Past in the Present
It took a few minutes after PhantomFire's lackluster duel against Revenger – lackluster for the crowd, but not PhantomFire – for the aforementioned duelist and his partner in crime Terraspy to get to Floor 8 and locate the door that was leading to the server that could be Hanoi's new hideout. PhantomFire brought his Duel Disk up and pulled a small bat-shaped chip from it. The chip was a tracking device, it would let the others know where PhantomFire was if something were to happen and he didn't return in time. He always had two, one to be with him at all times, and another to mark a position, so he placed the chip on the door, with the device quickly camouflaging itself.
"I will never understand why you're always so cautious." Terraspy folded her arms.
"No one's invincible," PhantomFire replied. "Only by being cautious and questioning everything, will you be able to reach my win-streak."
"Aha." Terraspy rolled her eyes.
She wasn't taking his words seriously. Nothing of what PhantomFire had told her was of much help for her. Quite the opposite actually. When she was younger, more ignorant, she did everything he told her, and in the end, all she got was loneliness, anxiety attacks, countless health issues.
That was why she ran away from him when she did, and probably why the others abandoned him as well. The lifestyle he was trying to force on all of them was too… destructive. Filled with endless training, painful punishments for the slightest mistake, and forcing them to constantly doubt their worth.
PhantomFire opened a command menu in front of himself and typed in a command. The word 'Error' appeared on his screen. The Dark Duelist sighed, he would have to look into how the Knights were able to restrict his commands when he was the owner of Link VRAINS. PhantomFire typed another command, this time to Overseer. After a few moments, the door to the server opened.
"You know what anarchy servers are, right?" PhantomFire turned to his companion.
"Of course I do. Why? You don't?" Terraspy asked back.
"Since this server is Hanoi's design, and their previous stronghold was an abandoned anarchy server, I expect dangerous things to await us on the other side."
"Not that you can't deal with them on your own, right?" Terraspy smirked.
PhantomFire glanced back at the Earth-themed Duelist and smiled. "If we survive this, I'm going to tell you about all the times that I DID lose."
Terraspy whistled. The duo walked through the door and their bodies disappeared in a flash. Afterward, the door closed again.
Roxy's POV
A lot of things happened during the three months in which I wasn't active. Many of these things I'll probably never learn about, or if I do, I'll learn when it's far too late. But there was something that I never expected to happen. Something that shocked me to my core. During those three months in which I've been missing… Yusaku has become social!
He just showed up to Kusanagi's hotdog stand where I was waiting for him, but this time, he was walking together with another boy that had white and red hair (which reminds me a lot of Evan's) and glasses. He was also wearing the same school uniform, so that means that they must be classmates. Finally, someone that isn't a hacker, a virtual treasure hunter, or a sociopathic cyber-terrorist!
Or so I thought until I saw that he too had a Duel Disk with a strange eye popping out of it.
"Hi, there!" I waved at them.
Yusaku, at first, was taken aback to see me. I'm not sure what the Greysons must have told him about my absence, but from his expression, I could read that he wasn't expecting me to be back.
"Proxy's here too?!" Yusaku's friend asked with an excited tone. Wait, how did he know who I am?
"So it seems." Yusaku nodded, before looking me straight in the eyes. "I head that you were out of the city. I didn't expect to see you again."
Uh, why did he have to say it so straight? It sounded like he was hoping that he wouldn't see me again. "I heard of what happened, so I rushed back," I replied, then smirked as I added. "I figured that Playmaker would need his sidekick for this."
"You thought correctly." Heh. Wait, was that a small smile on his face too?!
"So, you must be Yusaku's new ally." I turned to the boy that looked like Evan.
"Well, not officially." The boy laughed nervously. "Oh, also, it's such an honor to finally meet you! My name is Takeru Homura. I'm Soulburner."
"Um, Soulburner?" I stared at him in confusion.
"You're forgetting that she left after you showed up." Takeru's Ignis popped out of the Duel Disk. Like Ai, it was mostly black, but with red stripes.
"Ah, right." Takeru rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"I see that you've had a connection to the Cyberse World as well." The Ignis looked down at my Duel Disk.
"The Fire Ignis." Firera showed up and turned to face it. "It's an honor to meet you again."
"Please, call me by my new name – Flame." The Ignis pointed back at itself. "My name in kanji means "indomitable soul dream." Pronounced "Flame"."
"I see…" Firera nodded. I was smiling while wondering what the word kanji meant.
"My cool name aside, shouldn't you be with the Water Ignis?" Flame asked.
"I was, but after the Tower of Hanoi happened, she told me to stay and protect Roxy," Firera explained. "Her name in this world is Aqua by the way."
"Wait, does that mean that you're a victim of the incident as well?" Takeru asked me.
"No." I shook my head. I was the victim of an incident, yes, but not the one that Takeru was talking about. "I and Aqua only worked together to protect her from the Knights of Hanoi."
"If you excuse me, I'll go talk with Kusanagi for a moment," Yusaku told us.
I and Takeru gave him a nod and he walked into the hotdog stand. After he left, Takeru suggested that we sat down and chat some more, and I, of course, accepted the offer.
3rd POV
Back to LINK VRAINS, two flashes of light appeared on an empty street. PhantomFire and Terraspy took a step forward and looked around themselves. They were in the middle of a huge city, huge skyscrapers towered above their heads and long streams of data that resembled Data Storms flowed through the sky. Both Duelists recognized the place they were transported to – the Skyscraper Server.
During the old LINK VRAINS, this was the main server that players logged into. Hanoi's activity was almost most noticeable there. Their initial attack that lead to Playmaker revealing himself, the Another Incident, the Tower of Hanoi, all of these things happened in the Skyscraper Server. This place was nothing but a grim reminder of what happened in the last few months, a monument of Hanoi's monstrosities. It made a perfect sense for them to recreate it.
"That's just… sick." Terraspy muttered.
"It's an interesting choice for a base," PhantomFire commented. "If my opinion has any merit, I don't think that the group we're after is part of the main Knights of Hanoi."
"What's your reason to think so?" Terraspy asked.
"The server itself," PhantomFire stated. "Revolver is too much of a little bitch to be able to stand being surrounded by his sins every time he logs in. He's too weak-spirited to create or tolerate the creation of something like this."
"For lucky for us, you've got a degree in psychology." Terraspy shook her head.
PhantomFire ignored his companion's remark and opened a screen with the names of all users currently logged into the server. Aside from them, there were two other users currently logged in: Dartist and 69WordroW96. It was safe to assume that they already knew about PhantomFire and Terraspy's presence because user-made servers always send a message when someone logs into them.
"These Data-whatever in the air look a lot like the stuff you guys surf on during Speed Duels." Terraspy pointed out.
"There things weren't part of the original server." PhantomFire rubbed his chin. "They were enabled by Playmaker's Ignis. I doubt that the Knights of Hanoi hosting this server have replicated them?"
"I've watched videos of the Knights creating something they called Data Gale, so…" Terraspy trailed off and glanced back at her mentor.
"They created Data Gale by artificially modifying existing Data Storms," PhantomFire explained. "The Data Storms were created by the Ignis and the only reason we could access them is that the Cyberse World, the Ignis' homeworld, had opened its borders to the LINK VRAINS Servers."
PhantomFire raised his hand and fired a purple web from the back of his wrist, grabbing onto the wall of a building. The web then pulled his body off the ground. Once he was high enough. PhantomFire disabled the web, causing it to disintegrate and then the DARK Duelist kicked himself off the wall, and toward a Data Storm. His D-Board materialized atop the floating data, and he landed on it before sitting down on his throne.
"Show off." Terraspy clicked his tongue.
The EARTH Duelist took a few steps back then jumped off the ground and flew over to the Data Storm. Terraspy crossed her arms in front of herself in an X and they began to glow, materializing a black sphere with four brown wings that made it resemble X. The upper two wings then self-leveled themselves, creating the D-Board's flat surface. Terraspy landed on her board and flew after PhantomFire.
"I never understood what the Knights of Hanoi were after," Terraspy admitted.
"They wanted to destroy the Ignis because their founder, Dr. Kogami, saw them as a threat to humanity's existence," PhantomFire explained. "Their entire reason to exist is really idiotic if you ask me."
"Wait, if the Data Storms are accessed because LINK VRAINS is connected to the Borders of the Ignis' Homeworld, shouldn't they have been able to, you know, just walk through the border?"
"Yeah, that's what they did five years ago." PhantomFire nodded. "After that happened, the Dark Ignis completely closed the borders to Cyberse space and with that cut the Data Storms."
"But then how did Data Storms appear again three months ago?" Terraspy raised an eyebrow.
"The Dark Ignis raised one level of security, giving LINK VRAINS access to the Storm Region." PhantomFire looked back at Terraspy for a moment. "But you probably don't know what the Storm Region is either, so I'll probably have to explain that to you as well."
"You took the words right out of my mouth." Terraspy grinned.
PhantomFire closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. "Fine then. The Storm Region is the outer, farthest part of Cyberse Space. It's where all of the Data Storms created by the Cyberse World accumulate and where all of the monsters that Playmaker got access to, used to live. Although I call it part of Cyberse Space, the Storm Region is the empty space between Cyberse World and LINK VRAINS. When the Dark Ignis removed the first level of security, he opened LINK VRAINS' access to the Storm Region, but since he never removed the other levels of security, the Knights of Hanoi were unable to access the actual Cyberse Space or the Cyberse World."
"So the Storm Region was locked off from the Cyberse World as well?" Terraspy asked.
"Exactly." PhantomFire nodded. "Since the creation of Data Material was high only during the first year of the Cyberse World's existence, they wouldn't have needed access to the Storm Region afterward."
"I think I'm starting to understand. Part of it." Terraspy sighed. "Where are we going now?"
"These Data Storms are flowing out of somewhere," PhantomFire replied. "By going in the opposite direction, we should get to the source. Actually, I think we can already see it."
Placed in the center of the server was something that didn't exist in the original Skyscraper Server; a huge hole, surrounded by a large amount of pink mush-like substance that has been spreading out and had covered several nearby buildings. Large amounts of Data Material were gushing out of the hole, forming Data Storms that processed to spread throughout the server.
The two Duelists glanced at each other before PhantomFire jumped off his D-Board. The DARK Duelist pressed a button on his belt and threw his arms to the sides as red data appeared under his arms, creating a patagia-like membrane.
PhantomFire glided down, landing gracefully before pressing the button on his belt again, dispersing the data gliders. A moment later, Terraspy crashed into the ground, a few meters away from him. Large chunks of data flew away before dispersing, leaving a noticeable crater that the EARTH Duelist climbed out of as if it was nothing.
"Wow, you're as silent as a little child crying because its parents haven't feed it for a few days." PhantomFire snorted.
"That's a strangely specific comparison." Terraspy rubbed her neck. "Don't blame me though. It was your decision to give my avatar boots that protect from fall damage instead of a parachute."
PhantomFire hit himself on the forehead. "Yeah, that was pretty idiotic on my part, wasn't it?"
Terraspy shook her head. The EARTH Duelist walked forward, stopping in front of the mush. She glanced around before reaching out to touch it.
"I wouldn't do that!" PhantomFire shouted, grabbing her arm before she touched the mush. "It's an ominous-looking thing, in an ominous-looking server, ran by cyber terrorists."
Terraspy narrowed her eyes. She raised her finger and tried to say something, but she was cut by the ground suddenly starting to shake violently.
PhantomFire pulled Terraspy back and the two stood back to back with their Duel Disk raised defensively. Earthquakes weren't programmed into the system as a possibility for obvious reasons. Therefore, someone, or something, was playing with the stability of the server right now.
Terraspy looked down at the ground as a crack began to form in the concrete. It became larger and then a large worm-like creature with six eyes and a mouth filled with circular saws burst from the ground and lunged at her.
Terraspy screamed and cover her face with both hands. As she did, a black blur moved past her and the loud sound of metal hitting metal rang through the empty street. After a moment passed and she was still whole, Terraspy opened her eyes again to see Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer using its scythe to block the worm's attack.
"Phantomus!" PhantomFire yelled.
The Link Monsters' eyes glowed red for a moment after its name was called and it swung its scythe, catching the worm's body in the curve of his blade and threw the monsters against a building. The Fiend stared at its opponent for a moment then jumped over the Duelists and landed on PhantomFire's side.
Just as Phantomus landed, a second worm burst from the ground to try and lunge itself onto the DARK Duelist, but the moment it showed up Phantomus released a stream of dark fire that burned its body. The worm let out a high-pitched cry and retreated back into the hole it came from.
"Wow," Terraspy muttered.
"Your ambush failed," PhantomFire said to no one in particular. "Why don't you show up already? Dartist? WordroW?"
"Oh, how clever you must feel right now for looking up the list of active users."
The knocked worm disappeared in a flash of orange light, with another flash coming out of the hole through which the second one tried to escape. PhantomFire noted the monsters' disappearance and clicked his fingers, forcing Phantomus to disappear in a purple flash. The DARK Duelist then looked up and saw two Duelists standing on their D-Boards over them.
Both of them were wearing the standard Knight of Hanoi uniform, with the expectation of their masks, which covered only half of their face instead of covering them completely like the rest of the minions. Their avatars were different as well. Instead of the standard tall human avatar, these two used their own customized versions. The one on the left, Dartist, had a female body type and the parts of her face that were visible were black, lacking any detail except for several purple lines. Compared to her, WordroW's body was blue and resembled a crystal with a mouth and a black dot for an eye.
PhantomFire crossed his arms. "Even veteran players don't know that the player list is a thing, so…"
"I take it that you two aren't here for the recruitment." Dartist leaned forward. "Especially you, PhantomFire; you're SOL's lapdog after all."
"Shows how much you actually know." PhantomFire shook his head in disappointment. "I'm at least somewhat respected by the people I stole LINK Vrains from, you on the other side; do you believe that Revolver would let you be if he knew what you're doing?"
"We're going to finish what he started!" WordroW shouted. "We will free the network from the iron grip of the greedy corporations and heartless businessmen!"
PhantomFire raised an eyebrow. So that was what these two idiots were thinking the Knights of Hanoi were fighting for? In the end, they were just some of these stupid minions that Revolver and his closest allies recruited to boost their numbers.
"I know why you're here." WordroW pointed at the two Duelists. "You're here to take us out, destroy our hard work."
"If you want to beat us, you must first catch us!" Dartist added, before turning around and flying off with WordroW following behind.
PhantomFire growled. Great, now he had to pursue them. The DARK Duelist looked to the Data Material flowing through the sky and saw his D-Board moving in closer. He raised his arm and fired a web that attached itself to his board, teleporting him directly on the throne. After a moment, Terraspy appeared next to him on her own D-Board.
"They took the bite," Dartist commented.
"Let's eliminate them then!" WordroW raised his left arm and his Duel Disk began to glow, sending a wave of orange light that reached PhantomFire and Terraspy's Duel Disks, which reacted.
"Duel Mode: Engage!" the AI in PhantomFire's Duel Disk said.
『PhantomFire LP: 4000, Hand: 5 & Terraspy LP: 4000, Hand: 5 (VS) WordroW LP: 4000, Hand: 5 & Dartist LP: 4000, Hand: 5』
"Five cards?" PhantomFire raised an eyebrow. The DARK Duelist opened a screen of the field. "And a Master Duel Field? How?"
"This is our new secret weapon!" WordroW turned around to face his opponent. "A battle mode that's more than meets the eye!"
"I never had a Speed Duel before so this is better for us, isn't it?" Terraspy asked.
"I will take the first turn." WordroW pointed to himself. "I Normal Summon Sublime Knight – Expaladin (Lv.3, ATK: 1300) and activate its effect! When Sublime Knight – Expaladin is summoned, I equip Phoenix Gearfried to it as an equip spell and increase its attack by five hundred points!" A large white shield with flame appeared in the knight's right arm.
Sublime Knight – Expaladin, ATK: 1300 + 500 → 1800
"I'll then activate Reinforcements to the Army to add Flame Noble Knight Renaud to my hand." The new card materialized in front of WordroW and he trapped it. "Since I control a FIRE monster, I can Special Summon Flame Noble Knight Renaud (Lv. 1, ATK: 500) from my hand!" Another knight in black robes with white and red armor appeared riding on a black horse with a blazing sword in one arm.
"That's not how I remember Noble Knights to look like." PhantomFire frowned.
"Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning conditions are two Warrior monsters! I set Sublime Knight – Expaladin and Flame Noble Knight Renaud in the Link Markers! Link Summon! Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights (ATK: 1600, Link-2)!"
Two women emerged from the Link Square. One was dressed in a royal red dress, the other was wearing a black dress and appeared pale as a ghost.
"When Isolde is Link Summoned, I can add God Phoenix Gearfried to my hand. Next, I activate Isolde's second effect to send Divine Sword – Phoenix Blade from my Deck to the Graveyard and Special Summon Tune Knight (Lv.1, DEF: 500) on my field!" A mouse in knight armor appeared on the field.
"I'll equip Tune Knight to Isolde." The small mouse jumped in front of the two women and held its mousetrap shield in a defensive stance. "I set a card and end my turn."
"That… was something?" Terraspy raised an eyebrow.
"His deck isn't made to go first. He screwed up." PhantomFire explained. "It's my turn now. I draw!"
『Turn 2 [PhantomFire] LP: 4000, Hand: 6』
PhantomFire looked at his cards and then back to his opponents, noticing something. A small glowing sphere was floating in the distance between them. PhantomFire raised his head and looked around, spotting similar spheres floating over rooftops and all over the Data Material they were riding. He wasn't sure what these things were, but he was sure that they couldn't be anything good.
And just as the DARK Duelist thought that WordroW reached out and hit one of the spheres with the back of his fist, bursting it. The Knight of Hanoi looked back at PhantomFire and grinned. He knew what these things were. This was his home field, he had the advantage here.
"I Normal Summon ChronoDevil Everblade!" A young woman with pale skin and crimson eyes appeared on the field. She was dressed in a black dress with a pirate hat and bronze armor plates covering her shoulders and thighs while a saber was present in her left arm, emitting dark energy.
ChronoDevil Everblade
Lv.3/Attribute: DARK/Type: Warrior/Tuner/Effect
ATK: 1400/DEF: 700
Effect: During the turn, this card is Normal Summoned: You can Normal Summon/Set 1 DARK monster in addition to your Normal Summon this turn. If this card is in your GY: You can target 2 face-up Spell/Trap Cards on the field; return those targets to the hand, and if you do, Special Summon this card from your GY. You can only each effect of ChronoDevil Everblade" once per turn.
"Everblade's effect! On the turn she's Normal Summoned, I can Normal Summon a second Dark Monster! I Normal Summon ChronoDevil Slayer Drainer!" A little girl with crimson eyes and bat-wings coming from the sides of her head appeared next. She was dressed in a white sleeveless shirt with a purple ribbon and long black shirt that has held by a black ribbon tied around her waist. Three bats flew pass her and turned into a picnic basket.
ChronoDevil Slayer Drainer
Lv.3/Attribute: DARK/Type: Fiend/Effect
ATK: 1500/DEF: 800
Effect: When this card is Normal Summoned: You can excavate the top 3 cards of your Deck, and if you do, you can add 1 excavated "ChronoDevil" or "Timeline" card to your hand, also return the rest to the bottom of your Deck. If a monster is returned to the Deck while this card is in your GY: You can target 1 "ChronoDevil" monsters in your GY, except "ChronoDevil Slayer Drainer", return that target to the Deck, then Special Summon this card from your GY, but banishing it when it leaves the field. You can only use 1 "ChronoDevil Slayer Drainer" effect per turn, and only once that turn.
"Slayer Drainer's effect! When she's summoned, I look at the top three cards of my deck and add one ChronoDevil or Timeline card among them to my hand!" The picnic basked opened and three cards flew out of it before one of them flew over to PhantomFire. "I add ChronoDevil Fate Alternative to my hand!"
ChronoDevil Fate Alternative
Lv.4/Attribute: DARK/Type: Machine/Effect
ATK: 1800/DEF: 1400
Effect: If a "Chrono" monster, except "ChronoDevil Fate Alternative" is Normal or Special Summoned (except during the Damage Step): You can Special Summon this card from your hand. If this card is used as material for the Summoning of a "Chrono" or "Phantomus" monster, you can target 1 "Chrono" monster in your GY, except "ChronoDevil Fate Alternative": Return the target to the bottom of your Deck, and if you do, the monster that used this card as material gains the targeted monster's effect until the end of your next turn. You can only use each effect of "ChronoDevil Fate Alternative" once per turn.
"Appear, the circuit of the 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 ChronoDevil Slayer Drainer in the Link Marker! Link Summon! ChronoDevil Mrauder!"
A warrior in black armor appeared riding a black horse with fire coming from its mane and eye sockets. The Warrior himself didn't have a head, instead, white flames were coming out of its armor resembling a human's face.
ChronoDevil Mrauder
Attribute: DARK/Type: Zombie/Link/Effect
L-Markers: Bottom
ATK: 700/Link-1
1 Level 4 or lower DARK Monster
Effect: When this card is Link Summoned: You can add 1 "Timeline" Spell/Trap Card from your Deck to the hand. You can only use this effect of "ChronoDevil Mrauder" once per turn. "Chrono" Link Monster that used this card as Material for its Link Summon, gains the following effect:
● This card is unaffected by your opponent's card effects.
"Mrauder's effect! When its Link Summoned, I can add Timeline Storm from my Deck to the hand!" PhantomFire took the card, then pressed another one. "Fate Alternative's effect now activates! Since a ChronoDevil monster was Special Summoned, I can Special Summon this one from my hand!"
Timeline Storm (Spell Continuous)
Your opponent cannot target DARK monsters you control with monster effects. Once per turn: You can destroy 1 card you control: Add 1 "Chrono" or "Timeline" card from your Deck to your hand. If this card you control is destroyed and sent to the GY; you can add Set 1 "Timeline" Spell/Trap Card directly from your Deck, and if you do, it can be activated during this turn. You can only activate 1 "Timeline Storm" per turn.
Another humanoid dressed in a black tattered cloak and a top hat with a skull emblem appeared on the field. The monster had chains wrapped around its cloak and its arms, which were made from dark metal and had the shape of claws. The monster wore a blank white mask with four red orbs for eyes and long white hair floated behind it.
'He already summoned four monsters and still has five cards in his hand!' Terraspy tensed up. 'This playstyle, these monsters, is this the deck that was succeeded by the ChronoGear?'
"Appear again, the circuit of past and future!" A second space fissure opened, this time behind PhantomFire. "Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning conditions are Two Effect monsters, including one DARK monster. I set Everblade and Fate Alternative in the Link Markers! Link Summon! ChronoDevil Death Tamer!"
A red-haired girl in a black and white dress appeared from the void. A hood with cat ears rested on top of her head and a torn cloak was carried by the wind behind her. A lantern hung from the left side of her hips and in her right hand, she carried a scythe whose handle was curved like an umbrella's.
ChronoDevil Death Tamer
Attribute: DARK/Type: Spellcaster/Link/Effect
L-Markers: Left, Right
ATK: 1700/Link-2
2 Effect monsters, including at least 1 DARK monster
Effect: If this card is Link Summoned: You can add 1 "Timeline" Spell Card from your Deck to your hand. Once per turn: You can Tribute 1 monster this card points to; add 1 "Chrono" monster with a Level less than or equal to that of the Tributed monster from your Deck or Extra Deck to your hand. You can only use each effect of "ChronoDevil Death Tamer" once per turn.
"I activate Death Tamer's effect! Upon being Link Summoned, she gives me access to Timeline Fortress!" Death Tamer's eyes glowed red and she swung her scythe, slashing at the air in front of her, opening a black wormhole through which a card flew and landed in PhantomFire's palm.
Timeline Fortress (Spell Continuous)
When this card is activated, you can add 1 "ChronoDevil" monster from your Deck to your hand. Your opponent cannot target DARK monsters you control with Spell/Trap cards or their effects. If this face-up card is sent to the GY: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "ChronoDevil" monster from your Deck. You can only activate 1 "Timeline Fortress" per turn.
"Now for the third time! Appear, the circuit of the past and future! Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are at least two Chrono monsters, including a Link Monster! I set the Link One, ChronoDevil Mrauder and the Link Two, ChronoDevil Death Tamer in the Link Markers! Link Summon! ChronoDevil Unrest Crusader!"
A knight in heavy golden armor covering its entire body appeared riding a skeleton horse, which was dressed in a torn black cloak covering most of its body while rusty armor protected its chest, neck, and head, which had a single horn jutting out of it. The undead warrior itself had no face, instead, darkness filled its helmet, which had a pair of horns sticking out of its sides. The only part of the knight that was visible; were its soulless pale white eyes that were glowing in contrast to the darkness which filled the rest of the armor. Its weapon of choice was a long heavy lance held tightly in its left arm.
ChronoDevil Unrest Crusader
Attribute: DARK/Type: Zombie/Link/Effect
L-Markers: Top Left, Top, Top Right
ATK: 2400/Link-3
2+ "Chrono" monsters, including a Link Monster
Effect: While this card is on the field as a Monster Card, you cannot Summon/Set monsters to a zone this card points to. If this Link Summoned card is destroyed by battle or card and sent to the GY: You can target 1 Link 2 or lower DARK Link Monster in your GY; Special Summon that target, and if you do, place this card face-up in your Spell & Trap Zone as a Link Spell Card, but banish it when it leaves the field. During the Battle Phase (Quick Effect): If a card or effect is activated from your opponent's side of the field, while this card points to a Link Monster, you can negate that effect, then target a number of cards on the field, up to the Link Rating of 1 DARK Link Monster this card points to; negate the target(s) effects until the end of this turn. You can only use this effect of "ChronoDevil Unrest Crusader" once per turn.
"So that's your Link Three?" WordroW chuckled. "It doesn't appear that tough!"
"I activate Timeline Fortress. By this card's effect, I destroy Unrest Crusader and add ChronoDevil Eternal Viking to my hand!" PhantomFire's Continuous Spell appeared in front of him and fired a bolt of black lightning, destroying Unrest Crusader.
ChronoDevil Eternal Viking
Lv.4/Attribute: DARK/Type: Zombie/Effect
ATK: 1800/DEF: 400
Effect: If this card is in your hand: You can destroy 1 DARK monster you control: Special Summon this card from your hand. You can only Special Summon "ChronoDevil Eternal Viking" once per turn this way. A "Chrono" Extra Deck Monster that used this card as Material for its summoned, gains the following effect:
● At the start of the Damage Step, if this card battles a Special Summoned monster: You can destroy that monster, and if you do, inflict 1000 damage to your opponent.
He blew up his Link Monster? The Knights were surprised by this action, but they weren't stupid enough to lower their guard. She warned them not to underestimate their opponent if it's PhantomFire. She didn't tell them what to expect, said that he didn't have his own Duel Style. His dueling, the cards that he used, all of it was based on already existing dueling styles and cards that he mastered the use of and turned them into his own.
"Unrest Crusader's effect activates! When this Link Summoned card is destroyed, I can revive one Link Two or lower Dark Link Monster from my Graveyard. Rise once more, ChronoDevil Death Tamer (ATK: 1700, Link-2)!" The female spellcaster appeared in front of PhantomFire and swung her scythe. "And after I revive a monster by this effect, I can place Unrest Crusader in the Spell/Trap Zone as a Link Spell!"
A pitch-black void opened at PhantomFire's left Spell/Trap Zone and the undead knight rose from it. The Zombie growled and pointed its spear at the middle Monster Zone.
"A Link Spell?" Dartist asked.
"What?" PhantomFire smirked. "Didn't you watch Playmaker's duel yesterday?"
Because he did. He saw it many times. Link Spells, this was the power of Playmaker's new enemies. Although Evan couldn't make a perfect replica of it because his human technology was limited, he had enough experience with hybrids to create this – a Link Monster that can double as a Link Spell once it gets destroyed.
"Thanks to Unrest Crusader, I now have three open Extra Monster Zones on the main field," PhantomFire said gleefully with a large grin. "And I know what you're thinking. Only three? That's rocky numbers! And I agree! I activate Timeline Storm! When this Continuous Spell is activated, I can add ChronoDevil Wild Tamer Kitty from my Deck to the hand!"
ChronoDevil Wild Tamer Kitty
Lv.2/Attribute: DARK/Type: Beast-Warrior/Tuner/Pendulum/Effect
P.S: 3
ATK: 700/DEF: 700
Pendulum Effect: During your Main Phase: You can destroy this card, and if you do, take 1 "Wild Tamer" monster, from your hand or Deck (except for "ChronoDevil Wild Tamer Kitty"), and either place it in your Pendulum Zone or Special Summon it.
Effect: If a card(s) you control is destroyed by a card effect: You can Special Summon this card from your GY (if it was there when the cards(s) were destroyed) or hand (Even if not). Then you can add 1 "Chrono" monster or "Timeline" Spell/Trap Card from your Deck to the hand. Once per turn: You can send 1 "ChronoDevil" monster from your Deck to the GY; this card's name and Level become the same as that monster's. You can only use each effect of "ChronoDevil Wild Tamer Kitty" once per turn.
"Everblade's effect now activates! I return Fortress and Storm back to my hand and revive Everblade!" A sword covered in purple flames flew out and cut PhantomFire's Continuous Spells. The female pirate then materialized and grabbed the sword.
"This way you can use Storm's effect again next turn!" Terraspy exclaimed.
"I'm going to end it in this Battle Phase!" PhantomFire exclaimed. "Appear, the circuit of the past and future! Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning conditions are two Chrono monsters including a Link Monster! I set Everblade and the Link Two Death Tamer in the Link Markers! Link Summon! ChronoDevil Unrest Knight!"
A second undead knight riding a skeleton horse appeared on the field. Its body was clad in heavy black armor with darkness holding its body together. Its horse was armed similar to the first one with the excepting of the helmet which had two horns instead of one. The new Link Monster landed on the field mirroring Unrest Crusader with the new undead knight carrying its sword in its right hand instead.
ChronoDevil Unrest Knight
Attribute: DARK/Type: Zombie/Link/Effect
L-Markers: Top Left, Top, Top Right
ATK: 2400/Link-3
2+ "Chrono" monsters, including a Link Monster
Effect: While this card is on the field as a Monster Card, you cannot Summon/Set monsters to a zone this card points to. If this Link Summoned card is destroyed by battle or card and sent to the GY: You can place this card face-up in your Spell & Trap Zone as a Link Spell Card, but banish it when it leaves the field. Once per turn, while this card is in the Spell & Trap Zone by this effect: You can target 1 DARK monster in your GY: Return that target to the bottom of your Deck, and if you do, Special Summon 1 "Chrono" monster from your GY whose ATK is less than the targeted monster's, but it has its effects negated. If a DARK monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck this card points to battles, its ATK becomes double its current ATK during damage calculation only.
"I activate Eternal Viking's effect! I destroy Unrest Knight to Special Summon Eternal Viking!" The undead Knight burst apart and its body reformed into an undead zombie in a full set of Viking armor, including the stereotypical helmet with bull horns on it.
"Kitty's effect activates from my hand! When a card I control is destroyed, I can Special Summon this card and add Timeline Summon from my deck to the hand!"
A Neko girl with yellow eyes and long black hair tied into twin tails with large bells tied to them with blue ribbons jumped on the field. She appeared like a young teenager, with two cat ears on top of her head and a long black tail with a white dot on the end. The monster had a red cloth tied around her neck like a scarf. She wore a short, sleeveless brown vest that left her belly and shoulders revealed. Her fingernails were all colored red and she had a long black fingerless glove that reached to her elbow on her left arm. Underneath that, she had a heavy belt wrapped loosely around her waist with a black skirt that was, very, very short and had bells tied to it. Finally, her outfit ended with black tight highs and dark brown boots that had a clock attached to the front. The Neko girl also had a pair of brass knuckles with spikes on each hand.
Timeline Summon (Spell) Normal
Special Summon 1 "Chrono" or "Phantomus" monster from your Extra Deck, to a zone you can summon to, that 2 or more Link Arrows point to. During the End Phase, return the monster Summoned by this effect to your Extra Deck. You can only activate 1 "Timeline Summon" per turn.
"And now, Unrest Knight's effect activates! Because it was destroyed, I can place it in my Spell/Trap Zone as a Link Spell!" The pitch-black void opened at PhantomFire's right Spell/Trap Zone and the undead knight rose from it, then pointed its sword at the middle Monster Zone.
"Now there are Link Arrows pointing at all five of his Main Monster Zones!" Terraspy exclaimed.
"Unrest Knight's effect! I return Fate Alternative to the bottom of my deck and revive ChronoDevil Death Tamer (ATK: 1700, Link-2)! Then I activate Kitty's second effect to send ChronoDevil Protector Golem from my Deck to the Graveyard! Protector Golem's effect! Once per turn, if this card is in the Graveyard and I control only DARK monsters, I can revive it!"
A portal opened and a large yellow golem appeared on the field with a golden clock attached to its back, holding two clock arrows in its arms like swords. It then kneeled and crossed its weapons in front of itself, taking a defensive stance.
ChronoDevil Protector Golem
Lv.3/Attribute: DARK/Type: Rock/Effect
ATK: 1200/DEF: 2000
Effect: If all monsters you control are DARK monsters (min. 1) while this card is in your Graveyard: You can Special Summon this card. You can only use this effect of "ChronoDevil Protector Golem" once per turn.
"Now for my favorite one!" PhantomFire raised his hand. "Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning conditions are two DARK monsters with Levels! I set Eternal Viking and Protector Golem in the Link Markers! Link Summon! ChronoDevil King's Cavalry!"
Another undead knight riding a horse appeared on the field. This time however the monster wore lighter armor with a tattered brown cloak over it. Its head was covered by a hood with light coming out of it.
ChronoDevil King's Cavalry
Attribute: DARK/Type: Zombie/Link/Effect
L-Markers: Bottom, Top Right
ATK: 1400/Link-2
2 DARK monsters with Levels
Effect: When this card is Link Summoned: You can target 1 "ChronoDevil" monster in your GY; return that target to the bottom of your deck, and if you do, add 1 card from your GY with the word "ChronoDevil" in its card text. You can only use this effect of "ChronoDevil King's Cavalry" once per turn. If a Link 3 or higher "ChronoDevil" Link Monster you control is destroyed by battle or card effect: You can Special Summon this card from your GY, but banish it when it leaves the field.
"King's Cavalry's effect activates! I return Eternal Viking to the bottom of my deck and add ChronoDevil Slayer Drainer to my hand. Now again! Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning conditions are two or more DARK Effect monsters! I set Slayer's Hand and the Link Two Death Tamer in the Link Markers! Link Summon! The unseen slayer, connect with my darkened soul! Link Three! ChronoDevil Slayer Phantomus!"
A young man resembling Evan with the white hair and crimson eyes appeared on the field. The new monster was dressed in a simple pair of black pants and a sleeveless red hoodie. Its arms were protected by gloves, covered in metal plates that reached all the way to its upper arm. The monster wore a shoulder guard over its left shoulder and a metal belt around its waist that held its longsword.
ChronoDevil Slayer Phantomus
Attribute: DARK/Type: Fiend/Link/Effect
L-Markers: Bottom Left, Top, Bottom Right
ATK: 2300/Link-3
2+ DARK Effect Monsters
When this card or another monster is Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, you can target 1 monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, its effects are negated while you control this card, also you can have this card gain that monster's effects until the end of the turn. This effect of "ChronoDevil Slayer Phantomus" can be activated a number of times equal to the number of monsters this card points to, also you can only copy the effect of 1 monster at a time. If a linked monster you control battles your opponent's monster while this card is co-linked, any battle damage it inflicts to your opponent is doubled. At the end of your Battle Phase: If this card is co-linked to 2 or more cards whose combined Link Rating is 6 or more, you can activate this effect; conduct your Battle Phase a second time this turn. You can only use this effect of "ChronoDevil Slayer Phantomus" once per Duel.
"And only for good measure, I activate Timeline Summon! Because I have Unrest Knight, Unrest Crusader and Phantomus pointing at the same zone, I can Special Summon this card from my Extra Deck! The devil that reigns in the realm of death! ChronoDevil Forever King!"
A large knight riding a zombie horse appeared on the field next. Unlike the Link 3s, this monster rode a horse made of flesh with glowing crimson eyes. Its armor was different as well, more brown-like and form-fitting compared to the much bulkier design of the knights. Chainmail covered its head as a hood with the King's cursed black crown resting on it. The monster's face was covered in a metal-skull mask with just two red dots coming out of its eye sockets. The King landed in the zone between Unrest Crusader and Unrest Knight then raised its sword triumphantly before the other two monsters raised their own weapons and yelled something in the demonic language.
ChronoDevil Forever King
Attribute: DARK/Type: Zombie/Link/Effect
L-Markers: Top Left, Bottom Left, Bottom Right, Right
ATK: 2800/Link-4
3+ DARK Effect monsters
Effect: When this card is Link Summoned: You can target 1 monster your opponent controls; return that target to the bottom of the Deck, and if you do, all "Chrono" monsters on the field, except "ChronoDevil Forever King" gain 600 ATK until the end of this turn. If your opponent targets a Link Monster you control with card effect while this card is co-linked (Quick Effect): You can negate the activation, and if you do, destroy that card. During the Battle Phase, if this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle while co-linked, you can activate this effect: This card can make a second attack on an opponent's monster this turn, and if it does, it gains 1000 ATK for every card co-linked to it until the end of the Damage Step. You can only use each effect of "ChronoDevil Forever King" once per turn.
"That's… something." WordorW managed to blurt out.
Three Link Monsters were staring down at him and his partner and Phantomus still had a full hand despite all of the cards that he played. In any other situation, this would have been where the duel ends, but WordorW had the card he needed to stop this monster and its cards in their tracks.
"That's an amazing field you got there." Dartist clapped. "Too bad, you won't have a chance to use it."
"Those are some bold words for someone within slaying range," PhantomFire replied while Phantomus swung its sword and took an attack stance.
"Let's test that out then," WordorW suggested. "Action Card activate! Battle Lock! Your monsters can't attack for the duration of this turn!"
"W-WHAT?!" PhantomFire yelled.
Chains shoot out of WordorW's card and tied around PhantomFire's monsters. His ChronoDevils roared and growled, pushing back against the chains, but to no avail. They were trapped!
"Ho-How did he do that? He never set that card!" Terraspy protested.
"I didn't need to set it." WordroW shook his finger in front of Terraspy. "In Action Duels, you can activate Action Cards at any time. All you have to do is grab one. Isn't that right, PhantomFire?"
"Phantom?" Terraspy turned back to her partner.
The DARK Duelist leaned back and gripped his head. Real Solid Vision has never been discovered in this world. The pioneers of Action Duels, Leo Akaba and Yusho Sakaki never existed in this timeline. So why was this mechanic there? Why were the shadows of his past catching up to him now? And how were they able to find him in this world?
PhantomFire looked back up to his opponent. No, we could figure out how Action Duels came to be in LINK VRAINS later.
"So you have used something annoying to save your skin?" PhantomFire tsked. His avatar's sclera turned black as he gripped the arms of his throne. "But unfortunately for you, I'm already used to stomping bugs like you!"
Roxy's POV
"So, what exactly made you come to Den City?" I asked Takeru while Yusaku was off talking with Kusanagi. "Also no offense toward you, but we could have used any help during the Knights of Hanoi's attack."
"He was too scared to fight back then." Flame replied and placed a hand over his chest. "It was thanks to me that he grew from being a crybaby."
"H-hey!" Takeru shouted. "I wasn't a crybaby!"
"That reminds me of a human that I know myself." Firera nodded her head.
"And I'm sorry about that." I bowed to her.
"So, what exactly happened that Aqua left you behind?" Flame asked. "I know how much she cares about you, Firera. It's not like her to leave her only companion like this."
"She sensed that something was going to happen and wanted me to oversee the network from the human world while she's busy looking for the Ignis," Firera explained. "Our main goal was to reunite with the rest of you and start rebuilding the Cyberse World."
"And now I'm here while she's away." Flame grumbled. "Are you sure that you won't be able to locate her using traces from her data left in you?"
"I… haven't been in a position to properly scan the network in the last few months." Firera lowered her head. "I'm afraid that I wouldn't be able to locate her after such a long period."
"I just hope that the people who were after me haven't gotten to her." Ai interrupted the chat.
I quickly turned my head and saw Yusaku standing behind us. I pulled my chair to the left, giving him space to put his own chair. He didn't reply to my gesture and just sat next to me before placing his Duel Disk in front of himself.
"Do you mean that someone's been chasing you again?" I asked Ai.
"Yeah." Ai nodded. "They were in the Cyberse World, but they didn't appear to be Knights of Hanoi. I barely managed to escape with Linkuriboh."
"That's worrisome," I commented. "Could the people that have been after you to be the same ones that stole Jin's consciousness?"
"I didn't stick around to find out." That was a fair answer.
I leaned back into my chair. Neither Ai nor Flame has met with Aqua since she left. Somebody was terrorizing the destroyed Cyberse World. There was also a new group that was going after Lost Incident victims, or maybe after people allied with Playmaker.
"I see that you three have gotten to know each other already." I looked over Yusaku's shoulder as Kusanagi joined our conversation. He came to us and placed a cup of coffee in front of Takeru and Yusaku respectively.
"This wasn't necessary." Takeru smiled back.
"It's fine. I don't have much to do these days." Kusanagi replied, and indeed there weren't many people coming to his stand for some reason. "I'm surprised that Yusaku has started to make friends with his classmates that aren't Aoi."
Wait, what? Yusaku and Aoi became friends? I looked toward Yusaku who immediately turned his head to the other side. Oh no, Fujiki, you won't hide that one from me! I'll get a detailed explanation, even if it has to be Kusanagi that's going to give it to me.
"Yusaku told me the highlights." I turned my attention from glaring at Yusaku and listened to what Kusanagi was saying. "Welcome, Homura and Flame."
"Thanks," Takeru replied. "As a victim of the incident, I know what your brother has gone through. I'll do what I can to help recover his consciousness. If there's anything you need, just ask."
"He may look soft, but he got a strong core." Flame added. "He also has some skills as a Duelist, so he can be of help."
"Hmm, does that mean that I'm no longer the only one with a half-useless partner?" Firera asked.
"Hey!" I and Takeru shouted at our respective AIs.
"Kusanagi, did you find any lead?" Yusaku asked.
"Your opponent has vanished in LINK VRAINS' restricted area," Kusanagi told him, and us. He took a tablet and showed us a map of LINK VRAINS. "He disappeared around here."
"Could the Greysons know anything about this?" Yusaku turned to me.
"They are doing their own research on it," I told him. "Nothing solid has come out, but personally, I think that SOL might be involved in this. Although Evan owns LINK VRAINS now, a large part of the shares are still in SOL's hands and they have special privileges on what sort of activities they can do on the servers."
"We can't be sure if SOL is involved in this," Kusanagi replied. "But after checking the area, I found a shred of an unknown program."
He showed us the code. Neither I nor Takeru understood much when it came to coding, so to us it all looked like a series of hexagons. Firera, Ai, and Flame, however, looked at the screen with large interest.
"This is an Ignis program!" All three of them said in unison. What? An Ignis? Could it be Aqua?
"It's WIND Attribute." Flame specified. Oh, it wasn't Aqua.
"So there's a WIND Ignis?" Yusaku asked his partner.
"There may be, there maybe not." Ai put his hands on his hips.
"It's the only lead we got," Yusaku said. "We should check it out."
Ah, there it was. The words that would foreshadow another crazy adventure filled with dangers, mysteries and lots of new and powerful enemies. And believe when I tell you, after spending three months looked away to train and perfect my dueling skills, I was more than ready to get back at being Playmaker's sidekick! And with Takeru and Flame joining our small faction we turned from a pair of vigilances fighting against cyber terrorists, to a real team working together to help others out!
Now that's one way to start the New Year! I would have made a joke about how usually after a long Hiatus like this one, authors most often come back to announce a cancelation/reboot, but then I saw that I was gone for only 3 months and was like: "THOSE ARE ROOKIE NUMBERS!"
That aside, we got the announcement for YU-GI-OH! SEVEN. There haven't been many authors that have commented what their thoughts about the series. I definitely won't write a story about it and probably won't watch it either; mostly because I'll have more important things to focus on. The new art style reminds me of the Bakugan Reboot and the card designs make me think of Cardfight Vanguard, but I don't have a problem with the decision to change styles. So far, the best think about SEVEN has been the reaction of some parts of the community to it. "It can only get better after ARC-VRAINS" they said.
Oh, we also get an announcement for Master Rule 20/4, or Master Rule 5 for those who know math. I really want to write a story where the dueling follows these rules, and who knows, maybe sometime in the not so distant future, something with the new rules might pop-up in my, or a friend of mine's story lists. Also, it hasn't been stated by the staff at Konami officially, but it's a rule that if you run a Synchro Spam deck you must also play the song "Deja Vu" by Dave Rodgers, or you will be disqualified from whatever Tournament you're participating in.
But seriously, six monster zones and they also have cards like Junk Speeder. The only way Konami could prevent that would be to ban/limit every good Synchro related card.
So, moving toward the end. Thanks to crowley20206 for favoriting this story!
Also a response to SakushiRyu's review: I... I literally didn't realize that Yamamoto was the Frog's real name until you mentioned that. It was a complete coincidence. But it would be hilarious if these two were related in some way.
And that's all folks! Thanks for reading, I'll see you next time, and happy New Year!
Diabolic Tracer out!