Update

I've gone back to Chapter 3 and changed the names of the Jack Knights to Mekk-Knights to reflect their release in the TCG. I've also changed the summoning chant for World Scars or Spectrum Supreme.

Also, in light of Episode 41, and my own growing concerns, I've decided to change the number of kids in the Lost Incident from 6 to 8 to account for Yasutake and Sachi. I will be going back to the later chapters to make changes along these lines. I will also put a note on Chapter 1 so new readers are aware of this.

That said, please enjoy Chapter 14 of Hidden Memories!

Chapter 14: Angels and Archfiends

The fork fell on the plate as Cam's grip loosened. He didn't even notice as he stared at Yasutake, his mouth agape.

"S-She spoke?" Cam said, his voice barely above a whisper. "S-Sachi… spoke?"

Yasutake, after taking a bite of his waffles, nodded. "I spoke to her before I went to bed. She… said I was her friend."

Cam continued to stare at Yasutake, forgetting completely about his fork. "H-How? What did you say to her?"

"I…" Yasutake didn't entirely want to tell Cam what he had said to Sachi. It seemed private, between the two of them. But he trusted Cam. "I said that I was her friend and I promised to protect her. And after she spoke… I said nothing. I just went upstairs."

Cam's expression didn't change as he leaned back in his chair. "I've gone ten years without hearing my sister speak," he murmured. "And I miss out on it by a few minutes."

Yasutake coughed into his hand. "Anyway," he said, changing the subject. "We have larger concerns. Once I log into LINK VRAINS, I'll-."

"No."

"What?" Yasutake said, surprised at Cam's interruption.

"No," Cam said firmly, picking up his fork. "You're going to school today, Yasu. You skipped yesterday, you're not skipping today."

"But Hanoi-."

"Will be there when school ends," Cam said. "I've corresponded with Kusanagi and he's sending Fujiki to school. You're going too."

Yasutake sighed. He hated it when Cam used that tone. "Fine," he said. "What are you going to do in the meantime?"

"My day job," Cam answered. "And when I'm not, I'm going to go through the Another victims. See if I can help Kusanagi find any clues."

Yasutake nodded. "Right. When I get back, we'll start the hunt. If I take out enough Knights, one of the leaders will eventually show themselves."

Terminus frowned as he looked at the screen in front of him.

"What is it?"

He turned around and smiled at who it was. "Ah, Revolver. Can I help you with something?"

"Yes, but that can wait," Revolver said as joined Terminus in looking at the screen. It showed several readings. "What is this?"

Terminus's frown returned. "A puzzle," he said. "And one I'm not sure how to solve."

"What do you mean?"

"These are energy readings," Terminus explained. "You know that when a duel occurs, the monsters release energy, right? And each kind of monster – Fusion, Ritual, Link, all of them – releases specific energy, while more powerful monsters release more energy."

"I do know that," Revolver said. "What are these readings for?"

"Morningstar," Terminus said. "I've been analyzing the data we have on his past duels and comparing it to the data from his duel with Galahad. And I found something… odd."

"Odd?"

"Look at this." Terminus zoomed in on one of the readings. It showed several bars about halfway up the chart. "These are the readings from his Cyspirit Pied Pikeman. The readings are about the same as most Link-3 monsters. Now, compare this to the readings we got from Cyspirit Winning Wrestler." He switched over to a different reading, which made Revolver's eyes widen.

"The readings are much higher. You think this is significant?"

Terminus sighed. "To be honest, I'm not sure. It might just be an abnormality, but I thought it worth investigating. Especially this part." He pulled up another chart. "These are the energy readings we retrieved from Cyspirit Idealistic Idol."

"They're much higher than a Link-2 monster should create," Revolver noted.

"That's true. But this… this is very strange. When Idealistic Idol appeared, Winning Wrestler's readings increased."

Revolver narrowed his eyes. "And that means…?"

"I don't know," Terminus said. "I think there's some significance to these two Link Monsters, but I can't figure it out. But, when I went through our data on Morningstar's previous duels, I found this." He pulled out another chart, with readings greater than the last two. "This is from Morningstar's duel with Spectre. Care to guess which monster this is?"

"Cyspirit Neo Nova," Revolver said. He had watched the footage of Morningstar's duel with Spectre. He'd been surprised to see Morningstar possess a monster that resembled Playmaker's Firewall Dragon.

"Correct," Terminus said. "Its readings are higher than a Link-4 monster should produce. Alone, I would suspect these to be the result of bugs, but together…"

Revolver frowned. "The Cyspirit monsters… do you know where they came from? Who created them?"

Terminus shook his head. "I would assume SOL Technologies created them when they possessed the Ignis; they created the other Cyberse monsters. But I can't figure out why SOL would attach significance to these three monsters."

"Perhaps they didn't make them," Revolver mused. "Wasn't your older brother working on Cyberse cards before… his incident?"

Terminus frowned. He didn't like thinking about his older brother these days. "It's possible," Terminus finally said. "I do remember Hitomu talk about making some unique Cyberse cards… I believe he mentioned some kind of 'trinity,' but he never explained what that meant. I don't even know if he managed to make those cards in the end."

"If he did, perhaps these three monsters are the 'trinity' he spoke of," Revolver said. "Idealistic Idol, Winning Wrestler, and Neo Nova… from what we've seen, these are the most powerful of the Cyspirit Link Monsters. Do they have a unique connection to the Cyberse, or do these readings mean something else?"

The two pondered their thoughts for a while before Terminus shook his head. "This is a mystery for another day," he said. "What did you need of me, Revolver?"

"Ah, yes," Revolver said, remembering why he came down here. "Your AI duelist. I wanted to see how it was coming along."

Terminus smiled. "Rather well, in fact." He closed the screen in front of him and opened another. It showed Baira with a humanoid creation. It resembled Kitamura's AI duelists, but was colored in white, silver, and gold. "Baira and I have already completed most of the core programming; Kitamura's code was easier to manipulate than we thought. At this point, we just need to test its dueling programming."

"I see…"

Terminus turned to Revolver. "Are you having second thoughts about this? You approved me and Baira working on this."

"Because you're right," Revolver said. "Dr. Genome already fell to Go Onizuka, and more of our Knights are falling as well. An AI duelist would be far easier to replace than a human. And if you, Baira, or Faust should fall before the Tower is ready to be deployed, we'll need this to slow down Playmaker and his allies when they try to stop us."

"Then what's bothering you?"

"…Nothing," Revolver said before smirking. "You said you were going to test its dueling programming, right?"

Yasutake yawned in his seat. About half the class hadn't shown up yet. Yusaku was sitting in the back as usual, laying his head on his arms. Likewise, Naoki was in the middle row, looking at his tablet.

"Narahiko."

Yasutake turned around and saw Aoi sit in the row behind him. "Good morning," she said.

"Good morning," he said. He waited for her to say something more, but she didn't, so he turned back to the front.

He idly wondered whether Blue Angel was going to show up in LINK VRAINS today, but he suspected she wouldn't. Aoi was likely still confused about her motivations for dueling, and unless she cleared those up, she would never achieve her true potential.

"Good morning, Yasutake."

Yasutake looked to the right and saw Masako smiling at him as she sat down next to him.

"Good morning," he responded. He turned back to the front but watched out of the corner of his eye as Masako unpacked her bag. He turned his head on seeing something he didn't expect. Was that-?

"Hey," Masako said, closing her bag. "It's rude to look in a lady's belongings."

"Sorry," Yasutake said. "I was just surprised to see a manga in there. I didn't know you liked manga."

Masako shrugged. "I like some manga."

"Though I've never heard of Junjou Romantica before. What's it about?"

To his surprise, Masako's face turned bright red. "I-It… well…"

Before she could say anything else, the teacher called the class to attention and both turned to the front. They didn't talk to each other at all during the class.

At the end of class, the teacher said, "Now students, I know you have a free period after this, which is why we have a special guest today."

Takeshi walked into the room and smiled at the freshmen. Several of the girls swooned or got red in the face because of the handsome blonde senior.

"Hello," he said. "I'm-." Then he noticed Yasutake. "Oh, it's you! Hi, freshman!" As the rest of the room stared at Yasutake, he blinked lazily at Takeshi.

"Who are you?"

Takeshi cried out and grasped his chest as he fell to the floor. The entire class sweatdropped as they stared at him. After a few seconds, he jumped up and ran to Yasutake's desk.

"Are you kidding me!?" he shouted at Yasutake, his face red with anger. "We just talked to each other a week ago! How could you not remember me!?"

Yasutake's expression didn't change as he said, "Your shirt is buttoned wrong."

"Huh?" Takeshi said, forgetting his anger momentarily as he looked down. Sure enough, he'd buttoned his shirt on the wrong buttons. "Ah!" he shouted as he turned around and quickly fixed his shirt. He turned around, his anger returning.

"Don't think you can confuse me! I'm Takeshi Akino! The Student Council President! Do you know how rude it is to forget someone's name?"

"Do you know what my name is?"

"I-." That was as far as Takeshi got before he realized he didn't know this freshman's name. His mouth remained open for about five seconds before he closed it.

Masako giggled, drawing the boys' attention. "Stop teasing him, Yasutake," she said. "Amusing as this is, it's kind of sad."

"Y-Yasutake?" several of the boys in the class whispered. "They're on first name basis already?"

"I hate him."

"I'm feeling so jealous."

Yasutake sweatdropped at hearing his classmates' reactions. "My name is Yasutake Narahiko," he told Takeshi. "Why are you here?"

Takeshi's expression straightened as he recalled his reason for dropping by. "Oh, right!" He returned to the front of the classroom and said, "A week ago, the student council sent out forms to various clubs asking them various questions about what we can do to improve our work."

His expression darkened at his next words. "Unfortunately, three members of the student council have been turned into Anothers by the Knights of Hanoi. Because of Hanoi, the student council doesn't have enough members to collect the surveys. I'm here to ask for three freshmen to help me collect the surveys from the various clubs here on campus."

"I should point out," the teacher interrupted. "That President Akino's request has been approved by the school director and anyone who helps him will earn extra credit."

That last part got much of the class excited, but before anyone else could say anything, Masako raised her hand. "I'll help, Akino," she said, smiling at him. "But only if Yasutake here can help, too."

"What?" Yasutake said, startled. "No, I don't want to help." He felt his back start to burn from all the glares he was getting.

"Sure, that works for me," Takeshi said, grinning evilly at Yasutake. "And miss, you are…?"

"Masako Himura," she answered. "Yasutake and I will help you."

"You hate me, don't you?" Yasutake whispered to Masako. Every time she called him Yasutake, he felt his classmates' jealousy increase. If she kept this up, someone might do something stupid.

"Of course I don't," Masako said, an innocent smile on her face. "I just want you to get out more."

"Well, that's two," Takeshi said. "I need a third. Anyone else want to volunteer?"

Yasutake was sure the next volunteer would be a guy, trying to get closer to Masako. But the person who volunteered next surprised him.

Baira turned to look at Terminus. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" she asked him.

Terminus shrugged. "Revolver was the one who requested it. He said that if this AI duelist is supposed to go toe-to-toe with duelists like Morningstar and Playmaker, a duelist of their skill level should test it."

Baira turned forward again. The two were standing on a balcony overlooking an arena in Hanoi's stronghold. On one end stood the AI duelist they were working on, designated Prototype HAI-A. On the other end was Revolver.

"Well this is interesting." Terminus turned as Faust and Spectre materialized next to them. Spectre, who had spoken, said, "I would have thought dueling an AI duelist would be beneath Master Revolver."

"I assumed you would be testing it, Terminus," Faust said. "Why is Revolver doing this?"

"It was his request," Terminus answered. "In any event, I can't dissuade him from it."

Spectre glanced at Terminus and smirked. "I'm curious, do you think your AI duelist will win?"

Baira and Terminus both shook their heads. "There's no question Revolver will win," Baira said. "This is more a test to see how much our AI duelist can challenge him."

"I just hope Revolver doesn't get too serious," Terminus said. "This is our only prototype; if he obliterates it, we'll have to start from scratch."

In the arena, Revolver smirked at Prototype HAI-A. "An AI duelist is no replacement for a human," he said. "There's no way you can actually defeat me. But Baira and Terminus put a lot of work into you. If you do not push me even a little, I will deem you worthless."

Terminus pressed some buttons, causing HAI-A to raise its arm. "Commence Master Duel," it said. Revolver frowned. He liked taunting and belittling his opponents when he fought them, but there was no point in doing that to an AI duelist.

"Duel!" they shouted.

Revolver: 4000 LP

Prototype HAI-A: 4000 LP

"Have HAI-A take the first turn," Baira said to Terminus. "Let it show what it can do." Terminus nodded in response as he pressed a few more buttons.

"My turn," HAI-A said. "I activate the effect of Archfiend General. By discarding it, I can add the Field Spell Card Pandemonium to my hand." It took the card from its Deck, then said, "I activate the Field Spell Card: Pandemonium. With Pandemonium in play, neither player has to pay Life Points during the Standby Phase for 'Archfiend' monsters. And each time an 'Archfiend' monster is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard outside of battle, its owner can add one 'Archfiend' monster from their Deck to their hand, so long as its Level is lower than the destroyed monster's."

Faust raised an eyebrow. "An Archfiend Deck?" he asked Terminus, who nodded.

"I Normal Summon Archfiend Cavalry," HAI-A said. A fiend rider in red armor carrying a bone lance and riding a black horse in red armor appeared on its field.

Archfiend Cavalry ATK 1900 DEF 0 LVL: 4

"As I control an 'Archfiend' card, I can Special Summon Archfiend Commander from my hand." Another monster joined Archfiend Cavalry on the field. This one was a large purple fiend with grey arms, legs, and shoulders.

Archfiend Commander ATK 2500 DEF 1200 LVL: 6

"Archfiend Commander's monster effect," HAI-A said. "If Special Summoned by its effect, I must target and destroy one 'Archfiend' card I control. I target Archfiend Cavalry." Cavalry disintegrated at HAI-A's words.

Spectre scoffed. "As expected of a stupid AI duelist," he said. "It destroyed its own card to make way for something stronger. Such a simple strategy."

"No," Terminus said. "It's just getting started."

"Archfiend Cavalry's monster effect," HAI-A then said. "If destroyed by a card effect and sent to the Graveyard, I can target one 'Archfiend' monster in my Graveyard, except Archfiend Cavalry, and Special Summon it. I Special Summon Archfiend General in Attack Position." An orange fiend covered in black bone armor with black wings appeared on its field.

Archfiend General ATK 2100 DEF 800 LVL: 4

"As an 'Archfiend' monster was destroyed by a card effect and sent to the Graveyard, Pandemonium's effect activates," HAI-A continued. "I can add 1 Level 3 or lower 'Archfiend' monster from my Deck to my hand. I add the Level 3 Archfiend Heiress to my hand."

"I see," Spectre said. "It destroyed its own monster to bring back a stronger one and add a new one to its hand. If nothing else, its programming is good."

HAI-A raised its hands above it. "Circuit, open!" it declared, surprising Revolver and Spectre as the Link portal appeared above it. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are two Fiend monsters. I set Archfiend Commander and Archfiend General in the Link Markers!" His two monsters entered the portal, turning the bottom-left and bottom-right arrows red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 2! Masterking Archfiend!" A large blue demon with bone armor and large blue wings appeared on HAI-A's field. It swung a bone sword with a blue hilt as it took its place in the Extra Monster Zone.

Masterking Archfiend ATK 2000 LINK-2 ↙↘

"I Set two cards," HAI-A said. "I end my turn."

Spectre scoffed. "I take back what I said. That Link Monster is weaker than Archfiend Commander and Archfiend General. Why would it summon it to begin with? Such a stupid AI."

"It's not being stupid," Faust said. "It's being smart."

"Faust is right," Terminus said, drawing everyone's attention. "Before the duel began, I gave the AI duelist information on Revolver's Deck. It knows about Topologic Bomber Dragon, so it Link Summoned to keep its field from being destroyed."

Spectre's smirked again. "That may protect it from Topologic Bomber Dragon's effect, but it doesn't protect it from being destroyed by battle. Or Topologic Bomber Dragon's other effect."

In the arena, Revolver smirked. He'd figured out HAI-A's reasons quicker than Terminus had explained them. After all, he had requested Terminus give the AI data on his Deck. It would make this duel more challenging.

"My turn! Draw!"

Yasutake looked to the right at his partner as they walked down the hall. "Are you sure about this?" he asked her. "This doesn't seem like your thing."

Aoi nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. My brother would tell me its good for my future to help the student council."

That's one way to look at it, Yasutake thought. But he was almost certain Aoi had volunteered because she wanted to talk to him.

After Aoi volunteered, Takeshi instructed them to split into groups of two to cover more ground. Masako had tried to go with Yasutake, but Takeshi had forbidden it, saying he wasn't sure they would collect the forms if the two were alone together. Yasutake wasn't sure what annoyed him more; Takeshi's statement or Masako agreeing with it. So instead, Masako had gone with Takeshi and Yasutake ended up with Aoi.

"What clubs does Den Academy have besides Duel Club?" Yasutake asked. Aoi shrugged.

"I don't know. I'm pretty sure we have a few sports clubs. Wouldn't be surprising if we had a literature club or two." She looked down at the tablet she was carrying and the list of clubs and their locations Takeshi had given them. "But it looks like the first club we're visiting is…" She stopped walking as she stared at the screen. "The… Playmaker Appreciation Club."

Yasutake also stopped walking as he stared at her. "You're kidding."

Aoi showed him her tablet. Sure enough, there was a club called the Playmaker Appreciation Club on the list.

"Huh," Yasutake said. "Must be a new club. Do you think there are clubs for Go Onizuka or Blue Angel?"

Aoi's eye twitched at that question. "I don't know," she said as she started walking again. "But it wouldn't surprise me."

The Playmaker Appreciation Club was just what its name suggested; all the members were discussing the latest news on Playmaker and the walls of the clubroom were displaying pictures of Playmaker. One female member told them that she was going to marry Playmaker when she graduated. Yasutake was half-tempted to introduce her to Yusaku, just to see the look on his face.

"That club was ridiculous," Aoi said as soon as they were out of earshot of the room. "I understand why people like Playmaker, but that level is…"

"Yeah," Yasutake agreed. "Hopefully the rest of the clubs are more subdued." As they walked down the hallway, he said, "Why did you volunteer for this Zaizen? You said your brother would approve, but I get the feeling you've never done something like this before."

They walked in silence for a minute before Aoi answered. "I see what Himura likes about you."

Yasutake blinked. That wasn't the response he expected. "What?"

"You don't beat around the bush," she said. "When you want to know something, you get straight to the point." She was quiet for a minute, then said, somewhat hesitantly, "Do you… think of me as a friend, Narahiko?"

Yasutake stopped walking. Aoi kept walking a few steps, then stopped and turned around so they were facing each other. Both of their faces were expressionless.

"Why does it matter what I think of you?" Yasutake asked her.

Aoi frowned. "I guess… because I think of you as a friend. And I… just wanted to know if that feeling was mutual."

Silence filled the air between them for a minute or so before Yasutake spoke. "Yes," he said. "I do think of you as a friend."

Aoi's eyes widened in surprise, but then she smiled. "That's… good to know, Narahiko. Thank you."

Yasutake sighed. "Let's finish this task for what's-his-name," he said, walking again. "We don't have all the time in the world."

"As there is a Link Monster on your field, I can Special Summon Gateway Dragon in Attack Position!" Revolver declared. A six-sided golden gate appeared on his field, out of which a three-armed golden dragon appeared.

Gateway Dragon ATK 1600 DEF 1400 LVL: 4

"Gateway Dragon's monster effect!" Revolver continued. "Once per turn, I can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Dragon monster from my hand. I call forth Sniffer Dragon!" Gateway Dragon's gate opened again, and out came a red humanoid dragon with black metal attachments.

Sniffer Dragon ATK 800 DEF 400 LVL: 2

"Due to Sniffer Dragon's monster effect, I add another Sniffer Dragon from my Deck to my hand," Revolver said, doing so. "I discard the Level 6 Linkbelt Wall Dragon to Special Summon Defrag Dragon from my hand!" A dark blue metal dragon with red outlines and red and green holographic wings appeared on Revolver's field.

Defrag Dragon ATK 1000 DEF 600 LVL: 3

"Appear! The future circuit that lights up my path!" Revolver declared, gesturing above him as his hand sparked with blue lightning. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are two Level 4 or lower non-Token Dragon monsters! I set Gateway Dragon and Sniffer Dragon in the Link Markers!" His two dragon became whirlwinds of energy as they entered the bottom and right arrows, turning them red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 2! Twin Triangle Dragon!" A black, gold, and purple dragon with two gold triangles around its arms appeared, summoned to Revolver's Extra Monster Zone.

Twin Triangle Dragon ATK 1200 LINK-2 ↓→

"Twin Triangle Dragon's monster effect activates," Revolver said. "I pay 500 Life Points, and then Special Summon a Level 5 or higher monster from my Graveyard next to its Link Marker. Resurrect, Linkbelt Wall Dragon!" A large blue and gold dragon with two silver arms appeared behind Revolver in Attack Position.

Revolver: 4000→3500 LP

Linkbelt Wall Dragon ATK 0 DEF 2100 LVL: 6

"The Special Summoned monster loses its effects and can't attack this turn," Revolver said.

"Ah, but that won't matter," Spectre said as he smirked. "Master Revolver has everything he needs now."

"I activate the Spell Card: Marker Charge!" Revolver said next. "Since there are two monsters in the Extra Monster Zones with equal Link Ratings, I can draw two cards and reveal them. But they will be banished during the End Phase if I do not play them."

Revolver drew, then revealed them to HAI-A. The cards were Anesthrokket Dragon and Squib Draw. He then gestured above himself again as he declared, "Manifest! The future circuit that lights up my path!" The Link portal once again appeared above Revolver.

"Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are at least two Effect Monsters. I set Defrag Dragon, Linkbelt Wall Dragon, and the Link 2 Twin Triangle Dragon in the Link Markers!" His monsters became whirlwinds of energy, with Twin Triangle Dragon splitting in half, and entered the bottom-left, top, bottom, and bottom-right arrows, turning them red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 4! Topologic Bomber Dragon!" A massive metallic orange dragon with green lines running over its body appeared, taking Twin Triangle Dragon's place in the Extra Monster Zone.

Topologic Bomber Dragon ATK 3000 LINK-4 ↙↑↓↘

"There it is," Spectre said, smirking again. "Master Revolver's ace monster. Your AI duelist won't last long now."

Revolver smirked. "I could easily attack you now, but why don't I wait," Revolver said. "I summon Anesthrokket Dragon!" A green and yellow metal dragon with green holographic wings and a syringe on its head appeared on Revolver's field.

Anesthrokket Dragon ATK 0 DEF 2200 LVL: 1

"I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card: Squib Draw!" Revolver then said. "This card destroys Anesthrokket Dragon!" His monster disintegrated upon those words. "And now I draw two cards!" He drew and smirked at his cards.

"Battle!" Revolver declared. "Topologic Bomber Dragon, attack Masterking Archfiend! Ultimate Malicious Code!" Topologic Bomber Dragon gathered red energy in its mouth and blasted Masterking Archfiend with it.

"Trap activate!" HAI-A declared. "Archfiend's Barrier!" The card showed Archfiend Commander standing in front of Archfiend General, stopping an energy blast with its hand. "All battle damage from battles involving 'Archfiend' monsters is reduced to 0 this turn!" The red blast hit Masterking Archfiend, but it held firm. "In addition, 'Archfiend' monsters I control cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects this turn."

"Hmm," Revolver said. "Not bad. I see Baira and Terminus actually gave you some defensive skills." He smirked at what he said next. "But it's wasted. Topologic Bomber Dragon's monster effect! Since it attacked an opponent's monster, it inflicts damage equal to that monster's original attack points! Aiming Blast!" Topologic Bomber Dragon released blasts of red wind at HAI-A, pushing it backward several feet.

Prototype HAI-A: 4000→2000 LP

"Ha!" Spectre scoffed. "It just lost half its Life Points! As expected of Master Revolver!"

"Archfiend's Barrier's second effect," HAI-A suddenly said. "If I take effect damage the turn this card is activated, I can Set one Trap Card directly from my Deck. I Set Call of the Archfiend."

Call of the Archfiend? Revolver thought, narrowing his eyes. That Trap Card lets it Special Summon a Level 5 or higher Fiend monster from its Graveyard. But that won't change the outcome of this duel.

"I Set one card," Revolver said. "I end my turn. And during the End Phase, the effect of Anesthrokket Dragon activates. Since it was destroyed and sent to the Graveyard this turn, I can Special Summon one 'Rokket' monster from my Deck with a different name. I Special Summon Shelrokket Dragon in Defense Position!" A gold and black metal dragon with green lines running over it, green holographic wings, and a green tube on its head appeared on the field.

Shelrokket Dragon ATK 1100 DEF 2000 LVL: 2

Terminus narrowed his eyes. "Both duelists have to be careful," he said. "Topologic Bomber Dragon's effect activates when a monster is Special Summoned to any Link Monster's Link Marker. With Masterking Archfiend and Topologic Bomber Dragon both in the Extra Monster Zones, that means they can each only Special Summon two monsters at maximum."

"Then it will be a good test of HAI-A's tactical skills," Baira said. "If it isn't good enough to get around Topologic Bomber Dragon's effect, then it isn't worth sending against our enemies."

"My turn! Draw!" HAI-A drew. "During the Standby Phase, Masterking Archfiend's effect requires me to pay 500 Life Points. But due to the effect of Pandemonium, I do not pay Life Points for the effects of 'Archfiend' cards." HAI-A gestured to one of its face-down cards. "Continuous Trap activate! That Six!"

Faust narrowed his eyes. "A perfect Trap Card for it to use," he said. "Especially with Masterking Archfiend."

Spectre turned to Faust. "What do you mean by that?"

"Continuous Trap activate!" HAI-A said again. "Call of the Archfiend! Once per turn, by discarding one Fiend monster, I can target and Special Summon one Level 5 or higher Fiend monster from my Graveyard. I discard Archfiend Heiress to Special Summon Archfiend Commander." The purple and grey fiend appeared on HAI-A's field again.

Archfiend Commander ATK 2500 DEF 1200 LVL: 6

"Archfiend Heiress's monster effect!" HAI-A continued. "When it is sent to the Graveyard by card effect or battle, I can add one 'Archfiend' card from my Deck to my hand. I will add Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror."

After doing so, HAI-A said, "Masterking Archfiend's monster effect activates! When a Fiend monster is sent to the Graveyard, I roll a six-sided die and apply an effect depending on the result. If the result is 1, the monster is added to my hand. If the result is 2, 3, 4, or 5, the monster is shuffled into the Deck. And if the result is 6, that monster is Special Summoned."

"So there is a one-in-six chance of Archfiend Heiress being Special Summoned," Spectre noted. Terminus shook his head.

"Not exactly."

Six orbs appeared next to Masterking Archfiend. One lit on fire, and that fire leaped to each number. Eventually, it stopped at 3.

Spectre scoffed. "A 3. That means Archfiend Heiress returns to that AI's Deck."

"The effect of That Six activates," HAI-A said. "Once per dice roll, depending on the result, I can change the result to either 1 or 6."

"What?" Spectre said, surprised. Revolver just narrowed his eyes while Terminus smirked.

"The original result was 3," HAI-A said. "The effect of That Six changes the result from 3 to 6." The fire leapt from the 3 to the 6. "As the result is 6, Masterking Archfiend's effect Special Summons Archfiend Heiress to my field in Attack Position." A small female fiend in an intricate purple and silver dress and headdress carrying a skull scepter appeared on HAI-A's field.

Archfiend Heiress ATK 1000 DEF 0 LVL: 3

"HAI-A has used up all the spaces it can," Faust noted. Archfiend Commander was in the same column as Masterking Archfiend while Archfiend Heiress was in HAI-A's far-left Main Monster Zone. "That means it can only Normal Summon now."

"I Tribute Archfiend Commander and Archfiend Heiress," HAI-A said. The two monsters disintegrated as it said that. "I Tribute Summon Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror!" A massive fiend, as large as Topologic Bomber Dragon, appeared on HAI-A's field. It was primarily purple but had red spheres in its knees. It swung a massive red and purple sword as it was summoned to Masterking Archfiend's bottom-left Link Marker.

Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror ATK 3000 DEF 2000 LVL: 8

Terminus smirked. "Topologic Bomber Dragon's effect only activates if a monster is Special Summoned to a monster's Link Marker. Since this was a Normal Summon, Topologic Bomber Dragon's effect doesn't activate."

"Masterking Archfiend's monster effect!" HAI-A declared. "As at least one Fiend monster was sent to the Graveyard, I can roll a die and apply an effect depending on the result." The six orbs appeared again, and this time the fire stopped at 2. "That Six's effect activates. Because the result is a 2, it changes to 1" The fire then leapt to 1. "Because the result is 1, Masterking Archfiend's effect lets me add one of the sent Fiend monsters to my hand. I add Archfiend Commander to my hand."

HAI-A did so, then said, "Archfiend Emperor's monster effect! Once per turn, by banishing one 'Archfiend' card from my hand or Graveyard, I can target and destroy one card on the field. I banish Archfiend Cavalry from my Graveyard to destroy Topologic Bomber Dragon."

"What?" Spectre said, surprised at that effect. Revolver, however, only smirked.

"Like I would allow Topologic Bomber Dragon to fall to an AI duelist," Revolver said. He gestured to his face-down card. "Trap activate! Tactical Exchamber! This card destroys one face-up monster on my field to Special Summon one 'Rokket' monster from my Deck or Graveyard. I destroy Topologic Bomber Dragon to Special Summon Anesthrokket Dragon from my Graveyard in Defense Position!" Topologic Bomber Dragon disintegrated while Anesthrokket Dragon reappeared.

Anesthrokket Dragon ATK 0 DEF 2200 LVL: 1

"Because the target of Archfiend Emperor's effect left the field, its effect resolves," HAI-A said. Above, Spectre smirked.

"Well, that was expected. Not only did Master Revolver evade Archfiend Emperor's effect, but he won't take damage at all this turn." Spectre was right; Archfiend Emperor was strong enough to destroy either of Revolver's monsters, but Masterking Archfiend wasn't strong enough to destroy either of them.

"Don't be so sure," Terminus said, drawing Spectre's attention until HAI-A spoke again.

"Archfiend Commander's monster effect. As I control an 'Archfiend' card, I Special Summon it in Attack Position, but it cannot declare an attack this turn." The purple and grey fiend reappeared on HAI-A's field.

Archfiend Commander ATK 2500 DEF 1200 LVL: 6

"Since it was Special Summoned by its effect, Archfiend Commander's effect destroys one 'Archfiend' card I control," HAI-A continued. "I destroy Archfiend Emperor." The massive purple fiend disintegrated, surprising Spectre.

"It destroyed its most powerful monster for a monster that cannot attack? Why?"

"It's gambling," Terminus explained. When Spectre turned to him, he explained, "Since a Fiend monster was sent to the Graveyard, Masterking Archfiend's effect activates again. And if the die lands on a 6…" Spectre's eyes widened in realization.

The six orbs appeared again as the fire leapt between them. Eventually, it landed on 5. "The effect of That Six activates, and the result of 5 changes to a result of 6. Masterking Archfiend's effect Special Summons Archfiend Emperor to my field." Archfiend Emperor reappeared on HAI-A's field, Special Summoned to Masterking Archfiend's bottom-left Link Marker.

Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror ATK 3000 DEF 2000 LVL: 8

Revolver grit his teeth as HAI-A said, "Archfiend Emperor's monster effect. Once per turn, I can banish one 'Archfiend' card from my hand or Graveyard to destroy one card on the field. I banish Archfiend General from my Graveyard to destroy Anesthrokket Dragon." The said monster shattered at HAI-A's words.

"Battle! Archfiend Emperor, attack Shelrokket Dragon! Imperial Fiend Strike!" Archfiend Emperor swung its sword and chopped Shelrokket Dragon in half, destroying it in a massive explosion and making Revolver wince. "The Battle Phase continues! Masterking Archfiend, attack Master Revolver directly! Royal Authority!" Masterking Archfiend charged Revolver and swung its sword, pushing Revolver back several meters and making him cry out in pain.

Revolver: 3500→1500 LP

"Master Revolver!" Spectre cried out. Baira, Faust, and Terminus only narrowed their eyes.

"I Set one card," HAI-A said. Terminus looked at the controls and scowled. Because he was monitoring HAI-A, he could see its face-down cards, but Revolver had asked him not to interfere. The face-down card was Hate Buster. Once Revolver attacked one of HAI-A's Fiend monsters, that card would destroy both monsters and inflict damage to Revolver equal to his monster's attack points. "I end my turn."

Revolver smirked. "And since it is the End Phase, the effects of the destroyed Anesthrokket and Shelrokket Dragons activate! I can now Special Summon two new 'Rokket' monsters from my Deck. Join me, Magnarokket Dragon and Metalrokket Dragon in Defense Position!" A blue and red metal dragon with green holographic wings and a small cannon on its head appeared, as did a blue metal dragon with green lines running over its armor, green holographic wings, and an extended cannon on its head.

Magnarokket Dragon ATK 1800 DEF 1200 LVL: 4

Metalrokket Dragon ATK 1700 DEF 1400 LVL: 4

Faust narrowed his eyes. "Revolver has two new monsters on his field, but his Life Points are lower than the AI duelist's and neither of his monsters is strong enough."

"That doesn't matter," Spectre said, smirking again. "Master Revolver will win this. It is inevitable."

Down at the duel, Revolver smiled. "I must admit, this is more challenging than I thought it would be. But…" His eyes narrowed as he imagined his opponent as Playmaker. "…You are not Playmaker. And compared to him or Morningstar, your skills are insufficient." His imagination of Playmaker then replaced itself with Morningstar as Revolver felt his pulse quicken. This feeling… watching his duel with Spectre had made Revolver want to duel Morningstar himself. An opponent as strong as him was rare, after all.

"My turn! Draw!" Revolver looked at his card and smirked. It was almost too easy. "I activate the Field Spell Card: Boot Sector Launch! With this card, all 'Rokket' monsters gain 300 attack and defense points!"

Magnarokket Dragon ATK 1800→2100 DEF 1200→1500

Metalrokket Dragon ATK 1700→2000 DEF 1400→1700

"I activate the effect of Boot Sector Launch!" Revolver continued. "I can now Special Summon up to two 'Rokket' monsters from my hand in Defense Position. Come forth, Autorokket Dragon and Shelrokket Dragon!" An armored orange metal dragon with green holographic wings and a rocket on its head appeared alongside another Shelrokket Dragon, both in Defense Position.

Autorokket Dragon ATK 1600 DEF 1000 LVL: 3

Shelrokket Dragon ATK 1100 DEF 2000 LVL: 2

"And due to Boot Sector Launch, both dragons gain 300 attack and defense points!"

Autorokket Dragon ATK 1600→1900 DEF 1000→1300

Shelrokket Dragon ATK 1100→1400 DEF 2000→2300

Revolver smirked. "This is my new evolution. Appear! The future circuit that lights up my path!" The Link portal appeared above Revolver once more. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are two 'Rokket' monsters! I set Autorokket Dragon and Magnarokket Dragon in the Link Markers!" His two monsters became whirlwinds of energy that entered the bottom-left and bottom-right arrows, turning them red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 2! Booster Dragon!" A black metal dragon with a large barrel on its head, no arms, two legs, and green holographic wings appeared on his field. It roared as it was summoned to the Extra Monster Zone.

Booster Dragon ATK 1900 LINK-2 ↙↘

Terminus narrowed his eyes. "I haven't seen Revolver use that monster before," he said. "Interesting."

"Booster Dragon's monster effect!" Revolver declared. "Once per turn, I can target one monster on the field and increase its attack and defense points by 500. I target Metalrokket Dragon for this effect!" He then gestured to said monster. "At this point, Metalrokket Dragon's effect activates! If it is targeted by a Link Monster's effect, I can destroy Metalrokket Dragon and all your cards in the same column!"

Terminus's eyes widened in surprise. Metalrokket Dragon was in the same column as Masterking Archfiend, Archfiend Commander, and HAI-A's face-down Hate Buster Trap Card.

Revolver smirked. "This is a major weakness of AI," he said. "Unless necessary, you always place your cards as close to the center of your field as possible. That makes it easy to predict where your cards will be." Metalrokket Dragon became energy that entered the barrel on Booster Dragon's head. It then fired a blast of energy at Masterking Archfiend, which passed through, hit Archfiend Commander, passed through it and hit the face-down card behind it. All three holograms exploded as a result.

"Revolver destroyed every monster on HAI-A's field except Archfiend Emperor," Baira said, awe in her voice. Revolver had definitely earned his title as Hanoi's leader.

Revolver selected the last card in his hand. "I Normal Summon Sniffer Dragon," he said, causing the red and black dragon to appear on his field.

Sniffer Dragon ATK 800 DEF 400 LVL: 2

"Because Sniffer Dragon was Summoned, I can add my third Sniffer Dragon to my hand," Revolver said, doing so. "But I won't be needing it. Manifest! The future circuit that lights up my path!" The Link portal appeared for a fourth time above Revolver. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are three or more Effect Monsters! I set Shelrokket Dragon, Sniffer Dragon, and the Link 2 Booster Dragon in the Link Markers!" His three monsters became whirlwinds of energy, two in Booster Dragon's case, that entered the left, bottom-left, right, and bottom-right arrows, turning them red.

"Circuit combine! My new wind that pierces through the closed world! Link Summon! Appear! Link 4! Borreload Dragon!"

Revolver's true ace monster appeared in his Extra Monster Zone. Borreload Dragon was a large red and silver dragon with multiple green lines running over its body. Two large silver spines emerged from its back and projected green holographic wings. Its horned head rose from the gun chamber in its chest as it roared.

Borreload Dragon ATK 3000 LINK-4 ←↙→↘

Faust sighed. "This duel is over."

"It ended as it was expected to end," Baira agreed.

"Maybe," Terminus said. "But Prototype HAI-A put up a better fight than anticipated."

"Borreload Dagon, attack Archfiend Emperor!" Revolver declared. A gun barrel emerged from Borreload Dragon's mouth and aimed at Archfiend Emperor. "At this point, I activate Borreload Dragon's monster effect! If it attacks an opponent's monster, I can take control of that monster and place it in a zone Borreload Dragon points to! Strange Trigger!" Borreload fired a blue bullet at Archfiend Emperor, which erupted on impact. Archfiend Emperor was covered in magma and cried out as it began to glitch.

Archfiend Emperor disappeared then reappeared on Revolver's field, at Borreload Dragon's bottom-left Link Marker.

"I will defeat you with your own monster," Revolver taunted. Being an AI, HAI-A didn't respond. "Battle! Archfiend Emperor, attack this AI duelist directly! Imperial Fiend Strike!" Archfiend Emperor charged HAI-A and swung its massive sword. It struck HAI-A, causing a massive explosion and tearing it to pieces.

Prototype HAI-A: 2000→0 LP

Terminus sighed as he, Baira, Faust, and Spectre teleported down to Revolver's level.

"An excellent duel, Master Revolver," Spectre said, bowing to Revolver.

"But that was a little excessive, wasn't it?" Terminus said, walking over to the remains of HAI-A. Looking through them, he scowled. "It's going to take me quite some time to put this thing back together."

Revolver smirked. "Your AI duelist performed better than I expected it to," he said. "I could not help but get fired up."

"Should we continue with this project, Revolver?" Baira asked. "You did say it wasn't worth it if it wasn't strong enough."

Revolver thought about it then nodded. "Continue with it, Baira and Terminus," he said. "While I did win, the AI was more challenging than I anticipated. If nothing else, this AI duelist can serve as a delaying tactic against Playmaker and his allies should they attempt to stop the Tower from being completed."

"If we can build a new prototype in time," Terminus reminded Revolver. "You damaged this one a lot."

"You seem awfully attached to this AI, Terminus," Spectre said, smirking at his comrade. "Almost like a father looking after a son."

Terminus glared at Spectre. "If you are trying to say something worthwhile Spectre, just say it."

Spectre laughed lightly. "Oh, don't mind me. I just find myself wondering what Hitomu Senior would make of this. I never met your brother after all."

Terminus's glare turned into a deep scowl as he logged out. Baira and Faust glared at Spectre.

"That was unnecessary, Spectre," Revolver admonished his right-hand man.

"Forgive me, Master Revolver," Spectre said, bowing to Revolver again. "But I thought Terminus could use a reminder about what SOL did to his older brother and his family. Anger can be a powerful tool, after all."

"Only if aimed and kept in check," Faust said. "Terminus has just as much, if not more, reasons to hate SOL then the rest of us. But we are not here for revenge against SOL. We are here to save the world from the Ignis."

Spectre shrugged. "True. But in the process, we'll be hurting SOL beyond measure. It wouldn't hurt to realize how beneficial that would be." He logged out after saying that.

"Yasutake," Masako said, walking up to said teenager as he was walking down the stairs of the entrance to Den Academy. "I was wondering if you'd want to hang out for a while."

Yasutake shook his head. "I can't," he said. "I have work with Cam."

Masako pouted. "Oh, that's no fun. Couldn't you give him a call and ask for it off? I'm sure he'd understand."

Cam would understand way too well, Yasutake thought. "This work is important to me and Cam. He can't do it without me." Cam did know how to duel, but he hadn't picked up a Deck in almost 10 years. That aside, he had no avatar to duel in LINK VRAINS with.

"Well then, can it wait?" Masako seemed unusually nervous as she said, "I… wanted to continue our conversation from yesterday. About… what I said."

Yasutake narrowed his eyes as he remembered Masako's words. You look at me like I'm real. Well of course he looked at her like she was real. This was the real world, not LINK VRAINS; she had to be real. But he suspected there was a deeper meaning behind her words, one she wanted to explain.

He admitted to himself he was curious about what Masako meant, but he also needed to go to LINK VRAINS. He suspected Go would keep fighting while Yusaku would look for whoever was behind the Another virus, so Morningstar would be needed in LINK VRAINS.

"I…" That was as far as Yasutake got before he saw Naoki sitting on a bench, looking at his tablet. Out of curiosity, he walked up behind him and glanced over his shoulder.

"Yes! Yes!" Naoki said excitedly. "Beat them, Galahad!" Yasutake raised an eyebrow. The tablet was showing Galahad on his D-Board, dueling a Knight of Hanoi.

"Sky Galloping Gaia, attack Jack Wyvern!" Galahad declared. "Double Dragon Lance!" Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion, surrounded by flames, dive-bombed Jack Wyvern and destroyed it, knocking Galahad's opponent off his D-Board.

"Amazing!" Naoki almost shrieked. "I've never seen a Fusion Monster before! This is awesome!"

"Shida, what is this?"

Naoki looked over his shoulder and saw Yasutake. "Oh, Narahiko-. Hey, wait! Did you call me Shida? I thought we were past this. It's Shima! Naoki Shima!"

"Right," Yasutake said offhandedly. "What are you watching?"

Naoki smiled. "Galahad! He just showed up a while ago and is fighting Hanoi with Go Onizuka!" He turned back to his tablet. "I thought only Playmaker or Morningstar could defeat Hanoi, but Galahad and Go are giving them a run for their money. Go, Galahad!"

Seeing that Naoki had completely forgotten about him, Yasutake frowned. Takeshi must have either gone straight home from school or was still here hiding. Either way, Galahad's presence in LINK VRAINS fighting Hanoi made it less urgent for Yasutake to do so. He hated to admit it but spending time with Masako wasn't the worst thing that could happen today.

Yasutake turned back to Masako, who was watching him with an amused smile. "Won't your guardian be upset with you again?" he asked, still trying to find a way out.

Masako's smile became a frown as she shrugged. "Probably. But he doesn't decide every aspect of my life. If I want to spend time with a friend, then I'm going to."

Friend. Yasutake thought back to what Aoi had asked him. He had been honest with her; he did think of her as a friend. But did he think that way about Masako?

Well, there was only one way to find out. He sighed, then said, "Alright. I'll give Cam a call and tell him I'll be back late. Is there someplace specific you want to go?"

Masako's frown turned into a smile. "Actually, yes. I found this interesting place a few days ago and I thought I would show it to you." She grabbed his hand and pulled him down the steps, much to Yasutake's protests.

"H-Hey! Let go of my hand! I don't like it when people touch me!"

Aoi watched the woman in front of her as she looked over the river. After meeting Ghost Girl – or Emma Bessho, as she introduced herself as – the two had traveled to the river's edge. Aoi had never ridden a motorcycle before, and after riding on Emma's, she never wanted to again. D-Boards were one thing, but motorcycles were another.

"Talk about what?" Aoi asked her. Emma had taken her here because she'd wanted to talk to her about something.

"Are you done being Blue Angel?" Emma asked her.

Aoi glanced to the side. "That again…"

"Many people are waiting for you," Emma said.

"That's an exaggeration," Aoi countered. "I don't fight for other people. I fight for myself!" And that isn't enough to fight against Hanoi, she thought. Not according to Morningstar, at least.

Emma smiled at Aoi. "That's right. You became Blue Angel so that your brother would appreciate you. But now that you know your brother loves you, you don't need her anymore."

"Is that wrong?" Aoi asked.

"Actually, I think that's good," Emma said, surprising Aoi. "It's better than losing because you're not fully committed." Aoi gasped in surprise. Those words… "If you can't take responsibility for your actions, you should stop being Blue Angel. And only do things that make you happy. Then you won't get others in trouble."

Emma turned around and headed for her motorcycle. "Glad to find out how you really feel," she said.

"Wait," Aoi said before Emma could leave. "Those words you said… did Morningstar put you up to this?"

Emma raised an eyebrow and laughed. "No, he doesn't know about this. But I suppose he is a reason I asked." She smiled at Aoi. "I think he feels somewhat protective of you. I'm glad to know that if you are done being Blue Angel, he won't have to worry about you anymore."

Emma got on her motorcycle and put her helmet on. "Bye, Blue Angel. No, I mean Aoi Zaizen." She closed the visor on her helmet and drove away, leaving Aoi alone.

Aoi narrowed her eyes. Against an enemy like Hanoi, you cannot have doubts, about yourself or your reasons. Those were the words Morningstar had told her. She knew Emma had been trying to provoke her, but her words were very similar to his. Just how did the two know each other?

On her motorcycle, Emma said to herself, "Sheesh. Why do I do this?"

Because you still feel guilty about what happened at Mercury, a voice in her head whispered. You denied responsibility for your actions, so you're trying to teach her to take responsibility for hers.

Emma narrowed her eyes at that thought. "You really did a number on me, didn't you, Morningstar?"

Tagoma looked at his laptop and scowled. He'd hacked into Den Academy's security cameras, and just like he thought, Masako was going out with that boy again. Masako had told Tagoma his name was Yasutake Narahiko and while he was distant, he was a good person. But it wasn't the boy's character that worried Tagoma.

He'd tried again to hack into Café Junpei's systems and had gotten as far as last time. There was no way a simple bakery would need such high-grade security unless it was a front. But a front for what? Tagoma's first instinct was SOL Technologies, but he couldn't see why they would need a bakery as a cover for their agents.

Tagoma sighed. He'd initially been against going to Den City for the bounty Kitamura offered; if they didn't need the money, he likely would have rejected it without even considering it. Their finances were also the reason he'd decided to stay for Terminus's job. With multiple duels of Morningstar recorded and their fortunes looking up, Tagoma was thinking about taking Masako to a different city. This one was far too dangerous for her with SOL Technologies being headquartered here. If they found out who she was…

He narrowed his eyes as he remembered the promise he'd made Masako's father. To keep her safe and away from SOL Technologies. To make sure he kept that promise, they'd kept moving, from Tokyo to Osaka to Kyoto… the list went on and on. And now here he was, in the enemy's fortress, hoping that Masako's new boyfriend wasn't a SOL spy.

Little girl, Tagoma thought. You've always been headstrong; I know I can't stop that side of you. But I hope your instincts are right about this Narahiko kid. If something happened to you before I fulfill your father's contract…

Yasutake blinked in surprise. "This place?" he asked Masako, who nodded. The two were standing outside a bookstore in the middle of Den City called Hirai Shoten. Yasutake had never been here before. He'd never even heard of it.

"I didn't think this would be your kind of place," Yasutake commented, looking through the window at the books on display.

Masako raised an eyebrow and gave an amused smile. "Oh? Then what do you think of as my kind of place?"

Yasutake shrugged. "Not sure. A place that sells dango?"

Masako chuckled lightly as she shook her head. "I do like dango, but no." She thought for a moment, then said, "To be honest, I don't get out too much, at least not on my own. People have invited me to parties before, but I never really enjoyed them. And Tagoma usually only takes me out to buy food."

Yasutake narrowed his eyes. He didn't get out much either, but that was mostly because of his work as Morningstar. That and he didn't want to. But Masako seemed far more extroverted than him. Why didn't she get out much?

Setting that question aside, Yasutake raised an eyebrow as he remembered something from the morning. "Is this where you got that manga in your bag from?"

Masako's face turned red. "Y-Yes," she said, shifting uncomfortably. "B-But, manga isn't the only thing this place sells. They have a lot of different books. Classical, science fiction, history; you name the book, there's a good chance they have it. And if they don't, they can get it."

"Huh," Yasutake said, looking back at the store. He didn't do much reading himself, but he figured that since he was here, he might as well buy something he'd been meaning to for a while. "Alright. Let's see what they got."

The teenagers entered the store. Yasutake saw it was rather sparsely crowded; not surprising, considering the time of day.

"So what book do you want to get?" Masako asked Yasutake, who frowned in thought.

"I'm not sure… what classics does this place have?"

"I can answer that."

The teenagers jumped and whirled around at the voice behind them. The man behind them had long black hair with silver highlights tied back in a ponytail. His brown eyes crinkled as he smiled at them.

"Sorry about that," he said. "I-. Huh." His smile turned into a frown as he looked at Masako and Yasutake.

"Uh… is something wrong?" Yasutake asked.

The man shook his head. "No, sorry. The two of you just look familiar, but I can't recall where I've seen you before."

Masako raised an eyebrow. "Well, I don't know about that, but I've never seen you before. Who are you?"

"Oh, yes. Sorry," he said, bowing slightly. "My name is Kenshin Hirai. I am the proud proprietor of Hirai Shoten."

"You're the owner?" Masako said, surprised. "Last time I was here, I spoke to someone named Juro."

Kenshin smiled. "I haven't been in to work lately; personal issues. Anyway, are either of you looking for something specific?" He turned to Yasutake. "I think you said you were looking for a classic."

"R-Right," Yasutake said, narrowing his eyes. Something about this man… his instincts were warning him about something. "I'm Narahiko. Do you have Paradise Lost by John Milton?"

Kenshin raised an eyebrow. "Yes, in the classics section. We just got it in a new shipment a few days ago. But are you sure? That poem isn't the easiest to read."

"I'm sure," Yasutake said.

"Well, the classics are over there," Kenshin said, pointing to a section of the store. "It should be fairly easy to find." He turned to Masako. "And what about you, miss…?"

"Himura," she said, smiling at him. "Masako Himura."

"Masako," he muttered, frowning. "Where have I…? Never mind. What are you looking for, Miss Himura?"

For some reason, Masako's face turned red again. "Ah, well…" She leaned in and whispered something in Kenshin's ear. After his eyes widened, he smirked.

"Oh, I see," he said. "The latest volume just came in yesterday. I'll have Juro show you where it is."

"Thank you," Masako said, then turned to Yasutake. "I'll meet you here at the entrance, Yasutake."

"What are you looking for?"

"That's my business," Masako said, her face still a little red. "Go find your Milton." She hurried off. Kenshin chuckled to himself as he headed to the main register.

Yasutake sighed and headed over to the classics section. It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for. He opened Paradise Lost and frowned at the pages. It had been a long time since he'd read this. He'd accidentally deleted his e-book copy some time ago. It would be nice to read it again.

"I have to say, I'm surprised."

Yasutake turned around and saw Kenshin standing nearby.

"Oh, don't mind me," the manager said. "It's just… most of my customers are older than you. And the few students I get are usually looking for science fiction books or manga like your friend Himura." He looked down at the book in Yasutake's hands. "It's rare to find a teenager interested in a classic like Paradise Lost. Is it for a school project?"

Yasutake shook his head. "I just read it because I want to. It… speaks to me."

"Is that so?" Kenshin asked, raising an eyebrow. "Honestly, I haven't read too much of that book. I only really remember one line. 'Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.'"

"'Here at least we shall be free,'" Yasutake said, reciting from the book. "'The Almighty hath not built here for his envy, will not drive us hence: here we may reign secure, and in my choice to reign is worth ambition though in Hell: better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven.'"

Kenshin was impressed. "You've read this book before, haven't you?"

Yasutake nodded. Kenshin then said, "You said this book speaks to you. I find that hard to believe. Not many people would sympathize with the devil."

"That is because they think of the devil as a tempter or a god of evil," Yasutake said. "That's not what I think of him."

"Oh? And what do you think the devil is?"

"A punisher," Yasutake said. "A judge who decides the fate of those who have wronged others. The devil may not be good, but without him, the guilty do not own up to their crimes."

Kenshin watched Yasutake with interest. He'd never encountered someone with a point of view like that. "You seem to have put a great deal of thought into this. Are you religious?"

Yasutake shook his head. "I don't go to church if that's what you mean. But I like the stories about angels and devils, good and evil. And the symbolism is interesting." Yasutake frowned. "I guess… I like the idea that there's a plan for everything. That no matter how much a person suffers, there is a reason for it."

He closed the book after saying that. "I'd like to check out now." Kenshin nodded and led the way to the cash register. After buying his book, he walked to the entrance, where Masako was waiting for him.

"Where's your manga?" Yasutake asked her.

Masako's cheeks turned red again as she said, "M-Mr. Hirai told you I was looking for a manga, huh? It's in my bag. And you can't look at it."

"Alright." As the two teenagers headed outside, Kenshin frowned to himself.

I swear I've seen that boy somewhere before, he thought. And the girl looks familiar too, but why? How do I know those kids?

"Did you bring me here just so you could buy a manga?" Yasutake asked Masako. She gave a small smile and shook her head.

"That's a bonus, but no. I noticed that you don't talk to a lot of people, so I thought books might be more your thing. Was I wrong?"

Yasutake shrugged. "I don't mind reading, but I don't enjoy it too much either. But I suppose that would depend on what I'm reading. So where to now?"

Masako raised an eyebrow. "You're letting me decide? I thought you would want to head back to Café Junpei."

"I do," Yasutake said. "But I figured it would be more polite to ask where you want to go."

Masako giggled. "I appreciate your honesty." She thought for a moment, then said, "There's an arcade not too far from here. That might be fun to visit."

Yasutake thought about it then nodded. "Alright." The two set off down the road.

"You're full of surprises, Yasutake," Masako said after walking a block. "I didn't think you'd read something like Paradise Lost."

Yasutake shrugged again. "It's interesting." He was going to say more, but then he saw something that made him stop in his tracks.

"I don't know about interesting," Masako said as she kept walking. "I haven't read it, but I-." She finally realized Yasutake wasn't walking with her and turned around. She walked back to him. "Yasutake?" she asked, but he didn't seem to notice her as he stared across the street. Masako turned to see what he was looking at.

There was a small church across the street. It was in primarily bright colors but the steeple was dark brown. Yasutake stared at the church as though his life depended on it.

"Yasutake?" Masako asked again. And again, he didn't hear her. Memories of ten years ago filled his head. The roar of thunder as rain poured down. The clang of the trashcan lid as it hit the ground. The light coming from a side door in the church…

"Yasutake?" This time Masako grabbed his arm, yanking him back to the present. He gasped and turned to her. Masako had a worried expression on her face. "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah," he said, looking from her back at the church. "Just… an old memory." He turned to start walking again. Or he tried to, but Masako didn't let go of his arm.

"You're not getting off that easily, Yasutake," she said, her expression stern. "What's wrong?"

Yasutake shook his head. "Like I said, it's an old memory, and it doesn't concern you."

"You're my friend," Masako said simply. "That means it does concern me."

Yasutake blinked in surprise. Friend? So she did think of him that way. But did he think of her that way?

Remembering their talk last time, he said, "How about an exchange? I answer your questions and you answer mine."

Masako smirked. "Oh really? How do you know I'll hold up my end? And how do I know you'll hold up yours?"

"We don't," Yasutake said bluntly. "We'll just have to trust each other."

Trust. That wasn't something Masako did easily. The only person she'd trusted for the past eight years was Tagoma. But if she wanted to know more about Yasutake, she would have to trust him. And she did want to know more about him.

"Deal," she said. "So tell me what that church means to you."

Yasutake frowned as his thoughts turned inward. "…Do you remember when I told you I grew up alone?"

"Yes."

He closed his eyes and sighed as he turned to the side. "I meant that. No parents. No guardian. I didn't grow up in an orphanage like some kids did. I grew up on the streets. My first memory is knocking over a trashcan to get at the food inside."

Masako watched him in silence, her expression unreadable as he continued. "I didn't know anything. I didn't know how to read, write, or do anything. I didn't have anyone. I don't even know how I managed to survive. I just ran around Den City, going through people's trash to find food. Sometimes I was lucky. Sometimes I found food well-preserved. Most of the time I wasn't. Most of the time I slept in alleys with my stomach empty."

He stopped talking long enough for Masako to quietly say, "What… what does that have to do with a church?"

Yasutake frowned as he remembered the light from the church. "I was shown kindness," he said. "And that's all I'm going to say on the matter." He turned to look at Masako. "My turn. You said something happened to your parents. What was it?"

Masako started, but then gave a sad smile. "Asking that right off the bat, huh? Considering what I asked, that's fair." She closed her eyes for five seconds then opened them again. "They died," she said simply. "Killed. About eight years ago."

"Oh," Yasutake said softly. He didn't expect such a blunt response. "Sorry."

She laughed bitterly. "It's funny. I never met Tagoma while my parents were alive. After they were gone, he found me. Took me under his wing. And the only time I asked him why, he told me he wanted someone small to crawl through vents."

"Vents?" Yasutake said surprised. "Wait, is Tagoma-?"

"No," Masako said, shaking her head. "He was joking. Realizing that told me he wouldn't tell me the truth." She turned from Yasutake to look at the church. "I don't know why my parents were killed, who was responsible, or why Tagoma took me in. Ever since then, we've been moving constantly. City to city. Spent some time in a monastery in the mountains, believe it or not." She narrowed her eyes in thought. "We moved so often that I never had the chance to form real bonds with anyone. I tried, but… it never worked out. For a very simple reason."

"What's that?"

To his surprise, Masako laughed and turned to him. "Yasutake, look at me," she said, spreading her arms. "What do you see?"

He looked her up and down. "Masako Himura," he answered. She smirked at that.

"I mean my appearance. What do I look like?"

Yasutake raised an eyebrow. "You have black hair with purple highlights. Violet eyes, pale skin." He looked her up and down again. "Your chest is well-developed, and your hips are wider than most girls our age."

Masako laughed at that last part. "I always like how honest you are," she said. "But what you described… that's all most people I've met see. Whenever boys tried to get close to me, it was only because they wanted to have a hot girlfriend and brag about it to their friends. And because I'm so popular with boys, girls tend to avoid me out of jealousy."

She gave a sad smile. "It's funny. When it first starts, I like the attention. Seeing the girls' jealous faces and watching the boys trip over themselves is amusing. But… eventually I learn the same lesson again. They don't care for what I think or who I really am. They only look at me as an object. As something to glorify."

She looked Yasutake in the eyes and smiled at him. "You… you are the first boy I've met in a long time who hasn't looked at me like that. You don't look at me like I'm an object to desire. You look at me like I'm a real person."

You look at me like I'm real. Yasutake remembered the words Masako said to him. So this was what she meant. As Masako stared at Yasutake, he felt his cheeks turn red.

"Masako-." That was as far as he got before her cellphone rang, startling both teenagers. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and frowned at the screen.

"Excuse me," Masako said. She walked a distance away so Yasutake couldn't hear her conversation. She didn't notice that Yasutake's phone also started ringing.

"What is it, Tagoma?" she whispered.

"I need you back home," he said without preamble. "Now."

Masako scowled. "I'm a little busy right now."

"This is more important," he said. "Terminus just called with a new job. He needs you in LINK VRAINS now."

Masako frowned. "But I thought-."

"I'll explain when you get here," Tagoma said. "But hurry." He hung up after saying that, leading Masako to sigh. While she didn't want to go home, she knew Tagoma wouldn't have told her to if it wasn't urgent.

"I'm sorry, Yasutake," she said, turning around. "But I need-." She gasped. Yasutake was nowhere to be seen.

Yasutake ran into Café Junpei. Ignoring the greeting from the steward bot behind the counter, he walked into the back room to find Cam looking at a screen showing Blue Angel facing a female Knight of Hanoi. Yasutake narrowed his eyes at the screen.

"So it's true," he said. "That's one of the Knights who defeated the AI Duelist squad."

"Yeah," Cam said. "And she's one of the few Knights without a mask. I'd wager that makes her important like Dr. Genome. She might know who created the Another virus."

"Their duel is just starting," Yasutake said, heading into the sealed room. "I trust Blue Angel to win, but there might be interference like there was for Go."

"Keep her safe, Yasu," Cam said.

"I will," Yasutake said as the door closed. After all, he thought. I can't look at her and not think of Sachi.

As soon as Morningstar landed, he released the drone from his Duel Disk to follow Blue Angel and the Knight. Looking at the data, he saw her name was Baira. He had arrived at the end of Blue Angel's first turn. He narrowed his eyes as he saw Baira summon two Dark Mummy Probes and destroy Trickstar Light Stage. This woman was clever, he had to admit.

He narrowed his eyes even further on seeing Baira activate Current Corruption Virus. A Virus Deck? He hated fighting Decks like those. This duel wasn't going to be easy for Blue Angel.

He watched as Baira Link Summoned Dark Mummy Surgical Forceps, which cut the top off a nearby building. That was excessive. His eyes widened as Surgical Forceps attacked Holly Angel. Blue Angel's Trap Card kept Holly Angel from being destroyed, but she fell off her D-Board from the force of the attack. Before Morningstar could do anything, Blue Angel summoned her energy whip and pulled her D-Board back to her.

She might not have needed my help for that, Morningstar thought. But that might not be the only time she falls. He turned to the edge to summon his D-Board, but before he could-.

"Hold it right there, Morningstar!"

He turned around and saw three Knights of Hanoi standing behind him. The one in the lead was the one who had spoken. "You've taken out a lot of our friends," he said, cracking his knuckles and smirking. "It's time for us to repay the favor."

Morningstar frowned at them. "Can this wait?" he asked. "I have more important concerns than you three."

The leader opened his mouth to respond, but before he could say anything, a shot rang out. A golden field quickly surrounded the Knights.

"I hate to interrupt here, but I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

Morningstar and the Knights looked at the speaker and all of them gasped. Lilith was standing on a nearby rooftop, pointing one of her pistols at the Knights. She had a devilish smirk on her face.

"Lilith?" Morningstar said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"A job," Lilith answered, jumping down to their rooftop, still holding her pistol. "Someone offered me a great deal of money to defeat these guys." She glanced at Morningstar. "You go after your friend Blue Angel. She'll need you far more than I do."

Morningstar narrowed his eyes. "It's three-on-one," he said. "You sure you can handle this?"

Lilith's smirk widened. "Of course," she said. "I may have lost to you, but I can take out this trash easily."

"What?" the lead Knight said, outraged. "How dare you talk down to Hanoi! Get out of our way, you bitch! This doesn't concern you."

Lilith scowled at him. "I don't like being called a bitch," she said. She then addressed Morningstar. "Even if I wanted your help, you can't. My security field locks you out of dueling them, too."

Morningstar frowned. "…Alright. But don't underestimate them." He jumped off the roof and landed on his D-Board, going off after Baira and Blue Angel.

"Hey, get back here!" the leader said, trying to follow Morningstar. Lilith jumped in his way.

"Sorry boys," she said. "But this is a security field of my design. None of us can log out or duel another opponent until we have a duel. So…" She lifted her pistol to her side and gave a wide, unsettling smile to the Knights. "…shall we play?"

On another rooftop nearby, three more Knights emerged from the shadows. "There he is!" one of them said, pointing down at Morningstar. "Our comrades may have been distracted by that girl, but we'll stop him!"

"Is that what you think?"

The Knights gasped and turned around. Galahad emerged behind them, smirking at them.

"Galahad?" one of them said, surprised. "Why are you defending Morningstar? Didn't he defeat you?"

"He did," Galahad said. "And he did so in one of the greatest duels I've ever had. I owe him for that." He pointed to the Knights. "I will not allow the three of you to interfere! I'll duel all of you now!"

Terminus, Galahad thought. You might have saved my brother, but you also used him against me. I cannot forgive you for that. And I will not allow Hanoi to do what they want without consequences!

Morningstar rode his D-Board some distance from Baira and Blue Angel. He was far enough away so they and the cameras couldn't see him. Because of the Knights delaying him, he had missed Blue Angel's turn. Evidently she hadn't done much, as her field was the same as before.

Morningstar watched with concern as Blue Angel was sent flying through a building from Surgical Forceps's effect. Thankfully, she managed to run out back onto her D-Board. His concern increased when Baira activated her Skill to summon two new monsters, which not only increased Surgical Forceps's attack points but also protected it from the effects of Trap Cards.

What is she planning? Morningstar wondered. With 3000 attack points, the most damage she can inflict is 1000. He got his answer almost immediately when Baira used the effect of Temple of the Kings to activate her face-down Root Ransom Virus to lower Holly Angel's attack points to 0 and negated its effects. It should have affected Surgical Forceps, but due to Baira's Dark Mummy Infuser, Surgical Forceps was protected. Realizing what was going to happen next, Morningstar increased his speed to catch up to them.

Blue Angel sent Trickstar Perennial to the Graveyard to protect Holly Angel, but the damage from the attack went through. One of Surgical Forceps's attacks hit her D-Board, sending her plummeting from it, screaming.

Before she could hit the ground, however, someone grabbed her arm. Looking up, she gasped. "M-Morningstar?"

Morningstar narrowed his eyes at Blue Angel. "Stop falling off your D-Board," he said. "I can't save you every time." He lifted her up and threw her back onto her board.

"Morningstar?" Baira said, looking at him in surprise, then she smirked. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised to see you. You showed up to aid Go against Dr. Genome. Are you here to take over for Blue Angel? You would provide a greater challenge than her."

"No," Morningstar said, surprising Baira and Blue Angel. "Blue Angel doesn't need my help to defeat you." He turned to Blue Angel. "She may lack a reason to duel, but her skills are among the best I've seen. I'm just here to make sure she gets the chance to win."

"Morningstar…" Blue Angel whispered. Then she smiled. "I'm not giving up!" she shouted at Baira. "I activate my Skill!"

Morningstar narrowed his eyes as he rode his D-Board higher in the air. He recognized what Blue Angel was doing. She'd done the same thing in their duel; he figured she needed to discard Trickstar Mandrake. But if Baira drew a single Trap Card, this duel was over.

Fortunately, Baira didn't draw any Trap Cards. And Blue Angel summoned Trickstar Mandrake from the Graveyard. Morningstar smiled to himself. This is it, he thought. Show the world your resolve, Blue Angel!

Blue Angel drew and summoned Trickstar Narkissus. Of course, it lost its effects because of Current Corruption Virus, but Morningstar knew that wouldn't bother Blue Angel. Morningstar watched as Blue Angel summoned the Link portal and Link Summoned Trickstar Bella Madonna.

"A Link 4 monster," Morningstar muttered. "Now show what this monster is capable of." He watched as Mandrake's effect destroyed Infuser and let Surgical Forceps be affected by Root Ransom Virus. He raised an eyebrow and smirked when Blue Angel explained that Bella Madonna's effect protected her from Root Ransom Virus's effect.

That effect only works because Bella Madonna doesn't point to any monsters, Morningstar. Not unlike my Spectrum Supreme. He smiled sadly. That card symbolizes your growth, doesn't it, Zaizen? Learning the strength to stand on your own. For you… that is not a bad thing.

He watched as Bella Madonna inflicted effect damage then attacked Surgical Forceps. Was it his imagination, or did Baira hit some buttons before the attack hit?

Lilith sighed to herself as the Knights in front of her disintegrated. Well, that was boring. She was hoping Hanoi would prove a challenge, but they were such a disappointment. Apparently, she would have to wait before she faced a strong opponent again.

She frowned to herself. Why did Terminus offer this job? He had only asked her to observe and record Morningstar's duels, but now he wanted her to fight alongside him? Who was this guy?

"Tagoma," she whispered into an earpiece. "Have you looked into who Terminus is?"

"I've tried," he replied. "I think I have a few leads, but I need to follow up on them first. After this, I'm as curious as you are."

"Hmm," Lilith said. Looking up, she saw the dome from the Data Gale had faded. "Looks like Blue Angel won," she commented. "If she'd lost, Morningstar would be dueling now."

"You should log out now," Tagoma said. "Before anyone asks questions."

Lilith smirked. "No, I think I'll hang around a bit. There's someone I want to talk to."

Galahad breathed heavily as his last opponent fell over. "That will teach them to do what they want," he muttered. Looking down, he saw Blue Angel and the Knight she was dueling standing on a nearby rooftop. Morningstar was also there, but he was standing in the background, leaning against a wall.

"Blue Angel," Baira said. "You're back."

"No," Blue Angel replied. "All I did was defeat you to get my revenge. I only fought for myself." She glanced at Morningstar, who was listening with his eyes closed. "Blue Angel is back only for today."

Baira smiled. "Blue Angel, look at the sky." She took off her eyepiece and looked up. Blue Angel and Morningstar both looked up. Yellow lights fell down all around them.

"Yasu!" Cam said into Morningstar's earpiece.

"What is it?" Morningstar whispered.

"The Anothers! They're all waking up!" Morningstar turned to Baira. She released them? Why?

Blue Angel looked at the screens Baira had pulled up. They all showed the Another victims waking up. "The removal program?" she asked. "But why?"

"You changed my heart," Baira answered simply. "You may have fought for yourself, but that can change those around you. If you carry the hopes of others, you're fighting for everyone."

"For everyone?" Blue Angel repeated. Baira smiled to herself for a while, then turned to Morningstar.

"The Anothers may be free, but your troubles are far from over, Morningstar," she said. "Terminus is looking for you. And just some advice? He's the strongest of Hanoi's lieutenants."

Morningstar looked at Baira expressionless. "It doesn't matter how strong he is," Morningstar said. "Only one person has ever defeated me. That's not going to change anytime soon."

She smiled at that. "For your sake, I hope you're right," she said as she turned into gold data bits and disappeared.

"…Do you think she's right, Morningstar?" Blue Angel asked, turning to look at Morningstar. "That if you carry the hopes of others, you're fighting for everyone?"

He thought about it and shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "I know why I fight. To provide for the people who saved my life. What about you? Do you know why you fight now?"

She thought about his question and smiled. "I think I'm starting to know," she said, walking up to him. "I think… I would like to fight for everyone. It's not a bad thought, is it? But… I think fighting for your friends is good, too, don't you?"

Morningstar raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't know," he said. "I don't have friends."

Blue Angel's smile widened. "Don't you?" she asked, leaning in to whisper in his ear. "Narahiko?"

Morningstar's eyes widened in surprise as he took a few steps back. Blue Angel smiled at him.

"I'll see you at school," she said, logging out.

"Oh come on," Cam groaned. "First it was just Playmaker we had to worry about blabbing. Now her, too?"

It took a while for Morningstar to collect his thoughts before he said, "I don't think we have to worry about Blue Angel. I think… she is someone we can trust."

"I hope so," Cam said. "If she tells Zaizen and he lets it slip to Kitamura… no number of life bans will keep him from shutting you down."

"Well that was pretty."

Morningstar turned around as Lilith walked towards him. Her pistols were holstered as the lights around them faded.

"That light show made everything seem brighter than it actually was," she said. She looked Morningstar up and down. "You seem no worse for wear. How's Blue Angel?"

"She seemed fine," Morningstar said, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. "Why do you care? And why are you really here?"

Lilith sighed. "Like I said, an employer offered me a job to fight Hanoi. So that's what I'm going to do." She looked him in the eye. "We may share the same profession, but I'm not the self-sacrificing type. Profit is my first concern."

"It doesn't matter to me why you fight," Morningstar said. "If you want to fight Hanoi, go ahead. But don't expect acceptance from anyone else. They have ideals of their own."

"Ideals," Lilith muttered. "Ideals look nice, but they don't put food on the table, do they? Talent and a willingness to do what's necessary do that."

"But ideals give your life meaning."

The two hunters turned as Galahad walked up to them. "Unless you fight for something, you're just an empty shell," he said. "Without a reason to duel, you're nothing but an angry dog."

Lilith raised an eyebrow. "Who are you?"

Galahad fell over, then quickly stood up again. "What do you mean 'who are you?'" he shouted at her. "I am Galahad! Number five among the Charisma Duelists and enemy of Hanoi!"

"Oh," Lilith said, smirking at him. "Well that explains why I've never heard of you. Everyone's the enemy of Hanoi and who cares about fifth place?"

"Why you…" Galahad grumbled, glaring at Lilith. Morningstar sighed and logged out. He didn't want to deal with Galahad's antics this late in the day.

Faust, Revolver, and Terminus looked at the coffin Baira was laying in. "Was this necessary, Revolver?" Terminus asked. "I know she released the Anothers, but-."

"It was," Revolver interrupted. He then turned to Terminus. "And tell me why I shouldn't purge you, too."

Terminus narrowed his eyes at Revolver, unafraid of that threat.

"You sent that bounty hunter of yours against our own people, Terminus," Revolver said, narrowing his eyes. "Explain."

Terminus sighed. "It was necessary for her to gain Morningstar's trust," he said. "I plan for her to infiltrate Playmaker's group. If she succeeds, we can use her to lure Morningstar and Playmaker out for us."

"It won't work," Faust said immediately. "Playmaker works alone, and Morningstar first met her when she tried to capture him. By the time she's earned his trust, the Tower will be ready for deployment and we'll have no need of her."

"Perhaps," Terminus said. "But we need an advantage. With Baira like this, it will take me even longer to fix our AI Duelist. Unless you want to help me, Faust?"

The man in question shook his head. "I'm not helping make any more AI."

"Hmm," Revolver grunted, interrupting the two. "If you think your bounty hunter can weaken Morningstar and Playmaker from the inside, do it. But don't use anymore of our people as pawns. We've already lost a great deal of our forces in this war. We don't need any more unnecessary casualties." Revolver logged out.

"Do you really believe Lilith can bring Morningstar and Playmaker down from the inside, Terminus?" Faust asked. Terminus shrugged.

"I don't know," Terminus said honestly. "But I figured I would make the most of an available resource." He narrowed his eyes. "It's just you and me now, Faust. You and me against Morningstar and Playmaker."

Faust narrowed his own eyes. "We'll win, Terminus. We must. To defeat the Ignis and bring Baira and Dr. Genome back."

Terminus nodded. "Yes."

Revolver vs Prototype HAI-A (Archfiend Deck)

This Duel is conducted as a Master Duel.

Turn 1: Prototype HAI-A

HAI-A activates the effect of the Archfiend General in its hand, discarding it to add Pandemonium from its Deck to its hand. It activates the Field Spell Card Pandemonium. It Normal Summons Archfiend Cavalry (1900/0/4). Since it controls an "Archfiend" card, HAI-A Special Summons Archfiend Commander (2500/1200/6) in Attack Position. It then targets Archfiend Cavalry with Commander's effect, destroying it. Since Cavalry was destroyed by a card effect and sent to the GY, its effect activates and HAI-A can target 1 "Archfiend" monster in its GY and Special Summon it. It targets and Special Summons Archfiend General (2100/800/4) in Attack Position. And since an "Archfiend" monster was destroyed and sent to the GY by a card effect, the effect of Pandemonium activates, letting HAI-A add 1 "Archfiend" monster from its Deck to its hand with a lower Level than Archfiend Cavalry. It adds Archfiend Heiress to its hand. HAI-A uses Archfiend Commander and Archfiend General to Link Summon Masterking Archfiend (2000/2/↙↘) to the Extra Monster Zone. It Sets 2 cards. It ends its turn.

Turn 2: Revolver

Revolver draws. As HAI-A controls a Link Monster, he Special Summons Gateway Dragon (1600/1400/4) in Attack Position via its effect. He activates the effect of Gateway Dragon, letting him Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Dragon monster from his hand. He Special Summons Sniffer Dragon (800/400/2). Since Sniffer Dragon was Special Summoned, Revolver can add a 2nd Sniffer Dragon from his Deck to his hand. Revolver discards the Linkbelt Wall Dragon in his hand to Special Summon Defrag Dragon (1000/600/3). Revolver uses Gateway Dragon and Sniffer Dragon to Link Summon Twin Triangle Dragon (1200/2/↓→) to the Extra Monster Zone. Revolver activates the effect of Twin Triangle Dragon, paying 500 LP (Revolver: 4000→3500 LP) to Special Summon Linkbelt Wall Dragon in Attack Position with its effects negated (0/2100/6). Revolver activates the Spell Card Marker Charge, drawing 2 cards as there are 2 monsters in the Extra Monster Zones with equal Link Ratings. Revolver uses Defrag Dragon, Linkbelt Wall Dragon, and the Link 2 Twin Triangle Dragon to Link Summon Topologic Bomber Dragon (3000/4/↙↑↓↘) to the Extra Monster Zone. Revolver Normal Summons Anesthrokket Dragon (0/2200/1). He then activates the Quick-Play Spell Card Squib Draw, destroying Anesthrokket Dragon to draw 2 cards. Topologic Bomber Dragon attacks Masterking Archfiend, but HAI-A activates its face-down Trap Card Archfiend's Barrier, reducing the battle damage to 0 and preventing "Archfiend" monsters it controls from being destroyed by battle or card effects this turn. After damage calculation, Revolver activates the effect of Topologic Bomber Dragon, inflicting damage to HAI-A equal to Masterking Archfiend's original ATK (HAI-A: 4000→2000 LP). As it took effect damage the turn it activated Archfiend's Barrier, HAI-A can Set 1 Trap Card from its Deck. It Sets Call of the Archfiend. Revolver Sets 1 card. He ends his turn. During the End Phase, the effect of Anesthrokket Dragon activates as it was destroyed and sent to the GY this turn. Revolver can Special Summon 1 "Rokket" monster from his Deck. He Special Summons Shelrokket Dragon (1100/2000/2) in Defense Position.

Turn 3: Prototype HAI-A

HAI-A draws. It activates its face-down Continuous Trap Card That Six, so now every time a die is rolled, HAI-A can change the result to 1 or 6, depending on the roll. HAI-A then activates its face-down Continuous Trap Card Call of the Archfiend, targeting Archfiend Commander in its GY and discarding Archfiend Heiress to Special Summon Archfiend Commander (2500/1200/6) in Attack Position. Since Archfiend Heiress was sent to the GY because of a card effect, HAI-A can add 1 "Archfiend" card from its Deck to its hand. It adds Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror. Since a Fiend monster was sent to the GY, HAI-A activates the effect of Masterking Archfiend, rolling a die and applying an effect depending on the result. It rolls a 3, but the effect of That Six changes the result to a 6, so HAI-A Special Summons Archfiend Heiress (1000/0/3) in Attack Position. Prototype HAI-A Tributes Archfiend Commander and Archfiend Heiress to Tribute Summon Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror (3000/2000/8) to Masterking Archfiend's bottom-left Link Marker. Since a Fiend monster(s) was sent to the GY, the effect of Masterking Archfiend activates. HAI-A rolls a 2, but the effect of That Six changes it to a 1, so HAI-A adds Archfiend Commander to its hand.

HAI-A activates the effect of Archfiend Emperor, banishing Archfiend Cavalry from its GY to destroy Topologic Bomber Dragon, but Revolver activates his face-down Trap Card Tactical Exchamber, destroying Topologic Bomber Dragon to Special Summon 1 "Rokket" monster from his Deck or GY. He Special Summons Anesthrokket Dragon (0/2200/1) from his GY in Defense Position. Since the target of its effect left the field, Archfiend Emperor's effect resolves. HAI-A activates the effect of the Archfiend Commander in its hand, Special Summoning it (2500/1200/6) in Attack Position since it controls an "Archfiend" card, but it cannot attack this turn. Since it was Special Summoned by its effect, Archfiend Commander's effect destroys Archfiend Emperor. Since a Fiend monster was sent to the GY, the effect of Masterking Archfiend activates. HAI-A rolls a 5, but the effect of That Six changes it to a 6, so Archfiend Emperor is Special Summoned (3000/2000/8) in Attack Position to Masterking Archfiend's bottom-left Link Marker. HAI-A activates the effect of Archfiend Emperor, banishing Archfiend General from its GY to destroy Anesthrokket Dragon. Archfiend Emperor attacks and destroys Shelrokket Dragon. Masterking Archfiend attacks Revolver directly (Revolver: 3500→1500 LP). HAI-A Sets 1 card (Hate Buster). It ends its turn. During the End Phase, Revolver activates the effect of both Anesthrokket Dragon and Shelrokket Dragon, as they were destroyed and sent to the GY this turn. Both effects Special Summon a "Rokket" monster from Revolver's Deck. Revolver Special Summons Magnarokket Dragon (1800/1200/4) and Metalrokket Dragon (1700/1400/4), both in Defense Position.

Turn 4: Revolver

Revolver draws. He activates the Field Spell Boot Sector Launch, which increases the ATK/DEF of all "Rokket" monsters by 300 (Magnarokket: 1800→2100/1200→1500) (Metalrokket: 1700→2000/1400→1700). He activates the effect of Boot Sector Launch to Special Summon 2 "Rokket" monsters from his hand in Defense Position. He Special Summons Autorokket Dragon (1600→1900/1000→1300/3) and Shelrokket Dragon (1100→1400/2000→2300/2) in Defense Position. Revolver uses Autorokket Dragon and Magnarokket Dragon to Link Summon Booster Dragon (1900/2/↙↘) to the Extra Monster Zone. Revolver activates the effect of Booster Dragon, targeting Metalrokket Dragon for its effect and increasing its ATK/DEF by 500. Since it was targeted by the effect of a Link Monster, Revolver activates the effect of Metalrokket Dragon to destroy itself and all HAI-A's card in the same column. Masterking Archfiend, Archfiend Commander, and HAI-A's face-down card are all destroyed. Revolver Normal Summons Sniffer Dragon (800/400/2). Since it was Normal Summoned, Revolver activates its effect to add 1 Sniffer Dragon from his Deck to his hand. Revolver uses Shelrokket Dragon, Sniffer Dragon, and the Link 2 Booster Dragon to Link Summon Borreload Dragon (3000/4/←↙→↘) to the Extra Monster Zone. Borreload Dragon attacks Archfiend Emperor. As Borreload is attacking an opponent's monster Revolver activates its effect to take control of Archfiend Emperor and place it in a zone Borreload points to, but Archfiend Emperor will be sent to the GY at the End Phase. Archfiend Emperor attacks directly (HAI-A: 2000→0 LP). Revolver wins.

Archfiend's Barrier Normal Trap Card

Reduce all battle damage from battles involving "Archfiend" monsters you control to 0 until the end of the turn. The turn you activate this effect, "Archfiend" monsters you control cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects. If you take effect damage the turn you activate this effect: You can Set 1 Trap Card directly from your Deck to your Spell & Trap Zone.

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Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: Hidden Memories. Chapter 15 – The Buried Musket

Responses to Reviews & Author's Notes

Thank you to JaneValentine007, HunterHQ, ClearwingYuta, D3lph0xL0v3r, sanedimentio, Nirvash Neo, Aira Aura, 4 different Guests, and Ninjacya321 for reviewing Chapter 13. Also thank you to ThePLOThand for reviewing Chapters 9, 10, 11, and 12.

On a side note, since I'm having so many guest reviews, could you please change the name under which you review? Like Playerhood18 or Meemo. It will make responding to those reviews easier for everyone.

To answer HunterHQ's question about the timing of the Morningstar and Terminus duel, it will be during the same time as Playmaker's duel with Faust.

In response to ClearwingYuta's questions, I will not answer any of them. Spoilers. Sorry.

And Aira Aura, I imagine you and Masako would have an interesting conversation.

I will answer all the guest reviews in one paragraph. One: I do know about the Rise of the True Dragons Deck, but I have not considered implementing it. Everyone's Decks (except Galahad, but he does use it) revolve around Link Summoning, which makes a card like Ruins of the Divine Dragon Lords difficult to implement. Also, Cracking Dragon is Machine Type, so that card wouldn't work with it anyway. Two: I do have an idea for a Pendulum duel, but it will be a while. Please be patient. Three: after his duel with Spectre, Playmaker has 20 Link Monsters, so I've decided to remove the Extra Deck limit for Hidden Memories. At the moment, Morningstar has 12 Link Monsters, but I have plans for as many as 26 Link Monsters.

Okay, sorry this came out so late. I'm been busy with college, with readings and writings especially. I hope to get Chapter 15 out in less time, but considering my schedule, I can't make promises.

This chapter introduced the Hanoi AI Duelist with an Archfiend Deck. I originally planned on having it duel Morningstar while Blue Angel dueled Baira, but I also wanted him to interact in the duel, so I changed it to having Revolver test the AI Duelist. This also gave me the chance to try out a duel with Revolver, and it was definitely interesting to write. For anyone curious, the Hanoi AI Duelist will make a second appearance, but I'm undecided whether the Deck should be the same. What do you readers think about it using the same Deck or not?

This chapter was also about development for Masako and Terminus, with Masako revealing her parents' fate and why she likes Yasutake, and Yasutake meeting Kenshin in real life. Just in case anyone's wondering why Kenshin didn't automatically recognize Yasutake by his name, my interpretation is that the scientists didn't know the names of the children they kidnapped. If it turns out they did know their names in canon, screw that. This doesn't have to follow every aspect of the anime, right?

I also had development for Aoi. Yasutake finally acknowledges Aoi as a friend and she reveals she knows he's Morningstar. I'm going to say this now so people don't misinterpret it: their relationship is strictly platonic. I'm not writing an AoixOC fic.

As for what Tagoma was saying about his and Masako's backstory, and about Kenshin's older brother who he named his son after… you'll have to wait for the next few chapters. I'm trying to teach myself to give fewer spoilers.

There was also some revealing of Yasutake's past prior to the Lost Incident. I won't be revealing the whole truth until a later chapter, but I wanted to provide a little information.

And finally, about Terminus's plan for Lilith, I understand if you think it's underwhelming. Honestly, I kind of feel that way myself, but I couldn't think of a better way for him to use her. It will certainly make for some interesting events in the next couple chapters.

Thank you for reading Chapter 14 of Hidden Memories. Please post a review of your favorite moment in this chapter. Was it the duel with Revolver? Masako's talk with Yasutake? When Takeshi got mad at Yasutake again? Receiving feedback on my work makes all this effort worthwhile.