It was a beautiful landscape, Vale. From its town to the forests. All of it was beautiful. And all of it was tinted blue.
Where they stood, was all virtual. On the virtual roof of a virtual Beacon Academy, a man in black and white, across from a boy of spiky white orange and yellow hair, stood.
Between them was a warrior in black cloth and a machine like mask, wielding a great blade by his side.
Digit-Code Blader Lv4 [Cyberse/Effect] (1900/400) DARK
While on the other side of the field was a beast, black and white and hunched over, growling.
Beowolfer Lv3 [Beast/Effect] (1200/1200) DARK
Whitefang Soldier: 400 L.P.
P1ayer: 2900 L.P.
"W-Wait!" The soldier try to stall. "Why are you doing this?! Why?!"
"You should know." P1ayer replied coldly, with piercing red and orange eyes. "Attack, Cyberse Blader!"
The monster charged forward, dragging his sword behind him before swinging powerfully. He cut through the beast of Grim, and sent a shockwave of power right at the opposition, throwing him off the roof.
Whitefang Soldier: 400-0 L.P.
"And good riddance." P1ayer said to himself.
Delsin slowly opened his dull grey eyes as he awoke from his slumber. A hand barely holding his head up. To his side, an old-model Duel Links Duel disk.
Above him, an excited Nora, rambling on to herself about events on the sensational game called Duel Links. Even about a new complicated summon no one has yet to see. The white haired boy wasn't listening one bit.
"And did you hear about this guy on the server?! What was his name? Oh! Player! He's running around Duel Links taking on those Whitefang bullies!"
"Nora..." Jaune sighed.
"What? You have a problem with a hero like that?!" Nora quickly turned to her friend and only other person in the room.
"Well..." Jaune looked away with unease, rubbing his arm some. "Listen, most of the Whitefang he's dueled haven't gotten out so well."
"So? You know what they did. Who cares?" Delsin questioned bluntly as he got up, grabbing his duel disk.
Then the two looked over at the boy, with the orangette getting close. "Now that I think about it...Both of you are old-fashioned...You're both short, cute, and-"
"Nora!" Jaune halted her by putting a hand on her shoulder. "Plenty of people all use old duel disks."
"I know..." she turned around to look at the Arc, whispering. "But...Something It just tickles my funnybone..."
The blonde was ready to say something, but the white haired boy had made his way past them without a word into the hallway.
"Hey, Delsin!" Ruby Rose shouted out from across the courtyard near an RV. beside her sitting at a bench was her sister Yang, relaxing. They both looked at the dull eyed boy as he walked towards them.
"Took you long enough!" Yang exclaimed in a sarcastic voice. "You douse off?"
"I had to deal with Jaune and Nora." Delsin explained as he opened the door of the RV and walked inside, where he found Qrow typing away on his laptop. "Anything interesting?"
"A new update for Duel Links." Qrow started, not taking his attention off the laptop. "The Whitefang are blooming, but we've been keeping tabs. They're looking for something."
"Any idea?" The dull eyed boy raised a brow.
"Nope. But whatever it is I think we'd rather have in Player's hands and not theirs." The old crow looked back at the boy. "Meaning..."
"I'll get to work on it."
The door suddenly opened, with Yang walking in, old model duel disk in hand. "You need me?" She asked putting the duel disk on her arm.
"Yes." Delsin replied. "We need you to check somewhere in Duel Links. Ruby too."
"Got it." With that Yang called her sister in, her duel disk already on.
After a moment to prepare, the three young dueling pulled out their decks from their boxes, before sliding them into their duel disks.
"DUELIST IDENTIFIED! INITIATING LINK!"
All three prepared themselves, as they were thrown into the network.
The world of Duel Links was amazing. Millions of people would gather on the server to meet, duel, or other things. Almost nothing was restricted. And with virtual Remnant as the world map all the players could go anywhere. Duel Links as a whole is a phenomenon, and it wouldn't have been possible without Atlas Industries and Schnee Enterprises.
But that wasn't what concerned Yang, or at the moment the green haired, red eyed, black and neon yellow Tron-like spandex suit wearing 'Ember.'
She walked along a roof of a virtual Vacuo, whistling through her facemask, covering up her mouth and nose.
"Okay...I'm here. But...I don't see anything..." she looked around warily and still found nothing. "What are we looking for?"
"Not sure. But if you spot any Whitefang, tail them. I could lead you to whatever they're after." Qrow spoke over the transmitter of everyone's Duel disk.
"Got it!" Ruby, in her black and neon red Tron-like suit stood above the people from a building in virtual Atlas, her red cape flowing through the wind as she kept her hood up, speaking though her facemask. "So we find the Whitefang..." she looked around the landscape, trying to spot something that seemed out of the ordinary.
Then their was a sudden crash. Far away from her in the distance was smoke. Probably the work of the Whitefang, from the Juggernaut that appeared, letting out its monstrous cry.
"Gulp!" Ruby gulped, before beginning to spring for the place where the Whitefang were located.
The Whitefang Soldier stood tall, smirking down on his opponent as he stood all but triumphant. His field holding the advantage as long as his lifepoints. The man was defenseless, with no monsters and only two out five slots in his back row filled. Meanwhile the towering Juggernaut stood, towering above.
Grimm Beast Juggernaut: Lv10 [Beast/Effect] (4000/3000) DARK
Whitefang Soldier: 4000 L.P.
?: 600 L.P.
"Why don't you just give up? You are outmatched! Just surrender, and perhaps I can spare you." The soldier mocked his opponent.
The opposition, a skinny boy in a dark blue leather jacket, with a cowboy hat, boots, and bandana over his mouth groaned, adjusting his goggles. "I draw." He stated as he drew from the top of his deck. He put it into his hand, and selected another.
"I activate the equip spell: Passive Rival!" The masked duelist declared as he swiped the card on his hardlight disk. "By paying half my lifepoints, I can summon one monster sent to the graveyard."
?: 600-300 L.P.
I choose Hi-Speed-Point Gearshift!" A portal portal appeared beside home, and with it jumped out a man in an aerodynamic designed suit with black and orange colors, exhaust pipes around his arms, legs, and ending on his back.
Hi-Speed-Point Gearshift: Lv5 [Warrior/Syncrho/Effect] (2300/1500) WIND
The soldier stared at the Syncrho monster, smirking before going into a full out laugh. "Congratulations! Did you wanna show off one more time?"
"I normal summon Junk Synchron!" The masked duelist continued, swiping the tuner monster onto his blade. Another portal opened beside him, and an orange child looking monster with an engine on its back appeared.
Junk Syncrhon: Lv3 [Warrior/Tuner/Effect] (1300/900) DARK
"I activate his effect! Once per turn Junk Syncrhon can resurrect on level 2 or lower monster from the grave in defense position." Junk Syncrhon clapped his hands together, and between them was a ball of light. He pushed it out in front of him, and it opened into a third portal for a third monster to fly out.
A panther like machine, with an orange and white color scheme landed on the ground with a hiss.
Speed-Point Level Panther: Lv2 [Machine/Effect] (800/1200) WIND
"When Speed-Point is special summoned, I can change its level. I change it to level 1!" A glowing aura covered the machine.
Speed-Point Level Panther: Lv2-Lv1
"And what is that supposed to do? It's far too late in the game to pull something, see?" The soldier smirked, pointing to his Juggernaut as it growled.
"I tune my Level 1 Speed-Point with Level 3 Junk Syncrhon!" He declared as the two monsters flew into the sky. Junk Syncrhon dispersed into three rings while Level Panther flew threw, turning into a single orb.
1 + 3 = 4
"SYNCHRO SHOKAN!" The duelist screamed at the top of his lungs as a flash of light shined down. As the light dimmed, a armored arm appeared.
"Armory Arm!"
Armory Arm: Lv4 [Synchro/Machine/Effect] (1800/800) LIGHT
"I activate Armory Arm's effect! Once per turn I can equip it to one monster on my side of the field!" Armory Arm flew at Gearshift as he extended his arm out. The monsters locked together, and the warrior stood tall. "The equipped monster gains 1000 attack points!"
Hi-Speed-Point Gearshift: 2300-3300
"So what? It's still nothing compared to my Juggernaut!" The Soldier reminded, laughing out.
"Attack, Gearshift!" As the masked duelist demanded, the Syncrho rushed forward, the wheels on his feet spinning as he sped forwards.
"You fool!" The soldier screamed. "Self destruction it is?!"
"Hi-Speed-Point Gearshift's effect! When attacking a level 5 or higher monster, he gains an additional 1000 attack!"
"W-Wait what?!" The soldier paled as he saw the warrior fly into the sky, an aura around him as he powered himself up.
Hi-Speed-Point Gearshift: 3300-4300
Gearshift fell down to the earth, winding his armored fist back, before thrusting forward into the Juggernaut's skull, going right through its gigantic body.
Whitefang Soldier: 4000 L.P. - 300 = 3700 L.P.
"Armory Arm's effect: When the monster it is equipped to destroys an opponent's monster, the opposition takes damage equal to the monster just destroyed."
"What?!"
The warrior then appeared in front of the soldier, his armored palm opened as a ball of energy sparked. Before the soldier could plea for his life, Gearshift fired.
Whitefang Soldier: 3700 - 4000 = 0
? WINS!
The moment the Red Hood made her way into the alley the only thing she saw was Gearshift standing the Whitefang, before dispersing in a yellow light.
The masked duelist turned his attention to her, glaring through his goggles. It was enough to make her squeak.
But before she could speak, he had already logged out, his avatar disappearing from the feet up in green pixels.
The crimsonette groaned in displeasure, before looking over at the soldier. She walked over to him, and reached out to grab him by his collar. She raised him up to look at her, making him look into her silver eyes. "What were you after?"
The soldier stayed silent, to which the Red Hood lifted her hand, which neon lines from her suit was glowing a hot red.
"Tell me." She insisted in a more threatening tone. Finally, the Whitefang spilled it.
"T-The AI!"
"AI? What about an AI?" She stared at him, but got no answers still. "Talk! Or I erase your avatar, and your motor control function!"
"Okay okay!" He tried to plea. "We've been looking for them for months! We finally have a lock on them!"
Ruby turned her attention down, to the new 6th gen duel disk around his wrist. State-of-the-art from the Schnee company. Easily hackable. The girl quickly grabbed his wrist with a glowing hand, and allowed her uncle access to the Whitefang Network.
The old crow typed away on his keyboards, cycling through the newfound data that Ruby gave him. He was able find three locations. In Atlas, in Vale and in Vacuo.
"I'll head for Vacuo!" Yang stated through the intercom.
"Got it."Qrow sighed. "Hear that, you two? Try to find the other two-"
But ssuddenly Delsin's body jumped to life, walking to Qrow and slamming his hand down on the table. "Move. I have an idea."
"Adam, are you sure about this?" Mercury crossed his arms as he looked at the backside of the lead of the Whitefang, Adam Taurus. Both stood in the dark, with only strips of light from the virtual sunlight made anything visible.
"I am, Mr. Black." Adam replied, not even turning to look at who he was speaking to.
"Your pawns have been taken out." The mercenary stated.
"I am acutely aware of this."
"Then do something about it! Or else Salem will not be please!" He growled, but was stopped short when the masked avatar slowly turned his head, so that the grey haired man was in the corner of his eye.
"Don't underestimate me or my organization, Mr. Black. After all, it was you who came to us for support, if I remember correctly." Adam spoke in a calm, indifferent tone. He then looked up at the screens that appeared in front of him. "So tell your master she will get what she wants in due time." The scene zoomed into an alley, where a glowing green orb roamed. That was it. What they were looking for.
Delsin typed away on Qrow's keyboard, rigging up multiple algorithms and codes for one specific thing. To capture the creature roaming Duel Links. He narrowed his eyes as he concentrated, making sure not to make any mistake.
Then he stopped. He was done. His trap has been set. Now it was time to leave a trail to it.
The glowing orb floated its way down the virtual alleyway, its light fluttering, struggling to stay aflame. It was far too weak to go on for much longer. It needed to get away from here as fast as possible.
Suddenly there was a crash, as the wall beside the failing AI was busted into, by the tail of a giant black and white Dragon. It shrieked its cry into the sky for all to hear.
It was the Whitefang.
"There you are, Fragment!" The soldier called out with a smirk. "Erase it!" The Dragon shrieked, a ball of orange fire igniting in its edge tooth mouth.
It needed to move now. It went into the wall beside it, phasing through into the interior. From there it moved as fast as it could, hightailing it as fast as possible while the back of the building was torn into by the Dragon. It was getting closer. It was like nothing could stop it.
Then, as the dragon was about reach it, its neck extended and its maw open wide, it stopped dead in its tracks. It had hit a forcefield, like a type of firewall stopping the Whitefang's code. The orb didn't stop, trying to draw as much distance at it could.
Until it hit the end of the of the forcefield.
Then it was pushed back, growing closer to the monster against its will. The Dragon drew closer as well, opening its jaw wide to swallow the being whole. In moments the orb found it couldn't move. It couldn't do anything to preserve itself. It was over.
Then, suddenly it heard a voice. A voice she had never heard before. "Come to me!" Then there was a flash of green light.
Delsin stood in the courtyard of Beacon Academy, his hand raised into the air with his duel disk activated. Electricity staticed around them, but he stayed determined. A surge of lightning striked down at the top of the tower, and went straight towards him, colliding with his arm. Still he stood tall, groaning as he withstood the force of the power.
Then after a moment, the lightning ceased, and Delsin let out a sigh. The display on his disk read "Data Transfer Complete", and a foreign audio spoke.
"Am I...dead?"
"No." The dull eyed boy said as he lowered his arm. "You're going to be our savior."
"Savior?..." the AI questioned, but before it could get an answer the white haired boy ran into the RV and between then two orbs of light that held Ruby and Yang. "W-What's going on?..."
"Initate Link!" Delsin declared as he drew his deck from his pocket and slotted it inside, being shrouded in an unnatural green light.
His school clothes began to deteriorate into data, before becoming covered in a black carbon spandex, with an interlocked circle on his left shoulder. A gunmetal grey belt appeared on his waist. His dull white hair stood up some, sparking and changing into multiple cores of orange white and yellow. His eyes opened wide, one turning red and the other turning amber.
A portal appeared in front of him, and he lunged forward, going through and flying through the virtual sky of Atlas.
The streets of Atlas were raging. Avatars of the dozens cheered on for the two idols of Duel Links. The two girls stood, one standing tall and triumphant, yet still looking cheery.
She wore a waist long snow white jacket with a snowflake on the back, with a blue and white combat skirt and white boots. It was all in sync to her pale white hair and pearl blue eyes. On her left cheek, a snowflake.
Snowflake: 1700 L.P.
On her field stood a woman with pale white skin, wearing snow white robes. Shards of ice covering her shoulders, elbows and knees. In her hand was a staff made completely of ice.
Winter Witch Sorcerer: Lv6 [Spellcaster/Effect] (2400/2000) WATER
"Well, shall we continue, Pyrrha? Or do you need a break?" Snowflake grinned, her hands behind her back as she made a typical schoolgirl pose and a wink. Enough to get some of the audience more riled up.
Her opposition, a woman with blood red hair, put into a ponytail with her bangs covering her head crown, stood. Her clothes consisted the ideal of a warrior, wearing a brown and gold corset-like armor and high heel plating. All to complement her bright green eyes.
"Not a chance." She stood tall, a small but unnoticeable smile on her face.
Pyrrha: 950 L.P.
"You don't give up, do you?" Snowflake questioned, putting her hands on her hips.
"Of course not. What would be a champion if they didn't fight?" She put her fingers onto the top of her deck, before pulling and drawing a card. "It's my turn!" She looked over her hand, the smile on her face now visible. "So, why don't i show you and everyone else a little surprise?"
"Huh?" Snowflake raised a brow, before the champion began her turn.
"First, I activate Amazoness Gardna's effect!" Pyrrha announced, thrusting out an open palm. "By banishing one monster in my hand, I can special summon her from my graveyard!" A card digitized into her fingers, and she slid it into the top slot of her new 6th gen duel disk. Then the card she brought back appeared in her hand for her to show, then it digitized away.
A woman in Amazoness clothing appeared, holding a shield in one hand and a spear in the other. She kneeled down, slamming her shield down in front of her as she guarded.
Amazoness Gardna: Lv4 [Warrior/Effect] (800/2100) EARTH
"Then, I activate Amazoness Wild Priest's effect! Whenever she's sent to the graveyard or banished, I can summon two Amazon Tokens!"
Two shields arose from two portals, both covered in blue aura.
Amazon Token: Lv1 [Warrior/Token] (0/2000) EARTH
"Now's the time! For the summon of the future!" Pyrrha declared, her hand in the air. "I have three monsters overall! Come to me, circuit of the future! LINK SHOKA-"
Then there was a sudden sound, as winds picked up against them. Snowflake put her hands over her face, being pushed back along with everyone else. Then they saw a flood of purple data. Everyone was panicking. But not their idols.
"I activate the trap! Iceberg Wall!" Snowflake declared as a holographic image of her trap card appeared. A wall of solid ice arose from the ground, shielding her and the spectators behind her.
"I activate Amazoness Gardna's first effect!" Pyrrha announced, as the Amazoness spun around and planted her shield firmly into the ground. "When I take an attack, it can be negated!" The data tsunami hit, but was swayed away by her monster's shield.
They cleared the way, but not for long. They had to get out, and fast. Pyrrha lunged into the air, her tokens acting like stairs as she elevated herself up. In mere moments Amazoness Gardna was destroyed, consumed by the storm.
Next was the Iceberg Wall. But Snowflake was occupied drawing all the other spectators away. There wasn't even enough time to move. The wall cracked under the pressure of the tsunami, and when she saw it tower over her, her eyes widened. Then they shut tightly.
She could only hope it didn't hurt.
Then she felt her body move, something wrapped around her waist. She felt wind in her face as she was lifted off her feet. Slowly, she opened her eyes, and they widened. She saw the masked duelist, holding her as he slid to a stop. He looked down at her, his eyes staring into hers through his goggles.
"Are you alright?" He asked, and she just nodded. He put her down, looking up the building they hid behind. "Good. Stay here." And with that he dissipated into yellow data.
She just blinked, blinking as she watched. Completely speechless.
Player landed on a rooftop, kneeling on one knee as he looked around the landscape of Atlas. He saw the ground levels of the city flooded with data. The avatars drowned, and all he could do was watch. He looked timid and calm as always, but inside was pure rage.
Then wind picked up, blowing his multi-colored bangs from his eyes. Behind him was a Whitefang soldier, his arms crossed as he smirked.
"Player! You have arrived. Unexpected...but not unappreciated."
"You..." Delsin started, his eyes darting to the soldier. "Did you do this?"
"Oh?" He looked confused, looking down at the flooded streets. "Oh, that? I would say, no one else can take the credit-"
"Why?!" He shouted, to which his opposition smirked greatly.
"I have been tasked with something of top priority." The Whitefang uncrossed his arms. "So know this, I will destroy you if you get in my way."
Then the virtual vigilante raised his duel disk mounted arm. On the screen the green AI. "Is this what you're looking for?"
The soldier gasped, before gritting his teeth. "You have one of the fragments?!"
The multi-color haired boy raised a brow, remembering that for later. "So now I am in your way. You want it? Stop the flood. Or else I delete it."
The fragment then panicked some, gulping. "W-What?...You wouldn't do that, would you?..."
The soldier gritted his teeth, but soon stopped. A smirk lined his face. "How about we make things more interesting? A duel. I win, I take that AI you have."
"And if I win, you stop this flood!" Player added.
"Very Well."
"Um...Sir?..." the Player looked down at the duel disk mounted on his arm, raising a brow. "Are you sure?..."
"How else am I gonna stop this flood?" He raised a brow.
"I know, but...your deck isn't equipped with high level monsters like his Dragon...If he summons it-"
"Are you saying you think I might lose?" His voice was cold as the winds picked up, eyeing the AI still. "Just because I don't have high levels doesn't mean anything."
"I know! But...Let me help you!"
"And how can you help me?" Delsin raised a brow.
A purple light shined down on them, as some of the tsunami arose, forming a path of light.
"Then let us commence!" The soldier stepped back, before leaping off the ledge and into the stream. Delsin followed, leaping off as the wheels under his feet appeared.
He slammed down on the lightway, skating through with the wind in his face.
He leaped into the air, his knees close to his chest until he hit the path again.
"You have to win, sir!" The AI shouted from inside his duel disk.
"Stop calling me that." He coldly said as he looked over at it.
"But...then What do I call you?..."
"Player."
The soldier was back in view, skidding past them with his vicious grin. He turned, following. "Lets see how you handle us in a Speed Duel, Player!"
The multi-color haired boy just kept his eye on the path ahead. "It's time to set the score!"
"DUEL!"
