human
New Domino City. A shining product of the evolution of humanity. Having survived not only the advent of the Dark Signers, but the threat of Aporia and Z-One attempting to bring the Divine Temple literally on top of everyone's heads, it seemed the world's problems had long since been dealt.
Or at least...That's what most people were told so as to help them move past the tragic events, as well as the brutal gentrification that had once plagued the residents of the former island of Satellite.
Former because the construction of the Daedelus Bridge helped unite both Domino and Satellite, leaving only one city in place of two. However...Those hurt by Rex Goodwin and his brutal mercenary-like police force still held plenty of resentment. Not just at Sector Security, now called the New Domino Police Department, but against the residents of the Tops that had largely turned a blind eye to the wrongdoings the police had committed in the name of 'preserving society'. And despite the attempts of humanitarian groups to help rebuild Satellite and make it a better place for everyone to live, the criminal element still found that they held a powerful grip there.
After all, just because everyone was in a feel good mood, did that mean they should give up trying to live life as they always had done? And for most of the 'underworld', that answer was a resounding 'No'. Some areas were still so bad that even the police wouldn't enter it.
One resident, however, decided it was time to leave. Not because he wanted to join the Tops, but because now was the time - if there ever was one - to make those assholes feel the same pain he'd felt. Plus...He felt it was high time he and his crew got some of the luxury these trust-fund babies allowed themselves to have.
The Fiend of Satellite, going by the alias Sosuke but his real name being Hotsuma Oboro, knew he was still black-listed by the police. Not surprising, considering the things he'd done...But he wasn't going to apologize for it. They sure as hell never did for any of the times they'd unjustly arrested someone, raped a woman, or even killed an innocent. Heading the gang known as the Disciples, he and his cohorts had helped run a kind of underground hideout in the means of stealing supplies - food, water, cards, and things to keep the residents entertained - and generally harassing Sector to keep them off their asses. The plan eventually crumbled though, as Sector found out about it and forced them to scatter.
And now, he was here: His own past had let him garner some rather unusual traits, most of which would be used to 'acquire' a piece of real estate: A series of huge warehouses, each of which would be used to set up waypoints for himself and the rest of the Disciples to use for their new 'lives'.
Part of which was spent today pulling off a heist of rare cards to be sold on the black market, the five-foot-nine male - his clothing consisting of a long black jacket, a navy blue T-shirt, dark slate jeans and white sneakers - riding on a stolen, customized black D-Wheeler. From beneath the sunglasses that hid the piercing blue hues from view, a bright yellow line ran down each cheek and formed a right angle to run over his mouth - the marks over his lips making out to be the appearance of razor teeth - signifying the criminal marks of those given to the ones caught by Sector, his short dark hair fluttering in the wind as his vehicle roared down the new roads they'd paved in this area. Naturally, he could go anywhere and have them removed...But what better way to flip Sector the bird and let them know he wasn't going anyway?
Regardless, he gunned the throttle on his Wheeler, zipping through traffic and generally driving like a reckless idiot. And while he did have a gun, he wasn't about to start firing it; too much chance to hit someone that didn't deserve it. Disappearing down a side alley, he killed the motor and watched as the blue-and-white of Sector's own Wheelers rush past; he let a grin cross his face as they zipped right on past him. He had let one of his crew, a super tech genius named Yamichi, hack some of the controls on his ride; now their bullshit method of forcing people to duel wouldn't work on him unless he was feeling daring. At the very least Speed World had been disabled and removed from the card registry, which meant Sector had to upgrade all their bikes to use radio transponders to lock down fleeing Wheelers.
"Try again, fuckers..." Sosuke snickered, reappearing as he rejoined the traffic on the road. This time he wasn't driving like a stupid person, but still going somewhat fast before coming screeching to a halt at a red light....Unaware of who it was that he did such a stunt next to.
gpt
Satsuki Ryuka, a name with associations bound and bonded upon it. She was no one special, no prodigy or dueling genius. She was fortunate enough to be born into the tops of Neo Domino city, determined enough to scrape and scrabble for every bit of leverage she could get in the ever-vicious competitive dueling scene, and smart enough to make all that determination count for something. She had broken out of high-school tournaments, made her way into into the big leagues wielding a strange dragon from a time and power before even the era of the signers. Eyes of red and scales of black, ancient cards of a bygone unnamed Wheeler despite the fact that research suggested they pre-dated the popularity of riding duels by many years...
'Red Eyes' she had come to be called, girl and dragon alike, and though she always found herself struggling against stronger decks she slowly clawed her way upwards, carving out victories with her own two hands.
She even won enough money to put together a D-Wheeler painted in shining black edged lines of brilliant crimson, fitting to her style, if not necessarily to her rank amongst duelists. She always felt a little awkward riding it in the day in truth, like a pretender to something greater. D-wheels were expensive pieces of equipment in Domino, ridden by the best duelists the place had to offer, and while Satsuki aspired to greatness, she did not feel she had quite yet reached it. While she had always heard that the culture was different across the bridge in Satellite mind you, she was Tops born and Tops raised. She would wander the rest of Domino, but across that bridge was still a dark place, to dark for her to dare go, a place where dueling skill couldn't necessarily get you out of everything.
At night though, Satsuki felt free to ride. The streets were mostly empty apart from the occasional police patrol and the dispersed trains of late night commuters racing along, allowing her to cut loose with the throttle and feel the speed press her to her seat as she shot along the asphalt, ponytail dancing in the wind where it stuck out under her helmet.Green light, Green Light... Red.She squeezed the brakes, feeling the deceleration pull as she rolled towards the stop only to catch something from the corner of her eyes, a squeal of tires not her own filling the air.A motorcycle? No... Another D-wheel...
Satsuki's eyes narrowed behind the visor of her helmet, catching a glimpse of jagged marking on the cheek of the man on the other machine. A criminal? Former criminal at least, though that was a broad categorization given some of the legendary heroes of the city had been branded too. Tentatively, Satsuki raised her left hand, waving a moment, then twisting the wrist to show her cards to him."A Duel?"She felt a thrill down her spine as she spoke the challenge, casual words, yet her heart was hammering. It was one thing to ride the D-wheeler but she'd only dueled on it a handful of times before - none of them serious - preferring standing duels for the most part.
Seconds ticked by, the light still red, though the street was clear enough to drive right through anyways if it came to it. Satsuki tilted her head slightly, awaiting a response, her eyes gleaming under her visor as they caught the moonlight.
human
Sosuke paused at the light, checking his pockets and making sure the cargo bags on the side of his Wheeler were still firmly attached. Which they were, surprising given the half-assed job he'd done trying to get them on in the first place. His eyes, covered by the semi-reflective shades, then looked up to see a woman on another D-Wheeler - a not-badly-painted one, either - waving at him...Then showing him her cards, asking for a Duel.
Now, normally, Sosuke wouldn't respond to some uppity Tops brat trying to goad him into a Riding Duel. In fact, everything logical was telling him to just tell her to fuck off. Especially now since he *was* carrying some fairly hot cargo, and trying to get a Duel was just plain suicidal since Sector would almost certainly try and check the Duel itself, if only to make sure the route predetermined by the Dueling System onboard was followed and didn't interfere with normal traffic patterns.
But that was during the day...The night? When the streets were virtually empty?
It was a free-for-all a lot of nights by some of the more boisterous youngsters, with the Duel Boarders sticking to the sidewalks and the D-Wheelers dominating the streets. Thankfully, in that respect, the reduced crime and attention needed in Sector helped to make sure less people hurt themselves.
And it was because that Sosuke felt an itch to make an exception. What was life without a little danger?
Showing her his own Deck, he slid it into the receptacle of the onboard Duel Disk. He then just grinned and pushed his glasses up, "You're gonna wish you never came across me, Tops bitch." It was clear from his tone and attitude that he didn't care for her, having already decided that she was a stuck-up brat even before knowing her...And he couldn't wait to slam her into the darkness.
And with this, the stage was set:
"Riding Duel: Standby"
Both the woman and Sosuke would see their displays show 'Calculating most viable route' before long a roadmap showing the very route itself they would use for the Duel.
"Attention, attention, a Riding Duel is about to begin"
"Attention, attention, a Riding Duel is about to begin"
"Please clear all lanes for Duelists"
Along the streets, beacons began to pop up to illuminate the same pathway their Duel computers had calculated, barriers of energy coming alive on the road to keep cross-traffic from accidentally slamming into them. From here, the D-Wheelers would go into auto-pilot after the first corner and allow them to focus on their tactics.
"Hope you're ready, because the only thing you'll be tasting is my dust, girlie." said Sosuke rather rudely, hands gripping his accelerators as he waited for the countdown, which showed up on their screens.
'3'
'2'
'1'
The Dueling screen then changed to,
RIDING DUEL: ACCELERATION!
Both of their D-Wheelers burned rubber just as the light would turn green, rocketing off the start at the exact same time.
"You know the rules, bitch! First corner goes first!" Sosuke shouted, twisting the accelerator to maximum and attempting to shoot ahead.
gpt
'Tops bitch'?"Wha-Hey!"The Light turned green and Satsuki had to scramble to slam the accelerator forwards, greeting her teeth as the tires squealed under her for an instant before they caught and the pavement turned into a blur. Even those few moments of hesitation put her behind by a handful of meters but she caught up quickly, accelerating recklessly in anger. Where did he get off pulling shit like that?
Punk Bastard!Some satellite jerk? She might not be the queen of speed but she was fairly sure she could handle a random asshole with a criminal history. She focused on the screen, lips pulling back and teeth grit, anger yes, but also a little fear in her motions. This was already faster than she'd ever gone in a Duel, and the bastard was still accelerating, making for the curve ahead."I'll make you regret accepting my challenge!"She didn't know if he could hear her over the wind but she screamed it anyways, anger pumping adrenaline into her.
She twitched the controls and dipped in, feeling the G-forces press her to the seat, trying to cut behind to take the inner run on the coming turn and pass Sosuke. Unfortunately her poor start betrayed her, leaving her just a few tenths of a second behind as they rounded the curve, but as they levelled out the playing field began to glow. Duel was live now, and she was taking the second turn.
Not to be deterred, she evened out her course and accelerated again. Her machine might not have been as heavily customized but it was powerful under it's hood and plating and she let that power flow, feeling the bike's engine sound through her whole body like a dragon's roar.
A few meters, a few feet, a handful of inches, and then they were even, neck and neck as Satsuki scanned her cards, then looked over to her opponent with a grimace."Bring it on!"
human
Ohoho, so this little tart had some spirit in her? Sosuke was the kind to never take sass lightly, but he supposed it was alright this time; been a while since he dueled on his Wheeler. Hell, he'd spent so much time trying to keep his group running that he hardly took any time for himself. And he wasn't about to let this opportunity go to waste. He definitely heard her telling him he'd regret accepting her challenge. And when he took the first turn, he just laughed as he looked right back at her, seeing how her hands were oh so tightly gripping the accelerators.
"What's the matter, daddy's girl? Scared to break the speed limit? You're gonna have to nut up if you wanna beat me!" he yelled adding, "Normally I'd say ladies first, but since your slow ass couldn't keep up, guess the first turn's mine!" He looked down at his hand; well, this wasn't a very good start. But he'd had worse, he could definitely recover from this.
"Damn, guess it's your lucky day, bitch! I set two cards face-down and call it the end of my turn!" he declared, two reverse cards appearing around his D-Wheeler before vanishing. "Hey now, don't be so tense! This is supposed to be fun!" he chuckled upon seeing her still glaring at him from under the visor, himself seeming all too laid back despite the breakneck pace he was setting.
"I'll admit that's a sweet machine you got there, but let's see you really make that baby purr! Come on, now, yeeeeaah!" And that was the last she would hear before he put it into overdrive, his machine starting to pull ahead as he laughed his ass off, enjoying himself even with the crappy hand he got from the beginning.
gpt
Satsuki's knuckles were white on the control yokes as she kept the machine steady, the road blurring around her as she was forced to accelerate again just to keep up. there was nothing else at this speed, no one but her, her opponent, and the howling wind of their passage.
It would have been oddly Zen if it hadn't been so terrifying in the moment.
It took an effort of will for Satsuki to take one hand off the steering and thumb through her cards.Two cards face down huh? I'll teach him what a real tournament duelist can do!
"I'll make you pay for underestimating me then! I activate Dragon Shrine and foolish burial! Sending three dark dragons to my graveyard and allowing me to special summon Dark Armed Dragon!"The streets blurred into an image of a burial ground, titanic dragons laying themselves down to rest one by one beneath great arching trees, then dissolving into light and flowing upwards into a hulking monster of black plates and crimson gaze."But that's not all!"The D-wheel howled beneath her as she pushed it harder, furiously devouring mile after mile to keep up with him."Next I'll activate Return of the Dragon Lords! Come back to life! Red Eyes Black Flare Dragon!"
The next turn was coming up and the bike leaned into it, autopilot taking control as the twin dragons banked above."And Finally I'll summon this! Red Eyes Black Wyvern! Now!"Satsuki's eyes practically glowed for a split second in time with those of her dragons as the monsters reared back as one.
"Dragons! Attack his life points directly!"
Satsuki smirked as her opponent was engulfed in digitized flames, watching his life points tick down to 1000."you may know how to ride, but you clearly don't know how to duel at all..."
human
Well....This was turning out to be a real shit-show.
The presence of Dark Armed Dragon was bad enough...But then she managed to summon two more!
"Ok, man...Probably got in over your head this time..."
And because this was a newer version of the Solid Vision system, it meant that Sosuke would feel every bit of the dragon's collective rage. The burst from Dark Armed Dragon nearly made him spin out, barely managing to keep control before Black Flare hit him next, his Wheeler whining as its speed took a major hit, the backwheel skidding all over the place before he managed to right it. And then Wyvern dealt the last blow, a loud bellow leaving him as the Solid Vision made him feel the force of the impact.
"Sh-shit...Fucking bitch!"
That was the thought that crossed his mind; no way in hell was he going to let her get away with this! Gunning the throttle again, he nearly clipped her as he shot past, soon falling back in line with her as their machines howled through the roads, the few onlookers cheering as these two duked it out in the dead of night. Listening to her taunt only pissed him off even more, a hand coming to rest on his deck "Alright, fine, you got something! But your free ride through life ends here, Tops bitch! Draw!" But when he looked at the card, he just saw Battle Fader...Not the best choice of cards, but maybe it could help him.
He hoped, at least.
"Fuck...Well, here goes nothing!"
Sosuke then said, "I Set one monster face-down and end my turn!" He wouldn't lie, he was feeling kind of pathetic right now; his deck definitely wasn't cooperating with him. He should have listened to his instincts and told her to fuck off, but no he had to be a smartass. He had no idea who she really was, since paying attention to those trumped-up tournaments fell pretty damn far to the bottom of his priority list.
Even so...She would find that he didn't get through the life he lived by just giving up. No, he would fight until the last point of life.
"Go on, then! Make your fucking move!" he shouted angrily, the roles between them becoming reversed.
gpt
In another time and place Satsuki would have been more cautious facing down three facedown cards and a monster but riding high on the adrenaline and the rush of putting one over her opponent's earlier dismissal and insults she wasn't thinking with quite the same cold calculated strategy as she would in a tournament."I'll activate Dragon's mirror, taking the souls of my dragons in the graveyard and and fusing them to summon Wyarm The Progenitor Dragon!"A little insurance never hurt, but more than that, Satsuki wanted to add insult to injury, crush him with a full board and nothing lost."Now Red Eyes, cut that monster down to size with Inferno Fire Blast!"
The creature that appeared was only vaguely familiar, a tuner of some kind, but it didn't matter, this turn would see him finished anyways, he would never get to bring it back and use it."And now that's out of the way, go my Wyvern, finish him off with Crimson Slasher!
The Wyvern swooped in at her command, preparing to strike, only for the ringing bell to sound, cutting through the roar and halting the gathering power around her monster's claws."Eh?!"
The battle phase ended immediately and she nearly lost speed before accelerating again to keep up. A mistake on her part, but he could only be delaying the inevitable right now. She still had this."Hmph... Delay all you want! It won't save you."
human
"Great...Another fucking lizard."
That was what went through Sosuke's mind as she summoned an even uglier beast to her field, the scales a muddy shade of grey; the info on the screen showed him its card text. Couldn't be destroyed by battle unless it was by a Normal Monster, and had complete immunity to effects of other monsters. And when she attacked and destroyed Dark Sprocketer, it wasn't too much of a shock; it had no effects to protect it and not nearly enough defense to withstand the attack. Her direct attack with Wyvern, however, would be cut short as he Special Summoned Battle Fader, the demon's arm swinging across its body and letting the loud chime resonate, forcing the dragon back.
And her taunting only served to infuriate him more; this was exactly why he despised the Tops. They always looked down on people like him, never having known true hardship, never having to survive in the lawless nature of Satellite. Even the newer, less-rundown areas still had crime bosses with their fingers deep in everyone's pockets, calling the shots from the shadows.
And he wouldn't expect her to give a crap; no, a brat like her probably only had to worry about bringing her Wheeler in for a routine service. More times than not, he was lucky to find even passable parts to fix his. Well...Even if winning was next to impossible, he would at least scratch her life points. Make her see she wasn't completely untouchable.
"Don't count me out yet, Tops trash! I draw!" he shouted, drawing another card: Dark Dimension Escape. Useless if he had no banished monsters, which was the current situation. "I tribute Battle Fader to Advance Summon Archfiend Commander!" he declared, the tiny bell-demon being replaced by the much more intimidating monster. "I then activate my Trap, Cry of the Damned! With it, I return Dark Sprocketer to my field and tune it to my Commander!"
And with that move, Sprocketer and Commander fused together to form those classic green rings, "Terrible enforcer, appear and cleave the evil from the hearts of the condemned! Show them your might and purge their blight from this world! Descend! King of Divine Punishment, Dark Highlander!" At this, a tall armored fiend wielding a massive scythe now was in Sosuke's possession, Sprocket's effect destroying Cry of the Damned since it was the only face-up backrow card on the field.
And as if to further demonstrate his resolve, he then added fiercely, "I then activate another, Demon's Roar! I pay 500 life points and Special Summon Archfiend Commander from my Graveyard!" Archfiend Commander reappeared, giving a display of his own as Sosuke's own life was now at a measly 500, compared to the woman's untouched 8000.
Doing so, he knew he was sunk...But he wouldn't let her walk away completely untouched. He couldn't attack Dark Armed Dragon; he'd just nuke his own monster in the process, and Wyarm couldn't be destroyed by anything he had on the field. Which left only one course of action. "Highlander, destroy Black Flare Dragon!" he cried out, the massive monster's weapon raising high and cutting it down; her own monster cried out in agony as the weapon cut its flesh, reducing Satsuki's life points by 400...But it wasn't destroyed?
"Tch! Whatever, guess your Wyvern's the first one to die! Commander, crush that fucking gecko!" he commanded again, the giant Archfiend raising its fist and punching Wyvern hard across the jaw, shattering its image and dealing 700 more points of damage to her. And with that...There was nothing else he could do.
"Turn e---"
He was about to end his turn, knowing that there was nothing he could do; however, what came next would probably surprise them both.
"YOU TWO! PULL OVER, YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!"
"RIDER OF THE BLACK D-WHEELER! PULL OVER!"
And behind them both would be what seemed to be a collection of about six or seven Sector officers on their own D-Wheelers, quickly joining the chase; damn it they must have snuck in once they passed an intersection and turned off the energy barrier there. Giving Satsuki what was probably a dirty look, he just shouted, "You're lucky Security's here to save your ass!" and slammed his hand over the Duel Disk, forfeiting the match before breaking off down a side street and peeling away, most of the officers except for one breaking away to give chase.