"The Desire Grand Prix. A game where you have to fight for your ideal world. Things are still calming down after the first round. Though I question why Kaiba had placed us in a place that I never want to visit. I'm not gonna lie, that was tough! But now things are cooling down. We're in the rest area now, taking time to recover. But one thing's for sure, Kaiba's got some explaining to do!"
Lynn Loud Jr put her phone in her pocket. She was in the Kaiba Dome rest area with Lola who was casually sipping a cup of tea. Lincoln was currently getting changed into some dry clothes so he wasn't with them. For now, they were the only ones in the rest area. It was awfully quiet as Lynn looked at Lola awkwardly, trying to work out how to explain it to her.
"So, uh, how long have you been doing this?" Lola asked, breaking the silence. "What?" Lynn asked in surprise. "I mean, this is obviously what you've been doing behind our backs. Spill it." Lola said, looking at her sister. "Um, I'm not telling you anything." Lynn said, looking away. "Spill." Lola said, staring at her expectedly. "Forget it, Lola!" Lynn groaned as she stormed off. As soon as she was in the hallway, Lynn breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm only doing this to protect you guys." She muttered. She walked off to find Lincoln. She had a bad feeling about this.
Op: Trust・Last by by Koda Kumi x Shonan no Kaze.
Meanwhile Lincoln was in the middle of a chat with the Kaiba brothers. He had changed into a new orange pinstripe suit and been grilled about what happened in the treasure hunt game and given 10000 points for getting the most items. Lincoln looked at the leaderboard and saw he was on top with Lynn not too far behind on 5500 points. I seriously think he's favouring me over Lynn. Lincoln thought. "How did you learn to do this?" Kaiba's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Huh?" Lincoln asked in confusion. Kaiba pointed to one of the screens. The screen was showing Lincoln's fight at Miss Liza's Pageant Training Center. "Oh." Lincoln realised. "I'm impressed by this. It's just that I've only seen one other Desire Grand Prix contestant of that skill before. A sly old fox." Kaiba told him. "He's my uncle." Lincoln admitted. Kaiba looked impressed by this. "Wait a sec! You're Ace Ukiyo's nephew?!" Mokuba exclaimed in disbelief. "The one and the same." Lincoln said. "He's the one who told me about the Desire Grand Prix. I always enjoyed listening to his tales of his adventures when I was little." "Ace was the best of the best."Kaiba said. "If you're anything like he was, We will all benefit from your participation in the game." "Thanks, Kaiba." Lincoln said, getting up to leave. Mokuba looked at his brother. "He's Ace's nephew! Like, the Ace Ukiyo, Kamen Rider Geats!" He exclaimed in surprise. "I know." Kaiba said, turning back to the monitors.
Out in the hallway, Lincoln headed back to the rest area where he bumped into Lynn. She was NOT happy as she had her hands on her hips. "You are unbelievable." She muttered as her brother walked by. "How much did you hear?" Lincoln asked. "Everything. You're out of your mind!" Lynn snapped. "You joined the game because you wanna be like Uncle Ace!?" "It's not like that!" Lincoln protested. "He disappeared before Lily was born. I want to find out what happened to him! He's Mum's brother Lynn!" "He was always missing. Off on some crazy adventure or expedition." Lynn snapped. "Stinkoln, Uncle Ace was a CRACKPOT!" "You don't mean that!" Lincoln yelled. "He loved us all, Lynn! Including you!" "SHUT UP!" Lynn shouted. "HE NEVER CARED FOR ME! He never showed up to my games! All he cared for was his next adventure!" "You don't mean that!" Lincoln shot back. "I told you, this is a competition. Every man for himself! And I came to win! It's the only thing that matters!" Lynn shouted at her brother. "You wanna play hero? FINE! But don't blame me if you lose the game!" "At least I'm not looking out for myself! That's all you care about!" Lincoln shouted back. Lynn stormed off in a huff because of that. Lincoln was about to go after her when Lynn stopped and turned to face him. "You always were his favourite." She hissed at him. Lincoln looked at the floor upset. He had no favourites, Lynn. he thought sadly.
Back at the rest area, Lola was still enjoying her tea when Lincoln stormed in looking very upset."Everything Ok Linky?" She asked, concerned.''Leave me alone Lola." Lincoln muttered. He looked like he didn't want to talk about what happened outside. "Heard you and Lynn arguing out there." Lola said. "I'm sick and tired of Lynn thinking she's higher than the rest of us!" Lincoln huffed. He banged his fist against the wall in anger.
"Don't let her get to you Linky." Lola said. Lincoln sighed and slumped onto the sofa. "I wonder if Uncle Ace had days like this." He muttered to himself. "Uncle Ace? The explorer who always bought me those exotic gemstones every Christmas?" Lola asked. "You remember him?" Lincoln asked in surprise. "I do remember he wasn't there much. But when he was, he always told me the most amazing tales of princesses, kings and queens." Lola said smiling. "You see? You got good memories of him." Lincoln said. "Yeah! You were the closest to him but he did love us all." Lola said. "Lynn didn't think so." Lincoln said looking down. Lola sat down next to her big brother. But before she could say something, Lynn returned to the rest area. Somehow she had calmed down. "Lynn, I know what you're gonna say-" Lincoln started to say but Lynn cut him off. "Kaiba heard everything, Little brother." She said softly. "I almost got booted from the tournament! All because I let my pride get in the way! I'm sorry, Lincoln. For everything." "I know you are." Lincoln said looking at her. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have yelled at you. It could've turned into a-" "Sister Fight Protocol?" Lincoln asked. Lynn nodded then looked down in guilt. "Fighting with other players is against the rules though. Any players caught end up getting disqualified." She muttered. "That's gonna be hard!" Lola realised. "Yeah, in a family as big as ours, fights happen all the time!" Lincoln gasped. "I know." Lynn sighed.
Lynn sat down next to her brother. '"Lynn, I KNOW you don't hate Uncle Ace! He loved you as well." Lincoln said. "That's what makes it so difficult." Lynn said softly. "Still upset about his final vanishing act?" Lincoln asked, putting his hand on his big sister's shoulder. "Kinda. He promised me we'd play football when he got back. It still hurts!" Lynn admitted. " But hey, at least it taught me to fend for myself." "Lynn, you don't have to do this alone." Lola said. "I know. Because I'm not alone. None of us are. We're here for each other, always." Lynn said smiling. Lola and Lincoln hugged their big sister who returned the hug. Just then Kaiba entered the rest area along with the other Louds. "Glad to see you kids working it out." Kaiba said smirking. "It's not like that." Lynn said quickly. "We heard Uncle Ace being mentioned Lynn." Lori said. "What's going on?" Lynn looked at Kaiba who shrugged. "I believe it's up to me to explain." He said.
Meanwhile, Mokuba was looking through the contestant files. His brother had asked him to get a certain file for him, but he had trouble finding the file. Eventually, he found what he was supposed to find. File #777. Mokuba pulled out the file and dusted it off. On it in red letters were the words, ACE UKIYO. This was the file that Kaiba needed bought to him. He didn't know why his big brother wanted the file, but it wasn't important right now. Mokuba dusted off the file and headed out of the file room.
"Hold up! Uncle Ace was a superhero?!" Lynn gasped in surprise. Kaiba nodded. "In a way of speaking, yes." He said. "Your uncle was one of the Desire Grand Prix's greatest competitors. And an amazing duelist." The Loud sisters looked confused by this. Lincoln, however, was amazed by this news of his uncle. "He was a duelist? Like a real-life duelist? Like the ones on the duel tournaments on TV? Did he have a duel disk?" "Yes, yes but calm down." Kaiba quickly said, trying to calm him down and stopping the barrage of questions. "What's a duelist?" Leni asked, a confused look on her face. Lincoln looked at his older sister in shock. "Are you crazy!?" He hissed. Kaiba cut him off. "My company makes improvements to the world of-" Just then Mokuba interrupted. "Seto! I found it." He said, placing the file near his brother. Kaiba handed the file to Lincoln.
Lincoln opened the file and gasped. Inside were papers describing his uncle's adventures! He looked at the papers in excitement. His sisters gathered around him. Just then Lynn noticed a photo of an extremely confident young man. "That's... Uncle Ace." "Yep, that's literally him alright." Lori said in surprise. "I guess so. Lily never got to meet him." Lucy said, looking at the photo. Lily happily babbled. "Always looking your best, eh Uncle?" Lynn smirked.
Lincoln looked at the photo more closely. It looked like the photo was taken at a manor and there was another man who was dressed in a sharp suit next to his uncle. The man had white hair that seemed to cover one of his eyes. Also present in the photo was a young boy with spiky hair wearing a long-sleeved dark blue jacket, a black linen shirt and a pair of leather pants. there was also something that looked like a triangle on a chain on his neck.
"Hey, that guy looks familiar." Leni said pointing to the white-haired man. "I hope so!" Lori explained. "That's Maximillion Pegasus, the chairman of Industrial Illusions. He invented Card Wars and all it's cards." "But who's the kid in the photo with him?" Luna asked pointing to the boy in the photo. "Yugi Moto, the King of Games. They say he's one of the best players to ever pick up a deck." Lincoln explained. "He doesn't look so tough." Lynn said, looking at Yugi in the picture. "Then again, how can you with that outdated haircut? But even I gotta admit he's a duelling legend. What I would give to see Yugi in action way back in his day." Lincoln rolled his eyes.
"Ace was always one of the game's biggest sponsors." Kaiba explained. "He was always trying to improve the game for the better. I should know. I was familiar with his work." "You knew our Uncle?" Lincoln asked. "I met Ace a long time ago. We became friends." Kaiba said. Lynn raised an eyebrow. Her Uncle was never one to talk about friends. "In fact, He's the reason why you kids are participating in the Desire Grand Prix." Kaiba continued. Figures. Lynn thought, looking at the files. She couldn't believe how much her uncle had done. Then again, it explained why he was sometimes missing Christmas before he disappeared when her mum was expecting Lily.
"Paris, Tokyo, London, Cairo. He was the best that ever did this game. As sly as a fox. And just as cunning." Kaiba said. "Yeah, that sounds like him. He always was a hard one to pin down." Lori said. "Lori, how COULD you! Uncle Ace is family! He's not a pincushion." Leni said. Lincoln groaned. Poor Leni. She wasn't the sharpest crayon in the box but she always cared for the family. "That's not what she meant, Leni." Lynn explained. "But what I want to know is what happened to Uncle Ace." Lincoln muttered under his breath.
"I don't know what happened to him." Kaiba explained. "But he left a clue for you kids." He handed a piece of paper to Lincoln who unfolded it. "What is it, Bro?" Luna asked. "It's- it's a letter from Uncle Ace." Lincoln said in shock. He showed the letter to his sisters.
My Dearest Lincoln,
I know I've been ignoring you and your family for a while, but there's trouble afoot.
Not sure why, but the stars have been blinkin' out, one by one. And that means disaster can't be far behind. I hate to leave you all but I've gotta go check into it. You may not believe it but I've been exploring other worlds that are different to our own.
You won't believe it but I discovered 23 other worlds parallel to our own. Each of these worlds had a "Kamen Rider", a warrior from the planet Ventara who fought for peace and justice. I made devices called "Rider Gears" based on my findings.
I think there's a connection between these worlds and the stars disappearing. So I gotta look into it. So I'm gonna be unreachable for a while. Sorry bud.
But I'm gonna need your help. You see, you hold " the Key"—the Key to our survival. So if anything happens to me, it's up to you.
I know your mother and your sisters wouldn't like you doing this. But know that only you can save the world. I need you to collect all the Rider Gears and hold back the oncoming darkness.
I know you can do this. If you don't, well I don't want to think about it. Your sisters can't know about this, as this is your mission and yours alone. We need those gears or we're doomed! Know this Linc, I'm always with you.
Keep me in your heart,
Your loving uncle,- Ace
P.S Can you apologise to your mother for me? Thanks, pal.
The last thing Lynn expected to find was a letter from her uncle addressed to her brother. It explained why Lincoln was acting so strange lately. "He wanted me to do this."Lincoln realised. "Woah. This is heavy stuff." Luna said softly. "That's why I'll win this game." Lincoln said, standing up. His eyes had a determined look in them. "But what does this mean?" Leni asked confused. Lori looked up after reading the letter again. "It means we'll just have to trust Uncle Ace." She said.
"You get it, now?" Lincoln said. He was near the exit and had re-equipped his Desire Driver to his waist. "This isn't some game. I'm fighting to protect our world. And I'm willing to do whatever it takes to find our uncle and bring him home." Lynn read the letter again. Uncle Ace had trusted her little brother with a task that he needed to do alone. But she couldn't bare it. She couldn't let her only brother get himself hurt. She tried to follow him but Lola stopped her. "Linky, I didn't know that's how you felt." She said her voice filled with sadness.
"With great power, comes great responsibility. Good words from a good man." Kaiba said putting his hand on Lincoln's shoulder. "Uncle Ace was the best." Lincoln said. He sounded upset when he said this. " It's been what? A year, now?"Kaiba asked. Lincoln looked down at the floor. "Today would've been his birthday." He said softly. Lynn looked at her little brother. He must've read the letter before she saw this. She had no idea that he was torn by Uncle Ace's disappearance.
"Stinkoln, I... I had no idea this was how you felt all this time." Lynn admitted. "I knew you and Uncle Ace were close. But now that I know he trusted you with this task, I can't look away from this." "Lynn, you need to understand. None of you is supposed to be here. Uncle Ace said this was a task for me!" Lincoln snapped. "If you die in the game, You'll never come back!" Lynn pleaded. "I'm aware." Lincoln said. "But Uncle Ace trusted me with this task and I will see it to the end." "But Linc..." Lori started to say.
"Don't try and stop me!" Lincoln shouted. "We're not trying to stop you!" Lori said. "We want to help you." "What?" Lincoln said in disbelief. "We all want to get Uncle Ace home. You're not the only one who misses him." Lynn said. "No, you'll get in my way again." Lincoln shot back. "And don't tell me you don't do that! You always do!" Lynn looked at her brother in disbelief. "But Linc, we can help you collect the gears!" She said, looking at her brother. Lincoln shook his head. " I'm sorry, guys. But Lincoln Loud flies solo." He said as he exited. Lynn was in shock as her little brother disappeared from the room. "What have I done?" She asked herself in guilt, not knowing that this would be the last time she would be able to talk to her brother.
Those who drop out of the game will be disqualified as Kamen Riders.