Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: Hidden Memories

by scififan599

10 years ago, 8 children were kidnapped. One of them was Yasutake Narahiko, who today works as Morningstar, a bounty hunter in LINK VRAINS hunting criminals and hackers for companies like SOL Technologies. One day, he fights the Knights of Hanoi and encounters Playmaker, who was involved in the same incident. Follow him as he must decide whether to be Playmaker's ally, or his enemy

3. Chapter 3: Unhealed Scars

Chapter 3: Unhealed Scars

"You lose!"

Yasutake screamed and woke up. He was in his bed, and like every time he had this nightmare, he was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily.

Damn it, he thought, putting his hand to his face. After only three days without the nightmares? Maybe I should take Cam up on that offer of sleeping pills. Maybe then I'll get some actual sleep.

As his breathing steadied, he heard a noise from the kitchen. It sounded like glasses clinking. He got out of bed and headed downstairs. Cam's house had four main levels: the bottom was Café Junpei, the second was the living room and dining room; Yasutake shared the fourth floor with Cam, and the third floor was the kitchen and Sachi's room.

Yasutake walked out into the kitchen. Cam was there, pouring a glass of water. He looked over at Yasutake as he walked over.

"Hey, Yasu," he said. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No, Cam," Yasutake answered. "It was the nightmares. Always the nightmares. Why are you up?"

"Sachi," Cam said, putting the glass of water on the counter. "She has the same nightmares you do; she just has them when she's awake too." He sighed and leaned against the counter. "I don't know how much longer I can do this."

Yasutake raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Cam was silent for a while, then said, "I'm not sure. Some part of me wants to pack up and just leave, get away from all this. But then I think of you and Sachi, and I know I can't leave. I just… I want to believe that there's something I can do for Sachi, something that can make her smile again."

Yasutake looked out the kitchen's window at the night life of Den City. "I want that too," he said. "After all this time, I want the same things for her that you want. I want her to smile, I want her to attend school with me, I want her to make friends and laugh with them. But…" his eyes narrowed in sadness. "…It's not going to happen."

"When I think of what happened to you and Sachi," Cam said, his voice low and angry. "I want nothing more than to find out who would do that to children. Who the hell would take you from your lives and use you in some twisted experiment. I want to find out why they would do such a thing, and then…"

"Would you kill them?" Yasutake asked him. Cam started and stared at Yasutake with shock. Yasutake just stared back, his face blank.

"I genuinely don't know," Cam said. "That's scary, isn't it? Though, it would feel good to punch that bastard's face in." He took the glass of water and walked towards Sachi's room.

"Wait." Cam turned and looked at Yasutake, who walked over and reached out. "Let me bring it to her. You work tomorrow, and I'm not going to get more sleep anyways."

"Are you sure? Seeing her like this…"

"I see it every time I look in the mirror." Cam hesitated, then gave the glass to Yasutake. Before Yasutake could walk into Sachi's room, though, Cam asked him a question.

"You ever think about finding out more about who was behind the incident? About looking for them?"

"Yes," Yasutake said. "But what good would that do? All it would do is cause more pain. And what you said about what you'd do to them… I feel the same way. I don't want to find out what I'd do if I was in that situation.

"No," he said, determination evident in his face. "It's best to try and move on. Even if it takes my whole life… I will not let these nightmares ruin my future. Not anymore." He walked towards Sachi's room as Cam headed back to his.

Yasutake knocked on the door, then opened it and walked in. He knew Sachi wouldn't answer his knock, but it was an old habit. Her room was even emptier than his. There was only a bed, a nightstand, and a rocking chair, with a door in the side of the room leading to a bathroom.

Sachi was sitting on the bed, legs drawn up with her arms wrapped around them. She was about a head shorter than Yasutake and thinner than him. Her long hair, the same dark green as her brother's, was hanging loosely around her head, contrasting the pigtails they were up in during the day; while her bangs, a lighter green than the rest of her hair, were spread to either side of her face so she could see.

Sachi was shaking and breathing heavily, staring off into space. Yasutake hated seeing her like this. It wasn't fair in any way. He wondered why he could function, albeit poorly, in the outside world while she could only leave this room to use the bathroom.

"Sachi," he said softly. She didn't respond to his voice. She just kept rocking back and forth, her breath ragged. He looked at her eyes. They were wavering, their bright blue color complementing her pale skin and thin face. "It's me. It's Yasu."

She didn't respond to him. She never responded to anyone. Every time the therapists came by, they'd talk to her, and she'd just stare off into space. The medical tests she'd taken were the only reason Yasutake knew she wasn't deaf. She just couldn't hear anyone over the nightmares in her head.

"I brought you water," he said, placing the glass on the nightstand by her bed. "Was it the same again? The same dream?"

Sachi didn't answer or acknowledge him in any way. He was used to this. Whenever she woke up in the middle of the night, he and Cam would stay by her side, talking to her until she fell back asleep. Yasutake didn't know if she actually understood him, or if she remembered what he said. He just knew that it calmed him down.

"I had a fun duel in LINK VRAINS yesterday," he told her. He'd told her before about his work as Morningstar. She never left the house and no one save the therapists ever saw her, so it was safe to tell her about that. "I dueled Go Onizuka, LINK VRAINS's #1 duelist. And I defeated him, too. It was a Speed Duel. I've always wanted to have one of those. It was exhilarating."

He paused, then continued. "I have a new contract. SOL hired me to retrieve an AI from a duelist called Playmaker. I think you'd like him. He's really serious, and his dueling style is similar to mine. He even uses Cyberse monsters like I do."

He stopped and looked at Sachi. Was it his imagination or had her eyes shown a little light at the mention of Cyberse? Something like this happened every now and then; when Yasutake would talk about his Cyspirit monsters, sometimes it almost seemed like Sachi was paying attention. Then her eyes would dim and Yasutake knew nothing had happened.

"I'm excited to duel Playmaker," he said. "He's a strong opponent, but he only fights the Knights of Hanoi. I don't know how I'm going to lure him out. Maybe I'll try what Go did and use a Knight of Hanoi avatar on him. But I can't be certain he'll fall for the same trick twice. I could send him a message… Cam got his hands on some code that might let me contact him, but that's risky too."

He sighed and looked at Sachi sadly. She was breathing regularly now, but her eyes were the same as before. "I don't know why," he said softly. "But ever since Playmaker showed up, I feel like… something has changed. I'm not sure just what, but something has. And nothing will be the same anymore."

---

Yasutake walked down the sidewalk to Den Academy, stifling a yawn. He'd stayed with Sachi till she'd fallen asleep again, then he'd gone back to his bed. He hadn't gotten any sleep, but he was used to that. So long as he didn't fall asleep in class again, he'd be alright. He groaned at the thought of dealing with Aoi Zaizen and Naoki Shima again. There was a Duel Club meeting before classes started, and he had to attend. Otherwise, they'd call him and talk to him. Hopefully, he'd be able to hide out in the corner and they would ignore him.

He stopped at the traffic signal and closed his eyes. He wasn't cut out for this. If not for Cam wanting him to make friends, he'd quit. Well, that and not wanting to upset Aoi. Something about her… she reminded Yasutake somewhat of Sachi. That in turn gave him an instinct to protect her.

"Yasutake Narahiko, right?"

He opened his eyes and looked to the left at the sound of the voice. It was Aoi Zaizen, wearing her Duel Disk. Her face was expressionless as she said, "Good morning."

"Good morning," Yasutake eventually said, then turned back to the crossing as the light changed. He walked across, as did Aoi. Apparently, she was taking the same path to school as him, so she'd decided to walk to school with him. He cursed his luck. She was the last person he wanted to talk to today. Granted, he didn't want to talk to anyone, save Cam, at any time, but she was near the bottom of the list, right above Naoki.

"Why did you want to join Duel Club?" she asked him. He raised an eyebrow. Did she talk to everyone like that, or just him? And if it was just him, should he be offended or flattered?

"I didn't," he said simply. He didn't notice, but she was surprised by his bluntness. "Shima essentially forced me to. And I'm staying because a friend wants me to get out more."

"Hmm," she said. "That… wasn't the answer I was expecting."

"What were you expecting? For me to say I love dueling? I don't."

"No, I wasn't expecting you to say that. It's obvious from your face that you don't enjoy it."

He stopped walking and turned to her. Her face was as blank as his. "And what do you mean by that?" he asked.

"You know exactly what I mean," she said, resuming walking to school. He did too, with his longer legs making it easy to catch up. "I was expecting you to bring up my brother."

"Akira Zaizen, SOL's security chief," he said in a bored tone. "What does he have to do with your expectation of my answer to your question?" He frowned a little at that, wondering if his sentence made sense.

Apparently it did, because she said, "That's why all the others approach me. 'Can I have the new Duel Disk?' 'Can I get a job at SOL when I graduate?'" She looked down as she stopped walking. "I'm used to fake friends. They just want to use me to advance themselves. But it's pointless. My brother doesn't trust me."

She looked up and started with surprise. Yasutake hadn't stopped when she had and was still walking to school. "O-Oi!" she said, running to catch up. "Weren't you listening to me?"

"Yes," he said, still in a bored voice. "You think I'm attempting to befriend you so I can get new tech or a high-paying job, but I shouldn't bother because your brother doesn't pay attention to you."

"Y-Yes," she said, somewhat flustered. His reactions were completely different from what she was used to. "Aren't you?"

"No," he said, holding up his left hand. "There are three reasons your premise is flawed. One: as I said when I joined Duel Club, I already have a Duel Disk, and I am perfectly content with it. I have no need, nor desire, for a new one."

"That's-."

"Two," he continued, ignoring her attempted interruption, "I already have a job. One I enjoy because I get to work with one of the few people in this world I consider a friend. Leaving that job for another one is nonsensical and unnecessary. Three-."

I'm not actually trying to befriend you. That was what he was about to say, but he stopped himself. He thought she might take it the wrong way and feel upset. He changed track right away, pausing only for a microsecond.

"I don't need you to introduce me to Akira Zaizen," he said. "I've already met him."

"What?" Aoi said, her eyes wide. "You… you've met my brother?"

"I work at a café," he said. "He used to stop by and get a box of blueberry muffins before he got promoted."

Blueberry muffins, Aoi thought, narrowing her eyes. Every Sunday, when she'd wake up, she'd find a box of blueberry muffins that her brother left her. He was allergic to blueberries.

"How do you know he was promoted?" she asked, trying to buy time to order her thoughts.

"He stopped coming by and we got pickup orders for a box of blueberry muffins every Saturday night," Yasutake answered, not noticing her expression. "It's my understanding that when a person reaches a certain level of the corporate ladder, they delegate menial tasks to others."

Aoi was silent for a few blocks, at which point they'd reached the school. "You really don't want anything from me?" she asked, her voice uncertain.

He looked her in the eyes. "No," he said. "I don't want anything from anyone." He turned from her and promptly got hit in the face with a football.

"Ahhh!" he screamed as he fell on the ground. Thankfully the contents of his bag didn't spill this time.

"I'm so sorry," someone said as they ran to him and picked up the football. "My friend and I were playing catch. He threw too far." They ran away before Yasutake could yell at them.

"Here," Aoi said, offering him her hand. He accepted and stood up, annoyed as he brushed himself off.

"First it was a soccer ball, now it's a football," he muttered. "What's next, a baseball? A basketball? A-," his eyes widened in horror. "A bowling ball? Please don't let it be a bowling ball."

"Hey, you alright, Narahiko?"

Yasutake looked up at the voice. It was Naoki Shima, who looked concerned. Yasutake arranged his face into a mask of confusion.

"Who are you again?"

"W-What?" Naoki said, the concern vanishing as his eyes blazed with anger. "Again!? I've told you my name twice now! It's Shima! Naoki Shima!"

"Quiet, Shima," Aoi told him. "You're making a scene."

Naoki looked like he wanted to keep yelling at Yasutake, but he listened to Aoi and stalked off. Aoi watched him leave, then turned back to Yasutake.

"You mentioned Shima on the way to school," she said. "You did that on purpose."

"I don't get many opportunities for humor," Yasutake said as he walked away. "I'll take what I can get."

As he walked away, he scowled to himself. My brother doesn't trust me. When he'd first heard that Aoi was Blue Angel, he'd wondered why she dueled. He thought she dueled for attention, for the roar of the crowd. Now he had his answer: she dueled because she wanted her brother to notice her.

What a stupid reason to duel. She didn't think her brother loved her. How could she possible think that? He'd lived with Cam and Sachi for ten years, and not once did he ever get the idea Cam didn't love Sachi. And even if she couldn't show it now, Cam had shown Yasutake videos of when he and Sachi were younger, and it was obvious she'd loved him then. It was the job of the brother to love the sister. No, it was more than the job, it was the duty of the brother. And Aoi thought her brother didn't love her?

I'm sorry, Aoi, he thought. You are a good person, and very observant and intelligent. But you duel for a worthless reason. I may not know why Playmaker duels, but I know why Go and I duel. He duels to provide for children, I duel to provide for Cam and Sachi. We duel for more than ourselves, but you duel only for yourself. Until you learn to duel for more, Blue Angel, you are not worth my time.

---

Yasutake sat down in Duel Club, his head resting in his palm. The other members, sans Aoi and Naoki, were already there, and they were talking to each other. Yasutake did his best to ignore them. He had nothing to discuss with any of them.

The door opened, and Aoi walked in. "I'm sorry I'm late, President," she said. "I had something to do."

"It's fine, Zaizen," Hosoda said. "We were just starting. Shima hasn't shown up yet either."

He's probably avoiding me, Yasutake idly thought. Naoki had been angry when he'd left Aoi and Yaustake, so it made sense he wouldn't want to see Yasutake right now. Which was perfectly fine with him.

To his surprise, Aoi sat next to him. What was that about? Did she think he was her friend? Wait… he'd had two conversations with her and neither had ended with her mad at him. Maybe he was her friend. He scowled internally at that. The last thing he needed was Akira Zaizen's younger sister hanging around him. Or a famous Charisma Duelist for that matter.

"Now then," Hosoda said, interrupting Yasutake's thoughts. "There's something I forgot to do last time." He turned to Yasutake. "I'm sorry, Narahiko, but we try to encourage new members to talk about themselves a bit. Would you care to tell us more about yourself?"

No. That was the answer Yasutake wanted to give. But he figured they'd pester him anyways, so he might as well get it over with.

"My name is Yasutake Narahiko," he droned. "I'm 16 years old, my birthday is August 13th, and my favorite food is blackberry scones. Is there anything else you want to know?"

"Eh," Hosoda said, looking slightly uncomfortable. "N-No, that's fine. Thank you for shar-."

"We just talked the other day! Shima! Naoki Shima!"

Everyone looked at the door, with Yasutake raising an eyebrow. Did someone else keep forgetting Naoki's name? If so, he'd have to compliment them on their wonderful sense of humor.

"Oh!" someone said. Whoever it was, they were male and had a deep voice "I didn't realize this room was the Duel Club!" Yasutake fought the urge to snicker. Whoever this guy was, he was a terrible liar.

"Stop acting dumb!" they heard Naoki say as Hosoda headed for the door. "This place isn't for a loser who has no interest in LINK VRAINS!"

Hosoda opened the door, and after a short conversation, two people followed him inside. One was Naoki, who looked particularly annoyed and upset. The second was a tall thin freshman with fair skin, green eyes, and dark blue hair that spiked outwards in the back with light blue bangs that had pink accents.

Yasutake frowned a little. This boy looked familiar. Where had he… Oh right! This was the guy Naoki had been talking to before Go showed up disguised as a Knight of Hanoi. No wonder he looked uncomfortable.

The boy stood between Hosoda and Naoki up front and said, "I'm freshman Yusaku Fujiki." He bowed low. Even though when he'd entered, he'd looked uncomfortable, he looked completely calm now. Yasutake narrowed his eyes. That voice… he felt like he'd heard it before, but he couldn't say where from.

"Narahiko?"

He started and looked around him. The others were staring at him and he realized he had to introduce himself. "Freshman Narahiko," he said to Yusaku. "Welcome." He promptly closed his eyes and put his head in his palm again.

"Sorry about him," Hosoda said to Yusaku. "He's, eh…"

"Don't worry about it," Yusaku said.

Yasutake listened as Sato changed the subject and showed Yusaku his Duel Disk and as Yusaku said Naoki had bragged about it. That didn't surprise Yasutake. Naoki was one of those people who compensated for self-doubt by being loud and showing off.

"A card insertion-type Duel Disk?" Yasutake looked up at that comment of Aoi's. She was looking at Yusaku's wrist, where he had a red, white, and blue Duel Disk. It was the same model as Yasutake's, only a different color. "It's the same as Playmaker's."

Yasutake rolled his eyes at Aoi's comment. She'd said the same thing to him when they'd talked. He wondered whether or not she'd ask to see his Deck.

Sure enough, she did ask, and Yusaku gave it to her. Out of curiosity, Yasutake leaned over enough so that he could see Yusaku's cards. He raised an eyebrow. What the…? Reinforcements? Hoshiningen? Neo the Magic Swordsman? This was the Deck of an amateur duelist! If Yasutake didn't know better, he'd say this Deck was intentionally built bad.

Wait a minute… Yasutake looked at Yusaku's Duel Disk again. Now that he thought about it, he'd gotten some close-ups of Playmaker's Duel Disk before, and it had been red, white, and blue. Could it be…?

Yasutake's thoughts were interrupted by an obnoxious laugh. He looked up and saw Naoki holding Yusaku's cards and laughing at how pathetic they were. Yasutake scowled at that. Even if that Deck was poorly built, that was no reason to mock it. If his suspicions were right, that Deck was a decoy Deck like Yasutake's. Except that Yasutake's was actually well-built.

He smirked to himself as Hosoda berated Naoki. Good to know that the President's heart was in the right place.

As the meeting started, Yasutake moved over to a seat in the corner, away from Aoi, Naoki, and Yusaku. He couldn't help but notice that Yusaku sat behind Aoi. Did he have a crush on her? Well, good for Aoi. She was pretty, and she could use some happiness. Yasutake hoped for her sake his suspicions were wrong. If they weren't, then Aoi had the worst luck in the world.

After going through a review of Speed Duels, Hosoda said, "Now then, since the purpose of Duel Club is to improve our skills, I think it is very important to have a practical demonstration."

"A duel?" Naoki said, panicking. "In LINK VRAINS?"

"Are you okay, Shima?" Yasutake asked him, his voice neutral but inside he was enjoying the look of panic on Naoki's face. "You look a tad pale."

Naoki grit his teeth, then said, "I-I just think that LINK VRAINS is a sacred place. Us dueling there would be rude to the Charisma Duelists. Besides, the Knights of Hanoi have been more active lately. What happens if they show up?"

"Then we'll rely on Playmaker to save us," Aoi said calmly. "What exactly are you thinking of, President?"

"I was thinking of a duel," Hosoda said. "Since they spoke up first, how about Shima and Narahiko be the ones who duel?"

Yasutake shrugged. "Fine with me. I've never been to LINK VRAINS before, but it sounds interesting." His Duel Disk had a special function that would let him keep his own appearance in LINK VRAINS if he wanted. He wouldn't give away his identity as Morningstar that easily.

"I don't mean a duel in LINK VRAINS," Hosoda said, confusing Aoi and Yasutake. "Shima is right. With Hanoi's appearance, LINK VRAINS is not entirely safe." He walked over to a shelf and pulled something down from it. "I was thinking the two of you would duel with these."

It was two VR headsets, one blue and one red. "Even without Hanoi, a duel in LINK VRAINS can potentially be dangerous if you take too much damage. These won't hurt at all. So, you want to do it?"

"Sure," Naoki said, smiling in relief. "I haven't used the old VR headsets in a while. This should be nostalgic."

Hosoda smiled and nodded at Naoki, then turned to Yasutake. "Oh," he said, his smile disappearing and his brow furrowing in concern. "Is something wrong, Narahiko?"

Yasutake was staring at the VR headsets, his fists clenched and shaking. Images came back to him. A duel field, a red screen with two words on it.

"You lose!"

A blue and purple eye staring down at him.

"Narahiko?"

He started and turned to the voice. It was Aoi, her concern evident. "Is something wrong?"

Yasutake moved his mouth, feeling like he was watching from outside. "No, everything's fine. I'll duel with that." Unknown to him, Yusaku was also looking at the VR headsets with the same expression on his face.

"Good!" Hosoda said, looking relieved. "Let's head somewhere with more room."

---

"I didn't know we had a soccer field," Yasutake commented as he looked around. Then he felt stupid for saying that. He'd gotten hit in the head a few days ago with a soccer ball; of course they had a field. He hadn't seen many, having no interest in sports; he assumed this one was a standard field, with white lines and big nets at either end of the field and bleachers wrapped around the other two sides.

He and Naoki stood fairly close to the bleachers. The field was huge, and they didn't need much room. Only enough to move around. Hosoda, Sato, Suzuki, and Tanaka were sitting down near the middle of the bleachers, about equal distance between Naoki and Yasutake. Yusaku sat in the back row, far enough away from the others that they wouldn't hear him if he talked in a low voice. Aoi sat in the front row, close to Yasutake. He found himself wondering why. He got his answer soon enough.

"Are you sure about this, Narahiko?" Aoi asked him. "You're very pale."

Truth be told, Yasutake wasn't sure. He held the VR headset in his hands, looking at it. This thing… even if it wasn't the same one he'd worn back in that place, it was far too similar. He closed his eyes. No, he would not let the incident take this from him. He would overcome this.

"I'm fine," he said to Aoi. "Don't worry."

"Remember, this is a Master Duel, not a Speed Duel," Hosoda said. "And since this is VR, we'll be using our Duel Disks to see the cards on the field. Are you two ready?"

"I'm ready, President," Naoki said. He was already wearing the red headset as he gave a thumbs-up. Yasutake in turn didn't say anything as he put the headset on. The display activated, with the word "DUEL" flashing past as the field appeared.

"Duel!" Naoki and Yasutake shouted.

Naoki Shima: 4000 LP

Yasutake Narahiko: 4000 LP

"I shall take the first turn!" Naoki said, waving his hand in front of him. Cards didn't appear physically, but they did in the VR he was looking at. He looked at his cards, smirked, then played one.

"I activate the Field Spell: World Legacy in Shadow!" The card appeared in the Field Spell Zone. It showed a massive suit of armor being overrun by insects with glowing eyes. "As long as this card is in play, all 'Krawler' monsters on the field gain 300 attack and defense points!"

Krawler? Yasutake thought. And World Legacy? Talk about irony…

"That isn't my Field Spell's only effect," Naoki told Yasutake. "Once per turn, I can Special Summon one Level 2 or lower Insect monster from my hand in face-up or face-down Defense Position." He selected another of his cards. "Thanks to its effect, I Special Summon Krawler Receptor in face-down Defense Position!" He then selected two more cards. "I Set one monster and one card. I end my turn." He smirked at Yasutake. "So, how was that, Narahiko? Bet you don't think I'm a bad duelist now!"

Yasutake didn't reply, too busy thinking about his counterattack. Krawler monsters were Flip monsters, with effects that activated when flipped face-up. And they all also had an effect that summoned more of them if they were destroyed by card effects while face-up.

It was Naoki's Field Spell that was the real problem, however. If a Flip monster was destroyed by battle, Naoki could send the monster that destroyed it to the Graveyard. There were ways around that, but…

Yasutake grimaced internally. He didn't want to show off his real skills. If they suspected what he could really do, then his secret would be in jeopardy. No, he had to play amateurishly.

Unlike Naoki's, Yasutake's cards were physical, so he put his hand on his Duel Disk and said, "My turn! Draw!" He looked at his new card, but before he could do anything, Naoki said, "Continuous Trap activate! World Legacy Pawns!" The card showed two monsters facing an insect army while seven lights shone in the background. "Once per turn, I can either change one face-down monster I control to face-up Attack or Defense Position, or I can shuffle one 'Krawler' monster from my Graveyard into my Main Deck and change one face-up monster to face-down Defense Position. I use its effect to change Krawler Receptor to face-up Defense Position!"

One of the insects that was in the picture of Naoki's Field Spell appeared on his field.

Krawler Receptor ATK 900 DEF 1200 LVL: 2

"And thanks to World Legacy in Shadow, Receptor gains 300 attack and defense points!"

Krawler Receptor ATK 900→1200 DEF 1200→1500

"And now the Flip Effect of Receptor activates! I add one 'Krawler' monster from my Deck to my hand. I add Krawler Spine to my hand!"

The cards in Yasutake's hand appeared on the VR screen as he looked through them. Even if he couldn't show his true skills, he would have to show some of them; this Deck was too difficult for a sub-standard duelist to use.

He took a card from his hand and played it. "I activate the Field Spell: World Legacy Scars!" The card appeared in his Field Spell Zone, and it showed two warriors looking down on a massive shield. "Now, all 'Mekk-Knight' monsters gain 300 attack and defense points!"

"Mekk-Knight?" the AI in Yusaku's Duel Disk asked. "What kind of archetype is that?"

"A complicated one," Yusaku answered. The two of them were far away enough from the others that they wouldn't overhear them. "And we're about to see it in action."

"Eh?" Naoki said, surprised. "A 'World Legacy' card? You have those, too?"

"Yes. I activate the second effect of World Legacy Scars!" Yasutake said. "By discarding one 'Mekk-Knight' monster or one 'World Legacy' card, I draw one card. I discard Mekk-Knight Green Horizon." He drew, look at it, then played it. "I Special Summon Mekk-Knight Red Moon!" The monster he summoned was a white mechanical giant with red lines all over it carrying a massive axe.

Mekk-Knight Red Moon ATK 2300 DEF 2600 LVL: 7

"What?" Naoki said, shocked. "You-you can't summon a Level 7 monster without Tributing! That's cheating!"

"No, it isn't," Yasutake said. "All 'Mekk-Knight' monsters have an ability that lets me Special Summon them from the hand. All that is required is two or more cards in the same column."

"Two or more?" Naoki said, looking at the field. Sure enough, Red Moon had been summoned to the same column as Krawler Receptor and World Legacy Pawns.

"And since Red Moon is a 'Mekk-Knight,' my Field Spell increases its attack and defense points by 300."

Mekk-Knight Red Moon ATK 2300→2600 DEF 2600→2900

"Now I activate the effect of Red Moon. By banishing a 'Mekk-Knight' monster from my Graveyard, I can destroy one face-up card in the same column as it. I banish Green Horizon from my Graveyard to destroy your Krawler Receptor!"

The card representing Receptor shattered on the VR field, which made Naoki laugh. "You just activated my Receptor's effect! If it's face-up and left the field because of an opponent's card effect, I can Special Summon two 'Krawler' monsters with different names from my Deck in face-down Defense Position!" He chose two cards, and played both face-down. "I summon Krawler Dendrite and Krawler Ranvier!"

Of course you did, Yasutake thought. Since the Mekk-Knights required precise control to use effectively, he decided to make an amateurish move to make Naoki think his skills were average. And he was about to do so again.

"Battle! Red Moon, attack the face-down monster on the left!" The card flipped up, revealing another insect monster, but this one was humanoid with large arms and four legs. It was Krawler Dendrite.

Krawler Dendrite ATK 1300→1600 DEF 600→900 LVL: 2

"The Flip Effect of Dendrite activates! I can send one monster from my Deck to the Graveyard. I send Krawler Axon from my Deck to the Graveyard." After that, Red Moon destroyed Dendrite, which made Naoki laugh.

"You haven't faced a Krawler deck before, have you? Since you destroyed a Flip monster, World Legacy in Shadow sends the monster that destroyed mine to the Graveyard! Say goodbye to Red Moon!" The card in Yasutake's Main Monster Zone moved to the Graveyard, leaving his field bare. Yasutake remained calm, however.

"I Set one card," he said. "I end my turn."

"Yes!" Naoki said. "I will win this duel this turn! My turn! Draw!" He looked at his cards, smirked, then said, "I Flip Summon Krawler Ranvier!"

Krawler Ranvier ATK 1100→1400 DEF 900→1200 LVL: 2

"Ranvier's Flip Effect! I can add up to two 'Krawler' monsters from my Graveyard to my hand. I add Axon and Receptor from my Graveyard to my hand." He did so, then said, "I Flip Summon Krawler Glial!"

Krawler Glial ATK 700→1000 DEF 1500→1800 LVL: 2

"Glial's Flip Effect! I can Special Summon one 'Krawler' monster from my hand or Graveyard in face-up Attack Position or face-down Defense Position. I summon Krawler Axon in Attack Position!"

Krawler Axon ATK 500→800 DEF 1800→2100 LVL: 2

"Now I activate World Legacy in Shadow's effect, and Special Summon Krawler Spine!"

Krawler Spine ATK 300→600 DEF 2100→2400 LVL: 2

"Finally, I Normal Summon Krawler Receptor!"

Krawler Receptor ATK 900→1200 DEF 1200→1500 LVL: 2

"Oh!" Ai said. "He has five monsters on his field! The annoying one is actually pretty good!"

"Be quiet," Yusaku said, narrowing his eyes. Naoki had shown some skill, but he had made a basic error. He could have used Glial's effect to summon Spine face-down, then use World Legacy Pawns to flip it face-up, activating its Flip Effect and destroying Yasutake's face-down card. Since he didn't do that, Yasutake might survive this turn.

"Now it's my turn to use this!" Naoki said. "Just like Playmaker! Appear, circuit of darkness!" A Link portal appeared on the VR field. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are two 'Krawler' monsters! I set Krawlers Glial and Ranvier in the Link Markers!" The two monsters entered the bottom-left and bottom-right arrows of the portal, turning them red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 2! X-Krawler Qualiark!" His Link Monster was summoned to the Extra Monster Zone, and it looked like an insect helicopter.

X-Krawler Qualiark ATK 2000→2300 LINK-2 ↙↘

"So, how do you like this?" Naoki said, smirking. "This is one of my Link monsters!"

"Fascinating," Yasutake said, not bothering to pretend interest. Apparently, this annoyed Naoki.

"Oi! Don't condescend to me! You have no monsters on your field! If I attack you directly, you'll lose!"

"You lose!"

Yasutake gasped and put his hand up to his head on hearing that. Aoi looked at him with concern, but Naoki couldn't see that his words had an effect on Yasutake.

"I activate Qualiark's effect! Since I control at least two 'Krawler' monsters, all monsters I control gain 300 attack and defense points!"

Krawler Axon ATK 800→1100 DEF 2100→2400

Krawler Receptor ATK 1200→1500 DEF 1500→1800

Krawler Spine ATK 600→900 DEF 2400→2700

X-Krawler Qualiark ATK 2300→2600

"Appear, circuit of darkness!" Another portal appeared again. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are two 'Krawler' monsters! I set Krawlers Axon and Spine in the Link Markers!" The two insects entered the left and right arrows of the portal, turning them red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 2! X-Krawler Neurogos!" A blue and red scorpion-like monster was summoned to Qualiark's bottom-left Link Marker.

X-Krawler Neurogos ATK 1900→2500 LINK-2 ←→

"Neurogos increases the attack and defense points of all 'Krawler' monsters it points to by 300! It points to Receptor, so Receptor becomes stronger!"

Krawler Receptor ATK 1500→1800 DEF 1800→2100

Another error, Yusaku thought, mentally rolling his eyes. If Naoki had four or more 'Krawler' monsters, Yasutake couldn't activate any card effects during the Battle Phase due to Qualiark's effect. But since Naoki wanted to show off, Yasutake could fight back.

"Next I activate the Spell Card: Double Summon!" Naoki declared. "This lets me perform a second Normal Summon this turn. I summon another Krawler Receptor to Neurogos's other Link Marker!"

Krawler Receptor ATK 900→1800 DEF 1200→2100 LVL: 2

"Appear, circuit of darkness!" Yusaku raised an eyebrow. A third Link Summon? "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are two 'Krawler' monsters! I set both Krawler Receptors in the Link Markers!" His insects entered the left and right Link Markers.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 2! X-Krawler Synaphysis!" This insect was blue, red and greenish-yellow and was summoned to Neurogos' right Link Marker in the same column as X-Krawler Qualiark.

X-Krawler Synaphysis ATK 1800→2400 LINK 2 ←→

"Due to Synaphysis's effect, all 'Krawler' monsters it points to gain 300 attack and defense points, including Neurogos!"

X-Krawler Neurogos ATK 2500→2800

"Yes!" Naoki cheered. "Three Link Summons in one turn! Just like Playmaker!"

"Stop the duel," Aoi said to Hosoda.

"Huh?" he said, confused. "Why?"

"Look at Narahiko."

Hosoda looked, as did Yusaku. Yasutake was shaking and sweat was pouring down his face.

"You lose!"

He couldn't stop the memories. The white room. The VR headset. The little drone that brought the tray. The electric shocks…

"Shima, I think…" Hosoda started, but Naoki interrupted.

"Battle!" he declared, jolting Yasutake out of his memories. "Qualiark, attack Narahiko directly!"

"Continuous Trap activate!" Yasutake said, his voice strained. "World Legacy's Secret! This card targets one Level 5 or higher monster in my Graveyard and Special Summons it!"

"What?" Naoki said, surprised at that card.

"I summon Red Moon to my field in Attack Position!" The card reappeared on the VR field, with its attack and defense boosted by Yasutake's Field Spell.

Mekk-Knight Red Moon ATK 2300→2600 DEF 2600→2900 LVL: 7

Attack Position? Yusaku wondered. Its defense points are 2900. Why would he summon it in Attack Position? Unless… his eyes narrowed. He isn't thinking straight. Zaizen is right. Something is wrong.

"I cancel Qualiark's attack," Naoki grumbled. "But that doesn't make you safe! I attack Red Moon with Neurogos!" Crimson Lotus's card shattered to indicate its destruction. Yasutake braced himself instinctively, but no shocks came as he took damage.

Yasutake: 4000→3800 LP

"And now Synaphysis attacks you directly!" Again, Yasutake braced himself again, but there were no shocks this time either.

Yasutake: 3800→1400 LP

Naoki laughed, then said, "I end my turn. So then, I think the result is clear! Guess I'm not a bad duelist like you thought I was, eh?"

"Shima, stop the duel," Aoi said, surprising him.

"Eh? Why? I'm winning!"

"Look at Narahiko."

Naoki lifted up the headset and looked at Yasutake. He was shaking, sweating, and breathing heavily.

I can't let it happen, he was thinking. If I lose, I get shocked. I won't get to eat. I have to win. I. Have. To. Win.

"Oi, Narahiko, something wrong?" Naoki asked, only for Yasutake to put his hand on his Duel Disk.

"My turn! Draw!" he said mechanically. Naoki put the headset back on, surprised and confused.

"The effect of World Legacy Scars! I discard Mekk-Knight Purple Nightfall to draw one card! Since X-Krawler Qualiark and X-Krawler Synaphysis are in the same column, I Special Summon Mekk-Knight Blue Sky to the same column!" The card was a man in blue and gold armor with a blue cape and two silver swords.

Mekk-Knight Blue Sky ATK 2000→2300 DEF 2500→2800 LVL: 5

"Blue Sky's monster effect! When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, I can add 'Mekk-Knight' monsters with different names from my Deck to my hand except this one equal to the number of my opponent's cards in its column. There are two cards, so I add Mekk-Knight Indigo Eclipse and Mekk-Knight Yellow Star to my hand."

He did so, not noticing the concerned looks on the audience's faces. He didn't notice anything about his surroundings. All he saw was the duel between him and his opponent. He couldn't even remember his opponent's name. Not that it mattered. His opponent had no name.

"Since there are two cards in the same column, in this case X-Krawler Neurogos and World Legacy Pawns, I Special Summon Mekk-Knight Indigo Eclipse to the same column!" This monster was a silver metal warrior with blue indents and a silver circle around it.

Mekk-Knight Indigo Eclipse ATK 2400→2700 DEF 2400→2700 LVL: 8

"L-Level 8? Just like that?" Naoki said, surprised. Yasutake didn't hear him and continued his turn.

"Indigo Eclipse's monster effect! Once per turn, I can target one 'Mekk-Knight' monster I control, and move that monster to another Main Monster Zone! I move Indigo Eclipse itself to the far-left Main Monster Zone."

"Why would he do that?" Ai wondered.

"So he could summon another 'Mekk-Knight,'" Yusaku answered.

"X-Krawler Neurogos and World Legacy Pawns are in the same column. I Special Summon Mekk-Knight Yellow Star to the same column!" This monster was a silver monster with silver and yellow wings.

Mekk-Knight Yellow Star ATK 2200→2500 DEF 2800→3100 LVL: 7

"Yellow Star's monster effect! I banish Mekk-Knight Purple Nightfall in my Graveyard to target and destroy one Spell or Trap Card in Yellow Bloom's column. I destroy World Legacy Pawns!"

The card shattered on the VR field as Yusaku narrowed his eyes. Yasutake's first move had been somewhat amateurish, with him making moves that benefited Naoki. Now, however, his moves were professional. Had he been pretending to be weak? Why would he do that?

"Appear, the circuit of illumination!" Yasutake declared. The Link portal appeared on the VR screen. "The summoning conditions are two or more 'Mekk-Knight' monsters! I set Blue Sky, Indigo Eclipse, and Yellow Star in the Link Markers!" His three monsters entered the bottom-left, bottom, and bottom-right Link Markers, turning them red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Descend! Link 3! Mekk-Knight Spectrum Supreme!" The monster that appeared was an amalgamation of various weapons all put together. The card shone with rainbow light.

Mekk-Knight Spectrum Supreme ATK 3000→3300 LINK 3 ↙↓↘

Aoi's eyes widened as Yusaku's narrowed.

"Oi!" Ai said. "That's-!"

"A Cyberse monster," Yusaku finished. Where did this guy get that? Could it be…?

"A L-Link monster with 3-3300 attack points?" Naoki said, surprised. "S-Still, that doesn't matter. The instant you destroy one of my monsters, World Legacy in Shadow will send it to the Graveyard. And when any of my X-Krawlers are destroyed in battle, I can summon two 'Krawlers' from my Graveyard in face-down Defense Position!"

"Spectrum Supreme's monster effect," Yasutake intoned. "Since it points to no monsters, it cannot be destroyed by card effects, and my opponent cannot target it with card effects."

"What?" Naoki said, surprised at such an effect. Yusaku was too.

This monster benefits from being alone. From forming no bonds. Morningstar's monsters gain effects the more they are linked. If this boy is Morningstar, why would he use such a monster?

"Spectrum Supreme's second effect," Yasutake said in the same tone as before. "By sending one card I control in the same column as Spectrum Supreme to the Graveyard, I Special Summon one 'Mekk-Knight' monster from my Deck in Defense Position. I send World Legacy's Secret to the Graveyard to summon Mekk-Knight Orange Sunset to the same column as X-Krawler Qualiark." This monster was a silver, black and orange warrior carrying two massive shields.

Mekk-Knight Orange Sunset ATK 800→1100 DEF 3000→3300 LVL: 6

"Spell Card: Gift of the Martyr!" Yasutake declared. "By Tributing one monster, I can increase the attack points of another monster by that monster's attack points. I Tribute Orange Sunset to increase Spectrum Supreme's attack points by 1100!"

Mekk-Knight Spectrum Supreme ATK 3300→4400

"4-4400 attack points?" Naoki said, even more surprised. "I can take 2000 damage from that!"

"Spectrum Supreme's final effect," Yasutake intoned, causing Naoki to have a sense of dread. "While there are no cards in the same column as Spectrum Supreme, it can attack directly."

"WHAT!?" Naoki said, his eyes bugging out. That monster had 4400 attack points! If it could attack directly, that meant…

"Battle!" Yasutake declared. "Spectrum Supreme, attack my opponent directly!" Naoki breathed a sigh of disappointment as his Life Points hit 0.

Naoki: 4000→0 LP

Naoki took the headset off and sighed. "You're not bad, Narahiko. You're probably the best duelist in Duel Club." He looked at Narahiko and frowned. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Yasutake had wrestled the headset off and thrown it on the ground. He was breathing heavily, his entire body shaking. He had won, so that meant he would be fed. Wait…

He blinked. He wasn't in that place. He was at the soccer field. At Den Academy. He remembered. He'd been dueling Naoki…

Someone touched his shoulder, making him start in surprise and turn. It was Aoi, the concern on her face evident.

"Narahiko, what's wrong?" she asked him. "You're shaking. And… you look like you've seen a ghost."

Yasutake stared at her, then turned towards the school. "Excuse me," he said, heading back into the school.

You look like you've seen a ghost.

Not a ghost. Something far worse than that.

---

Yasutake splashed the water from the sink on his face and looked up at the mirror. His eyes were hollow in his face, with water running down it. If he had to describe his expression, it would be… sadness. Unbearable sadness.

He gasped as the image in the mirror changed. It was the blue and purple eye. It seemed to be mocking him.

You will never be free of me.

He wanted to punch that eye. But that would mean punching the mirror, and he didn't want glass in his hand. He sighed and closed his eyes.

Three, he thought. Think of three things. Three things to live. Three things to go home. Three things to defeat the enemy. By thinking, you can still live.

One: Cam. Two: Sachi. Three…

He opened his eyes. He didn't have a third person. That was annoying. Unbidden, an image of Aoi came into his mind. He shook his head. What was that? Did he think of her as… a friend? What a pointless thought. She couldn't be his friend. He sighed again.

It doesn't matter what I do, doesn't it? No matter how much I try to suppress those memories, they'll stay, won't they? Even so… His eyes set with determination. I have to go on. I have to keep walking forward. I can't get caught up in the past. If I do, then I'll lose my future. A future where Cam and Sachi are smiling together.

He smiled at that thought. That was what he wanted most in the world: to see Cam and Sachi happy together, like they were in the videos from before the incident.

---

A few minutes later, he walked out of the bathroom, calmed down. He was surprised to see Aoi on the other side.

"Why are you here?" he asked. He knew it was insensitive, but he didn't care at the moment. Aoi didn't seem to either, as her expression of concern didn't change.

"I was worried," she said. "That look on your face after the duel… it was like you saw something horrible. A memory you hate."

She's perceptive, Yasutake thought. It didn't matter. There was nothing she could do to help him.

"It was a bad memory," he said. "But I'm fine now."

"No you aren't," Aoi said. "I can see it in your eyes. Whatever happened, you're suppressing it, not fixing it."

He narrowed his eyes and turned serious. "That is all I can do." He moved to walk past her, but she grabbed his arm. He raised an eyebrow.

"Yasutake," she said, using his first name. "Is there anything I can-?"

"No," he said. "This isn't your problem, Zaizen. It's mine." He gently pulled free of her and walked away. Before he could leave though, she spoke again.

"Your Mekk-Knight monsters. Where did you get them? I haven't seen them before."

Yasutake didn't answer at first, then said, "They belonged to a friend of mine. But she can't duel anymore, so I use her Deck to honor her."

Can't duel anymore? Aoi wondered as Yasutake walked away. What does that mean?

Neither of them noticed Yusaku watching from around the corner.

"What was that?" Ai asked him. "People don't act that way after dueling in VR, do they?"

"No," Yusaku said. "Most people don't anyway. In fact," he narrowed his eyes, "there can only be six people in the world who would have that reaction."

"Eh? Why six?"

"It doesn't matter," he said, turning around. You're one of us, aren't you, Narahiko? You were there with me and Kusanagi's brother. And if you are Morningstar… then I hope you stay away from Hanoi. What I am doing… I do not just for Kusanagi's brother, I do for you and the others. I will have justice for what was done to us!

---

Yasutake entered the bakery and looked around. It was about half-full, but no one was in line.

"Ah, Yasu!" Cam said, smiling at him. "I've got everything up here handled. There's something in the back I need you to look at."

Yasutake understood. They'd gotten another contract. Yasutake normally didn't take two contracts at a time, but he suspected Playmaker would be a long hunt, and he could use a diversion.

"Alright," he said and walked into the back room. He fired up the computers and looked at the message. He raised an eyebrow. It was a minor contract, nothing special. Someone with the alias "Watcher" had attempted to steal files from SOL Technologies. He hadn't taken anything, but he'd escaped and was on the run in LINK VRAINS. SOL wanted Morningstar to find him and retrieve him for their security drones. It was a simple job, and one he could finish before tomorrow. The only hard part would be finding Watcher.

There are three things I need to find Watcher, Yasutake thought, beginning to type. One: a small-scale scan program. One that sweeps the area efficiently, but is undetectable. Two: a means of predicting where he is heading once I know his current location, so I can intercept him. Three: a blackberry scone. I'm hungry.

He quickly walked out of the room and grabbed a scone from the display case. Cam let him eat the bakery's products so long as he didn't overdo it. Since Yasutake didn't want to infringe on that, he limited himself to a scone a day. Or at least, he limited himself to not paying for one a day. He usually bought one at the beginning of the day before school.

He returned to the monitors and began working on his scan program. It shouldn't be too hard to find Watcher; SOL had gotten his alias ID, so he just had to search for that.

"Looking for Watcher?" Cam asked, walking into the back. He must have put up the lunch sign. "I already loaded a scan program to find him."

"What?" Yasutake said, shocked and annoyed. "Why didn't you tell me? I've wasted fifteen minutes making my own!"

Cam laughed. "I tried when you grabbed that scone, but you rushed back here before I could." He sat down next to Yasutake and activated the program he'd loaded. Yasutake saved the program he'd started to make. Even if it wasn't needed now, he might need it someday.

"While we wait for the scan to find him," Cam said, turning to Yasutake, "what happened in school today?"

Yasutake was quiet, then he said, "We had another Duel Club meeting. A boy named Yusaku Fujiki joined."

Cam narrowed his eyes. "There's more to it than that. Something happened, didn't it?"

Yasutake hesitated, then told him about his VR duel with Naoki. Cam paled.

"Dear God," he whispered. "Yasu, I'm sorry. Why didn't you turn the challenge down?"

"I couldn't," Yasutake responded. "When I saw the headsets, I just blanked out. I accepted automatically." He looked back at the monitors. "I spend all this time trying to escape my past, then I have one duel, and it all comes crashing back."

"If you want to leave Duel Club, I'd understand-."

"I can't," Yasutake said, turning back to Cam. "Not because of you, or because I want to. It's because of the new kid that joined, Yusaku Fujiki. I think he might be Playmaker."

"What?" Cam said, shocked. "Why would Playmaker join Duel Club?"

"I don't think he wanted to. Hosoda and Shima seemed to force him, like they did me."

"What makes you think he's Playmaker?"

"His Duel Disk is the same model and has the same coloring as Playmaker's," he answered. "But it's more than that. I got a look at his Deck. It was poorly built, and to me, it seemed intentionally so. I carry around a decoy Deck, so it makes sense that Playmaker would to. And it would draw less attention to him if said Deck was amateurish."

Cam thought about it, then said, "I think you're right to suspect him, but let's wait before accusing him. Given the contract, it's best to be certain beyond a doubt."

"Of course," Yasutake said, and would have said more if the scan program hadn't alerted them. They turned to the monitor.

"There," Yasutake said, standing up. "Watcher's on the move. Looks like he's heading for a data stream. He's probably hoping to take it somewhere else."

"Then why don't you go out there and stop him?" Cam suggested. "That bounty of his would more than make up for all the scones you take."

"I pay for some of them," Yasutake protested mildly before entering the sealed room.

---

Watcher stuck to the shadows of the skyscraper he was sneaking around. His avatar was a long black trench coat over a black shirt with a black fedora, black sunglasses, and a black mask that covered the lower half of his face.

He looked up at the data stream he was near. If he got on it, he'd be able to escape quickly. Unfortunately, getting on the data stream would mean drawing unwanted attention.

Suddenly, he heard a noise. He swung his head around, looking around him. There was nothing there. But he'd sworn he'd heard something…

He jumped to his left, avoiding the golden net that shot out of the shadows at him. He looked for the source, and beneath his glasses, his eyes widened. The person who'd fired the net had black, blue, and silver hair and wore a dark blue and maroon jumpsuit with a black belt.

"Morningstar," Watcher grumbled. "Isn't this beneath you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Word on the web was that you were joining the Charisma Duelists. That's why you dueled Onizuka."

"Onizuka had something I wanted. And SOL has offered a tidy sum for you." Morningstar narrowed his eyes. "I'm having a bad day so far, so why don't you surrender now?"

"It won't be that easy!" Watcher declared, running for the data stream. He jumped up and attempted to teleport onto it, but Morningstar snagged his ankle with a red cable, making Watcher fall back down to earth.

"What the-?" Watcher said, standing up and looking at the cable around his foot. "A Data Anchor!? Where did you get something like this?"

"I made it," Morningstar answered. "And I'm sure you know what this program means. Now neither of us can log out unless we have a duel."

Watcher growled. Damn it. He was hoping to lose Morningstar somewhere on the data stream, but it looked like he had no choice now.

"Fine," he said. "Let's get to it."

---

Morningstar and Watcher rode the data stream, Morningstar in front on his board, and Watcher behind him riding a plain white board with black markings on it.

"Speed Duel!" they shouted.

Morningstar: 4000 LP

Watcher: 4000 LP

"I shall go first," Morningstar said, taking a card from his hand. "I Normal Summon Cyspirit Lancer!"

Cyspirit Lancer ATK 1800 DEF 0 LVL: 4

"Since Lancer is in Attack Position, all 'Cyspirit' monsters I control gains 300 attack points. Digital Charge!"

Cyspirit Lancer ATK 1800→2100

"Next, I activate the Spell Card: Cyspirit Blast!" The card showed Cyspirit Navigator holding a pistol and firing a shot, making another monster explode. "With this card, I negate the effects of one 'Cyspirit' monster I control until the End Phase and inflict damage to you equal to half that monster's attack! I negate Lancer's effects, and deal 900 damage to you!"

"What?" Watcher said, surprised. "You're inflicting damage this early?" With Lancer's effects negated, it lost attack points while a blast of white energy hit Watcher, making him wince.

Cyspirit Lancer ATK 2100→1800

Watcher: 4000→3100 LP

"I Set one card," Morningstar said. "I end my turn. And since it is the End Phase, Lancer's effects return, as does its attack increase."

Cyspirit Lancer ATK 1800→2100

"My turn! Draw!" Watcher said, drawing and waving his hand in front of him, revealing his cards. He smirked beneath his mask. With these cards, he could end this duel this turn. And that was necessary. He'd heard all the stories about Morningstar. If he let him have another turn, he'd lose.

"I summon SPYRAL Tough!" A man with spiky yellow hair wearing a blue suit and carrying a briefcase appeared on Watcher's field.

SPYRAL Tough ATK 1900 DEF 1500 LVL: 4

"Due to Tough's effect, its name becomes SPYRAL Super Agent while it is on the field or in the Graveyard!" Watcher told Morningstar. "SPYRAL Tough's monster effect! Once per turn, I can declare one card type and target one card you control. Then, you reveal the top card of your Deck, and if that card is the declared type, the targeted card is destroyed!"

A gamble, Morningstar though, keeping his face impassive. SPYRAL monsters revolve around effects like this. Even if it fails, he could do so again with another monster and guess correctly.

"I declare Monster Cards!" Watcher said, "and target Cyspirit Lancer! Now, reveal the top card of your Deck!" Morningstar picked up the card, then showed it to Watcher.

"My card is Cyberse Call, a Spell Card! So Lancer remains on the field."

"Tch," Watcher said, gritting his teeth. "That doesn't matter! I activate the effect of SPYRAL Super Agent in my hand! I declare a card type, and if the top card of your Deck is the declared type, I can Special Summon Super Agent! I declare Spell Card!"

Once again, Morningstar picked up Cyberse Call and showed it to Watcher.

"The card is the declared type, so I Special Summon SPYRAL Super Agent!" This monster had brown-blonde hair while wearing a brown suit with a red tie and carrying a briefcase.

SPYRAL Super Agent ATK 1900 DEF 1200 LVL: 4

"And now Super Agent's second effect! If he is Special Summoned by the effect of a "SPYRAL" card, I can target and destroy one Spell or Trap Card you control! I destroy your face-down card!" The card shattered on Morningstar's field.

"Appear, the secret circuit!" Watcher declared, shooting energy from his hand at the sky. The Link portal appeared. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are two 'SPYRAL' monsters! I set SPYRAL Tough and SPYRAL Super Agent in the Link Markers!" His monsters entered the left and bottom-center arrows, turning them red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Show yourself! Link 2! SPYRAL Double Helix!" Two people, one a younger version of Super Agent, the other a big man with dark skin and braided white hair holding a gun, appeared on Watcher's field in the Extra Monster Zone.

SPYRAL Double Helix ATK 1900 LINK-2 ←↓

A Link Summon this early, Morningstar thought, narrowing his eyes. Looks like Watcher was trying to end this quickly.

"Double Helix's monster effect! Once per turn, I declare a card type, and if the top card of your Deck is that type, I can take a 'SPYRAL' monster from my Deck or Graveyard, and add it to my hand or summon it to Double Helix's Link Marker! I declare Spell Card, and since the top card of your Deck is a Spell Card, I Special Summon SPYRAL Master Plan from my Deck to Double Helix's Link Marker!"

This monster was a woman with blonde hair piled up on top of her head and wearing a grey suit while carrying a tablet.

SPYRAL Master Plan ATK 1200 DEF 2800 LVL: 7

"Master Plan's monster effect! Once per turn, I can add one 'SPYRAL MISSION' card from my Deck to my hand! I add the Continuous Spell Card SPYRAL MISSION – Assault to my hand, and activate it!" The card showed Super Agent getting into a fight with a guy carrying truncheons.

"Now I activate the effect of SPYRAL GEAR – Last Resort in my hand!" Watcher declared. "I can equip this card from my hand or field to a 'SPYRAL' monster I control! I equip it to Double Helix!" Both members of Double Helix gained green mech suits, though the big guy looked unhappy about it.

"While Last Resort is equipped to a monster by its effect, that monster cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects," Watcher told Morningstar. "In addition, you cannot target it with card effects." Morningstar didn't react to that announcement, instead waiting to see what Watcher would do next.

"Last Resort's other monster effect! By sending one other card I control to the Graveyard, the equipped monster can attack directly this turn! I send Master Plan to the Graveyard!" The woman shattered into pieces as he declared that. "Now Master Plan's effect activates! When she is sent from the field to the Graveyard, I can add one SPYRAL Resort and one 'SPYRAL' monster from my Deck to my hand! I add SPYRAL Resort and SPYRAL Sleeper to my hand."

Watcher smirked. He had everything he needed now. "I activate the Field Spell: SPYRAL Resort!" The card showed Master Plan watching a video feed of Super Agent. "Now, you cannot target other 'SPYRAL' cards I control with card effects! I now activate the second effect of SPYRAL Resort! Once per turn, I add one 'SPYRAL' monster from my Deck to my hand. I add SPYRAL Quik-Fix to my hand."

He did so, then said, "I activate the Equip Spell: SPYRAL GEAR – Fully Armed! I equip this card to Double Helix!" Two red and blue futuristic shields appeared on the arms of Double Helix's mech suits. "Normally, I can only equip this card to SPYRAL – Super Agent, but Double Helix's effect treats it as having the same name as Super Agent! The equipped monster gains 1000 attack points, and if it destroys your monster by battle, I can banish that monster and one other card you control."

SPYRAL Double Helix ATK 1900→2900

Watcher smirked again. "Now, it is time to bring out my true ace! The monster that will lead to your destruction! I banish SPYRAL Tough, SPYRAL Super Agent, and SPYRAL Master Plan from my Graveyard to Special Summon SPYRAL Sleeper in Attack Position!" His monster was an older version of the big man in Double Helix, wearing a black bodysuit and wielding two darker versions of SPYRAL Gear – Fully Armed.

SPYRAL Sleeper ATK 2800 DEF 1200 LVL: 8

2800 attack points, Morningstar thought. And Double Helix has 2900 attack points. He's trying to finish it this turn and make sure I don't get another one.

"It's time to end this!" Watcher said. "It looks like your reputation has been greatly exaggerated, Morningstar! I activate Sleeper's effect! Once per turn, I can target one 'SPYRAL' card I control and up to two cards you control. I then destroy them! I target my Last Resort and your Cyspirit Lancer! Say goodbye to your last card!" The mech suits that the two members of Double Helix were wearing disintegrated, leaving the younger man looking disappointed. At the same time, Cyspirit Lancer disintegrated, but Morningstar showed no reaction.

"And now the effect of SPYRAL MISSION – Assault activates! Since a card on the field was destroyed by the effect of a 'SPYRAL' monster, I draw one card!" He drew and smirked. If he didn't defeat Morningstar this turn, this card would protect him.

"I activate my Skill!" Morningstar declared, surprising Watcher. "Cyberse Revolution! Since a Cyberse monster on my field was destroyed by battle or card effect, I can Special Summon one Cyberse monster from my Deck, so long as it has a lower Level than that of the destroyed monster. I Special Summon Cyspirit Changer to the field in Defense Position!" The dwarf-sized skeleton in a white cloak carrying an electronic sign appeared on Morningstar's field.

Cyspirit Changer ATK 200 DEF 100 LVL: 1

Watcher growled. "Do you think I will let you evade me that easily? I activate my Skill! Secret Mission! By discarding a 'SPYRAL' monster, I can destroy one card on your field! I discard SPYRAL Quik-Fix to destroy your Cyspirit Changer!" Changer disintegrated, leaving Morningstar defenseless.

"I Set two cards," Watcher said, doing so. "Battle! SPYRAL Sleeper, attack Morningstar directly! This is the beginning of the end!" Sleeper charged at Morningstar, aiming to punch him, but Morningstar was prepared.

"Trap activate!"

"What?" Watcher said, surprised. "But you don't have any Trap Cards! Or monsters or Spell Cards!"

"I do in my Graveyard," Morningstar said calmly. "Since you declared an attack while I have a 'Cyspirit' monster either on my field or in my Graveyard, I can banish Cyspirit Battle Barrier!" The card that Watcher had destroyed earlier appeared on Morningstar's field. It showed a duelist with a bubble surrounding them and Cyspirit Rapid Revolutionary preparing to fire at whoever struck the bubble. "Cyspirit Battle Barrier reduces the damage from this battle to 0 and ends the Battle Phase!" A barrier appeared around Morningstar and blocked Sleeper's punch. "And then, since I control no monsters, I draw cards equal to the number of monsters you control. You control two monsters, so I draw two cards!" He drew, looked at the cards, then added them to his hand.

"I end my turn," Watcher said, grinding his teeth. Damn it. He hadn't been able to defeat or even damage Morningstar this turn. "In order to keep SPYRAL Resort in play, I must shuffle one monster in my Graveyard back into my Deck. I shuffle SPYRAL Last Resort back into my Deck."

He looked over at Morningstar with hatred. "Let's see you try to take down my Double Helix and Sleeper! It doesn't matter if you're the devil himself, I will not lose to you!"

The devil himself? Morningstar thought, allowing himself a smirk. Interesting choice of words. Let's see if you last the turn.

"My turn. Draw!" Morningstar looked at his card, then played it. "Since you control monsters and I do not, I Special Summon Cyspirit Swordsman from my hand!" The skeleton warrior in blue armor carrying futuristic swords appeared on his field.

Cyspirit Swordsman ATK 1200 DEF 900 LVL: 3

"Since Swordsman was summoned by its own effect, I can add one 'Cyspirit' monster from my Deck to my hand. I add Cyspirit Dancer to my hand, then Normal Summon her!" The skeleton in a leotard and dancing shoes appeared on his field.

Cyspirit Dancer ATK 1000 DEF 200 LVL: 2

"Dancer's monster effect!" Monster declared. "When she is Normal Summoned and I control a 'Cyspirit' monster, I can Special Summon one Level 2 or lower 'Cyspirit' monster from my hand or Deck with its effects negated. I Special Summon Cyspirit Kid from my Deck!" This monster was a small grey skeleton in a t-shirt with a metal right arm and a metal skull with a blue left eye.

Cyspirit Kid ATK 300 DEF 200 LVL: 1

"Three monsters at once," Watcher muttered. "He must be…"

"Appear!" Morningstar declared, pointing to the sky. "The circuit between light and darkness!" He sent a bolt of electricity at the sky, which created the Link portal.

"Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning condition is one 'Cyspirit' monster. I set Cyspirit Kid in the Link Marker!" Kid entered the bottom arrow, turning it red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Come forth! Link 1! Cyspirit Cacophonic Caller!"

The Link 1 monster was a normal-sized skeleton wearing a tattered business suit. Its skull was metallic grey and had a blue left eye and a red right eye. It held a cellphone in its left hand and a handheld radio in its other hand, both of which produced a lot of noise. It had two short metallic grey and silver wings on its back and was summoned to the Extra Monster Zone.

Cyspirit Cacophonic Caller ATK 500 LINK-1 ↓

"Cyspirit Kid's monster effect!" Morningstar declared. "When this card is used to Link Summon a 'Cyspirit' Link Monster, I can target and destroy one face-up card on my opponent's field!"

"What?" Watcher said, his eyes widening behind his glasses.

"I destroy SPYRAL Resort!" The Field Spell shattered as Watcher grit his teeth. That meant Morningstar could target his 'SPYRAL' cards with card effects.

"Cacophonic Caller's monster effect!" Morningstar continued. "Once per turn, I can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower 'Cyspirit' monster from my Deck to the zone it points to, but that monster cannot attack and it will be destroyed during the End Phase. I Special Summon Cyspirit Teleporter to Cacophonic Caller's Link Marker!" The black skeleton in grey armor with a metal skull and a red right eye carrying a baton appeared on his field.

Cyspirit Teleporter ATK 500 DEF 1500 LVL: 3

"Appear!" Morningstar declared for the second time. "The circuit between light and darkness!" Another Link portal appeared in the sky. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are two 'Cyspirit' monsters! I set Swordsman and Link 1 Cacophonic Caller in the Link Markers!" His two monsters entered the top and bottom arrows, turning them red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Come forth! Link 2! Cyspirit Mad Mongrel!"

This monster was a massive skeleton dog. It wore silver and grey armor with lines running over it like binary code, and there was a satellite dish at the end of its tail. Its skull had the customary red right eye and blue left eye, and in addition to the grey and silver metallic wings, there were two launchers on its back, one a missile launcher and the other a net launcher. It was summon to the Extra Monster Zone.

Cyspirit Mad Mongrel ATK 2000 LINK-2 ↑↓

"Another Link Monster?" Watcher said, looking at it. "It doesn't matter what you summon, I will destroy it! I activate SPYRAL Sleeper's effect! I target SPYRAL MISSION – Assault and your Cyspirit Dancer and Cyspirit Mad Mongrel. Now all those cards are destroyed."

"Not happening!" Morningstar told him. "Mad Mongrel's monster effect! Since it points to one monster and it was targeted with a card effect, I send one 'Cyspirit' monster it points at to the Graveyard to negate that effect. I send the Teleporter it points at to the Graveyard to negate your Sleeper's effect!"

"Tch," Watcher said, gritting his teeth. Still, he had gotten rid of one of Morningstar's monsters.

"I activate the effect of Cyspirit Teleporter in my Graveyard!" Morningstar said, stunning Watcher. "By banishing Teleporter, I can Special Summon one Level 3 or lower 'Cyspirit' monster from my Graveyard. I Special Summon Cyspirit Swordsman from my Graveyard!" The skeleton warrior reappeared, summoned to the zone Mad Mongrel pointed to on Morningstar's field.

Cyspirit Swordsman ATK 1200 DEF 900 LVL: 3

"Next, I activate the Quick-Play Spell: Cyspirit Forced Call!" The card showed a skeleton carrying two massive shields in a zone, as the zone across from it lit up.

"Since I control a 'Cyspirit' Link Monster, I can Special Summon one monster from your Graveyard to your field in Defense Position with its effects negated!"

"What?" Watcher said, surprised again. "You're summoning a monster to my field?"

"I Special Summon SPYRAL Quik-Fix from your Graveyard to your field!" The monster was a young man with brown hair and glasses carrying a screwdriver. He was summoned to the zone on Watcher's field that Mad Mongrel pointed to.

SPYRAL Quik-Fix ATK 500 DEF 400 LVL: 1

Watcher laughed. "You fool! Continuous Trap activate! SPYRAL MISSION – Recapture!" The Trap Card showed Super Agent, Tough, and a woman with brown hair tying some people up. "Once per turn, when a 'SPYRAL' monster is Special Summoned to my field, I can take control of one of your monsters until the End Phase! I take control of your Mad Mongrel!"

"You won't," Morningstar said. "I activate the effect of Cyspirit Forced Call in my Graveyard! If you target a 'Cyspirit' monster with the effect of a Spell or Trap Card, I can banish Forced Call to negate that effect, then shuffle that card back into your Deck."

Watcher grimaced as his card was negated and he shuffled it back into his Deck. If it had gone to his Graveyard instead, he would have been able to banish it to prevent the destruction of one of his "SPYRAL" monsters once. That was twice now that Morningstar had predicted and foiled his moves. What was this guy?

"Spell Card: Cyberse Call!" Morningstar said, playing the card that Super Agent and Double Helix had revealed before. "This card adds one Level 4 or lower Cyberse monster from my Deck to my hand. I add Cyspirit Linker to my hand." He did so, then gestured to Mad Mongrel. "Mad Mongrel's second monster effect! Since it points to two monsters, and one is a 'Cyspirit' monster, it targets two monsters, one on your field that it points to and one 'Cyspirit' monster in my Graveyard. Then, the monster on your field is treated as having the same name and Type as my monster."

"What?" Watcher asked. "Why would you want to change my monster's name and Type?"

"Because," Morningstar explained. "Immediately after Mad Mongrel changes your monster's name and Type, I can use it and Mad Mongrel to perform a Link Summon!"

"What?" Watcher said, surprised even more. "You're using my monster to perform a Link Summon?"

I target Cyspirit Kid in my Graveyard and SPYRAL Quik-Fix on your field! Now that Quik-Fix is treated as having the same name as Kid, appear! The circuit between light and darkness!"

He sent a jolt of lightning at the sky, creating a third Link portal. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are two or more 'Cyspirit' monsters! When I use a Link Monster to Link Summon, its Link Markers count as Link Materials! I set the SPYRAL Quik-Fix treated as Cyspirit Kid and the Link 2 Mad Mongrel in the Link Markers!"

The two monsters, with Mad Mongrel breaking into two, entered the bottom-left, top, and bottom-center arrows, turning them red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Come forth! Link 3! Cyspirit Rapid Revolutionary!"

The monster in the blue metallic trench coat and a black waistcoat and knee-high boots appeared on Morningstar's field. It raised its head, revealing its face underneath the silver tricorne hat, and showing off its silver metal skull with a red right eye and blue left eye. It beat the grey and silver metallic wings that emerged from its back and lifted the two black futuristic pistols it carried. Like Cacophonic Caller and Mad Mongrel, it was summoned to the Extra Monster Zone.

Cyspirit Rapid Revolutionary ATK 2200 LINK-3 ↙↑↓

"Three Link Summons in one turn?" Watcher said, looking at the monster with fear. "What are you?"

"I am Morningstar, and I am far from done!" he declared. "Appear, the circuit between light and darkness!"

"What? A fourth Link Summon?" Watcher said in surprise as Morningstar sent another bolt of lightning at the sky, creating the Link portal.

"Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are two 'Cyspirit' monsters! I set Cyspirit Dancer and Cyspirit Swordsman in the Link Markers!" The two monsters entered the left and right arrows, turning them red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 2! Cyspirit Thrilled Tunneler!"

This monster was a black skeleton with a grey metal skull that had a red right eye and a blue left eye. Its mouth was cracked so that it looked like it was grinning. It wore a brown prospector uniform and had two metal arms, with the right one ending in a massive futuristic drill. Two grey and silver metallic wings emerged from its back as it was summoned to Rapid Revolutionary's bottom-left Link Marker.

Cyspirit Thrilled Tunneler ATK 1600 LINK-2 ←→

"Since Dancer was used to Link Summon a 'Cyspirit' Link Monster, that monster gains 600 attack points!"

Cyspirit Thrilled Tunneler ATK 1600→2200

"Now, I activate the effect of Cyspirit Linker in my hand! Since I control a 'Cyspirit' monster, I can Special Summon this card from my hand!" The skeleton in black armor and gauntlets with red arrows appeared on his field, summoned to Tunneler's right Link Marker and Rapid Revolutionary's bottom Link Marker.

Cyspirit Linker ATK 1700 DEF 800 LVL: 4

"I activate the effect of Cyberse Call in my Graveyard!" Morningstar declared. "By banishing it, I Special Summon one Cyberse monster from my Graveyard! I Special Summon Cyspirit Lancer!" His Lancer reappeared, summoned to Thrilled Tunneler's left Link Marker in Attack Position.

Cyspirit Lancer ATK 1800 DEF 0 LVL: 4

"Since Lancer is in Attack Position, all 'Cyspirit' monsters gain 300 attack points! Digital Charge!"

Cyspirit Lancer ATK 1800→2100

Cyspirit Linker ATK 1700→2000

Cyspirit Rapid Revolutionary ATK 2200→2500

Cyspirit Thrilled Tunneler ATK 2200→2500

"It doesn't matter how many monsters you summon!" Watcher growled, his anger and desperation growing. "None of them are strong enough to defeat mine!"

"We'll see about that," Morningstar said. "Thrilled Tunneler's monster effect! When it points to two monsters, once per turn, I can Tribute one monster it points to and place two Spell or Trap Cards on the field on the bottom of the owner's Deck."

"What?" Watcher said, his eyes widening in realization.

"I Tribute Cyspirit Linker to place SPYRAL GEAR – Fully Armed and your face-down card on the bottom of your Deck!" Linker disappeared as the two cards, with the face-down revealing itself to Watcher as being SPYRAL MISSION – Rescue, were placed on the bottom of Watcher's Deck. "Since Fully Armed is no longer on the field, Double Helix loses 1000 attack points!" The shields the two members of Double Helix were carrying disappeared.

SPYRAL Double Helix ATK 2900→1900

"Next, I activate the effect of Cyspirit Changer in my Graveyard!" Morningstar said. Watcher recognized that monster as the one he'd destroyed with his Skill. "I banish Changer, and then all non-'Cyspirit' monsters are switched to Defense Position! Double Helix is a Link Monster, so it can't change its position, but Sleeper can!" The old large man switched to Defense Position. Watcher grit his teeth. Now both of his monsters were weak enough to be defeated.

"It's time for my final card," Morningstar said, taking the last card in his hand and playing it. "Spell Card: Cyspirit Bypass!" The card showed Pied Pikeman and Rapid Revolutionary leaping past another monster to strike at a prison cell containing a skeleton in a prisoner's uniform. "Since I control two 'Cyspirit' Link Monsters, I can Special Summon one 'Cyspirit' monster from my Deck! I Special Summon Cyspirit Wanderer!" The black skeleton in brown poncho and trousers with one blue eye appeared on Morningstar's field, summoned to Thrilled Tunneler's right Link Marker and Rapid Revolutionary's bottom Link Marker.

Cyspirit Wanderer ATK 1900→2200 DEF 200 LVL: 5

"Wanderer's monster effect! Since it was Special Summoned by the effect of a 'Cyspirit' card, one monster on your field loses 800 attack points! I target Double Helix! Digital Drain!" Wanderer and Double Helix both glowed white.

SPYRAL Double Helix ATK 1900→1100

"Damn you!" Watcher said, losing his cool. "What are you!? How could you manipulate my field so completely like this!?"

Morningstar gave a small smirk. "Have you heard the tale of Lucifer?"

"Who?"

"Lucifer was once God's most beloved angel," Morningstar explained. "He dealt God's will and judgment down to those who wronged God. But eventually he rebelled against God and was cast down into Hell, and was given a new name. Satan, the devil. Before that, he was called 'the Lightbringer.' Or 'the Morningstar.'"

"You named yourself after the devil!?" Watcher said, his eyes widening beneath his sunglasses.

"I named myself after what the devil used to be," Morningstar answered. "I bring those who have committed crimes to judgment. I walk the line between light and darkness so that people like you do not get away with your crimes!"

He gestured to Thrilled Tunneler. "Thrilled Tunneler's monster effect! When it points to at least one monster, it can attack my opponent directly! However, its attack points are halved until the End Phase!"

Cyspirit Thrilled Tunneler 25001250

"What?"

"Battle! Thrilled Tunneler, attack directly! Cyber Drill!" Tunneler charged past Double Helix and Sleeper and struck Watcher directly, who yelled out at the damage.

Watcher: 3100→1850 LP

"Now, Cyspirit Wanderer, attack SPYRAL Double Helix! Lonesome Blast!" Wanderer pulled a brown futuristic pistol out of a holster underneath its poncho and fired an electrical blast at Double Helix. Both men screamed as they were destroyed, as did Watcher as he took damage.

Watcher: 1850→750 LP

"Stop!" Watcher cried out. "I'll pay you to leave me alone! I can hack into any company you want! I'll give you anything you want!"

"What I want," Morningstar said, narrowing his eyes, "is for you to answer for your crime. Rapid Revolutionary, attack SPYRAL Sleeper!" Rapid Revolutionary lifted both its pistols above its head as they glowed and merged into one elongated rifle.

"Rapid Revolutionary's monster effect! When it points to at least one monster, it gains 500 attack points when battling a non-Link Monster. And when it points to at least two monsters, if it attacks a Defense Position monster, it inflicts piercing battle damage! Go, Rapid Revolutionary! Final Revolution Shot!"

Cyspirit Rapid Revolutionary ATK 2500→3000

Rapid Revolutionary aimed its rifle at SPYRAL Sleeper and fired a massive blast of yellow energy at it as Watcher screamed.

---

"Look! It's Blue Angel!" This was said by a giant frog being carried by a pigeon with a camera on its head. "Roll the camera!" The two of them were looking down at the data stream, where Blue Angel was riding on a white and light green D-Board. She noticed them and smiled and waved at their camera.

"Hi! Everyone, I'm here!" She jumped down off the D-Board onto a nearby support beam. "You there! And you over there! Watch! I declare that I, Blue Angel, will duel Playmaker and win!"

"Blue Angel vs. Playmaker!"

"Awesome! When?"

"First Go Onizuka, now Blue Angel!"

This was said by the people in the main square watching the television screens that Blue Angel was on. Among them was Yusaku Fujiki, eating a hot dog.

"Come out, Playmaker!" Blue Angel, still smiling. "C'mon! I know you're watching, Playmaker! Accept my challenge!"

"Why is she so fired up?" Shoichi Kusanagi asked.

"Just duel her," Ai said, moving its eye, which was its only feature, to look at Yusaku.

"I refuse," he said. "One: I only approached Aoi Zaizen to get a lead on my stolen memories. Two: I only fight the Knights of Hanoi. Three: Blue Angel isn't Hanoi."

"People will say that you're a scared coward," Ai pointed out.

"They can say whatever they like," Yusaku said, his face unconcerned.

"There you go!" the MC said, as flamboyant as ever in his orange suit and light blue pants. "Blue Angel made a public challenge! If he doesn't accept, he's not a man! Show up, Playmaker!" Yusaku put his hand on the back of his head, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

Blue Angel looked around then sighed. "I guess Playmaker isn't going to show up," she said, making a pouty face before brightening up. "Ah! If Playmaker is not man enough to face me, then I have another person to challenge! I challenge-!"

"AAAHHHH!" Blue Angel, Frog, and Pigeon turned towards the sound of the scream, followed by a massive explosion a few blocks away.

---

Rapid Revolutionary destroyed SPYRAL Sleeper, the backlash of which knocked Watcher off his D-Board as he fell screaming towards the ground.

Watcher: 750→0 LP

Morningstar launched the security net from his Duel Disk, catching Watcher before he hit the ground. He flung the net so that it hit the side of a building, leaving Watcher stuck there.

"Oi! What is this?" Watcher asked. "Let me out of here!"

"That net will keep you from logging out until SOL's security drones find you," Morningstar told him. "I imagine they'll delete your account after finding out who hired you to steal their files. Goodbye." He sped away on his D-Board. Suddenly, he felt something and jumped off, landing on a skyscraper some distance from Watcher.

What was that? he thought. That feeling... it's similar to what I felt when Hanoi attacked. Is Hanoi here?

"Oh, look who's here!"

He turned towards the voice. It was Blue Angel, smiling at him. Frog and Pigeon were nearby, broadcasting the meeting.

"Oh, what's this!" the MC said. "Blue Angel has encountered Morningstar! What is he doing in LINK VRAINS?" Yusaku narrowed his eyes on seeing Morningstar.

"I was hoping to duel Playmaker, but he didn't show up," Blue Angel said. "But, you're here, and a duel between us will excite the crowd just as much as me dueling Playmaker."

She pointed at Morningstar. "Morningstar! I challenge you to a duel!"

The two teenagers glared at each other, Blue Angel smiling and Morningstar's face emotionless.

---

Naoki Shima vs. Yasutake Narahiko

Turn 1: Naoki

Naoki activates the Field Spell World Legacy in Shadow. All "Krawler" monsters on the field gain 300 ATK/DEF, and once per turn, Naoki can Special Summon 1 Level 2 or lower Insect monster from his hand in face-up or face-down Defense Position. When a Flip monster Naoki controls is destroyed by battle with an opponent's monster, Naoki can send that opponent's monster to the GY. Naoki activates the effect of World Legacy in Shadow to Special Summon Krawler Receptor in face-down Defense Position. Naoki Sets one monster and one face-down. He ends his turn.

Turn 2: Yasutake

Yasutake draws. Naoki activates his face-down Continuous Trap Card World Legacy Pawns. He targets his face-down Krawler Receptor, changing it to face-up Defense Position (900→1200/1200→1500/2). The Flip Effect of Krawler Receptor activates, letting Naoki add 1 "Krawler" monster from his Deck to his hand. He adds Krawler Spine to his hand. Yasutake activates the Field Spell Scars Caused by the World Legacy. All "Jack Knight" monsters on the field gain 300 ATK/DEF, and once per turn, Yasutake can discard 1 "Jack Knight" monster or 1 "World Legacy" card and then draw 1 card. Yasutake activates the effect of Scars Caused by the World Legacy, discarding Jack Knight of the Green Heights to draw 1 card. Since there 2 cards in the same column (Krawler Receptor and World Legacy Pawns), Yasutake can Special Summon Jack Knight of the Crimson Lotus (2300→2600/2600→2900/7) to the same column. He activates Crimson Lotus's effect, banishing Green Heights from his GY to destroy Krawler Receptor. Naoki activates the effect of Krawler Receptor. Since it left the field because of an opponent's card effect while face-up, Naoki can Special Summon 2 "Krawler" monsters with different names from his Deck in face-down Defense Position. He Special Summons Krawler Dendrite and Krawler Ranvier in face-down Defense Position.

Yasutake attacks the face-down Krawler Dendrite, flipping it face-up (1300→1600/600→900/2). Dendrite's Flip Effect activates, and Naoki sends Krawler Axon from his Deck to his GY. Naoki activates the effect of World Legacy in Shadow, sending the monster that destroyed a Flip monster he controlled to the GY. He sends Crimson Lotus to the Graveyard. Yasutake Sets one card. He ends his turn.

Turn 3: Naoki

Naoki draws. He Flip Summons Krawler Ranvier (1100→1400/900→1200/2) and Krawler Glial (700→1000/1500→1800/2). The Flip Effect of Ranvier activates, and Naoki adds Krawler Axon and Krawler Receptor from his GY to his hand. The Flip Effect of Glial activates, letting Naoki Special Summon 1 "Krawler" monster from his hand or GY in Attack Position or face-down Defense Position. He Special Summons Krawler Axon (500→800/1800→2100/2) in Attack Position. Naoki activates the effect of World Legacy in Shadow, and Special Summons Krawler Spine (300→600/2100→2400/2) from his hand in face-up Defense Position. Naoki Normal Summons Krawler Receptor (900→1200/1200→1500/2). Naoki uses Krawler Ranvier and Krawler Glial to Link Summon X-Krawler Qualiark (2000→2300/2/↙↘) to the Extra Monster Zone.

Since Naoki controls 2 or more "Krawler" monsters, Qualiark increases the ATK/DEF of all of Naoki's monsters by 300 (Receptor: 1200→1500/1500→1800) (Axon: 800→1100/2100→2400) (Spine: 600→900/2400→2700) (Qualiark: 2300→2600). Naoki uses Krawler Spine and Krawler Axon to Link Summon X-Krawler Neurogos to Qualiark's bottom-left Link Marker (1900→2500/2/←→). Neurogos's effect increases the ATK/DEF of all "Krawler" monsters it points to by 300. It points to Receptor (Receptor: 1500→1800). Naoki activates Double Summon, letting him perform a second Normal Summon. He Normal Summons a second Krawler Receptor (900→1500/1200→1800/2). Naoki uses both Receptors to Link Summon X-Krawler Synaphysis (1800→2400/2/←→) to Neurogos's right Link Marker. The effect of Synaphysis increases the ATK/DEF of all "Krawler" monsters it points to by 300 (Neurogos: 2500→2800). Naoki attacks directly with X-Krawler Qualiark. Yasutake activates his face-down Continuous Trap Card The True Depths Sleeping Inside the World Legacy, targeting his Crimson Lotus in the Graveyard and Special Summoning it (2300→2600/2600→2900/7) in Attack Position. Naoki cancels his attack with Qualiark, and attacks Crimson Lotus with Neurogos, destroying it (Yasutake: 4000→3800 LP). Naoki attacks directly with Synaphysis (Yasutake: 3800→1400 LP). Naoki ends his turn.

Turn 4: Yasutake

Yasutake draws. He activates the effect of Scars Caused by the World Legacy, discarding Jack Knight of the Purple Dusk to draw 1 card. Since there are 2 cards in the same column (X-Krawler Qualiark and X-Krawler Synaphysis), Yasutake Special Summons Jack Knight of the Blue Sky (2000→2300/2500→2800/5) to the same column. Since Blue Sky was Normal or Special Summoned from the hand, Yasutake can add "Jack Knight" monsters with different names from his Deck to his hand, equal to the number of Naoki's cards in the same column as Blue Sky. Yasutake adds Jack Knight of the Azure Blue and Jack Knight of the Yellow Bloom to his hand. Since there are 2 cards in the same column (X-Krawler Neurogos and World Legacy Pawns), Yasutake Special Summons Jack Knight of the Azure Blue (2400→2700/2400→2700/8) to the same column.

Yasutake activates Azure Blue's effect, moving itself to a different Main Monster Zone. Since there are 2 cards in the same column (X-Krawler Neurogos and World Legacy Pawns), Yasutake Special Summons Jack Knight of the Yellow Bloom (2200→2500/2800→3100/7) to the same column. He activates Yellow Bloom's effect, banishing Purple Dusk from his GY to destroy World Legacy Pawns. Yasutake uses Azure Blue, Blue Sky, and Yellow Bloom to Link Summon Jack Knight of the World Scars 3000→3300/3/↙↓↘) to the Extra Monster Zone. He activates World Scars' effect, sending The True Depths Sleeping Inside the World Legacy to the GY to Special Summon Jack Knight of the Flickering Flame (800→1100/3000→3300/6) from his Deck in Defense Position. Yasutake activates the Spell Card Gift of the Martyr, Tributing Flickering Flame and increasing World Scars' ATK by Flickering Flame's ATK (3300→4400). Since there are no other cards in the same column as World Scars, it can attack directly. World Scars attacks Naoki directly (Naoki: 4000→0 LP). Yasutake wins.

---

Morningstar vs. Watcher

This Duel is conducted as a Speed Duel.

Turn 1: Morningstar

Morningstar Normal Summons Cyspirit Lancer (1800/0/4). Since Lancer is in Attack Position, all "Cyspirit" monsters he controls gain 300 ATK (Lancer: 1800→2100). Morningstar activates the Spell Card Cyspirit Blast. By negating the effects of 1 "Cyspirit" monster until the End Phase, he can inflict damage equal to half that monster's ATK. He negates Lancer's effect and deals 900 damage to Watcher (Lancer: 2100→1800) (Watcher: 4000→3100 LP). Morningstar Sets 1 card. He ends his turn. Since it is the End Phase, Cyspirit Blast's effect ends, and Lancer's effect resumes (Lancer: 1800→2100).

Turn 2: Watcher

Watcher draws. He Normal Summons SPYRAL Tough (1900/1500/4), whose name becomes "SPYRAL Super Agent" while it is on the field or in the GY. Watcher activates Tough's effect, declaring Monster and targeting Cyspirit Lancer. Morningstar must reveal the top card of his Deck, and if the card is the same type as the declared type, Lancer will be destroyed. Morningstar reveals the Spell Card Cyberse Call, so Lancer is not destroyed. Watcher activates the effect of SPYRAL Super Agent in his hand, declaring Spell. Morningstar must reveal the top card of his Deck, and if the card is the same type as the declared type, Watcher can Special Summon SPYRAL Super Agent. Morningstar reveals Cyberse Call, so Watcher Special Summons SPYRAL Super Agent (1900/1200/4). Watcher activates the effect of Super Agent. Since it was Special Summoned by the effect of a "SPYRAL" card, Watcher can destroy 1 Spell/Trap Card on Morningstar's field. He destroys Morningstar's face-down card. Watcher uses SPYRAL Tough and SPYRAL Super Agent to Link Summon SPYRAL Double Helix (1900/2/←↓) to his Extra Monster Zone.

He activates the effect of Double Helix, declaring Spell. Morningstar must reveal the top card of his Deck, and if the card is the same type as the declared type, Watcher can take a "SPYRAL" monster from his Deck or GY, and either add it to his hand or Special Summon it to a zone Double Helix points to. Morningstar reveals Cyberse Call, so Watcher Special Summons SPYRAL Master Plan (1200/2800/7) from his Deck to Double Helix's Link Marker. Watcher activates Master Plan's effect, letting him add 1 "SPYRAL MISSION" card from his Deck to his hand. He adds SPYRAL MISSION – Assault to his hand. He activates the Continuous Spell Card SPYRAL MISSION – Assault. Watcher activates the effect of SPYRAL GEAR – Last Resort in his hand, equipping it to Double Helix. Now Double Helix cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects, and it cannot be targeted with card effects. Watcher activates the effect of Last Resort, sending his Master Plan to the GY to let Double Helix attack directly this turn. Since Master Plan was sent from the field to the GY, Watcher adds SPYRAL Resort and SPYRAL Sleeper to his hand. He activates the Field Spell SPYRAL Resort. Now, Morningstar cannot target other "SPYRAL" cards Watcher controls with card effects.

Watcher activates the effect of SPYRAL Resort, letting him add 1 "SPYRAL" monster from his Deck to his hand. He adds SPYRAL Quik-Fix to his hand. Watcher activates the Equip Spell SPYRAL GEAR – Fully Armed, and equips it Double Helix, whose effect treats itself as "SPYRAL Super Agent". Double Helix gains 1000 ATK (1900→2900). Watcher banishes SPYRAL Tough, SPYRAL Super Agent, and SPYRAL Master Plan from his GY to Special Summon SPYRAL Sleeper (2800/1200/8) in Attack Position. Watcher activates Sleeper's effect, targeting his Last Resort and Morningstar's Cyspirit Lancer. Both cards are destroyed. Since a card on the field was destroyed by the effect of a "SPYRAL" monster, SPYRAL MISSION – Assault lets Watcher draw 1 card. Morningstar activates his Skill, Cyberse Revolution. Since a Cyberse monster on his field was destroyed by battle or card effect, Morningstar can Special Summon 1 Cyberse monster from his Deck with a lower Level than the destroyed monster. He Special Summons Cyspirit Changer (200/100/1) in Defense Position. Watcher activates his Skill, Secret Mission, discarding his SPYRAL Quik-Fix to destroy 1 card on Morningstar's field. He destroys Changer. Watcher Sets two cards. Watcher attacks directly with SPYRAL Sleeper, but Morningstar activates the effect of Cyspirit Battle Barrier in his Graveyard, banishing it to reduce the damage to 0 and end the Battle Phase and, since he controls no monsters, draw 1 card for every monster Watcher controls. Watcher controls 2, so Morningstar draws 2 cards. Watcher ends his turn. Since it is the End Phase, Watcher shuffles Last Resort back into his Deck to keep SPYRAL Resort in play.

Turn 3: Morningstar

Morningstar draws. Since Watcher controls monsters and he does not, he Special Summons Cyspirit Swordsman (1200/900/3) from his hand. Since it was Special Summoned via its effect, Swordsman lets Morningstar add 1 "Cyspirit" monster from his Deck to his hand. He adds Cyspirit Dancer to his hand. Morningstar Normal Summons Cyspirit Dancer (1000/200/2). Since Dancer was Normal Summoned, its effect lets Morningstar Special Summon 1 Level 2 or lower "Cyspirit" monster in Attack Position from his hand or Deck with its effects negated. He Special Summons Cyspirit Kid (300/200/1) from his Deck.

Morningstar uses Cyspirit Kid to Link Summon Cyspirit Cacophonic Caller (500/1/↓) to the Extra Monster Zone. Since Cyspirit Kid was used to Link summon a "Cyspirit" Link Monster, Morningstar can target 1 face-up card on his opponent's field and destroy that card. He destroys SPYRAL Resort. Morningstar activates the effect of Cacophonic Caller, Special Summoning Cyspirit Teleporter (500/1500/3) from his Deck in Attack Position to Cacophonic Caller's Link Marker. Morningstar uses Cyspirit Swordsman and Cyspirit Cacophonic Caller to Link Summon Cyspirit Mad Mongrel (2000/2/↑↓) to the Extra Monster Zone. Watcher activates the effect of SPYRAL Sleeper, targeting his SPYRAL MISSION – Assault and Morningstar's Cyspirit Dancer and Mad Mongrel, attempting to destroy them. Morningstar activates the effect of Mad Mongrel; since it points to at least 1 monster and an effect activated that targeted Mad Mongrel, Morningstar can send Teleporter to the GY to negate that effect. Morningstar activates the effect of Teleporter in his GY, banishing it to Special Summon Cypspirit Swordsman (1200/900/3) from his GY to the zone Mad Mongrel points to. Morningstar activates the Quick-Play Spell Card Cyspirit Forced Call, which lets him Special Summon a monster from his opponent's GY to their field in Defense Position with its effects negated until the End Phase. He Special Summon SPYRAL Quik-Fix (500/400/1) to a zone Mad Mongrel points to. Watcher activates his face-down Continuous Trap Card SPYRAL MISSION – Recapture. Since a "SPYRAL" monster was Special Summoned to his field, he can target 1 monster his opponent controls and take control of it until the End Phase. He targets Mad Mongrel. Morningstar activates the effect of Cyspirit Forced Call in his Graveyard, banishing it since his opponent targeted a "Cyspirit" monster with a Spell/Trap effect and negating that effect and shuffling that card back into its owner's Deck.

Morningstar activates the Spell Card Cyberse Call, adding Cyspirit Linker from his Deck to his hand. He activates the effect of Mad Mongrel. Since it points to 2 monsters, and 1 is a "Cyspirit" monster, it can target 2 monsters, one on the opponent's field it points to and one "Cyspirit" monster in Morningstar's GY, treat the monster on the field as having the same name and Type as the monster in the GY, then use it and Mad Mongrel to Link Summon a "Cyspirit" Link Monster. Morningstar targets Cyspirit Kid in his GY and SPYRAL Quik-Fix on Watcher's field. Morningstar uses the Link 2 Mad Mongrel and SPYRAL Quik-Fix treated as "Cyspirit Kid" to Link Summon Cyspirit Rapid Revolutionary (2200/3/↙↑↓) to the Extra Monster Zone. Morningstar uses Cyspirit Dancer and Cyspirit Swordsman to Link Summon Cyspirit Thrilled Tunneler (1600/2/←→) to Rapid Revolutionary's bottom-left Link Marker. Since Dancer was used to Link Summon a "Cyspirit" Link Monster, that monster gains 600 ATK (Thrilled Tunneler: 1600→2200). Morningstar activates the effect of Cyspirit Linker in his hand, Special Summoning it to Thrilled Tunneler's right Link Marker in Attack Position (1700/800/4). Morningstar activates the effect of Cyberse Call in his GY, banishing it to Special Summon Cyspirit Lancer from his GY to Thrilled Tunneler's left Link Marker in Attack Position (1800/0/4). Since Lancer is in Attack Position, all "Cyspirit" monsters gain 300 ATK (Rapid Revolutionary: 2200→2500) (Thrilled Tunneler: 2200→2500) (Linker: 1700→2000) (Lancer: 1800→2100).

Morningstar activates the effect of Thrilled Tunneler. Since it points to 2 monsters, Mornigstar can Tribute 1 monster it points at to place 2 Spell/Trap Cards on the field on the bottom of the owner's Deck. He Tributes Linker to place SPYRAL GEAR – Fully Armed and Watcher's face-down card (SPYRAL MISSION – Rescue) on the bottom of his Deck. Since Fully Armed left the field, Double Helix's ATK returns to normal (Double Helix: 2900→1900). Morningstar activates the effect of Cyspirit Changer in his GY, banishing it since he controls a "Cyspirit" monster to switch all non-Cyberse monsters to Defense Position. SPYRAL Sleeper switches to Defense Position. Morningstar activates the Spell Card Cyspirit Bypass. Since he controls 2 "Cyspirit" Link Monsters, he can Special Summon 1 "Cyspirit" monster from his Deck. He Special Summons Cyspirit Wanderer (1900→2200/200/5) to Rapid Revolutionary's bottom Link Marker. Since Wanderer was Special Summoned by the effect of a "Cyspirit" card, 1 monster on Watcher's field loses 800 ATK. Morningstar targets Double Helix (Double Helix: 1900→1100).

Morningstar activates the effect of Thrilled Tunneler. Since it points to at least 1 monster, it can attack his opponent directly, but its ATK is halved until the End Phase (Thrilled Tunneler: 2500→1250) (Watcher: 3100→1850 LP). Morningstar attacks Double Helix with Cyspirit Wanderer, destroying it (Watcher: 1850→750 LP). Rapid Revolutionary attacks SPYRAL Sleeper. Morningstar activates the effect of Rapid Revolutionary. Since it points to at least 1 monster, it gains 500 ATK when battling a non-Link Monster (Rapid Revolutionary: 2500→3000). Rapid Revolutionary destroys SPYRAL Sleeper, and since it points to at least 2 monsters, it inflicts piercing battle damage (Watcher: 750→0) LP. Morningstar wins.

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Cyspirit Kid
Attribute: LIGHT Type: [Cyberse/Effect] ATK 300 DEF 200 LVL: 1
If this card is used as material for the Link Summon of a "Cyspirit" Link Monster: Target 1 face-up card on your opponent's field; destroy that card. You can only activate this effect of "Cyspirit Kid" once per turn.

Cyspirit Cacophonic Caller
Attribute: LIGHT Type: [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK 500 LINK-1 ↓
1 "Cyspirit" monster
Once per turn: you can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Cyspirit" monster from your Deck to the zone this cards points to. The Summoned monster cannot declare an attack and is destroyed during the End Phase.

Cyspirit Mad Mongrel
Attribute: LIGHT Type: [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK 2000 LINK-2 ↑↓
2 "Cyspirit" monsters
This Link Summoned card gains these effects depending on the number of monsters it points to.
-1 or more: Once per turn, when an effect that targets this card activates; you can send 1 "Cyspirit" monster this card points to the GY; negate the activation of that effect.
2: If this card points to at least 1 "Cyspirit" monster: you can target one monster on your opponent's field this card points to and 1 "Cyspirit" Cyberse monster in your GY; treat the 1st monster as having the same name and Type as the 2nd monster and, immediately after this effect resolves, Link Summon 1 "Cyspirit" Link Monster, using the 1st monster and this card only.

Cyspirit Thrilled Tunneler
Attribute: LIGHT Type [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK 1600 LINK-2 ←→
2 "Cyspirit" monsters
This Link Summoned card gains these effects depending on the number of monsters it points to.
-1 or more: This monster can attack your opponent directly, but if you do, halve this card's ATK until the End Phase.
2: Once per turn: you can Tribute 1 monster this card points to; place 2 Spell/Trap Cards on the field on the bottom of the owner's Deck.

Cyspirit Blast Normal Spell Card
During your Main Phase 1: Target 1 "Cyspirit" monster you control; negate the targeted monster's effects until the End Phase and inflict damage to your opponent equal to half the targeted monster's original ATK. You cannot conduct your Battle Phase the turn you activate this card.

Cyspirit Battle Barrier Normal Trap Card
If your opponent's monster declares an attack while you have a "Cyspirit" monster on your field or in your GY: you take no damage from the battle, then end the Battle Phase. If this card is in your GY when an opponent's monster declares an attack while you have a "Cyspirit" monster on your field or in your GY: you can banish this card; you take no damage from the battle, then end the Battle Phase, and if you control no monsters, draw cards equal to the number of monsters your opponent controls. You can only activate one effect of "Cyspirit Battle Barrier" per turn.

Cyspirit Forced Call Quick-Play Spell Card
During your Main Phase: If you control a "Cyspirit" Link Monster: Target 1 monster in your opponent's GY; Special Summon that monster to their field in face-up Defense Position with its effects negated. The Summoned monster is destroyed during the End Phase. If your opponent activates a Spell/Trap effect that targets 1 "Cyspirit" monster, you can banish this card from your GY: negate the activation of that effect and shuffle it back into the owner's Deck.

Cyspirit Bypass Normal Spell Card
If you control 2 "Cyspirit" Link Monsters: Special Summon 1 "Cyspirit" monster from your Deck. You can banish this card from your GY: Special Summon 1 "Cyspirit" Link Monster from your GY with its effects negated. Monsters Summoned by this card's effects are destroyed during the End Phase.

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Chapter Preview

Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: Hidden Memories. Chapter 4 – Three Things

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Response to Reviews & Author's Notes

Thanks to HunterHQ, ClearwingYuta, sanedimentio, and D3lph0xL0v3r for reviewing the last chapter. Credit to sanedimentio for the creation of Cyspirit Mad Mongrel and Cyspirit Thrilled Tunneler.

Also, thanks to HunterHQ's questions about the Jack Knights, as that inspired me to write the first part of this chapter. As for other Cyberse monsters, like World Chalice or V-Lan Hydra, I don't want Morningstar to use them, since I suspect Yusaku might use them eventually, and while I'm okay with them using the same Spell/Trap Cards, I don't want them to use the same Link Monsters.

As for Naoki using Krawler monsters, he hasn't dueled yet, so that seemed safe to use. If he duels later in the anime and uses a different Deck, I can say he changed it after losing to Yasutake.

I hope everyone enjoyed Chapter 3 of Hidden Memories. This is the longest chapter for anything I have ever written, and it was exhausting. Please post a review, as your feedback is important to me and essential for the improvement of Hidden Memories.