

It was when I stopped leaning on the wall behind me that it happened.

At first, all I heard was some light breathing.

Which got heavier and louder, until someone burst into the alley I was in, running like his life depended on it with a purse in one of his hands.

A purse snatcher? Here? Really?

Why the hell did someone think it was a good idea to commit a crime so close to Security HQ?

Actually, scratch that. He was either just that stupid or just that desperate.

Or both. Probably both.

I considered letting him go before I saw the object in his other hand.

A pocket knife. Drenched in fresh blood. Shit.

I didn't even know the whole situation here, and I was worried for whoever this asshole had stabbed, which couldn't have happened more than five minutes ago.

He was yelling something at me, but I wasn't paying attention to what he said anymore. 

I didn't have time to pull the mask on, and even if I did, I would have to... silence this guy afterward.

Yeah, I didn't want to go for that option if I didn't have to.

So I waited for him to get closer.

When he got close enough, he thrust the knife forward. 

I responded by grabbing his wrist mid-thrust, before using his momentum against him by swinging him into the wall behind me. 

He hit the wall head-first and, while he was disoriented, I jabbed at him a few more times before laying him out flat with a right hook.

I grabbed the knife as soon as he dropped it, before stuffing it into one of my coat pockets.

A quick once-over showed that he wasn't quite unconscious, but it didn't matter. 

He was too weak to put up any more resistance.

Exhaustion, injury, disorientation, and the loss of your weapon can do that to you.

...I wanted to give him a swift kick to the head regardless. 

Here I was, just minding my own business, and then this happened.

Suffice it to say I was miffed.

I didn't have much time to dwell on that though, not when I heard two male voices.

"He didn't get very far!" One voice yelled.

"After him!" the other voice added.

I ran in the opposite direction. I just barely rounded the corner when the owners of those voices showed up.

"There he is!" Yelled the first voice.

Their stomping feet told me they were getting closer to the purse snatcher. They slowed down as they got closer.

Then I heard it.

A sigh, followed by a female voice, "I warned him that this would happen."

"He really should have listened," said the first guy.

"After all, your predictions are very accurate," said the second voice. Wait, predictions?

I peeked around the corner and my blood ran cold.

Long, black hair, a white and green dress, a blue gem tied to her forehead, and piercing blue eyes. 

Misty Lola looked at the purse snatcher with a pitying expression before lightly shaking her head.

Why the hell is she here?

"Still I wonder who did this to him?" The first guy said.

"Hmm. I wonder." Misty said. Her eyes then drifted over to the corner I was hiding behind.

Our eyes met for a brief second...

And she smiled at me.

While I objectively knew she (hopefully) didn't mean me any harm, it still managed to send a chill down my spine.

So I turned back around behind the corner, politely, slowly, and quietly...

And once I was out of sight...

I broke into a dead sprint.

Chapter Text

I didn't know how long I kept running before I finally tired out.

My everything was sore, my heart was thumping against my eardrums, and I was sweating buckets.

Shit. I really didn't want that to happen.

Was I going to have to interact with Misty in the future?

With my luck, the answer to that would be a resounding yes.

I really should have just left the area and called it a day.

At this point, I just wanted to collapse then and there, and never wake up again.

Instead, I opted to sit next to a tree.

I did nothing but sit there for the next few hours. 

No plans, no fears, and no thoughts. I just sat there in a daze while the inside of my head felt like it got stuffed full of cotton.

When I finally felt coherent and able enough to resume activity, I decided to capitalize on it.

I still had daylight to burn, and I wanted to go home.

I really wanted to go home.

As I surveyed my surroundings, I distantly recognized the Security storage warehouse. 

After Yusei gets arrested, his deck and D-Wheel get sent there.

That's what usually happens to things that Security has seized, though I had no doubt that exceptions existed.

As I finally stood up, I saw something. Or rather, someone.

His outfit was different, and his hat did a good job of hiding his crab-shaped haircut.

But since I knew what to look for, Yusei Fudo stood out like a sore thumb to me.

And stalking behind him was a Security D-Wheel, no doubt commandeered by Tetsu Ushio.

So Yusei was currently attempting to get his stuff back from Security. That was during episodes 11 and 12 if I recalled correctly.

Originally, I would have wanted to stay hidden and let the plot run its course. 

Any hopes of doing that got shot to hell from the moment I got here. Punching out Divine was a good way to do that.

With that in mind, I started to come up with a plan. One that would (hopefully) help me keep myself alive.

It was risky, and there was no guarantee it would pay off.

But as my plan got more coherent in my mind, I knew what I wanted to do.

The smirk I made would have given Ushio nightmares.

Maybe.

As I wandered the warehouse, I spotted several Security officers in the middle of their shifts.

My eyes roamed over each one, looking for the best one to use for what I had in mind.

My plan had a few stages to it. Stage 1 consisted of knocking out a Security officer and taking his uniform so I could blend in with the others.

Which was a bit more difficult than I would have expected or liked.

Unlike in canon, where only Security officers with onscreen names had unique physiques to them, each officer here had a different physique. While some were similar, this was not often the case.

Their physiques made it so each uniform was differently sized, so I couldn't just take any one uniform and go ham.

I eventually found an officer whose physique closely matched my own. He even had a stun baton in a holster on his hip. 

Then I started observing him, mentally recording his habits and patrol route so that I could best impersonate him if needed.

While I was at it, I managed to locate a map of the place, familiarizing myself with it to the best of my ability.

A few hours later, I had gathered enough intel to work with when the PA system announced that the building would close in 15 minutes.

I slipped into the bathroom so I could wait for the building to close unnoticed.

When the lights went out, I put on my mask as I moved to exit the bathroom, only to freeze in my tracks.

In the stall next to me, the door opened, and I saw him.

It was the same outfit as earlier, but this time I could see his criminal marker. A result of Security's, quite frankly, lousy legal system.

Yusei Fudo and I stared at each other for a good minute, neither one of us sure of what do to.

Eventually, my mind concluded that talking might blow both our covers, so I put my index finger over my mouth in the universal gesture of 'shush'.

Yusei obviously didn't quite understand what was happening, but he was, thankfully, quick on the uptake, if his slow nod was anything to go by.

I gestured for him to go first, to which he, thankfully, complied. I went out about five minutes later, silencing my footsteps while I clung to the shadows.

When I again found my target, I followed closely behind.

It was a test of stealth and patience, and he came close to noticing my presence a few times. I was, luckily, able to avoid detection.

About an hour later, he finally decided to go to the bathroom, a habit I learned about while analyzing him.

As soon as he was all the way inside, I slipped into the same room and struck.

I whipped one hand over his mouth to keep him silent, then used my other hand to yank his stun baton out of its holster.

I turned it on and then pressed against his torso, praying that I didn't stun myself in the process.

The effect was immediate.

He slightly spasmed before collapsing in a heap. Yanking his helmet off of his head, I whacked him with the baton a few more times for good measure, knocking him out in the process.

With that out of the way, I got to work removing his uniform for me to use.

After several minutes, I managed to get most of the uniform on, stuffing my own clothes into the jacket to hide them. All that was left was the helmet and my disguise would be complete.

I idly noted that this uniform also had a Security ID card and a wallet, among other things stuffed into the various pockets, but only the ID card was necessary right now.

As I put the helmet on, I couldn't help but smirk.

Stage 1 was complete. Now it was time for Stage 2.

I stepped out into the halls of the warehouse with my new uniform on, before doing my best impersonation of the average Security officer.

Eventually, I saw Yusei, who was most likely on his way to the room where his D-Wheel was being kept.

Knowing what came next, I bolted in a separate direction. I still clung to the shadows, but not as much as before.

After all, I had a uniform on. If anyone asked, I would simply say I had orders to do something else.

A few minutes later, I came across the room I was looking for. The one where Security can control the shutters and doors remotely.

The mere existence of this room was the biggest problem Yusei had to deal with at this point in canon. It would be an even bigger problem for me if I didn't nip it in the bud.

In canon, Saiga would eventually help Yusei deal with the doors in his path, but I'm probably not going to be taking the same route that Yusei did. That means I need to help myself.

I was particularly glad that this room was so close to where Yusei's D-Wheel is being kept. My plan could have had a lot less reward than risk if that were the case.

Yusei couldn't do what I was about to do because Ushio was already expecting him to come here.

Too bad for Ushio, though. He's just making things easier for me by hyper-focusing on Yusei.

Just as I got close to the door, I heard a distant crash, followed by the shouts of who-knows-how-many Security officers. Yusei was back in action.

And now it was my turn.

Pulling my stun baton out of its holster, I braced myself for what would happen. What I was about to do.

After tonight, Security will become aware of my existence, and things will really start to change.

Unlike Yusei, I am not, and never will be, a Signer. Godwin doesn't have anything to blackmail me with, and even if he did, there was nothing he could stand to gain by doing so.

I was just a monkey wrench in his plans, if anything. So, just like Divine, he will try to remove me from the equation.

Well, screw that noise.

Using my new Security ID card, I unlocked the door in front of me.

As soon as the electronic door opened, I rushed in and clubbed the first person within reach. He went down like a sack of potatoes.

Every other head in the room whirled around to face me.

My eyes quickly roamed over every person in the room. In the corner of the room, I saw a fire extinguisher.

I gave them my best slasher smile as I brandished my stun baton.

It was time to crash this party.

Chapter Text

Misty was a lot of things.

A supermodel. An actress.

A big sister. A Dark Signer.

She had everything a person could ask for in life, but they weren't the most important things to her.

That said, juggling these four aspects of her (un)life was a bit easier than one would expect.

In some ways, the first two went hand-in-hand with one another.

The third was... harder for her, considering what happened to her little brother.

And the fourth was, strangely, the easiest of all of them.

Truthfully, even she herself didn't know why she could still blend in among normal people the way she does.

But it made things easier for her. 

Stay hidden, gather information, and carry out other tasks as needed.

That was why today, she was feeling somewhat... distracted.

A few hours ago, she was on her way to a photoshoot. Along the way there, her purse got stolen and one of the photographers got stabbed in the process.

She did try to warn the would-be purse snatcher that it wouldn't end well for him, but he was well past the point of listening. A pity. Her predictions were known for being accurate.

So, after calling an ambulance, which only took a few minutes to arrive, she spent the next several minutes looking for the purse snatcher alongside two others from the photoshoot.

What she found was said purse snatcher, collapsed and bruised, much like her prediction had shown to her.

When she looked to the other end of the alleyway, she saw him.

A young man peeking around the corner.

He had a black hoodie, pale skin, and blue eyes.

Those features alone were nothing too unusual to Misty.

His expression was.

He hid it well, but the supermodel had told quite a few fortunes just by reading their faces. Reading expressions was just the next logical step.

And that young man's expression was... strangely hard to ignore. Doubly so for her. Reading faces made it rather easy for her to memorize them.

Maybe that was why he couldn't get that man's face out of her mind. Or his expression, as well as he tried to hide it.

His expression had fear practically carved into it.

Granted, different people have reacted differently to her, but even then...

Misty had never seen such a reaction. In anyone.

Nervousness, maybe. She did often seem hard to approach.

But not fear. Never fear.

Suffice it to say, it was a real shock to her system.

She later checked if there was anything on her face, but that turned up nothing. She then checked her dress, but that yielded similar results.

The only other reason she could think of was that he... he knew.

Knew that she, Misty Lola, was a Dark Signer.

But that was impossible.

Few people even knew the legend of the Signers, and even fewer knew it to be true.

But her other alternatives simply didn't add up. 

Almost as if in response to her concerns, her phone rang as soon as she returned to her apartment.

She answered without any real forethought.

She immediately wished she didn't.

"Good evening, Misty. I trust your day went well?"

Dark, commanding, and terrifying.

Even though she was already dead, the voice of Rudger inspired fear that kept her in place, like a fly in a web. It was as fitting as it was disturbing.

Still, she did her best to remain calm.

"It has, Rudger. But we both know this isn't a social call." 

It was best to drop the pretenses as quickly as possible. Maintaining her composure only got harder the longer the conversation dragged on.

That was what it was like to interact with this man.

"Indeed. I suppose I'll just get to my point." Rudger began.

"My spiders have found something interesting by the Security storage warehouse," Rudger stated. "I believe it might be one of the Signers. I want you to look into it."

Misty briefly pondered whether she should question his orders, but decided against it. If Rudger was ordering her to do this, it was likely that a subtle approach was needed. Something Rudger and his puppets would be incapable of pulling off.

"I'll start an investigation tonight," Misty replied. "Is there anything else?" She asked.

What followed was a momentary silence. As terrifying as Rudger's words were, his silence somehow felt worse.

Misty wasn't sure what to do. Thankfully, she didn't have to wait long for an answer.

"There is one more thing." He stated. 

"Oh? And what would that be?" Misty questioned.

Another pause. This one lasted a good ten seconds.

It was official, she hated Rudger's silence.

"Simply put, something has gone wrong," Rudger answered, seemingly unsure how else to put it.

"What do you mean?" Misty asked.

"Since yesterday, Uru has been anxious. As it turns out, something has happened to the doors of the Underworld."

The doors of the Underworld were, of course, something Misty had been informed about.

The idea that anything happened to them was, of course, something she should be concerned about.

The fact that of all things Uru was anxious over this spoke volumes to both Dark Signers.

Uru, Rudger's Earthbound God.

"Would you mind elaborating?" Misty asked for clarification.

"I don't know all the details, but I know for certain that the doors of the Underworld have been sealed."

That raised some alarm bells for Misty.

"Wouldn't that mean someone managed to seal the Controllers?" Misty asked. She needed clarity on this.

"That's just it. All four control towers are still up and running, and yet the doors of the Underworld have been sealed as though the Controllers were sealed." What.

That... was the opposite of what the Dark Signers wanted. As a whole, anyway.

It was also impossible.

And yet, that seemed to be the case. Misty knew, with grim certainty, that Rudger wouldn't lie about something like this.

"As I said, I still don't know the specifics, but it seems something, beyond the four control towers, has sealed the doors of the Underworld" Rudger explained.

"And what should we do about this?" Misty asked.

"I'm not certain. But we haven't lost. Not yet." Rudger stated. "From what I could gather, the seal in place isn't quite as... permanent as the Controllers would be. Even so, we must figure out the cause and deal with it before it becomes a problem. I will call again once I come up with a course of action," he concluded.

"I see," Misty said, "Then if that is all, I'll talk to you later." 

"Indeed." Was Rudger's reply.

The phone disconnected a second later.

That... was not good.

If the door to the Underworld is sealed, the King of the Underworld cannot resurrect, rendering the Dark Signer's objective a failure.

Originally, the Signers could only win if they defeat the Dark Signers and seal the Controllers within a time limit. This... auxiliary seal, for lack of a better term, has rendered that time limit a non-factor.

Meaning the only way the Dark Signers can win is to defeat their Signer counterpart.

And even then, while their personal grudges can be settled, the Dark Signer's overall objective cannot be completed.

As a Dark Signer herself, Misty could admit that this turn of events was... vexing.

But without a doubt, Misty would have some work to do, beyond the search for the fifth Dark Signer.

First, she needed to look into Rudger's findings.

She turned to her wardrobe, filled with various outfits that she would wear, whether for a photo shoot or a film or even because of the simple desire to wear them.

If she was going into Security territory, she wanted to be sufficiently disguised.

Nonetheless, the prospect of interfering with Security filled her no small amount of, admittedly twisted, glee. Their near-complete lack of investigation into Toby's death was still quite fresh in her mind.

After half a minute, she found something that would provide a sufficient disguise. Gazing upon the outfit with a bit of nostalgia, a small smile graced her lips.

'Things certainly became a lot more interesting,' she thought.

Chapter Text

If I ever had to talk about this later, I would say that this was... boring. Unimpressive, even.

This wasn't one of those light novels where the protagonist defeats the enemy or enemies in one blow because they were overpowered or some other cliche along those lines.

This was nothing more than someone who had an idea of how to fight disabling a group of people who didn't. Each one ran at me with their arms flailing about with no real rhyme or reason. They clearly had never been in a fight in their lives.

What started as the passionate flurry of swings from my baton quickly turned into something more robotic and monotonous. I even started to feel a little bad about this.

As I said, it was unimpressive, and I can admit to that.

Disregarding that for a moment, I turned my attention to the computers these guys were operating. 

It took a little bit of fiddling with the controls, but I spent the better half of my time on a computer. 

Thinking of that only made me feel a bit worse.

I really wanted to go home.

Once I got all the doors and shutters open, I turned my attention to the fire extinguisher. 

Yanking it from where it was held on the wall, I took it back to the computers with me...

And started smashing the computers, using the fire extinguisher as an improvised blunt instrument. It was like using a hammer, but the fire extinguisher was, obviously, a lot more awkward to hold in my hands.

Eventually, I managed to sufficiently trash the computers, rendering them useless until Security could fix them again.

Hopefully, I'll be long gone by the time they can do that.

Once that was done, I headed out of the room.

Stage 2 was complete.

Now for Stage 3.

As I entered the room that was previously occupied by Yusei's D-Wheel, I knew I was at the make-or-break moment of my whole plan.

This is where I determine if my plan will pay off as I hope. I took a huge gamble with my freedom on the line just to get here. 

Looking around, I saw that there were no leftover Security officers guarding the place.

Not that I was surprised. This entire plan hinged on Ushio's obsession with arresting Yusei and anyone beneath him on the food chain being obligated to follow suit. 

As I looked around the various crates in the room, I idly noted that the crates were sorted out based on which person it was seized from.

This made sense to me since Yusei's stuff was all gathered in the same container.

I eventually found what I was looking for.

Suffice it to say, I struck gold.

Inside one of the containers was an entire slew of tools.

Survival knives, pistols, the works.

All of that was packed into the back of a single motorcycle.

I even checked the vehicle more closely and found the key in the ignition.

I get that Security probably doesn't expect anyone to actually be dumb enough to try and steal their stuff back from here, but this is ridiculous.

Oh well, I'm more than happy to take advantage of their negligence.

As I turned the key and started the motorcycle, a blaring noise resounded through the room.

I winced at the sound, but after about ten seconds, I realized that the "noise" was actually a song.

So this ride has a radio. Neat. I missed being able to listen to music.

I wasn't sure what song I was listening to exactly, but it sounded an awful lot like the song "I'm Shipping Up To Boston".

... Well, I already went into this knowing that Security would be aware of my existence going forward.

You know what?

Screw it.

Going on a joy ride through the warehouse on a motorcycle, laughing mad while the radio resounded at max volume playing what I, personally, would call "top tier pirate music" was probably the most fun I had since I got to this world.

But as I got off the bottom of the staircase of the warehouse and made it outside, I knew I could only go for so long without someone trying to pursue me.

And sure enough, a pair of Security D-Wheels rounded the corner behind me, trying to catch up.

My ride wasn't a D-Wheel, though, so I wasn't worried about having to Turbo Duel for my freedom.

What I was worried about were the D-Wheel's specs.

D-Wheels ran on Moment, which was a source of unlimited energy in this world.

My ride on the other hand ran on ordinary fuel like any vehicle in my world, and I had my doubts as to whether or not I could outspeed those D-Wheels.

Sure enough, the officers slowly but surely caught up to me. 

One of them tried to nail me with a stun baton. My response was to suddenly hit the brakes, causing one officer to stun the other by accident.

As its rider seized up, that other D-Wheel proceeded to spiral out of control before crashing, launching its rider a good distance away before it exploded.

Based on how he landed, that guy will probably make it through this.

I turned my attention to the other officer, only to find he had switched his baton out for something I didn't quite recognize.

It was similar to the baton in overall shape but likely had a radically different purpose.

I revved the engine up on my motorcycle while brandishing my weapon, staring down the leftover officer as he did the same.

It vaguely reminded me of those jousts that knights would do on horseback.

A shame, really.

I am no knight.

The leftover officer and I stared each other down.

Almost simultaneously, we charged one another. 

1 second... 2 seconds... 3 seconds...

After about five seconds, our rides collided.

I barely managed to avoid the officer's swing while getting my own swing in with the baton.

Like the others, that officer seized up, his D-Wheel about to go out of control.

As I took off into the distance, fully intent on switching my helmet out for my mask once I left all lines of sight, I couldn't help but notice...

That officer was smirking at me.

It was about ten minutes later, while I was heading towards what looked like a rather peaceful river with my mask on, that I started to understand why.

It was hard not to, especially when my motorcycle started to burst into flames.

What the hell did Security do to it?!

Uh... yeah, this isn't good.

Rather than continue to ride my officially doomed motorcycle, I reached back to grab the first tool I could from the back compartment, knowing I would only be able to save one.

Stuffing the tool, whatever it was, into my jacket, I stopped my motorcycle by the water.

Knowing I didn't have much longer, I hopped off the motorcycle and tried to make a run for it.

Unfortunately, my ride chose exactly 5 seconds later to finally explode.

I didn't get burned, per se, but the resounding boom sent me flying through the air a pretty good distance. 

I'd like to say I at least made for a particularly spectacular ragdoll, but I know I didn't have that much grace.

My ears rang as I hit the ground with a hard thud.

As my vision flickered, I saw someone approaching me in the distance.

I lost consciousness before I could properly identify them, though.

When I regained consciousness, I realized that morning had come.

Looking off to the side, I saw that the flames that previously consumed my motorcycle had gone out, leaving a smoldering wreck in its wake. 

Slowly sitting up, I realized I wasn't alone.

A few feet from me, I saw a woman, sitting down and, seemingly, watching the river.

She must've heard me stirring because her head turned in my direction.

Wait...

Her outfit is different from anything I've seen her wear before but...

Oh no...

Nononono...

Is that...?

"Oh good, you're awake," Misty Lola, in what was clearly a disguise of her own, said with a look of relief on her face.

Hopefully, she didn't see my face under my mask, because we were clearly about to have a conversation.

Oh. 

I'm about to converse with Misty.

The same Misty I wanted to avoid like the plague ever since I got here.

Because if I say one wrong word, I am so dead.

When I realized that, there were only two words I could conjure up in my mind.

Oh. 

Fuck.

Chapter Text

Okay... 

I'm about to converse with Misty.

What ways do I have to get out of this?

Run for dear life? Nope.

She can either call on Security, her connections as a supermodel, or the freaking geoglyph if she has enough reason to. If I have to take Misty on in a Shadow Duel, I am screwed.

Knock her out? Nope.

As a Dark Signer, she's basically an undead, and I doubt blunt force or the stun baton could keep her down for very long.

Alrighty... 

I guess I have no choice but to converse with her. Yay.

As I debated all of this in my head, Misty got a little closer, probably to better carry a conversation.

Mentally cycling through a variety of personas I could work with, I landed on one that I felt comfortable with.

"So who are you, anyway?" Misty asked.

Ok... Alias... I need an alias...

"Seth," I answered. "And you must be Misty Lola."

Misty seemed slightly surprised, but she immediately hid it behind a neutral expression.

"And here I thought I was decently disguised." She said.

"Eh, makes sense for you to do so." I replied, "It's not always convenient to be so easily recognized."

"True," Misty said, "but to be so easily recognized in spite of that is..."

"Hey, take it easy," I cut her off, acting more relaxed than I felt, "I only guessed," I stated.

"Did you though?" She said, her eyes scrutinizing me. Evaluating me. Uh oh.

"Take it as you will." I simply state, emphasizing my point with a shrug.

One thing to remember: Don't try too hard to avoid attention, you'll just stand out more.

"I suppose I will."  She simply stated. "While I'm at it," she paused for a moment, almost as if in thought, "You're not actually a Security officer, are you?" Shit.

"Why would you think that?" I asked, but I already had an idea why.

"Well, first of all, you don't carry yourself like one," she began, "you wear a mask rather than a helmet," she continued, "and your uniform is a bit too tight. Simply put, it is obviously a disguise, like my own." She finished.

Which, now that she mentions it, yeah. The uniform is a bit too tight. The downside of pilfering it from someone else.

"Looks like you got me," I said, knowing that lying to her was probably a wasted effort. 

"I assume you did some things that Security doesn't approve of?" Misty asked.

"So what if I did?" I replied.

With that, Misty paused again. 

"Would you be willing to do such things again?" She asked. What.

"Why would you ask that?" I asked.

"You'd be surprised to hear this, but I have my own grievances with them," Misty answered. "There are some answers I'm looking for. Security has them, but they're doing everything they can to hide them."

Oh, right, she did try to get Security to investigate the Arcadia Movement after her brother's death. But because of the dirt Divine had on Godwin, that investigation never went anywhere.

I can't even begin to imagine how much that was eating her up inside. 

"I won't ask you to do it for free though." She said. "If you do some similar tasks for me, I can teach you a few ways to improve your disguises."

...

That... actually isn't a bad deal.

It would help me better blend in when necessary.

But if I agree to this, I will have to constantly watch every little thing I say and do around Misty. One slip-up and I run the risk of putting a massive target on my back in the eyes of the Dark Signers. 

That was gonna suck.

But at least I know what not to say. 

Not to mention, I wasn't sure what Misty would do if I refused. If she's got dirt on me, I know I won't be able to escape Security D-Wheels on foot.

Holding in a sigh of resignation, I turn to give my answer.

"Alright." I finally said. "But you'll need my contact info, right?"

"Yes, that can't be avoided," Misty answered.

"Well, I don't have a phone," I said. Technically I do, but it stopped getting any kind of signal ever since I came to this world.

"Can you afford one?" Misty asked.

"Most likely," I answered. I knew Divine's wallet had some cash left in it. 

"Alright," Misty replied. "I'll handle things on my end," she said, "So let's meet here, same time tomorrow, that way we can exchange contact information." She continued as she handed me a slip of paper. "Have a good day." She finished, as she turned to leave.

"Likewise," I replied.

"Oh, and Seth?" Misty said.

I gave her a questioning hum.

She turned to look at me, her face full of concern.

"Please be careful." She said.

And then she was gone.

About 5 minutes after Misty was finally out of sight, I promptly threw up.

I knew that this was going to increase my chances of surviving when I'm up against Divine, but that did nothing for my nerves. My anxiety was going through the roof as I considered what I just agreed to.

Once I cleared myself of the bile, I turned to the wrecked remains of my motorcycle.

With some effort, I pulled open the back compartment, or what was left of it.

Sadly, just like the bike itself, the contents of the compartment were completely destroyed. I couldn't salvage any of this.

As I looked at the one thing I was able to save, I finally recognized it as a small taser which, strangely, had a small loop of rope at the bottom of it.

While it would be more than nothing, it didn't change that I almost wanted to cry.

All the time, effort, and risks I took to get the stuff on this ride were almost completely wasted. 

But as I remembered the agreement I made with Misty, I realized that I wasn't out of the game yet. 

Out of all the Dark Signers, Misty was, thankfully, easy enough to reason with. Even if it is only to an extent, cooperation with her was possible.

At any rate, I wound up making a deal with Misty.

At least I had something resembling a plan to survive against Divine, as basic as it was.

"Press on. Find another way." I said, more to myself than to anyone.

It was all I could do, after all.

Chapter Text

After putting my regular clothes back on, I started to walk once more.

My ride was ruined and most of the supplies I took were destroyed. There was nothing to gain by staying there.

As I searched for another public map board, I pondered Misty's last words in our little chat.

What the hell could have prompted that? 

Did she see something in my fortune that I should worry about? Am I going to die soon?

Wait, no. She never said anything about a "shadow of death" like she did when she read Carly's fortune.

So rather than a fortune of death, I just had a fortune of danger. At least if my guess was right. Yay.

Shelving that for a moment, I went over the situation again in my head.

Right about now, Yusei was probably dueling against Rua. That meant that he would make the necessary adjustments to his and Ruka's Duel Disks tonight.

After that, Yusei would be forced to participate in the Fortune Cup, his friends from Satellite being used as leverage against him. Jeager would personally see to that.

I wasn't too worried about that, though. 

What I was worried about was trying to recover from my most recent setback. 

Misty's connections would certainly be useful in some capacity, but I wasn't about to put a bunch of photographers and whatnot in Divine's crosshairs. Not if I could help it.

That said, I still had the bastard's wallet, in addition to the wallet that came with the Security uniform I took. 

Looking into it revealed there was still quite a sum of cash left over. Not surprising, since I've only used it once so far, and that was just to buy something to eat.

Speaking of...

*Grumble*

My stomach made another unpleasant noise.

Right, I didn't even eat yesterday. Shit.

Safe to say that all the stuff I did last night made me work up quite the appetite. 

But, as they always say:

First things first.

My latest plan for the day went something like this: 

First, use what I could of Divine's money to acquire anything I can use to defend myself without having to go through a background check. It didn't matter how obscure or absurd it was. If I had the money and a way to use it, I was buying it.

There were a few reasons why I tried to rob Security blind instead of doing this from the onset.

Firstly, Yusei's little stunt last night was a one-time deal. He pretty much never antagonizes Security in this manner again after that.

Secondly, I wanted to get my hands on some actual weapons without going through a background check.

Not only that, the stuff I got from that heist couldn't be so easily traced back to me since there would be no receipt, Security would have been distracted by Yusei, and legally speaking, I didn't exist in this world. There were no legal records of me to speak of.

And I planned to milk that advantage as much as possible for as long as possible.

Still, I probably would have put this plan into action eventually regardless. I just got sidetracked by a window of opportunity that canon provided.

As I went into the first store I came across, I probed every nook and cranny I could. 

But I knew this would take quite a few hours.

Oh well. I got a week or two before Divine recovers. What're a few hours compared to that?

After a few hours, I came out of my shopping spree with the following:

A pair of screwdrivers (one flat, one cross-shaped), about 10 kitchen knives, a pair of small, weighted dumbbells (improvised blunt weapons, one black, one white), a pair of walkie-talkies, and an air horn. 

Yes, an air horn.

If it comes down to it, I will leave Divine deaf with this thing. 

Other than that, I also got a crisp, black suit, complete with a matching black tie and a white collared shirt. The prospect of being anywhere near Misty was not something I looked forward to, but I felt I should try to be at least somewhat presentable.

I just hoped that I could find a shower before tomorrow. Running around across half the city in my bid to escape death at the hands of Divine has done my hygiene no favors.

Stuffing all of that, except the suit, where I could on my person as I walked, I idly noted that I was famished. The extra weight on my person didn't help matters.

As I stepped into the first fast food joint I could find, I felt thankful that they sold burgers. 

After I got my order of 10 cheeseburgers, I went to take a seat when I saw them.

A cheery-looking old man with wild gray hair and a getup that vaguely reminded me of feudal Japan.

A tall, well-built man with tan skin, blue, spiky hair, a black shirt, and a brown vest.

Both of them had criminal marks. And both of them had been in the Detention Center until a couple of days ago.

Tenzen Yanagi and Jin Himuro. Two people Yusei made friends with after his arrest.

Well, I guess I can now figure out what they were up to while Yusei was getting acquainted with the twins.

Slightly altering my path, I went to take a seat closer to them, intent on eavesdropping on their conversation.

Then I saw them outside the window.

A group of men was in one of the alleyways, all of them wearing black suits and sunglasses. Textbook men-in-black.

There were slight differences in their physical appearances, but it was clear to me that this was the same kind of group that tailed Yusei after he was released from the Detention Center.

Good grief, Godwin's forces were a pain.

Going to the restroom, I pulled my hood up and slipped on my mask.

When I came back out, I pretended to be unaware of their presence, before sitting right next to Yanagi.

Both he and Himuro looked at me with slight surprise and suspicion.

"Don't look now, but you're being followed," I whispered. I lightly tilted my head backward to emphasize my point.

"Must be because of Yusei..." Himuro muttered. "They've been interested in him ever since he came to the Detention center."

"But still..." Yanagi whispered, "how are we going to shake them?"

I didn't think I was supposed to hear that, but since I did, I briefly considered my options.

There was a plan I could use, but...

Well, I already made a deal with Misty.

I'll just treat this as "practice."

"If you'd like, I could help," I whispered.

Both of them turned back to face me, then to each other, and then back to me. The apprehension was still there, but they seemed to realize they had no other options. To his credit, Yanagi seemed more willing to hear me out than Himuro did.

"What do you got in mind?" Yanagi asked.

"I'm going to create a distraction," I whispered as I handed Yanagi one of the walkie-talkies, "Start running after 10 minutes, or when I give the signal, whichever comes first." 

"What about you?" Himuro asked.

"Don't worry," I whispered, before giving them a grin, "as it just so happens, I'm pretty good at pissing people off."

After heading out the door, I started to move.

Climbing up the nearest fire escape, I did my best to not look down.

I didn't have a fear of heights, per se, but a fear of falling. Every time I looked down would be an assault on my composure.

Steeling my nerves as much as I could, I eventually managed to get onto the rooftop.

Rushing across the building, I peered down at the black suits. They have yet to even notice me.

Though to be fair, one would be amazed how rarely anyone actually bothered to look up.

Pulling my head back before they could notice me, I pulled out my walkie-talkie.

"Get ready to move," I whispered as I held the button down.

Turning back to the suits, I pulled out one of the dumbbells...

And threw it at the closest suit with all my strength.

It hit him squarely on the back of the head, knocking him onto the ground face-first, and seemingly knocking him out cold.

Every other head below me looked up, just before I threw the second dumbbell.

That dumbbell collided with the head of the second closest suit. In addition to what happened to the first suit, the second suit's sunglasses were shattered into millions of pieces.

"Ooh, is this a secret club meet?" I said with my biggest shit-eating grin. "Now how could I see this and not crash it? Also, I'm pretty sure you all are looking mighty suspicious. Maybe I should warn everyone in the streets before you try something... unsavory."

It worked like a charm. Every last one of them looked at me and I could feel the anger they were directed at me.

I immediately started to run, knowing that I successfully drew their aggro.

Several rooftops, and even more close calls later, I finally managed to shake them.

It helped that I kept egging them on, keeping their anger in control of their actions while I kept pacing myself, ensuring that they would tire out long before I did.

The rooftops were the real lifesavers though. I managed to avoid a lot of would-be dead-ends by staying above ground level.

As I finally took a few minutes to catch my breath and slip my mask off, I idly remembered that I had yet to eat my lunch.

Unfortunately, I found that shoving my fear onto the back burner may have been a terrible idea for my nerves.

That fear, having never really gone away, started to hit me with the force of a truck.

As I curled myself into a ball, trying to find a way to relieve the stress weighing on my mind, I shed a few tears into the sleeves of my hoodie.

I didn't care that my hoodie was getting even worse from it. I just wanted to go home.

...

"Will I be able to home?" I asked myself.

And the few tears soon became many.

Because I knew that question might haunt me for the rest of my days.

Chapter Text

Divine was easy to anger.

Granted, this was rarely an issue. Having so many lost souls ready to fight and die for him left him feeling rather confident in himself and his composure.

But he wouldn't have gotten this far so quickly if he didn't have Godwin's weakness.

As much as he enjoyed reminding the foolish man who held all the cards, he had to admit to himself that what he had on Godwin was necessary for his plans to work.

Then he appeared. 

Divine only saw him for a brief moment. He had intended to converse with the masked man. Maybe even convince him to join his side. The fact that his appearance at least seemed to be the result of Psychic Dueling gone awry was one reason.

The rest of the reasons didn't matter. Not after he punched Divine in the face.

Divine lost consciousness long before he fully understood what had happened to him. By the time he woke up, a part of his office had been utterly incinerated. 

The part of his office that contained Godwin's weakness.

And oh boy, did seeing that cause Divine's blood to boil with rage. 

He hadn't been this angry in a long time. In fact, the last time was well before the Arcadia Movement was even conceptualized.

All of his plans. All of his schemes. Godwin's weakness. His wallet. His Duel Disk. His deck.

All of that and more was either stolen or jeopardized at the hands of a nobody who showed up out of nowhere. 

A nobody, mind you, with nothing but what seemed to be an improvised Molotov cocktail.

Divine only drank alcohol during celebrations, and even then, always by himself. 

The one sake bottle he still had at the time was one he got after hanging Godwin's weakness over his head for the 13th time that week.

Yes, Divine had been busy that week. And yes, that sake bottle was now conveniently missing after that wretch started a fire in his office.

After regaining consciousness, Divine searched everywhere he could think of for information about the wretch, fully intending to end him once he figured out where he lived.

He found absolutely nothing.

The wretch was practically a ghost. No records of his existence could be found.

What the hell?

Divine tried some more, naturally, but the results were the same.

It was like this man didn't even exist until a few days ago.

After one more search, which again ended in futility, Divine screamed.

After venting as much as he could in his condition, Divine deemed it more productive to shift his priorities for the time being.

So rather than try to locate a man that the world at large didn't know about, he pulled out a particular disguise he had been saving for when he needed to pose as one of Godwin's cronies. 

As he traveled around, using a face mask to conceal his broken nose, he realized that he needed to replace his deck.

But the Arcadia Movement was still small. Well, small for his standards. He intended to remedy that issue but that would have to take a back seat for now.

He needed to get his hands on some cards. Not enough for a functioning deck, mind you, but enough to be able to reliably use his power again. If he did get a functioning deck, well, he would consider it a substitute.

He would have to steal them from someone else and then silence them. His wallet had been stolen, so booster packs, structure decks, and the like were not on his list of options.

Just how much more could one man screw him over?

The fact that his powers could be taken away so easily was also driving him up the wall. He had never even considered learning how to fight without them.

But Divine would manage. It would take more than the efforts of mere minutia like that masked man to keep him down.

Nonetheless, Divine was already making plans to eliminate that weakness.

Psychic Duelists would become a lot less threatening to normal people if they knew how best to deal with them.

Divine wouldn't have that. Weakness was not something he would tolerate. Not in his subordinates, and especially not in himself.

Psychic Duelists were already feared, and Divine was determined to keep it that way. Both to keep the general public from getting any ideas and to keep lost souls coming his way.

After a few hours, he wound up coming across a bar. Even from outside, he could hear the loud, drunken voices within.

Stepping up to the front door, Divine looked inside.

The bar was full, the people were loud, and despite his broken nose, he just knew the place was filled with the smell of sake.

This was another reason Divine drank sparingly. Who could stand this kind of environment?

As Divine scanned the room, half the people within turned to him. Scanning for threats.

Like it would do them any good. Divine had already chosen his next victim.

These last few days were a setback and an infuriating one at that. His broken nose definitely factored into that.

But Divine will bounce back from this. Nothing was going to keep him down.

Not Godwin, and most certainly not that masked stranger. 

And when he gets his hands on the wretch?

Oh boy, the tortures he had in mind. 

But for now, he'll be satisfied with the stranger's absence.

Considering how he felt about that wretch, that might have been a strange thing for him to take solace in.

But the wretch clearly ran off after the actions he undertook upon his arrival. 

There were few that would take such a course without fear of some kind motivating them. And Divine had a pretty good idea what that masked man was afraid of.

That wretch will spend his remaining days in fear. He will constantly hide, trying to evade Divine's gaze, knowing there was nothing he could do to stop him.

And slowly, but surely, Divine would find him. He would corner him like the thieving rat he is. And Divine would end him. And while he was at it, Divine would also end his entire wretched family.

An apt punishment for obstructing Divine's work.

Chapter Text

After bringing my stress levels down to something more manageable, I slipped on my mask and slowly got up.

Night had already fallen quite a few hours ago, and every second I spent doing nothing is another second I could be doing something more productive with my time.

Good grief, I was never this proactive before. 

Once I got to my feet, I pulled out the cheeseburgers I ordered earlier.

They were most certainly cold by now, but hey, food was food.

I ate 5 to start with, fully intent on eating the rest later.

After that, I started to go over my situation again. 

By now, Yusei should've worked his magic on Rua and Ruka's Duel Disks. Then he will be forced to take part in the Fortune Cup, assuming he hadn't already.

Himuro and Yanagi have most likely gone to ground, and probably had Saiga jam the signals generated by their criminal marks. Unless they were really unlucky, but I doubted that.

Misty was expecting me tomorrow at the spot we last met, and if I was going to have her as even a temporary ally, I couldn't stray too far from that river. I also need to get my hands on a phone by then. Preferably a burner phone of some kind.

That said, since she intends to teach me ways to improve my disguises, I was worried about one thing.

Depending on how the lessons proceed I may wind up having to show her my face. I did not look forward to that prospect.

Still, Misty was the easiest Dark Signer to reason with, and with the deal we made, we're basically accomplices now. I'll just have to hope she doesn't feel too inclined to tell me my fortune if it came to that. I'm honestly more worried about that than letting something slip.

It wasn't exactly a motto of mine, but I try to avoid saying anything unnecessary as much as possible.

Where was I? Oh, right.

Carly was either still in the hospital or has already recovered. Given what she went through, though, I can't be sure one way or the other.

And finally, the current bane of my existence.

Divine was most likely in hiding, but with his personality, I can't count on him to stay that way, not for as long as I expect him to.

Which means I need more resources. Fast.

Roaming around, I eventually found a map board, determining that my current location was somewhere in the Back Alley.

It's only been a few days, but I feel like I've been navigating this city for a long time. Maybe one day I could actually make a functioning map of the place.

As I adjusted my current plan and route, I saw something off in the distance.

Countless Security D-Wheels, surrounded by a crowd of civilians.

Behind all of that was what looked to be a bar. Slipping my mask off and pulling my hood up, I went to take a closer look.

As I got closer, I started to see what the commotion was about. 

The bar was totally trashed. Even from the outside, I could see that.

That meant these civilians were reporters, journalists, and investigators of some kind.

But Security was keeping them out, and the bar was surrounded by crime scene tape.

Whoever did this would have had to have a lot of numbers or power to do this. Maybe both.

As I looked off to the side, I saw a slew of ambulances.

Among the people there, I saw several of them carting off... oh no...

They were carting off body bags. People died here. And quite a few, just from a glance at their numbers.

One bag was quite a bit larger than the rest. My natural assumption was that it was for quite a large corpse.

When I took a closer look, I knew my assessment was correct. The corpse in question was so large that he couldn't quite fit into the bag.

Worse, when I saw his face, I knew who this was.

The former warden of the Detention Center, Takasu lay there, his face now eternally frozen in a mixture of shock and fear. Likely the expression he had at the moment of his death.

There wasn't much I could really say about Takasu. He was unpleasant and ruled the Detention Center like a tyrant.

Given the location, I could only assume he came here to drink after getting booted from the Detention Center.

Taking a closer look, I noticed that his face, and possibly his entire body, was awfully pale, and there were several imprints on his face that resembled chains.

It was like he was strangled to death by one of his own Iron Chain mon-

Oh no...

Nononononono... Don't tell me...

Did Divine kill Takasu and take his stuff? All to regain the use of his powers after what I did to him?

No, wait, there were other casualties here. If he only wanted to regain his powers, he could have easily chosen a lone target.

If I had to guess, he most likely killed these people to vent, or just because he could. Divine was definitely the sort of person who would do that.

Still, if this was recent enough to have this kind of crowd surrounding it, then...

Oh, fuck me.

I immediately started to leave the area, not quite running but still moving decently fast. If Divine was responsible for this, I couldn't discount the possibility that he was still somewhere nearby.

And if he was responsible for this, then he most likely had Takasu's Iron Chain deck at his disposal now. Which means a whole new batch of ways to kill me. Shit.

If he attacks me now, the civilians will get caught in the crossfire. Granted, I didn't necessarily care about them, but I had no way of knowing how they would be used against me if they came under fire. If I'm in for a fight, I need to get somewhere out of the way. 

I immediately began running through the list of locations I could get to in time. It needed to be somewhere away from other people, but I should also try to choose a location with suitable terrain. 

As I moved, I started to hear footsteps. 

I didn't bother looking back, opting instead to slip my mask back on. If Divine was tailing me, I didn't want him to know that I was aware of his presence. But the moment I hear him activate a Duel Disk, stolen or otherwise, all bets were off.

Eventually, I managed to find a place to confront my pursuer, whether they were Divine or somebody else.

It was clearly abandoned, and it was starting to show signs of being dilapidated. Even the windows were shattered here and there. It would do.

As I turned to face it, I glanced at my pursuer through my periphery.

Trench coat, fedora, sunglasses.

Looks like Divine pulled out his Security disguise early. The face mask was a new addition though. Of course, I knew why he had it.

Returning my attention to the building, I charged up to one of the windows and jumped. 

The windows were already broken in some places. Having an entire human body barrel into it only finished the job.

The glass shattered into a million pieces as I fell to the floor inside the building, but I quickly scrambled to my feet and ran further in.

Divine wasn't far behind. He jumped through the impromptu entrance I made just as I rounded the corner.

He still hasn't activated his Duel Disk, though.

Good. It meant that either his anger or his ego was in control of his judgment. Meaning he was more likely to make a mistake. I could use that.

I eventually found what I figured was the kitchen of this building. It had a table in the center of the room, a counter along the side, several pots and pans on the wall, and a few spray bottles, one, in particular, standing out to me.

As I got beside the table, the floor creaked from the second set of footsteps. When I turned around, Divine was at the entrance of the kitchen.

Despite the mask, I just knew his face was set into one hell of an ugly sneer. Likely made even worse by the injuries I inflicted.

"I believe you have something of mine," Divine said as he brandished his Duel Disk, which I recognized as the same Security-issued model that came with his disguise in canon, "Now, if you don't mind, I'll be taking that back, along with your life."

At least you're polite enough to announce that you're about to fucking murder me, you asshole. 

Rather than say that aloud, I simply pulled out two of my kitchen knives and took a stance.

You wanna dance, Divine?

Then let's dance.

Chapter Text

The moment Divine activated his Duel Disk, I charged at him with the knives in my hands.

I swiped with the knife in my left hand first. Divine responded by dodging to the left.

That didn't stop me though, as I went to swipe at him with the knife in my right hand next.

This time, Divine blocked by using his Duel Disk as a shield. In that brief moment of contact, he pulled out a card from the deck zone on his Duel Disk before placing it in the Monster Zone.

In a faint flash of light, Iron Chain Repairman appeared. Shit.

The Iron Chain Repairman took one glance at me and took a stance.

As much as I wanted to prepare for this, I don't think facing down a materialized Duel Monster was something I could ever fully prepare for the first time around.

That mattered little, though as he jumped forwards to flatten me with his giant hammer.

But the hammer, fittingly for its weight, was slow and easy to dodge.

After the impact, I turned to see that the hammer was embedded in the ground.

As an experiment, I went to take a stab at the Repairman.

It hit the Repairman's arm full force, but it harmlessly pressed against his skin, not even leaving a scratch.

Jumping back a moment, I grabbed the nearest pan from the wall and swung with all my might.

The pan collided with the Repairman's cranium, but all it seemed to do was mildly annoy him.

Divine, meanwhile was laughing as he watched me struggle against the Repairman.

Ha ha, laugh it up, Divine.

Ok, so materialized Duel Monsters were either immune or highly resistant to conventional harm. That, or there was some other factor I hadn't considered yet. Great.

If I lived through this, my Psychic Duelist Self-Defense Plan would need some major updates.

For now, I had to survive against the asshole trying to kill me.

Knowing I didn't have much longer before the hammer was dislodged from the ground, I kicked the table in front of me twice; the first kick to knock it onto its side, and the second to propel it in Divine's general direction.

I didn't wait to see Divine's reaction as the table collided with his entire body. Instead, I dropped the knives in my hands in favor of grabbing the spray can behind me and one of the chairs in one fluid motion.

Grasping the leg of the wooden object, I charged forward.

As soon as Divine had halfway shoved the table out of the way, I swung the chair with all my might.

Unfortunately, I was struck by something before my blow ever connected.

As I fell to the floor, I thrashed about, only to realize I was being constricted.

Each time I thrashed was accompanied by the rattling of heavy chains. What.

As I stopped to actually look at what attacked me, I distantly realized that Iron Chain Snake was coiling around me. Fuck.

As I lay there, literally chained down by the materialized Duel Monster, Divine came into view, taking his mask and sunglasses off as he approached.

The swelling and bruising were still very much there. And good lord, he looked like shit.

At least I could take some satisfaction in the new makeover I gave him.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" Divine asked through clenched teeth.

As tempted as I was to shoot my mouth off at him, I stayed silent. Partly to avoid giving Divine anything to go off of, and partly because I felt I could piss him off more by just not dignifying him with a verbal response.

Just as I had hoped, Divine didn't seem to appreciate that, if his low growl was any indication. "You have jeopardized years of meticulous planning, and have taken something extremely valuable to-"

At that point, I wanted to just tune him out.

Blah, blah, blah, I don't give a shit about your plans Divine.

My feelings must have shown on my face, because about thirty seconds into his monologue, he finally seemed to notice that I just didn't give a shit about what he had to say.

"So you wish to ignore me? So be it." Divine said as he reached down for...

Is that a fucking crowbar? 

Oh boy, I'm getting some serious Under the Red Hood vibes. Does Divine think he's the Joker? Does he think I'm Jason Todd? 

Wait, no. That wasn't important.

Focus, dumbass!

As he raised his hand up in preparation to strike, I saw my chance.

I refused to waste it. I whipped the spray can out as best I could and pulled the trigger.

At that moment, the object I held fired copious amounts of pepper spray right into Divine's eyes.

The effect was instantaneous. Divine screamed and thrashed about as he dropped the crowbar in favor of covering and rubbing his eyes.

As he did so, the Iron Chain cards fell off of their spots on his Duel Disk, resulting in the materialized Duel Monsters vanishing as though they were never there.

Which is an awfully good thing since the Iron Chain Snake was a hair's breadth away from sinking its fangs right into my neck, and I really did not want to find out what kind of venom it was packing.

"Ha! Haha! You like that, you son of a bitch?!" I hysterically yelled as I got to my feet, stuffing the pepper spray into my coat as I did so. Divine's only response was more incomprehensible screaming.

While Divine still thrashed about, I ran over and grabbed the crowbar.

Turning back to Divine, I ran to strike him with my new weapon before he regained his bearings...

And froze in place when I heard the sound of the front door to this building getting knocked down.

What followed was the sound of several marching footsteps.

Within seconds, the entrance to the kitchen was flooded with Security officers.

One stood at the front of the squad, took one look at me and Divine, and confusion set in, plain to see on his face.

And you know what? Yeah, this was actually pretty awkward.

"Uh..." he uttered as if mirroring my exact thoughts on the situation.

It was then that I got an idea.

With the biggest shit-eating grin I could manage, I turned to the Divine, who was seconds away from completely recovering from the pepper spray, and placed my free hand on his shoulder as I got behind him.

"He's the one you want officer! Have at him!" I declared as I gleefully shoved Divine into the horde of Security officers and bolted.

A few seconds later, I was running toward the first window I could find.

"Time to make my daring escape! YEET!" I yelled as I barreled through the glass barrier, shattering it into millions of pieces in the process.

Once I was outside, I took a second to listen to the sounds coming from inside the building. Things were surprisingly quiet, all things considered.

Huh, I thought Divine would be more-

Suddenly, the sounds of fighting broke out, accompanied by inhuman growls, the familiar thud of a massive hammer, the sound of a snake hissing, and the rattling of heavy chains.

Yep, totally pissed at me, time to go!

As much as I would've liked to keep running, my legs couldn't carry me any farther.

Slowing down, I breathed heavily, my lungs greedy for oxygen.

As I leaned against the side of one of the many buildings in the Back Alley, I looked around the corner, just in case I had any pursuers. As it turned out, there were no pursuers or people tailing me. Good.

As I finally sat down, I thought back to what had happened earlier. 

And the conclusion I came to felt awfully reasonable at that moment.

"Fuck. That."  I forced out between breaths.

Yep. Very reasonable.

Another reasonable thing I did was stay in that spot to rest as much as I could.

Because if I tried to move another step right now, forget Divine, my pounding heart was gonna be the thing that finally killed me.

I still wanted to live, thank you.

As I looked down at my hands, I realized that I brought the crowbar with me.

Between that and the pepper spray, I can at least say that I got some loot for my trouble.

I decided to take some satisfaction in that while I waited for my body to stop screaming at me in protest.

By the time I started moving again, I had tried to figure out some ways to use these new tools beyond the obvious.

It didn't work as I'd hoped, but oh well.

I still had to get a new phone before meeting with Misty tomorrow per our agreement.

I just hoped nothing else happened before then.

But if my experience so far was any indication, that was probably asking for too much.

Chapter Text

It was a few hours before dawn when I found a store that sold phones of any variety. I slipped my mask off and dusted off as much glass as I could before I stepped in.

I didn't think I got rid of all the glass, but oh well.

I also wasn't sure if they had burner phones here. I hoped they did. Going about my deal with Misty could become a lot more complicated without one.

I eventually came across a section with some really old cell phones in it. 

Rather than smartphones like the one I had, these were flip phones and used actual buttons to dial numbers.

They weren't as versatile or appealing to me anymore, but I couldn't help feeling a bit of nostalgia when I gazed upon them. I hadn't seen one of these in years.

Thankfully, they didn't go through the same treatment that some antiques would go through, as they were incredibly cheap. My guess was that either the store wanted to get rid of these or it had ties to the underground.

I kinda hoped it was the former, but after fighting and surviving against Divine, I felt like it wouldn't matter much if the latter turned out to be true.

Glancing at the cashier in my periphery, I saw that he had short purple hair and a criminal mark on his right cheek.

What he was brought in for, I didn't know.

He had what I could only describe as an intimidating aura about him. And yet, for some weird reason, I didn't get the sense that he was an immediate threat.

Best to make sure I didn't change that.

Once I made my selection, I went over to the cashier, putting on the bravest face I could manage.

He gave me a scrutinizing gaze but otherwise made no sudden moves. 

"Will that be all for today?" He asked in a gruff voice.

"Yeah," I answered.

"Gotcha," He replied. After scanning the bar code and putting it in the bag, I paid him for the phone.

"Not sure who would be pissed at you enough that you would need one of those, but have a good one." He said as I left the building.

He seemed to have noticed some glass shards that I hadn't been able to remove but decided not to ask any questions. I could appreciate that.

As I made my way toward the spot where I would meet with Misty, I decided to pick up the pace. 

All the shenanigans I got up to yesterday ate up a lot of my time.

I should be fine though. The sun hasn't even risen yet.

Against all odds, I managed to get back to the spot where I and Misty last met.

It took a few hours but I didn't get sidetracked again, so I'll count it as a win.

During that time, I ate the other 5 cheeseburgers I ordered to regain my strength.

Looking off to the side, I found that the motorcycle I first came here on was still there. Well, what little was still left of it.

I had maybe an hour or two before Misty was supposed to get here.

Rather than simply do nothing, I opted to get my burner phone set up. That way it'll be ready ahead of time.

After about 20 minutes, my phone had the bare essentials ready to go.

It'd been a while since I handled a phone like this, but it seems I haven't lost my touch with technology.

Still not feeling satisfied, I opted to change into the new suit I bought.

I would have to wash this thing as soon as I was done with it, but oh well.

A few hours later, I heard the sound of a vehicle approaching.

It didn't sound like a D-Wheel though. More like a car.

Slipping my mask on, I turned away from the source of the noise and kept my focus on the river. Soon, I heard approaching footsteps.

"Seth?" a female voice asked, "Is that you?"

I turned around, and there she was.

With the same disguise as yesterday, Misty Lola looked at me while holding a purse with her right arm.

I distantly recognized it as the same purse that the purse snatcher from two days ago tried to steal before I punched his lights out.

I wasn't sure if she was onto me or if she was trying to see how I would react, but it didn't matter.

I made a small bow, crossing my right arm over my chest as I addressed Misty.

"The one and only," I said casually.

Misty then looked at my discarded hoodie, which still had shards of glass embedded into it from the windows I crashed through during my encounter with Divine.

Her eyes took on a small glint of what I assumed was recognition, but it vanished just as quickly as it appeared. "You seem to have made it through an ordeal," Misty said, "Are you alright?"

"More or less," I replied. I didn't blame her for the concern. I had already crashed through two different windows, got pinned down by a materialized Duel Monster, and run enough in the last three days that I almost certainly lost some weight.

"So, what's first on the agenda?" I asked. 

I wasn't necessarily eager to do this, but oh well.

"While I do have some tasks in mind for you to do as part of your end of our deal, I think the first thing we should do is work on your ability to impersonate others," Misty said, "Disguise is about more than just taking a wardrobe and putting it on. You have to be able to 'own' the outfit, for lack of a better word."

"So in addition to altering my appearance, we need to work on my acting," I mused, "The outfit means nothing if someone can tell me apart from the others by my habits and mannerisms. Especially when they are actively looking for imposters."

"That is true," Misty agreed. "And I think there might be a way to do that."

"Oh really?" I said.

"Yes. If you would come with me, there is a place I believe would be useful for your lessons." Misty replied.

"And where would that be?" I asked.

"Tell me, have you ever been to the Daimon Area?" Misty asked.

"Nope, can't say I have," I answered.

"Well, then this will be a new experience for you," Misty said as she went back to her car.

"Guess so," I said with a shrug, taking it as my queue to follow her.

It had been a while since I rode in a car. Feeling the wind in my face was definitely a feeling I missed.

As our ride continued onward, I went over what I knew of our destination.

The Daimon Area. Basically a place full of people with criminal markers. They couldn't be in Neo Domino City but didn't want to go to Satellite. Stuck in between, the people there often had to shoulder their pasts.

It was also a place frequently terrorized by Aki Izayoi, or as most people knew her back then, the Black Rose Witch. 

Because of that, when Divine killed Toby, Misty's little brother, he had his body dumped in the Daimon Area, shifting the blame onto Aki in the process.

When it was found, Toby's corpse was hardly recognizable. It's possible they were only able to identify him by testing his blood, maybe comparing it to Misty's just to be certain. If the state of his corpse was as bad as canon made it out to be, his fingerprints might've been completely destroyed, or otherwise rendered useless for the purpose of identifying him.

Oh, who was I kidding? The kid was electrocuted to death, of course his fingerprints would be useless.

I had a few ideas as to why Misty would want to take me to the place where Toby's corpse was found, or why she would want me anywhere near an area where Aki was known to frequent. But I didn't have any evidence to back those theories up. Well, nothing material, anyway.

In canon, Aki was able to resolve a lot of her problems and the truth of Toby's death was unveiled, but right now she was very much in Divine's camp. 

I didn't even want to know what she might be doing in light of Divine's absence. The bastard still had her wrapped around his little finger, and only Yusei could really change that.

Well, I could try to help her work through her past, but I was better at logic than feelings and helping someone to work through their angst sounded like something that required more patience than I actually had.

Above all else, a counselor, I was not.

Even then, Misty had a grudge against her after what happened to her brother. It was a misplaced grudge, but I didn't feel like revealing that just yet.

Even if I could help Aki, I might run the risk of drawing Misty's wrath by doing so. I wanted no part of their feud if I could help it.

The sun was starting to get high in the sky when we got to the Daimon Area. While I usually preferred walking and keeping my feet firmly planted on the ground, I was very appreciative of the car ride. Going to the Daimon Area on foot would have been a complete pain in the ass.

Once Misty parked the car, I took the chance to get out and stretch my legs.

Some of the buildings were somewhat run down, but not enough to be condemned.

If I were to compare the buildings to anything, it would be the buildings in the Back Alley. At least where their condition was concerned. For all I knew, they may have had entirely different architecture.

Turning my attention to Misty, I noticed she was adjusting her disguise.

Good call. The last thing we needed was to blow our cover.

Once she was done with that, Misty started to head down the road. 

I took that as my queue to follow her. "So I know we came here to improve my disguises, but what exactly are we going to be doing?" I asked.

"An important part of disguising yourself is the ability to convince someone that you are someone else. Therefore, it would be best if you could learn to imitate a variety of different personalities. And one good way to learn is to personally study those personalities." Misty answered.

"Wait," I said, "so basically, we're going to be people-watching?"

"Yes," Misty said as she turned to me with a gentle smile on her face, "at least, that's one of the things we will do."

...

I mean, I can kinda see the logic behind it but...

Ah, screw it.

"Ok, then. Let's get to it." I said.

It isn't what I had in mind, but at this point, I figured I could afford to try something new.

Chapter Text

We spent the next hour or two doing precisely what we set out to do.

Well, I say that, but there was a bit more to it.

For the sake of the lesson, Misty set up a game of sorts: First, I would choose any one person in the area. Then we would both observe that person until either 15 minutes passed, or that person left the area entirely, whichever came first. When either of those two things happened, Misty would then ask questions based on the person in question. Answering them correctly required me to memorize everything I could from my observation, and, you know, actually observe them. After answering Misty's questions, she would provide a score between 1 and 10 based on how I did.

Basically, by improving my skills in observation and memorization, I could improve my disguises in turn.

I scored decently enough, with 6 being my high score and 4 being my lowest.

After giving my score, Misty would show me where I fell short, and the things I failed to notice.

This would continue for an hour or two. But eventually, I started to feel mentally drained.

I tried to hide it and soldier on, but it seemed that Misty saw through that rather easily. 

"Let's take a break." She said, "You must be exhausted."

"Fine by me," I said, knowing that I wouldn't get much more done if I ran my mind ragged like this.

As we sat in her car, I contemplated how much of my future knowledge was still useful.

Aki will almost certainly meet Yusei and his group for the first time as the sun sets today. Whether it would be under the same circumstances as canon, I couldn't be sure.

I doubted it, though, considering the sheer extent of Divine's influence over her.

The way I saw it, Aki would either show up especially pissed off or completely listless as a result of Divine not being there to give her directions. That, or she just didn't show up at all. 

I doubted the last one would happen though. One way or another, the Marks of the Dragon would bring the Signers together, and as much as Aki despised the Marks right now, even she couldn't escape that fact.

I personally hoped that Aki showed up completely listless. 

In canon, she made her exit once she realized that Yusei had one of the Marks of the Dragon, and basically ran from him like the plague.

If she shows up at sunset while especially pissed off, I couldn't count on her to take the same actions that she did in canon, even if the rest of the conditions were exactly the same.

Which meant that I would have to intervene. If Aki was angry enough, she might actually injure or even kill anyone unfortunate enough to be in the area at the time.

If I remembered correctly, Yusei, Rua, Tenpei, Yanagi, Himuro, Saiga, and countless Daimon Area residents would all be there when she showed up. At least, they will if her debut here plays out as it did in canon at all.

I was nowhere near stupid enough to think I could face her Black Rose Dragon on even footing, but that meant little when I considered what we stood to lose if I did nothing.

No matter what, I couldn't let Yusei or Rua get killed. The Signers were already outnumbered 5 to 4. If they lose any more of their numbers, we were all going to be in a deep, dark pit of trouble.

Granted, Rua wasn't a Signer, and he wouldn't be one until long after the Dark Signers were dealt with, but if he dies, Ruka would be devastated.

Looking at you, Aporia.

And, really, I should try to keep anyone from dying there. The last thing Aki needed was actual blood on her hands, along with more reasons to be despised and feared.

As a teenager especially, Aki was her own worst enemy. Convinced that everyone was out to get her, she lashed out at anyone who tried to reach out to her, ironically making her own paranoid beliefs into reality.

A self-fulfilling prophecy if ever there was one.

But I was not about to play counselor for her. I was not patient or kind enough for that role, and my priority was to keep as many people as possible from dying, not address the veritable garden of angst that Aki had been cultivating for who-knew-how-many years.

At least I had something resembling a plan for later today.

About an hour later, Misty and I got back to the lesson. 

Same rules as before, with the goal being to improve my high score.

Compared to the first time, there were a lot more people to choose from. Must've been rush hour.

I took Misty's previous tips into consideration as I observed my selections. 

But just because I knew a few more things to look for didn't mean I was an expert. In the end, I only managed to improve my high score to a 7.

Now, I wasn't a perfectionist or anything, but I felt there was something distinctly lacking in me about not scoring higher.

Guess I was more into the game than I thought. Or was I just starved for harmless entertainment?

Either way, we carried on like that for another hour before taking another break.

"This is a lot harder than I thought," I said as we sat down.

"It is," Misty said, "But that's what makes it worthwhile, isn't it?"

"I guess," I said with a shrug.

We sat there in companionable silence for a while after that.

I knew there was more to this than simply preparing me for field work, but aside from a few possible attempts to glean information through my reactions, Misty had yet to ask any direct questions.

I'd like to think I concealed my reactions fairly well. The mask was likely helpful in that regard as well.

But as I waited for the sun to set, I couldn't help the feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong.

Chapter Text

Pepper spray.

The wretch fought him off. With. Pepper. Spray.

If there was a word to describe how Divine felt right now, even he didn't know what it was.

He had just finished with that washed-up warden from the Detention Center and, on a whim, decided to watch the public's reaction to his return.

He never expected to find him among the crowd.

Once he looked at the warden's corpse, he seemed to realize what had happened. 

So when Divine saw him leaving the area in fear, of course, he had to pursue him.

What was that saying, again? Strike while the iron was hot?

So he acted on that feeling. Even managed to corner him as well.

When he managed to corner the wretch, he got the chance to test the ex-warden's deck by first summoning the Iron Chain Repairman.

While the wretch was distracted by his first monster, he decided to use Soul Anchor as a little insurance.

He didn't think the wretch would be able to destroy the Repairman, but, then again, he also didn't think someone would have the gall to punch him in the face. Better to be safe than sorry.

When the wretch turned his attention to Divine himself, he decided to summon the Iron Chain Snake as reinforcements.

It was that same Snake that finally pinned the wretch down.

Divine took that as his queue to vent his feelings to the wretch before ending his miserable existence. 

His silence somewhat soured the experience though. When Divine spoke, people responded. There was something intrinsically satisfying to Divine about getting others to respond to his every word in every way desirable.

So, naturally, he hated that he couldn't get the wretch to respond to his words. In retrospect, it seemed like the wretch stayed silent precisely because he wanted to aggravate him.

For a man as fearful as the wretch was, he seemed unusually spiteful and defiant. 

In essence, a man of contradictions.

He did get to hear the wretch's voice when he made his comeback, but between his voice clearly being several octaves higher than normal and Divine's own screaming from the pepper spray, he doubted his own memory would be very reliable.

Stress and pain will do that to you.

As if to add insult to injury, the wretch then shoved him into a horde of Security officers while he was weakened.

While he wasn't sure who or what alerted them to their fight, he was able to fight them off without too much of an issue. But if the higher-ups at Security heard about this...

Godwin would actually grow a spine. And Divine no longer had the means to keep the fool in line.

Divine was certain that the wretch had a functioning copy of Godwin's weakness. There would be no sense in him not acquiring one if he knew enough about where the original documents were located to incinerate them in record time. Perhaps he was in Godwin's employ?

No, if he was, Godwin would have already brought the hammer down on the Arcadia Movement. 

However, while the wretch was clearly a wild card who knew much more than he should be able to, it didn't change that Divine needed to get proof of Godwin's secrets back into his possession as soon as possible.

Because if Divine could get it back in any form, he could keep Godwin off his back for a while longer.

But the wretch not only seemed to have luck on his side. Somehow, the wretch seemed to know Divine like the back of his hand.

Having anyone alive who both knew his true nature and was beyond his ability to influence was a frightening prospect for Divine to even consider.

Godwin knew Divine's true nature, but Divine was able to keep the fool in line by using his own origins against him.

That masked individual didn't even have such a weakness. Or if he did, he had it hidden exceptionally well.

And even if Divine had access to such a weakness, he wasn't sure if it would even make a difference.

That masked individual, despite all the apparent fear he felt towards Divine (rightfully so), had continually assaulted and defied him with absolutely zero regards for the consequences. 

Regardless of all of that, though, Divine knew one thing was for certain.

He stood to lose much more than his money or deck now.

That wretch needed to die, and he needed to die as soon as possible.

Every single second of his continued survival increased the likelihood of Divine's entire operation falling apart, bit by bit.

Call him paranoid, but Divine could feel it in his gut. That wretch was the one who could ruin everything.

It was then that Divine had an idea.

Why deal with the wretch himself, when he already had the perfect weapon, ready to intervene on his behalf?

When Divine thought of that, he smirked.

When Divine made it to his destination, he wasted no time in beginning the search.

He figured that if Aki was to appear soon, then all he had to do was look for her distinctive mask and cloak.

Normally, he would appear before her in the open and work his magic on her, but in his current condition, that was impossible.

That wretch has forced him into hiding. Divine hated being forced to take such humiliating actions, but these last few days have been nothing but a never-ending parade of humiliation.

Divine swore. When he finally got his hands around that wretch's neck...

As he moved from shadow to shadow, doing his best to avoid being seen at all (especially since the wretch saw through his disguise the last time), he saw him.

That same wretch from several hours ago was sitting in a car with some woman.

Despite how that might have sounded, Divine was almost certain this wasn't a date, even if he had no concrete evidence to support such an assessment.

The wretch still had his mask on, and, in the first place, he didn't seem the romantic type.

Granted, Divine knew next to nothing about him, and if he did have a romantic interest, at least then Divine would've had something to exploit.

But given how the last few days have gone, Divine wasn't about to believe he was actually lucky enough to finally gain access to one of the wretch's hidden weaknesses.

For now, he would leave the wretch be. He had a much better strategy to dispose of him anyhow.

The sun was starting to set when Divine finally found her.

Aki, in her Black Rose Witch attire, appeared to be listless. Given his recent absence, Divine wasn't too surprised.

As he approached Aki, he couldn't help but smirk beneath his face mask.

Ten little words. That's all it would take.

Ten little words and that wretch would die.

Once he finally got close enough, he could unleash the full power that Aki possessed. A power that surpassed even his own.

"The entrance to the Underworld is on the witch's island," Divine whispered into her ear. 

The effect was immediate.

As the full power of the Black Rose Witch was released, ready to engulf the entire world in an inferno of hatred, Divine laughed.

He laughed and laughed until his sides started hurting. He was already eager to witness the carnage.

He should probably get some popcorn.

He would certainly pay to see what came next. Well, he would if he actually had to.

For the moment, he opted to head to higher ground. He wanted to watch this display from the best seats available.

Once he got into position, he started following Aki as she carved her path toward the wretch.

"Alright, you little rat, let's see if you can survive against this!" Divine said as the Black Rose Witch set off to do his bidding.

He knew the wretch couldn't hear him, but that didn't matter.

The wretch was about to die, and Divine was going to enjoy every single second of it.

Chapter Text

Yanagi had traveled the world and had seen many things in the process. 

When he went to the Daimon Area with Himuro and Sonny, he wasn't expecting anything significant to happen.

It was nice to meet the young'un that sheltered Sonny when he needed it.

So, he was of course disappointed that the rumored Witch had to crash the party.

Appearing out of nowhere, accompanied by a whirlwind that surrounded her, she was draped in a dark cloak and white mask. Her Duel Disk was a red version of the standard model with violet gems.

And then there was the Dragon that came with her.

For the first few minutes, it was little more than a draconic silhouette obscured by the dust that she kicked up with her arrival. But before long, the dust cleared to reveal a dragon covered in vines, thorns, and rose petals.

Then it started attacking the surroundings.

The ground, the buildings. Nothing was left untouched.

Yanagi thought he overheard one of the folks in the crowd saying that the Witch was especially vicious today.

He had little time to dwell on it, though, as Himuro proceeded to pick him up and carry him off to safety, with Saiga and the other young'un not far behind.

Unfortunately, Sonny and his friend from Tops couldn't get away in time. 

One of the Dragon's vines wrapped around the young'un's leg, squeezing tightly before letting go.

In record time, the young'un's leg bled until it started to take a crimson hue.

When the young'un fully understood what happened, he screamed in pain.

And Yanagi found it hard to watch.

Thankfully, Sonny, being Sonny, wasted no time picking the young'un up, careful not to aggravate the injuries on his leg.

Good thing too, since he doubted the young'un would even be able to stand after that.

Unfortunately, that was the most Sonny had time to do unopposed.

The Witch started having her Dragon unleash one attack after another with its vines.

And while Sonny could have easily evaded the appendages on his own, he also had to protect the young'un in his arms.

Meaning Sonny would not be able to get away. If he tried to run now, he wouldn't be fast enough, and he would leave both himself and the young'un open to attack.

Simply put, Sonny was now in between a rock and a hard place.

"We've got to help them!" Yanagi yelled.

"How?" Saiga asked, "We can't get anywhere near those three. It's too dangerous."

"We can't just sit back and do nothing!" Himuro yelled.

"I know that!" Saiga replied. "But we can't go about this carelessly! We're not equipped to deal with this right now!"

"Then what the hell are we supposed to do?!" Himuro yelled, even louder than before. "Yusei and his friend are gonna be turned into smears at this rate!"

"Uh..." A small voice piped up.

Everyone stopped for a moment to look at the source.

The other young'un was looking up at the three of them, fear evident in his expression.

"They're not going to die, are they?" The other young'un asked, despair starting to creep its way into his voice.

And Yanagi's old heart started to break for the young'un.

Dammit! Come on! Think! There must be something they could do!

What could help them in this situation? Who could help them?

When Yanagi finished that line of thought, he froze.

Wait...

Who?

Yanagi's eyes widened, the word 'eureka' practically flying through his mind.

He quickly started to fumble around in his outfit.

A few seconds later, he found it.

A white walkie talkie. 

It was the same one that the masked fellow gave to him, to ensure that Yanagi and Himuro could shake off Godwin's goons.

If memory served, he was decked out (no pun intended) in numerous random objects (dumbells, kitchen knives, and a stun baton, to name a few) that could be used as weapons.

If those were indeed intended for use as weapons, Yanagi wasn't sure what would've compelled the stranger to procure them.

He had a deep voice (if he had to compare it to anyone, it would probably be either Saiga or Sonny), was wearing a black hoodie, had pale skin, and had a black-and-white face mask.

White on his right side and black on his left.

Was it representing a perfect balance between light and darkness? Or an intentional separation of the two? Or perhaps something else entirely?

Yanagi wasn't sure, but it didn't matter. While Himuro told Yanagi to ditch the walkie-talkie, saying that they didn't know what could be on it, Yanagi had chosen to ignore Himuro at that moment.

Call it a hunch, but Yanagi felt it might come in handy.

Granted, there was no guarantee this would work. That masked fellow might've gotten himself sent to the Detention Center for their sakes.

But Sonny has his hands tied, and if there was anyone who might be able and willing to help them, it was him.

And if there was even a chance that this could secure that fellow's aid, Yanagi knew he had to take it.

"What's your name, young'un?" Yanagi asked as he turned to, well, the other young'un.

"Eh?" The other young'un uttered, before seemingly realizing what he was being asked, "It's Tenpei. Tenpei Hayano."

Tenpei. Nice name, Yanagi thought.

"Okay, Tenpei," Yanagi began, "I might know someone who can help your friend out of this jam."

Tenpei's face lit up like Yanagi had hung the stars in the sky, "Really?!" He asked.

"Maybe," Yanagi said. He wasn't quite senile enough to make promises he didn't know if he could keep. "There's no guarantee, but it's worth a try." He said as he pulled out the walkie-talkie.

Himuro recognized the device the instant that Yanagi pulled it out for all to see, "Hey, isn't that-?"

"Yes," was all Yanagi said.

He expected Himuro to be a bit angry, or at least ask why he still had this thing.

Himuro did neither of those things.

"Do it." He said, "If there is anyone crazy enough to help us with this, it just might be him."

Yanagi grinned from ear to ear, before turning his attention to the device in his hands, the same device that would decide their fates.

Yanagi didn't hesitate. He tightened his grip around the device, holding onto it like a lifeline...

And pressed the button.

Chapter Text

The sun was setting when it happened.

A massive wind blew in, and when I looked for the source, I saw a small whirlwind swirling in the distance.

Aki. She's here.

Looks like she went nuclear after all.

I swung the car door open and went to charge in, only to stop when I realized that someone was grabbing my arm.

Turning around, I saw that Misty was holding my arm.

Her expression was something I didn't think I would ever see. Something I didn't ever want to see.

It was obvious. She knew what was happening. And she was scared.

Not of Aki, mind you. The actions she took in canon made that clear. 

Which meant...

She was scared for me. Not that I blamed her. I doubt she would wish for anyone else to share Toby's fate.

"Don't go." Misty pleaded, "It's not safe for you to go there."

"Can't do that,"  I said before jerking my arm away from her grasp.

Sorry Misty, but I needed to make sure nobody else got killed.

As I ran towards the whirlwind, I knew that there was a very real chance I, myself, could get killed.

Aki's powers as a Psychic Duelist were even more potent than those of Divine, and they only got stronger as she got angrier.

So basically Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's answer to the Hulk. Lovely. Just lovely.

As I ran, I saw some guy about to get into a car. The car itself seemed to be one of those older or fancier models in which the roof could fold back so it wasn't covering your head. He was probably trying to escape the literal storm that was approaching.

Too bad for him. I just got other ideas.

"Hey!" I yelled.

When he turned to me, I didn't even give him a chance to respond. "You. Car key. Gimme."

"Wha-?" The guy said.

"Give. It. Here." I cut him off as I ripped the key right out of his hands, before knocking him aside to get in the car.

As I revved the engine and started the car up, I took one look at the guy I just pushed aside.

"You might be able to have this car back in an hour, if I live," I said.

"Are you crazy?!" The guy asked in hysteria.

"As a matter of fact, yes," I said as I slammed my foot on the gas.

Because how else could I possibly describe this situation?

Thanks to the car, I was able to get to my destination much faster than I would've been able to otherwise.

While I didn't crash, per se, I did run through several trash cans, multiple signposts, and various other obstacles in my path.

Simply put, I probably managed to break just about every other traffic law in existence.

So... yeah. Legally speaking, I was probably considered a danger to everyone else on the road.

I haven't gotten myself or anyone else killed yet, though, so I'll count that as a win.

The whirlwind I saw was getting closer as I drove.

I was probably 5 minutes away from ground zero when the whirlwind suddenly vanished.

Uh.

What.

Fortunately (or unfortunately) I didn't have to wait long for an answer.

Exactly ten seconds later, the Black Rose Dragon itself appeared in all its glory.

And unlike canon, it wasn't some scary draconic silhouette behind some dust cloud.

It was there. It was in full view for all to see.

And while I couldn't be sure, I got the sense that the Dragon itself was a lot more dangerous now than in canon. Shit.

Despite the gas pedal already being practically glued to the floor of the car, I pushed it harder, threatening to punch a hole in the floor with my feet.

I didn't know the situation, and I hoped I got there before it was too late.

As I got closer to my destination, I heard a noise resembling static.

I initially brushed it off, but it only got louder.

Looking around in the car for the noise, I found nothing.

Weird. It sounded awfully close.

Wait... could it be?

Fumbling around in my hoodie, I pulled out the walkie-talkie I got the other day, identifying it as the source of the noise.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" A voice said over the walkie-talkie. Yanagi's voice, my brain supplied.

Well, color me surprised, he actually kept ahold of the thing.

Pushing the button down on the walkie-talkie, I began to provide my answer.

"Loud and clear," I said.

"Oh thank goodness!" Yanagi exclaimed, relieved, "I wasn't sure if I would reach you.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Even without my future knowledge, anyone would be able to tell something was wrong with how relieved Yanagi was for me to answer him.

"We need your help," Yanagi said, "One of our friends is being attacked by-"

"A scary draconic rose bush roughly the size of a small house?" I cut him off.

"Well, yes," Yanagi replied, somewhat awkwardly.

"And you want me to help your friend?" I asked.

Yes," Yanagi said "He could probably escape himself, but this young'un got injured by the dragon, so now he's also trying to protect the young'un from the dragon."

Young'un? 

Must be Tenpei or Rua. Shit.

"Well, you're in luck," I said, steel entering my voice, "I'm already on my way, just hang in there."

"Thank you!" Yanagi exclaimed, "We'll hold out until you get here!"

And with that, the line disconnected.

I figured the situation was gonna be bad.

But no matter how angry she got, I never would've expected Aki to harm literal children.

Something was definitely off here.

Which meant that I needed to hurry.

It was when I finally got within 30 feet of my destination that I saw them.

Yusei Fudo was clutching Rua in his arms. The kid himself was injured, his leg bleeding enough that it was taking a crimson hue.

I wasn't sure how bad an injury it was, but I knew I was right to intervene.

In canon, Aki might have scared Rua senseless, but beyond that, she never laid a finger on him.

Rua clearly suffered some injuries, and with the way that Yusei was jumping to and fro, it was obvious that Aki was much more aggressive this time around.

As I drove the car into the Duel Arena, I took one look at Yusei and Rua.

"Get in!" I yelled.

Yusei, thankfully, was quick to comply.

"Thanks," Yusei said as he jumped in.

"Save it for when we get out of here alive," I replied.

With that, I floored the gas and we were off.

Unfortunately, it seemed Aki was hellbent on destroying everything that crossed her path. She hopped onto the Black Rose Dragon and began to chase us through the streets.

Good grief, I figured she might go nuclear, but I clearly underestimated just how bad nuclear could get.

Or was it really that bad?

Call it a hunch, but I couldn't help but feel like something was off about Aki. 

She wasn't saying much if anything. Surely, if she was so angry, then shouldn't she be more expressive of that fact?

This didn't feel like I was running from some angsty teen. It felt like I was running from... Running from... A puppet...

Shit. Shitshitshit.

I needed to locate Divine, and I needed to find him right now. If Divine really did what I think he did, then that meant the situation was even worse than I thought it could be.

Chapter Text

When Misty first met Seth, she had only a surface-level knowledge of the masked man.

To her, he seemed quiet and reclusive, and he hardly changed his facial expression. Though even when he did, it was hard to notice because of his mask.

Its significance, if it had any, was unknown to her.

Despite all that, he seemed like a decent enough person. 

She could easily enough gather that he had just carried out actions that Security would not approve of.

And, as it just so happened, Misty wanted some answers that Security was doing everything they could to hide.

So Misty offered to make a deal with Seth.

At first, she wasn't sure if he would follow through on his end of the deal, but on the next day, there he was.

While she could have put him to task right away, Misty deemed it best to improve his skills first, then apply them through whatever jobs she asked him to do for her.

At the very least, it seemed like a more productive use of their time, which they actually had a lot of.

After Rudger's phone call the other day, Misty had come to realize that she had time in abundance, at least until the source of that problem was dealt with.

So they went to the Daimon Area with that purpose in mind.

Misty, admittedly, had her own reasons to be there, but that was beside the point.

Helping Seth improve his disguises through a game tailored to observation and memorization was something she thought of the day before.

And while Seth didn't seem enthusiastic, he avoided getting distracted and kept focus.

All in all, Misty was actually having a good day.

Maybe it was for that reason that she appeared.

The Black Rose Witch. The one who murdered her brother.

Upon seeing the whirlwind that the Witch generated, Seth immediately set about trying to charge in. For what purpose, Misty didn't know.

But Misty did know what that Witch was capable of.

So, naturally, she had tried to stop Seth. Pleaded for him to avoid charging into that whirlwind.

It was suicide to go there right now. Surely Seth knew that, didn't he?

And yet he decided to go anyway.

And now, Misty stood there, frozen still like a statue. 

When Misty learned of her little brother's death, it took her completely by surprise.

It shook her to her core that Toby would be found in the Daimon Area, dead after one of the Witch's rampages, his body completely unrecognizable.

As she drove home that evening, she lost focus, losing control of her car before flying off the side of a cliff.

What happened after that was a blur to Misty.

She vaguely remembered being taken to the ER.

While being transported, her Earthbound God spoke to her for the first time.

Its orders were simple: kill the servant of the Crimson Dragon, the Black Rose Dragon.

The next thing she knew, she was alive and well. At least, that's what the doctors believed.

After that, she wound up getting into contact with Rudger and the other Dark Signers and received some additional objectives.

Misty didn't mind. She'd rather enjoy modeling for a while longer than be stuck underground like the others.

But as she spent her days undercover, she would regularly think back to Toby's death.

She never expected Seth to charge in. She should have. He likely didn't know what he was getting into. At all.

But this time, she knew what would likely happen. She knew what to expect. She, of all people, was not going to be blind-sided that way again. Not ever.

Perhaps it was for that very reason that Misty remained frozen in place, as a fear she had never felt before seeped into her bones, strangling her until it became almost too hard for her to breathe.

How ironic, a literal dead woman finding it hard to breathe when she should have no need for air.

Was it a holdover from her old life? 

But that wasn't one of the important questions.

If it were Toby instead of Seth in this situation, would she have felt that same fear?

Or was it imply that she didn't wish for anyone else to share Toby's fate?

Perhaps the answer was 'yes' to both of them. But Misty might never know. 

"Not again," Misty whispered, more to herself than anyone, "Please, no, not again."

It was when she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to regain her composure, she heard it.

The distant rattling of heavy chains, loud and omnipresent, echoed all around her.

When she opened her eyes, she saw that nothing had changed.

Were her ears playing tricks on her, or...?

"What's the matter? Are you simply going to stand there and watch?" A voice echoed, not in her ears, or even her mind, but seemingly in the depths of her very soul.

Now, Misty had heard her fair share of strange things. The words of her own Earthbound God were still fresh in her mind.

If it weren't for the events that came before and after hearing that voice, she would have questioned her own sanity quite some time ago.

This voice was remarkably similar to that of Seth. An almost perfect imitation.

But in addition to modeling, Misty was also an actress.

Though the voice was similar, virtually identical to Seth, this voice carried a certain... almightiness that most people just didn't have. 

If the voice had a physical body to go along with it, it would probably dominate any room it entered simply by existing.

As much as she wished to respond to the voice, it also seemed to carry a distinct lack of patience.

"Death awaits him if you do nothing. Is this the extent of your kindness? Are you truly willing to allow your tragedy to repeat itself? Leave someone else to find out that their relative had become one of her victims in the worst way possible?" It said, almost as if it was challenging Misty.

And that was the question.

Would she?

No.

Would Misty really wish for Toby's fate to befall another?

No.

Would Misty really allow someone else to have to find out that their relative had been murdered in the worst way possible?

No!

Misty took a deep breath before slowly exhaling.

An utterly pointless thing, since she was already dead. Again, she had no need for air.

But Misty's mind was made up. She would not allow any of that to happen. Not to anyone. Not ever again.

As though reading her thoughts, the voice let out what sounded like a huff of air.

"Very well. If that is your decision, then go. Let us see your resolve."

And like that, the voice seemed to fade.

...

What was that? Who was that?

Those were the obvious questions Misty would've asked if she could.

She instead opted to shelve those thoughts for another time.

There was no more time for questions. No more time to hesitate. It was time to act.

Misty got into her car and put the key into the ignition.

She needed to find Seth and get him out of there before he got hurt or worse.

With that objective in mind, Misty took one glance down the road and did something she never actually thought she would be doing.

Misty Lola started speeding.

Chapter Text

As I drove the car, with Yusei and Rua in the backseat, I spared passing glances to the rooftops.

If I knew Divine as well as I thought I did, he would most likely be looking down on the action from higher ground, like he was some kinda god to be entertained by the 'foolishness of mortals' or something along those lines.

Unfortunately, I already had to keep ahead of the brainwashed Aki, in addition to keeping my eyes on the damned road, and the few times I bothered to look for Divine, I came close to either getting us and/or our ride skewered by the Black Rose Dragon's vine-like appendages or crashing and getting all three of us killed.

In addition, the display behind the steering wheel had a flashing red light. When I took a peek (nearly getting skewered again for my trouble) I learned it was an indicator that our ride was running out of gas.

With how fast I was driving this thing, I should've expected to empty the gas tank rather quickly, but...

Lovely. Just fucking lovely.

Dammit, where the hell is that bastard?!

If I didn't deal with Divine quickly, Aki would kill all three of us.

But I can't beat the shit out of that bastard without knowing where he is, and I can't even look for him because I need to protect my passengers.

Good grief, being a good guy sucks sometimes.

But as I looked at the injured Rua, I reminded myself that I made the right call.

Ok. Think, dumbass! 

I got us into this mess, which meant I needed to get us out of it.

Which, ergo, meant one thing.

I needed a plan.

When I said 'plan', I meant that I needed to find a way to get all of us out of this situation alive.

To sum it up in game terms:

My victory condition was to get Aki to stop trying to kill us.

My defeat condition was for anyone here to get killed, with Divine being the sole exception.

As she was, the best way to stop Aki was to somehow incapacitate or kill Divine. 

It won't be easy, though. And I can't do it myself.

I started running through everything I had at my disposal as best I could in my current situation.

Knives. Screwdrivers. Air horn. Pepper spray. Crowbar. Stun baton. Taser.

And Walkie Talkie.

That last one was fresh in my mind thanks to Yanagi's transmission a few minutes ago, but...

Inhaling a large amount of air, I felt the urge to kick myself, and the only reason I hadn't was due to the threat of being killed by the Angsty Rose Dragon.

I pulled up the device in question before pressing the button.

"Hey, Old Man, can you hear me?" I said.

While I knew Yanagi's name, I opted to call him 'Old Man' since he never mentioned his name to me.

Keep your card close to your chest, and all that (no pun intended).

Knowing Yusei, I'm sure he just gave me a questioning look.

Even if he did though, I couldn't answer him if I wanted to.

And, frankly, I didn't.

"Loud and clear!" Yanagi said, with renewed cheer.

"Good, listen," I said. "I've got your friends in my car, but we're being chased. Also, we're running out of gas, and time by proxy."

"That's not good," Yanagi replied.

"No shit, Captain Obvious," I snapped.

A bit harsh, but I'm inching closer and closer to death thanks to the machinations of Divine. I'm pretty sure my reply is decently reasonable.

"Listen, if the three of us are going to get through this, I need you and whoever you can get to pitch in to do something for me," I said.

"Ok, what do you need?" Yanagi replied.

"There should be someone on the rooftops with red hair, a face mask, a trench coat, sunglasses, and a fedora. He is the one behind all of this. I need you to find him and beat the shit out of him." I explained. "He might look like someone from Security, but don't let that fool you for a second. It's just a disguise."

"Are you sure that will help you?" Himuro interjected. 

"Yes," Was all I said.

A brief pause followed

Admittedly, I was worried that they would ask more questions, which meant more time would have to be wasted answering them, which increased the likelihood of Aki actually killing us, but then...

"Alright, if it will keep you three alive, consider it done," Himuro said.

"Yeah!" Yanagi exclaimed, "You and Sonny just hang in there! We'll get it done in a jiffy!" He said before the line cut.

Ok, good.

Now that that was done, I just had to make sure that Aki didn't turn us into dragon fertilizers before Divine was dealt with.

So, yeah. This is fine. No pressure or anything.

Wait, did Tenpei listen to all that? 

I distantly hoped not. I never really bothered with censoring myself, but I'd like to at least think I had enough decency to not swear within earshot of a child.

I knew that Japan, and by most likely extension, Neo Domino City was probably more relaxed about that sort of thing, but... 

Oh, wait, Rua was right behind me.

So... yeah. Kinda just shot myself in the foot there.

Oh well.

Good grief, I just wanted to laugh, cry, or otherwise do something along the lines of hysterical.

But I couldn't. There was no time for that.

So, rather than do any of that, I turned slightly to look at Yusei through the rearview mirror.

He was still holding onto Rua like the injured child he was, but he was also fixing me with a questioning gaze, as I expected.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"Someone who is in way over their head," I answered.

And not one word of that was a lie.

Yanagi, I know you're a nice guy and all, but for the love of everything, you and your friends better hurry up and beat the shit out of that asshole.

Because if you don't, we are so dead.

Chapter Text

Himuro had his own doubts about the masked stranger, and he was not afraid to voice them.

Still, when the stranger asked them to do something that might keep him and Yusei alive, he agreed for one reason.

The man had helped him and Yanagi out before, and while Himuro knew nothing of his motives, he was grateful for the assistance.

And if he was secretly doing this to vent some lingering resentment towards Security for how he was treated at the Detention Center, well, that was his business.

In particular, when Himuro thought of the now-ex-warden of that damned place, he mostly assumed he was off somewhere trying to recover after he got booted from his position as the Warden. Still, while that did spark some joy in Himuro's heart, he thought he would be more satisfied to get some payback of his own later.

Yeah, Takasu was an asshole. Sue him.

Shelving that thought for a moment, he prepared to search for the one the stranger mentioned.

Granted, the stranger could have just been pointing fingers and placing the blame for the Witch's actions elsewhere, but not only did he not know enough about the situation, but the masked man's description of their target was awfully detailed for a lie.

And from what he could gather earlier, that Witch was vicious, but even she wasn't this bad.

So, yeah, Himuro was willing to take the masked stranger's word for it. It's far from the most unusual thing he's done these last few days.

Himuro just hoped he wouldn't regret this.

When Himuro eventually found his target, he couldn't help but feel like he was being mocked.

This guy was looking down on the action, as though he were some kind of god to be entertained.

Godwin and his goons were already a pain as it was, this was just ridiculous.

As Himuro reached for the latter that would be his path up to the target, he sensed movement behind him.

Turning around, he saw Saiga, Yanagi, and the kid (Tenpei, was it?) following after him.

Himuro suppressed a sigh. Of course, they would.

Wait.

He could see Yanagi and Saiga trying to help out. The kid was another story.

And what Himuro was about to do was nothing a kid should have to see. More than that, it was nothing the kid should even be involved in.

Himuro had a few ideas as to why the kid decided to tag along, all of which he felt were not worth the potential risks involved in this situation.

Unfortunately, he didn't know how much time was left and the clock was ticking. It probably wasn't much, at any rate.

So, rather than try to tell them to get to safety or anything else that would only waste even more time, he ignored them in favor of trying to get to the target.

Himuro had a few questions to ask that masked man later, that was for sure.

Now, normally, Himuro would be inclined to challenge the target to a duel. It was only fair, after all.

But the urgency of the situation meant that a duel simply wasn't an option.

As Himuro climbed the ladder, he prepared himself for the possibility of getting sent right back to the Detention Center.

The masked man said that the uniform was just a disguise, but that did little to reassure Himuro.

Geez, the things he was willing to do for a friend.

When Himuro got up to the rooftop, he took a moment to really get a good look at his target.

He took every trait that the masked man had listed and dedicated them to memory for this occasion.

The target hadn't noticed him yet. Himuro could get the drop on him right now. Maybe even end this quickly.

As Himuro went to knock the target unconscious (that would be enough, right?) he stepped onto a shard of glass.

Likely debris from when the Witch first appeared, it broke with a resounding crack.

The target turned around, and while Himuro couldn't see underneath the face mask, he could practically feel the target's rage being directed solely at him.

"And who are you supposed to be?" He said.

Not only was his face bruised as the masked man had said, but his voice was clearly all messed up.

Wait, did his nose get broken or something?

"I assume you're here to get in my way?" The target rhetorically asked, "Then I suppose I'll have to dispose of you just like that little rat."

Rat? Who was he talking about? The masked man?

Actually, that didn't matter.

The target was clearly looking down on him, and his wording was far from lost on Himuro.

"You're welcome to try, but I doubt you'll find me so easy to dispose of," Himuro said, injecting as much venom as he could into the end of that sentence.

As Himuro took a stance, the target activated his Duel Disk.

For a second, Himuro thought he was in for a duel.

Instead, the stranger placed a card onto the Monster Card Zone on his Duel Disk.

And Iron Chain Repairman appeared in a flash of light. What.

Himuro shook his head. Not only was this guy the same as the Witch, but he was playing cards that Takasu used.

What the hell was going on here?

He didn't have time to dwell on that, though, as he was soon charged by the Repairman.

As the Repairman swung his hammer down, Himuro banked to the left before countering with a hard shot.

The Repairman staggered a bit from the impact, but Himuro could tell that his punches weren't doing any lasting damage. And he could dish out a rather mean right hook if he really wanted to.

So, rather than focus on the Monster, he instead focused on the target.

He ran past the Repairman while its hammer was still embedded into the rooftop.

Unfortunately, the target placed another card onto another Monster Zone before he could get close enough.

This time, Iron Chain Snake appeared in a flash of light.

Himuro didn't think of himself as repetitive, but even then...

What the hell was going on here?

He, again, didn't have time to dwell on it as the Snake wrapped around him faster than he could react.

As he lay there on the ground, literally chained down by the unusually real Duel Monster, he looked off to the side, and he saw the Repairman slowly approaching him.

Well.

This was not good.

As he watched the Repairman raise its hammer for a second swing, one that would surely squash his head like a pumpkin, he heard sounds of struggling.

When Himuro looked at the target, he saw that the target seemed to be stuck in place.

As he looked closer, he saw the Yanagi was holding the target's right arm in place, while the kid, no, Tenpei held one of the target's legs, both looking up at him with terrified expressions on their faces, while Saiga wasn't far behind.

Unfortunately, this only served to further enrage the target, as he then tried to strike at Tenpei.

The kid flinched, but before this could get any uglier, Saiga caught the target's left arm in place with one hand, before using his other hand to remove the cards on the Monster Zones.

As soon as they were removed, the Snake restraining Himuro vanished as though it had never been there, the Repairman following suit.

Heh. Now that was a jack of all trades. 

"Thanks," Himuro said as he got up.

Himuro didn't waste another second before he charged at the target...

and laid him out flat with a particularly vicious right hook.

The target slipped out of the trio's grasp before falling to the floor on his back.

While Himuro caught his breath, he checked the target with his foot to ensure he was unconscious.

Good, he's out.

The bruising on his face would probably get even worse soon, but that wasn't Himuro's problem.

With that in mind, he then turned his attention towards Tenpei.

The kid looked close to crying, but before he could, Himuro placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

This... this is what Yusei would do, isn't it?

That aside, Himuro couldn't help but notice that he practically towered over Tenpei even while he was crouching and Tenpei was standing up.

"You were very brave, Tenpei. It's ok. It's over now." Himuro said, trying to emulate Yusei on at least some level.

And the small tears became a waterfall as Tenpei buried his face into Himuro's chest.

Later on, Himuro would make sure he got home to his parents.

It wasn't much, but it was at least something he could do.

He may have gotten himself locked up in the Detention Center, but even he knew that this was not something a kid should have to experience.

Chapter Text

I was moving both my head and my ride to dodge now.

Up. Up. Down. Down. Left. Right. Left. Right.

Wait, no, that wasn't how it went.

Anyway...

As I did everything I could to evade the vine-like appendages of Black Rose Dragon, the red light behind the steering wheel flashed incessantly, uncaring of the fact that my life was forfeit if this car stopped before Divine was dealt with.

My ride was running on fumes now, and even those were running out fast.

Come on! Hurry up, dammit!

As I looked in the rearview mirror, I realized that Black Rose Dragon had its head reared back.

No. Don't you fucking dare!

As if to do the exact opposite of what I wanted it to do, Black Rose Dragon brought its mouth forward, a stream of flame launching from its draconic jaws.

Oh, come on! That had to be on purpose!

The Dragon's 'breath weapon' struck the ground, splintering it in all directions, and our car almost went flying forward from the shockwave it produced.

I wanted to hurl, but, somehow, I managed to keep it down.

Unfortunately, our ride hit one of the buildings in our path by its side, shattering the windshield and into a million pieces in the process.

"Shit! Hey, you two alright?!" I yelled to my passengers.

"We're okay," Yusei said, but even as stoic as he usually was, I could tell he was a bit shaken up. And I didn't blame him. That could've gone better.

As I looked around, I noticed that we were stuck in a corner.

Then I saw it.

The Black Rose Dragon loomed over us like the giant it was, with Aki riding it like it was always supposed to be a mount.

Oh.

Fuck.

As it readied one of its appendages to strike, all I knew was that at least one of us wasn't going to make it.

There was no time to plan. No time to think.

So I jumped to the back of the car and got in front of Yusei and Rua.

As I stared up at the Dragon that would most likely kill me within the next minute...

I smiled.

I didn't know why. Was it resignation, or one last bit of defiance on my part?

I didn't know, and I probably wouldn't find out.

The Black Rose Dragon took a moment to look at me in my current state.

And proceeded to strike.

One second. Two seconds. A minute.

I didn't know how much time passed.

Everything just... froze. Myself included.

I never flinched. I never blinked.

The tip of Black Rose Dragon's vine-like appendage sat a hairs-breadth away from skewering my right eye, and likely a decent chunk of my brain.

But it didn't move an inch further. 

Did... did they do it?

As I moved my head to the side to get a look at Aki, I saw that she was... confused.

Her movements were more animated than before like she had just broken out of some kind of stupor.

They actually did it.

Those guys actually did i-

"You as well?" A female voice asked.

It was cold, almost dead.

But I knew that line.

When I looked back at Yusei, his Mark of the Dragon was present on his right arm, glowing for all to see.

When I looked back at Aki, I saw that she was shaking. And I knew her well enough that I knew it wasn't out of fear, so...

Fuck.

"Wretched birthmark!" Aki yelled as the Black Rose Dragon prepared to finish what it started.

It gathered all of its vine-like appendages together, making them twist and curl around one another until they ended up forming a literal spire of vines.

Then the spire started to spin, faster and faster until it was vaguely reminding me of a drill, completely disregarding the laws of physics as limbs were not supposed to be able to do that.

So this is how I die. Pierced by a drill made of vines because Aki herself, not Divine, decided to do so.

I moved to try and push Yusei and Rua out of the way. With Black Rose Dragon readying a powerful attack, I thought I would have at least enough time for that much.

Through my periphery, I realized that I was so wrong.

The Dragon sent its appendages out while my back was turned, ready to finish the job...

and was suddenly knocked aside as a car crashed into it at top speed.

"OH MY FUCKING GOD! WHYYYYYYYYYYYY?!?!?!" I screamed as I jumped back and watched what essentially amounted to someone trying to fucking murder a dragon via vehicular manslaughter.

As the Black Rose Dragon crashed into a nearby building, Aki seemingly lost her balance and fell off the Dragon.

In addition, Black Rose Dragon must have fallen off of the Monster Zone on Aki's Duel Disk in the process because the materialized Duel Monster faded away not long after.

As I looked at the vehicle that rammed into the Dragon, I saw that that car belonged to-

"Misty?!" I exclaimed.

Sure enough, the driver proceeded to step out of the car, with as much grace as I would have expected from Misty Lola.

"Are you alright?!" Misty asked, concern evident.

"Y-yeah," I said, stuttering a bit from the shock.

Like, I knew that Misty was already dead, so a car accident wouldn't be able to kill her (again), but holy shit. What the hell brought that on?

As I pondered this, Misty took a deep breath, most likely to calm down, then took a look at Yusei and Rua.

"Do you two need a ride to the hospital?" Misty asked.

"Yeah," Yusei answered.

"Let us go, then," Misty stated.

As I headed to Misty's car, I noticed that Aki was nowhere to be seen. Probably left while we were distracted.

Wait, didn't that mean-?

While Yusei and Misty shifted Rua so they could both carry him, I went to look for something.

Sure enough, I was quick to find the Black Rose Dragon card where it had fallen before. Aki must have forgotten it in her rush to get the hell out of there. 

I slipped the card into my pocket before heading over to the car. Mine now.

The car, despite its head-on collision with Black Rose Dragon, only had some minor dents.

Either this thing was more durable than I gave it credit for, or the power of Psychic Duelists had a casual disregard for physics, in more ways than was immediately obvious.

Or both. Probably both.

Misty and I were in the front seats, while Yusei and Rua were in the back.

As we made our exit, I took a glance back at Yusei.

His mark wasn't glowing anymore. Probably disappeared again.

Oh well.

He'll get it back eventually.

For now, we needed to get Rua to a hospital, assess the damage, and then patch him up as best we can.

This whole thing was a goddamned mess.

But at least we all made it out of there alive.

As we made our way to the hospital, I chose to take some solace in that.

As it turned out, it wasn't much.

Chapter Text

The ride to the hospital was uncomfortably quiet. Though I'm not surprised.

Rua's bleeding couldn't be handled safely while we ran for our lives, being chased by a brainwashed Aki.

The kid's breathing was shallow and his skin was getting a little too pale for comfort.

"Is there a first aid kit in here?" I asked.

"Yes, there is one in the glove compartment," Misty answered as she started removing part of her disguise with one hand, leaving her face easily identifiable once more. There was little need for it now since today's lesson was over.

Pulling it out from the aforementioned compartment, I pulled out a roll of gauze and a bunch of band-aids before I passed them along to Yusei, to slow or stop the bleeding, but I knew it wasn't perfect.

As we got close to the hospital, I idly noted that there was a restaurant within walking distance of the hospital. Neat.

Once we actually got into the hospital, I was reminded of several of my misgivings regarding the society Godwin has put into place.

Case in point: these dumbasses.

Seeing the injured child in Yusei's arms, the doctors were almost ready to provide first aid.

They hesitated after taking one look at Yusei. I knew why. Anyone would after taking one look at Yusei's criminal marker.

"Fucking discrimination," I muttered.

In the corner of my vision, Yusei seemed... pleasantly surprised by my remark? It was hard to tell when the guy hardly ever changed his facial expression. Especially when even those rare changes were small and subtle, even when you knew what to look for.

Well, at least I seem to have made a better impression on him. Maybe.

As for whether anyone else in the room heard that or not, it didn't matter. I almost wanted them to hear it, even if it would only give more voice to my misgivings.

Of course, my own appearance was adding to the problem—specifically my mask.

Yeah... a masked man in a hospital lobby. I think the easier question to ask might've been how many alarm bells I didn't manage to set off just by being here.

But I opted to do the mental equivalent of flipping them off. I was not taking this thing off for anyone. And I could live with being considered eccentric.

Luckily, Misty was able to smooth things over.

"There is a child in need of medical attention. Is it not your job, your duty, to tend to the injured?" She asked.

That question got them to get off their asses and do their jobs, but...

While it was the same gentle tone as always, Misty's voice felt off to me at that moment.

There was... anger in that voice. A merciless edge to it that one could easily miss if one didn't know what to look for.

As I understood it, Misty was ready to destroy these people if they didn't do their jobs. And I, more than anyone else here, knew that there were a number of ways she could have that arranged. Physically, emotionally, socially, and more. Yikes.

Note to self: be glad that I have Misty as an ally, as operative as the word may be.

Once that was done, Rua was carted off to the ER. Yusei, Misty, and I were just a little behind.

God, look at us. A man with a criminal marker, a nobody in a mask, the world's top fashion model, and an injured child. What kind of group did that even make us?

Despite my curiosity, I aptly decided that I'd rather not have to find out.

The reality might have been stranger than my imagination, at any rate.

As we took our seats, it became a matter of waiting.

I knew that we would soon be consumed by near-dead silence.

Fortunately for all of us, I was feeling a bit generous. And a little petty. Which meant it was time to use more of Divine's money.

A fair reminder that I do not care for Divine's fate one way or another. Having said that: fuck him.

"Does anyone want something to drink?" I asked. "On me," I added.

Both of them shook their heads. I suppressed the urge to sigh.

"Look, that kid isn't going to get out of there for a while, and each and every one of us just went through the wringer. If you still don't want anything, that's fine, but I, for one, want to try and recover some of my strength."

Yusei and Misty turned to each other for a brief moment, before turning back to me with short nods.

"Ok, any requests?"

After getting the requested drinks, I delivered them as promised. 

Yusei got water while Misty got tea. I, on the other hand, got myself a soda.

Far from the healthiest choice, and I was almost certainly paying for it these days, what with how frequently my body had felt the need to scream at me in protest at the movements I made these last few days.

But old vices were a lot like bad habits. They were hard to shake.

Sugar and caffeine just so happened to be my vices.

When I got to Yusei, I decided to take the chance to broach a topic.

"I don't think we were properly introduced. I'm Seth." I said.

"Yusei Fudo," he replied.

Short and to the point. I knew that Yusei wasn't always like this, but I could respect that sort of response.

"A pleasure to meet you, Yusei," I said, extending my hand for a handshake.

Yusei eyed my hand in what I could only call curiosity before taking it, his grip firm. I made my own grip firm in kind. It was only fair.

Good, at least now I wouldn't have to resort to calling him 'Crab-Head' or something else utterly ridiculous. 

Even though the 'name' felt weird to say, I needed to get used to both referring myself to that name and answering it. And there was a very good reason for that.

As it was, I'd come to realize that legal nonexistence paired with an alias was probably my most powerful asset, especially in a world where everyone's personal information was at the disposal of the authorities.

I didn't need Misty's lessons to know that the better I could adapt to my alias', the more convincing my disguises will be, and the fewer chances that my real name fell into the wrong hands.

All of that didn't matter right now, but it was still important to keep in mind. The last thing I needed was Security or, even worse, Divine from figuring out my real name. I didn't even want to think about how many metaphorical roads would be cut off if my real name fell into any of their hands.

I also didn't even want to think about the sheer scale of the havoc they could cause for me with just that one, tiny tidbit of knowledge.

After I gave Yusei and Misty their drinks, I sat down with them, and we drank our beverages in relative silence.

Misty drank her beverage with the sort of grace I had come to associate with her, a testament to the lifestyle she leads.

Yusei wasn't quite as graceful, but his etiquette was adequate, at least by my own estimate. He drank his water in slow, measured gulps as if trying to ration it out. With how rough Satellite can be, I couldn't blame anyone there for treating their water like the precious resource that it probably was.

I, on the other hand, was ravenous, devouring the contents of the soda bottle in under thirty seconds.

It was far from the most reserved or polite thing I'd done, but I never did care much for etiquette. Beyond some basic manners (that even I could appreciate), it always felt so... superficial. Fake.

But sometimes the battles truly were fought with words. These were battles of a social variety, with their own spheres of intrigue lying beneath.

And while Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's mostly focused on duels, if you knew where to look, there was likely to be no shortage of social battles to fight, or webs of political intrigue to untangle, for anyone with brains, social grace, and an ungodly amount of patience.

And there were plenty of big players in this world who not only survived but thrived on those kinds of battlefields. Godwin and Divine were just two examples.

Given that, I knew I would have to brush up on my etiquette soon, among other things, especially if I wanted to survive.

But that was for another time.

Divine had already tried to kill me twice and I lived to tell the tale. I'd be damned if I didn't indulge and let myself go just this once.

Once we finished our drinks the three of us sat out there for who knew how long.

Night had already fallen outside and the silence was oppressive, threatening to crush me as we waited for the results.

But that silence gave me some time to think, to really process everything that just happened.

First and foremost, Divine.

It seemed that no matter where I went or what I did, everything managed to trace back to the bastard.

Then, there was Aki.

I took her Black Rose Dragon card. While I didn't know if she noticed that her ace monster was missing or not, I knew she would react once she figured it out.

She would likely return to the scene of our chase to try and locate it. When she inevitably fails to locate her card, she will probably conclude that it was taken in the chaos.

How she would react in that instant, I didn't know, and at this stage, I was not eager to find out.

There was also how Aki behaved during the chase. Or rather, how Divine forced her to behave.

This brings me to my next problem. Divine used that trigger phrase on Aki.

In canon, Divine didn't use that phrase until late into Episode 61. We were still well into Episode 14 here when he used it.

To say that Divine used that trigger phrase early was a massive understatement.

In total, Divine has managed to drag Takasu, Yusei, Rua, Aki, Misty, several civilians (?), several Security officers, and most likely Saiga, Yanagi, Himuro, and Tenpei into our game of cat and mouse.

The situation has escalated far more than I could have predicted in such a short time, and I didn't know how much longer it would take before it spun completely out of control. And that was if I operated under the, frankly, generous assumption that it hasn't already.

The butterfly effect was real. And it was a total bitch.

How many more people would get dragged into this? How many more lives will be jeopardized by our battles? How many more will be lost?

Before I could ponder this further, one of the doctors came out of the ER, his white coat bearing small patches of red from what I assumed was Rua's blood.

"How is he?" I asked.

He gave me an odd look but then sighed in what I assumed was resignation.

"His condition is stable, and he shows no signs of permanent damage." He answered. "But he will have to stay here for another week while we help him recover. At the least." He continued.

"That... is better than I expected," I admitted, before letting out a sigh of relief.

Yusei's expression didn't change, but he glanced at me after my response, "Do you usually expect the worst?"

"Honestly, yes," I replied as I stuffed my face, mask and all, into my hands, as a token gesture of my exhaustion and frustration. 

A little while after Rua was taken out of the ER and into a regular hospital room, the kid got some more guests.

First, there were the faces I had already seen, Yanagi and Himuro leading the pack.

Behind them were Saiga and Tenpei. Tenpei in particular looked awful, as though he just got out of an extremely scary situation.

Oh no. What did that bastard do...?

I suppressed the urge to growl. As angry as I was, I didn't want to scare Tenpei away because I decided to express my renewed disdain for Divine at the worst possible moment.

I didn't have to dwell on the bastard for long though, not after seeing who else came along.

Ruka was rushing past the other four, trying to get to the room as fast as her small legs could take her.

She, too, looked awful. Her eyes were tired, with dark rings forming around them. They were also frantic.

A mixture of worry and a lack of sleep. I didn't need to be a doctor to know that was a terrible combination to deal with.

Case in point, she tripped.

I wasn't sure if she scrapped something, but when she looked up at me...

I saw fear.

Almost as quickly as she fell, she scrambled to back up to her feet, before continuing her mad dash to Rua. If anything, she seemed to run faster this time around.

What was that about? It's not like she had any reason to-

Oh.

Oh.

I wanted to kick myself, I was such an idiot.

While I couldn't see, hear, or speak with Duel Spirits, Ruka could.

And every single card that was currently in my possession was stolen from someone else. 

While I didn't know how the cards in Divine's deck felt about their owner, I doubted that either they or Black Rose Dragon were very happy with me.

All in all, Ruka's reaction just now was actually very understandable, given what cards were on my person and what Duel Spirits they contained.

After all, I did essentially abduct them.

Add that to her brother getting injured, and Ruka was in for a rough night.

I took a moment to quash what sentiments I had before they overwhelmed me.

No lives (that I knew of) were lost today, but these last few hours were awful on every single level that I could think of.

In short, this whole thing was a shitshow. Everyone here has almost certainly come away from this with their own conclusions starting to solidify in their minds.

But I knew whatever conclusions they came to, if they had one to come to, would either be incorrect, incomplete or both.

Because I was the only one here that knew the truth.

Yusei got up to head out for a minute. Said he needed some time to think alone.

Himuro, Yanagi, Saiga, and Tenpei stayed a while longer before heading out, Himuro mentioning the need to take Tenpei home to his parents.

Never thought Himuro would go out of his way to take a kid home, but I didn't know what happened on his side of what I'm going to file away as the 'Daimon Area Battle' in my mind.

Ruka never left. Any attempts to get her to go home were met with a level of defiance that I wouldn't have expected from Ruka.

Eventually, the doctors realized which option was more productive and, on the whole, the nice thing to do, letting Ruka stay with her brother until morning came.

That left Misty and I to sit there and hope for the best. For both of their sakes.

The silence was deafening, but before long, we would also need to take our leave.

As the doctors saw it, Ruka was one thing. The rest of us were another.

Which was actually a perfectly fair assessment, to my knowledge.

As we sat there, I wondered what I should do next.

"What you did back there was extremely reckless," Misty said out of the blue,

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Going into that situation the way you did. You could have died." Misty answered.

"And yet, I didn't," I said, but I had an idea as to where this might be going.

"Do you even know who it was that attacked you?" Misty asked. 

Yep. Knew it.

"Can't say I do," I said, opting to feign ignorance.

"That was the Black Rose Witch," Misty said, "She is what is called a Psychic Duelist."

"What's a Psychic Duelist?" I asked, continuing the charade.

"A Psychic Duelist is someone who can make their cards real." Misty explained, "It's different from simple Solid Vision. When they play spells, the ground can actually quake, and when a Monster under their control strikes you, you will actually get hurt by them. And those are just some basic examples."

"You do realize how... unreal that sounds, right?" I asked, hoping this charade could be dropped soon.

"I assure you, they are very real," Misty explained, "My little brother was a Psychic Duelist if you could believe that. And besides, after seeing her in person, can you really doubt what I'm saying?"

Oh boy, she actually brought Toby up. At least I could broach the topic now. I wasn't sure how else to do so without relying on my canon knowledge.

"Point taken, but you said he was a Psychic Duelist," I said, "was, as in past tense. Am I correct in assuming that something happened to him?" I asked though I tried to be as gentle with the questioning as possible. 

We're talking about the same little brother that Divine murdered in cold blood and the same little brother whose death was blamed on Aki, and the older sister whose life was destroyed as a result.

"Yes," Misty said, slowly, "He was killed. Murdered by the very same woman that almost killed you." She said, no, hatefully spat.

If it weren't for my canon knowledge, I probably would have been surprised that Misty could express so much hate. As it was, this was the most open she's been with me so far.

I briefly weighed my potential responses before replying.

"How are you so sure that it was her?" I asked.

"When his body was found, it was completely unrecognizable." Misty explained, "And everyone agreed that it was the Witch's doing."

Ok... how do I respond to this?

I can't tell her about Divine. Ccarayhua would likely take control of her the moment her target became anyone other than a Signer. And then I would have that can of worms to deal with.

Earthbound Gods were living, breathing nightmare fuel to the people of this world. I, for one, hoped I would never have to find out what it was like to have my soul sacrificed to one.

But maybe there was another way that I could approach this.

"Everyone agreed it was her doing?" I asked, stressing the first word, "Doesn't that seem a bit suspicious to you?"

Misty's eyes widened a fraction, as if surprised, but it was gone as quickly as it came, "What makes you say that?"

"I mean, surely there would be someone who knew who the Black Rose Witch was behind that mask. By that logic, there should be someone willing to defend the Black Rose Witch. Especially in a court of law," I explained, "or family members who would step in to help her. So why is it that there is not a single person willing to do so? Doesn't that seem a little too convenient? Too... one-sided?"

Misty's eyes widened again, and they stayed that way as she started to process what I was implying, "Are you saying that she might be a scapegoat? That public opinion was turned against her artificially?"

Note to self: do not underestimate Misty again, especially not in any sort of intellectual capacity.

"I'm saying that it's a very real possibility," I said, "Stuff like that happens all the time, and anyone who thinks otherwise has a lot to learn. At least, that's how I understand it."

Misty went silent for a bit after that, as if turning the information I presented to her over and over in her mind.

"We can think about it more later," I said. "For now, let's head out to the lobby and figure out our next move."

"Oh! R-right." Misty stammered out, as though she was just broken out of some intense concentration.

Couldn't blame her, either. The information I presented, as little as it was, was probably enough to cast everything she knew into question.

I suppressed the relief I felt when Ccarayhua made no obvious move to control Misty. I knew Kermit the Frog's demonic kaiju of a cousin was listening in on every word. 

That knowledge only served to renew my disdain for the Earthbound Gods. Not as cards, but as entities. (I refused to even categorize them as Duel Spirits in my mind, on account of their summoning requirements).

Really, this would be so much easier if they didn't have the ability to pull off a villain override.

As we returned to the lobby, we decided to more or less our own things, for now.

Misty gave me her phone number before heading home for the night. Apparently, she had somewhere to be tomorrow.

After that, there were a number of things I could've done before leaving as well.

The thing I chose to do was get pissed.

At Divine for making my life hell, and at myself as I remembered something. Something important.

There were two other threats to my continued survival that, until now, I hadn't even bothered to really think about.

I really should have, but with Divine as an immediate threat, it was rather easy for them to be reduced to afterthoughts in my mind.

Rudger and Rex Godwin. 

If I was to stay alive, I would have to find a way to deal with them.

Same with Aki. When she chased us, I was completely powerless to counter her on my own.

I hated that feeling. The sheer hopelessness of the situation as she slowly but surely cornered us like rats in a trap.

I can't afford to lose the initiative. Not anymore.

I will not let myself be in danger anymore.

I will become the danger.

And to do that, I needed a new strategy.

Threats to my life aside, these last few hours... certainly changed things for the Fortune Cup.

Rua was never a participant in the Fortune Cup. At least not in any official capacity. The only reason he could at all was that he disguised himself as his twin sister, Ruka, the actual participant.

If that was the case, there was the chance that Ruka would face off against Bommer, like she was supposed to before Rua decided to switch things up.

And to be honest, that might be for the best. I'd sooner let her face Bommer than Professor Frank.

That guy needed to be kept an eye on. If I had the chance, I was going to make sure he was... indisposed.

He was no Divine, but the less that was said about him, the better.

But that meant that there would be no consolation match, which would make the tournament shorter, which meant that any windows of opportunity the tournament provided for me to act would be all the shorter for it.

Speaking of the Fortune Cup, though, I realized that was coming up... tomorrow, I think?

I needed to look into this.

So, yes, it turns out that the Fortune Cup is, in fact, tomorrow.

While I could probably argue that Divine won't drag any more people into our fights with each other while the Fortune Cup is going on, I knew that wouldn't be true.

Unless Jeager deemed self-preservation to be more important than delivering an invite and/or blackmail material, then Aki would be present for the Fortune Cup.

And where Aki is, Divine is pretty likely to follow. That in itself meant that every single person there could and likely would be dragged into the clusterfuck I've played a part in creating.

And besides, I realized that the Fortune Cup provided a unique opportunity.

For context, Divine, as much of a bastard as he is, isn't the only thing that could pose a threat to my life.

Rex Godwin, the director of Security, was equally likely to pose a similar threat, what with his plan to 'fight destiny' and all that entailed.

Part of that plan is using the Fortune Cup in its entirety as a trap to identify the Signers.

But one weakness to that plan exists, and if I played my cards right (no pun intended), I could exploit it to shut Godwin down before he gets anywhere close to getting his plans off the ground. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself.

For now, if I wanted to keep myself alive, the best way to do so would be to keep everyone else alive.

The best way to keep everyone alive would be to screw over the operations of as many major antagonists as I could in as short a time frame as I could manage.

With Divine, I got that covered, at least for now. Beating him up and taking his stuff was surprisingly effective in that regard.

But I needed to cover my bases with Godwin. Rex Godwin. And I needed to cover them quickly before his plans started to gain any traction.

Considering his role at the very end of the Dark Signers arc, I needed to preempt his plans before they could really get off the ground. 

I already had an idea of what to do, but even with the perfect opportunity to carry it out, I was going to need some help.

As I walked out of the hospital, I looked back inside one more time.

Rua was still in there. His injuries were, at least partially, my fault.

I couldn't afford to let anything like that happen. Not ever again.

Continuing on my way out of the hospital, I saw Yusei out in the parking lot. From where I stood, I could see that he was talking with Yanagi and Saiga.

Himuro wasn't anywhere to be seen, nor was Tenpei. 

Either Himuro was still in the process of getting Tenpei home, or he was on his way back from that task.

I kinda wanted Himuro to be here for this right now, but he wasn't an absolute necessity for what I had in mind. If he did opt to pitch in and help put, it was more of a bonus than anything right now.

Either way, I could try to bring him in on it later.

I had new objectives now, and I knew what alliances I would need to make for them to be achieved. Whether they would be long-term or not, I wasn't sure yet.

When Yusei noticed my approach, he widened his eyes slightly. He likely wasn't expecting to see me.

"Seth," Yusei stated.

"What's up?" I greeted.

We took a brief moment to introduce ourselves. Yanagi also took the chance to 'inform' me of Himuro's name.

That worked for me. At least I no longer had to feign ignorance regarding any of their names.

But once that was done, Yusei decided to get down to business.

"Was there something you needed?" Yusei asked.

"As a matter of fact, there is," I answered.

I then turned to Saiga, then Yanagi before turning back to Yusei.

"But let's not talk about it out here. The walls have ears, after all." I stated, jabbing a thumb toward the building behind me.

"In that case, I have somewhere that might work for you," Saiga stated.

Heh. Jack of all trades, indeed. 

"In that case, lead the way," I replied.

With that, we started heading off. 

If I had to guess, we were probably heading to the condo Saiga got for the Fortune Cup, but anywhere he trusted with our next conversation was fine.

As we walked, I stuck to the back of the group and kept on the alert for anyone tailing us.

Nobody was dumb enough to try yet, but I knew they would show up at some point or another.

But that was fine. Things were going smoothly.

Look out Neo Domino.

Because now it's my turn.

Chapter Text

I wasn't sure how long we kept walking.

It was late, my muscles were screaming at me, my nerves were frayed beyond all belief, and even if I stood still, I was bouncing my leg up and down, ready to punch out anything that made any sudden movement.

I couldn't be sure without a map for reference, but I felt confident that our destination was rather close to the Stadium.

Eventually, we made it to Saiga's condo.

As we went through the front door, I saw that it was a bit larger than what canon showed me, with more rooms to round out the structure.

It wasn't the most secure location, but it would work.

For now, if I played my cards right (no pun intended), Godwin would be neutralized by the time the Fortune Cup ends, without any hope of recovery.

Thankfully, a plan was already forming in my mind for just that purpose.

But for it to work, I needed some extra help.

Hence why I turned to Yusei, Yanagi, and Saiga. But mostly Saiga.

Possibly Himuro as well, but we'd just have to see how that turned out.

As we went further into the condo, we eventually made it to Saiga's room. Saiga held the door open and gestured for us all to go inside.

After we all complied, Saiga closed and locked the door behind us.

The room had a couch, a few chairs, a work desk with Saiga's laptop on it, and shelves on some of the walls.

We each took a seat somewhere in the room. 

Saiga sat in his office chair, his laptop on the desk in front of him, while Yusei and Yanagi took the couch.

Finally, I took the nearest chair.

It had cushions and all the usual signs of comfort, but the chair somehow still felt uncomfortable to sit in. Like I was sitting in a hard, steel chair rather than something more comfortable.

But I had already been homeless for 4 days. While I would have enjoyed some comfort, this was nothing I couldn't handle by now.

"So, what did you need?" Saiga asked with a raised brow. Yusei and Yanagi gazed at me intently. 

And oh boy, did Saiga ask a loaded question.

Where did I even start?

"I-"

"Hey, I'm back." A voice called out as the door swung open.

When I turned to the source, I saw-

"Himuro, I just locked that," Saiga said, exasperated.

At that, Himuro turned to the doorknob, or rather, what was left of it after he accidentally broke it.

"Whoops. Sorry. Kinda forgot my own strength back at the Detention Center." Himuro said, slightly embarrassed.

"I expect you to pay for that, Himuro," Saiga said, annoyed.

"Yeah, yeah," Himuro said with a shrug.

When he turned to head to the chair I was sitting in, he finally noticed me.

Uhh...

"Want a seat?" I asked, not really sure of what else to say.

Himuro paused for a moment as if to actually consider my offer.

"Nah." He said. "But while you're here, mind telling me who that guy was?"

"He is called Divine," as everyone raised their eyebrows, I shrugged, "Don't look at me, everyone calls him that."

"Uh... huh," Himuro uttered.

"Anyway, Divine is the leader of the Arcadia Movement," I explained.

"That group of Psychic Duelists?" Saiga asked.

"Yep," I answered. "And to clarify, that entire mess earlier happened because I screwed him over," the words 'big time' went unsaid.

"What the hell did you do to piss him off that badly?" Himuro asked.

"Secret," I simply stated.

About ten seconds passed with no one saying anything.

After another ten seconds, Himuro brought his hand up to his nose.

"Sheesh, what is that smell?" Himuro asked.

At that, everyone looked around for a brief moment.

Then they turned to me.

Oh.

Right.

I gave my armpit a sniff and immediately recoiled in disgust.

My standards weren't that high, but this was where I drew the line.

"Uh... anyone mind pointing me to a shower?" I asked.

Once that was done and over with, I headed back to the roroom.

Yanagi mentioned that while I took a much needed shower, he had elected to fill Himuro in on my 'name'.

With everyone now knowing everyone else here, I started again.

"So, Saiga." I began, "I could use everyone's help for this, but you are the lynchpin: the one I need the most." I stated. Saiga gave me a gesture that basically said 'go on,'

"So you know how the Fortune Cup begins tomorrow?" 

"Yeah?"

"I need your help with two things. The first is to find and break into sections of the Stadium that are inaccessible to the audience."

Saiga raised his eyebrow at that, Yanagi widened his eyes, and Yusei's face stayed the same.

Himuro smirked.

"Oh? And why would you want to do that?" He asked, clearly curious.

"I've learned that Security is going to be utilizing certain devices which will be present at the Fortune Cup," I explained. "For me, they're problematic. I need to find them and the blueprints that created them."

Yusei's eyes glazed over in thought. If I had to guess, he was probably thinking something along the lines of 'how does he know that?'

Maybe in time, I will explain things to him. But I won't right now. I can't right now.

This plan hinges on my ability to keep everyone here as in the dark as possible until it's completed.

Give them enough information to agree to my plan, but not enough to jeopardize it if something goes wrong.

And if my experience in this world so far was any indication, something was very likely to go wrong.

"And when you find what you're looking for? What will you do then?" Himuro asked.

"Destroy them," I simply answered.

"You know Security will probably try to stop you, right?" Himuro further questioned.

"Yep," I answered.

"What will you do if they get in your way?" 

"Punch them out."

"If you can't use your arms?"

"Kick them in the nuts."

"And if you can't use either your arms or legs?"

"Then I'll bite their ankles off."

Himuro paused after that one.

Yeah, at this point, anyone could tell. I will do just about anything and everything in my power to achieve my objective. My approach to problems was violent, I knew it, and I was not apologetic about it.

And then I heard it.

It was low at first, with a few chuckles here and there.

It didn't take long before Himuro was full-belly laughing as though he had just heard a really funny joke.

"Oh man, I already knew you were nuts, but you got balls, kid," Himuro said.

That time I let out a low growl, "I am not a kid."

"Really?" Himuro asked.

"Yes. I just look a lot younger than I actually am."

"Huh. Neat." Himuro simply replied.

Ignoring that tinge of annoyance for a second, I returned my attention to Saiga.

"So what do you say, Saiga?" I asked, "as well as the rest of you?" I amended.

Everyone looked at each other for a few seconds. In particular, Saiga was looking at Yusei in a slight panic. I knew why. He was supposed to go to Satellite and look for Yusei's friends after all.

Yusei gave a brief, barely perceptible nod, and Saiga let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"Yeah, I can help you." He said, "Normally, it would cost you, but I'll let it slide."

I raised an eyebrow at that but said nothing. I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

That said, I idly wondered why Yusei would allow this to happen. He didn't know everything about my motives, and he must've figured out already that I had no plans to tell him. At least not yet.

That said, Yusei was the most rational and logical person in the room, with Saiga being a close second. He might've realized Saiga's efforts would probably turn up empty. For him to reach that conclusion, he would have to realize that Godwin wouldn't bother abducting people if they could be located and rescued so easily.

Hell, even with my canon knowledge, all I knew is that they were locked up in what looked like a shipping container somewhere in Satellite.

Maybe he noticed my wild card status and was willing to put some faith in me? Out of everyone here, Godwin knows little to nothing about me, and while I knew that Jeager was there for the Daimon Area Battle, I knew he wouldn't be able to keep pace with a car. If he saw me at all, he wouldn't be able to identify me, at least, not so easily. Which in turn meant that Godwin still had little, if anything on me. Without sufficient blackmail material, he will be unable to railroad my actions out of stopping his plans.

If Yusei was placing some faith in me as a wild card, it wouldn't be unfounded. 

"And the rest of you?" I questioned.

Himuro quickly and almost eagerly nodded.

Yanagi, though a bit more hesitant, gave his nod as well.

Yusei shook his head. I knew why, and that was okay with me.

That said, he was fixing me with a questioning stare.

When I met it, he spoke.

"Do you have a plan?"

"As a matter of fact, yes." 

"Care to fill us in?" Himuro asked.

This time, I finally let out my smirk in full, intentionally revealing far too many teeth as I channeled every ounce of confidence I could muster.

Yanagi reeled back a bit in shock, Saiga widened his eyes, Yusei remained stoic as always, and Himuro seemed almost giddy.

I almost felt like some devilish rogue ready to stir up trouble as I took to laying out the details of my plan.

"Alright, here is what we'll do."

Chapter Text

When Rua woke up, he wasn't sure where he was.

It wasn't the Daimon Area, that much was for certain. Turning to his side, he saw Ruka sitting in a chair, asleep.

Looking around, Rua realized he was in a hospital bed.

Then he remembered how he got here.

Being attacked by the Black Rose Witch, and being saved by Yusei and that masked guy.

Looking throwing off the white bedsheet, Rua found his leg, all wrapped up in bandages and possibly a cast.

Looking at Ruka, Rua suppressed a wince.

How worried was she if she was still here?

Rua didn't know, but he wasn't eager to find out. Even while sleeping, Ruka looked exhausted.

Instead, Rua pulled out his deck.

He knew he probably couldn't take part in the Fortune Cup. If his lack of an invitation didn't stop him, his injured leg sure did.

That didn't mean he couldn't work on some new strategies in the meantime.

Rua wasn't sure, but it seemed like something Yusei would do.

It was about a half-hour into the current project when Ruka stirred.

"Oh, Ruka!" Rua exclaimed.

"Rua..." Ruka murmured, before whatever traces of sleep vanished from her eyes as she zeroed in on him, alert and focused.

"What on earth were you thinking?!" Ruka nearly shouted, "You almost died!"

"I'm sorry!" Rua uttered in a hurry, "But hey, at least I made out alright," He paused for a moment, realizing he didn't actually know for sure, "Right?"

Ruka huffed in mild annoyance, "Yes, but it could have easily been so much worse. Do you have any idea how worried I was?!"

Rua stayed silent while Ruka took several deep breaths.

"Don't do something so reckless like that again, okay?"

"Okay," Rua said. 

He meant it too. He kind of felt like a jerk for making Ruka worry for who even knew how long.

For a few minutes, neither of them spoke.

It was Rua who broke the silence.

"Guess I won't be entering the Fortune Cup after all." He said with none of his usual energy.

Ruka stared at him for a moment before answering.

"No, I don't think so," Ruka said, "The doctors said you would need at least a week to recover."

"Oh," Was all Rua could say.

He was really looking forward to it too.

But, Rua supposed that wouldn't be happening.

But what about Ruka?

She would be taking part in the Fortune Cup. How would she handle herself?

Rua knew that his sister got exhausted after dueling. And she might be taking part in several duels.

And... it's not like he will be there to cheer her on. He can't.

So what should he do?

How can Rua support his sister while he was stuck in a hospital bed?

Rua almost wanted to yell in frustration, but it was late. People were almost certainly sleeping by now.

But Rua would find a way. 

It was the least he could do after making Ruka worry so much.

It was about half an hour later when Rua came up with an idea.

"Hey, Ruka."

"Hmm?"

"Why not use my Power Tool Dragon for the Fortune Cup?" He asked, holding out the aforementioned card.

Ruka stared at the card, considering.

"I could," She said, "But I would think it would be better off in your deck. Yours is full of Equip Spells, after all." 

"Oh yeah," Rua said, slightly dejected.

"But..." Ruka started, "We could work together to combine our decks."

"Oh yeah!" Rua exclaimed, "Then it would have the strength of both."

"Maybe," Ruka said with a smile, "Do you want to help me out?"

"Sure!" Rua agreed, shaking his head with enthusiasm.

Maybe this idea could work after all.

When Ruka first heard Rua was in the hospital, she was, of course, extremely worried.

She was also taking a nap, and even on the way there, she was still trying to wipe the sleep from her eyes.

It didn't help that, on her way to Rua's hospital room, she had to come across him.

That masked man. 

He was dressed in a very fancy black suit, or at least it was. Now it was roughed up a bit. From what, Ruka didn't know.

His skin was pale and his hair was dark, almost black.

One side of his mask was bleach white, while the left side was jet black.

Blue eyes peered out of them, completely unaware of the anger of the Duel Spirits in his possession.

Ruka had never seen such a duelist before.

Every single Duel Spirit in his possession was angry with him.

She could barely make out any actual sentences amidst the screams of rage that fell on the man's deaf ears.

She was able to learn one thing, however.

He kidnapped them.

He kidnapped every last one of those Duel Spirits.

And above all the others, one voice was especially loud, its draconic roar still echoing in her ears whenever her mind wandered.

It was in pain. It was angry. And Ruka didn't know what to do.

So when Rua suggested combining their decks together, she took it as a decent chance to take her mind off of the whole thing.

Strategically, she didn't know if the resulting deck would even work, but it wasn't like she actually wanted to take part in the Fortune Cup at all. Not with the way she gets exhausted after dueling.

She did want to try a combined deck out, just this once. And, well, Rua wouldn't be able to leave the hospital for a while anyway.

Rua was so weak right now, and try as he might to hide it, Ruka knew how bummed out he was about not being able to enter the Fortune Cup.

He never got an invitation in the first place, but Ruka decided not to bring that up. Not right now. She will take part in the Fortune Cup for him.

It was probably the best way to get the masked man and the voices echoing around him out of her mind.

Personally, she hoped she wouldn't come across that man again.

But somehow, she felt like she was asking for too much in this case.

Chapter Text

"Alright, here is what we'll do." I started.

"Firstly, Saiga, I'm going to make a list of items that I need you to create or gather, whichever is quicker."

"Alright."

"Himuro, when I give the signal, I need you to make some noise around the Stadium. Create chaos. As much as possible, and over as wide an area as possible."

"Ok, but why?"

"In all likelihood, there will be a horde of Godwin's goons at the Stadium. I need as many of them out of there as possible."

I turned to Himuro, "And if enough people are pissed about something, Security will be obligated to intervene."

"So I'm to be the decoy, then?"

"Yes," I stated, "And before anyone asks, no, I'm not having Himuro sacrifice himself for this." 

I turned to Saiga again, "That's why I need you to find a way to conceal the signal generated by Himuro's criminal marker.

"That will be difficult," Saiga stated, "I've used a trick for that to help Yusei, and I know for a fact it won't work a second time."

"Then we use a different method," I stated.

Yusei held his chin in thought, then looked at me, "I might know a way."

"Yeah?" 

"Yeah. I won't make any promises, but I might be able to jam Himuro's signal." Yusei explained, "But that is the most I'll be able to do."

If I had to guess, Yusei probably planned to do for Himuro something similar to what he did for Rally, way back in Episode 1. 

Obviously, some adjustments would need to be made since Yusei has used that trick once already, but I was pretty sure he can do it.

Saiga was a jack of all trades, but Yusei was a tech genius.

Granted, I was no stranger to tech myself, but I was pretty confident that if I ever saw Yusei draw up quadratic equations or the like, my brain would most likely commit suicide.

Science was my best subject, but math, ironically, was one of my worst, despite how prevalent it could be in science.

And don't even get me started with geometry. It took me a while to finally stop seeing triangles in the same light as eldritch abominations. And I didn't even know what an eldritch abomination was at the time.

Geometry: Education's one-way ticket to regret.

At any rate, I better be ready if Yusei's plan fails. Never hurts to be careful. 

I could use Godwin's origins to secure Himuro's freedom in the event he gets sent to the Detention Center again, but that will be the absolute last resort.

Unlike Divine, I didn't have a convenient army of super soldiers, ready to buy me enough time to plunge the city into anarchy and chaos should Godwin ever take the time to antagonize me.

My one saving grace was that if Himuro got captured, Takasu wouldn't be there to make life hell for him.

Not only was Takasu booted from the Detention Center, but he was also kinda busy being dead.

Yeah, I didn't know if that was best to mention that tidbit to anyone here. Out of everyone here, only Saiga and I had the good fortune of never having to interact with Takasu in any capacity, and it might be best not to put salt onto whatever wounds were still present.

Refocusing on my explanation, I turned back to Saiga.

"Ok, while Himuro is playing decoy, you and I are gonna reach our destination, do what needs to be done, and get out."

"Gotcha."

"And Yanagi," I said, "You're the one with the walkie-talkie, so you are to be our lookout. You alert us if anything happens."

"Right."

"Now, I'm going to get to work on that list," I stated, "Other than Saiga and myself, everyone should get some sleep. We've got a big day tomorrow and I've got a list to write."

After nodding in agreement, everyone left the room.

Ok, things are progressing smoothly enough. 

I've got a few more things to do, but those will be easy enough.

There was a question I needed to ask myself.

Have I overlooked anything?

While writing down my 'wishlist' for Saiga, I went through a mental checklist of everything I knew.

Unless the brackets have changed as a result of my actions, Bommer will be facing Ruka instead of Rua. 

Unlike Rua, Ruka won't lose focus during her duel, and she might stand a legitimate chance of defeating Bommer.

The question is, would she?

Honestly, I felt it was a bit of a toss-up. Strategically, both Ruka and Bommer were pretty passive, favoring cards that punish the opponent for carrying out specific actions. But whereas Ruka punishes the act of attacking through Ancient Forest, Bommer punishes the act of playing cards in general with his Reactors.

Strategically, it was hard to tell which of them would come out on top. Their dueling styles were just too similar to each other.

After that, Aki would face that golden knight. 

What was his name again? Oh right, Jill De Lancebeaux.

I'm just going to call him 'Lance' from now on. His actual name is just a pain to say over and over again.

At any rate, I might have actually hurt Aki's chances of defeating Lance in her duel.

Most of her plays in canon revolved around her Black Rose Dragon, and guess who had it now?

For Aki to win, she will need to stop relying on her Dragon so much. Her victory will literally depend on her ability to adapt.

While she might still pull through and defeat Lance, she won't be outed as the Black Rose Witch since I took her ace monster.

Though, she'll probably still be outed as a Psychic Duelist since she can't control her powers, and might still be outed as a Signer if I didn't work fast enough.

Unlike the first two, Yusei's duel will likely go unchanged. Neither Divine nor I have done anything to screw things up on that front.

Speaking of Divine, he was once again my biggest problem.

It seemed that he was now just as much of a wild card as I am. Just like myself, until the Daimon Area Battle, Divine's actions were pretty self-contained. At least, that's how it seemed.

In the span of a few hours, we have both drastically altered the course of the Fortune Cup, though only I was aware of that fact.

With my luck, he would most likely show up in another attempt to kill me. 

This was bad. Aki was going to be there too, and I didn't think I'd be lucky enough to survive another chase with her.

I needed to find Divine as soon as possible, and keep him as far away from Aki as possible.

In addition to all of that, I needed to shut the entire Fortune Cup down. At least if I was able.

The Signers would give Godwin exactly what he wants just by taking part in the tournament. Victory and defeat were meaningless. Some of them, through blackmail and the like, have literally no choice but to play right into Godwin's hands.

But shutting the Fortune Cup down was only the first step.

The Fortune Cup was a major step in Godwin's plan, yes, but it wasn't the lynchpin. The glue that held Godwin's operation together.

To get to that, I needed to take advantage of the Fortune Cup both to acquire the means of locating the lynchpin and then to actually get ahold of it.

It will be one hell of a balancing act, and there will no doubt be some unforeseen circumstances along the way, but I will pull this off. I have to.

That is why I will use everything at my disposal to pull it off.

With that in mind, I reached for the burner phone in my pocket.

It was time to make a phone call.

Chapter Text

Misty let out a deep breath as she closed the door behind her for the evening.

That... could've gone better. But it could also have gotten worse.

But Seth's words clung to her.

Was the Black Rose Witch being framed? Was public opinion turned against her artificially?

Personally, Misty had her doubts. The Witch was essentially a reality warper whose entire reputation had been built on causing disasters, and today's events only further cemented that fact in her mind.

But, she supposed that very fact would make it easy to shift the blame for her little brother's death onto her. Eerily easy.

As Misty saw it, it was a 50/50 chance that the Black Rose Witch was responsible for Toby's death.

She had been so certain that the Black Rose Witch was the one responsible. If not her, then who?

If it was not the Black Rose Witch, it would still be someone in the Arcadia Movement. 

Someone with great authority within the organization, someone with the kind of pull necessary to turn the Black Rose Witch into the Black Rose Scapegoat.

The sheer lack of investigation on the part of Security would make no sense otherwise.

For someone to pull that off, they would have to be extremely high-ranking within the movement and stand to gain from shifting the blame onto the Witch.

But aside from the Black Rose Witch, Misty knew nothing of the Arcadia Movement's membership. Who they were, and how many there were.

If Misty was to investigate this on her own, those would be the top two on her list of things to look into.

Misty almost couldn't believe it. If the Black Rose Witch wasn't responsible for her little brother's death, then why did she resurrect as a Dark Signer at all?

What in the world did she agree to do?!

Before Misty could spiral further into self-doubt and paranoia, her phone rang.

She pulled it out with a tinge of frustration, restraining the urge to swear. If it was Rudger again...

As she looked at the number on her phone, however, her shoulders lost their tension, a smile forming as she moved her thumb to answer.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Misty," came the voice of Seth, "Sorry to call so late. Hope I didn't wake you."

"No, you haven't woken me," Misty said. 

Like the need to breathe, Misty didn't have any need to sleep. Still, she slept to give her mind time to rest.

"Gotcha," Seth said, "So, hey, you know how you wanted me to do some things Security doesn't approve of?" He asked.

"Yes?" Misty replied.

"Well, I got an idea in mind," Seth said, "and if it's fine with you, I'd like your help with it."

Interesting. Now, what could Seth need Misty to do?

"I'm listening," Misty stated.

"I've just learned that there will be certain devices at the Fortune Cup that takes place tomorrow.," Seth explained, "For me, they're problematic, so I'd like to find them and destroy them, along with the blueprints necessary to make more." 

How convenient. Misty had plans to head to the Fortune Cup as well.

"What would you like for me to do?" Misty asked.

"I'd like for you to keep a lookout for any Security officers that may leave the view of the audience," Seth explained, "I've got a few things ready to get most of them to vacate the premises entirely, but it won't get them all out. I need you to keep an eye on the stragglers."

Misty knew there was more to this plan than Seth was letting on. There were just far too many moving pieces involved, at least if his explanation was anything to go by.

But Misty was curious. She wanted to see what he had planned.

Plus, if a scout is what her protege needed, she had a few tricks up her sleeve for just that purpose.

Her smile grew wider as she made her decision, "Very well, I'll provide my support. I suppose I'll be seeing you tomorrow?"

"Yep."

"Very well, I'll see you then."

With that, Misty hung up the phone.

As Misty turned to her wardrobe, she stopped as she, once more, heard the sounds of rattling chains, loud and omnipresent.

"It seems your resolve stands firm," It spoke, once again in Seth's voice, along with that almighty quality it injected into every word.

Misty couldn't help but find herself mildly annoyed. Why was this... this thing speaking to her with Seth's voice?

But more importantly...

"What is it that you want?" Misty asked.

At that, the voice seemed to pause, as though trying to formulate a response.

"If I were to describe what it is that I desire," it began, "It would be the realization of new possibilities."

New possibilities? 

"You have demonstrated the resolve to prevent your tragedy from repeating itself," It said, "Therefore, I shall grant you a gift, in honor of that resolve."

Before Misty could question the voice any further, she fell to her knees as the single worst headache she had ever experienced wracked her brain with all of the force of a sledgehammer.

It kept building and building and building until it felt like Misty's head felt like it was about to explode.

But just before it felt like it would reach that point, the headache vanished, as though it was never there in the first place.

"What. On Earth. Was that?" Misty forced out, trying to catch her breath.

"My apologies," The voice spoke, "Human minds are a difficult thing to fortify without shattering it entirely, especially over such a short period of time. I'm afraid some stress is inevitable."

Some stress? Was that supposed to be some kind of sick joke?

Wait, it did what?

"Your mental fortitude has been enhanced," the voice explained, "Truth be told, it is a thoroughly insignificant enhancement, but make no mistake. This is the single most valuable thing in your possession."

Misty took a moment to turn that over in her mind. The voice clearly regards this 'enhancement' as insignificant, and yet, somehow, it was still the most valuable thing it could give to her.

"What is the catch?" Misty asked.

"Catch? Do not be mistaken. I am no demon," The voice said, almost managing to sound offended, "However if you insist that there be a price, then you need not concern yourself." 

At that moment, the air became thicker, the rattling of the chains grew louder and Misty felt a shiver run down her spine as her blood ran cold.

"After all, you have already formed a contract."

And then it was gone, vanishing as though it was never there.

In the end, Misty didn't sleep at all that night. 

Between her preparations and the questions swirling around in her mind, how could she sleep?

So she'll focus on the task at hand.

Tomorrow was a big day, and despite what just happened, Misty was looking forward to it.

Chapter Text

As I hung up the burner phone, I let out a small sigh of relief, happy that Misty was now on board with the plan.

It was already past midnight as I stared down at the paper I had been working on. It took a few moments before I realized that my wishlist was actually complete.

Picking it up with one of my hands, I made my way to where I figured Saiga would be, my footsteps silent as I moved through the empty halls of the condo we were in.

There, in the same room I laid out the details of my current hair-brained scheme, Saiga sat at his computer, his mouse clicking and the keys on the keyboard clacking away as Saiga typed.

I knocked on the door twice, announcing my presence. Saiga suddenly jolted, as if I broke an immense state of concentration.

He looked briefly panicked for a moment before his gaze locked onto me, after which his expression returned to something more neutral.

"You're way too good at sneaking around, you know that?" Saiga said, in a tone that sounded slightly... annoyed?

"Whoops. Sorry about that." I apologized.

Saiga took a deep breath, before letting it out.

"It's fine. Got your wishlist done?" 

"Yep."

"Good, pass it over and I'll gather the contents."

I did as instructed, knowing Saiga would get the job done.

As he read through the list, his eyebrow raised slightly after a certain point.

"Why would you need gasoline? It's not like any of our D-Wheels even use that stuff. For that matter, didn't this stuff become outdated a decade or two ago?" He asked.

"To answer your first question, it's because I might need to start a fire while we're there," I stated plainly.

At that, Saiga's eyes widened, "You might need to what?!"

"You heard me."

At that, Saiga directed his gaze toward me and stared at me long and hard.

Uhhhhhhh...

"You... are a goose."

"Huh?"

"You are a goose. Everywhere you go, chaos follows, and if you can, you solve your problems with a, quite frankly, unusual amount of aggression and violence, if not by your own hand, then by others. You. Are. A. Goose." Saiga stated, punctuating the last four words for emphasis.

Now it was my turn to stare at Saiga long and hard.

For the first time since I got here, my brain was actually struggling to process what he was saying.

But when the pieces finally clicked into place for me...

I laughed. 

I laughed so hard that I was having trouble breathing.

When I finally calmed down, there was only one thing I could say to that.

"Oh my god, that's perfect!"

Saiga, on the other hand, looked exasperated beyond belief. Can't even say that I blamed him, either.

"Should I pray that arson doesn't become Resort Number One in the near future?" Saiga asked.

"I mean, I would say you can, but I think I already crossed that line a couple of times," I answered, remembering what I did to Divine during my first few minutes in this world.

It hasn't even been a week since it happened, and yet it felt like it was a lifetime ago. I idly noted that it was funny how that worked.

After attempting (and failing) to reassure Saiga that I had, in fact, not lost my sanity at some point, I opted to head outside for some fresh air.

As I made my way out the garage door, I noted that Yusei seemed to have the same idea.

As he turned back to face me, his face was as stoic as always.

"You looking for some fresh air, too?" I asked cordially.

"Yeah," Yusei simply answered.

I moved further so I was standing side-by-side with him.

We simply stood there for a few minutes. There wasn't really much for us to say to one another. We were both quiet for the most part, even when someone was speaking with us. And I was fine with that, in all honesty.

To my surprise, it was Yusei that broke the silence.

"I have to thank you for earlier." 

"Eh? What are you talking about?"

"You saved Rua and me, and it seems you did the same for Yanagi and Himuro when I wasn't there to help them," He stated before I saw him turn to face me in my periphery, "You didn't even have to do those things, and yet you did it anyway," He paused for a moment as if trying to think of something else to say.

"You really are a good person, aren't you Seth?"

I suppressed the urge to scoff at that.

I mean, really. Me? A good person? Don't make me laugh.

I've spent every waking moment of the last four days fearing for my life. I've gotten involved in all kinds of trouble everywhere I've gone, and it's not like I'm actually trying to solve the world's problems.

And even if I disregarded all of that, I made it a point to avoid thinking of myself as a 'good person' long before I even came to this world. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, after all.

"Think of me what you will," I simply said instead.

Yusei paused for a moment before continuing.

"We're willing to help you with whatever you're trying to do. We all owe you that much." Yusei stated, "Having said that, would you be willing to help me with something?"

Despite myself, I knew my eyes had lit up at the words. 

"I'm listening."

Rather than respond with words, Yusei reached into his jacket before pulling out a simple slip of paper and handing it to me.

Flipping it over in my hands, I instantly recognized the paper as a photo.

Nerve. Taka. Blitz.

And Rally Dawson.

Yusei's friends in Satellite, their visages all gathered together in a single photo.

I resisted the urge to crumple up the paper with a clenched fist. This is what Godwin was using to force Yusei into participating in the Fortune Cup.

"Are these guys friends of yours?" I asked, once again feigning ignorance. It took all of my self-control not to let my anger bleed into my voice too early.

"Yes. If I don't take part in the Fortune Cup, Director Godwin said that they would pay the price." Yusei answered.

"So this thing is a fucking threat," I said, letting out a low growl as I looked at the offending piece of paper.

"Yes," Yusei answered, "I have no choice but to play Godwin's game. That said," Yusei paused for a moment, "Would I be correct in assuming Godwin doesn't hold as much power over you?"

"His scouts and cronies will need to be a lot more competent than they are right now for that to be the case," I answered.

The fact was, legally, I didn't exist. To Security, I was a ghost, and I knew it. 

I'd been milking that advantage for all it was worth so far to achieve my ends. There's a reason Godwin has yet to pin me down or railroad my actions out of stopping his plans.

"I want to figure out where Godwin is keeping them," Yusei stated, "If you can find their whereabouts while I play my part," Yusei paused before turning back to the garage, where his D-Wheel sat, currently inert.

"Then I'll teach you what I know about mechanics and tinkering." He offered.

I turned back to Yusei's D-Wheel, contemplating his offer. 

Yusei was a technical genius. Put a machine in front of him, and he could make it even better than before. It literally didn't matter what it was.

The fact that he made two separate D-Wheels on his own, with what was most likely a bunch of scrap parts, spoke volumes of his capabilities, as did his second D-Wheel's mere presence in that garage.

Not only that, but I could see the benefits of Yusei teaching me what he knew.

After weighing the pros and cons in my mind, I made my decision.

"If I can discern your friends' whereabouts, I'll be holding you to your offer," I stated.

And for the first time, since I came to this world, I saw Yusei smile.

"Then it's a deal," Yusei stated.

"So it would seem," I agreed.

We both fell into a relatively companionable silence after that.

A few minutes later, the air started to get chilly, so we both silently agreed to head back in.

It was almost time for the Fortune Cup, and I had to be ready. Freezing my ass off wasn't going to help me in that department.

Chapter Text

Saiga was a jack of all trades. In addition to that, he cared little about whether his client was on the right or wrong side of the law.

But Saiga was also a man who kept his ear to the ground. He always made sure he knew what was going on in the city, even if he cared little for the city itself. Likewise, he always made sure he at least knew of any noteworthy figures to crop out of the city's rather displeasing woodwork.

That was why the very existence of the masked man who only called himself Seth threw him for quite the loop.

While the masked man was writing down his 'wishlist' for Saiga, Saiga opted to try and dig up what he could about Seth.

He began by searching for the obvious answers, first and foremost, searching for anyone who went by the name of Seth that could be found in the city.

As it turned out, there were a few individuals who went by that name.

then Saiga made the next step, narrowing the search based on what information he was able to gather just by looking at the masked man.

His hair was incredibly dark, almost jet black. His eyes were as blue as the sky on a clear sunny day if one were to look close enough. And his skin was so pale that it made him stand out in the darkness of the night. And his attire consisted of what was most likely a very crisp, fancy black suit at one point, with a white, collared shirt beneath it and a black tie to complete the ensemble.

Now it was worn ragged from what Saiga assumed was the man's confrontation with the Black Rose Witch.

But it was his mask, black on his left side and white on his right, that threw a monkey wrench into Saiga's investigation.

There was no such individual in any database he could access. Not with that particularly distinctive characteristic.

Seth was a fucking ghost. And while Saiga knew such a status had its advantages, it was currently very problematic for him.

While Saiga was thankful that Seth agreed to help them save Yusei and the kid from Tops who gave him shelter, something about that whole fiasco was bothering him.

When Yanagi called on the masked man for help, Saiga didn't think much of it at the time. There was little time to actually think about it with the situation turning out the way it did.

But now that things had settled down, he had more time to actually think about it.

The walkie-talkie, while quick and simple enough to use, was no cell phone. There was a definitive limit to its range. Usually somewhere between four to six miles at minimum.

This meant that if Seth was too far away, Yanagi could call for his aid a thousand times and Seth would've never received that call.

That meant that Seth was already in the Daimon Area at the time the Black Rose Witch appeared. This, of course, begged the question of what he was doing there in the first place.

Then there was the woman that was with him when Saiga first saw him in person within the walls of the hospital.

At the time, Saiga thought she looked familiar. Upon further recollection, Saiga realized that the woman in question was Misty Lola.

Misty Lola, the world's top supermodel.

And Seth was on friendly terms with her, or at the very least was acquainted with her.

Why on earth would someone like Seth be associated with Misty Lola?

There was also Yanagi's call for help.

Seth almost instantly agreed to help them, and it seemed he was already on his way when Yanagi requested his aid, given how quickly he arrived to save the day. Not to mention he was pretty sure that he could hear the sounds of a car engine roaring in the background on Seth's end of the walkie talkie.

The timing was perfect. Too perfect. Almost as though he knew exactly what was going to happen at the Daimon Area at that time.

But that was impossible.

Or was it?

The fact was, Saiga already had first-hand experience with what a Psychic Duelist was capable of. Common sense had already been thrown out the window a few hours ago.

And if there were people in the world capable of warping reality to make Duel Monsters cards and their effects real, what reason did Saiga have to disbelieve the notion that someone else could see the future?

But if Seth knew the future, then why did he apparently screw over the leader of the Arcadia Movement? What reason did he have to do that? Especially if he knew how Divine would react.

...

Perhaps the answer to that lay within the three biggest mysteries that currently surrounded his latest acquaintence:

1. Who is the masked man known only as 'Seth'?
2. Where did the masked man known only as 'Seth' come from?
3. What exactly brought the man known only as 'Seth' to Neo Domino in the first place?

Unless Saiga could figure out the answer to those three all-important questions, he would be no closer to grasping the truth. And if Seth was as secretive as Saiga was guessing, then asking him was out of the question.

He ultimately had to discontinue his investigation when Seth suddenly returned, surprising Saiga with how good the masked man was at sneaking around. Seriously, Saiga didn't even hear the man's footsteps.

Apparently, sneaking around was second nature to Seth, as he didn't even seem to realize that he was doing it until Saiga pointed it out.

At that moment, Saiga was only able to hope that Seth didn't bother looking at his computer screen. Seth seemed quiet for the most part, but Saiga had no way of knowing how the man would react to his investigation.

When the man left the room, Saiga released a breath that he didn't even know he was holding.

Note to self: make absolutely sure that Seth was far away before he even thought about continuing his investigation.

For now Saiga would help Seth with his scheme. Whatever it was, it was likely going to shake things up for Godwin, if nothing else.

Saiga knew that his investigation could be perceived negatively, but he pushed that aside for the moment.

Besides, it was, quite literally, his business to know as much as he could about Seth.

However, Saiga couldn't deny that he had a strange feeling about their masked acquaintance.

That, somehow, someway, Seth felt out of place. Like he just didn't belong.

As though he was never supposed to be here.

Chapter Text

The sun was starting to rise as we all stood in the garage of Saiga's condo.

Yusei was right next to his D-Wheel. It was almost time.

"You got this," I stated. I doubt that Yusei needed it, but I felt the need to offer up some encouragement, anyway.

"Thanks," Yusei replied.

As Yusei got onto his D-Wheel and revved the engine, I turned around to face Himuro.

"You remember your part, right?"

"Yep. Stir up trouble, get out unscathed."

"Alright. Go ahead and get going. I'll signal you when the time is right." 

"Gotcha."

With that, Himuro climbed up onto Saiga's D-Wheel, just as Yusei left the garage on his own.

Sadly, while Himuro had a D-Wheel in the past, it was confiscated once he was arrested and sent to the Detention Center, so Saiga's D-Wheel will have to do.

The thing was initially designed with Tag Turbo Duels in mind, complete with a sidecar for its owner's partner. Sadly, due to the events of Saiga's past, the sidecar was all but destroyed, and it lost its Tag Duel functionality from then on.

With Saiga's help, we managed to somewhat disguise it by giving it a jet-black paint job. We probably could have done more, but even with Saiga's skills and connections, there wasn't any real way that we could gather and apply the materials in time, not with less than six hours to get it all done.

So we went for this instead. We even had to use some extra heaters Saiga had in storage so that the paint would dry fast enough for our purposes.

On the bright side, it was simple and inexpensive, and most people wouldn't be looking for the difference at first anyway.

"If you break it, you buy it, Himuro." 

"I know, Saiga, it's not like I need you to tell me."

"Say that to the doorknob you broke last night."

Himuro just laughed good-naturedly at that as he revved up the engine.

The funny thing was, Saiga's D-Wheel somehow looked tiny under Himuro's relatively muscular frame. Although, that didn't stop him from riding it without any issues.

Being a former Pro Turbo Duelist would do that for you.

I turned my attention to Yanagi and Saiga as Himuro made his exit. Only Saiga, Yanagi, and I were still in the condo.

"So, Goose, are we traveling by foot or are we taking a taxi?" Saiga asked.

It seems he has decided to make Goose my official nickname. Though with how funny it was to me and how I've been handling things so far, I couldn't even be mad about it.

I did kind of earn that nickname. So why not wear it like a badge of honor?

"Both, actually," I answered. At their perplexed expressions, I went on to explain myself.

"Yanagi will be going by taxi, while you and I will have to make our way there on foot. If we all went together, Security would have its eyes on all three of us, which we actually don't want. Besides, Yanagi's role requires him to hide in plain sight, using the crowd as cover, while you and I will be in the thick of it all."

Saiga seemed to think over for a moment, but he must have accepted my reasoning if his shrug was anything to go by.

"Alright. Well," Saiga said before turning to Yanagi, "guess we'll be seeing you there."

Yanagi beamed at that, "Of course! See you two there!"

With that, Yanagi ran back inside at a speed that really made him seem way too spry for his old age. Here's to hoping he doesn't break a hip anytime soon.

"You got a phone in there?" I asked.

"Yeah. Work phone. Helps me with some of the clients." Saiga answered.

Huh. The more you know.

"Well, at any rate, let's get going," I stated, with a small semblance of finality.

"Right," Saiga replied.

And with that, we started making the trek towards the Stadium, where the Fortune Cup was going to be held.

I was confident enough in us making it there on foot since the Stadium was practically right next to the Hospital on the Tag Force 4 game map.

Probably so that if anyone got injured because they wrecked their D-Wheel, at least they had a quick and easy route to medical assistance.

Saiga and I traveled through the various alleyways, keeping our movements silent as we made our way to the Stadium.

"Of all the things you asked me to get, why this?" Saiga asked out of the blue.

I turned around to regard Saiga for a moment.

His entire body was draped in a jet-black sheet, making it look more like a cloak than it probably had any right to be.

On his face was a black plastic face mask that was just a little too small for him, which covered his entire face except for his eyes. Around his head was a black cloth that concealed his hair and any other features that might show up on a mugshot.

"It is to conceal your identity, Saiga," I answered, "The last thing we need is for Security to make an active effort to track you down in your normal life."

"Obviously," Saiga deadpanned, "but why a black cloak and mask?"

"Mostly to create a sense of solidarity. If we all look similar, Security will likely think that we are all part of some kind of organized group." I paused for a moment.

"And overestimating your target can be just as big of a mistake as underestimating them, especially when you are running off of assumed information."

Saiga seemed to mull it over for a moment, before shrugging once more.

"Your reasoning is sound. Maybe not perfect, but sound." 

I decided to count that as a win in my book.

As we made our way toward the exit of one of the alleyways, a yell began reaching my ears.

Once we actually made our way out of the alleyway, I felt something crash into me, knocking me flat on my ass in the process. Ow.

"Oh, sorry!" A woman's voice stammered out from beside me, "I wasn't paying attention!"

With a groan, I went to move my head up before looking at the person that knocked me over.

The first thing I saw was a pair of glasses in her hands, with a simple camera hanging just above them.

Looking up, I finally got a good look at her face.

Carly Nagisa stared back at me with what I could only assume was nervousness.

Chapter Text

In a matter of seconds, I was ready to start sweating bullets.

What the hell was going on here? Shouldn't Carly be in the hospital?

No, wait. Maybe not.

It's already been four, no, five days since I rescued her from that fire. Unless I was mistaken, that should be at least enough time for her to recover from what she went through. Unless she suffered a particularly severe wound, like a broken bone or a severed limb, then I can't reasonably imagine her being held for more than a week, at the absolute most.

Still, to think I would cross paths with her again, and now of all times, when the Fortune Cup was about to start.

Thinking back on it now, I still didn't know anything about that fire.

How did it start? Why did it start? Was it accidental? Or was it deliberate?

I didn't know and probably wouldn't know for a while yet. There just hasn't been any time to investigate, never mind that my priorities lay elsewhere.

As I slowly got to my feet, I was already formulating my response.

I needed to remember that this woman's curiosity was the last thing that I needed to have pointed in my general direction.

"It's fine," I stated, "You might want to watch where you are going, though. Not sure how sturdy that camera is, but I wouldn't want to test it."

Carly looked down at the aforementioned device for a brief moment before directing her gaze back at me, "Yeah, you're right. It would be pretty bad if it broke now of all times."

I knew she couldn't see it from behind the mask, but I nonetheless opted to raise an eyebrow while Carly proceeded to put her glasses back on, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but might you be a journalist looking for some kind of scoop at the Fortune Cup?"

Carly beamed at that, "Yes! It's gonna be my big scoop! And no one is gonna stop me!" she paused for a moment, as though in thought.

"And what about you? What's with the robes and stuff?" Shit.

Ok, think. I need a decent excuse.

"It's for a video project," I answered, "I'm gonna be doing both the filming and the acting for it."

"Really?" Carly said, starting to sound genuinely curious.

"Yeah," I answered, "Nothing professional, though. It's just a hobby of mine."

"So you're an aspiring actor?" Carly questioned.

"Yeah, I guess so." I answered, "Who knows, maybe my work will be a hit someday." 

Carly didn't say anything at that, but I could almost feel her curious stare drilling holes in me.

Ok, Plan B it is.

"Wait, is that Jack Atlas in a speedo?!" I declared, pointing my finger behind Carly.

"Where?!" Carly yelled as she turned around and rushed forward, her camera in front of her face.

Unfortunately, she forgot to look both ways, so when she ran out into the street, she wound up causing several cars to screech to a halt before their drivers started honking their horns in what was most likely irritation. Oops.

"Sorry!" Carly yelled in apology.

Note to self: Carly sometimes has the attention span of a hyperactive puppy. 

I personally hoped that she didn't run off and get herself killed anytime soon. Not only would that suck, but saving her was the one truly good deed I've carried out since coming to this world. I'd hate for that to wind up being for nothing.

As I turned around, I saw that Saiga was at least partially blending in with the shadows. Probably was fully blending in until a second ago. Guess that explains why Carly didn't react to him.

"Aspiring actor? Jack Atlas in a speedo? Couldn't you come up with better bullshit?" Saiga rhetorically asked as he came out of the dark.

"Actually, the best lies are the ones with a grain of truth to them," I countered.

"Oh?" Saiga uttered, "Mind explaining?" 

Uh... shit. 

Should I explain this to Saiga?

Actually... I could probably afford to. 

"I once did internet videos as a hobby," I explained, "I made stories and put them to film before putting them on the internet for the entertainment of others."

"Is that so?" Saiga replied before pausing in thought.

"What made you stop?" He asked.

"A mixture of shitty environments, lack of time, energy, and resources, and a loss of the passion I first had for it." I explained, "It's been a few years since then."

Saiga paused again after that, probably turning over what I said in his mind.

"Do you ever want to go back to those days?" Saiga asked.

"Sometimes," I answered, "But even if I did, I couldn't. I don't have any of my old filming equipment anymore." Which was true even before I came to this world.

Saiga fell into silence after that. I had at least an inkling as to why.

In the Tag Force games, Saiga played the role of an informant: you pay him money, and he would reveal the moods of every other duelist in the game, as well as the locations of the canon characters, like Yusei, Misty, etcetera.

But Saiga doesn't know a thing about me and had no way of knowing. So, naturally, he would be inclined to learn everything he could about me.

The only real reason I felt fine with sharing what information I did was that it wouldn't do him much good in figuring me out. My account didn't exist in this world, after all. 

That aside, we weren't that much farther from the Stadium, which meant that the heist could begin soon. As if planning and executing one of them wasn't enough already.

God, what even is my life right now? 

"YOU TRICKED ME?!?!?!"

Never mind. I got my answer.

It took a bit more time than previously anticipated, but soon enough, we made it to the Stadium.

As we made our way out from the nearest alleyway, we found that in front of the Stadium was an unbelievably large amount of people forming lines, either to get their tickets or to simply get in. I've never actually been to an event that was even remotely similar to the Fortune Cup, not even before I came to this world, so I would just have to play that by ear.

But Saiga and I weren't here for tickets. We were here for the opposite of tickets. Which was chaos.

No, that didn't make any sense. No, I didn't care.

Finding a way in that didn't involve the front entrance was a bit of a pain, but that was part of the reason why I sought out Saiga's help. He could figure out a way into the Stadium that would suit our purposes.

As we made our way in, we saw a lot of Security officers. It wasn't nearly as many as the number of people outside waiting to enter through the front entrance, but they were still a rather large force.

Unless I was mistaken, Godwin didn't have nearly this many Security officers on patrol in canon.

While it was possible that I had somehow accidentally butterflied him into taking this particular course of action, it was also just as likely that he was taking extra precautions against Aki, just in case she went nuclear again.

Since Jeager most likely stuck around to witness the Daimon Area Battle, it, therefore, stood to reason that he would inform Godwin of such a development, which would mean that the latter possibility was a very real one and, more importantly, extremely plausible.

I didn't have much time to worry about that though as Saiga and I made our way to the first public restroom we could find.

For the next several minutes, we mostly went through our inventories and made sure we had what we needed and that everything was maintained.

In my hands were two weighted dumbbells, one white and one black. 

These were two of the things I put on my wishlist for Saiga, to replace the two I lost while helping Himuro and Yanagi to shake Godwin's goons.

When the cheers of the crowd began to reach an almost deafening volume, even through the walls of this place, I shoved the dumbbells into my coat and turned to Saiga, my smile once again brought to the surface.

"Send the signals. It's showtime."

Chapter Text

As Yusei stood in the center of the Stadium, within which he had previously faced Jack before their duel got interrupted and he was sent to the Detention Center, he knew it was only a matter of time before the people of Neo Domino showed their displeasure at having someone with a criminal marker take part in the Fortune Cup.

He knew that they didn't know any better. That they were more or less taught to view him with such disdain. Didn't necessarily mean he liked it.

Still, when they inevitably flung their insults his way, he maintained his stoic silence. There was no point in lashing out in anger. If anything, it would make the situation worse.

Never mind the fact that he had a part to play. 

He didn't necessarily expect Seth to be able to find anything regarding his friend's whereabouts, but he was still hopeful.

Was it naive beyond measure? Probably.

He knew he might have been asking the impossible of Seth. As such, even if Seth didn't find anything, Yusei had no plans to hold it against him. 

It was when a very tall, muscular, dark-skinned man took the mic from the Master of Ceremonies (or simply the MC) that static crackled in his ear.

What was his name? Oh, right. Bommer.

One of the things Seth requested was for Saiga to provide an earpiece to Yusei. That way, when the time came to give a signal, Yusei could hear it discreetly, without anyone noticing.

"G has given you the go-ahead. Do your thing." Saiga stated through the contraption. 

With that order relayed, Yusei placed a hand in one of the pockets of his blue jacket, finding a small device within.

While Seth told everyone to get some sleep, Yusei instead decided to work on a little something in preparation for today.

The device in his pocket had a single button on it, with a cap over it to keep anyone who had it from pressing it by accident.

Once pressed, it would send a signal to his D-Wheel, which would then disrupt the signal of any criminal marker over a very wide area.

At least, that was the hope. Yusei had to make some adjustments since he had already used this trick once to help Rally, and even then, he wasn't sure if this would work.

But Yusei didn't have any other options, so he simply had to have some faith in Seth and his abilities.

With that in mind, he silently flipped the cap off of the device...

and pressed the button.

As Himuro sat on his D-Wheel, which he had borrowed from Saiga, ready to go when the order was given, he thought back to how things have gone these last few nights.

He had to admit, Seth was an interesting guy. He was unapologetically chaotic and violent, and when the guy smiled, he practically oozed confidence. He even took steps to protect everyone that signed up for this crazy scheme of his. The masks that he had Saiga procure for both himself and Himuro spoke to this.

If there was one thing Himuro was grateful for, Seth didn't seem to consider them disposable pawns. That would have sucked.

Himuro did idly wonder why the guy wore that mask of his, but if the masks in Himuro and Saiga's hands and his fight with Divine were anything to go by, Seth most likely had at least a few reasons for it.

In Himuro's book, it was a decent move. As long as Security doesn't figure out his real identity, he would be fine. The same applied to Himuro and Saiga. Provided they didn't mess up.

But if Himuro's gut was right, then Seth already knows something will go wrong. No plan actually survives first contact, after all.

After a bit more waiting than previously anticipated, Himuro's current helmet let out a small beeping noise.

Pressing a button on the side of it, Himuro was greeted with the voice of Saiga.

"G has given you the go-ahead. Go nuts." Saiga stated. 

"Heh. With pleasure." Himuro replied as his face broke out into a wide smile.

Disconnecting the line, Himuro began revving up the D-Wheel. 

It wasn't his, mind you, but Himuro missed the feeling of being able to ride a D-Wheel.

Being locked up in the Detention Center sucked for a lot of reasons. Not being able to ride a D-Wheel was one of them.

He may have had a job to do, but Himuro would be damned if he didn't get the chance to enjoy this to his heart's content.

After pulling on the mask that Seth requested for him to wear, Himuro took to the road like a fish to water.

One of the fun things about Himuro's current task was that Seth had given Himuro a great degree of freedom in how he got the job done.

Sure, he was still limited to a specific general area, but other than that, he was free to do pretty much whatever he wanted, as long as he created as much chaos as humanly possible.

As he dashed through several blocks with a complete disregard for the speed limit, Himuro knocked so many things over that it almost baffled him why no one had done this sooner.

Trash cans, signposts. You name it, Himuro has knocked it over.

He knocked so many things over that no one here would ever think that this was an accident. Granted, it wasn't, but still.

There were even a couple of points where he came across some folks that he was on extremely poor terms with even before he was arrested. And if their cars sported freshly broken windshields after today, well, he was simply going to deny any involvement. Assuming he didn't get caught and sent back to the Detention Center after today. Here's to hoping that Yusei's trick, whatever it was, was working as intended.

But he could worry about all that later. There was still some chaos to bring.

Misty sat near the back of the crowd, her eyes roaming over the various duelists that had been gathered here for the Fortune Cup.

She was surprised to see the man she and Seth had helped the other day (Yusei was it?) standing alongside the other participants in Godwin's tournament.

While completely invisible to the naked eye, as well as any known method of detection, the mark on her right arm nonetheless sank its metaphorical claws deep into her flesh as she watched the opening ceremony.

One... Two... Three... Three Signers were present for the Fortune Cup.

Two of which were still among the participants, while the other...

Misty briefly turned her gaze to the side.

As he left the duelists to face each other, Jack Atlas made his way out of the track, likely to watch the proceedings from somewhere more suitable for him as the King.

So Jack Atlas was a Signer? Somehow, that didn't surprise Misty in the least.

But who were the other two?

Narrowing her eyes in focus, Misty caught sight of a small child among the participants.

She had briefly seen the girl the night before, and when she did, her mark reacted. It took all of her self-control to keep her surprise from showing on her face.

Of all things, a child was one of the Signers? Was the Crimson Dragon seriously building her from the ground up to be one of its soldiers? Despite being her enemy, Misty couldn't help but pity the girl. 

As Misty returned her gaze to the duelists in attendance, she had to wonder if she was among the Signers participating.

The Black Rose Witch. The one who took her brother away from her.

At least, that's what she would have thought. The discussion she had with Seth yesterday evening cast some serious doubts about that assessment.

If nothing else, Seth was logical. Not perfectly so, but he was able to put emotion aside to point out possibilities that would have never occurred to her.

Once the Fortune Cup was over and done with, she would be looking into this more thoroughly. Should she ask for Seth's assistance on that?

A question for later, Misty had to focus.

Closing her eyes, Misty concentrated for a few seconds.

Misty had several lizards on hand. They were similar to Rudger's spiders in some ways. They obviously had ties to the Earthbound Gods, though Misty didn't know what kind of ties those were. And perhaps it was for the best if she didn't find out.

At any rate, they were her eyes and ears, giving her a small network of informants. Through them, she could see practically everything that went on in the Stadium. So, naturally, she made it a point to scatter them throughout the area.

As such, even with her eyes closed, she was able to see things. Security officers in the hallways. A scientist going on and on about Momentum. She even saw Seth entering the public restroom with someone else. Likely in preparation for whatever it was that Seth had in mind.

Even now, it sometimes felt jarring to suddenly have so many different fields of vision at her disposal. If she were still alive, she probably would have experienced sensory overload by now.

Misty focused a bit more attention on the senses of the lizard that caught sight of Seth.

She wouldn't say it now, but she was almost eager to see what her protege had in mind.

Yanagi was already in the crowd by the time the Fortune Cup began its opening ceremony.

The cheers were almost deafening, at least for a moment. Then everyone saw Sonny's mugshot on the giant monitors propped up throughout the Stadium.

Their reactions were dismal, though not unexpected. 

But Yanagi's attention wasn't on them. Normally, it would be, but he had to keep focus. No going senile for this old fool! Not today!

It was while everyone was voicing their displeasure with Sonny's presence that he saw it.

A rather large group of Security officers was heading out of the Stadium in a hurry.

Himuro must have been given the signal.

And if he was doing his part, then it was time for Yanagi to do his.

He was to let Seth know if anything happened, and something was happening.

As he pulled out the white walkie-talkie, holding it close to his chest so that no Security officer saw it, he let out a big grin, his one gold tooth gleaming in the sunlight...

and pressed the button.

Tetsu Ushio was, in a word, seething.

Yesterday, he was ready to send that Satelite scum back to the Detention Center where he belonged.

Unfortunately, not only was he stopped from arresting the scumbag, but he was stopped by, of all things, some freaky little clown man who apparently outranked him? And then, as if to add insult to injury, he personally handed the scum an invitation to take part in the Fortune Cup. That Satellite scum had no business taking part in a tournament like that!

And it seemed that today wasn't going to go much better for Ushio. He and the guys just received orders to head out and deal with some kind of commotion taking place around the Stadium. 

Granted, Ushio could understand why he needed to do this. People were calling en masse about the issue, after all. 

Still, talk about bad timing.

Now Ushio had to track down some asshole and carry out his arrest.

Hopefully, it wouldn't take too long. Ushio had better things to be doing with his time than dealing with some hooligan running wild in the streets.

Chapter Text

A few minutes after the signal was given, my walkie-talkie buzzed to life.

"B's distraction worked like a charm." Yanagi's voice stated before the line cut.

We each decided to go with using one of the letters of the English alphabet as our codenames for this heist. Because why the hell would we use our actual real names?

Himuro was B (short for Brawler), Yanagi was T (short Treasure), Saiga was J (short for Jack-of-all-trades), and I was called G (short for Goose)

If I was going for something a bit more thematic, I personally would have gone with X, but the thing about that letter was that it referenced my wild card status a little too strongly. The X factor was a thing for a reason, after all.

These codenames didn't change the fact that Security might figure us out sooner rather than later, but I had already decided that the codenames didn't really matter in the long run. I was going into this hoping that we could shut Godwin down before Security figuring us all out could actually become a problem.

Putting all of that aside for the moment, I inched toward the door that lead out of the public restroom and cracked the door open ever so slightly.

Just as expected, Security officers were rushing out en masse, obviously preparing to try and chase Himuro down. Whether they knew it was him yet, I didn't know for sure, but they haven't called him out by name so I figured it was safe to assume Yusei's jamming went off without a hitch.

Once there was a clear lack of Security officers rushing through the halls, Saiga and I made our way out of the restroom and down the halls. We still had to make an active effort to conceal ourselves, but at least we could move about this place undetected without the whole thing feeling like a gigantic pain in the ass.

Eventually, we came across an electronic door, far removed from the sight and path of anyone that wasn't a Security officer, one of Godwin's goons, or Godwin himself.

Behind the door, I could hear the loud, eccentric ramblings of Godwin's resident mad scientist.

Akutsu was basically Godwin's answer to Yusei. The guy was skilled in engineering, to the point where he was heavily involved with the very things that I was here to destroy.

The mere existence of the D-Sensors was one of the things that really made the Fortune Cup a viable part of Godwin's plan. With them in place, Godwin would figure out the identities of the Signers no matter who ultimately won in the end. 

I wasn't sure if he actually made them himself, but I wouldn't discount the possibility. Besides, I knew for sure that he was involved with setting them up, so his relevance in my eyes hasn't changed.

I almost felt bad for Godwin. His entire plan for the Fortune Cup hinged on his ability to force his targets to walk headlong into his trap. Even if they were blackmailed into participating, even if they knew it was a trap, and even if they knew they were giving him exactly what he wanted just by taking part, they were powerless to overturn him.

His plan would have been perfect. A textbook Xanatos Gambit. That is, as long as I didn't become part of the equation.

Godwin had nothing on me. No hidden weakness, no known associates, and nothing else of similar value to work with.

I, on the other hand, knew his overall plan and had an idea of what steps needed to be taken to dismantle it.

I checked the surrounding area one more time. No Security officers nearby. Guess they weren't nearly as patient with Akutsu's antics as Godwin was.

Once Akutsu became silent for more than ten seconds, (and trust me, the guy talked a lot), I raised my foot up before roughly crashing it against the door.

It swung to the side with a loud crash, and when I looked inside, Akutsu was already whirling around in surprise.

"W-what the?! Who are-?!"

I was already rushing forward, clubbing him with the stun baton before he could even finish that sentence.

I clubbed him a few more times while he still had electricity coursing through his system, knocking him out for the time being.

With that done, I took the time to examine my surroundings. There were no obvious signs that Akutsu was still in the middle of a holographic Skype call with Godwin.

Good. That meant Godwin didn't know what was happening yet.

Although I saw no way in our out other than the door we just came in through. That wasn't good.

Thanks to saving Carly from that fire on my first day in this world, I had a personal experience that let me know that not having two or more exits was going to be a potential problem.

I turned to Saiga as he entered the room at a more subdued pace.

"Is this how you always do things?"

"As long as it works, yeah."

Saiga groaned in exasperation at that.

"At any rate, you know what to do." 

"Right."

Saiga then turned to one of the various computers in the room, pulling out a small device from his cloak as he approached the terminal.

The device in question wasn't technically a USB but functioned almost exactly like one. I didn't bother asking what it was actually called. Asking what could be seen most basic of questions was just asking for trouble.

When Saiga found a port to insert the not-USB into, he wasted no time plugging it in.

In the blink of an eye, several windows opened up on the monitor, closing as quickly as they came until one window remained.

The not-USB was set up to destroy any and all data on the internal hard drive. 

Another of the things I asked for on my wishlist. If the schematics necessary for creating the D-Sensors were on here, their mere existence would render half of this exercise completely pointless.

Weirdly enough, it seemed that while this sort of thing wasn't a frequent occurrence, it has happened enough in Saiga's time as a jack of all trades that he always kept a spare not-USB ready and waiting for when that sort of job came up. Saved him the time of trying to procure one himself, especially when he needed it in a hurry.

And this was one of those jobs. I simply decided not to look the gift horse in the mouth.

It would still take a minute or two, so I decided to check Akutsu's pockets.

Inside, I found a few research documents. While the text was legible to me (thanks Kaiba) it was detailing some seriously high-end science-looking stuff. It might as well have been written in Greek for all I knew.

The other thing I found was a simple slip of paper that said the following:

Security Storage Container 11037.

... Godwin, what have you been doing in your free time? I know what reference this is.

Or maybe he did that without actually meaning to?

At any rate, it was possible that this was actually the shipping container that Yusei's friends were trapped in. It's not much, but if this is what I thought it was, at least we now knew which container it was that they were trapped in.

After about two minutes, the not-USB was 95% finished with destroying the hard drive, which I was honestly impressed by.

So of course now was the time for me to receive a phone call from the only person in my current contact list.

"Hello?" I greeted her upon answering the phone.

"Seth?" Misty's voice filtered through, "You may wish to know that I noticed someone heading further back into the Stadium."

"Would you mind describing them?" I requested. "In detail?" I added.

"Yes. He was wearing a fedora, a trench coat, and a medical mask. They also have red hair and," She paused for a moment, "And I'm not sure why, but he also had bruises all over his face."

Oh, goddammit.

"Thanks for the heads-up. I'll handle it." I replied, steel entering my voice as I prepared for the coming fight.

"Seth? Is something wro-?"

I cut the line before she could finish that sentence. I didn't actually mean to, but that didn't matter. Not right now.

"J? How's your progress looking?" I asked Saiga while keeping my gaze glued to the only way in or out of this room. My voice was now full of metaphorical steel as the thing I anticipated approached at an unknown pace.

"It's done," Saiga answered.

"Good. Now let's get out of here before-"

The rest of that sentence died in my throat as my biggest problem made its entrance, slow and labored as it was.

Divine looked at the both of us before focusing his gaze on me, his complete and utter hatred for me obvious to anyone who looked at him.

Against whatever expectation I had, he somehow managed to look even more like shit since the last time I saw him, as fresh purple bruises covered his entire face, some of them already yellow from... whatever it is that makes them turn yellow.

In his right hand was a massive hammer, which I distantly recognized as the one that Iron Chain Repairman wielded.

But where the fuck was the Repairman itself?

"J. Get Akutsu out of here." I slowly, and practically commanded Saiga to do.

"What about you?" Saiga asked.

"I'll make a path," I stated as I switched out my stun baton for one of my kitchen knives and the crowbar, the former in my left hand and the latter in my right.

As I kept my gaze on Divine, I knew I would have to fight him off if we wanted to get the fuck out of there.

Despite knowing what I had to do, I didn't like it. Not one fucking bit.

Chapter Text

Divine stared at the current bane of his existence with all the hatred he could muster.

He was running on fumes, now. 

Divine knew that was the case. Even he couldn't bluff anyone into thinking otherwise. Not in his condition.

When he woke up in the Daimon Area after being assaulted by four different people, he tried, as best as he could in his condition, to try and find any sign of the wretch or Aki.

Night had already fallen by then, but Divine was determined to finish what he had started.

Sadly, neither his loyal puppet nor the current bane of his existence was anywhere to be seen.

For a brief moment, Divine entertained the idea that, perhaps, the wretch had died and that Aki moved on after carrying out his instructions, but he dismissed the idea almost as quickly as it had formed.

The wretch, somehow, someway, had most likely survived. At least if the fact that Divine had yet to find his corpse was anything to go by.

To think that even Aki would ultimately fail to end the nuisance. 

Either the wretch had the devil's luck, or he has managed to form a small network of allies in the time since they first met one another. It might explain why four separate people assaulted him at probably the worst possible moment. The timing was too perfect.

Or both. As persistent as the rat was, Divine could probably feel safe in assuming it was both. 

Some of the most potent tricks at Divine's disposal had been circumvented, worked around, or rendered useless. And now Divine had lost track of the wretch. Again.

The effects of the trigger phrase he used can only be broken under one of four conditions: either Divine ends the effects himself, he winds up unconscious, or he winds up dead.

Divine had never revealed those conditions to anyone, even among those rare few who knew of the trigger phrase's existence, so did that mean that the wretch knew of those conditions? But if so, how?

And if the wretch knew that much about Divine, how much more did he know? Was he aware of all the lies he told? The lives he ruined?

Divine shuddered at the thought. It was, quite frankly, a miracle that Security had yet to make an active effort to apprehend him. The wretch had already taken the one thing that protected Divine against them, so he was in a position more than suitable to remove Divine from the equation entirely.

But if he hasn't yet, then why? Why would he allow an obvious threat to his continued survival to continue moving about unchecked? What sort of game is he playing here?

Before Divine could question everything any further, he suddenly felt the pinching feeling of some kind of insect biting the back of his neck.

And then everything faded to black.

The next time Divine woke up, the sun was already rising, its rays hitting Divine's eyes with the force of a truck.

Almost instantly, he tried to figure out what had just happened to him.

Looking around, he realized that he was no longer in the Daimon Area.

Instead, he was in one of many alleyways surrounding the Stadium, where Godwin's puppet, Jack Atlas, regularly appeared to defend his title from anyone willing to challenge him.

With little else to do, Divine trudged his way over to the Stadium.

Once there, he saw that around the stadium was a massive crowd of people, cheering, laughing, and smiling.

The sight of them sickened Divine to his core.

As Divine tried to figure out where to go from here, he saw him.

There, the wretch was coming out of another alleyway, alive and well, just like he had previously expected.

Traveling along with him was a strange individual in a black cloak... no, a sheet that looked more like a cloak than it had any right to be.

On his face was a mask that concealed all of his features, so Divine couldn't be sure if he had encountered the cloaked figure at some point in the past or not.

But since he was traveling with the wretch, Divine was willing to bet that he had, indeed, encountered this individual at least once before.

Divine's face still felt numb. He had a feeling if he actually looked in the mirror, he would only find a giant bruise in its place.

The prospect wouldn't have surprised him, but he wasn't looking forward to finding out either way.

Looking at the wretch only incited rage from Divine.

Fueled by that rage, Divine reached for his duel disk and drew a card, ready to materialize it for his personal use.

He was in a perfect position, all he had to do was-

Looking at the card in his right hand, Divine froze.

Instead of Iron Chain Repairman, Iron Chain Snake, or any other card that Godwin's useless warden would have used, there was a different card entirely.

Mist Body.

Drawing again, Divine found another card he wasn't anticipating.

Invigoration.

... That does it.

Divine spent the next few minutes looking through the deck in his possession, seeing what cards there were and what weren't.

To his surprise, the deck he took from Takasu wasn't completely changed without his knowledge. But some cards had clearly been switched out in favor of others.

Divine... could use this.

Yes. He could make use of this, as strange as this recent development has turned out to be.

After taking a moment to memorize his new 'deck', Divine finally looked up.

Only to find the wretch about to leave his line of sight entirely, as he made an obvious effort to infiltrate the Stadium. To what end, Divine had no clue.

He did know one thing for certain, though.

It would take some time and some effort. In fact, it might take more than ever before, given Divine's current condition.

The wretch was likely scurrying around, doing his best to remain unseen by the Security officers infesting the Stadium.

But in his condition, Divine no longer had the luxury of stealth. He almost felt grateful for Mist Body. His current plan would have been impossible without it.

Regardless, Divine was confident he could catch the wretch off guard.

Despite his numb face, Divine managed to force out a strained smirk. 

'Just you wait, you damned rat. I'll get the better of you yet.'

It was a painful thing, but Divine nonetheless managed to force out a laugh.

That rat was in for a rude awakening.

Chapter Text

As Saiga picked up Akutsu, Divine and I stared each other down, our animosity and hostility towards each other thick enough that you could cut it with a knife.

But I wasn't simply displaying my distaste for Divine. I was eyeing him up and down, trying to assess the situation and determine the best course of action.

The hammer in his hands was huge, and its head was more than capable of either flatting me like a pancake or smashing me like a pumpkin, crushing ribs and any other limb unfortunate enough to be caught on the receiving end of it. In all likelihood, I would be seriously injured just from having the weight of that thing slammed against me.

But it also had nothing like a pommel or something similar on the other end of its length to counterbalance the weight.

As such, it wasn't just heavy and slow, it was actually a complete chore to use. An impractical weapon by all measures. Strong, but slow. As long as it still followed physics that way. The power that a Psychic Duelist had made things... fucky in that regard.

Normally, none of this actually mattered in a world where duels decided everything, since the actual damage had to occur within the rules, limitations, and constraints of the game. Even Solid Vision and Shadow Magic did little to actually change that.

With Psychic Duelists, however, a number of those rules could be thrown out the window. The actual limits of Psychic Dueling as a power were something the anime never fully explored, and ever since I got here, I've been figuring out, bit by bit, what those limits were through first-hand experience.

That said, Aki's power as a Psychic Duelist far surpassed that of Divine.

Normally, this is something that could and should be heavily disputed, especially since the one to make such a claim was Divine himself. Under normal circumstances, the bastard had a manipulative streak a mile wide, and as such, every last thing he said was to be taken with a grain of salt.

Actually, scratch that. Everything Divine said should be taken with an entire bag of salt.

At any rate, the reason that I believed that Divine wasn't bullshitting about Aki surpassing him as a Psychic Duelist could be found in Episode 60 of canon.

In it, rather than try to rebuild the Arcadia Movement, or get revenge on the Dark Signers (both of which he absolutely could have tried. Hell, the former would actually have been possible since Carly thought he was dead by that point), he decided first and foremost to seek out Aki to try and bring her back under his thumb.

He disregarded literally every other plausible option in favor of trying to bring Aki back under his control, even using a trigger phrase to that end.

That's how valuable Aki's power was to him. 

If you couldn't determine the truth of a man's words, look at his actions. That may just provide the answer you need.

But while Aki's power as a Psychic Duelist far surpassed that of Divine, that hardly meant that I could dismiss Divine as a threat. Only the most powerful and arrogant of beings did that, and even then, they only did so because they could afford to do so.

As I heard Saiga's slow, labored footsteps get closer and closer, I took Divine's appearance and posture into consideration.

Divine had yet to move. He looked incredibly weak, as though he was only able to get here through a mixture of sheer rage, hatred, and spite.

Didn't mean I was going to hold back. He has the materialized weapon of a Duel Monster at his disposal with no sign of said Duel Monster in sight, something I didn't actually know he could do.

Which, of course, begged the question of where the owner of that weapon was hiding. 

I idly wondered if I punched too many holes in Divine's ego. If it took him getting beat up this badly for him to start getting even a little bit creative with his powers (i.e. using them in ways that I haven't actually seen before, even if I figured they were possible) I dreaded the moment when he actually started learning from his mistakes.

So far, his rage and ego have been severely hindering him in his quest to end my life and have probably helped me escape his clutches more times than even I know.

Both in and out of canon, Divine was his own worst enemy. I almost wanted to laugh about that.

I had little more time to think about that once Saiga appeared in my periphery.

Divine had yet to move, and I wasn't eager to find out what surprises he had prepared.

With Divine standing between us and the only way to enter or leave this room, I charged at him as fast as I could, leading with the knife in my left hand.

When Divine brought his Duel Disk up to shield himself, my knife collided against it, practically gliding along the surface of the device before bouncing off harmlessly.

Divine wasted no time trying to counterattack with the hammer, the bludgeoning weapon arcing toward me from my left.

But as I said before, the thing was slow. Although, for me, especially, it was practically moving in slow motion. Probably due to the fact that I spent the last few days quite literally running for my life. That, and I was already hopped up on adrenaline. Adrenaline can do that to you.

I took a big step back, watching as the hammer swung through the empty space I had previously occupied. Even though I hadn't actually been hit by the weapon, I still felt a blast of air slamming against my masked face, the hammer acting like a huge fan for a brief moment as it caused my eyes to water. Shit.

Despite myself, I instinctively tried to raise my arms to wipe my watery eyes, only to stop when something collided with my nose, sending me flying backward before I fell on my back with a hard thud. Fuck.

My ears rang as I slowly got to my feet, but even with my mind and senses fogging up, I could still hear it.

Divine's sickening laughter, as pained and forced as it was, resounded throughout the room, the sound carrying a note of celebration that I didn't quite expect. Or like for that matter. The sound was grating on my nerves.

"Finally. After all this trouble, I finally managed to injure you!"

What was he talking about?

By this point, my vision had returned just enough for me to realize where I was, though I still wiped my eyes out of instinct. Losing my sight sucked.

I was now in the center of the room, Saiga standing between me and Divine, who had not moved from the entrance since he got here, but had his left arm outstretched for a reason that somehow eluded me. Probably because of whatever I was hit with. 

I checked my hands to make sure I hadn't been disarmed.

Thankfully, I already made it a point to treat every weapon I owned like a lifeline. Unless I actively threw them at something or someone, I was unusually difficult to disarm, if only because I held my weapons in a death grip that showed just how much I valued them.

But as I looked at the hands that held those weapons, I saw a thick red liquid smeared across them. What.

As I brought my hand up to my nose one more time, I winced in pain before pulling my hand away, showing more of the red liquid smeared across it, slightly painting it a deeper shade of red.

That got the gears in my head turning, as I realized after a quite frankly embarrassing amount of time what had just happened.

He punched me.

That son of a bitch punched me in the face.

Granted, I've been punched a few times in the past, but still.

Getting punched sucked before I came to this world, and it still sucked now.

I was used to keeping my anger bottled up, usually only letting it out through snarky comments, sarcastic remarks, roasting people, jokes of varying quality, and a copious amount of internal ranting. You know, the 'healthy' ways to let it out. Nice and controlled, rather than a raging inferno. As such, I would like to say that I've been taking everything that has happened since I came to this extremely well.

But the pain had a funny little way of bringing out the worst in me. Combine that with the giant ball of stress that has been my life for the last five days, and even my restraint would start showing its limits.

As I directed my gaze at Divine, the bastard looked way too smug, like he had just won the fucking lottery.

I let out a low growl. Any fear I had of Divine, as well as so much of my restraint, fell to the wayside as I glared at Divine with all rage I could muster.

I know what you're trying to do, Divine, but frankly?

You're really starting to piss me off.

Chapter Text

I put my crowbar away before charging at Divine once again.

I still had just enough presence of mind to know that we needed to get him out of the way, but beyond that, I honestly just wanted to beat the living shit out of him.

Divine raised his left arm, poised to use his Duel Disk as a shield again.

Before leading with my left hand, I spared only a passing glance at the kitchen knife it held...

and dropped the sharp instrument just as I thrust my arm.

So instead of a knife colliding with his Duel Disk, as he probably expected, Divine instead winced in pain as I grasped his left wrist in my left hand.

I wasn't left-handed, but I still managed to exert enough pressure on Divine's left wrist that I could almost feel his bones creaking and groaning from the strain. That was probably going to leave a nasty bruise later. Good.

I didn't stop there, though, as I pulled Divine by the wrist caught in my hand, causing him to stumble a bit before I released my death grip on him, causing him to fall over as he was forced away from the exit. 

I didn't wait for Saiga to make his exit, instead opting to press my advantage as I advanced on Divine.

Divine, seeing my approach, reared his right hand back, ready to swing the hammer again.

Not that it would do him much good.

Instead of jumping back and running the risk of my sight being compromised again, I instead pulled out and raised the crowbar to meet the hammer.

The hammer was an unwieldy yet incredibly heavy piece of equipment. Dodging it was more than possible for the most part, but blocking it was usually a terrible move. It's blows had way too much force behind them, meaning anyone who actually blocked the weapon would be pushed back and probably thrown off balance from the impact.

What I did instead would turn out to be a bit more effective than blocking or dodging.

Just as the hammer met my crowbar, I twisted and pulled with the tool in my hands, the curved end of the crowbar latching onto the area where the head of the hammer met the shaft that allowed it to be wielded in the first place.

With a quick, sharp pull on the crowbar, I ripped the bludgeoning weapon from Divine's hands before tossing it behind me in one fluid motion. The hammer fell to the ground behind me a second later with a loud clattering noise.

Upon being disarmed, Divine was quick to try and use another card. Not this time.

At a speed that even I was surprised by, I had stuffed my crowbar into my coat and got up in Divine's bruised face and, this time, placed both of his hands in a death grip, his wrists creaking under the pressure my hands exerted, which was being ramped up somewhat by my rage and adrenaline.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Divine asked, slightly panicked and very much in pain. Isn't it obvious, you bastard?

"What I should have done on the very first day we met," I answered, my voice a low, guttural growl compared to my usual quiet composure.

Upon giving my answer, I reared my own head back...

and rammed it against Divine's face in a vicious headbutt, the bastard recoiling in pain as his head lurched backward from the blow. "Making sure you stayed down."

"Let... me... GO!" Divine ground out, practically roaring out that last word as I felt something collide with my stomach, pushing me back a few steps and forcing me to let go of the bastard's wrists. Dammit.

I knew almost instinctually that he used his knee or his foot to push me back.

As minor a counterattack as it was, it still pissed me off. 

I quickly charged Divine again, hoping to stop him from summoning something else...

only to have something slam into my gut with more force than what Divine previously sent my way, sending me flying out of the room and out into the hallway, my back hitting the wall with a hard thud before I fell to the ground in a heap. Ow. Fuck!

I groaned in pain as I looked up and back into the room, I saw who it was that had blindsided me.

Iron Chain Repairman hefted its weapon over its shoulder as it lumbered out of the room and advanced towards me. The hammer was more likely to have crippled or killed me. Which means he must have punched me. Shit.

How the hell that thing managed to sneak up on me was irrelevant that this point. It's sudden appearance brought fear back to the forefront of my mind, tempering my rage and returning some of my rationality.

Switching from fight to flight, I quickly scrambled to my feet before bolting. I was not facing off with another materialized Duel Monster so soon. Not if I could help it. Never mind that I had no idea how I was supposed to defeat the damned thing.

Thankfully, Iron Chain Repairman had a running speed that more or less fit in with its stocky appearance, and before long, I had all but left it in the dust.

As I rounded a corner in the hall, however, I realized that I was being thankful too soon.

Smack dab in the middle of the hallway, Iron Chain Snake stared at me with cold, yellow, reptilian eyes. Its body, composed of thick, heavy chains, gave off a metallic rattling sound as it slithered across the ground, its tongue appearing on occasion as it hissed at me. It was studying me, evaluating me. Eyeing me like a piece of meat. In its eyes, that's probably exactly what I was.

Ok, that way is out of the question. 

As I turned around, I saw the Iron Chain Repairman lumbering towards me from the opposite direction, trying to cut me off. Shit.

Whipping my head around, I tried to find some way out of the pincer attack Divine had set up for me.

There, along one of the walls of the corridor, was a staircase of relatively simple decor.

I had no idea where it led, but at this point, anywhere was better than here.

I ran up the stairs without looking back, climbing higher and higher as I reached wherever these steps led to.

I must have run up these stairs for an eternity before I reached the top, where a pair of simple, metal doors blocked my path.

I crashed through it instantly, the force of my entire body slamming into it more than enough to make it swing until it hit a part of the wall that it was installed into.

As soon as the doors were opened, my eyes were hit by a sudden increase in brightness while my ears were assailed by the sound of a cheering crowd.

Wait, cheering crowd?

Oh no.

Looking down, I was greeted by the sight of several people who turned around to stare at me in confusion, surrounded by countless more in the seats below them.

These were the people that came to watch the Fortune Cup in person.

Well... this is awkward.

I didn't have any time to dwell on it though, as I soon felt something wrapping around my waist before I was pulled down on my ass. Ow.

When the people started screaming, I looked down to see what had gotten ahold of me.

The cold, yellow eyes of the Iron Chain Snake stared back at me like the predator it was.

Looking up, I saw the Iron Chain Repairman looming over me, its right hand holding a length of thick chains. Iron Chain Snake's tail, my brain supplied.

Directing its gaze away from me, it advanced a step toward the audience.

Then I felt the Iron Chain Snake tighten itself around me as the Iron Chain Repairman suddenly scooped me up.

Before I could even contemplate what was happening, the Iron Chain Repairman tossed me forward...

and Iron Chain Snake's hold tightened even more as the world around me started spinning.

I knew what the two materialized Duel Monsters were doing, but I was powerless to stop them.

The world spun, and spun, and spun.

Just when it felt like I was going to vomit from the dizziness that came with being swung around as a ball on the end of a chain, I felt the grip of Iron Chain Snake suddenly vanish.

Only one word escaped my lips as I was, quite literally, flung into the air.

"MOTHERFUCKERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!"

Chapter Text

I screamed as the entire world spun around me, the ground alternating between being above or below me in my field of vision as I did what I assumed were several front flips against my will.

I had no idea where I was going or if I was even going to be alive after this.

Eventually, I wound up falling on something as the world continued to spin around me.

It took a full minute before the world finally stopped spinning for me.

Slowly getting to my feet, I discovered that I was on a ledge, placed at the top of the Stadium and extending around it, making it seem like an extra platform to walk across.

As I looked to my right, I saw the faces of hundreds, if not thousands of people looking at me, concern evident on their faces.

Then I saw it.

Along the side of the ledge I was on, I found one of the D-Sensors, completely inconspicuous to anyone who wasn't looking for them like I was.

Looking down at the crowd behind me, I saw the duo responsible for throwing me up here in the first place.

Iron Chain Repairman was already climbing his way up to the ledge that I was on, using the Iron Chain Snake as a living rope with its fangs sunk into the ledge above them for leverage.

Looking back to the D-Sensor and the people below me, however, I realized that I had no more time to waste on them.

Pulling out my crowbar, I rushed to the first D-Sensor within reach before swinging the crowbar down at it.

I figured I would need to give it a few more whacks before I could deem it destroyed, but it fell apart in just one.

Perhaps Godwin never actually expected someone to attack something that was supposed to simply be part of the background, maybe I was just that strong now, but it felt like the D-Sensor broke way too easily.

Not that I was going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Iron Chain Repairman was on the ledge now, giving chase as I ran to the next D-Sensor.

One down, a few more to go.

In record time, I had managed to systematically destroy every D-Sensor on the ledge surrounding the audience.

The people looked at me, first in concern, then in confusion, as I went about this task with all the subtlety of a jackhammer.

It was after I made a full revolution around the stadium that I declared my task, on some level, complete.

No easy feat, mind you. The track where Turbo Duels took place at least appeared similar to a NASCAR race track, so I knew that the stadium would need to be even bigger to hold such accommodations.

And the only reason I knew that was from watching such races with my dad.

That... was a long time ago.

God, now I feel old. Maybe Yanagi can get a laugh out of that later.

For now, I had to figure out how to get the hell out of there.

As I looked around, I saw Security officers approaching me en masse. Must have been the remaining... well, Security detail for the Fortune Cup.

I couldn't count on any of my allies to get out of this. Yusei, Yanagi, and Misty had to pretend they weren't involved in this, Himuro was causing chaos elsewhere, and Saiga was busy getting Akutsu out of here. Probably.

Before I could think on it any further, however, I let out a grunt as I felt something, once again, wrap around my waist as my vision rapidly went upward against my will, and I registered the sensation of my head getting acquainted with the ground beneath me.

Looking down at myself as best as I could, I found the Iron Chain Snake coiling itself around me again.

A few seconds after that, I heard heavy, lumbering footsteps and looked up.

Iron Chain Repairman stared down at me with an expression I couldn't quite read.

A few seconds later, the Repairman was scooping me up, and I knew what he was about to do.

I didn't have long to dwell on it before I was tossed, and then the world started to spin again.

I hadn't quite recovered from the last time they pulled this stunt with me, but against all odds, I managed to resist my nausea and the urge to vomit.

Then, just like before, I was sent hurtling through the air.

I screamed in pure terror as the world spun around me, but I also caught a few brief glimpses of the outside of the Stadium, each one farther than the one that came before it.

Well, at least I got out of the Stadium. That was good. Now I just had to try and avoid falling to my fucking death!

I suddenly found myself very glad that I memorized the surroundings of the Stadium.  The only reason I knew I had a shot at survival was that there were several buildings farther out from the Stadium, most of them close enough together to form a system of alleyways.

Pulling and holding out my crowbar, I swung as soon as a building appeared right before me in my field of vision.

The crowbar grasped something, but whatever it was snapped off of the building it was attached to like it was a fucking twig, only slowing me down ever so slightly as I rocketed down the alleyway.

That didn't stop me, though. I simply swung my crowbar again.

That swing seemed to make contact with the building itself, slowing me down immensely, but pain flooded my senses as I nearly dislocated my shoulder in the process.

I didn't have the time for a third swing.

Pain assaulted my entire being as I slammed against the wall of some building at the end of the alley and plummeted to the earth, slamming my eyes shut and screaming my head off before falling into something that wasn't quite soft but cushioned my fall nonetheless.

When I stopped screaming long enough to breathe, the foul, rancid odor that hit my nostrils told me that I had fallen into a dumpster.

Joy.

At least I was alive though, that was the important thing. Didn't stop me from idly wondering if I should have died just now. How far did they even throw me?

I stopped that train of thought there. I honestly didn't want to know the answer to either of those questions.

My right arm was still in horrendous pain from what it just went through, so I had to climb out of the pile of stink with just my left hand. As I did, my right arm screamed in protest at the movement, despite the fact that I wasn't actually using it. I didn't even want to know how bad it would feel if I actually tried.

Once I got out of the dumpster, I looked around.

No signs of any Security officers yet, but that would change in a few minutes, at the most.

What I needed right now was a place to hide. Disguise wouldn't be an option in my current condition, nor would stealth.

I covered my nose, trying to keep my still-bleeding nose from forming a blood trail as my eyes eventually landed on the back of the dumpster.

Looking closer, I found that there was actually some space between it and the wall behind it. Not much, but that was fine.

I barely dragged myself behind it when I heard the sirens of Security-issued D-Wheels rapidly approach before they seemingly came to a stop.

"Nothing here," One said.

"Spread out and keep searching the area. He couldn't have gotten far," another ordered.

The sound of several D-Wheels in motion rang out in my ears before fading as they got further away.

Funny thing is, I actually used a bit of reverse psychology there.

Security would never expect their target to stay in the spot where they could be found and apprehended, which actually worked to my advantage here.

Most people wouldn't look behind the dumpster either. The small amount of space helped, but there were also just some places that most people overlooked without actually meaning to.

I would know. Before I came to this world, one of those places was right next to a spot I spent a lot of time sitting in, as embarrassing as that was to admit. 

At any rate, I couldn't get anywhere fast in my condition, and Security was obviously looking for me now. 

Fortunately, there was a way to get around them. 

Using my left hand, I pulled out my phone, and with some difficulty, dialed the only number in my contact list.

The first ring didn't even finish before the call was answered.

"Seth?! Are you okay?!" Misty said, concern evident.

"Yeah." I answered, my voice a bit rough from what I just went through, "I'm a bit banged up though. Can you come to pick me up?" I asked as I looked around the corner of the dumpster, seeing a small sign that might determine my location.

"Of course." Misty said, "I'll be there. Where are you?"

"I'm behind a dumpster near..." I squinted for a moment, "Cafe la Green" I answered, my mind too weary to even question why that was here. "Come disguised. You'll... need... it..." I said, almost mumbling the last three words as my arms fell slack and my vision faded to black.

Chapter Text

"Seth? Seth?!"

Misty stared at the phone in her hands, with both fear and concern at the forefront of her mind as her protege stopped responding to her words.

'No. No, not again!' Misty thought.

It hasn't even been a day since the last time, and Seth has already been attacked by yet another Psychic Duelist with what seemed to be ill intent. Was Seth a trouble magnet or something?

She was already moving away from the crowd, making her way down the hall, out of the stadium, and to her car, the sound of her heels resounding in her ears as she became determined to help her protege.

A glance at her surroundings told her she wasn't the only one heading out this way at this time. Seth really created quite the spectacle of himself, if the number of photographers she caught sight of was any indication.

At least she wouldn't be singled out. That would have been problematic for both of them.

Soon enough, her car entered her line of sight.

As soon as she entered the car, she put the key in the ignition and revved the engine.

Grabbing a hat from the passenger's seat, she quickly put it on her head. Not a fool-proof disguise, but it would do for the moment.

Cafe la Green. That was where Seth said he was. Or, at the very least, he was behind a dumpster somewhere close by.

She would make it there. She had to.

As she left the parking lot, she quietly swore.

She will not let Security apprehend him. Not for as long as she could help it.  

She decided to take a more roundabout route to Seth's location. Mostly to avoid witnesses.

Eventually, she stopped at the mouth of an alleyway.

Stepping out of the car, she had two of her lizards cover the license plates on her car with their entire bodies. That will be helpful in a few minutes.

With that done, she entered the alleyway, her heels giving off a distinct yet familiar clicking sound as they met the ground.

A quick glance told her no one was around. She also noted that her mark wasn't reacting to any Signers nearby. Good.

She then directed her attention to her right arm, where the mark given to her by the Earthbound Gods kept itself hidden.

With a mental command from Misty, the mark appeared, its violet glow almost mesmerizing to her eyes.

A few seconds later, Misty was engulfed in the mark's violet light.

When the light subsided, her attire had changed completely.

In place of a white and green dress with gold trims, she was now wearing a black cloak and a black dress, both bearing colored accents in the distinctive green of Ccarayhua. Her sclera, which were previously white, were now black as tar, and on her face were a pair of red markings, not dissimilar from criminal markers, which resembled a pair of wings that were horizontally inverted.

Normally, she couldn't hide from the Marks of the Dragon when she shifted to her Dark Signer form. But if her mark wasn't detecting any Signers, the Signers probably couldn't sense her either. Proximity played a part in how the marks detected one another, which was useful information for Misty as of this moment.

If any Signers lived in Satellite, it would certainly explain why Rudger and the others hadn't been found by them yet. Even in Satellite, most people avoided their base of operations like the plague.

As she made her way down the alley, she eventually came across a dumpster. Across from it was a green sign that read 'Cafe la Green'.

Misty made a mental note to try out their beverages sometime. Maybe she could build a lesson for Seth around this place? A question for later.

Making her way around the dumpster, she found her protege sitting with his back against it. His arms hung limply at his side, his fingers barely holding his phone in place.

Misty saw what threw Seth over here. The use of materialized Duel Monsters meant that a Psychic Duelist was responsible for this.

Another member of the Arcadia Movement? Misty would find out later.

Right now, she had to get her protege to safety.

Moving Seth's unconscious form was a bit easier for Misty than one would think, though it still took some effort and clever use of leverage.

Becoming a Dark Signer made her a bit stronger, at least physically, but not quite enough for her to carry Seth over her shoulders or anything like that.

It was a slower and more gradual process than she would have liked, but Misty nonetheless managed to move Seth closer and closer to the mouth of the alleyway.

As she approached the mouth of the alleyway, she noted that there was still no one else around. Good.

With a bit more haste than she probably intended, she moved Seth to the back seat of her car, laying him on his stomach with his head on its side.

With that done, she took a glance at the mask on Seth's face.

She didn't want to take it off without Seth's knowledge, but if she didn't and they got pulled over, it would only become problematic for both of them.

Hopefully, Seth would understand. 

As soon as she slipped the mask off of Seth's face, she took one look at it and, despite herself, let out a small gasp.

She remembered this face.

That one face from a few days ago that regarded her with fear, the one that seemingly belonged to the one that stopped that purse-snatcher from a few days ago.

Seth and that mysterious, yet surprisingly helpful individual were one and the same.

Misty didn't know how to feel about that, but she didn't have time to dwell on it as she heard the sirens of Security-issued D-wheels approaching in the distance.

Knowing that they couldn't afford to stay here, Misty turned the key in the ignition, and within thirty seconds, she was back on the road, with Seth in the back and his mask concealed in her robes.

As she drove, Misty looked back at Seth through her rearview mirror, his face laced with pain.

She would sort her feelings about all of this out later. Right now, her protege needed assistance.

And Misty was going to provide it.

Chapter Text

Ruka was doing decently enough, despite the lack of synergy her current deck had. Facing Bommer in a duel was also a bit more daunting for her than it probably would be for anyone else here. 

Bommer was a veritable giant, even taller than Yusei. He seemed nice enough, if what he had to say about Yusei was anything to go off of, but still.

Ruka was about to begin her turn when it happened.

In the back of the crowd to her right, Ruka saw him. The masked man she came across at the hospital last night, flying through the air and screaming a word that Ruka... was not going to comment on.

Despite her previous misgivings about the man, she was worried he would get hurt as he fell on a ledge near the edge of the Stadium.

Looking to the left a bit, Ruka saw... were those Duel Spirits? Were those actual Duel Spirits chasing the man?

Looking at the man again, Ruka noticed something else during the moments the audience was quiet. Something that surprised her.

The screaming voices of the Duel Spirits that the man had kidnapped had become quieter. Not completely, but it was a bit compared to when she had last seen the man.

What was once a mass of screaming voices had lowered down into what could best be described as collective grumbling.

All of that in less than a day? What changed?

Ruka wondered what on earth the man did to quell the anger of so many Duel Spirits. She couldn't imagine that that sort of thing was very easy.

She tried to listen a bit more closely. Maybe she could figure out the reason for this strange shift.

It was a bit more difficult than it probably should have been. The people around the man were screaming in surprise, fear, and concern, which came close to drowning out the voices she was trying to listen to.

Nonetheless, she did manage to single out something they were saying, if only because enough of them were collectively saying it.

"I don't like this guy, but he's better than Divine, I guess."

Most of them were saying something along those lines.

But who was Divine? And what did he do that made this masked man better in the eyes of these Duel Spirits? The same ones he kidnapped?

That question was quickly pushed to the side, however, as the man was flung out of the Stadium.

The audience screamed as it happened. Ruka could only gasp.

Bommer was surprised. He wouldn't show it, but he was very surprised.

He was getting ready to reveal this girl for the Signer she was to Godwin. His Reactors were all prepared and everything.

All that was left was to call forth Flying Fortress SKYFIRE and the duel would be his.

The fact that her deck seemed to mix two entirely different strategies with seemingly very little synergy gave him pause, but he decided not to dwell on it.

Although, Bommer wouldn't have been able to dwell on it, regardless. Not when he showed up.

Bommer didn't know who that man was. He didn't know why he was here. The only thing he knew for sure was that he seemed to have a mask on his face and that his sudden appearance brought along with him something which had caused a bit of panic in the audience.

Duel Monsters were chasing after him. Not holograms or solid vision, but actual, physical Duel Monsters that seemingly moved and interacted with the world on their own.

Bommer had heard the rumors of a Witch that could cause real damage to her surroundings through dueling, but he thought that was just some kind of urban legend.

He was still new to Neo Domino City, and he knew that strange, inexplicable things happened from time to time.

Bommer would accept what he had to, even if the things he had to accept seemed absolutely insane. It was just more efficient that way.

Having said that, when the man started destroying the D-Sensors, even Bommer struggled to keep his composure as fear and despair threatened to consume him. 

There was no way that was an accident. That man was destroying them on purpose. He wasn't even trying to hide it.

The deal that Bommer made with Godwin was rather simple. For his end of the deal, Bommer needed to help reveal the Signers to Godwin by dueling against them in the Fortune Cup. If Bommer did his part and helped to reveal the Signers, Godwin would, in turn, help him rebuild his village.

The problem was that the D-Sensors were absolutely essential for Bommer to complete that task. And they were falling apart one by one.

This man was literally destroying what little hope Bommer had of helping his village.

But between the duel he was already taking part in, the Security officers arriving en masse, and the fact that the man had been flung out of the Stadium, Bommer could do nothing but watch as events unfolded around him.

Ultimately, he would just have to hope that the man hadn't destroyed all the D-Sensors. Maybe Godwin and his crew could find a way to salvage this operation.

For now, though, Bommer would play his part. There was little else he could do.

He had to see this duel through, but once he was done, he would be asking Godwin about the situation and what they could do as far as damage control was concerned.

And if Bommer ever saw that masked man again? 

Bommer wasn't normally one to get angry, but the man certainly gave him something to be angry about.

Naturally, he couldn't reveal the real reason for his anger. The D-Sensors were to be kept a secret, after all.

But that was fine. It wasn't like Bommer would even need to reveal anything that was classified. There was surely some kind of cover story he could give on that front.

Make no mistake, though. Bommer had every intention of giving that man a piece of his mind when the chance arose.

Chapter Text

Saiga had to be seeing things. 

He absolutely had to be seeing things. 

There was no way in hell that he was actually seeing this.

But as Saiga blinked and shook his eyes, he came to realize that, no, he was not, in fact, seeing things. But boy, did he wish he was.

If Saiga ever had to talk about this later, he would make it a point to say that the truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.

And what was happening right now was, indeed, happening. It was insane. It was completely absurd, and yet, it was happening nonetheless.

Saiga would later categorize it under one phrase: 'too stupid to make up.'

As Saiga carried Akutsu out of the Stadium (why, he wasn't sure, yet), Seth, a masked man he hadn't even known for a day, was flying out of the Stadium, screaming in pure terror because he, obviously, was unable to fly. Meaning that someone, or more likely, something, threw him out of there.

Oh, Saiga gave him the nickname 'goose,' that much he wouldn't deny. But of all the ways his latest client could have taken flight, this isn't among the list of methods that Saiga would have made.

On the bright side, it at least secured a route out of the Stadium that was, at least relatively, free of any Security officer patrols that would try to stop him.

The downside is that he was now very likely to die. Whether it was quick and painless, or slow and agonizing was, ultimately, up in the air (Saiga almost hated how fitting that phrase was in this situation).

And even if Seth survived, it was just as likely that he would be reduced to a fucking cripple. The absolute minimum that Saiga could imagine Seth getting out of this with was some combination of a dislocated shoulder, scrapes, and a lot of bruises. Most of which Seth really couldn't avoid if he wanted to avoid death or the prospect of being crippled for an unknown period of time, with all of the months or years of rehabilitation that would inevitably entail. And Saiga knew that Seth didn't have any sort of health plan, or Saiga would have at least had something to work with when learning what he could about the masked man.

And all of that was operating on the, quite frankly, generous assumption that Seth wasn't just sent to the Detention Center with no treatment whatsoever. While not necessarily common to his knowledge, Saiga wouldn't put it past Security to pull a stunt like that before sweeping it under the rug. Those in positions of authority were, on some level, inclined towards carrying out seemingly unfathomable acts of cruelty thanks to the complete impunity said authority often provides to them, even when they didn't have a very solid reason to be pissed at the target of their malice.

And if Saiga's guess was right, Seth was giving someone a pretty big reason to be pissed at him. If that someone got their hands on him, the guy would be torn limb from limb.

Really, all of that was just a few more reasons for Saiga to dislike life in this damned city.

As Saiga glanced at the unconscious form of Akutsu that draped over his shoulder, Saiga took a brief moment to consider his options.

If the Goose's comments were anything to go off of, one thing that seemed to be a common occurrence in any plan Seth came up with was what seemed to be his go-to reaction when his plans go wrong. The guy considers arson a valid backup plan and has apparently started, at the very least, a few fires in the past when his plans have gone awry.

Ultimately, Seth seemed to have, at the very least, some idea of how to handle himself if he gets himself into a tight situation.

Should he ditch Akutsu and help the Goose out? Or should he keep some faith in Seth and stick to the plan?

As far as Saiga knew, Seth had himself, Himuro, Yanagi, and Yusei on his side. Each and every one of them was doing their part to make this operation as close to a success as possible.

Himuro was causing chaos in the area surrounding the Stadium, Yanagi was a lookout, Yusei was trying (and hopefully succeeding) to conceal the signal generated by Himuro's criminal marker, and Saiga himself was tasked with getting Akutsu out of there.

And Saiga couldn't carry both Akutsu and the Goose out of here. Even if he could, their combined weight would slow him down far too much and make their escape attempt far too risky.

It was the existence of one more ally that ultimately made Saiga's decision for him.

Misty Lola.

For whatever reason, the Goose was acquainted with the supermodel and even seemed to be on somewhat friendly terms with her. And if his guess was right, she would aid him in his escape.

He wasn't able to read too far into it before Seth handed him his wishlist last night (his natural talent for stealth still spooked him to an extent.), but he had an inkling that Security had failed Misty in some way.

How the supermodel could help Seth wasn't exactly clear to Saiga, but he knew there were a few likely methods at the woman's disposal.

Above all else, however, Seth had a plan, and Saiga felt that the Goose would expect him to do his part until doing anything else became an absolute necessity.

Saiga wouldn't be surprised. it's the same thing he would expect if the roles were reversed.

With that in mind, he took one last glance at where the Goose flew to. He might get pretty banged up, but he also might be able to get out of there nonetheless, if he was lucky.

But Saiga would leave the Goose to his own devices, for now. 

But that didn't mean he liked the situation.

If Seth failed to get out of there, yet still evaded capture, Saiga would find him, and he would get him out of there.

For now, he just had to keep going.

Chapter Text

Yusei was internally panicking.

It was rather unusual for Yusei to panic, but with what he was seeing, one could hardly blame him.

One minute, he was watching Ruka compete against Bommer from the waiting room in the Stadium, and the next, he sees the camera zoom in on Seth as he gets, quite literally, thrown around like a ragdoll by materialized Duel Monsters.

The first throw landed him on a ledge at the edge of the Stadium. While he couldn't quite make it out because of the distance between the camera and Seth, he got the feeling that the masked man was screaming some kind of profanity as he flew through the air.

And he was thrown quite a distance. It took all of the self-control Yusei had to avoid reacting to Seth's misfortune. Or at least, to avoid reacting the way he actually would.

They needed to prevent Godwin from realizing they were acquainted with one another, and showing concern for Seth's well-being would keep them from really selling that idea.

When Seth got to his feet, he suddenly and, almost inexplicably, began destroying several devices planted on the side of the ledge he was thrown onto.

Were these the devices he mentioned?

The mechanic in Yusei questioned how they were made, who made them, and what their purpose was.

Questions for later. Maybe Seth could provide some insight into them?

Once Seth destroyed all the devices he could reach, the camera zoomed in on a small squad of Security officers approaching Seth's location.

Yusei wasn't quite sure what happened to Saiga, but if the materialized Duel Monsters were anything to go by, they most likely got separated at some point in the last several minutes.

Was Divine behind this too? 

Yusei figured it was likely. Seth and Divine seemed to have an unusual hostility towards one another. It was like oil and water, except the oil and water were actively attempting to destroy one another, rather than simply exist in separation from one another.

Eventually, however, the duo of materialized Duel Monsters got a hold of Seth before they, quite literally, flung him out of the Stadium.

Yusei's heart sank. He had to get out there! He had to-

Suddenly, before Yusei had even moved from his seat, he heard it.

The distant rattling of heavy chains, loud and omnipresent, echoed out all around him.

"And what would you do when that moment has arrived?" A voice rang out. Not in Yusei's ears or even his mind, but, seemingly, from the very depths of his soul itself.

The voice in question was eerily similar to Seth's own, almost a perfect imitation.

And yet, despite the similarities, Yusei knew this wasn't the masked man himself.

The present circumstances were one thing that made it clear. In addition, this particular voice held a certain... almightiness that Yusei simply couldn't imagine the masked man having. At all.

Now, Yusei had seen and heard his fair share of strange things ever since he came to Neo Domino City. The strange dragon that appeared during his previous duel with Jack and the mark that appeared on his right arm, as brief as its appearance was, was still quite fresh in his mind.

Because of those and a few other things, Yusei decided that, despite what was happening at this moment, he would simply have to categorize this as just another strange thing that has happened since he came to this city.

Although it did slightly annoy him that mysteries just seemed to keep cropping up the longer he was in this city. 

Regardless, the voice seemed to carry on as though nothing had flown through Yusei's mind at all.

"If you go out there and help him now, you will run the risk of your entire operation falling apart. You would save one, at the expense of four others. Is that truly a risk that you are willing to accept?" The voice asked.

Yusei took the voice's words in and, being the problem solver he was, started to weigh the options in his mind.

On the one hand, if Yusei doesn't help, Seth might very die from whatever injuries he has just suffered.

On the other hand, Seth might yet survive, and if Yusei disregards the plan now, he could almost certainly help Seth, but he would be doing so at the risk of his friends back in Satellite.

Nerve. Taka. Blitz. And Rally.

Yusei could be putting all of them at risk if he acts rashly.

Neither one of his options was good. Yusei had to try and pick the better of two bad options.

...

In the end, Yusei had to think about it for only a moment.

Yusei had already placed his faith in Seth. If he lost faith now, then there was no point in agreeing to help Seth in the first place.

As Yusei made his decision, the voice let out what sounded like a huff of air.

"There is no good option here. Even a fool could see that. But if you've made your decision, then let us see how well-placed this faith of yours is."

And in an instant, the voice was gone, as well as the sound of heavy, rattling chains.

... What even was that?

Yusei shook his head. He didn't have time to worry about that right now.

Turning his attention to the monitor on the wall in front of him, Yusei noted that it seemed that the duel would continue uninterrupted.

He distantly hoped Ruka was ok. That was not something she should have had to see.

He'll have to see what he could do to address that as soon as possible.

At any rate, Yusei had put his faith in Seth to do his part. So Yusei needed to play his own part as well.

And while Yusei wasn't normally one to carry out a charade...

he would carry this one out to perfection.

"Seth, be safe, okay?" Yusei whispered.

At the moment, those words were the most support he could provide for the masked man.

Chapter Text

Rex Godwin was confused.

For once in his life, Rex Godwin, the man from the Daedalus Bridge legend, the man who crossed the gap between Satellite and Neo Domino City, and the current director of the Public Security Maintenance Bureau, was confused.

Bommer was performing his task well enough. Things were going smoothly.

Then, a mysterious masked man burst out into the back of the audience.

Close-ups showed that the man's mask covered his nose up to his hairline. It was bleach white on the right side, and pitch black on the left side.

Then, a pair of materialized Duel Monsters appeared the same way the masked man did, working together to throw the masked man into the air.

What sort of game was Divine playing this time?

Speaking of Divine, Godwin found it almost comical that Divine thought he had leverage over Godwin because he had physical proof of his origins.

Though, to Divine's credit, it would be inconvenient if he were to reveal that Rex Godwin, the current director of the Public Security Maintenance Bureau, had previously called Satellite his home.

There was not a day in Godwin's time as director where he didn't find some form of amusement in the fact that the very people that stifled his attempts to enter the city all those years ago now obeyed his every order like puppets on strings. If Divine was given the incentive to do so, he could destroy any semblance of control that Godwin had on the situation.

But at the end of the day, even Godwin could tell that Divine was little more than a child throwing a temper tantrum.

As far as rivals go, Divine was, quite frankly, an embarrassment.

For a moment, Godwin closed his eyes. All he had to do was play to the manchild's ego for another month at the absolute most. Once he got the power he sought, there would be nothing Divine, or anyone else, for that matter, could do to oppose him.

"Wait, what is he doing?!" Jeager stammered out beside him.

Godwin opened his eyes and saw something he hadn't expected.

The masked man, for whatever ungodly reason, had begun running along the ledge he had been found on and breaking the D-Sensors as he went, chased by the materialized Duel Monsters all the while.

Well... that was problematic.

"Jeager. Send what remaining officers we have to apprehend him." Godwin ordered.

"Sir," Jeager complied, already making the calls and giving out the necessary commands.

"Well this is an unexpected turn of events, now, isn't it?" A voice called out from behind him.

Suppressing a sigh, Godwin turned to regard the King of Neo Domino, his hands behind his back as he schooled his features before the King's frowning face.

"Indeed," Godwin answered, knowing exactly what was going through the King's mind.

There wasn't really any point in lying to the King. Even a child would be able to tell this wasn't a planned part of the Fortune Cup. And if a child could figure that much out, then of course Jack Atlas would be able to as well.

"But that is fine. The destruction of the D-Sensors is meaningless. We can always install some more between today and tomorrow." Godwin explained.

"Sir?" Jeager, who was still beside him, uttered in question.

Turning around once more, Godwin found that the masked man was now being swung around by the materialized Duel Monsters like a flail, before being flung out of the Stadium entirely.

"Send out the remaining officers. He may survive, but he will no doubt suffer some injuries. He won't get very far.

"Sir!" Jeager complied, doing everything in his power to coordinate their forces accordingly.

Turning his attention to the ledge the man had been running along, Godwin noted that all the D-Sensors that they had planted there had been broken.

That would need to be addressed.

"Jeager, once you have issued orders to the officers, I will need to inform Akutsu of this development."

"Sir."

In roughly a minute, a holo-screen blipped into being to Godwin's left. Godwin turned, ready to provide Akutsu with his latest set of instructions...

only to find the scientist was nowhere to be seen. What.

"Oh? Looks like someone was being thorough." Jack snarked.

Godwin... was not pleased.

The room Akutsu had previously occupied had been utterly ransacked. 

Who? When? How? Why?

Godwin took a silent breath. He needed to approach this calmly.

Although, it didn't change how angry all of this was making him.

"Jeager, I'm heading over to check the camera footage. Keep watch on things over here and ease the public as best you can. I will provide a statement on the matter shortly." 

"Sir?"

"Going to finally do something yourself?" Jack snarked.

Godwin gave the King a smile. Even he could tell it was strained.

"Yes. Yes, I am, Jack."

And with that, he was out of the room, walking with poise and purpose.

In what felt like no time at all, but probably took a few minutes in reality, Godwin found himself in a darkened room. 

At the end of it sat dozens of monitors, all arranged in rows. There were 25 in total, arranged in a manner similar to a 5x5 grid.

Normally, Godwin would simply delegate this to one of his officers, his Dueling Assassins, or even Jeager himself.

But this recent string of events felt... wrong, somehow. 

Divine's handiwork wasn't always clean, but this was the first time it had been so... direct.

Besides, Godwin knew that Divine didn't know his endgame. Divine wouldn't have any reason to let him walk a free man if that weren't the case.

His first course of action was to figure out when this incident actually started, then piece what he could together from there.

He decided to look at the footage starting from half an hour ago. While the last few minutes were the only ones worthy of note, Godwin had a feeling it went back a bit farther than that.

Sure enough, within a few minutes, he found that he was correct, though he made a mental note that a half hour was a bit generous an estimation on his part.

Starting from the public restroom to the attack on Akutsu, to the masked man's altercation with the Psychic Duelist (was he using Takasu's deck? Godwin would have to look into this), to the chase that lead up to what everyone in the stadium saw.

As it turns out, while that was going on, the masked man's partner (he also had a mask, but only one of them was seen by the public) had gone on to carry Akutsu out of the premises.

So Akutsu was a target as well. That did not paint a pretty picture.

As Godwin mulled this over, his phone rang in his pocket.

Upon hitting the answer button, he was greeted by the high-pitched voice of Jeager.

"Sir? You may wish to hurry and provide a statement regarding the recent... happenings," the man stated, "The audience is already asking questions, and we may need to address it quickly before things get out of hand."

Godwin took a deep breath before quietly exhaling, making sure Jeager never knew how stressed he was. "I understand. I'll be there shortly."

"Sir."

As Godwin hung up the phone and turned around, he took one last glance at the footage he just looked at.

Godwin needed to capture that masked man or, failing that, his partner. There were clearly more people involved in this than either of them. Unless Godwin could determine the identities of their accomplices, this issue would only persist later on.

Two things were clear, however.

This wasn't an accident. This was a coordinated attack with the direct objective of sabotaging the true goal of the Fortune Cup.

One of these people wanted to prevent Godwin from figuring out the identities of the Signers

And the ones responsible were unknown variables that must be accounted for.

At any rate, Godwin was not pleased with any of this. Not one bit.

Chapter Text

As Rudger watched the Fortune Cup and its proceedings, he let his cheek rest on his hand in a textbook gesture of boredom.

However, Rudger wasn't bored.

Rudger was concerned.

Even since the door to the Underworld had suddenly been sealed four days ago, leaving the King of the Underworld unable to resurrect, he had been using his spiders to cast his web, both literally and figuratively, as wide as possible to try and find the source of the problem.

Though, for the first few days, he made it a point not to bring anyone under his thrall. He felt that the Dark Signers weren't quite ready to expose themselves to the Signers. Not at this stage.

Rudger wanted the Dark Signers to face their adversaries on their terms. That, of course, meant he needed to take steps to address the current state of the doors of the Underworld.

For the first three days, he found nothing. 

Rudger didn't falter, however, and knew he would find something as long as he kept searching. 

It was on the fourth day when Rudger found something of interest.

In the Daimon Area, his spiders saw two battles taking place at the same time. One was a battle waged throughout the streets of a place called the Daimon Area, where he managed to locate one of the Signers chasing a group of people in a car as they drove as fast as they could, trying to escape with their lives.

The fact that a Signer possessed a power similar to their ability to take part in a Shadow Duel gave Rudger a moment of pause, a rare thing when the last seventeen years of memories available to him were spent deep underground, always in close proximity to the very thing that caused his death and rebirth as a Dark Signer, never mind the fact that it also caused one of the absolute worst cataclysms in recent memory.

Rudger had to give credit to the power of the Earthbound Gods. His body had been completely and utterly destroyed at the moment of his death, and they repaired the damage like it was nothing. Although his skin would later darken and his hair, once the finest of gold, would become ash white as time went on.

It was of little consequence, however. 

Returning to the matter at hand, the battle that involved one of the Signers ultimately ended in the survival of all participants, though Rudger was surprised to find Misty there as well. Granted, he probably shouldn't have been. He already knew why the woman was resurrected as one of their own.

Rudger remembered their first meeting as though it were yesterday.

The pure, unbridled fear he saw on the woman's face after meeting him was... not unexpected, but Rudger could admit to himself that it was not the sort of reaction he wanted to inspire in someone who had just become a Dark Signer. He knew that his face and voice didn't exactly make for a good impression, nor the fact that he practically towered over most people.

Returning to the matter at hand, there was one thing that did surprise him, and that was the brief appearance of another Signer's birthmark.

And yet, almost as quickly as it appeared, it was quick to fade as well.

But the biggest surprise of all to be found here was the man that the mark briefly appeared upon.

Despite himself, Rudger let out a rueful smile. It seemed as though fate truly did have a sense of humor at times. Although perhaps it was a bit twisted.

He couldn't help but wonder how Dr. Fudo would react to this development. It would surely be a surprise to his old colleague.

However, while there was no doubt that learning about at least one of the Signers was beneficial to the Dark Signers, the other battle that took place at nearly the exact same time also managed to draw a fair amount of his attention.

Four ordinary people faced a wounded man with what seemed to be a power similar to that of the cloaked Signer from the other battle, before ultimately rendering him unconscious in a combined effort.

So that ability was not specific to the Signers?

The old researcher in Rudger itched in curiosity, but he stamped it out almost as quickly as it came. 

It was something for Rudger to look into at a later occasion, he needed to focus.

After the battle ended, with no casualties and one injury, Rudger waited until night fell.

Once the wounded man regained consciousness, Rudger waited for a little bit longer, wanting to see what the man would do.

Sadly, it seemed that the man was on a wild goose chase. And Rudger needed to poke and prod at things. Test the waters, so to speak. Without that, he wouldn't be any closer to solving his current problem.

So at the next chance he got. Rudger had one of his spiders latch onto the man before taking full control of him.

Afterward, he had several more spiders land on the man's body (they didn't sink their fangs into him. Only one needed to). This would make for easy transport.

That done, Rudger then sent the man as close as he could to the Stadium without alerting the Signers to his presence.

It took several hours since the man needed to get there on foot while under his thrall, but once the man was in position, Rudger had all of the spiders spread out across the Stadium before releasing the man, sacrificing one spider in the process (not that it mattered. There were always more).

Afterward, through his spiders, he made it a point to observe the man's actions. Part of him was genuinely curious about what the man would do in this situation, and part of him was hoping to find a solution to his current problem, or at least a clue that would help him towards that end.

However, regardless of anything else, the fact that he was able to see his little brother again after all these years was something he would be grateful for. It may have been through the spiders, but still. He hadn't had any contact with Rex ever since... what did they call it? Oh, right, Zero Reverse.

Even now, Rudger wasn't pleased about the task he put Rex up to in the hours leading up to his last moments. It wasn't fair, and he knew it. But such was fate.

At any rate, he watched events unfold through the countless eyes of his spiders, watching as the man who had been under his control for the briefest of periods launched an attack on a man in a mask.

The mask itself was bleach white on one side, and jet black on the left side.

The pure, unbridled hostility between the man he dropped here and the masked man was something anyone could see. In a sense, Rudger, through his many fields of vision, could have seen the whole thing multiple times from multiple angles. 

At any rate, the masked man was neither Signer nor Dark Signer. At the very least, Rudger couldn't see a mark indicating one way or another.

And yet, whenever Rudger focused on the masked man, he found himself... confused? Is that the right word?

No. He was getting an odd feeling about the masked man.

Maybe it was due to the man's association with Misty. Maybe it was just the mask.

But Rudger couldn't shake the feeling that something was... off, about the masked man.

Back in Satellite, Rudger reclined in his chair, an old, decrepit thing that continued to baffle him as to how long it had managed to stay in one piece after all this time. Not that he was complaining.

There was something strange about the masked man. Rudger wasn't sure what.

But he planned to find out.

Chapter Text

"What the hell do you mean he was flung out of the stadium?!"

"I mean he was flung out of the goddamn Stadium."

Yusei watched as Saiga tried to explain what had happened to Himuro. On his desk was his laptop and, if Yusei looked closely, he could see what seemed to be a number of attempts on Saiga's part to learn what he can about Seth.

Yanagi, meanwhile, stood off to the side, his expression nervous as he watched this go on, but otherwise unwilling to involve himself in this.

Yusei didn't blame any of them. They all saw what had happened to their recent masked acquaintance.

Well, not so recent for Yusei. He still remembered their brief encounter at the Security storage warehouse.

Even now, Yusei had no way of knowing why Seth was there or what he was trying to do. But with regard to how easily he was able to escape from that place, he had a sneaking suspicion that the masked man was somehow involved.

Regardless, all of them, except for Himuro, saw what happened to Seth, as it happened. Himuro was the only one who wasn't there to see what had happened.

"Did you at least go back to pick him up?"

"I did, but by the time I got back, he was nowhere to be found." 

"So, what? Security has him, and he is getting marked as we speak? Or maybe he is already in the Detention Center for all we know?"

"Maybe. I won't dismiss the possibility."

That got Himuro to stop for a moment, seemingly to process what Saiga had just said.

"There is another?"

"Yes. There is one other person that might have been able to help."

Yusei had at least a vague idea of who that might be. 

What was her name? Misty, if Yusei remembered right.

The woman who had saved him and Seth from the Black Rose Witch at the last fraction of a second. 

Yusei knew virtually nothing about the woman, beyond the fact that Seth was, at the very least, acquainted with her.

"So who is it then?"

"Oh, no one special. Just the world's top supermodel." Saiga stated, as casually as one could possibly get.

Everyone, even Yusei, had to pause at that.

"... what?" Himuro uttered, in probably the flattest tone of voice Yusei had ever managed to hear out of him.

Not that he blamed him. Yusei imagined that anyone would react the same way with how casually Saiga just went on to drop that metaphorical bombshell.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Saiga. Come on. Are you telling me that Seth is apparently friends with Misty Lola? That Misty Lola?" Himuro asked, sounding more incredulous.

"Did I sound like I was saying anything else?" Saiga retorted.

"No, but... just... how?" Himuro replied.

At that, Saiga simply sighed. 

"I wish I had an answer for you," Saiga answered.

"Wait, what?" Himuro replied, "Saiga, you're the kind of guy who always does his best to know who he is dealing with. How could you not know?"

"Because the guy is a ghost," Saiga stated. "I've looked high and low. I've gotten in touch with every contact I could with the time I had and found nothing. There is no legal record of his existence, there are no rumors in the underground, and don't even get me started with Security's database. It's like the guy didn't even exist until a few days ago."

Himuro paused at that. Even Yusei could tell that Seth was an enigma, and he imagined that it would have become a great source of frustration for Saiga in a relatively short period of time. From what Yusei could tell, Saiga wasn't used to dealing with the kind of enigmas that Seth brought to the table. To his credit, however, Saiga was handling all of this exceptionally well.

But something was bothering Yusei.

"Something doesn't add up." He stated, almost whispering it.

Everyone in the room looked at him, and he didn't even need to hear the words 'go on.'

"I don't know about you guys, but Seth doesn't seem like he would be able to cover his tracks that well."

"Why do you say that, Sonny?" Yanagi asked.

"The guy is a storm," Saiga answered, practically beating Yusei to the punch. "Chaos seems to follow that guy's every footstep. His actions seem to be routinely violent and subversive. Oh, don't get me wrong, he can be stealthy for a short time, but it's almost always followed by something that people will notice. And don't even get me started with the fact that arson is Resort Number 1 for this guy." Saiga elaborated. However, Yusei noted that Saiga seemed especially miffed about that last one.

"The point is, a guy with Seth's modus operandi should have been caught by Security years ago. I don't care how competent or incompetent they are. The fact that he is pretty much a ghost and the fact that no one knew about him ahead of time means he should have only begun activity a few days ago at the earliest, which is contradicted by the fact that he seems to know things he simply shouldn't be able to know, especially not without a lot of time to investigate, which would warrant someone going out of their way to silence him, especially if he got close enough to the truth to pull off the stunts that he has so far."

Everyone took a moment to take that in.

It was obvious that Seth was a huge help when they needed him. But it was also true that his timing seemed too convenient at times. Yusei's own encounter with the man at the Security storage warehouse might attest to that.

"Do you think he could see the future?" Yanagi asked out of the blue.

"Oi, Yanagi. Isn't that a bit of a stretch?" Himuro asked in reply.

"Actually, he might be on to something." Saiga countered.

At that, Himuro turned to Saiga, his gaze questioning.

"Think back to when he showed up to help us in the Daimon area. Yanagi's walkie-talkie has a limited range. Even if we were lucky and Seth just happened to be in the area, it wouldn't explain his timing. Not only that, he should have been scared or confused or asked us a few more questions than he did. Of which would be, most importantly, who we wanted him to save." Saiga paused for a moment.

"Instead, it's possible that he was already on his way when we asked for his help. There is also the fact that he knew who was behind the Black Rose Witch's latest attack. How did he know Divine was the one commandeering the Black Rose Witch? How did he know that beating the shit out of him would stop the Witch?" 

Everyone took a moment to soak that in.

"The way I see it, everything he has done in the Daimon Area just wouldn't add up otherwise. His actions would be both irrational and insane if he weren't aware of what would happen in advance. And while the Goose has pulled off some crazy stunts in the short time that we have known him, he doesn't give off the same vibe of someone who belongs in the looney bin." Saiga concluded.

Everyone was silent after that. They weren't sure if Saiga's speculation was just that, and they lacked material evidence to support it. But common sense had been tossed out the window yesterday thanks to the Black Rose Witch

So it was very possible that Seth could see the future. 

However...

"Even if he could see the future, I don't think it's perfect precognition," Yusei stated.

Everyone turned to him again.

"Just when Seth was about to die at the hands of the Black Rose Witch, Misty rammed her car into that dragon, saving all three of us in the process. Seth was clearly scared and surprised by the sudden turn of events."

"You sure he wasn't faking it?" Saiga asked.

"I'm sure. Not only that, but he didn't seem to realize Divine might be involved until he took a long enough look at the Black Rose Witch. He seemed to need his own deductive reasoning for that piece of information. Meaning that even if he could see the future and glean information through it, he can't predict it with perfect accuracy."

Everyone took another moment to turn that over in their minds.

"So... what now?" Himuro asked.

"Frankly, I think we should go with Seth's ideas for now," Saiga stated. "He clearly has a plan in mind for whatever knowledge he does have, and if he knows future events, it is possible that he is actually operating against Godwin from the background. Otherwise, I can't imagine why he would go out of his way to abduct a scientist and cause a bunch of damage to some devices that we still know nothing about."

"Agreed." Yusei stated, "But I'd like to ask Seth for more information about that when we see him again. Abduction wasn't mentioned at all in the plan he laid out to us."

"You think he escaped from Security?" Saiga asked, "You must if your saying 'when', not 'if'."

"Yeah," Yusei answered.

The mystery surrounding Seth was deepening. Yusei and the others had questions that needed answers. 

But would Seth answer their questions if asked?

Yusei wasn't sure. But he was hoping that Seth could shed light on the matter.

It would make so many things clearer.

But for now, Yusei will continue to carry out his role.

And soon, he will finally settle things with Jack.

Chapter Text

It took some time, but Misty made it.

Getting out of her car, she wasted no time getting Seth into position to bring him into the building in front of her.

Misty's apartment was an incredibly lavish arrangement. Each room was among the best that Neo Domino City was able to provide. And it was only one of many in an even more lavish complex.

And yet, while it had many things, Misty had always felt lonely here. It simply wasn't the same without her little brother.

And now, for the first time in a long time, Misty had someone else to take care of. Someone who needed her help.

She herself could get in easily. It was her apartment, after all, and Kate, the receptionist, was well aware of that.

However, Misty could already tell that Kate would have some... reservations about her bringing Seth with her.

Misty didn't blame Kate. Not in the slightest. It simply meant that she took her job as a receptionist very seriously.

Unfortunately, that same trait of hers was a double-edged sword, as it now turned out. 

Misty needed to get Seth into the apartment without being seen. Kate would only complicate things on that front.

Thus, she decided to keep driving and wait until nightfall before pulling this stunt.

The receptionist's counter wasn't manned 24 hours a day. Misty simply needed to wait until the counter was closed before making her move. It also reduced the number of people she would pass by on her way through.

It wouldn't completely eliminate the possibility of coming across someone while she hauled Seth to her apartment. She knew of some people who worked very odd hours. but it was the best she had to work with at the moment. Her lizards weren't quite as versatile as Rudger's spiders. Not yet, at least.

Perhaps one day, she will be able to change that.

For now, she would use them to cover any security cameras that might spot them.

Fortunately for the both of them, Misty didn't come across anyone on her way to their destination. It seemed that everyone had already left for their respective night jobs.

Balancing Seth on her shoulder with one hand, Misty pulled out the key to her apartment with her other hand, twisting the key until she felt the familiar click of her apartment door unlocking.

Once open, she slowly brought Seth to her bed, gently laying him down on her bed.

The bedsheets stained almost immediately. It seemed that Seth had fallen into one of the more... unpleasant dumpsters.

She doubted that there even was a pleasant dumpster to fall into, besides an empty one. Although Seth would have been hurt a lot more in that case, so Misty decided to leave that issue be for the time being.

Looking at his face now, Misty realized that she never did read his fortune in full.

She was able to glean a bit when she first found him, unconscious by the river. But it was extremely general, likely because his mask concealed his features.

But now? Now Misty had a chance to learn more. 

Focusing her gaze on his face, Misty concentrated on his future.

Firstly, she saw him waking up, in what seemed to be a few hours, assessing the damage he had sustained, and working through it. She was pretty sure she saw him using her appliances to wash his clothes and cleaning up where he could.

It wasn't perfect. Seth clearly wasn't used to cleaning, but he did make a genuine effort if his various pauses to stop and think were any indication.

After that, however, things became fuzzy.

Every major event following that became distorted and warped, not unlike an old television with a poor signal exhibiting visual static. There were times when Misty couldn't tell where one thing ended and another began.

But the static didn't cover everything, and if she focused, Misty could see things beyond it.

But things made less sense from there.

She saw someone going up a flight of stairs, only to find themselves on the bottom floor, despite the fact that they should be anywhere but the bottom floor.

She saw hail assault a beach that she didn't recognize on an otherwise sunny day.

She even saw what appeared to be a person who somehow appeared to be... young and old at the same time? What?

It was as if the very concept of logic ceased to function the more she peered into the man's future.

And throughout all of it, she could hear the now-familiar rattling of chains, loud and omnipresent, practically behaving like auditory static to accompany the visual static she was already seeing in Seth's future.

Did this mean that that voice she had been hearing these last few days was involved in all of this somehow?

Possibly. The sound of rattling chains seemed to signal the presence of whatever entity had deigned to speak with her, using Seth's voice to do so.

Left to her own devices, several questions sprang forth to the forefront of Misty's mind.

What even was that entity? What connection, if any, did it have with Seth?

Should she inform Seth of this entity, or should she keep silent about it?

Was Seth aware of this entity? Or was it operating independently of him, without his knowledge?

Why could she hear it, yet fail to see it? Did it have a body that simply wasn't visible to her eyes, or did it not have a body at all?

What did it all mean? And how should Misty proceed, moving forward?

Ultimately, Misty decided to write a note down for Seth when he woke up.

She had other places to be if she wished to maintain appearances, and her sudden disappearance from the Fortune Cup might end up causing a bit of a stir, at least among those in her line of work.

It would be best to nip that problem in the bud while she could. Even with her connections, there was a limit to the amount of information that Misty could suppress.

As she left her apartment and got into her car, she issued a mental command to the mark on her right arm.

In a flash of violet light, she returned to her civilian attire. A white and green dress with gold trims. The marks on her face had disappeared, and her sclera, which were previously black as tar, had returned to the white of the living.

With that out of the way, she inserted her car key into the ignition and turned it.

It was time for some damage control.

Chapter Text

I opened my eyes, only to slam them shut again as a blinding light hit them with the force of a truck, groaning as I did so.

What happened? Did someone slip me some alcohol last night? If someone did, I wanted to punch them in the face. And the gut. 

As I tried to get up, I felt aches racing up my right arm, wincing as it reached my shoulder.

That made me remember what had happened the last time I was awake.

Now more awake than before, I slowly adjusted to the light as I hauled myself into a sitting position, tracing my right arm with my left.

It still ached and, in general, it still hurt like a bitch, but it felt better compared to how it was before I lost consciousness. Although, sudden movements or pressure would probably shoot pain right through my arm and right into my skull, so I needed to be careful.

I was always a fast healer, at least if my own experience had taught me anything. Between that and some sleep (if one can call being unconscious sleeping) and I was definitely far better off than I was before I lost consciousness.

I experimentally moved my arm and fingers, trying to get a feel for how it felt to move them right now.

It was something I could manage, but I hoped I wouldn't need to make any sudden movements with it. That felt like it would be just asking for trouble.

Bringing my left hand to my nose, I noted that it had stopped bleeding, but I almost certainly got a black eye for the trouble I went through the last time I was conscious. I would need a mirror or some other reflective surface to determine what other damage I had suffered.

I did a double take when I felt the absence of my mask.

That... wasn't good. Especially not right now.

Once I had, more or less, assessed the damage I had sustained, I turned my attention away from myself and toward the surroundings.

What I saw nearly floored me, despite having seen some of it once already.

Misty's apartment was even more striking in person. Every wall, every errant piece of furniture, and every appliance looked like they were from the top of the line, even to my eyes, which cared very little for the appearance of one's living space.

What really got to me, though, was just how... opulent it all looked.

It was definitely not something I was used to. I felt more used to poverty than I was to... well, any of this. Suddenly, Carly's initial reaction to the place felt very understandable. Misty was loaded.

But while it was probably the kind of home everyone dreamed of having, I knew that Misty herself cared very little for this place.

Because the one thing, the one person that really made this place home for her was dead.

And I was here. After having fallen into a dumpster not even five minutes before I last lost consciousness. 

Forcing myself off of the bed I was on, I noted that the sheets were definitely stained. Whether they needed to be burned or could simply be washed, I wasn't quite sure. I was leaning toward the former, though. I didn't even know what was in that dumpster, and I was in no hurry to find out.

Maybe burn the mattress too, while we're at it. 

Ok, on second thought, I seriously need to stop casually thinking of committing arson or Saiga might wind up genuinely tempted to strangle me.

At any rate, I hadn't even seen any sign of Misty herself, yet, and I was already muttering a quiet apology to her.

Speaking of Misty, the sudden lack of my mask was starting to leave me feeling really concerned.

Did Misty take it off? Was it to avoid problems in our escape plan? Did she recognize my face? 

Checking the items on my person. I noted that everything else was there, all in the same spots as before. Guess the mask was the only thing she touched.

At least, I hoped so. Explaining why the hell I had dirt on Godwin would be hard to do right now. As far as she knew, the Arcadia Movement was the one with the dirt, not some nobody she met a day or two ago.

More importantly, how should I handle things from here? What should I say if she starts asking questions?

When I first saw her, I ran off in fear once she spotted me. That was a massive nope moment for me.

While I could conceal my reactions decently enough, Misty was scarily good at physiognomy. She was good at it to the point that she could use it for fortune-telling.

I was not eager to find out how much she knew the hard way.

She hasn't shown up yet, so I should take some time to come up with some kind of explanation for my actions back then. 

Which meant searching through the last few days of memories I had. Something I didn't really want to do.

But with Misty, I needed to come up with something good.

So, down memory lane, I went.

Heading out of the bedroom, I found myself in the same room where Carly talked with Misty in canon about the Arcadia Movement. The same room where Misty warned Carly to stay the hell away from the Arcadia Movement. For all the fat lot of good that did in canon.

Note to self: If possible and if it ultimately proved beneficial to me, keep Carly the hell away from Divine by any means necessary.

At any rate, was this the front room? Lobby? I wasn't an architect, so I couldn't be sure. All I knew was that I was able to figure out where I was because of this room. Everywhere else in Misty's apartment had a similar appearance, and I don't think anyone else in Neo Domino even had a room that looked like this.

At any rate, I had an excuse that was believable enough if Misty went on to ask some questions.

Hopefully, those questions were the ones I expected. I was running off the assumption that she would recognize my face, even if she only saw it briefly a few days ago.

If she didn't recognize me (which I doubted because when have things ever been that convenient for me?) then I would need a more on-the-spot answer in the face of questioning.

Although, I would probably have an easier time bullshitting my way out of that one if it came to that.

Even more importantly, I hoped that Misty's skill at reading faces didn't turn her into a living lie detector. That would suck for me, even if the answers I came up with were actually quite believable and plausible.

Misty wasn't here, though. Where did she go?

Was she called away for some reason?

Probably. I can't exactly imagine a fashion model staying home all day, and Misty likely had to keep contact with certain people in her profession to maintain appearances.

At any rate, the apartment was pretty much empty, apart from myself and all of the appliances and furniture which would have had to have cost an arm and a leg for the average person. 

Off to the side, I found a very fancy clock. It was almost 2 o'clock in the morning. So either I was out for quite a few hours, or I was out for a day and quite a few hours.

I kinda needed to know which it was.

Looking out the glass windows on the other side of the room, I found several holo displays hovering in the air on the other side of the glass.

On them, I saw a news broadcast, with text at the bottom of the display telling me that the second day of the Fortune Cup was today.

Good.

Turning my attention back to myself, I noted that I looked like garbage. Literally.

I had a few different changes of clothes, but those were filthy too.

Looking around the apartment, it didn't take long for me to find a washer and dryer. Even those looked about as pricey as everything else in this room.

The wallet that didn't even come with me to this world was probably screaming in a mixture of anguish and envy. The price of even one of these things would probably leave it empty and starving, and that wasn't even factoring in the exchange rates on currency.

I knew that it wasn't Misty's intent, but she was making me feel even more impoverished just by putting me in here.

I mean, sure, I had Divine's wallet, and the wallet of that one Security officer I mugged (I wonder what even happened to him?), but that wasn't my money. I'm only handling poverty as well as I was because of the people I screwed over along the way. On my own, poverty would have been screwing me over hard.

Misty on the other hand? To sum it up in a single phrase: model money is insane. 

At any rate, I knew where the washer and dryer were, and I had clothes in desperate need of washing.

Might as well do something productive while Misty was away.

After around 30 minutes, I found myself with a clean hoodie, among other clothes. I also put Misty's bedsheets in. We'd probably have to burn them, along with the mattress, and replace my wardrobe while we were at it, but I wanted to at least try to get this stuff to a condition that both looked and smelled acceptable.

During that time, I took the chance to use Misty's shower to clean myself off before cleaning up the equipment I used. By the time I was done, I felt like a new man.

Although, it was a good thing that I had come to this world with some kind of auto-translate feature or I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between the body wash and the shampoo.

I knew a few words and phrases in the Japanese language, but I was, ultimately, hopeless when it came to reading kanji. The fact that I could read Japanese as though I were reading English was a bit concerning, although I wasn't quite sure why I felt that way. If I had to guess, it was probably because I was doing so without even noticing at first.

Why I had that ability at all merited some sort of investigation when I had the time. Kaiba could read Egyptian hieroglyphs in a somewhat similar fashion, but at least he knew something was off the moment he saw the tablet that the hieroglyphs were on. I only noticed when I realized that I was reading English from right to left.

If that sounded weird, that's because it was. Japanese was read from right to left, which contrasted English since it was read from left to right. I was reading Japanese like a native and I didn't even notice the difference at first.

And as it has turned out, I can speak Japanese as well, fluently as that, with seemingly no effort whatsoever.

Well, either that or the language barrier somehow just didn't apply to me, though I doubted that was the case.

But as I spent more time in this world and interacted with it, I had come to realize that the weirdest part was how... natural it felt to understand and speak another language entirely.

Whenever I read, heard, or spoke Japanese, it felt more like I was doing something on instinct rather than something I was formally taught. And that was concerning in its own right.

The only other odd thing I had going for me was the mask, wherever that was at the moment.

I still had no idea where it came from, why it appeared in this world along with me, or what its true nature was. So far, it hasn't done anything other than what a mask was generally supposed to do: conceal my facial features.

I highly doubted the idea that it was just an ordinary mask, though. 

The Millenium Items. The Dark Items wielded by the Seven Stars Assassins. The masks that were worn by those that Darkness had possessed.

In both the original Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters anime and Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, a lot of the supernatural phenomena that came about did so through the intervention of mystical artifacts, although reincarnation and divine entities were also plot points to consider.

In Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, most of the supernatural phenomena came about through the possession of certain birthmarks, magical eyes, or more innate abilities, and the former two were at least confirmed to have come about through literal divine intervention.

The origin of the power of Psychic Duelists was still a mystery, even with my canon knowledge, and the anime had never bothered to explore that more in-depth.

Personally, I felt that was a bit of a shame, but I wasn't about to complain. I wasn't just a member of the audience anymore.

I've already got Divine, who, at this point, probably sees me as the world's most aggressive cockroach, and our skirmishes have been teaching me a bit about how Psychic Dueling actually worked in practice.

I didn't exactly see any real point in trying to pinpoint the origin of Psychic Dueling at the moment, but that's probably because such information was generally unlikely to give me any sort of tactical advantage against the bastard.

Speaking of Divine, I found myself wondering if he thought I was dead.

Probably not. Divine was pissed at me beyond any and all measure, but he still retained at least some of his intellect. The fact that he sent Aki after me was proof of that.

And after our last skirmish, I knew he was starting to get creative with how he used his abilities, meaning some of his intellect, which his anger and arrogance had previously compromised, had returned. 

If Divine actually started learning from his mistakes, I was going to be in some serious trouble. 

...

It wasn't ideal, but if that happened, then I may need to follow through on a plan of action I previously wrote off as a terrible idea.

When I first came to this world, I had the perfect chance to kill Divine right then and there. All I would have had to do was dump the sake on him instead of his protection against Godwin and, quite literally, burn the bastard alive. It was literally that easy.

The only reason I didn't was that there was a chance, however fleeting, that he would come back as a Dark Signer.

If that happened, then I wouldn't be able to do anything about him. You can't kill what's already dead, especially if they were brought back by the power of divine, kaiju-sized eldritch abominations.

And if I had to take anyone on in a Shadow Duel, I would be screwed.

Especially at that moment, since my deck didn't come to this world with me. I also wasn't eager to find out how shadow magic would react to someone not even being able to take part in the games it was involved in.

Either nothing happened, or I would lose by default, suffering a penalty game accordingly.

And penalty games generally were not kind to the victim. Just take a look at what happened to pretty much anyone who lost a Shadow Game in Season 0 of the original Yu-Gi-Oh!

They could testify to that. Assuming they could still speak coherently, which was unlikely. Really, they were more likely to wind up dead because of a penalty game than anything else. Penalty games tended to be brutal.

And even if I disregarded all of that, killing Divine would have created a martyr in the eyes of the Arcadia Movement.

The first rule for creating martyrs was a simple one: do not make them. Especially if your goal does not entail their creation.

Regardless, killing Divine wouldn't be easy. I no longer had the element of surprise and Divine was actively hunting me down, not the other way around. 

But I already knew that would be the case when I spared the bastard's life. At the time, I spared him for pragmatic reasons rather than anything about morality.

I didn't necessarily consider myself evil, but I also didn't think of myself as good, and I was certainly not a priest.

What I didn't know at the time was that he would ditch recovery in favor of hunting me down as soon as possible.

Just goes to show that I had grossly underestimated just how much I pissed him off. 

At any rate, I now had one other person who was going to want my ass handed to him on a silver platter.

By now, Godwin has almost certainly realized that not only did I destroy his D-Sensors on live television, but I had escaped his goons and even had Akutsu captured. 

I could already see his eyes twitching in suppressed aggravation at the whole thing. 

But I wasn't done yet.

Destroying the D-Sensors and capturing the guy who had a hand in their distribution and maybe their creation were good starts, make no mistake.

But both of those were just to set things up.

Once I was able to regroup with Yusei, Saiga, and the others, I could begin Phase 2 of my Godwin Defense Plan.

With that in mind, I took a glance at the front room when my eyes fell on a slip of paper on the table in the center of the room.

Walking over to pick it up, I read the note, which read as follows:

"Seth, I'm heading out for some damage control and to maintain public appearances. I have your mask with me for the moment. Get well soon." - Misty

Huh. Well, that happened. 

As I glanced at my right arm, however, I realized I couldn't do as she asked. Not yet, anyway.

The second day of the Fortune Cup was in full swing, and I only had a few hours to find Yusei's group and prepare them for what I had in mind.

Looking at a mirror in the corner of the room, I remembered that, yes, I very much did have a black eye. That wasn't going to go unnoticed.

Divine really didn't make moving around undetected all that easy for me at the moment. Thanks, asshole.

As I tried to figure out how I was going to move about without my face being seen, I turned to face the mirror again.

And I nearly screamed.

In the mirror, I saw my mask, which was previously in Misty's possession, resting almost peacefully on my face, as if it had never been removed in the first place. I didn't even feel it. I wouldn't have known it was back on if it weren't for this mirror.

How did it do that? Why did it do that? And why now?

In an instant, I felt tempted to ditch the mask, consequences be damned. I could always find another mask if I needed to.

I dismissed the idea rather quickly, though. If this thing could simply summon itself onto my face again, then that course of action was pointless, in all likelihood.

Never mind tossing it into a dumpster. If my guess turned out to be correct, then I would be dirty all over again, on top of being, quite possibly, cursed.

Regardless, I only had a few hours to get my next task done, give or take a bit.

I needed to move. Now.

Sneaking out of the complex where Misty's apartment resided turned out to be rather easy.

When I looked at the receptionist's counter, Kate was nowhere to be seen. From what I was able to gather, the receptionist's counter wasn't open 24/7.

Good. If there was one thing Carly and I would have in common, it would be the fact that we both considered Kate to be a slight annoyance at the very least.

Once I was outside, I bolted. 

I needed to regroup with Yusei's group as quickly as possible, and I only had a few hours to make it happen.

I doubted that I could get back to Saiga's condo, brief everyone on the next stage of my plan and then carry it all out if I simply walked to Saiga's condo. And since Misty needed to maintain appearances, getting there in her car just wasn't an option.

I also didn't know how to hotwire a car, or I would have done so already. It would have beat having to run towards Saiga's condo like my life depended on it. Although to be fair, it kind of did.

My feet didn't take long to protest against the movement, but I did my best to keep up the pace.

If there was one benefit that I have gotten from running around all over this damned city, it's that I've gotten some decent cardio.

I was running faster for longer and taking shorter breaks.

Unfortunately, I still had a long distance to cover, and thus, a fair bit of time that I would have had to burn, if I wanted to get to the condo with enough time to spare.

I would need to pass by Carly's apartment and pass through the Downtown District before getting to the Stadium, and depending on where I approached it from, I would either need to slightly alter my route or go past it as well, just to get to my destination.

In total, I was running less today than I have been all weak, but in this one instance, I've never kept running for this long. Even my first encounter with Misty and my second encounter with Divine didn't have me running this much.

If my muscles suddenly grew their own limbs and attempted to kill me with them, I would have been less surprised by the fact that they would than the fact that they could. Every last limb I had was screaming at me in protest, and even if they weren't, I could almost feel the bottomless pit of hatred they were feeling for me right now.

If I could flip them off right now, I would. I didn't want to do any of this shit either, and yet, that's what I had to do.

In case it wasn't clear already, I'm kind of hating my life right now.

As I kept running, I idly noticed that had just passed by what I assumed was Carly's apartment. 

Looking off to the side, I saw that my assumption was correct.

The reporter's yellow car was parked peacefully on the side of the road, and the owner herself seemed to have fallen asleep in the middle of whatever she was doing.

From a brief glance, it seemed like she had tried to work a lot later into the night than she really should have, before falling asleep without actually meaning to, as she had a few snacks, some drink bottles and cups, numerous newspapers, and various small devices that seemed to be playing the news. 

And what else would the news reporters be talking about besides that one masked dumbass that got flung by materialized duel monsters on live television?

In any other situation, I would be tempted to make some kind of remark. Something very sarcastic would have worked for me quite nicely.

Maybe something along the lines of "Look, Mom! I'm famous!"

Ha. Ha. Ha.

Shoot me now.

Sadly, there was no time for me to be a smartass, a jackass, or, really, any other kind of an ass.

That, and there was no one awake to hear my sarcasm or my rants at any rate.

So I carried on, continuing to run as fast as my legs could possibly manage.

Unlike the first time I came to this place, the Downtown District was dead silent, completely and utterly devoid of the hustle and bustle that began cropping out of the woodwork from the morning onward.

In any other situation, this would probably feel like something straight out of a horror movie, where cliches and tropes would have made it so that the audience was practically conditioned to wait for that one dumbass who stayed out past curfew to get brutally and one-sidedly mauled to death by whatever the resident monster happened to be, with varying levels of blood and gore depending on and fitting for the movie's rating.

But this was Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's. The only monsters you really had to worry about here were duel monsters (which were usually Solid Vision until the supernatural got involved), and other humans. Simple, normal humans.

Well, that and Divine, but I stand by what I said before: fuck him.

That said, aside from Misty, it would be bad if I accidentally butterflied Rudger or one of the other Dark Signers into acting early. Then I would have more than one horrifically valid reason to panic. I was hardly eager to find out what it was like for Rudger to take control of you through his spiders. I shuddered at the thought of somehow getting their attention. My actions at the Stadium were far from subtle.

At any rate, powers and divine intervention aside, the Dark Signers were, in the most basic sense, a group of undead. You can't kill them, and with their Earthbound Gods backing them up, I doubted that they would be affected by the same things that would knock out any other human, let alone kill them, which I can't do first place since, obviously, you can't kill what's already dead.

Hmmm. You can't really tell an undead to die.

If you're to curse an undead, then... does that mean I should tell them to live?

How the hell does that even work? Do I even want to know?

Wait, no, that wasn't important right now.

Focus dumbass!

I was out of breath and practically a puppet inches away from having its strings cut when the Stadium finally came into view.

As much as I felt like I needed to keep running, I nonetheless slowed down, both to catch my breath and to avoid attracting attention. 

Godwin's attention specifically.

Since my little debut earlier, his goons had practically infested the Stadium in a way not unlike how a hive of termites would have infested a tree. 

Thus, I slowly made my way around the Stadium, trying to retrace my steps from when Saiga and I came here for our infiltration.

But I didn't plan on taking the same route.

The reason for that is that, in a single phrase: it was a complete shithead idea.

See, I felt it would be best to assume that Godwin knew what route I used to get here and that he had stationed goons in the area, just in case I returned to the scene of the crime.

Most Security officers probably wouldn't expect a criminal to be dumb enough to try this, but Godwin at least has intelligence going for him.

After all, he was born in Satellite, and yet he was able to become the director of Security. Those poor bastards didn't even realize that someone from the Satellite had effectively become their boss.

That said, I did have a few suspicions and theories regarding how Godwin had managed to attain the position in the first place. But they don't matter right now.

At any rate, if Godwin has decided to take direct command of the officers stationed here, reverse psychology and the exploitation of Security's negligence weren't going to work. 

And if Godwin had any Security footage of my last skirmish with Divine, he would know that I got punched in the face, then punched in the gut so hard that I flew out of the room I was in and got slammed against the wall behind me.

If the officers here caught sight of me and held me up for any reason whatsoever, I was screwed.

Godwin would know what signs to look for by assessing my current state and cross-referencing it with whatever he may have seen through the cameras.

It's largely the reason that I didn't take my mask off. It wasn't just pointless at the moment, it was actually counter-productive.

And with my luck, that would mean that he saw pretty much everything that happened in the Stadium itself and possibly everything out to the edge of the parking lot. The restrooms would have been the only blind spot.

With all of that in mind, I slowly made my way around the Stadium, doing everything in my power to avoid being spotted.

Against all odds, I managed to get past the Stadium without alerting Godwin or his goons.

Good. 

From there, it was more or less a straight dash to where the condo was.

I was tired, my feet were killing me, I was out of breath, I was sweating buckets, my brain felt like it was ready to melt and flow right out of my skull, and I just wanted to curl up and die.

As the condo finally came into view, I released a sigh of relief, despite how out of breath I was.

As I got closer, I saw someone standing in front of it.

Yusei looked at me with an expression that was probably the closest I would ever get to seeing him surprised.

Chapter Text

Godwin sat at his desk, his computer screen shining brightly in the dimly lit room.

On his screen were the results of one of his most recent orders, given to Jeager and passed down the ranks to until they fell to the one most suited for the task.

The task in question? Comparing the face of the masked man from earlier to that of everyone available in Security's criminal database.

The man may have worn a mask, but it didn't conceal his entire face. Surely they could identify him with what they had to work with, right?

Apparently not.

While there were some former inmates from the Detention Center that were close to the masked man in overall appearance, they all had criminal markers that would have made tracking them down easier for repeat offenses.

Did the masked man somehow find a way to permanently disable his criminal marker? Or even remove his entry from the database? Or was he some new problem altogether?

None of those seemed to paint a pretty picture.

At any rate, unless they could find and capture the man for cross-examination, identifying him was going to be difficult, and even if it wasn't, it would take time. It didn't help that his forces couldn't find the man when they had nearly every possible advantage in their favor.

Godwin, the director of Security wanted to remind his subordinates that they needed to find this man before he caused any more trouble.

Godwin, the former resident of Satellite had a very different opinion, however.

"Only Security could fail to arrest a helpless fugitive," Godwin muttered bitterly.

Truthfully, there were times when Godwin wished that he didn't have the personal experience to validate that thought. His left arm, now an almost perfect union of flesh and metal, made him living proof of his own subordinate's incompetence.

Honestly, he should have died when he rode off of the incomplete Daedalus Bridge all of those years ago. And even if he did survive, he should have been found by Security regardless, before spending a lifetime behind bars. And that was the least horrible fate that could have been waiting for him, to his knowledge.

Instead, he received surgery and all that entailed. And that was just the beginning.

Although, it was a shame that he lost his left arm at some point during or after crashing into Neo Domino's borders. He wasn't sure exactly when. With all the pain he had experienced before losing consciousness, his recollection of events was a blur at certain points.

The loss of his left arm meant that, sadly, the most the surgeon could do was remove the excess, loose strips of flesh that hung from what remained of Godwin's left arm before he could implement the prosthetic that would take its place. And that was assuming that Godwin wanted it in the first place.

Godwin would never forget the feeling of waking up and not being able to feel his left arm, only to be told a minute later that it had to be amputated for his sake.

The sight was more disturbing for him than he imagined. His eyes didn't come face to face with blood, gore, and mangled flesh, but the sight of a simple stump wrapped in bandages where his arm used to be.

Although, on the bright side, his new limb was stronger, more durable, easy to conceal, had a built-in Duel Disk, and had few of the same drawbacks that a limb made of flesh and blood would possess. Personally, Godwin would have preferred to keep his original arm, but he couldn't deny that his current one had its advantages.

Sadly, the surgery and his new limb would have cost a sum of money that, at the time, was unbelievable for Godwin. A sum of money that Godwin, having just escaped from Satellite, simply didn't have. It was at that moment that he had parted with the Black Rose Dragon card, using it to pay for the surgery and the arm. The card was the only one of its kind after all. The surgeon could, quite literally, name his price and the card would sell to anyone who wanted it badly enough.

Where the card went after that, even Godwin didn't know. At least not in its entirety. It could have switched hands more than once before it wound up in the hands of its respective Signer.

He thought that it would reappear during the first day of the Fortune Cup, but so far, no such luck.

Perhaps it will appear on the second day? 

Regardless, Godwin decided to return to his current task.

Tracking down that masked man would take time. And if his actions earlier were any indication, then it was clear to Godwin that the man posed a direct threat to his entire operation.

How the masked man knew about the D-Sensors, or whatever else he knew, for that matter, Godwin had no idea. While the vast majority of his subordinates were incompetent when left to their own devices, Jeager, at the very least, should have been aware of any attempt to investigate Godwin's activities.

When he asked the clown-like man, however, Jeager could only state that he had no idea either.

Was Jeager losing his touch? 

No. That wasn't it.

There were some that didn't enjoy being in the same room with him, but Jeager was an immensely competent field agent. This was a fact that had been tested and proven time after time for the past few years.

This would mean that this man, who had been flung out of the Stadium, by materialized Duel Monsters, on live television, had somehow managed to learn whatever he did about Godwin without him or anyone else even realizing it.

Somehow, Godwin felt it didn't add up. If this man was able to carry out an investigation like that with such secrecy that even Jeager failed to notice, then why was he only entering the limelight now? Was there some purpose in that? 

Perhaps Godwin should consult Jeager on the matter. The clown-like man may not have had an actual answer, but his perspective might point Godwin in the right direction.

While he would never mention it out loud, Godwin was aware that a decent portion of Jeager's paychecks was directed toward supporting his family.

Having lost his own older brother to the Earthbound Gods, Godwin could privately admit he was happy for Jeager. As long as destiny had its way, all Rex could do now was put Rudger out of his misery as soon as possible.

But personally? Godwin was done being a pawn of destiny.

If the masked man's appearance was, somehow, destiny at work, Godwin would simply take steps to ensure his plans would continue on schedule.

That was why he had a certain item relocated. Now it rested in the temple that rested beneath his mansion.

Originally, he planned to make use of it during the finale of the Fortune Cup. But as long as that masked man was at large, that plan would likely have to be abandoned.

The Security officers at the Stadium may have been on high alert now, but it didn't change the fact that the Stadium had been breached once already.

Godwin's own home was the only other place he trusted to keep the item out of the hands of anyone who would seek to have it.

But just to be on the safe side, Godwin decided to take one more precaution. 

With this in mind, he reached for the phone and dialed a number he knew well by now.

"Director Godwin? What's the occasion?" A calm voice answered.

"Head to the temple and guard it until tomorrow morning. If anyone besides Jeager, Jack, or myself enters, deal with them."

Although he was unable to see it, he still felt a smile creeping its way into the voice on the other end of the line.

"Yes sir," was all the voice said before he hung up his phone.

With that, Godwin put the phone down and reclined in his chair.

Normally, he wouldn't delegate this sort of task to someone else. 

But as long as the Fortune Cup remained ongoing, he needed to be physically present to watch the proceedings. It was both to maintain his image in the eyes of the public and to ensure that if anything went wrong at the Stadium, he would be there to handle it personally. Especially if those two purposes wound up becoming one and the same.

However, one thing was clear to Godwin.

He didn't know who the masked man was.

But he would make sure he was dealt with. Permanently, if need be.

Chapter Text

Yusei and I stood there for a few minutes, at least if I had to guess.

During that time, I took the chance to finally, finally catch my breath, while Yusei maintained a posture that more or less meant he was ready to help if I suddenly keeled over for any reason.

Not that I blamed him. If appearances were anything to go by, I probably looked like a light breeze would knock my ass over.

Once I felt like I wasn't about to hack out a lung, I looked to Yusei.

"Are the others in there?" I asked.

"... Yeah." Yusei answered, "But what about you? Are you alright?" He asked.

"A little banged up and exhausted beyond belief, but I'll live," I answered. "For now, let's get in there. There is one more thing we need to do." 

With that, I started heading inside, each footstep feeling as heavy as lead. Each time I lifted a foot to make a step, it felt like it was glued to the ground, despite the obvious evidence to the contrary.

But I forced myself to push onward regardless. I can sit down once we get the briefing underway.

As we walked, I suddenly remembered something before rifling through my pockets.

When I found what I was looking for, I pulled it out and extended it to Yusei.

In my extended right hand was the note I had snatched off of Akutsu during our infiltration

"Here. No promises, but your friends might be in this specific storage container." I stated.

Yusei took the note slowly, almost as though he wasn't sure if it was even real.

"Thanks," Was all he said.

"I know you can't do it yourself, but do you have any friends that would be willing to look into that while you keep playing your part?" I asked.

Yusei paused at that, seemingly thinking it over.

"There is someone I can ask. I'll see if I can get in touch with him later." He said after about fifteen seconds.

"Another friend of yours?" I asked in response.

"Yeah." He simply answered.

If my hunch was right, he was probably thinking of Crow. He would certainly be down for the kind of task Yusei probably had in mind. The two were brothers in all but blood.

Thinking of Crow made me realize something.

If we ever met, the two of us would be able to raise so much hell together. As I walked in front of Yusei, my back turned to face him, I grinned giddily at the thought.

Goose and Crow: Birds of Chaos.

I might come up with something better later, but I still liked that team name, personally.

Eventually, I found Saiga's room.

I lightly knocked on the door three times.

"Who is it?" Saiga asked from behind the door.

Despite my condition, I felt like having a bit of fun.

"Just you're favorite Goose, back to raise some hell," I said, my face split into a shit-eating grin despite knowing that Saiga couldn't see it yet.

A few seconds later, the door opened, revealing Saiga with a slightly irritated expression. 

He eyed me up and down for a few seconds, probably to determine my condition.

"Alright. How many?"

"Eh?"

"How many fires did you have to start for you to get here so fast?" 

"Pfffft." 

Ok, you know what? Fair. I kind of deserved that one.

"Zero," I answered, my grin widening just a bit further.

Saiga's eyes narrowed a bit at that, "... I really feel like I should be calling bullshit, but I get the feeling that if you had started a fire, I would be able to tell that it was your handiwork."

Saiga, what do you take me for? The Joker? Besides, Divine already has that spot covered thanks to our first real skirmish with each other.

I decided not to say that one out loud, if only because I wasn't sure if DC Comics exists in this world, currently or formerly.

Besides, there was still work to do.

With that in mind, I decided to ask the question I felt needed to be addressed first.

"Where is Akutsu?" I asked.

"In the basement. We've got him gagged and restrained so that he doesn't make enough noise to draw attention, and the door to the basement has a lock on it." Saiga answered.

"And unless a locksmith is brought into the equation, then I'm the only one with the key," Saiga added.

"Good. Has he regained consciousness?" I asked.

"He did. About an hour ago, give or take a bit. You nailed him good." Saiga answered.

"Naturally," I simply replied.

"Speaking of Akutsu," Saiga started.

"Why, exactly, did we abduct him?"

Ah. Right. Since Saiga was busy getting Akutsu out of the Stadium, he wouldn't have seen what I was doing afterward.

That said...

"Didn't you see the footage? I'm sure there was some of what I was doing in front of thousands of people."

"I did. It was also on the news." Saiga answered.

"With that in mind, would I be correct in assuming that those devices you destroyed were the reason we kidnapped a scientist?"

"Yep. I'm not sure if he created them, but I do know that Akutsu was responsible for planting them around the Stadium."

"I see." Saiga simply replied.

With that, I decided to address one more thing before we got to the most pressing issue on our to-do list.

"I know he is bound and gagged, but make sure he is fed and cared for while he is here."

Saiga hummed at that, most likely in thought, "I would need to soundproof the room, but I can make the arrangements," the jack of all trades stated before looking at me again, "Why would you do that, though? Isn't he supposed to be a prisoner?"

"He is. The thing is, I'm planning to ask him a few questions later, and I can't exactly interrogate a dead man."

Saiga fell silent after that, his nod telling me he understood.

Once everyone had gathered up at Saiga's office, we each took a seat.

"So what's the plan, Seth?" Himuro asked, "It must be pretty time sensitive if you ran all the way back here despite your injuries."

Himuro, I know you mean well, but please don't remind me of my injuries. Thinking about them just makes me angry. 

"It is," I answered instead. "Though, this time it is a bit less complicated."

Everyone simultaneously nodded in agreement.

"Ok, so, we got phase one done with at the Stadium yesterday. Now we move on to phase 2."

"And what is phase 2?" Himuro asked.

I put on my biggest shit-eating grin as I gave my answer.

"Oh, nothing much, just a plan to break into Godwin's mansion and take his stuff."

Everyone blanched.

Chapter Text

Within seconds, everyone's faces fell into an expression of blatant shock. Even Yusei's.

"Heh. That's a good joke, Seth. A real knee-slapper." Himuro said, sounding like he was having a hard time believing my words.

"The Goose is serious," Saiga stated, "only he would be crazy enough to try that," he added, his tone conveying just how ready he was to strangle me.

"Holy shit," Himuro uttered.

Yep. Definitely a proper response. Even I knew what I was trying to do was batshit insane. 

"But how are you going to pull it off?" Yanagi asked, his voice conveying an almost morbid curiosity.

"Well, like I said, this time it will be a bit less complicated," I answered.

"Yanagi, Yusei. You two were at the Fortune Cup for the first day. You should go again to keep up appearances."

The two nodded at that.

"Himuro, we probably won't be able to conceal the signal generated by your marker the same way we did before. Therefore, you won't take part in this operation directly."

Himuro frowned at that. Not that I blamed him. I knew he liked to rebel against authority.

"Instead, you're going to receive something from Saiga later on. I want you to deliver it to the safest spot that anyone here can think of."

"O...kay?" Himuro uttered, clearly a bit confused.

"Saiga, you are going with me to Godwin's mansion. We're going to work together to retrieve the objective and get out."

"So are we going in, guns blazing?"

"No. If we do that, Godwin might just drop everything he is doing to deal with us." I answered, "We are just a bunch of goons, Godwin has a standing army. So we're going to go in with stealth again."

Though, in all likelihood, Godwin will probably come after us with said army in tow no matter what. The stealth aspect of this mission wasn't really to avoid Godwin and his forces. Not entirely. Just to delay their inevitable reaction long enough to make our escape.

"And once we get in, what, exactly, are we taking?" Saiga asked.

"You'll know it when you see it. Besides," I breathed in, readying myself to reveal this next tidbit of information.

"The fact of the matter is, the success of this plan will largely hinge on Godwin behaving exactly as I expect him to," I admitted.

Originally, the thing I was planning to take today was in the Stadium. But I didn't know exactly where it was on the first day of the Fortune Cup, and between capturing Akutsu, fighting off Divine, destroying the D-Sensors, and escaping Godwin's forces, there simply wasn't any time to potentially go on a wild goose chase, no pun intended.

"So the success of this operation hinges on your ability to predict and manipulate Godwin's actions?" Himuro asked.

"To an extent, yes," I answered.

"And if he doesn't act as you expect him to?" Saiga asked.

"Then we'll take as many objects as we can that look like it will fetch a pretty penny," I answered, although I might wind up doing that anyway. The wallets I stole were going to run out of money eventually, and simply stealing more whenever I got the chance was hardly sustainable, especially with my methods of retrieval, which had all the subtlety of a sledgehammer.

It was also me being just a teeny tiny little bit petty. If Godwin was making me go to all this trouble, I wasn't about to come back empty-handed.

"Ok. I assume we will start once the Fortune Cup starts back up?" Saiga asked for confirmation.

"Yep," I answered, "Everyone else, get some rest while you can. We got another big day coming up."

With that, everyone began heading out of the room until only Saiga and I were still in there.

"So... you got anything I can stuff things into?"

"Yeah. Gimme a minute."

Container in hand, I made my way over to the room I had used the last time I was here.

The container itself was made of duralumin, which made it unusually difficult to move around. Did Saiga think I was stashing dangerous resources in this thing?

Well, to be fair, the stuff I planned on stuffing into this thing was dangerous, but not in the way Saiga probably thought.

According to Saiga, there were still a few hours left before the operation was to get underway. I honestly underestimated how fast a runner I had become.

A week of running all over an entire city will do that for you, I guess. 

Rifling through my pockets, I started pulling out the stuff I planned to put into the case, one by one.

First, the dirt I stole from Divine on Godwin. This included the documents I had pilfered, and my first phone, which came with me to this world and was holding photocopies of the rest of Godwin's dirty little secrets.

I turned the phone off a little while after taking the photocopies, while I was thinking over what could have brought me to this world in the first place

I still didn't have an answer to that question that sounded plausible, but, then again, I hadn't had a whole lot of time to think about that since I came to this world.

At any rate, since my charger didn't come into this world with me, and I had no idea if a cord that could charge my phone even existed in this world, I needed to conserve this thing's battery life for as long as humanly possible. If this thing's battery dies, that's it. I would lose access to the vast majority of the dirt I had on Godwin with no surefire way of salvaging it.

Even if such a cord existed in this world, it might have a completely different name than what was used back home. The technology in Yu-Gi-Oh! had started developing in a radically different direction, and the changes began occurring as early as the original series. No doubt in part thanks to Kaiba and his comically huge supply of money. 

Seriously, there were times when it felt like Kaiba could solve all his problems as long as he kept throwing money at it.

That aside, the loss of my first phone would be bad for Divine, but it would also be bad for me. I needed Godwin's dirty laundry as much as Divine did, although for somewhat different reasons.

It was also bad because if someone else in this world got their hands on it, they might discover something in my phone that either wasn't available to the public or, more likely, had either developed differently, or simply never had been developed in the first place.

If it was the latter, it would be their first bit of physical evidence that I was more than I seemed. Their first real hint towards my otherworldly status.

After stuffing Godwin's dirty laundry into the case, I pulled out all the cards I had pilfered up until this point. This included Divine's deck, as well as Black Rose Dragon. 

The way I saw it, the latter must only return to its owner's hands after Yusei or anyone else helps her to work through her angst. The former was to never fall into Divine's hands again.

As I looked at the cards in question, I felt that I had to say something.

I didn't even know why, I just did.

With that in mind, I began to speak, softly.

"I really don't know what to say to you. To any of you. I can't see or hear you the same way Ruka can, and I didn't pay a single thought to your feelings. I abducted each and every last one of you, knowing full well that you're all more than just pieces of paper."

The cards remained silent. If their duel spirits made any sounds at all, I didn't hear them. I couldn't hear them. And I doubt I ever would.

"I had my reasons of course. By taking Divine's deck, I deprived him of his usual set of weapons, meaning he wouldn't be able to use you to kill me."

Still silence. I carried on, despite knowing they couldn't give me any sort of reply. At least, not one that I could hear.

"As for Black Rose Dragon," I began, looking at the Synchro Monster in question, "Honestly, I don't even know why I took you. You were under Aki's control, who in turn was under Divine's control."

More silence.

"Maybe it's because you got closer to killing me than literally anyone else so far. Twice. In the span of what I assume was about a minute. Maybe I just didn't fancy my chances of surviving a third attempt on my life."

I let out a small chuckle upon saying that, but there was no joy in it.

There were a lot of times since I came to this world when I felt like I was dancing with Lady Luck. But I knew better than to wait until her patience ran thin.

"And now, I'm putting you all in this case. While I might give Aki back her Black Rose Dragon, Divine is to never lay another finger on the rest of you."

Really, I was lucky that I managed to hold onto this stuff for as long as I did. but I knew my luck would run out eventually, as long as I didn't take preemptive measures.

I pause for a moment, trying to think of anything else to say.

It didn't take me long.

"What has my life even become? I'm gearing up to fight at least three different factions at the same time, I'm causing chaos everywhere I go, and I'm so far in over my head that it's not even funny. And the real kicker? My reason for doing all of this is built on the vague hope that I will live long enough to find a way home."

My breath hitched as a few tears streamed down my face.

I was emotionally compromised. I knew that. But that didn't stop the tears from falling.

I took my mask off for a moment to wipe the tears from my eyes. I hated thinking emotionally. It never did anyone any good, and emotions were just plain messy.

It didn't change the fact that, really, I just wanted to go home.

When the tears finally stopped, I slipped my mask back on.

Now that I had vented a bit and wasn't seconds away from potentially turning into an emotional wreck, I remembered there was one more thing I had to do before this next operation got underway.

Taking an extra moment to get my emotions in check, I closed the lid on the duralumin case and snapped the clasps shut with a small, yet unsatisfying click.

With that done, I pulled out my burner phone and dialed the only number in my contact list.

Ever since my mask decided to start getting clingy, the validity of a lot of my answers to Misty's potential questions had now been potentially compromised.

No more time for feelings.

It's time to see what I can do for damage control.

Chapter Text

In all the time since I had come to this world, I had only felt so reluctant to talk to Misty on one other occasion. 

That was the first time we talked with each other, where we had first made our deal.

The incident with the purse snatcher didn't count. I simply ran out of there before she could interact with me in any meaningful way.

I needed to control the direction and flow of the conversation perfectly. I needed to choose every word I said extremely carefully.

I had no way of knowing if the mask was on Misty's person the moment it disappeared. If it was, then the mask would certainly seem supernatural in her eyes.

She would most certainly have questions for me in that case. Things like how the mask was made, or where it came from. On the bright side, I didn't even need to feign ignorance. I genuinely had no idea where it came from or how it was made.

If she asked where I got it from, I could say that I just found it while I was out one day without actually remembering where I got it.

Not the most believable thing in the world, but it was technically true.

In addition, I also didn't need to lie about how long I had it. It had been almost a week now since I got it.

In the other case, I would need to make things a bit more elaborate, but I could probably still weave together a chain of events that "explained" how it disappeared, and how I eventually got it back.

Though that might wind up requiring me to throw somebody under the bus, whether that be Divine, Godwin, or someone else. Whoever I decided to point the finger at was probably going to be in at least a bit of trouble later.

At any rate, it was pretty early in the morning. I didn't know for sure if Misty had returned to her apartment by now, but I... think she is still awake?

She is currently an undead, on the most basic level. She probably didn't even need to sleep. At least, not really.

Either way, the phone ringing in my ear as I made the call was like the sound of thunder. It was almost deafening, and the moment Misty answered didn't do much for my nerves at all.

"Hello?" Misty said as she answered the phone.

"Hey, Misty," I replied, "Just thought I'd check up on you. Is everything good? Nothing happen?"

"I see. It's nice of you to check on me, but so far, nothing of note has happened," Misty answered pleasantly, "I'm still at the workplace, but it won't be long before I can return. I'm already heading to my car now."

"Gotcha," I replied, "Oh, by the way, I saw the note you left, but just so I know, what did you do with regard to the prop?" I asked with more nonchalance than I actually felt, as I put a bit more emphasis on that last word.

Yeah. I said prop. Code word for mask.

If Godwin didn't know what I was doing before, he sure did now, and I wouldn't put it past him to start placing bugs anywhere he thought could yield some juicy information.

Best to get into the habit now before Godwin had any more time to conduct his investigation and create a list of possible suspects.

Misty and I didn't talk about or agree on these code words beforehand, but she seemed to get the subtle message I was trying to convey regardless.

The sound of a car door being opened lightly filtered through the receiver as Misty gave her answer.

"Right now I have it in the glove box, but I do plan to put it somewhere safer once I-" she said before cutting herself off.

Sensing a potential opportunity to direct the flow of the conversation, I chose my next words quickly.

"Misty? What's wrong?"

"Seth... I... I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I believe that the prop has been stolen."

I paused at that, both to give myself time to choose my next words and to carry on the charade I'm trying to maintain.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm... afraid so."

I let out a bone-deep sigh at that. I wasn't upset about it. If anything, I was happy. But, again, I had a charade to maintain.

"Shoot. I should have expected this. Given the design of your car, it would have been all too easy. The thing doesn't exactly have a roof."

"I'm sorry, Seth..." Misty said, sounding genuinely remorseful.

"Don't be. This is fine." I reassured her.

"But the prop-!"

"Has been stolen," I cut her off, "and yet no one else has said anything yet. If the wrong people somehow managed to get their hands on it, we both know they would have done something by now."

Misty paused at that, likely taking a moment to turn what I said over in her mind.

Of course, the wrong people were code words for Security.

Thankfully, Misty got this hint just as quickly as the first one.

"You... have a point. But if not them, then who?"

"If I had to guess? Probably some oddball thief, though I won't discount other possibilities," I said, "It would mean slowing my own recovery down since I would need to be out and about, but I'll see what I can do to track them down on my end."

"Are you sure? You were hurt pretty badly by that purse snatcher."

I had no way of knowing how much of that statement was her trying to get me to react to the prior incident and how much of it was truly just her taking part in the charade I set up without any warning, but I played along all the same.

Hey, I made videos to put on the internet. I hadn't completely forgotten how to act on camera.

Besides, with how much time I have spent around Misty these last few days, I wouldn't have stayed alive for very long without being able to "play the game" on some level.

"Maybe so, but whether they realized it or not, that thief has just created problems that I will need to deal with, and the sooner it gets done the better," I answered, accordingly.

Misty paused at that for a moment before replying.

"Alright. Just... don't do anything reckless, Seth." 

"I won't," I lied smoothly, "Though I will recommend that you lay low until the storm blows over. Things got pretty hectic yesterday." The words 'because of me' went unsaid.

"A fair point," Misty agreed. "Stay safe, and get well soon Seth."

"Naturally. I'll talk to you later." I replied before moving my thumb over the button to end the call."

"Alright. Goodbye, Seth."

"Ok. Bye-bye."

With that, I hung the phone up before letting out a bone-deep sigh, a bit more genuine compared to the one I let out during the call itself.

That... went better than I thought it would.

Seriously, I thought this conversation would have a lot more questions that I would have to answer than it actually did.

I could only assume that maybe someone, somewhere finally decided to throw me a bone.

May have nearly dislocated my damned shoulder on top of nearly dying before getting it, but at this point, I couldn't really say I cared all that much.

Damage control has been conducted and Misty is none the wiser.

Hopefully.

But if I was being completely honest, I knew she wasn't stupid. 

I'd like to think that Misty didn't see any reason to lie to me about this. Hell, most of her reactions seemed genuine.

But in all honesty, for all I knew, she could have been pulling a charade of her own. She might have lied at some point during the conversation.

The fact that she was even "alive" right now was a big fat lie, so I knew better than to take every single word she said at face value. Hell, a lot of her reactions seemed almost perfectly timed, but I knew better than to discount the possibility that it could have been a genuine coincidence, even if that was more unlikely.

Even if it wasn't a coincidence, Misty was smart enough to maintain the charade until either she no longer had to, or until the moment that continuing to do so would only work to her detriment.

It wasn't much of a consolation, but I'll make do with what I had.

Didn't mean I had to like it. While I knew it was better to take things with a grain of salt, the constant niggling fear that Misty was potentially lying about something with me made it hard for me to concentrate.

But I couldn't focus on that, or I wouldn't get anywhere fast. If anything, it would be a good way to lose what rapport I had managed to build up with her.

Speaking of which, I had... mixed feelings about how I've been handling things so far, at least with Misty in particular.

I was capable of keeping secrets. Hell, I could be cagey at the best of times.

Lying was a harder thing for me to do. I've uniformly been pretty bad at it.

Though to be fair, lying was a hell of a lot easier if you knew there was nothing that could be done to expose it. Lying effectively could easily be boiled down to both the liar's confidence and ability to dispose of inconvenient evidence.

Misty was a fashion model, an actress, and, above all, a celebrity. Putting on smiles, fake or otherwise, and playing the role that she was expected to... Misty likely had to deal with this sort of thing on a daily basis.

Putting on a forced smile and playing along with the charades that I wound up becoming a part of was quickly becoming something that both thrilled and utterly disgusted me.

On the one hand, I'm pleasantly surprised at how well I've been handling this "charade" that I've gotten myself entangled in.

On the other hand, honesty was, in a way, my default state of being. While I was more than willing to keep secrets, I didn't like outright lying about things most of the time. Even if I could get good at it, there was something about deceit that just rubbed me the wrong way.

As I made my way out the door, I had to remind myself that I still had bigger fish to fry.

When I shut the door behind me, it felt like I reached a point of no return.

Godwin. One way or another, your operation ends today.

Chapter Text

Misty sat in her car, taking a moment to enjoy the satisfaction of having completed her latest task.

Covering loose ends was a rather simple affair. The connections and funds she had accumulated over the course of her career were nothing to sneeze at.

However, the disappearance of Seth's mask was proving to be a cause of real concern for her.

She had her lizards watching her car at all times. If someone had simply walked up to it and taken it from the glovebox, she would know.

The fact that it was gone, that it had seemingly vanished without anyone even opening the glove box, was setting off some alarm bells in her mind.

The questions were quick to follow: When? How? Why? Where did it go?

Seth himself didn't seem overly concerned with the loss of the mask. Chalking it up to the work of a random thief, he just seemed exasperated more than anything.

And the reason that Misty hadn't contradicted him? Mostly to keep with her role. That, and as far as she knew, Seth was well and truly a normal person.

Possibly. She was still trying to figure that one out.

Personally, she also hoped to keep Seth out of the conflict between the Signers and Dark Signers if she could help it.

She knew how to summon her Earthbound God. She knew the sacrifice it demanded.

She hadn't known Seth for very long, but she hoped to at least spare him from the conflict that was about to unfold. Even if it would be pointless in the end, assuming the Dark Signers achieved victory.

That said, she still remembered how Seth reacted to her during the incident with the purse snatcher.

But thinking back on it now, she could reason that her paranoia might have gotten to her and clouded her judgment.

Seth's reaction could have just as likely been a result of knowing what Security would do if Misty reported the incident to them.

It didn't remove the lingering paranoia that now rested in the back of her mind, but she was able to take her mind off of it thanks to all the other things she had to occupy herself with.

Seth seemed to think the mask itself was a simple, normal mask. Misty was content to keep Seth unaware of the fact, for now.

However, with the mask being removed and now vanishing from her inventory, Misty now had some questions that she hadn't had before.

She had first met Seth a few days ago. On that same day, hours later, Rudger had informed her that the doors to the Underworld had been sealed a few more days prior, despite the controllers having yet to be sealed.

And then, a day after she had made her deal with the masked man, he had begun to speak to her on occasion.

The voice which was nearly identical to Seth's own, but with that almighty quality that made it impossible to ignore.

Between those two events, Misty had to wonder.

Was Seth even from Neo Domino? Or was he from somewhere else? If the latter, was he connected to what had happened with the doors to the Underworld? If so, how? Was he even aware of that fact?

And how did his mask and the imposter with his voice factor into all of this, if they did at all?

Misty could probably ask Seth how long he had been in Neo Domino. But she felt reluctant to do so.

If Seth had been in Neo Domino for as long as the doors to the Underworld had been sealed, that could put him in Rudger's crosshairs.

She wouldn't put it past Rudger to believe that Seth, knowingly or not, had interfered with his plans. If he had been in Neo Domino for as long as the doors to the Underworld had been closed, the fact that the timelines matched up was not something that could be ignored.

To be completely fair, Seth could have simply been one of however many who had come to Neo Domino that day. He could truly have nothing to do with this and Misty was simply misunderstanding the whole thing.

But with all of the events that seemed to surround Seth, both mundane and supernatural, he would be singled out rather quickly. His actions at the Fortune Cup in particular were hardly that subtle.

Honestly, she was surprised that Rudger had yet to ask her about it. Through his spiders, he would be watching that event with great interest.

On another note, she made a mental reminder to herself to look into Seth's mysterious assailant when she had the time.

The man was clearly a Psychic Duelist, and based on the gritted teeth they both had even before they clashed with each other, they clearly had some kind of history. An antagonistic one, obviously.

That brought something else to mind for Misty. A possibility that also might explain the mask's disappearance.

If Seth had such a hostile relationship with a Psychic Duelist, perhaps he had taken the mask?

Possibly. It wouldn't surprise her if there were Psychic Duelists with cards perfectly suited to such a task.

So did Seth's mask have a supernatural element to it? Or was it well and truly mundane?

Though, even if the mask was a truly mundane object, she had to wonder.

Just what had happened between Seth and his assailant to make them so hostile toward each other?

It struck her as odd since Seth was quiet most of the time, seemingly content to avoid confrontations until absolutely necessary.

Which made what had happened between him and the Black Rose Witch even more strange, now that she thought of it.

Why had he gone out of his way to help the two that they brought with them to the hospital? He didn't exactly strike her as someone who acted out any sense of altruism.

At the same time, however, he wasn't some raving lunatic, either.

No, Seth was the sort who did things for a reason. Even if they seemed utterly nonsensical, there was clearly an underlying logic to his actions. She would have had a hard time believing that Seth was even capable of organizing the plan that he did for the Fortune Cup if he were well and truly insane.

If he had gone out of his way to save the lives of others, there was likely a very good reason for it. What that was, though, Misty didn't know.

And then there were the events that transpired during the Fortune Cup. She saw him destroy those devices just like everyone else did. Why did he feel the need to do that?

When Misty thought of all of this, she quickly realized that Seth wasn't only quiet. He was very cagey, guarding whatever secrets he had extremely well.

That alone probably wouldn't have frustrated her, if it weren't for all of her other lingering questions. They were piling up so fast and Misty simply didn't have the time nor the opportunity to search for answers.

Was Seth somehow involved in the sealing of the doors of the Underworld? Or did he simply make an enemy out of an incredibly malicious Psychic Duelist?

Or was it both? It wasn't like that wasn't a possibility.

For now, she would have to heed Seth's recommendation and lay low until the storm blows over. 

Which meant conducting herself the same way she always had.

Simple enough. Nothing she wasn't already used to.

Besides, she shouldn't do anything regarding Seth's situation until she had all the facts.

But she would find answers, sooner or later.

Misty could only hope that Seth hadn't gotten himself involved in something that was too far beyond him.

Chapter Text

As Yusei made his way toward his D-Wheel, he thought back to the meeting that took place an hour ago.

While Seth had suggested that they get some rest, Yusei felt that he simply couldn't afford to wait before doing what he was about to do.

Seth had kept his word. Possibly. 

Yusei wasn't sure if the note in his hand really detailed the place where Godwin had held his friends hostage, but it was better than nothing.

Honestly, Godwin was lucky that Yusei still had to play his part as best he could, or he would be tempted to try things Seth's way and have a little chat with the Director of Security.

As he entered the garage with that thought in mind, he couldn't help but feel like Seth reminded him of someone.

No. That can't be. Can it?

As he pressed some buttons on his D-Wheel, he tried some of the various methods at his disposal.

Godwin didn't nab all of his friends. And there was someone he knew that would be all too happy to pitch in to help out.

Originally, Yusei didn't want to get him involved in this mess. He had his own things to take care of.

But Saiga was still in the city, having come to play a major, integral part in whatever Seth had planned.

With that in mind, Yusei had to adjust his plan accordingly.

It wouldn't be the first time. If Yusei's hunch was correct, he was already going to need to adjust his plans when it came time to face a certain redhead with a veritable garden of weapons.

He couldn't be sure, but he had a feeling he had seen her before.

But that was neither here nor there.

Eventually, one of the methods Yusei had been trying for the past few minutes pulled threw, as the monitor flickered to life.

With spiky orange hair, a headband, and more criminal markers than Security probably knew what to do with, the face of his old friend, Crow Hogan, stared back at him blearily, trying his best to wipe the sleep from his eyes.

"Huh? Who is it? Do you know what time it-" Crow cuts himself off as soon as he gets a good look at who had contacted him.

"Yusei?!" Crow exclaimed, a big smile spreading across his face, "Hey! How's it going?"

Yusei allowed himself a small smile, happy to see his old friend.

Just as quickly, however, he sobered, remembering why he was contacting Crow in the first place.

"Not as good as you might imagine, I'm afraid."

And just like that, that smile was wiped from Crow's face.

"What's going on?"

It took a while, far longer than Yusei would have liked, but he was able to relay the situation to Crow.

"So Godwin has abducted the guys from your hideout, and if you don't take part in the Fortune Cup, they pay the price?"

Yusei nodded.

"And to retaliate, your relying on the help of this 'Seth' guy?"

"Yeah," Yusei answered, "I think you two would get along actually."

"How well?"

"Well, like you, he seems to enjoy making Security look like a joke."

"Hey, they don't look like a joke, they are a joke!" Crow countered, but his smile was once again present, "But from the sound of it, I guess me and Seth would get just fine."

Yusei nodded in confirmation.

Honestly, these two would get along like a house on fire.

Well, since you mentioned it, now I'm curious. What kind of deck does he use?"

...

It wasn't often that Yusei's mind drew a blank.

But it sure was drawing one right now.

"I don't know."

"Huh? What do ya mean? You have dueled him, right?"

"No, actually." Yusei answered, "There simply hasn't been any time. So many things happened so fast in the last few days." Yusei paused for a moment, remembering something else.

"And now that you mention it, I don't think he duels at all." 

Crow paused at that, seemingly turning it over in his mind.

"Odd. Even in Satellite, most kids would learn to duel by... 5 or 6, I think? Heck, most of us only know how to read thanks to dueling."

Yusei nodded, agreeing with Crow's point. 

When he stopped to think about it, Yusei could actually somewhat appreciate Neo Domino's needless disposal of cards. He could only imagine how many of them would be illiterate if that weren't the case.

Guess the city did something good for Satellite after all. Though, Yusei highly doubted that was the intent.

"True, but Seth seems to favor more... violent solutions," Yusei stated. The admission felt like ash on his tongue for some reason. "Knocking people out, destruction of property, the works."

Crow paused again at that, his eyes widening a fraction.

"Yusei. I don't want to be the one to ask this, but doesn't sound an awful lot like..."

At that moment, Yusei wanted to kick himself. He should have noticed sooner. But then again, it would make sense why he didn't.

There was only one person Yusei knew that shared Seth's tendencies.

"Kiryu," Yusei said, finishing Crow's question for him with little more than a whisper.

"Yeah..." Crow replied, his face showing every bit of the discomfort Yusei felt.

Kyousuke Kiryu. Formerly one of their friends and their leader, back when he, Yusei, Jack, and Crow had been a part of Team Satisfaction.

They spent many long days, working together to unify Satellite, expanding their territory one step at a time.

With each Duel Gang they defeated, they came that much closer to their foal.

And eventually, they succeeded.

But then, Kiryu started to become paranoid, viewing any Duel Gangs that weren't under his control as a threat that could undo all of their hard work, and began dueling recklessly.

And soon, he took it too far.

From there, Team Satisfaction began to fall apart.

Jack and Crow left Team Satisfaction after Kiryu had attacked some kid that was once a part of one of the Duel Gangs they had previously defeated, going so far as to electrocute him with a modified Deathmatch Duel Rope.

It wasn't necessarily the only thing that caused them to leave, but it was certainly another incentive.

While the act itself was horrendous, Yusei felt that he couldn't turn his back on Kiryu.

Despite that, Yusei himself soon left Team Satisfaction as well, after Kiryu told him about his plans to pick a fight with Security itself, claiming that they were Team Satisfaction's final enemy.

At that point, they all could tell. Kiryu had become mentally compromised after that. Taking on the Security of Satellite at the time was purely suicide.

When he decided to leave Team Satisfaction, Yusei thought that Kiryu wouldn't fight Security by himself.

He should have known better.

Not long after that, one of the facilities controlled by Security was bombed.

Considering how many Security officers were hunting him down on D-Wheels after that, he could only surmise that Kiryu was responsible.

In response, he, Crow, and Jack returned to Kiryu, hoping to keep him safe.

What they didn't know at the time was that they would be meeting Kiryu for the last time.

Eventually, while they were briefly separated, Kiryu seriously injured, if not outright killed Security officer by forcing him to crash his D-Wheel.

It was when he tried to finish off the officer in question that Yusei decided to take action.

After restraining Kiryu, Yusei had planned to turn himself in to cover for Kiryu.

Unfortunately, despite his efforts, Kiryu wound up getting arrested anyhow.

All of that was bad enough on its own. But when Kiryu saw one of the officers in charge of the squad patting Yusei on the shoulder, the idea had been planted in his mind that Yusei had actually sold him out.

Yusei still thought back to that day from time to time. To the anger and betrayal that Kiryu expressed even as he was being transported to the Detention Center.

Just as often, he tried to visit Kiryu while he was in the Detention Center. They all did, to varying degrees of frequency.

But they were denied the chance to do that every single time.

Yusei still didn't know what had happened to Kiryu. Even during his own stay at the Detention Center, he never saw any sign of Kiryu.

And that created some implications that Yusei didn't want to consider.

But now that all of that was being brought up as a result of his recent masked acquaintance, Yusei couldn't help but notice some eerie parallels between Kiryu and Seth.

There were differences, mind you. Seth seemed far more sane even while creating chaos in a similar manner to what Kiryu did before his arrest. His restraint, seeming future knowledge, and the fact that he had previously helped Yusei and Rua were also helping his case.

But Yusei still couldn't ignore the similarities.

"I don't think he is too far gone," Yusei finally said, "But I will talk to him about this."

"I guess that's the best I can hope for," Crow replied, "I just hope he hasn't gone off the deep end yet."

Yusei nodded in agreement.

"Well, in the meantime, I'll see if I can find Rally, Taka, and the others," Crow stated. "Don't worry. If they are in trouble, Crow the Bullet will find them!" He said with a big reassuring smile.

"Thanks, Crow," Yusei replied with a small smile, "Stay safe, and happy hunting." 

"Naturally!" Crow replied before his face faded from the monitor.

As Yusei stood up, he made another mental note to keep Crow's words in mind.

He'll go along with Seth's plan for one more day.

But after that, they will need to talk about restraint and a few other things.

Yusei refused to let what happened to Kiryu happen to anyone else.

He had already failed one of his friends.

He wasn't going to screw this up too.

Chapter Text

As we gathered around in the garage once more, Yusei was on his D-Wheel, while Himuro was, once again, riding Saiga's D-Wheel, the duralumin case that I had prepared last night sitting behind like a passenger.

Meanwhile, Yanagi was waiting for a taxi. He had been giving me and Saiga some concerned stares ever since I announced my plans for today.

I didn't really blame him, but the stares still felt a little unwarranted, somehow.

Eh. Not really my problem, anyway.

I got a heist to pull off and (possibly) a house to burn.

Hey, you can't go wrong with a little fire. Solving all of your problems and spitting in the face of logic since 1989.

Huh. Now that I think of it, fire and I have a lot of things in common if I look at it from that angle.

I wasn't going to mention any of that out loud, though. I was all too aware of how exasperated Saiga was getting with me

That said, Saiga and I were operating with a couple of handicaps.

For one, there were only two people actively taking part in the heist itself.

For another, I'm literally about to start the raid on Godwin's mansion with a banged-up arm that was almost certainly going to hinder me at some point.

At this point, the only things keeping me going were determination, pure, unadulterated spite, and a soda.

I was ready to either fight Z-ONE or become him. 

"Good luck in there, Yusei," I said as Yusei revved up the engine on his D-Wheel.

"Thanks," Yusei simply replied before heading out.

"I'll catch you all later," Himuro said as he revved up the engine on Saiga's D-Wheel before following suit.

"Well, I guess I'll head back to watch the rest of the Fortune Cup," Yanagi stated, before heading further back into the condo, likely to call a taxi.

This left me and Saiga alone in the garage.

"Ready to go?" I asked.

"Of course," Saiga answered. 

"Remind me to get you guys something to drink after this," I said, "You all have more than earned it considering all the crap you likely had to put up with because of me."

"I think I will very much do that, Goose," Saiga replied.

Yep. He was definitely going to hold me to that.

With that, we headed out of the garage, Saiga pushing a button to close the shutter on the way out.

Operation: End Godwin's Whole Career is a go.

Ever since I came to this world, Godwin's Mansion was... kind of an enigma to me.

Don't get me wrong. I knew more or less the purpose it served. In addition to serving as Godwin's home in Neo Domino City, it also held the Sky Temple in its basement.

Don't ask me how an entire temple could be hidden under a mansion. The logical leaps and whatnot that it would necessitate already made my brain hurt.

But while the exact logistics of the Mansion's relation to the Sky Temple were indeed beyond me, that wasn't what made it an enigma in my eyes.

What made it an enigma was that I simply had no idea where it was.

I had been using my knowledge of the Tag Force 4 game map to navigate my way around this city,  but Godwin's Mansion was only accessible in the World Championship games. At least if I recalled correctly. 

As I learned from letting Saiga take the lead as we moved, it was actually pretty close to the Stadium.

While this meant that we didn't have as far of a walk as what we could have had to deal with, it also meant that Godwin could return there that much faster if he ever needed to.

And he was almost certainly going to, especially if he learns of our presence there.

As we moved, I kept my hood over the top half of my face. My mask would give me away if it were seen, but so would the black eye that Divine gave me.

We also stuck to alleyways whenever we could to as an additional precaution.

As far as I knew, Godwin's Mansion was on an island, somewhere within Neo Domino City, and there was only one way in or out of there. By bridge.

But the fact that it was an island gave me an idea.

Instead of going along the bridge (which was likely to leave us with faces full of laser), we used Saiga's connections to grab a motorboat and a pair of binoculars to get there.

We did have one major roadblock between us and the prize, however.

That roadblock, as we found out through the pair of binoculars, was the guards.

While I anticipated that Godwin would react in some way, the officers stationed here were not simply doing simple patrols as though it were just another day on the job for them.

They were on high alert, constantly keeping an eye on the water for potential intruders. Which implied that Godwin knew that I would be coming here and knew what I would be after.

At the very least, he had a solid reason to think that.

The only reason we hadn't been spotted yet is because of a plan Saiga actually came up with on his own.

Neo Domino throws stuff away all the time. As it turns out, there were times when trash wound up somewhere they weren't supposed to.

While this was usually the result of the occasional mismanagement of goods or the even more likely event of equipment failure, Saiga's plan was to take this occasional occurrence and make it occur intentionally.

To do that, Saiga pulled a few strings to filter some of the trash over to the ocean surrounding Godwin's mansion, while we used a ragged blanket to blend in among the rest of the refuse.

The thing quite literally stunk to high heaven, and we couldn't use the actual motor on the boat to speed up the process, or we could wind up blowing our cover, but it did its job pretty well, considering I had yet to learn what getting shot at with a laser pistol felt like and no guards had alerted their buddies.

Naturally, if a bunch of trash only appeared in the waters around Godwin's Mansion, that would seem suspicious even to low-level grunts in Security, even if they weren't likely to learn about it right away.

So in addition to Godwin's location, Saiga pulled a few more strings for trash to be filtered to a few other locations.

And aside from Godwin's Mansion, the choices for all the locations that got trash sent to them were completely randomized. On purpose.

Even we didn't what locations were selected, and we probably wouldn't unless we came out of this mission successfully.

Yeah, we may have carried out some environmental pollution, but if we screwed up on this mission, a little pollution was going to be the least of our worries.

As we finally reached the nearest cliffside we could manage, we tied up the boat, spread the blanket over it, and hid behind some of the larger rocks nearby before any officers happened upon it.

After Saiga had put on his cloak and mask, the same set he used yesterday, we began the slow and (in my case) terrifying process of climbing the cliffside.

Thankfully for my continued survival, the cliffside actually had several good points to act as leverage, but the occasional rock giving way under my grasp had my heart practically leaping right into the middle of my throat.

It's official. I fucking hate rock climbing.

As we finally made it up to the top of the cliff, we held off on catching our breath a few moments longer by dashing into a nearby bush.

Thankfully, the damn thing didn't have any thorns in it, or I would be going out of my way to march right up to Godwin and punch him in the face. See how he likes it when he is in the same position as Divine.

Once we caught our breath we took a peek outside of the bush.

No guards in this area. For now.

As Saiga and I took this chance to get closer to the mansion, we kept our wits about us.

But as we got closer to the mansion, I couldn't help but notice that it was starting to feel pretty hot out here.

Odd. Was the weather supposed to be hot today?

Chapter Text

By now, Saiga and I had snuck past seven different patrols, and were about to pass an eighth as we made our way through the garden.

Even to my eyes, it was a beautiful arrangement, filled with flowers of many varieties, trimmed and cut to perfection as a representation of the various lies that Neo Domino perpetuated.

Yes, Neo Domino was, by all rights, on the verge of being considered a utopia. But that utopia was only made possible through the absolute shit they put Satellite and its residents through on a daily basis. And don't even get me started with all the cover-ups.

And all of it was preceded by a stone arch allowing entry to any visitors that Godwin even bothered to invite, which were likely few and far between.

The Signers were an obvious example. Mikage was there once or twice also, and Yeager has probably been here from time to time as well.

Everyone else? They were either politely given the boot, or impolitely blasted with a barrage of lasers, in all likelihood.

And Saiga and I were very liable to experience the latter, which would only become more and more likely as the operation progressed.

The Mansion itself was coming into view just beyond the foliage, but we weren't close enough to see any entrances.

Knocking out the guards seemed tempting at first. It would eliminate a major inconvenience that would get in our way when we tried to make our escape.

There was a major problem with that, however.

The thing about patrols was that they usually had someone whose job was to check in on them and receive a status update.

If one part of the patrol failed to respond, the rest of the patrol would be put on the alert since it meant, in all likelihood, that they had been incapacitated or worse.

And this particular patrol was pretty on edge as it was.

On the bright side, it wasn't like the place was swarming with guards. Mind you, there were still a lot, but Godwin probably stationed more of them at the Stadium after my little "debut" in order to ease the public.

A fact that I planned to milk for all it was worth.

Eventually, we managed to find one of the doors leading into the Mansion proper. Whether it was the front or back door, I couldn't focus enough to know for sure.

Once we were inside, it somehow felt even hotter than before, and I was pretty sure that I was going to be sweating quite a bit before the day was done.

"Sheesh. Did Godwin leave the heater on or something?" I whispered to Saiga.

"Huh? No, it's actually kind of cool in here," Saiga answered. What.

"Ooooookay, maybe I pushed myself a bit more than I thought," I replied, trying to cover up my freshly blossoming concern.

Almost made me glad that my mask was back on my face, if only so I could better conceal my facial reactions.

"You still good to go?" Saiga asked.

"Yeah. Start taking whatever looks valuable. I'm heading downstairs," I answered.

"You got it, Goose," Saiga acknowledged.

Hmmm. Maybe I should get more drinks after we finished. Maybe Saiga would get too drunk to remember what we did today?

Oh, who was I kidding? You could be drunk enough to utterly destroy your liver and you would probably still remember the shit we were pulling today.

Although, I wasn't a drinker, myself. At all. 

As for why that was... well, that didn't matter right now.

At any rate, Saiga headed into the first room he could find, while I headed for the elevator that I knew was somewhere around here.

On the bright side, the Mansion itself seemed empty. At last from a glance.

It had a lot of decor lining the walls with what appeared to be stone murals, at least to my knowledge. Those in turn were surrounded by white support pillars and other forms of architecture, leading to long, winding, empty hallways with walls, ceilings, and floors of roughly the same color as the murals.

The place was probably even more expensive than Misty's apartment, though it obviously held the distinctions to match Godwin's taste in decor.

I also noticed that Godwin had what seemed to be a few objects heavily reminiscent of Inca mythology here and there.

Well, Godwin's deck as a Dark Signer was largely based on Inca mythology, so I supposed it would make sense for him to have some similar objects to act as decor for his Mansion.

Eventually, I found the elevator I was looking for. Sitting almost inconspicuously at the end of one of the many long, empty hallways.

As I approached it, I couldn't help but notice that I was getting hotter as I approached.

When I finally pushed the button to the elevator, I realized it.

It wasn't based on any sort of knowledge on my part, much less canon knowledge.

It was more of an instinct, than anything.

Something was down there. I didn't know what. But I knew that whatever it was, it was most likely the reason I was starting to feel like I was in an oven set to broil.

But I've come too far to quit now.

I need to see this through to the end.

As the elevator door opened up in front of me, I stepped inside the metal box.

As I looked at the buttons showing which floor I wanted to go to, I noticed something I probably should have been more worried about than I actually was.

Unlike most elevators, this one came equipped with at least two different scanners. One for fingerprints and one for retinas.

Biometrics. Lovely.

Most likely something Godwin had put in place to ensure that no one could get to the destination I had in mind without his permission.

Thankfully, Saiga prepared a way to bypass the scan, though I did have to insist he not press me with any questions he may have had until after we got the hell out of here.

Faking fingerprints was... kind of possible, but I would need to get Godwin to place one of his bare fingers on an object of my choosing, which would be an absolutely herculean feat considering the fact that I could literally count the number of times the guy took his gloves off with the fingers on one hand.

Faking the retinal scan, on the other hand, was just not possible. To do that, I would need to present the scanner with a fresh eyeball from someone that I knew could pass the scan on their own.

And I doubted that Saiga would be very keen on the rather gruesome prospect of having to scoop one of Godwin's eyeballs out of his skull with a spoon just to ride an otherwise useless elevator that we were only going to be dealing with once.

Thankfully for both Saiga and Godwin, I felt the same way. I was not eager to find out what it felt like to hold a freshly plucked human eyeball in the palm of my hands.

For obvious reasons, simply dragging Godwin over here and forcing him to pass the retinal scan for us was not an option for us. Kind of defeats the purpose of coming here undetected.

But there was more than one way to get an elevator where you wanted it to go.

Reaching into my pockets, I pulled out a small black box, roughly the size, and shape of a candy bar, if not slightly larger.

A little something Saiga procured for this operation, and he provided me with plenty.

Opening up one end of the box, I turned my gaze up to the ceiling of the elevator car.

Jumping up as best as could, I planted the end of it onto the ceiling of the elevator car. With a soft squelch and an almost inaudible beep, they clung to the wall like glue after I let go.

I then repeated the process quite a few times, until the ceiling of the elevator car looked a bit like an upside-down birthday cake, humorously enough.

The "candles" weren't lit, but that would change within the next few minutes.

Before leaving the elevator, I repeated the process a few times around the edges of the door as well, making it look a bit like an arch made of spikes, just done horribly.

Even after all of that, I still had some more to spare.

Good. Might need those later.

Once all of that was done, I got as far away from the elevator as I could manage, ducking into another room to use it as cover.

Once I considered myself safe from what was about to happen, I pulled out a small switch with a red button at the end of it. The final piece Saiga had provided to complete the ensemble.

Without only a little bit of hesitation, I pressed the button.

And everything went boom.

Chapter Text

Well, I guess I can now cross "blow shit up" off of my bucket list.

C4.

Motherfucking C4.

That was the kind of shit I had been handling inside and in front of the elevator.

I think. I wasn't actually sure.

Could have been that. Or at least something with very similar properties. 

I wasn't an expert on explosives by any stretch of the imagination, and for all I knew, the explosives I actually used could have been very different.

For the sake of convenience, I decided to refer to them as sticky bombs. I knew for a fact that they could count as such since that was pretty much how they were handled.

The fact I was handling such explosive materials and one wrong move could have turned me into a giant pile of chunky red salsa on the elevator's walls, floor, and ceiling really should have terrified me more than it actually did.

Maybe I was just numb to it after all the shit I had already been through over the course of the last few days.

Maybe I'll freak out later.

As it was, I just wanted to get this over with.

If anyone was in the building, they would either come running to this elevator or out of the building.

The latter would be preferable, but I wasn't going to hold my breath.

As I approached the demolished remains of the elevator, I pulled out another little goodie that Saiga had provided for me.

A long rope with a hook at the end of it. The sort of thing one used for scaling mountains and otherwise vertical surfaces

While most of the explosion was contained by the elevator car, a few small flames here and there managed to breach containment and were now visible at the edges of what used to be the elevator.

Not wanting to take any chances, I snuffed them out by covering them with some of the spare clothes I had acquired over the six days that I'd been in this world, depriving them of oxygen, which formed a part of their fuel supply.

I decidedly avoided using the Security uniform for this task, since I might have a use for it later.

Gonna need to find replacements for the rest later.

With that done, I then went about finding a bit of purchase on the remainder of the elevator door. When I did, I gave it a tug with the hook.

Fortunately, it didn't crumble under my weight. It would do.

As prepared to head down the elevator shaft, I checked the hallway one more time.

No sign of any officers coming. No one screaming at the top of their lungs. Nothing.

Well, that was concerning. In that suspenseful, "oh my god, when is the worst going to happen" kind of way.

Pushing that aside for the moment, I started, for lack of a better term, "hopping" my way down, using the rope to keep myself from fully entering freefall.

If Saiga wound up killing me later, I wouldn't even blame him.

What in the actual fuck was I thinking?!

The climb down was a long one. Given how Canon depicted it, I suppose it was only to be expected.

Nonetheless, there wasn't much to do right now other than continue my descent.

While it did have an actual purpose, it didn't stop the whole process from feeling monotonous and robotic, and the only sounds I could hear were the sound of my own breathing and the sound my feet made when they met the walls I was climbing down on.

As I got further and further down, however, the heat I was feeling only got stronger, as the sweat pouring off of me became about as close as I was going to get to a waterfall without having to worry about heat stroke.

I was sweating so much that I was actually getting a little worried that my hands wouldn't even be able to grip the rope I was holding onto because all the sweat in my hands might take away any friction they otherwise would have had, which could render the rope as slippery as ice under my grip.

And considering I had no idea how far down this elevator shaft actually went, losing the friction in my hands was one of the worst things that could happen to me right now.

But eventually, I managed to get all the way down. Safely.

And oh man, did I make a mess.

The elevator car was utterly destroyed, its metal frame bending and crumpling under the effects of both the explosives and the uncontrolled fall that I forced it to go through.

Its roof and ceiling were just plain gone from all the explosives I attached to it.

The door to move forwards was just about as bad, looking like any metal door would after getting blown to hell and back with explosive materials.

Thankfully, there wasn't anything flames at the bottom. Likely a result of the elevator car exploding from the inside. The metal frame would've most likely taken the brunt of the blast. Not to mention that flames would be pretty starved for fuel to be burning when they were trapped under several hundred pounds of shredded metal.

Beyond the door itself was another long, empty hallway. Except this one had walls made of stone that vaguely reminded me of the walls of Atem's pyramids back in ancient Egypt, with rows of tall candles lining either side of the path I would need to take.

Unlike in canon, however, the candles were out, leaving the hallway in near-total darkness. Likely a result of a gust of wind being produced when the elevator car crashed down here.

At the end of the hallway was a massive door that nearly blended in with the walls and floor.

Thankfully, this one didn't need any sort of biometric identification. From what I could recall, this one was actually similar to the automatic doors that you could find at pretty much any supermarket, which were opened by the vibrations one produced with their footsteps as they approached.

As I approached the door in front of me, I found that particular comparison holding some merit in my mind, as it, slowly but surely, opened upon my approach.

As I made my way through, I couldn't help but stop and stare.

I knew this place existed. I knew what to expect.

But it was still an entirely different experience to be in front of the Sky Temple.

Above me was a beautiful, but nonetheless fake, starry night sky.

On the ground all around me, a massive geoglyph emitted a deep red glow. At least, I think it is a geoglyph. I could be wrong.

Until I was proven wrong, however, I was just gonna keep calling it that for the sake of convenience.

At any rate, upon looking at it, I knew.

Call it observation. Call it keen intuition. Call it pure instinct.

Call it whatever you want. For whatever reason, this glow was the source of the heat I had been feeling ever since I got here.

But I knew, with confidence, that I was fully human. This glow didn't have any similar effect on Godwin and his men. If it did, I don't see any reason for Godwin to not mention it to Jack when he showed this place to him for the first time in canon. Hell, Jack would have said something in that case. There was no reason for him not to.

Which meant...

I traced the front of my mask, as a theory started to form in my mind.

Was the mask doing this to me? If so, why? Was this some kind of reaction to the geoglyph of the Crimson Dragon? If so, what sort of effect was it having on the mask to produce this kind of physiological response in me?

Was it a warning? Was it adversely affected by this place somehow? A simple display of dislike? Or could it be something else altogether?

If it was a display of dislike, then I had a lot of reason to be concerned. To dislike something meant that something had to have the sentience to dislike something.

The mask reappearing on my face back at Misty's apartment was one thing. The idea that this thing was sentient and had done nothing to me until now was really unnerving. Like some kind of stalker.

Actually, that analogy really was more fitting than it probably should be.

Anyway...

I decided to shelve it for later. I didn't have enough concrete clues to go off of, and I was honestly hoping I wouldn't be here long enough to find out the full extent of what the mask was doing to me for coming here.

That said, while I couldn't actually see it from my current position, I knew that the glow took the shape of the full mark of the Crimson Dragon.

In front of me was a massive arch, and at the top of it, the full mark of the Crimson Dragon was also etched into the stone.

Passing through it, I prepared to climb the stairs and get what I came here for before getting the hell out of here.

Then I heard it.

"Well. It seems that the Director was correct in having me stationed here."

As I looked up the stairway of the Sky Temple, I saw him coming down to face me.

A black cap on his head covered his short black hair, his face held an unnervingly calm expression, and he had a black-and-white outfit with orange accents.

This was the man who would have originally been one of those who participated in a consolation game in Canon.

And I knew, with grim certainty, that the only reason he was even here right now was that a certain someone had been hospitalized a couple of days ago, and wouldn't be discharged for another five days at the bare minimum.

In short, he was the final obstacle. The last thing standing between me and my prize.

Even then, I could have probably guessed who it was by process of elimination, at least if I assumed that the course of the following events remained the same as they did in canon.

Bommer would be busy dueling with Yusei today, and he would be arrested once he attempted to assassinate Godwin on live television.

Commander Koda and "Lance" would have either been hospitalized or killed when they faced Aki in their respective duels with her.

Shira would have been mugged by Mukuro Enjo, who would then take his place in the tournament before dueling Yusei.

That left only one other person among Godwin's inner circle that could have been stationed here specifically to stop me.

And of fucking course, it had to be the one guy that I liked just about as much as I liked Divine. Which was to say, not at all.

Professor Frank's yellowish-green eyes stared down at me with the same level of calm I would have expected from him as he descended the stairs to face me.

Chapter Text

Well. This wasn't... unexpected. Just really unwanted.

Great. Now in addition to the stifling heat I was feeling from being within the Crimson Dragon's geoglyph, I also had to deal with this trippy bastard.

Professor Frank continued to descend the stairs of the Sky Temple, never taking his eyes off me as he did so.

He never even blinked. Neither of us did.

In an odd way, our staring contest was a sign of mutual understanding between us.

We both knew why we were here, and we both knew why the other guy was there.

And we would do everything in our power to make sure the other guy failed, and that we succeeded.

As Professor Frank got halfway down the stairs, he began to speak.

"I must admit, I was honestly wondering why Godwin would station me here. It's not like there was much to do down here."

As he said all of this, his hand started to inch its way toward his right hip before slipping into his pockets.

"Now, I understand. Dealing with you would be a simple matter, but it never hurts to be safe," he said as he pulled out what looked like a cell phone.

As he pulled the device out, I moved.

In one, surprisingly quick, motion, I pulled out one of my dumbbells, threw it at Professor Frank's hand, and destroyed the cell phone he had pulled out just as he flipped it open, breaking it in two as the receiver clattered to the ground in a useless pile of scrap.

This all took place over the span of half a second.

Professor Frank's eyes darted to his freshly broken phone, the faintest signs of surprise and irritation flashing across his face, in that order, before returning to its usual unnerving smile as he returned his gaze towards me. I smiled at the way his eyes darkened as they stared back at me, even as the rest of his face remained the same.

That's right, you son of a bitch. I just stopped you from calling for backup, and there is nothing you can do about it.

"So much for reinforcements," Professor Frank mused, "But I suppose that it doesn't matter, in the end. Your mission will fail all the same."

Now, that statement was concerning, since it meant that either he or Godwin had a contingency plan in place should something like this happen.

Nonetheless, I still kept a smile on my face, though it was now tinged with malice.

I would be more than happy to prove this bastard wrong.

I didn't wait for him to take another step before unleashing another attack.

This time, I threw one of the kitchen knives I had bought on the same day I first came across Himuro and Yanagi.

The black-handled kitchen utensil flew through the air, spinning all the while.

Professor Frank simply stepped to the side, the knife bypassing him in turn.

I wasn't done yet, though.

Quickly, I started pulling out more knives before throwing them, opting to use two at a time.

Mind you, I wasn't actually that skilled at throwing knives in particular, and I wasn't ambidextrous, so their accuracy was complete and utter crap, even without Professor Frank going out of his way to dodge them.

At best, they forced him to slightly exert himself and divide his attention between dodging and descending the stairs without losing his balance.

I had gone through maybe three pairs of knives before he was finally on equal footing with me.

Once that was the case, I quickly switched to the stun baton and turned it on before charging at him.

When I got close enough, I swung the baton, intent on incapacitating him like everyone else that got in my way so far...

only for the stun baton to stop dead in its tracks. What.

Turning my attention to my arm, I quickly discovered the reason my weapon stopped.

Professor Frank had caught my swinging arm, which was holding the stun baton. Shit.

I didn't have any more time to process it before I felt something collide with my face.

Despite not seeing it coming, I knew that Professor Frank had punched me.

My eyes began to water almost immediately as I fell to the ground, blood falling to the ground as I did.

Rather than raise my arms to try to regain my sight (a mistake that has set me back once already), I instead rolled to the right.

As it turned out, that was the right call, since I felt something strike the ground I was laying on a moment later. Whether it was Professor Frank's fist, leg, or something else, I wasn't sure.

I kept rolling around after that, avoiding a few more strikes from Professor Frank while trying to wipe the water out of my eyes when my arm was above me rather than below me.

I didn't succeed fully, but when I finally got back to my feet, I could make out the blurry outline of Professor Frank advancing on me.

He was saying something, but I couldn't quite figure out what it was he was saying.

Once I knocked him out, it wouldn't matter.

I threw my other dumbbell at him, and as he dodged the improvised weapon, I charged at him with the stun baton.

I was a lot more sluggish after he punched me, so of course he was able to catch my swinging arm again.

Unlike the last time this happened, I didn't bother to process it and give Professor Frank another free strike at my already-bruised mug.

Instead, I simply swung my left fist in a bid to punch him in the face. 

Now, despite my track record of punching people in the face, this was not the most effective thing I could have tried to do in my current situation. Between the fact that I was right-handed, on top of being sluggish, and the fact that I handled "combatants" better when I had the element of surprise, Professor Frank was actually giving me a run for my money right now.

But if I was going to get sent to the Detention Center anyway, I might as well have gotten one last moment of satisfaction. A final "fuck you" if you will.

Sadly, Professor Frank blocked that punch as well, using his free hand to block the blow.

And then, I did something even I didn't plan on doing.

I don't even know why I did it. I was too caught up in the moment, so I already knew that it was one mystery I was never going to solve.

With both of Professor Frank's hands occupied, I reared my head back...

and slammed it against Professor Frank's face in a particularly vicious headbutt.

Then, with three of Professor Frank's body parts either injured or otherwise occupied, I then brought my knee up to make one last attack with it.

I wasn't actually aiming anywhere when I did that, but I felt something collide with my knee as Professor Frank practically froze in place.

By now, my vision had mostly returned, so when I looked down, I found out the reason why pretty quickly.

As it turned out, my aim was good. 

Actually, scratch that. It was better than good.

"Ok, wow. Just, wow."

Really, I just couldn't help the laugh that escaped my lips at that moment.

Groin, meet Knee. Knee, meet Groin.

Chapter Text

For a moment, whatever momentary amusement I got from destroying Professor Frank's balls quickly died once Professor Frank started moving again.

And as Professor Frank landed a punch that sent me falling to the ground below, I saw that he wasn't even trying to hide it anymore. 

He. Was. Pissed.

Probably what I get for laughing my ass off at his expense, but goddammit, that shit was funny to me!

Well, funny to me while it lasted.

At this point, Professor Frank's movements were more wild and erratic. More frenzied, really.

It was slightly intimidating at first, especially after the most recent hit to my face.

But once I regained some distance between myself and my second-most hated person in this world.

His blows had more power behind them since Professor Frank was pissed and in pain, but they were also less precise. Uncontrolled. Sloppy.

I could handle sloppy well enough.

I will never, ever, not enjoy the moment I turned the tables on Professor Frank by grabbing one of his strikes, punching him in the face, and then clubbing him with the stun baton, paralyzing him as I continued to unleash blow after blow.

Eventually, after what might have been one too many blows to the head, Professor Frank finally fell slack in my grasp before I, ultimately, dropped him to the floor.

I took a moment to observe my handiwork.

Professor Frank's face looked even worse than Divine's did when I first came to this world. Though, to be fair, I was a lot more vicious than I was almost a week ago.

Just like I did with Divine almost a week ago, I nudged him with my foot to make sure he wasn't getting back up. When he didn't move, I put my hand over his freshly-bruised face.

Apparently, despite the difference in how thoroughly I kicked the shit out of them, Professor Frank was in the same boat as Divine, since he was still breathing.

I should probably put these two in a room together. See how long it takes for them to either become best friends or try to violently murder each other.

I shook my head.

Tempting as that thought was, I was still in the Fortune Cup arc. The Dark Signers arc hadn't even started yet.

Until that arc was finished, any death that happened around me could result in someone's rebirth as a Dark Signer.

Divine and Godwin were one thing. The Dark Signers were another matter entirely.

Even after all this time, I still had no idea how I was going to deal with them beyond "let the Signers handle it."

While I have formed something of a friendship with Misty, the fact remains that if the Dark Signers defeat the Signers, we're all screwed.

Wait... what was I doing again?

Oh, right. Grabbing what I came here for.

Stupid, tired, over-heated brain.

Since I (hopefully) had the time, I took a minute to locate and gather up the stuff I threw at Professor Frank before turning to the Sky Tower.

Seeing how tall it was, I couldn't help the brief moment of hesitation.

Why couldn't this thing have an elevator? Or even just an escalator?

Ultimately, I decided it didn't matter. I still had to climb my way back up the elevator shaft that actually did exist, and that was going to be a whole other can of worms.

At least the Sky Temple had stairs. The elevator shaft didn't even have that.

Sure, the latter was my fault, but my point stood.

As I got closer to the Sky Temple, I noticed that the heat I was feeling from the Crimson Dragon's geoglyph was getting even more intense.

Why, I had no idea. But I ultimately decided to push on.

As I made my way up the stairs, the heat only intensified and things started to get... fucky.

Step.

The first thing I noticed was the sound of rattling chains, loud and omnipresent. 

Step.

I then felt a small, distinct pounding sensation in the back of my skull. A headache, most likely.

Step.

My vision began to swim, and it became harder to focus or maintain any sense of equilibrium.

Step.

My throat felt dry and hoarse, and before long I started to have trouble breathing.

Step.

In the literal blink of an eye, the Sky Temple was replaced with rubble, not even resembling the structure I previously stood upon.

Step.

The beautiful night sky that previously hung overhead was replaced with dreary, cloudy grey skies that allowed no sunlight to reach me.

Step.

The sound of gunfire and war cries rang out in the distance. What exactly was happening, I didn't know.

Step.

It didn't last long. Soon, the screaming stopped. The gunfire ceased.

Step.

I did my best not to think about what might have happened.

Step.

I reached the top of the pile of rubble. My prize was still there.

Step.

I grabbed my prize. My mission was almost done.

Step.

Bloody smears dotted the landscape as I turned around. Whether they were once human or not, unclear.

Step.

Weapons lay strewn about, some of them mangled and broken as if something with an insane amount of strength had crushed them.

Step.

I looked out into the distance.

Step.

Someone was there. I had no idea who.

Step.

Whoever it was, it didn't matter.

I.

Will.

Survive.

In another blink of an eye, I was back at the bottom of the Sky Temple, with my prize slung to my back. The Security Officer's uniform I stole a few days ago was now covering it from view.

Dreary grey skies were replaced once more by a beautiful, starry night sky.

Professor Frank was still unconscious, laying off at the side of the room.

And the feeling of heat was now gone, only to be replaced by a bone-chilling cold.

I took a moment to process what I was seeing, and what I had seen previously.

And only three words spring to mind.

What. The. Fuck?!

Chapter Text

As Yusei declared his last attack, he had to give Bommer some credit.

He really did do well. 

He had a feeling that there was more to Bommer than meets the eye, but even as their duel was nearing its conclusion, for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what it was that made him feel that way.

After Bommer's absolutely ginormous D-Wheel came to a stop, Yusei slowed down his own D-Wheel until it came to a complete stop.

They both got off their respective rides, each one knowing full well how the duel turned out.

For a brief moment, he got an uneasy feeling.

But as Bommer turned to look up, a look of surprise coloring his features, Yusei's eyes followed that of Bommer's.

And it took everything in his power not to react to what he was seeing.

Bommer was surprised.

No, Bommer was shocked.

Earlier that morning, Bommer had received the news that brought his world crashing down around him.

His village had been destroyed. Razed to the ground in one of Godwin's attempts to summon his precious Crimson Dragon.

It went without saying that Bommer would be enraged. It went without saying that he wanted to kill Godwin for what he had done.

But as he got off of his D-Wheel, he realized that that was simply not possible.

And why was that one may find themselves asking?

The answer was a simple one. Because Godwin was no longer there.

It seemed that, at some point during their duel, Godwin had just vacated the area where he would watch the proceedings, alongside Jack Atlas.

Bommer meant what he had said to Jack the last time they spoke. And he was going to stand by that.

But putting that aside, Godwin no longer being where he was supposed to be posed a bit of a problem.

Does he carry on with revealing Godwin's crimes, despite the fact that his planned assassination was no longer possible? Or does he simply keep quiet and wait for a better opportunity?

Somehow, Godwin's absence seemed like it would dull the impact that the planned exposure of his crimes would cause.

So Bommer stood there. Surprised. Confused. Bitter. And angry.

Although, it wasn't the only thing that he could do at that moment.

As he made his way off of the track that Yusei had previously occupied, he found himself asking a simple question.

Why?

Why had Godwin left the area at that moment? Did he somehow know what Bommer was planning?

No. No, that wasn't it. Jeager was good at gathering intel, but the last time Bommer checked, mind reading wasn't among the clown-like man's no-doubt large variety of tricks.

So what was it? Was there some other factor that Bommer hadn't considered?

As Bommer mentally went through a brief recollection of the past few days, one thing came to mind.

That masked man.

The masked man from yesterday had gone out of his way to destroy the D-Sensors.

At the time, Bommer had been absolutely furious with the man. At the time, he believed that the masked man was destroying what little hope he had of helping his village.

But in light of the fact that his village was gone, Bommer's anger had largely diminished. Now, it was only lingering embers.

Wait...

Perhaps the masked man would be willing to help Bommer with exposing Godwin's crimes?

If his actions yesterday were any indication, he was clearly opposed to Godwin for one reason or another.

But even if that was the case, how would Bommer get in contact with him?

As Bommer left the Stadium entirely, he decided that he had some things to look into.

Perhaps that masked man could be of assistance.

Misty didn't expect any more surprises to come about when she returned to the Fortune Cup to keep up appearances.

By all rights, her job from here on in would be pretty straightforward.

Sure, Seth likely wandered off on his own to try and find the one who stole his mask, and that had more than left her a little concerned.

But Seth seemed sensible enough. He wasn't the sort to do something recklessly.

At least, she hoped so. Especially after what she saw through the eyes of her lizards.

Godwin, a man she had known for years to be a stern, yet reasonable authority figure. A man with such fine control over his own emotions that she almost felt surpassed, was panicking.

Well, maybe not panicking. But certainly distressed.

And Misty had been in the acting industry long enough to know that everyone had skeletons in their closet.

Everyone. Including Godwin. The Director of the Public Security Maintenance Bureau.

Even without her experience in the acting industry, she knew that was the case. The sheer lack of investigation into her little brother's death went a long way to tell her that much.

But that meant that the only question left to ask was a simple one.

What has gotten Godwin so worked up?

She could see what her lizards saw, but she wasn't yet at the point where she could hear what her lizards heard. So she had to work off of what she could see.

At the moment, Godwin had a phone next to her ear, only pulling it away to push some buttons before the device was returned right next to his ear. If she could hear through her lizards, she might be able to hear the dull, mechanical sound of a phone ringing.

But based on Godwin's behavior, he seemed to be trying to get in touch with someone and the phone.

And the person he was trying to call had yet to respond.

Eventually, Godwin seemed to get fed up with the apparent radio silence and ultimately left his spot next to Jack Atlas in a hurry.

At that, Misty felt a pang of concern wash over her.

It didn't take much to figure out the reason why.

Seth.

Misty hoped that her masked acquaintance hadn't gotten himself into any more trouble than he had already. The incident from yesterday was still fresh in her mind.

But, somehow, Misty felt that she was asking for too much.

Godwin was in a hurry.

He had just tried to call Professor Frank in order to ensure that everything was running smoothly.

So, of course, he had to be met with only silence.

Then, as he made his way down the halls of the Stadium, Jeager trailing close behind, he received a call from one of the officers stationed around his mansion.

"Yes, what is it?" Godwin asked, doing everything in his power to keep his irritation from showing in his voice.

"Sir?" The caller, one of the Security officers stationed at his mansion, started, "Roughly five minutes ago, a very loud sound, likely an explosion, had come from within your mansion."

Of all the insane, audacious things they could have done...

"Thank you for the report. Keep watch on the mansion from afar until I get there. I will provide further instructions once I arrive," Godwin ordered, instead, "Make sure that nothing gets in or out without my permission."

"Sir."

With that, Godwin hung up before he continued making his way toward the place he now called home.

The few people that he came across as he walked through the hallway, poise and purpose filling his every step as he went, quickly scurried away like rats upon seeing the anger that colored his features.

Despite the impression this might leave on people, Godwin ignored them. He could always smooth things over later.

Right now, Godwin needed to get to his mansion, and he needed to get there quickly.

As he got into his transport, already ordering the driver to step on it as he sat down with his arms crossed, Jeager sat down beside him on the opposite side of the vehicle.

"Do you think it's the ones from yesterday?" The clown-like man asked.

"Whoever they are, they are going to rue the day they dared to cross me," Godwin answered grimly.

And Godwin was going to see to that personally.

Chapter Text

As I numbly made my way back up the elevator shaft, I did what little I could to shake off the fresh sense of freezing cold that was now assailing my body. It didn't do much.

That said, aside from giving my entire cognition a seizure, everything has gone more or less well enough, minus Professor Frank's very presence in that room.

It was when I was already halfway up the elevator shaft that I started to get a bad feeling.

I've made plans before. Both before and after I came to this world.

And in my experience, my operations didn't go this well on a good day. 

The heist I pulled in the Security storage warehouse. The role I played in mitigating the damage caused by Aki's rampage. The first day of the Fortune Cup.

All of those instances had some significant factor that either messed things up for me entirely or put my life in some serious jeopardy.

For the latter two, it was Divine's interference. In the former, it was, honestly, just plain rotten luck on my part.

With that sort of experience under my belt, I knew it was only a matter of time before the other shoe dropped.

And if I had to guess, it was going to happen if and when Godwin gets here before we were able to make a stealthy retreat.

That or Divine somehow pushed through to take another shot at me.

If that turned out to be the case, I would have to consider myself genuinely impressed. I may hate Divine, but the amount of rage and spite it takes to push through the injuries I gave him for the sole purpose of murdering me is nothing to scoff at. Even if it would be coming at my expense.

At any rate, I needed to hurry. No way of knowing if Godwin tried to call Professor Frank after I broke his phone and if he did, he is probably on his way here now since Frank failed to answer.

With that in mind, I opted to pick up the pace.

It still took a while, but soon enough, I made it back up to the top of the elevator shaft. Lifting my leg up and over the ledge, I rolled over to solid ground once more.

Quickly getting to my feet, I pulled up the hook and rope I used to get up and down the elevator shaft.

Once that was done, I surveyed the area.

Still no sign of Godwin's goons or Godwin himself. 

Considering the fact that a literal bomb got set off in here, one would think that Godwin's goons would try to investigate it at the very least.

But I know that not even Jeager knows about my prize. And if he doesn't know, there is no way that Godwin is going to risk a bunch of grunts finding out about it.

With that in mind, the lack of forces here makes some sense. 

But what about Saiga?

Normally, I would have taken the safe approach, sneaking around to try and find the jack-of-all-trades.

But we were already strapped for time as it was. And after the bombs I set off, we could no longer afford to be stealthy about this.

With that in mind, I started getting to work, trying to find Saiga. The first places I checked were the ones that I had seen him occupying earlier.

When I found no sign of him, I moved on to the adjacent rooms.

No sign of him there, either. But they did look a tad emptier than I expected.

Not here, but likely was at some point in the last few minutes.

From there, I kept searching, only sparing each room a passing glance before moving on to the next.

It was as I made my way to the main foyer of the building, where the front door was located, that I found him.

He was looking outside one of the front windows of the building, notably his best to keep as much of his body hidden as possible.

He must have heard my approaching footsteps, because he whirled around, looking like he was ready to fight or run.

When he saw that it was just me, his shoulder visibly sagged in relief.

"Did something happen?" I questioned.

At that, he spared a glance at my prize, strapped to my back and covered with a Security officer's uniform, but ultimately ignored it in favor of answering my question.

"You better believe it did." He stated, before gesturing for me to look out the window to see what he saw.

Maneuvering my way towards the window, I took a careful glance out the window.

The sun wasn't quite high enough in the sky that I would say it was noon, but it was only a matter of time before it got to that point.

In front of the mansion, past a water fountain, there was a veritable horde of Security officers, all lined up in what seemed like some kind of formation and standing at attention.

Beyond them, a long black car, a limo, stopped in front of the front gates, and out of that stepped two men.

One of them was fairly short, with spiky purple hair. His green eyes each had a red line running across them vertically, and his lips had red lipstick. He was dressed in a red coat with a black collar and gold trim. Beneath that was a white shirt with its own gold trim, simple white gloves, and boots with a black and gold color scheme.

Next to him was a man who absolutely dwarfed him in size. He was a tall, pale-skinned man with long grey hair that reached down to his lower back, with one section of it tied back in a ponytail.

His suit and pants were dark grey in coloration, and underneath those was a collared shirt, emblazoned with a symbol that was eerily similar to the mark he would gain later as the Dark Signer of the Condor. 

Godwin's blue eyes, narrow and sharp, swept over the officers present before he went on to redirect them toward the mansion. Toward us.

Shit.

As I leaned back to ensure that Godwin didn't see me, Saiga chose that moment to ask for my input.

"So what now?" 

And wasn't that the million-dollar question?

Godwin and Jeager had just arrived, and we weren't even out of here yet. Now I had to figure out how to get them off our asses.

My decision to leave the officers alone earlier so that they didn't realize we were here was really coming back to bite me in the ass. But I knew that there were going to be pros and cons whether I took them out or left them alone. Now I just had to figure out a way to make sure the cons didn't turn this dire situation into a hopeless one.

The question is, how do I make that happen?

"If you want, I can distract them while you make your escape," Saiga whispered out of the blue.

"Don't be stupid J," I hissed, still keeping to our codenames from yesterday, "I am not throwing you to the wolves for my own convenience."

Saiga shrugged. "I've got connections. You wouldn't have to worry about me."

"We are not sacrificing anyone. Period." I hissed emphatically.

Strategically speaking, the very thought of an asset like Saiga getting slapped with a criminal marker was simply unacceptable.

Besides, what good would those connections even do once he got locked up in the Detention Center? I sure didn't want to find out.

"So what do you have in mind?" Saiga asked.

I paused for a  moment at that.

He actually thinks that I have a plan for this.

I almost wanted to laugh, of course, I didn't have a...

Wait.

Maybe I do.

Doing a quick scan of my remaining inventory, I quickly started to run through what I would need to do.

It would be insanely risky, but...

"I just might," I answered.

"Well, care to fill me in while we still have time? Godwin's starting to make his way here now."

I smiled.

"Ok. Here is what we'll do."

Chapter Text

Once I explained what I could of the plan I had in mind in the time I had, I handed Saiga part of our remaining stock of sticky bombs.

"You know where to put these. Once they are set up, meet up with me. We'll carry out the next part then." 

After nodding in agreement, Saiga rushed off to carry out the instructions I gave him.

With that done, I went on further back but kept an eye on the front door.

If I know Godwin like I think I do, he will definitely be coming through the front door.  After all, why would anyone expect him to make a complete mockery of himself by entering through the backdoor of his own mansion?

I stayed in the main lobby but kept hidden behind the various murals that Godwin had. It was almost a good thing now that Saiga didn't bother to filch them.

Once Godwin's forces entered the building, I made myself as scarce as I could. If they can't see me, they aren't thinking about me. Well, not thinking about me in a way that would be inconvenient for me right now, but you get the idea.

Each of Godwin's forces split up into groups of five and headed in different directions. A brief headcount allowed me to determine that there were roughly 5 squads in total. Though, there were likely to be more outside.

This plan of mine was... risky. Which was putting it lightly. Me and Saiga were outnumbered by over five to one.

Even if Saiga and I opted for hit-and-run tactics, we would likely get apprehended in record time.

Good thing that wasn't what I was going for. I was crazy, not suicidal.

I kept an eye on their positions, trying to figure out where each one was going to be heading. The more knowledge I had of enemy movements, the better our odds of success were.

After a few minutes, most of the squads were out of sight. As the last one started heading toward their destination, I turned around to see that Saiga had returned to me, and was now whispering in my ear.

"Charges are set."

"Good. On to Phase 2."

With that, we headed towards our next destination, making sure we avoided getting seen by Godwin's forces at all costs.

Phase 2 involved heading toward the leftmost room of the mansion, which had a glass window in it.

Once we were close enough to our next destination, I listened for any marching footsteps before turning back around.

When none were heard, I gave the order.

"Do it."

With that, Saiga took out the detonator for the bombs...

and pressed the button.

The resulting explosion we set off was a cacophony of noise. Not only was there the distinct boom of the explosion itself, there were also several sounds of pottery, stone, and glass shattering far beyond any point where they could be salvaged. 

Despite the apparent simplicity of the act of blowing shit up, there was actually a layer of psychological warfare being conducted here.

Most of the officers here would most likely hear the explosion, and their first reaction would be to head towards it to try and catch up to us. Godwin, however, was smarter than them by at least a fair margin, and he was the kind of guy that would actively try to think one or two steps ahead. Can't really be an evil mastermind without that particular trait. Or a good mastermind. Those exist.

In doing so, Godwin would likely believe that the explosion was a distraction, and have his forces spread out rather than converge on a single point.

Except, it was anything but a distraction. At least, not a one-layered one.

It might buy us a few extra minutes, or a few extra seconds. But we needed as much time as we could get.

As soon as the explosion died down, we bolted towards whatever was left of it.

Suffice it to say, it was a mess.

Which was putting it mildly. It's like a tornado took one look at this place, flipped it off, and then casually proceeded to trash it like a child throwing the world's most destructive temper tantrum.

Countless papers were burning, the white stone architecture was broken apart and crumbling, covered in black scorch marks, and the glass window in the back was just gone.

No signs of blood or human chunky salsa, though, so at least we didn't kill anyone when we pulled this stunt.

Since we were strapped for time, we quickly ran to the hole that used to be a window. Using the same rope that I used to head up and down the elevator shaft, we began heading down.

Thankfully, we only had one story to go down, so the trip only lasted a few seconds.

That said, we had some company when we hit the ground.

"There they are!"

"You're under arrest!"

Remember when I said the explosion might have either bought us a few extra minutes or a few extra seconds? I was starting to lean towards a few extra seconds.

Not waiting for them to tell me to do something like, "put my hands in the hair" or anything like that, I promptly pulled out and threw one of the dumbells that I had on me at the head of one of the officers that spotted us, shattering his helmet's visor and knocking him over.

The other one fell over a second later, in much the same fashion, but not before managing to press a button on his helmet, likely attempting to relay a message to his peers.

While he didn't actually manage to say anything, I knew that Godwin would be trying to outthink me for the purpose of boxing me in. Keep me from getting off the island at all costs. The sound of that second officer getting knocked over would surely alert the others to what was going on.

Turning to Saiga, I quickly handed him the crowbar and the stun gun that I got back during my raid on the security storage warehouse. "Use these," I ordered.

At Saiga's nod, I took another couple of seconds to take a few sticky bombs and the stun baton into my hands as we ran,  just in case.

All stealth was abandoned as we made a mad dash toward the boat, knocking aside and stunning every officer we came across before they could even aim their laser pistols at us.

Which were, thankfully, fewer in number, numbering around two to three people per encounter. The majority of them were likely just leaving the mansion in response to the commotion.

For his part, Saiga fought... competently. He was a jack-of-all-trades, not a fighter, so he wasn't quite in his element like I was. Even if my element was technically chaos, not fighting.

That said, we didn't have a chance to make sure they stayed down. There just wasn't enough time for that, especially with so many people to knock out.

Once we made it to the cliff, I allowed Saiga to start making his way down.

As he got on the boat, I heard footsteps behind me.

I turned around and there they were.

Godwin and his forces had managed to catch up to us.

"Put your hands where we can see them!" One officer yelled.

"DROP YOUR WEAPON!" Another one all but screamed.

Now, to be fair, I was going to drop my weapon. But they weren't going to like how I went about doing that.

Thus, instead of doing what they wanted, I took one look at Godwin, who looked like he was struggling so hard to keep his emotions in check. His expression makes him look like he might have sucked on a lemon.

I then took a brief glance at the cliff, noting the water below...

and jumped, throwing a sticky bomb at my pursuers as I did.

I waited a few extra moments for them to get the hint. Once I heard a full five seconds of them screaming and scrambling to get out of the blast zone, I pulled out the detonator and pressed the button.

And this is why you word your wishes carefully. If I were a genie, I would be going out of my way to really put the "jackass" in "jackass genie."

The sound of the resulting explosion and subsequent screaming was muffled as I dove into the water. Thankfully, one single sticky bomb wasn't nearly enough to create the kind of destruction that we had been doing while we were still in the mansion. Compared to that, Godwin and his forces wouldn't have to run very far. I would later hope that no one got killed because of this, but for right now, I was still very much in the thick of it, and that didn't really give me the luxury of caring if they got out alive or not.

Now, contrary to what some video games would have you think, falling from great heights into the water was not safer than falling on solid ground. In fact, falling into water can quite possibly be worse than falling on solid ground, since parkour and anything else you could use to break and slow your fall wasn't really an option with water.

Not that I had any idea how to do parkour, but my point stood. You needed solid surfaces for it, and water was not solid.

The only reason I felt confident in my continued survival here was that I wasn't going from the sky to the water, which would have been way worse than what my current situation actually was.

That, and I was pretty confident that I would hit the water before I hit terminal velocity.

Besides, I already managed to survive getting yeeted out of the stadium by Divine's materialized Duel Monsters, rocketing through what was undoubtedly several hundred feet through the air before finally hitting a wall and then solid ground, which I considered a miracle in its own right.

Compared to that, this was nothing.

Still hurt like a bitch though. Pretty sure I was only able to stay conscious thanks to a mixture of adrenaline and the fact that Saiga was quick to pull me out of the water.

Once I was in the boat, Saiga started revving up the motor. 

Unfortunately for him, in the few seconds it took to get that done, Godwin and his goons had managed to return to the edge of the cliff and start raining laser fire down on us.

Taking quick stock of the situation, I determined that we weren't going to get out of here fast enough, even with the motor, and one stray shot was all it would take to kill the engine.

With that in mind, I made one last, desperate play, no pun intended.

Pulling my prize off of my back, I put it on top of the motor, intending to use it as a shield against the laser fire.

As I looked up at Godwin, I saw his face briefly go from one of confusion to shock and outrage.

Yeah, that's right, you sonuvabitch. You know exactly what this is. What are you going to do about it?

I didn't have to wait long to find out.

"Hold your fire!" Godwin ordered, "HOLD YOUR FIRE!" He repeated, actually shouting in his hurry to make sure none of the officers shoot my prize.

Once the officers stopped shooting at us, I used part of the Security officer's uniform that my prize was wrapped in to attach my prize to the motor.

As we started to make our way away from Godwin, I decided to have one last laugh.

Raising both my hands in front of me, I gave Godwin the double middle finger as I let out a loud and, admittedly, maniacal laugh that conveyed my triumph quite nicely.

"GET! REKT!" 

I could have sworn I saw Godwin's eye twitching with suppressed rage as I let out another round of manic laughter before, finally, the director of Security and his forces disappeared into the distance.

Chapter Text

It's hard to fully articulate just how much I loved being able to troll Godwin the way I did.

But all good things had to come to an end at some point, and after a few more minutes, the sheer thrill of what I did died down as I started focusing my attention on going back to ground.

Especially since Godwin was probably going to bust out the helicopters next. Maybe even a few boats for good measure. Those were going to cover a lot more ground than Godwin and his cronies could do on land alone.

With that in mind, Saiga set a course, intending to find the first spot we could that was filled with trash thanks to the strings he pulled earlier. 

Not the nearest spot, mind you, but the first. Aside from the waters around Godwin's mansion, all the spots filled with trash were randomized. And even we didn't know which areas drew the short straw in that regard.

At the time, it seemed like a decent idea. But, as we were starting to realize, this part of our plan was actually a double-edged sword.

Hopefully, we could find a place that got hit with the trash stick before that could come back to bite us in the ass.

As we came to find out, it almost did bite us in the ass.

Just as we found a zone of water that had been contaminated by pollution, I saw a helicopter approaching in the distance.

It was still a fair bit away when we pulled the tarp over our boat to conceal ourselves, but I still waited with baited breath as I heard the sound of the helicopter's propeller blades roaring in our ears before fading away, just as quickly as it came.

A quick peak out of the tarp showed that there was no helicopter in sight, and, based on the fact that no one spoke out over a megaphone, they didn't spot us, either.

With that in mind, I let out a sigh of relief, only to then be rudely reminded just how much this tarp stank to high heaven.

Yeah, Saiga and I were both going to need a shower later.

At any rate, we didn't move from our spot on the water. The cleanup crew would eventually have to work to clean all this up, even if it was just to maintain their covers.

But in the meantime, I could use the chance to dry off. Or change into my other change of clothes.

Either way, we needed to take some steps to ensure I didn't leave a water trail when we got to shore. The last thing we needed was to leave a literal trail for Security to find us with.

As I thought all this over, I took a quick stock of my equipment.

Most of the stuff I had on me was relatively intact. I lost my dumbbells in the mad rush to get out of there.

Probably not going to be getting any more of those for a while. That is if I want to avoid winding up among the suspect pool on account of Security stopping by to check the resulting receipts.

That wasn't the issue, though.

"Crap, the stun baton is busted," I muttered, more to myself than anyone.

I tried to turn the stun baton on a few more times if only because I hoped, for once, I was wrong. But I didn't get so much as a single spark. This thing was deader than a doornail.

If I had to guess, the internal hardware probably got fried when I took the plunge into the water earlier.

I winced when I realized that my burner phone probably suffered the same fate. Electronics getting waterlogged was never fun to deal with.

I was going to need a new phone, and then meet up with Misty so she could give me her number again.

Thankfully, I could at least put off the meeting with her for... maybe a day or two.

While Misty's help would be ideal in order to cover up my bruises, Saiga might have the connections to do the same job, and I still need to do some finishing touches with him, Yusei, and the others.

Explaining the worsening of my bruises to Misty was going to be a pain, though.

After all, I had already told her that I wouldn't do anything reckless, and this entire bird-brained scheme of mine was the most reckless I've been to date.

I mean, good lord, I wouldn't have gotten away with any of this shit in my world.

Eventually, Saiga and I brought the boat to the side of a river.

"Go on ahead," I declared, "I'll meet up later."

At Saiga's questioning look, I elaborated.

"They are most likely going to be looking for a duo. So, if we split up, we won't be a duo. It's easier for them to overlook you when they aren't looking for you."

Saiga's eyes widened in understanding before he gave me a slight nod.

After removing his cloak and mask, passing them over to me in the process, he pulled out and returned the weapons I lent to him.

That done, he took one last peek out of the tarp before disembarking from our even-less-than-humble vessel.

I waited a few minutes longer. During that time, I quickly changed into my other change of clothes, the outfit I first came to this world with, and stuffed my mask into my coat before pulling up my hood.

Not really dry, but it was the best I could hope for right now.

With that done, I disembarked as well.

What I disembarked onto was surprisingly familiar, actually.

With the charred remains of a motorcycle off to the side, I knew that Saiga and I had found ourselves in the same spot I first made my deal with Misty.

I shook my head at the thought. I could dwell on those memories later.

Heading over to the ruined ride, I checked to see if the compartment that held all the weapons it came with was still able to be closed.

Fortunately, closing it was actually doable.

With that in mind, I took my prize off of the motor of the boat and partially unwrapped it, taking a moment to actually look at it for the first time since I came to this world.

It was a small metal canister filled with a liquid substance. I didn't have the knowledge in chemistry to identify it, but I had a feeling it was the only reason that the thing this canister was holding was anything more than an assortment of bones.

The Mark of the Dragon Head, which stretched almost proudly along Rudger's arm, glowed that same eerie red light I had come to associate with it from canon.

This arm. This. Fucking. Arm.

This is why I went out of my way to destroy the D-Sensors and capture Akutsu.

While the D-Sensors were stationary devices, I doubted that it would be hard to make a version of it that could be carried or moved around for mobile use. And Akutsu was likely involved enough with their creation that he would have the knowledge necessary to make those mobile versions.

Couple that with the fact that Godwin likely didn't trust anyone else with the task, and the picture was pretty clear.

Destroy the D-Sensors so that they couldn't be used to track the arm, and capture Akutsu so that he couldn't make more, or make the hypothetical mobile versions.

Normally, I was crap at long-term planning, but if there was one thing I have going for me, it was knowing what my enemies will want to do to make my life a living nightmare. I even delved into a few hypotheticals, like the mobile D-Sensors, just to be on the safe side.

The result was that I completely shut down any immediate means that Godwin had of retrieving the arm, which would have made this entire exercise of mine pointless.

Overall, I'd say these last few days were very productive.

At any rate, I opted to wrap the arm back up and put it in the compartment of the ruined ride before closing the lid. With the two things that could help Godwin locate it either destroyed or captured, I could afford to leave it here. I could afford to come back for it later.

Besides, by now, Godwin's cronies might be looking for anyone lugging a large object around on their backs and if I got searched with this thing on me, I was screwed.

However...

A burnt-up motorcycle by the river was going to stand out. If Neo Domino City's clean-up crew hadn't found this thing yet (a miracle in and of itself), they would soon.

I sighed as I realized that I had two more loose ends to tie up before I could move on to the next thing on my to-do list. One was the aforementioned bike...

and the other was the boat.

The boat will have to be scrapped or put far enough out to sea that Godwin can't recognize it.

I didn't have any more sticky bombs, though. And even if I did, they would have likely shared the same fate as my stun baton when I hit the water back at Godwin's Mansion. And even if they didn't, they would be way too loud for what I had in mind.

Beating the living shit out of the wood until it was nothing but a pile of splinters before sending them downstream was also out for much the same reason as the sticky bombs. While this approach was doable, it would also make way too much noise.

Instead, I could make it look like this boat wasn't mine.

And there was a very simple way to do that.

Glancing at the motor, I moved over to examine it.

If I can figure out how to detach it from the boat (I've never done this before, sue me), I could then drop it into the middle of the river. The weight of the engine would cause it to sink to the bottom of the river faster than a rock. Not only that but if they could somehow trace it back to me by examining the engine, I could probably confuse or stall the investigation since dropping it into the river would, naturally, flood and kill the engine. Then, all I would have to do is send the boat itself floating harmlessly downstream. By the time Security found it, if they found it, it would not show as many, or any, signs of being the same boat.

Hopefully. Even before my existence became public knowledge,  I never really made such an active effort to cover my tracks or dispose of evidence. This part is going to be a whole new experience for me.

Once I've dealt with the boat, I would have to conceal the bike, with Rudger's arm inside it, and I think I had an idea of how to do that.

But I was getting ahead of myself.

Let's handle this one step at a time.

Chapter Text

As I got to work on disposing of the boat, I let it drift a little bit out to the middle of the river.

While that was going on, I worked to see if I could figure out how I could detach the motor from the boat.

It took more time and experimentation than I cared to admit. I had to familiarize myself with all the nooks and crannies of the device, and I had to do that without anything in the way of an instruction manual.

But eventually, I did manage to find what I was looking for.

I glanced toward the sky one more time. No helicopters as far as the eye could see.

I checked across the river. No boats in the distance.

Good. The only potential problem I had was Godwin's satellite surveillance.

But Godwin would need time to get those camera feeds on whatever screen he decided to use for the task. And even then, I got the sense that while it gave Godwin a broad view of the whole city, it didn't let him zoom in on individuals. And even if it did, that simply meant that Godwin would need to look for far longer to find me, since he would probably feel safe in assuming I got way farther than I actually did. The fact that I changed up my outfit again only compounded the problem for Godwin.

It's probably the only reason Saiga wasn't able to be tracked back to his hideout right away. If Godwin's surveillance was that precise, Yusei would have never been able to hide out at Rua and Ruka's apartment, among other things. The only reason Ushio was able to track him down was that he made a very active effort to do so, and even then, he still wound up hitting a roadblock.

See even in Neo Domino City, there were people who often had to deal with social separation as a result of different social classes. If Satellite was the lower class, and most of Neo Domino City was middle class, Tops was a high-class society.

Ushio, despite being a fucking officer of Security, couldn't enter Tops without permission because he wasn't a part of that high-class society, even though he was trying to conduct an investigation.

I mean, sure, the guy stopping him may have told him to "get authorization through the formal procedures," but the fact that Ushio didn't just go and do that meant that even he knew that said "procedures" were most likely just a pile of legal garbage that would have done nothing to help his attempts to carry out his investigation.

And, as the man himself said, this wasn't even the first time that he had to deal with a situation like that. Even the faceless Security officer that was with him at the time said that the guy stopping them was a Security officer that liked to flaunt being a native, so it's not like one could just say that Ushio was alone in holding the sentiment. 

The fact that even the law seemed to tie its own hands in favor of maintaining this separation only made setting the world on fire all the more appealing to me.  A big reason I hadn't actually considered doing that yet was because of people like Misty, Lua, and Ruka. All three of them were from Tops, and I could at least see myself being cordial with them. 

The other reason that I didn't go out of my way to set the world on fire? As it was, doing so was just more trouble than it was worth. 

The way I see it, there will always be some sort of divide between people. There will always be those who live like kings, and others who fight tooth and nail just to get through another day. There will always be people who thrive off of the misery of others. And there will always be that one asshole that managed to piss me off.

As a pair, Neo Domino City and Satellite were just another example of that in what is, no doubt, a very long list of them. They aren't the first, and they sure won't be the last.

So, yeah. Setting the world on fire was more trouble than it was worth. Plus it would mess things up for the few people I could actually say that I genuinely liked, rather than just being ambivalent, neutral, or even hostile towards them, so yeah.

That said, if I ever had to deal with someone that I could politely describe as "an arrogant asshole", I was not going to be held responsible for any teeth that got kicked in that day.

Unless it was Jack. Then I was probably gonna get my ass kicked.

Hopefully, I'll be home before I genuinely had to consider kicking any teeth in. Or setting the world on fire. God knows I already pissed off a lot of people as it was.

With that in mind, I got to work with dislodging the motor.

After a couple of motions, the engine was dislodged from the boat, promptly sinking to the bottom of the river. As expected, it really did sink faster than any stone.

With that done, I briefly paddled my way back to the shore before disembarking, taking the tarp with me as I got off.

Then, with a light nudge, I sent the boat off, peacefully heading downstream.

One thing down. One more to go.

Then I can get out of here.

Before I did anything about the ruined bike, which, for now, was the designated hiding place for Rudger's arm, I needed to find a proper hiding place for it.

And considering that my current location was just a few steps shy of being an actual beach, which was a pretty open area by default, that meant I had to look pretty hard to find a good hiding spot.

Even more so since I never actually bothered to familiarize myself with this area. It was pretty non-descript, not matching any location in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's that I could think of off the top of my head. Maybe it would become something else entirely after the Dark Signers arc, but, naturally, I wouldn't know for sure until we reached that point.

Eventually, though, I was able to find a spot that I figured would work for my purposes. A tiny spot along the wall, at the edge of the area farthest from the road. I felt hard-pressed to imagine people seeking this particular spot out. It seemed like the kind of place most people overlooked.

Hiding spot selected, I then went all the way back over to the ruined back and began the slow, exhausting process of pushing it along the ground.

Thankfully, my ride was a motorcycle, rather than a full-blown car, making it a lot easier to get it where I wanted it to go.

Eventually, I managed to bring the motorcycle over to the hiding spot and began the process of stuffing it in there.

For a minute there, it felt like I was trying to shove a round peg into a square hole, but I refused to give up.

"Get... in... there... you... bitch!" I ground out, each word punctuating a push of the ride on my part.

The fact that I was all but reciting a rather memetic voice line made this whole process a bit more tolerable.

Finally, after one last push, I got the ruined ride right where I wanted it. Some of the metal on the chassis almost certainly bent the force I exerted on it, and I'm pretty sure I tore off one of the mufflers in the process. But the ride itself was already a mess of burnt metal on equally-burnt rubber, so I didn't care that much.

Taking a moment to wipe the sweat off my forehead, I then observed my handiwork, making sure I didn't miss anything.

When I found nothing wrong, I let out a deep breath of satisfaction, before tossing the tarp over the bike and fastening it to the ground with some decently-sized rocks along the side of the river.

Two down. None to go.

Good. Now I can, more or less, get on with the rest of my plans for the day.

With that in mind, I stuffed my hands into my pockets, turned around, and walked toward the other side of the area, intent on leaving this place for now.

The wide, toothy smile I had on before leaving the area completely would have given grown men nightmares. 

Chapter Text

After the masked man escaped, Godwin headed back into his mansion to check on Professor Frank.

After all, the man's failure to answer his calls was the reason that Godwin had thought to come back here at all.

What he found was his private elevator in ruins, one of the many rooms in his mansion utterly demolished, and Professor Frank at the bottom of the aforementioned elevator.

The man's condition when Jeager found him was of some concern, but by the time they got back up the elevator, Godwin's attention was already elsewhere.

"So, let me see if I understand this correctly," Godwin began, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"After he destroyed your phone, which prevented you from calling for backup, you fought against one of the intruders, and after he subjected you to a groin attack," Godwin felt more than saw the collective winces of his subordinates, which he actually sympathized with, "he proceeded to beat you unconscious?"

"Yes sir," Professor Frank answered, keeping his head down, as though ashamed of his failure.

Of course, Godwin knew that Professor Frank was incapable of feeling things like shame. It was one of the things that made him an effective contingency plan for the Fortune Cup.

But then, his opponent today was probably even more shameless. 

The intruder, with a mask that was white on his right side and black on his left, was, to Godwin's begrudging approval, pragmatic with his approach.

He clearly knew about the biometrics installed into his private elevator and knew that he couldn't circumvent it. Not without Godwin's help, which Godwin did not intend to give him.

His solution? To rig the elevator car with explosives that sent it careening down to the depths of Godwin's mansion.

It was certainly one way to go somewhere that was blocked off by biometrics.

Then there was an altercation between the man and Professor Frank.

And judging by the current state of Professor Frank's nether regions, among a few other things, the masked man fought dirty.

Knives, dumbbells, stun batons, crowbars, groin attacks, and, if his hunch was correct, much, much more.

In addition to all of that, he apparently had access to explosives, which most certainly warranted its own investigation, considering that some of Godwin's subordinates got hit by the blast they unleashed. Though, thankfully, they managed to avoid the worst of it. They would still need to take time off to recover, but there weren't any signs of lasting injuries, and nothing needed to be amputated, so Godwin wasn't quite as worried.

That said, the man was practically armed for war, and if not explosives, then he was mostly using simple, everyday objects, paired with anything he could steal from his defeated foes.

At this point, Godwin was torn between whether he should be commending the intruder for his tactics and preparation, or ripping his hair out because of how much of a thorn in his side the masked man was proving to be. Perhaps both.

Two days.

Two. Fucking. Days.

Godwin had been setting up this entire plan of his, biding his time so that he could carry it out

And now, the scheme that he had been preparing for the last. Seventeen. Years. went up in smoke.

All in the span of two days.

Not only that but with the D-Sensors destroyed and Akutsu captured, Godwin had no means of tracking it down.

And worst of all?

That. Little. Thief. HAD. RUDGER'S. ARM!!!!

To say that Godwin was mad was incorrect.

He wasn't mad.

He was just a little bit- absolutely livid.

He had already given orders to Jeager to organize a search party.

He also made it a point to tell him to only do the bare minimum to be discreet.

Because their masked adversary was not going to be discreet when they found him.

And they will.

Godwin will see to that.

But in the meantime, he had to ensure that he didn't strangle the man in front of him, because, though he failed, Professor Frank did try to stop the intruder. And considering his role within Yliaster, he couldn't simply get rid of him. Not in any way that doesn't involve silencing him. Permanently.

Besides, Godwin might be able to learn something yet. No sense in disposing of a source of intel.

"Did you learn anything else of note? Anything at all?"

Professor Frank closed his eyes in thought, trying to recall anything of note.

"I'm afraid not, sir. The intruder wasn't very talkative. In fact, he only said one thing, but it was mostly just his reaction to the fact that he-" he winced for a moment, "attacked my groin."

So not only was the intruder violent and chaotic, but, apparently, he also wasn't very talkative.

Granted, that last one was far from the impression that Godwin got of the man during the two instances he'd seen of him, but, then again, he didn't know that much about him at all.

If he wasn't all that talkative, it could simply be a mark of pragmatism on his part. No smart individual would waste their time talking in the middle of a fight.

And while Godwin certainly believed that to be the case, he also knew it might mean something else.

The man in question said as little as possible whenever he appeared. He rarely reacted with words during a confrontation.

This suggested to Godwin that the masked man was, perhaps, incredibly secretive, and getting him to spill any sort of information unknowingly was going to be an exercise in either patience or futility.

And now that he has escaped, the masked man was likely going to go to ground.

Considering the fact that he got what he wanted, Godwin would be hard-pressed to find him before he willingly revealed himself again.

Godwin cannot let that happen. Not again. He needed to find the masked man while he was still trying to hide. Godwin needed to deal with the masked man on his terms.

Which was proving to be rather difficult, considering that he had nothing he could use against him, and the masked man was now in possession of Rudger's arm.

Godwin needed to find a weakness. Something that would bend that masked man to his will, as Godwin had done to so many others.

However, considering the lack of information available to him, that would also be difficult, but Godwin didn't care about that.

Not anymore.

Godwin will destroy that man. He had to.

Before the masked man can make his next move. 

Or seventeen years' worth of planning, work, and sacrifices would be for nothing.

Chapter Text

Once I left the area, I pulled my hood up and started searching for the nearest map board. 

As I walked, I saw small squads of Security officers everywhere. Every ten minutes or so, I would come across a squad of roughly five officers.

And every single time that happened, I would avoid making direct eye contact with them before passing on through in as nonchalant a manner as I could manage. 

The mask was a dead giveaway, and if any officer saw my face right now, they could cross reference it with the injuries suffered by the "mysterious masked man" before putting me on the suspect list.

And if they realized that I didn't legally exist? A trait that the "mysterious masked man" and I shared?

Then, suffice it to say, my goose would be cooked.

The fact that Saiga got me to start thinking of geese while also thinking about how badly I'd be screwed if something went wrong was not lost on me.

On the bright side, I didn't see anything that looked like a D-Sensor or some variation of one, so it looks like capturing Akutsu was paying off so far.

At any rate, every officer I saw seemed to overlook me. Not surprising, since, as far as they knew, they were looking for someone else. I had completely switched out my wardrobe, after all.

That, and the idea that I would part with Rudger's arm, under any circumstance, was probably a prospect that Godwin would have a hard time conceiving, let alone expecting me to do.

After all, I went through so much trouble to get it. Even if I did destroy all the D-Sensors, why would I risk parting with it?

A shame that Godwin still knew next to nothing about me.

And by the time he had anything worth his time to use against me, my plan for dealing with him will finally be complete.

With that in mind, I maintained my pace, intent on stopping at a shop that I still remember, despite everything that happened over the course of the last few days.

After all, it was the same spot where I got my first burner phone, and I was due for a replacement.

Makes me glad Divine's wallet still had some money left. I could replenish my resources and fuck him over some more.

Killing two birds with one stone was always a good motivation, in my book.

Eventually, I made it back to the shop.

And at the register, the same purple-haired cashier from before sat.

He looked utterly bored, but the fact that he was even here was a bit reassuring. 

I quickly headed over to the shelf with all the burner phones and picked the cheapest one they got.

Returning to the register, the cashier gave me a blank look for a brief moment before his eyes widened with what I assumed to be shock.

"Shit. What happened to you?" He asked, no doubt noticing my new bruises.

"Take a wild guess."

"Well, it looks to me like you got the shit kicked out of you."

I resisted the urge to scoff at that. The guy had no idea.

At least the other guys got it worse.

"You wouldn't be wrong to say that. I'd like to buy this." I replied, before showing him the new burner phone.

"Old one busted?" He questioned.

"Old phone busted," I answered.

"Well, shit." The guy replied, his eyes narrowing. "Alright, give it here so I can scan it."

I complied with the guy, and while he did that, I went about fishing the necessary cash out of Divine's wallet.

After he finished scanning my new burner phone, I handed him the cash.

Once he gave me my new burner phone, I headed out the door.

With some of my stuff replaced, I started walking back to Saiga's condo.

Since Godwin's Mansion was so close to the Stadium, walking back to Saiga's condo wasn't much of an issue, though I still needed to find a map board every so often to make sure I still knew where I was going.

A shame that my new burner phone didn't have a GPS, but, then again, that was probably for the best. The last thing I need is for Godwin to be able to track me that way.

As I went, I wound up passing by a shop with a bunch of televisions on display behind the front windows.

Sparing them a glance, I stopped in my tracks when I saw what the TVs were displaying.

Now, I already figured that a fair bit of time passed while I was raiding Godwin's mansion and subsequently covering my tracks.

But from what the TV is showing, it looks like I spent a lot more time than I previously anticipated.

Yusei was the new King of Neo Domino. 

He beat Jack.

Glad to see my actions didn't prevent that from happening.

...

On second thought, scratch that. With my actions altering Godwin's behavior, the Crimson Dragon likely would not have appeared during Yusei and Jack's duel.

That, in turn, meant that there would be no doubt as to whether Yusei beat Jack legitimately, whereas, in canon, the citizens of Neo Domino had actual grounds to disbelieve the notion.

How this was going to affect Yusei, Jack, or anyone else, I wasn't sure. I knew, with certainty, that there would be changes, but, for once, I had no idea what those changes could be. Not really, anyway.

But I knew I had to make some judgment calls, and soon.

Just... not today. Today has been hectic enough as it is.

And I still got one more thing to address.

Which is probably going to be the biggest pain of all.

Because Yusei and the others were absolutely going to have some questions that I will need to answer. I roped them into way too much crazy shit for them to not want an explanation for my actions.

And depending on what they ask, I would need to come up with an answer to the one question I hoped I would never have to answer.

How in the actual fuck do I explain my canon knowledge?

Preferably without sounding batshit insane?

And failing that, can I find a way to word it without giving anyone in this world an existential crisis?

Chapter Text

It took a bit longer than previously anticipated, but I eventually got back to Saiga's condo.

Since Security was still on patrol searching for me, I was treated to the sight of some Security-issued D-Wheels patrolling the area around the building.

Since I didn't want Godwin to know that Yusei, who had already been to the Detention Center once, had a new acquaintance with no previous history (that they knew of), I was left with the relatively boring task of waiting until the Security officers either moved on or changed shifts, whichever came first.

Another reason for this was that I had no way of knowing if Yusei's friends had been found and liberated by Crow or whoever else Yusei put up to the task. I probably won't know until well after the fact, and that's if they were found at all.

Granted, there was a chance that Godwin would have released them on his own by now. Yusei had already won the Fortune Cup, and the entire reason he took part at all was because Godwin had threatened them. But with my recent actions, Godwin might be willing to bullshit his way into keeping Yusei's friends in captivity, if only to buy himself some time to regain control of the situation. While the final touches of my plan to deal with Godwin would neutralize the threat he posed to the world, they wouldn't neutralize the threat he posed to Yusei's friends in particular. And I can't blackmail him into releasing them because if he realized that I had ties to Yusei, while he still had leverage on Yusei through his friends, he could then use said friends to get to me through Yusei.

This entire scheme of mine entailed exploiting enemy weaknesses while also hiding our own. Keeping track of what everyone knows while concealing information on myself to the best of my ability.

Nonetheless, there was one more thing I had to address, just in case Godwin got his hands on certain pieces of information.

With that in mind, I hunkered down somewhat and waited for a lull in the search.

While I couldn't get much closer without risking a Security officer spotting me, I was able to get close enough to eavesdrop on their conversations. It never hurts to get an idea of what's going on.

Most of the conversation topic was to be expected. Search for the intruder, and arrest him when found.

But something about their conversation bugged me somehow. I didn't know why, but it felt like something was missing.

Either way, since I had some time to kill, I opted to get my new burner phone set up.

While I did that, I made a mental note to pay Misty a visit sometime soon. Either at her apartment or at the upcoming Atlas Rising event. When my previous burner got fried, I lost her phone number as well. In light of that, I made an extra note to keep a copy of the number somewhere where I didn't have to worry about losing it. No need to go through this particular brand of trouble again when I didn't have to.

By the time I felt safe enough to head inside, the sun had already set quite a few hours ago, and the moon was starting to rise in the distance.

With little else to do, I slipped my mask back on before opening the door and headed inside.

As I walked through the halls, I noted that it was rather quiet in there. Looking through the gaps of some of the open doors, I noted the sleeping forms of Yusei, Himuro, and Yanagi.

I also idly noted that Ruka wasn't present.

Maybe a byproduct of me preventing the Crimson Dragon's appearance during the Fortune Cup? Or Rua being in the hospital?

Then again, there wasn't anything stopping the answer from being both.

At any rate, Yusei and the others were probably tired after the events of the last few days. 

Which worked out for me. Gave me a bit more time to formulate some answers for the inevitable slew of questions that would come my way.

Even if the time didn't change anything for me.

Eventually, I managed to find Saiga. He was at his laptop, fingers clacking away at the keys on the keyboard. If I had to guess, he was probably working on some kind of document.

He didn't seem to notice me yet, but since I didn't want to give him an accidental scare like I did the last time I was in my current position, I lightly knocked on the door next to me.

Thankfully, he wasn't too focused on whatever he was working on, as he instantly turned around to regard me.

"Oh. Good. You're back." He said, sounding a bit relieved.

"I would have come sooner, but I had to lay low and cover my tracks," I stated.

"Fair enough," Saiga replied with a shrug. "Did you catch the news on your way here?"

"If you mean that Yusei is the new King of Neo Domino, yeah, I noticed," I answered, "Wouldn't be surprised if they had to take a small detour to evade the media."

"You'd be right about that." Saiga agreed.

At any rate, it seemed like Yusei and the others were asleep in some of the other rooms. That left Saiga and I as the only ones up at the moment, and we had some time to kill.

Thus, I decided to address something I had put on the back burner since yesterday.

"Since we got some time, I'd like to ask our guest some questions," I stated, emphasizing the word "guest" as I did so.

Saiga looked at me, slightly confused for a moment, before his eyes widened in recognition.

"Ah. Right." He uttered, before moving to stand up. "Follow me. I'll show you where he is."

After another minute or two of walking, Saiga and I reached our destination: the basement door.

Stepping closer to it, Saiga pulled out a small key before inserting it into the lock and turning it.

The basement door opened with a small click, and just like that, we slipped inside.

The basement was about as big as you'd expect a basement to be: tiny as fuck. I had to hunch myself over more than I usually did so that I didn't hit my head on the little boards coming from the ceiling.

That said, it was clean and well-maintained. Relatively speaking, anyway. It still had the occasional cobwebs and bits of dust, but compared to what I've seen in my own world, this was tolerable.

I shook my head. That wasn't important. My... guest was.

In the corner, with his eyes covered, limbs tied, and mouth gagged, was Akutsu.

He was looking a little more disheveled than I usually saw of him, and I could see the splotches of purple on his face that indicated the bruises I left him with.

Honestly, I wish I could have captured him without the bruising, but then I would have had to drag him away kicking and screaming, which would have drawn a lot of attention.

I'll simply put that in the same mental category as an "occupational hazard" and move on.

I took a moment to listen to his breathing, trying to see if he was awake.

Not that it mattered, but it would help inform how I wanted to approach this.

This guy was, by all rights, my captive, and I had to approach this carefully.

For the sake of my planned interrogation, I wanted to avoid terrifying him so badly that he would become incoherent, but I also couldn't let myself be seen as a pushover.

The latter shouldn't be too much of a problem. I literally knocked him out in the most sudden and violent manner possible at the time, but I couldn't let myself get careless.

I could simply torture the information I wanted out of him, but not only would Saiga be against that, but torture was also a shit interrogation method since the victim would then say anything to make the pain stop, and such answers were rarely reliable. I could torture him as a last resort, but if I had to do that, then I had failed somewhere.

And really, while I didn't consider myself a good person, I wasn't so cruel as to just torture my way to get what I wanted.

So with that in mind, I approached the bound Momentum enthusiast. As I did, I saw Saiga head back the way we came in my periphery before closing the door behind us.

Which was fair. We went out of our way to disguise ourselves, and I was currently holding the disguise that Saiga used earlier today. After all the trouble we went through, it would be kind of silly to expose our faces now.

Once Saiga shut the door, I went on to remove the cloth over Akutsu's eyes, allowing him to see my masked face for the second time in his life.

Upon seeing me, his expression morphed into what I could only really describe as a strange mixture of terror and frothing-at-the-mouth rage.

Which, given what I already put him through, was actually perfectly reasonable. I mean, I showed up out of nowhere, beat him senselessly before he could even react, and had him locked up down here for over a day. He had every right to be both extremely terrified of and absolutely pissed at me.

But I never said that I was a saint, now did I?

"Hello, Akutsu," I greeted, putting on a neutral expression as I did so, "It's so good to have you here."

Akutsu's eyes widened a tad at the mention of his name. Probably the slight tinge of fear one feels upon realizing that someone knows more about you than you deigned to mention.

"I would say that I brought you here just to have a chat, but I would be lying." I began.

"Now, here's what is going to happen." I continued, "I'm going to ask you a few questions, and I'm going to remove the gag juuuuuust long enough for you to answer them. If I sense that you are lying, or if you try to scream," at that, I pulled out one of my kitchen knives, "well, I can think of some creative ways this can be used to punish you." I finished.

I said all of this with a beaming smile on my face.

And based on the way his eyes widened with every passing moment, I'd say it worked.

Good. Actual torture wasn't very productive, but the threat of torture? That can work. 

It probably helped that he didn't actually know what to expect of me. While I wasn't experienced with coercion, the image I was trying to portray in this instance was that of someone you could never feel safe around; someone you couldn't be sure whether he wanted to laugh and have lunch with you, or snap your neck with his bare hands.

Especially since I never actually stated what, exactly, I would do with the knife. I simply gave Akutsu something to go off of. With his imagination, Akutsu will scare himself far more than any verbal threat I could give him.

With that in mind, I brought my hands up to his face, ready to take the gag off once I asked a question.

"Did you create the D-Sensors?" I asked, before removing the gag.

Akutsu, once the gag was removed, promptly gave his answer, "I did."

I quickly put the gag back on and allowed myself to show a contented smile.

I'm honestly glad that Akutsu was quick enough on the uptake to not answer my question with another question, like, "How did you know about that?" or something along those lines. Then again, he had his fair share of ties with Security, so he probably figured that if he tried to ask me any questions, I would get annoyed since I was supposed to be the one asking the questions.

After all, despite what certain TV shows might depict, conventional police, as a rule, did not answer questions during an interrogation, only asked them. While Security was very different from a conventional police force, it still shared the trappings of one, with a variety of similar protocols and procedures that were fine-tuned and refined throughout its existence. Otherwise, I would have to seriously question how it was even still around. 

At any rate, Akutsu is answering my questions in the way I want him to. Though to be fair, he could be lying to me, but he doesn't know how much I know, and he knows that much. Therefore, he could likely be operating under the assumption that telling nothing but the truth was his best bet, if only because he had no idea what lies he could try to tell me without me following up on my previous threat.

What he doesn't know is that the answers he gives to my questions won't alter my behavior in any way that would be immediately obvious. The questions I'm asking him are intended to get him to tell me about things I should prepare for in the long run.

On that note, I decided it was time to ask my next question.

"Is there any other researcher that could potentially fill in for you?" I asked, "Keep in mind, I can look into this on my own. Your cooperation is simply a matter of... convenience." I added, reinforcing the idea that lying and hiding things from me would only damage his position.

I allowed Akutsu a moment to think my question over since it was the kind of question that would require actual thought and sifting through your memories for the answer. After about fifteen seconds, I pulled off the gag.

"Some might have the potential, but I don't think Godwin would allow it." 

My smile widened at that. Without even realizing it, Akutsu confirmed one other thing for me without me having to say a thing.

See, I did not doubt that there were people that could fill in for, or even replace Akutsu if push came to shove. But I couldn't quite be sure whether Godwin would ever trust anyone but Akutsu to do what he did best. Akutsu just confirmed that for me, and he doesn't even realize that he did it essentially for free.

I love it when I get things for free.

"Alrighty then," I replied, "Next question," I declared.

"What, to your knowledge, is Godwin's endgame?"

I didn't take the gag off right away for this question, either. I wanted to give Akutsu a moment to think about this one.

Akutsu's eyes narrowed at my question, but I noted that it wasn't out of anger. No, this was an expression of confusion.

With the way I worded my question, that made sense. Once I removed the gag, he gave his answer.

"He hopes to gather the five Signers together at the Fortune Cup," Akutsu explained, "once he has done that and confirmed their identities, he will inform them of their mission and help them accomplish it."

"And what, exactly, is their mission?" I asked.

"To defeat their enemies, the Dark Signers."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

I took a moment to reapply the gag before suppressing the urge to sag in exasperation.

The answers were more or less exactly what I expected. I should be glad that I was able to confirm them.

But with the answers to my last two questions, it was clear that Akutsu, like Jeager, and likely everyone else, had no idea that Godwin sought to become a god with the powers of both the Crimson Dragon and the King of the Underworld.

Not surprising, really. Yliaster is composed of individuals arrogant enough to believe that Godwin would be fine with just being their patsy. Though with the whole falsification of history thing they had going on, that arrogance is somewhat deserved.

Really, it's no wonder why they did nothing to stop Godwin once he put the final stages of his plan into action. By the time anyone realized what Godwin was planning to do, he had become a Dark Signer and had Rudger's arm at the ready.

With the arm grafted onto himself, Godwin would become immune to the falsification of history, just like any other Signer or those near them. In fact, while it wasn't shown in canon, it was possible that the Dark Signers shared the Signer's immunity to the falsification of history, meaning Godwin might have been immune even before Rudger's arm was implemented.

Thinking about that now gives me a newfound appreciation for Godwin's plan. If he had gone for any other, he would have been screwed six ways to hell.

And the way I see it, any plan that could effectively neuter a group of time travelers deserved at least some respect, in my book.

That said... Akutsu's answers still dampened my mood somewhat. It wasn't even Akutsu's fault, but I couldn't help the feeling of frustrated exhaustion welling up in me.

Still, I got the answers I wanted, so it would be best to wrap up this little interrogation.

"Thank you, Akutsu," I stated, "You will be kept here for another few days. During that time, I will make sure you are fed and otherwise cared for. Can't have a potential source of information dying on us, now can we?" 

Akutsu said nothing to that. Not because he didn't want to, but because he literally couldn't.

I honestly wish I could ditch the gag, but Captor 101 dictates that I make sure my captive can't call for help, so we're kind of stuck with this arrangement.

With that in mind, I put the blindfold back on Akutsu's face and headed towards the door.

A couple of knocks were answered with Saiga opening the door. I exited the room immediately afterward, with Saiga locking the door behind me.

"Did you get the answers you were looking for?"

"Most likely. But I can't discount the possibility that he tried to slip a lie past me somewhere."

Saiga hummed in acknowledgment. He probably didn't hear much of my interrogation. Akutsu and I were both really quiet, and we were behind a door that I never heard him unlock until I was ready to come out.

I promised Akutsu food partially to ease his mind on that front. I could only imagine the fear that came with being locked in a basement with no food or water, and no ability to procure either.

That was the one bit of kindness I could afford to show to him. 

As for not wanting a source of information to die? Well, that was mostly to make it seem like I had no conscience to exploit.

Godwin was able to get away with a lot of shit for the same reasons as Divine: he preyed on the weaknesses of others to keep them in check and get them to do what he wanted.

Villain 101 dictates that a person's conscience is always a great weakness to exploit.

Although to be fair, my conscience was thrown out the window the moment I came to this world. Putting my survival first and foremost left me little time for morality.

Divine still sucks, though. Fuck him.

"Well, I'm gonna get some shut-eye," I eventually declared, "I'll catch you in the morning." +

"Right."

With that, I made a beeline for the room I used to rest in last night, after having run all the way here.

After closing the door behind me, I all but collapsed onto the bed and let out a long-suffering sigh.

What a fucking day.

Really, these last few days have been nothing but a whirlwind of action.

All the running and fighting. All the planning and scheming.

To say that I was happy to take a moment to rest after all of that would be a massive understatement.

Especially with what I have to do tomorrow.

But at least tomorrow is something I can look forward to. At least in this instance.

Tomorrow, I finish my plan to deal with Godwin.

Tomorrow, I can finally knock him off my to-do list.

Tomorrow, Godwin's whole operation ends.

But right now? I just want a fucking nap.

With that in mind, I made myself comfortable as I slowly drifted off to sleep.

Just as I was about to fall asleep, though, I felt something crawling along the back of my neck.

I moved my hand to swat whatever it was when I felt the stinging sensation of a spider biting me.

And then, my vision faded to black.

Chapter Text

There wasn't much for Kiryu to do down in the pit he now called home. The place was dark, only lit by the occasional set of candles here and there. Beyond that, it was full to the brim with cobwebs, actual webs, and a few spiders. Very big spiders.

To be completely honest, Kiryu felt that this place wasn't that much worse than the hideouts of the various Duel Gangs he had gone up against, and defeated, back when he was still alive. Their hideouts were generally run down and dilapidated, a result of Satellite's dismal state of affairs.

At any rate, Kiryu often had to make his own fun down here. There were no televisions, and even if there was one, they probably had terrible signal reception down here.

But never let it be said that Kiryu wasn't able to enjoy himself in utter spite of that fact.

And that was what Kiryu was currently trying to do. And to do that, he needed to find a way to make his own fun.

That search came to an abrupt halt, however, when he came across Rudger.

See, Kiryu had been wandering the halls of the pit he lived in, simply minding his own business. When he got to the dining table that the Dark Signers occasionally convened at for whatever they needed to do at the time, he found Rudger sitting at the head of that table, the wavering light of the candles illuminating his features.

This, in and of itself, wasn't unusual. Rudger sat there a lot. Whether for meditation, controlling his puppets, or whatever else he does when he is sitting there alone, Rudger can usually be found at the head of this table.

What wasn't so unusual was how... vacant Rudger seemed to be.

Kiryu edged closer, and when Rudger didn't react, he waved a hand in front of his face.

Still no reaction. Rudger was still alive (for lack of a better term, and undead didn't really count in this case), but there wasn't anybody home upstairs.

For a moment, Kiryu genuinely wondered if he should maybe get ahold of Demak. This might be something that he would want to know about.

The next moment, Kiryu scrapped that idea as a smirk formed on his face. 

Oh well, off to-

Suddenly, Rudger's eyes, for the briefest of moments, blinked.

And then they morphed, along with the rest of his face, into an expression that Kiryu, even after the last few years he spent down here, had never seen.

Pure, abject horror.

Rudger's eyes darted to him, and for a brief instant, Kiryu contemplated whether he should make himself scarce.

"He broke it."

"Who... broke what?" Kiryu asked, slowly.

"One of my puppets," Rudger explained, "He broke free of my control."

To be fair, Kiryu knew that Rudger's control over his puppets could be broken if they were defeated in a duel. But, the way Rudger said what he did told Kiryu there was a lot more to this than what was normal.

"I take it there's more to this than just that?" Kiryu asked. Who knows? This might make for some kind of entertainment.

"Yes," Rudger began, "and I believe I may have also found the source of the seal on the doors to the Underworld."

Kiryu's eyebrows shot up at that. Rudger had told him and Demak about that little tidbit nearly a week ago. Kiryu, of course, didn't really give a damn, but that conversation still stuck with him in the back of his mind. He knew what it meant, even if he didn't care for what it meant.

"You sure?"

"No," Rudger answered, "Which is why you and Demak are to head to Neo Domino as soon as you're able."

Okay, that made sen-

"What?!" Kiryu exclaimed, his brain catching up to Rudger's mouth, "Why us?! Can't you just get a few puppets to do it for you?!"

"Because the situation is abnormal," Rudger answered, an edge to his voice, "I will still send puppets, but we need to be ready in the event that approach doesn't work out as intended."

"Rudger," Kiryu began, scowling, "I'm only here to get my revenge on Yusei. I don't give a damn about anything else."

"Kiryu," Rudger began in reply, "You will have your chance if you do as instructed. Yusei is in Neo Domino at the moment, after all."

Wait, he is? Well, damn.

At that, Kiryu stopped and took a step back, closing his eyes as he weighed his options.

The situation was abnormal, as Rudger described. Naturally, he didn't care for it, but...

If he did as instructed, he might be able to get his shot at Yusei.

And it's not like Rudger would be yanking his chain. Not over this, and not when he literally had eyes and ears all over the place.

Kiryu suppressed the urge to sigh. The things he would do for revenge...

"Fine," Kiryu finally ground out, "I'll go get Demak. I'll need him to fly our transport out of here."

"Good." 

Once Kiryu left the room, Rudger sunk into his chair and let out a deep sigh.

His control over the masked man had been severed. That was problematic on its own.

But the thing he saw as a result of his attempt sent a chill down Rudger's spine.

Even now, he doesn't know all the details. He knew a few more things now, but not enough to form a complete picture.

But whoever the masked man is, he clearly has no idea what he has found himself in possession of.

And Rudger knew that whether the man was indeed responsible for sealing the doors to the Underworld or not, that mask had the potential to change things.

The only question right now was whether that would be for better or worse.

Rudger wasn't sure if he would like either answer.

For now, he would focus on getting a puppet in order. He needed to have it ready to deal with the masked man if push came to shove.

And if that doesn't work? Well, most people didn't know about the Signers and the Dark Signers, so there were alternative approaches Rudger could take.

On the bright side, this also gave him the chance to carry out an... experiment, of sorts. 

Rudger smiled at the thought. He hadn't conducted any experiments since his days as a researcher.

Now where did that Psychic Duelist run off to?

Chapter Text

I was somewhere I shouldn't be.

The sky above me was a dreary grey, the area around me was nothing but debris and the bloodstains of people who were no longer alive.

As I gazed at my surroundings, I heard something—footsteps in the distance.

I took cover behind one of the countless debris and observed the one who approached. Can't be too careful.

As they got closer, I realized that they weren't alone. Two others accompanied the first.

I didn't take in their features, at first. They were unimportant.

The fact that they were still alive was the only thing that mattered. 

I weighed my options, trying to figure out the best course of action.

As they got closer, I finally began to take in their features. But I paid it no mind.

There was nothing left for me here. There was only one course of action left.

So I will do what I have to do, no matter who gets in my way.

I blearily opened my eyes as the sun filtered in through the curtains of a nearby window.

Morning already? Ugh.

I was never a morning person. While the last few days may speak to the contrary, I knew it was only my lack of a steady supply of soda that made me wake up at the same hours as most other people.

God, I miss my soda.

I sat up and stretched my limbs to work out the stiffness, then took a moment to get my thoughts in order.

When I did, I remembered the dream I wound up having.

It had the same backdrop as that of the hallucination I had back when I was at the Sky Temple.

Obviously, that seemed to indicate that the dream I just had, and the hallucination I had yesterday were, in some way, connected.

I, however, had no idea what that connection was. I barely had a working context for why I saw that same barren wasteland.

But now that I was in Saiga's condo, I was able to at least take a moment to compare the wasteland that I both hallucinated and dreamed about to my canon knowledge.

And what I put together was... concerning.

See, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's had Neo Domino City and Satellite as the two biggest locations of its setting.

Neo Domino City was your textbook futuristic city, complete with the everlasting energy supply that was Moment, making it so everything in Neo Domino could keep running as long as people kept dueling.

Satellite, on the other hand, looked like it was just a few steps above a warzone. 

But even Satellite had a sizeable population worth talking about.

That wasteland I've started seeing didn't even have that. Hell, it looked like it was fresh out of a conflict: bloodstains and everything.

And even with all the canon knowledge I had at my disposal, there was only one place, or rather, one time, that I could think of that could be home to that kind of environment.

Z-ONE's alternate future.

Naturally, this was concerning since, for what now felt like the longest time, I have actively avoided thinking about Z-ONE and his section of Yliaster. The fact that they hadn't retroactively shanked me through the falsification of history was one gift horse I wasn't going to look in the mouth.

But now, just this once, I had to look said gift horse in the mouth.

With the amount of destruction and death that was brought on by the Meklord Emperors, along with the fact that there were only four people left alive by the time Yliaster began its timefuckery in earnest, it was only natural to conclude that I was seeing the aftermath of a battle involving the mechanical terrors.

But even if that was the case, which was certainly debatable, that still left some questions.

Why?

Why was I seeing these things? 

For that matter, what did it even mean? And how should I handle that moving forward?

After a few minutes of thinking it over, I ultimately couldn't come up with anything.

Well, that wasn't quite true. I had a few ideas, but no way to verify any of them.

Not only that, but I still didn't know all the details. After all, the mask was a lot like me: an outside-context problem.

If this keeps happening, though, hopefully, I will start getting some answers.

What was that phrase again? Ah, right.

Once is chance, twice is coincidence, and thrice is a pattern.

In the meantime, I had another problem to worry about.

My mind was still foggy as I woke up, but once it cleared, I remembered what had happened just before I went to sleep.

And when I did, my entire being was flooded with ice-cold rage.

Rudger had tried to turn me into one of his puppets.

I knew, for a fact, that the spider that bit me last night was one of Rudger's. Any other spider would steer clear of what was obviously a much larger predator.

While I have mostly been using my canon knowledge and common sense so far to get things done, that one tidbit about spiders was neither of those things. It was something I learned in a bout of random curiosity. A question that just popped into my head, so I looked up the answer.

But that wasn't the point.

The point is that I wasn't sure how I avoided falling under Rudger's sway, but I had a feeling I had my mask to thank for that.

Whether it was my mask, or something else, though, one thing was clear.

Rudger tried to use one of his spiders on me. Turn me into one of his puppets.

And that just put Rudger really high up on my shitlist. 

There were not a whole lot of things that could set me off in an instant, but as it turns out, someone trying to mind-control me was one of those things.

It no longer mattered if he was a Dark Signer. It no longer mattered if I technically couldn't kill him.

If I ever see Rudger in person, I. Will. Break. Him.

After taking a bit to calm down, I began making my way toward Saiga's office.

When I got there, I found three people that weren't here before.

Yusei, Himuro, and Yanagi turned to face me as soon as we opened the door.

"Oh, good. You're up," Saiga greeted, "figured they'd like to know you made it back." he stated, jabbing a thumb toward the three other people in the room.

All three of them had gazes that wanted answers. 

And despite that, I kept my face from showing how I felt.

I knew this was coming. I knew it was time to give them all an explanation.

With that in mind, I only had one thing to say.

"Walk and talk?"

"I think I have a different idea," Saiga replied.

As it turned out, instead of walking, Saiga's idea was to have me and Yusei hop onto the latter's D-Wheel, with me holding onto Yusei so I didn't fall off. Saiga had Yanagi ride with him on his D-Wheel in much the same fashion.

Himuro, sadly, had to take a taxi, as neither D-Wheel could support the weight of three people simultaneously. Nonetheless, Himuro took that slight inconvenience in stride.

Saiga then asked me to guide us all to the location where my prize was hidden. 

At any rate, we all soon converged at a location I had previously visited. Himuro took the longest to catch up, with his mode of transport being a taxi and all.

Once we all stood on solid ground again, I guided everyone towards the other end of the area.

Packed away inside in a little corner was a motorcycle that had been burnt to a crisp.

As I walked closer, Saiga spoke up.

"Is this where you hid that thing you picked up yesterday?"

Not even stopping, I turned my head around to nod.

"Well, now that we're all here, mind telling us what, exactly, you got your hands on?" Himuro asked.

Rather than answer Himuro verbally, I opened up a compartment on the back of the motorcycle.

When I pulled out the contents, I had my biggest, shit-eating grin plastered on my face.

"Gentlemen, I present to you: dismembered human limb!"

Dead. Silence.

Chapter Text

Between the morbid sight of the dismembered human limb and my dementedly cheerful presentation, I knew the way I revealed Rudger's arm was going to make me look like a total psychopath.

In my defense, though, the last few days have been nothing but hectic for me. By now, it wouldn't be wrong to say that I was fresh out of fucks to give.

Didn't change that the manner of my presentation was straight-up uncalled for, and I could acknowledge that. Especially when Yanagi fell backward at the sight of the arm.

"What the hell?!" Himuro uttered.

"W-what is THAT?!" Yanagi asked, more out of shock than anything.

"It's... an arm," Yusei answered, slowly, his face conveying a much more muted shock.

"... Seth," Saiga began, slowly, his face carefully neutral, "Who did you dismember to get that?"

Guess he has just about had enough of my bullshit. Which, yeah, fair.

"No one. It was like this when I found it. More importantly..."

At that, I proceeded to turn the canister containing said arm around, giving everyone a glimpse at why this thing was so important.

"Wait..."

"That's..."

"A mark of the Crimson Dragon? Yes." I answered, cutting Yanagi and Yusei (respectively) off in the process.

As I said this, the mark on Rudger's severed arm continued to glow its eerie light.

"Now, I know you all have questions, but let's get back to the condo, okay? I'll explain more once we get there."

Saiga fixed me with a hard stare. When I met that stare with one of my own, he eventually sighed.

"Fine. But you will explain yourself when we get back, got it?"

After my nod of affirmation, we all went to make our way back to the condo.

Once we got back there, we headed straight to Saiga's office and locked the door. 

As everyone headed around to take a seat, I took a moment to prepare myself. 

This is it.

The moment I stop being so tight-lipped and actually share information of my own accord for once.

As I looked toward everyone in the room, I knew I wasn't getting out of this.

And thus, my explanation began.

For the next fifteen minutes, I told them a very basic synopsis of the truth of Zero Reverse, explaining that it was no disaster, but a result of the original Momentum reactor being purposefully overloaded. I refrained from mentioning either of the Godwin Brothers and Yusei's old man by name, and I also left out the fact that Yusei was originally from Tops before he got Superman'd into Satellite just before the boom.

I also left out the fact that Rudger was partially pushed to take the actions he did because of the dark mark. Yusei was supposed to face one of Rudger's puppets last night, and he hasn't mentioned anything about it yet.

Either that meant he was trying to keep me out of the loop for a couple of reasons I could think of, or Rudger ignored Yusei to focus on me. Either way, I don't need to explain anything about the Dark Signers to Yusei yet. Most of the work will be taken care of by someone else.

"And this is the only thing left of the man who triggered the cataclysm," I stated near the end of my little history lesson, holding up Rudger's arm a bit higher as I did so, "And obviously, since he was close to the original reactor, the rest of him was utterly consumed by the blast."

While Yusei and the others all had their misgivings at first, a few minutes into my explanation, they began listening with rapt attention. Especially Yusei, and I knew why.

I pretty much had to explain Zero Reverse in order to give context as to why this arm was here and what happened for it to wind up severed.

Once I finished, everyone's faces were set somewhere between suspicious and horrified. I didn't blame them. From their perspective, I just dropped a massive bombshell on them that, if true, would completely re-contextualize Zero Reverse as they knew it.

"A question, Seth," Saiga began, "if the owner of the arm was so close to the epicenter of the blast, why is that arm here?"

A fair question, so I decided to answer. 

"It was severed beforehand. The owner did it himself."

"He... what?"

Saiga's face was, slowly but surely, edging away from suspicion and closer to horrified. And I hadn't even mentioned that Rudger sawed this arm off with no anesthesia.

Well, I didn't mention it directly, but it can easily be inferred.

Frankly, I'm amazed he lived long enough to overload the reactor. To say the man had to be in pain that day would be a massive understatement.

I may understand that, but Rudger was still pretty high on my shitlist. Mind-controlling me, successful or not, really ground my gears in a way that was different from Divine, but damn near as bad.

"Keep in mind, what I'm telling you right now is the cliff-notes version. The full version would take a lot longer to explain, and I don't have a whole lot of time right now." I explained, trying to distract myself from the rage building up in me.

Everyone nodded at that, if somewhat reluctantly.

"Also, this stays strictly between us. The absolute media shitstorm this could bring if it got out would be massive, and I, for one, am not in the mood for that kind of anarchy today."

Everyone nodded again, with a notable amount of additional enthusiasm. 

"Good. Now, any other questions?"

For a moment, none of them said anything.

But before long, Saiga stepped forward with a question.

"How do you know all of this?"

And there it is.

"I-"

"You can see the future, right?!" Yanagi spoke up, looking less like an old man and more like a little kid, excited that he figured out the answer to a test.

"... Limited, but yes. I'm aware of events from both the past and future," I stated before shrugging.

"I see," Saiga replied, "we had a feeling that was the case. A lot of your actions just wouldn't have made sense otherwise."

I simply nodded in understanding. "True. Any other questions?"

When everyone shook their heads, I continued, "Alright, then, I think we should take some time to process all this and reconvene in an hour. I did just drop a major bombshell on you guys, after all."

No one argued with that, so I went to what pretty much passed for my room in the condo for the time being.

For me, this gave me time to wrap up Rudger's arm once more and stash it somewhere in the closet in the room.

Since I knew Ruka could show up here at any time, I made a mental note to slap an "ugly art project: do not touch" stick-it note onto the concealed arm, if only to make sure Ruka didn't try to look at it out of curiosity.

Luckily for me, Ruka would probably heed the warning. And even if she didn't, the others wouldn't let her see it. 

The same went for her brother, who I could see ignoring the warnings to try and get a closer look.

Sadly, I was already strapped for time as it was, so the closet would have to do for now.

Let's hope Yusei's group can find a better hiding spot than that.

An hour later, I returned to Saiga's office, and when I got there, I was greeted by the sight of Yusei, Himuro, Yanagi, and Saiga in the room.

They seemed to be discussing something amongst themselves when I came in. While I had a few ideas as to what they were talking about, I kept those to myself. If they want to talk about it, they will.

When I entered the room, the conversation they were having died down as they turned to face me.

"Yo," I greeted.

"Hey, Seth," Saiga replied, "Sorry about earlier. You alright?"

I gave a so-so gesture, "About as well as I could hope for, and I will admit I probably shouldn't have withheld information. Kind of a habit of mine. But enough about that, what about you guys?"

At that everyone looked to each other for a moment and, as if coming to a silent agreement, turned back to face me.

"So, about what you told us earlier, Seth," Himuro started, "we took some time to process and talk about it like you suggested."

"Ok? And?"

"I think we can all agree your story is crazy."

"I won't argue with that. I did drop a pretty big bombshell on you guys. I wouldn't blame you if you didn't believe me."

Himuro shifted a bit, "I wouldn't say we don't believe you. Not after what happened with Divine and the Black Rose Witch. But it is still something we have to take with a grain of salt."

"Also fair."

"So what now?" Saiga asked, "You got some plan in mind today as well?"

I nodded at that, "Thankfully, this is the last phase. And this part is the least dangerous."

Saiga raised an eyebrow at that, "No crazy shenanigans or death-defying stunts?"

"Nope," I answered with a slight smile, "I just need Himuro to grab the case he hid the other day."

This time, Himuro raised an eyebrow, "Okay, sure. But what comes after that?"

"After that, I separate from you guys so you don't come under scrutiny," I explained, "Then I will go over everything I have." I let out a malicious grin as I said, "Once that's done, I will deal with Godwin myself."

Everyone widened their eyes at that.

"So how confident are you in this part of the plan?" Saiga asked.

"Let's just say that if I didn't have any confidence in this part of the plan whatsoever, everything else we'd done until now wouldn't have happened."

Everyone took a second to process that, before ultimately nodding in understanding.

"Alright. Himuro, if you would?"

Himuro nodded before heading out of the room.

As Himuro did that, I turned my attention back to everyone else in the room.

"Okay, Saiga, is there any way can you get me Godwin's phone number? Gonna be needing that." 

Saiga nodded at my request. 

Meanwhile, Yusei glanced at me for a brief moment, before seemingly coming to a decision.

"Seth, we need to talk."

Chapter Text

At my nod, we moved out of the office and into one of the spare rooms of the condo.

"So what did you want to talk about?" I asked after shutting the door.

Yusei didn't answer right away, and while he didn't emote much, I got the sense he was getting his thoughts in order.

Eventually, though, Yusei finally spoke.

"Seth, I'd like to talk about your use of force."

"Oooookay?" I dumbly replied, not really sure why Yusei was bringing this up.

"Frankly, I'm worried."

"How so?"

"I'm worried that, one day, you'll go too far." Okay, I know that I don't exactly adhere to the norms of this world, but where is this coming from?

"I... can't say I follow?"

Yusei nodded at that, seemingly in understanding.

"Do you remember what you said to Himuro? About what you'd do if push came to shove?"

"I do, and I do not regret saying that," I answered, "I will do what I have to do, up to and including what could be best described as 'savagery'"

"So I gathered."

"So... why are you bringing this up, then?"

Yusei stared at me for a moment, seeming to mull it over for a moment.

"Because you remind me of someone I knew."

"Ooookay... and who would that be?" I asked, "And in what way do I remind you of him?"

Yusei paused again, and for a brief moment, he had a look of... hesitation? Is that what it was?

But a second or two later, though, it looked like Yusei decided to just spit it out.

"His name is Kyosuke Kiryu, and..."

From there, I heard Yusei's story about Team Satisfaction, its leader, Kiryu, and how everything fell apart at the seams for them, starting with Kiryu's descent into insanity. Nothing I hadn't heard before, but I still listened for the sake of context.

At first, I felt inclined to disagree with Yusei. Empathically. How could I not? Especially knowing what I knew? Even before he became a Dark Signer, Kiryu's sanity was questionable at best.

Then Yusei started bringing up the similarities between us, and I... couldn't find it in me to say his concerns were unwarranted.

I mean, fuck, just last night I had genuinely contemplated torturing a man for information. And over the last few days, I had paved a trail of violence and chaos in the wake of my desperate need for survival. And I roped them all into it, forming a small team for the job.

A team. Not unlike Team Satisfaction.

The realization hit me with all the force of a truck.

Kiryu is a dark mirror of myself, and I could wind up just like him if I got pushed too far.

And here I thought my otherworldly status barred me from having such a thing. That was an erroneous assumption to make.

"That story is... sobering, to say the least," I eventually stated, "I can see why you'd be concerned. He and I have similar starting points."

"Yeah."

We sat there for a minute, the silence uncomfortable.

"I want to say that I won't end up like him," I eventually stated, "But I know better than to make promises if I don't know I can keep them," I continued, "And even then, it would just be my word to go off of. You've only known me for a few days. I wouldn't trust me even if I weren't in your shoes." I finished.

Yusei didn't reply immediately, likely thinking it over.

"Seth,"  he eventually said, "I know you're acting against Godwin, but what are you trying to achieve?"

Honestly, I was more surprised that no one had thought to ask me about my goals until now.

But it was still a question I could answer.

"To survive," I stated, firmly.

At Yusei's questioning gaze, I continued, "There is some really nasty business going down in the near future. I can't simply ignore it and hope for the best, so I'm doing my best to up my chances of getting through that mess alive."

"Future knowledge?"

"Yeah."

"And Godwin and Divine are a part of that mess?"

"Yep."

Yusei's gaze turned downward, likely thinking it over in his head.

Eventually, he seemed to reach a conclusion.

"Alright. Just be careful, and try not to take it too far."

I raised a brow at that, "You're putting your faith in me? Just like that?"

Yusei shook his head, a small smile gracing his features, "Wouldn't be the first time. Besides, you've done everything you could to keep the rest of us out of trouble."

Now both of my eyebrows were raised. Yusei, of course, saw this and went on to explain.

"You saved me and Rua from the Black Rose Witch," Yusei raised a finger, "You asked me to jam Himuro's marker signal for the first day of the Fortune Cup," a second finger was raised, "and you refused to let Saiga take the fall when Godwin and his forces had you two cornered at his mansion," he finished while raising a third finger.

"You do realize I'm the guy who supposedly has future knowledge, right? Even then, for all you know, that could just be me being pragmatic."

"True, " Yusei answered, "And if it were once or twice, I could see it. But you've gone out of your way to help out, protect, or save four different people, at least," Yusei smiled, "If that isn't a pattern, I don't know what is."

While I hardly considered myself a hero, I still understood what Yusei was getting at, so I simply nodded in understanding.

"Alright, you've made your point. No promises, but I'll try to avoid going too far. Besides,  going too far might actually run counter to my goal of survival,"  I smirked, "And I can't have that, now can I?"

Yusei paused at that, but then nodded again, "That's all I ask for."

As I got to my feet to head to the door, Yusei said one more thing.

"By the way."

"Hmm?"

"Was it really necessary for you to reveal that arm the way you did?"

I snorted, "Not really. But the last few days were pretty rough for me, so just think of it as me letting off some steam."

Yusei simply nodded. For all I knew, that could have been his version of a shrug.

The fact that I also didn't have any more fucks to give at the time went unsaid.

After that, Yusei and I exited the room, and I went over one last thing in my head.

As soon as Himuro returns, I'm gonna need to head out for now.

I knew all too well at this point that Divine could show up at any time to screw things up for everybody. The fact that he was oddly silent yesterday did not help.

It was convenient. Too convenient.

With that in mind, I made a mental note to ascertain Divine's present whereabouts as soon as possible. I don't need any more surprises coming from him.

Also...

"Hey, Saiga," I said as we returned to Saiga's office, "Can I ask for one more thing?"

"Depends on the thing."

"A few more of those explosives."

Saiga turned to me and gave me a flat stare. I could also feel Yusei's gaze focus on me, despite not being able to see it.

"Why?"

"Remember the whole thing with the Black Rose Witch?" At his nod, I continued, "We were only able to get out of that mess alive because you and the others pitched in to help out," I explained, "I'm going to be on my own for a while when I head out that door, and I will probably need something on hand in case something like that happens again."

"And ordinary weapons won't cut it?" He asked, knowing full well what kind of shit I've been carrying around with me at this point.

"Doubt it. At best, I could fight them off for a few seconds, but I've never beaten a materialized Duel Monster in a straight fight."

And that was the truth. I've tried attacking materialized Duel Monsters before, but they never seemed to do any lasting damage. All I seemed to do was piss them off.

Maybe Divine put some extra measures in place to keep his monsters from getting destroyed, but I had no way of verifying that.

Saiga brought his hand to his chin, likely mulling my request over in his head.

"Fine," He finally said, "But I better not hear about you blowing up any hospitals with them."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Saiga." And I meant that, too. Seriously, blowing up a hospital sounded like a complete waste of good explosives. 

With that, though, Saiga started rifling around in his stuff before pulling out three of the same sticky bombs I used at Godwin's mansion.

As soon as I pocketed them, the door to the room opened up, revealing that Himuro had returned.

In his right hand was the duralumen case with the stuff I put into it.

I stood up from the chair I was sitting in and approached the man.

"Thanks, man."

"No problem. You take care, alright?"

I nodded at that before taking the duralumen case off of Himuro's hands.

"Catch you guys later," I said with one last wave.

Everyone's reply was somewhat different, though not negative.

Yusei nodded with a small smile. Saiga simply nodded. Yanagi gave a beaming smile and a wave. And Himuro simply gave me a thumbs up.

Having nothing else to say, and a fair bit left to do, I simply turned around.

And with that, I was out the door.

I spent the next... eh, about an hour or so making as much distance between myself and Saiga's condo as possible.

I needed to make sure Godwin didn't trace me back to them, even if only to minimize the potential problems he could cause.

The sun was still high when I eventually came across a small alleyway, well out of the way of regular foot traffic.

It wasn't much, but it would have to do.

Sitting down behind a dumpster, I set the duralumen case down in front of me and started pulling out the contents. 

Until now, I never really bothered with seeing what exactly Divine had on Godwin, beyond what I already knew.

For the sake of the final nail in Godwin's coffin, I needed my understanding of this stuff to be perfect.

With that in mind, I pulled out the first piece of paper and started reading.

Alright, Godwin. Let's see what Divine had on you.

I spent what might have been the next hour looking over everything I had.

First, I went through the papers, finding a variety of things Godwin had done over the years, and a few things he did to keep them all hush-hush.

After that, I turned my phone on (the one that came with me to this world) and went through the pictures I took within the first few minutes of my time in this world.

Looking at the pictures now, I realized that I was in a bit too much of a hurry to get what I could and get out of there, as the images were blurry in certain places, making the act of reading what I took pictures of (and subsequently burned) a bit more challenging than it might have been if I took the slow and steady approach.

But, despite the trouble I accidentally brought upon myself, I was able to read through them all with only a mild degree of difficulty.

Once that was done, I turned my phone off to conserve its battery and sorted everything I had just read in my mind as best I could, dedicating everything I could to memory.

When I finished that, I realized that, for all the dirt Divine had on Godwin, there was, one thing he didn't have.

Most of what Divine had on Godwin would have been problematic if they saw the light of day, sure, but Godwin had enough influence that a few well-placed words from him could assuage the general public.

But the general public wasn't the only thing Godwin had to keep off of his back.

With that knowledge in mind, I gathered up my materials before setting out once more. My next destination: the Daimon Area.

From what I could gather, Security doesn't really seem to patrol that area very much, and after what happened with Aki, it wouldn't surprise me if the place got a lot quieter at night than it did before.

As much as I wanted to avoid the place like the plague, considering that Aki frequents the place, the fact that Security doesn't patrol that place much, if at all, made it too good a place for my plans to just try and find another spot, and even if I did go that route, there just wasn't any time. Not with the Dark Signers either right around the corner or in its early stages.

Here's to hoping that Aki decided to leave the place alone for a while after what happened the last time she was there.

At any rate, once I got there, there was only one thing left to do.

Strike the final blow. Put the final nail in Godwin's proverbial coffin.

It was almost time to finish this.

Chapter Text

Finding the Daimon Area after having already been there once was... a bit more challenging than I cared to admit.

The last time I was there, Misty had taken me there. The fact that I hadn't gone there myself meant that I had to figure out where to go from scratch.

Map board after map board, I got closer and closer to my destination.

Along the way, I used a bit more of Divine's money to buy myself some food and water. A lot of what I planned to do required me to run my mouth. A lot. So keeping myself hydrated and well-fed was essential.

By the time I got to my destination, the sun had already set, and the moon was high in the sky.

The Daimon Area was quiet. More so than I would have expected from the area, but then again, this wasn't "The City That Never Sleeps" so I wasn't going to apply too much scrutiny there.

All around me, I could see signs of collateral damage that came about as a result of Aki chasing me, Yusei, and Rua through the streets. Numerous punctures dotted the concrete road, countless windows were shattered, and chunks of the buildings had fallen to the ground.

Eventually, I came across the car that I had commandeered for the sake of keeping Yusei and Rua alive. Its frame had multiple dents and the windshield was shattered into a million pieces.

Normally, I would question where the clean-up crews were, but it was nighttime, and even if it wasn't, it wouldn't surprise me if people were reluctant to linger out in the streets for too long after Aki's last appearance.

Works out for me, at any rate. Less of a chance for me to get mugged, pickpocketed, abducted, or worse.

I didn't stop walking until I reached the ocean.

Looking out from there, I could see what I assumed to be Satellite in the distance.

For obvious reasons, getting slapped with a criminal marker was an unappealing prospect to me. Nonetheless, I may have to go to Satellite, one way or another.

After all, that was where the controllers for the original Momentum reactor were located.

But that was neither here, nor there. 

I took a spot near the ocean and sat down.

As I sat there, staring at the ocean waves, I took a moment to reflect on the last week. After all, I probably wouldn't get a chance to do it again for a while.

Before I came to this world, I was just minding my own business. I had my laptop with me, I was staving off the last dregs of the Summer heat, and then, I wound up in this world.

One minute, I was heading to the fridge to grab a soda, and the next, I was in front of Divine.

At that moment, I did what any sane (or insane) person would do, knowing who Divine was, and punched the smug bastard in the face.

From there, I went on to save Carly from a fire, pulled off a heist at the Security storage warehouse, made a deal with Misty, fought a disguised Divine, went to the Daimon Area with Misty, got chased around said Daimon Area by a mind-controlled Aki, and then went on to spend the last few days working others in order to take the fight to Godwin.

During that time, I formed an alliance with one of the Signers, and even one of the Dark Signers, as fleeting as I knew that would likely be.

All the while, I didn't play a single Duel Monsters card. Instead, I cheated as much as I was able to get away with.

With Divine hot on my heels, it's not like I had much reason to play by the rules of this world. Which made the apparent lack of restrictions on what I could do all the better.

And now, all that was left was to make a phone call to Godwin, and try my hand at blackmailing him out of his aspirations toward godhood.

It's funny, really. If someone told me that I would end up in this situation, with all that entailed, I would have laughed.

But now? Well, now things were different. Especially with all the chaos I had created, and I've only been here for a week.

If there was one thing I would complain about through all of this, it was being in this world in the first place. While I've entertained the idea of coming to this world my fair share of times, it's not like I actually wanted to be here.

The sooner I deal with the plot, the sooner I can focus on finding a way home.

... Alright. I'm done looking back on how insane my life has become.

It's finally time.

With that in mind, I pulled out my latest burner phone and began dialing Godwin's phone number.

The phone only rang twice before I got an answer.

"Godwin speaking."

Even though he couldn't see it, I smiled widely at the voice.

"Good evening," I greeted, "I trust you've been doing well since we last met?"

A brief pause followed, Godwin obviously taking a moment to process what he just heard.

"You."

"Yes me. Hello... Doctor Godwin."

Chapter Text

"I... what?" Godwin stumbled, for probably the first time in years.

"You heard me. You know what I said. And I sure didn't stutter." I replied. God, if I was in front of him right now, I'd be so dead.

Godwin's true appellation was never mentioned among all the dirt that Divine had on him. I noticed that when I went over everything I had on him.

And that's when I came up with this opening statement. Tell Godwin you knew something that even Divine didn't know.

This would make him take anything I said seriously. No one would tell him that they knew his true appellation for fun.

"So, Doctor Godwin," I began," I imagine you must be pretty upset about me taking what I did."

"That goes without saying," Godwin ground out, "and if you agree to return it to me right now, I will ensure that Security only gives you a life sentence."

"No," I flatly replied, "I will not be doing that. Instead, you are going to leave me alone for the rest of our lives and not try to acquire the powers of both a Signer and Dark Signer."

Godwin went quiet at that. 

And he stayed that way for several minutes. But eventually, he replied.

"And what reason could I possibly have to agree to that?" He asked.

My answer could be summed up in six simple words.

'The Moment Investigation and Development Section."

I could practically feel the precise moment Godwin's brain screeched to a halt as the full gravity of my threat sunk in.'

"You wouldn't," he eventually ground out.

"I would. And so would they, if they knew the truth about you."

The Moment Investigation and Development Section, also known as M.I.D.S., was the group that Godwin, Rudger, and Yusei's old man were all a part of before everything, quite literally, went to hell.

After Zero Reverse happened, it was the M.I.D.S. that got to work concealing all information about it. By this point, they have convinced the general public so thoroughly that, even though Carly was ready to write a report about it, she likely wouldn't be believed. And people in the know wouldn't want to confront the M.I.D.S. for fear of being sent to Satellite.

Godwin, however, was in a much more precarious situation. Not only was he there when everything went down, but unlike Carly, he was also really high up on Neo Domino's social ladder. If he said something, then hundreds, if not thousands of people would believe it, or at the very least be inclined to. 

If M.I.D.S. caught wind that such a threat to the masquerade they were trying to uphold existed, I could easily imagine them stopping at nothing to get rid of Godwin by any means necessary.

And based on Godwin's reaction, they absolutely would.

"So here's what's going to happen,' I stated with finality, "You and your associates, and associates of your associates will not act against me in any way, for any reason, and I will keep the arm until the Dark Signers are dealt with. Act against me, and you should know what will happen. Are we clear?"

I made a quick mental note to find a way to keep an eye on Godwin in the meantime. Need to make sure he can't try something without my knowledge.

Either way, I waited with bated breath. This was the part where I either succeeded entirely, or everything fell apart.

The silence dragged on for a long time, and I could tell Godwin was mentally scrambling for a solution, a way out of this.

"Are. We. Clear?" I repeated, applying just a bit more pressure on Godwin.

Eventually, it seems he reached a conclusion, as Godwin finally gave his answer.

"Fine," Godwin finally said, "I... accept your terms." Wow, Godwin sounds like he just swallowed the most bitter pill imaginable.

Nonetheless, I smiled, "I'm glad we have an understanding. Have a good evening, Doctor Godwin."

With that, the phone hung up, and I stuffed it in my pocket.

And as the last few minutes fully processed in my mind...

I laughed.

I laughed. And laughed. And laughed. And laughed.

I laughed so hard that my sides started hurting. I was even having a hard time breathing, but I just couldn't bring myself to care.

I won.

I fucking wo-!

And just like that, my good mood got ruined as I felt something fly right past my ear.

"MOTHERFUCKER!"

I only caught a brief glimpse of what attacked me before I turned around. 

There, in one of the many alleyways behind me, I saw it.

Iron Chain Repairman.

Shit. I knew Divine was being too quiet.

But as I looked around, I noticed that something was wrong.

Divine wasn't anywhere to be seen. While doing my best to keep an eye on the Iron Chain Repairman, I checked around for Divine but turned up nothing.

Double Shit.

I could easily guess just from his apparent absence that Divine was now relying on his materialized Duel Monsters to keep fighting. 

By that logic, that meant I needed to find him, beat the living shit out of him, and then take his deck and Duel Disk.

Just as I came to that conclusion in my mind, the Repairman came rushing forward, its arm raised and poised for a strike.

I moved to get out of the way, but I wound up realizing something the hard way.

The Repairman was faster than before.

As I moved to get out of the way, it closed the gap between us faster than I had anticipated and proceeded to hit me across the face with a right hook.

Fuck!

I went flying across the docks, skidding across the concrete by my back as the ocean waves crashed against the docks. It didn't take me long to crash through one of the windows of one of the nearby buildings.

"Ow... ok... that... hurt..."

As I slowly got to my feet, I could barely tell through my spinning vision that the building I found myself in was empty. Occupants must have been out at the moment.

I didn't have any more time to think about it as the Repairman proceeded to practically fly through the window after me.

Ok. Change of plans.

The Repairman is far too fast to ignore right now. If I try to locate Divine, it will only hamper my efforts. If I try to escape, it will cut me off.

I need to deal with this thing.

And I need to do it now.

Chapter Text

The Repairman was quick to take the initiative, hefting its hammer for an overhead swing.

I got out of the way, but barely. The Repairman didn't slow down even with the weapon in hand.

The hammer smashed into the floorboards beneath us, creating a hole and a lot of splinters where it landed.

I wasted no time reaching for my crowbar, before taking a swing at the Repairman.

To my surprise, the Repairman actually flinched at my attack, letting out a grunt of what I assumed to be pain.

But it didn't waste any time trying to nail me for that, as it swung at me with its hammer, this time going for a horizontal swing.

I jumped back, trying to get out of range, but it still managed to graze me. That was going to bruise later.

I then pulled out one of my kitchen knives. I didn't even need to aim at the lumbering brute before throwing it.

It made no effort to dodge, and the knife found its mark, embedding itself in its left bicep.

Once again, it flinched in pain, and I distantly noted that Divine must have been trying to keep his Duel Monsters from getting destroyed in our previous skirmishes with each other.

He must have given up on defense in favor of speed. The Repairman was way faster than before.

The Repairman turned its head toward the knife, before pulling the knife out with a grunt.

As it did that, I went in for another swing of the crowbar.

It got sent back a step or two with that, before glaring at me with rage in its eyes.

I tried to take a step back, anticipating a swing, only to trip on something.

Fuck!

The Repairman's hammer slammed into me as I fell, sending me crashing headfirst into the wall behind me.

The wall must have been really fragile, though, as I didn't go all the way through the wall, I just found myself embedded in it, like a dog trying to go through a tiny hole in the door that was made for their use, only get stuck halfway through because they got too big one day.

And that left me in an awkward position.

Why? Because there were two guys in the room on the other side of the wall.

They looked at me warily, their bodies coiled as though they were ready to fight at any moment. Given the amount of noise being made by my current fight, I deemed that an appropriate response.

But that meant nothing when I had a materialized Duel Monster trying to kill me. These two could get caught in the crossfire, and I didn't need to be dealing with that.

Gotta get them to leave. Now.

"Uh..." One of them uttered, "What the-"

"Will you two shut the fuck up?!" I shouted in irritation, "You're interrupting my murders!"

That got the appropriate response, as they proceeded to grab everything their arms could reach and carry, and then bolted.

Not my best way of getting people out of the crossfire, but at this point, I couldn't be bothered to care.

Especially when I felt a big, meaty hand wrap its fingers around my ankle and pull.

My vision spun as I was thrown back into the building I had first found myself in, but I quickly clambered to my feet.

I managed to get moving, despite my fumbling. Good thing too, as there was now another hole in the floorboard, courtesy of the Repairman.

I moved back a few steps, trying to buy some time or some breathing room, but the Repairman was relentless, as it proceeded to tackle me with a shoulder barge.

As I tried to lift my head up, I felt a boot slam down on my chest, my bones practically creaking under the pressure.

When I looked up, the Repairman's hammer was held overhead, poised for a downward swing that would smash my head like a pumpkin.

Oh fuck no!

I quickly rifled around in my pockets, trying to find something, anything that could help me in this situation.

But I couldn't find it in time.

Just as the Repairman made to swing his hammer, I instinctively moved my head out of the way, trying, perhaps in vain, to evade the hammer.

Luck seemed to be on my side at that moment, as the hammer missed, punching another hole in the floorboards instead of caving my skull in, although my heart stopped at seeing just how close the weapon was to reducing my head to a bloody smear.

I rifled around in my pockets with increased fervor. I cannot let that happen again.

As the Repairman pulled its weapon out of the ground next to my head, I finally found what I was looking for.

Its hammer began to make another downward arc, ready to cave my skull in...

and I pulled out my weapon and squeezed.

The loud cry of the air horn rang through the building, causing the Repairman to drop its weapon and hold its ears, closing its eyes and taking a step back, removing its boot from my chest.

The air horn was proving to be quite effective, as the Repairman was now groaning in pain as it became deaf for a brief moment, and incredibly disoriented.

I didn't waste that chance.

I clambered to my feet, pulled out another kitchen knife, and lunged at the Repairman.

It was still reeling from the sound of the air horn, and as a result, it toppled over easily.

With me on top of it, I reared the knife back in a reverse grip...

and swung it down.

The knife easily pierced the Repairman's left eye as I twisted the knife for maximum damage.

The Repairman twitched and spasmed for a brief moment before falling limp, as it broke into countless glowing glass shards.

I took a deep breath, trying to collect myself after the visceral act.

And yet, I... didn't regret it.

Perhaps it was the knowledge that Duel Spirits only got sent to the Graveyard when destroyed? The knowledge that they never truly died? Or the fact that Divine was siccing him on me?

Either way, I took a moment to catch my breath...

only to fall over as something tackled me to the ground.

As I scrambled to my feet once more, I got a good look at my latest assailant, I saw a familiar face.

A familiar, metallic, serpentine face.

Iron Chain Snake.

Chapter Text

The Iron Chain Snake, much like the Repairman, was quick to take the initiative.

I could have sworn that either it got faster or I got slower, because when I moved to dodge another lunge from the serpentine Duel Monster, it once again rammed right into me.

As I skidded across the floorboards, I rolled to the side, narrowly missing the Snake's attempt to sink its fangs into me.

I was quick to scramble to my feet, swinging my crowbar to ward off another lunge from the Snake.

The Iron Chain Snake was batted aside with a metallic clang, before clattering to the ground like a length of... well, chains.

Evidantly, it didn't like that, as it coiled, and began slithering towards...

the hole in the wall. The one that the Repairman had tossed me into.

Shit.

It's probably licking its wounds while waiting for another chance to ambush me. 

Can't give it that chance.

With that in mind, I began looking around the building, hoping for something I could use.

Now that I got a closer look, it had all the things one would expect from an apartment building: a living room, a bedroom, etc.

It also had a bathroom near one of the windows.

Next to that was what looked like a pantry. Inside that was a water heater. A closer inspection told me it used gas.

Ok. I can work with this.

Just as I reached that conclusion, I felt a chill run down my spine as the hairs on the back of my neck stood up straight.

I wasted no time throwing myself to my left, just in time for the Iron Chain Snake to lunge through the spot my neck previously occupied...

and sink its fangs right into the water heater.

Gas leaked out of the spot it bit into, and it was trying to pry itself free.

I, on the other hand, proceeded to throw myself out the window, shattering it into pieces as I crashed into it.

Once I was outside, I heard the screech of metal and a distinct, serpentine hiss.

I wasted no more time after that, pulling out an item that I didn't think much of until now.

The taser that I got back when I raided the Security storage warehouse.

I then pulled on a string of rope attached to it and did my best to quickly, but carefully, wrap it around the trigger.

I was terrible at tying things. My shoes were basically slip-on because I was that bad at it. I never figured out why I was so bad at tying things. I just was.

In the end, my handiwork left much to be desired. As far as ties went, it was shit.

But it didn't need to be any good. It was never meant to last for long.

I tightened my shitty knot, squeezing the trigger down on the weapon, which then gave off the distinct buzzing sound that came with such weaponry.

With that done, I reared my arm back...

and threw the taser into the building before running for it.

A few seconds later, I heard the distinct clang of metal colliding with metal.

And then the building I had just escaped from exploded.

Fortunately, I wasn't burned as the electricity emitted by the taser acted as the spark for the flammable gas that was leaking out of that water heater.

Unfortunately, I was thrown over thirty feet into the air, and I landed on my back. Hard.

"Fuck my life," I ground out as I slowly got to my feet, my ears ringing and my vision spinning.

When my vision regained focus, I turned to look back at the destruction I caused, and breathed a sigh of relief that the Iron Chain Snake was nowhere in sight.

And then I heard a small, yet pained, hiss.

"Oh goddammit!" I shouted in frustration. Seriously, what does it take to kill these things?!

Or was it destroy? Fuck it, not caring right now.

The Iron Chain Snake slowly slithered out of the wreckage. It was partially melted, beaten, battered, in pain, and pissed.

As soon as it got close enough, it opened its jaws wide for one last lunge.

I exhaustedly swung out my arm, trying to ward it off.

What happened instead was a bit unexpected on both our parts.

See, the arm that I swung out was the one holding my crowbar. The thing is, its position was altered somewhat while I jury-rigged an explosive, which needed both my hands. It was altered further as I got tossed through the air by the force of the explosion.

The result was that, when my hand swung out to defend, the crowbar found itself lodged in the Iron Chain Snake's maw, effectively forcing its mouth to stay open.

What I did next shocked even me.

I grabbed both the upper and lower jaws of the Snake, my fingers curling around the inside of its mouth while avoiding its fangs.

Within, I found my purchase and pulled.

The Snake let out a small, pained hiss that honestly sounded more like a whimper. I ignored it.

I pulled.

And pulled.

And pulled.

The jaws of the Snake slowly got separated with a sickening crack as I proceeded to rip its head apart with my bare hands.

Eventually, the Snake just couldn't take it anymore, and, much like the Repairman, it shattered into glowing glass shards under my grip.

Fucking finally.

I fell to my knees at that moment, my lungs greedy for air as I breathed deeply. 

Ok, that sucked.

I remained like that for a few minutes, trying my best both to recover and calm down.

In retrospect, I probably didn't need to use the Taser to blow up the house with the Iron Chain Snake in it. I could have just used one of the sticky bombs that Saiga gave to me.

But that was a problem for a few reasons. Unlike stun batons and tasers, I wasn't going to be able to stock up on sticky bombs just by picking them up off the ground or by being a loot gremlin and taking my enemies' stuff. Sticky bombs were not the kind of thing most people just carried around.

And I can't just go to Saiga to get more. Not right now. The entire reason I broke off from them was to make sure they didn't wind up under scrutiny from Godwin.

So, yeah. Explosion by Taser was the way to go. Doesn't make me eager for a repeat performance, though.

Eventually, I felt like moving again and made to stand up before looking at the sky.

Huh. I must have been at it longer than I thought. The sun was rising.

Wait...

Wait a minute...

I still hadn't dealt with Divine. Shouldn't he be attacking me by now?

But if that's the case...

...

...

...

Oh fuck, that's not the sun.

OH FUCK, THAT'S NOT THE SUN!

I bolted so fast that I barely noticed the Iron Chain Dragon as it unleashed its breath attack.