Leo Akaba was sitting on his throne, deep in the bowels of his fortress on Academy Island. Here, he was waiting for his fellow scientists to give him the rundown on what the strange power signal was.
It had been many years since he had left his home in the Standard Dimension, while gone he had thought often of his wife and young son. At times he missed them, hoping they were doing fine in his absence. But…he couldn't return. Not yet. Not until he saved her…
"Professor?" An old gravely voice asked as Leo Akaba looked up and saw that his second in command, the Doktor, had arrived.
"So, have our brilliant minds figured out what the source of the strange energy pulse is yet?" Leo Akaba got right to the point.
"Well, you see, it's a very curious thing. As you know, there are many foreign worlds that are separate from the four dimensions we and all those poor pathetic vermin live in. Most of them are too far away for us to have considered being of note. However…," The Doktor began.
"However?" Leo Akaba said in a way that made the Doktor nervous.
"Well, you see, one of these worlds has, for some reason, started to become linked to our four Dimensions recently. Not only that, but said dimension has a similar life reading to the specimens we have been looking for. In other words…," The Doktor confessed.
"Ray has another missing piece we need to be concerned with. But…how? There should only be four different pieces that we need to look for to unite our worlds! Not five!" Leo Akaba firmly said. "But…it's nothing we can't prepare for. Doktor? Call Yuri and Dennis over here. Let them know that we have more work for them."
"Y-Yes sir," The Doktor said with a bow as he turned to leave. However, before leaving, he added, "Oh, and by the way, the dimensions also have strange forms of energy coming from them. They aren't like Fusion, Synchro, or Xyz. What they are is…"
"Unknown? Well, looks like we have further information to collect. Let's see what new power these new dimensions hold," Leo Akaba said as the Doktor left, leaving the Professor to wonder over what in the world these new powers were.
Link Vrains. Seen by many as the next evolution of Dueling. Here, many Duelists could access an online server that allowed for them to meet and Duel anyone from around the world. Though Duelists primarily were only able to Duel this way in Den City, the server became very popular with those of all ages and has even become a source of income for those lucky few Celebrity Duelists like the Gore and Blue Angel.
It started off as an average evening in Link Vrains. There were many different Duelists facing each other in Master Duels along with the occasional, yet not currently legal, Speed Duel. They were laughing, cheering and having a good time. All was going well. Until…
A man, wearing a white uniform that had a hood and a gray mask covering all but the very bottom of his face, had arrived in the middle of a Speed Dueling Data Storm riding on a massive mechanical spider like creature. The creature was the stuff of nightmares for the arachnophobic. It had many glowing green eyes, eight as expected. It had eight legs and a body constructed with silverish metal with green power lines running all across it. The mechanical spider, known as Hack Spider, was blasting at the nearby buildings, causing destruction to the virtual world.
"Okay, Playmaker! I'm gonna give you one chance! Either you come here and give up your Ignis, or I cause many of these young Duelists to…well, you may already know by now!" The Knight darkly said.
"Great! They sent out a welcome committee to find me," Ai snarked. "What do we do now?"
At this point, a teenaged girl wearing dark clothes and with brown hair dyed green, started to place her deck inside of her Duel Disk inside of her large and luxurious bedroom.
"So…I take it that you are going to accept this guy's challenge then?" Ai asked with annoyance.
"Of course. For three reasons. One, I need to learn more about why I was put through the Lost Incident. Second, I cannot allow the Knights of Hanoi to hurt innocent people in order to draw me out. And third, I must get revenge for all the horrors they put me and everyone else through over a decade ago!" the girl answered.
"Yeah…and endanger me in the process? No thanks!" Ai yelled.
The girl ignored Ai as she sat down on her bed and, after making sure that her family wasn't around, yelled out, "It's time to Link into the Vrains!"
"Well, well, well. I hoped it wouldn't have to come to this, but it looks like I have no other choice! I wonder how many people will be able to run away in time to avoid my spider's attack!" The Knight cruely joked.
"You won't get the chance to find out!" the girl, or rather Playmaker, challenged as he appeared on the scene on top of a nearby building. The crowd near the screen in the real world cheered upon seeing the hero of Link Vrains appear. "I'll give you one chance. Give up now and let me know what I want to know. Otherwise, I can't guarantee that the Duel we have won't hurt!"
"Really? That's the best you could come up with?" Ai teased.
"You have a better retort, you data bag?" Playmaker asked back.
"I don't, but I have an idea. Give up your Ignis like I said! Otherwise, there's no telling what we'll be willing to do to get rid of it!" The Knight warned.
"What do you plan if we don't stand down?" Playmaker bravely asked.
"I dunno. But I heard it won't be good for many people," The Knight said with a wicked smirk.
"Well, the answer is no…!" Playmaker began.
"Oh! Let me guess! It's because you don't wanna see me hurt?" Ai gleefully asked.
"Because I have too much at stake for me and for others to not win, Ai!" Playmaker finished.
"...You could, I dunno, act like you care…," Ai sighed.
"Well then. Looks like it's time for us to have a little Duel then!" The Knight said as he leapt off of Hack Spider and onto a Duel Board.
"So it does…," Playmaker said as she jumped onto her board effortlessly, following after the Knight.
"It's time to Speed Duel!" Both Duelists cried out as their Life Points hit 4000.
Playmaker 4000 LP
Knight of Hanoi 4000 LP
"I'll make the first move!" The Knight of Hanoi drew his hand, a sadistic and greedy expression forming on his face upon seeing what he had drawn. "I couldn't have drawn a better hand!"
"Please tell me he's bluffing, Playmaker." Ai pleaded with Playmaker.
"Judging by his face, I'd say he did draw a great hand. But we'll still win anyway," Playmaker responded overconfidently.
"Yeah…I mean, it's not like this square could have drawn a hand better than ours! It'll be a piece of cake! Especially with me here to help you!" Ai overconfidently boasted.
"You help me how?" Playmaker questioned the egotistical ai.
"Enough of your romance with the Ignis! Remember, we're here to Duel! First, I play the spell Pot of Greed in order to draw two cards! Now…since I control no monsters, the same boat you are in, I can now special summon two Hack Worms from my hand! (x2 Hack Worm 400 Attack LVL 1) Next up, I summon out another mighty beast! Say hello to my Jack Wyvern! (Jack Wyvern 1800 Attack LVL 4)"
"Seriously? Just those three wimps many of you Hanoi geeks already use? I really was worried over nothing! We can Link Summon a much stronger monster and beat them with ease!" Ai boasted.
"Summon a better monster than mine? Please! I'm far from done! It's time I show off what the Hanoi can do, especially with my new trump card! I create my circuit! The summoning requirements are at least two monsters! I Link Summon! Arise! Hack Spider!" The Knight cried out as the three smaller monsters became arrows that hit a board of pointers, hitting the points on the bottom. For a moment, not much happened. However, soon a massive silver mechanical spider leg with green energy coming out of it came up out of a portal. Soon, another leg appeared out of the portal, followed by more legs. Eventually when eight legs popped out of portal, they pulled out a ovalish mechanical body that had piercing green eyes and a massive mouth filled with grinding gears for teeth. (Hack Spider 0 Attack Link-3 ↙⬇↘)
"Aw, glitch! He did summon a powerful monster after a- wait? That runt? He may be big, but he has zero attack points! Ha! I was worried for nothing! Playmaker, we can beat this Hanoi with ease!" Ai boasted.
"It having zero Attack Points is what is worrying me, Ai. I doubt that he would have summoned such a weak appearing card without a reason for doing so," Playmaker warned. "Not that I won't win, of course.
"Ignis, your romance partner is right! See, Hack Spider gains 800 Attack Points for every monster used for his Link Summon!" (Hack Spider 0-2400 Attack) The Knight revealed.
"Uh…see, Playmaker? I knew that there must have been more to that Knight's plan! What would you do without me?" Ai bluffed, not looking straight at Playmaker.
"I'd be much less annoyed?" Playmaker asked with annoyance. "Still…2400 Attack Points isn't that big of a hurdle to overcome."
"You may think that now, but just you wait! I play the spell card Monster Reborn! It will allow me to bring on back my Jack Wyvern in attack mode, next to the bottom left Link arrow of Hack Spider! (Jack Wyvern 1800 Attack LVL 4) Then, I play my Hack Spider's special ability! When I summon a monster next to his Link arrow, I can inflict 1000 damage for each monster! Go! Techno Venom!" The Knight cried out as a green energy poison shot was sent out and hit Playmaker (Playmaker-3000 LP). "Then…since I control a Hack monster, I can now Special
Summon Hack Fly from my hand next to the bottom right Link! Say hello! (Hack Fly 600 Defense LVL 1/A silver fly with green energy wings and power lines running across it.) Now, I'll use my Spider's effect once more in order to bring more pain for you! Now take 2000 Life Points of damage, you dumb kid! (Playmaker-1000 LP) And with that, I end my turn! So, you think you stand a chance against me still, kid? I honestly struggle to understand how you've been able to defeat so many opponents before me if it took zero effort in order to reduce you to only 1000 LP! You're a wimp! An idiot! And I'll make Varis very happy when we finally wipe you and your Ignis off the face of the Earth!" The Knight mocked.
"I'll be honest with you, Playmaker. We may not stand too much of a chance right now with your current hand and Extra Deck. Chances are, you'll most likely lose! But there is still a chance for you to turn this Duel in our favor and get out unscathed," Ai said.
"You may not be entirely accurate, Ai, but I agree with one thing. I can turn this Duel around in one way!" Playmaker said as a purple and blue Storm appeared nearby.
"Looks like we have a Data Storm! You're welcome!" Ai guessed cheerfully.
"Correct! Now…go Storm Access!" Playmaker cried out as she entered the storm and reached for a card. "When I have 1000 LP or less, I can use this skill to draw a Link monster and add it straight to my Extra Deck!" Playmaker began to struggle, but she soon was able to grab a card and get out of the storm unscathed.
"Wait…Storm Access? How did? Oh right…In Speed Duels, you can use a Skill! I really shoulda remembered that before coming here!" The Knight facepalmed.
"Now…I'll discard my Dotscaper in order to Special Summon my Bitrooper(Bitrooper 1500 Attack LVL 4). Next, I Normal Summon my Cyberse Gadget (Cyberse Gadget 1400 Attack LVL 4). Then, since I summoned Cyberse Gadget, I can now summon a Level 2 or lower monster from the graveyard! Come on out, Dotscaper (Dotscaper 2100 Defense LVL 1)! Now, I'll generate my circuit! Link Arrows authorized! The summoning requirements is a grand total of three monsters! Link the circuit! I Link Summon! Arise! Powercode Talker! (Powercode Talker 2300 Attack Link-3 ↙⬅➡)"
"That guy looks tough! Well…it doesn't matter! My monster is still stronger! I'm going to win!" The Knight cried out!
"I wouldn't be so sure! First, due to the effect of my Cyberse Gadget, I can now summon a Gadget Token next to Powercode Talker's bottom left Link (Gadget Token 0 Attack LVL 2). Once per turn, my Powercode Talker can negate a monster's effect! So, say goodbye to Hack Spider's Attack Points! (Hack Spider 0 Attack Link-3 ↙⬇↘)." Playmaker cried out as the Knight lost all his monster's power.
"N-No! This can't be! Grrr! Well, at least I can survive this turn and be able to continue the Duel!" The Knight calmed down from his fear and anger.
"Actually…it is over! I play my Powercode Talker's other effect! Now, by tributing a monster next to Powercode Talker's Link, I can double his power for the rest of the turn! (Powercode Talker 2300-4600 Attack Link-3 ↙⬅➡) Now, Powercode Talker, let's end this Duel! Attack! (Knight of Hanoi-0 LP)!" Playmaker cried out as the Knight was knocked off his board and onto the ground.
"And in a shocking come from behind victory, Playmaker has won!" The announcer cheered along with many other passerbys.
"Now…let's go and question him, Ai!" Playmaker ordered.
"That's just what I was thinking!" Ai lied. "But…I think you may be too late on that." Ai pointed over to the Knight, who had faded out of existence in a cloud of smoke.
"Well…looks like we're back to square one, Ai," Playmaker shook her head.
As the girl had gotten out of Link Vrains, she groaned in frustration at her poor luck. So far, she had failed to find out more about the Lost Incident than she had already known. She had Dueled and defeated some of the best that Link Vrains was supposed to offer, including the leader of the Knights of Hanoi, Varis. However, all those Duels had failed to give her any help in learning the truth. If anything, she was further from learning the truth. All she knew was that the man responsible for her suffering was part of the Knights of Hanoi and that his name was Doctor Kogami, a man she knew was now deceased. Other than that, she knew nothing.
"Well…it's official. We know nothing new. On the bright side, we can see this as a sign to give up and move on, right Amity?" Ai questioned.
"Grrr!" The girl in question threw a pillow at her Duel Disk, which barely misses hitting the ai. "Can you please stop with getting me to give up?! I can't just move on from a bunch of trauma like it's nothing! My parents expect me to, but until I make the Hanoi pay, I'm going after them!"
"Sure…but you do remember that you have some connections and possible allies in this 'crusade' for revenge, right? You can ask that Luz girl and her older brother for help, you know? Or even the Gore! Heck, you may even be able to ask that fleshbag you call a mother for help, seeing as how she has suit and tie's old job now!" Ai suggested.
"I could…but…," Amity was conflicted for a moment before she heard a voice.
"Amity Blight?" A voice sternly questioned, causing Amity to lose all her annoyance and confidence at once.
"Y-Yes, mom?" Amity nervously questioned.
"I'd like to discuss an important matter with you, now!" Amity's mother demanded.
"O-Of course! Just give me a minute!" Amity meekly said with a bow, even though her mother couldn't see her.
"Fine, but make it quick! I don't want to be kept waiting!" Amity's mother warned.
Amity sighed in relief before her annoyance returned, "Oh, great! Now there's this to deal with! Can you go back to being quiet and not annoy me?! My mother wants me for something now and the last thing I need is for her to know I'm Dueling with a strange data ai thing without her permission!" Amity groaned.
"And you miss my expert life advice?" Ai cheekily asked, though he stopped upon seeing her scowl again as she left the room. "Yeesh! That girl has way to much anger and stress for her age!" Ai joked to himself.
As Amity left her room, she saw that her mother was looking at her suspiciously. "So, who in the world were you talking with just now? It better not be with one of those common teens like that Willow you used to be friends with. The last thing we need is for our families' reputation in Sol Tech to go down to nothing!"
"I-It was…Boscha and Skara. I was going over tonight's homework with them and…giving them help!" Amity answered awkwardly, hating to lie to her mother.
"Hmph! Well, I guess I'll forgive you for that…this time…," Miss Blight grumbled the last part.
"So…what did you need?" Amity questioned.
"Simply put, I need you to test your father's sophisticated ai's that we'll be having monitor Link Vrains 24/7. Your Chaos Deck we bought you should be the perfect test for whether or not they're better equipped to deal with the Hanoi or even…ugh! Playmaker and that ai of hers!" Miss Blight said.
"Alright…So when are we going to do the test?" Amity asked nervously.
"The test for Sol Tech and our investors will occur tomorrow at 7:00 P.M. Make sure your Deck is ready for the Duel. And don't be late, dear!" Mrs. Blight warned. "The last thing we need is to look bad in front of Sol Tech…"
"G-Got it! See you then!" Amity bowed as her mother left. She then proceeded to say to herself, "Soon…I'll be done with this Knight of Hanoi business and be able to move on to being a pro Duelist like I wanna be…Then, I'll truly be happy."
Meanwhile, around the same time…
A tannish skinned and dark haired teenage girl was pacing back and forth in her bedroom, somewhat uneasy as she went over her thoughts.
Recently, the girl had been dealing with a lot of different things. For starters, she had been put into a coma by the Knights of Hanoi. This coma lasted for only a few days, but it still had a huge effect on her life. Not only was she heavily restricted in what she could do now, to the point where she could rarely leave her house, but she wasn't even allowed to go into Link Vrains. One of her escapes from her issues in life was taken away from her. The one time she was able to go there, she also learned that the elusive Playmaker was also someone who suffered greatly and was looking for a way to find closure. She could understand her greatly, not having had the best life either. She just wished there was something she could do to help her out. But that wasn't even the worst of it.
You see, the girl, known as Luz Noceda, had very little family left in her life and lacked deep friendships. Her loving mother and father had been taken away from her when she was only six years old. Ever since then, she was raised by her older step-brother Akira Zaizen. He did everything he could in order to provide for them both and she even remembered recently hearing that he would have been broken if she ever disappeared. The problem was, he wasn't really around all that much due to his job at Sol Tech, which she understood. He was just doing his best to give them a good life. But she still wished there was some opportunity to spend time together, seeing as how they really only had each other at this point. Being alone was a lot to bear, with no one left to spend time with. It hurt seeing her brother get overly protective and limit her so much that she couldn't do anything at all.
"¡Ah! ¡Esto es tan aburrido!" Luz yelled, having learned Spanish during her early years with her mother. "There must be something that Akira will allow me to do here. I could just reread the latest Azura book…or…Akira said I couldn't go into Link Vrains, but he never said I couldn't watch it!" Luz realized as she opened up her phone and went to a news feed.
"And once again, Playmaker has proven herself to be the hero of Link Vrains. Not only has she fought another Knight of Hanoi and won, but she also saved many people from deletion! Is there anything she can't do?" The announcer asked.
"I guess she can't move on from trauma," Luz sadly noted. She was just about to shut off her phone when suddenly…she felt something. She didn't know what it was, to be fully honest. For the longest time, she was able to sense things from within Link Vrains, but they usually were small and ignorable. And when she did try to see what the feeling was she didn't find much. But what she did know was that something was telling her to go to Link Vrains now. "But…should I go? After all…I'd be disobeying Akira again…breaking his trust…but this could be something important! I'm sorry, Akira!" Luz cried out as she looked for the house robot before placing her Deck into her Duel Disk. "It's time to Link into the Vrains!" Luz pushed a button on her Duel Disk. In an instant, the girl's mind was suddenly beginning to be warped into the cyberspace known to many as Link Vrains. "I just hope this isn't over nothing…"
Luz was flying around on her Blue Angel wings, looking for whatever the source of her weird feeling was. In order to avoid detection, she tried to keep to the shadows as much as possible. This seemed to work, as she didn't end up seeing or hearing other citizens or fans notice her or ask for a Duel. "Hasta ahora tan buena," Luz sighed in relief, still not liking what she was doing, but wanting to find closure in what was going on. Besides, maybe she could wind up helping someone in danger. That would be nice.
It was at this point that Luz was in an alley in the middle of Link Vrains. She suddenly felt yet another strange feeling. This time, it was incredibly strong. Luz took this to mean that she was getting close to the source of the sixth sense. She decided to take a quick look around outside the alley to make sure no one else was nearby. She popped her head out of the alley to look…only to hear a strange female voice from behind her.
"A-Are you okay?" The voice asked, scaring Luz as she jumped out of the alley. Thankfully for Luz, it didn't look like anyone had seen her, so she slipped back in and looked around for the voice. At first, she didn't see anything, though she soon heard the voice say, "Um…I'm down here, miss." Luz looked down and saw a blueish creature that was incredibly small and looked a lot like Ai. She was multiple shades of blue, light cyan for her body and code lines of a darker blue. She also had small pigtail-like things near the side of her head and had pink eyes. Strangely, even though she spoke to her, like Ai, the creature had no mouth.
"Oh…sorry. Eso estuvo cerca," Luz sighed in relief.
"Qué estuvo cerca?" The blue being asked, shocking Luz.
"Y-You know Spanish too?!" Luz was in awe.
"Of course. As an Ignis, I've taken to learning all about the languages of humans in case they ever are needed for me or the others," The blue ai explained.
"That sounds cool! I mean, even Akira isn't fully fluent in Spanish! But wait…Ignis? And others? If you don't mind, can you please explain to me who you are and what you mean?" Luz asked.
"Well…," The AI began, only to be interrupted.
"Well, well, well. Look who we have here! Looks like the world famous Blue Angel has made it to my neck of the woods!" A cruel voice said as both Luz and the AI turned from their conversation and saw an overweight but intimidating man in leather clothes standing over them.
"Um…hello? Look, I'm sorry for trespassing, but I didn't know this was a sector that belonged to someone else. I'd rather avoid a fight, so the two of us will just leave and get out of your…hair?" Luz asked nervously as she noticed the man looked unmoved. If anything, he was ecstatic to see an intruder.
"Oh, you're not gettin' out of here so easily, girly! I don't take kindly to intruders, no matter the reason. But…I'd be willing to let you go if you'd give up all the cards in yer deck to me. I mean, with a champ Deck like yours in my hands, I'd be world famous in no time!" The man sneered.
"No way, man! I mean, this Deck is one I've put my heart and soul into over the span of many years! I'm not going to give it up to you just like that!" Luz rejected. "Now, if you'll excuse us…" Luz nervously grabbed the AI and began to fly away…only to be grabbed by the ankle before she could get away.
"No one says no ta me, girly! Ya know what happens to the few who even try ta attempt to do that?!" The man growled.
"I…dunno?" The blue AI asked.
"They…wait. What in da world is you?" The man was confused.
"I'm an Ignis. I happen to be an advanced AI, one of six, …and that's about all I remember…," The AI struggled before sadly admitting the latter part.
"Wait. You don't know who you are?" Luz asked sadly.
"No…I don't even remember my name…," The AI noted sadly.
"Aw, how sad!" The man sarcastically said.
"Y-You're mocking us, sir," The AI bluntly said. "Please don't do that."
"Well, ya make it too easy! But…I think youse just gave me an idea. I'll let the girl go without a beatin' and card stealin' if she gives the blue Ignis thingy up to me! Something this rare outta be worth something somewhere!" The man propositioned.
"B-But…You can't just take-," Luz buffered.
"Blue Angel, he's lying about letting you go," The AI suddenly said.
"W-Wait. He is?" Luz asked.
"O-Of course not! The thing is lying to make me look worse than I am!" The man yelled.
"He lied again just now," The AI responded.
"How did you guess that?" Luz asked.
"It wasn't a guess, Luz. I just remembered that I have a unique power, unique to me. I can tell when someone is lying or hiding something. I bet the man here would still hurt you even if you did give me up!" The AI warned.
"Wait…you know my real name? How?" Luz was confused. "Oh…you know because of your power, right?"
"Yes," The AI confirmed.
"Well, I'm sick and tired of playing games with ya both, Blue Lucy and Blue thing! I don't care about youse bringing me down! Give me yer stuff now, or else-," The man was suddenly interrupted by Luz.
"Then allow me to make a proposition. We'll have a Duel. I win, you let us go! I lose and you get my cards! But…don't expect to beat me so easily!" Luz proposed, trying to hide her fear in this situation.
"Deal! But, don't expect ta win! I'm the best there is in da world! I bet I'll even beat dat Playmaker chick someday!" The man said.
"You do know that win or lose that he'll not accept your deal for real, right?" The AI asked.
"True…but listen, I have a plan. Just give me a minute," Luz whispered.
"Alright den…Let's Duel!"
Blue Angel 4000 LP
Dusk 4000 LP
"I'll make the first move! I play my spell card Pot of Greed in order to draw two cards! Next, I summon Trickstar Candina in Attack mode (Trickstar Candina 1800 Attack LVL 4). I'll use her effect in order to add a Trickstar to my hand. So…say hello to Trickstar Lilybell! And…since she was added to my hand outside a draw, I can now Special Summon her Trickstar Lilybell 800 Attack LVL 2)!"
"You have what you need in order to perform a Link Summon," The blue AI noted.
"Yeah…but I have something else in mind. I now return both Lilybell and Candina to my hand in order to Special Summon two Trickstar Lycoris(x2 Trickstar Lycoris 1600 Attack LVL 3)! Finally, I place two cards facedown and end my turn!" Luz ended her move.
"Really? Dat's yer big move? Summonin' two turkey broads I could easily steamroll? Yer Igna thing was right! Ya sholda Link Summoned!" Dusk mocked. "Now…it's my turn! I draw!" The man sneered.
"But…since you did, you take 200 damage for drawing a card and since you drew two, you get to take 400 damage (Dusk-3600 LP)!"
"So what? Dat was nothin'! With my current hand, I'll win!" The man yelled.
"Well then…I'll just need to win before you can use those cards! I play my trap Trickstar Reincarnation! With it, you now must banish your hand and draw until you have the same amount you banished!" Luz announced as the man groaned before doing just that. "But…since you drew, you now must take 1200 damage twice! (Dusk-1200 LP) Oh, but that's not all! I play my other facedown! A second copy of said trap card! So, banish and discard six cards and take a total of 2400 damage again!" Luz cried out as she depleted her opponent's LP to zero, her opponent being knocked over. Quickly, before he could get back up, Luz grabbed the AI and flew away, logging them both out shortly after.
After returning home, Luz panted from exhaustion. "Phew! Well…that could have gone a lot worse! At least we're safe!"
"Correct, Luz. Hopefully we don't have to deal with that man again," The AI noted, popping out of Luz's Duel Disk.
"Yeah…though seeing as how things go, that may happen at one point. So…you can't remember certain things?" Luz asked the big question. "We were kinda interrupted back there."
"Well…you see, I remember some things about myself. For instance, like I said earlier, I remember that I happen to be what is called an Ignis. They were created to help humanity with their future problems and someday even succeed them," The AI answered.
"Sounds interesting. So, if you live in the Cyberse, how'd you end up here and how are you related to Playmaker's Ignis, Ai?" Luz questioned. "Remember anything about that?"
"I-I don't…I'm sorry," The blue AI apologized.
"Oh…," Luz sighed.
"Hey, it's okay. It's not your fault I lost my memories, Luz," The blue AI reassured.
"I know. I just wish there was more I could do. I mean, I always want to see the best in others for the most part. Sure, there are people that are horrible like that one guy, but most people are at least somewhat good. I wanna give some of that goodness back to the world. I just…wish I knew how," Luz confessed.
"Well…perhaps given time you can find an answer," The blue AI suggested.
"Maybe," Luz said with a yawn. "Look, I'm feeling kinda tired right now. Maybe we can talk more tomorrow when I've gotten some rest, Aqua."
The blue Ignis asked, "Aqua?"
"Well…we gotta have some name for you, right? It would be rude not to give you one. Whadda ya say?" Luz asked.
"Aqua…it's nice," Aqua agreed to her new name.
"Well, goodnight!" Luz began to fall asleep on the couch, the new friend giving a figurative smile at having made an ally in this world.
"And that is why it's best to have a counter for when your opponent tries to destroy your cards, either by battle or by effect," Dipper concluded his report.
"Very good job Mr. Pines. You know, for a moment I was worried that you would be stumped to come up with a good Duel topic for this report, but like always, you've proven that there was nothing to worry about. Full marks, as usual," Dr. Crowler complemented one of his top students.
"Thank yo-," Dipper awkwardly said as he coughed. His cheeks flushed in embarrassment before he tried to salvage it in a deeper voice, "Thank you."
"Yes, yes. Now, sit down," Crowler said as some of the students looked at Dipper with various emotions; from awe to jealousy to disbelief that one of the weaker students was among the best. "Next up is…ugh! Mabel Pines," Crowler groaned.
"Hello! Great to see you again Dr. C! And might I add that you look absolutely handsome today, if a bit girly…Maybe you should wear less girly clothes," Mabel greeted as she hopped out of her seat and she held out her right hand, glitter and confetti covering it.
"Yes…now how about you stop insulting me and get on with your report?" Crowler said with disdain.
"Sure thing!" Mabel walked on over to the front of the class. The class looked at her, ready to see how she would mess up today. "Good morning, friends! So, what's with the many vegetables that we are always given for lunch? Gross! Maybe they can give us something else to eat like cookies or something? Well…never fear! Mabel is here with glitter cookies and-"
"We get it! Now get on with the point!" One girl yelled.
"We're here to learn, not listen to you ramble!" A boy agreed.
Many of the students laughed, with the girl having heard enough of it and heard Dipper warn her of it that they weren't laughing with her, but at her. Mabel tried to suppress an embarrassed blush as she continued, "Well…I guess I can skip the intros and get on with my report. See, while our current model Duel Disks are much smaller than the old dinosaurs they were before, I mean yikes, they are still able to fall victim to breaking down. Kinda stupid that they haven't fixed that yet, huh?"
"I guess…I must admit that this isn't the worst start I've seen from you. I guess your brother was able to help you after all," Dr. Crowler noted with a smile forming.
"Yeah…he did…," Mabel said with some bitterness, not liking how she was being compared already. "But…there are many ways in which a Duel Disk breakdown can occur. Like being covered in water or stuffing in too much glitter when trying to give a little more adorable flair to your moves in a Duel!"
"And…there it goes," Crowler rolled his eyes, realizing that Mabel's half-decent start was short lived.
"If you don't quite believe me, I'll prove it to you by doing so right now!" Mabel said as she got out two large handfuls of glitter and tried to put some inside of her Duel Disk. Predictably, the Duel Disk gave a malfunction beep due to the foreign substance entering the Duel Disk. "See? There must be a good balance to having too much or too little glitter, right? Well, don't worry because I have an answer! I've learned from multiple failed tries that the best way to get out the glitter if there is too much is with a mini vacuum! Now then, Mr. Sucky will be helping me in having a good glitter to non-glitter count so that there can be shine and junk to my moves in a Duel and the Disk can still work!" Mabel said as she got out a handheld vacuum and turned it on. The students and Crowler looked dumbfounded that Mabel was going to risk damaging her Duel Disk with what they saw as a boneheaded move.
Dipper, meanwhile, while he was trying to be sympathetic up to this point was starting to look worried and called out, "Mabel?! Maybe it's not such a good idea to…"
However, he was too late. Mabel had gotten her mini vacuum up to the disk's openings, with both devices getting stuck in each other when Mabel tried to force the vacuum to suck up the glitter. Suddenly, the two devices burned up and smoke began to form from the two devices.
Crowler, seeing this, yelled, "Timeout, Miss Pines! Stop this embarrassing display of a report before you ruin this classroom or hurt someone unnecessarily! Do you underst-." At this point, both machines created an explosion that enveloped the entire classroom. When the smoke finally cleared, the class were left annoyed and dumbfounded by yet another one of Mabel's errors. Crowler and Mabel, who had been in the direct vicinity of the explosion, were covered in soot and had small amounts of minor burn marks on parts of their clothing. Dr. Crowler, having had enough of Mabel, yelled, "Okay…I was willing to put up with that failure of a report before…"
"Aw! But…I thought it was going so well!" Mabel sadly countered.
"-But this was too much! You ruined my newest outfit and this classroom! You're lucky that you didn't injure the other students with this display!" Crowler barked out.
"B-But…," Mabel tried to counter.
"Enough! I'm sure you're used to this by now, but to the Professor! Now!" Crowler cried out as the rest of the class gave many looks, few of which were sympathetic.
Mabel was pacing back and forth outside of the main room of where the Professor was located. Currently, he was giving another student a debriefing of a mission to come in the next few days. As Mabel was pacing, guiltily and fearfully waiting to hear what the punishment was going to be this time, she tried to do the only thing she thought she could do right now, as much as she didn't care for it normally. Think.
Mabel never was the best student in class back at home. In fact, often times she would be lucky to scrape by with a C average. However, ever since she and her brother had gotten past grade school and had been entered into Duel Academy, she kept on doing worse and worse in her new Dueling school. She thought school would have been easier with everything being based on a fun card game she enjoyed to play, but boy was she wrong. Everything was taken super seriously and no one was willing to relax and have fun most of the time.
The worst part is…for the most part, she had no one who liked her or was willing to talk to her. At least in grade school, she was able to get by with her sunny optimism and her weird yet endearing behavior. In fact, she was able to become well liked by the other students and even with the adults due to her kind and silly actions. Here though? She couldn't get even one student to so much as crack a smile at her antics. At the very least, she still did have her twin brother Dipper. He may have had moments of annoyance with her, but he did try to understand her and was trying to be supportive. He was practically the only one here to do that.
It was at this point that the door opened and a wrinkly old man had popped out (not in a fun way but in a creepy way). "Well, if it isn't Miss Pines…again. Please come on in. The Professor will see you now."
Mabel entered the big throne room of the Duel school's headmaster; Leo Akaba. He was a strange man, with a stranger background to pretty much the entire student body. In fact, from what little was known about him, he didn't even come from the Fusion Dimension but from what the student body knew as the Standard Dimension. Not much else is known about him, though. Which some students were curious about but didn't question.
After a few moments of waiting for Leo Akaba to speak, Mabel finally said, trying to lighten the mood, "So…you might be thinking I wrestled with a Charcoal Inpachi judging by all the soot. But, it's only from my Duel Disk going all kablooey!"
Noticing that Leo Akaba wasn't at all amused by her joke, Mabel tried to mimic the serious pose she had always hated doing.
"Miss Mabel Pines?" Leo Akaba asked sternly.
"Y-Yes?" Mabel asked, her bubbliness further going away.
"You do know what our glorious Duel Academy is meant for, right?" Leo asked.
"Well…it should be a place for fun and to turn the frowns of everyone upside down! I mean, Jaden Yuki had the right idea before he suddenly vanished, right?" Mabel half-joked.
"We're not here for such a trivial matter, Miss Pines. While fun may be an ideal to focus on one day, it isn't one we should focus on right now. What we're here for, is to save the four dimensions by merging them back together into one supreme world. Once we get that done, maybe then your circus act will have some value. But for now, you need to take your classes and Dueling…," Leo Akaba said only for Mabel to finish for him.
"Far more seriously! I know! I know! Everyone has told me that! Dr. Crowler, Bonaparte, pretty much all my classmates…I get it already! But I don't wanna be more serious right now! I mean, how is attacking and turning others into cards going to help make the worlds better? We can find some other way like solar energy or unicorn magic in order to power your machine to merge dimensions, ya know!" Mabel complained.
For a moment, Mabel thought that Leo Akaba looked angry and like he was going to yell something. However, he took a deep breath and said, "Look, Miss Pines, don't concern yourself with the specifics of your training and what you're doing with it. For right now, just get better before you do anything to bring down the rest of your class. Be more like your brother and be an example for what an Academia Duelist should be."
"So…you're implying I suck as a student?!" Mabel grumbled, not liking the comparison.
"What I'm saying is that you are not very good as a student academically and in terms of treating Duels with the seriousness they need," Leo Akaba corrected.
"But…I don't get it! I mean, why even bother to keep me in this school anyway, Professor?! If I really am bottom of the barrel here, wouldn't you be happy to see me gone?" Mabel started to get mad.
"I have a good reason. I simply find your potential Dueling talents to be very high. As you are, you know how to use all three of the Extra Deck summoning methods. Many students may not see this as impressive, especially those that see Xyz Summoning as…less than ideal…but I'm sure that with enough practice you can become a student of ours that we, and you, can be proud of," Leo Akaba said with a genuine smile.
"Y-you really think that?" Mabel asked with a tear in her eye, touched by the sentiment.
"Yes…but in order to do that, you must be able to separate Dueling from your childish games and focus on improving your talents. After all, one of these days you'll be joining your brother and many of your classmates on the front lines in the Xyz Dimension. Well…you've had enough of a break from your classes for more than long enough. Right now, it's best to head on back. Good day, Miss Pines. Dismissed," Leo Akaba turned his throne away from Mabel, who still looked like she wanted to say more.
Before Mabel could, however, the old man from earlier approached her and said, "Well, you heard the professor. It's best you get going before your puny intellect gets any smaller," The old man said as he pushed Mabel out of the room.
Mabel looked ready to groan, but seeing that many were looking at her, she decided not to. "Okay! I just got through talking with the Professor…again! So…I'll get going to my next class now! Good day!" Mabel began to walk on to her next class…only to stop after deciding to deal with her remaining soot on her first.
"Are you ready to show what you are made of yet, Mabel?" Dipper asked his older twin sister as they Dueled in a stone battle arena, with Dipper controlling Gilford the Lightning (Gilford the Lightning 2800 Attack LVL 8) and one facedown with 2800 Life Points. His sister, meanwhile, controlled no monsters and one facedown with 1200 Life Points.
"Yepperoni, bro bro! I play my spell card Scapegoat in order to summon my adorable Sheep Tokens (0 Defense)!" Mabel played as she squeed upon seeing the tokens pop up on the field, adoring them for their cute appearance. "Whadda say we show our fellow students and teachers a fun ol' time? Random dance party!" Mabel cried out as she danced, her tokens following afterwards, much to the confusion and annoyance of all who were watching. Some were a little amused, but were quick to stop upon noticing that the majority were unamused.
"Mabel! We're here to Duel, not party! So please! Stop with the fun antics and return to the game!" Dipper scolded, having been used to doing so ever since they arrived at this Duel School.
"Aw! But we were just about to eat glitter covered cookies…," Mabel groaned as she changed her mind upon seeing her brother's annoyance. "...Fine. Since it's now my turn, I can now use them to Tribute Su-."
"Sorry, but you can't Tribute Summon with Sheep Tokens," Dipper reminded.
"Okay…then I'll just Overlay-," Mabel tried again.
"Once again, no! You can't Xyz Summon with Tokens! Think about your moves more carefully! Remember, our entire class is watching!" Dipper reminded his older twin.
"I now Normal Summon Mage Synchron from my hand (Mage Synchron 1600 Attack LVL 4)!" A magician wearing purple and blue robes and armor and wielding a whip, appeared on Mabel's field. "Hey, buddy! Great to see you again! Wanna play jump rope with your whip?" Mabel asked as the magician complied. Mabel laughed joyfully as she jumped over the mage's whip…only for Dipper to interrupt once more.
"Mabel…we don't have all day! You do remember how we need to take this Duel seriously!" Dipper reminded as some of the other students yelled out in agreement. Noticing that Mabel looked sad, Dipper's expression softened before he added, "Sorry, but remember that if we are supposed to graduate we need to prove our skills. I've seen that you can do great when you take a Duel seriously. Prove it to everyone here and now!"
"Okay…," Mabel sadly sighed before she decided to enter "serious-mode."I tune my Mage Synchron with my four Sheep Tokens! From light to darkness, the world's master magician has improved his skills to the maximum level! I Synchro Summon! Dark Mage (Dark Mage 2600 Attack LVL 8)!" A male spellcaster sitting cross legged on a chair appeared, wearing green and white robes and with a scepter in his right hand. "And get this! He gains a total of 700 Attack Points when Mage Synchron is used for the Synchro Summon! Now…Dark Mage, attack and destroy Dipper's Gilford the Lightning!"
"Sorry, Mabel, but this is the beginning of the end! I play my trap card Mirror Force in order to destroy all monsters you control that are in Attack mode! Reflection Blast!" Dipper cried out as the attack was reflected back at the magician, destroying him.
"What?! Boo! You can't just stop my hot magician's attack like that!" Mabel yelled in objection.
"I'm afraid that I can, Mabel. Mirror Force is supposed to be used to stop attacks. Remember. Your monster had an ability that could have protected him from effect destruction that was negated by Mage Synchron. If you had another way to increase your monster's power, you could have destroyed Gilford without risking your monster. We're not supposed to go easy on anyone in class, not even each other," Dipper reminded, bluntly reminding his sister, though trying to be compassionate as well.
"Why can't we go easy on each other? Stupid nerd game! Why did we even join this school, anyway?" Mabel grumbled.
"Because…we were required to go here? I know, it's kinda stupid, but we'll be doing some real good for the dimensions soon enough. Now…if you'll excuse me, we have to end this Duel. I draw. And I attack with my Gilford the Lightning! Lightning Sword!" Dipper cried out as he reduced his sister's Life Points to zero.
"I-I can't believe I lost…what did I do wrong this time?!" Mabel yelled.
"Mabel…I know you love to have fun, but a Duel isn't the place for that. What we need is to do is keep in mind all of an opponent's moves. We can't be too hasty if we wish to be powerful Duelists that will go on to change the world for the better! Do you understand?" Dipper asked.
"I…I guess so…," Mabel miserably said, which Dipper noticed. But, not knowing what to say at the moment, decided to remain quiet.
Later that night…
Mabel was in her bedroom at the academy, wearing her purple floppy disk pajama shirt, that was long enough to cover her lower body apart from her some of her legs, and purple socks. She was sitting miserably on her bed, holding her legs with her hands as she thought over all that she had heard, both today and in the past.
All of the groans. All the laughter directed at her. All the criticisms. All of which she was sick of. She just wanted to be an entertainer. Was that too much to ask? Why couldn't her way of doing things be respected? Why couldn't it be like before where people outside her brother actually liked her and didn't regard her as a joke? She didn't know.
As she fought back her tears, she heard a knock at the door. Knowing who it was, she responded, "Come in…I guess…"
She was proven right when she saw Dipper open the door, wearing his normal red shirt and beige shorts with white socks, though he lacked his normal blue academy vest and shoes. " I know you love doing your nerd stuff, but you can still wash your clothes and not wear the same thing all the time," Mabel tried to joke.
Fortunately, Dipper decided to humor her. "You do realize I can't go to class naked, Mabel."
"True…but you can wear another pair of clothes while washing the rest. It's not that hard," Mabel argued.
"The problem is that washing clothes is a complete waste of time! Being the best in academics here isn't easy, you know!" Dipper reminded. In a few seconds, the two humorously laughed at the conversation, one of many they had multiple times in the past. As the laughter ceased, Dipper continued, "Still…sorry if I hurt you earlier. I wasn't trying to be mean. I was just looking out for you."
Mabel sighed before responding, "I know…it's not you. It's this school! Why are we required to do all this stuff to play a game that should be for fun? The dress code. The numerous rules. The homework. The lack of fun!" Dipper looked at his sister sympathetically as she vented her frustrations. "The worst part is that this situation keeps on making me feel like I'm the problem! That I'm wrong for thinking and acting differently! We're supposed to graduate soon and, at this rate I may not make it out of here okay! I'll be stuck here taking all these classes forever, or even carded off if I don't hurry up and change! But…I don't wanna change!" At this point, Mabel sniffled and tears started to roll down her face. Dipper did his best to comfort his sister, not wanting her to feel this way. He gently patted her on the back as she let her tears flow. This went on for about two minutes, though it felt longer. It wasn't long before Mabel calmed down, though she still didn't look happy.
"Mabel…I get it. You feel insecure due to all that you've experienced here. You almost feel worthless and like the world's against you. Am I right?" Dipper asked as his sister nodded sadly. "To be honest, what you feel now I kinda felt back at home. No one respected me for my interests or skills. I was looked down on too. But…it won't be like that forever. Soon enough, we'll find you someone who will love you and respect your way of doing things. But now…we just need to find a way to get you through Duel Academy's academic side."
"T-Thanks, Dip," Mabel said with a smile, hugging her brother tightly.
"Too tight!" Dipper yelled.
"Sorry!" Mabel apologized. "But you know...you are a bit too easily hurt by my hugs. Maybe you are a little weak still…," Mabel teased.
"Oh no! I've gotten much stronger than I was before, Mabel!" Dipper noted back, both of them laughing again, though Dipper blushed at Mabel's comment.
"Well…I'm still getting kinda tired. Maybe we should head to bed! I mean, you're gonna need it if you want to keep passing those nerd tests!" Mabel said as Dipper blushed.
"I guess so? Goodnight, Mabel," Dipper wished his sister well as he left. After he did, Mabel's smile that had formed during the conversation began to drop. She had appreciated her twin's attempts at cheering her up. And in many ways, he did. But she was still left with some worries, even though she didn't want to worry. That was more Dipper's thing.
Even though the duo had been told that Duel Academy was planning to help the dimensions by merging them, they both had their doubts they had addressed. They both felt that carding Duelists wasn't going to really help people all that much. Even with the reassurance that they'd be freed eventually, they still were uneasy. Mabel felt that it was a waste to card people when it would be better to be nice and ask for help fixing the dimensions and remerging them, not to card every Duelist with a pulse. Dipper had also once questioned the teachers about the ethics of carding others and was not all that happy to be given no real answer to his question. They both had their doubts, but had to remain quiet or else they'd risk getting into more trouble.
It seemed that they were trapped. If things didn't change they may end up doing something pointless and maybe even evil. Unless…
Hack Spider
Attribute: Wind Type: [Insect/Link/Effect] Attack 0 Link-3 ↙⬇↘
2+ Monsters
When this monster is summoned: It gains 800 Attack for each Link material used for its summon. Up to twice per turn, if a monster is summoned next to this monster's Link: Inflict 1000 damage to your opponent for each card that is linked to this card.
Hack Fly
Attribute: Fire Type: [Insect/Effect] Attack 500 Defense 600 Level: 1
If you control a 'Hack' monster or a 'Cracking Dragon:' You can special summon this card from your hand. You can only special summon 'Hack Fly' once per turn this way.
Mage Synchron
Attribute: Water Type: [Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect] Attack 1600 Defense 1200 Level: 4
If you control a Spellcaster, you can special summon this card from your hand. If this card is used for the Synchro Summon of a Spellcaster monster; negate that monster's effects until the end phase and then that monster gains 700 Attack Points.
Dark Mage
Attribute: Dark Type: [Spellcaster/Synchro/Effect] Attack 2600 Defense 2100 Level: 8
1 Tuner + 1 or more Non-Tuner Monsters
Spellcasters, Synchro, Fusion, or Xyz monsters cannot be destroyed by card effects. Once per turn; you can Special Summon a Spellcaster monster from your Graveyard or Deck. You cannot Normal Summon or set the turn you activate this effect.