Pastrybee enjoyed some of the perks of the private servers of Link VRAINS. Especially from those running servers or design the landscape. While Link VRAINS had many favorite public servers. Such as the nighttime festival and signature Ferris wheel, the public garden sector, an open-field marketplace for hired personnel to legally sell additional content; there were some pretty good public servers available.
However, the private servers were where creativity was left to flourish. They are currently under the care of Bishop and Rook respectively. Rook maintained the stability of server connections while Bishop had an off-handed approached. Just as long as nothing got too mature, Bishop and Rook never directly got involved. Of course, they just allowed the private servers to be mostly community ran.
That is how the Eden Garden came to be; it was a safe space private server. Mainly a chill server. A more server meant to serve as a neutral area. Where nobody would really judge you if you dumped a bunch of shit here and left it. It was cleaned out every week; per server rules. It served its function and was an invite-only server. That way, only those who followed the rules could return for monthly advice and whatnot. A way to cleanse the trolls or crazies out.
So there she was now, enjoying a fine afternoon. Sipping some tea, enjoying the flower fields. The cherry blossoms weren't in bloom yet. They could be programmed, but where's the fun in that? At least the branches provided some decent scenery. An umbrella overtops to assist the extra shade. Sipping her teacup, she turned back her attention toward her guest.
The other avatar resembled Mystical Sand, an old fusion monster. Still, the other female was a bit nervous. Even while placing her cup back onto the table.
"Thank you for coming Bee." The female smiled. "You have no idea how much I am relieved to see you."
Grinning from ear to ear, the smaller girl looked around. "No problem; and I love the server you choose this time. I don't have time to visit Eden Garden these days."
"Don't you think this place is completely peaceful? When I first found this server, I felt as if Rosebud would have loved to come to her. Give Rosebud and the rest of Compendium my regards." The witch cleared her throat. "But let me get to the point of the matter. I have a request for your group. To find and detain a Duelist."
"A bounty huh. Must be something if you came to us."
"They are calling him Solarflare for now. Quite a name for him, considering his monster of choice." The client explained, eyes darting away. "What truly concerns us is just how he acts. He just decides to hack into our server, trashes the place and leaves! Normally I've had someone from SOL ban him, but they haven't done anything! And I'm not the only one having these problems; at this rate, he might crash the public servers with how much damage he is doing. Please, I need to know that at least the Compendium can do something about him."
Pastrybee took all the information in. To think that a rogue Duelist would be going around trashing the lives of server runners and their communities. Now, it was nothing to the extreme that the Knights of Hanoi were doing. However, that behavior was concerning.
"I think that the Compendium would love to tackle this 'Solarflare' guy! I'll make sure to drop that off to Rosebud the next time I see her!" Pastrybee grinned ear to ear.
"Oh thank you so much!" The client let out a long breath of relief. "You have no idea how much this is a relief to me! I'll send you the information and links to any of the servers he has already broken into. I've heard he's come back to some, but it's random. Please tell Rosebud and the Compendium that I won't forget this!"
"Not to worry! The Compendium greatly appreciates your patronage!" The little female waved, seeing the client logging off after sending the details to Pastrybee.
"Hey! How did it go? You got the details for the job?" Cross Nine inquired.
"Yep. We got a hit on a guy named Solarflare. Apparently, he's been breaking into servers and trashing them. Nearly beyond repair." Pastrybee was scrolling through the information.
"Sounds like a handful."
"It is, and it looks like Rosebud is taking a rain check today," Rass added on, checking his messages. "That means it will be up to us three to track him down."
"Really? Well, I suppose it would happen; either way, we got some links to servers that he's attacked and possible future ones. The client gave us the all-clear to do whatever. Rass, have you found any information about the guy himself?"
"If you want additional information, it's quite scarce. Either he's an excellent hacker to erase his presence - at least all but his damage, or somebody's covering his tracks." Rass displayed a screen, showing some sort of program running. "Haven't gotten much in terms of IRL, but his trail as Solarflare is quite…"
"Is it quite blazing?" Cross Nine nudged the other male.
Both members of Compendium glared at the younger male. Pastrybee was quick to whack him with a frying pan. Rass rolled his eyes as Cross Nine yelped in pain.
"Anyway, back to the target. Solarflare seems to attack targets at random; not a real connection between the servers except for one thing. His targets all seem to use a Dragon-Type Deck. Even if he isn't using a Buster Blader Deck, the client did send us a photo, correct Bee?"
Pastrybee opened up the photo, a blurry creature with wings striking another monster. "It's a Dragon - that much is sure. But the design… it isn't anything I've ever seen before."
"Yikes! That's… quite a dragon." Cross Nine blinked twice.
"You know this monster Cross?"
He shook his head. "Nope; but I know one thing; I've looked through everything SOL had planned or released, and I don't see a dragon making that kind of glare."
"Whatever it is, we have to be careful. Sadly Rosebud can't join us; she has to take a break." Rass mentioned before shutting the pop-ups off. "But if Solarflare is going to run amok and cause damage like the Knights, we have to take him out as soon as possible."
"Yeah, SOL would rather focus on paying Duelists to hunt Playmaker down than actually deal with this sort of shit. I could only imagine how Rook and Bishop must feel."
"Indeed." Pastrybee grimaced. "They are like the only two who actually care about the fans these days."
"So what's the plan? We going to nab this guy or what?" Cross Nine cracked his fists.
"We have to split up to cover the most ground. But with his method of attacking, it is just random at its best. If he shows up, use the anchor program to keep him there. Duel him and try to either stall or beat him. That way, we can all regroup and handle him quickly." Rass stated to the group. "Any questions?"
"I have one," Pastrybee said. "Is the tab at the bar still open? Because I might need a few shots after this."
Perhaps it was wrong to suggest a few shots after the mission. Maybe it was due to her sheer irritation or recalling how much Cross Nine raises their tab. Rosebud's alliance with that server served wonders, including the tab they have still yet to fully pay off. They needed cash, and requests like these helped ease the burden off their shoulders. Hopefully, if this job went through, it could help Rosebud feel like sharing the load with him. She knew her well; they were the only girls on the team after all.
She continued to hang out on the SkyCastle server, one of the possible targets of this Solarflare Duelist. The owner and mods were made aware of her intentions and they agreed to assist if things got out of hand. There was a nice sense of nostalgia from this server. Light breeze in the air. Her wings twitched with anticipation. Flying would be fun.
The freedom to fly away and escape; that was a dream Pastrybee had. That same dream Compendium had as a goal. To not be shackled by a generation above them. To be free to do whatever they want. So that society didn't feel so… constructive.
Nearby, her brown eyes saw a daffodil not far from the courtyard's edge. It was all alone. Coming over to it wasn't a problem. Getting to her knees and rubbing a petal, she could only imagine how Rosebud must feel. To be all alone. Rosebud rarely spoke about her life outside of Link VRAINS. Yet she could tell, something was not right. How could it? None of them were perfect saints. They were all human, and so far, Rosebud felt like she hid the most. Rass would know about that hidden side. He was closer to her than either Cross Nine or herself. She just hoped that the rose would finally bloom.
Rosebud might be a better Duelist and hacker, but Rosey was the soul of the team. She helped keep them all connected. Her being cut would only spell disaster.
She stood up and looked toward the vast clear sky. "...Rosey, I hope you come back soon."
It was a bright and sunny day. Perfect for anything to happen. Though maybe some shade from trees could be added. Being that the castle was literally in clouds, the stone structure was the only source of shade. A good suggestion to make once she left the server.
"Hey! What do you think you-!?"
"Watch out!"
Her wings took off, Pastrybee leaping off the ground to flutter. The whole entire castle was shaking; something was definitely going on. Some of the users outside had collapsed to the ground. An earthquake was out of the question. Not from these reactions; pure confusion and fright.
Gaze toward the castle happened once more screams were heard. Pastrybee looked and sawing the glowing dragon crashing on through. She quickly flew toward the scene. The mods were already underway in pulling victims away from the incoming rumble.
Pastrybee stopped a bit from the dragon and activated her Duel Disk. "Get everyone out of here. I will handle this guy."
"Are you sure? We can help if you like." A mod stated, resembling an armored angel helping a boy from the ground.
"The lives of these people matter more than helping me. Besides, the Compendium is meant to deal with guys like them. Now go!" Tapping her Duel Disk, the usual orange color turned red.
The color of her Duel Disk changed, from orange to pink. From it, the digital device unleashed a flurry of pink chains. All directly at the beast's wings and chest. Immediately, they pierced the glowing flesh and dark metal. The dragon screeched in pain, trying to take flight as the chains began to constrict, wrapping around its prey. The more in thrashed, the more the chains were encompassing its body.
Pastrybee sensed something behind her. It wasn't a friendly presence, but if it was the man she was looking for. She smirked, slowly finding herself landing on the ground. The dragon suddenly vanished into data. Chains retreating back into her Duel Disk. Pink to orange, she didn't need to turn around to see where the dragon's data was headed.
"...Thought you would show yourself. You Solarflare?" She tapped her Duel Disk, changing her setting to ensure he wouldn't escape.
"And you must be apart of Compendium." He stated, making her blush a bit.
"Indeed I am! What an honor to be recognized!" She spun around. Fanning herself as she face grew a bit red. "I was hoping to find you. A man like you is quite something if a member of Compendium like me was called."
She took the chance to take in his appearance. If he did manage to escape or win, she could have data on his Duel Disk, deck, and avatar for future use. He looked about a teenage, possible about a high schooler but not quite at graduation just yet. Striking butterscotch and salamander orange hair, somehow glowing and emitting a faint glow. Curling upward and spiked, a continuing trend of being "cool." It wasn't as taking as his eyes; strange watermelon-like eyes, mostly pink with a green ring that shimmered. A bodysuit of marshmallow and lemon covered his body, a streak of the same watermelon pink lined asymmetrically across his form. Though his gloves were the watermelon green present in his eyes; that was more outstanding that his silver pierced hanging diamond-shaped earring to his left - or Bee's right.
Solarflare was quite handsome if she wasn't able to kick his butt into next week.
"But you're not Rosebud. You're not worth my time." He narrowed his eyes.
Pastrybee flinched internally. That comment was not at all excepted. Still, she could put up the face of not being surprised. After all, this wasn't the first time it had occurred during a job or request. "She might be the leader of our organization, but that doesn't mean she has to show her face to most of the lot like you. So I'm afraid you will be dealing with me today-!"
"I'm not interested." He turned away.
"Hey! You can't just say that!" She got angry, flying around and stopping in front of him. "And you're not going anywhere!"
"Please, I don't have time to deal with you." He started to reach for his Duel Disk, attempting to log out. "So if you'd excuse me-!"
Solarflare didn't have a chance. Before he could reach it, pink chains shot out, wrapping around his right arm and pulling it away. Watermelon eyes met chocolate brown ones. The flying female smiled and waved, revealing the program attached her to Duel Disk.
"So sorry about that!" Her apology was fake, but it was an opportunity to get to fulfill her request. With the Data Anchor in play, it would prevent him from logging out. Now all she needed to do was stall for time. Something that was simple enough. "But I can't let you leave that easily. What kind of person would I be?"
His glare would have shot knives through Pastrybee. She didn't need to pressure him much. Just need to press the right button while the others got to her location.
"And before you ask, no, you can't just hack on through this. It's a special program SOL usually gives to their mods, but Rosebud modified for our benefits. Lucky me! The only way to get out is to beat me. So, now you're stuck here! Isn't that nice?"
Solarflare seemed pissed off. How couldn't he? Pastrybee had exactly what she needed. And what better way to entertain herself but by Dueling the guy?
"If you want your freedom, then do me a favor and accept my request." She landed on the ground, pointing to his Duel Disk. "Unless you would prefer a chat over tea about all the servers you have destroyed with that dragon of yours."
She felt a bit unnerved, seeing his eyes narrow. Unfazed by the underlying threat in his statement.
"You're making a big mistake." He warned her but appeared to be accepting the challenge.
"I'm not." She waved it off. "Besides, I'm not just a chick you can underestimate. Just you watch."
"Duel!"
{Master Duel - START!}
Solarflare: 4000
Vs
Pastrybee: 4000
"The first turn belongs to me! I start by Special Summoning Photon Thrasher!" A glowing swordsman appeared on the field. "This monster can only be Special Summoned while I control no monsters. Then I place a card facedown and end my turn."
Photon Thrasher: Level 4 LIGHT Warrior/Effect ATK: 2000 DEF: 0
"A Photon monster. Not bad, but don't underestimate what I can do!" Pastrybee drew her card, checking to see that it was a monster. "Excellent! I start off by Summoning Madolche Mewfeuille. When successfully Summoned, Mewfeuille allows me to Special Summon a Madolche from my hand. I Special Summon Madolche Messengelato!"
Madolche Mewfeuille: Level 3 EARTH Beast/Effect ATK: 500 DEF: 300
Madolche Messengelato: Level 4 EARTH Warrior/Effect ATK: 1600 DEF: 1000
The pink feline was joined by a young boy. The human pulled out a card from his bag, throwing it over to the Pastrybee. The Duelist grabbed the card, winking as she did.
"Messengelato allows me to add a Madolche Spell/Trap to my hand when he's Special Summoned and I control a Beast-Type monster. But that isn't why they are both out here. Appear! My recipe circuits! The Summoning conditions are that I have two Madolche monsters. I Set both Mewfeuille and Messengelato!" Pastrybee twirled, her wings and antenna glowing as both her monster disappeared. "Link Summon! Come forth, the delectably devoted fairy! LINK-2 Madolche Fresh Sistart!"
Madolche Fresh Sistart: Link 2 EARTH Fairy/Link/Effect ATK: 1500 [MARKER(S): Bottom-Left and Bottom-Right]
"Then I activate the Quick-Play Spell Celestial Transformation to Special Summon a Fairy-Type monster from my hand by halving its attack. I Special Summon Madolche Petingcessoeur!" Emerging from a coat of glass was a little blonde girl, landing upon a puzzle piece.
Madolche Petingcessoeur: Level 4 EARTH Fairy/Effect ATK: 1400 - 700 = 700 DEF: 1400
"Petingcessoeur's effect; when she's Special Summoned, I can Special Summon a Madolche from my hand or Deck. I use this to Special Summon Madolche Puddingcess by reducing her Level to four!" An older blonde appeared, waving to Petingcessoeur.
Madolche Puddingcess: Level 5 - 1 = 4 EARTH Fairy/Effect ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000
"Two Level 4 monsters…" Pastrybee noted the reaction from her opponent.
"Watch this; I'll take you out in a single turn! I build the Overlay Network with both my Level 4 Madolche monsters! Ruler of the castle domain, I ask for your guiding presence. Let's go! XYZ Summon! Rank 4, Madolche Queen Tiaramisu!" The royal monster appeared on her throne, wielding the specter as two glowing brown Overlay Units circled behind her.
Madolche Queen Tiaramisu: Rank 4 EARTH Fairy/XYZ/Effect ATK: 2200 DEF: 2100
"An XYZ monster…!" Solarflare appeared shocked.
The Madolche Duelist looked to the three cards in her hand. She could finish this out in a single turn. It was perfect! "I play the Continuous Spell Madolche Ticket! Then I activate Madolche Queen Tiaramisu's effect. By detaching an Overlay Unit, I can target 2 Madolche cards and shuffle them back into my Deck. At the same time, two of your cards are shuffled back into your Deck as well!"
"What?!"
"I shuffle back both Madolche Mewfeuille and Messengelato to return both your Photon Thrasher and your back row back to your Deck!" The XYZ monster's Overlay Unit was detached, going into the monster's specter as it pointed to both cards on Solareflare's field. "And thanks to Madolche Ticket, since I control a Fairy-Type monster I can Special Summon one of those monsters to my field. So come back Meesengelato!"
Madolche Messengelato: Level 4 EARTH Warrior/Effect ATK: 1600 DEF: 1000
"I'll end you here: I attack you directly with Madolche Fresh Sistart!" She declared, her monster charging up an attack, before unleashing a beam of light at her opponent.
Solarflare: 4000 - 1500 = 2500
Vs
Pastrybee: 4000
"Then Messengelato attacks you!"
Solarflare: 2500 - 1600 = 900
Vs
Pastrybee: 4000
"Time to end this now! I attack you directly with Queen Tiaramisu!" The XYZ Monster began to concentrate energy into her specter. "End this now!"
The attack was unleashed. Light in Pastrybee's eyes grew. She would win! It was possible to win this-!
"From my hand, I activate the effect of Sphere Kuriboh! When my opponent declares an attack, I can send this card to the Graveyard to change that monster to defense position." He said, revealing the monster before discarding it. "And I use it on your Queen Tiaramisu!"
Sphere Kuriboh: Level 1 DARK Fiend/Effect ATK: 300 DEF: 200
The golden monster appeared, absorbing the attack before destroying itself. The destruction caused Pastrybee's XYZ monster to be changed to defense position.
"You-!" She hissed out; he hid that card to only use it now!? "I'll end you during my next turn then. I play both my cards face-down and end my turn."
The nerve of Solarflare. Pastrybee was pissed off by his action. He managed to stop her OTK. Ugh, if only she drew a certain card, then she could have won. No matter; she could win the Duel still. Many people underestimated the power of Madolche. But with her version of the Deck, she could achieve victory. Only had to wait for a single turn.
"End me next turn? Please. You couldn't end me if you even tried." Solarflare was condescending. "You have nothing that can stop me; your choice to amuse yourself with this Duel proves it."
"How does it? From what I see, you're the one about to lose! So just start your turn already!"
He sighed and drew a card. Pastrybee flipped over one of her facedown cards. "I activate the Continuous Trap Madolche Waltz! Now whenever an attack is declared, you take 300 damage. So you want to kill yourself during the Battle Phase, I'll leave this an option. Aren't I so considerate?"
Solarflare didn't say anything, instead of moving to activate a card in his hand. "I activate the Spell Trade-In. I send a Level 8 monster in my hand to draw two more cards! Then I Special Summon Photon Thrasher again since I control no monsters."
Photon Thrasher: Level 4 LIGHT Warrior/Effect ATK: 2000 DEF: 0
"Then, by revealing Galaxy Knight in my hand, I can Special Summon Galaxy Brave from my hand!" A futuristic blue swordsman appeared on the field. "Appear, the circuit that leads to the future! Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning condition is two LIGHT monsters, including a monster with 2000 ATK or more. I Set Photon Thrasher and Galaxy Knight in the Link Marker!"
Both LIGHT attribute monster flew into the sky, taking root in the Bottom-Left and Bottom-Right markers. At the same time, the pink of his attire began to glow. "Circuits combine! Link Summon! Emerge from the darkness and space and relight the extinguished fallen! LINK-2 Galaxy-Eyes Solarflare Dragon!"
A brightly shining dragon emerged, letting out a cry once escaping the Link portal. It snarled, upon seeing Pastrybee.
Galaxy-Eyes Solarflare Dragon: LINK-2 LIGHT Dragon/Link/Effect ATK: 2000 [MARKER(S): Bottom-Left and Bottom-Right]
The female tensed up, for now, she noticed that this dragon sharing her opponent's name was the same dragon from before. She was aware of Photon and Galaxy cards, but a Galaxy-Eyes monster? That was something new.
"When Galaxy-Eyes Solarflare Dragon is Summoned, I can add a 'Photon' or 'Galaxy' from my Graveyard to hand. I add Photon Thrasher. Next, I activate the Spell Photon Sanctuary in my hand to Special Summon 2 Photon Tokens in defense mode." Two floating spheres of light manifested on the field. "Then, since I control a Photon monster, I can Summon Galaxy Knight and activates its effect! When it is summoned, I can reduce this monster's attack by 1000 ATK and Special Summon Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon from my Graveyard!"
(x2) Photon Tokens: Level 4 LIGHT Thunder/Token ATK: 2000 DEF: 0
Galaxy Knight: Level 8 LIGHT Warrior/Effect ATK: 2800 - 1000 = 1800 DEF: 2600
Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon: Level 8 LIGHT Dragon/Effect ATK: 3000 DEF: 2500
Ripping through the data-scape, the galactic dragon tore right through the threads of reality, appearing on the other side. It let out a cry as it landed. Solarflare smirked, his left eye flickering in color for a brief moment.
"Galaxy-Eyes… Photon Dragon…" Pastrybee was struck by the presence of the dragon. (3h)
"Appear, the circuit that leads to the future! Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning condition is two Photon monsters. I Set both Photon Tokens in the Link Markers!" Both Tokens vanished into the Top-Right and Right Marker. "Link Summon! LINK-2 Photon General!"
Photon General: LINK-2 LIGHT Warrior/Link/Effect ATK: 2000 [MARKER(S): Top-Right and Right]
Photon General
LINK-2 Attribute LIGHT
Warrior/Link/Effect
ATK: 2000
[MARKER(S): Top-Right and Right]
2 Photon Monsters
When this card points to a "Galaxy-Eyes" monster, that monster gains 2000 ATK. This card cannot attack while it points to a "Galaxy-Eyes" monster. Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can Tribute 1 'Photon' monster you control and 1 other monster you control: that monster can declare a second attack. You can only use this effect of "Photon General" once per turn.
"When Photon General points to a 'Galaxy-Eyes' monster, that monster gains 2000 ATK. Since I have two 'Galaxy-Eyes' in the zones Photon General points to, both of them gain that 2000 ATK." The futuristic white general raises its sword, both dragons letting out a cry.
Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon: Level 8 LIGHT Dragon/Effect ATK: 3000 + 2000 = 5000 DEF: 2500
Galaxy-Eyes Solarflare Dragon: LINK-2 LIGHT Dragon/Link/Effect ATK: 2000 + 2000 = 4000 [MARKER(S): Bottom-Left and Bottom-Right]
"Battle! Galaxy-Eyes Solarflare Dragon, attack Madolche Fresh Sistart! Solarstorm!" The Link Monster unleashed a bursting bright blast of energy at the Fairy-Type maiden.
Solarflare: 900 - 300 = 600
Vs
Pastrybee: 4000 - 3500 = 500
"Finish it now! Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!" The dragon rushed on ahead, charging up its attack on Madolche Messengelato. "Photon Blast!"
Solarflare: 600 - 300 = 300
Vs
Pastrybee: 500 - 2200 = 0
[WINNER - Solarflare]
A scream tore through Pastrybee throat, sending her flying back and nearly falling off the floating world. The defeated Duelist quickly noticed the pull of gravity. Eyes shooting open. Facing a sea of never-ending blue and white. Quickly reacting, she activated her wings and looped around. Her body felt heavy after that last attack. The momentum used to get her back to the surface and grab the ledge. Soreness and pain shot her body, but she refused to wait. She pushed herself up. Getting back up and away from certain doom, Pastrybee collapse to her knees. A hand wrapping around her waist. Surely her wings were exhausted as well.
Solarflare seemed to have used the chance to flee. The Madolche Duelist hissed, slamming her fist into the ground. A curdling scream was threatening to break through her throat. Locked up tightly, she shut her eyes.
How would she face the others for this!?
Deep within the depth of the digital landscape was a prison. One locked behind many firewalls under the constant watch from the outside. A security camera in place to guard the coveted treasure.
Or a prisoner. Depending on how a person saw it.
It was like an operating table. One where something would be strapped down. A machine connected above to do whatever horrific desires the controller wished. But floating in the middle was a cage-like sphere of data. Something weakly lying in it. It barely had a form, other than slumped over, damaged to dangerous degrees. It was all alone, seemingly asleep inside.
A noise caught its attention, a bright blue eye of the grey form inside opened slowly. It was still injured but shifted at the noise. Something was appearing to break soon. Soon enough, Galaxy-Eyes Solarflare Dragon crashed through the last of the firewalls, stopping as it blasted away the security camera.
From its back, the Duelist Solarflare jumped down, off the dragon and immediately looked to the form encased in the sphere. He smirked a bit, raising one of his hands. Brightly colored orange and pink flames came to life. The flames than shot out, burning away the data of the cage. The form was released, only appearing as a raindrop with one functioning blue eye.
"There you are. You were quite troublesome to find." Solarflare stated, lowering his hand. Flames dying down as he did. "Now, why don't you be good and come back with me?"
The eye of the form narrowed. Clearly, it wasn't cooperating. This irritated the Duelist and his dragon. Both growling. The Duelist caught himself before his dragon stopped. Just as Solarflare stopped, the form suddenly bolted, shooting straight past both the dragon and duelist. B-lining straight to the exit.
The Duelist cursed, his dragon turning around. "Dammit! You're not getting away that easy!"
Arisu awoke in a cold sweat, jolting up from her bed. A scream suppressed as her mouth was covered. Heart racings. Short breathes. Her mind was spiraling with so many thoughts. Her eyes shut instantly. The pictures underneath starting to grow. A splintering headache and hallucinations. Hands shifted to covering her ears, digging into the skin. Trying to drown out the lingering screech of her mind from getting louder.
"...It's not real…" She kept repeating to herself, rocking back and forth, legs pulled to her chest.
Her vision around her started to flicker back and forth. Eyes barely open seeing a digital landscape. One where a shimmering dragon crashed through buildings. She shut her eyes again. Trying to will herself to not fall down the rabbit hole and give life to those hallucinations. They weren't real; none of that was real.
All the while, Arisu could feel the door in her room. Not truly feel, like underneath her fingertips. But having an acute awareness of her surroundings well enough to feel the draft. Beyond that door, her siblings were sleeping. Unaware of the episode currently striking the teenage girl. Oh, how she wished the tears would come faster and not be so hard to fucking cry. She just wanted this episode to end and go back to sleep.
Eyes drifted to the nightstand. One where her phone was lying with a notification. Wincing at the sudden pitch rise, Arish flinched. If she could play some music, it could work, right? Snatching the phone, she quickly scrolled and found some ambient noise of a running brook. Volume was put up high enough to drown out the pitch rise and she pulled herself back to bed.
She needed to go back to bed.
~ Next Time on ~
~ VRAINS - COMPENDIUM ~
After the Blue Angel incident and agreeing to assist Ghost Girl, Rosebud has found herself between rock and hard place. She finds herself all alone, unable to truly take a full break from the life of Link VRAINS. Suddenly, a Duelist named Nero suddenly issues a Duel against Rosebud, claiming that she is harboring an Ignis! How can that be the case?!
Find out in Episode 5 - By Demon's Wings
A chapter without Rosebud as the lead? Well - this is called "VRAINS - Compendium" after all. They are kind of the main four-ish characters. So I decided to focus on Pastrybee and her Madolche OTKs. And even though she lost, this chapter introduces the mysterious Duelist Solarflare using quite a familiar-ish Deck. That and this Chapter has allowed the next few chapters to nearly be complete. Just have to edit a few minor bits in those. So we won't have a long break between this and the next episode… hopefully.
Fun Facts
Since Pastrybee was the main focus of this chapter - even if she did lose in the end - I wanted to try and make it feel a bit different than when I'm writing to Rosebud. I'm thinking of doing this every few chapters; Rosebud will be the main focus. The other members may get their own chapters dedicated to their point of view.
This chapter wasn't already planned, but I needed to have some chapters with the other members of Compendium that didn't include Rosebud. Plus, I needed some more chapters with plot and not just filler. This chapter is meant to help fill out the story a bit. Since most of the good stuff won't be happening until a little later. Especially if people are waiting for Rosebud and Playmaker to properly meet.
And I'd like to that those who have recently followed/favorited this story: SakushiRyu, NevarSparda2099, and SoulMatter! If I forgot anyone, I'll try and make sure to mention you next time.
Now, that will be all for now. I'll try and make sure the next chapter is edited and ready to get post. Might be a week until I post it, just to comb through and fix any errors. Until then, I'm signing out!