Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-Vrains: The Circuit Of Smiles

by donkeyboy100

A year after the Dimensional War and the revival of Zarc, and everything in Paradise City had seemed to die down. Until one day a mysterious group called the Arbiters came and invaded the Pendulum Dimension to capture Declan Akaba and Yuya Sakaki. It's now up to Yuya and his friends to travel to this unknown dimension in search for the answers to their questions.

9. Into The Vrains

The Link Dimension, also known as Den City, was a technological paradise with SOL Technologies as its leading developer. Essentially, the answer to the Leo Corporation in Paradise City, they created a virtual dueling world that no other company would have dreamed of: Link VRAINS. It was a paradise for duelists who wanted to challenge one another, with some even using avatars, such as Blue Angel The Gore, Soulburner, and its resident hero Playmaker who hasn't been seen in the last six months.

Recently, that thought in everybody's mind changed when during a tournament in LINK VRAINS, an unknown group called the Arbiters invaded and start attacking the participants

In an unknown area in LINK VRAINS, multiple screens with images of Den City and LINK VRAINS, along with a video of the Arbiter's duel against Storm Rider.

A pillar of light erupted from the ground behind them, and a tall male humanoid covered in shadows with a golden aura surrounding his outlines.

"Have you been able to locate Storm Rider or his real life persona yet?" The mysterious figure asked.

"Not yet sir." The Arbiter replied. "We're checking every single log-in that Storm Rider has made, but ever since his duel he not only secured his account, but his social ones as well, making it difficult to locate him."

"Well keep looking!" The shadowy figure yelled. "I won't let this "Storm Rider" or anyone interfere with my plans!"

"Yes sir! We promise to work harder to find him, and we'll notify you once we do." The Arbiter member said.

"Sir!" Another Arbiter yelled as he ran up to the dark humanoid. An unknown energy has been detected in Den City, and I was able to pinpoint their location. The Arbiter told the black silhouette as he pulled up a screen displaying the location's image.

"Interesting." The black humanoid said.

"Should I send some Arbiters to their location and apprehend them?" The Arbiter asked.

"No. Let them be for now." The humanoid replied.

"Are you positive, sir?" The Arbiter asked

"Yes, I am." The shadow answered. "I expected this to happen sooner or later, and until the time is right, that's when we make our move. For now, just keep an eye on them."

"Yes sir!" The Arbiter stated.

The dark silhouette then looked back at the screen where the energy signal was received.

"So you finally arrived, huh? This time, I won't let you interfere with my plans because I've made lots of preparations to make sure I achieve my goal." He said before teleporting away.

Meanwhile, elsewhere

"Uhhh." I forgot how rough traveling dimensions can be."

A young boy with red and green hair groaned as he cracked his eyes open slowly and regained consciousness. He slowly became aware that he was lying face-down on something hard. Judging by the feeling in his nose, it was concrete. He then pushed himself up, wincing, until he was in a sitting position.

"I forgot how rough traveling dimensions can be." He said

He quickly leapt to his feet and looked around to get a good view of his surroundings.

He noticed that he was on a waterfront, layered with many warehouses, specifically. But that wasn't what drew his attention. It was the massive city that was laid out before him. It appeared to be even larger than Paradise City. Most of it was composed of skyscrapers, but there were also some financial districts and residential areas, and above all the other skyscrapers, there was a building with the letters "SOL" on it.

"Judging by the looks of this place, I can say that this isn't the Fusion, Synchro, or XYZ Dimension. Meaning that we're in the Link Dimension." The boy said.

The boy was both relieved and glad that he ended up safe and sound in the place where Declan's father was, hoping to find and rescue him from whatever or whoever caused him to disappear.

"Guess we better get started on hunting down Leo huh, Zuz-", he froze after noticing that his friend was nowhere to be found.

"Zuzu? Zuzu!" He yelled, panicking at the thought he was separated from her once again.

"I can't believe this happened again!" He said with an upset tone. "Now not only do I have to find Leo, but Zuzu as well, making it twice as difficult, especially since contacting her might be risky, since this new enemy may track us if we tried that. I hope that whenever she is, she's safe and out looking for me."

"Well, it's a good thing you don't have to worry about that." Said a familiar voice, which caused the tomato-haired boy to turn around.

The voice belonged to a young female with pink hair wearing a sleeveless white shirt with a pink skirt and a white belt as she smiled and waved to the young male across from her.

"Glad to see you're okay, Yuya!" The pink-haired girl said.

"Zuzu, you're okay!" He yelled as he ran over to her, and she ran back as they greeted each other with a big hug.

"How did you find me so fast?" Yuya asked.

"Lucky for me, when I woke up I noticed I was in the same place as you, but wasn't with you, so I knew immediately that I should track you down." She said, "After being unable to find you, I was about to call you to see if that'll help until then I heard you yell nearby, which lent me right straight to you, allowing us to reunite with one another."

"Looks like luck is on our side this time, then the first time we traveled through dimensions." Yuya mentioned.

"Lets both hope it stays that way." Zuzu added, causing Yuya to nod in response.

"Now that we're together once again, let's start on locating Declan's father." Yuya said.

"I agree with you Yuya, but the question is "where do we start?" Zuzu asked.

"To be honest, Zuzu, I'm not sure where." He answered. "Normally, we would ask people around if they've seen Leo, but knowing him, he would more likely prefer to work in private and even if he was out in public, he tried his hardest to not be seen."

"So that means our only option is to find him ourselves." Zuzu pointed out.

"Guess so, and I can't promise it will be easy." Yuya said as he pulled up a file on his duel Disk. "All we have that can help us find Leo is the lab he set up while in this dimension, which contains all the information he gathered, but unfortunately the tracker's unable to find its location."

"That means he blocked its signal, so nobody could trace him, or it's hidden somewhere it'd be impossible to locate." Zuzu added."

"That's a possibility given how smart Leo is, but for now, how about we expand our search to the city, hoping it might have some clues and leads that could help us?" Yuya said.

"Good idea. Let's move out." Zuzu said as she and Yuya left the waterfront and headed straight into the city.

Elsewhere…

Yuji groaned as he pressed the buttons on the screen. "This is so aggravating," he muttered. "Why can't I get past this level?"

Yuji was sitting on the stands in the gym of Den City High School, glaring at his tablet. Class didn't start for another hour due to him and his friend Ena arriving at school early to continue working on the fall formal, but decided to try out this new popular app released by SolTech's gaming department.

At first, when he downloaded the new app, it was straightforward and had no problems. But as he progressed through each level of the game, it became more difficult and complex. He was currently against a boss within the game who countered every single strategy he tried to pull off against it, and the more times he failed, the angrier he got.

After losing once again, Yuji closed the app in anger, and went back to help Ena set up the gymnasium. He then noticed her watching a video of her and Yuji as Storm Rider and Sanctum fending off against the Arbiters along with Soulburner, Blue Maiden, and The Gore, instead of working.

"That's funny, normally I would be the one slacking off and end up getting caught not doing any work." Yuji said, surprising Ena,

"Gaaa!" Ena yelled. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Sorry." Yuji apologized. "But seriously, how come you're watching our heroic moment in LINK VRAINS when it happened 3 days ago?"

"I'm watching it because it's currently the most-talked about thing on not only the web, but the news as well." Ena replied. "When we first created our accounts and entered LINK VRAINS, we were just ordinary duelists like everybody else, dreaming that one day we could rise through the ranks and become Celebrity Duelists like the ones we recently fought alongside."

She then handed her tablet to Yuji, who then read the article written about them and their bravery, saying that they could be the new up and coming duelists of LINK VRAINS.

"So they're basically saying that we're the next big thing to happen in LINK VRAINS since Playmaker. I like the sound of that." Yuji said.

"Of course you do. Your dream is to become the next Playmaker of LINK VRAINS ever since you first saw him duel, and after what happened a few days ago, you're now a step closer to making that dream come true." Ena stated.

"I mean, I did when I was able to create my own Cyberse cards by using data collected from all his duels." Yuji replied.

"Yes, but you never used them because you were afraid that people like the Hanoi were going to hunt you down and destroy them." Ena said.

"Potato Patato." Yuji rebutted. "The important thing is that I used them when it was necessary and looked at how things turned out."

"Even so, I'm still a bit worried about all this." Ena said. "There's a chance those "Arbiter" guys could track us down and discover our identities.

"Which is why, lucky for us, I created this." Yuji then pulled out a tablet as he clicked on an app, which then opened up and showed a file.

"What is that?" Ena asked.

"It's a security algorithm I created." Yuji answered. "After our battle against those "Arbiter" guys, I had a feeling they might try to track us down like you said, I immediately went straight to work on it, and was able to create it within an hour."

"And you're just telling me this now when you could've set it up to protect our accounts?" Ena said with an angry look on her face.

"Calm down, will you? I already installed the program to protect our accounts right after I finish it, see?" Yuji said, as he pulled up both his and Ena's LINK VRAINS accounts and tried to hack into them, but a firewall blocked him from doing so.

"Oh. Sorry for yelling at you." Ena apologized.

"Don't sweat it." Yuji replied. "As long as this program's active, we're safe from those guys. Now how bout we both get back to setting up for the dance happening next month before everybody else gets here?"

"Right!" Ena nodded in response as she and Yuji went back to redecorate the gym.

At SOL Technologies

All the employees were currently working on setting up for the big tournament that was sadly interrupted a few days ago, once again happening.

Akira Zaizen, current CEO of his company, walks in to check up on his former assistant now taking on his position to supervise Link VRAINS.

''Hayami, how are the preparations for the tournament's second commencement?'' Akira asks, causing her to then turn around with a determined look on her face.

''Everything is going smoothly and according to plan, Mr. Executive Director Zaizen!'' She replied with a smile.

''Excellent!'' Akira declared with a smile on his face. "Hopefully, there'll be no intrusions this time, since we increased security and gave the residents of Den City until midnight to set up a LINK VRAINS account to increase our chances to find the best duelists."

"No joke. After what happened, it was brilliant of you to make those altercations." Hayami said. "Luckily for us, we had the help of those two duelists, Storm Rider and Sanctum."

"Yes, we were very lucky indeed, but the thing that sticks out from them that interests me is that one of them owns Cyberse cards." Akira said.

"You mean Storm Rider?" Hayami asked.

"Exactly." Akira answered. "To our knowledge the only people we know that are or were in possession of Cyberse cards were Playmaker, Soulburner, my sister Skye, and the GNIS. Yet somehow, this Storm Rider who was just an ordinary LINK VRAINS duelist has no record of ever using them in a duel until recently."

"Do you think he was a victim of the Lost Incident?

"Not likely. We already know who the six children of the Lost Incident are, so it's most likely that he created these cards by using all the data and research info obtained on Cyberse cards to create them."

"What?" Hayami yelled, causing all the employees to look at her as a drop of sweat formed on her face.

"Anyway, that shows he's not only good with network technology, but card design as well if he's able to create his own Cyberse cards." Akira pointed out.

"I guess it's okay for me to assume that you want him on our team, Director Zaizen?" Hayami asked.

Akira nodded in response. "Correct, but not just because he helped save everyone from this new mysterious threat, but to also show the people of LINK VRAINS and Den City that even without Playmaker there are still duelists out there to give them hope."

"I hope you're right, sir because if not, then we're sure to have another big problem on our hands." Hayami mentioned.

Back in Den City High…

"This is just nonstop", Yuji thought to himself. I can't believe how many people are talking about Ena and I's or should I say Sanctum and Storm Rider being the new heroes of LINK VRAINS ever since we stopped those "Arbiter" guys.

At the moment, Yuji was in his fourth class of the day, Philosophy, looking at the articles, blogs, and message boards on his tablet, seeing all the buzz that he and Ena have created in the short matter of time. While he's happy that he's finally near on the same level as Playmaker when he arrived in LINK VRAINS, Ena thought it was a bad thing, and they should take extra precaution to prevent it from affecting their personal lives.

But she has to admit that it's wonderful to become the new face of LINK VRAINS easily in a short amount of time, while every other superstar duelist worked for it.

"Yuji Sugimuto, could you please tell me how René Descartes created Calculus?"

The voice of Yuji's teacher snapped him back to the real world. He looked at the teacher as he replied, "Actually, I can't because Descartes didn't create Calculus, Gottfried Lebinz did. Descartes has been credited as the father of analytical geometry, which is the bridge between algebra and geometry.

"That's correct, Mr. Sugimuto. Just like your classmate said, Descartes also developed rules for deductive reasoning. The rules are…"

Yuji ignored the teacher as he went back to continue reading on his tablet. "Whew! That was a close one." Yuji thought to himself. "It's a good thing that I'm not only a fast learner, but I'm quick on my feet as well."

He was about to move to the next article when Shima, who was sitting beside him, shouted, "No way!" This startled Yuji and made him turn to Naoki. What he didn't know was that every student, especially the teacher, were all staring at Naoki.

"You better have a good reason for interrupting class, Shima!" The teacher said, clearly annoyed that he interrupted her lesson.

"It's a major announcement about LINK VRAINS from SolTech!" Naoki said.

"That is no good reason to interrupt an important lesson like this!" The teacher reprimanded Naoki.

"But it's regarding the tournament that was sadly canceled due to the invasion." Naoki mentioned.

Shima pushed a button on his tablet, which then linked the article of the announcement to the board's screen.

"They're commencing the tournament once again?!"

"It starts tomorrow at 3pm in LINK VRAINS?!"

"Everyone has until midnight to create an account to participate?!"

"And at the end, the seven best duelists will join the Top 3 to become the Top 10?!"

"I can't wait!"

"I'm about to sign up now!"

"Me too!"

"Me three!"

The entire classroom turned into a frenzy after learning this exciting news, while the teacher, however, was not thrilled.

"Excuse me, everyone! Last I checked, class is still in session, and until the bell rings nobody is going anywhere!' The teacher exclaimed, causing all students to have disappointed looks on their faces as they sat back down in their chairs, waiting for the bell to ring.

At the end of Philosophy class…

After the bell rang, Yuji packed his bag, while his classmates grabbed all their stuff and ran out the door to head since it was now break period and hope to use that time to create their accounts.

"I'm surprised to see you still in class, Yuji?"

Yuji turned from his bag and saw Ena standing behind him.

"Oh hey Ena." He responded. "Just finished packing up."

"Great, you are hungry, I heard that the cafeteria's now serving hot dogs specially made by Café Nom." Ena said as she and Yuji headed out of the classroom.

"Really, the food truck in the central plaza that we work at?" Yuji asked.

"Yeah, apparently many students liked their hot dogs so much that they started a petition to have the Student Council get them on the Lunch Menu."

"Well, you aren't wrong about their hot dogs being delicious." Yuji said. So, did any of your classmates hear about the announcement that SolTech made regarding holding the LINK VRAINS tournament."

"Yeah, right before I arrived. Shima secretly sent it to everybody in the school after finding out about it." Ena answered.

"Well, unfortunately for me, I was in class with him and not only disrupted the entire class by causing an outburst, but also upsetting the teacher by connecting the article to her computer." Yuji stated.

"Yikes. Sorry, you had to go through that." Ena said.

"It's ok. I only have to deal with him for one class period and thereafter, it's on the way home." Yuji mentioned.

"Hey! That's not very nice to say."

Yuji and Ena both stopped in the middle of the hall after hearing a voice and turned around to see it belonged to Shima.

"Have you ever heard the expression, "Treat others the way you want to be treated"?" Naoki asked, as he walked up to them.

"Of course I've heard the expression, and what do you want, Shima?" Yuji asked, hoping to get this over quickly."

"Well, as both of you already know that SOL Technologies has decided to host the tournament after being sadly cancelled due to the little incident that occurred a few days ago." Shima noted.

"You mean when the tournament got invaded by a group of people known as the "Arbiters" who suddenly started attacking innocent duelists?" Ena rhetorically asked.

"Yeah, that Anyway, seeing that anyone with an account can participate, and as Yuji said during our last interaction, I know a lot about LINK VRAINS even though I never did." Shima said.

"There's a shocker." Yuji rhetorically said.

"What was that?" Shima asked with an angry look.

"Nothing. Continue with what you were saying.

"Anyway. I was thinking that the three of us could head over to my house and create our accounts and avatars for the tournament tomorrow." Shima offered.

Yuji looked at each other before looking back at Shima.

"We appreciate your offer, but I'm afraid to say that we have to decline." Ena said.

"What?!" How come?" Shima asked.

"Because while becoming a Celebrity duelist at the end of the tournament is nice, we prefer the old-fashioned way by challenging and beating the best duelists one by one, instead of taking them all at once. Furthermore, if they've just joined, they wouldn't be so much of a challenge anyway." Yuji answered.

"Plus, we already have accounts." Ena added.

"Seriously?!" Shima shouted with a frustrated look. "It didn't occur to say that instead of rudely declining my invitation?"

"Actually, it did." Yuji said, holding up his hand. "And here are three reasons why. One: You asked us if we were aware that SolTech is planning to reopen the tournament, when earlier you blurted out in class."

Yuji held up another finger. "Two: You offer to help us create accounts for the tournament when, during our last encounter, you mistakenly thought we didn't know anything about dueling or had any experience in LINK VRAINS at all."

Yuji held up a third finger. "Three: I thought it'd be funny to mess with you, and judging by the look on your face, I was right."

"Fine then." Shima said with an upset tone. "Not only will I prepare for the tournament, but I'll also be one of the seven duelists who end up becoming the new Top 10."

He then stormed off, as Ena looked at Yuji with a disappointed look."

"You know it was rude of you to do that, right?" Ena asked.

"I know, but as you should know by now, I can't stand him nor exploit his faults." Yuji responded.

"Whatever. Let's just head to the cafeteria before all the hot dogs have already been eaten." Ena said.

"You don't have to tell me twice." Yuji replied as he and Ena went straight to the cafeteria.

Den City, Streets…

Yuya was walking across the street with a depressed look on his face while holding his stomach, "Come on, Yuya!" He looked up and saw that Zuzu was far in front of him as she was waiting for him.

Yuya gathered all the strength he could muster as he walked a bit faster until he finally reached Zuzu.

Even after catching up, Zuzu noticed Yuya still holding on to his stomach with his right hand and gave a knowing look, "Mom couldn't finish her dish in time?"

Yuya sighed in response, "Yeah. I had to leave without eating breakfast or else I would've been late for our departure."

Yuzu was a little concerned but then scolded Yuya,"Sorry you had to miss the most important meal of the day, but if you remember, we have someone to find and rescue." Zuzu stated0.

"I understand that, but can we please take a break and get something to eat, Zuzu?" Yuya begged.

Zuzu took out her duel disk and pulled up a map of the city to check for any dining areas nearby. "Apparently the restaurants around here are mostly fancy and expensive."

"Aw man!" Yuya said with an upset tone. "Does that mean we're never going to eat?"

"Not exactly. There's a place called Café Nom nearby, that isn't as pricey as the other places." Zuzu stated.

"Really? Then what are we doing standing around? Let's go!" Yuya then sprinted by Zuzu really fast, causing Zuzu to stumble a bit.

"Should've known. The second Yuya hears anything relating to food, that's all his mind's focused on now.

"He's just like Yugo when he's hungry"

A bit startled by the voice, Zuzu closed her eyes as she then entered her mind and saw her Synchro Counterpart, Rin, in front of her.

''Rin?'' Zuzu utters out speechless, seeing how she hasn't seen since their duel against Yuya. Then again, Yuya probably hasn't communicated with his Counterparts after their duel as well.

"I agree with you, Rin. Once, me and Yuto were at the mall and after visiting 2 or 3 shops he asked if we could stop for a lunch break even though we didn't buy much stuff, and it didn't take us very long."

Another voice startled Zuzu, as she turned around to see it was her Xyz Counterpart, Lulu, standing next to Rin

"Lulu?" Zuzu uttered again after seeing her XYZ Counterpart.

"I get how Yuya feels though," "If I wasn't able to get something to eat before our training at duel Academy, not only would I be low on energy, but angry as well."

Zuzu blinks as she turns around to see her Fusion Counterpart, Celina.

"Celina too?" Zuzu was surprised to see her again as well. "Where've you guys been?" Zuzu asked, causing Celina to roll her eyes

"We gave you control because of the Lancers reunion, remember?" Celina reminded her. "Which, by the way, I still stand by that I was still more of a part of them then you were…"

"Celina, not now." Lulu said sternly. "We can have this argument later."

Sorry for being gone, Zuzu." Rin said. "We just thought you and Yuya would like some time alone together since you two barely had any when you were revived and spend most of your time hanging at You Show entertaining people."

"It was actually my idea." Ruri mused. "I thought back to when Yuto and I got separated and all he focused on was spending his time to track me down and rescue me, so we could be together again."

Zuzu's face formed a smile after hearing Rin and Lulu's answer. "Awww. Thank you, guys. That was really sweet of you."

"You're welcome. Zuzu." Rin replied

"We're happy you understand our reasoning." Lulu added.

"Hate to break this reunion, guys, but we should catch up to Yuya, or else we'll lose him." Celina mentioned.

After hearing Celina's statement, the three girls snapped back to reality and gave Zuzu control once again as she ran straight to the Central Plaza where Yuya should be at.

A few minutes later…

Zuzu finally arrived at the Central Plaza and was struggling to find Yuya due to the large number of people in the plaza.

"Yuya! Yuya!" Zuzu shouted, hoping to get Yuya's attention, but instead caught the attention of several people within the plaza.

"Where could he be? It's going to be hard to find him with all of these people around." Zuzu said.

"Hey Zuzu! I'm over here!"

Zuzu looked in the direction of where the voice was coming from and saw Yuya, sitting at a table near a yellow food truck with a sign that said "Café Nom" and had a smiling hotdog with a dog nose.

"Well, that makes things easier." Zuzu said as he headed over towards Yuya.

Thank god, you made it Zuzu, I was starting to worry we got separated again." Yuya said.

"The only reason we almost got separated is that you ran off without me." Zuzu rebutted.

"Oh yeah. Sorry about that." Yuya said while rubbing his head. "Let me make it up to you by buying lunch, which FYI already did."

A bell dings…

"Order for Yuya Sakaki! Two Hot Dog Supremes!"

Yuzu and Zuzu turned around to see a young man, perhaps a little older than both of them, wearing a white apron holding a tray with two hotdogs on it. He had purple hair that went to the base of his neck, bangs brushed across his forehead, and a small goatee.

"I'm assuming you're the owner of this food truck?" Zuzu asked.

"I prefer it to be known as a fine dining establishment, but yes, I'm the owner." The young man replied. Name's Kolter, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Kolter. I'm Yuya and this is my friend Zuzu." Yuya said.

"Thanks for the food. If Yuya didn't get something in his stomach quickly, then it'd be a bad day for the both of us." Zuzu mentioned.

"She's not wrong." Yuya added.

"It's no problem. I love serving people because in the end there's always a smile on their face after having a delicious meal." Kolter said.

"Seeing how busy it is around here, how do you handle it all by yourself? Don't you have employees?" Zuzu asked.

"Yeah, but they're all in school at the moment and don't clock in till after, and around that time it really gets busy." Kolter replied.

"Well, if you don't mind Kolter, we can help you deal with future customers who are already here and help set up for when your employees come later, that way you don't have to do it yourself." Yuya offered.

"While I appreciate the offer, Yuya, I want to avoid being a burden and ruin your guy's afternoon." Kolter replied.

"Please Kolter, we insist." Zuzu said.

"Okay. I'm not the type of guy to say no to two kind people who want to help." Kolter said with a smile. "Before I have you guys do any work, do you have experience dealing with food or restaurant service?"

"As a matter of fact, we do." Yuya answered. We have this friend back home, Reed Pepper, who's not only an incredible duelist, but an excellent cook.

"And lucky for us, he was able to teach us a few things, like cooking hot dogs." Zuzu added.

"Well great! Let's get started then." Kolter stated.

"Right!" Yuya and Zuzu exclaimed in response as they headed inside the truck with Kolter.

A few hours later….

Yuji and Ena walked down the path from Den Academy, who were still reading all the articles and posts involving their LINK VRAINS avatars, Storm Rider and Sanctum.

"I still can't believe we've become this popular in just a short amount of time, Ena." Yuji said.

"I just hope that it doesn't get so crazy that something or someone discovers our true identities and then we get assaulted by lots of paparazzi." Ena stated.

"Why do you always have to worry? Can't you just enjoy some things once in a while?" Yuji asked.

"Because if I didn't worry, then I wouldn't be able to think of ways of how we can protect ourselves from not only everyone in Den City, but the network as well." Ena answered.

" I can't argue with you there." Yuji said. "Anyway, I'm going to text Kolter and let him know we're on our way to work."

"Good idea. Hopefully, he's kept an eye on the network, trying to find more about the "Arbiters", as well as making sure they can't track us down." Ena said.

"Knowing Kolter, there's no way those "Arbiter guys are going to find us." Yuji stated. "I remember when we first met him, we were just ordinary customers working on an assignment for our Computer Science class."

"Yeah. I remember we were having trouble creating a program that can block and fix viruses and Kolter, who saw us struggling, was nice enough to let us use one of his programs as our own for an assignment." Ena added.

"After getting an A+ on that assignment, we felt like we should repay him, and offered to work for him." Yuji added.

"And as a bonus, he also offered to teach us everything he knew about coding and programming so that we won't have any more difficulties in class." Ena noted.

"Ever since that day, I believe it was fate for us to meet Kolter because if we didn't, we both wouldn't be the people and duelists that we are today." Yuji stated.

"You're right, we should do something nice for him in return." Ena mentioned.

"What a great idea, Ena! And I think I have the perfect idea for a gift." Yuji said as pulled up a website about the best hotels and resorts best for vacation trips and travel.

"How about booking them Kolter and his brother and his brother Jin at one of these places, for a week?" Yuji suggested.

"While I agree that it would be nice for Jin and his brother to spend some time after he got a job at the hospital, and work long hours helping patients who also suffer the same trauma he did. But how can we make this happen? We can't afford it."

"That is true. We can't afford it. But thanks to my ability in coding and hacking, I can set up a reservation for them without the need of paying." Yuji answered

"Yuji! We can't do that! It would be wrong!" Ena stated.

"You got any better ideas? If you do, I like to hear them." Yuji mentioned.

Ena tried to think of a better idea than Yuji's, but sadly couldn't come up with one.

"That's what I thought." Yuji said, causing Ena to be annoyed at his statement.

"You don't have to be so mean about it." Ena said with an upset look.

"Sorry. Tell you what, if Kolter does get mad over the fact that we hacked a hotel's computer system to set up a reservation for him and his brother, then I'll take the blame for the both of us." Yuji suggested.

"Thanks, but I still feel that what you're doing is wrong, Yuji." Ena stated.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's just hurry and get to work before we end up being late." Yuji stated.

"OK. But don't say I didn't warn you." Ena pointed out.

At Café Nom…

Yuya and Zuzu were happily greeting and serving customers by taking their orders and handing them food, as they showcased good manners with a smile. Meanwhile, Kolter was watching them with an impressed look on his face before he received a message on his phone and checked to see what it was.

"You guys weren't kidding when you said that you had experience."

"We're just glad to help you out till your workers arrive." Yuya said.

"Well, lucky for you two, I Just received a message from my employees, and they say they'll be in 10 minutes." Kolter stated.

"That's great to hear!" Zuzu stated. "We can help you clean up if you like."

"Don't worry, I got it." Kolter replied. "But thanks again for helping me out.

"No problem, it was fun." Yuya said. "If you ever need an extra set of hands, you can give us a call."

"I'll make sure to remember to take you on that offer." Kolter replied

"So Kolter, I've been wondering, how long have you been in the food business?" Zuzu asked.

"I actually started this business two years ago." Kolter replied. "Business was slow at first when I opened up, but it began to pick up after a friend from SOL Technologies invested in me."

"What's SOL Technologies?" Yuya asked.

"What?! You guys never heard of SOL Tech?" Kolter asked with a shock tone. "Man, you guys must have lived pretty far if you never heard of SOL Technologies."

"You could say that." Zuzu said as she chuckled nervously. "Anyway, you were going to inform us about SOL Tech, Kolter?"

"Right. SOL Technologies is a company located here in Den City that specializes in networking technology and AI development." Kolter explained.

"AI?" Yuya said. "You mean like robots?"

"Something like that, but much more complex." Kolter replied. "They help make people's lives easier by doing chores like cleaning, getting groceries, and especially with the younger generation, their homework."

"Boy. I could really use one of those." Yuya said.

"I bet. Knowing how you struggled with your grades in school, an AI would be the perfect tutor for you." Zuzu noted as she laughed.

"It's not funny!" Yuya exclaimed.

"Relax Yuya. You know she's just joshing you. I used to do it to my brother all the time." Kolter said.

"Yeah I guess you're right, Kolter." Yuya admitted. "I'm just so amazed on how advance your city i-"

"Everyone! Are you fired up?" In the central plaza of Den City, a large crowd had gathered, watching several television screens. "We have a special announcement brought to you by SOL Technologies' own CEO, Akira Zaizen!" This was said by an MC wearing glasses and an orange suit holding a microphone.

"Huh?" Both Yuya and Zuzu said as they looked up at the giant screen.

The image on the screen changed from the MC to Akira Zaizen.

"Good afternoon, Den City. As the CEO of SOL Technologies, I come to you with an important announcement." Akira stated. "As all of you are aware, we had to cancel our very own LINK VRAINS Masters Tournament last week due to the unexpected incident that occurred."

"Unexpected incident?" Zuzu muttered, "What do you think could've happened, Yuya?" Zuzu asked silently.

"I'm not certain, but if I have to guess, it might've been caused by the same people who invaded our dimension, Zuzu." Yuya responded.

"Ever since then, SOL Technologies has been doing everything it can to increase security to make something like that never happen again." Akira continued. "On a further note, we've also decided to restart the previously canceled tournament once again, with the grand prize of seven duelists having the privilege of joining the current Top 3 Celebrity Duelists of LINK VRAINS to become the Top 10."

"No way!

"Is he serious?"

"I can't believe it!"

Everyone in the plaza, filled with excitement, were chatting with one another after hearing the exciting news.

"Looks like everyone's happy that the tournament's back up." Kolter pointed out.

"They sure are." Zuzu said.

"By the way, Kolter, this Akira guy said the tournament's in a place called LINK VRAINS. What is that exactly?" Yuya asked.

"Seriously? You don't know what LINK VRAINS is either? Guess you guys are far from here." Kolter said. "Anyway, "Link Virtual Reality Artificial Intelligence Network System, shortened LINK VRAINS, is a Cyberspace world constructed with the latest technology where Virtual Reality duels take place." Kolter explained.

"A Virtual Reality duel? That sounds so cool! I want to try it!" Yugo said excitedly with sparkling eyes.

"We can talk about that later. We're diverging from the topic here." Yuri said as he shot a look at Yugo that told him to be quiet and listen

In LINK VRAINS, duelists can take avatar forms." Kolter continued. "While in these forms, they can also use pseudonyms if they prefer not to use their real name. Because of this, the duelist's identities are usually unknown. The use of avatars is optional."

"Wow, LINK VRAINS sounds like a fantastic place." Zuzu stated.

"Wish we could enter the tournament to see what it feels like being inside." Yuya added.

"Well, why don't you?" Kolter asked, causing Yuya and Zuzu to take notice of his question.

"It was posted earlier today that SOL Technologies was planning to start up the tournament again, and they're giving anyone who doesn't have a LINK VRAINS account until midnight to create one." Kolter explained.

"But we don't know how to create an account." Zuzu mentioned

"Luckily for you, I know how." Kolter said, as he took a piece of paper and wrote some words and numbers on it. "This is my home address. Come by later tonight and help set up accounts so you guys can enter the tournament."

"Wow, Kolter, that's so generous of you." Yuya said.

"Yeah, we really appreciate it." Zuzu added.

"It's no problem, I just like helping people." Kolter mentioned.

"Well, it's a good trait for you." Yuya stated. "Alright, guess we'll see you later tonight after you close up."

"I'm not lying when I say that I can't wait." Kolter replied.

"Well, we can agree that we can't wait, either." Zuzu said as she and Yuya left as they waved goodbye.

Kolter waved back with a smile on his face. "What nice kids."

"Well, well, well, looks like somebody is in a good mood." A familiar voice said, revealing it to be Yuji's.

"Yuji! Ena! "What's up? Kolter said."

"Nothing except that we're now the talk of the town in LINK VRAINS." Ena pointed out.

"Yeah I heard. You must be really excited about it, huh, Yuji?" Kolter noted.

"You bet." Yuji replied. "Now, since I'm one of the new heroes who helped save the tournament, I'm one step closer to becoming the new Playmaker of LINK VRAINS."

"Ah, Playmaker. It's been a while since I last heard from him." Kolter thought to himself.

"Kolter, are you okay," Ena asked with concern.

"Huh? Oh yeah, sorry, I just got lost in my thoughts." Kolter replied. "So you guys ready to start working?"

"Sure are." The two teens replied.

"By the way, when we entered the plaza, we noticed you talking to two kids who looked like they were around our age." Yuji pointed out. "You know them or something?"

"No. They just moved here to Den City and were nice enough to lend a helping hand here at the truck." Kolter answered.

"That was really kind of them." Ena stated. "Wish we could've met them."

"Actually, you guys would've been shocked if you did." Kolter said, confusing the two workers.

"What do you mean?" Ena asked.

"Cause when I met them, the first thing I noticed about them is that they have the same face as you two." Kolter stated.

"You haven't been inhaling the smoke fumes from the grill, have you?" Yuji asked with concern."

"No I haven't. And I'm serious, those two would be considered your guy's twins." Kolter said.

"Even if what you said is true, Kolter, you have to remember, they're going to people who look like some people, but not identical." Ena noted.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It's all just a coincidence." Kolter admitted. "Anyway, time to put a smile on people's faces with our delicious hotdogs. Are you guys ready?"

"You know I'm always ready, Kolter." Yuji said.

"So am I," Ena added.

"Alright, let's get to work." Kolter said.

For the rest of the afternoon, Kolter, Yuji, and Ena were serving customers as well watching the duels going on in LINK VRAINS. After they were finished with their last customer of the day, they cleaned and closed the truck, until it opened again tomorrow.

"That shift went by faster than normal, huh, Ena?" Yuji asked.

"Probably because everyone's trying to set up their accounts and polish their decks for the upcoming tournament." Ena answered.

"Well, anyway, it sure made work easy for the three of us." Kolter added. "Now if I recall your guys have duel Club two days in a row meaning you'll be an hour later than normal right?"

"Correct." Ena replied. "You think you'd be able to handle yourself?"

"As long as the next two days are just like tonight, I think I'll be ok." Kolter replied.

"I know that you will be, Kolter." Yuji said. "Also, before we go, Ena and I got you a gift.

"Really? Why?" Kolter asked.

"Just as a thank you for everything that you've done for us, like helping us with our project, teaching us everything about coding and the network, as well as letting us work here with you." Ena explained.

"Wow, I don't know what to say except, what did you get me?" Kolter asked.

"Well, we'll let Yuji tell you." Ena said.

"Now you might get mad, and if you do, you can pin it all on me." Yuji said. "I know how hard both you and your brother work, and it makes it hard for the two of you to hang out and be with each other, so I booked a week at Den City's most popular spa resort."

"Are you serious!?" Kolter shockingly asked.

"We thought it might help you and brother relax, while at the same time you can catch up with him and have a good time." Ena pointed out.

Kolter held his head down and remained silent for a bit, causing the two teenagers to worry.

"Kolter, are you okay?" Ena asked with concern

"Are you mad?" Yuji asked.

Kolter then raised his head and revealed to have tears in his eyes.

"Kolter, are you crying?" Yuji asked.

"Yes, but not out of sadness or anger, but as tears of joy." Kolter replied. "Even though I've done more for you and didn't expect anything in return, it was still very nice of the two of you to go out of your way and do this for me."

"Well, I'm just happy that you're happy." Ena said.

Well, I'm about to make the two of you happy by giving you the rest of the week off with pay as my thank you for the gift." Kolter said, shocking the two teens."

"That's a nice offer, Kolter, but are you sure you want to do that?" Ena asked.

"I agree with Ena, we don't mind, we enjoy working with you." Yuji added.

"I'm certain. Please take the rest of the week off. Plus, it'll give you guys more time to prepare yourselves for the tournament." Kolter pointed out.

"Thank you Kolter. I promise that Yuji and I will be one of the seven duelists at the end to become part of the new Top 10." Ena said.

"It'll be even better because we're going to make sure we're the two duelists out of the seven to finish first, so will end up being in the Top 5 of the 10." Yuji added.

"I believe that you guys will certainly make that happen." Kolter replied. "Good night, you guys. See you at the end of the week, good luck in the tournament, and thanks for the gift."

"See you Kolter! We promise we'll win for you!" Ena shouted.

"Looks like my supposedly bad idea not only ended up being good, but also benefiting us as well." Yuji said.

"Yeah, yeah." Ena rebutted. "The important thing is now that we have some extra time to prepare ourselves and our decks."

"Hey, with the two of us together, there's no way we'll lose." Yuji said confidently."

"I hope you're right." Ena said.

Later that night, Yuya and Zuzu were standing outside the apartment complex of the address given to them by Kolter as they waited for him to arrive.

"You think he's running late, Yuya." Zuzu asked.

"Well, he did have to work the rest of the afternoon until nighttime, so it's a possibility." Yuya answered.

After discussing Kolter's whereabouts, the two friends suddenly saw a bright light coming up from their right and saw it was the Kolter's truck as it then pulled up right in front of them.

"Sorry, I'm late, guys." Kolter apologized.

"Don't worry about it." Zuzu said.

"We weren't waiting very long, so it's no big deal." Yuya added.

"Well, that's a relief." Kolter said. "Just let me park this in the garage, and we'll head up to my floor."

"Okay." Yuya and Zuzu said in agreement.

After parking his truck, Kolter, Yuya and Zuzu headed to the 5th floor and were amazed to see where he lived.

"Wow!" The two teens said with surprise.

"I guess by your guy's reaction, you like what you see?" Kolter rhetorically asked.

"Uh-huh" The two teens responded.

The apartment featured a private entrance through an elevator, a high ceiling with ceiling fans, but only in the living room and kitchen, the other rooms had sophisticated lamps, and was composed of two levels. The bedrooms and a bathroom were on the first floor, while the living room and the kitchen were on the ground floor. It also featured a fireplace and large windows in the living room, which were connected to a terrace, high-end appliances in all of its rooms, and a luxurious flooring system.

"Wow! This place is fancy," Yuya said as he looked around the surroundings, trying to grasp the excitement and pressure of the place.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Kolter said. "I owe it all to Akira Zaizen. He's the one who hooked me up with this place."

"The man from earlier who made the announcement?" Zuzu asked. "That was very generous of him."

"You're telling me." Kolter said. "Even after investing in my business, he still felt like he owed me more than what I asked for and decided to also move me and my brother from our old house into this marvelous one."

"You sure are lucky, Kolter." Isn't he, Yuya." Zuzu asked before noticing he wasn't in the room

"Where did Yuya go?"

"He probably just got distracted by the fabulous decor and walked into one of the other rooms." Kolter said." You stay here while I go find him"

Kolter then checked room to room looking for Yuya before seeing that the door to his room was open as he entered it.

"Yuya, you in here?" Kolter said before turning on the lights, which then revealed Yuya, who was looking at a picture.

"Hey Yuya, what are you doing?" Kolter asked, scaring Yuya."

"AHH! Kolter! Don't sneak up on me like that." Yuya stated.

"Well, don't be sneaking into other people's rooms." Kolter rebutted." Now I'll ask you again. What are you doing in my room?

"Sorry for the intrusion, but I noticed it was open and the first thing I saw was this picture." Yuya replied by showing a photo of him and two people beside him. One was a teenage boy who resembled Kolter, and the other was a young tall thin man with green eyes, and dark blue hair that spiked outwards in the back with light blue bangs that had pink accents.

"I can guess the boy on your left is your brother Jin, but who's the other one on your right?" Yuya asked.

"That's my old friend, Yusaku." Kolter replied with a frown on his face.

"Old friend? You guys had a falling out or something?" Yuya asked.

"Not exactly," Kolter answered." He lost one of his closest friends and decided to isolate himself from everybody else. I haven't seen or heard from him since."

"I'm so sorry, Kolter. It wasn't my intention to upset you." Yuya apologized.

Nah, it's okay, even though we don't communicate or hang around each other as much as we used to, that doesn't mean he's cut or his friends off." Kolter replied.

"I hope you're right." Yuya said.

"Now let's go back to the other room and start working on your guy's accounts and avatars." Kolter proposed.

"Good idea. Zuzu's probably worried about me. I hope she doesn't smack me with her fan again." Yuya stated.

"She used to smack you with a fan?" Kolter asked

"She still does." Yuya replied, causing him and Kolter to laugh.

After a while of waiting, Zuzu sighs in relief after seeing both Yuya and Kolter enter the main room.

"Thank god Yuya! Don't leave me worried like that ever again!" Zuzu exclaimed.

"Sorry Zuzu. I promise it won't happen again." Yuya said.

"Hey now, how about instead of arguing and apologizing, we start with creating your accounts so you two can enter the tournament?" Kolter asked.

Zuzu took a little breath and relaxed a bit before responding to Kolter. "Alright, Kolter, let's get started." Zuzu said.

"I agree with Zuzu. Let's do this!" Yuya added.

"That's the spirit!" Kolter exclaimed. "I'll create your accounts and meanwhile you guys can use the tablets on the table to create your avatar designs, and then send them to me when you're done, so I can input them into the system when you're finished. Furthermore, if you don't mind, can I see your duel Disks if you have them on you?"

"Sure, but why?" Yuya asked.

"Seeing how you guys arrived and had no knowledge of Den City, SOL Technologies, or LINK VRAINS, that led me to believe that you also didn't have a duel Disk issued by SolTech." Kolter explained. "By using a schematic blueprint of SOL Technologies old model, I can modify your guys disks to match theirs."

"I don't know, Kolter. We have some private and personal stuff on there, and we're afraid of what might happen if our disks got tampered." Yuya pointed out.

"Don't worry about that." Kolter said. "I'll install a program to make sure anything that seems or looks secure and personal or your duel Disk won't be affected during modifications."

"Well, that's good to hear." Zuzu said.

Yuya and Zuzu took out their duel Disks and handed them to Kolter.

"Creating the accounts shouldn't take too long and with my tech skills, I can probably have your guy's duel Disks finished in an hour."

"Awesome!" Yuya exclaimed. "Ready to get to work, Zuzu?"

"You bet, Yuya." Zuzu replied.

Kolter left the room to work while Yuya and Zuzu began working on their avatar designs

An hour later…

"Alright guys, the accounts have been created, your avatar designs have been uploaded, and you've been registered for the tournament." Kolter said.

"That's great, Kolter!" Yuya stated.

"But what about our duel Disk?" Zuzu asked.

"Why don't you take a look for yourself?" Kolter said, as he pressed a button, causing a light to turn on and revealed the modified duel Disks.

Yuya's disk was a sky-blue orb outlined by a red circle with a dark red side and white body, while Zuzu's was a blue orb outlined by a pink with a purple side and magenta body.

"They look incredible, Kolter!" Zuzu exclaimed.

"You did a fantastic job! I'm impressed."

"You're welcome and thank you." Kolter said.

"Well, it's getting late, we probably should be getting ready for bed. Zuzu pointed out."

"Hold up before you two do, I got one more thing for you guys." Kolter said as he opened a drawer and pulled out two VR headsets.

"These are special headsets that allow people to experience the reality of LINK VRAINS without the need of logging in." Kolter noted.

"So you want us to try it out before we go to sleep?" Yuya asked.

"Not exactly." Kolter said. "After modifying your duel Disks, I realized you guys still need to experience LINK VRAINS, so I modified these old VR headsets and created a Dream Mode which allows you to experience LINK VRAINS while sleeping."

"Thanks again, Kolter." Yuya said.

"You really are the best." Zuzu added.

"Oh come on guys, don' tmake me blush." Kolter replied. "Anyway, I let you guys get ready for bed, so you guys can start.

"Thanks for everything, Kolter." Yuya said.

"We're lucky to have met you," Zuzu added.

"I appreciate and good luck in the tournament tomorrow." Kolter replied.

Yuya and Zuzu left Kolter's room and went to their own separate rooms to get some sleep and experience LINK VRAINS to prepare for tomorrow's tournament.

The next day…

Everyone in Den City gathered in the central plaza to watch the tournament on the big screen.

"Man, what a massive turnout this is." Kolter said.

"Yeah, I expect mostly the entire city to be involved in the tournament." Zuzu added.

"Guess they don't know how to duel or don't enjoy it as much." "Yuya noted.

"Either, it's about time you two enter. The tournament's about to start soon." Kolter suggested as he placed his hand on the opposite wall. Like magic, the wall opened, revealing two secret rooms.

"Whoa." The two teens said.

"These rooms can allow people to easily access Link VRAINS quickly and quietly." Kolter explained. "You guys ready?"

Yuya and Zuzu turned to each other as they locked eyes before turning back to Kolter and nodded in response.

"I'll take that as a yes." Kolter said as he sat in his chair. "I'll monitor and keep you guys posted from here, and don't be afraid to ask for help."

"You got it, Kolter." Yuya said.

"Well, dedicate our wins to you and make sure to make it to the end." Zuzu added.

I know you will." Kolter said.

Yuya and Zuzu put on their newly modified duel Disks as they enter the closet and took out their decks. After the door closed, they placed their decks into their duel Disks and said, "It's time to link into the VRAINS!"

Yuya was surrounded by a sphere of blue light as he spread out his arms. His appearance changed to that of his digital avatar. He wore a red and blue ringmaster's outfit with a same-colored top hat with energy lines running through it while his eyes became red and green similar to Odd-Eyes' dichromatic eyes. No longer was he Yuya Sakai. Now he was Ringmaster.

Zuzu was surrounded by a sphere of blue light as she spread out her arms. Her appearance changed to that of her digital avatar. She now had lighter pink hair with a light pink blouse, a white skirt with white lining tied with a flower belt and a pink cape with wings and sleeves. Her look then was completed with pink gauntlets and boots decorated by floral ribbons. No longer was she Zuzu Boyle. Now she was Maestra.

They both were propelled into LINK VRAINS, entering through a digital portal and landed in a massive city, with a large central tower going up into the sky. They were surrounded by people, some in casual clothes, while others in costumes.

"So this is LINK VRAINS?," Zuzu whispered. "Amazing!" She started walking through the crowd, looking over everything. So many people, she thought. So many events! She looked over a few shops selling cards, items, and something called D-Boards and even saw restaurants. Zuzu didn't understand why a virtual world would sell food, but maybe it was just for the experience of eating, if nothing else.

"Wow! There are just so many things to see and do here!" Yuya felt impressed and astonished. "I can't believe how huge this place is. It looks like we're in an Action Field, huh, Zuzu?"

"Yes, it does." She replied. "But remember, we no longer go by Yuya and Zuzu, but as Ringmaster and Maestra."

"Oh right, sorry." Yuya apologized.

Resuming their walk, fireworks went off in the sky, causing Yuya and Zuzu along with everyone else to take notice of them. As they watched, the fireworks dimmed out and a giant door appeared in front of everybody as well as a holographic image of Akira Zaizen.

"Hello everyone, and welcome to the grand reopening of the LINK VRAINS Masters Tournament!" Akira announced.

The participants cheered in excitement after hearing Akira.

"Looks like the tournament's about to begin." Ringmaster commented.

"Guess so." Maestra added.

"Before we start, let's go over the rules of the competition." Akira stated. First, everyone is currently assigned 10 VRAINS credits. During a duel, you may bet any number of credits in multiples of five. When you run out of credits, you are eliminated from the tournament. The seven duelists with the most credits at the end will be crowned the winners, as well as earning the grand prize of becoming the new Top 10."

"So it's like the Arc League Championship Battle Royale, where we have to find two Pendulum Cards and bet them against our opponents?" Maestra stated.

"Only this time we're eliminated instantly instead." Ringmaster pointed out.

"Another thing I should point out is that there are special codes hidden throughout LINK VRAINS that could benefit you or hurt depending on what you found." Akira added. "Some codes can increase your credits, decrease them, multiply/divide by a certain amount or even allow you obtain the number of credits that were waged during a duel."

"No way!"

"That really puts the pressure on us."

"Looks like losing really isn't an option anymore."

People started panicking after hearing the new rules, while Ringmaster and Maestra remained calm.

"Looks like everyone else is beginning to doubt themselves." Maestra pointed out.

"Just remember, that we've been through things worse and dangerous than this, meaning we have the advantage." Ringmaster said.

Maestra nodded in response after hearing his words.

"If everybody is ready, then let the tournament commence." Akira declared.

The giant door began to open containing a portal as all the participants ran towards it and entered it.

"You ready, Maestra?" Ringmaster asked.

"I'm as ready as you are, Ringmaster." She replied.

The pair then entered the portal as they were then transported into a dark alley.

"Oh great, an alley. You know that's never a good sign." Ringmaster stated.

"No joke." Maestra added. "Looks like we're the only ones here.

"Looks like it, but where do you start on looking for opponents?" Ringmaster wondered.

"I can help with that." A mysterious voice said.

"Who said that?" Maestra asked.

"Who's there?" Show yourself!" Ringmaster declared.

"Relax guys, it's me, Kolter. I'm communicating with you from your duel Disk. He pointed out.

The pair noticed a small holographic image of Kolter coming out from the blue orb of Yuya's disk.

"Oh hey, Kolter. Sorry, for thinking you were a duelist trying to assault us." Maestra apologized.

"It's my fault for forgetting to tell you guys about the communication feature." Kolter stated.

"Don't sweat it." Ringmaster said. "By the way, you said you could help us find some opponents?"

"I did. I've uploaded a program to your guy's duel Disks, which allows you to locate and track down any duelists that are close to you, making it easy for the two of you to rack up points fast." Kolter explained.

"That's great!" Maestra exclaimed. "Let's try it out and find some opponents."

"Hold on a minute, Maestra!" Ringmaster declared. "How about instead of us looking for duelists together, we split up. That way we can cover more ground."

Maestra was silent for a moment before responding. "Alright, if you think that's a good idea, then I'll go along with it.

"Thanks. I'll see you along with the other five at the end of the tournament." Ringmaster said as he left.

"I better hope to see you too at the end as well." Maestra said as she left.

Meanwhile, in another area of LINK VRAINS…

The black humanoid figure was looking at the monitor, watching the tournament in progress.

"Master," One of the Arbiters said. "We've located the two people who've mysteriously arrived in Den City the other day in LINK VRAINS."

At last, an opportunity came. "Excellent. This is my chance to get rid of them before they hinder my plans." The figure said.

"Should I send out a squad to capture them?" The Arbiter asked.

"No need. I've already hired someone to take care of the job. The figure replied. "He's an old bounty hunter who was arrested by SolTech years ago, but was released last year.

"What's his name?" The Arbiter asked.

"Zekt." The figure answered.

"Zekt? He was on SolTech's most wanted list." The Arbiter stated.

"Exactly. Which makes him the perfect man for the job." The figure pointed out. "Send him the target's coordinates, and make sure he defeats and captures Miss Maestra first."

"How come?" The Arbiter wondered.

"Because knowing Ringmaster, he'll definitely try to find the person who took his comrade from him."

"Alright. I'll send over the coordinates immediately." The Arbiter said as he teleported away.

"Zekt better hopes he wins his duel, or else he'll suffer the consequences." The figure muttered.

Back in Den City…

Ladies and Gentlemen! Are you fired up?" the MC suddenly said, causing everyone in the plaza to cheer loudly. "I hope you are because as you can see, many duelists are winning duels and racking up credits while others are losing them and getting eliminated in the process!" Especially two new duelists who go by the names of Ringmaster and Maestra, who've been quickly defeating duelists at a fast rate and working their way to becoming one of the seven finalists!"

"Ringmaster's so cool!"

"No Maestra is!"

"I think they're both equally good!"

As the crowd were sharing their opinions of Yuya and Zuzu's avatar counterparts, Kolter was monitoring Yuya and Zuzu's progress in LINK VRAINS. Ringmaster was in a ruin-like area, while Maestra was in a desert-like area.

"By the looks of the viewers outside, you guys have gathered some fans. How does it feel?" Kolter asked.

"It's nice and all, but what really matters to me is putting on a great show for everybody and seeing the smiles on their faces." Ringmaster replied.

"I agree with you, Ringmaster. It's the popularity that matters, but the joy you get through entertaining people." Maestra added.

"Seems like you two will become fantastic Celebrity Duelists." Kolter said." By the way, how many credits have you racked up?"

"I currently have 2500 VRAINS credits." "Ringmaster answered. "How bout you, Maestra?"

"I have 2000." She replied. "Guess I need to catch up if I want to be one of the finalists."

"Suddenly, an icon appeared on Kolter's screen. "Lucky for Maestra, my trackers have picked up a signal of a duelist in your area, and they shouldn't be too far from you." Kolter said as pressed a couple of buttons, which then unlocked a portal in LINK VRAINS

"Perfect!" Maestra exclaimed. "Time for me to earn some more credits."

Maestra entered the portal and was then transferred to a jungle-like field. It also had several green plains and ridges throughout the landscape.

"This reminds me of the forest zone from the Action Field Quartet of Quandry." Maestra pointed out. "Anyway, time to track my next opponent."

"There's no need to do that when I'm already here." A voice said.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Maestra declared.

Suddenly, a man in a black bodysuit under golden armor that had antennas attached to its head, a light blue visor, four insect-like wings extending from its back, and maybe a red mantle hanging from his shoulders. Appeared in front of Maestra.

"I'm guessing you're going to be my opponent?" Maestra rhetorically asked.

"Why yes." The mysterious duelist replied. "The name's Zekt and today's your unlucky day, little lady because not only will you lose this duel, but yourself as well."

"What do you mean?" Maestra asked.

"Defeat me and I'll tell you." Zekt replied. "But before we begin, we first have to wager a number of Vrains credits. How many do you have?"

"I have 2000 Vrains credit." Maestra replied. "What about you?"

"Oh, not much, just about 10,000 of them!" Zekt replied, shocking Maestra. "And because I know that I'm going, to win I'll bet all my points on the line, meaning you have to as well.

"Fine, but don't get all upset when I beat you." Maestra retorted.

"You're going to regret those words." Zekt said as he pressed a few buttons on his disk as a gold-colored sphere appeared.

"Is that what I think it is?" Maestra asked.

"Precisely, it's one of those special codes that can be found and used in duels, and lucky for me, I was able to find one." Zekt replied. "Now, at the end, whoever's wins will receive double the number of credits. Are you ready to lose?

"I was about to ask you the same thing." Maestra retorted.

Both duelists activated their duel Disks, as the layout for a Master duel appeared.

"Duel!" the two shouted, drawing five cards each.

Maestra LP: 4000

Zekt LP: 4000"

"Attention everybody, a new duel has begun in Area #6!" The MC announced. "Let's see who the two duelists are."

The screen showing all the areas in LINK VRAINS changed to the jungle area. "It's up and newcomer Maestra going against former bounty hunter Zekt!" The MC announced. "According to what's happened so far, they've betted all their credits, meaning whoever wins, they'll receive all the other's duelist points." So, who in the end will be the victor? Maestra or Zekt? Let's find out."

"I'll take the first turn." Maestra announced. "I summon Opera the Melodious Diva!"

A small fairy-like Monster clad in a dress with wings extending from its back appeared on Maestra's field.

Opera the Melodious Diva ATK 2300 DEF 1000 LVL: 4

"Next, I activate the Spell Card, 2nd Movement Duet, which allows me to Special Summon a "Melodious" Monster from my Deck which is either one Level higher or lower than another "Melodious" Monster on my field." Maestra declared. "Join us on the stage, Elegy the Melodious Diva!"

A female Monster clad in a violet dress with a single wing extending from its back appeared on Maestra's field.

"Since it was Special Summoned, Elegy's effect activates, increasing the attack of all Fairy-type Monsters I control by 300." Yuzu stated.

Elegy the Melodious Diva ATK 2000→2300

Opera the Melodious Diva ATK 2300→2600

"I place one card face-down and end my turn."

"My turn! Draw!" Zekt drew his card. "I activate the Spell Card, Allure of Darkness! This card allows me to draw two cards from my Deck, while banishing a Dark-Attribute monster from my hand! If I don't have any, I send my hand to the Graveyard!" Zekt explained as he drew his two cards, before he made his next move. "I'll banish Inzektor Earwig from my hand!" Zekt called.

"Next, I summon Inzektor Dragonfly," Zekt continued. Playing the card brought out a man in a dark bodysuit with red armor, making him resemble a dragonfly. He was armed with a red crossbow and held it at the ready.

Inzektor Dragonfly ATK 1000 DEF 1800 LVL: 3

"An Inzektor?" Maestra said surprised.

"They're very rare, and very dangerous…" said Zekt, with a grin. "Let me explain to you the neat trick that they can do… Inzektors can equip to each other like Equip Spell Cards.

"They can?" said Maestra.

"Yes. And here's an example. By using Dragonfly's effect, I can equip Inzektor Hornet from my hand to it!" Zekt stated as a man in yellow and black insect-like armor appeared before transforming into a wicked cannon that landed in Dragonfly's arms.

"Now she gains 3 Levels and Hornet's Attack and Defense Points!" Zekt pointed out.

Inzektor Dragonfly ATK 1000→1500 DEF 1800→2000 LVL: 3→6

"But that's just the tip of the iceberg because when Hornet's equipped to a Monster, I can send it to the Graveyard to destroy one of your cards." Zekt explained. "So say goodbye to your Elegy and your power boost!"

Hornet's yellow armor parts immediately broke off from Dragonfly's body and became yellow energy, infusing themselves into the spike on the end of his weapon. Then, Dragonfly took aim at Elegy and fired the spike off from the weapon, which became a yellow missile.

Maestra smirked. "While Elegy is on the field, my Special Summoned 'Melodious' monsters cannot be destroyed by card effects!" Zekt gasped as the energy missile got deflected by a barrier.

"Lucky break." Zekt muttered. "Since Hornet's no longer equipped to Dragonfly, its stats return to normal."

Inzektor Dragonfly ATK 1500→1000 DEF 2000→1800 LVL: 6→3

"But it isn't so bad because I can now activate Dragonfly's other effect!" Zekt declared. "When a card equipped to it is sent to the Graveyard, I get to Special Summon an Inzektor from my deck, except another Dragonfly! So, I Special Summon Inzektor Centipede!"

The armored humanoid that appeared this time was bigger than Dragonfly, and looked hulking. Its armor actually suggested an insect's (or in this case, a myriapod's) exoskeleton, and the gauntlets had bladed claws.

Inzektor Centipede ATK 1600 DEF 1200 LVL: 3

"Inzektor, Centipede's effect activates! "Zekt announced. "Once per turn, I can equip an Inzektor monster from my Graveyard to it! So guess who's back?" Hornet re-appeared, only to disassemble into its armor again and clack onto Centipede, its right hand grabbing the weapon.

Inzektor Centipede ATK 1600→2100 DEF 1200→1400 LVL: 3→6

"I use Hornet's effect once again to destroy Opera this time!" Hornet's armor infused itself into the weapon, then Centipede pointed and shot, destroying Opera while short-circuiting at the same time.

Inzektor Centipede ATK 2100→1600 DEF 1400→1200 LVL: 6→3

"But that's still not all…" said Zekt, "Like Dragonfly, Centipede has an effect that activates when it loses an Equip Spell." A card slid out from his Deck, which he grabbed. "I can add another "Inzektor card from my Deck to my hand, and the card I choose is the Equip Spell, Inzektor Sword-Zektkaliber, which I'll then equip onto Centipede!"

A short, thick, yellow robotic sword appeared and landed in Centipede's hand.

"This card increases Centipede's ATK and DEF by 800 points!" Zekt explained as his monster's strength increased.

Inzektor Centipede ATK 1600→2400 DEF 1200→2000

"Man, this dude is pulling off combo after combo." Maestra thought to herself

"Next, I activate Inzektor Giga-Mantis's effect from my hand to equip it onto Dragonfly!" Zekt stated.

The new monster appeared, being larger than the rest, having dark green armor, no wings, and two massive blades held by handles. The monster disassembled and equipped itself onto Dragonfly's body, as Dragonfly dropped her rifle and grabbed hold of the blades.

"Now Dragonfly's original Attack Points become 2400!"

Inzektor Dragonfly ATK 1500→2400

"Time to battle! Inzektor Dragonfly will attack your Elegy! Mantis Slicer!" Zekt ordered. The maroon-colored Inzektor charged forward with her sharp green blades directly at the Melodious monster.

"I activate my Trap Card, Tempo Shift!" Maestra abruptly stated. "Through its effect, I can target a "Melodious" Monster I control, shuffle it back into my Deck and Special Summon a "Melodious" Monster with a lower Level than it from my Deck! I will return Elegy back to my Deck in order to Special Summon Aria the Melodious Diva in defense mode!"

Aria the Melodious Diva ATK 1600 DEF 1200 LVL: 4

A female Monster clad in a flower-shaped dress with a single wing extending from its back appeared on Maestra's field.

"And due to my Trap's second effect, you cannot target Monsters other than Aria for attacks on this turn's Battle Phase." Maestra said. "Moreover, until the Battle Phase's end, Aria cannot be destroyed by battle."

"Just because you've prevented me from attacking, doesn't mean I'm done with my turn." Zekt begrudgingly stated. "I activate the Continuous Spell, Verdant Sanctuary!" A spell showing a forest with numerous bug nests appeared. "Now, whenever you destroy one of my insects, Sanctuary allows to add another one of the same level!"

"Great. Now he has access to any monster in his Deck that can give him an advantage." Maestra thought to herself. "Better stay alert."

"With that, I end my turn."

"My turn!" Maestra announced. "Draw!"

So far, this Zekt guy has shown me that he's no pushover. Maestra thought. Not only did he pull off a strong and impressive combo, but also created an engine to make sure he can pull them off. Since nothing, I currently have in my hand can help me escape this bind, I have to bet everything on my next move if I want to turn this situation around!

"I activate the Spell Card, Pentagram Draw!" Maestra stated. "Since I control a "Melodious" Monster and my opponent controls more Monsters than me, I can draw two cards from my Deck!"

Upon checking her drawn cards, Yuzu smiled. It seemed her bet had succeeded after all.

"Here I come, Zekt!" Maestra shouted." I activate the Spell Card, Ostinato, which allows me to summon a "Melodious" Fusion Monster by using Monsters from my hand or Deck as Fusion Materials. I will send Sonata the Melodious Diva and Soprano the Melodious Songstress from my Deck to the Graveyard in order to Fusion Summon!"

As her two Monsters swirled inside a multi-colored vortex, Maestra chanted.

"Angel's song! Flowing melody! With the guidance of the baton, gather your power! Fusion Summon! Now, come to the stage, Level 6! Schuberta the Melodious Maestra!"

The female figure dressed in a flower-shaped dress and holding a sword-shaped baton in its left hand appeared on Maestra's field.

Schuberta the Melodious Maestra ATK 2400 DEF 2000 LVL: 6

Zekt had a shocked expression on his face, but then he sneered.

"Not bad," he said. "I can't say I was expecting you to Fusion Summon. Unfortunately, that monster is too weak to defeat either of my Inzektors."

"Is that what you think?" Maestra asked, smiling at him.

"What?" Zekt said.

"Then, I activate the Quick-Play Spell De-Fusion." Maestra said. "Through its effect, I will return Schuberta back to the Extra Deck in order to Special Summon its Fusion Materials from my Graveyard. Return to my side, Soprano the Melodious Songstress and Sonata the Melodious Diva!"

A redheaded green-skinned woman in a blue, orange, and white dress appeared along with a yellow-skinned woman with green hair wearing a light blue dress.

Soprano the Melodious Songstress ATK 1400 DEF 1400 LVL: 4

Sonata the Melodious Diva ATK 1200 DEF 1000 LVL: 3

"You summoned a Fusion Monster only to immediately get rid of it to bring back its materials?" Zekt seemed confused. "What are you planning here?"

"I activate Soprano's effect!" Maestra declared. "Once per turn, I can perform a Fusion Summon by using this card and Monsters from my hand or field as Fusion Materials! I will use Soprano, Sonata, and Aria as materials in order to Fusion Summon once more!"

As her four Monsters swirled inside a multi-colored vortex, Maestra chanted.

"Angel's song! Flowing melody! Echoing melodious voice! Timeless artist! By the guidance of the baton, assemble your power! Fusion Summon! Now, come to the stage, Level 7! The song of passion, Bloom Prima the Melodious Floral Saint !"

A fairy-like, female Monster clad in a dress with a flower motif, which had two large white flowers protruding from its shoulders, appeared on Maestra's field.

Bloom Prima the Melodious Choir ATK 1900 DEF 2000 LVL: 7

"Incredible! Maestra has performed not one, but two Fusion Summons! The MC announced, causing everyone in the plaza to cheer for Zuzu. "Let's see if she can keep up the momentum."

"Due to its effect, Bloom Prima gains 300 ATK for every Fusion Material used for this card's summon." Yuzu said. "Since I used three Monsters to summon Bloom Prima, it gains 900 ATK!"

Bloom Prima the Melodious Choir ATK 1900→2800

"Wow!" Zekt whistled. "So that was your aim all along, huh? That was quite the impressive display, Miss Maestra."

"And the surprises don't stop there." Yuzu smirked. "Bloom Prima can attack twice per Battle Phase, which means both your Inzektors are goners! Battle! Go, Bloom Prima! Destroy Zekt's monsters! Verdant Phoneme!"

Two powerful soundwaves generated from Bloom Prima's flowers, vaporizing the two Inzektors and sending Zekt skidding backwards.

Zekt LP: 4000→3600→3200

"You may have exterminated my forces, but new ones will replace them." Zekt stated. "I activate Verdant Sanctuary's effect to retrieve Inzektor Ant and Inzektor Moth."

Two cards slid out from Zekt's duel Disk as he added them to his hand.

"But it gets better, you see when Inzektor Giga-Mantis is sent to the Graveyard when equipped to a monster, I can Special Summon a different Inzektor Monster from my Graveyard." Zekt explained. "So I'll bring back my Inzektor Dragonfly!"

The red armored Inzektor reappeared on Zekt's field.

"Finally, when Zektkaliber's sent to the grave, I can retrieve an "Inzektor Monster from my graveyard and add it to my hand." Zekt said. "I choose Giga-Mantis."

"I suppose I'll conclude the second act of my performance with this." Maestra said. "I place one card face-down and end my turn."

"Then, it's my turn!" Zekt announced. "Draw! Time to close the curtains on this little show of yours! I summon out Inzektor Fly!"

A man holding a futuristic handgun and wearing a gray fly-themed suit that had an orange visor covering his eyes and orange insect-like wings extending from its back appeared on Zekt's field.

Inzektor Fly ATK 900 DEF 1000 LVL: 2

"When Fly's summoned to the field, I'm allowed to summon another "Inzektor" Monster from my hand." Zekt explained. "So come on out, Inzektor Ant!"

Appearing next to Fly was another warrior in a black bodysuit with blue. His helmet had a red visor and silver pincers near the opening that showed his mouth. In his right hand, the warrior wielded a large gun-like blade.

"I activate Dragonfly's effect to equip itself with Hornet from my grave." Zekt stated as the yellow and black hydraulic spear appeared and replaced Dragonfly's gun.

Inzektor Dragonfly ATK 1000→1500 DEF 1800→2000 LVL: 3→6

"I'll now use Hornet's to effect to send it to the grave to destroy your Bloom Prima!" Dragonfly pointed and fired the yellow energy missile at Bloom Prima.

"By banishing 2nd Movement Duet from my grave, I can prevent Prima from being destroyed!" Maestra abruptly stated as a barrier formed around Bloom Prima, shielding her from harm.

"And since the monster I saved was a Fusion Monster, it can't be destroyed by effects for the rest of the turn." Maestra added. "Now you're locked out from using Hornet's effect on her."

"Curse you." Zekt muttered. "Since Dragonfly's no longer equipped with Hornet, her stats return to normal."

Inzektor Dragonfly ATK 1500→1000 DEF 2000→1800 LVL: 6→3

"But that now triggers Dragonfly's other effect!" Zekt exclaimed. "Now I can summon another "Inzektor from my Deck! So say hello to Inzektor Giga-Cricket!"

This new Inzektor had armor that resembled a mole cricket. He had yellow eyes and a gray faceplate over his mouth, and a helmet with yellow mandibles, long antennae, and tiny red drills. He wore a bulky set of dark gray armor, with large shoulder pads with yellow orbs, and long spikes sticking out of his elbows, as well as legs covered in gray armor with spikes on either side of the knees. But the biggest attention getters were his weapons, large hand-like gauntlets with five finger-like drills on them.

Inzektor Giga-Cricket ATK 2000 DEF 1300 LVL: 5

"Appear! The circuit of infestation!" The Link Square appeared. "The summoning conditions are 2 Insect monsters! I set Inzektor Fly and Ant in the Link Arrows!" The two monsters became whirlwinds of purple energy as they shot into the bottom-left and bottom-right arrows. "I Link Summon! Appear, Link 2! Inzektor Picofalena!"

A butterfly-like female monster wielding a long pink ribbon appeared, twirling it around herself.

Inzektor Picofalena ATK 1000 LINK-2 ↙↘

"Unbelievable! After witnessing Maestra's Fusion Summon, Zekt has taken upon himself to Xyz Summon!" The MC announced. "Let's see which one has the strength to survive!"

The crowed then cheered in response.

Meanwhile, in LINK VRAINS Area #4…

"Hey Kolter, can you tell me anything about this Zekt guy?" He asked.

"According to what I could find, he's a former bounty hunter that SolTech captured and arrested years ago, for stealing personal data, spreading viruses, and hacking accounts of other duelists." Kolter answered.

"So why do you think SOL Technologies would let him participant?"

"Well, it also states here, that he was released a year ago, and hasn't done any criminal activity since, so maybe as a reward they'd allowed him to participate. At least, that's what I think."

"I just hope Maestra watches her back against him." Ringmaster said. "Something tells me he's bad news.

Back in LINK VRAINS Area #6…

"I activate Picofalena's effect! By discarding Inzektor Giga-Weevil, I can equip Inzektor Dragonfly with Inzektor Hopper from my Deck, and it gives an additional 500 ATK and DEF as an Equip Spell, as well as gaining Hopper's stats!"

Dragonfly's armor suddenly turned green, and she gained a pair of folded yellow insect wings like those of a grasshopper on his back. A long, narrow sword replaced the gun it was carrying.

Inzektor Dragonfly ATK 1000→3200 DEF 1800→3700 LVL: 3→7.

"Next, I activate Giga-Mantis's effect from my hand to equip it onto Picofalena, making its original Attack Points now 2400!" Zekt added.

Giga-Mantis reappeared as it disassembled and equipped onto Picofalena's body, and Picofalena dropped her whip and grabbed hold of the blades.

Inzektor Picofalena ATK 1000→2400

"Now has three powerful monsters on his field." Maestra muttered.

"Time to eliminate your monster!" Zekt declared. "Inzektor Dragonfly! Attack Bloom Prima with Stinging Sword Slash!"

Dragonfly jumped high into the air and came straight down towards Bloom Prima.

"I activate my Trap Card, Seven-Layered Petal Shield!" Maestra shouted. "Due to its effect, Bloom Prima cannot be destroyed by battle for this turn! Moreover, all battle damage from battles involving it is halved!"

A barrier once again formed around Bloom Prima, shielding it from Dragonfly's attack, the ensuing shockwave sent Maestra skidding backwards.

Maestra: 4000→3800 LP

"Why thank you for doing that because I can now activate the Quick-Play Spell, Inzektor Onslaught, from my hand!" Zekt declared, as the card depicted an image of multiple Inzektors charging towards an unknown enemy. "Since Dragonfly failed to destroy your monster, not only does it lose half of its ATK, but allows Dragonfly to attack once again!"

Bloom Prima the Melodious Choir ATK 2800→1400

"No way!" Maestra yelled in shock.

"Let's try this again. Dragonfly! Attack Bloom Prima once more with Stinging Sword Slash!" Zekt commanded.

Dragonfly struck the barrier defending Bloom Prima once again, generating another shockwave that caused Maestra to wince in pain as it struck her body.

Maestra: 3800→2900 LP

"Now Picofalena and Giga-Cricket will attack Bloom Prima with Buzzing Blade and Devastating Drill!" Zekt yelled.

Picofalena and Giga-Cricket charged towards Bloom Prima as the previous scene with Dragonfly repeated itself once more, with the ensuing shockwave sending Maestra flying and crashing into a virtual tree.

Maestra: 2900→2400→2100 LP

"Amazing!" the MC shouted. "In just one turn, Zekt depleted almost half of Maestra's Life Points! Can she make a come back from this devastating setback?"

Zekt laughed. So, this is all the strength that you have to offer? Honestly, I was hoping to expect a bit more from you."

"That…was certainly merciless…" Maestra wheezed as she got up. "However, with the Battle Phase's end, Bloom Prima's destroyed due to the second effect of Seven-Layered Petal Shield. Then, I can draw cards equal to the number of Fusion Materials used for the Fusion Summon of the destroyed Monster, meaning I can draw three cards from my Deck."

"In that case, I will activate Picofalena's other effect." Zekt continued. "By targeting Inzektor Centipede, Firefly, and Ant in my graveyard, I can then shuffle them back into my Deck and draw a card."

The three cards ejected from his graveyard slot as he grabbed and shuffled them back to his Deck and drew a card.

"I'll set a card face-down and end my turn." Zekt stated. "Now then, let's see you top that, Miss Maestra."

"I accept your challenge, Zekt!" Maestra let out a confident smile. "My turn! Draw! I activate the Spell Card Melodious Encore, which allows me to Special Summon a "Melodious" Monster from my Graveyard with its effects negated. Revive, Bloom Prima!"

Bloom Prima appeared once more on Maestra's field after emerging from a portal in the ground.

"Next, I activate the Spell Card Harmonic Fusion!" Maestra announced. "Due to its effect, I can Fusion Summon a "Melodious" Fusion Monster by using Monsters from my hand or field as Fusion Materials! I will fuse Bloom Prima on my field with Score the Melodious Diva and Canon the Melodious Diva in my hand!"

As her three Monsters swirled inside a multi-colored vortex, Maestra chanted.

"Nature's melody! Supreme prodigy! Majestic composer! With the guidance of the baton, gather your power! Fusion Summon! Stand proudly on the stage, Level 8! Verda the Melodious Maestra!"

Verda the Melodious Maestra ATK 2600 DEF 2400 LVL: 8

A female Monster clad in a dress resembling a pale blue flower with white edges and several musical notes inscribed on it, which held an intricate staff with a crimson crystal on its tip, appeared on Maestra's field.

"Another Fusion Monster?" Zekt chuckled. "This duel is starting to get interesting."

"In that case, let me make it even more interesting! Now, let's continue. Due to Harmonic Fusion's effect, the summoned Monster gains 200 ATK for every Material used to Fusion Summon it. Since I used three Monsters to summon Verda, it gains 600 ATK.

Verda the Melodious Maestra ATK 2600→3200

"Then, I activate Meisterin Verda's effect. Once per turn, I can return a "Melodious" Monster from my Graveyard back to the Deck and have Verda gain its effects until the End Phase. I choose to return Bloom Prima back to the Extra Deck, which means Verda gains its attack-increasing effect.

Verda the Melodious Maestra ATK 3200→4100

And apart from that, it can also attack twice on each Battle Phase due to Bloom Prima's other effect." Maestra pointed out. "Now, it's time for battle! And at this moment, Verda's second effect activates, enabling it to negate the effects of all face-up Monsters on the opponent's side of the field during either player's Battle Phase! Meaning your Dragonfly loses 500 ATK and DEF boost from Picofalena's effect! Go, Chaotic Antiphon!"

A piercing sound generated from Verda's staff, causing Zekt's Monsters to fall on their knees while clutching their heads.

Inzektor Dragonfly ATK 3200→2700 DEF 3700→3200

"Tch." Zekt clicked his tongue in irritation. "Such petty tricks…"

"Go, Verda!" Maestra ordered her Monster. "Destroy Inzektor Dragonfly! Triumph Ballad!"

Verda raised its staff high, unleashing a stream of notes that vaporized Dragonfly.

Zekt LP: 3200→1800

"Since you destroyed an Insect Monster, Verdant Sanctuary's effect goes off, allowing me to add another one of the same level!" Zekt stated. "So I'll add the Inzektor Centipede that I previously shuffled back into my Deck from last turn to my hand."

"Good for you, but I still have one more attack!" Yuzu exclaimed. "Meisterin Verdi, destroy his Picofalena next! Triumph Ballad!"

The previous scene repeated itself once again as Verda's attack struck Picofalena and destroyed it in a spectacular explosion, enveloping Zekt's field.

"Looks like I win." Maestra said. "With this, I one step closer to becoming one of the seven finalists. So—"

"Oi, who says that I'm done? Don't go deciding things on your own."

Much to Maestra's shock, the smoke cleared immediately afterwards, revealing the still intact form of Zekt with his Life Points untouched.

"You…survived my attack?" Maestra narrowed his eye at Zekt. "How?"

"Just before your attack connected, I activated my Trap Card, Defense Draw." Zekt responded. "Thanks to it, the battle damage reduces to 0, and I can draw a card from my Deck."

"Not bad." Maestra praised Zekt. "However, that doesn't mean the same move will work on me again."

"Maybe, but since Inzektor Giga-Mantis was destroyed as an Equip Spell, I can resurrect Inzektor Giga-Weevil from my grave!" Zekt stated.

The monster that emerged this time was also a large one, similar to Giga-Mantis, though it was more heavily armored than any of the Inzektors, having purple armor, an odd helmet, and a small axe on its left hand. It crossed its huge "wings" (which was actually more armor, connected to its shoulders) in front of itself, shielding it.

"I place one card face-down and end my turn, along with Verda's attack being lowered since Bloom Prima's effect doesn't apply anymore."

Verda the Melodious Maestra ATK 4100→3200

"My turn!" Zekt announced. "Draw! First, I activate the Spell Card, Pot of Greed, which lets draw two more cards from my Deck. Next, by discarding Inzektor Ladybug from my hand, I can Special Summon Inzektor Moth!"

A woman holding a futuristic sniper rifle and wearing a dark purple moth-themed suit that had a white visor covering her eyes and white insect-like wings extending from its back.

Inzektor Moth ATK 1500 DEF 0 LVL: 3

"I'll follow that up by summoning out Inzektor Centipede!"

The brown armored Inzektor appeared on the field next to Zekt's other two Monsters.

Inzektor Centipede ATK 1600 DEF 1200 LVL: 3

"Now I'll use Centipede's ability to equip itself with Inzektor Ladybug from my graveyard!" Zekt continued.

A female dressed in red armor with several disk like weapons attached appeared above Inzektor Centipede and transformed into what appeared to be a disk launcher, which landed gracefully in Centipede's arms.

Inzektor Centipede ATK 1600→2100 DEF 1200→1500 LVL: 3→5

"But Ladybug won't be on the field for long because by sending her to the graveyard, Centipede's Level permanently becomes 5!" Zekt exclaimed.

Lady disassembled itself from Centipede, causing its stats, except its Level, to go down.

Inzektor Centipede ATK 2100→1600 DEF 1500→1200

"Since Centipede lost of one Equip Cards, his effect activates, allowing me to add Inzektor Axe- Zektahawk from my Deck to my hand!" Zekt added.

"I have a feeling that he isn't done." Maestra thought to herself.

"I now use Moth's effect to equip itself with Ladybug!" Zekt continued.

Ladybug reappeared and transformed back into a disk launcher as Moth grabbed a hold of it.

Inzektor Moth ATK 1500→2000 DEF 0→300 LVL: 3→5

"Now he has two monsters with the same level." Maestra muttered. "I'm pretty sure I can guess what's coming next."

"I overlay my Level 5 Inzektor Centipede and Moth!" Zekt declared. With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!"

His two monsters transformed into purple streaks of light, as they began to swirl into a red portal, a colorful explosion resulting from it as Zekt chanted.

"Here comes the malicious beetle in shimmering silver armor with sharp blades that will tear through any evil that stands before it! Armor up, Inzektor Exa-Stag!"

Out of the portal stepped a hulking figure decked out in blue and silver armor. It had curved horns on its head, broad shoulders, metal wings on its back, and most noticeably, two-pronged wrist blades similar to the mandibles of a stag beetle, and circling it were two purple balls of light

Inzektor Exa-Stag ATK 800 DEF 800 RNK: 5 OU: 2

"Oh!" the MC commentated. "Looks like Zekt has brought out another Extra Deck Monster to go head-to-head with Maestra's! Amazing!"

"And now, for the effect of my mighty monster! By using an Overlay Unit, I can select any one of your monsters, either on your side of the field or in your Graveyard, and equip it to my monster, giving it half of its original attack and defense points!" Zekt explained. "So now, your Verda is about to become part of my monster's arsenal!"

"I don't think so!" Maestra abruptly stated. "Since I used a Fusion Monster as material to summon Verda, she can't be targeted or destroyed by your effects!"

"Fine! I'll target the Giga-Mantis that's in my graveyard instead." Zekt stated.

Inzektor Exa-Stag pierced one of its Overlay Units with its claws. A portal appeared and out came Giga-Mantis as it quickly disappeared, and two green blades appeared in the hands of Inzektor Exa-Stag.

Inzektor Exa-Stag OU: 2→1

Inzektor Exa-Stag ATK 800→2000

"And next, I equip Exa-Stag with Inzektor Axe-Zektahawk! This will give it an additional thousand attack points, and prevent you from using Spell Cards or Trap Cards when it declares an attack!"

His new card had an unknown Inzektor monster wielding a large weapon, with that same weapon appearing in the left hand of her Xyz Monster. It was a double-ended axe with semicircular blades, and an orange and red handle.

Inzektor Exa-Stag ATK 2000→3000

"Finally, I activate the Continuous Spell, Solidarity!" Zekt said. "So long as I have one original Type of monster in my Graveyard, all my monsters with the same Type gain 800 attack points. The only monsters in my Graveyard are Insect monsters, so all my Insect monsters, like Exa-Stag and Giga-Cricket Android, gain 800 attack points!"

Inzektor Exa-Stag ATK 3000→3800

Inzektor Giga-Cricket ATK 2000→2800

"Battle! Exa-Stag, attack Verda the Melodious Maestra! Chitin Chopper!"

Exa-Stag the axe, with it spinning horizontally and slashing through Verda, as well as Maestra, before curving right back into its hand.

Maestra: 2100→1500 LP

"Since you destroyed Verda, I get to draw one card from my Deck." Maestra stated. "Furthermore, I activate my Continuous Trap Card, Melodious Coda! Due to its effect, I can Special Summon a "Melodious" Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck with a lower Level than the destroyed Verda by ignoring its summoning conditions and equip this card to it! Appear, Bloom Diva the Melodious Floral Saint!"

A small, fairy-like Monster, which appeared to be emerging from a flower, appeared on Maestra's field.

Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir ATK 1000 DEF 2000 LVL: 6

"Sorry, Miss Maestra, but I'm afraid that puny Monster of yours won't even serve as an adequate defense." Zekt sneered. "Go, Giga-Cricket! Attack Bloom Diva! Devastating Drill!"

"Don't underestimate my Bloom Diva!" Maestra shouted. "When Bloom Diva battles an opponent's Special Summoned Monster, she isn't destroyed, but your monster is, and you take the battle damage I would have taken! Reflect Shout!"

"The difference in their attack points is 1800, and Zekt has 1800 Life Points." Kolter noted.

"Maestra wins!" Ringmaster cheered.

"Not yet!" Zekt declared. I activate Inzektor Onslaught's graveyard effect! Since you activated a card effect during one of my Inzektors attacks, I can banish this card to not only negate that card, but destroy it as well.

Following Zekt's words, crimson lightning erupted from the tips of Giga-Cricket's drills placed on directly at Bloom Diva, obliterating her.

"Since the equipped Monster left the field, Melodious Coda's effect activates, enabling me to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower "Melodious" Monster from my Deck!" Maestra declared. "Come, Hymn the Melodious Songstress in defense mode!"

A Monster clad in an amethyst-colored dress and wearing an opera mask on its face appeared on Maestra's field.

Hymn the Melodious Songstress ATK 1500 DEF 1700 LVL: 4

"Due to its effect, Hymn cannot be destroyed by battle once per turn." Maestra stated. "As such, your Giga-Cricket can't destroy it."

Zekt frowned. "You're really persistent, I'll give you that. I place one card face-down and end my turn."

"My turn!" Yuzu announced. "Draw! Well then, since you were so impressed by my earlier Fusion Monster's debut, I'll show you something even more interesting. I activate Hymn's effect, which enables me to banish it along with "Melodious" Monsters from my field or Graveyard in order to Fusion Summon a "Melodious" Fusion Monster from my Deck. I choose to banish Bloom Diva, Hymn and Canon in order to Fusion Summon!"

As her three Monsters swirled inside a multi-colored vortex, Yuzu chanted.

"Supreme prodigy! Blooming talent! Sacred melody! With the guidance of the baton, gather your power! Fusion Summon! Now, come to the stage, Level 8! The song of wonder, Bloom Muse the Melodious Choir!"

A female Monster with long blonde hair, clad in a white and black bodysuit, had a pink cape with a leaf design and musical notes inscribed on it extending from its shoulders. It was surrounded by nine glowing orbs and held a baton-shaped branch in its right arm, appeared on Maestra's field.

Bloom Muse the Melodious Choir ATK 3000 DEF 2100 LVL: 8

"I activate Bloom Muse's special ability!" Maestra declared. "When this card is Fusion Summoned, I can destroy all Monsters on my opponent's side of the field! Go, Rose Hurricane!"

Following Maestra's words, a hurricane of rose petals erupted on the field, swallowing Zekt's monsters.

"Thanks to Verdant Sanctuary and Giga-Mantis effects, I'm allowed to add Inzektor Giga-Hercules from my Deck to my hand since you destroyed Giga-Cricket, as well as revive Exa-Stag." Zekt stated.

A portal opened up as the blue and silver armored reappeared onto Zekt's field.

"Thanks to Solidarity's effect, Exa-Stag gains an additional 800 ATK!" Zekt pointed out.

Inzektor Exa-Stag ATK 800→1600

"Next, I activate the Trap Card, Emergency Equip!" Zekt declared as the card depicted an image of Gilford The Legend equipping himself with numerous Equip Spells. "This lets me select one monster I control and equip it with as many Equip Spells that are in my and graveyard. I'll equip Zektkaliber and Zektahawk onto Exa-Stag, increasing his ATK by 1800!"

A portal appeared and emerging out of it was a mechanical sword and axe as Exa-Stag grabbed hold of them.

Inzektor Exa-Stag ATK 1600→3400

"That won't stop me!" Maestra exclaimed. "Battle! Bloom Muse, attack Exa-Stag!"

"What!?" Zekt cried out in shock. "But Exa-Stag's attack is higher! Don't tell me…!

"That's right!" Maestra shouted. "Bloom Muse's second effect activates! When this card battles an opponent's Special Summoned Monster, it gains 200 ATK for every "Melodious" Monster in my Graveyard! Since there are six such Monsters in my Graveyard, Bloom Muse gains 1200 attack!"

Bloom Muse the Melodious Choir ATK 3000→4200

"Go, Bloom Muse! Tifaret Symphony!" Maestra commanded.

The nine orbs surrounding Bloom Muse unleashed a barrage of blasts, striking Inzektor Exa-Stag's body with them, causing Zekt to fly backwards.

Zekt LP: 1800→1000

"Since Zektkaliber was sent to the graveyard, I can add Dragonfly back to my hand." Zekt stated.

"With the battle's end, Bloom Muse's attack returns to normal." Maestra said.

Bloom Muse the Melodious Choir ATK 4200→3000

"I place one card face-down and end my turn."

"In that case, it's my turn!" Zekt announced. "Draw!"

A dark expression appeared on Zekt's face as he checked his drawn card, causing Maestra to feel chills going down her spine due to her opponent's sudden change in demeanor.

"While this duel has been quite amusing so far, I think it's about time for the kid gloves to come off." Zekt glowered at Maestra. "I've already wasted enough time indulging myself, so I will put an end to this duel right now! I activate the Spell Card, Card Of Demise, which lets me draw until I have five cards in my hand. But during my fifth Standby Phase after activating this card, I must send my entire hand to the Graveyard."

Maestra narrowed his eyes. "What an annoying card."

"Don't worry, this duel will be over before 5 five turns have passed." Zekt mentioned as he drew three cards, looked at them, then took one. "I summon out Inzektor Dragonfly!"

The red armored Inzektor appeared again on Zekt's field for the third time.

"Now I'll equip her with Inzektor Hornet, and send it back to the Graveyard to destroy your Bloom Muse!"

As Hornet appeared and cast off his armor and weapon to give to Dragonfly (LV 3-6: ATK 1000-1500), the Insect-type fired the bunker (LV 6-3: ATK 1500-1000), only for the bunker to be deflected by a barrier the suddenly appeared around Bloom Muse.

"Since I used Hymn the Melodious Songstress as Fusion Material to summon a "Melodious" Fusion Monster, that requires at least three monsters that Fusion is unaffected by my opponent's card effects." Maestra pointed out.

"So you knew I would try to use Hornet's effect to get rid of your monster?" Zekt said. "Even so, I still have plenty of moves left to assure my victory. I activate Inzektor Giga-Hercules's effect from my hand to equip it onto Dragonfly!"

Appearing next to Dragonfly was a humanoid monster clad in a dark blue Hercules beetle-themed metal suit. It had small spikes here and there, glowing with crimson energy, with one on its head, and a smaller one on its chin, both pointing upwards. Suddenly, it disassembled itself and its armor then attached itself directly onto Dragonfly.

"Dragonfly's Level, along with its ATK, change to match Giga-Hercules." Zekt added.

Inzektor Dragonfly ATK 1000→1900 LVL: 3→5

"Moving on, I activate the Equip Spell, Living Fossil, whose effect allows me to Special Summon a Monster from my Graveyard with its effects negated, and its attack reduced by 1000. Resurrect, Inzektor Giga-Weevil!"

A wide crack appeared on the ground following Zekt's words, out of which emerged was a large monster, similar to Giga-Mantis. It was more heavily armored than any of the Inzektors, having purple armor, an odd helmet, and a small axe on its left hand. It crossed its huge "wings" (which was actually more armor, connected to its shoulders) in front of itself, shielding it.

Inzektor Giga-Weevil ATK 0 DEF 2600 LVL: 6

"Now I activate the Spell Card, Resonance Device, which changes Dragonfly's Level to match Giga-Weevil's since they both share the same Type and Attribute!" Zekt stated.

Inzektor Dragonfly LVL: 5→6

"He has two monsters with the same Level once again." Maestra muttered.

"I overlay my level six Inzektor Dragonfly and Inzektor Giga-Weevil!"

Both monsters became purple streaks of light that swirled into a red portal, releasing a large explosion of light.

"Here comes the malicious beetle in gleaming gold armor with a powerful horn that will pierce the heart of villainy! Armor up, Inzektor Exa-Beetle!"

A giant monster emerged, having the same black body as the Inzektors, though it was adorned with brilliant gold armor. A large golden horn was on top of its head, and its weapon was a large, double-ended, golden conical lance, with two purple Overlay Units circling it.

Inzektor Exa-Beetle ATK 1000 DEF 1000 RNK: 5 OU: 2

"When I successfully Xyz Summon Exa-Beetle, I can select any monster in either of our Graveyards and equip it to him, giving him half of its original attack and defense points! And I choose my Inzektor Giga-Mantis!"

Soon, the blades of Giga-Mantis appeared, before they attached themselves to the left wrist of Exa-Beetle, becoming claws as they turned gold and red to match the color scheme of the Xyz Monster.

Inzektor Exa-Beetle ATK 1000→2200

"And don't forget, any monster equipped with Giga-Mantis has its original attack points become 2400, plus an additional 800 thanks to Solidarity, bringing his total to 4200!" Zekt added.

Inzektor Exa-Beetle ATK 2200→4200

"Also, since Giga-Hercules was sent to the graveyard while as an Equip Spell, I get to draw a card." Zekt continued.

"Even if you powered up your monster, thanks to Bloom Muse's effect, her attack points will become the same as Exa-Beetle once you attack her, meaning they'll both be destroyed." Maestra pointed out.

"We'll see about that." Zekt retorted. "By banishing Emergency Equip from my grave, I can equip Inzektor Exa-Beetle with Inzektor Crossbow-Zektarrow from my deck!"

A navy blue and silver-colored crossbow appeared in the hands of Exa-Beetle. In front of the actual bow sections, were three horns, resembling the horn of a Japanese rhinoceros beetle and a stag beetle, with a belt of bolts that were being fed into the titanic weapon.

"Not only does it gain 500 extra ATK, you also can't use cards or effects responding to the activation of the equipped monster's effects!" Zekt exclaimed.

Inzektor Exa-Beetle ATK 4200→4700

"His monster may now possess more points than Bloom Muse when her effect kicks in, but I'll only lose 500 Life Points, meaning I still have a chance to win on my next turn." Maestra thought to herself.

"I know what you're thinking. That when I attack, you'll still have 1000 Life Points left, even after I stated that I'll win this turn." Zekt said. "Well, let me tell you that you are wrong!" I activate the Spell Card, Armament Ambush!"

The card depicted an image of many Equip Spells with grenades attached to them being thrown into an enemy base.

"For every Equip Spell I control, I can deal you 500 points of damage!" Zekt declared.

"What!?" Maestra cried out in shock.

Two orange energy spheres shout out from the Spell and blasted Maestra, causing her to wince in pain.

Maestra: 1500→500 LP

"Maestra!" Ringmaster shouted. He watched with horror as Maestra was close to losing the duel.

"Time to end this! Battle! Exa-Beetle, attack Bloom Muse with Coleo Crossbow!"

Exa-Beetle cocked his bow, and the bolt extended in length until it resembled a harpoon as it aimed it at Bloom Muse. He fired the bolt at Bloom Muse.

"At this moment, Bloom Muse's effect activates, increasing her ATK by 1200!" Maestra stated.

Bloom Muse the Melodious Choir ATK 3000→4200

"So what!? My monster's still stronger!" Zekt pointed out. "Continue your attack, Exa-Beetle!

Exa-Beetle released the arrow from its crossbow as it struck Bloom Muse and blew it to pieces.

"I activate the Continuous Trap Card, Graziozo! Due to its effect, each time I would receive battle damage, I can halve my Life Points to reduce that damage to 0!" Maestra stated. "Furthermore, because you destroyed Bloom Muse and sent it to the graveyard, I can Special Summon one of its Fusion Materials! Revive, Bloom Diva in attack mode!"

The scattered petals, which were all that remained of Bloom Muse, converged in the middle of Maestra's field and transformed into Bloom Diva.

Maestra: 500→250 LP

"If you think I'm foolish enough to attack your Bloom Diva, think again!" Zekt stated. "I remember its effect will destroy my monster as well as inflict me damage between the difference in our monster's ATK."

"Man! I was hoping he'd forget." Maestra muttered.

"Going straight into my Main Phase 2, I activate Exa-Beetle' special ability!" Zekt declared. By using one Overlay Unit to send one face-up card on each side of the field to the Graveyard! And I select my Verdant Sanctuary, and your Bloom Diva! Go, Kabuto Cannon!"

One of the two Overlay Units went into the horn of Exa-Beetle as he held out his hand, with Sanctuary becoming a yellow ball of light that was absorbed into the hand of Exa-Beetle. The horn of the Xyz Monster began to glow bright yellow, as he then aimed his horn at the Fusion Monster and fired a horn-shaped blast of energy that completely obliterated the card.

Inzektor Exa-Beetle OU: 2→1

"Next, I activate the Spell Card, Damage Dose!" Zekt declared, as the card he played depicted an image of an unknown figure draining the energy of his defeated enemies.

"I gain Life Points equal to the amount of damage I inflicted to you this turn, which is 1000!"

Zekt: 1000→2000 LP

"And as a bonus for every 1000 points I gained, I get to draw a card." Zekt added as he drew his card."

"Finally, I end my turn with a face-down!" Zekt stated. "I have this duel in the bag. If she tries to defend herself with a monster, I'll spring my Dark Tournament Trap Card, which will not only switch her monster to attack mode, but forces it to battle Exa-Beetle, bringing me victory and her defeat."

"Things do not look good for Maestra!" the MC commentated. "With only 250 Life Points left, and no cards on her field or in her hand, she needs to pull out a game changer now, or else she'll lose. Is this the end for the newcomer of LINK VRAINS?"

Zuzu pants heavily, sweating at how close she is to losing.

''Zekt is too strong.'' She comments to herself, gulping. She was hoping to use Bloom Diva's effect on her next turn, but with it gone now, she doesn't know how she's going to win.

"Are you seriously about to give up!?" Zuzu widens her eyes after hearing a familiar voice, seeing her Fusion Counterpart.

''Celina?'' Zuzu utters out speechless, knowing she hasn't seen or talked to her since yesterday.

''She's right!" A voice stated, revealing it to be Rin's.

"Rin?" Zuzu muttered after seeing her Synchro Counterpart.

"The whole reason you came here with Yuya because he believed that you'd become a stronger duelist than you were before and knew that you could help him look for Declan's father."

"I agree with Rin." Another voice said, revealing it to be Lulu's.

"Lulu?" Zuzu muttered again after seeing her Xyz Counterpart.

"Even after duel Academy invaded Heartland, and everything had seemed hopeless, we didn't lose hope because we knew that one day we would stop them, and it's not only thanks to Yuya, but you too, Zuzu."

Zuzu blushes at their words, though she's not sure if she can-

Just then, Celina grabs her sleeve and tells her straight, putting her firm belief in her. ''In other words, stop complaining how weak you are because if you say that, then we're all weak. Never stop trying, even if to the bitter end!''

Rin and Lulu both nod in agreement, wanting Zuzu to continue fighting for them too.

''You guys…'' Zuzu utters out, touched by their words. Just like her, they too want to continue fighting and become stronger for their sense of pride.

Smiling, Zuzu nods with a brighter attitude. "You're right, just like Yuya, even when things look bleak for him, and he's close to defeat, he always has a smile on his face and believes that in the end a miracle will appear and help him." Zuzu said. "And that's precisely what I need to win."

Celina smirks, realizing her and patting her shoulder. "Let me help you with that." Celina states as she holds out her hand and appeared an orb of light as she handed it to Zuzu.

"What is this?" Zuzu asked.

"Think of it as a little gift to help beat that Zekt guy and show him that you're no pushover. Celina replied as Rin and Lulu nodded in agreement.

"Thanks." Zuzu said. "I promise I won't let you three down."

"We know you won't." Her counterparts replied as Zuzu returned to the duel.

"So you've decided to keep fighting, huh?" Zekt asked.

"That's right!" Maestra replied. And I hate to agree with you, but you're right, this will be my last turn, but also yours as well."

"We'll see about that." Zekt retorted.

"Yes we will." Maestra added. "It's my turn! Before I draw, I activate Pentagram Draw's effect from the graveyard!'' Maestra stated.

"From the graveyard?" Zekt asked with confusion.

"Yes, from the graveyard." She replied. "During my Draw Phase, if I have no cards in my hand, and I have a "Melodious" Monster in my grave along with Pentagram Draw, I can banish both and draw an additional card equal to the banished monster's Level!"

"What!?" Zekt said in shock.

"I banish the Level 4 Opera the Melodious Diva along with Pentagram Draw to draw five cards!" Maestra exclaimed as she drew.

"First I activate the Spell Card, Polymerization to fuse Tamtam the Melodious Diva and Quartet the Melodious Songstress that are in my hand!"

A Fusion Portal opens up above Maestra as her two Monsters swirled inside a multi-colored vortex, she chanted.

"Inspiration of the divine! Enraged prodigy! Blend your pitches together under the light of the full moon and gather your new power! I Fusion Summon! Sing in the center of the moonlit stage! The song of justice! Luna Diva the Melodious Choir!"

Wrapped in a cloak of moonlight, Maestra's elegant and graceful new Fusion Monster appeared to the field, emerald eyes radiating with warmth as she let out a sustained operatic note.

Luna Diva the Melodious Choir ATK 2000 DEF 2000 LVL: 6

"Oh! Maestra has summoned a new Fusion Monster!" The MC commented

"Amazing!" Kolter said. "That thing looks powerful!"

"I agree with you there, Kolter." Ringmaster said. "This monster." Ringmaster murmured to himself. Taking note of the name, summoning type, summoning chant and appearance, the boy came to one conclusion. "It represents her bond with Celina."

"Both Tamtam and Quartet's effects now activate from the grave!" Maestra declared. First, since I used Tamtam as material for a Fusion Summon, I can lower the ATK of the Fusion Monster by 500 and to inflict the same amount of damage to you!"

A misty form of Tamtam appeared, and with her rod, she shot Yuri with a green ball of energy. Yuri took a step back when the ball hit him.

Luna Diva the Melodious Choir ATK 2000→1500

Zekt: 2000→1500 LP

"Next up, Quartet's effect allows me to add one "Melodious Songstress" monster from my deck to my hand when she's used as material for a Fusion Summon." Maestra continued. "I add Soubrette the Melodious Songstress from my deck to my hand."

Zekt made no comment as Maestra plucked a card from her deck and added it to her hand.

"I now activate the Quick-Play Spell, Photon Lead! I can Special Summon a Level four or lower LIGHT Monster from my hand in attack mode. Come forth! Soubrette the Melodious Songstress!"

Twirling onto the field was a flirtatious-looking sprite with long deep black hair adorned by a bright red flower. She had green and sapphire-blue garments that exposed most of her ebony black skin, and magical runes painted onto both her wings and skin, appeared to the field as she sang in a soft and light voice.

Soubrette the Melodious Songstress ATK 900 DEF 300 LVL: 2

"And when Soubrette's Special Summoned while I control another Melodious monster, I can add a Spell Card from my deck or graveyard to my hand." Maestra stated as she added another card from her Deck to her hand.

Zekt scoffed. "You think just by adding a few cards will help you win? I'm afraid you'll find that it won't."

"I beg to differ." Maestra rebutted. "I activate the Spell Card, Vocal Tonenado! For every "Melodious" Monster I control, I can destroy a Spell or Trap on your field. So say goodbye to Solidarity and your Giga-Mantis!"

Both Luna Diva and Soubrette rose above Maestra and let out a piercing screech that destroyed Zekt's Spell Cards.

"Without Solidarity and Giga-Mantis, Exa-Beetle's ATK drops to 1500." Zekt pointed out.

Inzektor Exa-Beetle ATK 4700→1500

"Now everything's set." Maestra stated. "By releasing a "Melodious" Monster, in this case Soubrette, Luna Diva gains the ability to attack all your monsters twice, with the exception that they won't be destroyed by the first attack!''

Soubrette burst into particles of light that entered Luna Diva, giving her a moon-like aura.

"What's the point of that?" Zekt asked. "Your monster will be destroyed during the first attack, leaving you defenseless and wide open for a direct attack from Exa-Beetle!"

"At the moment, she can't," Maestra agreed, smiling as she took the last card from her hand. "But with this card, it's another story. I activate the Continuous Spell Card, Fortissimo!"

A Continuous Spell Card?" Zekt asked, his eyes wide. "What's that do?"

"Fortissimo lets me increase the attack points of one "Melodious" monster by 800 until my next Standby Phase," Milly explained, a friendly smile on her face. "I target Luna Diva for Fortissimo's effect!"

Luna Diva's dress started shining and glittering as her attack points increased.

Luna the Melodious Choir ATK 1500→2300

"Now she has enough points to beat you and your monster." Maestra pointed out.

"This can't be!" Zekt screamed in fear!

"Oh, but it is!" Maestra stated, stretching out her hand towards her Fusion monster. "Battle! Luna Diva, attack Exa-Beetle! Go, Moonlight Wave!"

Taking a deep breath, Luna Diva began raising her voice as she became surrounded in a shaft of light before shooting a powerful wave of sound at the golden armored beetle, which wasn't destroyed due to her effect.

Zekt: 1500→700 LP

"One down, one to go!." Maestra exclaimed. "Here comes the next and final attack! Destroy his Monster, Luna Diva!"

Following its master's command, Luna Diva shot a powerful wave of sound at Exa-Beetle Magician once more, destroying it this time and causing a shockwave that sent Zekt flying backwards as he crashed into the ground.

"The duel is over!" The MC shouted over the cheering crowd. "The winner is Galahad, the Knight of LINK VRAINS!"

"Yahoo!" Kolter cheered after seeing Zuzu win her duel. "That was an incredible duel, wasn't it, Yuya?"

"It was." He replied. "I'm really proud of Zuzu. I knew she's gotten better as a duelist, and after witnessing her duel, I knew I made the right decision to bring her."

Back in LINK VRAINS Area #6

Maestra stared down at her fallen opponent. "Thank god I won, for a second, I thought I was going to lose, but thanks to Celina, Rin, and Lulu believing in me, I achieved victory.

Zekt was instantly logged out due to having no more credits to wager, as they were then transfer to Maestra's total.

VC: 2000-22000

"Thanks to the code he found, I received double the number of credits." Maestra stated. "But even thought I earned them, they could be put to better use."

Maestra then pressed a few buttons on her Duel Disk as her points dropped from 22000 to 1200.

In Area #5 of LINK VRAINS, Ringmaster's Duel Disk started to beep as he noticed he just received 10000 VRAINS credits, bringing his total to 12500.

"Where did these come from?" He wondered.

"They came from me, silly." A hologram of Maestra appeared from his Duel Disk.

"But you earned these credits fair and square. They're yours." Ringmaster pointed out.

"I know, but remember, we both need to have enough credits to be one of the finalists." She replied. "Just think of this as a thank you for all the things you've done for me."

"Alright, if you insist." Ringmaster said. "But the next duel I win, I'll repay you by giving you half the credits I earn."

"It's a deal." Maestra said. "Goodbye. See you at the end.

"Bye. See you at the end too." Ringmaster replied as he ended his call.

"What a touching moment." A voice nearby said.

"Who there's?" Ringmaster asked.

Coming from behind a pillar was a fair-skinned young man with orange eyes, straight yellow hair that falls to his chin and a bang in the shape of wings on each side, and a halo glowing over his head. For his attire, he wore a white outfit that's a cross between a pope and a military outfit, which has a brown lining and cuffs, a high-collared white shirt under that, as well as white shoes with brown soles.

"The name's Seraph and to make things short, I'm your next opponent." He answered.

"Fine by me." Ringmaster said. "How many credits do you have?"

"15000." He replied. "What about you?"

"12500" Ringmaster replied." So, how many credits are we betting?"

"Well, given that I'm one of the duelists in LINK VRAINS who's most likely to become a Celebrity Duelist, I'll not only wager all my points, but also use a code I found earlier." Seraph said as he pulled up the code.

"Now, when the duel is over and after the winner earns the credits that were wagered, their score will double.

"So that means my score will be 54000 if I win?" Ringmaster thought to himself. "Seeing that can guarantee me a spot as a finalist, there's no way I can turn this duel down."

So, are you ready to face justice?" Seraph asked.

"Oh, I'm ready… To Swing Into Action!" Ringmaster stated.

And with that, Chapter 9 is finish. I hope you guys enjoy it. In the beginning it was originally going to be a Yuya duel, but I decided to have Zuzu duel instead because unlike in the anime, she will get more dueling time and development as the story progresses.

Cards that are bolded are OC's, or I borrowed from other authors.

Credit to Dvdryms for letting me use his OC Melodious cards.

As always, like, comment, and reply.

Don't be afraid to send me a PM if you have an idea for a chapter you'd like to see me write, or if you have any OC'S that you'd like me to use.

"