I have recently decided to make a little change in presenting the next chapter to my readers. Because of the immense size of this chapter, I have decided to break chapter 11 up into a series of shorter "scenes." This first one will feature an original character from Nox Descious. The next scene, which will be coming out very soon, will most likely feature original characters from Greninja, Solphage, and thetiger39. Thank you all very much for your support and patience. (And yes Greninja, I have recently received and archived your character. Expect her to make an appearance fairly soon, though I think I will have t make some slight changes to the cards if you don't mind. Thank you for your continued contributions). Without further ado, please enjoy Scene 1 of Chapter 11.

Part 1: Chapter 11 – Escalation (Scene 1: Interviews)

The professor rubbed the metal plate on his head as he scrolled through various recordings of Ruri and Rin staying in their towers, submitting to academia experiments in the labs, and occasionally, interacting with each other under close supervision. It was maddening to think that someone had managed to take both girls away from him and he needed to know everything that had led up to the incident.

Ruri and Rin had been escorted from their towers the night previous to the incident in order to take part in various tests whose success was contingent upon their interactions with one another. Selena had, of course, been unavailable for participation, but one of Leo's top agents, known simply as, The Doctor, had assured him that a great deal of useful information would be gained from the experimentation.

Now, barely a day later, The Doctor, more than twenty Obelisk Soldiers, and the girls' bodyguards, Apollo and Diana, had all been destroyed, and Ruri and Rin had fled Academia. The worst part was that Leo's investigators had so far been unable to ascertain the identity of the perpetrators.

Leo stopped when he came to the recording of Rin's duel against the six Obelisk Soldiers. After Rin completed her transformation, he paused the recording and zoomed in on her arm, scratching the side of his head thoughtfully as he pondered the significance of the mark.

"Dark Signer." he breathed. It was clear to him that these were no mere disciples. He had suffered the displeasure of having to deal with their kind in the past, but all of those individuals were nothing compared to what Rin had become. They were nothing but remnants, a dwindling race struggling to hold on after the crippling defeat of their master. So how were there Dark Signers now?

"I thought the war ended twelve years ago." Leo muttered, tapping his finger against his throne. But much as the Professor wished that the war had been finished, there was the evidence against that theory, playing right before his eyes. Somehow… someway… a Dark Signer must have lived on. Somehow… someway… that Dark Signer had held on for long enough to find new vessels to carry on its legacy.

A new thought popped into Leo's head. "Why them? Why did it choose Ruri and Rin to be its successors?"

Leo closed his eyes and sighed. It was nearly a rhetorical question. He was nearly one-hundred percent certain he knew exactly why the girls had been chosen. And if his theory was correct, that meant that Yuzu, Selena, Yuri, and all the other children connected to the Arc Area Project, would be in grave danger.

"What about the girls?" Leo quietly asked himself. "Are they in agreement with the Dark Signer's plan, or are they being motivated by something else?"

Leo straightened himself in the chair and spoke a command to the holographic screen.

"File 10.3, Daichi Ishikuma and Rin, interview one." Leo commanded.

From the side of the screen, the requested file expanded into the center of the screen and began displaying a video of Rin sitting in a small white room in front of a large white table with her hands and feet cuffed with a set of solid vision cuffs. A pair of Obelisk guards stood behind her while her bodyguard, Apollo, stood off to the side with his Duel Disk at the ready. The room was brightly lit from a combination of the florescent ceiling lights and the prevailing white color of the room. As she usually did, Rin was looking exceedingly defiant. Her fists were clenched together and her feet had been firmly planted against the floor as if she were a coiled spring just waiting for the opportunity to burst out of her confinement and escape. Yet despite this outward display of building ferocity, Leo could see that she was very anxious and frightened. Her forehead and palms were visibly shining with sweat and her knees kept knocking together despite her efforts to stay still.

Presently, the door of the room opened and a new person walked in. He was a man, who looked to be in his early twenties, with tanned Asian skin, a smooth face, short black hair, thick horn-rimmed glasses over a set of intelligent thin-squinted blue eyes, and a small smooth nose. Against the whiteness of the room, the man looked like a humanoid blot of ink with a black bowler hat resting on his head, a large black trench coat draped over his person with small white notepads winking out of the pockets, and a pair of shiny black gloves over his hands. In one crooked arm, he carried a small black felt box while his other hand carried what looked like a small black Leprechaun crock full of gold coins. Rin nearly jumped from her chair at the sight of the man, which prompted a response from Apollo and the Obelisk guards who activated their Duel Disks.

Smiling brightly, the newcomer gestured to Apollo and the other guards to stop as he hung up his hat and took his seat opposite from Rin before setting his items down on the table. Pressing a button on his own pitch-black Duel Disk, the holographic cuffs on Rin's arms and legs vanished away, leaving Rin to stare at the man in astonishment and confusion.

"You are dismissed." The man said to the guards. "Your services will not be required until after Rin and I are finished here."

Obediently, the guards nodded their heads to the man before exiting the room. When they had all left, the man offered his gloved hand to Rin.

"It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Rin." The man began. "I am Doctor Daichi Ishikuma and I will be acting as both your mental therapist and guidance counselor throughout your stay in Academia."

Rin kept her hands on the table, refusing to even look at Daichi, much less touch him. When Daichi saw that he would not receive a handshake form Rin, he smiled before reaching for a crystal pitcher of water resting on the table and pouring some water into two small clear plastic glasses before offering one to Rin while keeping the other one for himself. Rin stared at the man and then back at the glass as if she'd been offered a bottle of arsenic.

"There's no need to worry about it being drugged." Daichi reassured Rin, taking a gentle sip from his own glass. "I know it can get hot in here, so I'm sure you must be very thirsty."

Rin kept her mouth shut, staring back at the man as if pondering whether she should try jumping him and making a run for it, or just sit still and offer no provocation.

Daichi smiled sympathetically at the young Synchro Duelist. "You have cause to be anxious, Rin. In the span of a few days you have been whisked away from your home, taken to a new home in a strange land, forced to endure hours of lectures on Academia protocol, and met dozens of strange people, some friendly, like Ruri, and others..." he smiled, "…well… I suppose few words are needed to describe Yuri." He took another sip from his glass before continuing.

"While I cannot agree with all the methods of my associates, I must inform you that I am regrettably just as bound by the edicts of Academia as you are, meaning that I am expected to complete certain objectives in order to further their cause. Nevertheless, I want you to be comfortable during this interview. It is counterproductive to my line of work if my clients suffer undue stress and anxiety. So if there is anything I can do to make this process or your stay in Academia more comfortable for you, please interrupt me at any time and I shall see what I can do within the boundaries Academia has set."

Rin glared at Daichi, gritting her teeth together and clenching her fists as if to say she didn't believe a word of what he was saying. Leaning across the table so that her face was nearly pressed against him, she stared into his eyes like a tiger about to pounce on its prey.

"What do you want with me!?" she hissed.

Daichi smiled gently back at Rin, completely unprovoked by her aggression.

"My goal for this interview is simple, Rin." He explained. "I wish to get to know you. Particularly, I would very much like to know what motivates you."

"Motivates me?" Rin asked, looking back at Daichi with confusion.

Daichi smiled enigmatically. "The behavior of every living organism is influenced by a unique set of reinforcers and punishers particular to the individual organism. You've encountered these in your daily life. They range from a boy frequently purchasing ice cream because he consistently receives a pleasant taste in his mouth, a reinforcer, to that same boy decreasing the frequency with which he avoids doing his homework in order to avoid an angry slap from his mother, a punisher. So to bring this back to you, Rin, I simply want to know what your reinforcers are. What motivates you to… say… ride a D-wheel? What do you hope to receive out of a good day's work? It's quite a lot to know, but I can assure you that if you help me get to know you, then it will make our work go a lot smoother."

Rin stared at Daichi in disbelief before falling back onto her chair and letting out a mixture of laughing and upset sobbing.

"And you… think… after all you've done… that I'm just gonna… tell you… how you can control me!?"

Daichi smiled sympathetically at Rin. "I never expected you to tell me anything right off the bat. I know you don't trust me yet, Rin, and I don't plan to convince you that I am someone you can trust within the span of this interview. But even if you don't wish to trust me, perhaps we can simply agree to help each other. The professor has given me the discretion to handle your adjustment into Academia life and granted me the authority to enact whatever changes need to be made in order for your stay to be as smooth and stress-free as possible. You can use me to your advantage, Rin, but only if you're cooperative."

"And what will you do if I'm not cooperative." Rin growled. "Torture me? Brainwash me?"

Daichi looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully before looking back down at Rin. "Academia has its own methods." He sighed, "Torture and other such crude behavior modification procedures being among them. Please understand that I am not trying to threaten you, Rin, but if my methods prove ineffective, then I cannot guarantee that such… barbarous methods will not be employed against you. I will not deny that those methods work when it comes to producing immediate results, but the cost on the patient's mental health is so extreme…" a pained expression came over his face, "…Rin, understand, it is not my goal to destroy you. On the contrary, if I can obtain your cooperation and learn about you without altering one iota of who you are, then I will consider my work done. The best way for you to keep your identity intact and for me to satisfy the professor's demands is with my method, positive reinforcement. For now, without going into a Behaviorism lecture, let's just say that as you help me, I will help you. And of course, for me to help you, I need to know what it is you want, you're positive reinforcers."

Rin glared back at Daichi, folding her arms over her chests. "And what's your positive reinforcement, Daichi?" Rin asked, angrily mimicking Daichi's manner of speaking. "Tell me… what exactly makes you tick!?"

Daichi let out a little laugh, smiling brightly as he did. "I am different from the other people in Academia. I desire nothing material such as money or luxury, and I don't have any interest in subjective constructs such as fame, prestige, or power. I am a scientist, meaning I search for the one thing science is concerned with. Truth. Such scientific truth is the end in and of itself for me, not the means to obtaining something lesser. The subject matter may change on occasion, but it is always the search for truth that drives me! And it is by establishing a positive and trustworthy relation with my clients that I can obtain this treasure while mutually fulfilling their needs and desires."

Rin stared at him as if not comprehending what he was saying.

"You are my positive reinforcement, Rin." Daichi clarified, "Every nugget of truth you reveal to me is a precious jewel without compare! Not because I need to USE it for anything, but because absolute objective truth is the principle I will willingly use all things to obtain!" he looked off into the distance, a mixture of excitement and remorse on his face. "Sadly…" he sighed, "…my associates seem to have forgotten that science is merely an intellectual process aimed at studying the world through observation and experiment. Certainly it is not a way to input knowledge into the making of the next super-weapon! No, Rin, knowledge is the end, in and of itself, and I would like for things to go smoothly between us in order to obtain this knowledge."

He pulled back the sleeve of his trench coat and glanced at a watch, frowning when he noticed the time. "Regretfully... not all of Academia shares my beliefs. They want results, Rin, results that will lead to the completion of the Arc Area Project." He leaned in closer to Rin, looking directly into her eyes. "It would be best for both of us if we helped them towards this goal." He insisted, "Otherwise... you might have to deal with my associate. Trust me, Rin. Most people prefer to deal with me."

Rin looked down at the floor, nervously twiddling her thumbs as the weight of Daichi's words sunk in. Eyes darting back and forth, Rin seemed to be weighing Daichi's proposal against what she knew. Seemingly coming to a decision, she clenched her fists together before looking up at Daichi, who was sitting patiently in his chair, neither moving nor making a sound.

"You can sweet talk me and offer me the world, but you can never get me to talk." Rin growled. "You're right about one thing. I don't trust you! So stop wasting time! Just throw me in your torture room, or brainwash me, or whatever you do! Because I will NEVER willingly tell you ANYTHING!"

Daichi smiled at Rin before opening the box and setting the pot of gold coins on the table. "Let us try my way first." He insisted. Lifting the contents from the box and setting them on the table, Rin gasped when she saw what one of the items were.

"My deck!?" she exclaimed, noticing Wind Witch – Winter Bell on top of the stack of cards.

"And my deck." Daichi enthused, pulling out a different stack of cards before getting up from his chair. Taking his chair and his deck in his hands, he swung around the table until he was standing behind Rin who was still sorting through the cards in her deck. Taking his seat adjacent to Rin, but a little behind her, he reached out and plucked a gold coin from the Leprechaun pot before slapping it down on the table in front of Rin who stared at it with confusion. Holding it up to the light, she could see that the coin was made from a durable plastic, like a token. Inscribed on the coin's face was the number, "5."

"Five points for your cooperation, Rin." Daichi congratulated shuffling his deck before placing it on the table.

"Points?" Rin asked, staring back at Daichi with confusion.

"Indeed." Daichi replied, adjusting his trench coat. "It's a little game I've set up for you. I find that it works quite well for individuals of your age group."

"How does it work?" Rin asked, curious despite her suspicions.

"That token…" Daichi explained, "…can be redeemed for certain prizes. Inside your tower, you will find a little coin slot on the wall that you can use to deposit your tokens so they can be stored in a virtual bank of points. The more you cooperate, the more tokens I will give you, and the more points you will earn."

Rin smirked at Daichi before chucking the token into the corner of the room. "And you really think I'd obey you just so I can earn your stupid points?"

Daichi made no move to retrieve the coin for Rin. Folding his arms, he instead stared back at her with his same calm and patient expression. "I do not know you all too well of course…" Daichi apologized, "…but as I get to know you, I will be putting some prizes into the system. The tokens are pretty universal for most of my clients, but the prizes vary depending on what the particular client enjoys. With the points you earn, you can purchase anything from a tasty snack, to special privileges such as catching an opera at Academia's theater."

Rin blinked at the mention of the theater. Did Academia really have that?

Daichi smiled back at her. "However, for now, I have input a particular prize I think you will enjoy. I know you have been separated from Ruri for most of your stay, but you two seem to have become quite close to each other. Which is understandable." He added thoughtfully. "So here's my proposition, Rin. Normally, you don't get to see her that often, but the Professor has graciously given me permission to allow you timed video chat privileges with your Xyz counterpart."

"Video privileges?" Rin asked, brightening up at the news despite her initial apprehension of Daichi. "You mean I can talk with her?"

"Talk with her, joke with her, make silly faces with her… anything you two wish to do." Daichi replied, pushing his horn-rimmed glasses on top of his nose. "One point equals twelve seconds of chat time, so five points are a full minute. Depending on how you behave, you could end up earning quite a lot of chat time with Ruri, in addition to whatever prizes and privileges you request."

"Like a circular saw to cut through my bars and escape?" Rin asked sarcastically.

"We'll see what the professor says." Daichi smirked.

"And what if I'm not cooperative?" Rin pressed. "Do I lose all these precious points?"

"Naturally, the professor has the final say regarding your privileges." Daichi explained. "However, it is not my method to punish my clients by taking away points. If you misbehave, you will simply not earn points, and that will be the end. On the other hand, not one act of cooperation will go unrewarded with an appropriate amount of points."

Rin seemed to be considering his words. Even if Rin didn't seem to be noticing it, the Professor could already see the effectiveness of his agent's methods. Although Rin didn't trust Daichi, she was already opening up to him.

"So what happens now?" Rin asked, eyeing Daichi as he held his deck.

"My methods are a little unorthodox for the scientific community," Daichi explained, "but I have found that duelists will often reveal a great deal about themselves through the way they duel. So that's what I propose, Rin. You and I will do a little duel against each other, and I'll throw in a little bonus if you win. If you beat me, I will give you one-hundred bonus points and let you leave this interview early. If you lose, I will still give you the bonus points, but I will need you to fill out a questionnaire before you go. Fair enough?"

Rin looked back at Daichi before placing her deck on the table. "Alright…" she agreed, "…that's actually something I can get behind. I'm definitely not going to let you win."

Daichi smiled back at Rin before placing his deck adjacent to hers and drawing his opening hand while still sitting behind her.

"DUEL!" Daichi and Rin proclaimed in unison. Immediately upon the duelists' declaration, the table lit up to reveal a game-board displaying the card zone's and each player's life points. Scanning through the game-board, Rin drew her opening hand and prepared her move.

"Aren't you going to sit on the other side?" Rin asked, hiding her own hand so Daichi couldn't see it.

"I have positioned myself so I can't see your hand." Daichi reassured Rin. "Don't focus on me. Instead, focus on the monsters I summon and ways you can overcome them. Now, if you don't mind, I will be taking the first turn."

Rin looked like she did mind, but she kept her mouth shut.

Scanning through the cards in his hand, Daichi plucked a single card from his hand and placed it onto the table so that it was facing directly in front of Rin.

"I summon the Level one monster, Psychic Ink Figure One." Daichi proclaimed. From his card, a holographic mass of black ink bubbled upwards before shaping itself into a cloudy black figure, which looked vaguely like a demonic black bat with cloudy wings. As Rin stared at the monster in confusion, the monster seemed to slowly shift its shape as if responding to Rin's gaze.

"Upon being normal summoned, my monster's effect activates." Daichi explained. "My opponent gets to add one monster from their deck to their hand and reveal it. So tell me, Rin…" Daichi whispered behind Rin's back, "…what do you see?"

Rin seemed taken aback by the monster. For several moments, she just stared at the shifting figure, seemingly unsure of what to do. Looking down at the board, she reviewed the stats of the monster which showed that Daichi's monster was a Level one DARK attribute Psychic Type monster with zero ATK and zero DEF. Hesitantly searching through the cards in her deck, she added one to her hand.

"I choose the Level three monster, Wind Witch – Ice Bell." Rin concluded, adding the monster to her hand.

From behind her, Daichi nodded his head in approval before scribbling a note down on a notepad and slapping a five point coin down on the table in front of Rin. While Rin stared at the coin, he extended his hand towards his monster.

"I activate Psychic Ink Figure One's effect. Since you added Wind Witch – Ice Bell to your hand, Psychic Ink Figure One's name, Attribute, Level, Type, attack, defense, and effect becomes the same as Wind Witch – Ice Bell."

Rin gasped in shock as Daichi's monster transformed in front of her, molding itself into an inky black replica of her Wind Witch monster.

"Its effect now activates." Daichi declared. "Since it was summoned this turn, I inflict five-hundred damage to my opponent's Life Points."

Rin gritted her teeth as the inky black Wind Witch let out a giggle before blasting a torrent of holographic ink at her shirt, leaving a temporary stain before it faded away and her Life Points dropped to 3500.

"With that I end my turn." Daichi smiled.

"My turn…" Rin replied with a frown, "DRAW!" the second she had completed her draw, she was shocked once again when Daichi slammed another five point token in front of her. Rin glared at Daichi in frustration, wondering how often she was going to get interrupted.

"Please continue, Rin." Daichi encouraged. "You are doing exceedingly well."

"I haven't even done anything!" Rin snarled.

"I beg to differ." Daichi replied. "But please… don't let me interrupt you. Continue with your turn."

Rin looked away from Daichi and back down at her hand before glancing at Daichi's monster. As it was, it was an exact copy of Wind Witch – Ice Bell, down to its name and appearance. Rin inwardly breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn't added one of her stronger monsters to her hand. If she had, Daichi certainly would have just used it to his advantage. Fortunately, Ice Bell could be dealt with easily.

"I activate the magic card, Wind Calling Bell Chime!" Rin declared activating her Magic Card. As the card's effect activated, the sound of rushing wind and ringing bells could be heard. The instant the Magic Card was set on the field, Daichi slammed another five point token in front of Rin.

Ignoring Daichi, Rin continued with her turn.

"I reveal one Wind Witch monster in my hand in order to Special Summon one monster from my deck with the same name as the revealed monster." Rin explained. "And since you let me add Wind Witch – Ice Bell to my hand, I will reveal this monster in order to Special Summon one more Wind Witch – Ice Bell from my deck."

Opposite from Daichi's inky replica, Rin's original colorful Wind Witch – Ice Bell zoomed onto the field, leaving behind a trail of frosty wind from the tail of her broomstick/bell hybrid. Tossing aside her blue hair, the diminutive witch giggled as she raised her crystal wand to the air. Not wasting a moment, Daichi gently slipped another five point token in front of Rin.

Rin paused momentarily to glance at the growing pile of coins, wondering how many she'd end up collecting.

"Next, I Normal Summon one more Wind Witch – Ice Bell from my hand."

Next to her blue-haired sister, a second Wind Witch – Ice Bell with green hair materialized. Just like before, the second Rin had completed her move, yet another five point coin was added to Rin's growing pile of coins.

It was clear what was going on by now. It appeared that any time Rin would make a move, Daichi would award her with five points. Whether or not she outwardly expressed pleasure from the reward seemed inconsequential. Despite her initial resistance, the professor could see that the procedure was causing Rin to do exactly what Daichi wanted as she revealed more and more about herself with each play.

"Each Ice Bell's effect activates!" Rin declared. If they are summoned, I can inflict five-hundred damage to my opponent's Life Points!"

Zooming around the table on their broomsticks, each Ice Bell giggled as they unleashed a separate gust of cold wind directly at Daichi's face. Grinning with each blast, Daichi slapped two more coins in front of Rin before his Life Points dropped to 3000.

"Excellent Rin." Daichi complemented. "I can tell you really want that reward! It's only your first turn and already I am down by one-thousand points!"

"Don't congratulate me yet." Rin countered, "I'm just beginning!"

Tearing out another card from her hand, she continued her turn. "From my hand, I activate Wind Witch – Snow Bell's effect! If I control two WIND monsters on my side of the field, I can Special Summon this card from my hand!"

In another gust of cold wind, Rin's monster appeared to the field. At first, the monster looked like a miniature ball of snow before unfolding to reveal a long bell handle, elegant ice-blue patterns trimming a rounded bell, and a pair of angel wings on either side of the bell handle. With the appearance of the Tuner monster, Daichi slapped down another coin.

Rin didn't seem to be bothered by Daichi's continual reinforcement anymore. If anything, she seemed to be getting into the duel.

"Now, I tune my Level one Wind Witch – Snow Bell with my two Level three Wind Witch – Ice Bells in order to Synchro Summon!" Rin declared. On her command, Snow Bell flapped forward before morphing into a single green ring of light. Zipping forward on their broomsticks, the two Wind Witch – Ice Bells flew into the center of the ring, fading into a golden outline of themselves before completely disappearing and leaving behind a straight line of six spheres of white light. As the Synchro Summon neared its completion, Rin commenced her summon chant:

"Winds of winter, snow, and ice, become my power to blow everything away! SYNCHRO SHOKAN! Come forth! Level seven! Wind Witch – Winter Bell!"

Blasting out of a horizontal column of light, Wind Witch – Winter Bell whooshed onto the duel field, leaving behind a gust of intensely cold wind wherever she went. Flying circles around Daichi's imitation Ice Bell, a holographic indicator appeared to show an ATK of 2400 while Daichi slapped another coin onto Rin's table.

"I will next activate the Continuous Magic Card, Midnight-Wind Bell Chime!" Rin declared, throwing down a Spell Card that depicted a group of shadowy witches gathering around a bell-shaped cauldron that was blasting out a tornado of icy wind on a dark moon-lit night. "While this card is face-up on my side of the field," Rin explained, "All WIND Monsters I control gain ATK equal to their Levels times one-hundred. So that means my Wind Witch – Winter Bell gains seven-hundred attack!"

Ringing her central bell, Wind Witch – Winter Bell began glowing with icy blue light as her ATK rose to 3100. Grinning, Daichi slapped another coin in front of Rin.

"Its effect now activates!" Rin declared, "I target the Ice Bell in my graveyard in order to give Winter Bell the same effect! Take 500 more damage!"

With another ring of her bell, Winter Bell sent a huge gust of icy wind into Daichi's face, lowering his Life Points to 2500 as he nearly laughed with glee while setting yet another coin in front of Rin.

"BATTLE!" Rin declared, "Wind Witch – Winter Bell, destroy that imitation Ice Bell! Winter Fury!"

Zipping through the air at sonic speeds, Winter Bell let loose a hailstorm of icicles, which tore Daichi's monster into fragmented droplets of ink before the droplets splattered onto the table and disappeared entirely. Clapping his hands with delight, Daichi congratulated Rin before slapping another coin in front of her while his life points dropped to 400.

"Midnight-Wind Bell Chime's second effect activates!" Rin declared as Daichi took the opportunity to set another coin on her table. "If a WIND Spellcaster-Type monster I control inflicts battle or effect damage to my opponent's Life Points, I can tribute Midnight-Wind Bell Chime in order to add one "Bell Chime" Magic or Trap card from my deck to my hand." She plucked a card from her deck and added it to her hand while Daichi slipped another coin in front of her.

"Finally…" Rin proclaimed, "… I will set one card face-down and end my turn." She glared at Daichi expectantly as he set another coin onto her table.

"Excellent, excellent!" Daichi congratulated Rin as he drew his card. "You are doing far better than even I expected! Why, in a matter of just one turn, you successfully lowered my Life Points to a mere four-hundred! You should pat yourself on the back! Why, I would wager that by the time you begin your next turn…"

"There won't be a next turn." Rin interrupted Daichi, staring at him with a look of contempt on her face.

Daichi seemed taken aback by her statement. "And why ever would there not be, Rin? I thought you were enjoying this?"

"I'm saying that this is the last turn." She explained. "I activate my face-down Continuous Trap Card Cemetery-Wind Bell Chime!"

Flipping her trap card face-up, Rin revealed a card with a depiction of a snow-covered cemetery with multiple wind-chimes ringing forlornly over several unmarked graves decorated with wreaths and bells.

"Once per turn, I can target one Wind Witch monster I control in order to Special Summon one other Wind Witch monster from my graveyard with a Level equal to or less than the level of the targeted Wind Witch monster I control. Targeting the Level seven Wind Witch – Winter Bell, I Special Summon the Level three, Wind Witch – Ice Bell!"

Rising form the ground in a whirlwind of icy air, Wind Witch – Ice Bell zoomed around the duel field on her broomstick before letting out another laugh and pointing her wand at Daichi.

"Her effect activates." Rin declared with an almost bored expression on her face. "You lose and I get to leave."

Letting out a blast of air from her wand, Ice Bell quickly blew away the rest of Daichi's Life Points while the ecstatic man clapped his hands with delight.

"I have lost indeed!" Daichi enthusiastically acknowledged, throwing down three more coins before adding another stack of twenty, five-point coins to Rin's enormous pile. Taking out a small pink purse, he scooped the entire pile of coins into the bag's opening before handing it to Rin. "You have more than earned the right to leave this interview early, Rin. Thank you for a productive first meeting."

Daichi quickly pressed a button beneath the table before gathering up his items and placing his hat back on his head. From the door, the two Obelisk guards and Apollo strolled into the room, ready to accompany Rin back to her tower.

"Unfortunately…" Daichi apologized, setting his deck back into the felt box, "…I'm afraid Academia will not allow you to keep your deck at this time, so I will need it back. But we'll be dueling each other quite a bit more in the future." Daichi reassured Rin with a smile.

With a look of great reluctance on her face, Rin proceeded to hand Daichi her deck before proceeding towards the exit with the other guards. Before she had left the room, she suddenly paused.

"Wait!" she asked, turning around and looking into the room. One of the Obelisk guards made a move like he was about to apprehend her, but he was quickly stopped when Daichi motioned for him to be at ease. Walking into the corner of the room, Rin knelt down and picked up the coin she had tossed into the corner before hastily stuffing it into the purse and walking out with her guards.

Leo stared at the holographic screen as the recording came to an end. True to his word, Daichi had dueled Rin quite a few more times over the course of her stay in Academia, successfully farming more information from her with each visit. Among the many conclusions Daichi had drawn on Rin's psychological profile, he had concluded that she had a tendency, despite her tomboyish attitude, to gravitate towards figures of authority, or as Daichi had put it, fatherly figures. It had made sense to Leo when he had first heard the report. She had been raised without any official family in a run-down orphanage. It only made sense that she would gravitate towards people who could fill the void, such as her previous close friend when she lived in the orphanage, or Daichi himself when she was forced to stay in Academia. Even Ruri at times seemed to become a sort of motherly figure for the scared Synchro girl. Reviewing the recording only cemented Leo's theory. Despite all her shows of independence, Rin was inwardly very vulnerable and dependent on others. She had cooperated with nearly every one of Daichi's directives during her interviews, despite the bits of token defiance she offered. With the right authority figure, she could easily be manipulated. Ruri, on the other hand, was a different story.

"File 10.4, Friedrich Hoffman and Ruri, Interview one." Leo commanded. Just like before, the computer pulled out a new file which expanded into the center of the holographic screen before displaying the recording.

This time, instead of a square white room, the screen was dominated by a colorful oval-shaped room, shaped vaguely like a chrysalis. The center of the room was furnished with an oval-shaped black table with a large black chair with head and arm restraints on one side, and a large couch on the other side. Sitting at the couch while sipping a hot cup of tea, a man in a pasty-white trench coat with purple highlights on the shoulders and arms seemed to be waiting for someone. His long shiny white hair was tied into a ponytail, which rested against his neck and back. His squinty eyes were similar to Daichi's, but his were a blood-red color and covered with a pair of clear half-moon spectacles. His skin was the same pasty-white as his hair and trench-coat, with a few blotches of discolored yellow patches giving him a somewhat sickly appearance. The wrinkles on his forehead suggested that he was around his late fifties or early sixties in age. Over his hands, he wore a set of purple gloves while his feet were clad in a set of purple rubber boots. At his side, a white fedora with a purple rim rested against the man. In the background of the room, the professor could hear Franz Schubert's, "Der Doppelganger," playing in the background.

To the left of the man, a door opened and a pair of Obelisk Force guards, Ruri, and Ruri's bodyguard, Diana, entered the room. While the guards were standing alert and at attention, Ruri looked like she had decided to shut down. She did not move unless a guard gave her shove forward, and she barely even looked up as she hung her head down and let her long hair cascade over her face.

"Strap her in." the man in the couch instructed, not even looking up as he took another meditative sip from his tea-cup and slowly tapped his finger to the rhythm of the music. The voice of the man was clear and deep with an ever-so-slight hint of a German accent.

"Yes Friedrich!" one of the guards saluted, taking a submissive Ruri by the arm. "Glory on the Academia!"

"Glory on the Academia." The man named Friedrich agreed with a nod of his head.

As the guards strapped Ruri in, using a set of restraints that completely locked in her legs and waist while permitting her upper body, head, and arms freedom of movement, Friedrich meditatively closed his eyes before joining his voice with the German singer.

"Da steht auch ein Meeeeeeeensch und starrt in die Höhe,
Und riiiiiiiingt die Händeeeeeee, vor Schmeeeeeeeeeeeeerzensgewalt;
Miiiiiiir graaaaaaaust es, wenn ich sein Antlitz seeeeeheeeeeeeee -
Der Mond zeigt mir meine eeeeeeeeigne Gestaaaaaaaaaaaaalt!

Du Doppelgänger! du bleicher Geselle!
Was äffst du nach mein Liebesleid,
Das mich gequält auf dieser Stelleeeeeeeeee,
So maaaaaaaaaaaanche Naaaaaaaaaacht, in aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalter Zeit?"

The music began dying off as he pronounced the last note, slowly fading into a forlorn chord of music. When it had ended, he opened his eyes and motioned for the guards to leave the room. When they had all left, he locked his eyes on Ruri's face and began addressing her.

"You are of course aware of why you are here, Ruri?"

Ruri remained silent, keeping her eyes locked on the floor.

"And evidently you intend to show me the same behavior you showed Daichi." Friedrich mused, pulling out a stack of papers from a file, which was resting on the couch. "In case you really are unaware, let us review how you have behaved over the past seven days…" he cleared his throat before continuing while Ruri continued to look down on the ground without giving any response as if she were a comatose invalid.

"Daichi writes of your interviews with him, stating quote: 'Patient remained consistently unresponsive. When being interviewed, she would look down on the floor and act as if she heard nothing. When dueling, she would consistently refuse to make any move, and instead waste time until the time limit for her turn ran out. Subject would consistently make conscious moves to reject positive reinforcement such as by swiping away tokens, covering her ears when given praise, and…'" Friedrich snickered to himself, "'…spitting out primary reinforcers such as sugar water and cookies.'"

He threw the papers down on his table with a look of exceedingly great contempt on his face before looking back up at Ruri.

"Let me make one thing very clear, Ruri. You may have been able to get away with this when Daichi was your counselor, but I am not soft and fluffy like him. My associate may have been content to take his time with his behaviorism, but neither I nor Academia shares his patience. Whether or not you really are or are not listening to me right now, you will soon come to find that your current behavior is not tolerated. Not when we have specific objectives to fulfill and not a lot of time to fulfill them. Now then… as a demonstration… SIT UP AND LISTEN WHEN I'M SPEAKING TO YOU!" he commanded, pressing a command on the screen of his Duel Disk.

Ruri nearly jumped from her seat as a sudden electric surge coursed through her body. Letting out a yelp, she threw back her head before quickly locking eyes with Friedrich, panting slightly as the pain went away.

"You wet yourself." Friedrich commented nonchalantly, pulling a deck from his Duel Disk.

With a horrified expression on her face, Ruri looked down to see that the sudden electric shock had indeed caused her to lose control.

"But that is alright." Friedrich continued with an unconcerned expression on his face. "We'll clean up the mess when this session is done. For the moment, let that little experience remind you that I do not mess around. You have had your chance to be compliant when we showed you hospitality, but sadly, you took Academia's hospitality and spat it back in our face. Now you get to work with me." He showed the front of his Duel Disk to Ruri, indicating a list of settings on the screen.

"That little tickle…" he explained, "…was the setting at 20. As you can clearly see, the machine goes all the way up to 100. Naturally, the professor will not allow me to inflict lasting physical harm to you, so this ingenious little machine is designed to inflict maximum pain with minimum physical damage. Please keep in mind, Ruri, that if you show me the slightest resistance, fail to properly follow directives, or even fall below your normal intelligence and skill level, then I am perfectly within my power to inflict whatever amount of punishment I see fit. Do you understand? Please respond with a clearly enunciated 'Yes' or a clearly enunciated 'No.'"

"Y-y-yes." Ruri whispered, eyes trailing to the floor again.

"What?" Friedrich asked, finger approaching his Duel Disk.

"YES!" Ruri hastily replied, standing up straight and facing Friedrich before he could touch the screen.

Friedrich nodded his head in approval. "Good, Ruri, good. You're already learning." He seemed to relax in his chair, staring at Ruri for an uncomfortably long time, seemingly content with merely observing her while her fingers and eyes trembled and her legs squirmed from the uncomfortable hot wetness of her clothing. After a few moments, he leaned forward, crossing his gloved fingers together and resting his chin on top of them before addressing her again.

"Our methods may be uncomfortable for you, Ruri, but you should know that there is a very good reason for us employing them. We would not do what we did if it would not ultimately benefit both you and others." He calmly explained, looking deep into her eyes.

Ruri eyed him back, mouth opening as if she wanted to speak. However, when she had parted her lips just a little, her eyes suddenly darted to Friedrich's Duel Disk and she immediately stopped, clenching her lips together while she clenched her fists tighter and her fingers trembled more vigorously.

Friedrich smiled at the response Ruri was showing.

"I can tell you hate me, Ruri." He smiled, maintaining his pose. "You don't have to say anything to prove it. Elevated heart rate, adrenaline, all signs that your Id is taking control, demanding you to escape, telling you that the truth is right in front of you, that the Professor, The Academy, and yours truly, are villains who need to be destroyed."

Ruri shuddered at Friedrich's words, closing her eyes and clenching her teeth together as if he was causing her more physical pain with his voice than he did with the electric shock.

Friedrich leaned back with a relaxed expression on his face, pouring some more hot tea into his cup from a white porcelain kettle and dropping in a few cubes of sugar before taking a sip and continuing in his same gentle tone-of-voice. "While the Professor would come down here and argue that this is false and that his dream of the Arc Area Project is true, look at it the way I see this. Both beliefs could be true, or neither."

Ruri's head whipped around to face Friedrich. A confused expression coming over her face. Evidently, she had not expected to hear what Friedrich just said.

"There are only two realities of this world, Dear Ruri…" Friedrich explained, setting his cup down and looking deep into Ruri's eyes with the same calm expression over his face, "…the inability to escape from death, and the fact that humanity has no sense of truth, only beliefs. It is these conflicting beliefs that caused the war between dimensions, tragic, but necessary for discovery."

"What discovery?" Ruri moaned, tears almost trickling from her eyes. "What could possibly be worth killing us and destroying us?"

"You're very talkative all of a sudden." Friedrich smirked. "The discovery of what you ask? The discovery of whether or not it is possible for humanity to uncover a single universal truth. This is my calling, as well as yours, the greatest experiment humanity will ever undertake. So please, Dear Ruri, don't think of yourself as a prisoner, or even a guinea pig in this experiment. Think of yourself as a caterpillar, with your cell being your cocoon, and when my associate has completed his invention, and I have completed my work, you will be able to ascend and transform into a beautiful, beautiful butterfly."

Friedrich closed his eyes after finishing his speech, smiling softly as if enjoying the melody of gentle background music.

"I don't… I don't understand." Ruri hesitantly replied. "What do you mean by transform? What do you mean by ascend? And why am I so important to you!?"

Friedrich frowned, as if Ruri had just said something very unpleasant.

"Unfortunately…" he growled, "…the answers to those questions appear to be things you have studiously attempted to avoid. You have repeatedly failed to comply with our directives, show an ounce of effort in the work that needed to be done, or even share an inkling of our own curiosity. That, however, is going to change today. From now on, I will be your instructor as you complete your transformation." His face softened again as he meditatively began shuffling his deck. "It will be a painful process, transformations always are. But I will help you, dear Ruri. I will be here to offer guidance, prod you in the right direction, and lead you as we discover new realms of possibility together."

He opened a drawer beneath the table and pulled out a deck before handing it to Ruri.

"So take your deck, Ruri." He commanded. "You are no doubt familiar with this procedure. Despite our many disagreements, Daichi and I share the belief that dueling is indeed one of the best ways to discover new information about a duelist. So we will duel, just as you have done many times before. But I warn you, if you fail to show me the skill-level I expect from you and lose this duel, then I will have to punish you. The only way to escape punishment is to help me in my analysis of your abilities by demonstrating to me your full capabilities. We have a lot of wasted time to make up and not a whole lot of time to do it. Do you understand me?"

"Please…" Ruri begged, sweat beading on her face, "…don't do this… I never did anything to you… this isn't worth it… you know this is wrong!"

The rest of her speech was cut off with another electric shock that sent Ruri's head flying back against the cushy head-rest on the back of the chair as she screamed in agony.

When the shock had stopped and Ruri fell forward on her chair, Friedrich addressed her question as if nothing had happened.

"Right and wrong are moral concepts generated by humans. The prevailing moral opinions exist because the human factions who hold them are stronger, not because the moral opinions hold any more inherent truth than any other." He drew five cards from the top of his deck and motioned for Ruri to do the same. Hastily complying, Ruri drew her opening hand before Friedrich continued. "If you wish to impose your moral will upon me, then I suggest you overpower me, starting with this duel. However, since that is not likely going to happen, my dear Ruri, I will take the liberty of taking the first turn."

Ruri grimaced as Friedrich pulled a card from his hand, but she didn't say anything. Waving his hand over the black table, Friedrich caused a holographic display of a duel field to appear over the table's surface.

"Let us start by removing some extraneous neural pathways." Friedrich began, throwing down a Spell Card. "I activate the Magic Card, Synaptic Pruning. This card sends the top five cards from my deck to my graveyard. In addition, I can select one of the cards I sent to the graveyard with this effect, and place it on top of my deck." Tossing a stack of cards from the top of his deck into the graveyard, he skimmed through the cards in his graveyard before lazily placing one on top of his deck. "Using the effect of Synaptic Pruning, I set the Monster, Spirit of the Unconscious on top of my deck."

Ruri watched with an apprehensive expression on her face as if bracing for something unpleasant.

Friedrich took notice of Ruri's expression and smiled. "You are thinking…" he observed, "…that I am setting up to do something big. Why else would I send so many cards from my deck to the graveyard? Well, you'd be right, Ruri. I am indeed setting up for a big play. So watch and learn."

He placed a card on the table.

"I Normal Summon the Level four monster, Spirit of the Subconscious." He declared. From his card, a pool of dimly-lit cold water poured out from the picture before the tip of a white iceberg poked its way over the surface of the water. Rising into the air, the rest of the massive iceberg rose above the surface of the water, until Ruri was staring at a massive sheet of ice. Beneath the peak of the iceberg, the bottom half of the iceberg blackened before bursting open and releasing a small humanoid figure with an enlarged head, eight arms, and a body as black as the night sky. Letting out a loud primordial howl, the creature folded its arms and legs in a meditative pose before a holographic indicator appeared and showed an ATK of 0.

"I now activate its effect." Friedrich declared, stretching out his hand towards his diminutive monster. When Spirit of the Subconscious is Normal Summoned, I can tribute it to look at the top card of my deck and Special Summon one 'Force' monster from my deck, ignoring the summoning conditions, based on the card revealed."

Ruri widened her eyes as if realizing what Friedrich was about to do. Unfolding its arms, Spirit of the Subconscious seemed to fade away before the top card of Friedrich's deck began glowing with black light.

Friedrich smiled back at her as he revealed the top card of his deck. "It would seem you have figured it out. The top card of my deck is Spirit of the Unconscious, a monster card. Because of this, I am allowed to Special Summon the Level six monster, Ido the Supreme Magical Force, from my deck to my side of the field."

Skimming through his deck until he came across a particular card, Friedrich placed the card onto the table before shuffling his deck and returning it to its original position.

"Come forth!" he commanded, "The embodiment of the primordial savage instinct! Ido the Supreme Magical Force!"

Gasping in shock, Ruri watched as a massive monster began materializing above Friedrich's card. Appearance-wise, the monster looked vaguely like a large savage translucent dragon composed of transparent blue energy and an outline of white electricity. Crackling with energy, the monster began digging its ferocious claws into the table, baring its fangs, and roaring with fury as if it wanted to tear everyone and everything to pieces. Above the monster, a holographic indicator showed an ATK of 2200.

"You are apparently impressed that I summoned such a high level monster without even needing to draw it or release other monsters for its Tribute Summon." Friedrich mused, observing Ruri's expression. "Well, get used to this. This is barely a beginning for me."

Plucking another card from his hand, he continued with his turn.

"I next discard the Level four monster, Spirit of the Conscious, from my hand in order to activate its effect." Friedrich calmly continued.

From the center of the table, another pool of clear water began bubbling into existence before the tip of the holographic iceberg poked itself above the surface of the water. Shining with intense bright light, the tip of the iceberg slowly became transparent before shattering and releasing a small humanoid monster with pale white skin, an enlarged humanoid head, a pair of black alien eyes, four pairs of arms, an emaciated body, and a pair of thin legs. Bringing its hands to the center of its chest, the diminutive creature created a sphere of white energy in the center of its hands, which looked vaguely like the pulsating surface of a brain.

"When it is discarded…" Friedrich explained, "…I am allowed to add one "Force" Monster from my deck to my hand. I choose the Level seven monster, Ego the Supreme Rational Force."

After adding the card to his hand, he continued with his turn.

"Now then, my current monster, Ido the Supreme Magical Force, prevents me from summoning monsters while it is face-up on the field. However, there is a simple way to get around its effect. Ego the Supreme Rational Force is entirely immune to each one of Ido's effects, in addition, if I control a face-up Ido the Supreme Magical Force, I can summon this monster from my hand without releasing any monsters!"

Ruri let out an audible gasp.

Friedrich calmly smiled at her before placing his monster on the table. "Reveal yourself now! The embodiment of the practical mind and the mediator between the animalistic and spiritualistic tendencies! Ego the Supreme Rational Force!"

Appearing to the right of Ido, Friedrich's new monster materialized onto the field. Unlike the dragon-shaped Ido the Supreme Magical Force, Ego the Supreme Rational Force took the vague shape of a large humanoid creature with long gorilla-like arms and two faces, one looking to the right and one looking to the left. Like Ido, Ego's translucent body seemed to be created from pure energy, but his body was a shade of red instead of Ido's blue. Stretching out its arms and puffing out its chest, the monster let out a low growl before a holographic indicator appeared and showed an ATK of 2500.

"It's a shame I can't attack." Friedrich mused, "But that will come later. For now, I will set one card face down, and conclude my turn by activating the continuous magic card, Psychoanalysis."

Friedrich placed down one face down before revealing a magic card that depicted a female patient reclining on a couch while a therapist took notes as she spoke.

"The ball's in your court, Ruri." Friedrich instructed, "Show me your full power or there will be consequences."

Trembling, Ruri reached over and plucked a card from her deck.

"My turn… draw." She weakly replied. Closing her eyes, she barely even looked at the card she drew before whispering, "Turn end."

Immediately, Ruri was blasted back against her chair as Friedrich set the shock to forty.

"No, Ruri…" Friedrich growled, "…you do not get to end your turn like that. Don't think I'm an idiot! I know you don't have a bad hand! You're just trying to get this duel over with by letting me attack you directly next turn. Unfortunately for you, Ruri, getting out of this session is not going to be that simple. I need you to actually show effort. Satisfy me and I will let you go. Continue to show this impudence, and I will shock you until you pass out! Am I clear, Ruri!?"

Gritting her teeth, Ruri slammed a card onto the table.

"I Normal Summon Lyrical Luscinia –Cobalt Sparrow!" Ruri roared. Over the card, a small harpy-like monster with a humanoid body and face, bird wings instead of arms, bird feet, brown feathers, and a bird-head hood with pilot goggles over a female humanoid face materialized into existence. Quickly pulling two more cards from her hand, she continued with her plays.

"If I control a Cobalt Sparrow, I am allowed to Special Summon Sapphire Swallow and one other Lyrical Luscinia from my hand with Sapphire Swallow's effect! Come forth! Lyrical Luscinia – Sapphire Swallow and Lyrical Luscinia – Cobalt Sparrow!"

Next to Ruri's previous monster, two more harpy-like monsters appeared, one a second copy of Cobalt Sparrow, while the other was similar in appearance to Cobalt Sparrow but wore blue feathers and clothing reminiscent of an air-flight attendant.

"Cobalt Sparrow's effect activates!" Ruri continued. "Since she was Special Summoned, I get to add one other Cobalt Sparrow from my deck to my hand!" angrily tearing the card from her deck, she continued with her plays.

"I next activate the effect of the second Sapphire Swallow in my hand!" Ruri declared. "I Special Summon both Sapphire Swallow and the Cobalt Sparrow I added to my hand!"

Swarming the field, Ruri completely filled her Monster Zones with two more humanoid bird creatures. Scooping all the monsters up in one hand, she stacked them together before drawing a card from her Extra Deck and slamming it on top of her five monsters.

"I now overlay all five of my monsters in order to Xyz Summon!" she declared. Over her cards, a holographic image of an Xyz Portal swirled into existence before each of her monsters transformed into streams of green light and drained into the center of the singularity. Raising her hand to the air, she began a summoning chant, a look of utter rage and loathing darkening her face.

"Birds with beautiful wings, come and nobly shine on the battlefield! XYZ SHOKAN! Fly down! Rank one! Lyrical Luscinia – Assembly Nightingale!"

Bursting forth from the portal in a swirl of blue and white feathers, Ruri's Xyz Monster gracefully twirled through the air before spreading out its wings while a holographic indicator appeared and showed an ATK of 0.

"Lyrical Luscinia – Assembly Nightingale's monster effect activates!" Ruri declared, "For each of its overlay units, it gains one-hundred attack and can attack once!"

"Oh… so you can actually play this game." Friedrich smirked as the ATK of Ruri's monster rose to 500.

Ignoring him, Ruri continued with her plays.

"I next activate the Quick-Play Magic, Lyrical Luscinia – Bird Foraging. By detaching up to two Overlay Units from a Lyrical Luscinia monster I control, I am allowed to draw cards equal to the number of Overlay Units detached. I detach one Cobalt Sparrow and One Sapphire Swallow from Assembly Nightingale in order to draw two cards!"

Plucking the two cards from the top of her deck, she didn't waste a moment as she continued with her plays.

"Now, since I control a Lyrical Luscinia monster, I will activate the Continuous Magic Card, Lyrical Luscinia – Bird Screen! With this effect, if a Lyrical Luscinia Monster is Special Summoned, attacks, or activates its effect, my opponent cannot activate any cards or effects in response!"

"In that case, you force my hand, my dear Ruri." Friedrich replied with a smirk. "In response to the activation of your Spell Card, I activate the effect of Spirit of the Conscious from my graveyard! By banishing this monster while I control a 'Force' monster, I can destroy all monsters on the field and draw one card for each of my own 'Force' monsters destroyed with this effect!"

Rising from the graveyard, the ghostly image of Friedrich's alien like monster appeared before cackling like a maniac and exploding in a brilliant flash of light, which sent shockwaves ripping through the table.

"Lyrical Luscinia – Assembly Nightingale's effect!" Ruri declared, "If it would be destroyed, I can detach one Overlay Unit from my monster instead!"

While Friedrich's monsters were torn asunder by the violence of the explosion, Assembly Nightingale quickly absorbed a green overlay unit into her chest before creating a sphere of white energy shielding that protected her from the blast.

"But now your monster only has a pitiful two-hundred attack." Friedrich sneered as he plucked two cards from the top of his deck and added them to his hand. "Sorry, my dear Ruri, but even if your monster can attack me directly twice, that's only a total of four-hundred damage. Hardly enough to even come close to destroying me."

"I'm not even close to done yet!" Ruri snarled, face becoming more feral-looking by the second.

"Battle!" she declared stretching her hand towards Friedrich. "Lyrical Luscinia – Assembly Nightingale, direct attack!"

Sending two gusts of wind at Friedrich with two flaps of her wings, Assembly Nightingale managed to lower Friedrich's Life Points to 3600.

"So you're not done yet, hmm?" Friedrich asked, a look of deep skepticism coming over his face. "I'll admit I'm not COMPLETELY disappointed by your efforts, but I fail to see what more you can do this turn."

"This…" Ruri angrily replied, throwing down another card. "…I activate the Quick-Play Magic Card, Lyrical Luscinia – Bird Formation! If I inflict battle-damage with a Lyrical Luscinia Xyz Monster, I can Xyz Summon 1 Lyrical Luscinia Xyz Monster from my Extra Deck using appropriate Lyrical Luscinia cards from among the cards on my side of the field, hand, graveyard, or attached to my monsters as Overlay Units as the materials!

In response to the activation of your Magic Card, I discard Spirit of the Unconscious from my hand!" Friedrich declared. Dropping a card into his graveyard. Over the table, a lone iceberg rose from the depths of a pool of black water before the entire mass of ice darkened and a creature rose from the depths of the water beneath the sheet of ice. Once it rose to the field, the iceberg and pool of water vanished away. Straining her eyes, Ruri could only barely make out Friedrich's monster, which was almost completely invisible. However, as it moved it left behind a slight distortion in the air, which gave away its shape. Like the other monsters, Spirit of the Unconscious possessed a large alien head, four pairs of arms, and thin spindly legs. Unlike the other two monsters, however, it made absolutely no sound as it seemed to look at Ruri before descending into a graveyard portal.

"Its effect now applies." Friedrich coolly explained, taking a sip of tea. "While it is in the graveyard, I can apply certain effects based on the "Force" monsters on my side of the field or in the graveyard. Since I control Ido the Supreme Magical Force, any damage I take is halved while any damage you take is doubled. So I suppose I will be taking a little damage this turn from your attacks, but it won't matter too much."

"Everything matters!" Ruri countered. "Even the people you think are weak and worthless! And I'll prove that!"

Throwing down a single card in her hand, she scooped up the three monsters in her graveyard and plucked one Overlay Unit from her Xyz Monster before stacking them all together and placing another card from her Extra Deck on top of the monster.

"Using the one Sapphire Swallow and two Cobalt Sparrows in my graveyard, the one Sapphire Swallow attached to Assembly Nightingale as an Overlay Unit, and the Lyrical Luscinia – Zircon Warbler in my hand, I construct the Overlay Network!"

Above a swirling Xyz Portal, two Cobalt Sparrows and two Sapphire Swallows appeared before being joined by another humanoid bird woman with green feathers, shiny goggles over her eyes, a smooth crash-helmet over her head, and a sleek flight-suit connecting her bird wings and legs together with a pair of leather air-flaps that looked like a flying squirrel's membranes. Transforming into a five new streams of green light, a second Assembly Nightingale appeared to Ruri's field.

"Come forth!" Ruri commanded, "Lyrical Luscinia – Assembly Nightingale!"

Joining her sister, Assembly Nightingale unfolded her wings and prepared to strike back at Friedrich.

"Zircon Warbler's effect activates!" Ruri declared. "If she is used as an Xyz Material, the monster Xyz Summoned gains this effect: It cannot be targeted by my opponent's card effect and any damage it inflicts is doubled!"

Friedrich raised an eyebrow as if he were mildly impressed. "Intriguing…" He muttered, "…but it hardly makes a difference. I will still have life points when this is done."

"We'll see about that!" Ruri snarled, "It is still my Battle-Phase! Lyrical Luscinia – Assembly Nightingale, attack Friedrich directly with the first attack!"

Violently beating her wings, Assembly Nightingale sent a strong gust of wind directly into Friedrich's face, lowering his Life Points to 3100.

"THE SECOND!" Ruri commanded, pointing her finger at Friedrich.

Friedrich frowned as his Life Points dropped to 2600.

"THE THIRD!"

Friedrich took a sip of tea as his Life dropped to 2100.

"THE FOURTH!" Ruri roared, seemingly upset that Friedrich didn't seem to mind.

Friedrich scribbled a note on a clip-board as his Life dropped to 1600.

"THE FIFTH!"

Friedrich barely blinked as his life dropped to 1100. Panting angrily, Ruri hung her head down, seemingly upset that she hadn't been able to beat Friedrich, but looking somewhat satisfied over managing to knock Friedrich's Life Points down as much as she did.

Friedrich looked completely unimpressed. Brushing off his shoulder, he extended his hand towards his graveyard.

"Before you end your turn, I activate the effect of the Spirit of the Unconscious in my graveyard. Once per turn, during either player's turn, if I have a copy of Ego the Supreme Rational Force in my graveyard, I can look at the top card of your deck and place it on either the top or bottom of your deck."

Reaching over, he snagged a card from Ruri's deck, much to her annoyance, and glared at it, a haughty grin coming over his face as he placed it on top of her deck.

"That card will be quite useless to you, Ruri." He snickered. "As a matter of fact, it will end up helping me a lot more than it will you."

"It doesn't matter." Ruri countered.

"AHHH! But I thought everything mattered, Ruri!" Friedrich exclaimed, an expression of mock disbelief coming over his face.

Ruri looked away, frustration twisting her features as Friedrich skillfully used her own words against her. "What I mean is…" Ruri hissed, "…that even if you somehow use the top card to your advantage, I'll be able to beat you next turn. You have no monsters while I have two. Even if you try and destroy them, I can just protect them, and then, I can attack you directly."

"So I take it you end your turn then?" Friedrich inquired.

"Yes…" Ruri muttered. "…turn end."

"Then I suppose I'll finish this." Friedrich declared, plucking a card from the top of his deck. "Unfortunately for you, Ruri, I will now have to teach you the consequences of failure."

"It's not over!" Ruri snapped.

"It is, Ruri." Friedrich growled. "Despite your petulant rage, I'm afraid your dueling was just as pathetic as ever. No wonder Yuri was able to overpower you so easily." A smile crept over his features. "No wonder Heartland was so easily destroyed."

Were it not for the restraints, Ruri would have almost certainly pounced on Friedrich and attacked him with everything she had.

Friedrich only smiled at her pitiful resistance. "My turn." He declared. He extended his hand to his graveyard and pulled out Ido and Ego before setting them on the field.

"Because both Ido and Ego were destroyed by card effects, their effects each activate during the Standby-Phase of the next turn. Ido Special Summons himself and destroys all other monsters on my side of the field. Fortunately, since Ego is entirely immune to the effects of Ido, I am also allowed to activate his effect, Special Summoning himself from the graveyard and increasing my Life Points by 1000."

Ruri grimaced as Friedrich spread out his arms like a performer before graciously accepting the boost to his Life Points, which had now risen to 2100.

"And now that that's done…" Friedrich continued, "…the effect of my Psychoanalysis kicks in. When one or more 'Force' monsters are Special Summoned to my side of the field from the graveyard, I can force you to reveal the top card of your deck and apply a certain effect depending on the card revealed. So please reveal the Magic Card, One-for-One, my dear Ruri."

Angrily, Ruri revealed the top card of her deck, showing it to be exactly the card Friedrich had declared.

"Since it was a magic card that was revealed…" Friedrich continued, "…I get to activate this effect. I can select one 'Force' monster I control and gain Life Points equal to its attack power. I choose my twenty-five hundred attack Ego the Supreme Rational Force, in order to completely replenish my Life Points with more to spare."

Mouth gaping open with shock, Ruri watched helplessly as Friedrich closed his eyes, breathing in the sweet air as his Life Points rose to 4600. Eyes snapping back open, he continued with his turn.

"Naturally, it would be an utter waste of time if I merely replenished my Life Points." Friedrich explained, flipping over his face-down card. "So, in regards to your monsters so-called defense, I think I will activate this, the Trap Card, Schizophrenia."

Over the table, a holographic image of Friedrich's trap card appeared. The picture depicted a man clutching his head while screaming. Over his head, fragmented images of distorted faces seemed to laugh and cry at the man as his forehead nearly split in two.

"Its effect is as follows." Friedrich continued, extending his hand towards the table. "If I control a 'Force' monster, this card negates the effects of all monsters on the field and halves their attack and defense points."

"Nani!?" Ruri exclaimed as an electrical shockwave blasted from the holographic image of Friedrich's Trap Card. Upon making contact with Ruri's forehead, Ruri was forced to cover her ears as the sound of intense screaming and laughing filled her ears. Distorted images and faces flooded the air above the table, and through the sea of random images, Ruri could see both her monsters, and Friedrich's monsters writhing on the floor in agony as they clutched their heads with their arms. As they suffered, the ATK of each of Ruri's monsters dropped to 0 while Ido's ATK dropped to 1100 and Ego's ATK dropped to 1250.

"With this, I'm afraid you're already finished, Ruri." Friedrich proclaimed, calmly leaning forward as if completely unbothered by the effects of his Trap Card. "If you recall correctly, Spirit of the Unconscious doubles any damage you take, so even if my monster's attack power is halved, you will take damage equal to their original attack when I destroy each of your zero attack power monsters."

Ruri's mouth hung open, seemingly unable to believe that her strategy had been so easily overcome.

Friedrich smiled at her shock. "However, I don't wish to end the duel this way. I need to thoroughly teach you that this kind of mediocrity will not be tolerated from you. To do that…" he pulled a card from his hand, "…I need to make you suffer."

"Please…" Ruri begged, eyes beginning to water as she eyed Friedrich's Duel Disk.

"I already told you…" Friedrich replied with a look of the deepest contempt on his face, "…if you really wanted to stop me, you should have overpowered me. The right to define human morality rests with those who can wield the most force, and I shall demonstrate the kind of force that takes now!"

Throwing down the last card in his hand, he continued with his turn.

"Since I control the monsters, Ido the Supreme Magical Force, and Ego the Supreme Rational Force, I am allowed to Special Summon the Level eight monster, Superego the Supreme Existential Force from my hand! Like, Ego, it is completely unaffected by Ido's effects, and thus, free to cross the boundaries Ido sets! Come forth! The great moral force of humanity! The ideal creature! Superego the Supreme Existential Force!"

In a burst of light, Friedrich's third monster appeared to his field. Ruri blinked in surprise when she saw it. Despite having the same translucent energy bodies of both Ido and Ego, Superego strangely more closely resembled Ruri's Lyrical Luscinia – Assembly Nightingale. The monster was yellow in color, with a tall humanoid body, headless torso with a lone halo above the neck, and a pair of outstretched angel wings instead of arms. Soaring above the two other monsters, a holographic indicator appeared beneath Superego's feet, revealing an ATK of 2800.

"Battle!" Friedrich spat, "Ido the Supreme Magical Force, destroy Ruri's first Lyrical Luscinia – Assembly Nightingale!"

Roaring with the ferocity of a lion, Ido pounced on Ruri's monster, tearing the struggling and screaming bird-woman to shreds as it savagely ripped off her wings one by one with its sharp fangs before mauling her face and chest. Ruri looked away from the horrific sight, but was suddenly thrown back against her chair when an electric shock surged through her body as her Life Points dropped to 1800.

"Oh, and I believe I forgot to mention." Friedrich calmly explained. "Each time you lose Life Points, I will administer a shock equal to the amount you lost divided by one-hundred. Since you just lost twenty-two hundred, that's a shock of twenty-two."

Ruri gasped when the shock went away, tears leaking down her cheeks as she nearly fell out of her chair.

"Unfortunately, we're not done yet." Friedrich coldly continued. "Ego, the Supreme Rational Force, attack her second Lyrical Luscinia – Assembly Nightingale!"

Friedrich's two-faced monster charged forward, raising its gorilla fists into the air to pound Ruri's weakened monster into feathers when it suddenly stopped, fists inches away from smiting Assembly Nightingale. Both Ruri and Assembly Nightingale looked on in confusion as the ghostly monster slowly backed away.

"From my graveyard." Friedrich explained, "I activate the effect of my Impulse Control magic card, which I milled when I first activated Synaptic Pruning. By banishing this card when one of my own 'Force' monsters declares an attack, I can negate my monster's attack in order to increase the attack power of each monster I control by the current attack power of that 'Force' monster."

Crackling with energy, all three of Friedrich's monsters began glowing with light as Ido's ATK rose to 2350, Ego's rose to 2500, and Superego's rose to 4050. Ruri's eyes suddenly widened with fear as she looked down at Friedrich's monsters and back up at his Duel Disk.

"It would seem you have figured it out." Friedrich smirked. "You're about to receive quite the lesson when Superego destroys your monster." He extended his hand forward. "Superego, if you would oblige me, I'm weary of looking at her weak monster."

"WAIT!" Ruri screamed, shielding her face with her hands.

Too late, with a mighty flap of his wings, Superego sent a surge of yellow energy straight into Ruri's last monster, obliterating her monster into tiny feathery bits before Ruri let out an ear-splitting shriek of agony as Friedrich administered an Electric shock of 81.

Friedrich took a sip of tea as Ruri fell forward before convulsing and nearly vomiting on the floor as she wretched from the pain of the shock. Quivering, she began loudly bawling, fluid streaming from her eyes and nose as she gave in to her physical and emotional pain.

"Pathetic." Friedrich commented, setting his tea cup down. "I almost wonder why the professor invests so much in you when you could be far more useful as a garden fertilizer if we were to shoot and bury you. But I suppose you are so filled with self-importance that you'd like to think you were at the center of the multiverse."

"It's over…" Ruri bawled. "…you won! I'm nothing! I can't beat you! That was my best! I couldn't do anything else!"

Friedrich sent another electric shock through Ruri, silencing her the second it passed, save for a bit of involuntary whimpering and hiccupping.

"I'll decide when you have really done everything you can do, my dear Ruri." Friedrich yawned. "Frankly, I believe you are holding out on me. Let's move on to the next duel."

"WHAT!?" Ruri screamed, struggling to yank herself out of the chair.

"You lost, Ruri, and that is unacceptable." Friedrich explained. "Did you really think this session would just end after you lost? No, Ruri, I'm not here just to play a game, take a few notes, and send you on your way. I'm here to make a breakthrough! So until you actually overpower me and defeat me in a duel, you are sitting right in that chair and dueling as much as I want."

"I told you!" Ruri begged, "I did my best in the last duel! I'm not holding back! There's nothing more I can do! Why do you want me!? What do you want from me!?"

"You're hiding something, Ruri." Friedrich growled as he shuffled his deck and slammed it back down on the table. "I'm about to find out what it is, whether you like it or not!"

"I'M WORTHLESS TO YOU!" Ruri screamed, "DO YOU HEAR ME!? I WAS NEVER A GOOD DUELIST! THERE WAS NEVER ANYTHING SPECIAL ABOUT ME! I'M JUST A STUPID GIRL WHO COULDN'T EVEN DEFEND HERSELF AGAINST YOU!"

The rest of her ravings were immediately silenced with another electric shock from Friedrich, who continued speaking as if nothing had happened.

"Shuffle your deck, my dear Ruri." Friedrich instructed with a sadistic smile on his face. "We're going to be doing a lot more duels today. So I suggest you strap yourself in, get comfortable, and enjoy a nice bit of Franz Schubert's 'Die Forelle' with me."

Pressing a button on his Duel Disk, the aforementioned song began playing in the background. Silently conducting his plays after he and Ruri each drew their opening hands, Friedrich joined his rich voice with the singer, merrily singing along as if unaware of the horrific torture he was performing.

"In einem Bächlein helle,
Da schoss in froher Eil'…"
Ruri summoned an Xyz Monster and set two cards face-down.

"…Die launische Forelle
Vorueber wie ein Pfeil."

Friedrich activated Twin Twisters, destroying both of her face-down cards before summoning all three of his Force monsters.

"Ich stand an dem Gestade
Und sah in süsser Ruh'…"

Ruri's eyes widened in shock as Friedrich effortlessly negated her monster's effect with Forbidden Chalice.

"Des muntern Fishleins Bade
Im klaren Bächlein zu."

Friedrich's monsters tore through Ruri's monster before attacking her directly.

"Des muntern Fishleins Bade
Im klaren Bächlein zu."

Ruri screamed in agony as her Life Points dropped to 0 again.

"Ein Fischer mit der Rute
Wohl an dem Ufer stand,"
Ruri hastily summoned her Xyz monster yet again.

"Und sah's mit kaltem Blute
Wie sich das Fischlein wand."
"ATTACK HIM DIRECTLY!" Ruri roared.

"So lang dem Wasser helle
So dacht' ich, nicht gebricht,"
Ruri fell right into Friedrich's trap, losing her monster and leaving herself wide open for an attack.

"So fängt er die Forelle
Mit seiner Angel nicht."

"WHAT DO YOU WANT!?" Ruri screamed as Friedrich coolly prepared to attack her.

"So fängt er die Forelle
Mit seiner Angel nicht."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Ruri screamed as more electricity coursed through her body after she lost once again.

"Doch endlich ward dem Diebe
Die Zeit zu lang."

Friedrich opened up the next duel with a nearly unbreakable board, causing Ruri to gasp in astonishment.

"Er macht das Bächlein tückisch trübe,
Und eh' ich es gedacht!"

Helplessly, Ruri could only place a monster face-down before setting a few cards in her Spell/Trap Card Zones.

"So zuckte seine Rute
Das Fischlein zappelt dran,"

"YUUGO SHOKAN!" Friedrich quickly proclaimed, fusing his three monsters together. Yelping in fear, Ruri covered her face as Friedrich's Fusion Monster towered above her, head reaching the ceiling despite the table scaling down the size of the monsters.

"Und ich mit regem Blute
Sah die Betrog'ne an."

Effortlessly, the monster blew through Ruri's defenses, before Friedrich stunned Ruri by summoning all his other monsters from the graveyard and having each of them attack her directly.

"Und ich mit regem Blute
Sah die Betrog'ne an."

Ruri let out her loudest scream yet as she was shocked harder than she had ever been previously shocked. Meanwhile, in the background, the upbeat song repeated itself, looping like it was part of an endless cycle of defeat and punishment.

"In einem Bächlein helle,
Da schoss in froher Eil'…!"

Friedrich belted out the song as if it were his very heart and soul.

"…Die launische Forelle
Vorueber wie ein Pfeil!"

"LET ME GO!" Ruri wept as she was subjected to yet another duel.

"Ich stand an dem Gestade
Und sah in süsser Ruh'…!"

Friedrich mercilessly pounded her monsters to the ground, after a few electric shocks convinced her to summon them.

"Des muntern Fishleins Bade
Im klaren Bächlein zu!"

Ruri tried with all her might to rip herself from the chair, but she was incapacitated as yet another surge of electricity sent her head slamming back against the head-rest yet again.

Leo fast forwarded through three more hours of non-stop dueling, resuming after a Slifer Red Student entered the room to serve Friedrich a bowl of trout soup. The music was still blaring obnoxiously in the background of the room. Motioning for the student to leave, Friedrich continued his plays, enjoying the soup and music as he continued to counter every one of Ruri's strategies with ease.

Ruri was a wreck. Her hands were trembling and her face made her look like she hadn't slept for an entire week as her eyes twitched and her lips quivered. Evidently she had thought that Friedrich would slow down when his meal was brought in. Eyeing Friedrich as he took another spoonful of soup, she nervously ventured to ask a question.

"M-may I please use the restroom?"

"Already going to wet your pants again? Then by all means, don't let me stop you." Friedrich replied, not even looking at her as he took a bite of soup before ordering his monster to attack. Screaming in agony as the attack caused her Life Points to drop to 0 yet again, she angrily back-handed her deck, sending the cards scattering on the floor the moment the shock had ended.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT!?" she screamed again, tears flooding down her cheeks.

Friedrich replied by sending another wave of electricity through her, holding it for a while instead of immediately releasing her like he had the previous times.

"I want for you to win!" Friedrich snarled, watching as Ruri nearly fell from her chair as he shut off the current. "I need for you to achieve your true potential! Stop holding back! Unleash your latent abilities! Become the Uber Mensch!"

Leo closed his eyes. Friedrich was only being partially honest with Ruri. True, he and the other Academia higher-ups would have had a field day if Friedrich's first interview with Ruri had actually triggered an awakening incident. But neither he nor Friedrich had expected Ruri to accomplish that or even manage to beat Friedrich in a single duel. No. Friedrich's true goal in the interview was to break Ruri down. Everything from incessantly beating her in duel after duel, to shocking her, to not letting her leave until she was forced to wet her pants was designed to humiliate her and destroy any ounce of rebelliousness within her. He did not enjoy one bit of Ruri or Rin's suffering, but he had accepted a long time ago that such things needed to be done. He had learned a long time ago that even the most hardened leaders rarely enjoyed the cruel work necessary to make progress. But that was the true test of strength. It was seeing if one could go the distance and do all that needed to be done without letting one's own conscious hold oneself back. He had given his life for his work, and he was determined to let nothing hold him back from completing Revival Zero.

Leo fast-forwarded through two more hours to the end of the video.

Friedrich was about to begin yet another duel when a message, which suddenly appeared on his Duel Disk, stopped him.

"You're lucky, Ruri." He sighed. "It appears the professor believes you have had enough for today."

Ruri didn't even seem to hear him, she seemed to have almost completely withdrawn, only this time, it was not out of a deliberate and rebellious desire to ignore Friedrich.

A pair of Obelisk Guards and Ruri's bodyguard entered the room, getting ready to escort her out. Undoing her bindings and lifting her out of the chair, the guards watched as Ruri managed to take a shaky step forward before falling over, giving everyone a full view of her accident.

The two guards busted a gut laughing while Diana took a step back, looking absolutely disgusted. Smiling, Friedrich let the two guards have their fill of laughter before they finally stood back at attention, lifted Ruri off the ground, and helped her out of the room.

"Until tomorrow." Friedrich smiled, waving Ruri away. "Until tomorrow, my little trout."

Leo flicked the screen away with a wave of his hand once the video had ended and pressed his fingers to his head in a meditative pose. Out of the two of them, Ruri had suffered the most at Academia. If either of them wanted revenge against the Fusion Dimension, it would most certainly be Ruri leading the charge. Even with Friedrich's treatment, she had continued to find ways to rebel, and her rebellion had only encouraged Rin to find her own ways to show defiance. Rin would be the most loud and outspoken, but Ruri would become the mastermind behind their schemes, secretly finding ways to communicate with one another in order to disrupt the progress of the Arc Area Project. And yet through it all, they only ever managed to hurt themselves. The full force of Academia discipline had been brought down on each of their heads over time. Through their fruitless rebellions and continuous suffering, they had both become victims. Victims full of hate. Victims the Earthbound could easily exploit for their own ends.

Leo leaned forward, pondering the events of yesterday when he was suddenly interrupted by a pair of voices approaching his throne.

"I fail to comprehend your analysis on truth and knowledge." Friedrich's voice droned to his companion. "They border on irrelevance. What is the point of hoarding and learning vast amounts of knowledge if it is never put to good use towards a goal or cause? You can never truly discover new sources of knowledge if you do not use the knowledge you already have for grand ambitions. Only by fulfilling our grand ambitions can we truly understand the knowledge around us and ascend to a higher state of humanity."

"And what is this higher state of humanity you wish to achieve?" the voice of Daichi replied. "What even is meant by 'higher?' I can tell you that it is merely an immaterial and subjective opinion. Fame, money, power, technological advancement, these are things that, when properly applied, can be put to good use, but are they the end in and of themselves? No. They cannot compare with the immutable immortality of concrete and inalterable facts, or what I properly call, scientific truth. For these things are not subject to the mere opinions of any given group of humans. 'Two plus two equals four' shall always hold true regardless of the prevailing opinion while the subjective statement, 'Humanity has ascended to a higher plane of existence,' can be held as truth one minute, and discounted as vain rambling the next minute. It is only by…"

Friedrich cut his companion off as they neared Leo's throne. Closing his mouth, Daichi removed his hat and knelt before Leo before Friedrich did the same.

"Glory on the Academia!" they proclaimed in unison, putting their fists to their shoulders.

"Speak." Leo commanded, leaning back against his throne.

Looking at each other, they both seemed to hesitate before Daichi rose to his feet first and began addressing the professor.

"We have a report… and a special request." Daichi explained, looking directly into the Professor's eyes.

"What report?" Leo inquired.

This time Friedrich spoke.

"We have been analyzing the scenes of the incident last night. Naturally, we were curious. The Doctor was my and Daichi's instructor. His loss was…"

"Regrettable." Daichi supplied.

"Devastating." Friedrich countered. "His work was unparalleled."

"Truly, it was a marvel." Daichi agreed, pushing up his glasses.

"The creation of an entirely new symbiotic organism. The ability to shape beliefs… such a creation would have been…"

"Revolutionary." Daichi finished.

"Indeed." Friedrich nodded.

"What have you come to report?" The professor repeated, maintaining his calm despite his annoyance at his two agents straying from the topic.

Daichi bowed his head respectfully before throwing a group of cards at the professor's feet. Picking them up, the professor examined them. They were a group of three fusion cards with a number of curious properties. When he tilted the cards to one side, they displayed the screaming pictures of Apollo, Diana, and The Doctor. But when he tilted them slightly to the other side, the picture changed to an image of strange looking androids with floating robotic parts and bodies that vaguely resembled viruses. Instead of being blank, each card had a title and a description like any regular Fusion Monster card. One word in the title, however, linked the cards together into the same category: "Procesystem."

"We found what happened to them." Daichi explained, indicating the cards.

"They appear to have been carded." Friedrich agreed.

"Though the process appears to be far more advanced than any of our current technologies." Daichi added.

"But we analyzed the cards and found that they did indeed contain traces of human life energy. Unfortunately, it is impossible for us to reverse the change and bring them back." Friedrich finished.

"Is that all you have to report?" the professor asked.

Friedrich and Daichi looked at each other with a look of hesitation coming over their faces.

"There was one other thing." Daichi hesitantly continued. "Most of our security systems were thoroughly overrun the night of the incident, so it was impossible for us to get any feed on the perpetrators, but… it appears the perpetrator… left us a message… as if… the person or persons wanted us to find out who did it."

"What message?" Leo pressed, leaning forward in his throne.

"A small code containing a message was inserted into our system." Friedrich explained. "It is… juvenile."

"What do you mean, juvenile?" Leo interrogated, finding it harder and harder to stay composed. "What message?"
Friedrich frowned at Daichi, who straightened himself out before facing the professor.

"It reads… 'JK not dead LOL #PROCESSWORX.'" Daichi replied.

The professor exhaled through his nose, clenching his gloved fist ever so slightly.

"Satoru." He breathed, a look of frustration and regret creeping over his features.

"Sorry?" Friedrich asked, stepping forward. "Does this mean anything to you?"

The professor opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on his agents before addressing them again.

"What was your request?"

Daichi gave a small bow to the professor.

"We understand you have plans to go after Ruri and Rin."

"Correct." Leo replied. "It is my intention to retrieve them both."

"And who, may I ask, are you intending to send?" Friedrich interrogated, a haughty expression coming over his face.

"You forget your place, Friedrich." The Professor admonished. "You do not need to know the details of every one of my plans."

"I…" Friedrich began before Daichi cut him off.

"What we mean to say is… we have been examining the tapes of Ruri and Rin's recent… transformation."

A massive smile crept over Friedrich's face. "Indeed… and for the first time in a long while, my associate and I have come to an agreement regarding a hypothesis on what transpired."

"We believe that the stress of nearly dying has caused Ruri and Rin to experience 'The Awakening,' which we theorized to be a possible stage of the counterparts' metamorphosis." Daichi contributed, "We believe…"

"I am uninterested in your theories." Leo growled, silencing Daichi. "I am already aware of what is going on. Believe me, you would not understand it. If this is all you have come to talk to me about, I suggest you return to your work with the other students."

Friedrich took a bold step forward. "No, professor, this is not all we have come to talk about."

"Then finish." The Professor instructed. "And be quick. I have many more things to do."

"We believe we are best suited to capturing Ruri and Rin, and we request to be sent to the Synchro Dimension with the invasion force." Friedrich summarized, standing at attention when he had finished.

The professor looked back and forth between the Friedrich and Daichi. True, they were both excellent duelists, both of them equal in skill. But what did they have to offer that the Horakhty Agents couldn't provide.

Daichi seemed to understand what the Professor was thinking.

"This is not a matter of brute dueling prowess." He explained. "This is a matter of us knowing Ruri and Rin better than almost anyone else in Academia. If you will send us with the invasion force, we believe we can provide just the insight the main force needs to both track down the two girls and capture them with minimal loss."

The professor leaned back, stroking the metal plate on his head as he considered Friedrich and Daichi's offer.

"Very well." He replied. "You will be placed under the command of one of my top dueling agents. You will be sworn to the utmost secrecy and will follow each of your superior officer's orders with exactness." He pressed a few buttons on the holographic screen before continuing.

"Lieutenant Martell will give you the briefing on the mission. At 1800 hours, you will meet in this room where you will be placed under the command of your superior officer. Understood?"

Friedrich and Daichi gave the professor a salute.

"Glory on the Academia!" they proclaimed in unison.

"Glory on the Academia." The professor agreed.

FEATURED ORIGINAL CHARACTERS (IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE)

Name: Daichi Ishikuma / Original concept by: Donjusticia / Deck: Psychic Ink / Allegiance: Academia / Status: Active

Name: Friedrich Hoffman / Orignal concept by: Nox Descious / Deck: Force / Allegiance: Academia / Status: Active

FEATURED FANFIC CARDS

Rin's Spells

Midnight-Wind Bell Chimes/ Spell/ Continuous/ Increase the ATK of all WIND monsters you control by 100 X their respective Levels. If a WIND Spellcaster-Type monster you control inflicts battle or effect damage to your opponent's Life Points, you can tribute this card: Add one "Bell Chime" Spell/Trap card from your deck to your hand.

Rin's Traps

Cemetery-Wind Bell Chimes/ Trap/ Continuous/ Once per turn, you can target one "Wind Witch" monster you control: Special Summon one "Wind Witch" monster from your graveyard with a Level equal to or less than the level of the targeted "Wind Witch" monster. If this card is destroyed, destroy all monsters summoned with this card's effect.

Ruri's Monsters

Lyrical Luscinia – Zircon Warbler/ WIND/ Level 1/ Winged Beast/ Effect/ ATK 100/ DEF 300/ If this card is in your graveyard, you can banish this card: Add 1 "Lyrical Luscinia" monster from your deck to your hand, and if you do, you can Special Summon 1 "Lyrical Luscinia" monster from your hand or graveyard. A Winged-Beast Type Xyz Monster Xyz Summoned using this card as a material gains this effect:

If it is summoned, it cannot be targeted by your opponent's card effects. Also, double any battle damage your opponent takes from battles involving that monster.

Ruri's Spells

Lyrical Luscinia – Bird Foraging/ Spell/ Quick-Play/ Detach up to two Xyz Materials from a "Lyrical Luscinia" Xyz monster you control: Draw cards equal to the number of Materials detached for this effect.

Lyrical Luscinia – Bird Screen/ Spell/ Continuous/ Activate only if you control a face-up "Lyrical Luscinia" Xyz Monster. If a "Lyrical Luscinia" Monster is Special Summoned, attacks, or activates its effect, your opponent cannot activate any cards or effects in response to the Special Summon, attack, or activation of that monster's effects.

Lyrical Luscinia – Bird Formation/ Spell/ Quick-Play/ If you inflict battle-damage with a "Lyrical Luscinia" Xyz Monster, you can activate this card. Xyz Summon 1 "Lyrical Luscinia" Xyz Monster from your Extra Deck using appropriate "Lyrical Luscinia" cards from among the cards on your side of the field, hand, graveyard, or attached to your monsters as Xyz Materials as the Xyz Materials.

Daichi's monsters

Psychic Ink Fig. 1/ DARK/ Level 1/ Psychic/ ATK ?/ DEF ?/ When this card is Normal Summoned, your opponent adds 1 monster from his/her deck to his/her hand and reveals it: This card's Name, Type, Attribute, Level, ATK, DEF, and effects each become the same as the revealed monster's respective Name, Type, Attribute, Level, ATK, DEF, and effects.

Friedrich's monsters

Spirit of the Conscious/ DARK/ Level 4/ Fiend/ Effect/ ATK 0/ DEF 0/ You can discard this card from your hand: Add 1 "Force" monster from your deck to your hand. During either player's turn, if this card is in your graveyard while you control a "Force" monster, you can banish this card: Destroy all monsters on the field, and if you do, draw 1 card for each "Force" monster destroyed with this effect.

Spirit of the Unconscious/ DARK/ Level 4/ Fiend/ Effect/ ATK 0/ DEF 0/ During either player's turn, if this card is in on your side of the field or in your hand, you can send this card from your hand to the graveyard. While this card is in your graveyard, apply the following effects depending on the monsters on your side of the field or in your graveyard:

Ido the Supreme Magical Force: Any damage you take is halved. Also, double any damage your opponent takes.

Ego the Supreme Rational Force: Once per turn, during either player's turn, you can look at the top card of your opponent's deck: Place that card on either the top or bottom of your opponent's deck.

Superego the Supreme Existential Force: Once per turn, during either player's turn, if a card or effect is activated, you can make that effect become: Destroy 1 "Force" monster on the field.

Spirit of the Subconscious/ DARK/ Level 4/ Fiend/ Effect/ ATK 0/ DEF 0/ If you would take damage while you control a "Force" Monster, you can banish this card from your Graveyard: Change that damage to 0. When this card is Normal Summoned, you can tribute this card: Reveal the Top Card of your deck, and if you do, apply one of the following effects depending on the type of card revealed. You cannot conduct your Battle-Phase during the turn you use this effect.
1. Monster: Special Summon one Id, The Supreme Magical Force from your deck.
2. Spell: Special Summon one Ego, The Supreme Rational Force from your deck.
3. Trap: Special Summon one Super Ego, The Supreme Existential Force from your deck.

(Original Concept by Nox Descious.)

Ego the Supreme Rational Force/ DARK/ Level 7/ Fiend/ Effect/ ATK 2500/ DEF 800/ This card is unaffected by the effects of "Ido the Supreme Magical Force". If you control a face-up "Ido the Supreme Magical Force", you can Special Summon this card from your hand. You can only control 1 "Ego the Supreme Rational Force". If this card is destroyed by a card effect and sent to the Graveyard, Special Summon this card during the next turn's Standby Phase, and if you do, gain 1000 LP.

(Original concept by Nox Descious).

Super Ego the Supreme Existential Force/ DARK/ Level 8/ Fiend/ ATK 2800/ DEF 800/ This card is unaffected by the effects of "Ido the Supreme Magical Force". If you control a face-up "Ido the Supreme Magical Force" and a face up "Ego the Supreme Rational Force", you can Special Summon this card from your hand. You can only control 1 "Super Ego the Supreme Existential Force". If this card is destroyed by a card effect and sent to the Graveyard, Special Summon this card during the next turn's Standby Phase, and if you do, all "Force" monsters you control gain 1000 ATK.

(Original Concept by Nox Descious).

Friedrich's Spells

Synaptic Pruning/ Spell/ Normal/ Send the top 5 cards from your deck to the graveyard. (Card effects which activate from the graveyard are not activated at this time). Afterwards, select 1 card from your graveyard and place that card on top of your deck. (You can only activate 1 "Synaptic Pruning" per turn).

Psychoanalysis/ Spell/ Continuous/ During either player's turn, when a monster is destroyed by battle, you can treat that monster as if it was destroyed by a card effect. Once per turn, When a "Force" Monster(s) is Special Summoned from the Graveyard, your opponent reveals the top card of their deck. Then apply one of the following effects depending on the type of card.
1. Monster: Send it to the Graveyard and inflict damage to your opponent equal to half its ATK.
2. Spell: Place that card on the bottom of the deck. Then, gain LP equal to the ATK of 1 "Force" Monster you control.
3. Trap: Place that card on the bottom of the deck. Then, both players draw 1 card.
(Original Concept by Nox Descious).

Impulse Control/ Spell/ Quick-Play/ If a "Force" monster you control activates its effect, negate the activation of that effect, and if you do, that monster is unaffected by other card effects other than its own and this card's effects. If this card is in your graveyard when a "Force" monster you control declares an attack, you can banish this card from your graveyard: Negate that attack, and if you do, monsters you control gain ATK equal to the ATK of the monster whose attack was negated.

Friedrich's Traps

Schizophrenia/ Trap/ Normal/ If you control a face up "Force" monster(s), halve the ATK and DEF of all monsters on the field, also, negate the effects of those monsters.