I had to make strong modifications to this chapter, the duel was not well written and there were some problems with it. The others will be uploaded on time, when I finish writing them completely. Thanks to And The Sky, Antimattering(Duel script),Scaehime.
Despite technically being a cover for their oftentimes less-than-legal activities, Coffee Duels was Miguel's pride and joy. A combination internet cafe, computer repair shop, and duel lounge, this little store began as his means for explaining how three people could live in a nice apartment in a large city, without outing their true intentions to the world via tax collectors.
Yuritzi was, of course, skeptical about the whole thing, thinking the themes too niche and disparate to attract any real attention. Given their continued anonymity, she was conclusively proven wrong. In fact, the shop turned out to be quite popular in the end, especially among children and teens who used the in-house Solid Vision system to make up for the fact they couldn't afford the latest duel disks and other technology.
Miguel tended the counter served customers, while Yuritzi cleaned up in the back, sorting various parts and taking inventory on their stock. That left Maria out front tending to the people at booths and tables. She was also one of the draws at this establishment, insisting on serving while wearing a classic French maid outfit for her own enjoyment. "Look, but don't touch," was the mindset people had to adopt lest they face the wrath of her overprotective family, as one man unfortunately but justifiably had once upon a time.
While loading up a serving platter, Maria rubbed at the side of her head. Thanks to the hearing aids on her ears, she was able to restore a large amount of her hearing despite the extensive damage she had suffered during that incident years back. Of course, all things came at a cost: she only had around five hours' worth of time before requiring a break due to irritation from all the sound. That limit was quickly approaching based on how she was feeling now.
Breaks could wait, she told herself, doubling down and taking the order to the ones who requested it. "Here's your coffee and a slice of chocolate cake as you requested," she said, giving a bow after placing the items on the wooden tabletop. The older customer was greatly amused by Maria's commitment to her role, clapping her hands and laughing. It was enough to make her blush as she returned to the counter.
As usual, Miguel was standing at the front. "Seems like an exciting duel going on over there," he commented to his sister and Yuritzi in the back. The latter had little interest in something like this, merely poking her head out just to see what was going on. As expected, this did little to make her care about other people playing cards, though the fact that Maria nearly scampered over to join the few people gathered to watch certainly caught her attention.
Yuritzi looked to Miguel, noting the smile on his face. He seemed rather pleased to see her so excited about Duel Monsters; more accurately, he was happy that she was finally taking an interest in something besides bad anime and Tokusatsu TV shows. And judging by how intently she seemed to be following the game, eyes filled with wonder at every play, that interest was anything but minor.
"I attack with my Emerald Dragon!" one of the young boys declared. "Blast Grand Dragon apart!" On the table were tiny holographic representations of the cards they played with. While not as advanced as a regular duel disk or as immersive as virtual reality, it more than served its purpose of amusing the duelists and spectators at the cafe.
On its owner's command, the gleaming green dragon pulled its head back before blasting the enemy creature with a stream of shining gems. This inflicted enough damage to win the duel, as indicated by a shout from the opponent. "Gotcha!" the winning player said. "My dragon's so cool!"
The other boy laughed, nodding along. "Yeah, you beat me." He held out his hand, shaking with the winner. "Want to go again?"
"Sure," the victor agreed, the two picking up immediately to start another game.
While most of those watching were simply impressed by the skills on display, Maria in particular was interested in how things ended. Regardless of who won or who lost, both children just seemed happy to be playing. There wasn't any anger or sadness or a fear of loss between them, just friendship and joy. It was an almost entirely foreign idea to her, making what should be a rather mundane sight almost hypnotizing.
"Should she be out there?" Yuritzi said, approaching the counter with evident concern. "Maybe she should go upstairs. It's been about five hours. She probably needs a rest."
Miguel waved his hand to dismiss her concerns. "It's fine. She had a break not that long ago, plus it's barely an hour before we close." This did little to stem Yuritzi's worry, Miguel leaning onto the counter as he added, "If it's that much of a problem, you could take her place out there. Bet that maid outfit would look good on you."
They didn't have time for any more smart comments, the chimes at the front of the shop signaling the opening of the front door and a new patron entering through it. Unfortunately, it was someone Yuritzi was not at all looking forward to seeing.
Akatsuki from school approached the counter, a bit surprised to see her classmate here. "Hey, you work here, too? Small world."
"Oh, is this your friend?" Miguel said to Yuritzi, the latter shrugging as she avoided eye contact.
Akatsuki nodded. "We go to school together. Weird I haven't seen you here before. I come in about once a week, right?"
"About that often," Miguel agreed. "Ever going to finish that computer you're supposed to be building? Not that I'm complaining since you keep handing me money." He smiled at his own joke, nudging Yuritzi's shoulder. "But, yeah, she's usually off making a delivery or cleaning in back. Or at the house."
"Your house?" she asked. "You live together?"
He nodded. "Yeah. She's my sister, actually. Adopted. Good thing, too, since I can't afford to lose any more of the good genes." The two laughed, Miguel giving Yuritzi a pat on the head. "It's a pretty good job working with both my cute little sisters."
Yuritzi turned a bright red. She didn't think it was possible to hate this interaction even more than she already had before but here she was now, trying to will herself into teleporting to another reality just to get away from it.
"You know, your cute little sister saved my life the other day," Akatsuki said, a bit disappointed in herself for enjoying Yuritzi's embarrassment as much as she did.
"Wow, really?" Miguel asked. "No one told me about that."
She nodded. "Yep. Couple of punks at school tried some stuff and she scared them off like it was nothing."
"Who would have thought we had a hero working here?" Miguel laughed, turning to look to Yuritzi only to find that she'd vanished. More specifically, she'd slunk down under the counter, curling into a ball. Probably not the best way to drive home her earlier heroics.
"Anyway," Miguel said to change the subject, "what did you need this time? You break something again?"
Akatsuki gave a nervous laugh, pressing the tips of her index fingers together as she explained her situation. "Well, I was trying to record some stuff, but then nothing recorded because some other program decided to override my feed. Override it by…breaking it."
"How's that work?" he asked.
"Eh, don't worry about it," she said, not wanting to admit her involvement in the highly publicized terrorist attack on Vrains.
Miguel raised an eyebrow, figuring that there was more to the story than she was letting on. He didn't probe any further, figuring they all had their secrets. Not like he was one to judge. "Well, whatever," he said. "I'll see what I can do about a replacement and send it over to you."
Akatsuki sighed, relieved to hear this. "I really can't thank you enough for putting up with all of this." Knocking on the counter, she added, "And see you tomorrow at school," before heading out of the shop. Yuritzi couldn't even muster a grunt, too flustered by the excruciating social interaction to leave that spot for some time after.
(SOL Technologies)
"The plan to use GO Onizuka to defeat Playmaker has failed," Akira Zaizen explained to Kryan as well as the SOL Technologies board of directors, each represented by various ivory chess pieces floating in space. Those assembled today were the Queen, King, and Bishop. In truth, they were all more than aware of the recent battle between the two duelists, most of Vrains having watched it happen. Still, it was good to establish things before discussing what their next move would be.
King spoke first, stating, "It is essential that we obtain the program in Playmaker's possession." Again, something they were all aware of.
"And that bounty hunter, as well," Bishop added. "Lightning Hunter defected from us after taking what reports indicate was another Ignis. We can't allow that to happen."
"Agreed," Queen said. "Zaizen, as head of security, it's your duty to take care of these problems. If these threats can simply run wild, faith in SOL Technologies and Link Vrains will plummet."
"I understand," he said, doing his best to keep a neutral disposition despite the pressure he was under.
"I hope you do," Queen emphasized.
"I think there's something else we should address," Bishop spoke again. "Lightning Hunter was Kryan's responsibility initially. All that one's jobs went through him." Attention was now focused solely on him. "Zaizen's incompetence is one thing, but this is another matter entirely. Do you have anything to say for yourself after letting a high-value target like that betray us from right under our noses?"
Seemingly unfazed by all of this, Kryan merely nodded. "It's true," he said with a rather nonchalant tone, given the severity of this issue. "I take full responsibility for not intercepting Lightning Hunter sooner. As such, I'm more than happy to shoulder some of the burden of taking them down alongside my colleague."
"And do you have a plan for how to do that?" Bishop asked, still obviously annoyed.
"I propose we call in GO Onizuka again."
Immediately, he was met with more disapproval. "And why would we want a known failure to work for us again?" Queen questioned.
"Well, to put it simply," he said, "failure in one thing doesn't mean failure in another."
"If I may," Akira interrupted. "We've discussed this plan previously. The full scope would be using Onizuka as a distraction. While he occupies Lightning Hunter, another of our agents will be able to move in and secure victory."
"Indeed," Kryan said with a smirk.
"To remain honest, I should note that I object to this strategy," Akira added. This level of dishonesty and duplicity didn't sit right with him, especially with how it would no doubt shame Onizuka. He'd be tricked into thinking it was a chance at redemption only to learn at the last moments that he was just another pawn in SOL's dealings.
"Noted," Queen said dismissively. All three of the chess pieces were silent for some time, seemingly deliberating over this strategy among themselves in private. Eventually, the small orbs that dotted the front of each piece lit up again, indicating that the people they represented had returned. "We will approve this measure," Queen told them.
"Thank you for you accepting our idea," Kryan said with a bow, Akira following suit despite his earlier objection. "We won't let you down."
(Command Center)
"Regardless of anything else, I still think Onizuka put up a good fight against him," Miguel said as the recording of the Charisma Duelist's battle with Playmaker from two days prior played on his computer. Yuritzi and Maria were also there, both seeing the duel for the first time.
With their duties done at the shop , all that was left to do for today involved Lightning Hunter and Vrains. That said, Yuritzi was having trouble focusing with Maria in the room, wanting to push her out for fear that she'd be hurt if she got involved. She did nothing to act on these impulses, however, unable to deny her things after she'd taken an interest in them.
"His deck is interesting," Yuritzi concluded. "Especially the way he uses his rapid Link Summoning technique."
"His deck is like yours," Maria signed. "I still like yours better. They're more like Kamen Rider." What she'd said would be nigh-incomprehensible to anyone not in the know, Maria having invented her own sign for her favorite show (left hand on hip, right hand pointing to the side with index finger extended) out of necessity.
This finally made Yuritzi smile, signing a small message of thanks back at Maria for the compliment.
"What's the purpose of these hand gestures?" Zero asked, unsure as to what she was witnessing here. She'd seen it before but only now felt compelled to comment on it, figuring out that it wasn't a typical means of communication for most humans.
"To communicate with each other," Yuritzi said.
"Maria's deaf, so she can't really hear stuff most of the time," Miguel added, signing as he did so as not to alienate his sister from a conversation about her. "So we talk to her like this so we can all understand each other."
Zero nodded. "Humans are certainly impressive to think of things like that. They can even replace lost senses. I'll need to find a program to learn it for myself."
Miguel translated the last bit for her, Maria looking happy at the prospect of actually being able to understand the tiny creature in the duel disk without an intermediary. "It'll be a pleasure to speak to you, Miss AI," she replied.
The two shook hands (or finger on Maria's part), the AI adding, "For the record, you should all be using my name now. Zero-Q."
"Why that name?" Miguel asked her.
"My serial number. It's 00000."
"And what about the Q?"
"It's like another zero."
"That seems..." He couldn't really find a kinder way to say "redundant" or "pointless" at that moment.
"If you think about it, you'll understand eventually. From what I know about humans, you should think it's very cool." She didn't know much about humans. That was an objective fact.
Yuritzi shrugged. "Whatever. She can call herself whatever she wants. No reason to be negative about it."
(Den City Orphanage)
"...eight, nine, ten!" Go Onizuka lowered his hands from his face, scouting the playground outside the orphanage in as exaggerated a manner as he possibly could. "They really gave me the slip this time," he said, deliberately ignoring several children sticking out from behind trees or in plain view under a picnic table. "I'm going to have to give it my all if I want to find them."
Stomping over to the table, he propped his leg up on the bench attached to it. "I wonder where they went," he said, seemingly oblivious to the giggles from a few of the children hiding underneath. He tapped his foot a few times, humming to himself in contemplation.
"I see you're one for children, Go Onizuka." Upon hearing the new voice, Go immediately stopped playing with the kids and turned to where he thought it had come from. "You seem very much like their big brother."
Looking behind him, Go saw Kryan standing in the corridor with his hands in his pockets "Greetings. My name is Kryan Zichon,. Deputy Security Manager of SOL technologies., iIt's a pleasure to finally get to meet you in person, Mr. Onizuka."
"SOL… What do you want with me?" Go had to do his best to prevent a more risqué remark from leaving his mouth, due to the presence of the children in the room. "I thought that our partnership was only a one -off thing."
In response Kryan smirked. "Don't be so naïve, Mr. Onizuka. You should know how the chain of command works, given the time you were the number one duelist in Link Vrains. I didn't realise that you had such a weak short term memory."
"Why you…!" Go once more had to restrain himself, this time from physically assaulting the SOL deputy. The kids still saw him as number one, and there was no changing that. The last thing he needed at this moment was to lose their faith too. "Tch, what do you want me to do."
"That's more like it!" Kryan smiled happily before reverting back to his previous calculating look. "I'm acting upon orders from both Queen and the higher- ups at SOL and my immediate boss Akira Zaizen to bring you back for another mission. One of utmost importance, one that could even possibly… Lift your ranking... So to say…" Go knew that the long- haired male in front of him was provoking him, he wasn't an idiot. But… If what he implied was true, then the desire was already there. "We want you to duel Lightning Hunter."
That blunt statement made Go raise his eyebrows. Sure, he had previously demanded to duel Lightning Hunter, but to do it so soon after Playmaker would be insane. "Lightning Hunter? That new bounty hunter that just suddenly appeared in the system? I thought they worked for you?"
"Yes, yes, and no," Kryan replied, answering the questions all at once. "They indeed have just appeared into the system, but they are just as much of a danger to it as Playmaker is. As for the last part, they were employed with us, but that contract has since been considered null and void."
"What's your point?" Go said, annoyed by Kryan seemingly deliberately dragging out the situation.
"Duel them for us. Retrieve the AIi they possess. Become number one again." Kryan removed one of his hands out of his pocket and handed over a singular card to Go. "Surely you want that? To be revered and held at the pinnacle of the dueling world once more? Do this for us successfully, and we can certainly pull some strings behind the scenes."
Kryan didn't wait for Go to reply as he moved to leave. "I'll be watching, so I don't need your commitment now;, just keep me in mind, 'kay? If you can't bring yourself to do it out of duty, then do it for the kids. They deserve to see their big brother on top of the world." With that the enigmatic deputy had vanished from the scene as a sea of eyes locked onto him.
Go saw the kids look up at him with wide eyes filled with excitement. "Do it!" They collectively yelled. "Playmaker was just a fluke! No one can defeat you!"
With that Go's mind was made up.
Kryan smirked.
(Akatsuki House.)
Aktasuki was writing on her computer, wearing long shorts and a shirt with a Phoenix bird on her chest. She wrote about the experience that happened in Hoelle's first attack, although things were complicated by not having many images of the scene.
"This is hard-" She growled in regret as she hit her face against the table. "Why can't I be a cool reporter?" She was lucky she was alone in her room, or people would think she was a lunatic talking to herself.
While she was still regretting, a message had come straight to her email address that she used for her reporting. She raised her head, and when she clicked on the message she opened her eyes in surprise, ran up to find her duel disk, and went to Link Vrains immediately.
Akatsuki knew that things were getting serious.
(O Hara Residence)
After the day's work at the O Hara residence, everyone was ready to go to sleep. Of course, Miguel was the first to fall asleep, sitting in the command room chair, and, as was common in these situations, Yuritzi carried the adult man, loaded on her shoulders, up to his room.
After throwing him to his bed, Yuritzi said goodbye. "Good night, giant baby," she said, laughing at her comment, and then closing the door to let him rest in peace.
Now the only task remaining was to see if Maria was sleeping in her room.
The door to the young woman's room was half open and with the lights on. Before Yuritzi could enter and check if Maria was resting, she stopped dead when she heard Zero-Q's voice in the room.
"I finally came to understand sign language, Miss Maria." The excited tone of learning something new could be heard, and Maria seemed proud to have caused it. The girl had her listening device.
Yuritzi had a smile on her face for Maria.
"If you want, you can take my notes should you have more questions about it." María said as she took a notebook from the desk and, at the same time, accidentally dropped a Deck Holder from it. The girl picked it up immediately.
"Miss Maria, I didn't know you were a duellist," Zero said with a curious look.
Maria was a little intimidated and, with a slight blush on her cheeks, said, "I am not, although I would like to be, but I am afraid that Yuritzi..."
"You would like to be?" Zero asked, not understanding very well. "If you would like to be, what stops you from not achieving that goal?" Zero opened a digital window and connected to the internet quickly. "I do not understand what it says. If there are many programs on the web for duelists with disabilities so they can joined the world of pro dueling…"
Maria was somewhat hesitant,not wanting to reveal much information to the AI, because Yuritzi had told her not to tell anyone about their past.
"Well, it's not that I don't want to or my limitations are the problem. It's that I don't know if Yuritzi wants me to learn."
"Why would that be a problem? I say you are not fighting for your life as she does."
"She is afraid I will be hurt by dueling or react badly to it, that it will remind me of bad times." Maria hugged the deck to her chest. "And it's something that I understand. I also don't want her to worry about me. My brother even tried to get her to teach me since he is not very good at explaining."
"Your brother wants you to duel too?"
Maria nodded. "He even bought me this deck of cards. He worries as much as Yuritzi does about my happiness, and I don't want anyone to feel bad for me." A sad smile appeared on her face, making the AI feel bad for her.
Zero glanced away, alerted by a noise outside the room. "There seems to be someone outside," she said, pointing towards the door.
When Maria went to check, she saw no one outside. She found it strange and only returned to her room, this time closing the door completely.
The cyber duelist fell from the ceiling she was holding onto – her attempt to hide from Maria when she opened the door. She had heard everything Maria said to Zero. She just felt sorry for her, feeling horribly wrong for taking Maria's chance to be happy.
(Link Vrains)
"If you mess with the Knights of Hanoi, you must pay the price." One of the Hanoi knights had cornered Tech-Glitch on a Link Vrains rooftop. "Prepare to fight, silly girl." He had his duel disk at the ready.
But Tech-Glitch was just looking up, ignoring the knight. "I'm threatening you – don't ignore me like that!"
Glitch rolled her eyes and put her finger to her mouth, telling him to be quiet. "I'm waiting for someone, if you could hold on for a moment."
As intended, this won the Hanoi knight's irritation. "I'm going to delete your account!" He had his duel disk ready to remove Tech-Glitch from Link Vrains. The journalist backed away for a second, afraid of the possibility that he could actually follow through on his threat.
The Hanoi knight suddenly looked up in terror as Playmaker jumped off his duel board. Just seeing him falling in front of them both and standing in front of Tech-Glitch made the knight back off.
"This is the tenth knight from Hanoi that we've encountered, Playmaker. Do we end him how we did the other two?" Ai, on Playmaker's duel disk, said confidently.
"The tenth?" the knight from Hanoi whimpered fearfully.
"Would you like to be the next to suffer our anger? We are on a very good streak today." His fists creaked, causing fear to intensify within the knight of Hanoi.
"You will pay for this, Playmaker." He disconnected, fleeing like a coward from the confrontation.
"This time I got the knight to leave." The AI hit his chest, proud of his accomplishment. Playmaker turned away, ignoring the AI's comment. "You can at least congratulate me!"
"Playmaker, wait!" Tech-Glitch called as the duelist began to leave. "There is an important thing that you need to see." The Link Vrains hero stopped, then turned to stare straight at the journalist, who backed away a step.
The girl turned her head and slapped herself for a moment, earning a rare look from the AI, and the Cyberse duellist raised an eyebrow. Why should she be afraid of Playmaker if he is a hero?
The girl raised her duel disk and showed the message that had been sent to her: Tomorrow, there will be a duel between Lightning Hunter and Go Onizuka, but what neither of them knows is that someone is waiting for both duelists. Where the light dies and revives, that's where you will find the Hitman. I want you to contact Playmaker and send this message, because if you fail, not only will you lose your account at Lightning Hunter's hands, but you will also be at risk of dying.
After Playmaker finished reading the message, he said in a firm and indifferent tone, "I do not know if it is legitimate. I have many doubts about this information. Even the source does not seem authentic."
Glitch already had a history of being tricked with false information, but she liked to think that she knew by now how to tell the difference between false and true information… "The information may not be legitimate, and it may be a troll, but we can't take the risk that it will hurt Go Onizuka or Lightning Hunter."
Playmaker crossed his arms. Even the AI did not know whether to believe the girl or not. "This all seems too silly. Why should we believe information that does not seem legitimately true?" Ai said dubiously. "Besides, we don't know you well. It could be a trap like last time with Go Onizuka, or maybe you're locking us in an even worse cage?"
The AI was right, she didn't have enough evidence to confirm if the message was true, but then she thought of something. "You can take it and trace where it came from. At least find out if it's really true." This still did not fully convince Ai or Playmaker. "Please, you are the only ones I can trust with this information. There is no one else I can put my faith in. We cannot let people end up suffering from this," Glitch said, passing the message file to Playmaker, who was still watching her.
The duelist just backed away and continued on his way, disconnecting from Link Vrains.
The journalist fell to the ground and hit it with her fist in anger. "Damn it, I'm an idiot."
(O Hara Residence: Saturday Morning)
"Yuritzi, we have a problem." Miguel woke Yuritzi abruptly. "We have Hoelle back in Link Vrains. Apparently, it has hostages."
Yuritzi didn't even blink or rub her eyes. She just got out of bed and noted that Maria was sleeping next to her, her duel disk in the middle of the bed and Zero sleeping on it. She put on her duel disc and woke up the AI, heading to the command room. "Zero, we have work to do."
"But I haven't even bathed," Zero argued.
"You can't take a bath. You're not human."
"But I still wanted to try it."
Yuritzi rolled her eyes." In another time, when we are not in a death situation."
With deck in hand, Yuritzi entered the cabin, which closed the moment she entered. "Access!" she shouted as she inserted her deck into her duel disk, posing with her arms and transporting herself to virtual reality. "Lightning Change!"
(Link Vrains)
Hoelle's soldier was located in one of the Link Vrains buildings. He had two hostages tied in a rope. The cameras of Sol Technologies had them recorded. Lightning struck the building near Hoelle's soldier. The hunter had arrived at the scene.
"You arrived on time, Lightning Hunter. I thought you would never come," Hoelle's soldier said and, in a moment of their distraction, he released a rope that attached itself to the cyber duelist's duel disk.
"An Anchor duel. You won't let me out of here without a good fight, will you?" the hunter exclaimed as their duel disk started due to the anchor.
The soldier's avatar began to alter, revealing himself to be the number one Charisma duelist, Go Onizuka. "I'd say we're here to entertain the audience rather than anything else."
"Go Onizuka apparently wants to face us..." Zero said.
"I told you last time that I would rather not fight with you. Not because I am not interested, but because I have no relationship with you or any reason to fight," the hunter said.
"Well, now you do have a reason to duel, thanks to the anchor. You know the risk of not accepting the duel and losing your account," Go Onizuka retorted. "This will be a duel to decide who deserves second place."
Hunter could do nothing but accept the challenge. Both duelists summoned their duel boards and raced to enter the data stream.
"Speed Duel!"
Go Onizuka: LP 4000, Hand 4
VS
Lightning Hunter: LP 4000, Hand 4
"I'll start," the charisma duelist shouted as the four cards of his starting hand materialized in front of him. He had a smile on his face and a good hand to start this duel. "I will summon Gouki Suprex from my hand." [Hand 4-3]
An ogre similar to a dinosaur, wearing a blue suit and body armor, threw his fists like a fighter.
Gouki Suprex 1800 ATK / 0 DEF / EARTH / Level 4 / Warrior / Effect
"When Suprex is summoned to the field by normal summon, I can call another Gouki monster from my hand. I will summon Gouki Twistcobra to the field." [Hand 3-2]
Another ogre materialized, making movements that copied a cobra, as his name suggested.
Gouki Twistcobra 1600 ATK / 0 DEF / LIGHT / Level 3 / Warrior / Effect
"Interesting, a level 4 monster and a level 3 monster at the same time," Zero-Q commented, one hand on her chin in thought. "I wonder if he will use the same strategy that he used against Playmaker."
"Possibly; we shouldn't let our guard down," Lightning Hunter commented back. "So, his next move may be waiting for us to face him."
Go Onizuka smirked. "You can try to predict my moves however you want, but that won't stop my fighting spirit or my victory," the ogre duelist remarked, clenching his fist in front of them.
Zero-Q put her hand on her chin. "What is he trying to do by insulting you? Is this not prohibited by the rules or something like that?"
"It's trash talk. It's used in wrestling and other sports to get the opponent's attention. It makes things exciting, so to speak," Hunter clarified.
Interesting, Zero thought, so she decided to do the same as the Charisma duelist. "Go Onizuka, you can never beat us! If you couldn't even beat Playmaker, what makes you think you can defeat us?"
Go Onizuka clenched his fists, insulted by the AI's words. He hit his chest and then told Hunter aggressively, "That AI of yours has a lot of courage to speak to me like that. I put a card face down and end my turn."
"I do not belong to Hunter. We are companions!" Zero pointed at Onizuka. "Isn't it true, Hunter?"
"Companions do not want others to fight with other people," Hunter told the AI, who lowered her head in shame.
Hunter continued their turn after Zero recovered from her embarrassment. "Draw." They took a card from their deck. [Hand 4-5] "I will start by activating the Hunter's Download continuous spell card." The card appeared on Hunter's field. "It allows me to discard a Cyberse Jaeger monster from my hand and add a monster with 1000 attack points or less from my deck to my hand."
Hunter discarded Helper Assistance from their hand, and a card came out of their deck. "Since Archer was added to my hand, I can special summon him to the field." Before Onizuka could react, an arrow had hit him in the chest, and when he looked, he found that it had come from the monster Hunter had summoned. "If Archer is special summon to the field, its effect deals 300 damage to my opponent for every Cyberse monster on the field."
Cyberse Jaeger Hunter Archer 1000 ATK / 800 DEF / LIGHT / Level 3 / Cyberse / Effect
Go Onizuka LP: 4000-300 = 3700
"Then I will use my normal summon to summon Puercospin to the field." A bolt of lightning fell from the sky, manifesting itself in a strange sphere covered in electricity, which gave way to a rodent made entirely of energy. "When a monster is normal summoned to the field, I can special summon Quick Bunny to the field." A third lightning bolt appeared, this time rising from below the data stream into the sky. The blue robotic rabbit hopped from the lightning bolt to fill the last Main Monster Zone, cleaning its yellow ears and face, simulating the creature it was based on.
Cyberse Jaeger Puercospin 100 ATK / 0 DEF / EARTH / Level 2 / Cyberse / Effect
Cyberse Jaeger Quick Bunny 300 ATK / 300 DEF / LIGHT / Level 1 / Cyberse / Effect
"Now I will Link Summon." Hunter fired a lightning bolt from their hand, opening the Link Marker portal. "I set Puercospin on the Link Marker." The monster shot out onto the Link Marker. "Link Summon! Appear, Link-1, Cyberse Jaeger Bospider to the field." Shooting from a spider web, a spider in metal armor appeared on Hunter's field.
Cyberse Jaeger Bospider 1000 ATK / EARTH / Arrows: Down / Cyberse / Effect / Link-1
"Bospider's effect lets me put a counter on one of your monsters on the field." The spider shot a direct stinger at Twistcobra, covering it with a dense spider web. "Due to Puercospin's effect, when it is used as Link Summon material, I can draw a card, and at the same time, return Puercospin to the field."
Go smiled at the new challenge. Hunter wouldn't let him use anything with that counter they put on his Gouki. "I will activate the effect of Twistcobra to sacrifice it and add its attack to my Gouki Suprex."
Suprex ATK = 1800 + 1600 = 3400
"When a Gouki monster is destroyed, I can add a Gouki card to my hand."
That affected Hunter's plan, but did not completely destroy it. "I Link Summon again, this time with Quick Bunny." Again, the portal appeared, and the rabbit shot straight towards it. "Link Summon! Appear, Link-1, Cyberse Jaeger Fire Sparrow." A flaming fireball appeared as fast as it disappeared, revealing the little flaming bird in its wake.
Cyberse Jaeger Fire Sparrow 500 ATK / LIGHT / Arrows: Up / Cyberse / Effect / Link-1
"Next I'll do a third consecutive Link Summon. This time I will use Bospider and Hunter Archer." The two monsters were sent to the Link Markers. "Link summon! Appear, Link-2 Techno Magician." He appeared at their command, holding his technological staff, electrical energy manifesting from him.
Cyberse Jaeger Techno Magician 2000 ATK / EARTH / Arrows: Left, Up / Cyberse / Link-2
As Hunter extended a hand towards the sky, a bolt of lightning shot out to open the portal above the field. Both of their monsters began to glow. "Appear, the circuit that opens the door of freedom to those lost in the dark!"
The duo of Cyberse monsters transformed into swirls of energy, Fire Sparrow flying towards the top arrow on the portal, and the Link-2 Techno Magician splitting in two before flying towards the bottom left and bottom right. "Arrowheads confirmed. The summoning conditions are at least two Cyberse Effect Monsters. I set Techno Magician and Fire Sparrow in the Link Markers."
The arrows lit, the space between them sparking to life. Throwing electricity in all directions, a new monster began to emerge. "Circuit combine!" Lightning Hunter called. "Link Summon! Come forth, Link-3! Cyberse Jaeger Thundercode Talker!"
Cyberse Jaeger Thundercode Talker 2300 ATK / LIGHT / Arrows: Top, Bottom Left, Bottom Right / Cyberse / Link / Effect
Leaping from the portal was a gray-armored warrior, a three-pointed gold crown seated upon its head above a pair of gleaming emerald eyes. In its right hand was a mechanical ax with a blade made of dark energy, and in its left, a gleaming shield of yellow, crackling electricity.
"Fire Sparrow's effect activates when used as material by a Link-3 monster, increasing the new monster's attack by 200 for each of its Link Markers," Hunter explained. "Then Thundercode's effect increases Puercospin's attack because it's in Thundercode's Link Marker. I end with a face-down card."
Puercospin ATK = 100 + 500 = 600
Thundercode Talker ATK = 2300 + 600 = 2900
"How do you like that, Go Onizuka! You can't defeat us now, you underdeveloped gorilla!" Zero-Q yelled from the duel disk. Even her partner was bothered by the comment.
"Calm down, you're acting like a bully."
Zero stopped and shook her head, apologizing to Hunter. "Sorry, I was getting carried away."
(Link Vrains Square)
"Interesting move by Lightning Hunter," the Duke remarked, sipping his coffee while his girlfriend ate a chocolate cake. Both of them were sitting on a bench while they watched the duel on a large screen. The girlfriend broke a piece off the cake and put it in his mouth for him to eat.
"It is delicious, honey," the Duke said with a happy smile.
"I knew you would like it, my love. Come here and kiss me." They brought their lips closer and they began to kiss in the middle of the plaza, where everyone was watching them, including their fellow duelists who were standing nearby to watch the duel.
"Get yourselves a room please. We don't want to see you doing that here," Crystaline said, taunting the lovebirds.
They parted from the kiss, annoyed by the comments. Pink Reaper even stuck her tongue out at the gladiator, who only teased her further.
After she stopped laughing, Crystaline crossed her arms and eyed Duke. "What do you think of the duel against Go Onizuka?"
"What can I tell you? He's up to something for sure." Duke responded, taking another sip from the cup of coffee. "It's part of his act. He never repeats a move twice for no reason."
Crystaline raised an eyebrow at him. "But is he using the same move he used against Playmaker in their first duel or just trying to trick Lightning Hunter?"
The Duke snapped his fingers and pointed at the crystal duelist. "Exactly, it's all part of his plan. That's why he was Link Vrains' number one duelist."
(Duel)
"Ha!" Go Onizuka gave a huge yell of satisfaction and hit his chest. "This has started as I expected."
Why didn't he activate his skill? Hunter wondered.
Onizuka drew a card from his deck to begin his turn. [Hand 2-3] "Draw." He grinned when he looked at the card in his hand. Now he finally had a move to beat his opponent. "When I have no monsters on the field, I can summon Gouki Riscorpio to the field without tribute."
The fighting ogre appeared on the field, flexing his claws with a battle cry.
Gouki Riscorpio 2300 ATK / 0 DEF / EARTH / Level 5 / Warrior / Effect
"My circuit appears." A bolt of lightning shot out of his hands and straight into the sky, creating a portal with arrows. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are at least 2 Gouki monsters. I set two Gouki monsters, Gouki Suprex and Gouki Riscorpio, to the Link Markers!" Both Goukis turned into tornados and went to the left and bottom arrows. "Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear, Gouki Jet Ogre!" A new ogre came out of the portal, carrying a sword and propelling himself with a jetpack on his back. The creature had horns on his head.
Gouki Jet Ogre 2000 ATK / EARTH / Link Markers: Left, Bottom / Warrior / Effect / Link-2.
The effect of both Suprex and Risocorpio activated, letting Go add two other cards to his hand. "I activate Gouki Rematch, allowing me to return two Gouki monsters back to the field in defense mode." Twistcobra and Suprex appeared again. "My circuit appears a second time."
He repeated the same process again. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are at least 2 Gouki monsters." The portal reopened. "I set two Gouki monsters, Gouki Twistcobra and Gouki Jet Ogre, in the Link Markers!" The Gouki monsters again turned into tornados. Twistcobra went into the bottom arrow, and the Link-2 Jet Ogre spun off an extra tornado to fill both bottom corner arrows. "Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear, Gouki The Great Ogre!"
Go Onizuka's ace monster materialized on the field as a huge ogre.
Gouki The Great Ogre 2600 ATK / EARTH / Link Markers: Bottom Left, Bottom, Bottom Right / Warrior / Effect / Link-3.
"If Jet Ogre goes to the graveyard from the field, his effect increases the attack of all Gouki monsters I currently control by 500 until the end of the turn."
The Great Ogre ATK: 2600 + 500 = 3100
Again, Go added another card to his hand when Twistcobra was sent to the graveyard. Zero-Q was impressed by Go's combo plays. "The more monsters sent to the graveyard, the more cards he adds to his hand. It's totally crazy."
Miguel spoke from the transmitter. "He is a fighter. Fighters always find ways to support their allies."
"How do you know that?"
"Mexican wrestling and Japanese wrestling are similar. We used to watch them a few years ago," Hunter informed their AI partner.
"Amazing."
Go Onizuka activated the effect of his latest monster. "The Great Ogre's effect causes all monsters on the field to lose attack equal to their defense."
Hunter reacted instantly. "It won't work. Thundercode's effect won't allow it," they proclaimed. "I will sacrifice Puercospin, allowing me to negate the effect of your Gouki! EMP Blast!" Thundercode's shield sent out a sound wave that transmitted an energy shock, destroying the ogre. "The second part of Thundercode's effect is that it allows it to gain half the attack from your destroyed monster."
Thundercode Talker ATK = 2900 + (3100/2) = 2900 + 1550 = 4450
"So strong!" Zero had to say it.
Miguel agreed. "That's true."
Go didn't feel sorry for his ace monster. On the contrary, he was more excited. "I reveal Gouki Moonsault from my hand, select Gouki Suprex to return to my hand, and summon the first one." The moment Suprex disappeared, Moonsault jumped up and did a few test punches with its fists covered in rabbit-paw-like gloves.
Gouki Moonsault 1900 ATK / 0 DEF / EARTH / Level 6 / Warrior / Effect.
"Moonsault allows me to return The Great Ogre and Twistcobra from my graveyard to my hand." Go said, "Then I discard a Gouki card from my hand to summon Gouki Headbatt." The new ogre monster had a vampire theme.
Gouki Headbatt 800 ATK / 0 DEF / EARTH / Level 6 / Warrior / Effect.
"Then I choose Moonsault to gain 800 attack points from Headbatt's effect."
Moonsault ATK = 1900 + 800 = 2700
"Then I activate Gouki Face. This card allows me to destroy a Gouki monster from my field. I will choose Headbatt." The monster was destroyed. "The second effect allows me to bring a Gouki monster back to the field. I summon Gouki Jet Ogre again."
Go added another card to his hand when Headbatt was destroyed. "My circuit appears again," Go Onizuka exclaimed and again made the portal of arrows appear. "I will use Moonsault and Jet Ogre in the Link Markers." His ogres turned into tornadoes of energy that passed over the top, bottom, and bottom left markers. "Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear, Gouki The Blade Ogre!" From the portal, a new ogre appeared, wearing blue armor and a red cape, carrying a powerful double-bladed sword with which he could destroy his enemies. "My Blade Ogre gains 300 attack for every monster it points to. Gouki Double Sword!"
Gouki The Blade Ogre 2400 ATK / EARTH / Link Markers: Bottom Left, Bottom, Top / Warrior / Effect / Link-3
The Blade Ogre ATK = 2400 + 300 = 2700
"That… That is an incredible recovery," Zero stuttered, "but why is it on Thundercode's Link Marker?"
"Damn," Hunter exclaimed after reading the effect of their opponent's monster.
"I am not the same duelist that was when I fought with Playmaker. My intentions are different, and my dueling is different," the Charisma duelist proclaimed, hitting his chest again. "I activate the effect of The Blade Ogre. I can destroy a monster that this card points to, and The Blade Ogre can make a second attack."
Blade Ogre used the double-edged sword to successfully destroy Thundercode.
The Blade Ogre ATK = 2700 - 300 = 2400
Hunter covered their face as Thundercode shattered, and then activated a set card immediately after. "I activate my Virus Disintegration trap card. This cuts your monster's attack in half, and every time you attack, we can draw a card."
The Blade Ogre ATK = 2400/2 = 1200.
Go was frustrated to learn that he couldn't finish Hunter this turn, but it wouldn't be fun to finish things so fast. "I activate Gouki Shout, which increases the attack of a Gouki monster by 300 for every Gouki monster on the field."
The Blade Ogre ATK: 1200 + 300 = 1500.
"Blade Ogre, attack Hunter directly." With his sword, The Blade Ogre managed to slash Hunter's chest.
Lightning Hunter LP: 4000 - 1500 = 2500
Both players drew a card after that. Go continued with his next attack. "The Blade Ogre attacks again."
Lightning Hunter LP: 2500 - 1500 = 1000
They both drew another card. "My turn is over," Go announced. "Lightning Hunter, are you excited or is the helmet not letting you see?" he asked.
"I have a job to do, Go Onizuka. I don't have time for this."
"Then I have to put a smile on your face. Otherwise, I'm not doing my job well."
Zero realized something. "That makes sense. You are a Charisma duelist. Entertaining your audience is what you do."
"That is why I must become stronger, so that others continue smiling," Onizuka finished, hitting his chest and pointing to Hunter. "This is my ultimate test. If I make the one who claims to be a non-human enjoy my duel, then I will become the best Charisma duelist."
"Are you forgetting that you are trying to take away my AI?"
"I am only here to fight you."
(Link Vrains, Nearby Buildings)
Tech-Glitch kept an eye on the buildings around her, trying to find some clue that would lead her to the place where the Hitman was, but there had been nothing.
"I wish that Playmaker was here. He's much better than me in this kind of situation." The girl was desperate. The situation was not in her favor, and time was running out. If she did not find the Hitman and Lightning Hunter, she would soon be dead.
She observed her duel disk, rereading the message that the anonymous person had sent her. Perhaps there was a clue as to where the hitman was. "There must be something to tell me where he is… but it is not even-"
The duelist stopped for a moment when she saw a sign on one of the buildings: a flashing light in a window. Glitch looked at the message again. "Where the light dies and revives, that's where you will find the Hitman."
She had found her answer. Now came the hardest part – confronting the hitman and praying that she would succeed. "I hope I don't die." She went to the location of the light, but luckily for her, Playmaker was watching her.
(Duel)
"Draw!" Hunter looked at the new card, then looked at their hand.
So, this is a fun duel, Yuritzi said, smiling inside. She was excited. This is what you wanted, Maria.
The hunter looked at Go Onizuka. "Onizuka," Hunter addressed their adversary, watching him. "Show me why you are the best Charisma Duelist. Earn my respect as a duelist and the man that you are."
"Hunter!" Zero-Q said, alarmed by the sudden change in personality in her partner.
(Command center)
Miguel had his eyebrows all the way up, surprised to see his sister acting that way. "Whoa, seriously, she's having fun." He looked at Maria. She was just as happy.
(Duel)
"I will summon Electrode Hunter." They put the card in their duel disk. "When I summon a Cyberse monster while I have no cards in the Extra Monster Zone, I can summon Quick Bunny."
Cyberse Jaeger Quick Bunny 300 ATK / 300 DEF / LIGHT / Level 1 / Cyberse / Effect
Cyberse Jaeger Electrode Hunter 1700 ATK / 100 DEF / LIGHT / Level 4 / Cyberse / Effect
"Electrode Hunter's effect activates. I can special summon a monster of level 1 or 2 to the field from my deck. I select Cyberse Jaeger Cybernetic Butterfly."
Cyberse Jaeger Cybernetic Butterfly 600 ATK / 900 DEF / WIND / Level 1 / Cyberse / Effect
Lightning Hunter raised a hand, another bolt of electricity firing from the palm. "Appear again, the circuit that opens the door of freedom for those lost in the dark!" The two non-Link Monsters began to glow, transforming into swirling masses that hit the appearing circuit. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are two Cyberse monsters, Quick Bunny and Butterfly!"
As the monsters struck the left and bottom arrows, the circuit spat and sparked once more. "Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear, Link-2, Cyberse Jaeger Fast Gunman!" What emerged was a diminutive monster in a white raincoat. A large blank faceplate concealed its features, save for a single golden eye. It held a pair of futuristic ray guns.
Cybersen Jaeger Fast Gunman 1300 ATK / LIGHT / Arrows: Left, Bottom Right / Cyberse / Link / Effect / Link-2
"Butterfly can cause my monster's attack to increase by 200 for every Cyberse monster on the field."
Fast Gunman ATK = 1300 + 400 = 1700
"If I control a Cyberse monster on the field, I can summon Cyberse Jaeger Elves to the field."
The cyber fairy flew over the field, dropping its dust onto the field and grinning with excitement.
Cyberse Jaeger Elves 800 ATK / 800 DEF / EARTH / Level 3 / Cyberse / Effect
"I Link Summon again." The portal appeared. Lightning Hunter raised a hand, and another bolt of electricity fired from the palm. "Appear again, the circuit that opens the door of freedom for those lost in the dark!" The two non-Link Monsters began to glow, transforming into swirling masses that hit the appearing circuit. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are two Cyberse monsters, Electrode and Elves!"
Striking the left and bottom arrows, the circuit spat and sparked once more. "Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear, Link-2! Cyberse Jaeger Cannon Ichaival!" A girl came out of the portal, wearing armor and holding two powerful cannons in her hands.
Cyberse Jaeger Cannon Ichaival 2000 ATK / EARTH / Arrows: Left, Right / Cyberse / Effect / Link-2
"I activate Trap Setter's effect from my hand. When I summon a Link monster to the field, I can special summon this card."
Cyberse Jaeger Trap Setter 1800 ATK / 900 DEF / WIND / Level 5 / Cyberse / Effect
"I have the key to victory," they said, static crackling across their suit. Raising a hand, they announced, "Skill, activate! Lightning Wings!" The AI reacted to this, her eyes glowing as she conducted the electricity being thrown off by Hunter. The two worked in tandem, the Skill they had acquired going into effect. "This Skill can only be used while my Life Points are at least 1000 lower than yours." This condition was met without issue. "When that happens, I can revive a Cyberse Link Monster from my Graveyard!"
The Data Storm whipped up into a vortex, electricity spinning around it to change its color to a pale yellow. Moments later, a thick blade cut through the side, blasting it apart to reveal the Thundercode Talker from before. Now, however, its armor was white and featured a pair of crackling wings along its back.
"Thundercode's effect activates because Fast Gunman is on Thundercode's Link Marker."
Fast Gunman ATK = 1700 + 500 = 2200
"Trap Setter's effect activates. When the attack strength of a monster on my field is altered, I can pay that difference with my life points and at the same time make my opponent's monster lose that much attack." Trap Setter threw one of his traps at the Gouki monster.
Lightning Hunter LP: 1000 - 900 = 100
The Blade Ogre ATK = 2400 - 900 = 1500
"I'll Link Summon another monster." The portal appeared yet again. Lightning Hunter raised a hand, and another bolt of electricity fired from their palm. "Appear again, the circuit that opens the door of freedom for those lost in the dark!" The two non-Link Monsters began to glow, transforming into swirling masses that hit the appearing circuit. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are two or more Cyberse monsters, my Link-2 Fast Gunman and my Trap Setter!"
Striking the left and bottom arrows, the circuit spat and sparked once more. "Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear, Link-3, Cyberse Accelerator!" A mechanical robot emerged from the portal on the field. It was connected to the same Link Marker on Thundercode as Fast Gunman had been.
Cyberse Accelerator 2000 ATK / LIGHT / Arrows: Left, Right, Bottom / Cyberse / Effect / Link-3
Cyberse Accelerator ATK = 2000 + 500 = 2500
"I equip Thundercode with Assault Cannon to give it 500 more attack points." A rifle appeared in Thundercode's left hand.
Thundercode Talker ATK = 2300 + 500 = 2800
"I begin my battle phase. I will first make Cancon Ichaival attack your Blade Ogre." She raised her cannons straight at Onizuka's ogre. "When Ichaival battles an opponent's monster, that monster loses 500 attack points for each monster on my field that was special summoned from the Extra Deck." Due to Elves' second effect, Hunter drew a card after Ichaival attacked.
The Blade Ogre ATK = 1500 - 1000 = 500.
The ogre was completely destroyed, leaving the Charisma Duellist without any monsters on the field to protect him.
Go Onizuka LP: 3700 - 1500 = 2200.
"I activate the Cyberse Assault quick-play spell directly from my hand, which allows me to add a level 4 or lower Cyberse monster to my hand." Hunter proclaimed. "Let's get this over with, Thundercode."
"No, I can stop it," Onizuka yelled. "I activate my Skill, Fighting Spirit, allowing me to bring back a Gouki monster that was destroyed in battle this turn." Blade Ogre returned to the field again, this time gaining attack by pointing to Accelerator. "You know well the effect of Blade Ogre. When it points to a monster, it gains 300 attack."
The Blade Ogre ATK = 2400 + 300 = 2700
"Unfortunately for you, one of the Assault Cannon's effects allows me to negate the effect of monsters that the equipped monster fights."
The Blade Ogre ATK = 2700 - 300 = 2400
"Then I can't afford this. I activate the effect of Gouki Iron Claw from my hand. By discarding this card from my hand, a Gouki monster gains 500 attack points, and at the same time, it is not affected by my opponent's card effects."
The Blade Ogre ATK = 2400 + 800 = 3200
"This is intense! If that attack connects, Hunter will lose," Zero observed.
But Hunter already had another maneuver to fight her opponent. "I activate the effect of Cyberse Accelerator. In the battle phase, I can select a monster that this card points to, and that monster gains 2000 attack points."
Thundercode Talker ATK = 2800 + 2000 = 4800
Onizuka wasn't about to be beaten either. He discarded a card from his hand. "By discarding this card from my hand, the damage I take in battle from an attack is halved."
Thundercode fired a shot from his cannon, making sure the Gouki monster was definitely destroyed this time.
Go Onizuka LP: 2200 - 800 = 1600
"But due to Accelerator's effect, you will no longer be able to make a direct attack against Onizuka. What bad luck," Zero mentioned in a bittersweet tone, but she also couldn't deny how entertaining the duel was.
(Link Vrains: Building Nearby)
Glitch was inside the building, trying to find the Hitman's whereabouts. Everything was dark, so she used the light from her cameras to guide her along the way. She was scared more than ever, and without anyone's support, this was more complicated than she liked. On top of not knowing where she was in this dark place, she did not know where to go or if her target was even still there.
She couldn't lose control of the situation. She slapped her face and tried to look as brave as she could.
Glitch activated a program that could detect the signal of other duels. It was the only action she could think to do. She knew that, if Hitman was hiding here, it was because he did not want to be seen.
Glitch activated a program that could detect the signal of other duels. It was the only action she could think to do. She knew that, if Hitman was hiding here, it was because he did not want to be seen.
"The signal of duel disks is difficult to find when being used indoors within Link Vrains. They're usually easiest to detect from outside," the girl muttered. She was trying to find a signal here that would take her somewhere. "But if it's done from within the same building... BINGO!" She raised her arm in a pose of victory as the program locked onto a signal.
It wasn't far from here. She ran cautiously. She had to get there before it was too late.
After a while, Glitch reached the door of the room where Hitman was. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door a couple times before grasping the handle and opening the door.
When she looked up, someone was pointing a virtual weapon at her. "It can't be you again!"
"Oh yeah, it's me again." The Hitman was Deus, that Hoelle soldier who had faced Lightning Hunter. "Now that we are here, I can finally get rid of you."
"You are the one who wants to kill Hunter. It's because they defeated you, right?"
"You are testing my patience."
The girl caught sight of a gun by the window. Deus was presumably planning to use it to shoot Hunter. He noticed where Glitch was looking and quickly knocked her down, stomping on her face.
"Rats don't speak. Now please let me delete your account forever."
She couldn't let the situation end this way, not when someone needed her help. She recalled one of her cameras and used its flash to momentarily blind the Hoelle soldier.
No longer pinned to the ground, she lunged at him, knocking him down, but Hoelle's soldier hit her leg, causing her to fall too.
When Deus could see again, Playmaker was in front of him.
"Playmaker..." he muttered fearfully, as if he had seen a ghost.
"You showed up after all. Thank you!" Tech-Glitch was relieved to see Playmaker more than anything, coming at the right time, or so she thought until Deus started to laugh maniacally.
"Hey, you already lost, fiend!" Playmaker's AI said, pointing at Deus dramatically. "Surrender and accept your defeat with dignity. Your plan is over." But that didn't stop the Hoelle soldier's maniacal laugh. "This kind of stuff makes me sick."
Deus eventually stopped laughing and looked Playmaker in the eyes with his cold gaze. "It hasn't stopped me. In fact, the only thing I have done is distract all of you! Ciao~" He disappeared, and a shot was fired from the weapon in the open window.
"It was in automatic!" Tech-Glitch said in alarm, looked at the gun in detail, and then turned to look at Playmaker. "His job was just to aim the target and have the gun take over when the time was right."
The Link Vrains' hero jumped and immediately materialized his duel board. If he couldn't stop the shot, maybe he could at least get there before it hit Hunter.
(Duel)
Before the Charisma Duelist began his turn, he heard a sharp sound. When he realized a bullet was about to hit his opponent, he moved quickly to get Hunter out of the way.
"Hey!" Zero said, confused by the whole thing she was witnessing. Hunter was about to retaliate, but when they noticed that Go did not do it to brag or because he was cornered with his next action, they stopped.
Go successfully used his duel board to intercept the bullet, but unfortunately, the impact caused him to fall into the nearby building's window.
(Link Vrains Square)
"What the hell just happened?" Crystaline stared at the screen, stunned along with her fellow Charisma Duelists.
(Command Center)
Miguel was shaking his fist at the desk. "It must have been the rats at Sol Technologies."
(Duel)
Hunter raced to the window Go had crashed through, with Playmaker and Tech-Glitch a second behind. She was the first to speak. "Did the bullet break through his duel board?" she asked, worried.
"Luckily, no." Hunter reached the Charisma Duelist first. They looked him over and realized he would be fine. "He just passed out. But I am familiar with the type of program that was used for the bullet." Playmaker knew this as well from his own missions. "That bullet would have disconnected me, but then kept my avatar data on the network to send to a preset recipient. This type is sold on the Link Vrains black market."
"Hunter, that bullet was aimed at you," Glitch reported. "We were trying to stop him, but it was too late."
Hunter looked at Playmaker. They knew what he was going to say. "I still don't like that you keep doing this. And it doesn't make us allies."
"I don't think you and Hunter will ever become friends," Zero commented.
Onizuka began to open his eyes, but he was still exhausted after the confrontation. He seemed to have no strength to get up, but when he saw who was there, he spoke. "They were the sunny ones, right?" He knew well that it was no coincidence that he was hired again.
"No. This time, it was Hoelle's. Apparently that dwarf from last time wanted revenge against Hunter," Glitch remarked, but the idea that Sol was involved made no sense. Maybe it was better to think this over with her informant. The best thing to do now was to make sure Onizuka was alright. "Right now, we should call it a day and go home before anything else happens."
Hunter disagreed with Glitch's assessment. This was not over yet. As they spoke, Hunter had communicated with Miguel, Link Vrains screens beginning to be broadcast to the former.
"We still have a duel to finish," Hunter declared. Go looked at Hunter and smiled, knowing that his opponent didn't want to let it go either. Even Playmaker seemed to be taking an interest in the duel's outcome. Zero, still new to human interactions, wondered what Hunter had planned.
"Why? He has no reason to fight anymore," Ai inquired.
"He can't move anymore because he saved you," Glitch pointed out, equally unhappy with Hunter's decision.
Hunter ignored her and began to address the Link Vrains audience watching them from the main square. They held up three fingers of their right hand. "If Go Onizuka claims to be the #1 Charisma Duellist, then he will either get up or plan to disappoint the public," Hunter proclaimed. "He has until the count of three or he will automatically lose the duel."
"That bastard Hunter!" Crystaline screamed in indignation at Hunter's dishonorable actions, hitting the virtual table in front of her. "This is not the way to treat your opponent."
The other Charisma Duelist looked absorbed on the other side of her table.
"Ohhh, this looks interesting." Duke took a sip of his cup of coffee.
On the other hand, at the O Hara residence, Miguel found his adopted sister's behavior strange. "Hey, Yuritzi, don't you think you're going overboard?"
"It is what a duelist does," Maria said aloud, then she switched to sign language when he looked over at her. "They're having fun."
"Maria, are you watching this duel?" Hunter asked quietly. Their adopted sister nodded in response. "I hope you like this."
Returning back to the scene, Tech-Glitch tried to convince Hunter that all this was wrong. "The duel is over! There is nothing else to do. Right, Playmaker?"
He merely shrugged his shoulders with his usual stoic expression.
"Hunter, you are a jerk," Crystaline said angryas she hit the table.
"You still haven't stood up." To make things more humiliating, Hunter asked Miguel to put different screens in front of them. "The Onizuka countdown has started." They put one finger down, with only two more to go.
"Onizuka!"
"Onizuka!"
"Go!"
"Get up!"
"You are useless, Onizuka!"
"You will never be considered a good Charisma Duelist!"
The audience yelled Onizuka's name as he impotently hit the floor with his fist and tried to get off the ground. It was not just the cry of the audience or the fact that some were booing him, but knowing that he could not make the children of the orphanage smile was the worst thing that could happen if he allowed himself to surrender so easily.
Hunter dropped the second finger. There was only one more attempt left for Go to get up.
"Why don't you let yourself go?" Tech-Glitch muttered, unable to understand the actions of the two duellists.
"Ahh!" Go yelled, finally able to rise from the ground with pride to face Hunter before the final count fell. He received compliments from people who supported him in the audience, which gave him more motivation to continue.
Glitch was surprised to see Playmaker smile – for the first time, she saw Link Vrains' hero showing positive emotion. She finally understood everything. This was a game for them to enjoy, and even people like Hunter or Playmaker, who used duels to fight their battles, could enjoy it.
The two duelists re-entered the data storm, resuming the duel, and the Hunter monsters reappeared on the field.
Go Onizuka drew a card from his deck. "I reveal Gouki Ringtrainer in my hand and activate its effects when I control no monsters on the field."
Hunter was now ready to counter Onizuka's movement. "I activate Thundercode Talker's effect, sacrificing Accelerator and negating Ringtrainer's effect." Accelerator did whatever monsters do in Vrains duels when sacrificed.
"I will summon Gouki Suprex to the field," The Charisma Duelist shouted. "I activate its effect, allowing me to summon a Gouki monster from my hand. I choose Gouki Bearhug." The bear-themed ogre's sharp claws flexed as if agitated.
Gouki Suprex 1800 ATK / 0 DEF / EARTH / Level 4 / Warrior / Effect
Gouki Bearhug 2400 ATK / 0 DEF / EARTH / Level 6 / Warrior / Effect
"Since Bearhug was summoned due to the effect of a Gouki monster, I can halve the attack of a non-Gouki monster."
His ogre attacked, its claws penetrating Thundercode's armor and slicing its attack in half.
Thundercode Talker ATK = 2100/2 = 1150
"Maybe Onizuka can beat them, after all," Glitch wondered.
"You're too quick to judge, girl," Ai replied. "Onizuka will summon another monster much, much bigger, because that is what duelists do – summon bigger and better monsters every turn."
"Ohhh." Glitch said. Not being a duellist herself, she had never noticed that before.
Playmaker briefly glanced down at Ai before returning his focus to the duel.
Onizuka smirked as if he knew what Playmaker was saying about him, although the data storm and the distance meant he couldn't hear the conversation clearly. "I Link Summon with my two Gouki monsters. I summon Gouki Jet Ogre back to the field, and it gets a power boost for being on your Thundercode's Link Marker."
Gouki Jet Ogre 2000 ATK / EARTH / Link Markers: Left, Bottom / Warrior / Effect / Link-2
Jet Ogre ATK = 2000 + 500 = 2500
"I activate the effects of both Gouki upon being sent to the graveyard." He added two cards to his hand. "I activate a second Gouki Rematch from my hand to summon back Gouki Octrostretch and Gouki Tagpartner."
One Gouki with an octopus theme and another with a more beastly theme reappeared on the field.
Gouki Octostretch 0 ATK / 0 DEF / EARTH / Level 1 / Warrior / Effect
Gouki Tag Partner 1700 ATK / 0 DEF / EARTH / Level 5 / Warrior / Effect
"My circuit appears!" The portal emerged. "Arrowheads confirmed. The summoning conditions are at least three Gouki Monsters. I set Gouki Jet Ogre, Octostretch, and Tagpartner in the Link Markers."
The arrows lit, the space between them sparking to life. Throwing off electricity in all directions, a new monster began to emerge. "Circuit combine!" Onizuka called. "Link Summon! Come forth, Link-4! Gouki The Giant Ogre!"
Gouki The Giant Ogre 3000 ATK / EARTH / Arrows: Left, Bottom Left, Bottom Right, Right / Cyberse / Effect / Link-4
The greatest of the ogres manifested on the field, wielding a large sword. Jet Ogre's effect added 500 attack points to the ogre.
The Giant Ogre ATK = 3000 + 500 = 3500
Octostretch's effect allowed Onizuka to add a card to his hand. He continued with his next move. "Tagpartner's effect activates. If it was sent to the graveyard as material for a Gouki Link monster, that Link monster can gain 1000 attack points."
The Giant Ogre ATK = 3500 + 1000 = 4500
"Giant Ogre's effect allows him to gain 1000 attack points if his original attack is not the default."
The Giant Ogre ATK = 4500 + 1000 = 5500
"Amazing, he did all of this in one turn." Zero muttered. "This is why he's such a good duellist. Well, that and his stubborn personality."
"He is impressive," Hunter allowed, more and more impressed with this duel. They were enjoying it.
"I begin my battle phase. Giant Ogre attacks your Thundercode Talker!" he shouted, but before the attack connected, he took a card from his hand. "I activate a second Gouki Roar, increasing my Gouki monster's attack."
The Giant Ogre ATK = 5500 + 300 = 5800
"It might be just on a whim or because Onizuka likes to give it his all, but Go could still win the duel if he didn't have all those effects," Duke thought out loud.
Crystaline crossed her arms. "Onizuka is a Charisma duellist. He has to give everything to earn his audience's cheer."
"True."
Hunter discarded the last card from her hand. "I activate the effect of Kuricode. It allows me to make two monsters battle against each other and make their attack points become 0."
"My ogre's effect allows him to be unaffected by the effects of monsters weaker than himself."
Zero countered, "True, but you also forgot that the effect of our equip card can also negate the effects of monsters when the equipped monster enters battle, which means we can still use Kuricode's effect."
Go widened his eyes at the revelation. "Impossible."
"Static shock!" A small monster made of electricity appeared on the field, causing waves of electricity that affected both monsters.
The Giant Ogre ATK: 0
Thundercode Talker ATK: 0
Go clenched his jaw, pretending to be concerned to create drama. He took a card from his hand and continued, "I discard Gouki Iron Claw so that my monster gains 500 attack points and is not affected by your card effects for the rest of the turn."
The Giant Ogre ATK = 5800 + 500 = 6300
"Now Hunter's monster has a much lower attack. It will be a humiliating defeat," Glitch remarked.
"Hey, what do you think about this?" Ai asked Playmaker.
"Keep watching."
"I banish Kuricode from my graveyard and therefore do not take any damage in battle from the destruction of my monster," Hunter declared their last defense.
The ogre used his sword to split Thundercode talker in two, breaking it into two pieces. A shield surrounded Hunter, protecting them from harm.
"When my monster is destroyed, I can draw a card with the effect of Assault Cannon."
The Charisma Duellist clenched his fists and punched the air, enjoying the thrill of the duel. "My turn is over."
The Giant Ogre ATK = 3000
"What do you think, Hunter? Will we win this duel in the next turn?" Zero asked. The duel was really becoming complicated, and their options for victory were becoming less and less.
"As always, we'll find a solution. One last Lightning Draw as always." Hunter began their turn, taking a card from their deck at lightning-quick speed, leaving a trail of electricity. "I activate the Miracle Link spell card. This allows me to select a monster on your field, and each of us can draw a card for each of its Link Markers."
"It will not happen. I activate the effect of The Giant Ogre. When it is targeted by a card effect, I can decrease its attack by 500 and negate the effect of your card," Go announced. The effect of Hunter's spell card was negated.
The Giant Ogre ATK = 3000 - 500 = 2500
"When The Giant Ogre has his attack changed, he can increase his attack by 1000."
The Giant Ogre ATK = 2500 + 100 = 3500
"We have one option left," Zero said.
"I will summon Hunter Swordsman." A mechanical swordsman emerged and displayed a pair of Japanese-inspired energy swords in front of the enemy.
Cyberse Jaeger Hunter Swordsman 1500 ATK / 1000 DEF / EARTH / Level 4 / Cyberse / Effect
"I activate the effect of Helper Assistance from my hand and return a Cyberse Jaeger monster to the field from the graveyard."
A girl in a cyber suit appeared on the field with her backpack.
Cyberse Jaeger Helper Assistance 1100 ATK / 1000 DEF / EARTH / Level 3 / Cyberse / Effect
Hunter looked at their extra deck to review the cards that they had at their disposal. One amongst them brought back memories.
Always use it to remind you of me.
That voice resonated with them again. This was not the right time to use it, however, even though the situation warranted it.
Hunter reached out into the sky, and a bolt of lightning shot out to open the portal above their field. Three monsters began to glow. "Appear now, the circuit that opens the door to freedom for those lost in darkness!"
The trio of Cyberse monsters morphed into a whirlpool of energy and split into four smaller whirlpools, which then flew toward the top, bottom, left, and right arrows on the portal. "Arrowheads confirmed. Summoning conditions are at least two Cyberse Effect Monsters. I set Assistance, Link-2 Canon Ichaival, and Hunter Swordsman in the Link Markers."
The arrows and the space between them lit up. Pulling electricity in all directions, a new monster began to emerge. "Circuit Combine!" Lightning Hunter called. "Link Summon! Come out, Link-4 Rasterliger!"
The lion came roaring out of the portal and positioned himself before Hunter.
Rasterliger 2000 ATK / LIGHT / Arrows: Top, Bottom, Left, Right / Cyberse / Effect / Link-4
"Assistance's effect activates, so I can draw one card for each Cyberse monster that was used as Link Material." Hunter drew three cards from her deck. "I activate Hunter Swordsman's effect. If it is used as Link Material, that monster gains 200 attack points for each Link Material used."
Rasterliger ATK = 2000 + 3(200) = 2600
"I banish Trap Setter and Elves in my graveyard to summon Thunder Eagle." A robotic eagle appeared on the field. It had yellow armor with black accents covering its wings. Its green eyes sparkled as it shrieked.
Cyberse Jaeger Thunder Eagle 2200 ATK / 0 DEF / WIND / Level 7 / Effect / Cyberse
"I activate Hunter Download's continuous card. I can discard a card from my hand and add a monster card with 1000 or less attack to my hand from my deck. The card I discarded was Butterfly, so its effect activates."
Rasterliger ATK = 2600 + 2(200) = 3000
"I activate Thunder Eagle's effect and discard one card from my hand to take two more from my deck," Hunter said. They looked at the cards in their hand, then showed them to Zero.
"We will win with that," Zero said, pointing to one of the cards.
"Let's see. I activate Staff of Lightning and equip it to Thunder Eagle." Hunter put a card face down. "Then I activate Rasterliger's effect and select a card in my graveyard. Now, it can gain attack equal to the selected monster, my Thundercode Talker, in this case."
Rasterliger ATK = 3000 + 2300 = 5300
"I begin my next attack. Thunder Eagle attacks your ogre."
The ogre used his sword to attack Thunder Eagle by launching it at a building, but the Eagle was not destroyed.
"Your equip card," Onizuka said in realization.
"Yes. The effect of Staff of Lightning prevents a monster from being destroyed, and at the same time, I do not suffer damage in battle. After damage calculation, I can destroy my equip card so that your monster loses attack equal to the difference between the battling monsters' attack points."
"Impossible."
The Giant Ogre ATK = 3500 - (3500 - 2200) = 2200
"Let's get this over with, Rasterliger." The lion fired a bolt of energy that took the form of Thundercode Talker.
Go was happy. Although he was about to accept another defeat, at least he was left with the fact that again it would make the public excited. "Let's get this over with, Ogre!
The monsters repeatedly clashed their weapons, releasing great discharges of energy each time. In the last clash, the Gouki's sword broke into a thousand pieces. The Lightning Hunter's monster managed to attack it in the stomach, causing its destruction and a large explosion that shot Go into a nearby building.
Go Onizuka LP: 1600 - 3100 = 0
Lightning Hunter = WINS!
Hunter approached the building Go fell in to make sure he was okay. To everyone's surprise, the Charisma Duellist was laughing.
"Why is he laughing?" Zero asked. "Shouldn't he feel bad for losing?"
"I'm just laughing at the duel I had. That's all," Onizuka explained. At that moment, he looked at all the screens showing crowds of people shouting his name. "Many of them think I'm useless for having lost." He clenched his fists but kept smiling. "I will have to do better."
"These people do not know what they are saying. I do not think that just because someone lost, they have stopped being the #1 Charisma Duelist," Hunter said.
"What would someone who is not human know?" Go teased. Then he looked at Hunter again, who was giving him a thumbs-up. "What do you mean by that?
"This sign comes from ancient Rome. It is a gesture for those who have done the right thing. I always use it for those who are worthy of it."
"Does that mean I have earned your respect?"
Hunter turned around, ready to leave, but before doing so, they said one last thing to him: "It means much more than respect. The next time we meet, I will pay my debt to you, Go Onizuka."
Lightning struck the ground, and at that moment, Hunter had left Link Vrains. Onizuka hoped to face Hunter in another duel soon. Until then, he had some children to keep entertaining.
(O Hara Residence: Saturday Night)
After the duel, Yuritzi took a long rest and slept all day Saturday until she woke up after dark, her stomach growling. Miguel was preparing food in the kitchen while Maria was wide awake, sitting at the nearby table and looking through the same deck of cards from before. Zero was watching more human programming on television, trying to learn more about human culture.
Yuritzi put her hand on her chest and sighed before heading straight to the table. She had something to resolve. "Good evening," she said with a smile. When Maria tried to hide the cards, Yuritzi quickly told her, "You don't have to hide them from me."
Miguel sat at the table across from Maria and watched the scene with Zero, eager to see what would happen.
Maria took the cards again and showed them to Yuritzi. She shuffled them while her older sister watched and the four of them sat in companionable silence for a few minutes.
"So, um," Yuritzi said a little later, then went quiet for a couple seconds. She took a deep breath and started again. "So, would you like me to teach you how to take on the top players, like I did today?"
Maria got up from the table and started to nod excitedly. "Please, please!"
Miguel smiled, then sniffed and went still. "Oops, I guess I forgot to set a timer for the oven. I'll take whatever is worst burnt."