Update: As per the suggestion of And then the sky, I changed the effect of Dis, City of the Burning Abyss so that it wasn't overpowered. The chant for Malacoda, Netherlord of the Burning Abyss was also changed as well in Chapters 5 and 6. Anyways, hope you enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 7: Mysterious New Acquaintances

At Café Nagi...

Yusaku walked over to Kusanagi, who just yawned as he finished completing and serving a hotdog meal for a customer.

"Tired?" Yusaku asked.

"Totally," Kusanagi replied. "Didn't get much sleep last night." He then noticed that Yusaku didn't have his Duel Disk with him. "Where's Ai?" he asked.

"I left him at home," Yusaku answered him, as he walked into the back of Café Nagi. "I need to think about what Revolver said regarding AI with free will."

"Fair enough." Kusanagi closed the window and turned on the monitors in the back of the food truck, where the duo performed their operations against the Hanoi. "What you thinking right now buddy?"

"What we saw from Ai's Data," Yusaku responded, taking the seat beside Kusanagi. "If what we saw are Ai's memories, then Revolver destroyed Ai's world. The fact that Revolver was there that day brings more questions. But more importantly, three important ones. One: What exactly is Ai? Revolver called him an 'Ignis', an AI that wanted to destroy humanity, but there has to be more than that. Two: The Data Storms that appear during Speed Duels. Ever since we got Ai, more and more Data Storms have appeared. I need to know what the significance is behind these Data Storms, and how Ai is related to them. Three: The Knights of Hanoi. They claim their goal is to destroy the Ignis in order to save the human race, but like Ai, I don't think that's all there is to it."

"I guess these things are worth investigating, right?" Kusanagi asked, as the duo started getting to work. Lately, footage of Playmaker has been uploaded on the web, by a pair known as 'Frog and Pigeon'. The fact that these idiots are broadcasting Playmaker's activities live on the web could result in their work becoming harder. So they've been deleting any footage of Playmaker on the web in the hopes that they can continue their activities in secret. "We have to. For you... and for Jin." Kusanagi became despondent upon saying that.

Not just Jin and I, Yusaku thought, narrowing his eyes. I'm certain Furutani from class was involved in the Incident as well.

Yusaku snapped out of his thoughts once he realized that Kusanagi was upset. Turning to him, he said, "Kusanagi, we will get to the bottom of this. Once the Hanoi are defeated, not only will your brother finally have peace, but we can learn what happened all those years ago."

"Thanks. Guess that's what I needed at the moment," Kusanagi replied, turning to face Yusaku. Changing the subject, he asked, "You encountered Raguel yesterday, didn't you?"

"I did," Yusaku said, remembering what happened in LINK VRAINS. "Were you able to find anything on Raguel?" When Raguel dueled against Go and Blue Angel, Yusaku was quite curious about him. The fact that there was someone else who wielded Cyberse monsters surprised him, and it definitely supported this theory that Raguel Yuhiro Furutani.

Then he'd seen Raguel attempt to challenge Revolver to a duel. Yusaku knew that, were it not for Infearno's interference with his demons, Raguel would have succeeded. If Raguel truly was Yuhiro Furutani, then Yusaku might consider approaching him to say thanks.

Kusanagi shook his head. "Unfortunately, no," he admitted. "He pulls the same tricks you do to stay in the shadows. One: He deletes his activity logs and footage online at a fast pace. Two: While I don't know for certain, I do know that he has a partner, or an ally he's working with. Three: Once he completes his task, he just logs out immediately."

"What about rumors? Or stories?" Yusaku asked, now wanting to learn more about Raguel. "Any of those about him?"

Kusanagi thought for a full minute before responding. "Well, now that you mention it, I do know a few stories. Some call Raguel an angel-like version of Robin Hood, who obtains equipment from enemies he's defeated and gives it to the poor. Others call him the king of LINK VRAINS' underworld as well."

Yusaku frowned and crossed his arms. "If someone like that has access to the underbelly of LINK VRAINS..."

"Then we'll definitely be screwed," Kusanagi finished for him. "Yusaku, something else is bothering you. What's up?"

"Well... I think I might know who Raguel is," Yusaku said.

This surprised Kusanagi. "Wait. So you're saying you know who Raguel is?"

"I'm about 60% sure," Yusaku said. "When I joined Duel Club, I joined alongside a student named Yuhiro Furutani. During the session, I noticed three things." Yusaku held up a finger. "One: He and I have the same Duel Disk. While everyone else has the current model, the both of us have an older variation of the model. Two," he held up another finger, "When the person lecturing asked Furutani a question, he provided three differences between Master and Speed Duels, thus showing me that he groups things into three. Three," he held up a third finger, "I took a peek at the deck Furutani brought, and for some reason, I could tell there was a Cyberse monster or two in the deck. This is why I believe Raguel Yuhiro Furutani."

"Interesting." Kusanagi thought about what Yusaku said for a few moments before responding. "If Furutani is related to the Incident, perhaps he can help us. After all, if you tell him the truth, he could consider joining forces with us."

"No." Yusaku said, immediately making a decision. "The fight against the Hanoi is too dangerous. I promised myself that I wouldn't get anyone else involved, just like with Go Onizuka."

"Won't you at least consider it?" Kusanagi asked, making one last appeal regarding recruiting Raguel.

Sure enough, he succeeded, as Yusaku sighed. "I'll consider it. But only once I retrieve more info."

Kusanagi smiled as he turned back to the screens. Yusaku, he thought as his friend turned back to the screens as well, if Raguel truly is another of those kids from the Incident, it would be a good idea to find them asap. Because the more we find, the more likely we can defeat the Hanoi for good. And maybe you too can find peace.

The next morning, at Café Matsuo...

"Oi, Yuhiro!" Roxy said, as Yuhiro just came out of the shower. "I cooked you something real nice. Better come down now or else it's all for me!"

"Like hell it is!" Yuhiro replied with a smile, as he quickly put on his clothes. It had been a few hours since dueling Infearno, and the sleep he got somehow made him feel better. The fact that he had not one, but two leads on the Hanoi gave him hope. Hope that he and Roxy can defeat the Hanoi before they enact their master plan. And complete their assignment to capture Playmaker's Ignis.

What is their plan, though, Yuhiro thought, putting this things in his backpack. Infearno told me that the goal of the Hanoi was to destroy the Cyberse and the Cyberse World. Yet from what Progleo told me last night, it sounded like a wonderful world to live in. It also didn't look like they had no quarrel with humans either.

Then there was the assignment Monty gave him regarding Playmaker. Yuhiro now knew what the AI Program everyone wanted was called: an 'Ignis'. No wonder Monty wants that AI, Yuhiro thought. If this Ignis really does have free-will, it must have something unique that Monty wants.

He went over to pick up his Duel Disk on the desk. However, he noticed that it was still flashing a white light. Weird, he thought. When he went to inspect it, a white figure suddenly emerged from the top. Orange lines covered its body and converged on its chest, creating a circle with a line down the middle. It had creamy-pearl eyes that were semi-oval and in the shape of almonds, giving it a young and mature appearance. On the sides of its head were two protrusions, which pointed backwards and up.

Yuhiro stared at the figure, shocked at what he was seeing. "It's been a long time, Yuhiro Furutani. Good to see you a-."

"HOLY SHIT!" Yuhiro fell to the ground in shock, dropping his Duel Disk in the process.

"Oi! Is everything okay Yuhiro?" Soon, Roxy came rushing upstairs to Yuhiro's room. And by the time she arrived, even she was shocked at what was going on. "First, there was a talking cub, and now this?"

"Well," the figure said, rolling its eyes, "this is awkward."

A few minutes later...

Yuhiro and Roxy were in the dining room, now joined by the figure in Yuhiro's Duel Disk, who they deemed 'the unexpected guest'. The two of them were eating French toast that Roxy made, staring at the figure.

"Okay, just staring at me like this is going to make it even more awkward," the figure said. Turning to Yuhiro, it said, "I'm sorry I scared you like that, Yuhiro. I was planning on revealing myself last night, but you were tired, and Progleo convinced me to wait until the morning."

"Wait a minute," Yuhiro said, his attention directed towards the figure, "you know Progleo?"

"Of course, of course." The figure nodded in response to Yuhiro's question. "I'm just surprised that Progleo forgot to tell you." And sure enough, Progleo popped out of the Duel Disk and right onto the table.

"Oh yeah," Progleo said, staring at the French toast that was made, "that was the second thing I wanted to mention last night. I unfortunately forgot." Before Progleo could bite into the French toast, Roxy picked up the cub off the table.

"Do you know how long it took me to make that French toast?" Roxy asked the cub as she put him on a chair. "A good hour. And you're not going to slobber it up along with the furniture, got it?" Progleo's ears went down upon being criticized by her. Feeling sympathy for the poor cub, Roxy got out a plate, put some French toast on it, and gave it to him, who munched it down afterwards.

"Don't blame Progleo," the figure said, looking at Progleo, "he's very loyal. Sometimes though, he can be a bit of a child. I can't wait to see what he grows up into though." He turned to face Yuhiro. "So, before you screamed in shock at me, I was going to introduce myself."

"And your name is?" Yuhiro asked.

"Herald. Call me Herald. Besides, my true name is one that humans cannot understand."

"Oh!" Roxy suddenly said. "As in a messenger!"

"That's correct, ma'am," Herald said, as he turned to Roxy. Roxy's left eye started twitching upon hearing Herald's comment. "So, I assume you know who and what I am?"

"Other than what I heard yesterday, not too much," Yuhiro admitted. When Herald waited for him to continue, he said, "What I do know is that you're an Ignis. The Knights of Hanoi want to destroy you because they claim you want to destroy the human race-."

"The first part is correct," Herald said, interrupting Yuhiro, "but the second? That's just a bunch of baloney. We Ignis only wanted to live in peace and harmony, and had no conflicts with the humans."

"Until the Hanoi attacked you," Roxy concluded.

"Yes. The Dark Ignis managed to save the Cyberse World at the last minute, thus saving us in the process. However, he was turned into data by the Hanoi's draconic machines." Herald said as he told the events that previously happened.

"What I'm concerned about is how you escaped," Yuhiro said, now curious about Herald's tale.

"You see, before the Hanoi attacked, an individual arrived in the Cyberse World." Herald put a hand to his chin as he recalled the events. "The individual came to warn us that a Crisis was coming, and that we would soon be attacked. Luckily, one of the Ignis was able to tell the difference between truth and lies, and although she affirmed that the figure was telling the truth, the rest didn't believe her. While our leader thought the attack was ridiculous, another Ignis and I believed the figure's words, and we started to gather as much as we can. However, once the Hanoi attacked, the two of us alongside several Cyberse creatures were the only ones to escape the Cyberse World in time." Progleo's ears went down as he stopped eating, indicating that he was sad upon rehearing the tale.

"Wait. The individual who helped you," Yuhiro said. "Can you describe him?"

Herald thought for a minute before responding. "Let's see. Oh yes! It was a figure with a featureless body and face glowing with brown, murky energy."

Yuhiro's face then became pale as it all came back to him from yesterday. Him in a realm of darkness. And a figure, touching his pendent before being overcome with so much power...

"Yuhiro!" When Yuhiro regained his senses, he saw Roxy, who stood up and shook his shoulders to get him back to reality.

"Seems my description matched then," Herald said. "The individual, whom you call Watchman, has helped you."

Yuhiro pulled out Turboblaze Dragon from his deck. "If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have got this card." Upon seeing the card, Herald immediately grabbed it from Yuhiro.

"You have this card?" Herald asked, in disbelief. "This monster was in charge of protecting me until the seal was broken. And the only one who could break the seal..." Herald's eyes widened upon realizing the truth. "You're indeed my Origin! There's no denying it! Only my Origin is the one who can break the seal!"

"Seal? What seal? What are you even talking about?" Yuhiro stood up from where he was sitting, now confused at what Herald was telling him.

"The pendant around your neck, Yuhiro!" Herald said, pointing to it. "Watchman had Turboblaze and another dragon take the other Ignis and I into separate pendants. This way, the chances of finding us would be minimized."

Yuhiro looked at his pendant. "I had you around my neck this whole time..." he muttered, slowly putting two and two together.

"I understand this is a lot to take in," Herald continued, "but I came to you because I need your help."

"My help? What would you want with me?" Yuhiro asked, now starting to get stressed out with information overload. "And just to let you know, I have my own battles to fight too, like against the Hanoi."

"You could say that our goals sort of align," Herald replied. "I was sent for your help in finding the missing Cyberse. However, I too also have the Hanoi as the enemy. And Watchman wants to find the missing Cyberse as well. So you could say all three of us have common goals."

This surprised Yuhiro. Watchman wanted to find the other Cyberse? For what purposes? And why did he claim yesterday that he was on Yuhiro's side?

Yuhiro's watch beeped. When he looked at it, he realized that school would be starting really soon!

"Progleo, get back in the Duel Disk!" When Progleo was about to protest, Yuhiro added, "Please. It's urgent." The cub turned into particles before going into his Duel Disk.

"As for you. You're coming with me," he added, grabbing the Duel Disk and Herald with it. Turning to Roxy, Yuhiro said, "If you get any details about Watchman, send them to me ASAP."

"Will do," Roxy said, as she watched Yuhiro leave Café Matsuo. Gosh, she thought, as she started to wash the dishes, this day started off really weird.

At Den Academy...

"So this is where you go to school," Herald observed. The Ignis was in its Eyeball form, which had orange lines, a creamy-pearl iris, and a white pupil. It looked around first out of curiosity towards the other students, and then back to Yuhiro. "Explain to me why you decided to lock me in your Duel Disk."

"There's three reasons why I locked you in my Duel Disk," Yuhiro replied. "One: If what you're telling me is true, that means the Hanoi is still out there finding the remaining Cyberse and destroying it. It's better that you're in a place that I know you're at than a place I'm not aware of. Two: If I am what you say I am in terms of 'Origin', then meeting you today wasn't mere happenstance. You could help me find out the details regarding my past. Three: Just like me, you don't like the Hanoi. While I'm against partnering with someone," Yuhiro looked at Herald as he said this, "I'm willing to make an exception with you because you're a key to my past."

"Wow. I'm... surprised," Herald replied, rolling its eye. "Did something bad happen the last time you worked with someone?"

"Something like..." Suddenly, Yuhiro noticed that he was approaching Den Academy. "Whisper and keep a low profile," he quickly told Herald. "I'll tell you why later."

"Understood, Yuhiro." Herald said, quickly understanding the situation. And the walk was silent the rest of the way.

By the time Yuhiro entered his Statistics class, the whole room was almost filled up. Looking around, Yuhiro noticed that Aoi wasn't in the classroom. I wouldn't be surprised if Akira Zaizen kept her at home, he thought. Considering the events that happened, it was the only logical option.

Still, he had to confirm to make sure that his suspicions were 100% correct. And unfortunately, there was only one person whom he didn't want talk to, but had to in order to get the information needed.

"Shima," Yuhiro said, as he walked over to Naoki, who was sitting down and watching the recent events on LINK VRAINS.

"Furutani!" Naoki said, turning to him in surprise. "I'm surprised you got my name right once again. Anyway, what's up?"

Yuhiro sat down in the spot beside him. "I'm wondering if you seen Zaizen at some point today before class."

"No, haven't seen her at all today," Naoki replied, shaking his head. "No one has. Apparently, President Hosoda told me that she won't be coming to Duel Club or school for a few days. He said that she's dealing with a family situation at the moment."

Family situation, Yuhiro thought. Yup. This practically confirmed it. Akira Zaizen, for who knows how long, is preventing Aoi from leaving her home. "I see. Thank you, Shima."

This surprised Naoki. "Uh, no problem. Say, since I answered your question, could you-?" But before he could ask his question, the teacher immediately started the lesson, causing Yuhiro and Shima to stop talking and pay attention to her.

At the Zaizen Residence...

"Akira, please understand. I don't need to be kept inside at home." Aoi said, who was practically pleading with her brother to not confine her home.

"After what happened in LINK VRAINS, I am not taking any chances," Akira replied, who was reprogramming their steward robot.

Aoi crossed her arms. "You do know that the situation occurred in LINK VRAINS, not the real world, right?" She understood why her brother was doing this. While she was physically healthy, she not only fell into a coma, but was also used as a hostage by the Hanoi to lure Playmaker out. Both these things pissed Aoi off more than being stuck at home.

"I don't want to take any further chances with your safety," Akira said, who just finished reprogramming their steward robot. He stood up and turned to Aoi. "You can't leave the apartment. And you can't go into LINK VRAINS either. At least for a while."

Aoi groaned. This situation turned from bad to worse fast. "Listen Akira. I'm sixteen. And there's no one who's a threat at school." She thought of Naoki, who was loud and obnoxious to listen to, Yusaku, who she could tell was smart even though he didn't act like it, and Yuhiro, who was different than the other people she talked to.

Akira sighed as he turned away from Aoi and looked out the window facing Den City. "I'm not worried about the students at Den Academy. In fact, I'm grateful to them. If Yusaku Fujiki hadn't found you on that roof and called me," his face became despondent as he said this, "who knows what would have happened to you?"

"Wait, what?" Aoi said in surprise, as she walked beside Akira. Yusaku found her and called her brother? The last time I talked to him, Aoi thought, I made the same assumption I did with everyone else. Yet he helped me?

Akira turned to look at her. "Aoi, you mean the world to me. I don't want to risk losing you again, which is why I'm doing this. Please, listen to me on this."

Aoi looked into her brother's eyes, and was about to say something when Akira's phone rang. He answered it. "Isomaki. Everything alright?" His eyes narrowed as he frowned. "I see. Please pull the car around Isomaki. I'll be down in a few minutes."

"Is something wrong?" Aoi asked after he ended the call. He smiled at her in response.

"No, my bosses wish to talk to me," he responded, which unfortunately was the truth. Due to recent events, there was a high chance he'd be demoted. The good news was that a lower position would mean more time to spend with Aoi, something he didn't have when he was SOL's security manager.

"I'll be back in a few hours," Akira said as he headed tod the door. "I'll bring back dinner from that sushi restaurant you like downtown. And Aoi, please stay here until I return."

Aoi sighed before nodding. "Alright, Akira." Akira smiled and returned the nod before walking out the door. She attempted to follow him, but the steward robot immediately turned on and stood in her way.

"Apologies Miss Aoi. Akira ordered you to remain at home for an unspecified duration," it said in a female voice. "Please turn around. But if you like, I prepared a-."

"No thank you," Aoi said to the steward robot as she turned around and returned to her room. I wanted Akira to change, and he did, she thought, as she looked out the window. Except this time around, he became worse. Not only does he still not trust me, but now he's obsessed with keeping me safe. To the point where I can't do what I enjoy anymore.

Several hours later, near Café Matsuo...

"I have to say, school was pretty interesting," Herald said, as he and Yuhiro returned to Café Matsuo. "It's safe to come out now, right?"

"Fine. But not too much," Yuhiro replied. The Ignis' top half emerged from his Duel Disk, as he placed his hands on it and looked at Yuhiro.

"You know, I was thinking," Herald said, "that it would be a good idea to learn about humans. You know what I mean?"

"I do, but the question is: How would you go about learning about humans?" Yuhiro asked Herald. "There are too many ways, or perspectives you can do so."

Herald removed his hands from the Duel Disk and thought about what Yuhiro said for a full minute. "What you said is actually true. Ok then, how did you do it?"

"There are three ways I learned mostly about humans and what they do," Yuhiro said, as he held up a finger. "One: Memories and Experience. After a human goes through an event and makes a choice, this is formed into a memory, which becomes experience. As that human moves forward later in life, they'll use those experiences and memories to make different choices. Two," he held up a second finger, "history. By understanding what humans did in the past, we can learn information in order to avoid mistakes our ancestors made. Three," Yuhiro held up a third finger, "their passion. Humans at some point in their lives find out what they're skilled at. For me, it would be programming. This not only sets them apart, but also makes them unique as well."

"Ah. Interesting," Herald said, as he thought about Yuhiro's response. "Perhaps I'll do what you did. And in doing so-." But before Herald could finish the rest of his sentence, Yuhiro's phone vibrated. When Yuhiro looked at his phone, he was surprised by the text from Roxy.

Got some details from Watchman, it read. U almost at Café Matsuo?

Yuhiro texted back. Yeah. Just five min. And he soon started running, surprising Herald.

"Oi! Why are we running?" he screeched, his upper body flailing out in the wind, while the lower half was in Yuhiro's Duel Disk.

"Because we're about to get some answers," Yuhiro replied as he kept running.

By the time he reached Café Matsuo, Roxy just finished serving a burger combo to a customer. Yuhiro recognized the burger as a BBQ Roundhouse, which was a recipe created by her granddaddy.

"Ah! Yuhiro! Right on time," Roxy said, as he walked to the entrance. He was about to put his apron on when she stopped him. "I'll finish a few more orders before turning on the steward bot. In the meanwhile, you go decipher the information received from our client."

Yuhiro nodded as he headed to the backroom. "What details do you think he sent us?"

"Not sure," Herald answered. "But, as you said, we're about to get answers."

A few minutes later...

Roxy entered the backroom a few minutes after Yuhiro got started deciphering the information Watchman sent them. "Anything yet?"

"Well," Yuhiro answered her, "after deciphering this information, it looks like some sort of link. Thoughts?"

After Roxy sat down on her chair and performed a few keystrokes on the digital keyboard, she nodded. "Yup. It's a link. To where exactly?"

"A private server," Herald suddenly replied, causing both Yuhiro and Roxy to turn to him. "It's a clever idea. By creating a private server in LINK VRAINS, the chances of interference will be greatly reduced."

"You still sure about this?" Roxy asked Yuhiro as she turned to face him. "We can always decline."

Yuhiro stood up. "I'm sure. And there's three reasons why I'm going to meet Watchman. One: I need to know what his stance is regarding the Hanoi, the Cyberse, and the Ignis. Two: He claims to have been watching me for a long time. By meeting him, I may get some information out of him concerning my past. Three: Ultimately, I don't like unknowns. The sooner I know something, the better."

"Well, good luck out there Yuhiro," Roxy said as she watched Yuhiro download the coordinates into his Duel Disk.

He soon went to the closed-off space and entered it. After doing so, Yuhiro put his deck in his Duel Disk and said, "Deck Set! Into the VRAINS!"

At the Zaizen Residence...

You can't keep an angel locked in her cage forever, Aoi thought, as she went on her tablet. Sometimes, if she was tired, but still wanted to go onto LINK VRAINS, she could operate a butterfly within the network. Bingo! Soon, she was able to get access to LINK VRAINS, all without leaving the so-called safety that Akira forced onto her.

Aoi gasped immediately at what she saw. Raguel just logged into LINK VRAINS! But why would he do that? Is he investigating the Hanoi? Or doing another assignment for the black market?

I need to find out, Aoi thought, as she ordered the butterfly to fly closer to Raguel. From what she saw, he was standing on a rooftop that was farther away from the other rooftops. And he was talking to someone. An ally perhaps?

"So. This is where we need to be right?" Raguel asked as he checked his Duel Disk.

"That's correct," another voice said. Aoi raised an eyebrow. A normal human wouldn't sound like that. An AI, though, that was a different story.

What happened next surprised Aoi even more. An orb of orange light emerged from Raguel's Duel Disk. Once it floated a few meters away from him, it then expanded into a massive orange square, resembling a gateway.

"Guess we have to go through this gateway," Raguel concluded as he looked at it. "Shall we?"

"After you," the other voice said. I need to see what's going on, Aoi thought, as she ordered the butterfly to land on Raguel's shoulder gently. By the time Raguel entered the gateway, there was a brief white light before the screen on Aoi's tablet refocused on what looked like a galaxy.

Unknown Location...

Raguel couldn't help but stand in awe at what he was seeing. He was in a private server, where he was literally standing in outer space. If zero gravity applies here, Raguel thought, that would be awesome. However, he knew better. Looking around, he saw no other Cyberse creatures. However, he did see one thing.

At the middle of the private server was a man with dark skin, who was looking at events from an orange cube. The man wore blue armor, with shades of gold on his shoulder armor, black gloves, and boots. He also wore blue pants, with a belt that had a cubic symbol on it. He even had a long red cape that was attached to his shoulder pads. While the man was bald, he had several strands of braided black hair on his scalp, with three in the middle and two on each side of his head, as well as a black beard with no mustache and stubble in the middle of the lower section of his face.

"Watchman," Raguel said, taking a step forward, "as requested, I have arrived in your private server." For once, he was glad he wasn't floating around in zero gravity.

"So you have, Yuhiro Furutani." Watchman said, turning away from the orange cube to Raguel to face him. Raguel's face turned pale in shock upon hearing Watchman say his actual name. "However, it seems as though we have an uninvited guest." He soon narrowed his eyes at the butterfly on Raguel's shoulder. When Raguel turned his head to look at it, he jumped before it fluttered off his shoulder.

The butterfly tried to flutter away but Watchman thrusted out his right hand, causing the butterfly to be encased in an orange cube.

"Your persistence is admirable, Blue Angel," Watchman said. "Which is why I see a role for you in what's to come. See you very soon." He soon had the cube shrink and crush the butterfly, turning it to data.

Meanwhile, Aoi, who was watching this on her tablet, was so shocked at the recent events that she accidentally screamed loud. Looking at her tablet, she saw that there was nothing but static, meaning that her butterfly avatar was destroyed. This is insane, Aoi thought. How in the world does that man know me, and the fact I'm Blue Angel? What did he mean when he said I had a role in what's to come? And... Aoi couldn't finish her thoughts, as she started hyperventilating.

The next thing she knew, Akira was home and was knocking on her door, which snapped her back to reality. "Aoi?" he asked. "Is everything okay in there?"

Gathering her thoughts before responding, she replied, "I'm alright. I just had a nightmare. That's all."

"Do you want me to come in so you could talk to me about it?" Akira offered. Aoi wasn't sure whether she wanted her brother to come in and comfort her or not, like he did many years ago.

I think I need to get out of my room for a bit, Aoi thought. Out loud, she responded, "I think I should be fine. Do you think we can talk over dinner Akira?"

"Yes. Of course. I'll be at the dinner table, with the sushi from that sushi restaurant you like so much." After making sure Akira left, she went to the washroom and splashed water on her face. Another thought soon entered Aoi's mind. The man I saw mentioned something else. He addressed Raguel by his real name: Yuhiro Furutani. No, that doesn't make sense at all. As Aoi left the washroom, the thought still nagged her: Was Yuhiro Furutani really Raguel this whole time? And if so, why wouldn't he tell her?

At the Unknown Location...

"How the hell do you know my real name?" Raguel demanded, taking a few more steps forward.

"You gotta chill out." Herald said, emerging from Raguel's Duel Disk to calm him down. "He did mention last night that he kept an eye on you for a very long time." Turning to Watchman, he said, "It's good to see you again, old friend."

"It's good to see you again as well," Watchman replied to Herald. Looking at Raguel, he said, "As for how I know your real name, like I said, I've been watching over you for a very long time." He turned away from him before continuing. "I've also known you prior to the Incident."

This got Raguel's attention. "What? You know about my past? My life before the Incident?"

"That is correct," Watchman said, as he turned around and motioned the orange cube behind him to appear between him and Raguel. "The cube that you're looking at is known as the Spatial Cube. It lets me look into events that are either in the past, present, or future. Not only that, but it also lets me travel between the different parts of LINK VRAINS as well." He looked at Raguel's eyes before continuing. "Despite these abilities, I'm not as powerful as I used to be. Which is why I need your help."

"Why would you need my help?" Raguel asked, crossing his arms. "What is so important that you gotta call me here to a private server?"

"A Crisis is coming," Watchman replied, not phased by what Raguel said. "One that will not only be the end of humanity, but of the Cyberse and LINK VRAINS as well. I seek to not only find the remaining Cyberse that escaped the Hanoi's wrath, but to find duelists strong enough to save everyone from what's to come."

Raguel was paying attention until Watchman said the word 'Hanoi', which started to piss him off. "You mentioned Hanoi," Raguel said. He pointed his right index finger at Watchman. "Which leads me to conclude that you're with them. I don't know why you helped me against Infearno, but the fact you have so much information on my life makes me less than willing to trust you." The next thing Raguel knew, he was pushed back by a blast of energy from Watchman.

"I welcomed you with open arms," Watchman said, becoming furious, "and offered you the chance to become a part of something even greater. And how did you respond to me?" His eyes soon turned bright orange. "You squabble like a child and make accusations. What's more, you have no idea of the good I'm trying to do to make up for my sins!"

Raguel smirked upon hearing Watchman's rant. "So I got you upset," he said. "Alright. Guess there's one other option then."

Watchman smirked as well. "Agreed. Perhaps I need to show you that you have no idea of what's truly going on!" Soon, the orange cube in front of Watchman turned into a unique Duel Disk.

"I have an idea of what's going on," Raguel replied, activating his Duel Disk. "How you know so much about the Hanoi. How you know about the Ignis and the Cyberse. But more importantly, how you have so much information about my past life. So let's make this interesting. If I win, you answer all my questions truthfully. Got it?"

"Understood," Watchman replied. "But if I win, then you will assist me in preparing for the Crisis. It doesn't mean, however, that I'll be interfering with your life. Should I require your assistance, then you'll be obligated to help me. Does that sound fair?"

"Are you sure about this?" Herald asked, turning to Raguel. "Watchman is someone you don't want to mess with. He's not like the others you faced. I've seen it firsthand." He turned to face Watchman. "We can still solve this problem with words, not with actions."

"If there's one thing you should learn while you're with me Herald," Raguel said as he narrowed his eyes at Watchman, "is that actions speak louder than words!" Now facing Watchman, Raguel said, "I accept your terms."

"Excellent. Now then, shall we begin?" Watchman asked.

"The sooner, the better!" Raguel immediately responded.

"Duel!" Watchman and Raguel shouted.

Watchman: 4000 LP

Raguel: 4000 LP

What happened next surprised Raguel. The entire duel field was soon briefly covered by a spread of orange cubes from Watchman's side of the field to Raguel's side of the field before returning to the setting of outer space.

"What did you do?" Raguel asked, now worried that Watchman changed the duel in his favor.

"If you're worried that I tilted the duel in my favor, I didn't." Watchman smiled seeing Raguel's worry. "I too have honor, just like you. Whenever I duel, it's an unfortunate side-effect that occurs in any duel I'm in due to my powers."

"I see. Then that means you're definitely no ordinary opponent." Raguel grew concerned. If Herald was right, Raguel thought, I'm about to be in for a wild ride.

"I will go first!" Watchman declared. "First I summon Vijam the Cubic Seed from my hand!" A blue sphere with a large eye in the middle soon appeared on Watchman's field. It had two small wings and an antennae-like organ with an eye placed on top of it extending from its top.

Vijam, the Cubic Seed ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LVL: 1

"I'll Set four cards face down and end my turn." Watchman concluded. "Now it's your turn to show me your strength so far!"

"Don't worry, I'll be happy to oblige," Raguel replied. "My turn! I draw!" I need to go all out, Raguel thought, or else I'll be down for the count! "First I summon Cyreath Witch from my hand!" A sorceress with short purple hair, glowing pink eyes and carrying a staff with a skull on it appeared on Raguel's field. She wore a raggedy cape and skirt.

Cyreath Witch ATK: 1200 DEF: 0 LVL: 4

"Cyreath Witch's effect!" Raguel declared. "When this card is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon 'Cyreath Skeleton' tokens to my field equal to the number of cards in my hand! Since I have five cards in my hand, I can Special Summon up to four 'Cyreath Skeleton' tokens to the field!" Witch raised her staff into the air, making the skull on top of it glow purple. Soon, four small skeletons carrying short swords were raised from the dead, appearing on Raguel's field.

Cyreath Skeleton Token ATK: 500 DEF: 500 LVL: 1

"Appear! The circuit showing the highest mountain!" A Link Portal immediately opened up above Raguel. "The summoning conditions are two 'Cyreath' monsters! I'll set two of my Cyreath Skeleton tokens in the Link Markers!" One Skeleton token entered the bottom-left arrowhead, while the other Skeleton token entered the bottom-right arrowhead.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 2! Cyreath Machai!" A warrior with two torsos back to back with each other and covered in coal black skin was summoned to the right Extra Monster Zone. It had two legs, six arms, and two heads.

Cyreath Machai ATK: 1600 LINK-2 ↙️↘️

"Appear once again! The circuit showing the highest mountain!" Soon, another Link Portal opened up above Raguel. "The summoning conditions are two or more 'Cyreath' monsters! I'll set Cyreath Machai, which is a Link 2 monster, and Cyreath Witch in the Link Markers!" Machai split into two and went into the top-left and top-right arrowheads, while Witch went into the bottom arrowhead.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! The strongest warrior chosen by the gods! Link 3! Cyreath Hercules!" A tall, muscular warrior wearing a brown tunic around his waist emerged from the portal. He wore shoulder guards resembling lion paws and a helmet resembling a lion's head with a plume forming a mane. He also carried a massive gauntlet with a lion face on each arm.

Cyreath Hercules ATK: 2500 LINK-3 ↖️⬇️↗️

"Machai's effect!" Raguel continued. "As it was used to Link Summon, the Link Summoned monster cannot be destroyed by battle!"

"Well, at least you made Hercules immune to battle destruction," Herald said, observing the field, "but have you thought about the four face-down cards Watchman has?"

"I'll get to that." Raguel replied. "From my hand, I activate the Continuous-Spell card, Grapple-Snatch! This card lets me target 1 monster you control and prevent it from attacking, as well as activating its effects as long as this card is on the field!" A thin metallic cord shot out of the card and snaked its way around Vijam, slicing and dicing it until it levitated down to the ground.

"Now that's done, I activate the Field Spell card, Cyreath Grand Hall!" Raguel continued. "This boosts the attack points of all 'Cyreath' monsters I control by 200 points!"

Cyreath Hercules ATK: 2500 + 200 = 2700

Cyreath Skeleton Token ATK: 500 + 200 = 700

"Now battle! Cyreath Hercules attacks Vijam the Cubic Seed!" Hercules charged forward and smashed Vijam with its massive gauntlet, destroying it completely. However, Watchman seemed unfazed.

"I activate my Continuous-Trap card, Spirit Barrier!" he declared. "As long as I control a monster, all battle damage I take is reduced to zero!"

"Then you should have summoned more monsters!" Raguel replied. "My Cyreath Skeleton token attacks you directly!" The little skeleton pulled out its short sword and was about to strike at Watchman when...

"I activate my Trap card, Cubic Ascension!" Watchman immediately said. "This card lets me summon another copy of 'Vijam the Cubic Seed' from my deck, and then you must attack it!" Another copy of Vijam soon appeared on Watchman's field.

Vijam the Cubic Seed ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LVL: 1

"Then a battle replay occurs! My Cyreath Skeleton token attacks your second copy of Vijam the Cubic Seed!" Raguel declared. The little skeleton charged at Vijam and attacked it. However, upon making contact, Vijam simply disappeared into orange cubic particles.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"It's simple. As Vijam battled, it went to another dimension well out of your little skeleton's attack. In this case, I'm allowed to move it to my Spell and Trap card zone," Watchman replied before continuing. "And there's more," he said before pointing at the Cyreath Skeleton token.

"What do you mean?" Raguel asked, when what he saw shocked him. His Cyreath Skeleton token soon turned into a rusty, old version of itself.

"Now do you realize what you're up against?" Watchman asked. "My deck is not composed of Cyberse monsters. These monsters are ones that come from another dimension!" Watchman slightly smirked before continuing. "As Vijam was sent to my Spell and Trap card zone, your attacking monster gets a Cubic Counter. And while it has that counter, it cannot attack, nor activate its abilities!"

Cyreath Skeleton Token CC: 0 + 1 = 1

Raguel sighed, knowing he can't win this round. "As the monster Grapple-Snatch targeted left the field, it's destroyed." Grapple-Snatch soon turned into particles before disappearing from the field. "I'll Set two cards face down and end my turn."

"My turn!" Watchman declared. "I draw!" Looking at the card he drew, he smiled. "As Vijam is in the Spell and Trap card zone, I can Summon it back to my field!" Vijam reformed from orange cubic particles as it returned to Watchman's field.

Vijam the Cubic Seed ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LVL: 1

"And by tributing it," Watchman continued, "I shall show you a small portion of my power!" Vijam briefly disappeared into orange cubic particles once again before transforming into a new monster. "I Special Summon Dark Garnex the Cubic Beast from my hand!" A black beast with six fingers and toes extending from its body emerged out of the orange cubic particles. It had one eye, a black snout extending from its face, and tower-like shoulders.

Dark Garnex the Cubic Beast ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LVL: 2

"Dark Garnex's effect!" Watchman continued. "As it was Special Summoned by tributing Vijam, it gains 1000 attack points!"

Dark Garnex the Cubic Beast ATK: 0 + 1000 = 1000

"Next, I activate my face-down Trap card, Cubic Omen! This card lets me place Cubic Counters on monsters you control equal to the number of 'Cubic' monsters I control! As I control Dark Garnex, I'll place a Cubic Counter on your Cyreath Hercules!" The card fired a sickly gray and orange blast of cubic particles at Hercules, when...

"Counter-Trap, activate! Cyreath Intervention!" Raguel suddenly said. "By paying 1000 life points, I can negate the activation of a card effect and destroy it!" A lightning bolt struck Cubic Omen, making it vanish into particles, while another lightning bolt hit Raguel, making him wince.

Raguel: 4000 – 1000 = 3000 LP

"So you were willing to take damage to save your monster," Watchman said. "That's admirable. But let's see what do you next!" He thrusted his right hand forward. "Battle! Dark Garnex the Cubic Beast attacks one of your Cyreath Skeleton tokens! Cubic Whiplash!" Dark Garnex charged forward and generated a blue cubic whip with a hook at the end of it. The beast whipped it forward, causing the hook to slash the little skeleton in two before destroying it.

Raguel: 3000 – 300 = 2700 LP

"With your monster gone, Dark Garnex's additional effect activates! I can send it to the Graveyard, and then summon up to two copies of Vijam the Cubic Seed from my Graveyard!" Watchman continued, shocking Raguel in the process. Dark Garnex disappeared into orange cubic particles before splitting into two and reforming into two copies of Vijam.

Vijam the Cubic Seed ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LVL: 1

Vijam the Cubic Seed ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LVL: 1

"By doing this," Watchman said, "I can add its evolution Blade Garoodia the Cubic Beast from my deck to my hand!" Using Dark Garnex's effect, Watchman added Blade Garoodia the Cubic Beast from his deck to his hand.

"And I think I'll call upon a bit more of my power! By tributing two copies of Vijam, I can Special Summon Blade Garoodia the Cubic Beast from my hand!" Both Vijams briefly turned into orange cubic particles before combining to form a new monster on Watchman's field. This monster took the form of a crimson phoenix-like beast, with two sharp protrusions extending from its head and two egg-shaped eye objects with eyes embedded onto them attached to its back. It also had two, massive rotors on its lower back as well.

Blade Garoodia the Cubic Beast ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LVL: 3

"Blade Garoodia's effect! Since I Special Summoned it by tributing two copies of Vijam, it gains 2000 attack points!" Watchman said.

Blade Garoodia ATK: 0 + 2000 = 2000

"The battle still continues! Blade Garoodia the Cubic Beast attacks your last Cyreath Skeleton token! Cubic Blazerang!" The massive rotors on Blade Garoodia's lower back charged up to gain power before it threw two flaming discs at the last Cyreath Skeleton token. Raguel, however, smirked.

"Quick-Play Spell, activate! Cyreath Rebound!" Raguel said. "This card negates the attack, and then inflicts damage to you equal to half of your attacking monster's attack points!" The little skeleton token dodged the flaming disk before it charged forward and slashed Watchman using its little sword. However, he seemed completely unfazed.

Watchman LP: 4000 – 1000 = 3000

"I didn't expect someone to damage me like that," Watchman said, brushing off the attack. "Not bad Raguel. However, you forgot Blade Garoodia's unique effect. During each Battle Phase, it can attack up to two times!"

"What?" Raguel replied.

"Blade Garoodia the Cubic Beast attacks your last Cyreath Skeleton token once again! Cubic Blazerang!" Watchman declared. The massive rotors on Blade Garoodia's lower back charged up to gain power once again before throwing two flaming discs at the last Cyreath Skeleton token. This time, the discs cut the last Cyreath Skeleton token vertically in two, destroying it and turning it into particles. Raguel had to shield his eyes from the explosion that followed.

Raguel: 2700 – 1300 = 1400 LP

"As your monster was destroyed, Blade Garoodia's other effect activates! I can send it to the Graveyard, and then summon up to three copies of Vijam the Cubic Seed from my Graveyard!" Blade Garoodia disappeared into orange cubic particles before splitting into three and reforming into three copies of Vijam.

Vijam the Cubic Seed ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LVL: 1

Vijam the Cubic Seed ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LVL: 1

Vijam the Cubic Seed ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LVL: 1

"Furthermore," Watchman added, "I can add the final evolution of the Cubic Beasts, Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth, from my deck to my hand!" Using Blade Garoodia's effect, Watchman added Buster Gundi the Cubic Behemoth from his deck to his hand.

"And now I shall call upon even more of my power! By tributing three copies of Vijam, I can Special Summon the strongest of the Cubic Beasts! Emerge, Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth!" All three Vijams briefly turned into orange cubic particles before merging together to form a new monster on Watchman's field. This monster took the form of a massive being with three eyes: one in the middle, and one on each side connecting its left and right body. It had three towers that were joined together.

Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LVL: 4

"I have a bad feeling about this," Herald said. He soon turned to Raguel. "Might as well start preparing for the worst."

"As long as we have life points, we still have a chance," Raguel replied.

"I applaud your willingness to continue even against impossible odds," Watchman commented. "But they'll be for naught. Buster Gundil's effect! Since I Special Summoned it by tributing three copies of Vijam, it gains 3000 attack points!"

Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth ATK: 0 + 3000 = 3000

"And in case you weren't aware, this monster can attack three times!" Raguel's eyes widened in shock upon hearing this information. If he survives this, Watchman thought, I'd be surprised. "Battle! Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth attacks Cyreath Hercules! Cubic Maelstrom!" Tendrils of orange cubic energy surrounded the towers on Buster Gundil's body, before being fired from all three eyes towards Hercules.

"You're forgetting Machai's effect!" Raguel said. "Since I used it to Link Summon Cyreath Hercules, it cannot be destroyed by battle!" Hercules braced itself for impact as the beams hit the warrior. However, he wasn't destroyed.

"In this case, a battle replay occurs, and Buster Gundil shall attack Cyreath Hercules two more times!" Watchman responded. He watched as Buster Gundil pushed back Hercules, yet he survived the attacks.

Raguel: 1400 – 900 = 500 LP

"Fascinating. No one has survived the wrath of Buster Gundil before. I therefore end my turn," Watchman concluded. "Let's see if you can respond to my power with yours."

"Alright then!" Raguel said. "I draw!"

"Hold on, Raguel," Herald said. "Look at what you're facing, as well as the cards in your field and hand. By doing those things, you can formulate a plan. Otherwise, you'll get destroyed by that thing as soon as it's Watchman's turn!"

"I'm well aware, Herald." Raguel replied. He looked at the field. On his side of the field was Cyreath Hercules and his Field Spell Cyreath Grand Hall. On Watchman's side was Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth, with 3000 attack points, the Spirit Barrier Continuous-Trap card, and a face-down card.

There are three reasons why I need to win this duel, he thought. One: Prior to the duel, Watchman mentioned the Hanoi. I need to know where he stands in this conflict. Two: Watchman claimed to know information about my life prior to the Lost Incident. By winning this duel, I will get answers at last. Three: If he knows about me, perhaps he might know some information about Miyu as well. Maybe a way to cure her from her coma!

He narrowed his eyes. "I summon Cyreath Barbarian from my hand!" A man with spiked cuffs, close-cropped blond hair and mustache joined the field.

Cyreath Barbarian ATK: 1500 DEF: 1000 LVL: 4

"Appear, the circuit showing the highest mountain!" Raguel declared, as a Link Portal appeared above him. "The summoning conditions are two or more effect monsters! I'll set Cyreath Hercules, which is a Link 3 monster, and Cyreath Barbarian in the Link Markers!" Hercules split into three and entered the left, right, and top arrowheads, while Barbarian entered the bottom arrowhead.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! The Embodiment of Truth is given to mankind! Link 4! Turboblaze Dragon!" The white-color bipedal dragon with blue irises and black pupils, as well as a long and slender neck emerged from the Link Portal and roared upon appearing on Raguel's field. He had a long, voluminous wispy mane streaming out from the upper side of his snout and outwards from his head, with two protrusions resembling ears on the top of the mane. His arms were slender and arm-like with a wing-like appearance and four fingers on his claws. He had a feathered chest, with long feather-like protrusions jutting out of his thighs. On his feet were large grey claws, three at the front and one positioned at the back to resemble high heels. He also had a jet engine-like tail, with two large bands similar to the front and ribbon like extensions.

Turboblaze Dragon ATK: 3000 LINK-4 ⬆️⬇️⬅️➡️

Raguel soon experienced a splintering headache. What's with this headache, he thought. And it had to occur now of all times?

"Turboblaze is a powerful monster," Watchman said, "but in order to truly wield his power, you must be willing to bond with it."

"Raguel, you there?" Herald asked. When he nodded, Herald pointed his right finger at him and said, "Through many duels, you established a bond with your other 'Cyreath' monsters. You must do the same for Turboblaze, or else you will continue to experience the pain you're experiencing now."

Raguel took several deep breaths before being able to regain his senses. "All right. I will give it a try. You ready to do this Turboblaze?" he asked him, who roared in response. "In that case, I activate Turboblaze Dragon's first effect! When it's Link Summoned, the effects of all monsters you control are negated! Heat Veil!" The jet engine-like tail soon charged up before Turboblaze roared and unleashed waves of volcanic energy at Buster Gundil. Upon contact, Buster Gundil was covered in burn wounds and scorch marks.

"You know what this means, right?" Raguel asked Watchman, as Buster Gundil started losing energy until it didn't have any left.

Buster Gundil ATK: 3000 – 3000 = 0

"Cyreath Barbarian's effect! As it was used to Link Summon, the Link Summoned monster that used this card as a Link Material gains 500 attack points!"

Turboblaze Dragon ATK: 3000 + 500 = 3500

"May I remind you," Herald said, "that he'll take no battle damage as long as Spirit Barrier is on the field?"

"I'm well aware of that," Raguel responded to Herald. "Which is why I'm activating the Quick-Play Spell card, Double Cyclone! In exchange for destroying one of my own Spell or Trap cards, I can destroy one of yours! In this case, I'll destroy Cyreath Grand Hall to destroy Spirit Barrier!" Two cyclones emerged from the card, one yellow and one red. The red cyclone destroyed Cyreath Grand Hall, while the yellow cyclone destroyed Spirit Barrier.

"Battle!" Raguel declared. "Turboblaze Dragon attacks Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth! Desolation Flare!" The jet engine-like tail glowed orange with power as Turboblaze flew up into the air and charged up an orb of orange fire. After gathering enough energy, Turboblaze fired it at Buster Gundil, which was consumed by the massive ball of fire.

Soon, a massive explosion followed, causing Raguel to shield his eyes. "I've done it. I've won," he said to Herald.

"Not too bad, Raguel," Herald replied, turning to him. "I guess you're the first to-."

"You haven't won yet, Yuhiro." Watchman suddenly said, causing Raguel and Herald to turn to him. Upon doing so, they both saw Watchman unharmed, as well as Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth. They were both behind a translucent wall.

"How are you and your monster still alive?" Raguel demanded.

"When you attacked, I activated the Trap card, Dimension Wall!" Watchman replied, shocking Raguel as the translucent wall started glowing. "Now any battle damage I would have taken is inflicted back to you!" The wall glowed with a bright light before firing a blast back at Raguel.

I'm so sorry, Miyu, Raguel thought, as the blast sent him flying back. I lost because of my own foolishness.

Raguel: 500 – 3500 = 0

Raguel soon hit the ground, causing him to wheeze out in pain.

"Raguel, are you okay?" Herald asked, now concerned for him.

"Do I look okay to you Herald?" Raguel responded, struggling to get up.

"At the level of strength you have, you won't survive the coming Crisis," Watchman said, teleporting in front of him. Raguel gasped in surprise at suddenly seeing Watchman stand above him. "However, if we work together, we can save billions of lives. And in the process, save the one you care so much about." He soon offered Raguel a hand. Raguel, sighing in agreement, accepted it and stood up.

"Okay. So what is it that I need to do to save everyone from this Crisis?" Raguel asked.

The Duel Disk on Watchman's left arm turned back into the Spatial Cube. "You first need to acquire information about the Lost Incident."

"You and I already know what happened in the Lost Incident. So why would I need to acquire more?" Raguel replied, raising an eyebrow.

"There is more information about the Lost Incident than you know, Raguel." Watchman said, now looking at the Spatial Cube as it started turning into several images before turning to an image of a databank. "You must go into SOL Technologies' Databank and acquire the information regarding the Lost Incident from the companies' perspective."

Raguel cursed himself for not following Roxy's orders on placing an E.M.S. in Aoi's bag when he had the chance. If he did that, they would have had a chance to access SOL Technologies' database. He placed his hand under his chin as he looked at the image of the databank. "Okay. Let's say I do this task for you. We wouldn't even know where to start."

"Which is why I'll give you direction," Watchman said. The image of the Spatial Cube soon turned to Playmaker confronting Ghost Girl, causing Raguel to widen his eyes. "I believe the two of you have met before."

"It didn't go so well with her in the end," Raguel replied, gritting his teeth. Working with Ghost Girl was one of the worst mistakes he made.

"I will send you to her location immediately. She has what you require in order to get into SOL Technologies' databank." Watchman's eyes soon turned orange. Before Raguel could speak, he had to shield his eyes using his right hand, as the light emitting from Watchman's eyes became brighter and brighter, until...

In LINK VRAINS...

When Raguel lowered his right arm, he found himself in LINK VRAINS again. "Hey Herald. It's safe to come on out now. We're in LINK VRAINS."

"Now that light-show is something I don't want to experience again," Herald said, coming out of Raguel's Duel Disk and turning to face him. "We're in the location of the mercenary woman, correct?"

"Yeah," Raguel spat out. He didn't want to confront Ghost Girl. Not after what she did to Roxy and him a long time ago. But if it was worth obtaining more information regarding the Lost Incident, so be it.

He soon established contact with Roxy. "Roxy, I'm back in LINK VRAINS. You there?"

"Hear you loud and clear," she responded. "By the way, what happened in your meeting with Watchman?"

"I dueled him. And lost." Raguel bitterly replied.

"Well, that was one of the dumbest mistakes you made. Are you now his servant or something?" Roxy asked.

"Yup," he said, surprising her. "He wants my help in stopping some 'Crisis'. And the first job he gave me was to go into SOL Technologies' databank. Apparently, Ghost Girl has a program that will get me access to the databank." Raguel said. He could hear Roxy seethe under her breath.

"You know what, Yuhiro? This job would have been much easier if you placed an E.M.S. in Aoi's bag so we could use it to hack into SOL Technologies' mainframe." Roxy responded, clearly upset.

Raguel couldn't help but sigh. "You of all people know that I wouldn't do that to someone. I may do unethical things, but-."

"Raguel!" Raguel's attention was soon turned to Herald, who was pointing to a data-stream. "While you were talking with your friend, two duelists just zoomed past us on a data stream. One of them was the mercenary woman."

"Just call her Ghost Girl," Raguel sighed. He then pushed a few buttons on his Duel Disk. Before Herald could ask, E.M.S. came out reporting for duty. Looking at E.M.S., Raguel said, "E.M.S. Record the duel between Playmaker and Ghost Girl." The fly saluted at him before following the two duelists.

"What are we doing in the meanwhile?" Herald asked, as a screen popped up on Raguel's Duel Disk. The screen was connected to the E.M.S. Raguel sent out moments earlier.

"Simple. We watch the duel," Raguel replied. Putting his right finger on his earpiece, he said to Roxy, "Can we talk about this once I'm done this mission?"

"Fine. But this isn't the end of it, you blockhead." Roxy replied.

Raguel and Herald watched the duel silently, both of them invested in what the outcome will be. Raguel seethed when Ghost Girl summoned her Altergeist Primebanshee. From past experience, that monster was a pain in the ass for him.

From there, Ghost Girl summoned her Altergeist Meluseek and had it send Playmaker's Cyberse Wizard to the Graveyard. After attacking directly with Altergeist Marionetter, Playmaker blocked Primebanshee's direct attack by using Lockout Gardna. She could have reduced Playmaker's life points to 800, but she concluded her turn from there.

Just as clever as always, Ghost Girl, Raguel thought. Since Playmaker's Skill is Storm Access, he needs less than 1000 life points to activate it. She's keeping it above that amount until she can defeat him.

Suddenly, there was a noise coming from Raguel's Duel Disk. He frowned. This would only occur if there was something wrong with the E.M.S. he sent out. Before he could check it out, Herald looked at the screen and started swiping the screen to figure out the situation.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Raguel asked, now worried that Herald would ruin Roxy's creation.

"I'm just figuring out what's causing your little program to have a bug in the system," Herald replied. "As your Ignis and your partner, I feel that we should help each other when needed. Aha!" He turned to Raguel and let him look at the screen. What Raguel saw caused him to snicker. It was that Pigeon and Frog comedy duo, and they were always looking for a scoop.

"We gotta follow them before they fuck this situation up," Raguel said, as he jumped towards the data stream and landed on his Duel Board.

Herald pointed forward. "This way, Raguel!" The two of them sped forward on the data stream until they found the pair, who was flying slowly.

"Come on! We got to follow them! Go, go, go!" Frog said.

"I'm trying, boss, but they're just too fast!" Pigeon complained in response.

"If we can't record this duel, our careers will be in jeopardy!" Frog replied. Unbeknownst to him, Pigeon wasn't paying attention to him. "What's wrong?"

"Uh, Yamamato-?" Pigeon started to say, but Frog cut him off.

"Don't use my real-!" Frog was about to say, before the two of them were wrapped around and reined in by Raguel's Duel Anchor.

"Nice catch, if I don't say so myself," Raguel commented, while Herald just crossed his arms at what Raguel caught.

"GAAH!" both Pigeon and Frog said in shock. "Please don't hurt us! We're only reporters!"

"Sorry, boys," Raguel said, "but I can't let you interfere with this mission. The Duel Anchor will be disabled within a few hours, so you'll be fine. Until then, you're best sitting at the sidelines." Raguel then threw them onto the top of a building while he sped away.

"This is not good for our scoop, isn't Yamamato?" Pigeon bleakly said.

"Of course it isn't!" Frog replied. "AND I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME YAMAMATO!"

"Uh, Yuhiro?" Roxy said.

"What is it, Roxy?" Raguel asked. When he looked ahead, he saw a Data Storm that was approaching him!

"I got an idea! Summon Turboblaze Dragon!" Herald suddenly said.

"You sure?" Raguel asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at Herald.

"Do you have any better ideas?" Herald soon started panicking upon getting closer to the Data Storm.

"Turboblaze Dragon! Help us out!" Raguel cried out. Soon, the white-color bipedal dragon appeared, and Raguel immediately jumped off his Duel Board and onto Turboblaze. Before he knew it, Turboblaze flew all the way up the Data Storm. Once they got to the top, Raguel had to hold on for dear life, as the dragon began flying downwards at fast speed.

"Oh God! Turboblaze, thank you very much!" Turboblaze responded with a snort as the two of them landed on a nearby building away from the Data Storm. Soon after, the dragon returned to Raguel's Duel Disk.

"Glad to see you're alright, Yuhiro." Based on Roxy's tone, she clearly was worried for him. "By the way, was that really Turboblaze?"

"The one and only," Raguel replied. He soon saw Ghost Girl and Playmaker escape from the Data Storm. "And it looks like I'm not the only one who escaped as well."

From where he was, Raguel was able to see the rest of the duel between Ghost Girl and Playmaker. Thanks to Storm Access, Playmaker was able to Link Summon Excode Talker, which was used to seal off Ghost Girl's Main Monster Zones. And seeing him finish her off with said monster was even more satisfying to watch.

"Roxy, do you know where Ghost Girl and Playmaker are?" After the duel, Raguel leapt from building to building in order to find them.

"Let's see, here," Roxy said. "Thank God for E.M.S. Yuhiro! I found them! Here's the coordinates!"

"Thanks." Raguel soon found Ghost Girl and Playmaker leaning on the railing of a skyscraper, overlooking the city. He landed near the roof entrance and stood around the corner, watching them.

"Well, Playmaker. You sure know how to show a girl a good time," Ghost Girl said. "You're feisty. I like that."

"Will you ever stop being so flattering?" Ai said.

"A compliment from an AI? How cute. You know, if you come with me, I can introduce you to some cute widgets." Ghost Girl replied, causing Ai to widen his eyes in interest.

"Ghost Girl," Playmaker said, interrupting Ai's conversation with her. "You remember the deal, don't you?"

"How could I forget?" Ghost Girl summoned a small yellow light from her hand, intending to give the backdoor program to Playmaker.

Now's my only chance, Raguel thought. He soon stepped out from the corner and shot out his Duel Anchor at Ghost Girl. Ghost Girl instinctively raised her right arm across her face, and the red cord wrapped around her wrist. Even Playmaker was shocked at seeing what was going on.

"Ghost Girl," Raguel said, as he took a few steps away from the corner and out to the spotlight where they both can see him. "So good to see you again." His face soon became serious. "We need to talk."

Card Gallery

No new cards in this chapter.

QOTC

Which other Yu-Gi-Oh! Series would have the potential to have a crossover with Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS?

Chapter Preview

Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: Obscured Truth. Chapter 8: An Old Reunion. Just before Ghost Girl could give the backdoor program to Playmaker as promised, Raguel appears, and challenges her to a duel for the program! As the two clash using their best strategies and monsters, they reminisce on a time when they were friends, a time before everything fell apart between them...

Responses to Reviews and Authors Notes

Thank you to ZarcEternal, Savagemaster1999, And then the sky, HunterHQ, Lightning, Unknown, SSJ Shadow, and Cobalt Striker Gundam for reviewing Chapter Six of Obscured Truth.

Okay, what a chapter! Sorry everyone for taking so long, but I wanted to make sure that this chapter gave Watchman the introduction he deserved. Before I go into the chapter, I wish to announce the winners of the contest. The winners were decided using a random number decider. AND THE WINNERS ARE... NUMBERS 7 AND 777! To the people who chose these numbers, your OC characters will be guaranteed to appear at some point in the story. I will also send you both PM's to let you know this information. As for all the other entries, your characters may actually have a chance to appear in the story as well. When that happens, I'll send you a PM requesting permission to use your OC. Now onto the chapter.

First off, we meet Yuhiro's Ignis: Herald, who was sealed in Yuhiro's pendant following the attack on the Cyberse. As the story progresses, you'll see how Herald is similar to Yuhiro, but different at the same time. Ex. While Yuhiro is impulsive during a duel sometimes, Herald prefers to analyze the field before making the next logical move. His design was based off of Godspeed from DC Comics, only without the lightning bolts and the symbol.

We also meet the Watchman, the mysterious man who aided Yuhiro in his duel against Infearno. The reason why he did this was that as he said, a 'Crisis' was coming, and he needed his help. Unfortunately, this led to a duel between them, with Watchman easily defeating Yuhiro using his Cubic deck. This won't be his only duel as well, so stay tuned as to when his next duel will be. His design was based off of the Monitor from DC Comics, while his personality was based off of Ansem the Wise from Kingdom Hearts.

The last thing to happen was the build-up towards Chapter 8. After losing the duel, Watchman assigns Raguel to access SOL Technologies' databank for more information on the Lost Incident, and he provides a lead for him by directing him to Ghost Girl, who has the backdoor program. Following the duel between Playmaker and Ghost Girl, Raguel immediately challenges Ghost Girl to a duel, which is what will happen in Chapter 8.

Before I go onto reviews, I want to make an announcement. The reason why I took a bit longer was because final exams are coming up. This means that, for the next two weeks at best, I won't be able to update for a while. However, by December 13th, I'll be able to continue working on the story. Rest assured, I will not abandon this story. Not until it is finished!

Anyways, onto the reviews:

ZarcEternal: Thanks for the heads up. I actually forgot there were no Quick-Play Traps in Yu-Gi-Oh. I'm also glad that you enjoyed this chapter, as well as the direction I intend on taking it (hoped you enjoyed Progleo as well).

Savagemaster1999: You might be partially right. Regardless, I'm glad you appreciated the chapter.

And then the sky: Thanks very much for the honest review. I know that the first few starting chapters weren't the best, but I'm glad that you're willing to give this story a shot. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this chapter as well.

HunterHQ: Chapter 6 was indeed fast-paced, as the goal was to show that Infearno was someone not to be trifled with. Also, his connection with his monsters is deeper than you think. I'm glad you loved the moment when Yuhiro met Progleo once again in the real world.

Lightning: Thanks very much. I have a feeling you'll like where this story is going.

Unknown: I'm glad you enjoyed reading the story so far. I put down the Card Gallery at the bottom after the chapter just to organize everything and make it neat. I might consider bolding OC cards as well, seeing that you were having trouble to find them. Unfortunately, I don't do trivia notes, but if you have questions about a card, please send me a PM. I'll be able to answer any questions you may have from there.

SSJ Shadow: Indeed. The mystery, the game, and the craziness continues my friend. Hope you enjoy Chapter 7.

Cobalt Striker Gundam: Thank you very much. I'll do my best to meet your expectations.

Anyways, that's all for now. Please let me know your honest comments, thoughts, opinions, and questions you may have. Thanks to your reviews, I'll be able to continue improving as a writer. See you in December!