[Ah! It's still chasing us!] AI screamed as the Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon continued to pursue the duo through Link VRAINS, blasting away buildings and clawing anything in its path.
Playmaker was still ahead of the beast, having just enough time to dodge the attacks of the dragon. How that thing was still active without SOL Technologies interfering was beyond him. Whatever it was, it was clearly behaving as the rumors had stated. A destructive dragon that defied the rules and tore away at anything in its path. It was acting just like a predator pursuing its prey. Luck must have been on his side for staying out of its line of fire.
He stilled needed a way to deal with the dragon. If Playmaker were to survive, the dragon had to go. But it was an unnatural monster. One that was summoned by Solarflare himself.
[Playmaker!] AI shouted, getting the hacker's attention as the dragon unleashed another burst that nearly hit him. [We can't do anything with that dragon following us.]
"Shut up. I know." Playmaker continued to put distance between them He knew the Ignis was right. However, what could do that could possibly get the monster to back off?
He took a look back, passing over a Data Storm. It was then he noticed something. Due to Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon's size, a bit of the monster's foot grazed a portion of the storm. Interestingly, the dragon lurched in pain, drawing its foot back from the Data Storm.
Playmaker's eyes widen. Did the monster just take damage from the Data Storm? Now that he thought about it, the monster barely even went near a Data Storm besides flying around it. Could the Data Storm be key to stopping the monster? With that being the case, he could-!"
"Do you think I'd allow you to go so easily?" The hacker was interrupted by another; Playmaker knew exactly who it was.
"Solarflare." He narrowed his eyes at the other Duelist. Playmaker rode his D-Board onto the Data Storm as Solarflare followed. "I thought you were Dueling Rosebud?"
"I was, but I've run into a bit of a problem. And you're the only one who is going to get her out for me."
"No. I'm not."
"Sorry, but you don't get to run from this! Supernova!"
"Hey, what are those in the sky?" A girl asked, pointing to the strange winds in the sky.
"Those? They are what we call Data Storms. Strange winds that come now and again if a programmer or hacker hasn't copied the code of it." Another person replied. "It is what people use for Speed Duels."
"Data Storms… People actually Duel on them?"
Yep, but I'd advise a newbie like you to stir away from them. Those winds have a chance at becoming rogue and are quite destructive when that happens."
"Really? They don't seem bad to me."
"That's because you haven't seen one for yourself. A rogue Data Storm is capable of destroying anything it absorbs or is in its path. But it nothing compared to the Tears."
"Tears, you mean like crying or just rips?"
"Tears are what we call the strange rips on Data Storms. Somehow, those act like a black hole and pull in anything in the vicinity that can't resist the pull. Outright has killed people unfortunate to be too close. Though some speculate you can obtain something special if you approach a Tear correctly. Yet the death count says otherwise."
"Data Storms and Tears… What an odd duo are they..."
Rosebud's eyes snapped awake, feeling something lodged in her shoulder. Slowly, she groaned and sat herself up. Nerves crying out in pain. A glance to her right explained everything. A piece of shrapnel, looking like a metal rod had made itself at home into her shoulder. Bits of digital concrete dangling from the wiring. Why did the data have to be so detailed? At least it wasn't depicting blood. Else she'd be screamed.
Wincing in absolute pain, Rosebud left hand twitched. She had a quick command for a certain tool. One that hopefully could remove it without much effort. The metallic coldness of the weapon felt so relieving on her heated skin. Shutting her eyes, she swung the blade straight through the shrapnel and stopping halfway into her shoulder. A hiss escaped her lips, a growing whimper suppressed as she felt the lodging pain all but vanish. Her weapon vanished as well. Her hand clutching the sealing wound as she sat there.
"...Damn it." She shut her eyes, letting the pain become numb.
Her body was starting to cool off. A slight ring to her faded as she took deep breaths. Heart pounding and palms sweating, this brief reprieve of all things prior was calming to her nerves. Wired on the panic that was slowly settling down. Everything should go back to a manageable state in a few minutes. Until then, it would be dangerous to act too rashly.
Since when did Data Storms get this dangerous? She held her injured shoulder. At least applying some pressure to the numbing area. Rosebud needed to check on the injury once she got out. Hopefully, it wasn't a real wound. That would complicate things.
Looking around, she felt a slight pain shot through her skull. Her other hand quickly went to grab it. However, the pain made her eyes open up to the area she found herself in. And it wasn't anything like the Data Storm. Or at least, there weren't rapid winds trying to rip her apart.
It seemed like it was more of the eye of the Data Storm. A call section in the center where the dangerous growing storm didn't enter. Where floating sections of broken land floated, defying all laws of physics. The place was weird… and Rosebud knew it was an understatement.
A scream from above caught attention. Rising to her feet, her body protested for a second. Then was completely on board as something was sent crashing her way. Stepping aside, whatever was blasted her way crashed into the rock structure behind her. She felt a shock run down her spine. Whatever it was, it was still alive. Though the dust of the crash did cause her to cough a bit.
"...What now?" She groaned but relieved to feel some of her headaches go away. "Ugh, I seriously need to rest after this. Or take more meds."
[...I thought we were goners.] A robotic voice caught her attention.
A quick glance at Rosebud's own Duel Disk showed nothing, so the only one who could possibly is… She waved her hand as the impact sight settled down. Sure enough, lying a bit bruised and covered in traces of dirt and rock was Playmaker. He seemed in better shape with thankfully nothing lodged in him. At least from she could tell. That or the Ignis currently poking out of his Duel Disk. Which instantly took note of her presence.
[Hey Playmaker! Looks its Rosebud! She lived-AH!] The Ignis was cut off instantly when Rosebud summoned her scythe and aimed the blade at the Ignis' throat.
"Shut up or else I'll cut your code to pieces." Rosebud snarled before feeling the pain in her shoulder suddenly spike. She hissed, pulling back and grabbing at her shoulder. "...Damn it."
Her purple eyes look away, avoiding eye contact with Playmaker. She wished she could just confront him about possibly being Yusaku. But that crash must have done damage to her somehow. And she barely had any reason to ask him now. Not with Solarflare nearby-!
"See? I told you-you could find her." Both Playmaker and Rosebud heard the voice from above.
Looking up, Rosebud saw the glowing form of the Cyberse Dragon flying down. Following him was Solarflare. Smuggling looking down at both hackers. She thought it was sickening to look from a guy that caused her to get harmed.
"You…" She muttered, glaring at Solarflare. Then she stopped, trying to stand up tall and keep her act together. "What was the deal in blasting me into here?!"
"Wasn't my intention, but there is a risk when you Speed Duel on Data Storms? Did nobody tell a little bud like you that?" Her eyes narrowed at his comment.
"Oh shut up!" She wanted to swing her scythe to threaten him, but letting Playmaker accidentally getting hit wouldn't be a good idea. Especially if she was still dealing with some pain after that crash. Her body instinctively tensed up; her injuries were not physically, but it was starting to get back to her.
"Oh? Looks like you took some damage from the fall. I'm surprised you can even stand at this point. I'll offer you one last time: hand over the Ignis, and I'll leave you be. Otherwise, I'll have to take it forcefully." Galaxy-Eyes Supernova Dragon snarled at the threat Solarflare stated.
"An Ignis?" Playmaker glanced over to her Duel Disk; it was an older, more worn down model. But it didn't look like she had an Ignis.
"If both of you start questioning me about the Ignis deal, I swear to the gods above I will personally end both of you." Rosebud spat out her response, checking her Duel Disk. "For the last time, I know nothing of this Ignis propaganda! Not from you, not from SOL Technologies and definitely not from anyone else! Our Duel isn't over yet, Solarflare!"
"Fine by me! And maybe if you fail, Playmaker might just come and save you."
She rolled her eyes; if Playmaker were to step in, Rosebud knew she wouldn't be able to stand the same. She had to win this Duel. Even if it broke her completely, she had to do it.
"...Don't have any pity on me." She said to Playmaker, turning her back to the hacker. "For I have none on such a guy and his captive pet."
[Did she just call me a pet!?] The statement by the Ignis was ignored as both Duelists resumed their Duel.
[SPEED DUEL/MASTER DUEL(?) - RESUME!]
Solarflare: 1500
Vs
Rosebud: 500
Galaxy-Eyes Supernova Dragon: LINK-4 LIGHT Cyberse/Link/Effect ATK: 3000 [MARKER(S): Top, Right, Bottom and Bottom-Right]
"I already choose to end my turn when you fell, so I'll allow you to begin your own turn. But, it doesn't seem like you have anything that can stop Supernova. Unless you have a Skill that can turn around this Duel." Solarflare taunted. "Who knows, maybe you can pull a Data Storm out of nowhere and win! Wouldn't that be perfect?"
"...If you taunting me, you're going to regret it." She spat out before drawing the top card of her Deck.
It was Monster Reborn, but what good would that do? If that monster couldn't be targeted, then Thyme would be useless. Burning him with Belladonna was also out of the question. Synchro was out of the question. What could she do now? Her avatar didn't have any Skills to speak of. She never needed to resort to using any. Was this really going to be her end?
Rosebud was unaware of a faint grey glow from her Duel Disk. Something that vanished in an instant. Though that wasn't the pressing matter. What gained their attention was hearing something from above. A tumultuous noise was sharpy heard by the three humans.
"Huh?" She lifted her head toward the top of the arena. "What the-!?"
"A Tear?! How could that be here?" Solarflare exclaimed, shocked to see the Tear forming in the Data Storm above.
Her eyes widen, before sensing something within the Tear. It was strange; her ears were picking up a pulse. One growing closer and closer. Something feels familiar about the pulse. If this was monster like how Solarflare got, then could it be possible…? Could she do the same and gain a monster from the Tear itself?
Then again, how could she without a Skill to boot? It couldn't be as simple as tossing a card into the Tear, was it?
The pulsation continued to grow stronger. Calling her to call it forth. Shutting her eyes, she was about to attempt to play Monster Reborn when the Tear above suddenly grew larger. The three felt a shock wave blast out.
Rosebud fell to kneel as the gravitational pull from the Tear grew even more powerful. She didn't bother to check on the others as she gripped the ground for dear life.
Whatever had broken through was unaffected by the pull. At least from what she heard from the monster's cry. Rosebud opened one of her eyes as saw what had gotten through.
A large dragon had emerged from the Tear. Pure white petal formed its large wingspan and went so far as to wrap around the monster's neck. The white petal-scales covered most of its body, shining a light rainbow-like coloration in certain lighting. It had those petals creating a mane of sorts, where grey thorn-like tendrils were poking out. Besides it two legs, wrapped in vines where the claws resembled grey talons, it boosted one long grey tail, wrapped in the vines with thorns poking everywhere but into the monster's body. That and the collection of other thorny vines acting like thinner tails, making it appear like it had a multitude of them behind its form. The creature's eyes stood out; contrasting the pale and nearly colorless form were violet eyes.
"What the…" Rosebud was taken aback, seeing the monster that had broken through the Tear.
A faint grey glow caught her attention. It originated from her Duel Disk, pulsating the same way as the sensation from earlier. Which had turned out to be the strange dragon that was blasting away everything in its sight? The light soon transferred to her left hand. This puzzled her before something spoke in her head. A calming, unknown voice that sounded so familiar.
"Thy aid does it come. You need to only claim what is rightfully yours."
Something made sense in other words. Rosebud found herself standing up, watching as the monster unleashed another rush of its thorny vines at Solarflare. He managed to dodge it, but his monster's counterattack did nothing as the opposing dragon just flew away. Seeing the monster's fury and elegance had the strange glow suddenly click in her mind. Could whatever this be a way for her to win? She didn't think twice about it, deciding to use the newly acquired Skill.
"I activate the Skill - Blossoming Rebirth! I can only activate this Skill when my LP is 1000 or less. This allows me to banish materials on my field or in my Graveyard to Special Summon 1 Link Monster from my Extra Deck or from one of those Tears! I banish Aromage Cinnamon, Aromage Jasmine, Aromage Thyme and Aromage Lavender to Set them into the Link Markers!" She outstretched her left arm, feeling the pulsation grow. "Link Summon!"
The Link Portal appeared, absorbing the four monsters before shooting out a grey blast of energy. The white dragon suddenly began to thrash about. Energy striking it, slowly forming a shell to encapsulate it. It appeared to be fighting back, the thorny vines lashing out to break free. It all ended as the monster let out a cry one last time. Everything being blinded by a bright light for a few moments.
As the light settled down, Rosebud felt a card in her hand. She was the first to open her eyes and look. Her eyes slowly descended to the card in her hand. One that had suddenly manifested into a Link Monster Card. It still was pulsating the strange energy as she held it. She didn't have a fancy chant for the monster on the spot, so she went with a simple idea.
"Appear! Link-4 Ghost Garden Rose Dragon!" As soon as she placed the card onto the field, it erupted a storm of petals as the dragon returned to the field.
Ghost Garden Rose Dragon: LINK-4 FIRE Cyberse/Link/Effect ATK: 2400 [MARKER(S): Top, Left, Right, Bottom]
Ghost Garden Rose Dragon
LINK-4 Attribute FIRE
Cyberse/Link/Effect
ATK: 2400
[MARKER(S): Top, Left, Right, Bottom]
2+Plant-Type and/or "Rose Dragon" monsters
When this card is Linked Summoned: Banish all cards on the field, except this card. Your opponent cannot activate cards or effects in response to this effect. Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can banish 1 Plant monster from your GY, then target 1 monster your opponent controls; negate that monster's effects, and if you do, its ATK and DEF becomes 0 until the end of this turn.
"Impossible… You tamed a Cyberse Dragon from a Dimensional Tear!?" Solarflare exclaimed as his Supernova Dragon let out a roar that was matched by the other Cyberse Dragon.
She ignored the comment in order to achieve her victory. "Perfect! Looks like this girl's got exactly what I need! I activate Ghost Garden's primary effect: when she's Linked Summoned to the field, all other cards on the field are removed from play!" She declared, the white dragon opening up its petal wings and unleashed a storm to blow away the cards. "Ghost Garden Rose Dragon - Ground Zero!"
The monster's storm of petal wiped the field clean except for itself. With a clean field, Rosebud knew exactly how to end the Duel. "Ghost Garden Rose Dragon, finish this! Ghost Rose Flare!"
Charging up a dark flame within its body, the dragon unleashed a black fiery blast directly at Solarflare. The other Duelist seemed to have no options out of it. She had won the Duel.
Solarflare: 1500 - 2400 = 0
Vs
Rosebud: 500
[WINNER - Rosebud!]
Just as she was about to rest, the ground beneath her suddenly gave way. Her eyes widen as she suddenly fell. She barely recognized that the Data Storm and Tear had ceased to be. Destroying the structures and dropped all it carried down to the ground. Rosebud screamed as she fell. She feared the incoming impact. Shutting her eyes, she accepted crash into the ground and fate.
Yet the crash didn't come to that. One second she was free falling. The next she felt somebody crash right into her side, knocking her off course and onto another building. Instant she felt pain ripple throughout her body. Her heartbeat skipping for a second before starting back up again.
"Rosebud!" Rass' voice brought her back from the daze. "Rosebud can you read me!?"
"...Rass…?" Rosebud blindly questioned the voice on the other end; was she dreaming?
"Ugh, you're going to give me a heart attack one of these days. The server went down for a solid fifteen minutes. It's back up for but SOL is heading to your location right now. You need to log out now!"
"Really-!?" She bit her lip, a hand instinctively going to her head; seems like she was suffering a bit of a headache. "...Maybe you're right. I'll log out in a bit and send you whatever in the morning."
Rosebud sat up, feeling as if her body was run over by a truck. Or how she thought the sensation of her body would feel like. Though as she sat up, something felt off. Not mentally or anything; like, something felt like it was wrapped around her. A quick look at what felt like was around her waist answered that question. A strange orange or yellow eyeball with a purple iris looking at her.
Immediately she screamed. Then she kicked whoever had grabbed her and quickly hit the log-out switch.
Immediately after logging out, Arisu took another dosage of her medicine. She didn't hesitate as she chugged down another water bottle. Then she crouched to the floor, waiting for the drugs to kick it and set things back to a sense of normality. Back to when before her situation was literally killing her body every day.
Sometimes, she wished she could continue dreaming of being in a state that didn't constantly strain her body. She was a growing girl that was scraping by normal high school life. Why was real life so hard? Couldn't things become easier like back then?
That incident five years really screwed her up, did it not?
Sure, of course, it did. Otherwise, she wouldn't be feeling like complete shit. Arisu couldn't drop the facade of Rosey or Rosebud. Perhaps Rass can do all the main hacking or coding requests for her. It wasn't like her coding was good at all. Last time Rass took a look at a code she fully did on her own and wasn't supervised by him, it was complete spaghetti code.
…
...Playmaker, right. Rosebud had officially encountered Playmaker and if Ghost Girl had planned it, there were going to be issued. What kind of thing made him believe she was a Knight of Hanoi? Did somebody interfere in the Duel again? Nothing was really making sense. And if Arisu had her hunch correct, then the SOL Data Bank would provide those answers.
Then again… she took a quick glance at her Duel Disk. Reaching for the Deck, she quickly looked through her cards before noticing something off.
Guess she had a project to do later after she rested. Dropping the Duel Disk and Deck out of sight, she went to bed. However, she was unaware of the grey glow as something started to take form. A static-like blue eye kept trying to form. It then stopped and shut itself off.
"...Cyberse Dragons... to think that the Data Storms would not only bring them but the Dimensional Tears as well. This is a promising group." A voice said, far away to not notice a young Arisu still awake in bed.
She wasn't actively wanting to overhear the conversation. All she wanted to do was sleep. Yet she couldn't. not with the conditions, she was forced to live in. And now here she was, overhearing a conversation that her mind couldn't comprehend. Words flying over her head. Why couldn't she fall asleep?
"I must say, this ...important ...project. How are the Innocent faring?" A second one asked.
"As well as you can expect; ...better than others. ...progress quite nicely. At this rate, we are bound to..."
A scream suddenly cut them off. Arisu whimpered, pulling the covers over her face. She didn't want to listen to anything anymore. The child covered her ears in a vain attempt to not hear the scream. It ended as quickly as it came. She feared to sob into the pillow, afraid of being heard.
"Another failure... How could it be so hard to..."
"Forget it! We can't waste any more time before..."
~ Next Time on ~
~ VRAINS - COMPENDIUM ~
With the events of yesterday in the past, Rass and Rosebud decide to infiltrate the SOL Data Bank after receiving a message from Siren. The pressure matter in their sights, they hope to find answers inside the Data Bank itself What will become of this event when they aren't the only ones to do so?
Find out in Episode 10 - Data Heist
Skill(s) Discovered
Blossoming Rebirth (In the use of Rosebud. Only usable in a Data Storm)
You can only activate this Skill once per Duel if your LP 1000 or less. The user randomly obtains a Cyberse Link Monster from a nearby Data Tear and adds it to their Extra Deck. The more intense the Dimensional Tear, the stronger the obtained Link Monster will be. The user is given a monster appropriate for them. The obtained card can then be materialized in the real world with the proper equipment.
You can Link Summon the monster you just obtained by banishing the required material in your Graveyard. The banished monsters cannot be returned to the Graveyard, Hand or Deck if you use this Skill.
Fun Facts
Ghost Garden Rose Garden is obviously based on Black Rose Dragon, but more precisely the Ghost-Rare version of the card. In that version, the monster looks pure white. Hence why I gave it part of its name Ghost. The Garden part of its name comes from the Field Spell Black Garden and the Synchro Monster Garden Rose Maiden. I tried to say true to Black Rose Dragon by trying to buff the effects of the monster. I might come back and change some of the latter effects, but I'm keeping its main effect as is.
