Viva la Revolution

Everything began in England, Homura's birthplace. The new life was born into the middle class, an only child of two loving parents. They also went out and got her a cute, black puppy in her toddler years, one that could grow up with her. Bonding greatly with the animal, it became her closest companion for many years to come. Her happy, peaceful childhood, however, was slowly diminished by her parents beginning to scream and shout at one another most of the time. She would watch, only silently asking why they're fighting with the sad curiosity in her eyes. Eventually, her father snapped, broke a few things in the house, and stormed out. He never came back. A heavily dispirited Homura asked why he left, but her mother refrained from telling her in detail. The puppy noticed how said the two were, and tried best to cheer them up by showing them affection and bringing in the newspaper. They both optimistically accepted him as the new man of the household.

Homura managed to get over the permanent departure of her father from the family in time to enjoy the rest of her childhood. In school, she didn't have many friends because she was usually very quiet. Noticing someone being bullied by some others, the young girl came to another's aid, and became her friend. Her name was Terri. The two girls quickly connected, one grateful to have a friend without having to speak up to the whole class, and the other grateful to have a friend despite being a target. Though, Homura's friend still got bullied, she suggested something: “Why not hit back?”. Of course, Terri was far too timid and had the outlook of a defeatist. So Homura decided to stand up for her instead, and actually wound up punching the bully hard enough to break his nose. Naturally, very upset parents got involved, as did some – thankfully -  understanding teachers. One thing was certain however, Homura got a bit of a taste for fighting back. Unfortunately, she also got to see the darkness of what adults called “society's future”: children. Homura and Terri were ultimately deemed innocent, as they were acting in self defense. Their bond strengthened because of Homura's courage and reliance as well. One would think after one of the weaker kids actually hurting a bigger, stronger one, no one would mess with them. This way of thinking was wrong. Upon their return, the girls were bombarded with cruelty and violence. Homora had also become a target, and was exposed to Wrath and Pride, two things that make a hateful child assault another.

Years pass, Homura now in her adolescence thought about things in much more depth. She remained friends with Terri, going to the same junior high school, and deeming the ruffians of past as people who were brave enough to openly hate. They both hated all of those other kids, but they never acted upon it until that one time Homura stood up to them. In addition to this, Homura also demanded to know the reason her father left. The arguments had been about some financial issues, some material things, and how money had burned at an insane rate by both of them at some point. Her mother was only shopping, some clothes for her and her daughter, some things for the dog, and the like. However, it was revealed that he was cheating on her, spending money on another woman, along with useless trinkets he found alluring. Greed and Lust, two more evils within people. Homura was not saddened by this, however. She felt worse for her mother. … Though, Homura was shaken with how terrible people could be and the reasons they could do such things. Terri agreed, but told her something that actually horrified the emotionally inquiring woman. Terri said she was jealous – filled with Envy. Evil human beings acted upon emotions weaker people experience, but never do anything about. Homura was no different, feeling hatred towards people, but not acting. She began to wonder if they were actually “good” people for not acting – for not embracing their true feelings. Homura had become very disturbed over this thought.

The mentality of the two girls stabilized whenever they were able to play Duel Monsters. They enjoyed the game as children, and use it as a stress reliever. Though, there was something odd about Homura's dueling. Terri couldn't word it, but she said it felt “a smidge beyond holographic”. In truth, completely unknown to her, Homura had the abilities of a psychic duelist. She could inflict real damage to her foes, but unconsciously held back, causing no harm to any of her opponents. This reflected on her not expressing her true thoughts and desires. That aside, she was quite formidable with a deck of Dragon-Type monsters, even able to handle pro level duelists.

Unfortunately, Duel Monsters only kept Homura from pain for so long. The bullies from the past attended the same high school as the two, and they were more relentless with their cruelty. Terri couldn't stand it but could never find the courage to do anything about it. Homura couldn't get in contact with her at some point, she couldn't even find her. Every time she came to her house, Terri either wasn't home or was asleep. Eventually, Homura received an odd text. It was from Terri, and the contents of the message were filled with thank yous and apologies. Fearing the worst almost immediately, Homura finally got into Terri's house, only to find her single father in tears, and Terri's corpse. She committed suicide because she was too weak to be herself, to be the person she wanted to be.

Homura's despair only worsened. Her old dog still trying to cheer her up. He was always there, and she felt that he managed through all of these years only to make sure she and her mother were okay. She only had three things left in this world: her mother, her dog, and her deck. But her companion could only hold out for so long before passing away peacefully. Even in a state of bottomless depression, other humans happily going about their lives still knew cruelty. The same bullies pestered her, not even in the slightest affected by Terri's death. But Homura only questioned: “Why would they be? To them, she and I were just toys to be played with”. One of them got a hold of her deck, one of the two things left that she treasured. The woman frantically tried to snatch it back, but one of them took her most favored “Red-Eyes Black Dragon” and tore it into pieces.

Homura snapped.

Her body moved like someone else was in control. After brutally beating some of them, she found herself choking the one who ripped the card.

“People who don't act on their negativity are only rewarded despair. If I hate you, why shouldn't I retaliate?!”

The fury in her eyes was almost inhumane. In reality, with the way she worded it, her rage felt “human”. She continued until the boy no longer responded. No struggle to escape her grip... or struggle to breathe. Homura... murdered him. This was done in the middle of school, so of course there were witnesses. She wasn't lucky this time, because this wasn't out of self-defense like it was in the past. Even with the police coming to arrest her, Homura roared with anger: “What have I done wrong compared to those barbarians?! They made Terri surrender her life to despair! They all were allowed to go on doing whatever they saw fit! They only did what they wanted, so why am I to be punished for doing the same thing?!”

She was right, but society didn't speak its agreement. Homura, though only seventeen at the time, was sent to jail for her constant outbursts about the same thing. She tried the same argument, there was nothing wrong about what she said, but the “law” put her in prison. They confiscated her deck, but with  some begging and pleading, she was allowed to keep a small few of her monsters just to have. Arriving at the prision, somehow, criminals seemed to be the type of crowd that would understand her logic. They acted upon their emotions as well. Some wanted to escape, so some tried to dig or fight their way through. Others wanted to get in good with the warden, so they used trickery and deception. A rather large fellow manipulated some guards and others on the cafeteria staff. As a result, they got extra portions of food and could even take from others, and no one would do anything except the person who was robbed. Gluttony was an example of someone truly benefiting from acting upon their own will. Some of these jailbirds actually looked and testified to feeling more comfortable in prison. A veteran convict welcomed Homura warmly, and got her to meet several other convicts. Homura explained her crime and her way of seeing “evil” humans. They took a liking to her ideology, only teasing her a bit about how seriously she took everything. It was natural for her to do so, considering what she had been through.

Interestingly enough, Homura had been sent to a unisex facility. She noticed a few men around but didn't take much note of it until she saw a specific someone in a cell.

He was ravaged by age and most likely alcohol from the looks of it, but it was most definitely her father. It was a miracle she recognized him, and it was only because he called out to her. Homura was even allowed into his cell to speak to him after they confirmed they were related. There was a lot of things she wanted to say, but she was too upset to actually word them. She only responded coldly with one-two worded answers. The very man who betrayed his wife – her mother, then walked out on them, becoming the starting point of her life's woes was sitting on the floor in front of her... speaking with a laid back tone of voice. He said things like he was glad to be able to see her when she grew up, asked about her mother, and the like. Homura finally made out a thought out arrangement of words: “Why did you leave?”. She didn't forget what her mother told her, but she wanted to hear it from his mouth. He brought up the money issues and meeting another woman, still carrying the same tone. The man talked about how many of the things her mother asked was too hard for him, and they couldn't afford for someone else to do it. It also became too much trouble to handle another woman who would want some of the same things, so here he was after he lost what little money he had to alcohol. He got sent to jail more than once for stupid, petty crimes. The repeat offender at least sounded like he regretted his decisions, but Homura only heard the whining of a lazy man.

Sloth.

Homura snapped once again. Having witnessed the seven deadly sins in mankind throughout her seventeen years of life was pure Hell already, but this was so far beyond Homura's breaking point one would need a space shuttle to get back. Her entire life began to crumble because a man was lazy?! Immediately grabbing and slamming him into the wall, she told him about her terrible experiences, then subsequently blamed him. He knew he wronged her, but he argued that he had nothing to do with the rest. He tried to apologize and some guards try to detain her, though they should have known her anger was far beyond stoppable. Years and years of pent up anger was being released in a short amount of time, and that fury brought her to a conclusion: “Humans harm others, steal from them, are only concerned for their well-being, lazy, driven by raging hormones, and also act upon hatred, even when said hatred is unjustified.”

“People are nothing more than pigs in human clothing.”

Homura screamed as she came to this realization, a monstrous bellow echoing from an invisible being behind her that swiped the guards away. She could have killed him in that instant but instead threw him outside of his cell and yelled at him.

“Because of you, I've realized that we humans are pure rubbish! People who do not act upon their feelings are given despair due to being too weak-minded to be their true selves! But those strong enough to do so are deemed 'evil' when in reality this 'evil' is deemed by the laws of this world! There are only victims because people only think to become evil!

You are a trifling laggard, yet you blame my mother for it! Then you leave her and some random hussy with honeyed lips who you knew would have asked the same thing! You are a perfect example of a pig in human clothing!”

Her outburst resounded throughout the entire facility. The man was horrified at her wrath, but also dishearted more so than ever because the bit about him was the truth. He was also shocked at this revelation she was speaking of and could not respond due to being frozen in fear.

“... Maybe if people knew how to be themselves from the beginning, this wouldn't have happened.”

Armed guards threatened her, demanding she cease her hostile actions. However some convicts appeared and her logic caused an uproar. They all agreed with her. Homura roared, telling all to accept that they're trash and then an enormous blast from seemingly behind her was let loose. This destroyed the facility. People were killed of course, including her father. But others survived and so did she. The prisoners made a run for it, escaping back into the outside world. However, some stayed and thanked her not only for the prison break, but for convincing them that they aren't entirely wrong; the world is.

“What say you if the world is changed?”

This question surprised them. Did Homura really think she could change the world? The blaring of police sirens was coming by. No one had an answer for her, and some of them took off running. The remaining approached her and one of them said that they believe changing the world is possible, but only by her hand. They honestly don't know if Homura's world would make a solution, or cause the 'evil' to vanish while still allowing all to be true to themselves. Before their conversation could continue, Homura suddenly found herself in jolting pain before blacking out.

…

Homura awoke in a yellow space, filled with white clouds. It looked similar to how some stories would  paint Heaven. Homura wasn't sure if she was truly dead or not, but she noticed three figures cloaked in light. Two of them cloaked in shining, yellow light, but one was coated with black energy. In addition to that, one of the yellow beings was enormous in size while the other two were her size. Homura asked what's happening, where is she, who are they, and is she dead all at once. Any sensible person would. The small light one asked if she believed she could revolutionize the world, and if she would follow through on it. Homura inquired as to why it even mattered to the three. They were silent. Realizing she wasn't getting an answer, she broke the silence by clenching her fist and vowing that if she had the power, she would change the world, so yes. The dark one giggles, playfully stating that she'll need help. Out of nowhere appeared all of the Dragon-Type monsters that she kept after her deck was taken away. Then a last one: a heavily wounded Red-Eyes Black Dragon with one wing torn off. Homura was devastated by its state, and rushed over to it. Homura didn't even question her dragons appearing, she instead only worried the way a loving pet owner would. It was almost like she was with her dog again. The girl asked what happened to him, but then recalled the bully that tore up its card. She didn't even imagine this would happen or was even possible. The other monsters gather around her, and she returned their concerned gazes with her own. … A new reality settled into her mind. One where her dragons were always there for her, just like her pet tried to be. Looking into Red-Eyes... eyes was like seeing her puppy when it was hurt one time. The black figure makes a note of how much she cares for her monsters just by looking at them all.

The small light asks if she will accept this “Reason”, and create the world of “Musore”. Inquiring the meaning of such a word, the light responds that it refers to “self-acceptance”, following the philosophy of “I am myself”. It is a utopia of freedom instead of a dystopia drowned in chaos. Logically, it is an impossible achievement as if everyone is free to murder and steal, humanity will collapse upon itself. Even so, Homura stood, a hand still on Red-Eyes, and her stance full of confidence. “I will make this utopia a reality”. With that, the largest of the three roared, as if approving the woman after remaining silent for the entire conversation.

“Here ya go then!” the black figure shouts as it and the small yellow create two pillar of light and dark energy around the girl and her monsters. The injured dragon is lifted into the darkness, and a monster begins to materialize in the light. The black beast let loose a ear-splitting roar as its body begins to change completely, gaining purple armor with gold trimming, along with a new wild mane. In the other column came a second dragon with an even larger, wilder red mane than its brother. This one radiated as brightly as the figures and was still basking in the light pillar on top of that. It was a blinding sight. Homura questioned what was happening, and the small light explains that her dragon has been reborn because of a power equal to a God. She has been blessed with the “Dragonstars”, the elements of the world. The small darkness told her that she would need to discover her heritage before she can obtain even more power beyond this. Before the woman can inquire about anything else, the figure blasts her and her companions with a blue beam of energy.

…

Homura awoke in a small, dark room. It already felt like the prison she just got out of, but instead of bars, there was only one door and a small window. She was either in a new jail and in solitary confinement, or a maximum security prison. Either way, with her new power, getting out was child's play. Using the cosmic might of “Shining Dragonstar Shofuku” and “Vile Dragonstar Gaizar”, she forced her way through to the warden's office. Without hesitating, she had her dragons kill the warden, having now fully materialized into the world alongside her.

“Immoral pigs! Listen well! This entire facility is under my command. I have unlocked the doors to your cells. What comes next depends on what you decide to do with your freedom in the next ten minutes”. Homura announced over an intercom. Nearly seconds later does she begin to hear the roars of the crowds of high classed criminals and horrified screams of guards. Homura quietly waits for time to completely pass by before someone tries to open the Warden's Office door. It's locked, of course, and someone starts banging on it. They ask why the exit is still locked. Homura responds by calling them mindless scum. They acted upon their hate towards the security guards and beat them to death, but someone who yearned for freedom would have tried the exit first. She preaches, speaking of a hunting fisherman who would strike at the taimen instead of the school of guppies. Their targets should be the world, and she does not mean simply murdering others for the sake of doing so. She suggests they kill this world – this society that created the evil in their veins and deemed them acting upon their will as wicked. The woman orders them to go toward the exit. They do so, and eventually see her approach them after coming from the Warden's Office. Two serial killers immediately went at her out of sheer impulse to kill but her dragons reappeared and ended their lives first, surprising and instilling terror into the others.

“You pigs in human's clothing, this world is doomed. There is nothing but slick-tongued dullards spewing their rubbish of promises and freedom. In reality, they rule this world, but even they cannot be the man who stands beyond the mirror. Tell me, what see you in a mirror?! You see not yourself but the person this world's laws have created! Even with your human clothing, you have been forced to suffocate from a large jacket with a broken zipper in the midst of summer!”

Though her explanation ridiculous, the majority of them did get the point. More than a good few of them began to think about what she was saying. Most of them were in there because of big time crimes, but they never thought “I can go bigger than this”. They never considered that they were painted wrong because of the “law”, when not even people who obeyed the law were in a better situation than them. The true ones to pity are those who couldn't speak their mind – be it with words or actions. Homura states that their reasons behind their crimes were cries for freedom. They liberated themselves, even with worthless, petty crimes that could have built up into larger scales that got them here. It doesn't take long before the criminals all gain a sense of self-righteousness. Why wouldn't they follow a woman who was smart enough to make all of their evildoing sound like an epic liberation operation?

“Follow me! Under my command, you shall take part in the creation of a new world order!”, the crowd roared in excitement, immediately erasing doubt from their minds to do as she said. “From today forth, we will go under the name...” in the middle of the hype that even she had lost herself in, Homura blurted out a name that resounded through her mind in that instant. She has no idea why or where she got it from. Regardless, they became:

“Ryuusei!” With the announcement of that word, the door to the outside was forced open, as if on cue. Not a single one of them thought to run out, completely ignoring what she said. No... they became loyal to their new revolutionary leader. They dared not set a foot outside until their boss did first. Upon returning to the world of the outside, Homura quickly removed her orange jumpsuit she was forced to wear in jail. Feeling no sense of shame in the slightest, she basked in the gentle caress of the wind to her skin. After soaking in the glory of the first steps of freedom, she turned back to her comrades. Her stern expression returned, and the woman suddenly roared at all of them:

“Let this be etched in your mind! Fear is freedom! Subjugation is liberation! Contradiction is truth! That is the nature of man! Surrender to your true selves, you pigs in human clothing!”

…

“Terrorist Group” wasn't exactly the term you could refer to them as. They did commit murders without a second thought, but they didn't do so needlessly. Only killing those in their way and showing mercy to those who surrender, even recruiting them. It was odd. Homura preached on and on about how everyone should be allowed to give into their desires and “be themselves”. Yet, she prohibited them from mindless or useless bloodshed or thievery. Some rationalized that it did make sense, as they should not be distracted from their goal of revolution by just randomly committing crimes. Others referred to her saying “Contradiction is truth”, and assumed that the same basis may apply here. The crimes they started with were only to get them set up. They found a base by killing or recruiting everyone in it, stole supplies and hi-tech machines, along with setting up teams and sub divisions. For hardened criminals, the whole lot of them worked surprisingly well together. Ryuusei was a fine oiled machine without a single rusty or inferior cog. This couldn't change the fact that Homura was a young, inexperienced leader. While she was smart, she still made blunders every here and there, and usually finds herself learning from older ex-convicts. If anything, they found it cute. If not cute, then they gained the satisfaction of seeing their young leader grow; to see that she could still evolve.

At some point, she returned to her home, and found that her mother still lived there. Homura was actually surprised she was alive given everything that had happened. Society may have blamed her or she may have gone like Terri did. However, her mother was stronger than she ever realized. Homura learns that she never gave up hope. She knew why Homura did what she did, and after the report about the first jailbreak, the woman was reveling in the fact that one day her daughter was coming home. The revolutionist informs her parent of Ryuusei, to which the mother responds with that they've gotten popular quickly. Homura explained her ideology, her “Reason”. The older lady was surprisingly content with it and her actions. She wanted a strong willed child and she got one. One that finds their own way and continued to stand over and over despite being knocked down so many times. One that decides their path without looking back and enjoys their work, or is at least happy with working towards their goals. Homura had become everything and more. Much to the boss' shock, her mother wanted to join Ryuusei. Homura wanted to say no, but she really couldn't bare to be away from her mother again or even put her mother through pain in general. This made it hard to say yes too. In the end, she joined an Intelligence unit with some maddening persuasive skills, so she would rarely have to be put in danger.

A gift was bestowed upon the members of Ryuusei. Somehow making use of the miraculous magic of the three spirits who granted her the Reason of “Musore”, Homura created a weapon that was to be a symbol of their revolt. “Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon” - the embodiment of their fighting against the oppression of the world’s norm. She handed each created copy of the card to every member within the revolution, telling them to use it proudly, as wielding it presents their challenge to the current world order.

Soon, the time comes for Ryuusei's first big operation. By “big”, Homura meant enormous. Their new objective was to internally take over all of England. This included going for Queen Elizabeth herself! Homura stated that she does not plan to kill the queen, but rather, gain her trust. She wants to make Ryuusei's purpose for existing clear to the entire country. If Queen Elizabeth is reasonable and someone who actually thinks deeply about the state of mankind, they can make their base the entirety of England. Having been taught how to wield a blade by a terrifying mobster ex-convict, along with using her duel disk as a weapon, and prepared to use Duel Monsters itself to conquer the country... Homura was more than prepared to force her way through, along with her army of revolutionists.

Homura was still an inexperienced leader, and this operation wasn't well thought out either. Even so, they went with the gamble of its possibility of success. If anything, Homura had a way with two things: words and violence. The only thing they were restricted of was murdering anyone in the process, which made sense no matter how much some of the more bloodthirsty members whined. In short, the mission description was: “Charge through the imperial army without killing anybody”. Such a simple-minded plan would have never worked if it was anyone else. Ryuusei was a different kind of monster. It had ferocious speed, power, and size. Most of it coming from years and years of exercise in prison. They managed to breakthrough into the castle only because they were hardened criminals. Homura made it to the queen, and subsequently took her hostage. Well, “hostage” may not have been the most accurate word. Homura did threaten her but the queen seemed mostly unfazed. She acknowledged the existence of Ryuusei, but the queen did ask what they wanted exactly. Homura requested that she be some place where she can announce it to her country. Several guards tried to stop Homura, but she threatened to kill the queen if they made a move, but the queen said not to worry. They didn't know if she meant that she had it under control or that they could strike Homura without worry. Either way, the soldiers were frozen with concern regardless. Arriving to a balcony, Homura called out to all of the “pigs in human clothing” and it didn't take long for people to gather around. Seeing a high-classed criminal with the queen sparked worrisome and curious civilians. After getting her requested audience, Homura explained her cause quietly to the queen. While Queen Elizabeth did dismiss her “Reason” as rubbish, she asked if the girl really thinks she could create a utopia that defies logic. The woman said yes, but then the queen asked how she would do it.

Of course Homura said “I don't know”. Her dream was impossible as it was already. Queen Elizabeth gives her props for getting so many people to fight for her cause, and having progressed as far as they have. Ryuusei had become one of the most problematic criminal syndicates in the country. But to see that they're following a goal that has no hope to be reached? Her majesty questioned why the girl had faith at all. The swordswoman could only say that she's seen enough to know people all think the same way that society is built. Weak people cannot be themselves and quietly curse others, strong people are  deemed evil by the laws the world has created, and true evil is judged only by bias. The world isn't how it wants to be, it's how the world is voted to be by those who don't want to be outcast and judged. Even with this “knowledge”, she still has no clear answer on how creating a world where everyone is free to do as they please, while also controlling it so chaos does not destroy everything. Queen Elizabeth could have easily commanded her soldiers to shoot the girl down right there, but the resolution she had in such a fantasy was awe-inducing. The amount of effort she and the rest of the group even more so. The elder asked what would be their first, largest milestone toward this dream. Homura didn't hesitate to say “take over the world”. Much to everyone's surprise, the queen humored her and announced Ryuusei's goal to the audience. Then stated that they would have the support of England behind them. However, she immediately gave Homura a deadline: if they could not convince or conquer another country within a year, England will turn against them and finish Ryuusei themselves. Homura jumped at this, overjoyed that she got the queen's approval. They shook hands and made the argument on national television, being reported as the “Overhopeful Revolutionist Approved by Her Majesty”.

Wasting no time, Japan was next. As long as they had Hope in themselves and from others, their dream would come to fruition, and Homura will have found her answer.