What Makes Us Tick
Takuma hooked up his phone to the computer downloading the photo of Roxy. The boy frowned, thinking back to his meeting with her earlier that night. He promised to Roxy that he would try and find out where she came from and how to get her home, but the shameful truth was that he was doing all of that for himself. If she had a past life and wanted to go back to it, why would Evan recruit her? Unlike Roxy, he and Vermilya had no one else to trust, so they easily failed prey to the Greysons' manipulations and became their personal army.
Takuma turned on a chat, the mouse on the screen hovering over one of the usernames in his friend list. He could ask his allies to use Hanoi's resources and track down any information about Roxy that existed on the web, but he couldn't do it. If Hanoi found out the girl's real identity, they would go after her in the real world. He didn't want her safety to weight on his consciousness.
So instead, Takuma moved his mouse toward another account. Pressing the 'Call' Button, he leaned back waiting for the person on the other end to respond. Whenever Takuma had doubts, he would call that person for advice, it was something he trusted like a family, so he was sure they wouldn't betray him.
"Hey!" a female voice on the other end said energetically. "It's been a while since you called me, Takuma!" a loud pouting noise could be heard from the other end, after which the voice asked. "Is everything alright?"
"What kind of question is that?" Takuma asked back, leaning back into his chair. "I just remember that it's been a while since I got to talk with, so I'm calling to check how you're doing."
"Is that so?" the person on the other end sighed. "Well, I'm happy to hear that you care about how I'm doing. With my schedule as packed up as it is, it's good to hear a familiar voice every once in a while. How about you?"
"I'm… doing fine." Takuma said. "More importantly, Evan got himself a new apprentice, some young girl."
"He did?" the person asked, but from her tone, she wasn't surprised one bit by that information. "I should really come to visit Den City once, so many things have changed since I left."
"You got no idea." Too many things have changed since then. Takuma too had changed a great deal, no longer being the rebellious teen that gave Evan headaches during training sessions. "Vermilya will be happy to meet you again after so long."
"Will she?" the person asked. "You two were still just newbies when I got accepted into the Art Academy. I never got time to properly befriend her, sadly."
"More the reason to come back then." Takuma chuckled. "You can also get to befriend Evan's new recruit, she's a very kind type of person. You two will get along just fine."
Or would they? Would she and Roxy even have the chance to meet? If Takuma plan were to succeed, which he would make sure of, Roxy would be one of his victims as well – she will be reborn as a new being, a perfect new Roxy. Usually, that would be a good thing, but he knew that his friend was against such things, she would be disgusted and try to fight against him.
"I also got a photo of the midget if you want to take a look," Takuma told her and minimized the chat window before opening the folder containing the photo. Pressing a few options and… "There!"
"Aw, she's so cute!" the person on the other end exclaimed. "She looks so young as well! She reminds me of Sereny a bit."
"Wasn't that the name of another one of Evan's recruits?" Takuma questioned. He could swear that the name sounded familiar from somewhere.
"Yes, poor girl has gone through so much before Evan found her that she was constantly depressed and had nightmares almost every night." The person explained. "Evan and Avice's rough training broke her completely and she tried to commit suicide by drinking every pill she could get her hands onto. After they took her to the hospital Evan and Avice never spoke about Sereny again."
"I see…" Takuma muttered under his breath. If she never came back from the hospital, then it was most likely that she didn't make it. "I'm sorry for reminding you of this."
"It's not like I could ever forget it." The person said back. "Sereny's fate was the reason why I choose to look for a different future outside this forsaken city. Please, I know that you aren't in good relation with Evan, but make sure that this girl doesn't go down the same path that Sereny did."
"Don't worry, I won't."
Not Roxy or anyone else. Takuma would achieve his goal and open the doors toward a new world, a place where monsters like Kogami and Evan wouldn't be able to hurt innocent people for their own benefits. A place, so bright that even the all mighty devil crawling in the darkness known as his teacher wouldn't be able to reach.
"Thanks."
The phone symbol on Takuma's computer screen turned red and the window he had opened closed. Moving the mouse again, Takuma pressed another username and typed in a message.
There's something I need to check out. Could you hack into Den Hospital's files for me?
The next day, Picaro logged into Hanoi's server the next day. As usual, the place was empty, with all the low-level Knights being outside wrecking chaos across LINK VRAINS. During these last few days, the only users who logged inside this server were his teammates and the higher ranking members of Hanoi, such as Revolver, Specter, Kogami, and the three officers. But today, there was no one there.
"They aren't going to come today." A voice called.
Picaro turned around and held out his claws toward the intruder, only for the person to turn out to be Dr. Kogami himself. The old man looked down at the sharp claw pointing at him and dismissively pushed it aside before stepping past Picaro.
"I expected you to be out on the field with the others," Kogami admitted, a small smile appeared on his face. "But then again, you aren't Revolver. Unlike him, you don't allow emotions to cloud up your mind. That's the reason why you're here doing your job instead of out there trying to hunt down the duelists who beat you previously."
"It's useless to go after people I know are stronger than me," Picaro admitted. What was the point in challenging Evan to a duel when he would just lose again? Instead of charging head first, Picaro was going to take a note from his teacher's book and use other methods to clear his path.
"If you say so." Kogami turned back. "We're sadly losing men too quickly in LINK VRAINS. I heard that even Faust and Baira were defeat and their consciousness sent back to us. Sadly they were already purged when the person responsible for that sent the data back to us. Revolver and Specter are visiting their coffins."
"What does any of that have to do with me?" Picaro asked directly.
"As I said, Revolver's obsession with Playmaker makes him unpredictable. I can't trust his word that our mission is more important than his rematch, because of that I wanted to keep away from the front lines. Right now, you're the person I can trust the most. Because of that, I want you to go in LINK VRAINS and support the other Knights as much as you can. And if possible, deal with Playmaker."
"Just look at yourself." Picaro scolded the old man. "You do not even trust your own son. With that attitude, you're never going to win the Father of the Year award."
Frankly, talking with Kogami disgusted Picaro to no end. Every time the old man opened his mouth, the young duelist could see Evan in place of Kogami, they were so alike in their apathetic view toward the rest of humanity.
"But fine, I'll do your dirty job." Picaro then added. "But where's Nulline? I wasn't told that she would be offline today."
"She's already in LINK VRAINS supporting the other Knights," Kogami informed him.
As Kogami informed the dark knight about his ally's whereabouts, one of the screens in the room lightened up showing a panicked Knight of Hanoi.
"Where's Revolver-sama!?" The Knight shouted.
"What's going on?" Picaro demanded, ignoring the question.
"It's SOL!" The knight replied. "These sons of bitches sent an army of AI Duelists in LINK VRAINS! They are tearing through our units faster than we could react! I'm currently dueling one of them, tell Revolver to send back up imed-! Aaaaaaaaaaaahhh!"
The Knight screamed and the screen turned to static. The two men stared at the screen a few moments after the transmission ended, Kogami looked surprised by the turn of events while Picaro kept his stoic appearance. He knew that this would happen from the moment he got that report about the prototype units guarding the SOL's mother computer. He was just disappointed that it took so long for the company to send their army of exploitable puppets.
"How convenient," Picaro muttered and stretched out his claw, opening a portal in front of himself. "I'll take care of this pest."
Fixing others' messes was sort of what he was trained to do, but Picaro didn't add that part. Clenching his claw into a fist, the dark knight walked through the portal, closing it behind himself.
Meanwhile, Evan was sitting in his office, following the news outlets and LINK VRAINS' virtual cameras for updates on the situation in the servers. He was pleasantly surprised when the army of AIs swooped in and began to beat up the Knights of Hanoi, sending the incompetent army running with their tail between the legs. SOL finally deploying these artificial Duelists also meant that the population of LINK VRAINS must have dropped to critical levels, leaving close to no witnesses. It was the best time for this company to destroy their enemies, not that their plan would work out.
"Sir." A young woman with short pink hair and green eyes walked inside the office. "You've got a visitor. She said that her name was Aoi Zaizen; should I tell her to leave?"
"Aoi came to visit?" That was a surprise, it was just last night that he met her. If she had something important to say, she would have done so last night, so why did she visit his office today? "Tell her that she can come in."
"Understood." The secretary nodded and walked out. After a few seconds, the door opened again and this time Aoi walked in. The girl was still wearing her school uniform and had her school bag on, a sign which indicated that she came straight from school and hasn't gone home yet.
"Sorry for interrupting." She bowed apologetically.
"There's nothing to apologize about, you're not bothering me," Evan replied, then gestured toward one of the empty chairs. "Please have a seat."
Aoi nodded and took one of the chairs, pulling it over, then sat down across from Evan. The young man took a careful look at her. Aoi's eyes were looking down at his desk, avoiding eye contact, her hands were clenched into small fists and pressed together on top of her legs. All those were signs of nervousness.
"Is there a problem at school?" Evan asked her.
"No." Aoi shook her head. "I mean… It happened at school, but it wasn't related to school."
"Did somebody threaten you?" Evan asked again, this time his tone was much colder and threatening.
"N-no!" Aoi waved her arms in front of herself. "No one threatened, bullied, or insulted me!" Aoi looked back down and then continued. "It's just… Emma came to my school today and told me things… Things that made me angry at first, but then… I don't know what I really want to do with my life. I'm on a crossroad and need some guidance."
"So you came to the worst person for a piece of life advice?" Evan questioned her while rubbing his temper. Heck, even Roxy knew that asking him life advice was bad and she was the second most naïve person he has ever known!
"It's because you will understand me the best." implored Aoi.
"I've got a hard time believing this, but since you're here, I'm not going to kick you out." Grumbled Evan.
"Thanks!" Aoi beamed. "The problem I'm having is with my Blue Angel persona. You already know all about it, why I created it, but is there any points in keeping it now when my brother is finally starting to spend more time with me than at work?"
Evan remained silent, listening carefully to Aoi's story. He avoided commenting yet since there was more to the story. He should know, after all, he understood Aoi better than anyone else.
"At first Blue Angel was just a way for me to hide from the world. When I was her, I was more than 'Zaizen's younger sister', I felt like my own person, I was overjoyed with all the attention that my fans gave me, but lately, I realize that Blue Angel had a deeper meaning." Aoi paused for a moment, looking Evan in the eyes. "I wasn't liking only the attention that others gave me, I loved making them happy with my dueling. What should I do? If I take the mantle of Blue Angel again, it would cause my brother to worry about my safety, but there's also a void inside my chest without my alter ego…"
"You have already made your choice, haven't you?"
Aoi didn't come to Evan's office because she was lost. She had made her decision, but she didn't have enough self-esteem to stand up for herself. That was why Aoi came to him instead of talking with her brother, she knew that Evan would tell her to keep doing what she enjoys, effectively placing all of the blame on him and not her.
"You want me to say become Blue Angel again and then take the blame when your brother learns." Evan clarified. "I'm sorry Aoi, but I can't help you this time. You must face the path that you've chosen, and take responsibility for it."
"It's easy for you to say that!" Aoi cried out.
"It's easy for you too." Evan retorted. The adult stood up and pointed at Aoi's Duel Disk. "I was there watching you grow up as a duelist. I knew you good enough to realize that Blue Angel was your way to rebel against Akira when you were younger, so what changed now? You still want to rebel against him, but you don't want him to think that you're an immature child?"
Aoi lowered her head. She didn't expect Evan to scold her. As she sat there and listened to him, she felt all sort of emotions run through her heart, from anger and annoyance to sadness and disappointment. She knew that he was right, but her rebellious teenager-self wouldn't admit it.
"Here's what I can tell you, Aoi." Evan continued. "Akira won't stop thinking that you're an immature child if you need other people to tell you what decisions to make. If you want to make him see you as a grown-up and treat you as such, then make your own choice and stick to your guns."
There was no other way about it. To be an adult meant to be mature, and Aoi's current behavior was that of a spoiled child – which she was, but Evan wouldn't go as far as to insult her that way. He leaned onto the side of his table and looked at the girl, waiting for her response.
"Hah," A weak laugh escaped the girl's lips. She raised one of her arms and used it to wipe away the tears that Evan couldn't see, then looked at him. "Of course you would respond like that. When I was young, you were the one who came up to me and offered to teach me how to duel. My Trickstar deck was a gift that you gave me when I told you my idea for Blue Angel. Back then I thought you gave me the deck just because of the idol theme, but there was more to it, wasn't it?"
"Even when you were a child you always sulked because Akiza didn't give you enough attention." Evan smiled, remembering those times. "You were always a rebellious and stubborn girl, a trickster who caused much trouble for me."
"Then, can I request something from you?" Aoi asked.
"What is it?"
"I would feel more confident if you were with me when Akira gets angry," Aoi stated.
"Stupid girl," Evan chuckled. "You said it yourself: The thing that was missing wasn't the attention, but the happiness that Blue Angel gave to the public. If you're doing it to help other people, then your brother's going to be proud with you."
"Do you think so?" Aoi tilted her head. Akira had always been so strict and overprotecting, she couldn't imagine him telling her to keep being Blue Angel.
"Your brother wanted you to become a good person." Evan put a hand on the girl's shoulder and smiled at her. "What better can you do than to stand up for those too weak to stand up for themselves? Protecting people from Hanoi… Yes, he'll be angry and worried that you're putting your life in danger, any brother would react that way, but he'll also be proud to see you taking a stand against evil. Every good brother wants to see their little sister becoming a hero."
Aoi took Evan's hand into her own and smiled back. She trusted his words; he was a brother as well.
"Hey, Evan!" A voice called out.
The two duelists let go of one another and Evan walked back behind his desk, looking at the computer screen with Blaze Rose on it.
"What's the situation in VRAINS?" Evan asked.
"It was good a few moments ago!" Blaze Rose shouted back, then quickly ducked, avoiding an AI's body that flew over her head. "The AI Duelist were able to eliminate most Knights of Hanoi, but Picaro then showed up and turned things around! He's cutting through the AI army like it was made from paper!"
"So he finally showed up."
Evan's been waiting for that. The timing could be better, with LINK VRAINS turned into a graveyard for the victims of Hanoi's attack, there wouldn't be anyone to get between him and Picaro. The two could finally face each other one on one.
"Avoid contact with him or any other dangerous form until I come," Evan warned Blaze Rose. He turned off the screen and took his deck from one of the shelves behind him and put it on.
"Are we going?" Aoi asked.
Evan glanced at the girl. She was seriously going to fight against the Knights of Hanoi? He felt that Akira would tear off his head for allowing her to participate, but Aoi was a part of his plans, he needed for her to grow stronger.
"Only if you're sure that you won't be too slow," Evan smirked.
"You're the older one here." Aoi reminded him.
The two duelists raised their Duel Disk and shouted. "Into the Vrains!" A set of purple and blue light engulfed the room for a few moments before dying down.
Evan and Aoi entered their personal cyberspaces and several circles surrounded each of them, with the former's rings being primarily purple, while the latter's were primarily blue colored. A black suit formed around Evan's body, his hair turned black with purple highlights and a large cat-hood formed over his head. Aoi transformed into her idol outfit, then a pair of wings grew behind her and her hair turned blue. The two duelists turned into energy and shot off, reappearing on top a skyscraper.
PhantomFire took a step forward and looked over the edge. It was just the way Blaze Rose described it, AI Duelists flew at all sides as Picaro tore through their formations, taking them down one after another.
"I take it that you'll want to duel him." Blue Angel commented.
"He was once my student," PhantomFire admitted. "He's on a higher level than Playmaker, you won't be able to fight against him."
"Is that so?" Blue Angel crossed her arms. She hated being called weak, but she was going to let that one slide because she knew how strong Evan was. If he was worried about Picaro's strength, then this was a powerful enemy.
"Look out!"
"Hu-!"
Blue Angel opened her mouth to say something, when PhantomFire pulled her toward him, effectively moving the idol out of a flying AI's way. The artificial Duelist slammed into the side of the building, exploding into pieces of code that then processed to fade away.
"What was that!?" Blue Angel gasped.
"It was her." PhantomFire pointed toward the third duelist that was with them.
"'Her' has a name, and it's Nulline." The Knight of Hanoi introduced herself, arms crossed while she stood on top of D-Board, a few feet away from her next target.
"I take it you're at least a third rate duelist," PhantomFire muttered. "That's how good you need to be to beat these fourth-rate AIs."
"My rate isn't of importance for you, sir." Nulline shook her finger at the male. "I'm not here for you, my enemy is Blue Angel!"
"Blue Angel?"
"Me?"
PhantomFire and Blue Angel looked at each other then back at the Knight of Hanoi in front of them. They could only guess that this one had some form of grudge against Aoi, maybe an angry fan, or a ruined Charisma Duelist. PhantomFire didn't have information about Nulline's dueling style, so he had no way to tell if she was too strong for Blue Angel to handle on her own.
"That's right, you!" Nulline shouted, pointing at her target. "I've got a grudge to settle with you, Blue Bitch!"
"Did Hanoi turn off the profanity filter as well?" PhantomFire tapped his Duel Disk.
"Just go after your target." Blue Angel patted her friend on the back and smiled confidently. "I'll deal with this on my own, trust me."
PhantomFire wasn't so sure about it. Blue Angel's deck was very famous, duelist would have come up with counter-strategies. Out of all the duelists who fought against Hanoi, famous Charisma Duelists were the easiest to defeat, simply for how famous their decks and playstyles were.
That didn't stop him from leaving. He had to reach Picaro before anyone else did!
"Now it's just the two of us." Blue Angel stepped forward.
"You accepted as I expected." Nulline grinned and turned around. "Follow me!"
Nulline accelerated forward, flying through the data stream. Blue Angel looked after her opponent unimpressed. She jumped off the rooftop and landed on her own D-Board, following after her opponent.
"So, what exactly are you?" Blue Angel asked. "You definitely aren't a fan."
"I'm an avenger that came to impose justice!" Nulline pointed at the idol. "You're too blind to realize how much pain and suffering your existence has caused to anyone who came close to you!"
"I don't understand what you're saying," Blue Angel admitted. "What have I done to you?"
"Here's one word for you: Miyu," Nulline said.
"Miyu?!" Blue Angel moved back, her eyes wide. "What's your connection to her?"
"Duel and you might find out!" Nulline replied.
"I don't have a choice," Blue Angel sighed. "I'll accept your challenge, but you'll tell me everything you know about Miyu!"
"Speed Duel!" the girls shouted, activating their Duel Disks.
『Blue Angel LP: 4000, Hand: 4 (VS) Nulline LP: 4000, Hand: 4』
"I'll start this!" Nulline exclaimed, pressing a card in her hand. "I Summoned Lonefire Blossom (Lv.3, ATK: 500), then I release it in order to Special Summon Aromage Bergamot (Lv.6, ATK: 2400) from my deck!" A small yellow plant appeared on Nulline's field, then immediately exploded, and a female magician-like monster in red robes appeared to take its place.
"Aromage?" Blue Angel narrowed her eyes. "Even your deck is the complete opposite of mine…"
"I'm your antithesis!" Nulline declared proudly. "If you use a deck that focuses on burn damage, I'll use a deck that focuses on healing! Now I'm going to set a card and end my turn."
"It's my turn then." Blue Angel muttered under her breath, taking another card from her deck. "Draw!"
『Turn 2 [Blue Angel] LP: 4000, Hand: 5』
"I'm going to start by Normal Summoning Trickstar Candina (Lv.4, ATK: 1800)!" the young idol monster appeared on Blue Angel's field in a yellow dress. "When Candina is summoned, I can add a Trickstar card from my deck to the hand, I choose Trickstar Lycoris and by returning Candina to my hand, I'm going to bring Lycoris out on my field!"
The yellow fairy was replaced by a red one with 1200 Defense Points.
"Next I activate Trickstar Vision! With this spell, I can Special Summon Trickstar Nightshade (Lv.1, ATK: 100) from my hand with its effects negated, then we both draw a card!"
"Using Vision to trigger Lycoris' effect on your own turn I see," Nulline muttered, drawing another card.
"You know me, don't you?" Blue Angel clicked her fingers and Lycoris fired a small needle at Nulline, hitting her in the shoulder.
『Nulline LP: 4000 - 200 → 3800』
"Come out! The circuit of dreams and hope!" the Link Square formed over Blue Angel. "Arrowhead confirmed! The summoning condition is one Level Two or lower Trickstar monster! I set Trickstar Nightshade in the Link Marker! Link Summon! Trickstar Bloom (ATK: 100, Link-1)!"
A young idol in a green dress appeared in the right Extra Monster Zone and smiled.
"Now I'm going to activate two effects! First, when Trickstar Bloom is Link Summoned, you draw a card, and when Nightshade is used as Link Material, she revives from my Graveyard." The small idol appeared before Blue Angel again while Nulline was forced to draw another card. "Now Lycoris' effect will deal two hundred points of damage to you!"
『Nulline LP: 3800 - 200 → 3600』
"Your poking is getting really annoying!" Nulline shouted back.
"Then you won't like this!" Blue Angel replied, pressing another card in her hand. "When you take effect damage, I can Special Summon Trickstar Narkissus (Lv.4, DEF: 1800) from my hand!" Another idol, this time wearing a mostly white and yellow outfit appeared, joining her teammates.
"Managing to summon four monsters while keeping three cards in your hand, you're not the second best Charisma Duelist for nothing." Nulline narrowed her eyes. "But your effect damage is nothing before my healing power!"
"Let's put that to the test! Open again, the circuit of dreams and hope!" A second square opened over Blue Angel's head. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning condition are two Trickstar Monsters! I set Nightshade and Bloom in the Link Markers! Link Summon! Trickstar Holly Angel (ATK: 2000, Link-2)!"
Blue Angel's staple Link Monster appeared on the field. Blue Angel looked at the remaining cards in her hand and pressed one of them, setting it on her field. "I set a card facedown and end my turn!"
"Then it's going to be my turn!" Nulline declared, drawing another card from her deck.
『Turn 3 [Nulline] LP: 3600, Hand: 5』
"Now Lycoris' effect activates!" Blue Angel interrupted. "Since a card was added to your hand, you take two hundred points of damage!"
『Nulline LP: 3600 - 200 → 3400』
"When you take damage because of a Trickstar's effect, Holly Angel gains that much attack points!" Blue Angel gestured toward her ace.
Trickstar Holly Angel, ATK: 2000 + 200 → 2200
"Next I activate my Trap Card - Trickstar Reincarnation, to banish all cards in your hand and force you to draw a new one!" Blue Angel's set card turned face-up and fired a bolt of lightning that stroke Nulline's cards and forced her to draw five new ones. "Next, Lycoris' effect will inflict two hundred damage for each card added to your hand!"
Five more golden needles shot out, piercing through Nulline's avatar. The duelist winched but stood her ground despite the damage she suffered.
『Nulline LP: 3400 – 200*5 → 2400』
Trickstar Holly Angel, ATK: 2200 + 200*5 → 3200
"Has anyone told you how annoying you're?" Nulline gritted her teeth. "But now that your tricks are finished, I'm going to Normal Summon Evil Thorn (Lv.1, ATK: 100), then I release it to inflict three hundred points of damage to you!"
The plant suddenly exploded and fired thorns at Blue Angel. The idol instinctively covered her eyes with her arms, as the sharp objects flew past, cutting her arms.
『Blue Angel LP: 4000 - 300 → 3700』
"Uh, what happened with healing over attacking?" Blue Angel asked.
"When Evil Thorn's effect resolves, two copies of it can be Special Summoned, but at the cost of being unable to use their effects." Two more thorns appeared before Nulline all in Attack Position. "Since you brought out your own ace, I'm going to do the same with mine! Appear, the circuit that heals all pain!"
A square appeared over Nulline's head. "Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning requirements are two Plant monsters! I set my two Evil Thorn in the Link Markers! Link Summon! Aromaseraphy Jasmine (ATK: 1800, Link-2)!" A small fairy in a blue and purple outfit appeared out of the square and flew before Nulline.
"Now I activate my Trap Card, Side Effects!" the card that Nulline set on her previous turn turned face-up. "You choose to draw one, two or three cards from your deck and for every card you draw, I gain a thousand Life Points!"
"Then I'll draw just one card!" Blue Angel retorted, drawing a single card from her deck.
"Due to Side Effects, I'll now gain a thousand Life Points!" Nulline raised her arms and a blue aura surrounded her, healing all of her damage.
『Nulline LP: 2400 + 1000 → 3400』
"Aromage Bergamot's effect now triggers! When I gain Life Points, she gains a thousand attack and defense points until the end of the turn!" The Level 6 plant pointed her wand at the sky, unleashing a red light that made her stronger.
Aromage Bergamot, ATK: 2400 + 1000 → 3400, DEF: 1800 + 1000 → 2800
"I set two cards. Now, let's battle, Blue Angel!" Nulline turned back and gestured for her monsters to attack. "I'll attack Trickstar Holly Angel with Bergamot!"
The monster unleashed a cyclone of red flowers that caught Blue Angel's Link Monster. Holly Angel cried out as it shattered and Blue Angel's Life Points dropped.
『Blue Angel LP: 3700 - 200 → 3500』
"Now Aromaseraphy Jasmine attacks Trickstar Lycoris!" the Link Monster summoned a whirlwind of purple flowers that trapped the idol inside and suffocated her.
'She destroyed two of my monster important monsters while also catching up to me in Life Points.' Blue Angel thought, looking at her opponent. 'I shouldn't drop my guard against her.'
"During the end of my turn, Bergamot's attack returns to normal." The plant Spellcaster lowered her wand.
Aromage Bergamot, ATK: 3400 - 1000 → 2400, DEF: 2800 - 1000 → 1800
"It's my turn, now." Blue Angel looked down at her Duel Disk. "Draw!"
『Turn 4 [Blue Angel] LP: 3500, Hand: 4』
"I'm going to Normal Summoning Trickstar Candina (Lv.4, ATK: 1800)!" the fairy appeared on Blue Angel's field once again. "When Candina is summoned, I can add a Trickstar card from my deck to the hand, I choose Trickstar Light Stage and then activate it! Light Stage's effect adds another Trickstar monster from the deck to my hand, I choose Trickstar Lilybell and Special Summon her through her own effect!" A young idol carrying a large bell as a weapon appeared on the field.
"Three more monsters?" Nulline raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to Link Summon again?"
"You guessed it!" Blue Angel threw her arms forward. "This time, I'm going to call out one of my stronger monsters! Open! The circuit of dreams and hope!" The square opened behind Blue Angel's back. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning condition are two at least two Fairy monsters! I set Narkissus, Candina, and Lilybell in the Link Markers! Link Summon! Trickstar Foxy Witch (ATK: 2200, Link-3)!" A new Trickstar monster wearing a pink magician outfit appeared.
"Link Three?" Nulline narrowed her eyes. "That's the first time I see you play a monster like this."
"An Idol must always keep a trick or two as secrets!" Blue Angel exclaimed and gestured toward Foxy Witch. "My new Trickstar's effect activates! When it's Special Summoned, I can inflict two hundred points of damage to you for each card you control! With four cards on the field, that's a total of eight hundred points of damage!"
Foxy Witch pointed her wand at Nulline and fired a ball of white magic, knocking the Knight of Hanoi backward.
『Nulline LP: 3400 - 800 → 2600』
"Then Light Stage's effect inflicts two hundred more damage to you!" Blue Angel continued.
『Nulline LP: 2600 - 200 → 2400』
"Next I banish Trickstar Reincarnation from my grave to revive Trickstar Lilybell (Lv.2, ATK: 800)!" The tiny fairy raised from the grave once more to join the idol's side.
"I set a card, then I activate Light Stage's effect to seal your left set card until the end of the turn." Blue Angel flew past Nulline and turned back to face her. "Battle! I attack you directly with Trickstar Lilybell!" the young idol flew forward and slammed Nulline with the bell.
『Nulline LP: 2400 - 800 → 1600』
"And don't forget that due to Light Stage's effect, you take two hundred damage every time a Trickstar hurts you!" Nulline bit her lip as more pain was inflicted onto her avatar.
『Nulline LP: 1600 - 200 → 1400』
"Since Lilybell inflicted damage to you, I can return Trickstar Lycoris back into my hand." A card metalized in front of Blue Angel and she took hold of it. "And now, Foxy Witch attack Aromage Bergamot!"
"What!?" Nulline gasped. She then narrowed her eyes. "What are you planning to do?"
"Nothing!" Blue Angel smirked. Foxy Witch tried to fire an orb of light magic at Aromage, but the plant monster countered with a whirlwind of red flowers that, first made the Trickstar Lose balance, then threw it into a building, destroying her.
『Blue Angel LP: 3500 - 200 → 3300』
"Since Foxy Witch was destroyed by battle, her effect activates! I Special Summon Trickstar Black Catbat (ATK: 2000, Link-2)!" The new Link monster wearing a provocative black outfit formed on Blue Angel's field and winked. "If a monster is successfully summoned by this effect, you take two hundred damage for each card on your field!"
Nulline gasped, falling down on her knees. Her avatar was glitching from the damage she took.
『Nulline LP: 1400 - 800 → 600』
"Light Stage's effect inflicts two hundred more damage!" Nulline yelped, her Life Points dropping further.
『Nulline LP: 600 - 200 → 400』
"Now tell me how you know Miyu!" Blue Angel demanded. "Your Life Points are at four hundred if I attack Aromaseraphy Jasmine with Black Catbat, and with some help from Light Stage, you'll lose the rest of your remaining Life Points!"
"Heh, trying to threaten me with death are you?" Nulline chuckled, then raised her head to face the idol. "Some angel you are."
"You don't have much of a choice." Blue Angel narrowed her eyes.
"I don't need one!" Nulline yelled. "I won't fall before you. But since you're so curious, I'm going to tell you. Miyu is my friend!" The Knight of Hanoi clenched her hand into a fist and continued. "Despite us being friends, she would always bring up the name of a girl, someone called Aoi Zaizen. She was always so sad when she spoke about her, feeling sorry about what has happened in the past."
Blue Angel stared solemnly, listening intently to Nulline's story.
"Miyu wanted nothing more than to meet with her and apologize for what happened." Nulline continued. "She was so obsessed with the idea, that she began to wear her hair into pigtails as a note to that girl. She suffered so much because of that. Her desire to meet Aoi got her kidnapped for six whole months when she was still young! She had to suffer so much, and the trauma, the trauma from that incident never fully faded away either."
"Miyu got kidnapped because of me…" Blue Angel lowered her head. She didn't want to believe it! She didn't want to think that such awful things could happen to the innocent young girl she used to play with when they were only six.
"She went through so much pain that I just couldn't watch her anymore." Nulline closed her eyes. "I tried to find that Aoi girl for Miyu, reunite them. That was when I found out about you, Blue Angel. Despite all that Miyu went through, you were unharmed, happy while masquerading as a hero from Miyu's favorite book! It wasn't fair… IT WASN'T FAIR FOR YOU TO LIVE A HAPPY CARELESS LIFE WHILE MIYU SUFFERED!"
"I never forgot about Miyu!" Blue Angel called back. "I too, felt great pain when we were separated. I always wanted to meet with her again, but I never had the chance to do so…"
"Lies!" Nulline shouted back. "If I was able to find you, then with all of the connections your brother had, you should have been able to find Miyu as well!"
"Life isn't so simple." Blue Angel tried to reason. "It's true, I should have done something to find her, but there was nothing I could do back then. When I could I… I didn't try to use the resources to look for her because I believed that she had a happy life and didn't need me. If I knew, I would have…"
"That doesn't matter anymore!" Nulline yelled and grabbed her head. "It's too late for me to forgive, so let's end this!"
"I'm sorry then." Blue Angel sighed and threw her arm forward. "I'll make sure to save you when the Knights of Hanoi are defeated. Battle! Black Catbat attack Aromaseraphy Jasmine!"
"I'm not going to lose to you, Blue Angel!" Nulline raised her arm, the lines on her body glowing bright green. "I activate my Skill, Aroma Medicine! I discard Aromaseraphy Angelica from my hand to look at the top four cards of my deck, then I'm going to send Aromage Cananga to the Graveyard and gain Life Points equal to its attack, while also giving Cananga's attack points to Aromaseraphy Jasmine until the end of this turn!"
Aromage Cananga's spirit appeared above Nulline and casted a spell to make flowers drop on top of the duelist while her Life Points going a huge boost as well.
『Nulline LP: 400 + 1400 → 1800』
Aromaseraphy Jasmine, ATK: 1800 + 1400 → 3200
"And now the effects of both my Jasmine and Aromage Bergamot shall activate! First, due to Jasmine's effect, I add Eco, Mythical Spirit of the Forest from my deck to the hand, then Bergamot gains a thousand attack and defense points!"
Aromage Bergamot, ATK: 2400 + 1000 → 3400, DEF: 1800 + 1000 → 2800
Blue Angel bit her lip. Now Aromaseraphy Jasmine had more attack points and she couldn't stop Black Catbat's attack. The Trickstar monster charged forward, swinging her staff at the Aroma monster, only for the small fairy to summon a white whirlwind and slam Catbat against the street, destroying the idol monster.
『Blue Angel LP: 3300 - 1200 → 2100』
'She turned the duel around!' Blue Angel narrowed her eyes. In just a moment Nulline was able to recover her Life Points, destroying Blue Angel's Link Monster, inflict a serious amount of damage and even searched a card!
While Blue Angel was fighting fiercely against Nulline, PhantomFire rode around on his D-Board, looking out for Picaro. The city was quiet, most forces on both sides were already defeated, only a small set of survivors remained. And his target has finally revealed himself, riding between the buildings, Picaro grabbed one of the AIs by surprise and tore it in half using his claws.
"Picaro!"
"You're finally here I see," Picaro smirked and turned to see the person who approached him. "I was wondering where you were, Playmaker."
Wait, what?
"What are you doing here, Playmaker?" PhantomFire flew in and moved between the two duelists.
"I've been looking for the creator of the Another Virus." Playmaker replied. "Although I didn't get any solid leads, he's among the last Hanoi remaining in LINK VRAINS, so I'll take him down."
"Picaro is my responsibility!" an irked PhantomFire responded. "If you want to be useful, go find Revolver!"
"Come on now, don't say that after he came in LINK VRAINS just for me." Picaro shook his head. "I know how much you love me, but couldn't you share for once?"
"Defeat the Knights of Hanoi is my responsibility!" Playmaker argued back. "I don't care what problem you have with him, but don't get in the way of my revenge."
"Don't get over yourself, brat." PhantomFire narrowed his eyes. "Between you and me, it's your quest of revenge that's petty. Go find yourself a therapist and let the grown-ups do their stuff."
"Aw, is PhantomFire trying to scold little baby Playmaker?" Picaro kept taunting the two duelists. "But seriously, why do you care so much about Playmaker? It's not like you need him for your plans, right?"
"Are we really going to fight among ourselves instead with the enemy?" Playmaker sighed.
"Don't worry, I've got a way to deal with it." Picaro reached out with his claw and opened it, firing a red blast of data at PhantomFire's D-Board. The impact caused a small explosion to the back of the throne, and the D-Board plunged toward the empty streets below.
"Hey, hey!" Ai showed up from the Duel Disk and looked down. "Isn't that dangerous, Playmaker? Playmaker?"
Ai looked up, its origin was staring at Picaro, unfazed by the latter's actions. The Knight of Hanoi chuckled to himself and clicked with his fingers. Immediately, two corrupted AI Duelists flew past him and charged for PhantomFire's D-Board.
"This would be enough to keep the old man busy for a few moments," Picaro stated and turned back toward the Cyberse Duelist. "It's finally the time for our rematch, Playmaker? Do you remember how this duel went the last time?"
"I do." Playmaker nodded. "Proxy defeated you."
"Tch," Picaro clicked his tongue and turned his back to Playmaker. "Is that really the part that impressed you the most? Well, whatever, I was just trying to test your skills back then, so I wasn't serious when I dueled you last time. But now… I've got to fulfill an order from Dr. Kogami himself."
"Kogami is dead." Playmaker pointed out.
"Are you really believing the official stances?" Picaro shook his head in disappointment. "What a disappointment, I thought that you would be smarter than that. Kogami is still very alive and active. Who do you think created the Knights of Hanoi? Why do you think he created them?"
"Hanoi's purpose is of no interest for me." Playmaker replied. "But if Kogami really is alive, then I'll find him and make him pay for his crimes! I'll avenge the victims of his experiments!"
"Be my guess then." Picaro raised his claw and two green lines appeared on its sides, glowing brightly. "But before you reach Kogami, you'll have to go through me, and that just isn't going to happen!"
"So be it." Playmaker said back.
The wind became strong, a Data Storm tearing through the empty city. The two duelists looked at each other and then they shot down the street.
"Speed Duel!"
『Playmaker LP: 4000, Hand: 4 (VS) Picaro LP: 4000, Hand: 4』
"Playmaker! I'll show you how helpless you truly are with one single move!" Picaro declared proudly and took a card from his hand, playing it on his Duel Disk. "I Normal Summon TurboGear Sound Runner!"
A small green robot with three wheels appeared on Picaro's field. The machine had a blue optic on top of its body and three tailpipes on its back.
TurboGear Sound Runner
Level: 1/Attribute: WIND/Type: Machine/Tuner/Effect
ATK: 0/DEF: 0
Effect: If this card is added to your hand by a card effect: You can Special Summon it. You can only use this effect of "TurboGear Sound Runner" once per turn. Your opponent takes any damage from battles involving this card. If this card is destroyed, you can send 1 monster your opponent controls to the GY.
"Due to Sound Runner's effect, you will take any damage from battles involving it and if you destroy it, I can send a monster you control to the grave. How are you going to avoid this monster, Playmaker?" Picaro asked.
"Huh? He left a weak monster on his field as a bait." Ai crossed its arms. "He wants us to attack into it and suffer damage, right?"
"That's obvious." Playmaker nodded. "So it's most likely not his real strategy. It's my turn, draw!"
『Turn 2 [Playmaker] LP: 4000, Hand: 5』
"I Normal Summon Balancer Lord (Lv.4, ATK: 1700) and activate its effect! I pay a thousand Life Points to gain another Normal Summon this turn!" The lines on Balancer Lord's body glowed, draining a part of Playmaker's Life Points.
『Playmaker LP: 4000 - 1000 → 3000』
"I Normal Summon Prompthorn (Lv.1, ATK: 200)." A small white and blue bunny with black robotic parts and red lines running through it appeared on Playmaker's field. "Prompthorn's effect activates! I release Balancer Lord to Special Summon Digitron (Lv.2, ATK: 1500) and Bitron (Lv.2, DEF: 2000) from my deck!"
The cyberse knight disappeared and two different white drone-like monsters appeared in its place.
"Appear, the circuit that leads to the future!" A Link Square opened in front of Playmaker. "Arrowhead confirmed! Summoning condition is one Normal Monster. I set Bitron in the Link Marker! Link Summon! Link Spider (ATK: 1000, Link-1)!" the black and blue digital spider came out of the square and raced beside Playmaker.
"What are you going to do, Playmaker?" Ai tilted its head.
"Link Spider's effect lets me Special Summon Bitron (Lv.2, DEF: 2000) from my hand!" A second copy of Playmaker's defensive drone appeared on the field. "Again! Appear the circuit that leads to the future!"
"Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning conditions are two monsters. I set Digitron and Bitron in the Link Markers! Link Summon! Security Dragon (ATK: 1100, Link-2)!" A small drone with red circles appeared below Link Spider's link.
"I'll get rid of your monster right now!" Playmaker declared. "Security Dragon's effect activates! Once per turn, if it's co-linked, I can return a monster you control to the hand. Sound Runner goes back to the hand!"
Security Dragon roared and fired a bolt of red lightning at Sound Runner, trapping the monster before teleporting it back into Picaro's hand.
"Bye, bye." Ai waved at the monster. "Now there's nothing stopping Playmaker from putting some huge damage on board!"
"Are you sure?" Picaro asked back and held up Sound Runner. "I activate Sound Runner's effect! When it's added to my hand, I can Special Summon it!" The green robot appeared on Picaro's field again.
"Um, what are you going to do now, Playmaker?" Ai turned toward his partner.
"I'll Special Summon Backup Secretary (Lv.3, ATK: 1200)." The female monster flew beside Playmaker's other monsters. "Appear for the third time, the circuit that leads to the future!" Another square appeared above Playmaker. "Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning conditions are two or more monsters. I set Backup Secretary, Prompthorn and the Link Two Security Dragon in the Link Markers! Link Summon! Link Four, Firewall Dragon (ATK: 2500, Link-4)!"
"So, Firewall Dragon, huh?" Picaro looked over the beast. "That's not a monster that you summon a lot, is it?"
"I activate Firewall Dragon's effect!" Playmaker ignored his opponent. "For every monster co-linked to it, Firewall Dragon returns a monster on the field to the hand! Since only Link Spider's co-linked, I return Sound Runner to your hand! Emergency Escape!"
The dragon unleashed a bolt of blue lightning from its head that zapped Picaro's monster back to the hand. The Knight of Hanoi looked at his cards and then at Firewall Dragon, waiting for Playmaker's next move.
"Battle! Firewall Dragon attack the opponent directly! Tempest Attack!" Firewall's lines turned from blue to red and it fired a red beam from its mouth that hit Picaro.
Or so it should have.
"When there are no cards on my field, I can discard a monster to activate this Trap from my hand! Link Lock!" Picaro discarded Sound Runner and a trap showing Decode Talker being restrained by red chains with link arrows on their ends appeared in front of him, blocking Firewall's attack. "When this card is activated, it's equipped to a Link Monster on your field, negates it effect and takes away its ability to attack!"
Link Lock (Trap) Normal
Target 1 Link Monster that your opponent controls: Equip this card to it. While this card is equipped to a monster, its effects are negated, also it cannot attack. Once per turn: You can Special Summon a "TurboGear Token" (Machine/WIND/Level 1/ATK 0/DEF 0) for every 800 ATK points the equipped monster has. If you control no cards: You can activate this card from your hand.
The same red chains shot out of the trap and tied around Firewall Dragon's body and wings, locking it in place.
"Firewall Dragon was…!" Ai gasped.
"I have already predicted that you would try to use Firewall in order to get rid of my monster, Playmaker!" Picaro declared. "All of your strategies are second rate, so there's no way I would ever lose to the likes of you!"
Playmaker looked at Firewall Dragon and narrowed his eyes. "I'll attack you directly with Link Spider!" The Link 1 monster charged forward and slammed into Picaro, knocking him back.
『Picaro LP: 4000 - 1000 → 3000』
"Now our Life Points are tied!" Ai cheered.
"Don't think that this will change anything." Picaro shook his head. "Playmaker, you think that the pain you suffered during the Lost Incident, the nightmares and trauma, is giving you the strength to keep going. But that rage burning inside your soul is shallow! All that you fight for is miserable revenge, but what after? What will happen after the Knights of Hanoi are defeated? Nothing! Your victory won't mean anything, it will be just a pointless achievement to pat yourself on the shoulder with."
"Don't talk like you know anything!" Playmaker shouted back at his opponent. "Don't ever dare to say that the pain we, the victims of the Lost Incident, suffered meant nothing!"
"You say that because you can't stand listening to the truth!" Picaro clenched his human hand into a fist. "I'll show you how vulnerable you truly are, Playmaker! My turn, draw!"
『Turn 3 [Picaro] LP: 3000, Hand: 3』
"First, I'll activate Link Lock's other effect!" the chains around Firewall glowed, causing the beast to screech in pain. "For every eight hundred points of attacks it has, a TurboGear Token is summoned on my field!"
Three small robots made of three gears with a green armored plate on their backs appeared on Picaro's field.
"Appear, the circuit of heaven's wind!" Picaro drew a triangle with his claw, which then turned into a circuit made of metal plates placed into a square with eight laps attached to the sides. "Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning requirements are at least two WIND Machine monsters! I set two TurboGear Tokens, in the Link Markers! Link Summon! TurboGear Track Marshal!"
A large and bulky monster appeared from inside the Link Square. The machine was covered in red metal plating, long square-shaped head jutting over its body with six lines acting as its eyes. Its arms and legs were chubby with tank track links on the outside of its feet. In its left hand, the monster carried a large sledgehammer with a jet engine in place of a head.
TurboGear Track Marshal
Attribute: WIND/Type: Machine/Link/Effect
L-Markers: Bottom-Left, Top
ATK: 800/Link-2
2 WIND Machine monsters
Effect: This Link Summoned card cannot be targeted for attacks or with card effects while it's linked to a monster. Once per turn, before damage calculation, if your monster this card points to battles an opponent's monster with equal or higher ATK than it: You can make that monster unable to be destroyed by that battle. After the damage calculation, if you took any damage from that battle, destroy the opponent monster that battled.
"Next I'm going to release my last TurboGear Token to Tribute Summon this card! Come forth, TurboGear Sprinter!" A green robotic horse with three yellow optics on its face and six legs appeared on the field. The monster carried an engine in its belly and had a tailpipe in place of a tail.
TurboGear Sprinter
Level: 5/Attribute: WIND/Type: Machine/Effect
ATK: 0/DEF: 1000
Effect: When this card is Normal Summoned: You can target 1 "Turbo" Tuner Monster in your GY; Special Summon that target with its effects negated.
"Sprinter's effect activates! I revive Sound Runner from my graveyard!" A black portal opened in front of Picaro and the Level 1 monster raised out of it. "Next I tune the Level Five TurboGear Sprinter to the Level One TurboGear Sound Runner! Synchro Summon! TurboGear Warrior (Lv.6, ATK: 2500)!"
The monsters dissipate into energy, which then reforms into two sets of rings. One of the top being red in color whilst the other five below it, were green. Afterward, they changed to a dark green color before merging together into a thin ring, forming a tunnel formation that rotated counter-clockwise.
"A Synchro monster!?" Ai's eyes widened. "He's like the Knight of Hanoi from SOL's Data Bank."
"You'll find me to be more dangerous than him!" Picaro retorted. "I set a card, now let's battle! I attack Firewall Dragon with TurboGear Warrior! Accelerated Crash!" The warrior charged forward and stabbed Firewall Dragon with its claws. The dragon began to thrash around in pain and opened its mouth to counter.
"Hey, hey." Ai crossed its arms. "If you attack a monster with an equally strong monster, they will just destroy each other, meaning that you'll lose your Synchro Monster as well!"
"Not with Track Marshal's effect in play!" Picaro gestured toward his Link Monster. "When a monster that's linked to Track Marshal battles a monster with equal or higher attack power, I can negate my monster's destruction."
A barrier appeared in front of TurboGear Warrior and Firewall Dragon's blast was redirected back toward the Cyberse monster, carving a hole in its chest. The beast roared again and then faded away.
"He took down our strongest monster…" Ai gulped.
"Since Firewall Dragon left the field, the equipped Link Lock is going to be destroyed as well." Picaro pointed out, his Trap destroying itself. "With that, my turn is over. Let's see how you plan to turn this around, Playmaker!"
Playmaker didn't let his stoical expression to betray his real thoughts, but Picaro was on a different level from the other Knights of Hanoi. He was close to Revolver, if not equal to him. This meant that the Cyberse Duelist was obligated to defeat him in order to fulfill his revenge.
"Why must I deal with the NPCs?"
PhantomFire sighed, sitting lazily on his throne while his large D-Board flew around the buildings with the AIs pursuing after him. He had to get to Picaro before Playmaker was defeated, an outcome that PhantomFire was sure would happen if their duel was to reach a conclusion.
"Since you've been hacked by Picaro, you two are technically no longer SOL Technology." PhantomFire glanced at the AIs. "You'll make for good punching bags, but Speed Duels must be one on one, so I'll take you one after another."
The two AIs glanced at each other and then one of them slowed down, while the other one activated its Duel Disk.
"Speed Duel!"
『PhantomFire LP: 4000, Hand: 4 (VS) AI Duelist #1 LP: 4000, Hand: 4』
"I'm going to take the first move." PhantomFire declared. "I activate ChronoGear Emergency Launch! This card's effect allows me to Special Summon a ChronoGear monster straight from the deck! Come forth, ChronoGear Steam Ogre (Lv.8, DEF: 2600)!" The cyborg ogre appeared on PhantomFire's field with a roar.
"Steam Ogre's effect activates! Since it was summoned by the effect of a ChronoGear card, I can Special Summon two ChronoGear monsters from my deck! Come forth, ChronoGear Hellchain (Lv.3, DEF: 1700) and ChronoGear Berfomet (Lv.4, DEF: 1800)!" Evan's usual combo pieces appeared in the Left and Right Monster Zone respectively.
"Berfomet's effect now activates: When it's Special Summoned from the effect of a ChronoGear card, I can add a ChronoGear card from the deck to my hand. I choose ChronoGear Reborn!" PhantomFire added the card to his hand, then continued.
"Now appear, the circuit of past and future!" The space in front of PhantomFire cracked, opening a black void. "Arrowhead confirmed! Summoning condition is one Level Four or lower DARK monster! I set ChronoGear Berformet in the Link Marker! Link Summon! ChronoGear Butterfly Effect (ATK: 0. Link-1)!" The insect monster raised in the Right Extra Monster Zone.
"Hellchain's effect activates. Once when it's on the field, I can revive Berfomet at the cost of negating its effects!" the tattered demon threw its chains into a pitch black portal and pulled the undead out. "And again, appear my circuit!"
The black vortex opened behind PhantomFire for a second time.
"Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning requirements are two oGear monsters! I set ChronoGear Butterfly Effect and ChronoGear Hellchain in the Link Markers! Link Summon! The wild spirit dancing over fading ages! ChronoGear Time Tamer Kitty (ATK: 1700, Link-2)!" The beast-warrior made her debut, winking at her master.
"I activate Time Tamer Kitty's effect to revive ChronoGear Hellchain!" The tattered demon raised behind Kitty with its chains floating lively. "Now for the third time! Appear circuit of past and future!"
For the third time, the black vortex tore through the space-time continuum to appear at PhantomFire's order.
"Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning requirements are two or more DARK monsters! I set ChronoGear Berfomet and ChronoGear Time Tamer Kitty in the Link Markers! Link Summon! Diabolic Phantomus the Hollow Slayer (ATK: 2300)!" the demonic warrior and PhantomFire's pseudo-ace materialized on the field.
"Diabolic Phantomus the Hollow Slayer's effect allows me to revive a Link Three or lower DARK monster from my grave. Come back, Kitty." The Link 2 monster raised for a second use. "For the fourth time, open the circuit of past and future!" Yet another void opened. "Summoning Conditions are at least two DARK monsters! I set Hellchain and the Link Two Time Tamer Kitty in the Link Markers! Link Summon! My dark soul, Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer (ATK: 2300, Link-3)!"
PhantomFire's true ace appeared on the field with glowing purple eyes. Its top arrow connected to Hollow Slayer's bottom arrow, co-linking the two monsters.
"Due to Hollow Slayer's effect all monster it points at gain five hundred attack points, and since Link Slayer gains the effects of all monster it points at, so Hollow Slayer gains attack as well!" PhantomFire's two aces glowed with their attack powers increasing.
Diabolic Phantomus the Hollow Slayer, ATK: 2300 + 500 → 2800
Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer, ATK: 2300 + 500 → 2800
"Now I'll activate Link Slayer's new effect to revive Time Timer Kitty from my grave!" the female monster raised from the ground for a second time. "And the last. Open, the circuit of past and future!"
PhantomFire's fifth and final circuit opened in the sky. Since in Speed Duels a Duelist had access to only five cards in their Extra Deck, he was unable to summon any more Link Monsters.
"Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning conditions are at least two Chrono monsters! I set Steam Ogre and the Link Two Time Tamer Kitty in the Link Markers! Link Summon! ChronoGear Gatling Wheel (ATK; 2400, Link-3)!" Finally, the large muscular warrior joined the rest of the Link 3 monsters gathered on PhantomFire's field.
"Gatling Wheel's effect increases the attack points of all co-linked monster by three hundred, but because Link Slayer is linked to both him and Hollow warrior, their effects will be applied through him."
Diabolic Phantomus the Hollow Slayer, ATK: 2800 + 300*2 → 3400
Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer, ATK: 2800 + 300*2 → 3400
ChronoGear Gatling Wheel, ATK: 2400 + 500 + 300*2 → 3500
"But attack points don't really matter with this built." Evan sighed. "I activate Gatling Wheel's effect. I inflict three hundred points of damage to one of you for every Link Rating on my field, but I can't declare an attack for the rest of this turn."
The large warrior aimed its gun at the Ai Duelist. The barrels began to rotate and Gatling Wheel fired a river of bullets against the AI, damaging its body.
『AI Duelist #1 LP: 4000 - 2700 → 1300』
"And because Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer gains the effects of all monsters it's linked to, I activate Gatling Wheel's effect again." The demonic warrior charged at the AI Duelist and summoned scythe, cutting its target in half.
『AI Duelist #1 LP: 1300 - 2700 → 0』
『Winner: PhantomFire』
"One annoyance was dealt with." PhantomFire sighed. "Another one to go."
PhantomFire's D-Board turned around to face the remaining AI. Since that was the last annoying bug in his path, PhantomFire wanted to watch closely as he crushed it into pieces.
"Replace Deck: Link Burn with Link Trick," PhantomFire ordered, the cards inside his deck glowing, as they were replaced with new ones, allowing PhantomFire to use a new strategy to defeat his opponent.
"Speed Duel!"
『PhantomFire LP: 4000, Hand: 4 (VS) AI Duelist # 2 LP: 4000, Hand: 4』
"I'm going to take the first move." PhantomFire declared quickly before its enemy could. "I activate Treasure of the Six Gears. By discarding ChronoGear Blue Plague I can draw two new cards from my deck." PhantomFire looked at his cards and smirked. "I Normal Summon ChronoGear Pulsar Beast (Lv.4, ATK: 1500) and then activate its effect to Normal Summon a second time. Come out, ChronoGear Hellchain (Lv.3, ATK: 1400)."
The main characteristic that made the ChronoGear deck different from the other oGear decks was its ability to operate as a splashable engine. There was no playstyle and strategy that this deck couldn't replicate our counter – it was the ultimate deck.
"I activate Hellchain's effect to revive Blue Plague with its effects negated." A zombie-like monster wearing knight armor on its chest appeared in the last Main Monster Zone. "Now appear, the circuit of past and future!"
The space in front of PhantomFire cracked, opening a black void. "Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning requirements are two oGear monsters! I set ChronoGear Pulsar Beast and ChronoGear Hellchain in the Link Markers! Link Summon! The wild spirit dancing over fading ages! ChronoGear Time Tamer Kitty (ATK: 1700, Link-2)!" The beast-warrior appeared again and swung her rifle, aiming it at the zone behind her.
"I activate Time Tamer Kitty's effect to revive ChronoGear Hellchain!" Kitty fired her rifle, opening a portal which the tattered demon raised through. "Hellchain's effect activates, reviving Pulsar Beast!" The cyborg beast rose as well.
"Appear circuit of past and future!" For the second time, the black vortex tore through the space-time continuum and materialized in the sky. "Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning requirements are two or more DARK monsters! I set ChronoGear Pulsar Beast and ChronoGear Time Tamer Kitty in the Link Markers! Link Summon! Diabolic Phantomus the Hollow Slayer (ATK: 2300)!" the demonic warrior and PhantomFire's enabler materialized on the field.
"Diabolic Phantomus the Hollow Slayer's effect allows me to revive a Link Three or lower DARK monster from my grave. Come back, Kitty." The Link 2 monster raised for a second use. "For the third time, open the circuit of past and future!" Another void opened. "Summoning Conditions are at least two DARK monsters! I set Hellchain and the Link Two Time Tamer Kitty in the Link Markers! Link Summon! My dark soul, Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer (ATK: 2300, Link-3)!"
"Link Slayer gains the effects of all monsters it points at. Using this new power, I'm going to revive Time Timer Kitty from my graveyard!" the female monster raised from the ground with a yawn. "Open, the circuit of past and future!"
Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning conditions are at least two oGear monsters! I set Blue Plague and the Link Two Time Tamer Kitty in the Link Markers! Link Summon! ChronoGear Timepiece Archer (ATK: 2100, Link-3)!" The weird-looking archer gained mass and landed next to Link Slayer's left arrow.
"Thanks to Hollow Slayer and Link Slayer's combined efforts, all of my monsters are going to gain five hundred more attack points." The eyes of PhantomFire's two Phantomus monsters glowed.
Diabolic Phantomus the Hollow Slayer, ATK: 2300 + 500 → 2800
Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer, ATK: 2300 + 500 → 2800
ChronoGear Timepiece Archer, 2100 + 500 → 2600
"I'm going to activate Timepiece Archer's effect: Once per turn, if it's linked, I can banish a random card from the opponent's hand face-down until the end of the next turn." Archer's robotic arm turned into a bow and it fired a purple arrow at the AI Duelist, erasing one of the cards in its hand.
"Next, Phantomus the Link Slayer will use the same effect." A bow made of purple energy appeared from the Link 3's disk and it fired a second arrow, banishing another card. "Then Phantomus the Hollow Slayer's additional effect activate. I negate Timepiece Archer's effect until the end of this turn and give them to Hollow Slayer. I use that power to banish another card from your hand!"
The AI duelist looked down at its hand. Three of the cards it was holding were already erased, leaving with only one remaining.
"Next I activate Gift Exchange." A spell card showing a family of goblins exanimating their presents appeared in front of PhantomFire. "We both banish a card from our deck face-down and during the End Phase of this turn, we must give our banished card to the opponent." A screen opened in front of both duelists, allowing them to choose which card they were going to banish. "Next, I set a card and during the End Phase of this turn, we must give our banished card to the opponent."
Both Duelists' Duel Disk glowed, analyzing the new cards, then added them to their user's hand.
"Now Timepiece Archer's effect that both of my Phantomus have inherited activates!" PhantomFire exclaimed. "When a card is added to your hand outside the Draw Phase, I banish a card in your hand face-down at random, then you take three hundred points of damage for every card banished by this effect!"
The last two cards in the AI duelist's hand vanished as the Link 3 duo summoned a sphere of dark time-space energy and threw it at the machine.
『AI Duelist #2 LP: 4000 - 1200 → 2800 – 1500 → 1300』
"And at the end of this turn, the effect of Phantomus the Hollow Slayer ends, so Timepiece Archer gains back its abilities." The Link 3 ChronoGear raised its head and activated its bow.
"My turn… draw." The AI stated unemotionally, drawing a card.
『Turn 2 [AI Duelist #2] LP: 1300, Hand: 1』
"During your Standby Phase, I activate my Trap!" PhantomFire declared, flipping his face-down card. "The Gift of Greed forces you to draw two cards. Now Timepiece Archer and Phantomus the Link Slayer banish a card from your hand and inflict three hundred points of damage for each of your banished cards!" The two Link 3 monsters aimed their bows at the AI Duelist and fired two arrows each, one erasing a card in its hand, while the other hit it in the chest.
『AI Duelist #2 LP: 1300 - 1800 → 0 – 2100 → 0』
『Winner: PhantomFire』
"And that's it," PhantomFire muttered. Two FTKs in five minutes - he was an absolute beast.
"I will win." Playmaker responded to Picaro. "My turn, draw!"
『Turn 4 [Playmaker] LP: 3000, Hand: 2』
The Cyberse duelist looked at the few cards in his hand and nodded, seeing a functional combo. "I'll start by Normal Summoning Garbage Collector (Lv.2, ATK: 100)." A blue robotic trash-can with a sad face on its front appeared before Playmaker. "Next I activate Cynet Defrag to revive Balancer Lord (Lv.4, DEF: 1200) and equip it with Cynet Defrag." The knight monster formed next to Garbage Collector.
"At this moment I'm going to activate my Trap Card – Synchro Stormfort!" A card showing a castle staying intact in the center of a storm with several Synchro Rings forming a protective barrier appeared on Picaro's field.
Synchro Stormfort (Trap) Continuous
Activate this card only if you control a Synchro Monster. While you control a Synchro Monster, monsters you control are unaffected by the Monster Effects of opponent's monsters if their ATK is lower or equal to the ATK of your Synchro Monster with the highest ATK. During the Battle Phase: You can send this card to the GY, and if you do, your opponent must attack with the monster with the highest ATK on their field.
"While Synchro Stormfort is active, and I control a Synchro monster, your monsters with attack lower than, or equal to, TurboGear Warrior's attack power, won't be able to affect my monsters with their abilities."
"Eh?!" Ai's head dropped in disappointment. "But then we will need a monster with more than twenty-five hundred attacks to use effects on his monsters. We don't have monsters with more than twenty-five hundred attack points in our deck!"
"We don't need to." Playmaker commented. "I activate Garbage Collector's effect! By returning Balancer Lord to my deck, I can summon a monster with the same level, but a different name. Come out, RAM Clouder (Lv.4, DEF: 0)!" A white sheep monster appeared under Link Spider's Link Marker.
"With RAM Clouder you can release a monster to revive a Cyberse in your graveyard." Picaro realized. "But which one will you choose?"
"The choice is obvious!" Playmaker exclaimed and raised his hand. "I activate RAM Clouder's effect to release Link Spider and revive Firewall Dragon (ATK: 2500, Link-4) from my graveyard!" The large white dragon appeared in the center zone with a loud roar.
"Now appear, the circuit that leads to the future!" A square appeared in front of Playmaker. "Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning condition is two Cyberse monsters. I set Garbage Collector and RAM Clouder in the Link Markers! Link Summon! Flame Administrator (ATK: 1200, Link-2)!"
A red and yellow robot appeared at Firewall Dragon's right side, co-linking with the Link 4 monster.
"I see!" Ai exclaimed cheerfully. "Due to Flame Administrator's effect, all of our Link Monsters gain eight hundred more attack points!"
Firewall Dragon, ATK: 2500 + 800 → 3300
Flame Administrator, 1200 + 800 → 2000
"Now Firewall Dragon is stronger than TurboGear Warrior!" Playmaker pointed out. "Firewall Dragon's effect activates! I return a monster to the hand for every monster co-linked with Firewall Dragon! Return to the hand, TurboGear Warrior! Emergency Escape!"
Firewall Dragon released another charge of electricity that hit TurboGear Warrior and shuffled it into the Extra Deck.
"Now I'm going to end this!" Playmaker declared triumphantly. "Battle! Fla-"
"Not so fast!" Picaro interrupted him. "At the start of your Battle Phase, I'm going to send Synchro Stormfort to the graveyard, forcing you to attack with your strongest monster first!"
"Eh?" Ai tilted its head to the side, dumbfounded by that. "Why would she force us to attack with Firewall Dragon first?"
"We're going to find out." Playmaker said back. "Fine then. Firewall Dragon, attack TurboGear Track Marshal. Tempest Attack!" The dragon roared and fired a stream of red energy, destroying Picaro's monster, dealing a huge amount of damage in the process.
『Picaro LP: 3000 - 2600 → 400』
"That's what I was waiting for!" Picaro yelled and raised his claw toward the sky. "My Skill now activates! Pain Retribution! When I take battle damage, I can Special Summon a TurboGear monster from my Extra Deck, as long as its attack is less than or equal to the damage I took!"
"He took twenty-six hundred damage, which means…" Ai gulped. That wasn't good.
"Come forth, TurboGear Warrior (Lv.6, ATK: 2500)!" Picaro's ace monster appeared on the field once again, blocking Playmaker's monsters from attacking. "What will you do now, Playmaker? Will you attack, or will you end your turn."
"I'll end my turn, obviously." Playmaker sighed. Flame Administrator wasn't strong enough to take on Picaro's ace.
"Then it's my turn!" Picaro exclaimed. "Draw!"
『Turn 5 [Picaro] LP: 400, Hand: 2』
"I Normal Summon TurboGear Slipscream!" A small green jet with yellow lightning-stripes on its wings and a red optic on its bottom flew over Picaro.
TurboGear Slipscream
Level: 2/Attribute: WIND/Type: Machine/Tuner/Effect
ATK: 100/DEF: 400
Effect: If this card is used as a material for the Synchro or Link Summon of an "oGear" monster, you can use 1 "oGear" monster in your hand as material for that Summon. During the End Phase: If this card is in your GY because it was sent there by a card effect this turn: You can add 1 "TurboGear" card from your deck to the hand.
"Allow me to show you my ultimate ace monster, Playmaker!" Picaro laughed maniacally and threw his arm forward. "I tune the Level Six TurboGear Warrior to the Level Two Slipscream!" The two monsters transformed into digital rings, while Picaro began to chant.
"Storming Wind! The untapped wild power of the sky take form and become a machine of terror! Synchro Summon! TurboGear Airstream Dragon!"
A large bipedal robot dragon landed in Picaro's Extra Monster Zone. The creature's body was covered in white armor plating with red plates on its shoulders, knees, chest and the side of its neck. Its chest had a large hole carved in it and a green engine rotated inside, powering up the monster's body, while two red blades jutted out of its back with large jet engines located right below them. The beast had four arms, each having sharp blades jutting out of its forearms and three claws on its hand. Its legs had diamond-shaped black armor plates on the back of the ankles. The dragon's head had black armor plates covering its lower chin and forehead, while the rest was made from sharp red scales, a single green eye rested in the center of its forehead, while two smaller ones rested on each side of its lower jaw.
TurboGear Airstream Dragon
Level: 8/Attribute: WIND/Type: Machine/Synchro/Effect
ATK: 3000/DEF: 2600
1 "oGear" Tuner monster + 1+ WIND monsters
Effect: When this card is Synchro Summoned: If you have less LP than your opponent; negate the effects of all monsters they control, then halve their ATK. Your opponent takes the same battle and effect damage that you take. This card is unaffected by the effects of monsters whose original ATK is equal to or lower than this card's current ATK.
"Airstream Dragon's effect activates!" Picaro threw his arm forward. "When this card is Synchro Summoned, I negate the effects of all monsters you control and halve their attack power!" Airstream Dragon's core began to rotate and fired an EMP that zapped Playmaker's monsters. The two Cyberse monsters leaned forward and the light in their eyes died down, leaving them unmoving.
Firewall Dragon, ATK: 3300 - 800 → 2500/2 → 1250
Flame Administrator, 2000 - 800 → 1200/2 → 600
"Now our monsters' attack power is too low!" Ai grabbed its head.
"I attack Flame Administrator with Airstream Dragon! Storm Wing Slash!" The jet engines on Airstream Dragon's back began to work and the engine on its chest tripled the speed at which it rotated. Sparks of electricity shot through the blades on its back and projected a giant pair of green wings. The robotic dragon roared and charged forward, flying past Flame Administrator.
After a moment, a large green cut appeared across the red robot's body and it exploded, with the flames engulfing Playmaker. The Cyberse Duelist gritted his teeth, keeping his voice down, while he maneuvered his D-Board out of the flames.
『Playmaker LP: 3000 - 2400 → 600』
"Our Life Points are almost equal now!" Ai gulped.
"His attacks are brutal and fast." Playmaker observed.
"That's why I'm the wilder of the wind oGear," Picaro smirked. "Just like how your friend is the wielder of the water oGear for her innocent nature. I held back during our previous duel because I wanted to observe you, but I won't have mercy this time."
"I'm not going to lose." Playmaker stated determinedly. "To regain my past… to avenge the victims of your sick experiments… I'll win!"
"Do it then!" Picaro laughed at his opponent's determination. "You have zero cards in your hand, the only monster on your field is Firewall Dragon but its attack is halved and its effects are negated. Can you draw a miracle?"
"I can do more than that." Playmaker stated. "My turn, draw!"
『Turn 6 [Playmaker] LP: 600, Hand: 1』
Playmaker looked at the card he drew… It was Datacorn, a weak monster with an effect that activated if Playmaker was able to Special Summon it…
"It's not a good card," Ai stated. "But the wind of victory may yet blow our way!"
"Indeed." Playmaker nodded and speeded forward, and shot past Picaro who did nothing to try and stop his opponent.
A powerful twist of data passed through the city and Playmaker charged toward it The Cyberse Duelist jumped off his D-Board and landed into the storm, pushing his hand into the data.
"When our Life Points are a thousand or less, a random card from the Data Storm will be added to our Extra Deck!" Ai cheered.
"Skill activate! Storm Access!" Playmaker yelled, the yellow stripes across his suit glowing brightly. Shadows of monsters flew through the wind passing him until one of them resonated with the user and formed into his palm.
"Seize the Wind, Playmaker!" Ai called.
Playmaker grabbed the card and held it up. The shadow of a warrior appeared in front of him and pushed the Data Storm, dispersing it. The Cyberse Duelist fell down, landing on his D-Board. He placed the card into his Extra Deck: It was just the type of monster he needed.
"I activate Cynet Defrag's effect from my graveyard!" Playmaker called out. "By paying half of my Life Points, I'm able to revive a Level four or lower monster from my graveyard. Come back, Garbage Collector (Lv.2, ATK: 1900)!"
『Playmaker LP: 600/2 → 300』
"I Normal Summon Datacorn (Lv.1, ATK: 0) and then I activate Garbage Collector's effect!" the red lines across the trash can's body glowed. "I return Datacorn to my deck and Special Summon Dotscaper (Lv.1, ATK: 0)!" A small white and blue monster with large green eyes appeared in front of Playmaker.
"Appear, the circuit that leads to the future!" Playmaker called out, throwing his arm forward. A square appeared over his three monsters' heads. "Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning conditions are three monsters! I set Dotscaper, Garbage Collector and Firewall Dragon in the Link Markers!" The three monsters turned into energy and each flew into an arrow. "Link Summon! Powercode Talker (ATK: 2300, Link-3)!" A red Code Talker monster materialized inside the square and flew next to Playmaker.
"So that's the power you obtained?" Picaro wondered.
"Dotscaper's effect activates!" Playmaker continued. "When it's sent to the graveyard, I can revive it!" the monster appeared at Powercode Talker's bottom marker. "Next I activate Powercode Talker's effect! Once per turn, I can target a monster on your field and negate its effects! I choose Airstream Dragon! Wire Restruction!"
A black plate shot out of Powercode Talker's left arm and attached itself to his right, then it formed a blue energy hook, which it fired at Airstream Dragon, tying the beast. Picaro's ace monster roared and pushed against the hook, breaking free.
"Nice try, Playmaker," Picaro smirked. "Sadly, Airstream Dragon has the ability to be unaffected by monsters with less attack power than itself!"
"What are we going to do then, Playmaker?" Ai asked.
"If we attack Airstream Dragon, both parties will suffer the damage resulting in a draw." Playmaker stated. "But if we don't attack, then Picaro will defeat us next turn."
"So, after all the talking about winning, the best you can do is get a draw, huh?" Picaro smirked.
Playmaker clenched his fist. "Battle! Powercode Talker attack Airstream Dragon! At this moment, I tribute Dotscaper to activate Powercode Talker's ability and double its attack power!"
Powercode Talker, ATK: 2300*2 → 4600
"Power Termination Smash" Playmaker yelled, his monster throwing its fist toward the robotic dragon.
"Predictable!" Picaro laughed. "Did you really think I would let you get a tie?"
"What!?" Playmaker and Ai exclaimed in unison.
"That's right! I used Airstream to push you in the corner and force you to choose between surrendering or self-destruction!" Picaro revealed. "I discard TurboGear Ravening Engine to activate its effect!"
A black engine with yellow stripes across it and six tailpipes located on its sides, three on each, appeared in front of Airstream Dragon and strapped itself to the dragon's core, using its energy to form a barrier around the Synchro monster.
TurboGear Ravening Engine
Level: 1/Attribute: WIND/Type: Machine/Effect
ATK: 0/DEF: 200
Effect: During the Damage Step, when an "oGear" monster you control battles (Quick Effect): You can discard this card from your hand; that monster cannot be destroyed by that battle and all damage you would take is inflicted to your opponent instead.
"Ravening Engine redirects all damage I would have taken to you instead!" Picaro laughed again.
Playmaker's mouth hung open. It was already too late to call off Powercode Talker's attack and the monster swung its fist, slamming it against the engine, causing it to explode. Picaro grinned behind his helmet as the light engulfed them.
But then, darkness overtook the light.
"What the?" Picaro gasped.
Before the damage could be calculated and Playmaker's Life Points could drop to 0, two spheres of dark purple energy hit both duelists, then exploded.
"How do you like this, Blue Angel?" Nulline asked. "Your tactics don't work against this deck!"
Blue Angel bit her lip. She had only Trickstar Lilybell on her field with a set card that would protect her for the turn, but what after that? Would she be able to draw a good card next turn?
"At the end of this turn, Light Stage's effect activates." Blue Angel said. "You must either activate your set card or send it to the graveyard."
"I'll activate it of course!" Nulline declared. "Continuous Trap activate! Humid Wind! When my Life Points are lower than yours, this card lets me gain five hundred more points!"
『Nulline LP: 1800 + 500 → 2300』
'She had a trap that could increase her Life Points…' Blue Angel thought. 'But why didn't she activate it earlier?'
"Also my skill's effect and Bergmator's effect end during the end of this turn, which means that my monsters' attack returns to normal," Nulline stated.
Aromaseraphy Jasmine, ATK: 3200 - 1400 → 1800
Aromage Bergamot, ATK: 3400 - 1000 → 2400, DEF: 2800 - 1000 → 1800
"It's my turn now, so I draw!" Nulline declared.
『Turn 5 [Nulline] LP: 2300, Hand: 3』
"I activate Humid Wind's effect." Nulline gestured toward her trap. "I can pay a thousand Life Points to add an Aromage card from my deck to the hand."
『Nulline LP: 2300 - 1000 → 1300』
A card appeared from Nulline's deck to her hand and she showed it to Blue Angel. "I Normal Summon Aromage Jasmine (Lv.2, ATK: 100)!" The card that Nulline added appeared on her field. "Next, I activate Humid Wind's other effect to gain five hundred Life Points!"
『Nulline LP: 1300 + 500 → 1800』
"When I gain Life Points Aromage Jasmine allows me to draw a card and Aromaseraphy Jasmine adds Aromage Rosemary to my hand!" Two new cards appeared in Nulline's hand and she pressed one of them. "I'll then activate Pot of Acquisitiveness to return three of my banished monsters back into the deck and draw a card!"
Nulline looked at the four cards in her hand and smiled. She had all the pieces needed to make Blue Angel's life a living hell.
"I activate the Field Spell, Aroma Garden and use its effect to gain five hundred Life Points!" Nulline raised her hands, accepting the new Life Points.
『Nulline LP: 1800 + 500 → 2300』
"Due to Bergamot's effect, my monster will gain a thousand attack points until the end of this turn." Nulline pointed out. "And also, because of Aroma Garden, all of my monsters will gain five hundred attack and defense points!"
Aromaseraphy Jasmine, ATK: 1800 + 500 → 2300
Aromage Bergamot, ATK: 2400 + 1000 + 500 → 3900, DEF: 1800 + 1000 + 500 → 3300
Aromage Jasmine, ATK: 100 + 500 → 600, DEF: 1900 + 500 → 2400
"Next, I use Aromage Jasmine's second effect to Normal Summon a second time. Come out, Aromage Rosemary!" A magician wearing a blue dress appeared beside the other Aromage monsters. "Next, I'll activate Aromaseraphy Jasmine's effect to release Aromage Jasmine and Special Summon Aromaseraphy Angelica (Lv.1, DEF: 0) from my deck!"
"A Tuner monster?" Blue Angel noticed. "Don't tell me that you can…"
"Synchro Summon?" Nulline asked. "Why, of course, I can! Watch! I tune the Level Four Aromage Rosemary to the Level One Aromaseraphy Angelica!" The monsters turned into five rings which lined behind one another, forming a tunnel. "The kind soul looking over the warm garden. Become a fighting soul and join the fight! Synchro Summon! Aromaseraphy Rosemary (Lv.5, ATK: 2000)!"
"At this moment, I'm going to activate Lycoris' effect from my hand!" Blue Angel exclaimed. "I return Lilybell to my hand and Special Summon it on my field!" The red fairy appeared with 1200 defense points. "And since Lilybell was added to my hand by a card effect, I'll special summon her!" The little fairy reappeared with 2000 defense points.
"Good thinking, but a wall as pathetic as this won't be enough to stop me!" Nulline declared. "Rosemary's effect increases the attack of all my monsters by five hundred while my life points are higher than yours!"
Aromaseraphy Jasmine, ATK: 2300 + 500 → 2800
Aromage Bergamot, ATK: 3900 + 500 → 4400, DEF: 3300 + 500 → 3800
Aromaseraphy Rosemary, ATK: 2000 + 500*2 → 3000, DEF: 900 + 500*2 → 1900
"It's over for you now!" Nulline declared. "While my Life Points are higher than yours, Bergamot gives all of my plan monsters the ability to inflict piercing battle damage. Battle! Bergamot attack Lycoris and end this duel!"
"I won't let it end this way!" Blue Angel shook her head. "I'll activate my Skill - Trickstar Trick! By discarding a Trickstar card from my hand, this ability forces you to draw until you hold the cards in your hand!"
Nulline grimaced in anger and drew a single card. Now, Lycoris' effect would activate…
"Lycoris' effect activates!" Blue Angel declared. "You take two hundred damage and due to Light Stage you take another two hundred points of damage!"
『Nulline LP: 2300 - 200 → 2100 – 200 → 1900』
"Then I'll activate the effect of Eco, Mystical Spirit of the Forest (Lv.4, ATK: 1700) to Special Summon it on my field, since I took damage!" A humanoid monster made out of wood appeared before Nulline. "Then, you take damage equal to the damage I took!"
『Blue Angel LP: 2100 - 200 → 1900』
"Trickstar Mandrake's effect activates when she's discarded, Special Summoning herself on my field!" the Trickstar landed on Blue Angel's field with 1000 defense points. "And since our Life Points are now equal, the effects of your Aromage monsters end!"
Aromaseraphy Jasmine, ATK: 2800 - 500 → 2300
Aromage Bergamot, ATK: 4400 - 500 → 3900, DEF: 3800 - 500 → 3300
Aromaseraphy Rosemary, ATK: 3000 - 500 → 2500, DEF: 1900 - 500 → 1400
"Damn you…" Nulline hissed. "But I'm not going to let this end the way you want! Bergamot, attack Lilybell!"
"I activate my trap card, Trickstar Cascade to return Light Stage back in my hand and negate your attack!" A barrier formed in front of the Trickstars' blocking Nulline's attack.
"Damn you!" Nulline cursed. "Jasmine, Rosemary, Eco, attack Lilybell, Lycoris, and Mandrake!" The three plant monsters charged forward and cut through Blue Angel's Trickstars, leaving her field empty.
"During the end of this turn, you must banish a card from your hand for every Trickstar in my graveyard." Blue Angel pointed out.
Nulline looked at her hand, which faded away, leaving her empty-handed. Despite that, she hasn't lost yet. In fact, she had the advantage there.
"So what?" Nulline asked. "I don't need a hand in order to win! What about you? The only card in your hand is Light Stage. You might be able to search a Trickstar next turn, but will a single card be enough to turn this duel around?"
Blue Angel looked at her deck. If she didn't draw a good card next turn, it would be game over for her. Nulline had four monsters on her field, a trap which increased her Life Points and a Field Spell which did the same. There was only one monster that would be able to beat Nulline with a single strike, but Bella Madonna was a Link 4, she would need some very specific cards to summon her.
"Aaaaarrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhhh!"
A scream suddenly tore through the sky and the two girls raised their heads. Playmaker and Picaro flew through the sky, slamming into the side of a building before collapsing on the street. The Charisma Duelist and Knight of Hanoi gasped.
"Darling!" Nulline cried out and turned around to check on Picaro – completely forgetting about her duel with the idol.
"Playmaker!" Blue Angel shouted and shot off to check the Cyberse Duelist's condition.
The girls jumped off their D-Boards and each one walked toward her teammate.
"Darling, are you hurt?"
"What happened, Playmaker?"
"Him…" Playmaker groaned and pointed behind the girls.
Blue Angel and Nulline turned around. A large D-Board with a throne levitated above the group and a shadowy figure jumped off it, landing in front of the girls. Nulline stumbled backward while Blue Angel remained unfazed if just a bit surprised to see that Playmaker was driven to this condition by a person she knew.
"What happened, Phantom?" Blue Angel asked her mentor.
"A lot of stuff," PhantomFire muttered and pushed the girl aside, so he could get to the two fallen duelists. "I got a headache from a rebellious brat's talk about revenge, shot in the back, two AIs ganged up on me, then I had to save that bastard's ass because he didn't listen to me!"
After saying the last part, PhantomFire kicked Playmaker in the stomach, causing the Cyberse Duelist to cough in pain. Blue Angel gasped in horror while Picaro just chuckled to the sight.
"Damn, you're going to finish him off instead of me, old man." Picaro joked, then turned toward Nulline. "Null, we're leaving."
"What?!" Nulline shouted. "Why?"
"We won't be able to take on PhantomFire, he's too strong for anyone." Picaro reasoned.
"And what makes you think that I'll let you get away?" PhantomFire glared at his protégé.
"Blue Angel." Two words. Those were enough to stop PhantomFire from doing anything. As long as Blue Angel was there, as long as someone he was trying to hide his true self from was there, the monster would remain hidden inside of him.
"Tch, go." PhantomFire looked away.
"You've gotten too soft, old man," Picaro commented before pressing the emergency button on the side of his claw, teleporting away with Nulline following shortly behind him.
"Why did you let Hanoi escape!?" Playmaker suddenly yelled, getting back on his feet.
"Because I choose so." PhantomFire crossed his arms. "But tell me, was it a good feeling to know that you would have lost your duel against Picaro if I didn't interrupt it?"
"Playmaker would have lost?" Blue Angel repeated, surprised by the news.
"I…" Playmaker wanted to retort, say something back, but nothing came to his mind. PhantomFire was right, he was going to lose that match.
"Thanks for saving my life." Ai jumped out of the Duel Disk and looked at PhantomFire.
"Don't get emotional about it." PhantomFire crossed his arms. "I've been looking at you for quite some time Playmaker. Your duels, your interactions with others, I studied you to understand what drives you forward, what gives you strength. But in the end, I gave up because of three reasons."
"…" Playmaker looked back at the man.
"First, you're no one worth overseeing. You're just an edgy teen trying to play the anti-hero, a person too stupid to see the bigger before him. You're such a stupid child that I had to use Ghost Girl in order for you to gain the information about SOL Technology's Data Bank."
"You what?" Playmaker's eyes widened.
"Second, you're not a prodigy or a skilled duelist. All you have is sheer luck and a broken skill that allows you to deus ex-machine your way out of a tight spot." PhantomFire continued. "Your deck building skills are worse than a six years old, which is surprising since that was when you were kidnapped. Did the trauma of those bad days affect your brain's development as well?"
"How dare you…" Playmaker clenched his hands into fists.
"But third and most important, you're an egoistic brat! You're just a little child unable to give up on the past! You're just an empty shell with nothing more than rage and anger blinding your vision, causing you to throw yourself into traps and dangers like the biggest retard ever!"
"Shut up!" Playmaker finally snapped. "A brat? You don't know what we went through! The pain, the despair, it was something none of us could forget. That tragedy was imprinted into our hearts, forced us to spend every moment of our lives trapped in darkness and fear that one day we would find ourselves in the empty white room again!"
"And is that a reason for you to act like a complete idiot?" PhantomFire pushed Playmaker back. "I know what it's to be filled with rage, but unlike you, I don't allow it to tear me apart! If you intend to let rage and hatred guide you, then you'll never defeat Hanoi, because rage can be used as a weapon only by someone strong. And you? You're an unstable teen! All the power you obtained until now? It's just a bomb that's going to blow up in your face!"
"That's enough!" Playmaker declared and turned around. "I'm leaving."
"No, you'll duel me!" PhantomFire grabbed the Cyberse Duelist on the shoulder.
"And why would I do something like this?" Playmaker asked, looking over his shoulder.
"Because I've got the code for Hanoi's private server," PhantomFire stated.
"What?!" Playmaker turned around. "How?"
"I'm not a fool like you," PhantomFire replied and raised his left palm, summoning a cube filled with data inside of it. "This can only be gained from a high-level Knight of Hanoi and only if you know what you're doing. Since you, and your partner, are both idiots and this place is cleared from any remaining Knights of Hanoi, this is your only chance to gain it."
"He's right," Ai commented. "I see Hanoi's fingerprints all over that program. It's legit."
"And you'll give it to me if I win?" Playmaker asked. "Why are you withholding it from me?"
"Because you'll die if you go." PhantomFire retorted and absorbed the data into his wrist.
"Rethink the idea, Playmaker," Ai warned. "Picaro was dangerous, but if even he's afraid of PhantomFire, then we won't have a chance!"
"I won't lose." Playmaker declared.
"Listen to yourselves, you two!" Blue Angel interrupted. "We're on the same side, we should fight together, not between each other!"
"You're wrong," PhantomFire said. "Playmaker won't work with anyone. He's too prideful for that."
Playmaker, in turn, narrowed his eyes and held out his Duel Disk.
Pain Retribution: When the User takes battle damage, they can Special Summon 1 "TurboGear" Synchro or Link Monster whose ATK is less than or equal to, the damage they took, from the Extra Deck.
I think that I'm having too much fun writing duels with Playmaker and Blue Angel's decks, but I've been playing Trickstars and Cyberse decks on YGOPro a lot, so maybe that was why. But now I really want to give Go a proper duel where he could show all of his amazing Gouki monsters, and in time... I think I'll do it.
So, as it turns out, this is the last chapter happening during the Another incident and sadly it appears that the Another won't be curred in this timeline because Evan erased Baira and Faust before they could give the antidote.
And is it just me, or despite being the protagonist of this story, Roxy doesn't duel all that much? 'Cause if you think so as well, then lucky she will be back with another duel soon and... What? It's going to be a Tag-Duel?!
Thanks to smyrie83 for favoring this story and 'till next time!
Diabolic Tracer out!