LOCK

[evilfusion]

((Well, considering your "entry" into the conversation involved a bland statement, rather than a contribution to the discussion at hand, and your next post was literally an 'I'm bored and not doing anything' post, so I think our characters can be excused for not focusing on the person standing there and doing nothing. Also, Dan isnt near the others yet))

 

Derek gestured to Madeline. "Seeing as you would likely know the most about the boy you dueled, I want a name and a description. This way we'd recognize them on sight."

 

Madeline blinked at the request, scratching her chin lazily. "Kane's his name," she mused. "Purple hair, uses a dragon deck with a number of rare dragon Synchro monsters. Associates with a living Stardust Dragon," she added with a note of a sneer.

 

Derek paused, considering the name and description. "Yes, I think I know the one. A living dragon? He stands out quite a bit. Interesting..."

[RE-Mastered]

Aster woke up laying flat on his back in a dark alley. He looked over and saw a rat eating ris shoe. "Ahhh!" Aster shouted flicking the rat away. "How did i get here?" He wondered makeing sure his cards were still in his pocket. "What a duel, i need to find him again someday and have a rematch." He got up and picked all the grime off himself and reached into his back pocket for some money for food. "WHAT?" He shouted, all his money was gone. "Now what?" He wondered and then an idea came to him and he ran to a guy across the street.

 

"Hay you, do you have a deck?" Aster aked the man and he nodded in reply. "good, how would you like to make a few bucks?" Aster asked smileing.

 

*4 minutes later*

 

"Ordean Dark Valkyire attack him directly!" Aster shouted as Ordean Dark Valkyire headed for the man he had asked to duel a few mintues ago. "Game over." Aster said picking up a hat full of money. "Best idea ever, play a public duel and people put a little money in for the performance. He looked into the hat to find only 25 cents. "Looks like I got hunger tonight." Aster said siting down on a bench.

[BANZAI!!!!]

Tyson laughed. He honestly hadn't thought of people actually ESCAPING from his immortal, although he had considered a few survivors. "I meant in and AROUND the stadium." he said, trying to hide his oversight. He turned to the rest of the group. "So... how many more 'targets' have you all found anyway? We already know of one or two right?" he asked, thinking about his next course of action...

 

---

 

"A picnic, really?" Astrum said, asking no one in particular.

 

"What the hell was that?" Kane interjected, finished going through his trip down memory lane.

 

"Not exactly sure, Kane. I think that thing was Jane's equivalent of me, except I can't hide in a card. Judging by the way it acted, it seems to have a very close bond with your prospective mate."

 

"For the last time she is NOT my mate Astrum!" Kane yelled, blushing partly because he was embarrassed and partially because he remembered the kiss he had shared with her earlier that day.

 

"Lies, your face says it all. Just accept it and pursue your feelings, Kane."

 

"I'll do whatever the hell I want, understand? She IS NOT my mate. " Kane said, angry now at Astrum's teasing.

[Merci]

Protheus as Ran looked around and just sighed. "You know, I have to ask. Why do we have to play a CHILDREN'S CARD GAME in the first place? Wouldn't it be easier just to manifest a monster and let it destroy the world?.....Oh never mind, ignore me, I never said that."

You are very bad at impersonating me.

Shut up, I was getting to the point.

"A living Stardust Dragon, you say? No surprise there, Sherlock. But be it living or not, it's still only one card in the face of the Wicked Gods."

[Serenade]

Jane wakes up slowly, sitting up to hear the shouting match between Kane and the dragon. She sort of blubbers out the first thing she hears,

 

"Not my mate...?" Jane sits there for a second, mildly dazed, not really understanding it at first, but it clicks as her mind completely comes into focus,

 

"Not my mate? I guess I did kind of force myself on you..." she wipes off a tear from her eye, taking off a little of her eyeliner with it,

 

"Keep the card Kane. I at least wanted our relation to end on a happy note..." Jane simply gets up and walks away, in an attempt to clarify the situation, Ronoa speaks to her

 

Maiden, please. Understand, he was simply embarrassed to reveal himself to his dragon. I'm sure he'd have feelings for one of your purity.

 

Do me a favor Ronoa... she wipes another tear from her eye, Just let me die the next time someone shakes me too hard...

[.:Blu:.]

Elliot awoke in an unfamiliar place. He looked around to see Kane and Jane. "Huh? Wh-where am I? How did I got here?" Elliot was now beyond confused. Elliot stood up off the ground and started to stumble as he tried to regain his composture. "(That sensation of being in midair..... Was that a dream?..... but it felt so real.....)" Without asking Kane or Jane, Elliot slowly stumbled away from the area. As he was stumbling, Elliot fell over a few times and got right back up and continued on. For Elliot, nothing seems to make sense anymore. He continued on, not even knowing where he was going to go.

[evilfusion]

Derek and Madeline turned, in the same motion, to stare at Ran. Derek just looked incredulous, whereas Madeline looked highly amused. Neither of them seemed able to decide how to respond to Ran's random question. "It's more personal?" Madeline guessed. "Beat them at the game is more fun than taking backseat to massive destruction?"

 

"And really, Tyson," Derek said, turning his focus back to the Wrath Sin. "We intend to do a scan of the area for the targets, but I wouldn't hardly recommend searching a ruined stadium for healthy individuals to sacrifice further."

 

"However," Derek continued, this time addressing Ran. "A living dragon provides the means to escape, does it not? A Stardust Dragon has flight capabilities. Be it a card or not before the Wicked Gods, its presence without a counterpart to oppose it could be...unbalancing."

 

"Ooh...I think I know where this is going," the Avatar cackled.

[Merci]

Protheus-Ran thought for a bit, and then he came up with an answer. "Why don't you just burn it? With fire? REAL fire? I just can't understand. It's a c-h-i-l-d-r-e-n-s c-a-r-d g-a-m-e. I never understood it. Back in the old days, we used REAL monsters and REAL weapons to fight, not cards. And never mind, but I still think you should just burn the card, or steal it. Or-"

You're making me look absolutely ridiculous. Stop with all that.

Hey, but I do have a point.

"Well, in any case, unbalanced is good. Chaos is fun. Lots and lots of Chaos......Or we can just ignore it. I mean, it's not like we're fighting in a Battle Royale, right?"

 

The Eraser was absolutely confuzzled with Protheus's personality. He was unlike anybody it had ever met in it's millions of years of existence and memory before that. Protheus had the air of a diabolical being. He can be carefree, he points out what no other would ever point out, he's as powerful as a King, and he's more knowledgeable than even a God. He was just....superabsurdlynormal.

[BANZAI!!!!]

"Hold on there!" Atrum yelled at Elliot as he flew over to him. "We need to stay here now, bud. C'mon." he said gently steering Elliot's dazed stride back over to where Kane was. Kane got up, and walked over to Jane. His shouting match with Astrum had caused her previous statements to go unnoticed He tapped her gently on the shoulder to get her attention. "Are you ok, Jane? You had me worried there for a bit." He said smiling. Kane was relieved that she was standing, but still concerned for her well being. He saw her crying "Jane, what's wrong? Are you alright?" he asked again, his concern growing.

 

---

 

"A living dragon... interesting." thought Tyson as he continued walking with the rest of the Ordo members. "Well, Derek, I guess I have no other choice than to obey whatever dumbass order you give me." he said, his biting tone returning in force. He walked closer to Madeline "Mind if I see that card you won from that kid?" he asked her, letting his curiosity get the better of him. "I heard you put him through a tough fight. Ha. Nothin' like a good victim. Right?" he spoke playfully, although he still had a tone of biting annoyance, although in his attempt to be friendly he hid it slightly.

[evilfusion]

Derek gave Ran a further perplexed look. "The card WAS stolen. And the dragon is not bound to the card, as near as I am aware." Why am I even having this discussion? He looked over at Tyson. "It wasn't an order, just a suggestion not to scavenge through ruins rather than cast a wider net."

 

"...what lunatic did the Eraser pick?" the Avatar wondered in a tone of amused bewilderment.

 

Madeline glanced at Tyson, thinking for a moment. "Yeah, I guess," she said, reaching towards the deckbox at her hip. "And yeah, it was a tough fight for him. I won like...5800 to 0."

 

With a flick of her wrist, she withdrew the Synchro dragon, trailing a finger over her prize before showing it to him.

[Serenade]

Kane tapped on her shoulder and her stomach almost fluttered a little just to be dropped again by the words in her head. She felt betrayed.

 

"Get off of me Kane. I'm not going to be strung along by you anymore if you're just going to 'do whatever the hell you want'." she wipes another tear off of her face, trying to keep the tear from running her eyeliner,

 

"Protect me from this hostile, Ronoa." she said emotionlessly as Ronoa raised from Jane's shadow, putting out his hand at Kane.

 

"I'm sorry Mister Scailand. The maiden's orders. Stay away."

[.:Blu:.]

Elliot was pulled back by Astrum, but to Elliot, it seemed as though he was pulled back by some unexplained energy. Elliot fell to the ground. "Wh-what's going on here? What just pulled me back? I.... I gotta get out of here!" Elliot yelled as he stood up off the ground and ran off. Elliot was very confused about all that has happened. "(What grabbed me?..... Am I going crazy?..... I can't take this anymore.....)" Elliot thought to himself as he ran towards his house.

[BANZAI!!!!]

"My name is Kane Scalind, not 'Scailand', got it?" Kane said, now angry at both himself and Ronoa. He turned to Jane and attempted to compose himself. "Jane... I didn't mean what i said, I... " His voice trailed off. He was going to say something along the lines of a heartfelt apology, but his shyness about the subject prevented him from doing so, although it did cause the red blush to appear on his face again. His mark however, was not restricted by his own inhibitions, and the green/white appeared again, brighter than ever. However, there was no pain to go along with it this time. In fact there was an absence of feeling, as if something had been taken away from the WIND mark, and Kane didn't notice it light up. Realizing it was a lost cause, Kane walked away, fighting back angry tears.

 

Astrum watched this with detached sympathy for both parties, although he felt for Jane a bit more. he walked over to Ronoa "Mind if I pass?" he asked, thinking he could comfort her a bit.

 

---

 

" Huh. 58 to 0, that so? Wonder how a crappy duelist like that got a hold of such a good card?" Tyson asked rhetorically. He snatched the Stardust Dragon from Madeline's hand, and looked it over. "Nice." he said, approving of the theft. He flicked the card back to her. "This is boring, what the hell are we doing sitting around out here talking anyway? Shouldn't we, you know, do something productive?" he asked, bored of simple conversation.

[evilfusion]

"He had a number of good Synchros, actually," Madeline chuckled, catching the card between her fingers, although she paused a moment. 5800 sounded like an exaggeration, since she remembered taking a little more damage than that, but it wasn't like anyone present actually knew the final score. Dan and Nick were the witnesses to the end of the duel, and only Dan had watched the entire match, and neither of them were present NOW.

 

"I agree," Derek said, nodding at Tyson. "We should split into pairs and go throughout the surrounding area, seeking all duelists that may have been absent during Uru's siege. We should also clear this area, as we only have so much of a hold on Security. Those who have Runners should do sweeps of the streets, and if you suspect a person of being absent at the time, call me with the name and I can check their registered address. Then we can take the fights to them personally."

 

"Some of you should take a disguise and prepare to attack ambulance chasing duelists. A scene such as this will draw Security, lawyers, and passerby. A single duelist to face and an Earthbound Immortal will suffice to attend to them," Derek continued.

 

"And pass the plans to the absent Sins," Madeline assumed. Derek nodded and she smirked.

[BANZAI!!!!]

"Synchros schminkros. I just want some victims." Tyson thought, while out loud he said, "Finally, some fun!" and smiled. More victims would please both himself and Uru. "You're goin' with me." he said, forcefully putting his arm around Madeline's shoulders and pulling her closer. He did this more to annoy her than as any sign of affection, and he decided he'd rather go along with Lust, who was somewhat interesting, than any of the other sins. "Ready?" he asked snidely.

[evilfusion]

Madeline merely grunted at Wrath's declaration and embrace, yet didn't argue. "Fine, if you're that compelled," she muttered. She tugged out of his arm, brushing her robe off idly. "But if we find the dupe or his pet dragon, they're my targets," she said, her tone cool.

 

Derek chuckled quietly. "May I see that Stardust card?" he asked, extending his hand. Madeline hesitated, but touched it to his palm. The Avatar worked quickly, transferring a small amount of black energy into the card, the tendrils of energy all but invisible. Derek returned the card to Madeline with a satisfied nod.

 

"As for the rest of you, be on your way," he said.

[Serenade]

"All the same." Ronoa continues to block off Kane under the maiden's orders, "You musn't pass. I am sorry." he says to Kane but on approach of the dragon, he has a mild change of thought.

 

"You may progress. I see good in a companion." he puts down his arm, allowing Astrum through, but continuing to force away Kane.

 

Jane sits there on the ground, hood completely over her head, hugging her knees. She felt broken. She had put so much effort into this, a card, a wonderful... mistake. A beautiful lie.

[BANZAI!!!!]

Kane sat a few feet away, his back toward Jane and Astrum. He took out Boro from his deck box. He read the card text, and as he did he punched the ground with his other hand in frustration...

 

Astrum hovered over to Jane, wrapping one of his long wings around her shoulders. "You know Kane didn't mean to hurt you..." he said, taking a glance over at his adopted brother every now and again. "You most likely won't believe me, but he probably feels twice as bad about this as you do." Astrum took a deep breath, waiting on Jane to answer him.

[Serenade]

Jane was crying into her lap when she felt the embrace of a wing and Astrum's voice,

 

"Then why did he... I don't think he could feel the pain I do right now." she raised her head up from her lap, wiping the eyeliner off of her face with her sleeves, she sits up and hugs the dragon.

 

"I'm so confused... I did so much for him, and... it hurt." she tears again and doesn't let go of Astrum.

[ΕεΔδΛλΙιΡρΣσςΕε]

"Damn."

 

Saviero dodged a piece of falling debris, shaking his head. He had left the stadium on his duel runner when the earthquake began, only to learn his superiors not only caused the quake, but were back at the stadium, where he'd likely end up having to report to later. He made a sharp turn on his Duel Runner, the jet-like vehicle blowing dust high into the air as it altered directions, returning towards the stadium. The line-like designs on his Duel Runner were a gift to the others at O.E, supposed to look like the seals of an Earthbound Immortal.

 

"Where on earth are they?" He sighed, circling the now ruined stadium.

[BANZAI!!!!]

"It's ok, I'm here for you." Astrum said, letting Jane rid herself of her tears. "You can choose weather or not to listen to me, Jane. But understand, what Kane said to me, what you heard: he said those things because he is unable to face his own feelings. To put it plainly, Jane, Kane is shy. He's afraid of his own feelings, and he can't stand it. I'm sure he's over there cursing himself right now." Astrum said. He delivered his sentences warmly, almost like a parent consoling a child. "He doesn't learn." Astrum said to himself, although it was clearly audible to Jane.

[Serenade]

Jane sat there, snuggled up against the dragon's warm flesh.

 

"I'm not asking him to become my slave or say he'd rather me than the world. I just want someone to care and understand me. No-one's ever understood me like I thought he did. No-one except Ronoa, and he's not even human!" she says, pointing at Ronoa while practically talking into Astrum's stomach.

 

"You know, my Maiden. I can hear you."

 

"Oh, you know it's true." she wipes another tear off of her eye.

[a coffee]

Nick was so infuriated by this situation, "You know what Dan, go find the rest of the Ordo. If you find them, call me. I'm going to go do some research myself." Nick flips his hood over his head and walks away from Dan out of the arena. He spots a dragon, a grim reaper of sorts, and a few kids. He decides he might as well go over there and sap the remainder of the audience that lived Tyson's stupid little plan. He walks over, approaching the group,

 

"Now now, children. I'm afraid you missed all the fun in the arena! Perhaps I can recreate some of the action for you..." he grins, his demented smile showing from underneath the hood, thinking Partytime...

---

Melody walks out of the stadium being continually drawn to a few people, including a very scary looking Angel...thing and a dragon, as well as an eerie man, a very confusing looking kid, someone cursing out the ground and a crying girl.

 

How in the WORLD was I drawn here!?!

[evilfusion]

Madeline set off in one direction, the air blowing her silver hair idly along her face. She glanced at Wrath and smirked slightly. "So, you enjoyed your duel, I expect?" she asked lazily. The hood of her cloak flapped lazily as she changed direction, her ears craning to pick up sounds. "If you were fleeing the scene at the stadium, where would you go?" she wondered aloud.

 

"We are in agreement the dragon-loving idiot is my target, right?" she asked. "You got all the fun from the stadium and you can take half the idiots we come across, so long as that boy's mine."

 

She was really just talking for something to do. She wasn't expecting to come across anyone for a while, and if they did, she'd probably let Tyson deal with it, unless it was Kane, in which case she'd deal with it. She licked her lips slightly and twirled the Stardust Dragon card in her left hand.

[ΕεΔδΛλΙιΡρΣσςΕε]

"What... What's going on over there?"

Saviero spotted what seemed to be like a traveling circus... There was someone crying, and a dragon? Well, then... There were others as well, and he thought he could identify one as another Ordo Everto member; one of more seniority than himself. He flew over to the area, stopping his Duel Runner when he neared them. Stepping out of his alien Runner, Saviero's eyes seemed dull.

 

So, Harmonia, you have any idea what this is?

I'd like to say yes, but... Now, I haven't a clue. I'm guessing the dragon over here is someone's companion? Someone the girl knows? You know what, I'm not going to waste time thinking about this; leave me alone. I'm still mad at your for being an idiot that last duel...

Look. I wasn't trying to, I just forgot-- Whatever, I was an idiot. That make you happy?

Saviero sighed, approaching the group nonchalantly with this duel disk on him in the event things came down to a duel. "What's going on... Here?"