Chapter 26
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"This isn't right," Tea said for the tenth time as we reached Mr. Stitch's Fine Clothing Store (because of course his name was Mr. Stitch; everyone in this world had a pun name of some kind if they weren't a main character; honestly I'm surprised Tea's family wasn't a bunch of farmers that grew green tea). She was wringing her hands together, looking about nervously like she expected at any moments the cops to come storming up to us with handcuffs.
'Of course, considering this world it was far more likely it will be whatever gang controls this street and extorts the shop owners,' I thought to myself as I twisted the knob and swung the door open.
"How did you do that?" Tristan asked. "That door was locked." He tried for a minute to force his way in before I'd been able to convince him to let me give it a try.
"The Millennium Key," I explained as we stepped inside. The place was dusty and the lights were out but it was filled with all sorts of clothing, still hanging on the racks as if the store was just waiting for someone to flick a switch and flip the sign to OPEN. I pressed my hand to the door and felt the lock twist, knowing that what I'd just done had not just locked the door but sealed it tight so no one could get in unless I let them. Handy, that. "As long as I hold it nothing is locked for me." Which was frankly terrifying to think about. I'd done some experiments after getting back from Duelist Kingdom and later after the VR World, when I had accepted I was now the master of the Millennium Key and embraced all that meant. Before I had been hesitate but now that I had come to an… agreement, for lack of a better word… with the item the power it held had magnified a hundred fold. The way I'd been able to deal with Serenity-
'No, don't think about that,' I thought, fighting a shudder that threatened to rip through my entire body.
"That's handy," Tristan said.
"What else can it do?" Yuri asked.
"I can make any doorway into a… well, a portal I guess. I grab a doorknob, think of a place I want to go, and the door now leads out to there. Mai and I were able to travel from Pegasus' island to Paris that way."
Yuri instantly perked up at that. "Then you can get… no." She instantly soured. "You'd have gotten us out of this world already if you could just make a portal."
"Yeah," I said, trying not to sound concerned. "Remember when I disappeared for a second, back at the hospital? I was trying to get to Serenity's room and it was completely empty. I can move about this world perfectly fine but I can't get us back to where we came from."
And that worried me greatly. Because best case it meant the rules of the Key didn't allow it to cross dimensions. But worst case, and that was where I was leaning, there was something… or someone… blocking me from escaping this world. And that was a massive problem.
"We shouldn't be here," Tea said, biting her lip. "We're breaking and entering. Why are we here?"
"It's not breaking and entering. I didn't break anything. We're just entering." That didn't ease Tea's mind at all. "Listen, if it makes you feel better it is very likely that Mr. Stitch was evil. Probably like that bicycle shop owner who invited Gary Coleman over for snacks."
Somehow hearing that someone she knew was probably a pedophile didn't make Tea fell better either. There was a reason why I'd decided not to become a psychologist.
"Anything else?" Yuri pressed. "I'm looking to see what we can do to defend ourselves and right now it looks like you have the best weapon."
I summoned the Key out and began to finger it. "Well, it can't be taken from me unless won in a duel or I freely give it up… and I don't plan to do either."
"Wait, are you sure? Because I was able to take the Millennium Ring from Bakura just fine."
"Take the Key then." I removed it from my neck and held it out.
"Uh… okay," he said, walking over and grabbing the Item from me… only to watching shock as it instantly disappeared from his fingers and reappeared around my neck. "Wait, what?"
"The Items can only be given away freely to a new bearer or taken by force as right of victory. You didn't do either so I was able to call it right back."
Tristan paled at that. "Then you mean Bakura-"
"Still has the Ring, even if he doesn't realize it." I held up my hand as Tristan and Tea opened their mouths to protest. "I'm not happy about it either but unless someone manages to beat him in a duel to claim the Ring he's stuck with it. And even then there are ways to weasel your way out of it… believe me, I've already been thinking of wording that would allow me to reclaim the Key." I shrugged as I let it reabsorb into my body, which was a sentence I'd never expected to say. "As for other powers? I am able to lock people's minds or open them up." I saw Tristan and Tea both start at that and I hurried to assure them. "Not like Pegasus. He can read your thoughts… or could when he had the Eye. Instead if I press the key to your head I'm able to enter your mind and see a representation of it. Or at least Shadi was when he looked in my mind."
"Shadi?" Yuri asked.
"Gravekeeper. Ghost."
"Of course ghosts are real. Because why not." I chuckled at that because yeah, we lived strange lives. "And the locking part?"
"It creates a wall around my mind. I did it before I went to Pegasus' castle and he couldn't read my thoughts. I'm also willing to bet I could lock myself down so that Yugi couldn't Mind Crush me if he wanted… or maybe tether myself so I can't get sent to the Shadow Realm." That was something I needed to try out because with Zorc gunning for me having that added protection would be nice. I was already secure against Marik trying to brainwash me but I would never say no to more protection.
"Is… is that what happened to Serenity?" Tea asked quietly.
"No." And I turned and walked away because I wasn't in the mood to talk about that… bad enough it was eating away at my soul.
When Pegasus had tried to invade my mind he'd hit the giant golden door that had formed around my brain thanks to the Key and, well, that had been that. He hit the wall, saw no way into the Citadel, and left. Nice and easy, lemon squeezy.
But Serenity? When she'd hit the wall something had… appeared. Something powerful and taunting. I would have thought it was the goddess that apparently had decided I was her champion or whatever but it had been a decidedly male voice that had attacked her. Something I was very sure was myself yet not myself. A piece of myself.
'Heh, I'm probably going mad,' I thought to myself with a bitter shake of my head. 'Yugi, Marik, Bakura… knowing my luck I'm developing a Yami Edwin myself.' And that… was a very bad thing. Because I didn't want to be possessed. But that might have been the better option over a Marik situation. If all my darkness had become sentient? That was bad for the entire world. Because an evil with my knowledge of this world, the power of the Key, and having no problem going violent? Oh, that was just asking for me to go God Mode on the world and everything would burn. One little walk into a nuclear missile silo…
Whatever that thing had been (and I REALLY wanted to know what fucking demon language it/I had spoken at the very end to Serenity) it had decided it simply wasn't good enough to kick her out. No… what had happened to her was what made me fear that it was truly a piece of myself that had decided to take control and protect my mind, because it was out of a movie. The film?
Doctor Sleep.
Fucking hell.
It/I had grabbed Serenity's soul, ripped it out of her body, and in keeping with the Key metaphor thrown her into a casket and locked it up nice and tight, wrapped in chains and covered in padlocks and then covered in concrete that had binding spells drawn right into its surface; I had no fucking idea how I KNEW those binding spells but I had and that was something else to worry about. Then it/I had kicked her still screaming eternal lifeforce into the deepest sea the Shadow Realm had, to sink forever more. Her last words in the hospitals lobby had been a shell crying out from the void with a whisper before she'd been gone, her body living because it was too stupid to know that nothing was coming back.
'Rather like this place,' I thought to myself darkly, looking at my reflection to make sure that I still looked like my self. Thankfully my hair wasn't getting longer or spikier, and there was no weird face distorting that happened with Yami Marik so that was a plus. The only sign so far that I was taping into the Key's power, according to the Pharaoh, was my eyes going all freaky. Which, I had to admit, was a badass look but I couldn't go around looking like that 24/7. 'Still, good indicator that I'm losing it.'
"I hate this," Tea complained. "Our friends fighting each other… Serenity stole Joey's soul…"
"It's not our Serenity or Joey," Yuri reminded her sister, wrapping an arm around her. "Just keep reminding yourself that. "This is another dimension."
"But they looked like them."
Tristan crinkled his nose at that. "Uh… not really." Tea shot him a look and he held out his hands, urging for calm. "Hey, you know I'm right! Joey looked like a gangbanger and Serenity was-"
"Mad Max Fury Road?" I asked. The others stared at me and I rolled my eyes. "I am going to find a dimension where they get my references."
Tea frowned at that, forgetting her concern for her Evil!Joey and Evil!Serenity for a moment. "You mentioned that before. That you've traveled to other dimensions… you mean with that Key?"
Hell, when someone offers you a perfectly good lie might as well use it. "Yes," I said with a nod. "Not like this though. I wasn't sucked into a fucking space vagina."
Tristan tilted his head. "You've been cursing a lot recently… what's up with that?"
"Remember how I used to say odd things? Find me in the alps and all that?" He nodded. "Was trying to quit. Censored myself. Didn't take so fuck it. If I'm your role model you are in for a world of suffering and pain."
Yuri let go of Tea and began to walk around the shop. "So you mind explaining to us against exactly what this dimension is? Because it is really throwing me off and you just saying, "Good is evil and evil is good" isn't helping clarify things all that much."
"Right," I said, clapping my hands together. "Okay, history lesson, kiddos! We are in what is known as a Mirror Universe. It is where morality has shifted. Those that are morally gray… not really changed all that much. So the general public is the same but now a bit more evil than good. More prone to snarl at each other or look the other way when a husband beats his wife. But the big heroes? They are now the Big Bads. And the Villains are now the heroes of this world." I paused, sucking on the right corner of my mouth. "The question is what kind of Mirror Universe are we in."
"Oh, good, there are more of than one kind of dimension where our friends are criminals," Tristan said sarcastically and I couldn't help it… I chuckled. Give a gold star to Tristan for his snarky behavior, because that was a good one.
"There are three main kinds of Mirror Universes… or Anti Matter Universes… or Earth 2s. Whatever you want to call it. The first is the most simple: the world is reversed. It preaches that being bad is the best way to get what you want so people become bad. And the rebels of our world become rebels here because they believe in goodness and kindness." I pointed at Tristan. "If you were told that it was alright to push around kids and steal their lunch money… in fact it was expected and the teachers thought it odd that you didn't do that, what would you do?"
"Point taken," Tristan stated. "The second?"
"A different person fills in a similar role, one that doesn't have the same morality as the people we know. So, for example, let's say that Prof. Hawkins got hold of the Millennium Puzzle instead of Yugi's grandpa. And he gives it to Rebecca and she solves the puzzle. She gets the Spirit but she teaches him jealousy and vengeance because she wants her grandfather's Blue Eyes back."
"I could see Rebecca doing that," Tea quietly fumed, clearly jealous already of the girl who was a rival for Yugi's affection and what the serious fuckity fuck she was 8 years old or some shit and Yugi was 15! That was Bill Cosby levels of creepy. "And yeah, I see what you mean. Or what if Mr. Muto got a different card from Mr. Hawkins, so Seto never went after him but someone else, someone who wasn't as forgiving and hurt him."
"Exactly. Chaos effect."
"Roll Credits," the ass from CinemaSins declared via my phone and I fought the urge to snap the fucking thing in half because dear lord it wasn't goddesses or Zorc or anyone else that was a cheeky bastard fucking with me it was my god damn phone that had a sense of humor!
"And the final one?" Yuri asked.
"Similar to the second. Instead of someone else stepping into the role it's the people we know making different choices that lead down different paths. Yugi solves the puzzle but he doesn't forgive Joey for taking that piece and instead Mind Crushes him. Pegasus is able to get his wife to the right doctors, they save her life, so he never uses the Eye to try and resurrect her." I shrugged. "We are all the complete sum of our actions. But you change one part of the equation and the solution is altered. A one becomes a zero and everything is altered."
"So, what do we do now?" Yuri asked.
"Get answers," I said firmly, looking over the racks of clothing. "And we start by getting out of these scrubs." I pulled off my top and picked up a purple dress shirt. "And word of advice? Subtle isn't done in this universe. Not if we don't want to be shaken down. We hide by being the center of attention." I smirked as I eyed some rather fancy looking suits; it was time for me to live up to my title of Devil.
~MC~MC~MC~
"Do I really need to wear this?" Tea complained, Yuri smirking as she passed her a shirt to try on.
"As much as the ass might annoy me at points, Edwin was right about it being best for us to stand out in order to hide." She'd glanced through the cracks of the shuttered windows of the shop and confirmed that, indeed, people seemed to dress a bit more wildly in this world. At least the ones that weren't looked about with frightened gazes, wondering if they were about to get held up.
"But this isn't… me," Tea complained.
"You're too used to that school uniform," Yuri teased.
They'd retreated to the women's section, Edwin having quickly begun grabbing suits to try on because he'd decided that he wasn't just going to stand out he was going to glam himself up fully. Tea had tried to go to the basic skirts and tops but her sister had yanked her to the more daring clothing ranks, finally zeroing in on the goth and grunge styles the shop sold, much to Tea's horror. Yuri was far more comfortable with such clothing, having gone through a goth phase when she'd been in high school for a year. Piercings, dark make up, dyed hair, the works. Tea though was utterly straight laced though Yuri did question how anyone could be bashful considering the short skirt she wore most days.
"But this?" Tea complained, stepping out of the fitting room and rotating so her sister could get a good look at her outfit, clearly hoping that Yuri would see what she'd cobbled together, laugh at it, and tell her sister that she was right and she didn't need to wear it. 'Go get something else' was what Tea was hoping her sister would tell her.
Too bad for her that Yuri, despite having decided it was better to look professional and dignified in order to become a cop, still loved the grunge and goth looks and though Tea looked amazing.
She wore a sleeveless black turtleneck with a sleeveless yellow top over that, both dark in color and not at all cheerful; especially with the words 'No Ones Angel' stamped on the front of the top. The cargo pants she was wearing weren't baggy but did have plenty of pockets for her to use if she so wished. Thick soled boots, perfect for kicking the asses of anyone that got in her way, adorned her feet. Bracer-like bands were on her arm, the color of tarnished silver. Yuri had even found some temporary tattoos in the kid's section and slapped one on Tea's arm, giving her a nice set of burning angel wings on her left bicep; honestly Yuri thought her sister could use a bit of ink. She herself had a dragon skull she'd gotten done on a dare back in high school on her shoulder blade and had only stopped at that because her father had lost it when he'd found out.
"It's perfect."
"Its nothing like me," Tea complained.
"That's the point," Yuri reminded her. "We need to look like the people of this world if we're going to blend in and figure out what is going on."
"I just want to go home," Tea said softly.
Yuri sighed. "I do too but Edwin said until we figure out what is blocking his magic key-" and boy was it strange that she could say something like that with a straight face, "-or find another way back we're stuck here. That means figuring out what is going on. And the only way we are doing that is by looking for clues. Look," Yuri walked over and placed a comforting hand on her sister's shoulder, "think of it like an undercover assignment. We have to play the part… that's it. You want to act, right?"
"I want to dance on stage," Tea said. "And sing. Broadway."
"And that involves acting."
"Yeah," Tea admitted. "And this is just another role?"
"This is just another role." Glad that Tea was finally getting it Yuri did one more pass through the racks to make sure there wasn't anything else she could use to disguise them.
Yuri too had decided to go with a goth and grunge outfit. But she'd decided that if Tea was going to be her in high school all over again then Yuri would contrast. And that meant pure white. Still rough and wild and totally edgy goth style… but like a Fallen Angel who had clawed their way out of Hell and were now angelic again but having never forgotten the pit.
'Heh, considering we have the Devil with us,' she thought to herself, looking over her reflection. She had on white jeans that had the tastefully 'done in the factory' rips and wear to make them completely broken in. Her shirt was an odd mish mash with a solid belly-baring black tee that actually did cover her stomach thanks to the fishnet style fabric that surrounded her middle. Over all of this went a white leather jacket with black studding and shiny black boots that were utterly practical when it came to kicking ass. She'd even found a bit of hair dye in one corner of the store, the kind done for striping, and applied a quick few streaks of white to her dark locks to really set her look off. 'Nice,' she thought to herself, adjusting the cuffs of her coat. 'Why did I stop dressing like this again?' Her face puckered in a sour glower. 'Right… dad.'
Yuri had always told herself that she'd grown out of her goth phase, that it had just been a brief moment of teenage rebellion that had lasted a year and then she'd moved on. But now she saw she hadn't so much grown out of it as had been slowly worn down by the constant belittlement and complains from her father. He'd known she wanted to be a cop and had passive aggressively harassed her about her looks and fashion choices. 'You look like someone I arrest, not a cop,' he had told her more than once when she left for the day. She'd worn the school uniform, of course, but the moment she was home that was tossed in the corner and she dressed like herself. But her father hadn't wanted that… he wanted her to be prim and proper. His definition of proper. And eventually she'd done so, as her dreams of joining the force had motivated her to do all she could to fit in.
'Except I was never going to fit in because I'm not corrupt,' she thought bitterly, glaring at her reflection even though it had done nothing wrong. 'And what do I have to show for that? A bunch of clothes in my closet that I hate, a job that doesn't let me do anything now because they protect my murderous dad, and no idea what I'm supposed to do with my life.'
"Hey, you ladies all set?" Tristan called out, walking over to them. He was wearing black jeans, a red leather jacket with a black hood attached to the back, and high quality sneakers. Far more normal than Tea and Yuri's looks but with his build he was able to make such an outfit look like the gear of a street tough. "Wow… looking good, Tea."
"I feel like I should be bullying kids for their lunch money," Tea complained.
"That," Edwin called out, "is the point."
Yuri raised an eyebrow. If they had gone for looking like gangbangers Edwin had decided to look the public face of a criminal empire.
Black dress pants and shiny, yet also functional, black shoes. A purple dress shirt, no tie and the top two buttons left undone and the collar loose and flat. A gray vest with silver thread running in intricate patterns through it so that the entire thing shimmered. Over that was a black coat cut in a swallow-tail style: standard short front but them a long single piece tail that flicked back as he walked. The inside of that was purple as well, the lapels a matching violet with silver thread also stitched along them. The cuffs and buttons were all a bright metallic, flashing in the light of the clothing shop and Edwin smirked as he tugged on the sleeves before thrusting his arms out sideways and tilting his head and leering at them with a menacing grin.
He called himself the Guardian Devil. Now he finally truly looked the part.
"Well, you certainly will stand out," Tea said.
"That is the plan," Edwin told them. "You need to remember our cover story."
"And that is?" Tristan asked.
"We're new in town… looking to make our mark. Determine who we need to do business with and who we need to crush under our heels. You all are my lieutenants, my underlings with power but you still answer to me. We're going to go out and do things you aren't going to like. Break the rules of our world but play the games of this one."
"And what exactly are we going to have to do?" Yuri pressed.
"Shake people down. Bust in some heads if we have to. Lie. A lot." Tea opened her mouth but Edwin held up his hand. "We don't have a choice. This world is backwards from ours. What we would see as reckless and vile behavior is the norm here and showing kindness is going to get you killed. It's time to be bad, kids."
"So what? Just stoop to their level?" Tristan demanded. "We should be trying to help these people!"
"They don't want to be helped, not most of them. You saw what the doctors and nurses were like at the hospital. They were cheering for blood. They stacked those soulless bodies in the hall without a care. Sometimes… sometimes people don't want to be saved." He turned and walked towards the door. "We have our families waiting for us in our world… we need to get back to them and not waste time trying to protect those that will stab us in the back. Don't cry for those that would just mock your tears." He reached out and grabbed the duel disc he'd taken from Serenity's body and attached it to his arm before slotting his deck into it; he didn't put on the leads she had worn but the jagged thing still was impressive all the same. "Shall we?"
Tristan and Tea clearly wanted to argue but Yuri shook her head. "He's right."
"He's being a jerk about it," Tristan muttered.
"Probably because he's scared out of his mind right now," Yuri told them. The teen shot her a look but she just shrugged. "I held him as he was bleeding out… believe me, his mouth might say one thing but the eyes… I remember that look from before. He's scared and wants this over with and knows you two are scared even more. So him being frightened won't help… but him being overly confident? That's what leaders do." She walked towards the front of the shop. "So let's get this over with so we can get home."
After a moment the teens followed after her.
~MC~MC~MC~
'And I fucking love the Crime Syndicate,' I thought to myself as I moved along the street, having just left yet another business with no real information but plenty of this world's money in my pocket. The store, which happily advertised that they sold any drug you might want, had put up a bit of a fuss when I'd walked in (they'd clearly thought I was there to shake them down for protection money and hey, when in Rome…) but a few choice words and acts had seen them quickly submit to the usual demands. I didn't actually make said demands but it happened enough to them that they were used to the whole song and dance.
It helped that the others were actually getting into their roles. Yuri was the best, having done undercover work as a Rookie, and knew how to glare at someone and make them think about her slowly peeling their dick like a banana. Tristan was also good but that shouldn't have been too surprising as he had hung out with Joey and been a bit of a bully in his younger years so this was all about getting him back in that mentality. Tea had been the one I was most worried about but she'd finally gotten so annoyed at the store owner dicking around while listening to me that she'd yelled at him to hurry it up if he didn't want a pounding. She'd been forced to turn away to hide the horror of doing that to someone but it worked and we'd gotten paid for our 'protection' and been able to head out to find out more about Domino.
Which wasn't much.
The Crime Syndicate comparison wasn't far off, actually. Domino was basically New York in the 1950s to 70s: a bunch of gangs running around, all of whom were aligned with other, larger and more powerful gangs, who were in turn aligned with even bigger players. Every street had its own small group of hustlers and punks that controlled things to the point that most shops that stayed open for longer than a few months were controlled by the gangs. You wanted to own a book store? Great… join the Black Cobras and they'd make sure your store didn't burn down. Wanted it to last longer than that, maybe a year? Move up from them to the Knives, which the Black Cobras were aligned with and served under but could be wiped out by in a few days if they decided someone was getting a bit too uppity and thinking too big of ideas.
Everyone was clawing for a position at the top but those seemed to be locked up completely in a very… John Wick sort of way. You had City Hall which was corrupt as fuck and paid off gangs to do their dirty business for them… when they didn't have the police heading out to bust heads. The Queen of West Side was some woman named Margret… apparently she pretended that she was just a socialite who liked to drink and party but really was in charge of, well, the West Side of Domino and controlled everything that came in and out. The East was held by two smaller gangs who kept flip flopping who had command, the South was controlled by the Harpooner (and I was willing to bet good money that was Mako's counterpart) and the North was just a mess.
The only good person left in Domino was Seto's adopted father but even then KaibaCorp didn't actually lay in the boundaries of Domino. They just donated time and money to try and help the people in need and get reforms through. Some loved them, others used them. As one is want to do in this fucked up little world.
There were a few other players at the top but the one I was interested in was The King. He'd shown up only a few years ago but already was taking out long held strongholds, claiming city blocks as his own. And his methods were… disturbingly familiar. Using the card game Duel Monsters he sent out enforcers to either recruit people to his cause or suck the souls out of those that didn't fall in line. Joey and Serenity were part of his group and the bodies in the hospital were the King's handiwork. WHY he wanted the souls of people, the 'sheep' as Serenity had called them and others had echoed to me as I was forcing them to explain themselves, was unknown. He just did. He ran the gambling halls and the bars and the casinos in Domino; all the gaming in the city legal or illegal went through him and his champions.
"You two doing okay?" I asked as we walked down the street. Tea was barely holding it together and Tristan was utterly disturbed.
"How would you feel knowing you were dead in another universe?" Tristan grumped. The last store owner had revealed that Tristan Taylor in this universe had been killed by Joey to cement himself as the King's number one guy… for a while, at least.
"Multiverse theory," I told him.
"What?"
Well, why not quote Owlman? "In one universe we're kings. In another we're poor. In one over there we don't exist because our parents never met and in yet anotehr one the fish never had the guts to climb out onto land so life as we know it never came to pass. Worrying about that kind of stuff? It doesn't matter."
"So what… it's all meaningless?" Tea demanded.
"The opposite. It all has meaning because there is nothing that's impossible. Every choice you make alters your path… there is no destiny. I see that now. Oh, the universe will try and tug you onto the path that is best for it but if you fight hard enough you can do whatever the fuck you want."
"And what do you want?" Yuri asked me.
"To go home." And honestly it bugged me that I didn't know what that meant. Domino? My real home? What the fuck was home to me anymore anyway? "Alright, gambling den next then. But if you see any of our friends… run."
"Why's that?" Yuri asked.
"The King. Collecting souls. Worked with Joey. Into cards? Pretty obvious who the King is."
"…you can't think Yugi is the King!" Tea said, a bit too loudly for my tastes.
"If the pieces fit," I told her.
"Not Yugi," she said stubbornly.
But Tristan was on the faster uptick. "Yeah, not OUR Yugi. But this isn't our Yug, is it?"
"Not in the slightest. Just a monster wearing his face." I shook my head. "It's tough but keep reminding yourself that. It's like a an alien that decided to mimic your friend after killing them. Only we can get back our Yugi and our everyone else."
Tea took a breath before nodding her head. "Right… so they are disrespecting our friends by wearing their faces and using their names and being horrible."
"Exactly."
"Then we take them down."
I smiled, pleased she was finally getting into the game. "Exactly. We'll do a bit of good… a bit of bad… but it will all work out." My phone began to play "Ain't No Mountain High" because it was a cocky little piece of electronics but I couldn't be mad at it because at least it got my references… maybe I'd begin calling it Troy, to go with my Abed. "Believe me, I don't enjoy taking their money either but its going to help."
"So if Yugi is so powerful to rip out souls… is it really wise to march into one of his gambling halls?" Yuri asked.
"So long as we make it quick we'll be fine," I said with a shrug.
"No need to go that far, good sir," a voice called out behind us, distorted and metallic and filled with mockery. I turned and noticed that the sidewalk had gotten rather empty, with only a single figure standing there. A man dressed in gray, with goggles and a wide brimmed cap and a Bane-like mask hiding his features. From the way he was staring at me I could tell that he was striping me naked with his eyes, trying to determine exactly who I was and what the worth of my organs might be. "If you wish for information on the King I would be more than happy to provide it."
"Well… that's neat," I said dryly. "For a price?"
"For a price," the man stated before giving a low, deep bow. "The Professor, advisor to his Highness the King of Domino. You are?"
"The Guardian Devil," I said simply. If he wasn't going to give me his real name then screw him I wouldn't give mine. I wondered who might be under that outfit. Kaiba perhaps? His stepdad was a hero in this world and I could see Seto being this Professor, working under Yugi rather than being his rival. It could also be Pegasus, considering the flair and sense of the dramatic the Professor had. Hell, with that title he might be Prof. Hawkins.
I didn't like going into things blind.
"Such an interesting title. Rather lofty don't you think?"
"Maybe I'm being humble with it," I said, subtly motioning with my right hand for the others to begin backing away. They couldn't run, not yet, but no need for them to be in the crossfire, especially since I was the only one who had their brains locked down. 'Fuck, I should have done all of them with the Key before we left.' I had no idea if my soul was safe but I had a feeling it was; that went I'd hit my brain with the Millennium Key I'd protected my soul as well. Hadn't Shadi gone into Yugi's soul room rather than his mind? That's what I'd been picturing…
"Oh, you are an interesting one… with even more interesting company." The Professor took a step forward, motioning towards the others. "I see at least two of the dead with you." He pointed at first Tristan and then Tea before focusing on Yuri. "You though… you are the one that will breed a lot of questions."
"Like how the fuck you look like me," Yuri said… one that wasn't standing beside me.
"No…" Yuri whispered as her own doppelganger moved to stand next to the Professor… wearing the uniform of Chief of Police.
Because of course in this reality SHE was the corrupt head of the Domino Police Force.
"I asked you a question," Evil Yuri demanded, taking a step forward, her facial muscles rendered to utter stone as she glared at our horrified Yuri. "Why do you look like me?"
"You look like her, actually," Tea said, having found her nerve in the face of someone attacking her sister. "Just… worse."
"Tea," Evil Yuri said with interest, stopping her approach and considering the teen carefully. "Finally grew a bit of a backbone I see. So odd… you always were a coward. Taking the coward's way out. You look so different from when I last saw you…"
'Considering The Professor said that I was with two dead people looks like this world's Tea decided to make friends with a noose.' Out loud I said, "Hey! Bull Connor. Eyes on the real threat, huh?" I snapped my fingers, knowing that I was being an idiot again and taunting someone that could kill me… but damn me and my white knight complex. "My people are my concern, not yours."
"They are my concern when they wear the faces of dead people… something I mean to rectify." She unclipped a collapsible baton and flicked it out, a twisted sneer on her face. "I wonder if her blood looks the same as mine."
"Well, last I checked her veins weren't filled with Krispy Kreme glaze so I'd say no."
"Really?" The Professor asked. "A cop and donut joke?"
"Would you prefer I began slut shaming her? I felt that to be more tasteless but if you want me to begin talking about how she must have rose up through the ranks by showing off how limber she was and how many cucumbers she could swallow then I can go that route."
"Is this really the best idea?" Tristan hissed.
"It was when I was hoping you'd idiots would have begun running by now," I growled back.
"We're not leaving you behind," Tea said firmly. God damn friendship forever bullshit!
Yuri however was staring at her Evil alternate self like it was a funhouse mirror that she could force into projecting her true reflection if she just looked at it hard enough. "So… what did you have to sacrifice for power, hmmm? How much of your dignity and your self-worth did you give up just so you could be the top dog?"
"Dignity is something rich people made up to keep the poor down in the muck," Evil Yuri fired back. "Honor? Rule of Law? You think those are basic rights, huh? Oh, I've dealt with people like you before, who come in and think they can shake up the system and change it so it works in some noble pathetic fashion like all the scum in the slums think it should. Don't take a bribe, don't beat down that man giving you lip, always have your partner's back. It's cute… till you realize that's how the world works."
"It's how you think it works."
"No, its how it works. If the people on the street didn't want to be shaken down they would have risen up long ago and kicked us out. Newsflash, dream girl, they outnumber my boys 100 to 1. They storm the buildings and they could kill us all. But they won't… because that would be acting for the whole group and they are focused on themselves. And even if they did… if I were eliminated tomorrow and a new system put in place… it would be just as corrupt. Because that's the secret you don't want to admit: people are shit. All the rules and laws and talk of honor… they were things created by the powerful in order to keep society running how they wanted." Evil Yuri smirked, eyes flashing in self-held victory. "I just decided that I should be the one making the rules."
"Might makes right, huh?" Yuri said in disgust.
"Might makes might. Who the fuck cares about what's right?"
"So you claw your way to the top in order to change things and then decide to just let the system continue on." Yuri shook her head. "Now whose the coward."
Evil Yuri's face twisted into a look of rage. Oh… my Yuri had hit a tender spot it seemed. "I am no FUCKING COWARD!" She took a step forward but I moved to block her, wagging my finger.
"I don't think so, Commish," I told her with a smirk. "I'm not done talking so how about you back the fuck off, okay? Breathing room."
"You think you can order me around."
"Me? No… but I think he can," I nodded towards the Professor. "You aren't in charge here, are you? For all you claim of being the top dog you aren't the one calling the shots. You work for the King, right? And the King, if he wanted us dead, would have had you just kill us. No… he wants us alive. And I am willing to bet he wants us strong enough so he can suck out some souls. You get a bit too swing happy with that baton and you might send us fluttering off to Heaven and he wouldn't want that. So Professor-" I looked toward that gray garbed man, "-call off your dog."
"You-"
"Enough," the Professor stated with mock sweetness. "You know he's right, Yuri. Our liege wants us to bring him the Guardian Devil… and I image he won't go if we harm his companions. So please stand behind me and look fierce but let someone with a brain actually handle things."
Evil Yuri turned towards him, trembling with rage and for the briefest of moments I actually thought she'd attack him. But then, with an aggressive yanking of her coat to straighten it, she walked back over and stood behind him. Though that didn't prevent her from shooting daggers our way with her eyes.
I didn't say a word. Oh, there were so many taunts I could have made. Jokes and insults as I needled the woman wearing our Yuri's face. I was pissed because from my interactions with Yuri I knew that the woman before her was her worst nightmare. That she'd end up like her dad, part of a vile system created to oppress and take advantage of others rather than help them, all in the name of greed. I wanted to tell her it would be alright and if I were someone who liked hugging (seriously, Tea had to stop doing that it gave me the full body shudders) I'd give her one and tell her it was alright. This women, Antimatter Yuri Gardner, was a slap in her face and it had my papa wolf instincts on full alert, the beast within curling back its lips to reveal its fangs and snarling threats.
But I stayed silent. I didn't say a word. I didn't even look directly at Evil Yuri. Because I knew for a woman like that it was the worst thing I could possible do. I'd dismissed her. I'd looked at her, found her wanting, and moved on to the true 'Boss'. And that was eating her up from the inside out.
"So Professor," I said casually, acting like we were co-workers who'd stumbled upon each other in the breakroom, "what are your thoughts on all this?"
The gray garbed man considered me carefully before stating, "You are from another world, aren't you? A dimension like our own but different. Not clones or magical constructs… you are from a world adjacent to our own." He paused, studying me once more. "Why are you here, Guardian Devil? To be a hero? A liberator? A conqueror?"
"I'm just a guy trying to get back home," I said honestly. "Me and my friends have no problem walking away from all this and going back to your dimension."
"Really?" The Professor said, intrigued. "Just like that?"
"Just like that. This world has its own rules… not my business to force my morals onto it."
"Bullshit," Evil Yuri snapped, the Professor though holding up a hand to silence her.
"I believe you," the masked fellow finally replied. Even with his distorted voice I could tell he was utterly surprised. "I believe you," he repeated. "How very strange. That is the last thing I thought you'd say, I don't mind telling you. I thought for sure you had the foolish idea of liberation in that head of yours. Our enemies have tried to find allies to drive us back many times… I considered you were just another attempt to take control for themselves and force their ideals upon the world. But you aren't interested in that at all… you just want to go home."
"We do," I said, mentally adding, 'and then lock our dimension up tight so you can't come marching in to invade.'
The Professor let out a sigh. "All the pity then that we find ourselves here. Had you found me first, been a bit more quiet in your arrival, I would have helped you achieve just that. Sent you on your way."
"Would you?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest, making it clear I didn't believe him.
But the Professor nodded his head. "Oh yes. But you see the King… he has gotten it into his head that he must see you, Devil. See the man that so easily defeated Serenity Wheeler. And what the King wants… the king gets." The Professor shrugged helplessly. "And so it is."
"And so it is," I replied. "You expect me to just follow you?"
"No no no… you're too smart for that." He jabbed his finger at me, mockingly. "A duel. That is how everything is settled here in our world. Not one for your soul… again, the King wants to see you first. I think a simple duel to decide if you follow me or not. Nothing more or less."
"Interesting," I said before nodding. "Deal."
"Wonderful!" The Professor said, snapping his fingers. One of Evil Yuri's officers, who I suddenly realized had been lurking in the shadows, brought the Professor a duel disc which he snapped onto his wrist, the man pulling out his deck and shuffling it. "I do wonder, Devil… have you figured it out yet?"
"Figured what out?"
"What's right in front of you." With that the Professor reached up and removed his hat, setting it on a bench he was near before grabbing onto the left lens of his goggles and pulling it away, the piece snapped off the other so it could twist and slide so that it tucked behind his ear, leaving a grayish blue eye visible. A few strands of dark blond hair fell from beneath his hood as he then gripped his mask, clicking several latches so that, with a hiss, the piece detached from his hood so he might pull it away, revealing his face.
"Oh my god," Tea whispered.
"Is that-?" Tristan gasped
"It can't be," Yuri said.
"It is," I replied quietly, wondering how I hadn't guessed at all who the figure who, despite having scars around his mouth rather than a beard, wore a very familiar face.
Mine.
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