Chapter 8: An Old Reunion
Flashback: Two years ago...
Roxy was at her favorite place. Café Crema. Usually, she'd go here to pick up a warm drink for herself and Yuhiro to toast another successful assignment in LINK VRAINS, but today was different. Earlier, she'd been contacted by Monty, who stated that it would be a good idea for her to meet his newest worker. She agreed to his request, mostly because Yuhiro was at school for the day, and besides, she needed time to kill.
"Miss Roxy. Your White Chocolate Mocha is ready, with chocolate curls as you requested." Roxy's mind soon went back to reality upon hearing her name.
She went forward to grab her drink from the curly-haired female bartender. "Thank you very much," she replied as she went back to her table. Now all Roxy had to do was wait for this mystery worker to arrive.
According to Monty's info, whoever this worker was, she had a success rate that was close to Raguel's. And one other. This was why he wanted them to get to know each other in LINK VRAINS. As long as the workers are friendly with each other, Roxy thought as she took a sip from her drink, there's always the chance they could team up and rebel against the boss. Yet she wondered: Why would Monty take that risk? It soon dawned on her: A job serious enough could one day come where Monty would need more than one person for it. She chuckled. When that day arrived, it would be a fun one.
Unfortunately, Roxy's thoughts were interrupted, as a man wearing a black shirt, a pair of blue jeans with black running shoes slammed the door open. The man had short brown hair, and his face was painted in a mask of fury.
"Out of my way!" the man shouted as people moved aside to let him pass. When Roxy turned around, it soon became evident to her that the man was going after the female bartender.
"Harriet," the man said, as he made his way to the desk with the 'Order Here' sign above it. "I told you that you were supposed to answer my calls." He soon grabbed Harriet by the biceps.
"And I told you that our relationship IS OVER TRAVIS!" Harriet replied, looking him into his eyes and making her point.
"No. It's not over. Our relationship is not over." Travis tightened his grip on Harriet's biceps. "You need to answer my calls. You do what I tell you to-."
"Excuse me, Travis!" Roxy said, loud enough so Travis could hear. "You heard the young lady. Whatever relationship you had with her was over. So leave her alone."
Travis soon walked over to where Roxy was sitting and slammed his hand on the table. "Now listen here, you little-." Before he could say anything else, Roxy grabbed his shoulders and slammed him down on the table, with enough force to break it.
He soon got right back up, now clearly pissed. "That's it, you little piece of-!" Travis threw two punches, both which Roxy clearly avoided before grabbing his right hand and twisting it.
"Rock!" Roxy said as she punched Travis in the gut and dug her fist into it, causing him to lean forward and hold his stomach. "Paper!" She soon karate chopped the right side of his neck using her left hand, causing Travis to fall down to another table and break it before falling to the ground once again.
Travis got up once again, which clearly showed he didn't learn his lesson yet. He charged forward with his left fist, only for her to evade the punch before poking him in the eyes using her index and middle finger on her right hand. "Scissors, bitch!" Roxy cried out, as Travis took a step back while covering his face. Roxy then kicked him in the body with enough force to push him back to a cabinet, causing glass cups to fall on his head and knock him out.
The whole crowd was speechless at what Roxy did to Travis until she broke the silence. "He's not dead, everyone. And someone call the cops." Unbeknownst to her, a young woman was watching her the entire time.
Fifteen minutes later...
The cops soon arrived to assess the situation, as well as Barbara, who took joy in arresting Travis herself, or as she called him, the 'asshole who thinks he's God.'
As Barbara saw the police car with Travis drive away to the police station, she said, "The fact scum like him still exists perplexes me to this day." Turning to Roxy, she continued: "I appreciate what you did. But you still caused some damage to Café Crema. You'll have to take responsibility for that."
Roxy rolled her eyes. "I'm aware, Barbara. Look, I'll have all damages paid for. Trust me on this. You have my word."
Barbara nodded. "I know. You always keep your word. For now, I think you should check on the new friend you made." She soon went to the other witnesses and started taking notes.
Roxy went over to Harriet, who was sitting down on the sidewalk near Café Crema, and sat down beside her. "Hey. Sorry for the damage I caused to the place. I promise I'll-."
To Roxy's surprise, Harriet hugged her, stopping her from speaking. "It doesn't matter," Harriet said. "What does matter is that you finally stopped him from hurting me all these years. Thank you so much." When Harriet pulled away from the embrace, Roxy noticed that there were tears of joy on her face. "I'll promise to pay you back. One way or another." She soon heard Barbara call her name, which caused her to stand up. "I guess I'll see you next time. And again, thanks."
After a minute, Roxy stood up and adjusted her glasses, clearly trying to process what happened.
"You know, that was some badass moves you got there, don't you think?" Roxy soon turned to her left to see a woman wearing a black and dark-violet motorcycle jumpsuit with a pink t-shirt and purple stripes going across her body, along with a black belt at the waistline, a black choker, black and purple boots, and fingerless gloves. The woman had fair skin, long pink hair with lavender bangs, and pink eyes, with reddish-pink lipstick as well.
"Uh, thanks?" Roxy replied as she scratched the back of her head. Didn't expect someone to compliment my martial arts, she thought. "Say, were you at Café Crema to get a drink as well? Before all... this happened?" she asked.
"Well, partially." The woman pulled out her phone. "I was told that I would be meeting someone here. At noon."
"You know, I was here for the exact same thing," Roxy replied, now pulling out her phone. "I'll tell you who I'm supposed to meet if you do the same thing."
"Deal!" the woman responded.
"Emma Beesho!"
"Roxanne Matsuo!"
This practically stunned them both for a few seconds before Roxy broke the silence. "Wait. You're the person Monty was talking about?"
"Well, yeah." The woman then extended her right hand out to Roxy. "My name is Emma Beesho. I'm guessing you're Roxanne Matsuo?"
"The one and only," Roxy replied, shaking Emma's hand with a smile. "I got a good feeling that we're going to be friends."
Flashback End: Present Day...
Roxy had the biggest smirk on her face as she watched Yuhiro, or Raguel as he was known in LINK VRAINS, catch Ghost Girl by surprise by forcing her into a duel using his Duel Anchor. This was just perfect. Now he can duel her for the backdoor program that Playmaker was so close to getting. And with that program, they would be one step closer in completing the task that Watchman gave them.
The only thing that bummed her out though was that they still had the assignment from Monty to capture Playmaker's Ignis. If Yuhiro didn't challenge Watchman to a duel, they wouldn't be in this mess to begin with. At least that duel taught him humility. Hopefully, Roxy thought, as she watched the monitors. Kick her ass, Yuhiro. We'll deal with Playmaker once this mess is sorted out with.
Meanwhile, in LINK VRAINS, Ghost Girl stared at the cord that was shot out, then lifted her gaze to Raguel. Raguel could tell that she was surprised, and a bit shocked that he came out of nowhere to challenge her to a duel.
Ghost Girl narrowed her eyes in response to what happened. "My, oh my," she said. "You certainly know how to surprise a girl, Raguel. Of all the people I expected to see, you were at the bottom of the list."
"Same goes for you, Ghost Girl," Raguel replied, as the Duel Anchor disappeared. "You know how this works. Unless you want to be stuck here, then you'll have to duel me. And if I defeat you, the backdoor program you were about to give Playmaker is given to me instead!"
"Hey!" Ai said, emerging from Playmaker's Duel Disk. "We won that program fair and square." He soon took a boxing stance. "You'll have to duel us for the program if you want it!"
Raguel turned to face Ai. "So you're the famous AI that everyone wants." He then looked at Playmaker. "And it's finally a pleasure to meet you Playmaker. But let's save the introductions. You already know me, and I know you. Our duel will come later."
"Duel?" Playmaker narrowed his eyes in confusion. "What duel are you talking about? Were you assigned to defeat me or something?"
"The truth is, I was," Raguel confirmed. "But rest assured, you aren't the target, but your Ignis is." Both Playmaker's and Ai's eyes widened in response to that. "And once my score with Ghost Girl is settled, you're up."
"Alright, Raguel." Raguel and Playmaker turned to Ghost Girl, who was speaking. "If you want a duel, then you'll have to catch me. Cause I call a Speed Duel." She soon started running towards the edge of the skyscraper, but before she could even make it close to the edge, she fell backwards, hitting her butt. "What the-? How?"
"Mrs. Ghost Girl, that was rather rude of what you just did, wouldn't you agree?" Herald said, as he emerged from Raguel's Duel Disk. When Ghost Girl stood up, her eyes widened in surprise, as Raguel somehow had an AI program similar to Playmaker's.
"How did you-?" But before Raguel could finish his question, Herald turned to him.
"I basically created a small force field and positioned it near her knees so that, once she ran into them, she would be pushed back. With a bit of oomph too." Herald explained.
"NO WAY!" Ai exclaimed. "White Ignis, is that you?"
When Herald turned around to identify who was speaking to him, his eyes widened in surprise. "Dark Ignis, can it be really you?"
At the same time, both Ignis's said, "I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!"
"You have an Ignis too, Raguel?" Playmaker asked. He looked down at Ai. "And you know this Ignis, Ai?"
"Of course!" Ai replied, with a smile on his face. "He's another of the Ignis, and we go way back-." But that was all Ai could say, as Herald soon interrupted him.
"'Ai'. That's your name, Dark Ignis? As in an AI? Or an eyeball for that matter? And last time I checked, I thought you turned into an eyeball during the Hanoi attack."
"Hey!" Ai interjected. "My name is a great name. In fact, I can make good jokes with-."
"Enough!" both Raguel and Playmaker said to Herald and Ai, silencing them.
"Ghost Girl," Raguel said. "So long as I have my partner here, I'm calling the shots. And I think we'll do a Master Duel for that backdoor program. Agreed?"
Ghost Girl sighed in defeat. "Alright Raguel. You got yourself a deal. But if I win," she pointed at Herald, "I get your AI program instead of Playmaker's. I guess you could say, this duel was a blessing in disguise, wouldn't you agree?"
Raguel couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Fine. I accept your terms." Herald was about to say something when Raguel told him, "Don't worry. I'll defeat her. After all, I dueled her before, and won."
"You better win!" Herald said, now turning around and facing Ghost Girl, "Cause if you lose, your new boss will not be happy with you."
Raguel and Ghost Girl both activated their Duel Disks. "Just like last time, wouldn't you agree?"
Ghost Girl couldn't help but smirk behind her mask. "Yeah. But that was a different time. This time, I'm much stronger, so you better not hold anything back!"
"Duel!" both duelists cried out.
Raguel: 4000 LP
Ghost Girl: 4000 LP
"Ladies first!" Ghost Girl immediately said, as she looked at her starting hand. Not too shabby, she thought. "I activate the Continuous-Spell card, Altergeist Oasis!" The card showed a digital oasis, with several Altergeist monsters playing and enjoying their time together. "Once per turn, at the beginning of my turn, I can skip my Draw Phase, and in exchange, I can add 1 'Altergeist' Trap card from my deck to my hand. Next, I summon Altergeist Marionetter!" A female humanoid monster with a round green apparatus attached to her waist appeared, giggling as she did so.
Altergeist Marionetter ATK: 1600 DEF: 1700 LVL: 4
"Marionetter's effect! As it was Normal Summoned, I can Set an 'Altergeist' Trap card from my deck. I know, this one!" Using Marionetter's effect, Ghost Girl Set Altergeist Protocol, which appeared on her field as a Set card.
"I'll Set another card face-down. And end my turn." Ghost Girl concluded. "Good luck getting passed this, Raguel."
"Just watch me!" Raguel replied as he drew a card from his deck. "I draw! I activate the Field Spell card, Cyreath Grand Hall! Now all 'Cyreath' monsters I control gain 200 attack points! From there, I summon Cyreath Barbarian!" A man with spiked cuffs, close-cropped blond hair and mustache joined the field.
Cyreath Barbarian ATK: 1500 DEF: 1000 LVL: 4
"Cyreath Grand Hall's effect activates!"
Cyreath Barbarian ATK: 1500 + 200 = 1700
"Appear! The circuit showing the highest mountain!" A Link Portal soon appeared above Raguel. "The summoning condition is 1 'Cyreath' monster! I'll set Cyreath Barbarian in the Link Marker!" Barbarian went into the bottom arrowhead, turning it red.
"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Come on out! Link 1! Cyreath Scorpius!" A huge scorpion, with large pincers and a long tail, joined Raguel's field in the right Extra Monster Zone.
Cyreath Scorpius ATK: 1000 LINK-1 ⬇️
"The effect's of both Cyreath Barbarian and Cyreath Grand Hall activate!" Raguel continued. "As Cyreath Barbarian was used to Link Summon, the Link Summoned Monster that used it as material gains 500 attack points, while Cyreath Grand Hall gives it 200 more attack points!
Cyreath Scorpius ATK: 1000 + 500 + 200 = 1700
"Scorpius' effect! Once per turn, if I control no monsters, I can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower 'Cyreath' monster from my Graveyard to a zone this card points to. Return, Cyreath Barbarian!"
Scorpius lowered its tail into a portal, with Barbarian grabbing onto it before jumping out of the portal and back onto the field.
Cyreath Barbarian ATK: 1500 DEF: 1000 LVL: 4
Cyreath Barbarian ATK: 1500 + 200 = 1700
"Appear, the circuit showing the highest mountain!" Raguel once again said, as a second Link Portal appeared above him. "The summoning conditions are 2 'Cyreath' monsters! I'll set Cyreath Scorpius, which is a Link 1 monster, and Cyreath Barbarian, in the Link Markers!" Barbarian went into the top arrowhead, while Scorpius went into the bottom arrowhead.
"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 2! Cyreath Ogre Bowler!" A blue, muscular humanoid wearing a loincloth bound around its lower waist with rope appeared on Raguel's field. Its ears were pointed, and had red eyes. It also carried a massive boulder on its right arm as well.
Cyreath Ogre Bowler ATK: 1700 LINK-2 ⬇️⬆️
"Cyreath Barbarian and Cyreath Grand Hall's effects both activate!"
Cyreath Ogre Bowler ATK: 1700 + 500 + 200 = 2400
"I activate Cyreath Ogre Bowler's effect!" Raguel said. "When this monster is Link Summoned, I can destroy cards that are in the same column as this card. However, it cannot attack for the rest of this turn. And according to the field," Raguel said, as he pointed to Ghost Girl's face-down card, "there is one face-down card that's in the same column as Ogre Bowler. Which means it's flattened! Grand Squash!" Ogre Bowler rolled the boulder forward, all the way to Ghost Girl's face-down card, which flattened the card and turned it into particles.
"I see," Herald said. "You're for once deciding to be cautious."
"In this scenario, Herald," Raguel replied, "I don't have a choice. Ghost Girl always has tricks up her sleeve, especially when it comes to her Altergeist monsters." Going back to the duel, he said, "I Set two cards face down and end my turn."
"Then it's my turn!" Ghost Girl said. "Instead of drawing a card, I activate Altergeist Oasis to add 1 'Altergeist' Trap card from my deck to my hand!" Using the effect of Altergeist Oasis, Ghost Girl added Altergeist Manifestation from her deck to her hand.
"I activate the Continuous-Trap card, Altergeist Protocol! Now the activation and effects of 'Altergeist' cards activated on my field cannot be negated!" Raguel gritted his teeth in response. "Next, I activate the effect of Altergeist Multifaker from my hand! Since I activated a Trap card, I can Special Summon this card from my hand!" A pink and purple female humanoid monster with six bent golden legs joined her Altergeist sister on Ghost Girl's field.
Altergeist Multifaker ATK: 1200 DEF: 800 LVL: 3
"Multifaker has an additional effect! When it's Special Summoned, I can Special Summon an 'Altergeist' monster from my deck in defense position! Come, Altergeist Meluseek!" A dark purple female mermaid monster also appeared on Ghost Girl's field.
Altergeist Meluseek ATK: 500 DEF: 300 LVL: 1
"Open before me! The circuit that connects to the unknown parallel universe!" Ghost Girl declared, as a Link Portal appeared above her. "The summoning conditions are two 'Altergeist' monsters. I set Altergeist Meluseek and Altergeist Multifaker in the Link Markers!" Multifaker went into the bottom arrowhead, while Meluseek went into the right arrowhead.
"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Come forth! Link 2! Altergeist Hextia!" A dark brown and gold skinned female monster with six legs and a large tail emerged from the Link Portal and was summoned to the right Extra Monster Zone.
Altergeist Hextia ATK: 1500 LINK-2 ➡️⬇️
"Crap. She Link Summoned." Raguel muttered under her breath. At least it wasn't her ace monster, he thought.
"Meluseek's effect!" Ghost Girl said. "As it was sent to the Graveyard, I can add any 'Altergeist' monster from my deck to my hand!" Using Meluseek's effect, Ghost Girl added Altergeist Kunquery from her deck to her hand.
"Did I forget to mention Altergeist Hextia's effect? In case you forgot, it gains the original attack points equal to the 'Altergeist' monsters it points to! Since it's pointed to Marionetter, Hextia gains 1600 attack points!" Ghost Girl added.
Altergeist Hextia ATK: 1500 + 1600 = 3100
"Okay. I think we're in trouble," Herald said, slightly worried.
"Don't worry, I got this!" Raguel replied. He then gestured to one of his face-down cards. "Continuous-Trap card activate! Cyreath Provocation! All your monsters gain 100 attack points, Ghost Girl, but they must attack!"
"I'm sensing a major 'but' here to your generous gift." Ghost Girl replied.
Raguel sighed upon hearing Ghost Girl's reply. This definitely wasn't what he expected. "Of course there's a major 'but'. Monsters that don't attack when this card is activated have their effects negated, and cannot be used to Link Summon." As if on cue, Cyreath Provocation blasted a red light at Hextia and Marionetter, making them angry. Very angry.
Altergeist Hextia ATK: 3100 + 100 = 3200
Altergeist Marionetter ATK: 1600 + 100 = 1700
"If you want me to attack so bad, then it'll be rude for me to not oblige!" Ghost Girl thrusted out her right hand. "Battle! Altergeist Hextia attacks Cyreath Ogre Bowler! Sneaky Shot of Fire!" Hextia fired a blast of golden energy at Ogre Bowler, with the intent to kill. However...
"Trap card, activate!" Raguel said. "Cyreath Counter-Shuffle!" The card showed Cymyth Hercules throwing a counter after avoiding a punch from Cyreath Cyclops. "This card not only negates the attack from Altergeist Hextia, but sends it right back to the Extra Deck! Do it Ogre Bowler!" Ogre Bowler avoided the blast of golden energy and attempted to counterattack when...
"I activate Hextia's effect!" Ghost Girl interjected. "By tributing an 'Altergeist' monster it points to, in this case, Marionetter, I can negate the activation of 1 Spell or Trap card and destroy it!" Marionetter vanished into particles and turned into a ball of green energy, which Hextia threw at Cyreath Counter-Shuffle, thus destroying it. "However, Hextia loses its attack boost."
Altergeist Hextia ATK: 3200 – 1600 = 1600
"And that means your monster is-," Raguel was about to conclude when...
"HEY HEY HEY! It's rude to interrupt a lady!" Ghost Girl suddenly said. "I wasn't finished! I activate the effect of Altergeist Camouflage from my Graveyard. If an 'Altergeist' monster I control would be destroyed by battle or card effect, I can banish it instead!"
Ogre Bowler socked Hextia in the face with his left fist and pushed the female monster back to Ghost Girl's field. However, she was still standing, although with a bruise on her face.
Ghost Girl: 4000 – 800 = 3200 LP
"Due to the situation at hand, I guess the only thing I can do is Set one card face down. And end my turn." Ghost Girl concluded.
"Who do you think has a chance of winning?" Ai asked Playmaker, who was watching the duel.
"The duel can go either way. From what I've seen on Raguel's duels, he focuses on Link Summoning and recovering his resources. Ghost Girl, on the other hand, focuses on sealing her opponent's moves in order to make the duel easier on herself. It can go either way." Playmaker replied. "Why exactly do you ask?"
"Well, it's just that I don't want a fellow Ignis like me to lose a duel." Ai replied. This caused Playmaker to roll his eyes in response.
"It's my turn! I draw!" Raguel said. "I activate the Spell card, Cyreath Treasure from my hand! By discarding a 'Cyreath' monster, I can draw two cards from my deck!" Raguel discarded Cyreath Wandering Soul and drew two cards from the top of his deck.
"I'll then banish Cyreath Wandering Soul from my Graveyard to use its effect! By banishing it, I can Special Summon 1 'Cyreath Wanderer' token to my field." A small ball of mist in the form of a ghost appeared on Raguel's field.
Cyreath Wanderer Token ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LVL: 1
"Cyreath Grand Hall's effect!"
Cyreath Wanderer Token ATK: 0 + 200 = 200
"Next, I summon Cyreath Miner!" A small, male wearing mining gear and carrying mining equipment soon appeared on the field.
Cyreath Miner ATK: 0 DEF: 2000 LVL: 3
Cyreath Miner ATK: 0 + 200 = 200
"Appear, the circuit showing the highest mountain!" Raguel declared, as a Link Portal appeared above him. "The summoning conditions are two 'Cyreath monsters! I'll set the Cyreath Wandering Soul token and Cyreath Miner in the Link Markers!" Miner entered the left arrowhead, while the Wanderer token entered the left arrowhead.
"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Gallop into battle! Link 2! Cyreath Pegasus!" A majestic black horse with wings flew onto Raguel's field and was summoned to the Main Monster Zone Ogre Bowler was pointing to.
Cyreath Pegasus ATK: 1200 LINK-2 ⬅️➡️
Cyreath Pegasus ATK: 1200 + 200 = 1400
"Miner's effect! As it was used to Link Summon, I can add a 'Cyreath' Spell or Trap card from my deck to my hand!" Raguel declared, as he added Cyreath Launch from his deck to his hand.
"Next, I activate the Spell card, Cyreath Ascension! I can target 1 Link Monster I control and Special Summon 'Cyreath' monsters from my Graveyard to Main Monster Zones that Link Monster points to, in exchange for negating their effects! I target Cyreath Pegasus, and using this card, I'll bring back Cyreath Miner and Cyreath Barbarian!" The miner and barbarian soon returned to Raguel's field, only in the left and right Main Monster Zones Pegasus was pointing to.
Cyreath Miner ATK: 0 DEF: 2000 LVL: 3
Cyreath Miner ATK: 0 + 200 = 200
Cyreath Barbarian ATK: 1500 DEF: 1000 LVL: 4
Cyreath Barbarian ATK: 1500 + 200 = 1700
"Appear, for a second time! The circuit showing the highest mountain!" As soon as Raguel said that, a second Link Portal appeared above him. "The summoning conditions are two or more 'Cyreath' monsters! I'll set Cyreath Pegasus, which is a Link 2 monster, and Cyreath Miner in the Link Markers!" Pegasus split into two whirlwinds and entered the top and bottom arrowheads, while Miner entered the bottom-left arrowhead.
"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 3! Cyreath Grand Warden!" A scholar with purple hair and a bead wearing purple robes tied together by a purple belt joined Raguel's field as it was summoned to the Main Monster Zone Ogre Bowler was pointing to. In his hands were a scepter and a book.
Cyreath Grand Warden ATK: 2100 LINK-3 ⬆️↙️⬇️
Cyreath Grand Warden ATK: 2100 + 200 = 2300
"Interesting." Herald said as he saw Grand Warden on the field. "We could have summoned Cyreath Hercules to help us out. Yet why go with this monster?"
"Hercules wouldn't have helped us out Herald." Raguel replied. "Like I told you before, we have to be cautious during this duel. And in case Ghost Girl destroys our monsters by card effect, Grand Warden can turn it into an advantage for us." Going back to the duel, he said, "I activate the Quick-Play Spell card, Cyreath Launch! This turn, one 'Cyreath' monster I control can attack you directly, in exchange for other monsters not being able to attack this turn. And the monster I choose is Cyreath Ogre Bowler!" Ogre Bowler roared upon hearing his name being called.
"Battle!" Raguel declared. "Cyreath Ogre Bowler attacks you directly Ghost Girl!" Ogre Bowler grabbed the boulder it was carrying with two hands and threw it at Ghost Girl. But...
"I activate the effect of Altergeist Kunquery from my hand!" Ghost Girl suddenly said. "If you declare an attack and I control an 'Altergeist' card, I can Special Summon this card from my hand and negate the attack!" A white female centaur-like monster soon appeared on Ghost Girl's field and slammed the boulder down to the ground to block the attack. She had a long red tail, with a golden spiked saddle, golden cuffs, a golden horn, and several wired strands with gold tips at the back of her head.
Altergeist Kunquery ATK: 0 DEF: 2400 LVL: 5
"And before you tell me," Ghost Girl continued, "I'm already aware. Cyreath Provocation gives my monster an additional 100 attack points."
Altergeist Kunquery ATK: 0 + 100 = 100
"In addition," Ghost Girl said, "when Altergeist Kunquery is Special Summoned, I can target 1 face up card you control and negate its effects while it and this monster is on the field. I choose Cyreath Grand Warden!" Kunquery fired a blast from her golden horn at Grand Warden, draining him of his effects.
Damn it, Raguel thought. That was the card Ghost Girl added to her hand using Meluseek's effect. I'm such a fool for falling for that trick. Knowing there was nothing else he could do, he said, "I Set one card face down. And end my turn." He then smirked. "You know Ghost Girl. While I expected you to survive this turn, I didn't expect you to use that card on me. I can tell you definitely got stronger."
"The same with you Raguel," Ghost Girl replied. "I must admit, I saw your duels against that Knight of Hanoi, Go Onizuka, and Blue Angel. And honestly, the way you caught Blue Angel at the very end. Definitely shows that you got a soft spot, wouldn't you agree?"
Raguel's jaw dropped upon hearing that last sentence. She saw all his duels? And didn't interfere with his work? Even after what happened last year? He soon smiled. "You know, it's a shame really. That we're no longer friends. Yet we're interacting as though it never happened."
"Yeah. Unfortunately," Ghost Girl responded. However, she wasn't fully sure if she believed what she said. Was she glad they stopped being friends? Or did she miss those fun times with Raguel and-?
"Wait. WHAT?" Ai suddenly interjected, causing the two duelists and Herald to turn to him. "You two were friends? What happened that caused you two to stop the friendship?"
For once, Playmaker didn't scold Ai, as he too was curious about what happened between Raguel and Ghost Girl. "Raguel, what exactly happened between you and Ghost Girl?"
Raguel turned to Ghost Girl and asked, "Do you mind if I tell him?" When she nodded, he turned back to Playmaker. "It was a year ago, and both Ghost Girl and I had a top-secret assignment. However, we were joined by another..."
Flashback: One year earlier...
Raguel was on a ledge of a quarry, using high-tech binoculars to observe the building that was miles ahead of him. So. This was the place Monty was talking about, Raguel thought. Landios Confederation.
"You getting this, Roxy?" Raguel asked.
"Yup. The binoculars we got from the black market were totally worth the sale." Roxy replied. "And it will be worth even more once this assignment is complete."
"That's something we can-." He soon heard footsteps. "Hold on," he soon told Roxy. He turned around very slowly to make the unknown assailant think he wasn't paying attention. Once the assailant came close, Raguel turned around and immediately pulled out his double-barreled gun on them.
"I recognized your footsteps, Ghost Girl," Raguel said, identifying the assailant as none other than Ghost Girl with a smirk on his face. He put his gun away after making sure no one else followed him.
"Then I guess those stakeout assignments were worth it after all," Ghost Girl replied, as she walked over to stand beside Raguel. "You mind?" Raguel then handed her the high-tech binoculars, who soon used them to identify the building ahead of them. "This is their headquarters, correct?"
"The headquarters of the one and only Landios Confederation? Yup. I made sure. After all, I double-checked the information Monty sent us about the place. If it's reputation is indeed what Monty says it to be, our assignment is for sure going to be a tricky one."
According to the information Monty sent Raguel and Ghost Girl, Landios Confederation is a crime syndicate consisting of several gangs who joined forces to establish a presence in LINK VRAINS. While they engaged in secondary activities in LINK VRAINS black market, they were sometimes willing to conduct operations in the general area as well. As a result, a few days ago, the Confederation managed to kidnap a well-known man known on the black market as Hector Marino. If they succeeded in making Hector relinquish his control over his weapons business, they'd be able to take over the black market by force.
Therefore, Monty immediately activated Operation: Extraction, and assigned Raguel and Ghost Girl to rescue Hector. He was even willing to provide them information on the Landios Confederation's headquarters, as well as pay them a hefty sum if they succeeded.
"The place is too far away from here," Raguel said to Ghost Girl, as she handed him the binoculars back. "We'll need to get close without being spotted."
"I brought my camouflage program with me. It should work for the two of us." Ghost Girl replied. "Unfortunately, by the time we get there, it'll deactivate. Which means our stealth plan is as good as dust."
"And that's the reason why both of you are amateurs. You aren't willing to cross the line to get the job done." Both Raguel and Ghost Girl turned behind them to see a male individual standing on the ledge above them. His attire was in purple with a green-purple hat, red and blue mask with pink eyes, purple cape, black coat, a blue shirt with green accents, black pants and boots with red sole and yellow star. While he had a black glove on his left hand, he had a prosthetic right arm, with the attributes of a six shooter gun. "The fact that there's more than one mercenary for this assignment clearly pisses me off." The male soon jumped down to the ledge Raguel and Ghost Girl were on.
"Who are you calling an amateur, asshole?" Raguel angrily said, as he took several steps forward so he could face the masked man directly.
"Boy. I'd get out of my personal space if I were you." The man soon shoved Raguel back with his prosthetic arm. "Unless you want things to get really messy, that is." His arm soon began charging up, causing Raguel to reach for his sword when…
"Whoa there!" Ghost Girl went in between Raguel and the masked man, preventing the two from starting a fight. "I believe you two haven't met. Raguel, this is Blood Shepherd. Blood Shepherd, this is Raguel."
"Blood Shepherd? You're him?" Raguel asked the masked man, who nodded in confirmation. From what Raguel heard about Blood Shepherd, he was one of the most dangerous bounty hunters in LINK VRAINS due to him being relentless in his hunts, as well as being very intelligent in hacking and dueling. There were also rumors that he worked in the military, where he interrogated rogue AI's. Ultimately, everyone agreed on one thing: that Blood Shepherd was a man willing to do anything to complete his goal, no matter how horrible it was.
"Listen, kid. I'll only tell this to you once." Blood Shepherd said as he got close to Raguel, so his face was a few inches from his. "Get in my way, and I'll make sure you suffer before I end you. Understand?" Raguel narrowed his eyes in response, in order to not give any satisfaction to Blood Shepherd that he scared him. "Good. You'll both need this." He gave two batons with blue highlights; one for Raguel, and one for Ghost Girl. "I'll see you at the front door."
Blood Shepherd soon ran off, jumped forward, and pressed the buttons on each side of the baton. Immediately, out of nowhere, a motorcycle was generated. And Blood Shepherd leaned forward, causing the motorcycle to go faster.
"WHOA!" Raguel said in awe. "What are those?"
"They're known as Digi-cycles," Ghost Girl said. "And we better catch up with him before he gets away." She started running.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Raguel immediately said. Both him and Ghost Girl jumped, activated their Digi-cycles, and sped off to catch up to Blood Shepherd.
"Okay, now these things are fast!" Raguel said. "At this rate, we'll-."
"FREEZE!" Soon, the trio turned around to see four patrollers riding Digi-Cycles behind them as well. Damn it, Raguel thought. That camouflage program would have been useful. "On the authority of the Landios Confederation, you three are coming with us! Pull over now or we'll respond with force!"
Blood Shepherd responded by turning around and firing a blast from his prosthetic arm, which narrowly hit one of the patrollers. Upon seeing this, one of the patroller's said, "Open fire!" At that command, the others started firing the blaster cannons on their Digi-Cycles, causing Raguel, Ghost Girl and Blood Shepherd to dodge the oncoming fire.
"If I had time to improve my camouflage program, we wouldn't be in this mess!" Ghost Girl told Blood Shepherd. "And sometimes, a stealth approach works, Blood Shepherd."
"Allow me to show you both why I'm considered the most dangerous bounty hunter in LINK VRAINS." Blood Shepherd responded. He soon slowed down on his Digi-Cycle so he could be sandwiched in the middle of two of the patrollers. The patroller on the right tried to lean forward and punch him, but Blood Shepherd easily avoided the punch and grabbed his face using his prosthetic arm before firing a blast from it; causing the patroller to fall of his Digi-Cycle.
The other patroller tried to side-ram Blood Shepherd's Digi-Cycle, but Blood Shepherd responded back by doing the exact same thing, only with more force. This caused the patroller to momentarily lose control of their Digi-Cycle before regaining control of it.
Seizing the opportunity, Blood Shepherd performed a massive drift, which enabled him to get behind the patroller. By the time the patroller realized he was behind him, his fate was sealed.
"Goodbye." Blood Shepherd fired the blaster cannons on his Digi-Cycle, which incinerated the patroller in front of him into particles. He soon rode off from the explosion to catch up to Raguel and Ghost Girl.
Meanwhile, a patroller rode their Digi-Cycle so they could be parallel to Raguel. They tried to lean forward and punch him, but Raguel dodged the punch and side-rammed their Digi-Cycle, causing the patroller to spin out of control and get destroyed alongside the Digi-Cycle.
"Okay, that was close." Raguel said. He soon turned to his left, where he saw Ghost Girl narrowly dodging blaster cannon fire from the patroller behind her. He pulled out his gun, aimed, and fired a few shots at the patroller's Digi-Cycle, making the patroller weave to avoid the shots.
This gave Ghost Girl the opportunity to release a swarm of bright dots from her Duel Disk, which soon went towards the patroller and overwhelmed him, eating up his program before he could utter a single word.
"Thanks for the assist," Ghost Girl said, as she rode parallel besides Raguel. "Although I didn't ask for it."
"Hey, what are friends for?" Raguel replied. "But where's-?" Before he could finish his question, Blood Shepherd caught up with the duo. "Never mind."
Ten minutes later...
The trio eventually made it to the main headquarters of Landios Confederation, which was in a quarry. Unfortunately for them, there were several troops patrolling the front entrance, and there were more inside even if they did manage to sneak through said entrance.
"We could enter through that tunnel," Raguel said, as he used the binoculars to observe exactly how many troops patrolling the front entrance. "But a full frontal assault would be-."
"Bloody." Ghost Girl finished for him. "Needlessly dangerous as well." She then motioned for Raguel to hand her the binoculars, which he did. After a minute, she found something. "Well. There is a less unpopulated area, with only up to three guards. One for each of us. Once we get rid of them, we can use the camouflage program to sneak in and find Hector."
"And what about the rest of your plan?" Blood Shepherd asked them. "Once we get inside and rescue Hector, there'll be a lot of troops in there to stop us. So unless you got a plan to escape, then-."
"We'll figure that out once were inside." Raguel interrupted him. "At best, we got 12% of the escape portion already figured out. Come on, cowboy. Be more supporting." He jumped down to the ground, alongside Ghost Girl.
"Do not call me cowboy," Blood Shepherd growled, as he too jumped to the ground and followed them to the less populated area. Once they were close to the guards, they eliminated them with ease, with each one knocked out as a result.
As they ran inside, Ghost Girl said, "Activating camouflage program in 3, 2, 1!" The trio immediately turned invisible, which let them further sneak deeper inside the headquarters.
Eventually, they reached the control room, which of course was guarded by a lot of troops. Blood Shepherd was about to blast them when Ghost Girl told him, "Remember. We're doing this stealthily." Blood Shepherd relented and lowered his prosthetic arm before raising it right back up again and firing at the guards, knocking them out.
"What did you do?" Ghost Girl demanded from him, as she inspected the troops, who were unconscious.
"I changed the setting to stun, not kill." Blood Shepherd coldly said to Ghost Girl. "Get them out of sight. I'll find where Hector is." He entered the control room, thus putting Ghost Girl and Raguel on clean-up duty.
"Sheesh. What's with Blood Shepherd?" Raguel whispered Ghost Girl, as they moved the unconscious bodies to the closet that was coincidently nearby the control room.
"Blood Shepherd is the type of guy you do not want hunting you down," Ghost Girl whispered back. "From personal experience, he'll use anyone and anything to achieve his goal. He'll even lie as well."
"I didn't know you worked with him before," was all Raguel could say in response. Once they were finished with the unconscious bodies, they ran back to the control room, where they saw Blood Shepherd hacking into the central database.
"Anything yet?" Raguel asked him, as Blood Shepherd pressed a button on his prosthetic right arm, releasing the cords plugged into the center database.
"Yeah. I found where Hector is, but you're not going to like it."
"Stop keeping us in suspense and tell us already," Ghost Girl said.
Blood Shepherd let out a snort before speaking. "Fine. He's on the top floor, not in the detention block." This caused both Raguel and Ghost Girl to widen their eyes in shock. "I'll see you at the elevators." He ran off, once again, with the other two following after him. Unbeknownst to Raguel, though, Ghost Girl pressed a button before following them.
Unfortunately, by the time they reached the elevators, the camouflage programs wore off. Blood Shepherd didn't even get the chance to curse before the alarm started blaring.
"Quick! Into the elevator!" Raguel shouted, motioning for Ghost Girl and Blood Shepherd to the elevator while he pulled out his gun and sealed the entrances to the elevators closed. He then entered the elevator alongside the others and pushed the 10th floor button, causing the elevator to go up.
"Guess those programs didn't help as much as I wanted," Raguel commented. "We're lucky we made it this far anyway."
"Excuse me?" Ghost Girl said, turning to Raguel. "The camouflage program helped get us inside the base, and if it weren't for that, we would've-!" Their conversation was interrupted, however, when the elevator abruptly stopped just one floor below the 10th. "The hell happened?"
"They're trying to stop us from reaching the 10th floor," Blood Shepherd answered her. Turning towards Raguel, he said, "That sword you have. Cut the top of the elevator shaft, and we can get to the 10th floor."
Raguel had no choice but to do what Blood Shepherd said, as not only was it the most logical decision, they didn't have any other options at the moment. He pulled out his sword and stabbed it upward on the elevator's ceiling. He then twisted the sword's handle several times, heating it up, which let Raguel cut a hole open at the top of the elevator.
With the top of the elevator now open, the trio activated their Duel Anchors, letting them reach the door to the 10th floor. As soon as they entered the 10th floor, all they could see was a massive room. And other than them, there were only two people in the room, with one of them restrained in a hover chair.
"Ah. So they sent you to rescue Mr. Marino." The male who said that turned around, along with the man in the hover chair, who was identified as Hector Marino. The male wore a sandy light-brown jacket, with a black buttoned-up shirt underneath it, as well as a pair of jeans, black shoes, and a belt. He had short, combed brown hair, with pale light-green eyes.
Hector Marino, on the other hand, wore a simple orange prison jumpsuit. He had no hair and a white beard, as well as a few bruises on his face.
"You know, it's hopeless for the three of you," the male continued. "Blood Shepherd. Ghost Girl. And Raguel. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm-."
"Senor Marcos." Raguel concluded for him. "The head of the Landios Confederation. You're outnumbered three to one, douchebag! So if I were you," he said as he pulled out his gun, "I'd release Hector right now."
"Is that so?" Marcos snapped his fingers, and as if on command, several troops came rushing to his side.
"You just had to say that," Blood Shepherd seethed at Raguel as he charged up his prosthetic arm.
"This is what's going to happen if you want him to live." Marcos said as he grabbed a knife and pressed it to Hector's throat. "I want three things from you. One: You will drop your weapons. Or in the case for you, Blood Shepherd, you'll disarm your arm immediately. Two: Your decks will be turned over to us. While you'll eventually get them back, I wish to strengthen our armies first if Landios Confederation is to take over the underbelly of LINK VRAINS. Three: Your allegiance. You must swear your allegiance to me, or else Mr. Marino will be killed." Marcos then pressed the blade further onto Hector's throat, causing a red gash to appear.
"On the contrary, you have until the count of three to release Hector," Blood Shepherd boldly warned Marcos.
"WHAT?" both Ghost Girl and Raguel said, with Ghost Girl adding, "If you're going to do what I think you're planning, then-."
"SHUT UP!" Blood Shepherd warned her. He then snapped his fingers. "One."
"You're bluffing." Marcos replied, trying to remain calm.
"Blood Shepherd..." Raguel was about to say, when...
"Two." Blood Shepherd snapped his fingers again.
"I'm ordering to cease this stunt! I'm in control here!" Marcos said, now starting to panic.
"Get ready, Raguel." Ghost Girl warned Raguel.
"Three!" After snapping his fingers for a third time, Blood Shepherd changed the setting on his prosthetic arm to explosive and shot volatile blasts from it, causing the troops and Marcos to take cover behind whatever they could find. Turning to Raguel and Ghost Girl, he said, "Well what are you waiting for? I'll cover you! Find him!"
Knowing what to do, Raguel headed for Hector while shooting several troops along the way. He also had to roll to avoid getting shot from a nearby troop. Finding the individual who did this, Raguel activated his Duel Anchor and reeled him in before slashing him upwards. As he avoided the blaster fire from the other troopers, he revved his sword up, causing it to heat up. He then charged forward and slashed them in two.
Ghost Girl, meanwhile, avoided blaster fire as she threw two small electric discs at the troopers, electrocuting and knocking them out. One of the troopers pulled out a baton and attempted to hit her, but she easily blocked the attack before striking the trooper across the neck to knock him out. Not a bad weapon, she thought, as she picked up the gun on the trooper's belt. Seeing Marcos attempt to escape with some troops, Ghost Girl aimed her gun and fired a few shots at them, easily eliminating the troops. She also fired at Marcos' leg, causing him to fall over. Before he could reach the door, he could feel a blaster touch the back of his head.
"Get up," Ghost Girl told him. "You're going to take me somewhere important."
By the time Raguel reached to Hector, he cut threw a dozen or so troops, with a sword that was pretty much on fire. "Mr. Hector Marino," Raguel said, as he disabled the cuffs on Hector's chair, "my name is Raguel, and Monty sends his regards."
"Monty sent you, huh?" Hector said, getting up from the chair. "Of all the things to expect from him, I didn't expect him to-."
"Don't move." Raguel and Hector turned around to see two troopers point blasters at them. Just as Hector was about to surrender, both troopers were incinerated by none other than Blood Shepherd.
"You need to keep your guard up at all times," Blood Shepherd chastised Raguel, as he dropped down from the balcony and approached him. "Otherwise, you might as well be finished."
"Blood Shepherd?" Hector backed away, scared of the masked man.
"Relax, Hector." Raguel said, trying to calm Hector down. "Blood Shepherd is here to rescue you, as well as-." It then dawned on Raguel. "Where's Ghost Girl?"
"I saw Marcos take her to a door over there," Hector said, pointing to a door to his right. "If anything, she might be after the data in the-."
Suddenly, an alarm blared out, followed by a voice saying, "Warning. Self-destruct in T-Minus: 5 minutes."
"Okay. We're getting out of here," Raguel said, as he and the others headed for the door. He turned to Hector as they were running and asked, "Do you remember exactly the way out of here?"
"I... I think so," Hector replied. "There's an emergency elevator that will take us to the first floor directly."
"Then that's where we're going," Blood Shepherd interjected. Luckily for them, by the time they reached the elevator, it was still working. "Get in the elevator!" He shoved Hector in before going in himself. "What are you waiting for, Raguel?"
Raguel turned around, and noticed a trail of blood in the other direction. "I need to find Ghost Girl."
"Forget her, we have to GET OUT NOW!"
"I can't just abandon her!" Raguel replied. And he started running in the direction of the trail of blood.
"Idiot." Blood Shepherd whispered before pressing the red button, causing him to leave with Hector on the elevator.
Come on, Ghost Girl. Where are you, Raguel thought as he followed the trail of blood. He was shocked when he found where it ended: Senor Marcos was found dead in a pool of his own blood! And it was near the only place that could deter Ghost Girl from the mission.
"Damn it, Ghost Girl!" Raguel muttered as he entered the central database. Sure enough, he found her, where she was in the middle of downloading data into several USB's. "What are you doing here, Ghost Girl?" he called out to her. "The whole place is about to blow real soon!"
"Raguel!" Ghost Girl turned her head to face him. "I didn't expect you to be here. What are you-?"
"Don't play dumb with me." Raguel interrupted her. "I know the real reason why you even agreed to come here. Yet I need to know: Why abandon the mission?"
"I didn't-!" Ghost Girl sighed before continuing. "The truth is this: I was hired by someone else to steal the data from Landios, and then destroy their headquarters. Not only did I activate the self-destruction program, I also activated the program detection cameras in the building as well."
This shocked Raguel completely. Of course. It all made sense now. Ghost Girl's camouflage program usually lasted long enough to complete a mission. She activated the cameras on purpose in order to draw Marcos out and kill him. His face soon looked like a mixture between fury and sadness. "You... How could you...?"
"Raguel, I'm-."
"Warning: Self-Destruct in T-Minus: 2 minutes."
Both Raguel and Ghost Girl noticed the voice announcing the countdown to their demise. Suddenly, several debris started to fall on the central database, causing Ghost Girl to grab the USB's and use her Duel Anchor to reach to the bridge closest from her, which was further away from Raguel.
Raguel looked downcast as the debris fell around him, his face still showing anger and sadness. "Get out of here."
"Raguel, please listen to-!"
"I SAID GET OUT OF HERE!" Raguel snapped at her. Realizing what he did, he turned around and started running for the emergency elevator, with tears in his eyes. What he didn't know was that Ghost Girl called out his name as he left.
He managed to enter the emergency elevator and escape from the headquarters before his path back to the database was blocked. And by the time Raguel escaped from the headquarters, the main base of Landios Confederation collapsed inwards of itself.
After Raguel was some distance away from the now destroyed headquarters, he called Roxy and told her everything of what happened, including of Ghost Girl betraying him and Blood Shepherd. Roxy was shocked at what happened but agreed that they would speak in the real world, as Raguel needed some time alone to process what happened.
Raguel sat down on the ground and started crying. Crying on the fact that someone whom he called a friend not only betrayed him, but completely stabbed in the back as well.
"Well, I hope you learned a lesson here today, Raguel."
As soon as Raguel turned around to figure out who was speaking to him, he was shocked to see Blood Shepherd standing just above him.
"When compared to one's mission, personal feelings are completely irrelevant. In order for you to survive, you must be willing to cast aside what makes you human. Only by doing this will you-."
"What would you know," Raguel said as he stood up, "about how I feel? YOU DON'T KNOW A THING ABOUT ME!" He soon pulled out his sword and charged at Blood Shepherd, only for the masked hunter to gut punch him with enough force to make him lean drop to the ground on one knee while holding his stomach.
Blood Shepherd immediately charged up his prosthetic arm, preparing to fire at Raguel. "Any last words?"
"Just finish it already," Raguel spat out, as he looked at Blood Shepherd. He wouldn't close his eyes, for it would indicate that he accepted his fate. However, to Raguel's surprise, Blood Shepherd lowered his prosthetic arm and turned around from him.
"In the state you're in, it's not worth finishing you off," Blood Shepherd said. He then turned his head to Raguel. "If we do cross paths next time, I expect you to be stronger. Much stronger if you're to survive in this world. Until then." He soon logged out, leaving Raguel in shock as he did so.
Flashback End: Present Day...
"What you did, Ghost Girl. You didn't just betray me. You betrayed Roxy as well," Raguel told her. "And the worst part of it was the aftermath."
"The aftermath? What do you mean?" Herald asked, turning to face Raguel.
"After the fiasco, Roxy went to confront Ghost Girl about what happened. It soon turned into an argument, which led to them breaking off their friendship," Raguel told Herald.
"Hey! I never wanted to lose my friendship with Roxy!" Ghost Girl countered. "I tried explaining my side of the story to her, but she took the wrong side."
Upon hearing this, Raguel completely snapped. "Don't you ever say that to me! You didn't know her as long as I did! Nor did you know what she lost before the both of you met! You even know why I'm doing this in the first place?" Soon, there were tears in his eyes. "I don't do this for the money, or the glory. I'm doing this because... because I want to save Roxy's niece from what she's been going through ever since that day."
"That day?" Playmaker muttered. "Raguel, you don't mean-."
"Yeah, I do," Raguel responded to Playmaker, causing him to widen his eyes in shock. He turned to Ghost Girl and resumed speaking. "Ever since that day, she's been through nothing but hell. Just when she could escape that hell, she lost both her parents, causing her to go into a coma. One of her parents who died that day was Roxy's sister. I'm fighting so that Roxy's niece can wake up from her nightmare. Smile. And be with Roxy again," he finished.
Roxy, who was watching Raguel tell the story in the backroom of Café Matsuo, felt anger and sadness. Sadness at what happened, as well as anger at Ghost Girl for betraying them like that. However, what she failed to see on the monitor was Ghost Girl's reaction to all this information.
Ghost Girl was completely speechless for an entire minute after hearing what Raguel told her. Roxy, she thought. I didn't know you had a sister. Nor did I know about your niece. Suddenly, she regretted all the words she told her that day. When her friendship with Roxy fell apart. "Raguel, I... I didn't know all of this. I wish I could help you, I really do, but-."
"I'm tired of hearing excuses, Ghost Girl!" Ghost Girl was surprised at Raguel's answer. When he looked at her, his face was filled with a deadly seriousness that could make anyone afraid. "Just make your turn already."
With no other option, Ghost Girl obliged. "Then it looks like we're back to the duel! My turn!" she announced. "Instead of conducting my Draw Phase, I activate the effect of Altergeist Oasis to add an 'Altergeist' Trap card from my deck to my hand!" Using the effect of Altergeist Oasis, Ghost Girl added Altergeist Hack from her deck to her hand.
If I don't attack with any of my monsters this turn, Ghost Girl thought, Cyreath Provocation will negate their effects and prevent me from using my monsters as Link Materials. This means I have to end the duel on this turn! "I activate the Trap card, Altergeist Manifestation! This card lets me Special Summon an 'Altergeist' monster from my Graveyard, and equip it with this card! Return from the depths, Altergeist Multifaker!" At her command, Multifaker returned to her field, specifically to the Main Monster Zone Hextia was pointing to.
Altergeist Multifaker ATK: 1200 DEF: 800 LVL: 3
"Multifaker's effect! When it's Special Summoned, I can Special Summon an 'Altergeist' monster from my deck in defense position! Come, Altergeist Silquitous!" A light brown female monster with six wings on appeared on the field.
Altergeist Silquitous ATK: 800 DEF: 1500 LVL: 2
"And before you say it," Ghost Girl added, "I'm well aware of Cyreath Provocation's effect!"
Altergeist Multifaker ATK: 1200 + 100 = 1300
Altergeist Silquitous ATK: 800 + 100 = 900
"Open before me! The circuit that connects to the unknown parallel universe!" Ghost Girl declared, as a Link Portal opened above her. "The summoning conditions are two or more 'Altergeist' monsters! I set Altergeist Hextia, which is a Link 2 monster, and Altergeist Kunquery in the Link Markers!" Kunquery went into the right arrowhead, while Hextia split into two and entered the bottom and bottom-right arrowheads.
"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 3! Altergeist Primebanshee!" A female red creature with a serpentine and gorgon-like body appeared in the right Extra Monster Zone. The creature had four snake-like heads, with two being on each side, and what looked like a glowing violet crown at the back of her head.
Altergeist Primebanshee ATK: 2100 LINK-3 ⬇️↘️➡️
Altergeist Primebanshee ATK: 2100 + 100 = 2200
"Fortunately for you, since Altergeist Kunquery left the field, your Grand Warden gains back its abilities." Grand Warden was immediately filled with a golden light as it gained back its abilities.
"Damn it," Raguel muttered under his breath. She summoned that monster, Raguel thought. If he was going to win, then he had to destroy Primebanshee as soon as he can. What he didn't realize was that Herald heard what he said.
"What is it?" Herald asked. "I've seen you take on harder monsters than this massive serpent. Why are you so concerned?"
"Because that monster is a huge pain in the ass, especially when used in conjunction with the other 'Altergeist' cards." Raguel replied.
"Almost everything is in place for your defeat, Raguel." Ghost Girl said. "First, I activate Altergeist Silquitous' effect! By returning an 'Altergeist' card other than Silquitous to my hand, I can target 1 card you control and return it to your hand! I return Altergeist Oasis to my hand in order to return your face down card back to your hand!" Both Altergeist Oasis and Raguel's face down card returned to their owner's hands.
"Oasis' second effect! If it leaves the field, I can add an 'Altergeist' card from my deck to my hand!" Using the second effect of Altergeist Oasis, Ghost Girl added Altergeist Enhancement to her hand.
"I activate the Continuous-Spell card, Altergeist Enhancement from my hand!" The card showed Altergeist Pixiel downloading data from a database. "I target 1 'Altergeist' monster I control and tribute all other 'Altergeist' monsters to the Graveyard. By doing this, the targeted 'Altergeist' monster gains attack points equal to the combined attack points of the tributed 'Altergeist' monsters! I target Altergeist Primebanshee, and tribute Altergeist Multifaker and Altergeist Silquitous so my monster gains 2200 attack points!"
"Are you freaking kidding me?" Raguel asked, as he watched Multifaker and Silquitous turn into particles, which were then absorbed into Primebanshee, causing her to become stronger.
Altergeist Primebanshee ATK: 2200 + 2200 = 4400
"Silquitous' second effect!" Ghost Girl continued. "Since it was sent to the Graveyard, I can add an 'Altergeist' Trap card from my Graveyard to my hand!" Using Silquitous' second effect, Ghost Girl added Altergeist Camouflage from her Graveyard to her hand.
"Time to battle!" Ghost Girl declared. "Altergeist Primebanshee attacks Cyreath Grand Warden! Tentacle Lash!" The four snake-like heads on Primebanshee locked onto Grand Warden and lashed forward, biting the scholar in multiple places before causing him to vanish in an explosion, making Raguel shield his eyes.
Raguel: 4000 – 2100 = 1900 LP
"Huh. Guess you managed to survive this turn, Raguel. In that case, I'll Set two cards face down and end my turn." Ghost Girl concluded. Everything is in place, Ghost Girl thought. Altergeist Hack can negate any card effects he throws at me, while Altergeist Camouflage will protect my Primebanshee from any monster effects that target it. And as the cherry on the top of the cream, Altergeist Protocol will ensure he cannot negate anything I throw at him. In other words, once I survive this turn, victory will be in my hands!
"My turn!" Raguel declared. "I-!"
"Hold on, Raguel!" Herald interrupted him. "Before you draw your card and make a move, I would strongly advise you to analyze the situation."
"I'll do that once I-!"
"You didn't let me finish!" Herald continued. "What I'm saying is this: If you don't make a plan, then you might as well be running into a trap! But by making a plan, you'll be able to make your turn with confidence. And it all starts here." Herald said, as he tapped the top card of Raguel's deck. "Right here. As the creator of this deck, trust me in saying that no matter what happens, the 'Cyreath' cards will always be here to help. Always! If you're willing to work with them."
Raguel breathed in and out before speaking. "Alright, Herald. We'll try it your way." Going back to the duel, he said, "My turn! I draw!" He drew the top card of his deck. When he looked at it, he was surprised at what he got. Okay, deck. Raguel thought. Let's work together once more. For Miyu's sake. "I activate the Spell card, Cyreath Destruction!" The card showed a city being destroyed by fire and earthquakes, causing it to sink inward. "This card lets me destroy all Spell and Trap cards my opponent controls, and then-!"
"Hold it!" Ghost Girl interrupted him. "I activate the Counter-Trap, Altergeist Hack!" The card showed Altergeist Primebanshee using the snake-like heads on both sides to hack into a network. "If my opponent activates a Spell or Trap card, Altergeist Hack instantly negates and banishes it!" The card fired a green blast at Cyreath Destruction, which did nothing, leaving Ghost Girl in surprise. "Why didn't it work?"
"If you had let me finish," Raguel said, "I would have told you that you can't activate any Spell or Trap cards in response to this card if you control a Link Monster."
"What?" was all Ghost Girl could respond with, as Cyreath Destruction fired a blast of fire at all her Spell and Trap cards, reducing them to nothing but volcanic ash.
"And because Altergeist Enhancement is destroyed, Altergeist Primebanshee loses her attack boost!" Raguel added.
Altergeist Primebanshee ATK: 4400 – 2200 = 2200
"The third effect of Cyreath Destruction kicks in! I can draw one card for each Spell or Trap card destroyed by this effect! Since four cards were destroyed, I can draw four cards!" Raguel immediately drew the top four cards from his deck.
"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 also joined Raguel's field. She wore a raggedy cape and skirt.
Cyreath Witch ATK: 1200 DEF: 0 LVL: 4
Cyreath Witch ATK: 1200 + 200 = 1400
"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 three cards in my hand, I can Special Summon up to three 'Cyreath Skeleton' tokens to my field!" Witch raised her staff into the air, making the skull on top of it glow purple. Soon, three small skeletons carrying short swords were raised from the dead, appearing on Raguel's field.
Cyreath Skeleton Token ATK: 500 DEF: 500 LVL: 1
Cyreath Skeleton Token ATK: 500 + 200 = 700
"Appear, the circuit showing the highest mountain!" A Link Portal appeared at Raguel's command. "The summoning conditions are one monster! I'll set one of my Cyreath Skeleton tokens in the Link Markers!" One of the Skeleton tokens went into the bottom-left arrowhead.
"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Cyreath Skull Wing!" A small skull with wings emerged from the Link Portal and was summoned to the Main Monster Zone Ogre Bowler was pointing to.
Cyreath Skull Wing ATK: 300 LINK-1 ↙️
Cyreath Skull Wing ATK: 300 + 200 = 500
"Appear, the circuit showing the highest mountain once more!" Another Link Portal above Raguel soon appeared. "The summoning conditions are two monsters, except tokens! I set Cyreath Skull Wing, which is a Link 1 monster, and Cyreath Witch, in the Link Markers!" Skull Wing went into the left arrowhead, while Witch went into the right arrowhead.
"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 2! Progleo!" A white-furred cub with orange eyes emerged from the Link Portal and was summoned to the right Main Monster Zone Pegasus was pointing to. The cub had a satellite dish around its neck, as well as an old video recorder on its back. It also had a small brace on each of its claws, and a small coil attached to its tail. Upon being summoned, Progleo barred its fangs at its opponent.
Progleo ATK: 1000 LINK-2 ⬅️➡️
"Fight with all you got, Progleo!" Herald cheered.
"Okay!" Progleo replied, as it barked in happiness upon being summoned.
"Hey! It's Progleo!" Ai suddenly said. "Hey! Progleo! Do you remember me? Huh? Huh? Do you remember-?"
"You know that creature?" Playmaker asked Ai, causing Ai to turn and face Playmaker.
"Of course!" Ai replied. "I got to spend a lot of time with him and Herald! Like this one time..."
As Ai went on talking about what he did with Herald and Progleo, Playmaker couldn't help but think, Raguel somehow is in possession of a sentient Cyberse monster. He soon looked down at his deck and wondered: Could his monsters possibly be sentient too?
"Skull Wing's effect!" Raguel said. "As it was used to Link Summon, you take 300 points of damage!" The spirit of Skull Wing appeared and dashed through Ghost Girl, making her shudder.
Ghost Girl: 3200 – 300 = 2900 LP
"Appear, for the third time! The circuit showing the highest mountain!" Raguel declared, as a third Link Portal opened above him. "The summoning conditions are two or more effect monsters! I'll set Cyreath Ogre Bowler, which is a Link 2 monster, and my remaining two Cyreath Skeleton tokens in the Link Markers!" Ogre Bowler split into two and entered the top and bottom arrowheads, while the remaining two Skeleton tokens entered the left and right arrowheads respectively.
"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 to the right Extra Monster Zone as he 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 ⬆️⬇️⬅️➡️
"A Link 4 monster?" Ghost Girl said, who was in shock at what she was seeing. The last time she dueled Raguel, he certainly didn't have that in his deck.
"AHHHHH!" Ai screamed. "That dragon's presence is super scary!"
"No. I don't think that's what it is!" Playmaker said. There was something his Link Sense told him. Something about that dragon was different. How, Playmaker could not determine.
"I activate Turboblaze Dragon's first effect!" Raguel said. "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 Primebanshee, covering her in scorch marks.
"Battle! Turboblaze Dragon attacks Altergeist Primebanshee! 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 Primebanshee, who was consumed by the ball of fire.
"Turboblaze's additional effect! If this card destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard, you take damage equal to the destroyed monsters attack points!"
As Altergeist Primebanshee was about to be destroyed, Ghost Girl said, "This is NOT how I'm going to lose! I activate the second effect of Altergeist Camouflage from my Graveyard! If an 'Altergeist' monster I control would be destroyed by battle or card effect, I can banish it instead! That means I only take 800 points of damage!" A transparent hexagon-like barrier appeared all around Primebanshee's skin as it survived being burned to death. However, Ghost Girl still lost life points regardless.
Ghost Girl: 2900 – 800 = 2100 LP
"I activate the Quick-Play Spell card, Link Drain from my hand!" Raguel said. The card showed Summon Sorceress draining energy from Vector Scare Archfiend. "I can target 1 Link Monster you control and reduce its attack points to zero while giving those attack points to a Link Monster I control. However, the changes last until the End Phase of my turn. I target your Altergeist Primebanshee, and reduce her attack points to zero so my Progleo gains her 2200 attack points!"
"Oh no!" Ghost Girl said in horror, as Primebanshee's energy was transferred to Progleo's, super-charging him in the process.
Progleo ATK: 1000 + 2200 = 3200
Altergeist Primebanshee ATK: 2200 – 2200 = 0
"Time for the winning blow, Progleo!" Herald said.
"The battle still continues!" Raguel added. "Progleo attacks Altergeist Primebanshee! Playful Pounce!" Progleo charged forward and lunged at Primebanshee, destroying the gigantic female gorgon for good in a massive explosion. As a result, Ghost Girl was blasted backwards.
Ghost Girl: 2100 – 3200 = 0
After destroying Primebanshee, Progleo ran forward to where Ghost Girl was and started licking her face to wake her up.
"What's-?" Ghost Girl wasn't able to finish her sentence as she started realized that the same monster that defeated her was now playfully licking her face.
"Yield!" Progleo playfully said, as the cub continued licking her face.
"Okay, okay, I yield!" Ghost Girl said as she started to get up. She soon both Raguel and Playmaker walk towards her, with Progleo returning to Raguel's side.
"Ghost Girl, I won fair and square," Raguel stated. "You promised the backdoor program, remember?"
"NOOOOOO!" Ai said. "Now the whole day was for nothing, as we have nothing! NOTHING!"
"Silly little Ignis," Ghost Girl replied. "I made multiple copies of the backdoor program. One for myself as well." She pressed a few buttons on her Duel Disk. After doing so, Raguel and Playmaker got notifications on their Duel Disks, stating that they got the program.
"Well, guess business is officially done." She soon walked up to Raguel and whispered in his ear, "Could you tell Roxy that I'm sorry about what she went through? As well as the fact I'm sorry for what I did?"
Raguel whispered back to her, "She'd prefer if you did it in person, Ghost Girl."
"I know, but... some things are easier to do than others, aren't they?" She leaned away as she gave a small smile.
"That they are."
Ghost Girl then turned to Playmaker and Ai, as well as Raguel before speaking. "Hopefully, we'll all see each other again," she said as she turned around and logged out.
"Well. That was a pretty interesting day. A lot to talk about wouldn't you agree Raguel?" Herald said.
"Raguel." Upon hearing his name, Raguel turned around to see Playmaker talking to him. "You mentioned earlier that you were fighting for someone who went through the Lost Incident, weren't you?"
Raguel nodded before Playmaker continued. "A reason I'm fighting Hanoi is so I can save a friend's brother. He was there, along with the both of us and your friend. But I don't just fight for him. I'm fighting for all of us."
Raguel turned away from Playmaker and thought for a few seconds before replying, "So this means we know of four kids that went through the Lost Incident."
"The Lost Incident also had another name." When Raguel turned his head, Playmaker said, "The Hanoi Project."
"The Hanoi Project?" Raguel repeated, surprised. He then turned to face Playmaker. "That's the main reason you fight the Hanoi. You believe they have something to do with the Incident."
"Aside from that, I know of nothing else," Playmaker said before turning away from him. "Until next time, Raguel." Playmaker logged out after saying that. Raguel logged out a few seconds after Playmaker.
At Café Nagi...
Yusaku exited from the sealed room and ran to Kusanagi, who was in the middle of typing on the digital keyboard in front of the monitor.
"Hey Yusaku," Kusanagi said, as Yusaku quickly sat down in the empty seat. "How'd it-?"
"Kusanagi, I need you to search for-." But when Yusaku went to look at the monitor, he was surprised to see a picture of a female individual on the screen, rendering him speechless.
"I knew you'd ask me to search Den City for any people named Roxy. So I did," Kusanagi said. His face then became serious. "Yusaku, who you're looking at on the monitor is Roxy Matsuo. She's the business owner of Café Matsuo. And... my business rival," Kusanagi sheepishly added.
"Your business rival?" Ai asked as he emerged from Yusaku's Duel Disk. "So the both of you have food competitions or something? Food fights?"
"Be quiet," Yusaku told Ai. Turning to Kusanagi, he asked, "Were you able to find anything else? Any relatives? Because during the duel-."
"Yusaku, slow down there buddy," Kusanagi said as he put a hand on Yusaku's shoulder. "I got it under control. As for what you asked, I got it right here." He then opened up another window on the monitor, showing a newspaper article. "According to this newspaper article, Roxy's sister, June Matsuo, and her brother-in law, Sebastian Sugisaki, died in a traffic collision. The couple's daughter, Miyu Sugisaki, fell into a coma and was sent to the Den City Hospital."
"That seems suspicious. If this girl, Miyu Sugisaki, was involved in the Lost Incident, then there had to be more than this to spur Raguel to fight for her," Yusaku stated.
"That's what I thought too. But then I found this. Courtesy of the Den City Police Force." Kusanagi opened a tab, which contained a crime report regarding the traffic collision. Once Yusaku and Ai looked at it, they both were shocked. Miyu's parents weren't killed by a simple collision, but by a murderer.
"OH MY GOD!" Ai screamed, as he started shivering, causing him to hug himself. "Who would do this?!"
"I don't know, Ai. I don't know," Yusaku said, who was caught off-guard. If the Hanoi was the ones who sent a hitman to eliminate this girl, who partook in the Lost Incident, Yusaku thought, then it shows they're willing to do whatever it takes to complete their goal. But why would they do this? He then turned to face Kusanagi. "We have to go to Café Matsuo and talk to Roxy. ASAP."
To Yusaku's surprise, Kusanagi shook his head. "I don't think right now is the best time, buddy. For three reasons. One: You're tired. You need rest and time to process this info. Plus, you don't even know what you're going to say to her. Two: You got school tomorrow. While you're there, I can work on preparing a route into SOL Technologies' databank. After all, we do have the backdoor program. Three: Once I'm done working on preparations, I'll go talk to Roxy. We sort of know each other because of our names being associated with our businesses in Den City. Who knows, perhaps we can get her on our side, and Raguel as well if he was in the Lost Incident."
"He was, Kusanagi," Yusaku said. When Kusanagi waited for him to continue, Yusaku added, "Raguel has an Ignis just like me." This caused Kusanagi's jaw to drop upon hearing that information.
"Are you 100% sure?" Kusanagi asked Yusaku, who nodded. He then pondered for a minute before speaking. "Can't believe the small world we know got bigger; wouldn't you agree?" He soon heard snoring, coming from none other than Yusaku. "Poor buddy went through so much he fell asleep. Might as well bring him home." As he went to start up the hot-dog truck, Kusanagi thought, Yusaku. Once Raguel and Roxy agree to join forces, the four of us will defeat the Hanoi together. And hopefully, there will be peace for all of us.
At Café Matsuo's backroom...
Yuhiro let out a breath of exhaustion as the door to the sealed room opened. He walked out of the sealed room slowly, as he didn't want to fall over. Progleo jumped out Yuhiro's Duel Disk, concern evident on the cub's face.
"Is everything okay?" Progleo asked Yuhiro, who almost nearly fell over.
"Yeah. I'm fine, Progleo," Yuhiro insisted. However, fatigue ultimately won, causing him to drop on one knee. When he looked up, he saw Roxy, who was offering him a hand. "Thanks Roxy." He took her hand, but by the time he stood up, she punched him in the gut, causing him to bend over and drop on one knee. Progleo immediately started gritting this teeth at her for doing that. "What... what was that for?"
"That was for not placing an E.M.S. in Aoi's bag when you had the chance!" Roxy angrily replied, crossing her arms. "If you had, then you wouldn't have made the choices that led to you dueling Ghost Girl!"
"Are you still hanging that over my head?" Yuhiro asked, as he slowly stood up, partly to make sure Roxy wouldn't punch him again. "I told you that I'm sorry. And the reason why I didn't do it in the first place."
"He is telling the truth, you know," Herald said, emerging from Yuhiro's Duel Disk. "Yuhiro isn't someone who would do such a thing."
"Were you at least able to get the backdoor program?" Roxy asked Yuhiro, who nodded in confirmation. "Well, as long as you learned a lesson for the future." She then looked down at Progleo, who was still angry with her, and picked him up. "You, young cub, were a major badass today! Well done!" She kissed the cub on the nose, causing him to drop his anger towards her.
"What's a badass?" Progleo curiously inquired of Roxy.
"Someone who kicks major butt!" Roxy answered Progleo as she put him down. "Come on. I'll make you some mini cheeseburgers." She then went into Café Matsuo, with Progleo following her and saying, "Hooray! Cheeseburgers!"
"Yuhiro. May I have a word with you? Alone?" Herald asked Yuhiro.
A few minutes later, in Yuhiro's bedroom...
"I can't believe you accepted an assignment to capture one of my kind!" Herald furiously stated. Yuhiro was sitting down on his bed as Herald said this to him. "Did it ever occur in that head of yours to ask your boss what he'll do with the Dark Ignis once he's got his hands on him?"
"No," Yuhiro admitted. "I didn't. In all the assignments I completed, I didn't care about what happened to those who got in my way. If I'm being honest, Herald, I don't want to hurt others at all. With what happened though..."
"You were hit with a wake-up call that turned you into a half-demon!" Herald accused Yuhiro, but this didn't stop Yuhiro from continuing.
"In every assignment that I agreed to do for the black market, I only did it for a singular purpose: for getting more money so Miyu can continue receiving the care she needs. After everything Roxy did for me, I owe her completely. If I gave up now, I'd be failing her and Miyu."
Herald sighed. "Yuhiro, I'd do anything for my fellow Ignis. And if I were in your shoes, I'd be feeling the same conflicting feelings you are now. The thing is, Watchman and I are giving you an opportunity. One where you can save not only just her, but everyone as well." He turned to look at the window, which had a nice view of the outdoors. "One of the greatest things I've learned is that life is truly precious. My greatest hope for you is that you understand that. And hopefully do the right thing."
Yuhiro smiled and looked at Herald as he said, "All right, Herald. I hear you loud and clear."
"Good," Herald said. He soon put a hand under his chin. "I am, however, curious about Miyu. Could you one day take me with you when you decide to visit her again?
Yuhiro offered Herald a hand, who shook it in agreement. "Sure, Herald. It's a deal."
Card Gallery
Altergeist Oasis (Continuous Spell Card)
While this card is face-up on the field, you can activate this effect instead of conducting a normal draw during your Draw Phase. Search your deck for an 'Altergeist' Trap card; add it to your hand. If this card leaves the field: You can add an 'Altergeist' card from your deck to your hand.
Altergeist Hack (Counter-Trap Card)
If your opponent activates a Spell or Trap card, negate the activation, and if you do, banish it.
Altergeist Enhancement (Continuous-Spell Card)
Target 1 'Altergeist' monster you control; tribute all other 'Altergeist' monsters you control, and if you do, while this card is on the field, the targeted monster gains ATK equal to the combined ATK of the tributed monsters.
Cyreath Miner (LV: 3/Cyberse/Dark/ATK: 0/DEF: 2000)
Once per turn, if this card is face up on the field: You can target 1 card in your GY; shuffle it into your deck, and if you do, draw 1 card. If this card is used to Link Summon: You can add 1 card from your GY to your hand.
Cyreath Ogre Bowler (LR: 2/Cyberse/Earth/ATK: 1700/️⬇️⬆️️)
2 'Cyreath' monsters. When this card is Special Summoned: You can destroy cards that are in the same column as this card. If you activate this effect, it cannot attack for the rest of the turn.
Cyreath Grand Warden (LR: 3/Cyberse/Light/ATK: 2100/️⬆️↙️⬇️️)
Effect: 2 or more 'Cyreath' monsters. When a monster this card is pointing to is destroyed by a card effect while 'Cyreath Grand Hall' is in your Field Zone: You can shuffle it into the deck, and if you do, gain LP equal to its ATK.
Cyreath Destruction (Normal Spell Card)
When this card is activated: Destroy all Spell and Trap cards your opponent controls, then if any Spell or Trap cards were destroyed: You can draw 1 card for each card destroyed by this effect. If your opponent controls a Link Monster: Your opponent cannot activate Spell/Trap cards in response to this card effect.
Link Drain (Normal Spell Card)
Target 1 Link Monster your opponent controls; reduce its ATK to 0, and if you do, 1 Link Monster you control gains ATK equal to the targeted monsters original ATK. These changes last until the End Phase.
Cyreath Counter-Shuffle (Normal Trap Card)
If your opponent declares an attack with a Link Monster: Negate the attack, then return that monster back to the Extra Deck.
QOTC
Were you surprised by Blood Shepherd's appearance in this chapter?
Chapter Preview
Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: Obscured Truth. Chapter 9: Journey to the Center of SOL. With everything in hand, Raguel and Herald journey deep into SOL Technologies to reach the databank, where they hope to get the answer's they're seeking...
Responses to Reviews and Author Notes
Thank you to HunterHQ, Lightning, Savagemaster1999, and Unnamed for reviewing Chapter 7 of Obscured Truth.
Okay... WHAT A CHAPTER! I am happy I was finally able to get this chapter done, as there was a lot of ground that needed to be covered. For those of you who were wondering why I took so long, it was due to final exams, which are finally over with. The good news is, I'll be having less finals for next semester, which means more time to continue writing this fanfic. Speaking of said fanfic, let's talk about the recent chapter, shall we?
There were two flashbacks in this chapter, with the duel between Raguel and Ghost Girl sandwiched in the middle. We'll talk about the flashbacks before going into the duel.
The first flashback showed us how Roxy met Emma, and prior to that, she kicked major butt against a bartender's boyfriend who was abusing her. This shows another side of Roxy, as she's not only willing to stand up for those that are criticized or attacked, she can also teach the bullies a lesson if needed. If you're curious as to what I used for inspiration, watch the restaurant fight scene at the beginning of Episode 3 of Titans (which is on Netflix btw).
The second flashback also showed what happened between Raguel and Ghost Girl that caused their friendship to deteriorate. Basically, Raguel and Ghost Girl were assigned by Monty to rescue a man named Hector Marino, who owns a major weapons business on the black market. Unfortunately, due to Ghost Girl betraying Raguel, their friendship breaks apart. And, surprise, even Blood Shepherd makes an appearance in the flashback as well! There is a good chance that Hector might make another appearance in the story. How, you'll have to stay tuned and find out.
In between those flashbacks was the duel between Raguel and Ghost Girl. This was my first time writing a duel with Altergeist cards, so if you have any tips regarding them in the future, don't hesitate to let me know. Even though Raguel had difficulty getting through Ghost Girl's Altergeist cards, he still managed to pull through and win the duel thanks to Herald's advice.
By the end of the chapter, we have Yusaku and Kusanagi learning the name of Raguel's ally, as well as the fact that Raguel has an Ignis, confirming that he was in the Lost Incident. Next chapter, you'll see what Yusaku and Kusanagi will do with this information, this I will tell you.
I wanted to get this chapter done so I can say something special to all of you.
MERRY ZARCMAS, EVERYONE!
Okay, with that out of the way, it's time for the reviews:
HunterHQ: Thanks very much. As Progleo is young, he still has much to learn. I can therefore agree with you that he is similar to Simba. I do hope you enjoyed the duel between Raguel and Ghost Girl, as well as the flashbacks.
Lightning: Thank you very much. I think you'll be interested in what's to come.
Savagemaster1999: Glad to see you enjoyed the Cubic Archetype in the story. As for how Aoi will handle learning Raguel's identity, you'll have to wait and see.
Unnamed: While it was cruel for Ghost Girl to duel back to back, it was ultimately karma in the end biting her back in the butt. Rest assured. Characters such as Aoi, Blood Shepherd, and Akira will get the respect they deserve.
Please let me know what you thought about this chapter in your reviews, as well as any questions, thoughts, and opinions you may have. Also, let me know what you thought of Blood Shepherd appearing in this chapter. Did I do him justice? With your input, I can continue improving as a writer. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. See you next chapter!
