The signal was getting closer. Yusaku pressed his ear to the wall. No use. He could sense something sparking excitedly on the other side but couldn't hear a thing. He sighed and shut off his Link Sense. There was no point in tracking something if he didn't know what it was. Out of instinct he wondered if he could ask…a sharp pain lanced through his chest.

"Ai…" He slumped against the wall, "…Maybe this is karma."

The sound of the lock clicking snapped him out of his stupor. Probably the Blue King.

"What do you want?"

"A more courteous greeting to start." A new voice spoke up.

Yusaku snapped upright. That was the voice in his dream. The one who'd been watching him.

A blue haired woman was standing in the doorway. "Remember me?"

Yusaku took a step back. "You're 'her majesty' aren't you? The Queen of SOL Tech."

"A better answer than I was expecting."

"What answer were you expecting?"

"You'll have figure that out for yourself," Queen answered, "I'm here to ask for help."

"Like shadow realm I'd help you."

"Very well then, I'll just see if 005 is fixed yet."

"Fixed?" The words came out softer than Yusaku had meant them to, "What did you do to him?!"

"I didn't do anything," Queen was mock-offended, "Bishop was the one who put in the mind-control chip."

Yusaku stared at her in horror.

"I know, I know," Queen laughed "It sounds far-fetched, but it does work." She pulled up a display on her duel disk, "This is the app I use to give commands. Unfortunately I haven't used it yet, seeing as how 005 has about a 20% chance of surviving if I reactivate it. Oh well, I suppose I'll have to take that chance-"

"No!" Yusaku practically shouted, "I'll help you, whatever."

"Wonderful," Queen bared her teeth in what was likely supposed to a smile, "I think you'll enjoy it really. You see I made a little bet with one of my colleagues. I just need you to beat him in a little duel. You can do that, right?"

——

"I swear I'll kill that woman one of these days." Red huffed as he made his way to the hold, "Calls me a coward for not wanting to waste time."

"You shouldn't have bet your shares in the company." Yellow said unhelpfully.

"Unlike you, I can defeat a child!" Red snapped.

Yellow muttered something under his breath and stalked off.

Red arrived at the hold complaining about the order he was going to kill the people he hated. Yusaku was already there, cut off from the door by a sheet of plexiglass.

"So you must be the child Queen is placing all her hopes in," He mused

"I suppose so."

"Let's make this interesting," Red King said, "I'll let you go first."

Yusaku LP: 4000 Red King LP:4000

"Fine by me." Yusaku replied, "I draw! I summon Stack Reviver! Now that I control a Cyberse monster I can special summon Backup Secretary. Appear circuit that leads to the future! I set Stack Reviver and Backup Secretary in the Link Markers. I summon Code Talker Inverted!"

"A measly Link-2?!" Red bristled, "Are you mocking me?!"

"You'll know when I'm mocking you." Yusaku rolled his eyes, "Stack Reviver's effect allows me to summon Backup Secretary from my GY. Appear again! Circuit that leads to the future! I set Backup Secretary and Code Talker Inverted in the Link Markers. I Link summon Link-3 Encode Talker. I set two cards face down and end my turn."

Yusaku LP: 4000 Red King LP:4000

"I draw!" Red King declared, " I summon Laval Archer! Its effect means I get an additional Normal Summon, so I summon Laval Forest Sprite!"

"A tuner," Yusaku hissed under his breath.

"I tune Archer with Forest Sprite in order to Synchro summon Laval the Greater."

Laval Dragun ATK 2500 DEF 1200

"Dragun's effect. I add one monster from my deck to my hand and send one monster from my deck to my GY. That card was Laval Volcano Handmaiden. Her effect means I can send a monster from my deck to my GY. That monster is Laval Lakeside Lady and I can banish her, and one other monster to destroy one of your face downs."

Yusaku's left facedown disappeared.

"Oh and Forest Sprite's effect means that when she's sent from the field to the GY, every Laval monster gains 200 ATK for each monster in the GY."

Laval Dragun ATK 2800 DEF 1200

"I attack Encode Talker!"

Yusaku LP: 3500 Red King LP:4000

"I set one card facedown and end my turn."

"My turn!" Yusaku frowned, "I special summon Linkslayer. And now I normal summon Draconet. That means I can summon a level two or lower monster from my deck. I summon Dotscaper. Appear! Circuit that leads to the future! I link summon Link-3 Decode Talker!"

Decode Talker ATK 2300

"Because Dotscaper was sent to my GY, I can special summon it. Decode Talker's effect activates. It gains 500 ATK for every monster it's linked to."

Decode Talker ATK 2800

"I activate the Spell Cynet Codec! When a Code Talker monster is summonedAppear again! Circuit that leads to the future! I set Dotscaper in the Link Markers and summon Link Spider! Its effect allows me to summon a level four or lower monster from my hand. I summon Texchanger. Appear again! Circuit that leads to the future!

"You can't do that!" Red King shouted, "Off with your head."

Yusaku gave him a sidelong glance. "Yeah, sure. I set Texchanger and Link Spider in the Link Marker and summon Flame Administrator. Its effect means all Link monsters I control gain 800 ATK"

Decode Talker ATK 3600

Flame Administrator ATK 2000

Red was boiling with rage now.

"Decode Talker, attack Laval Dragun!"

Yusaku LP: 3500 Red King LP:1300

"Flame Administrator! Attack Red King directly!

Yusaku LP: 3500 Red King LP:0

Red growled, "Dammit all to-" he stopped abruptly the light on his duel disk turned green, and he went pale. Yusaku's knees grew weak as he watched the Red King's face grow blank and his veins grow dark. For a moment he was watching Ai's robotic corpse fall the to the ground all over again. His dead partner's voice echoed in his head.

You lazily gave me the name Ai, but I really like it. If this name had a meaning, what do you think it would be?

A fresh torrent of grief crashed over Yusaku, quickly followed by sheer terror as he watched the Red King cough up blood.

Eventually Red let out a vicious, angry, swan song. Yusaku's own scream was quick to follow.

——

That night Yusaku oscillated between pacing and vomiting. The memory of cradling Ai as he died was back with a vengeance, mixed with Red King's final yell. He didn't even hear the clack of Queen's shoes as she entered the room.

"Can't sleep?"

Yusaku glared, "Take one more step and you'll see why."

"Forgive me if I'm not scared." Queen rolled her eyes.

Yusaku was about to retort, but Ai's voice echoed in his mind again; (I'mbeginingtounderstandthatdefinition) and he had to fight back the accompanying wave of nausea.

Queen sighed, "Sad and pathetic. I'd hoped you'd turn out a little more like me, but no, you're just like your father."

Something clicked in the back of Yusaku's mind. It must have shown on his face because Queen's forced smile shifted into a satisfied smirk.

"I'll let you get back to your pity party."

He was about to yell after her, she left before he could even swallow the bile in his throat.

So he wound up saying to no one in particular. "We're a lot alike, Mom. For one, we're both killers."