Its a bit ironic that despite me saying that this will be just a collection of separate stories, this chapters ended up to directly tie with the aftermath of the previous one. Like with the previous two, this one is more of an introduction focused around our third protagonist (because having three protagonists is kind of my thing at this point) Roxy!
One could not help, but shake his head when thinking about the brilliance of human's mind. No other known living being was, or would ever be able to reach the achievements of humans' genius mind, from building cities, to reaching the stars, nothing was beyond the reach of man. But out of all humanity has done, the creation of another world, another reality, must be their greatest invention yet. The creation of digital worlds and VR technology through which humans could transport their minds into those words, set a new age in the development of man, maybe even put the first step to their this species' next evolution.
Many companies across the globe began to perfect the VR technology in their own image, building their own worlds for the rest of humanity to roam and build upon. Many of those digital worlds were created with a certain… idea in mind - giving Duel Monsters a life in a way not seen before. Going through all of the different digital worlds built in the image of Duel Monsters would a tad too long, so instead, to move to story forward, we would only look at one of those worlds.
Out of all those digital globes created by the hand of a human, none came as close to creating a link between humanity and the amazing world of Dueling Monsters as Dueling Dungeon Nexus did. The virtual world was separated in six areas: The Obscrumorus – World of Darkness, Lumique – Domain of Light, Vitanima – Kingdom of Earth, Aurus en Galius – Land of Wind, Ashed Valley – Empire of Fire, and Briozios – Region of Water. All of these places were completely unique and served as home for the creatures of a certain attribute.
Something that made this game unlike most other dungeon games was that this one didn't have levels and players could roam through any place of the virtual world whenever they wanted. Along with that, most of the quests were randomly generated to ensure that players wouldn't get bored of playing the same missions over and over again. These quests could range from small dungeon raids to full-scale wars and pushing back invading forces. The world itself was meant to be dynamic, with actions done by players or the monsters that roamed the world being able to cause the terrain or other monsters' behavior to change, which in turn affected the quest generator.
Despite the troubles that some critics and players expected this system to create by making every player's experience completely different from one another, the fact that the most important points, the Duel Points, were acquired through dueling with other players made it so that most players used the game as a social network and the exploration of the game was left to adventures and special show owners that found, created and sold useful equipment and materials they found in the huge world of Dueling Dungeon.
Tony was a 21 years old merchant who first joined the game in order to become a Dueling Champion, a dream that came to its premature end after his brutal defeat by the hands of the 'Ice Princess' in the very first match of the very first tournament that he participle into. Long story short, after suffering from depression, the young man eventually found his true purpose as being a merchant. A job that was actually paying him well, despite the equipment that he sold being nothing more than mere data in a video game.
And with the current job that he took, he was going to make the money of his lifetime. While traveling through Obscrumorus, he came across that random question, the completion of which would reward him with 'The Sword of Decayed King', a SSSS+ equipment, one of, if not the, most powerful and rare king of equipment a player could get.
So there he was good old Toby, scaling the wall of a dark tomb. The night-vision enchantment that he brought last week finally got to show how useful it was, acting as the only object that allowed the merchant to see in this dark tomb.
Toby had to be very careful where he was stepping, one wrong move was enough to let his body fall from the wall he was climbing and onto the sharp spikes below. Of course, the worst that could happen in such a situation was failing the mission – if there was one good thing about the virtual world, it was that death wasn't permanent for the player.
Well, at least most of the time.
Usually,
…If the player was lucky enough or the main protagonist of the story.
'The game developers must have put a lot of time designing this mission.' Tony thought to himself. 'I mean, even though it's so dark that I can't see before me nose without night vision, they still went and added those models resembling dead players sticking from the spikes to make it look like I'm not the first one doing this mission.'
As he kept going on, suddenly something unexpected happened. The rock that he reached to grab, suddenly fell off, collapsing a good section of the area in front of Tony. Luckily, the merchant himself was brave and fast enough to grab onto another rock and not fall down, but now his only way across was destroyed, which sucked.
"Just your luck, Tony." He muttered to himself. "Now you will have to go all the way back to the start and climb the other wall. Actually, is there a set time for which I must get across before the wall collapses? If I'm too slow on the next one, it might as well be game over for me."
Tony quickly turned around and tried to move, when suddenly something caught his leg. Looking down, the duelist saw the arm of one of the decomposing bodies holding loosely onto him.
"That scared me for a bit." Tony sighed. "I'm really starting to get scared of this place, what the fuck?"
Tony felt a shiver go down his back, as the temperature seemed to be dropping. A growing sense of dread festered inside his stomach, and he finally began to wonder, who would put an SSSS+ weapon in a random generated mission. He frantically began to climb back toward the exit.
Only to find that a good portion of the sticking out rocks that he held onto while climbing weren't there anymore, making it impossible for him to get across.
Tony froze once again. He was trapped. Slowly, he turned his head to look down at the corpses, none of them was moving, so that was good. He let out a tiny sigh of relief, and almost immediately, two red orbs flew open from in the darkness right in front of him.
Tony's scream was cut short.
"Good morning everyone." A worn-out Roxy greeted everyone half-heartedly that was already in the dining room.
Fujiko greeted the young girl with a worried expression, while Evan and Avice simply looked up from their tablet and phone respectively, acknowledging Roxy's presence before returning back to what they were doing. Not many words were exchanged before these four until Roxy grabbed something to eat from the fridge and sat down on the huge table, sitting right across the Greysons.
"Are you sick?" Fujiko immediately asked. "You don't look very… well."
"I couldn't sleep last night." Roxy dismissed the question. "And before you ask, no, it wasn't because of a nightmare. It was because of her."
Saying this, Roxy raised her spoon to point directly at Avice. The white haired girl, already knowing her guilt about what happened last night, responded with just a wink.
"I know that I'm new here, and I don't want to cross the boundaries of what I'm allowed to ask, but, do I want to know what exactly you are referring to?" Fujiko immediately followed with a second question.
"It only depends on whenever you want to hear about our regular kinky night activities."
"AVICE!"
The young Greyson chuckled to herself, watching as a tomato-red Roxy was struggling to NOT throw her plate at the former's face.
"Wait, so you two are…" Fujiko's eyes widened at the realization, her eyes turning rapidly to look between the two girls. On the one side there was the smug Avice and on the other was a crimson-colored Roxy trying to hide her face with a plate out of embarrassment.
"…In the middle of a breakfast." Evan interrupted, his usual stoic expression having slightly shifted to convey a more annoyed state. "So, unless we are having a contest to see who would throw up first, I suggest we leave talks like this for after everyone else's done eating."
"Message received." Fujiko nodded in understatement and turned back toward her food.
"So, plans for today?" Avice asked, eyeing her older brother.
"I found a garage that Fujiko could use to start her business." These words coughed the older girl's attention as she turned to look at him. "We'll go take a look after school, if you like it, we'll buy it, and I'll deal with the paperwork, so you can start your business."
"Wow." Fujiko wasn't able to say anything. Even though Evan did make a promise to her, she didn't expect him to be able to find her a place to work in only two days. It made her feel so happy, she didn't know how she would ever be able to make up for everything that the Greyson did for her in such a short period of time.
Avice sighed a little in disappointment and leaned back into her chair. "I've still got to make the artworks for three more cards, the deadline of which is Friday, so I'm going to be busy as well. Perhaps Roxy would be the one making dinner today?"
"Just don't expect anything fancy, I'm not a great cook." Roxy commented.
That was what living in this house was like; sharing responsibility. Despite the crazy amount of money that the Greysons had, they never used it to hire a maid or someone to take care of the house in their place. It was a general rule that cooking, clearing, repairing, everything was done by those living in the house, no matter if they were the owners (Evan and Avice) or just roomer (Roxy and Fujiko).
"No one here likes fancy dinners anyway." Evan stood up and turned to leave, leaving his plate with half eaten fried eggs. Fujiko was about to ask him if he wasn't going to eat the rest, but she was quickly stopped when she saw Proxy shaking her head.
Fujiko sighed and turned once more toward the table. Although she was grateful to the Greysons for everything they did, at times she couldn't help but wonder what exactly was going in their heads and why she had that strange feeling of dread creeping toward her, every time that she thought about them.
Later that day, Roxy walked through the corridors of her school. Break had already started and most students have already left to go visit the shops at the park, to chat with their friends, or to just study in the library. Roxy was about to meet with some of her friends as well, but after few things happened earlier at school, her mood wasn't as cheerful as it was usually. The reason for that was the paper that she was holding in her hand, one that had the letter 'C' written in red. She couldn't even say that this was Avice's fault because this was from an exam that she had last week.
'My marks are starting to get bad again.' Proxy thought, stuffing the paper into her bag. 'Usually I had Elizabeth to help me out with studying, but now that she left I'm screwed. Hopefully Evan win't mind taking her place… Who am I kidding, he'll probably just ignore me if I ask for help.'
The girl sighed. Why did it have to be the one Greyson that had any heart in their chest, to leave this city? She could still ask some of her other, older friends for help, but she found it hard to believe that anyone of them would do a good job as a teacher. There was a reason why after Evan and Avice taught them how to duel. She, Takuma, Vermilya and the rest of the Gear Squad began such a skilled dueling force. Not just experience, Evan and Avice had their own way to teach and, despite how brutal it was, it worked out every time, so if they were so good at teaching dueling, then they should be good at teaching other things as well, right?
"H-hey, what's going on here?"
Roxy stopped for a moment and turned toward the voice. She saw an almost empty classroom – almost because the only ones inside were a boy with glasses, a woman, who from the look of it was a teacher, and Jeff the Janitor. Noting that she wasn't spotted yet, the young girl stepped back, to get cover behind the door and listened to what was going inside.
"I'm sorry Jean, but the school can't sponsor your club anymore." The teacher said. "You are the only member, we gave you two months to find other kids who would be interested in joining, but it just doesn't work."
"You don't understand Miss Valley! I'm working on a software that would do great things!" the student, Jean, responded. "I just need a bit more time to finish it! A week!"
"We just can't let you use the school computers anymore." Miss Valley sighed. "But I might be able to work out anything if that new software you are working on turns out to be effective as you say. However, I'm going to need prove before that."
"But the software's data is too big for my computer at home to handle, I need to use these, please Miss Valley, just a week more!"
At this point Roxy couldn't listen anymore. She looked at the small plate on the door, it read 'Tech Club'. She sighed, there were many people who worked with computers, but she doubted that anyone would be interested in joining this club anyway. From what she heard, it also sounded like this Jean-guy made the club just to get access to the school's computers, not to share his hobby with others.
"It's always sad when people's dreams have to end this way." Proxy whispered and ran off before anyone catch her eavesdropping on that conversation.
Café Delish was the place where Roxy's small group of friends always meet during school days. It was right next to the mall and just a few meters away from their schools, so they spent most of their free time there. Whenever it was hot like in the desert, or it was raining, they were always there, talking, laughing, and sharing information about their more important work outside school. Sadly though, their group shrunk a bit with Elizabeth's departure and strangely enough Avice and Levant weren't with them either.
"So, I heard that our school-years will end with a ceremony in the sports hall next Thursday." Vermilya said leaning back into her chair, with her arms behind her head. "The Student Council is busy making preparations, so that's why Levant won't be able to join us today."
"It's not a problem." Evan responded, sounding just as uninterested and emotionless as ever. "He messaged me to say that the results from the job I asked him to do will be sent to my email later tonight."
"And what fishy work did you get yourself involved into this time?" Takuma raised an eyebrow. "You won't send us to clear your messes again, are you?"
"It's about what happened in Valt Evernon." Evan's words, as if through magic, caused everyone else to become serious.
"Three thieves, two in body bags, one at the loss." Takuma repeated what Evan told him about their adventure in that city. "Are you worried? We've been hunting all sort of dangerous individuals, and paranormal creatures practically since you gave us our decks. Do you think that we won't be able to handle this one?"
"I'm not worried that you won't be able to handle it." No, there was something else that was on Evan's mind. "We got more than one thing to deal with this time, we'll have to take a more careful approach when dividing our forces across the different cases."
"Was there another hit in Nexus?" Roxy asked the question directly. It wasn't like Evan to worry about man-power. Heck, he and Avice would most likely deal with everything on their own, they just didn't want to do it.
Instead of answering, Evan pulled out his tablet and put it on the table, with a news site already open. "The body of merchant who goes by the username ShadowRide74 in the game was found in a state similar to a coma by his younger brother. Like previous victims, he has no brain activity and his profile can't be deleted from the system."
"Your company is already being investigated for what happened, isn't it?" Vermilya shook her head. "Sorry, we've been login into Nexus every day, trying to catch the culprit, but we still haven't gotten any leads on it."
"It's not your fault." Evan shook his head. He couldn't blame them for what was happening, they were doing the best they could in order to help him put an end to these mysterious 'deaths'. "If I had any leads I wouldn't have ended this madness already, but right now I'm as helpless as the rest of you."
"You know…" Roxy muttered. "Today I happened to overhear a conversation. There's some boy in my school who's apparently good with technologies. Today I heard that his club was being closed due to lack of members. Maybe, we could have him help out. From what I gathered, he cares more about the computers that the schools lets him borrow than about the club itself, so…"
"He helps us and Evan buys him one of the best computers there are as a Thank You gift!" Takuma exclaimed, clapping at the idea. "You are rich with money from five different companies, plus the one you are working for, and the government money that you get for dealing with the more… problematic threats. A few thousand would be like a pocket change for you, won't it?"
"I'll look into it." Evan said. "But I must research that boy first, make sure that he's trustworthy. Do you know his name, Roxy?"
"Jean. Didn't learn his family name though. I could still try and get close to him if you want me to." Roxy had no problem with it, during the time that she spent with this group, she learned how to mimic and cover her emotions for the sake of the mission. She could do this with ease.
"Do so." Evan then turned toward the other two. "There's some business I must deal with after school, so it's most likely that I won't be able to respond to calls until around nine."
"Heh, dog." Takuma chuckled, catching the other boy's attention. "What? Even the rest of the school is starting to catch on your fame with the ladies."
"My relationship with Fujiko is purely professional." Evan retorted. "She has useful skills as an engineer, that's the only reason I pulled her out of that shithole she called home."
"Now we must only wait to see if she thinks the same way." Takuma smirked.
"Since we are already talking about this, I made a bet with Levant that you will sleep with the Student Council President by the end of the year, so could you do a favor to a friend and get to it?" Vermilya laughed, patting Evan's shoulder.
The Greyson rolled his eyes, they were joking with him alright. He didn't mind them having their fun, but he was a busy person and didn't have time for their childish bets, not that he would have cared even if he had the time for that. He drank his remaining coffee in one gulp and put down enough money to pay for everyone else's drinks before walking off. After their mentor left, Roxy, Takuma and Vermilya looked at each other.
"Do you think he got angry with us?" Vermilya asked the others.
"Maybe annoyed, but definitely not angry." Roxy answered. "Otherwise he wouldn't pay for our drinks too."
"We should follow soon. Classes will start in ten minutes." Takuma informed.
"Would you mind driving me home after school?" Roxy asked; Takuma was the only one of the three that had a D-Wheel and a license to drive it. She would usually ask Evan, but he would be busy tonight, so Takuma was her only alternative option.
"My classes end after yours, so you're going to have to wait for a bit." Takuma smiled and patted her head.
Roxy sighed at being patted again, but then smiled. It was true that this wasn't the biggest or the coolest group of friends to have, but she wouldn't have it another way. Better a few loyal friends that many royal ones.
It was night in Easthaven, the sky above the city was covered in darkness, but the streets were still as lively as they were during the day. It was a sprawling complex of lights – a constant reminder of Roxy for a long forgotten dream of hers, of all the happy memories and… a tragedy.
"Are you done?"
Roxy jumped, scared from the voice that suddenly called from behind her. She turned on her heel and looked at Takuma, nodding. Though she asked for him to only drive her home from school, she was the one who would be cooking tonight, so she ended up requesting for Takuma to accompany her on the small shopping trip. Not surprising at all, he accepted to go with her since he was running low on food as well. She took a careful look at him, the small plastic bag that he was carrying, the goods in it wouldn't be enough for more than two days, unlike her two full bags filled with good for an entire week.
The way that he was rationing his money reminded Roxy of Evan. Despite him having around a billion in his bank account, Evan didn't like to waste money on luxury. He only ate cheap food instead of eating at expensive restaurants, he always dressed in regular clothes instead of fancy suits, when he needed something, he would build it himself instead of buying it. Despite that, he always gave his subordinates the best he could. Food, clothes, even a job and a future. That was something she could never understand about Evan and Avice. They were cruel, heartless, they could easily distant themselves from emotions when it came down to make a hard decision, they saw the world as a sandbox, humans as guinea pigs, yet they treated those connected to them as a family.
It wasn't far from absurd to think that way, but for Roxy, Evan and Avice were almost like parents. They were monsters with the blood of countless people on their hands, but they were also the ones who took her, who took everyone in their group and guided them toward the light. So, it wasn't just Takuma. She, Vermilya, all those homeless, parentless, hopeless young people that the Greyson took under their wings were slowly starting to turn into the Greysons. It wasn't big changes, but small ones. Their mannerism, their habits, all of those were subconsciously becoming similar to Evan and Avice's. Yet, she didn't mind that.
Roxy smiled at the thought. She put her bags on the register and pulled out the money to pay once everything was registered. She turned back for a bit to make sure that Takuma was right behind her.
"You seem to be thinking about something." Takuma noted. "Something you want to share?"
"It's nothing important at all." Roxy shook her head. "Don't you sometime have the feelings that you are turning into Evan?"
"Only in my worst nightmares." Takuma joked, getting a cold stare in return.
"Can't you give a serious answer for once?" Roxy pouted; Takuma was always like that, acting the most immature despite being older than most of the others in their group.
"Sorry, sorry. If you want a honest answer… Yes, I do feel that way sometimes. I hate it, really. The idea of being like him, being a heartless monster running only on his desire to cause harm to the world. I don't want to be anything like him, to have a god-complex, to… to have that darkness which drives him to sacrifice everything for the sake of his mission. Despite that… I realize that if he wasn't there, if he didn't give me a hand when I was defeat, I would never be standing here, with you and everyone else."
"No heart, no fear, no sense of guilt." Roxy looked at the window, at the darkness dwelling outside the shop. "Isn't it ironic that someone like him could get such different people like us so close? Almost, like a family?"
"Don't think too much about it." Takuma ran a hand through Roxy's hair, messing it up.
"H-hey!" Roxy glared back at the older boy, then suddenly smiled. Despite how angry she looked on the outside, she couldn't drive herself to stay mad at him for too long.
"If you don't like it, then why don't you start put on a hood like your dark knight?" Takuma joked.
"Yeah, bully the small one – it's very funny." Roxy rolled her eyes, paying for her goods. She grabbed the two bags and stepped aside to let Takuma pay for his stuff, while she waited for him.
"Weren't you the one talking about how we're similar to your knight?"
"Well… I don't have anything to respond with on this one." Roxy sighed.
Takuma smiled at his small victory as he gave the cashier the money and grabbed his bag. He stepped past Roxy and the two of them walked out of the store and into the night streets. They headed toward Takuma's parked D-Wheel, neither of them saying anything until Roxy noticed something. A boy with glasses – standing at the corner of an alley with some device in his hand.
"What are you looking at?" Takuma stopped and turned back.
"That's Jean." Roxy's eyes widened – she recognized the boy! "He's the one I was talking about earlier today!"
"That's him?" Takuma pointed at the boy in the other end of the street. "Funny, he looks just like I expected – a loser."
"Should I try and talk with him? It's getting a bit late." Roxy wondered; she could always meet him at school, so she didn't need to push her luck.
And then darkness suddenly fell over the city. All the lights, street lamps, street lights, everything turned off, as pitch black darkness engulfed the streets. Next, the alarms of all cars around them went off. Roxy gasped and stepped back, people were shouting or crying, she could hear the sound of tires screeching and two light appears before her.
Roxy's eyes widened, despite the bright lights, the loud noise and the feeling of danger creeping up her spine, she didn't move. Her body was frozen; she couldn't make a step! It was like that night. She was reliving that nightmare for a second time. The bright lights, the loud noise, the surrounding darkness, it was all like that night.
"Roxy!"
Before the car could drive over the young girl, Takuma jumped in front of her, pushing both himself and Roxy out of the car's way as it sped by and crashed into the shop behind them. Roxy gasped for breath and looked put a hand over her racing heart. She was so close to that time…
"Are you ok, Roxy?" The girl looked at Takuma, but she couldn't find the voice to respond. The only thing she could do, was raise her trembling arm and gesture toward the card that almost drove over them.
"Take deep breaths." Takuma cupped her cheek and smiled. "I'm here, so it's fine. You are fine."
Roxy did so, taking deep breaths, trying to calm herself down, but the image of the lights just wouldn't leave her mind. She grabbed Takuma's hand subconsciously and kept looking at his face, trying to forget that nightmarish image.
"Do we know how many people suffered from that incident?"
Evan looked over Vermilya after she asked him a question. He lowered his head and shook his head.
Everyone was in the mansion, the safest place during the blackout that took place just two hours ago. They were sitting in the guest room, looking at the large screen on the wall and the news covering the incident in Easthaven. Avice handled Roxy a glass of water, helping the trembling girl to hold it.
"Come now, small sips." Avice whispered softly and helped guide the glass toward the frightened girl's lips. They already gave her medications – sleeping pills.
"This couldn't be a normal Blackout." Takuma rubbed his chin. "When I grabbed that bastard who almost ran Roxy over, he was panicked as well, his car has gone out of control."
"You think that this was the work of a human?" Vermilya questioned.
"There were no storms, no reason for a Blackout of that caliber, a human culprit is our best bet." Takuma explained himself. "What about you boss? What's your take on this?"
"It was unexpected, came out of nowhere. Can't be a coincidence." Evan ran a hand through his hair. That was the last thing he needed to happen, an accident like this in addition to the other cases that he was working on – it was too much to handle all at once.
"Wait, everyone!" Vermilya pointed at the screen. "Listen to the reporter!"
"The police still isn't giving an official list of the victims of this incident, but our sources say that there are at least seven confirmed deaths." The reporter explained as she walked toward one of the police officers trying to calm down the citizen. "Sir! Sir! It's Cassie from Channel F, can you tell us something more about this blackout? Is there any process in the investigation of what caused all the electricity across the city to suddenly turn off?"
"I'm sorry, I'm not authorized to answer questions." The officer pushed away the microphone.
"Please, just one question. The people have the right to know!" the reporter kept trying, but no matter how much she tried, the officer kept pushing back the microphone.
"Sorry, you can ask questions only the chief. I'm at work right now."
"Tomas!" Another officer suddenly came into the camera's range. "We're ordered to move Whitestreet, a robbery."
"A robbery?" Takuma repeated. "The blackout was only thirty minutes and the streets were in complete chaos during that time. When did they find time to steal?"
"Thirty minutes isn't enough if the robbery wasn't planned beforehand, which means that the robbers must have expected the Blackout." Evan guessed.
"And Whitestreet, it was just one street away from the one on which me and Roxy shopped." Takuma slammed his fist into the table.
"I'll ask Levant to see if he'll be able to get more information about the robberies done during the Blackout." Evan pulled out his Duel Disk and began to scroll through his contacts. "We'll talk about this again tomorrow morning, understood?"
"Then me and Vermilya will stay here for the night if you don't mind. I'm still not sure about going out there after what happened." Takuma looked back at Roxy.
The sleeping pills have taken effects and the girl fell into a slumber with her head resting on Avice's legs. At least in her sleep, her face appeared to be calm. Evan glanced at the sleeping girl for a moment as well before nodding.
"Feel at home."
A new day began and as usual, everyone in the Greyson mansion had come to have a breakfast together, like a big family. Specially for their 'guests' Evan and Avice were the ones who cooked that morning, making macaroni of all things. Although not a very common dish to serve for breakfast, Vermilya immediately digged in, eating two portions in record time and quickly asking for a third. While everyone else was in a hurry to finish their food before Vermilya ate everything, Takuma turned toward Evan and asked a serious question.
"So, did Levant do his job?"
The white haired duelist nodded without speaking. Even though it was late at night, Levant still completed the mission he was given, managing to somehow hack into the police's servers and got all the information about crimes committed last night.
"The robbery at Whitestreet was the only one last night." Evan told them. "The robber, or robbers, has broken into a computer shop during the Blackout."
"So, someone broke into a computer shop, stealing computers, while there's no electricity in the city?" Takuma shook his head. "Whoever did this is either an idiot, or they knew that the system would recover in thirty minutes."
"They must also be regular at the shop, because they hit it in the day when the owner had to close earlier." Evan said. Everything was starting to make sense already, they had a few pieces of the puzzle, but not enough to suppose the robber's identity. "If the individuals who caused the chaos in the city and robbed that shop are the same, then this couldn't be the end. Someone who has the power to shut down the technology of the entire city wouldn't just limit themselves to stealing from a small shop."
"But we can't stop them either." Roxy spoke up. "As skilled as we're, that doesn't change the fact that we're just kids. We don't have access to the resources necessary to monitor the entire city for a second attack and the police definitely won't let you investigate the robbery."
"Maybe we can't do that, but we also can't just let stuff like this to keep happening." Vermilya intervened. "I heard the news online, by this morning, the police has found thirteen dead. We can't just stay here and let the culprit kill thirteen people every time they turn off the lights."
"I'll try to get close to that Jean guy, see if he's any good." Roxy leaned back. "Maybe he could help out with this incident as well."
"I'll be close if you don't mind." Avice informed her. "If I get a good look at his face, or hear his full name, I would be able to look up his online information during school time. This way brother and Levant won't have to waste any more time on him than we have. Isn't that right?"
"That sounds like a plan to me." Takuma turned toward Avice and gave a nod. "If you find anything important before break, it would be great."
"And what'll I do?" Fujiko asked. She was the oldest in the group and the only one who wasn't going to school, so what would her role be?
"Just stay at home for today." Evan answered. "As you already saw, the city isn't safe right now. Best you can do is to stay out of harm's way until we figure out something."
"Then it's settled!" Vermilya stood up and pointed toward Roxy. "You'll get us the info, Avice'll will do what she can with it and then you'll tell us what you found. If Jean is trustworthy, and skilled, we'll use him to track down that hacker! Let's go, Gear Squad!"
Roxy took a deep breath, walking through the school entrance with Avice next to her. The young girl was planning to try and get the info about Jean as quickly as possible. That way Avice could get to work on identifying the student earlier and finish up faster as well. Problem was that outside of how he looked, Roxy didn't know anything else about that student, which years he was, which was his class, in other words, she wasn't sure where she could find him.
"Are you nervous?" Avice glanced at her companion. They have lived together for more than a year and she already learned how to tell when Roxy was nervous, scared – as well as the best way to deal with those negative emotions.
"I don't think that I'll be able to do it. I'll definitely fuck this up." Avice sighed at Roxy's sudden pessimism.
"Calm down." Avice patter her partner's shoulder. "Listen, I'm going to stay at a distance from you, so you can regain your self-esteem. Everything will go fine, trust me."
"I don't know…" Roxy lowered her head and scratched the back of her head. "I don't know even where to look for him."
Avice stopped, prompting Roxy to turn back. The young Greyson looked around for a few moments until an idea came to her. "Correct me, but wasn't that guy in a club? I believe that Vermilya told me that his club was closed down."
"Yeah, I learned about that by sheer luck." Roxy nodded. She was wondering why Avice asked about the club… "Are you suggesting to go look there?"
"Even if the club is closed down, you may find someone who knows where Jean could be found." Avice shrugged. "Just… just go and see for yourself, I'll follow shortly."
Roxy was curious on just what the Greyson had in mind, but she agreed either way and left to check the club on her own. Strangely enough, the farther away from Avice she was, the more confident she felt. It was a strange thing to say, but being around Avice always made her feel miserable and worthless; like all of her self-respect and happiness were being sucked out of her body or something. Was that why Avice wanted her to go on her own? Did the Greyson know about how Roxy was feeling around her?
"Focus." Roxy shook her head; it wasn't time to get carried away, she was on an important mission!
It didn't take long for the girl to find the old club room. Even though she passed through that corridor only once, she had a very good memory. The girl paused for a moment to take a good look at the closed door. It no longer had the place with the words 'Tech Club' on it. Roxy glanced around to check if anyone else was looking and then she slowly opened the door to look inside. There were no computers anymore, only three lines of desks, the place was already cleared out, with no sight that this room used to belong to a club.
"Is there something I can help you with?"
Roxy turned toward the voice. It was a woman with short blonde hair and green eyes, dressed in a dark grey jacket with a white blouse and a grey skirt. Roxy recognized the woman as the teacher that was here yesterday - Miss Valley she believed was the name.
"Ah, I just wondered, isn't this the Tech Club's room?" Roxy asked, playing dumb.
"It used to." Miss Valley sighed and looked into the door. "Sadly it didn't have enough members, so we had to close it yesterday. Did you want to join?"
"I was just interested." Roxy shrugged. "I'm interested in learning more about computers and technology in general. Was there anyone in this club, who could help me out with that?"
"I believe, yes." Miss Valley nodded. "Jean Lester from class Four-B was the one who asked me for help to form this club. He's very smart and, I dare say, the best with technology in the entire school."
"I see…" Roxy nodded and smiled. Now she had a name and didn't have to go talk with Jean directly. "Thanks for your help, Miss… Umm…"
"Valley." Miss Valley told her. "And you are?"
"Roxanna Petit from class Three-C." In other words, that Jean was a year older than her and was also in the B-classes, which meant that he was smarter than students from the C-classes, her included.
"Three? That means that I'm going to be your Math teacher next year." Miss Valley smiled.
"It's nice to meet you then, Miss Valley." Roxy bowed to the teacher. "You must excuse me now, but I should hurry for classes."
Roxy waved and ran off toward her classroom, leaving Miss Valley. The teacher kept smiling long after the girl left her, she turned back toward the empty club room and frowned before closing the door.
"Thanks to Roxy, I was able to get the full name of our potential ally." Avice put her Duel Disk on the table and pushed it toward the others. "Here's all of the information that I was able to obtain about Jean Lester. He has taken part in several competitions, showcasing amazing skills at software engineering at the age of eleven."
"So, a computer genius then?" Takuma whistled at the info. "He could be a very good addition to our group, won't he, Evan?"
"His biography definitely is something." Evan nodded. "According to this he also has an account in Dueling Dungeon Nexus. How did you find that out?"
"I already had his address, so I just checked to see if there was anyone logging into Nexus from the boy's location." Avice crossed her legs and winked. "But the deeper I went, the more interesting stuff I found about this fella. Apparently his father used to work in the mines until an accident put him into a bed, unable to move. The only source of money his family has comes from his mother, who works part-time in a fast food restaurant."
"A poor boy with extraordinary skills in software engineering, who lost his only access to a good computer when his club got closed. What does this sound like to you?" Vermilya asked.
"You think that he's the one who caused the Blackout yesterday?" Roxy asked.
"We can't be sure in anything yet, but I agree that he fits the criteria to be suspect, and is the only lead we have at the moment." Takuma reasoned. "We shouldn't ignore this just because of his age."
"Me and Roxy will keep an eye out of him, you can be sure of that." Avice replied, collecting her Duel Disk. "But we can't follow his every step, even less outside school. Is Levant still busy with his Student Counter business?"
"He won't be able to help out with this case." Evan took a sip from his coffee. "Now focus, you all got a job to do."
Avice paused in front of her classroom and looked down at her Duel Disk. "That's interesting…"
"What is it?" Roxy stepped closer to take a look at the Greyson's Duel Disk. "You got access to the school's main computer?"
"Government connections, remember?" Avice gave a quick smirk to her pupil. "But according to this, Jean hasn't been in class today. So, where could he be?"
"You don't think that he's going to try and rob another shop during daylight, do you?" Roxy was worried, more about Jean that about the consequences that such actions could have for the city.
"I don't know." Avice shook her head. "But I should inform Evan as soon as possible!"
Roxy nodded and gave the girl some space to call her brother; tell him and the rest about this new development.
"Shit!" Avice cursed. "For some reason I can't contact him!"
That was bad. Perhaps they should go to Evan's school and talk to him directly about this? Roxy was about to open her mouth to suggest that, when suddenly the school bell began to ring. The two girls, as well as the other students, looked up in confusion. There were five more minutes before class started, and the bell wasn't stopping ringing. This gave Roxy a bad feeling and she ran off toward the exit with Avice following shortly after.
Roxy stopped in front of the entrance and pushed it, but the door wouldn't open. Roxy bit her lip and pushed again, but to no effect; the door was locked. That was the one thing they didn't want to happen.
"We're locked inside." Roxy ran a hand through her hair, quickly starting to panic. "How?"
"The school is using a computer system for the locks of the doors and the windows." Avice informed her. "This was done after a group of school shooters took over the high school in Oklada and locked all of the exits. They also replaced all the windows and glass with bulletproof glass so shooters couldn't fire from the outside. There's no way we can break them."
"So we're trapped inside!" Roxy yelled back. "Do you think that this is that boy's work?"
"Someone must hack into the main computer of the school in order to activate the lockdown, so its most likely his doing." Avice nodded.
Roxy slammed her fist against the wall. They couldn't get out and their communications were cut off as well. Was there a way that this could get any worse? Actually… "Is it me, or is it starting to get hot in here?"
"It seems that our little terrorist has taken over the heating system as well. With all of the doors and windows locked, it would take no more than a four hours until we're all cooked."
Roxy could already hear the other students starting to panic and yell from across the hall. This was a death trap, but why would Jean do something like that? Because he lost his club room? Because the school took the computers that THEY gave him? No, this wasn't the full picture. There was more to all of this…
"Let's go." Avice pulled the girl. "We're leaving."
"Leaving?" Roxy repeated. "How are we going to leave? All doors and windows are locked down!"
"We're not going to use those." Avice said. "One thing that the computer doesn't control in this building are the vents. We should get out before they get all heated up."
Roxy's eyes widened. She nodded and ran off after Avice. They had a way out, but the clock was still ticking for the rest of their school.
Roxy gasped for her breath, sweat dripping from her face. She thought that they were going to die while crawling through the vents. How Avice came up with the idea of using them as a mean of escape was beyond Roxy, but she had the feeling that asking that would lead to a completely different story that they didn't have time for.
The girl looked around them, there we no other people outside, the streets were empty with just the two of them skipping class. Though it could seem unusual for there to be no bad apples skipping school, they were a part of the most elite school on the continent and not everyone could get to study at a place like this, even less students with the bad habit of running from classes.
Roxy stopped in the park and looked around. Evan, Levant, Takuma and Vermilya were all there, waiting for the younger girls to join up with them. She took a careful look at them, there was sweat dripping from their faces, a trait through which the young girl deduced how exactly they managed to escape the lockdown.
Roxy shook her head, disappointed with herself for not thinking about this earlier. Of course the Greysons would have at least a few contingency plans and escape routes ready in case they ever got trapped inside the school. That was how absurd and paranoid they were.
"What's the situation?" Avice asked.
"The entire island of Westview Advanced Secondary School was hacked." Levant replied. "All buildings, all the technology is no longer in our control. All communications within the limits of the island are cut off as well, no one can call for help or leave. We're literally the only people who can do something right now."
Roxy leaned back against one of the trees and took a deep breath. She was already surprised by how her school building was taken control off, but to hack into the entire island of Westview Advanced Secondary School? All the school buildings, the dormitories – this already went too far, now it was just madness.
"What are you suggesting we do? The person causing this could be anywhere." Avice reminded her teammates.
"I don't think so." Evan stepped in front of the group. "To hack into the system of the island and take control of it is harder than causing a Blackout. Due to every school building having its own system, to do all of this with just a computer would take weeks of work. We also already found a clue, Takuma."
The boy nodded and raised his phone with a photo of an open power box. "After we left our school building through the vents I checked the power box on the outside of the school. There's a chip on it that can't be removed without risking frying the entire system, turning that sick death trap into a permanent one."
"Even if you are a genius, if you don't have military grade tech, you can only make second-hand chips. Our little terrorist-wannabe would need to be within a certain range to keep a stable signal and ensure that the chips will do their job." Levant added. "Our target is somewhere on the island."
"Where exactly is the question here." Vermilya pushed her hair behind her ear. "We can't just run around the island, searching every building and every room that isn't locked down."
"Maybe we don't have to." Evan told them. "Only the communication of our Duel Disks is deactivated, we can still use them. Our Duel Disk are able to pick up signals in the network, if Levant could reverse engineer it, we could use this to track the signal used on the chips."
"That could actually work." Levant agreed. "But it's going to take some time."
"Won't you need instruments for that?" Takuma asked.
"I'm not going to break the Duel Disk into pieces, just reverse its programming." Levant retorted and looked at Evan. "This is the first time we go after something like this, should we build special devices for situations likes this after we save everyone?"
"The moneys are from me." Evan answered nonchalantly. "Now focus on getting that tracker working."
Levant said no more. He turned his back to the group and pulled out his Duel Disk, starting his work on it while Roxy put her own Duel Disks on her wrists. Chances were that Jean wouldn't just let them stop his crazy work, they would need to find an alternative and Roxy already had one ready. If negotiations failed, she would make him pay for making her relieve that nightmare.
"Done!" Levant shouted shortly after. "I picked up several signals, all of which connected at a single point."
"What are the words, boss?" Vermilya looked at Evan with a smirk.
The coldhearted duelist sighed and stepped forward. "Gear Squad, hunt!"
The group stopped in front of one of the four dormitories on the island. Those buildings were empty during the day when the students had to go to school and no one would think of looking into them for hackers. Levant checked the data once again to be sure and then moved near Evan to show him what he found.
"The signals connect at the last floor, on the attic."
"The doors aren't connect to any systems, so he couldn't lock them without a key, but I bet that the elevators are all out of order." Takuma commented.
Evan kicked the door open and walked inside, Avice and his pupils following right behind their 'leader'. The cameras, elevators and the lights were all deactivated, turning this building into little more than a dark and empty box. With everything turned off, their target couldn't tell that a group of highly trained duelists were coming to apprehend him.
It took around five minutes for the group to reach the top of the eight floor tall building and to come in front of the door leading toward the attic. Evan put a hand on the handle and twisted it, but the door didn't open. It was locked.
"Clever bastard." Evan muttered under his nose and clenched his fist.
"Shall we break it down?" Takuma suggested.
"What if he's armed?" Evan turned back to the group. "We can't risk getting shot or worse. There must be an alternative way inside."
"What if he doesn't know that you are trying to break the door?" Roxy asked.
"How?"
"Watch." Roxy sighed and stepped in front of the door, knocking with her fist. "Jean! I know that you are inside!"
"W-… How did you find me?!" a voice yelled from the other side, confirming the hacker's identity.
"I know that you are the one behind all of this!" Roxy shouted. "Do you know what you are doing?! You are going to murder everyone in this school just because they closed your club!"
"The club… How do you know about the club? Who the heck are you!?"
"That doesn't matter!" Roxy slammed her fist against the door. "Jean… you are hurting people! Living, breathing people! Whatever happened, we can fix it together, but now like this. The students and teachers that you have trapped aren't to blame for what happened."
"No… You won't understand! They wanted this! If I don't do this, they will come for me!"
They? The duelists on the outside gave each other a questionable glance. This wasn't because of the club, the chaos, the killing, something else caused Jean to do all of those things; someone else.
"Who are they, Jean?" Roxy leaned forward, pressing her forehead against the wall. "Who're you afraid off?"
"This is their big first act… our first big act. I won't allow you to ruin it!"
"He has snapped." Takuma whispered.
Roxy looked down at her Duel Disk. Takuma was right, the boy on the other side has lost its mind, and there was no point in talking to him anymore. Negotiations failed, so it was time for more drastic actions.
"Then you must duel me, Jean!" Roxy shouted.
"And why exactly would I do that?"
"Because my Duel Disk is a different model, it connects to a different satellite and because of that you couldn't cut my communications." That was a load of bullshit, but Roxy hoped that the boy would fall for it.
"And why haven't you used that to call someone already?" Yeah, he wasn't buying it.
"If I do, you will go to jail, Jean. I don't want to get your life ruined just because of a mistake. If we duel and I win, I want you to shut down this crazy trap of yours and come out. If you don't accept the duel, I'll call the police and you know how that would end, don't you?"
Jean didn't respond. Did she saw through her bluff? If this was so important for him, he wouldn't let such a chance to slide. There was nothing forcing him to do as promised after the duel, even if he lost, he could still continue what he was doing, or so he would think. Roxy glanced at her friends, the moment their duel started, they would use the chance to break down the door and walk inside.
Finally, the voice from the other side of the door spoke again. "And what will happen if I win?"
"You are smart, you'll figure a way to silence me." Roxy answered. She was giving him ideas, but this was a risk that she had to take if she wanted to save all the students and teachers whose lives was on the line.
"Very well then, I accept." Roxy sighed in relief. "I'll send you a challenge to you in VR, what's your username?"
"…Proxy."
"The Ice Princess!?" Roxy sighed. Ice princess was the title that she was given in VR worlds due to her avatar and deck. She knew that she had quite the popularity among the users despite having a very low rating in the boards, but even Jean knew about her?
"That's right." Roxy smirked and raised her Duel Disk. "I'm the Ice Princess."
"That's unexpected." Came a response from Jean. "But I know your dueling, Ice Princess!"
Roxy's Duel Disk beeped and a message appeared before her. She looked back at her friends and gave then a nod for confirmation before turning back to her Duel Disk. "If you know how I duel, then there's nothing for you to worry about, is there?"
With that said, Roxy clicked 'Accept' and the world around her began to break apart. The walls, the ceiling and the ground, everything that once surrounded her disappeared and was replaced by strings of data that moved around her. The girl closed her eyes and let her body change as well, transforming into her virtual alter ego.
Proxy's skin was a very pale shade of blue with short, white spiky hair swept upward and to the left side of his head with blue headset in the form of crystals covering her cheeks and ears. For her face, she used a facial recognition feature with the only major changes (expect for the skin) being two crystal marks on her left cheek and her eyes, which were a very dark shade of blue with a light blue sclera.
Her outfit consisted of a sleeveless blue uniform with white light plates of icy crystals protecting the areas below her chest and her hips while leaving her shoulder blades uncovered. Her arms were covered in white fingerless gloves that reached all the way up to her armpits and were black on the back. From the waist below, Proxy's outfit continued with a black skirt that reached to her knees; its surface was covered by a tiny layer of ice that reflected the sunlight like crystals. Her boots were black with blue armor on the outsole and midsole, they reached to her tights with the skirt hid, along with the dark blue pantyhose that she wore underneath, from view. Finally were two wings made of hundreds dark blue crystals that rested on her back like a cloak when they weren't activated.
After completing her transformation, the girl landed on top of her D-Board, a slim crystal blue one with a yellow core in the center. A stream of data appeared under her and she speeded forward as a second body materialized next to her.
Proxy put a hand over her mouth as to not laugh. Her opponent's avatar, the avatar of that hacker mastermind was a pig standing on two legs with a black cape and a mask over its face. Seriously?!
The pig landed on top of a circular black D-Board and moved in front of Proxy, turning around to face her. The avatar looked her over carefully and then raised its left arm (?) holding up its Duel Disk.
"I won't let you ruin everything that I was working on!" The pig shouted. "As much as it hurts me to do this, I'll defeat you, Ice Princess!"
"I'm sorry Jean, but I have people that are counting on me as well." Proxy clenched her fist. "I won't let you run rampant; not under my watch!"
"SPEED DUEL!"
『Proxy LP: 4000 Hand: 4 (VS) Prig-G LP: 4000 Hand: 4』
"I'm going to take the first move!" Prig-G exclaimed. "Since you control no monsters I can Special Summon Hack Worm (Lv.1, ATK: 0) from my hand!" The mechanical worm appeared in front of Prig-G. "And now I activate Machine Duplication to Special Summon two more copies of Hack Worm from my deck! Now I Link Summon!"
The mechanical Link Square appeared behind Prig-G and his three monsters turned into whirlwinds that flew into it.
"Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are two or more Hack Monsters! I set three Hack Worms in the Link Markers! Link Summon! Hack Hivemind!"
Out of the portal flew a mechanical sphere with several glowing green lines attached in-between its metal plates and six tower-like conductor coils on its back. Two small arms were attached to the side of its spherical body, each ending with a shard blade. Its head was small, around one-fifteenth of its body size with a green visor.
Hack Hivemind
Attribute: DARK/Type: Machine/Link/Effect
L-Markers: Left, Right, Bottom
ATK: 0/Link-3
2 + "Hack" monsters
Effect: This card gains 400 ATK for each Crash Counter on the field. While this card is on the field or in the GY, monsters with Crash Counter cannot declare an attack or change their battle position, except for DARK Machine monsters.
'A Link Three right off the bat?' Proxy thought, looking at the monster in awe. 'Its attack power is zero and its effects is useless without any counters on the field, so what was he thinking summoning it right now?'
"I know what you are thinking." Prig-G glared at the girl. "I set a card and end my turn!"
'A set card as well? It must be to protect his monster from destruction or something.' Proxy narrowed her eyes. She was limited in the ways that she could approach the situation.
"It's my turn, draw!"
『Turn 2 [Proxy] LP: 4000 Hand: 5』
Proxy exclaimed, taking a card from her hand. "I activate the Continuous Spell Card – BrioGear Purify Hazard!"
BrioGear Purify Hazard (Spell) Continuous
You can discard 1 WATER monster, then draw 1 card. This card gains 1 Ice Counter every time the turn player discards a card(s) due to a card effect. During either player's End Phase, you can move the Ice Counters on this card to other cards on the field. You can only use the 1st effect of "BrioGear Purify Hazard" once per turn.
"And now I activate Purify Hazard's effect. I discard BrioGear Blue Recruit to put an Ice Counter on Purify Hazard and draw a new card." Proxy's Spell Card glowed with ice starting to cover its surface while Proxy drew. "And now Blue Recruit's effect allows me to Special Summon a Level Three or lower BrioGear monster from my deck upon its discarding!"
BrioGear Blue Recruit
Lv. 3/Attribute: WATER/Type: Sea Serpent/Effect
ATK: 1000/DEF: 100
Effect: If this card is discarded to the GY: You can Special Summon 1 "BrioGear" monster from your Deck, except "BrioGear Blue Recruit". If this card is sent to the GY as material for the Link Summon of a WATER monster, it gains the following effect:
· This Link Summoned card cannot be destroyed by battle with monsters with have Ice Counter.
"Come out, BrioGear Ghost Floe!" A line of data appeared next to Proxy and transformed into a piece of ice shaped like a ghost with a pink liquid moving inside of it, taking the form of two eyes.
BrioGear Ghost Floe
Lv. 2/Attribute: WATER/Type: Aqua/Effect
ATK: 400/DEF: 200
Effect: If this card is discarded to the GY: You can target 1 " BrioGear " monster in your Graveyard, except "BrioGear Ghost Floe"; Special Summon that target. If you Link Summon a WATER monster, you can Special Summon this card from your GY, but banish it when it leaves the field.
"You are using your monsters' discarding effect to quickly swarm the field for multiple Link Summons." Prig-G stated. "I should know because have watched many of your duels, you used to be an idol of mine!"
"I'm trying to help you out!" Proxy shouted back. "Do you really want to go down history as a mass murderer? What would your family think about you? How will your mother and father react to hearing that their son has murdered an entire school?"
"Don't get my family involved!" Prig-G yelled and crashed his D-Wheel into Proxy, knocking her off balance. "You don't know anything about me and my choice!"
"I know that it's wrong." Proxy hissed and threw her arm upward. "But don't listen to me, listen to my dueling! I Link Summon!"
A white mirror frame appeared in the sky. Its inside was filed with a blue circuit pattern while eight open flowers were put in place of the arrowheads.
"Arrowhead confirmed! The Summoning condition is a Level Four or lower WATER monster! I set Ghost Floe in the Link Marker!" The tiny monster turned into a whirlwind and flew into the bottom center flower of the frame. "Link Summon! Come forth, BrioGear Lotaxol!
Out of the glowing portal flew a combination between a fish and a lizard with white body and four small legs. Several golden clock gears were attached to its back, its belly was covered in metallic armor and six clock arms jutted out of the side of its head like horns. The really cute part of its appearance were the two small dot-like eyes at the sides of its head than made its face look like a sock puppet.
BrioGear Lotaxol
Attribute: WATER/Type: Sea Serpent/Link/Effect
L-Markers: Bottom
ATK: 600/Link-1
1 Level 4 or lower WATER
Effect: When this card is Link Summon: You can target 1 Level 2 or lower WATER monster in your GY; Special Summon it to your zone this card points to.
"I activate Lotaxol's effect!" Proxy continued. "When its Link Summoned, I can revive a Level Two or lower WATER monster from my grave. Return once more, Ghost Floe!"
The Link Monster's bottom arrow glowed and the tiny ice ghost raised from the data, sitting right in front of the arrow that was pointing at it.
"And now once again! I Link Summon!" the mirror flamed circuit appeared in front of Proxy and she threw both of her arms toward it. "Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning conditions are two WATER Effect monsters! I set BrioGear Lotaxol and Ghost Floe in the Link Markers!" The two monsters flew in the central bottom and top flowers, getting absorbed into them. "Link Summon! Huntress of the deep abyss! Link Two! Grand Serene the Link Ranger!"
A blue lightning fell from the portal and Proxy's monster formed. It was a covered in white armor with blue accents. The head was protected by a helmet that was shaped like a beast with a mouth guard and huge blue hair that reached the ankle. The monster's armor also had huge shoulder plates with golden bottoms connecting them to the rest of the armor. Its gauntlets had the appearance of claws with the right being white while the left was green and a bit larger with a small shield and two blades underneath. Its legs which were covered by armored boots with wings attached to each one. Serene raised its head and its eyes glow yellow as it landed in front of Proxy.
Grand Serene the Link Ranger
Attribute: WATER/Type: Aqua/Link/Effect
L-Markers: Top, Bottom
ATK: 2100/Link-2
2 WATER Effect monsters
Effect: When this card inflicts battle damage to your opponent: You can send 1 monster linked to this card to the GY; inflict damage to your opponent equal to the original ATK of the monster send to the GY by this effect. At the start of your Battle Phase, if this card points to a monster: You can activate this effect; during this Battle Phase, this card can declare up to two attacks on monsters after this effect resolves, and if it does, draw a card every time this card destroys a monster by battle.
"And now, I Normal Summon BrioGear Wave Crusher!" On my field appeared a warrior in silver armor with a blue cape and a huge broadsword with blue symbols glowing on the blade. It wore a golden mask that covered its face expect its green eyes which glowed as it stared ahead.
BrioGear Wave Crusher
Level: 4/Attribute: WATER/Type: Warrior/Effect
ATK: 1700/DEF: 100
Effect: Once per turn: You can discard 1 WATER monster from your hand; this card gains 300 ATK. If this card on the field is destroyed and sent to the GY, you can place 1 Ice Counter on every monster your opponent controls.
"Now I enter the Battle Phase!" Proxy exclaimed. "I attack Hack Hivemind with Wave Crusher!"
The warrior charged forward and swung its blade at the machine, cutting it in half. Hivemind's body exploded, knocking Prig-G backward.
"I activate my Trap! Anti-Hack!" Prig-G cried out. "This card negates the damage I would take from battles involving my Hack monsters and I put a Crash Counter on your monsters for every eight hundred points of damage that I negated by this effect!"
Anti-Hack (Trap) Normal
If a "Hack" monster you control battles, you can activate this card: Negate all damage you would take from that battle, and if you do, place 1 Crash Counter on a face-up monster your opponent controls for every 800 points of damage negated by this effect. You can banish this card from your GY: Add 1 "Hack" card from your deck to the hand, except "Anti-Hack".
"And now as a curse for destroy my monster, yours will be infected!" Prig-G pointed at Proxy's monsters. Serene and Wave Crusher cried out as green metal plates flew onto their bodies.
'He let me destroy his monster to use its ability from the Graveyard.' Proxy narrowed her eyes. 'I'm starting to get an idea of how his deck works, but I'll need a bit more time before I could counter-attack.'
"It seems that you caught me off guard there." Proxy sighed. "I end my turn."
"Then it's my turn again." Prig-G commented. "Draw!"
『Turn 3 [Prig-G] LP: 4000 Hand: 2』
"First off, I activate the Spell Card – Hack Reborn! This Spell revives a Hack monster in my grave by negating its effects. I choose Hack Worm (Lv.1, DEF: 0)!" A black portal appeared below Prig-G and one of his Worms raised before him.
Hack Reborn (Spell) Normal
Target 1 "Hack" monster in your GY: Special Summon that target, but its effects are negated. During your turn, except the turn this card was sent to the GY: You can banish this card from your GY; Add 1 "Hack" card from your deck to the hand, except "Hack Reborn".
"Now, I Link Summon!" The Link Square formed behind the hacker once. "Arrowhead confirmed! Summoning condition is a Level Two or lower DARK Machine! I set Hack Worm on the Link Marker! Link Summon! Hack Infested!"
The new machine had the appearance of a butterfly. It had a long dark brown metal body covered in the same glowing green lines as the rest of the Hack monsters, but unlike them, this one also produced two large wings made of the same toxic green energy.
Hack Infested
Attribute: DARK/Type: Machine/Link/Effect
L-Markers: Top
ATK: 0/Link-1
1 Level 2 or lower DARK Machine monster
Effect: You take no damage from battles involving this card. While this card is on the field or in the GY, monsters with Crash Counter have their effects negated and lose 300 ATK for each Crash Counter on them, except for DARK Machine monsters.
"Due to Infester's ability, all of your monsters lose three hundred attack points." Prig-G clicker his fingers and Proxy's monsters lowered their heads, their attack points dropping to 1800 and 1400 respectively. "Now I banish Anti-Hack from my Graveyard to add Hack Multiplier from my Deck to the hand, and then I activate it!"
Hack Multiplier (Spell) Continuous
You can destroy 1 "Hack" monster you control: Place 1 Crash Counter on every monster in the same column as that monster. Monsters with Crash Counter cannot be used as Link Materials. Once per turn, during your End Phase: Inflict 300 damage to your opponent for every Crash Counter on their monsters. During your turn, except the turn this card was sent to the GY: You can banish this card from your GY; Add 1 "Hack" card from your deck to the hand, except "Hack Multiplier".
"Now I use Hack Multiplier to destroy Hack Infester and put a Crash Counter on every monster you control in the same row!" Several lightnings shot out of Prig-G's Spell, destroying his Link Monster and sending its remains over to Proxy's monsters infecting them further. "And with new counters, Infester's ability in the graveyard will reduce their attack points even further"
Grand Serene the Link Ranger, ATK: 1800 – 300 → 1500
BrioGear Wave Crusher, ATK: 1400 – 300 → 1100
"With this, I end my turn." Prig-G finished. "During the End Phase, the effect of Multiplier activates, inflicting three hundred damage to you for every Crash Counter that infects your monsters!"
Another lightning shot out of Prig-G's Spell Card, but this time it stuck Proxy, causing the duelist to gasp and her avatar to glitch from the damage that she took.
『Proxy LP: 4000 - 1200 → 2800』
"So you plan of letting my infected monsters remain so you can burn away my Life Points?" Proxy glared at her opponent. "Due to Multiplier I won't be able to summon any new Link Monsters, so you must think that you have won, right? But I'm not going down so easily! My turn, draw!"
『Turn 4 [Proxy] LP: 2800 Hand: 4』
The young duelist looked at the card that she drew and then at the cards in her hand. She had all she needed to win this turn, but… She had to buy time for the others to break down the door.
"I set two cards and end my turn!" Proxy finished.
Just a bit more. She had to buy them just a bit more time before she could counterattack and put an end to this match. Prig-G didn't know yet, had a single turn before ended this duel before Proxy did.
"How disappointing." Prig-G sighed. "I've watched you make comebacks from duels that no other could come back from, yet you failed once I blocked your ability to use Link Monsters?"
Proxy lowered her head so that her hair was covering her eyes and asked: "Are you having fun?"
"What?"
"You heard me!" Proxy looked at her opponent. "You watched me duel, was a fan of me, so don't have fun now that you finally got to duel against your idol?"
"I never wanted to meet you." Prig-G replied coldly. "It's true that I loved watching your duels, but I never wanted to meet you because I knew that you wouldn't understand me, that you will see me as the villain."
"Why did you make an account in Nexus then?" Proxy pressed on. "If you didn't want to meet with anyone, then why did you make a profile there? Did you just want to escape reality?"
"I came in contact with something that you would never understand!" Prig-G yelled back at her. "I had a purpose, a mission! They gave me much, the programming, the knowledge, this deck, in return, I had to make a message!"
"Message? By killing hundreds of innocent people?" Proxy clenched her fist. "Just… Just who did you get yourself involved with, Jean?"
"Someone who gave me knowledge that you would never be able to fully understand." Prig-G muttered. "It's my turn now, I draw!"
『Turn 5 [Prig-G] LP: 4000 Hand: 2』
"First, I banish Hack Reborn from my Graveyard to add Hack Crawler from my deck to the hand! Next, I activate a second Hack Reborn to revive Hack Worm (Lv.1, DEF: 0)!" The tiny machine appeared in front of Grand Serene. "And now Hack Multiplier's effect activates! I destroy Hack Worm to put a Crash Counter on all of your monsters!"
Several lightnings shot out of Prig-G's Spell, destroying his Hack Worm and sending its remains over to Proxy's monsters infecting them further. "And with new counters, Infester's ability will reduce their attack points once more."
Grand Serene the Link Ranger, ATK: 1500 – 300 → 1200
BrioGear Wave Crusher, ATK: 1100 – 300 → 800
"Since a Hack monster was destroyed, I'm able to Special Summon Hack Crawler from my hand!"
A long line of black code appeared in front of Prig-G and it transformed into a monster. First appeared its head, a mechanical monstrosity with a single green line running through it and its lower jaw split into two. Following it, was a slim metal body with two green lines running down its sides. The monster had a battered look with part of its armor broken or removed. Long cables came out of its neck and then tied around each other. The beast flew over Prig-G's avatar and looked at Proxy, emitting a high-pitched screech from its mouth.
Hack Crawler
Level: 7/Attribute: DARK/Type: Machine/Effect
ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000
Effect: This card cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first me Special Summoned by its own effect. If a "Hack" monster you control is destroyed by a card effect and send to the GY: You can Special Summon this card from your GY (if it was there when the monster was destroyed) or hand (even if not). Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can target 1 face-up monster on the field, put a Crash Counter on it. You can target 1 monster your opponent controls with Crash Counters on it: Take control of it, and if you do, remove all Crash Counters from it. You cannot activate this effect if you already control a monster through this effect of "Hack Crawler".
"I take it that this is your ace monster, huh?" Proxy guessed. "Show me what it got!"
"Gladly." Prig-G raised his arm forward. "I activate Hack Crawler's effect! I take control of Grand Serene the Link Ranger!"
The machine monster threw its cables forward and they tied themselves around Serene's wrists. Proxy's monster cried out and tried to fight back.
"I won't let you!" Proxy shouted. "I activate my Trap Card – Diamond Dust! All WATER monsters on my field are destroyed and you take five hundred points of damage for each! Take this!"
Grand Serene pulled herself and then looked back at Proxy, nodding before she burst into pieces of ice that flew toward Prig-G, hitting him in the knee. The duelist cried out and fell on his knees as Wave Crusher exploded as well and another ice shard pierced his shoulder.
『Prig-G LP: 4000 - 1000 → 3000』
"Damn you!" Prig-G cursed.
"I'm not over!" Proxy gestured toward her remaining card. "Trap Activate – Torrential Reborn! This card revives all of my destroyed monsters and inflicts five hundred points of damage to you for each! Come back, Grand Serene the Link Ranger (ATK: 2100, Link-2) and BrioGear Wave Crusher (Lv.4, ATK: 1700)!"
Proxy's two monsters raised on her field once more and both of them fired a stream of water at Prig-G, knocking the hacker on his back.
『Prig-G LP: 3000 - 1000 → 2000』
"Then I'm going to use Crawler's ability to put a Crash Counter on Grand Serene!" The Link Monster cried out once more as a new counter was placed on her body.
Grand Serene the Link Ranger, ATK: 2100 – 300 → 1800
"And now I'll use Crawler's ability to take control of Grand Serene and remove the Crash Counter from her!" The machine monster threw its cables forward and caught Serene's wrists once again, this time managing to pull the monster without much resistance.
Grand Serene the Link Ranger, ATK: 1800 + 300 → 2100
"You went through all of this trouble only for me to still steal your ace!" Prig-G spoke with confidence. "Now battle! I use Grand Serene the Link Ranger to attack BrioGear Wave Crusher! Final Serenity!"
The Link Monster jumped in the air and stretched out her left arm, creating an energy string that connected the two ends. A single blue arrow formed in her other hand and she put it on the bow, aiming for the warrior. Serene let go of the arrow and it shot forward, piercing Wave Crusher.
『Proxy LP: 2800 - 400 → 2400』
"When Wave Crusher is destroyed, all of your monsters gain an Ice Counter!" Proxy pointed out as both Prig-G's Hack Crawler and her Serene got a layer of ice over their bodies.
"That's unimportant! Now Hack Crawler will attack you directly as well!" The machine's three eyes all glowed red and it opened its jaw, unleashing a single red beam that cut through Proxy's body. The girl cried out and held an arm over her wound, her body starting to glitch again from the pain.
『Proxy LP: 2400 - 1000 → 1400』
"With that, I end my turn." Prig-G finished. "You fought so hard to remove all of the counters from your Serene, but in the end, she still fell into my arms. How will you win, with your strongest monster under my command?"
Proxy looked at the remaining cards in his hand then spoke up. "…I draw."
『Turn 6 [Proxy] LP: 1400 Hand: 3』
"First off, I activate the Field Spell Lair of Silence! Due to this card's effect, all monsters except for WATER monsters lose their abilities, the power to attack and change their battle positions!"
"What?" Prig-G's eyes widened and he turned toward Hack Crawler, only to see his ace covered in ice.
Lair of Silence (Spell) Field
Once per turn: If a WATER monster is Special Summoned on your side of the field, you can place an Ice Counter on 1 face-up monster your opponent controls. Monsters with an Ice Counter on them lose 300 ATK, also they cannot attack, change their battle position or activate their effects, except for WATER Monsters. If a WATER monster(s) you control is sent to the GY as Link Material(s), you can discard 1 card: Special Summon those monsters in Defense Position
"Next I activate the effect of Purify Hazard to discard a card and draw a new one!" Proxy looked at the card that she got and smiled. "I banish BrioGear Lotaxol and BrioGear Ghost Floe from my Graveyard to revive BrioGear Leviathan Dragon!"
A blue serpent with a purple belly raised from the data the duelist were riding. It had gears and large artificial membranes that served as wings to keep it over the data. Its forked tail was made out from two sharp metal rods. Its head was massive, with two pairs of eyes and large metal jaws with an underbite. One large, metal mandibles was protrude underneath the bottom jaw. The head and back were coated with a yellow carapace that produces large spikes which covered most of its back.
BrioGear Leviathan Dragon
Level: 7/Attribute: WATER/Type: Sea Serpent/Effect
ATK: 2600/DEF: 2100
Effect: If this card is in your GY: You can banish 2 other WATER monsters from your GY; Special Summon this card. Once per turn: You can target 1 "BrioGear" monster in your GY; Special Summon it.
"And now I activate Leviathan Dragon's effect! Once per turn, I can revive a BrioGear monster from my Graveyard, rise again, Wave Crusher!" The warrior jumped out of the graveyard and roared, swinging its sword.
"Let's end this!" Proxy winked and threw her arms upward. "Come forth, circuit of life!" Proxy's circuit opened above her. "Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning requirements are two BrioGear monsters! I set BrioGear Wave Crusher and BrioGear Leviathan Dragon in the Link Markers! Link Summon! Link Two, BrioGear Enhance Mermail!"
A little mermaid with blue skin and long pink hair appeared on my field with a wink. Her pupils were bright green and large. She had golden armor on her arms and chest with colorful pearls decorating the edges. Her shoulders and neck were mostly exposed with just a single gear put on her neck like a choker. A belt made from white pearls decorated her waist, and a blue crystal was in place of her belly button.
BrioGear Enhance Mermail
Attribute: WATER/Type: Aqua/Link/Effect
L-Markers: Bottom, Right
ATK: 1700/Link-2
2 "BrioGear" monsters
Effect: Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can halve the ATK of 1 monster linked to this card, and if you do, increase the ATK of 1 "BrioGear" monster you control by the same amount, except the monster whose ATK was halved. During the End Phase of the turn, you activated this effect, the ATK of all monsters you control becomes their original ATK.
"Another Link Two monster?" Prig-G looked at Proxy's new monster. "Even if you attack with it, your monster isn't strong enough to beat both of my monsters!"
"Who said that Enhance Mermail is going to attack?" Proxy smirked. "You see, you might know my deck because you watched my Duels, but you haven't watched the most important ones. Behind every success I have on stage lies days of painful training. Stealing Serene? My mentors did that all the time! Let's go, Battle Phase!"
Proxy speeded forward, passing Prig-G and then turned around to face him with Enhance Mermail before her. "I activate a Quick-Play Spell: Rebellion! During either of our Battle Phases, this card allows me to take control of one of your monsters and attack with it, however other monsters I control cannot battle that turn! I'll take bake Grand Serene the Link Ranger!"
Proxy's ace leaped into the air and landed behind Enhance Mermail, activating its brow. The Link Two looked back at Proxy and nodded before turning its attention toward Prig and his monster.
"N-no way!" Prig-G's eyes widened. His data on Proxy's dueling and her deck wasn't anywhere near complete…
"Serene, please do the honors!" Proxy spoke up to her monster. "Take down Hack Crawler with Final Serenity!"
Proxy's monster fired an arrow at the frozen machine, piercing its chest.
"Oh, also. Due to Lair of Silence, your monsters with Ice Counters on them lose three hundred attack points." Proxy clicked her fingers.
Hack Crawler, ATK: 1000 – 300 → 700
The ice that was covering Prig-G's ace cracked and then the machine exploded, knocking its owner off the D-Board that he was riding.
『Prig-G LP: 2000 - 1400 → 600』
"And now Serene's effect activates!" Proxy clicked her fingers again as Serene raised her arm and Enhance Mermail transformed into an arrow. "I release Enhance Mermail to inflict her attack as damage to you! Enhance Arrow!"
Serene fired her arrow straight through Prig-G's body and it exploded, accelerating his already falling body.
『Prig-G LP: 600 - 1700 → 0』
『Winner: Proxy』
Proxy turned around and flew back to Prig-G. Her opponent was lying on the ground made of data, looking at the void in front of him. His eyes didn't move when Proxy's D-Board flew over him, nor when she jumped off and landed next to him.
"It's over Jean. Give up." Proxy reached out with a hand to help him stand-up.
"No, I still have one final move." Prig-G retorted and rolled to the side before standing up. "They left me one final trick!"
With those words, Prig-G summoned an orb of black data in his palm and squeezed it. Electricity flew out of the orb and toward Proxy, who jumped to the side, avoiding the dangerous energy. She expected Prig-G to not give up, but he was actually going to try and kill her?!
"This is a failsafe that can be used only if my role is discovered!" Prig-G shouted. "With this I- I-! ARGH!" the little pig cried out and fell down on his knees, the data starting to corrupt his avatar. "No! Not me!"
"Shit." Proxy quickly pressed the exit button on her Duel Disk. The digital world that she was in, began to fall apart before her eyes and she found herself lying on the ground with Avice and Vermilya sitting next to her while Evan Takuma and Levant were charging at the locker door, slamming their bodies against it over and over again, until the lock finally broke and the door spread open, letting them inside.
Evan looked around the room. It was mostly empty since none of the students living in these dorms actually used the attic to keep things. There was cheap computer equipment put on top of several box and Jean…
The boy was lying on the ground with his eyes wide open and saliva running down his chin. The boys looked at each other and Takuma walked outside to hold the girls from entering while Evan moved closer to the body. He knelt down and put two fingers on the side of his neck to check his pulse.
"He's dead." Evan confirmed and stood back up.
He wanted to ask, was it all that worth it? Dying like that? As a killer surrounded by a group of strangers that he didn't know and who in turn didn't know that he existed until this entire fiasco? But Evan knew that it was pointless to ask a corpse. The death didn't tell stories, and those who lived foolishly are destined to suffer in their death…
Many hours later, everything went back to how it was. Levant used Jean's equipment to deactivate the chips and free all the locked students, Avice gave the cops an anonymous tip and everyone was saved. The names of the heroes who stopped Jean weren't going to be written in a newspaper or mentioned in the news, something that neither of them was very disappointed with, because no one was going to ask them to answer for Jean's death.
It was already nighttime in the city once more, darkness covered the sky and the lights of the buildings and billboards illuminated the streets. The little group of heroes, or more correctly, vigilantes – have come together for a meeting at Pizza Uno, a small shop that was located just three streets away from the island of their school.
"So, any explanation about what happened with that kid and why he tried to trap everyone inside the school?" Takuma asked, taking a bite from his Pizza Margherita.
"The motives are still not clear, but according to police records, he died from an electrical charge of his Duel Disk." Levant answered. "What a waste of a brilliant mind."
"I still can't understand why someone would go that far." Roxy admitted. "He had intellect, a bright future in front of him. What could cause a man to so easily give up on their life, who made him do all of this and why?"
"Even if it was someone else who told him to do that, it was Jean that choose to go along with it." Avice reminded, looking at her phone for the news. "He was as guilty, if not more."
"But it's all over now, right?" Takuma sighed and leaned back in his seat. "We won. Jean choose to take his own life, none of us would have been able to stop him from doing that. What we must focus on right now is the future!"
"Yeah, that could be a bit hard to do…" Avice rubbed her neck nervously.
"After the news that a student died from an electric charge caused by a Duel Disk, the police will start looking into our company's business again." Evan explained and looked downward at the table in front of him. "Me and Avice will be busy clearing our company's time and proving that the Duel Disks we produce aren't dangerous for use."
"You know, the fact that his death was caused by that weird weapon he pulled out in the virtual reality made me think of those other cases with the comatose players." Proxy spoke up. "Do you think that Jean was connected to that?"
"I tried to look into his account after the incident, but it was erased." Evan crossed his arms. "Not only was his account erased, I couldn't find the Hack archetype that he used in his duel against you anywhere. The deck that was placed inside his Duel Disk, and the one that's listen in his profile, isn't the same as the one that he used in his duel against you."
The group stared at each other. A duelist gets their brain fried after they lose a duel in VR, a bunch of other duelists are found brain dead inside their rooms after their avatars suddenly disappear. Several accounts that can't be deleted by the admins, one that mysteriously stops to exist after its owner's death. An archetype of cards that didn't exist in the data. A never-ending mystery where the evidences disappear a moment after they appear.
This was all just the beginning of something, something dark and evil, something that would end up with many more body bags, something that they all knew couldn't be stopped anymore. War was knocking on the door…