Veil Of Greed: Hunt For The Numbers
Chapter 4: Into The VRAINS
Date: July 13th, 2022
It's been 9 days since Dominic and I witnessed a full blown genocide on an alternate Earth. The current events of the Earth I'm from are heading right down that exact path too. A genocide caused by intentionally reckless treatment of an ongoing pandemic is already been underway for a long time. We kept quiet about the matter until 2 nights ago. Before that, we continued to decline missions and focused on training and coping. What happened on that Earth is not okay, no words can truly describe the horror of it. I wish there was something we could do about my Earth but even if we intervened, my timeline would still remain fucked. At the same time, another timeline where oppression is finally stopped in America will come into existence. Our announcement about the mass genocide shook the core of our comrades in arms. We had an urgent BRAINS meeting at headquarters about it and finally drafted a plan to stop Gofast and prevent a timeline where we don't ever intervene there from coming into existence. The details need to be worked out a lot more but that's the summary. I heard about Shingo's accidental adventure in Konoha from Dr. Bonesbane himself a few days ago. Hearing about it made me smile for the first time since that frightening day.
It's been very hard to even crack a smile knowing that my world is headed towards that same fate as we speak along with seeing how horrific a worldwide corporate and far right supported genocide is. Today, Bray checked up on all of us in Miitopia BRAINS. She talked to me last, given that I'm supposed to go on my first mission in a little while today. Bray enters my room and finds me reading a book. Her voice startles me: "Oh hey Bray! I didn't see you come in. Is it time for you to see into the depths of my emotions already? It's only 10:30." She nods: "Yes. Dominic already made sure that I'm doing okay by surprising me with a handmade necklace yesterday and talking with me. I spoke to him first today. That took 20 minutes but he's definitely doing a lot better himself. How are you doing?" I explain to her my emotions and her responding questions get me to really open up about my feelings over what I and Dominic saw. I conclude by telling Bray that I'm ready for the mission: "I think I'm good to go on the mission today. I am feeling okay enough. Maybe being able to duel in a Speed Duel will get me to feel excited about something again."
"Okay! I'm glad you're feeling alright. Pack your necessities for the mission. I will have the adventure party established in just a few minutes. Meet me in the meeting room with the big computer as usual. See you there. And don't forget to use the bathroom and drink something before going on the mission." I nod and begin to pack my backpack with everything I need. The last thing I put in there is my sword. It wasn't made specifically for me but I did get it from a skilled blacksmith in Minecraftia. It serves me well but I hope to be able to get a sword forged that really speaks to my soul. Something that isn't a gift from some guardian level being or something you can just buy at a store. I want it to be special and adapted to my style and needs. My current sword fits a lot of my needs but not all of them. Anyway, I do in fact use the bathroom and get to hear Fluffy Afro cheerfully sing from across the hall. Damn it. I should have guessed he'd be back to his old self already! And now he's screaming because his hair is on fire for the like what? 47th time in the past 4 years? And now I hear Pirate Blaster singing a sea shanty while putting his hair out. I manage to laugh for once this month while washing my hands.
I then fill up my trusty water bottle and take a good drink from it before filling it up more. Bray is waiting patiently for me: "So you're all good to go? Are you all comfortable with your needs taken care of?" "Yes I am, Bray. Wow, you've really been pulling a caring mom vibe lately." "Well, your mom did pass away and you saw countless humans' corpses. I had to step up and do more for you and the others. It is my duty as a Sage to protect all I care about and make sure everyone is safe." "Yeah that's true. And that right there is also the conviction of a sword wielding warrior such as myself too. I swear by the blade that I will do my best in this mission. Who do I get to meet up with in Den City?" "Yuma, Astral, Yusei, Mai, Judai, Reiji, and Jounochi have all agreed to come to fight alongside you. I shall watch over your mission from here remotely. Try your hardest and don't die if you can avoid it. I will be waiting to hear all about the mission! Don't leave any details out!" "Don't worry, I won't! It's time to paint a canvas of great trial, struggle, and conviction!"
I give her a calm warrior's glance before saying: "Quantum Leap. Please take me to Den City in the Yugioh multiverse!" The technology obliges and in seconds, I'm in Den City. I had a talk with Abstractoa recently to slightly modify our agreement. They understood that it isn't always smart to dress up as a vigilante and that I won't wear my Swiftdrawer costume 100% of the time on missions when I need to blend in. My current outfit is a Duel Monsters card t-shirt, red and black jacket, green and white gloves, black shoes, and dark red pants with pockets. I also have a pink headband wrapping around my forehead. The t-shirt and pants completely hide the armor I'm wearing underneath them. Upon my arrival to Den City, I spot the others: "Oh hey everyone! I'm glad you all had the same outcome: being teleported to a obscured from view alleyway near a not very busy street in this Den City."
Reiji replies: "So you didn't specify where precisely you wanted to go? I contacted you and the others and made sure they teleported right here. You must have not gotten my message." I reply: "Oh I'm so sorry about that. I went to a library to borrow some books a little while back. So I was busy reading a book and then got checked up on by Bray. She made sure that I'm doing okay enough to perform optimally for this mission. Plot convenience must be at play again." Yuma says: "I don't care what's going on! I just wanna duel! Vetrix told me and Astral that he detected 4 numbers from this world in the same place! I'm so feeling the flow!" Judai grins: "It's time to get our games on!" Jounochi adds: "I'll show em some moves they've never seen before!" "Or your luck will sadly run out. I hope you brought the updated Red Eyes deck. You don't have any numbers while I have a whole collection of them. If we're going to duel in Link VRAINS, we need to get to a shop that sells duel disks with the technology to. Unless your duel disks have been upgraded to link into VRAINS easily. I know mine hasn't been upgraded yet. Dominic is always keeping himself quite busy when he's not sleeping or chilling." They all indicate theirs haven't been upgraded yet either and so, we head off to the nearest card shop we can find.
Inside, there's all kinds of booster packs and posters saying things like: "Read this and you'll learn all about how The Gor does his dueling!" "The Secret To Playmaker's Success", and "Blue Angel Returns As Blue Maiden!" Me and Yusei find the cheapest duel disks they sell and buy them right away. The interesting thing about Earths in the Yugiverse is that they all use the same currency which makes things so much easier for us. Yuma, Mai, Yuya, and Jounochi unsurprisingly are picky about choosing duel disks to buy. Yuma wants one that really makes him feel the flow, Mai wants one that shows off the fierceness of her Harpies, Yuya wants a duel disk that really goes with his Dueltaining, and Jounochi wants an awesome duel disk he can wipe the floor with his opponents with. Reiji easily gets the most expensive and high tech one the same time Yusei and I get our duel disks. "Darn it! All of these duel disks are so cool! What do I do? What do I do?" "Calm down Yuma. Do you want me to pick for you?" "Grrrr! Astral! I can make my own decisions!" "Hey, not in public! It's even harder to pay attention to anything in this store with your yelling! I'm going to get the first duel disk I find because that's how I how I roll! I'm so ready to throw down!" A few minutes later, we finally get out of the shop and each of us apart from Astral are all wearing a new duel disk each. I ask Astral: "Astral, will you be alright here by yourself to watch out for trouble for us? You can't exactly enter Link VRAINS given the fact most humans can't even see or hear you."
"Don't worry, I will be fine. Besides, I'd like to see what this city has to offer. Humans are so fascinating. I trust that Yuma won't be anything too reckless when I'm not around." Yuma was about to be annoyed but he smiles: "Aww thanks! I'm so feeling the flow now!" Yusei speaks up: "Well then, it's about time we try out Link VRAINS! Didn't you mention that Speed Duels are like Turbo Duels in there, Adam?" I reply: "That's right! I did. Just one problem. None of us actually know how to log into Link VRAINS with our duel disks." A voice that sounds familiar but I just can't place it speaks: "Hey, are all of you new to Link VRAINS? Let me teach you how it's done!" I spot him and then show a mostly neutral expression to hide the fact I know who he is, Soulburner. "Yeah. We're all long time duelists but are just now getting into the virtual reality stuff." He smiles: "Okay! Since you're new, I'll tell you everything. First, you need to put your cards into your duel disk. After that, you must activate it and speak about linking into the VRAINS. Your body will go still and you'll be asked to make an avatar and all that stuff! That's the gist. Are you all aware of the best places to log into Link VRAINS? If not, I can show you! I don't mind, I have a lot of free time today."
Yusei gives a rare smile: "We have that already figured out. Thank you so much for helping us. I'm Yusei and this is Adam, Yuma, Judai, Mai, Yuya, Reiji, and Jounochi. What's your name?" "Well it's nice to meet you all. I'm Takeru, a duelist with a burning passion and fiery spirit! Maybe I'll see you all in Link VRAINS! Who knows?!" "We'll see. See you around." After that, we all part ways. I take advantage of my age to log into Link VRAINS from Den City High School after 20 minutes of walking. Sorry Yuma. I log into VRAINS by saying: "It's time to link into the VRAINS!" And just like Soulburner said, I have to create an avatar. I quickly create an avatar exactly like my Swiftdrawer persona and go by of course the username Swiftdrawer. It asks me to register my deck into the database. Dominic took care of what would have happened if I had if he hadn't altered the database in secret. I have a bunch of unidentified cards that would raise alarm to the Knights of Hanoi and Sol Technologies immediately. My deck is full of Pendulum monsters and the like. There are no Pendulum monsters in Link VRAINS or Den City for that matter. He did the same thing for the others so we should be okay to enter. After my deck is registered, I spawn in a really nice virtual lobby for Link VRAINS.
The others show up with avatars matching their real appearances: "Damn it. Oh well. We'll deal with any complications caused by you all showing up looking like you really do when they come. Remember, we have to each get our hands on duel boards and explore Link VRAINS for the reason we've already been told. Let's get out of here. Being here for long could cause a scene." Yuma has red eyes, and pointy purple and magenta/red hair with a white hooded red vest, blue sleeveless shirt with a green D symbol, white pants with orange patterns, and black/blue shoes like always. Yusei's blue eyes contrast his crab-like black and yellow hair, zig zag like criminal mark, black shirt with a red design, and blue/black jacket with some orange. Judai is wearing his Osiris Red Duel Academia uniform that goes great with his warm brown eyes and his brown/orange hair. One could argue that of all the Yugioh protagonists, he has the most "normal" hair. Yuya's pretty crazy green hair is the first feature I always see. He also has orangish brown goggles, his pendant, crimson eyes, an orange t shirt, green pants, magenta shoes, and a red lined white jacket worn like a cape. Jounochi is playing it green with his green and white jacket that contrasts his blonde hair and brown eyes very well.
Mai is wearing her typical light purple vest and white t-shirt plus purple mid skirt that really stand out against her purple eyes and long blonde hair. Finally, Reiji's red glasses-like accessories really bring out his grey hair and purple eyes. He's got a dark blue sweater, long red scarf, white pants, and white shoes. Even Yuma agrees with me about my deduction. I end up finding us duel boards that are available to rent. You can't customize them but if you win enough duels, you can earn enough credits to buy a customizable one. Simple stuff. Just like in Ready Player One. We each get on one and fly out in different directions. Being pretty introverted and driven to complete the mission, I avoid all social encounters that would have come up if I weren't careful. There's a person in here with 4 number cards. I cannot let it slip that I have cards no one has seen before now. If word gets out, that person will be much more ready for me. Whoever they are, they're trouble considering they managed to get their hands on 4 number cards. That brings out a whole universe of new and unique strategies. Right now, the goal is to get intel on any suspicious people and find Playmaker. If we can find Playmaker, we'll gain a strong ally and be able to more easily gain the trust of his friends and allies like Akira and Aoi Zaizen, The Gor, Revolver, Ghost Gal, and Specter.
Link VRAINS is truly an incredible place. It goes far beyond the virtual reality technology found in such programs as VRChat in my world. You don't just enter the game with a headset over your face with a battery life, wires, sound system, and all that. Your mind is directly transported into Link VRAINS through your duel disk. If you fall off a duel board here and fall far enough, you're as good as dead. That's the risk of a virtual world that is even more advanced than the Oasis in the Ready Player One universe. That realm is very advanced by itself. There was even elements of an Action RPG game plus the ability to use things from all kinds of franchises that formed the basis of what happened in the Oasis after its creator's death. The events were a pretty unique version of the typical big bad corporation wants to make a shit ton of money by using something amazing to hurt people and crush their livelihoods. Enough about that. After an hour of going around, I finally see some action. It's a speed duel. But who all is dueling is what's surprising to me alongside the incredible feelings generated by seeing the action.
It's Playmaker against some mysterious person and they've only just begun: "I'm not interested in dueling you. I have more important matters to attend to." "Aww, that's too bad because you don't have any choice in the matter! I know where your little Ignis friend is. If you don't duel me, I will just eliminate him myself. Let me demonstrate what I can do before you doubt my threat!" The mystery person with shaggy green and purple hair, blood red eyes, a purple and black outfit with a familiar logo(Damn it, not the United Mining Company again!), and some sort of high tech knife waves their hand. A nearby structure is instantly erased: "What do you think? Are you convinced now? The Knights Of Hanoi and Sol Tech don't even know I exist yet. I can go anywhere completely undetected." "I won't allow selfish people like you to harm others. I accept your challenge. Let's Speed Duel!" "Very well. You can go first, I'll be polite and yet you do so." Playmaker in Link VRAINS has red, yellow, and pink hair, green eyes, pretty light skin, and a black and green body suit with a long golden stripe: "In that case, I begin my turn. When I control no monsters, I can special summon Linkslayer from my hand(ATK: 2000, DEF: 600). Next I normal summon Clock Wyvern(ATK: 1800, DEF: 1000). By cutting Clock Wyvern's attack points in half, I can special summon one Clock Token. My token has 0 attack points. I set it in defense mode. I refuse to underestimate you. Just from your words and actions, I can tell you already have your strategy figured out. When I control a Cyberse monster, I can special summon Backup Secretary to the field(ATK: 1200, DEF: 800). I create my ultimate circuit. Link arrows authorized. In order to Link summon, I require 2 effect monsters. I set Backup Secretary and Clock Wyvern into the link arrows. Link the circuit. I link summon! Link 3. Decode Talker(ATK: 2300). I set one card facedown. I end my turn."
"It's my turn! Oh and I see you over there, Swiftdrawer! You can watch this duel but don't interfere. If you do, I will have Yappa Yappa come to Den City to kill you himself! He's so thirsty for revenge! Now anyway, I draw! I activate the spell card Double Summon! This means I can normal summon twice this turn which is extra trouble for you! I normal summon 2 of the same monster: Shiny B Squadder(ATK: 2000, DEF: 0)! When I have 2 of the same monster on the field, I can special summon Baron Robert in attack mode(ATK: 1600, DEF: 1200)! All of my monsters are level 4 but that's about to change. Baron Robert is about to make things much worse for you! By discarding the card in my hand, I can raise the levels of all monsters on my field to 5! I will crush you gleefully with what I'm about to summon! I overlay my agents of torture in order to build the overlay network. I Xyz summon Number 504: Baron Ruler Bernie! With it's 2800 attack points and 2000 defense points, I can win this turn!" "A number monster? What is that? Just who are you?" "Oh you'll find out soon enough if anyone can ever defeat me! But I won't take any chances either. Our life points are equal at 4000 but not for long. Now go Bernie, slaughter Decode Talker with your Monetary Meltdown! In this duel, all damage is very much real! You stand no chance you loser! Link monsters are pointless, they're worthless trash and I will show you why! You couldn't even save one of your Link monsters from one of my numbers!"
"There's no need to be so confident. I activate the trap Code Hack. This card when activated prevents my Code Talker monsters from being destroyed by card effects. Once per turn, if one of my Code Talkers battles one of your monsters, that monster's attack points can be changed to 0 but neither of us takes battle damage. I won't let you win as easily as you claim you will. Also, monsters involved in that battle cannot be destroyed." "Damn you! You got lucky. I will get you next turn. Make your move so I can enjoy inflicting pain on you much sooner than you'd like! Blood curdling screams coming out of you is something hardly anyone has ever heard before so it will be so delicious to hear! You will suffer and I will enjoy every minute of it. Your Cyberse cards and soul are as good as mine! My master will be so pleased and maybe then, Yappa Yappa will finally see just how pathetic and weak he really is! That fool couldn't even lose one battle without permanently going pale!" "What are you going on about? Is this Yappa Yappa a friend of yours?" You could say that. But it's much more complicated and I'm not telling you!"
"Oh well. It's my turn. I draw. I summon Dotscaper in attack mode(ATK: 0, DEF: 2100). I create my ultimate circuit. In order to Link summon, I require 2 effect monsters. I set Dotscaper and Decode Talker into the link arrows. I Link summon. Link 4. Accesscode Talker(ATK: 2300). Accesscode Talker gains 1000 attack points times the Link rating of a monster used to summon it. I choose Decode Talker. Accesscode Talker now has 5300 attack points. I'm not done. To make sure you can't win next turn, I use Dotscaper's effect to bring it back from the graveyard. I Link summon again. I require 2 or more monsters to Link summon. I set Clock Token and Dotscaper into the Link arrows. Link the circuit. I Link summon! Link 4. Firewall Dragon(ATK: 2500). Battle! I attack with Accesscode Talker. But by banishing Decode Talker, I can destroy one monster on your field using Accesscode Talker's effect. I activate that effect."
"Ha! You fell for it! I use one of Bernie's overlay units to stop that destruction! I negate Bernie's destruction this turn by targeting Accesscode Talker! And until the end phase, my monster cannot be affected by card effects or destroyed by battle. You wasted all that effort! Even if you continue your attack, you won't be able to win this turn and unfortunately for you, I have a feeling it will be your final one!" "I still have one card I can use to stop you. And in that case, Accesscode Talker, continue the attack on Number 504: Baron Ruler Bernie! I don't see how you can win next turn since your monster appears to not be able to stop my trap card." The attack dishes out 2500 points of damage: "Haha! That tickles! I don't even need to use my skill to win this duel! I will crush you here and now!" "I'd like to see you beat me so easily. You act like a spoiled lunatic. I end my turn."
"Your words don't scare me! This is the end! You think you have the advantage but you don't! Let me reveal something about Number cards. There are over 1000 unique numbers in existence and each other can only be destroyed in battle by other number monsters! But that's just the appetizer in the truth that hurts! I drew a card that will bring you agonizing nightmares! I activate Rank Up Magic Barian's Force! This card ranks up an Xyz monster into a Chaos Xyz monster! I rank up Number 504: Baron Ruler Bernie! Chaos Xyz Evolution! Barian power, born of chaos. Cast your judgement upon this world of filth. Chaos Number 504: Great Baron Overlord Bernie(ATK: 3000, DEF: 2700)! I will take a gamble that I know won't cost me the duel to end it! Props to you for having 3 monsters with 2000 or more attack points on your field. It's been a long time since anyone has lost against me with that kind of field! By paying 1000 life points and sending 3 overlay units to the graveyard, Bernie can destroy all cards on your field and deal 300 points of damage for each one! That means you lose 1200 life points just like that!"
Playmaker's face is for once filled with fear: "I can't stop this. I can't win. The effect damage leaves me open to lose to your monster." "Exactly! Now feel pain and despair as the damage hits you like a train wreck! I don't even have to summon the monster in my hand to win! Now go Overlord Bernie, torture Playmaker with your Property Pummel!" After Playmaker takes the battle damage and his life points hit 0, he manages to steady himself on the board and say: "You may have defeated me but there are others who will challenge you. Someone will defeat you. Now please move. I have to find AI!" "I don't think so, Playmaker. You're coming with me and we're going to have what I call fun and you call suffering! It's going to be splendid when I finally manage to break you! Your resolve since you began hunting the Knights Of Hanoi due to your suffering in the Lost Incident has rarely been broken so you're going to be a tough nut to crack! But it will make things that must sweeter!" "Hey what the hell! Where did you get those numbers you have?" "Be quiet! This doesn't concern you!" "You know about the Lost Incident? But how?"
"Maybe I will spit it out if Swiftdrawer manages to find me! But until then, we're leaving!" I hear and see not much else as they begin to vanish in an instant. "Get back here you damn coward! Face me and let me show you what the virtues of art can do to someone who inflicts harm upon others for their own selfish reasons!" Damn it. They crushed Playmaker in a Speed Duel without much worry. This is really bad, that's definitely the person with 4 numbers. Their direct link to Yappa Yappa does not bode well. They sound like the ultimate puppeteer which is just exactly what we needed. I contact the others with a text message through the private messaging feature in Link VRAINS: "Everyone. I'm so angry. I found the person with the number cards. They defeated Playmaker on turn 4 of a Speed Duel between them. My coordinates should be on screen. They got away and took Playmaker without even bothering to duel me. That jerk is with the United Mining Company. This is a serious problem. We need to look further from the lobby of this world. Whoever finds them must contact all of us right away. That individual is a dangerous and powerful hacker and duelist." I send the message and get responses that overall say that they got it and have begun changing where they were looking around.
I swear when we find that bastard, I'm going to give them a piece of my mind. From the sounds of it, they are even more powerful than Yappa Yappa was. It took so much risk, sacrifice, and effort just to beat him in battle once! I was the first to battle him and the first to lose and Bray lost along with me. Grrr! I'm glad I managed to add a huge paint brush as an accessory now because I can use it to bash someone's head in if I somehow get angry enough. I calm myself down, to search with anger is to search with foolishness. Even with my attention to detail, finding things inside like a house has proven to be a challenge for me. But here, there's a lot of nothing around and I should be able to hear any sounds coming from nearby. I just hope that the peanut gallery stay away from me and the others until our mission is complete. Though I have a feeling Sol Technologies will send someone in my general direction soon enough. Best if I avoid whoever it is. Socializing is great but being here is a huge risk. Den City is far from where I'm from and being here has already created an alternate timeline. For 30 minutes, I find absolutely nothing but then Yusei sends a message: "I found them. Playmaker is bond to chains. Here are my coordinates. Get here as soon as you can." Damn it, that's quite far away from where I am.
Oh well. By putting a lot of work in, I coax the duel board to accelerate to a much more optimal speed and arrive to Yusei's position in 5 minutes. The others are already here and Yusei is dueling the jerk: "Junk Synchron gives Junk Warrior a little tune up. Out of two will come one and out of one will come great cosmic might! Take flight, Stardust Dragon(ATK: 2500, DEF: 2000)!" "Hey Yusei! Did I miss anything?" "You're finally here! You didn't miss much. They already have one of their numbers out on the field. I have 3000 life points and they have 4000 life points." "Oh look who showed up! It's a pleasure to see you again just so your confidence can be crushed like how you crushed Yappa Yappa last month!" "You won't crush me so easily. I just like everyone else here have had to make many painful choices and go through tough times. And yet I still keep living with the hope that one day the horrific corruption that taints the world I come from with human greed and tyranny will finally begin to crumble along with the social, economic, and political order that has been upheld and dominant for so many years."
That's when Yusei speaks again: "I may not be able to take down your number just yet but I know with my bonds with my cards and those I care about that I will make the path to a bright future smile upon many worlds." His Crimson Dragon head singer Mark appears and starts glowing. Something is changing: "Oh what's this?! Is that the legendary mark of the dragon? It's so beautiful, it's too bad it isn't mine yet!" A bunch of code surrounds Yusei and his duel board begins to accelerate on it's own: "I use my skill Shooting Star Road! This skill allows me to special summon one Formula Synchron onto my field if I already have Stardust Dragon on my field. I summon Formula Synchron(ATK: 200, DEF: 1500). Now Formula Synchron will give Stardust a tune up. Dreams crystallize to open a new door of evolution! Become the path that lights this way! Accel Synchro! Appear, Shooting Star Dragon(ATK: 3300, DEF: 2500)!" It's happening! It's happening! Jackass is in big trouble now and Judai gets excited: "Oh yeah! Shooting Star Dragon! Yusei has this one in the bags for sure!" "Ha. Ha. Ha. Impressive but what can you do when I activate the trap Baron Barrating! This card negates the special abilities of a monster my opponent controls until the end of the turn! I know all about your little tricks. I was just pretending to be shocked when you used Scrap Iron Scarecrow against me. Nice try with Speed Warrior earlier!"
"I can still attack you. Maybe then you'll see why I don't do things halfway. Shooting Star Dragon, attack Number 504: Baron Ruler Bernie!" The duel continues on and ends similarly to how it did with Playmaker: "Your shiny but pathetic dragon is going to go down now! I use Overlord Bernie's effect! *explains what it does*" "I send Shooting Star Dragon to the graveyard to negate that effect." "Doesn't matter because I special summon Big Baron Gahlocks(ATK: 0, DEF: 0) from my hand! By banishing it and a spell card from my graveyard, that effect is negated! I win this chain! You almost had me last turn when you revealed 5 tuner monsters at the top of your deck and dealt 2500 damage! I only have 100 life points thanks to my number's effect but I don't care! I don't need to capture you when it will be so much more fun to duel Jounochi next! Now then, your life points are going to die! I hope you're ready for some turbulence or else your mind is going to die in just a moment! Now do it Bernie! Attack!" "Noooo! Even my best wasn't enough! Jounochi, it's up to you. Do us proud." As Jounochi takes his place beside the villain while Yusei falls back, I quietly spot Playmaker slowly getting free of the chains on him and say or do nothing about it to raise no alarm for our enemy.
Then the food loving goofball begins his duel with our foe and immediately struggles to stay on in the intensity of the duel: "Aaaa! This is so scary! I wish Yugi were here. My best bud would know just what to do. Now focus, Jounochi! There's a big feast waiting for you at home hehehe! I'll go first!" I face palm: "This is going to be so interesting.. Jounochi is an incredible duelist who has the heart of an underdog and the stomach of Majin Buu so I'm sure he'll actually stand a decent chance of winning. Maybe his luck based cards will get him out of a few jams. It seems skill isn't the only thing any of us need to win. So in that case, don't lose too easily Jounochi and go for the gold while you're at it! And remember, call me Swiftdrawer here, okay?!" "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Swiftdrawer, but I got this in the bag! I summon Baby Dragon in attack mode(ATK: 1200, DEF: 700)!" "All that just to summon such a weak monster, exactly as I had hoped you would fight! You fool! I guess you can't even teach a young reckless dog new tricks!" "Who you calling a dog, pal?! Let me show you what I'm made of! I set one card facedown and end my turn!"
"Is that your big opening move?! Let me cut to the chase. I activate my skill Baron's Choice! By skipping my draw phase this turn and paying 500 life points, I can send my hand back to my deck and pick 5 cards of my choice! I choose the same cards I used on my first time the last 2 duels! So with that I Xyz summon Number 504 once again! He doesn't need anymore introduction. You know him quite well already. Now then Bernie, kill Baby Dragon and add in extra effort to make that little dragon really scream and cry!" As Baby Dragon is attacked, Joey smirks: "I don't think so! I activate Skull Dice! This trap lets me roll a die! Depending on the number I roll, your monster's attack points are divided and decreased by the number I roll! Go, Skull Dice!" "I'm so amused at your overuse at luck that I won't even try to stop it with any of my cards. Go ahead, make my day by rolling a 1 or a 2! The odds of your monster surviving are not completely likely!" The little devil like dude with wings throws the red and black die. It lands on a 3: "Oh yeah! Your monster's attack points drop to 933! Baby Dragon, counterattack!" The battle doesn't result in Bernie's destruction but you know who loses 267 life points: "Is that your best strategy? Don't make me laugh even harder! Ha. Ha. Ha. Make your move for it will be the last one you make! I promise you!" "Yeah, sure whatever. I draw! Now I activate Time Wizard!"
"Oh great! The infamously risky Time Wizard! You still use that card?! What are you?! A fool?! Give it your best shot!" "We'll see who's the fool after this! Time Roulette, go!" Time Wizard says: "Time Magic." while a roulette wheel with symbols for death and time travel has the thing on it start spinning. The spinner lands on the symbol for time machine: "Hehe! Now you get some, you bastard! Our monsters age! Baby Dragon becomes Thousand Dragon(ATK: 2400, DEF: 1200) and Bernie dies!" "Not quite! He's staying on the field alive. His attack points are now 200 but you haven't stopped me! After all, only a number can destroy a number!" "Like it matters to me! I'm not done yet! I activate the spell card Red Eyes Fusion! Didn't expect that one, did you?!" "What?! Red Eyes Fusion?! But you've never used that outside of that one timeline.. You damn pest! You sidetracked me with your old pathetic cards so I wouldn't see this coming!" "All part of my plan! I send Swordsman Of Landstar and Red Eyes Black Dragon from my deck to my graveyard with Red Eyes Fusion's effect to summon Red Eyes Slash Dragon(ATK: 2800, DEF: 2400)!" "How dare you! You're doing something I couldn't have seen coming! I'm going to kill you myself for that once this pitiful counterattack force is defeated!"
"Hey pal, check your math! I'm going to win this duel and you can't do anything to stop me!" "You forgot about my monster's effect!" "But you forgot something too! I use Red Eyes Slash Dragon's effect to equip Swordsman Of Landstar onto it! Now my Red Eyes has 3000 attack points! Red Eyes and Thousand Dragon, attack! I win!" "No you don't! I activate Bernie's effect! This negates his destruction by targeting Red Eyes Slash Dragon like it matters and makes him unable to be destroyed by battle or card effects!"
"You're just wasting your time. I use Red Eyes' effect. By sending the Swordsman Of Landstar I equipped to Red Eyes Slash Dragon to my graveyard, I negate the activation of your number's effect and destroy it!" "Well done. Well done. Clap. Clap. Clap. But you just wasted so much effort and left yourself at my merciless wrath! I activate Robert's effect from the graveyard. He got there thanks to me using him to activate Bernie's effect. I remove Robert and Double Summon from play to automatically end your turn right here before any damage calculation can be done! So it's my turn again! I must get the card I want. *Barian energy surrounds the villain* Chaos Draw! It's here! I activate Rank Up Magic Barian's Force and now all yoir plotting will be useless and futile! Chaos Xyz Evolution! Barian power, born of chaos. Cast your judgement upon this world of filth. Come forth to destroy, kill, and devastate, Chaos Number 504: Great Baron Overlord Bernie! Now I once again pay life points and use 3 overlay units to destroy every card on your field! And then you take 600 points of damage for the 2 monsters that were just destroyed! But that's only the beginning of the end. I haven't had to use a secret effect of Baron Ruler Bernie yet but now I have to. After it was used to summon Overlord Bernie and sent to the graveyard, a effect was triggered. By removing it from play, Overlord Bernie gains 500 more attack points. That's enough to win. Overlord Bernie, crush Jounochi!"
As his life points count down to 0, Jounochi says: "Damn it! I lost! Kaiba would be having a great day if he knew I just lost!" "Oh don't be too upset! I almost lost to you, a 3rd rate duelist with a 4th rated deck! Come duel me again when you're ready to suffer more! Now then, why don't you try dueltaining the life points out of me, Yuya Sakaki?!" "I accept your challenge. But I will duel to bring you down while making you smile!" "Go for it, Yuya! Thanks to me, we learned some more tricks this bastard has had this entire time!" "That's true! Thank you for doing your best so I could finish what you started! Mind if I go first, whoever you are?" "Sure, that's perfect! Besides, it'll make your defeat that much more delicious! Oh the cries of agony and misery, I miss them so much. And all of you are so damn hard to make suffer! When I finally get through your mental defenses, I will crush every dream and hope you hold onto for dear life, happiness, and sanity! That goes for all of you!" "Well you're going to have to try much harder than you are right now! It's my turn! I set the Pendulum scale with scale 1 Stargazer Magician and Scale 8 Timegazer Magician! My monsters are ready to swing into action! Turn up the heat, Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon(ATK: 2500, DEF: 2000)!" I didn't watch the rest of the duel because even though it was one hell of a fight, we had company.
And there he was. Revolver. Damn it, would have been great to see maybe even Odd Eyes Raging Dragon tear into that asshole's life points. Surprisingly, Revolver has come alone. His piercing blue eyes stare into my soul and go well with his red and grey hair. He wears a large visor with gray tinted glass, a interesting pattern that looks like a funky triangle with different points on it on there very loudly, a white, gray, and red tracksuit like outfit with green towards the top covering green and black sleeves with red and white armor like things covering his arms from his elbows to his hands. The main outfit comes with a mostly white cape. Revolver looks past me and to Playmaker who is still trying to escape the chains: "Playmaker. You've been gone for weeks. You even have Specter worrying for you. Have you gone looking for AI? That's foolish. Is that why you're all chained up? And just who are these other people? Most of them just entered Link VRAINS for the very first time today."
Playmaker replies: "I don't see you worried. You must have been confident that I could take care of myself. Yes, I looked for AI. He just has to be out here somewhere. As for those people, I don't really know much about them." Revolver sees the ongoing duel and hears Yuya talk about Pendulum summoning: "Pendulum summoning? That's a new one. Can you get out of those restraints yourself?" "Yes, it will take me some more time but I can break free. I don't really know what's going on either. This person with the purple and black outfit showed up out of nowhere and threatened me in order to get me to duel him. Even with Accesscode Talker and Firewall Dragon, I was defeated during his 2nd turn. He kept talking about that masked individual you just passed and these number card Xyz monsters that can only be destroyed by other numbers and can be ranked up into Chaos Numbers." "Interesting. This is a problem. I must ask that masked individual more then. Playmaker, you've really done it this time. It's irritating that you keep doing so much for your Ignis. What's your name, individual who won't show their face?"
I reply: "If we meet up in the real world after this joker is somehow defeated, I will reveal everything. For now, call me Swiftdrawer. I'm a duelist with a strong understanding of the arts and what that asshole who's giving the Pendulum user Yuya over there a hard time is blabbering about. Since you're here, that means the others must be coming as well. How I know that is a long story." "If you're not going to talk, then I'll get it out of you by defeating you in a duel." "Okay then, if you want to know so badly, I will tell you. But make sure we don't have any uninvited eavesdroppers within several hundred meters first. The information I'm about to tell you is kept largely a secret because everything that has and ever will exist is under threat again. You won't believe my words easily, that's just how you are. A sentiment I occasionally have as well." "So if I hear you out, you'll tell me everything?" "Well at least start to. Don't bother fighting that bad guy over there. This is our mess and we are here to clean it up. Those number cards he's got are partially my responsibility for instance. As you can see, he is now summoning Number 504: Baron Ruler Bernie." "Don't worry, no one is around to overhear us. Now then, do tell more unless you want me to duel it out of you."
"I've battled crisis after crisis alongside countless others for around 4 years now. Do you believe in the multiverse theory?" "Not particularly because I dont concern myself with that." "Well what if I told you there are so many universes out there, it's basically impossible for the residents of any universe even if they number in the hundreds of digits to type how large of a number it is within a period of trillions of years?" "That's unthinkable." "It is. We cannot save everything specifically. Personally, I've been focusing on huge threats that threaten far more than just maybe 3 or 4 universes. I come from a very different universe on a Earth that is getting closer to mass genocide and mass extinction by the minute. At least your crisis is over now with Lightning gone and AI revealing why he did what he did." "So you're saying you're friends with life forms across several universes and that the crises you've faced led to what's going on today?" "Yes. Let me give you an example. Here. Take a look at my deck." I show Revolver my deck. His eyes widen: "So you're one of the ones with mysterious new cards that just recently started gradually showing up in the database?"
"Correct. Now to give you even more proof. My body may not be moving beyond necessary functions like blood going through the arteries, capillaries, and veins, the digestion of food into chyme, and the blinking of the eyes but I believe I can still access something very important. Quantum Leap! Show video footage of my 2nd fight against Yappa Yappa!" Suddenly, an image of all that comes through my duel disk. It's very detailed: "You ever heard of the cat rampage and unaffiliated army force terrorizing people in London incident? I bet you haven't. You definitely would have otherwise." Revolver is stunned: "This proves that you've been telling the truth the entire time. This changes everything." "I know. I will give a more detailed explanation after the asshole is taken care of. If we can't beat them, we'll still find a way to stop them." And just like that, I hear Yuya yell: "No! Odd Eyes!" "That's right! Your field has been decimated too! Prepare to lose and feel great agony and fear! It's what you deserve for being such a fool!"
The duel ends and Reiji steps up: "You defeated Yuya. Good for you. You just proved how much of a threat you are to the Pendulum Dimension. Now it's my turn to control the oscillation of light and darkness." "Very interesting! Now I remember everything I learned about you and Yuya. Your father worked so hard to reunite all those dimensions into one. You opposed him to the bitter end and then got defeated by the person he most feared. But everything still managed to work out, didn't it? The plot of universes like yours are so disappointing to me. Enough chit chat, I'm going to destroy your calm composure permanently! I will go first. Let's mix it up!" "We shall see about that.""You know the drill by now. If I don't get the cards I want, I will just use my skill. Okay, I need my skill to make you suffer in this duel! And now I do what I need to do to Xyz summon Bernie! I end my turn." "Then I will draw. I set the Pendulum scale with scale 1 D/D Savant Galiei and Scale 10 D/D Savant Kepler. The energies of the universe swing between the forces of darkness and of light. I shall now harness the power of this eternal oscillation. I Pendulum summon with my very soul and call upon my 3 monsters to emerge! The three transcendental deities who ruler over all kings. 3 D/D/D Doom King Armageddons(ATK: 3000, DEF: 1000)!"
"Oooo so scary! But you have no more plays left to make besides attacking my monster and I will only lose 600 life points!" "You're right about that but I still will. Go my Armageddons. Attack Bernie. *the battle is waged and damage is calculated* For now, I end my turn. Let's see what you can do." "You fool! You're already done for! Chaos Draw!" "No I'm not. I have a new card you have no idea about." Unfortunately, I never did find out what that new card was as Playmaker is really struggling to break free: "Playmaker! I know we can just barely call ourselves acquaintances but I'd like to help you get out of that. Are you still sure you can get out of that on your own?" "These chains are much harder to break than I thought. Yes, I need your help." Revolver says: "I'm not getting involved. Playmaker should be able to do this on his own and I have more to concern myself with. The others are waiting for us, Playmaker, so I'm going to go and update them." Revolver leaves and Yusei adds: "I'm an expert with machines. Let me help you too, I've done some programming myself." "Yes please do help me. I can't reach Kolter for some reason. If I could, he'd have me out of here by now."
Yusei and I get to work on freeing Playmaker. I don't know much code at all so I can't help in that department but I can suggest solutions with what I do know and try to physically get Playmaker out of those chains. We better be able to successfully capture that jerk. With them taken care of, we could uncover a treasure trove of information on the United Mining Company and its questionable business practices. I discuss this with Yusei: "Well, it's going to be hard to capture him. I didn't expect you of all people to suggest this." "Yusei, this is a matter of life and death. That bastard said Yappa Yappa is weak compared to him. When I came to Neo Domino City to try some pizzerias and other places around the city including in Sattlelight that one day, I even came over to your place to show you the footage after checking out a library." "That's right! Now I remember. By the way, thanks for personally handing me those blueprints and gadgets I asked for from Dominic. It was a big help on my latest mission." "No problem. Now let's get back to helping Playmaker." "Right!" After some time, we manage to free Playmaker right as Reji says in the midst of being defeated: "I tried my best. I believe Yuma will give you a hard time. You beat me but don't count on having a perfect win streak. No one does."
"Whatever you say! But you do have me interested. Oh Yuma, let's see how much you can feel the flow against me! Make this a decent duel, I want to really get those cries of pain out of you and into my optic nerve!" Reiji moves back and Playmaker thanks me and Yusei: "Thank you so much you two. I am confident that I can trust all of you now. Let's do our best together." "Of course! I won't let a truly good person be forced to be in binds by some big jerk who thinks extremely highly of himself and is part of a greedy company that might possibly originate from my world." "I agree. Helping others is the right thing to do if doing so means helping good people like yourself! I may have lost but Swiftdrawer may actually give the bastard a really hard time." "Yusei! Don't talk me up like that! Our enemy has a card combination I will definitely find hard to break. The strategy is optimal against all summoning methods, even Pendulum and most numbers wouldn't stand much of a chance for long. Why couldn't we have Vetrix here? Number 8: Heraldry Beast King Genome would be able to beat Bernie. I'd have to get really luck with my starting hand to stand a chance." "Sorry but I guess I couldn't help myself."
Playmaker breaks the awkward vibe as Yuma prepares to duel: "So how long have you two known each other?" I reply: "That's a good question. Not 4 years but somewhere in the 3 and a half to 4 range. I can't exactly remember. Maybe it's much closer to 2 and a half. I just don't know." Yusei concurs on that and we fall silent to observe Yuma's duel. Myself, Yusei, and Playmaker are very much alike. We take things quite seriously, prepare logically well thought out plans, often act and feel calm even in the presence of our closest friends, and so on. Yuma annoys our foe enough to where Yuma is allowed to go 2nd. After Number 504 is summoned, Yuma goes: "It's my turn! I draw! I wish I could use all 5 monster zones! Anyway, I'm going to stop your number! I summon Goblindbergh (ATK: 1400, DEF: 0) in attack mode! With its effect. I can summon a level 4 or below monster from my hand! I summon Ganbara Knight(ATK: 0, DEF: 1800)! Next, I summon Kagetokage(ATK: 1100, DEF: 1400) from my hand because I normal summoned a level 4 monster! I'm feeling the flow! I overlay Goblindbergh, Kagetokage, and Ganbara Knight so I can Xyz summon! Come on out, Number 16: Shock Master(ATK: 2300, DEF: 1600)! Because you were dumb enough to use the same cards in several duels, I'm going to high five the sky! I use one overlay unit to activate Shock Master's ability! I choose one card type and until your 2nd to next end phase, you can't use effects of the type I selected that are on your field! I haven't even battled your monster yet so you can't stop me! I select monster! Next I activate Blustering Winds to power up Shock Master! Now it has enough to destroy your monster! Go Shock Master! Attack Baron Ruler Bernie!"
Yuma manages to deal a critical hit to our enemy and strike a nerve. When it's their turn, they're pissed: "I'm going to get you for that, you little brat! Damn it! I couldn't activate Robert's effect because it needed to be in the graveyard when Shock Master destroyed Bernie!" That jackass then reveals he has a 2nd skill. He pays 2000 life points to undo what Yuma did to his monster and sends the top 10 cards from his deck to his graveyard. And he decimates Yuma's field and wins the duel using the same damn strategy as before: "Aww man! I couldn't win! Judai! You next! Feel the flow, buddy!" "How fascinating! I'm going to crush Judai even faster than I did you. You almost had me but now I'm going to have Judai on the ropes!" In no time, Judai duels against the asshole who goes 2nd this time: "Get your game on! It's my turn! I fuse the Elemental Heroes Avian and Burstinitrix in my hand using Polymerization to create Elemental Hero Flame Wingman(ATK: 2100, DEF: 1200)! Next I activate the field spell Skyscraper! It's a city where my Elemental Heroes have the advantage! I then throw down a face down and end my turn!" "It's funny. Very funny that you think you'll last long enough to summon Neos. Observe! I have all the cards I could dream of in my hand and now I draw! Perfect! This duel is already over! *they do the same crap as before but this time in one turn instead of two turns*"
Judai nearly falls off his duel board but manages to steady himself: "I guess it's your turn, Mai! This is bad, really bad. We're all being defeated so easily." Mai scoffs: "I know a cheater when I see one. And this bastard is a cheater. No one can do the same things so many times in several duel without breaking unspoken and written rules. You better go first, hot shot." "With pleasure! While I begin my turn, just get over here! Let's speed things up! There's someone I'd very much like to duel!" He does his usual same old same old turn and then Mai goes: "It's my turn. I summon Harpie Channeler(ATK: 1300?, DEF: 1400?). When this card is summoned, I can discard one Harpie from my hand to special summon another in defense mode! Say goodbye to Harpie Lady #3 and hello to Harpie Perfumer(ATK: 1400?, DEF: 1200?)! I use my Perfumer's effect to add Elegant Egotist to my hand! Now I Synchro summon with my Harpies! Appear, Cyber Slash Harpie Lady(ATK: 2600, DEF: 1400)! When I summon her, I can treat one of my Harpies as a tuner! Next I activate Elegant Egotist to special summon one Harpie from my deck if I have one on my field! I summon Cyber Harpie Lady(ATK: 1800, DEF: 1600?)! Now, Cyber Slash Harpie Lady's effect activates. When a spell or trap is activated, I can return one monster on the field to it's owner's hand! I return your number card to your hand which sends it to the extra deck! Now my Harpies are ready to attack you directly! This duel is over, hun! Cyber Slash Harpie Lady and Cyber Harpie Lady, attack this asshole directly!"
"Ha! How soon did you forget?! I'm ready to counter and make you suffer for that stunt you pulled! Robert's effect does its thing and ends your turn right here!" "Like that matters. If you activate that 2nd skill and Barian's Force again, my Cyber Slash Harpie Lady will just send your number back again before you can evolve him!" "How funny. You don't think I have a plan? I'll activate that skill like you thought, returning my number with all his overlay units intact. But who said anything about using a spell card to bring out a Chaos Number? I just drew the right card. It's called Baron's Maid. It has no attack or defense points. I summon it. Now by paying 800 of my life points and removing an Xyz monster in my extra deck and Barian's Force in my deck from play, it gains the effects of Barian's Force!" "But how did you get that card so easily?" "A master of luck never reveals such information! Now then, please scream loudly as I summon your doom!" *They proceed to defeat Mai in the same way as before* Mai speaks to me with disappointment: "My Harpies weren't enough to beat them. I guess I must leave it to you. Don't lose so easily, hun." I step up and reply: "I'll try. I will do what I can. Now then, I think I will go first if that's okay. Unneeded arguments are a waste and a headache to deal with." "Fine by me! I welcome your sad attempt to beat me with open arms knowing that you will be crushed! But how are all of you not crushed completely inside yet? Why so confident and unworried?"
"Our bonds and comradery. We've been through hell and back. Some of us have seen genocide happen around us like myself. A illness genocide has killed millions in my world in under 2 years and a half years and given millions more what's called Long Covid. It's a nasty issue that fucks with people's lives so bad it makes them disabled. And hardly anybody is doing shit about it and that's not okay. I need to get some fucking N95 masks because society is reckless as hell! More Covid variants keep showing up because people are being infected and reinfected and hospitalized left and right. People need to learn the establishment sees them as little more than the trash people throw away in garbage cans every day! Now then, I will begin my turn to attempt to overwhelm you with a world you're not likely able to understand fully much like so many where I'm from: the world of art! Wait a second. What kind of hand is this? I can't do much with this at all! And right when I was talking about how shitty things are in my world! I will place this card face down. I can't win unless you fail to draw Barian's Force or Baron's Maid! But I will not surrender, I'm going to be annoying and buy more time for somebody somewhere to find the right individual to kick your ass if I'm not lucky enough to do it myself! Losing all out is what I prefer over surrendering." "How inspirational! Now it's time for me to pulverize all your aspirations! When I win, all of you have to come with me!" "Arg I have no words right now! This is worse than burnout! This is worse than an accidentally self imposed creative conundrum!"
"Looks like you're out of luck! Oh look, I just drew Barian's Force!" "You don't even need to say it. Just end this duel already." "With pleasure! *skip to when he's done summoning and activating and summoning* Now go Overlord Bernie, put this loser out of his misery!" "Aaaaa! *regains composure* You know, I wish people would stop assuming another's gender identity from the sound of their voice or something like that. I can easily weather through the battle damage I'm now experiencing. I lose with the knowledge that there was nothing I could do to win in this case. But damn does it suck! Anyway, my pronouns are not he/him. They're they/them. It's not hard to get used to that. Or at least it hasn't been for me. Damn you! You really are so much like a cheater! You give yourself such advantages in battle!" He just laughs at us continuously until Playmaker says to me: "I appreciate your resolve and I saw your deck when you showed Revolver. You were unable to use any of the potential your cards have. Would you like to team up? I prefer doing it alone or with AI but one on one duels aren't working. We need to work together." I reply: "You have yourself a deal. Hey jerkface, you want to duel Playmaker and me at the same time? You'll have more fun trying to torment us! Come on, don't be a total chump! After all, you kind of owe me a chance to well, stand a chance after my bad starting hand." The villain grins: "Why not? My employer isn't supposed to show up for another 5 hours. I have plenty of time to slaughter! I will enjoy destroying your canvas of strategy with my very own canvas of pain!" Wow, they don't care that Playmaker has escaped from those chains and don't even want to bother acknowledging it. Damn.
To be continued in Chapter 5: Ignis Return. Outro: Thank you so much for making it this far! Sorry that 3 duels had like very little dialogue written for them. I didn't want to research D/D and Performapal monsters to refresh my memory that much. And I got so into writing the short duels that I almost hit the word goal with them. I could have made this chapter 4000 words longer. Looks like the big duel is going in next chapter and its going to be a fucking doozy! The unnamed villain is a real pain of a duelist, I hope you hope Swiftdrawer and Playmaker can find a way to win! It's going to take a ridiculous amount of summoning to get past all the crap that foe has already out of the box! A My Hero Academia adventure will take up Chapters 6 and 7 so be ready for that too. Anyway, that's all. Till next time!