#8: Give Me a Smile, You're Not Down Yet
The next day, Mitsuba heads back to school first. After all, it's not the weekend, and she's already arranged to meet in the afternoon. Kaiyō meets up with her the moment that she gets back to the school, grabbing her hand.
"Are you ok?" She says worriedly.
"Yeah," Mitsuba says. She knows exactly what Kaiyō is talking about. "I'm… I'm fine. Still a little shaken by what happened yesterday, but I'm fine." Kaiyō nods.
"Be careful," she whispers. She glances at Mitsuba's duel disk. "Oh, and tell 'her' to be careful too, yeah?"
"She's been a lot quieter since yesterday," Mitsuba replies. "I think something that one of the Knights said unnerved her. I'll tell you more about it after school."
"Ok," Kaiyō says. "Are you planning on… going back in VRAINS today?"
"Yes," she says. "I'm meeting up with someone." She takes out her water bottle as Kaiyō nods.
"Kind of vague," her friend says, "but who am I to judge your romantic rendezvous?" Mitsuba chokes on her water, and Kaiyō grins impishly. "Ok, ok, I'll be serious. I'll stay on standby for you, how about that? That way, just in case they come back… I want to keep you safe, you know."
"Well, with you as my tech support, there's no way I'm going to be in trouble."
"True. Well, don't tire yourself out. We do have Duel Club again tomorrow, after all."
Mitsuba lets out a soft groan.
She really is tired.
"By the way, you skipped out yesterday so you didn't hear, but we have a newbie in the club. Fujiki from the first-years."
Oh, Fujiki Yusaku, huh? The quiet one.
"He apparently found Zaizen unconscious. Anyway, her brother is keeping her home while she recovers."
"Hopefully she gets well soon."
"Yeah, she always was your favourite junior," Kaiyō teases. "We all know it."
"I don't have a favourite."
"That's a lie and you know it."
They head back to class. In the end, they clear through most of the day and their classes as fast and they can. Once they end school, they head to Kaiyō's house, and Mitsuba lies down on her bed again.
"See you in a bit," she says.
Kaiyō spins around her headset on a finger. "Yeah," she says with a smile. "Have fun. See you in a bit."
She really doesn't like that teasing tone that her friend has right now. She doesn't even know the person that Mitsuba is meeting up with, but she's bound to laugh even more the moment she finds out.
Well, there's nothing left for her to do but go. She's just stalling at this point.
"Into the VRAINS!"
"Yo. You're perfectly on time, Kuro-cchi. As expected of you."
Sable Luna nods. "Hey. Didn't expect you to be the one to ask me out." Azalf laughs at that, adjusting her hood. Her wolf ears twitch, and she gives Sable Luna a bright smile.
"Well, it's not like you're extroverted enough to ask me out, right? Anyway, you seem less shaken than I thought you would be. Found someone else, Kuro-cchi?"
Sable Luna shakes her head. "Geez," she says. "Anyway, you said you wanted to hang out?"
"Yes," Azalf says. "Guess we can head somewhere first? If you don't mind gossiping with me over coffee before the big event." She gives Sable Luna a meaningful look. "Wish we could go out for it in real life, but…"
"Cut the flirting down a little, it's not like there's anyone for you to perform for."
Azalf tilts her head. "Perform?" She says. "Sure, I guess."
They head to the coffee shop, and they sit down.
"So," Azalf says, "I saw the videos. Blue Angel got in some kind of trouble yesterday, right?"
"Right," Sable Luna says. She doesn't expose the fact that she was nearby too. "I hope she's doing ok."
"Oh," Azalf says. "I'm sure she's…" She hesitates, and she's practically a transparent slate. After a moment, she speaks up. "I kind of know who Blue Angel is in real life. I haven't publicised that knowledge, but… yes, I know her. She's… ok, I guess. Not good. Just ok."
Azalf and Blue Angel know each other in real life? That's… interesting. Sable Luna isn't sure why her heart feels weird right now, but she just ignores it in favour of responding to the words. "Ok? What do you mean by that?"
"Well, she's not in a good state to go back to school or daily life right now…" Azalf shrugs. "That's all the info I can give you, I guess. So spill!"
Sable Luna frowns. "Spill?"
"Spill your info too, I guess? I mean, you were in here yesterday, right?"
Sable Luna flinches.
"Hey," Azalf says calmly, gently reaching out a hand and patting Sable Luna's hand. "I'm not interrogating you, you know? If I'm making you uncomfortable, tell me and I'll stop and we can move on to the next thing, but… I guessed, you know? And if you keep your virtual life separated from your physical one… you probably don't have too many people to talk to about this kind of stuff. And I'd like to think that we're kinda sorta friends?"
"We are friends," Sable Luna says. "I'm just… not really used to talking about my problems."
"Which is a bad habit that you should break!" Shiryō comments.
"Which is a bad—wait—" Sable Luna glances down at the cute dove, who gives her a wink. "Hey, Shiryō—"
"You're adorable," Azalf says, scooping the dove up in her hands. "Shiryō, huh? What an interesting name." She pokes at the AI's feathers. "Have you been in that duel disk this entire time?"
"You're Azalf," Shiryō says. "Aren't you?"
Azalf nods. "Azure Wolf, at your service."
Shiryō lets out a laugh too. Sable Luna finds it strangely cute to see this odd wolf girl and this odd bird AI talk. Eventually, she speaks up. "Anyway… you keep talking about some kind of big event that you organised?"
"Ah," Azalf says. "Well, I organised all of this thinking you'd be extremely sad, which you ended up not being. So I guess we can skip the rest of the pre-stages and go straight to the show—"
"Show me the pre-stages," Sable Luna finds herself saying.
"Hmm?"
"Show them to me, whatever you planned. It'd be interesting to see."
Azalf shrugs. "Sure." She gently puts Shiryō back onto the duel disk. "Your bird friend might want to um… stay inside though. Just until we get to the place."
"Sure." Shiryō vanishes back in. Azalf smiles, and they head off.
The first place they stop by in VRAINS is the stadium where they held their Charisma Duelist stream a while ago. Azalf flies over it, and she gestures to the seat in the middle. Sable Luna takes it, feeling rather amused. Then, Azalf snaps her fingers.
Fireworks fly upwards into the sky, dancing and forming images in the sky, of flowers and fire and smiley faces. It's one of the most garish things that Sable Luna has ever seen.
… it's very pretty.
She smiles, but before she can say anything, quiet music starts playing as the sound of the fireworks fades.
"Yeah?" She says. "Not bad."
Azalf gives her a small smile. "We still have a bit left to go."
This is a lot of effort to go to for an internet acquaintance. She is pretty impressed, all things considered.
The music ends, and Azalf holds out a card. Sable Luna picks it up—and her eyes widen. Shiryō floats out after there is silence for a while, and both of them stare at the card.
"Wait," she says after a moment. "You made this for me?"
"Nope! As much as I'd like to get the credit for it, I didn't make that, my monsters led me to it. I'm sure that your cute dove there could easily make cards for you though, if you asked." Azalf shrugs. "It's one way up."
Sable Luna gives her a quick hug, before letting go. "Thank you," she says. "That's sweet of you."
"Knew you'd come along eventually," Azalf jokes. "Ok. It's about time for the main event."
Sable Luna is about to question things, and then Onizuka Go comes hurtling through the sky like a lightning bolt, landing on the stage.
"Ah," he says heartily. "That's great! Shall we then, Azalf?"
Azalf nods. "Yeah," she says. "I'll challenge you to a duel, Onizuka Go."
Oh.
Oh, she's getting a front row seat to one of the most anticipated matches ever.
"Finally!" Go says. "You've kept me waiting quite a while, but I knew you'd come around eventually!"
"Don't sound so pleased, old man." Azalf shrugs. "It's not exactly how I wanted this to go, but in the end, it is a duel against you, and believe me, I intend to deliver the performance you want."
"That's the spirit," Go says. "Master or Speed Duel?"
"Master Duel," Azalf says. "It's what we're both used to, right? Show me what you've got!"
[MASTER DUEL!]
Azure Wolf: 4000LP
Onizuka Go: 4000LP
"I'll start," Azalf says. "Since I am the challenger, after all. I'll start off by Normal Summoning my C.I. AlphaGo." (4*/1900/500/WATER/Cyberse/Tuner/Effect) She gives a small smile as the monster emerges. "Didn't realise it until now, but it's a 'Go' too, isn't it?"
C.I. AlphaGo
(4*/1900/500/WATER/Cyberse/Tuner/Effect)
Once per turn: You can discard 1 card; target 1 card on the field, this turn, that card cannot be destroyed; also, Special Summon a "C.I." monster from your Deck. You can only activate this effect of "C.I. AlphaGo" once per turn.
Go lets out a hearty laugh. "I suppose it is!"
"Well," the wolf girl says, "AlphaGo isn't going to stay for that long. I'll activate C.I. Twitter Feed!" (Spell) She plucks a card from her deck. "I'll target my AlphaGo. And I'll add a different "C.I." monster to my hand."
C.I. Twitter Feed
(Spell)
You can target 1 "C.I." monster you control: Add a "C.I." monster with a different name from your Deck to your hand.
She hums a song that Sable Luna does not recognise. "And then I'll have AlphaGo activate its effect. I'll discard a card and target AlphaGo itself, and I'll Special Summon another one of my partners." Ice explodes in front of her, before the silvery creature appears, matrix running around it like it's phasing in and out of existence. "The one and only C.I. CHREST!" (3*/1800/600/WATER/Cyberse/Effect)
C.I. CHREST
(3*/1800/600/WATER/Cyberse/Effect)
(Quick Effect) You can target a card on the field, Special Summon this card from your hand, and this turn, the targeted card cannot be destroyed. If this card battles a monster and neither monster is destroyed by the battle: You can draw a card.
"And I discarded C.I. Mycin, (3*/1400/1000/WATER/Cyberse/Effect) so I get to add a WATER monster from my deck to my hand." Azalf reveals the card that she adds immediately. "And I'll activate its effect. This is C.I. Mycroft. (4*/1000/800/WATER/Cyberse/Tuner/Effect) Since all monsters I control are "C.I." monsters, I can Special Summon him from my hand!"
C.I. Mycin
(3*/1400/1000/WATER/Cyberse/Effect)
If an effect is activated that would destroy a monster on the field: You can Special Summon this card from your hand or GY. If this card is sent to the GY: You can add 1 WATER monster from your Deck to your hand. You can only activate each effect of "C.I. Mycin" once per turn.
C.I. Mycroft
(4*/1000/800/WATER/Cyberse/Tuner/Effect)
If you control no monsters, or only "C.I." monsters: You can Special Summon this card from your hand. If "C.I. Holmes" is Normal Summoned: You can banish this card from your GY; draw 1 card for every "C.I." monster on the field at the start of the Battle Phase. You can only activate each effect of "C.I. Mycroft" once per turn.
A blue hexagon emerges, a hole in its middle, shaped like a perfect circle. The signature matrix of Azalf's monsters is running around it, forming yet another ring around it. Its hollow middle is glowing with a faint red light. Ice is slowly forming on it, and the air already feels colder.
"Alright," Azalf says. "You already know what's coming, don't you? Brace yourself!" She clenches a fist. "Open, circuit of ancient cybernetic genius! Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two "C.I." monsters! I will set C.I. AlphaGo and C.I. Mycroft in the Link Markers! Ancient flaws of humanity, give rise to the intelligence that corrects greed! Monitor of the greedy, arrive now in the future that does not belong to you! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2! C.I. Serenata de Amor!" (L2/?/WATER/Cyberse/Link/Effect/↓, ↑)
C.I. Serenata de Amor
(L2/?/WATER/Cyberse/Link/Effect/Up, Down)
2 "C.I." monsters
This card's ATK is equal to the total ATK of all monsters on the field. Monsters this card battles cannot be destroyed by battle, and if your opponent would take more than 1000 damage from a battle that this card is involved in, they take 1000 damage instead. Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can target 1 card on the field; This turn, it cannot be destroyed, and this card gains the following effect until the End Phase.
If this card battles a monster, after damage calculation: That monster's effects are negated.
Sable Luna smiles.
Serenata de Amor, to be blunt, is possibly one of Azalf's most annoying monsters.
"I'll set a card," Azalf says. "Over to you."
"You don't fail to impress!" Go picks up his next card. "I don't think we need to put on too many pretences though. I'll Normal Summon Gouki Suprex!" (4*/1800/0/EARTH/Warrior/Effect) A blue warrior appeared on the field, wearing a silver chestplate. Its tail slaps the ground behind it. "And when Suprex is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon another "Gouki" monster from my hand! So come on out, Gouki Riscorpio!" (5*/2300/0/EARTH/Warrior/Effect)
A red warrior with pincers for hands appears, nodding to its fellow warrior. Go doesn't stop, however.
"I'll be discarding another "Gouki" monster to Special Summon Gouki Headbatt (2*/800/0/EARTH/Warrior/Effect) from my hand too!" Go grins. "Come on, let's put on a good performance for Fenrir over here!"
"You were the one that said no pretences," Azalf shoots back. "I'm not Fenrir here, you know. I'm just the one that's below you, trying to overcome you!"
Hmm…
Charisma Duelists really are fond of drama, aren't they?
"Technically, Headbatt increases Suprex's attack points, but that doesn't really matter 'cause you already know what I'm going to do! Open, my circuit!" The familiar polygon appears above Go. "Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two or more "Gouki" monsters! I'll set Riscorpio, Suprex and Headbatt in the Link Markers! Now, emerge, face of the competition! Bash down the barriers and bring smiles to people's faces! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 3! Gouki the Great Ogre!" (L3/2600/EARTH/Warrior/Link/Effect/↓, ↙, ↘)
Go's most prominent monster appears, floating in front of him and swinging out its battle axe. Sable Luna sees Azalf smirk for a moment, before the dark-haired girl tilts her head. "So?"
"Patience, patience!"
"If you call me 'grasshopper' or anything like that, I might hit you."
"Anyway…" Go grins. "You know what my Goukis all have in common, right? Riscorpio, Suprex and Headbatt will all activate their effects! I can add a "Gouki" card other than them to my hand!"
Three monsters together… Sable Luna supposes that this is one of the best parts of Go's deck. Every monster replaces itself the moment it is used.
"And one of those cards will be this one! If you're the challenger, Azalf, I suppose I'll be the heel!" Azalf raises an eyebrow. "I'll give my Great Ogre the Gouki Dark Mask!" (Spell/Equip) A black and purple mask falls from the sky, and the large warrior picks it up, placing it over his face. "And another card! Gouki Re-Match!" (Spell) He picks up two cards from the graveyard. "Return in Defence Position, Suprex! Headbatt!"
"Are you crazy?" Azalf says bluntly as Serenata de Amor glows behind her, the pink light becoming almost too bright to stand. (C.I. Serenata de Amor: ? - 1800 + 2600 + 1800 + 800 = 7000ATK)
Go, despite her response, doesn't seem deterred. "Not at all! While my Great Ogre is on the field, all monsters lose attack points equal to their defence points!" While the Goukis all lack defence points and thus remain unaffected, CHREST isn't so lucky, and in the process, Serenata de Amor is slightly weakened too. (C.I. CHREST: 1800 - 600 = 1200ATK) (C.I. Serenata de Amor: 7000 - 600 = 6400ATK)
It's barely a dent in that thing's high attack points though.
"I'll have my Great Ogre attack your CHREST!"
"I'll activate Serenata de Amor's effect. I'll target CHREST to protect it from destruction this turn, and if a monster battles Serenata this turn, its effects are negated!" The familiar pink barrier appears, before it glows and shatters too, the force blasting the Great Ogre back. "Security Seal!"
The attack still goes through, however, and Azalf's life points drop by a significant chunk.
Azure Wolf: 4000 - 1400 = 2600LP
"Since CHREST battled your monster but neither of them were destroyed, I get to draw a card." Azalf folds her arms. "Anything else that you want to do, Go?"
"Oh," Go says, still sounding confident. "Well, I'll be taking out your monster now. You've already used up its effect, after all." He places a card on the field. "Raigeki!" (Spell)
Oh.
Oh, that is so smart. He got her to use up that protection effect so that—
Serenata de Amor is destroyed, but Azalf doesn't look particularly unnerved either.
"I'll set a card," he says. "Over to you, Azalf."
"Alright," Azalf says. "Over to me then." She draws a card. Sable Luna sees a flash at the side, and clearly the other two see it too. She gets up and heads over to see—
"Oh," she says. "Frog and Pigeon. Delete it now. This is a private match."
Frog looks like he's about to complain, but then Azalf glances towards them and he blanches. "Y-yes! Alright!" He ushers Pigeon away, and Sable Luna heads back.
"What's that about?" She says.
"Oh," Azalf says, sounding slightly embarrassed now. "I dug up some stuff on that guy. I normally use it to get him to leave me alone, honestly."
… relatable. Azalf is about as private about her non-cyber life as Sable Luna herself is.
"So he's scared of me and ah, I do not want to reveal that part of me to you, Kuro-cchi. Just ignore it." She glances at her field. "I'll activate C.I. Dropbox." (Spell/Continuous)
C.I. Dropbox
(Spell/Continuous)
Once per turn: You can discard 1 card from your hand; place a C.I. Counter on this card. Once per turn, if a "C.I." card(s) on your field other than "C.I. Dropbox" would leave the field: You can place 1 C.I. Counter on this card instead for each of the cards that would be destroyed. Once per turn: You can remove 4 C.I. Counters from this card; Draw 1 card.
A blue frame surrounds her field, and flames are flying all around her.
"And next, I'll Normal Summon C.I. Holmes." (4*/800/1000/WATER/Cyberse/Effect)
C.I. Holmes
(4*/800/1000/WATER/Cyberse/Effect)
If this card is Normal Summoned: Destroy all other monsters you control. If you control at least 2 "C.I." monsters: You can tribute this card; target 1 WATER Xyz Monster in your GY, Special Summon that monster to your field in face-up Attack Position, and if you do, attach this card to that monster as Xyz Material.
An odd, small humanoid creature with a matrix sealed in ice, forming a still cloak behind him appears, an oversized blue hood over his face. His body is pure white metal, gleaming. It has a monocle over a dull red dot that is blinking, looking like an eye. The other 'eye' is also a red dot, but it isn't adorned with anything.
"Holmes?" Sable Luna says.
"Yeah," Azalf says. "Mycroft and Holmes. They're both AI projects, just named after those characters." She shrugs. "And they're… a little cute, admittedly. Not that I'm using them for that. When I Normal Summon Holmes, I must destroy all other monsters I control. However, since Dropbox is on the field, once per turn, I can put C.I. Counters on it to negate the destruction of my cards." (C.I. Dropbox: C.I. Counter - 2) She picks up a card from her graveyard. "And Mycroft banishes itself with its own effect. Next, I'll activate the effect of C.I. Mycin in my graveyard."
"The one you discarded earlier?"
"Yes." In front of her, a small robotic nurse-like figure emerges. Chains form most of its body except the head, and it clatters as it moves, making sighs and shivering, as though the air is cold. Its 'hair' is made of wires that are adorned with thin, beautiful ice crystals. "And now, let's try something else! Building the Overlay Network with the Level 3 Mycin and CHREST! Now, beautiful songs untouched by humanity—endear and enchant! Xyz Summon! Rank 3! C.I. Melomics!" (R3/1800/1000/WATER/Cyberse/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)
C.I. Melomics
(R3/1800/1000/WATER/Cyberse/Xyz/Effect)
2 Level 3 Cyberse monsters
You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card: Target 1 "C.I." monster in your GY, except a Link Monster; Special Summon it. You can only activate this effect of "C.I. Melomics" once per turn. If a card on the field would be destroyed by card effect: You can negate that effect, and if you do, target 1 "C.I." monster you control, and after this effect resolves, destroy it.
Music notes made out of ice emerge, before a small female figure made entirely out of cyan and emerald ice appears. There is metal floating around it, and the music notes are slowly drifting out of the pieces of metal, connected to the metal by a fragile line of code. The signature matrix is drifting below the figure, lifting it up like a net.
"One of your Xyz Monsters," Go says. "It's interesting to see someone who uses the older methods nowadays."
"Thanks," Azalf says, though she doesn't sound too interested in the compliment. "Melomics's effect. I will detach one of her Overlay Units and revive one of my non-Link "C.I." monsters. Harmony of Orpheus!" (C.I. Melomics: OU:2 - 1 = OU:1) The music notes zoom together, forming a portal that AlphaGo stumbles out of. "I'll then activate the effect of CHREST in my hand, alright? And I'll defend Melomics from being destroyed this turn, in order to Special Summon it."
Now, there are four monsters on Azalf's field, and the Azure Wolf seems almost… amused.
"K," she says. "Looks like I actually have to bring this one out, Go. I'm not surprised though. You've always been really strong."
"So, Libratus?"
"I've watched your duels," Azalf says. "I know a lot of things about your cards, Go. And I know that your mask actually protects your monster from destruction. As it stands… well, right now, I'd need to defeat that guy four times. One for the mask, twice for the monsters and once to finish the job." She smiles. "Not my style to brute force it like that, I'm afraid. And I'm not as nice as Playmaker either. I'll open the circuit of ancient cybernetic genius again!"
Wait—
I wasn't expecting this at all. Azalf rarely ever Link Summons anything but Serenata de Amor. She still has an Xyz Monster in her Extra Monster Zone too. Is she going to use that card as material even though it still has an Overlay Unit?
"Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two or more WATER monsters! I'll set C.I. Melomics, C.I. CHREST and C.I. AlphaGo in the Link Markers! Now, fount of knowledge, come to my side and serve me with your power! Raze the world to the ground! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 3! C.I. Apache Lucene!" (L3/2000/WATER/Cyberse/Link/Effect/↓, ↗, →)
C.I. Apache Lucene
(L3/2000/WATER/Cyberse/Link/Effect/↓, ↗, →)
2+ WATER monsters
If this card is Link Summoned using a WATER monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck as Link Material: Target 1 "C.I." card or WATER monster you control, other than "C.I. Apache Lucene"; while this card is face-up on the field, that card cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects. (Quick Effect) Once per turn, if your opponent activates a monster effect: You can target 1 monster you control; negate the effect that was activated, and if you do, destroy the monster you targeted.
C.I. Apache Lucene is… interesting. Yeah, that's one word that Sable Luna can use for it. It's a helicopter.
Ok, ok, she'll be fair to it. It's a humanoid figure with a set of razor blades for its left arm, spinning around like helicopter blades and stirring up the dust in VRAINS. (It's absurdly realistic that she can see dust in a virtual world, but she chooses to ignore that for now.) The figure's 'skin', so to speak, is basically blue stone, with the matrix wrapped around its limbs and body. On the other side, it's holding onto a spellbook, one that seems to be releasing odd binary codes into the air.
"So this is your Link 3 monster!" Go says. "You've never used it!"
Azalf presses her hands together. "Sorry," she says. "It's one of them, at least. But this one is a bit better for the outcome I want here. Apache Lucene's effect! Since I used Melomics as Link Material for it, I can choose one card on my field, and while Apache is here, it can't be destroyed at all!" The blue border surrounding her field glows, making her choice obvious before she even speaks up again. "I'll choose to defend C.I. Dropbox! Permanent Lock Signal!"
Dropbox defends all her cards, and it can't leave the field either… that's a lock, isn't it?
"Since the Mycin that was attached to Melomics as material was sent to the graveyard, I can add a WATER monster to my hand," Azalf says. "And I think I'll add C.I. Mycroft to my hand. And I can Special Summon Mycroft again!"
"Great!" Go says cheerfully. "That's what I wanted to see!"
Azalf spares him a smile. "Holmes's effect," she says. "I can tribute him to revive a WATER Xyz Monster in my graveyard, and I'll give him to that monster as a material. So reemerge, C.I. Melomics!" She exchanges out the monsters, and Melomics reappears. (C.I. Melomics: OU:1) "Battle! Since I control three "C.I." monsters at the start of the Battle Phase, the effect of C.I. Mycroft that I banished earlier activates! If it was banished by its own effect when C.I. Holmes was Normal Summoned, I can draw a card for each "C.I." card on my field!" She picks up the three cards immediately.
"Don't forget my Ogre's effect!" (C.I. Mycroft: 1000 - 800 = 200ATK) (C.I. Melomics: 1800 - 1000 = 800ATK)
"That's fine," Azalf says. "Melomica and Mycroft are in Defence Position anyway. Apache Lucene will attack your Gouki Suprex! Cryogenic Razor Slice!" The monster is destroyed, but Go takes no damage. "I'll be setting another card. Over to you, Go."
"Oh? Not taking the offensive?"
"That's more on you," Azalf returns. "We all know that you, Borea and maybe Kuro-cchi there are… well, the most directly battle-based ones. I heal and I protect my cards. Sometimes, I even protect my opponent's cards."
"You'll have to attack me to win though."
"Believe me, I know." Azalf rubs the back of her neck. "Sorry. It's a character flaw of mine. I like protecting what's mine."
"As if that could be a character flaw," Sable Luna says. Azalf shoots her a wry smile, before she turns back to Go, who is drawing a card. He only has two cards in hand, but she is pretty sure that he is going to pull some kind of comeback soon.
"I'll activate another copy of Re-Match to bring back Riscorpio and Suprex. Then, I'll open the circuit!"
Yeah, there he goes.
"Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two "Gouki" monsters! I'll set Suprex and Riscorpio in the Link Markers! Appear now, fast warrior! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2! Gouki Jet Ogre!" (L2/2000/EARTH/Warrior/Link/Effect/↓, ←) A blue warrior appears, and he stares directly at Azalf. "And I'll add two "Gouki" cards to my hand! I'll Normal Summon Gouki Twistcobra!" (3*/1600/0/EARTH/Warrior/Effect) A warrior that, in accordance to its name, looks snake-like, appears, letting out a loud hiss. "And Twistcobra will tribute himself to give his attack points to Great Ogre!" (Gouki the Great Ogre: 2600 + 1600 = 4200ATK)
Go adds a card from Twistcobra's floating effect, before he points out a finger with a knowing smile. "Your card won't be destroyed," he says. "You have too much defence there. But I'm willing to bet that you didn't bother to defend against damage, Azalf. So shall we test that? Jet Ogre's effect! I'll destroy Headbatt in order to change all monsters on the field to Attack Position!"
Azalf shrugs. "Apache's effect. If a monster effect is negated, I can target a monster I control. I'll target Mycroft. Then, I'll negate your effect, and I'll destroy Mycroft once the effect resolves. Negation Freeze!" The monster explodes, while Jet Ogre is forced back into submission.
"Alright," Go says. "I'll have Jet Ogre attack your Melomics!"
"I'll activate C.I. Dropbox's effect." (C.I. Dropbox: C.I. Counter - 3) The ice protects Melomics, even as it lets out a cry of fear. "And it's in Defence Position, so I don't take damage."
"Gouki the Great Ogre will attack your Apache!"
"Ah," Azalf says. "Sorry. I need that." She flips up her set card. "Draining Shield. (Trap) I'll negate your attack and gain life points equal to your monster's attack points."
Azure Wolf: 2600 + 4200 = 6800LP
"Perfect defence!" Go says. "I'll set a card. Over to you." (Gouki the Great Ogre: 4200 - 2600ATK)
Azalf hums, picking up her next card. That makes for four cards in her hand now, and she seems thoughtful.
"Say, Go," she says. "I think I'm about ready to push you back."
"Then bring it," he says. "Show me what you can do."
It's… captivating.
This match really is cool.
"I'll Normal Summon C.I. CoJACK," (4*/1000/100/WATER/Cyberse/Effect) she says.
C.I. CoJACK
(4*/1000/100/WATER/Cyberse/Effect)
Once per turn, during either player's turn: You can target a monster on the field, this card's ATK and DEF becomes equal to that card's ATK and DEF. Once per turn, you can target 1 card on the field other than "C.I CoJACK": This turn, that card cannot be destroyed, nor can it activate its effects that would destroy cards on the field.
"And I'll activate CoJACK's effect. I will target Apache Lucene and prevent her from being destroyed this turn. Then, I will activate Melomics's effect. Harmony of Orpheus!" (C.I. Melomics: OU:1 - 1 = OU:0) AlphaGo reemerges. "I'll activate AlphaGo's effect. I'll give protection to Melomics, discard a card, and Special Summon C.I. Mycin from my deck. Now, Building the Overlay Network with the Level 4 CoJack and AlphaGo!"
Oh.
There's only one candidate that Sable Luna knows of, in terms of this combination.
"Four suits that gravitate around the unsung genius. Universal intelligence, strike down your foes and claim your absolute victory! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! C.I. Libratus!" (R4/2000/1600/WATER/Cyberse/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)
C.I. Libratus
(R4/2000/1600/WATER/Cyberse/Xyz/Effect)
2 Level 4 WATER monsters
If this card is Xyz Summoned: Destroy all monsters on the field, except this card; then, if you still control "C.I" monsters other than this card, your opponent gains 700LP for each card they control that was destroyed, and they discard 1 card from their hand. You may detach 1 Xyz Material from this card: Destroy 1 card on the field or send it to the GY, and if that card remains on the field after the resolution of this effect, draw 1 card, and gain 1000LP. You may only activate each effect of "C.I. Libratus" once per turn.
Azalf's ace appears on the field, streaks of ice curling around the entire field. "And now, I will activate Libratus's effect! When Xyz Summoned, I destroy all other monsters on the field! Heart of Liberation!"
The card representing Dropbox glows, and four icy counters appear on it. (C.I. Dropbox: C.I. Counter - 7)
"I'll activate Great Ogre's effect to destroy Jet Ogre to negate its destruction!"
So to prevent him from using up Dark Mask's protection for now, right?
"And when the monster with Dark Mask activates its effect, twice per turn, I can burn you for five hundred damage!"
"That's assuming that I let you do that," Azalf says. "I'll activate the effect of C.I. Apache Lucene! And I'll destroy Mycin to negate your effect! Negation Freeze!" She plucks up a card from her deck. "Mycin will add a WATER monster to my hand!" Jet Ogre and Headbatt both explode.
Go frowns. "I'll activate Dark Mask's effect to negate its destruction. And Headbatt will add another "Gouki" card to my hand."
"That's fine," Azalf says. "Since I still control other "C.I." monsters, you can gain seven hundred life points for each card you control that was destroyed, but you must discard a card!"
Oh.
She negated this last time, so she didn't have to deal with it. Still though…
Onizuka Go: 4000 + 700 x 2 = 5400LP
"And now, your Ogre stands alone." Azalf smiles. "I'll detach an Overlay Unit from Libratus. That'll let me destroy one of your cards. Guess what I'm picking?" The mask glows uselessly, and the ogre is blown off the field. "Inversed Heart!" (C.I. Libratus: OU:2 - 1 = OU:1)
"That's really good!" Go says, seeming unfazed.
"Thank you," Azalf says. "Apache Lucene! Libratus!"
"Magic Cylinder," (Trap) Go declares.
Onizuka Go: 5400 - 2000 = 3400LP
Azure Wolf: 6800 - 2000 = 4800LP
"That's fine. Melomics!"
Onizuka Go: 3400 - 1800 = 1600LP
"I'll set a card and end my turn," Azalf says calmly. "Over to you, Go."
Go grins. "You've got me pushed into a corner, Azalf, but it's not over! Draw!" He glances at the three cards in his hand. "Alright! I'll activate Gouki Re-Match!"
"Again?" Azalf says, sounding amused. "You really do have too much resource searching. It's terrible."
"I know you don't mean that."
"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. Carry on."
"Well," Go says, "I'll revive Headbatt and Suprex! And now, I'll Normal Summon Gouki Riscorpio again with no tribute, since all my monsters are "Gouki" monsters! Now, open, circuit! Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two or more "Gouki" monsters! I'll set Gouki Riscorpio, Gouki Headbatt and Gouki Suprex in the Link Markers! Emerge with the loud rumble! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 3! Gouki Thunder Ogre!" (L3/2200/EARTH/Warrior/Link/Effect/↙, ↑, ↘)
A dark warrior with a red mask appears, and Azalf chuckles.
"You can't play the heel here," she says affectionately. "That's my part to play."
"Is it?"
"I brought a helicopter here," Azalf says dryly. "And a statue. Who do you think is more pretentious here?"
Go laughs. "True, true. I'll add three "Gouki" cards to my hand with my three monsters' effects. And now, I'll activate Gouki Poison Mist!" (Spell) The mist shoots towards Azalf. "I can deal you seven hundred damage, and you can't activate any set cards this turn."
Azure Wolf: 4800 - 700 = 4100LP
"So no damage reduction for you this turn, Azalf.," Go says, and then he pauses as both he and Sable Luna see Azalf on the ground, covering her nose and mouth, looking like she might choke. "You know the smoke is fake, right?" He says doubtfully.
Azalf gets up, nodding. "Sorry," she says. "I panicked."
"… ok?" Go shrugs. "I'll activate Thunder Ogre's effect and Normal Summon again. So I'll bring out Gouki Twistcobra. And I'll tribute it to give its attack points to Thunder Ogre!" (Gouki Thunder Ogre: 2200 + 1600 = 3800ATK) He points forward. "I'll add another card to my hand. Attack Apache Lucene!"
"Dropbox," Azalf says. (C.I. Dropbox: C.I. Counter: 8)
Azure Wolf: 4100 - 1800 = 2300LP
"And I'll activate Gouki Unity," (Spell/Continuous) he says. "I take no battle damage from battles involving Gouki monsters, and any monsters in my Main Monster Zones can't be destroyed by battles or card effects. Over to you." Twistcobra's effect wears off, and Thunder Ogre falls back to its original attack points.
"Draw," Azalf says. "I'll remove four C.I. Counters from Dropbox to draw a card. (C.I. Dropbox: C.I. Counter - 4) She glances at the field. "So I can't deal you damage… but that guy can still be destroyed by battle or card effects, right?"
"Yup!' Go says. "Come at me if you can, Azalf! Show me what you can do!"
Azalf smiles, before she glances at the field. "I'll—" She starts, and then she winces, taking a step backwards again.
"Hey," Sable Luna says. "You ok?"
"Yup," Azalf says, but it comes out more like a hiss. "I'm fine—"
A voice speaks up from her duel disk, chattering quietly. Azalf shakes her head at it wearily. "I'm fine," she says. "Let me finish this. I'll be fine."
"No," the voice says. "You're not going to be able to finish this. Stop dueling right now." It's a robotic voice, definitely a programmed one but not particularly sentient.
Go frowns. "So you're not alright?"
"I don't want to disappoint you," Azalf says. "So I'll just do what I can. Apache Lucene, Libratus and Melomics all don't have the attack points to take out your monster… but it doesn't really matter." She flicks out her hand. "I'll activate C.I. Libratus's effect! I'll detach its other Overlay Unit and target Thunder Ogre, since it's in your Extra Monster Zone and not your Main Monster Zone! (C.I. Libratus: OU:1 - 1 = OU:0) Inversed Heart!"
The monster explodes, and Go smiles in acceptance.
"Attack him directly, Libratus! Cryogenic Cutdown!"
Onizuka Go: 1600 - 2000 = 0LP
The moment the duel finishes, Azalf gives them a sheepish look. "Alright," she says. "I'm probably going to have to leave now. Bye—"
"Hey, Fenrir. Don't go running off yet." Go messes with her hair and Azalf lets out a huff, one of her wolf ears twitching. "What was with that last turn?"
Azalf shrugs. "I just…" She sighs. "I'm just not really feeling well today, alright? It's not really much."
"Yeah," Sable Luna says. She buys that. However, she doesn't buy something else. "That last turn… I saw you reaching for a card in your hand. Were you going to do something other than end the duel?"
Go raises an eyebrow. Clearly, he noticed it too.
Azalf raises her hands in a placating manner. "Look," she says. "My purpose coming here today wasn't necessarily to win. It was to entertain. I wanted to show you something else, because of that… but I realised that I was only going to keep feeling worse the longer I dueled. Sorry for the anticlimactic ending, Go."
"That's fine," he says. "I'm glad we got to duel. See? I told you that you could win if you tried."
Despite the slightly tense atmosphere, Azalf giggles. "You're not exactly doing your best either, old man," she says. "Don't patronise me now. Thanks for your help."
"No problem, it was fun for me too!" He glances between her and Sable Luna in that oddly knowing manner. "I'll leave you two be now, how about that? Have fun!" He leaves, and Sable Luna sighs, looking at the ground.
"What are you thinking about?" Azalf says, seeming less motivated to leave.
"Just…" She shrugs. "I don't exactly have my motivation back, you know?" I'm still scared. Of Hanoi, of everything. "I dueled then, but… I don't know if I can protect VRAINS. I don't know if I can bring myself to."
Azalf nods.
"And it's nice of you to do all of this for me when you're not feeling well, Azalf. I just feel like it should have motivated me more, like I should have had some epiphany—"
"That's stupid," Azalf says bluntly. "For being so smart, you're kind of emotionally stupid, Kuro-cchi."
What a statement…
"There's no way that you should be, you know? No exact way that you should be thinking right now. I didn't do all of this because I wanted to motivate you, I did it because I wanted to help you. And whether I actually did or not, it's a matter of trying. Just like how I know you'll get up when it's the right time for you, Sable Luna. You're too strong not to. I mean, you're the same one that saw Playmaker and the Knights of Hanoi and dove in! How could you not be strong?" Azalf places a hand on her shoulder. "But even the strong need time, so take that time for you. The world can wait."
That's… flattering.
She's most definitely not blushing right now, thank you.
"Yeah," she says. "Thanks. I'll carry on, I'll… get back to normal soon. You're right."
Azalf smiles, lets go and begins walking away.
"Rest well!" She calls. "If you're sick, go to a doctor!"
Azalf gives her a sheepish nod, and then she vanishes.
Good lord.
What a dork.
She… likes hanging out with that dork though.
Sable Luna puts one hand on her face, sighs and logs out.
Maybe she is blushing just a little...
In VRAINS, just as Sable Luna logs out, another person logs in.
The newcomer clicks on a screen, before a page shows up, displaying some data.
"Very nice, Inari-chan," Scarlet King says cheerfully. "This will help nicely."
It's about time for her to go on the hunt, anyway.
A/N:
Well… while writing this chapter, I got a headache because I realised that I had to go back and read through some of the earlier chapters to make sure that I didn't use TCG/OCG effects for canon characters. Want to know why? Because I planned out the entirety of Go against Azalf with the wrong Gouki effects. It's not that big of a deal for Gouki, since most of the effects are the same, but I'm now absolutely paranoid about my duel writing. Ugh.
Still though, hope you guys enjoyed the duel! Honestly speaking, neither of them was really going all out at this point, but it was still pretty nice to write on my end. (Apart from the aforementioned planning problems.) When I was writing it, I wasn't really sure who I wanted to win, or if I wanted to just leave it a draw. The one thing I don't like is plot contrivance cards that cause a draw though, so in the end, I decided to have Azalf win, even though Go could probably have won too, at this point in time. That's… probably a controversial decision, but oh well. It'd have been either way.
I like how I ended off the interaction between the Charisma Duelists by having Azalf reassure Sable Luna that the world can wait, and I immediately jumped to that freaking cliffhanger. The next chapter isn't the Scarlet King one though, so things are not that fast yet.
I think that's basically it for now. Next chapter has two duels, some real life stuff, Yusaku-Mitsuba interaction, and more Ice Barrier Dragons, so… yes. Look forward to that. Thank you to Diabolic Tracer for your review! I really like Darklords myself, which makes me mildly upset that I don't have that many duels planned with them in Season 1. Thank you to homestuck12 for favouriting!
~ Blaise :3