Hours of rioting in the Satellite finally met the full suppression forces.
Originally, thanks to the power of the Earthbound Geoglyphs, the lower-city civilians could siphon off the Security officers' life energy.
Even if they started with losses, they could gradually wear the police down.
This was Shinji's idea:
They might lose many comrades early on, but as long as they defeated enough Security officers and stole their decks, their strength would snowball.
Then the 99% lower-city population could overthrow the 1% nobles.
Sacrifice would lead to victory. Attrition was the strategy.
And for a long time, this strategy worked.
Their Rebel Army's decks grew stronger with every stolen card.
But today, when the upper city finally decided to go "all-out", Shinji realized everything had changed.
Security wasn't just using stronger cards.
They were suddenly negating every anti-Synchro card the rebels had prepared.
Worse, some strange "Security officers" didn't tire, fought like machines, and hunted down rebels with terrifying efficiency.
Even five or six people attacking a single one of them had trouble.
On top of that, Security was multiplying unnaturally, almost as if they had been cloned, creating multiple officers chasing the same target.
This completely exceeded Shinji's expectations.
Even more horrifying:
Before today, the rebels used their knowledge of the Earthbound Geoglyphs to deal real physical damage.
Roads would break, vehicles would explode, they could fight on "equal terms."
But today, several Security officers, even outside any Geoglyph field, summoned strange mechanical constructs that caused real damage, crushing streets, arresting or killing civilians without hesitation.
"Damn them… damn them all!"
Shinji slammed his handlebars.
Another officer rolled up behind him and fired a shot at the road.The sudden explosion sent shards of pavement flying; he nearly wiped out.
"You bastard!"
His Dark Signer mark lit up.
It was the weakest tier of the marks, but he didn't care.
So long as he could resist the upper city, so long as he could make them feel the fury of the oppressed, he would take any power, no matter how faint or dangerous.
He managed to defeat one Security officer…
But more kept coming.
Three D-Wheels closed in, about to box him in.
Shinji's expression darkened.
He made up his mind, he would use the Earthbound Geoglyph again, even if it meant sacrificing his life and soul.
When suddenly, from the sky:
"Don't be reckless!"
A massive black "bird" dive-bombed toward them,exploding upon impact and forcing the officers back.
"Shinji!"
He turned.
It was his partner, Crow.
His black D-Wheel now sprouted mechanical wings on both sides, slicing through the air like a jet fighter.
"Shinji! Your plan failed! Tell everyone to retreat and hide!We need to rethink everything!"
"No! We struggled so hard to gather everyone!
Even if we die here, we have to make the nobles feel pain!"
"It's useless!" Crow cut him off sharply.
"You still don't get it?
Half those Security officers aren't even human!
Some are literal robots, and others are regular officers controlled by some strange power!
If you keep this up, the only ones who'll die are civilians and normal cops who showed up for work!"
"Even if dozens of comrades fall, all you'll do is destroy a few robots!
There's no point!
We need a long-term plan, Shinji!"
"Robots?"
Shinji finally looked back at the officers pursuing them, and understood.
No wonder his people couldn't drain their energy. No wonder fatigue wasn't affecting them.
His whole strategy…was meaningless.
"Damn the upper city. How far will they go to toy with us!?"
Seeing Shinji like this, Crow felt he finally understood the situation.
Crow turned his head and spotted a group of Security officers surrounding a child on the side road.
He quickly swung his D-Wheel around.
"Shinji! They're chasing a kid."
"Chasing a kid?"
Shinji suddenly reacted as if he had grabbed onto a lifeline.
"Ah… right. There's still that option!"
"What? Shinji?"
Crow stared at him, startled.
Shinji's eyes had turned completely black, the whites swallowed by darkness, and the Mark of the Dark Signer on his left arm burned vividly.
What is he thinking?
Before Crow could react, Shinji spun his D-Wheel around and sped straight toward Upper City.
Crow was stunned.
Then he heard the girl's scream behind him.
He snapped out of it and launched the glider mode of his Blackbird.
Normally, the Blackbird's flight module wasn't ready for use yet, but thanks to Homura's earlier upgrades, it could now function in emergencies.
Crow leapt off the upper lane, wings extended, gliding downward.
A metallic clack sounded as he landed.
"Huh?"
"It's Crow!"
Several Security officers recognized him.
Crow also saw the girl they had boxed in.
"Rin?! Why are you here? I told you and Yuya to stay hidden today!!"
Crow was furious.
The girl was dressed differently, a strange purple uniform, but he didn't think too much about it.
"Hey, Crow! That girl is a criminal the higher-ups ordered us to capture. Stay out of it!"
"What? Rin is fourteen! How could she be a criminal?"
Crow didn't hesitate.
He accelerated instantly, forcing the officers to jump aside in panic.
He scooped the girl up onto the D-Wheel and rode off while the officers stared in disbelief.
"Should we chase him?"
"You chase if you want. Didn't you see even Chief Tetsu is stalling today?"
The officers just muttered among themselves.
Meanwhile…
"Let go of me!"
The girl pounded on Crow's back.
"Quit struggling, Rin! We need to..."
"I'm not Rin! I'm Serena! I'm not whoever you're talking about!"
Who?
Crow blinked, confused.
"Put me down right now! Ruri...Ruri fell somewhere and I don't know where she landed!"
Who is Ruri!?
At the same time…
Yusei stretched his arms and legs, testing his fully recovered body.
He was just about to take his D-Wheel out for a test run when something fell out of the sky.
Boom
A black-haired girl crashed into a pile of trash.
"Rin? No… that's not her."
She looked extremely similar, but she wasn't Rin.
He stared at her, puzzled.
Outside, a flood of chaotic shouting rose up.
Dozens of people were searching for her.
If she wasn't Rin…then what about the real Rin?
Yusei frowned.
If they were chasing this girl, then someone who looked exactly like her…
Rin would definitely be mistaken for her and hunted down too.