Chapter 13: Hanoi Inbound

In the Hanoi Stronghold...

Infearno stood in the Hanoi Stronghold and looked at the two monitors in front of him. On the left monitor was the main event currently ongoing in LINK VRAINS. At the moment, his comrade Dr. Genome began a Speed Duel against the #1 Charisma Duelist, Go Onizuka. He had faith in Dr. Genome's dueling abilities, as anyone that got in the Hanoi's way had to be eliminated.

On the right monitor was the recording of Stregone's duel against one of the Hanoi's Sergeants. After watching that particular duel, Infearno replayed it a few more times in order to understand how Stregone dueled. As a result, he found two things that could help the Hanoi: Mirror Force, and Assault Mode Activate. While the latter option would less likely be used in the future, Infearno could see the Hanoi using Mirror Force. Especially against duelists such as Playmaker and Raguel.

"Infearno." He turned around and saw Revolver materialize behind him. "Specter said you had information for me. Information that can help defeat Playmaker."

"I do." Infearno confirmed, gesturing to the right monitor. "The duelist known as Stregone provided us with not one, but two weapons for the Hanoi to use. With your approval, of course." Revolver stepped up beside Infearno and looked at the right screen. "Like this one." Revolver paid attention as the recording showed Stregone activate Mirror Force against the Sergeant, reflecting the attack back to the Sergeant's two Kozmo Dark Destroyers.

"Interesting." Revolver pondered. "Mirror Force not only negates the attack, but destroys all monsters that are in attack position."

"And since Link Monsters can only exist in attack position," Infearno added, "they'll face pure destruction unless the duelist finds a way to protect them."

"Which will be highly unlikely." Revolver commented before turning his head to look at Infearno. "What was the other weapon that you mentioned?"

"Allow me to show you." Infearno replied, as he fast-forwarded the recording of Stregone's duel. During Stregone's final turn, he activated Assault Mode Activate, which let him tribute his Arcanite Magician and summon Arcanite Magician/Assault Mode. "As shown in the recording, '/Assault Mode' monsters are basically an evolved version of Synchro monsters with a stronger effect than their pre-evolved form. Although you don't see yourself using it anytime soon, correct?"

"Unfortunately." Revolver admitted. "But keep the recording. It would be a waste to get rid of information like this." Before turning around and materializing out of the Hanoi Stronghold, he added, "Good job finding this information. If you see anything else, let me know as soon as you can."

"Understood." Infearno said, giving a slight bow as Revolver materialized out of the Hanoi Stronghold.

He turned back to the two monitors in front of him. It would be wise to keep an eye on any duelists that challenge the Hanoi, he thought. After all, with the information they provide us, it will eventually lead to their undoing!

In LINK VRAINS...

Raguel looked around him at the black tornadoes and the transparent dome. Even Stregone was shocked at what was going on around him. "Roxy, what the hell is this?" he asked her. In the back room of Café Matsuo, Roxy scowled.

"Not sure, Yuhiro. I've never seen these readings before. But it looks like someone turned up the Data Storm in that area to an eleven. And if I'm right, you should be able to ride on your Duel board in this area without being on a data stream." As Roxy kept typing, she grit her teeth in annoyance. "From what our systems are saying, the program is called a 'Data Gale'."

"Data Gale?" Raguel repeated. He pressed a few buttons on his Duel Disk to try and log out. Unfortunately for him, it didn't work. "Roxy, I can't log out. Whatever program that was used to make this dome, it's keeping everyone here trapped."

"I'm aware of-. Hold on. Something just came up." Roxy said, going to a different monitor. She opened the news on LINK VRAINS. Unfortunately, it wasn't good.

"Well, that's not good."

"What is it?"

"Go Onizuka's dueling a Knight of Hanoi," Roxy answered him. "His alias is Dr. Genome. Guess he was the one who activated the Data Gale."

"Go Onizuka?" Raguel said, surprised. "I haven't heard any news about Go since I dueled him. What are they saying about him exactly?"

"Nothing good at the moment, that's for sure." Roxy replied. "Basically, Go challenged Dr. Genome to an all or nothing duel. If Go wins, he gets the Another removal program. However..."

"Roxy? Is everything okay?" Raguel asked her.

"You're not going to like the next part of what I'm about to say," Roxy said. "Should Dr. Genome win, then Go will have to reveal Playmaker's identity to him."

Raguel's eyes widened in shock. "Go knows Playmaker's identity?" This was certainly new information to him.

"I don't fully know. Perhaps Go said it just to draw Dr. Genome out, but if what Go was saying was true..."

"It'll be disastrous for Playmaker should Go lose." Raguel realized. "Do you know where they are?"

"Duh. Of course I do. Their duel is going on as we speak." Roxy stated. "So if I were you, I'd get on that Duel board of yours and start looking around the dome to find them."

Raguel couldn't help but snicker. "Alright, Roxy. Thanks for the motivation. I'll let you know if I find anything." After he said that, Raguel pointed his Duel Disk towards the top of a nearby building and fired his Duel Anchor. He used it as a grappling hook to pull himself to the top. Using the momentum of being pulled, Raguel swung forward and briefly free-fell before landing on his Duel board.

To Raguel's surprise, Stregone was following behind him on his own duel board.

"Stregone?" Raguel asked, turning his head to face the Charisma Duelist. "Why are you following me? Shouldn't you be helping the crowd?"

"I already managed to evacuate the crowd to a safe place somewhere in the dome." Stregone replied. "But they won't be safe unless they're able to log out. I'm here to find the source of this dome and hopefully destroy it." He then added, "Considering how the both of us are fighting against the Hanoi at the moment, why don't we team up?"

"I..." Raguel hesitated. After what happened with Blue Angel, he didn't want to risk losing anyone else against the Hanoi. However, he would consider working with those that went through the Lost Incident, similar to him.

"What this man's proposing is a good idea." Herald said, emerging from Raguel's Duel Disk. "After all, if we're going to find Go Onizuka, then two sets of eyes are better than one."

"Go Onizuka?" Stregone repeated. "Is everything okay with him?"

"He's dueling against Dr. Genome, the one who activated the Data Gale." Raguel responded. "Are you and Go friends or something?"

"That we are." Stregone said with a smile. He then turned his head to look ahead. "Since this matter is affecting my friend, I have to do whatever I can to help. This is why I'm asking if we can team up. At least until this is over."

Raguel relented. "Alright. You look over one area of the dome, and I'll do the same." He then pressed a button on his Duel Disk, causing Stregone's Duel Disk to briefly glow. "If I find Go, then I'll let you know."

"Vice versa." Stregone then sped off on his Duel Board as he searched for Go, while Raguel did the same. After a few minutes of searching, Raguel was the first to be able to find Go and his opponent, who were – wait, what the heck? Raguel rubbed his eyes. Was he seeing things, or was Go wearing a black and white mask with a mane of teal hair on it? He also didn't recognize the monster Go had on his field as well, which also had a mask on.

"Stregone, I found him." Raguel said. "Sending location now." After doing so, he decided to keep his distance. At least until Stregone appeared at his location.

What the hell are you doing, Go? Raguel wondered. Looking at who Go was dueling, Raguel saw someone who had green hair and a yellow and silver mask covering his left eye. This must be Dr. Genome, he thought. Pressing a few buttons on his Duel Disk, Raguel was able to get a visual of the duel field. While Go had Gouki Thunder Ogre, Gouki Dark Mask, and a face-down card, Dr. Genome had a monster called Helix Marmotroll on his field.

"Show me Dark Onizuka's DNA." Dr. Genome said. Raguel couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Seriously? Dark Onizuka? In Raguel's opinion, Grim Gore would have been a better name.

"You won't be seeing nothing!" Go said. "Not after I activate my Spell card, Gouki Poison Mist!" Go sped forward to Dr. Genome and literally spat purple liquid in his face.

"Ow! My ocular!" Dr. Genome said as his life points dropped to 3300. "How can I duel without my vision?"

"That's your problem." Go replied. "You go figure it out, crybaby. While you're busy wiping the goo out of your eye duct, I'll be wiping the floor with you when I use Thunder Ogre's effect!"

Raguel watched as Go used his Thunder Ogre's effect to Normal Summon Gouki Riscorpio, then have it throw Riscorpio at Marmotroll. He immediately understood what Go was doing; since Riscorpio was at Thunder Ogre's Link Marker when it was destroyed, Thunder Ogre became stronger. For a little damage, Thunder Ogre's attack points increased. He also learned that the mask Thunder Ogre was wearing wasn't only just for decoration; it also dealt Dr. Genome damage whenever Thunder Ogre's effect activated. Ultimately, while Go had to suffer a little pain, he obtained a great amount of gain for it.

Raguel frowned to himself. When he dueled against Go, he actually enjoyed his duel with him because of Go's Dueltainment. But this time, Go was using a totally different strategy.

"Roxy, what happened before I showed up?" he asked over the earpiece. "When did Go put on the mask?"

"Right when he activated the Equip Spell card, Gouki Dark Mask, and equipped it onto Gouki Thunder Ogre." Roxy answered. "He said that the mask was him signalling a heel turn."

"A heel – what?"

"A heel turn." Herald clarified. "A wrestling term, where the good guy, or face, becomes the bad guy, or heel. The duelist known as Go Onizuka seems to have invoked a heel turn to show that his dueling style has changed since his duels with both you and Playmaker."

"I was talking to Roxy." Raguel said, turning to Herald. "You didn't have to answer that."

"But as your partner, it's my job to help you when I can." Herald responded, turning to Raguel. As a result, Raguel rolled his eyes.

"Then do me a favor and see if you can enhance the programs on my Duel Disk." Raguel replied.

"And what are you going to do in the meantime?" Herald asked.

"Simple. Watch the duel." Herald grumbled as he disappeared into the Duel Disk. Raguel turned back to the duel, only to see Thunder Ogre punch through a building to destroy Marmotroll. This isn't Man of Steel, Go, Raguel thought as he narrowed his eyes.

He soon overheard Go and Dr. Genome's conversation. "Your heel fighting style is quite fun!"

"I've evolved into Dark Onizuka!" Go declared.

Dr. Genome laughed in response. "You evolved because of your loss against Playmaker?"

"Not just Playmaker, but Raguel as well." Go clarified. "After those duels, everything began to change."

Go looked downwards as he continued. "After my duel with Playmaker, the children in the orphanage idolized me once again. And even after I lost against Raguel, they still looked up to me. When Playmaker and Raguel appeared, they changed this entire generation. In order to defeat them, I studied my deck. And that's when I learned something. My dueling was last generation. Only used for Dueltainment."

Go raised his head and glared at Dr. Genome. "And at that moment, I made my mind! I'll change my dueling style to a dark one and do anything to win! If the crowd seeks overwhelming power, then I'll give it to them! That is my Dueltainment!"

"Is that what you honestly believe, Go?"

Go turned behind him upon hearing the voice. It was Stregone, who was with Raguel.

"Sorry it took so long to find this location, Raguel." Stregone briefly said to Raguel before turning to look at Go. "You once told me that a true champion never abandons their dueling style. Nor do they abandon what's most important to them: their Dueltainment."

"Stregone, I..."

"Go. Listen!" Stregone interrupted. "It's okay if sometimes you lose a duel. It's okay to learn from your mistakes and fine-tweak your current dueling style to keep the crowd entertained." He then narrowed his eyes. "But if you abandon it completely, you're not only giving up on yourself, but you're also giving up on those that look up to you. IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?"

Go's mouth dropped slightly as he listened to what Stregone told him. At that moment, he realized he was right. He couldn't give up on the kids that looked up to him. Not now, and not ever!

He narrowed his eyes and nodded at Stregone. "Stregone. Thank you. I guess I needed that pep talk."

"Anytime, old friend." Stregone replied.

Dr. Genome, who was listening, couldn't help but sigh. "Even if you become a heel, your DNA hasn't changed, and it never will. EVERYTHING IS PREDETERMINED!"

"Stop joking!" Go responded, turning back to Dr. Genome. "I'll decide my own destiny through this duel!"

Dr. Genome smirked. "In that case, I'll be the one to personally show you the limits of your DNA. My turn! I-!"

Though before Dr. Genome could make his move, a Sergeant of Hanoi, along with three Knights of Hanoi, appeared out of nowhere and rode their duel boards so they could be parallel to him.

"Hey, what's-?" Before Dr. Genome could say anything else, his Duel Disk beeped, causing him to push a button in order to answer it. "Yes?"

"I've sent you a small squad to deal with Raguel and Stregone." the voice of Infearno told him. "Per Revolver's orders, Raguel must be eliminated. I also want to see more of Stregone in action as well."

"You do realize I'm in the middle of a duel, right?" Dr. Genome said to Infearno.

"I'm aware." Infearno replied. "Do this, and you'll get to analyze Raguel's DNA first-hand."

Upon hearing this, Dr. Genome's eyes widened. "Very well. I will do it." Turning to the Sergeant, he said, "You and the other Knights take care of Raguel and Stregone!"

"Yes sir!" the Sergeant replied, taking the Knights with him to challenge Raguel and Stregone.

"Hey! What's taking you so long?" Go shouted at Dr. Genome. "Are you going to make your move or not?"

"I assure you, I am going to make my move. Just had to take care of two nuisances whose names were Raguel and Stregone." Upon hearing Dr. Genome say Stregone's name, Go growled. "My turn! I draw!"

Meanwhile, the Sergeant and the Knights charged at Raguel and Stregone, causing Raguel to maneuver his Duel Board to the right, while Stregone managed to maneuver his Duel Board to the left.

"That was a close one." Stregone said. Unfortunately, the Sergeant and Knights drifted their duel boards and started chasing them away from Go and Dr. Genome. "You gotta be kidding me," he seethed as he looked to his left and right side. "They got us surrounded."

"No kidding, sherlock." Raguel replied. "Looks like we got no choice but to duel them ourselves."

"Then why don't I give you a hand?"

Upon hearing the voice, Raguel turned behind him, only to see one of the Knights being pulled by a Duel Anchor. When he saw who was responsible for the Duel Anchor, he was surprised to see Numera.

"Numera?" Raguel asked, making sure whether it was really her or not.

"The one and only." Numera confirmed. "Your client asked me to keep an eye on you, and help you out if possible."

"My cli-?" Suddenly, he realized which client Numera was talking about. Guess you were successful in recruiting her, huh, Watchman? Raguel thought.

"What is this? Get it off me!"

The next thing Raguel knew, out of nowhere, a light-green Duel Anchor was shot out of nowhere, which snaked its way around another Knight's wrist. He recognized that Duel Anchor.

"You're not getting away, Hanoi Scum!" Soon, Raguel recognized SengokuQueen, who quickly sped up on her duel board to face her opponent.

"You too, SengokuQueen?" Raguel asked. "I thought you were-."

"That can wait another time." SengokuQueen interrupted. "For now, SOL gave me a new mission: expunge the Hanoi from LINK VRAINS."

Raguel couldn't help but sigh as he rolled his eyes. Of course the higher-ups told her to fight against the Hanoi. After all, at the moment, they were the biggest threat in the network.

"You work for SOL? Like as a bounty hunter?" Stregone asked her, frowning.

"For now, yes." SengokuQueen confirmed. "I can't let them run free in the network. Which is why I suggest that we work together in taking these guys out."

"That seems like fun." Numera said, smirking. "Each of us takes on one of these buffoons, and once that's done, we'll interrogate them on any useful information they may have."

"I'll have you eat those words, kid!" the Knight growled at Numera.

"Very well." Raguel said. "But be careful, everyone."

"Don't worry, Raguel." Stregone said. "We'll all be fine." The four duelists then went in different directions, leading their opponents away.

At Numera's duel...

"You'll learn to fear the Hanoi's power!" the Knight declared. However, Numera simply yawned in response.

"Oh, sorry. Did you say something?" Numera then giggled before her face turned serious. "When I win this duel, there won't be any trace of you left!"

"Speed Duel!" Numera and the Knight shouted.

Numera: 4000 LP

Knight of Hanoi: 4000 LP

"I think I shall go first!" Numera said, as she swiped her hand in front of her, revealing her cards. She smirked. While I could summon my protector, I want to humiliate this guy first, she thought. "I activate the Spell card, Card Destruction! Now both of us must discard all the cards in our hands before drawing the same amount of cards from our decks!" Using Card Destruction, both Numera and the Knight drew the top three cards from their decks.

"I'll Set three cards face-down and end my turn." Numera concluded.

"That's it? No monsters?" the Knight asked. "This duel will be over in a breeze! My turn! I draw! Since you control no monsters, I can Special Summon Hack Worm!" A mechanical brown worm with green lines running across its body appeared and roared at Numera.

Hack Worm ATK: 400 DEF: 0 LVL: 1

"Next, since I control a DARK Machine monster, I can Special Summon Hack Turtle from my hand!" A mechanical brown turtle with green lines running across its body also appeared on the Knight's field.

Hack Turtle ATK: 0 DEF: 1500 LVL: 4

"Hack Turtle's effect!" the Knight continued. "If it was Special Summoned by its own effect, I can add a DARK Machine monster from my deck to my hand!" Using Hack Turtle's effect, the Knight added Cracking Dragon to his hand.

"I then tribute Hack Worm and Hack Turtle to Tribute Summon my Cracking Dragon!" A black and green mechanical dragon with six bladed wings attached by six glowing lights emerged onto the Knight's field and roared at Numera.

Cracking Dragon ATK: 3000 DEF: 0 LV: 8

"I Set one card! Battle!" the Knight declared. "Cracking Dragon attacks you directly, little girl! Traffic Blast!" Cracking Dragon charged up a stream of blue fire from its mouth at Numera, but...

"I activate my Trap card, Mathmech Superfactorial!" Numera interrupted. "I can target up to three 'Mathmech' monsters in my Graveyard with different names and apply one of two effects! I think I'll choose Effect 1, which lets me Special Summon them from my Graveyard by negating their effects! The monsters I bring back are Mathmech Sigma, Mathmech Addition, and Mathmech Subtraction!"

"You brought back three monsters at once?" the Knight said, shocked as three yellow binary lights appeared on Numera's field, revealing three monsters.

The first monster, Mathmech Sigma, was a red and white robot carrying a bladed sword. The robot had blue eyes, and on the top of its head was two white spikes that were curved.

Mathmech Sigma ATK: 1000 DEF: 1500 LVL: 4

The second monster, Mathmech Addition, was a red robot with a long cape carrying a large, broad sword. The robot had two white spikes on each of its shoulders and two white, slanted horns on the sides of its head.

Mathmech Addition ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LVL: 4

The third monster, Mathmech Subtraction, was a red robot with a huge scarf carrying a slimmer sword. The robot had two white spikes on each of its shoulders and on top of its head, as well as a red spike on its kneecaps.

Mathmech Subtraction ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LVL: 4

"The best part of this effect," Numera continued, "is that I get to Synchro Summon a 'Mathmech' Synchro Monster by shuffling monsters on my field into my deck!"

"What?" the Knight said, shocked at what was going on.

"Level 4 Mathmech Sigma tunes Level 4 Mathmech Addition and Level 4 Mathmech Subtraction!" Numera declared, squealing in excitement for the appearance of her ace monster. A bolt of red lightning appeared as the whole world greyed out and her three monsters disintegrated into particles. Three rings, one yellow and two red, appeared before turning blue and merging. This time, twelve blue rings stacked in a tower appeared, a screen displaying "4 + 4 + 4" in front of them. The screen changed to "12" as light surged through the rings.

"Code, Metal, and Fire combine into one!" Numera declared. "Sigma's ultimate evolution has been reached, and is now ready to incinerate all who oppose it! Synchro Summon! Appear, my protector! Geomathmech Final Sigma!" A massive red and white robot, bigger than its brethren, emerged from the light and on Numera's field in the right Extra Monster Zone, carrying a blazing sword. The robot had shredded pieces of a cape on both its shoulders and its waist.

Geomathmech Final Sigma ATK: 3000 DEF: 0 LVL: 12

"Do you wish to resume your attack?" Numera asked the Knight, as though she were taunting him.

"I cancel my attack," the Knight grumbled, as Cracking Dragon stopped charging energy. "But that doesn't mean you're safe! I end my turn."

"That's what they all say," Numera replied. "My turn! I draw! I activate my two Continuous-Trap cards, which are both called Mathmech Induction! Now all Cyberse monsters on my side of the field gain 500 attack points! And since there's two Mathmech Induction's, Final Sigma gains 1000 attack points!"

Geomathmech Final Sigma ATK: 3000 + 500 + 500 = 4000

"Next, I activate the Equip Spell card, Mathmech Billionblade Nayuta, and equip it onto Final Sigma!" As Numera said this, the sword in Final Sigma's hands changed to a massive blade with ridged spikes at the front. The blade also had a bigger handle, letting Final Sigma wield it with better efficiency.

"Battle!" Numera declared. "Geomathmech Final Sigma attacks Cracking Dragon! At this point, the effect of Billionblade Nayuta activates! By sending a 'Mathmech' monster from my deck to the Graveyard, the equipped monster gains attack points equal to the sent monsters attack points until the end of the turn! I'll send Mathmech Nabla from my deck to the Graveyard so Final Sigma gains its 1000 attack points until the end of the turn!" The Billionblade Nayuta in Final Sigma's hands glowed with fiery energy as Numera sent Mathmech Nabla from her deck to the Graveyard.

Geomathmech Final Sigma ATK: 4000 + 1000 = 5000

"Your efforts are in vain!" the Knight said. "Trap card, activate! Crack Roar!" The card showed Cracking Dragon roaring at Marauding Captain and Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts, causing them to run in terror. "When my opponent attacks a Cracking Dragon I control, your monsters attack points are reduced to zero until the end of the turn! Take this!" Cracking Dragon let out a massive screech at Final Sigma, but...

"Final Sigma's effect!" Numera interrupted. "While he's in the Extra Monster Zone, it's unaffected by card effects, except by 'Mathmech' cards. Go, Heat Shield!" Final Sigma was soon doused in a fiery shield, protecting the massive robot from Cracking Dragon's roar.

"The battle still continues!" Numera said. "Geomathmech Final Sigma attacks Cracking Dragon! Scorching Termination!" Final Sigma charged forward and slashed Cracking Dragon in two, causing severe burn marks on it.

As Cracking Dragon started to overheat, Numera added, "Final Sigma's second effect activates! If it's in the Extra Monster Zone when it battles a monster you control, all battle damage is doubled!"

"CRAP!" the Knight screamed, as Cracking Dragon exploded, causing him to be sent flying off his duel board.

Knight of Hanoi: 4000 – (2000 X 2) = 0

Before he could fall further to the ground, Final Sigma sped forward and grabbed him in its right hand.

"Nicely done, Final Sigma." Numera said, praising her protector before going closer to the Knight. "Now tell me, Mr. Knight. Who's the person responsible for creating the virus that's turning people into Anothers?"

"I won't talk!" the Knight replied.

Numera shrugged her shoulders. "Alright. Do it, Final Sigma!" On Numera's command, Final Sigma squeezed his fist, causing the Knight lots of pain until he yielded.

"Alright, alright. You win! The person who's responsible is-."

In the Hanoi Stronghold, Infearno sighed and opened a screen. He swiped right and said, "Erase."

The Knight screamed as his body turned into black data, causing Final Sigma to let his remains go in surprise as he disappeared.

"Are you okay, protector?" Numera asked Final Sigma, who nodded in response. Seeing that her protector was okay, Numera jumped off her duel board and onto Final Sigma's right hand. "Let's go find Raguel and the others, okay?" At Numera's command, Final Sigma took off.

At Stregone's duel...

"No matter how many of you show up, I won't let you harm LINK VRAINS!" Stregone declared.

"Let's see if you can keep that promise!" the Knight responded.

"Speed Duel!" Stregone and the Knight declared.

Stregone: 4000 LP

Knight of Hanoi: 4000 LP

"The first move's mine!" Stregone declared. "My turn! I activate the Spell card, Pendulum Call! I discard one card, and in exchange, I can add two 'Magician' Pendulum monsters with different names from my deck to my hand!" Using Pendulum Call, Stregone discarded Mythical Beast Jackal to add Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician to his hand.

"I then activate the Continuous-Spell card, Endymion's Lab! While it's in the Spell and Trap card zone, it's name also becomes 'Magical City of Endymion'! Also, each time a Spell card resolves, I can place 1 Spell counter on this card!"

"Now it's time to show you something spectacular!" Stregone said as he selected two cards in his hand. "With the Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and the Scale 8 Timegazer Magician, I set the Pendulum Scale!"

On either side of Stregone's field, two pillars of light appeared. In the pillar of light on his right was a magician with brown hair and dark robes. There were gold-like elements on each of his upper arms, with chrome plating on the lower section of his arms. On his right arm was a disk that fired out a gold, clock-like blade. Timegazer also wore a black magician's cap with a gold-like element on it, as well as metallic plating on his left leg.

In the pillar of light on the left was a magician with long blond hair and white robes with a purple cape. On the magician's chest was black-plating, with four small orbs on either side and a big orb at the center. Like Timegazer, Stargazer also wore a magician's cap, only white. In his left hand, he carried a double-bladed staff, with a massive white circle at the center.

Stargazer Magician Scale: 1

Timegazer Magician Scale: 8

"I activate the Spell card, Pendulum Pot! When this card is activated, I can draw cards from my deck equal to the number of cards in my Pendulum zones. Since I have two cards in my Pendulum zones, I can draw two cards!" After explaining, he drew the top two cards of his deck.

"Endymion's Lab's effect!"

Endymion's Lab SC: 0 + 1 = 1

"Swing far, pendulum! Carve the arc of victory!" Stregone chanted. "With the set Pendulum Scale, I can Special Summon monsters between Levels 2 and 7 at the same time! Emerge, Crusader of Endymion and Frequency Magician!" Soon, a portal opened between the two pillars, out of which two lights appeared. The lights hit the field and then dissipated, revealing two monsters.

The first was a small magician with a light violet cape, a chrome cap on his head and a small black mask covering his eyes. The magician also wore an amice with a chasuble as well. In each of the magician's hands were custom made repulsors.

The second was a dark blue-armored warrior with a Spell-counter circle in the middle of his body. His arms and legs were magically attached to massive blue armor on each side. He also wore a blue helmet with gold outlines as well.

Frequency Magician ATK: 800 DEF: 400 LVL: 2

Crusader of Endymion ATK: 1900 DEF: 1200 LVL: 4

"Level 2 Frequency Magician tunes Level 4 Crusader of Endymion!" Stregone declared. A bolt of green lightning struck him as the world greyed out and his two monsters disintegrated into particles. Two rings, one yellow and one dark blue appeared before turning blue and merging. Six blue rings stacked in a tower appeared, a screen displaying "2 + 4" in front of them. The screen changed to "6" as light surged through the rings.

"The magician of explosive might appears in a flash!" Stregone chanted. "Synchro Summon! Appear, Explosive Magician!" A tall magician wearing white robes with golden outlines was summoned to the right Extra Monster Zone on Stregone's field. Behind the magician were six, golden orbs orbiting around him in a circle. In Explosive Magician's right hand was a small scepter with a pincer at the top of it.

Explosive Magician ATK: 2500 DEF: 1800 LVL: 6

"That ends my turn." Stregone concluded. It may not be the best opening move, Stregone thought, but at least I can defend myself against monsters with lower than 2500 attack points.

"My turn! I draw!" the Knight declared. "I activate the effect of Danger! Bigfoot! from my hand! I reveal it to you, and then you choose one card randomly from my hand to discard. If the card I discarded wasn't Danger! Bigfoot!, I get to Special Summon it from my hand and draw one card! If it's discarded though, I can target 1 card you control and destroy it! Here you go!" The Knight revealed Danger! Bigfoot! from his hand to Stregone before disappearing and showing five cards.

Gotta play this carefully, Stregone thought. Worse case scenario, he'll have a strong monster on his turn. Thinking quickly, he said, "I choose the far right card!" The card in the Knight's hand revealed itself to be Danger! Ogopogo!.

"You may think you're lucky," the Knight boasted, "but now I get to Special Summon Bigfoot from my hand and draw one card from my deck!" A massive, blue and brown-skinned creature with long, brown bushy hair appeared on the Knight's field and growled at Stregone. After doing that, the Knight drew one card from his deck.

Danger! Bigfoot! ATK: 3000 DEF: 0 LVL: 8

"Next, I activate the Equip Spell card, Danger! Feets of Strength! A 'Danger!' monster equipped with this card not only gains 800 attack and defense points, but also cannot be destroyed by card effects! Also, it can attack monsters up to two times! And I choose Danger! Bigfoot!"

Ah crap, Stregone thought, as Bigfoot was surrounded in a red aura, which indicated it was getting stronger.

Danger! Bigfoot ATK: 3000 + 800 = 3800 DEF: 0 + 800 = 800

"From there, I activate the effect of Danger! Thunderbird! from my hand! I reveal it to you, and then you choose one card randomly from my hand to discard. If the card I discarded wasn't Danger! Thunderbird!, I get to Special Summon it from my hand and draw one card! However, in the event it was discarded, I get to target and destroy one Set card you control! Here you go!" The Knight revealed Danger! Thunderbird! from his hand before disappearing and showing four cards.

Come on, Stregone. Think. You're a magician. Figure it out, Stregone thought. He suddenly realized something. It was like a magic trick with a deck of cards. Only this deck had four cards. And one of them was the one he didn't want to pick.

"What are you waiting for?" the Knight asked. "Is this your way of saying you surrender?"

"Definitely no!" Stregone replied. "And to answer your question, I choose the second card in the middle-left!" The card in the Knight's hand revealed itself to be Danger! Thunderbird. "All right! Sayonara!" The Knight gritted his teeth as he sent it to the Graveyard, realizing he couldn't activate its effect because there were no Set cards on Stregone's field.

"Fine, but you asked for this!" the Knight replied. "I activate the effect of Danger! Dogman from my hand! I reveal it to you, and then you choose one card randomly from my hand to discard. If the card I discarded wasn't Danger! Dogman, I can Special Summon it from my hand and draw one card! But if it was discarded, all monsters you control lose 1000 attack points until the end of the turn! Here it is!" The Knight revealed Danger! Dogman from his hand before it disappeared and showed four cards.

"I choose the far left card!" Stregone immediately replied. To his annoyance, the card revealed was not Danger! Dogman. Instead, it was Danger! Nessie!. At least my monster doesn't lose attack points, he thought.

"What a fool you are!" the Knight said. "Now I get to Special Summon Danger! Dogman from my hand and draw one card from my deck!" A large, furry dog standing on its hind-legs appeared on the Knight's field and howled at Stregone. It had a silver, red mane around its neck, as well as bandages on its wrists. The Knight then drew one card from the top of his deck.

Danger! Dogman! ATK: 2400 DEF: 1000 LVL: 7

"It's time to battle!" the Knight declared. "Danger! Bigfoot! attacks Explosive Magician! Brutal Squeeze!" Bigfoot charged forward and gave Explosive Magician a bear hug, squeezing him until he turned into particles.

Stregone: 4000 – 1300 = 2700 LP

"Dogman attacks you directly!" the Knight added. Dogman jumped forward and scratched Stregone, pushing him back before returning to the Knight's field.

Stregone: 2700 – 2400 = 300 LP

Satisfied with the beatdown, the Knight said, "I end my turn. Do you think you can beat this, Mr. Charisma Duelist?"

"We'll find out next turn," Stregone replied. "My turn! I draw!" Stregone drew the top card of his deck and looked at it. Not bad, he thought. "I activate the effect of Pendulum Pot from my Graveyard! By banishing it, I can draw cards equal to the number of cards in my Pendulum Zones! As there's two cards in my Pendulum Zones, I can draw two cards from my deck!" After explaining, he drew the top two cards of his deck.

"Endymion's Lab's effect!"

Endymion's Lab SC: 1 + 1 = 2

"It's time to Pendulum Summon once again!" Stregone declared. "With the set Pendulum Scale, I can Special Summon monsters between Levels 2 and 7 at the same time! Come forth, Mythical Beast Medusa and Mythical Beast Master Cerberus!" Soon, a portal opened between the two pillars, out of which two lights appeared. The lights hit the field and then dissipated, revealing two monsters.

The first monster was a brown, hard shelled gorgon's head with green eyes. The head also had two wispy purple snake heads in front of it, as well as small wispy manes in front and around it.

The second monster was a blue skinned creature with small pieces of armor on its lower body and upper chest. The blue skinned creature wore a thin but long purple cape, had a long blue wispy tail, and had dark blue stripes on its chest. Master Cerberus even had long, blue wispy hair flowing back, along with three spiked horns. In his left hand, he carried a scepter with a Cerberus tail at the top.

Mythical Beast Medusa ATK: 1500 DEF: 1500 LVL: 4

Mythical Beast Master Cerberus ATK: 2800 DEF: 2800 LVL: 8

"I activate my Skill, Pendulum Manipulation!" Green mystical energy started to wrap around Stregone's arms. "For every Pendulum card I have on the field, I get to return one card you control to the bottom of your deck!"

"Seriously?" the Knight exclaimed.

"That's correct!" Stregone replied. "As I have four Pendulum cards on my field, I get to return up to four cards you control to the bottom of your deck! I choose your two monsters and your Equip Spell card!" Stregone then fired green mystical energy from his hands at Bigfoot, Dogman, and Feets of Strength!, turning them into green particles that went back into the bottom of the Knight's deck.

"Oh no!" the Knight said, realizing his field was empty.

"This is it!" Stregone declared. "Battle! Mythical Beast Medusa attacks you directly!" The two wispy purple snake heads in front of Medusa lashed forward and bit the Knight at each of his shoulders.

Knight of Hanoi: 4000 – 1500 = 2500 LP

"Mythical Beast Master Cerberus now attacks you directly!" Stregone added. Master Cerberus fired a blast of blue magic at the Knight, shocking him until his life points hit zero.

Knight of Hanoi: 2500 – 2800 = 0

Unfortunately for the Knight, the attack caused him to lose control of his duel board, causing him to fall into a rooftop pool. Stregone managed to find him moments after as he tried to get up.

"Tell me what the Hanoi's endgame is regarding the Anothers." Stregone stated. "If you do, I'll let you log out peacefully, provided you surrender to the authorities."

"Like I'll talk." the Knight replied, as he fell over. "Just because you defeated me doesn't mean you've won. The Hanoi will come for anyone they declare an enemy, and they'll-."

Soon, the Knight clutched his chest and started screaming. He then turned into black data, which dissolved until there was nothing left.

"Shit." Stregone cursed. Suddenly, there was a massive explosion, causing Stregone to turn his head to the right. "That explosion came from Go's duel. I better check on him." He then sped off on his duel board to the scene of the explosion. Hope that you're okay, Go, Stregone thought. Because if you lose this duel, I will avenge you, no matter what opponent I'm facing.

At SengokuQueen's duel...

"This is your last chance to surrender peacefully!" SengokuQueen declared. "Otherwise, you'll be shown no mercy once our duel begins!"

"Even a woman is no match for the Hanoi!" the Knight boasted, which clearly got SengokuQueen upset. Very upset.

"You mock me just because I'm a woman?" SengokuQueen asked through gritted teeth. "If you want to survive what's to come, you better back up your words with your cards! Because no card will stop a woman's wrath once it's ignited!"

"Speed Duel!" SengokuQueen and the Knight shouted.

SengokuQueen: 4000 LP

Knight of Hanoi: 4000 LP

"The first turn's mine!" SengokuQueen declared. "I Set one card face-down. Next, I activate the Continuous-Spell card, Gateway of the Six! Whenever a 'Six Samurai' monster is Normal or Special Summoned, I get to place two Bushido counters on it. Then I summon Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki from my hand!" A samurai with bronze armor and high boots with yellow lines appeared on SengokuQueen's field, carrying a katana in each arm. The samurai had a bronze mask with wires on his helmet. On the samurai's back was a set of mechanical arms, which also had a katana in each hand.

Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki ATK: 200 DEF: 2000 LVL: 3

"Gateway of the Six's effect now activates!"

Gateway of the Six BC: 0 + 2 = 2

"I activate the effect of Grandmaster of the Six Samurai from my hand! If I control a 'Six Samurai' monster on my field, I can Special Summon this card from my hand!" An old samurai with a mechanical eyepatch on his face where his right eye should have been and a scar on the right side of his face also joined the field. He had long, white hair and a long beard to go with it. The robes he wore were an odd mix of silver-grey in the chest area with dark brown at the shoulders. Grandmaster also had mechanical arms with white lines and wrapped yellow rope at the joints. He swung his katana, ready for battle.

Grandmaster of the Six Samurai ATK: 2100 DEF: 800 LVL: 5

"Gateway's effect!"

Gateway of the Six BC: 2 + 2 = 4

"Kageki's second effect!" SengokuQueen added. "Since I control a 'Six Samurai' monster with a different name, it gains 1500 attack points!"

Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki ATK: 200 + 1500 = 1700

"With that, I end my turn." SengokuQueen concluded. "Now let's see if you're man enough to break through this!"

"You dare taunt me?" the Knight replied. "I'll have you regret those words. My turn! I draw!" He smirked upon looking at his cards. "Since I control no monsters, I get to Special Summon Steelswarm Cell from my hand!" A small black bug materialized on the Knight's field.

Steelswarm Cell ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LVL: 1

"Next, I summon Steelswarm Sting from my hand!" A black hornet with small yellow wings, as well as arms and legs, also materialized on the Knight's field.

Steelswarm Sting ATK: 1850 DEF: 0 LVL: 4

"From there, I activate my Spell card, Double Summon!" the Knight continued. "This card lets me Normal Summon an additional time this turn!" Looking at the cards in his hand, the Knight smirked. "With this monster, your defeat is at hand! I tribute Steelswarm Cell and Steelswarm Sting to Tribute Summon Steelswarm Caucastag!" A giant stag beetle with massive wings, granite-like armor, and red skin appeared on the Knight's field. Caucastag had three curved horns on the top of his head, along with spikes on the back of his shoulders and on his kneecaps.

Steelswarm Caucastag ATK: 2800 DEF: 0

"Caucastag's effect! When it's Tribute Summoned by tributing two 'Steelswarm' monsters-!"

"It won't get to do a thing!" SengokuQueen immediately interjected. "Counter-Trap activate, Musakani Magatama! If you activate a Spell, Trap, or Monster Effect that would destroy a card while I control a 'Six Samurai' monster on my field, I can negate the effect and destroy it!" A dark-green blast fired out of Musakani Magatama, which hit Caucastag, turning the giant stag beetle into particles.

"That won't stop me!" the Knight replied. "I activate the Spell card, Monster Reborn! Now I can Special Summon a monster from either player's Graveyard to my side of the field! Return, Steelswarm Caucastag!" The giant stag beetle roared upon reappearing on the Knight's field.

Steelswarm Caucastag ATK: 2800 DEF: 0

"I Set one card. Battle!" the Knight declared. "Steelswarm Caucastag attacks Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki!" Caucastag flew over and slashed Kageki in two using his claws, turning the samurai into particles.

SengokuQueen: 4000 – 1100 = 2900 LP

"I end my turn," the Knight concluded.

"My turn! I draw!" SengokuQueen declared. "I activate the second effect of Gateway of the Six! By removing four Bushido counters, I can add a 'Six Samurai' monster from my deck or Graveyard to my hand! I add Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki from my Graveyard to my hand!" Using Gateway of the Six, SengokuQueen added Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki from her Graveyard back to her hand.

Gateway of the Six: 4 – 4 = 0

"Once again, I summon Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki from my hand!" The bronze-armored samurai from before reappeared on SengokuQueen's field.

Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki ATK: 200 DEF: 2000 LVL: 3

"Gateway's effect!"

Gateway of the Six BC: 0 + 2 = 2

"Kageki's first effect! When it's Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower 'Six Samurai' monster from my hand. Come to me, Kagemusha of the Six Samurai!" A samurai with dark brown armor and shin pads with yellow lines covering his entire body joined SengokuQueen's field. Unlike his brethren, this samurai's mask was a bit taller vertically, and its mask covered his face up to his eyes. Kagemusha cracked his whip, ready for battle.

Kagemusha of the Six Samurai ATK: 400 DEF: 1800 LVL: 2

"Gateway's and Kageki's effects activate at the same time!"

Gateway of the Six BC: 2 + 2 = 4

Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki ATK: 200 + 1500 = 1700

"Level 2 Kagemusha of the Six Samurai tunes Level 3 Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki!" SengokuQueen boldly declared. A bolt of crimson lightning struck her as the world greyed out and her two monsters disappeared into particles. Two rings, one brown and one green, appeared before turning blue and merging. Five blue rings stacked in a tower appeared, a screen displaying "2 + 3" in front of them. The screen changed to "5" as light surged through the rings.

"The legendary samurai brings fear and death to all his enemies!" SengokuQueen chanted. "Soon, your death shall strengthen his power! Synchro Summon! Emerge from the battlefield, Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En!" A samurai with light crimson armor and golden lines covering his entire body emerged from the light and onto the right Main Monster Zone. This samurai had medium-sized wings with golden lines on his back. On each of his shoulders was a curved spike. His helmet had the Bushido symbol on the top, with the samurai mask having a golden outline. His eyes glowed red as he swung his katana, ready for battle.

Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En ATK: 2500 DEF: 1400 LVL: 5

"Gateway's effect activates once again!"

Gateway of the Six BC: 4 + 2 = 6

"Those monsters aren't strong enough to get past me!" the Knight boasted.

"Not at the moment, but let's see if you say anything after this!" SengokuQueen replied. "I activate my Skill, Bushido Booster!" Several light-green Bushido symbols briefly appeared on SengokuQueen's armor as it glowed red. "I can remove all Bushido counters on the field and target one 'Six Samurai' or 'Shien' monster I control. For each Bushido counter removed, it gains 200 attack points!"

"Seriously?!" the Knight exclaimed.

"That's correct!" SengokuQueen confirmed. "For this Skill, I target Shi En!" The six Bushido counters on Gateway of the Six exited out of the card and went into Shi En's katana, making it glow light-green.

Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En ATK: 2500 + (200 X 6) = 3700

Gateway of the Six BC: 6 – 6 = 0

"Battle!" SengokuQueen declared. "Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En attacks Steelswarm Caucastag! Crimson Slash of Death!" Shi En charged forward to try and cut down the giant stag beetle, but...

"You fool! I activate my Trap card, Wall of Disruption!" the Knight suddenly said. "This card-!"

"Will do nothing!" SengokuQueen finished for him, causing the Knight to gasp. "Shi En's effect! Once per turn, during either of our turns, when you activate a Spell or Trap card, I can negate and destroy it! Trembling Terror!" Shi En quickly jumped forward and slashed Wall of Disruption into two, before cutting down Caucastag and destroying the giant stag beetle for good.

Knight of Hanoi: 4000 – 900 = 3100 LP

"Grandmaster of the Six Samurai attacks you directly!" Grandmaster charged forward and delivered an X-like slash attack to the Knight, causing him to stagger before regaining balance.

Knight of Hanoi: 3100 – 2100 = 1000 LP

"I end my turn." SengokuQueen concluded.

"You'll regret that!" the Knight said. "My turn! I activate my Skill, Double Draw! Now instead of drawing one card from my deck, I can draw two cards!" Upon drawing the two cards from his deck, he smirked. "Just like before, since I control no monsters, I get to Special Summon Steelswarm Cell from my hand!" A second small black bug materialized on the Knight's field.

Steelswarm Cell ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LVL: 1

"I now tribute Steelswarm Cell to Tribute Summon Steelswarm Girastag!" An orange-skinned stag beetle with a cannon for a right arm and a suction-like tail appeared on the Knight's field. Girastag also had two-like pincer horns on his head and chest.

Steelswarm Girastag ATK: 2600 DEF: 0 LVL: 7

"That's a Level 7 monster!" SengokuQueen stated. "You need two tributes to Tribute Summon that monster!"

"That's not the case for Girastag!" the Knight replied. "Girastag can be Tribute Summoned by tributing one 'Steelswarm' monster. And when it's Tribute Summoned by tributing a 'Steelswarm' monster, I can target one card you control and send it to the Graveyard. By doing this, I gain 1000 life points! For this effect, I target Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En!" SengokuQueen gritted her teeth as Shi En vanished into particles and the Knight gained life points in the process.

Knight of Hanoi: 1000 + 1000 = 2000 LP

"Battle!" the Knight declared. "Steelswarm Girastag attacks Grandmaster of the Six Samurai!" Girastag fired a blast of orange energy from it's cannon arm at Grandmaster, making him also turn into particles.

SengokuQueen: 2900 – 500 = 2400 LP

"With that, I end my turn," the Knight concluded.

"If you think I've lost the will to duel just because my ace monster is in the Graveyard, you're wrong!" SengokuQueen said. "My turn! I draw! I activate the Quick-Play Spell card, Six Strike – Bloody Assault!" The card showed Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En slashing through enemies as he was consumed with bloodlust. "I can banish one 'Six Samurai' monster in my Graveyard to Special Summon a 'Six Samurai' monster from my Graveyard whose level is equal to the 'Six Samurai' monster I banished! Also, the Special Summoned monster gains attack points equal to the attack points of the banished 'Six Samurai' monster until the end of the turn!"

"Your card can do that?" the Knight asked.

"That's right!" SengokuQueen replied. "I banish Grandmaster of the Six Samurai, whose level is 5, to bring back the level 5 Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En!" At SengokuQueen's command, Shi En reappeared on her field, only in the Main Monster Zone.

Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En ATK: 2500 DEF: 1400 LVL: 5

"And by banishing Grandmaster, Shi En now gains 2100 attack points until the end of the turn!" SengokuQueen added.

Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En ATK: 2500 + 2100 = 4600

"Gateway's effect!"

Gateway of the Six BC: 0 + 2 = 2

"I activate the first effect of Gateway of the Six! By removing two Bushido counters, a 'Six Samurai' or 'Shien' Effect monster gains 500 attack points until the End Phase! And I choose my ace monster, Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En!" Gateway of the Six glowed light-green, as well as Shi En, powering the samurai up.

Gateway of the Six BC: 2 – 2 = 0

Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En ATK: 4600 + 500 = 5100

"It's time to battle!" SengokuQueen declared. "Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En attacks Steelswarm Girastag! Crimson Slash of Death!" Shi En charged forward and slashed the stag beetle into multiple pieces, destroying the giant insect and causing a huge explosion. As a result, the Knight was sent flying off his duel board, and would have hit the ground had SengokuQueen not fired a light-green net at him, causing him to dangle from her duel board.

Knight of Hanoi: 2000 – 2500 = 0

"Please! Let me go!" the Knight begged her.

"If you want to survive this, tell me who's responsible for turning people into Anothers!" SengokuQueen shouted back.

"Okay, okay! It's-!" Unfortunately for SengokuQueen, that was all the information she could get, as the Knight immediately dissolved in the net, surprising her in the process.

"The Hanoi must have planted a fail-safe in the Knights in the event they lose a duel..." SengokuQueen muttered. "I need to create a program that will keep them alive for interrogation." She then noticed the air pressure die down. Interesting, she thought. She immediately sped off on her duel board, determined to reunite with the others.

At Raguel's duel...

"Raguel, once I defeat you," the Sergeant said, "the Hanoi will be rid of you once and for all!"

"Is that so?" Raguel replied, turning his head to face the Sergeant. "That's what they all say. And hey, I'm still alive and kicking. So unless you make this duel challenging, it's going to be the same result: with you punks hitting the ground!"

"Speed Duel!" Raguel and the Sergeant shouted.

Raguel: 4000 LP

Sergeant of Hanoi: 4000 LP

"I'll go first," the Sergeant said, waving his hand in front of him to see his cards. Excellent, he thought. Let's see if Raguel can stand against this. "I activate the Field Spell card, Kozmotown! Then I summon Kozmo Soartroopers from my hand!" A bamboo in black trooper armor carrying a blaster appeared on the Sergeant's field. It's wings were also metallic.

Kozmo Soartroopers ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LVL: 3

"Soartroopers effect! I can banish this card to Special Summon one Level 4 or higher 'Kozmo' monster from my hand! I banish Soartroopers to Special Summon Kozmo Dark Eclipser from my hand!" Soartroopers vanished into particles, which created a portal above the Sergeant's head. Soon, an enormous black spaceship with red-pink veins all over it, along with slanted wings at the back and a command hull emerged from the portal and hovered above the Sergeant.

Kozmo Dark Eclipser ATK: 3000 DEF: 2600 LVL: 9

"I activate the Equip Spell card, Mirror Coat!" The card showed Kozmo Dark Destroyer being outfitted with metallic, see-through plating. "A 'Kozmo' Machine monster that's equipped with this card cannot be destroyed by battle, and if it's targeted for an attack, you take damage equal to half of it's original attack points!" Raguel grit his teeth as Dark Eclipser was coated in a mirrorlike shield.

"That ends my turn," the Sergeant concluded. "Good luck getting past this!"

"I don't need luck," Raguel responded. "So long as I have my deck, a purpose, and the will to continue on, I can overcome anything! My turn! I draw!" He drew the top card of his deck and looked at the field using his Duel Disk to see Kozmo Dark Eclipser's information. I can't target it for card effects, Raguel thought. And he can negate Trap cards as long as he has Kozmo monsters in his Graveyard. While he hated the predicament he was in, he did like a challenge.

"It seems that you're analyzing the field for once." Herald said, as he emerged out of Raguel's Duel Disk.

"Yeah, and this Sergeant summoned a monster that might be stronger than Cracking Dragon." Raguel replied. "Still, there's always a crack in someone's strategy."

"That we can agree on."

Going back to the duel, Raguel said, "First, I activate the Spell card, Cyreath Treasure! This card allows me to draw 2 cards, in exchange for discarding 1 'Cyreath' monster from my hand!" Raguel discarded Cyreath Wandering Soul from his hand and drew two cards. "I activate the effect of Cyreath Chiron from my hand! By revealing this card, I can Special Summon it, as well as one 'Cyreath' monster from my Graveyard! In exchange, I can only attack with 'Cyreath' Link monsters this turn! And the monster I choose to bring back is Cyreath Wandering Soul!" A misty illusion of a man with mist running through his body appeared on Raguel's field.

Cyreath Wandering Soul ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LVL: 1

Then a creature with the upper body of a man and the lower body and legs of a horse joined his Cyreath comrade. He had long brown hair tied into a ponytail at the end, along with green eyes. He also wore an archaic style of dress with leather armor being clad onto it. He strung his bow at SengokuQueen.

Cyreath Chiron ATK: 2100 DEF: 1600 LVL: 6

"Appear, the circuit showing the highest mountain!" A Link Portal appeared ahead of Raguel. "The summoning conditions are two 'Cyreath' monsters! I'll set Cyreath Wandering Soul and Cyreath Chiron in the Link Markers!" Chiron went into the bottom arrowhead, while Wandering Soul went into the bottom-right arrowhead.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Emerge! Link 2! Cyreath Laelaps!" A white-colored dog with orange spots throughout his body was summoned to the right Extra Monster Zone of Raguel's field.

Cyreath Laelaps ATK: 1000 LINK-2 ⬇️↘️

"I activate the effect of Wandering Soul from my Graveyard!" Raguel continued as he thrust out his right hand. "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 and was summoned to the Main Monster Zone Laelaps was pointing to.

Cyreath Wanderer Token ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LVL: 1

"Appear, the circuit showing the highest mountain!" Raguel shouted, as a second Link Portal appeared ahead of him. "The summoning conditions are two or more 'Cyreath' monsters! I'll set Cyreath Laelaps, which is a Link 2 monster, and the Cyreath Wanderer token in the Link Markers!" Laelaps split into two and went into the top-left and top-right arrowheads, turning them red. Meanwhile, the Cyreath Wanderer token went into the bottom arrowhead, turning it red.

"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 ↖️⬇️↗️

"Laelaps' effect! Since it was used to Link Summon a 'Cyreath' Link Monster, all monsters you control lose 1000 attack points until the End Phase!" A silhouette of Laelaps appeared as the dog sped forward, jumped onto the ship, and bit deep into the ship, ripping out circuitry and damaging it's systems in the process.

Kozmo Dark Eclipser ATK: 3000 – 1000 = 2000

"Hercules' effect!" Raguel added. "Monsters this card points to lose 500 attack points! Nemean Roar!" Hercules let out a massive roar, which hi Dark Eclipser and caused the massive spaceship to steer off course before regaining control.

Kozmo Dark Eclipser ATK: 2000 – 500 = 1500

"Your moves are useless!" the Sergeant interrupted. "Because of them, you can only attack with Link Monsters. And in case you forgot, thanks to my Mirror Coat, my monster will survive, and you'll take damage equal to half of it's original attack points!"

"That's why I'll defeat you in one turn." Raguel replied as he narrowed his eyes at the Sergeant, making him gasp in surprise. "I summon Cyreath Nymph!" A blue-skinned, four winged creature with two stubby legs and a small beak, along with a spiked tail, appeared on Raguel's field.

Cyreath Nymph ATK: 1500 DEF: 1500 LVL: 4

"If Nymph is Normal or Special Summoned while I control a 'Cyreath' Link Monster," Raguel explained, "I can destroy one Spell or Trap card on your field. And I choose Mirror Coat!" The Sergeant gasped as Nymph flapped its wings, generating a small windstorm that blew Mirror Coat off the field, turning it into particles in the process.

"From there, I activate the Spell card, Cyreath Empowerment! By tributing 1 'Cyreath' monster, another 'Cyreath' monster has its attack and defense points doubled until the end of the turn! I'll tribute Nymph, so I can double Hercules' strength!" Nymph vanished into particles, which were absorbed into Hercules as he increased his strength.

Cyreath Hercules ATK: 2500 + 2500 = 5000

"Battle!" Raguel declared. "Cyreath Hercules attacks Kozmo Dark Eclipser! Nemean Strike!" Hercules jumped onto Dark Eclipser, punching the ship and causing massive damage. He then ran forward to the command hull, jumped, and pulled his right hand back before smashing it right off the ship. By the time he landed on the ground, Dark Eclipser suffered so much damage that it exploded, causing the Sergeant to stagger to try and maintain control of his duel board.

Sergeant of Hanoi: 4000 – 3500 = 500

"How dare you!" the Sergeant exclaimed. "I activate Dark Eclipser's-!"

"There's no point activating your monster's ability if you don't have any life points left!" Raguel suddenly said. "Hercules' second effect! If it destroys a monster whose attack points are different from its original attack points, you take damage equal to half the destroyed monsters original attack points! Nemean Rage!" Hercules turned around at the Sergeant, not completely finished with his task. Seeing this, the Sergeant tried to speed up to get away, but Hercules jumped forward and punched him so hard he was sent flying off his duel board and straight to the ground below.

Sergeant of Hanoi: 500 – 1500 = 0

"Damn you..." the Sergeant muttered as he tried to get up. However, Raguel quickly leapt from his duel board to where the Sergeant was and grabbed him by the collar.

"Tell me where Revolver, Infearno, and Dancho are!" Raguel demanded.

"Like I'm talking!" the Sergeant said back.

"Leave this to me, Raguel!" Herald suddenly said, as he turned into his hydra form and roared at the Sergeant, scaring him. "Answer his question NOW!"

"Okay, okay! They're at-AAH!" Raguel and Herald gasped in surprise as the Sergeant dissolved into black data, which reduced him until there was nothing left. In the Hanoi Stronghold, Infearno scowled at the monitor. He was starting to get annoyed at purging those idiots.

"Damn..." Raguel muttered, as Herald reverted back to his original form. "Guess the Hanoi had a contingency in place to prevent anyone from talking."

"Which will make it harder to find them." Herald agreed with him.

"I know." Raguel looked up and was surprised at what he was seeing. "The dome's gone." He then put his right hand on his earpiece. "Roxy, did Go win his duel against Dr. Genome?"

"Yup!" Roxy confirmed as she saw the news. "Playmaker showed up too. And after he did, Go summoned a new Link 4 monster: Gouki the Master Ogre."

"The Master Ogre?" Raguel repeated. He narrowed his eyes. "Alright. Send me Go's location. And if Playmaker's there, I need to talk to him as well."

"Got it." After receiving Go's coordinates from Roxy, Raguel got back on his duel board and headed towards Go's location.

Elsewhere, in LINK VRAINS, following Go's duel...

"Now where's that antidote?" Go muttered as he leaned over Dr. Genome and reached into his jacket. Within moments, he pulled out a glowing green card. "This better work. Don't you be pulling a fast one on me, understand?"

"Despite what you may think," Dr. Genome said, "I am a man of honor." He turned to face Go. "As are the rest of the Knights of Hanoi."

"You want to tell me where the honor is in deleting folks and destroying lives?" Go rebutted back. "You Hanoi are the true heels of this arena!"

Hearing this, Dr. Genome chuckled. "Though you've claimed to have evolved, your comprehension hasn't evolved at all." After saying that, his body turned black and broke into pieces of data. Just like the others before him, he too had been purged.

In the Hanoi Stronghold, Infearno bowed his head upon seeing Dr. Genome get purged on the monitor. Genome, he thought. Your sacrifice won't go to waste. After we obtain the Ignis from Playmaker, all of us will bring you back. Back to a world without the Ignis. He then looked at four other monitors, which showed the duels against Numera, Stregone, SengokuQueen, and Raguel. Clicking onto Raguel's first, he noticed something come out of his Duel Disk during his attempted investigation on the Sergeant. No AI can turn into a creature like that, he pondered. Widening his eyes in realization, he replayed the moment when the AI turned into the creature in slow motion. Pressing the pause button, he saw a shape that was very familiar. So you have one too, Raguel. He smirked. Now that Raguel had an Ignis, the stakes were higher than he ever anticipated. I look forward to our next duel, Raguel. One where you will lose, both physically and mentally.

Go stood in the intersection of the street, while Playmaker stood behind him. Both looked up as Stregone jumped from his duel board and onto the ground.

"Everything alright, Go?" Stregone asked, as he ran over to Go. "I saw an explosion, and-."

Go put a hand on Stregone's shoulder. "I won. I got the antidote." Hearing this made Stregone sigh in relief.

"Great to hear." He turned to Playmaker. "So you're Playmaker," he said, walking up to him and offering a hand. "I'm Stregone." In response, Playmaker looked at it with a deadpan look.

"What Playmaker meant was that it's nice to meet you sir!" Ai said, emerging out of Playmaker's Duel Disk and giving Stregone a scare.

"There you guys are!" Raguel shouted out of nowhere. Everyone looked up as Raguel landed his duel board at their location. "Happy to see you've won, Go."

"Thank you." Go responded, nodding at Raguel in the process. He turned to Playmaker. "Hey, Playmaker. Did you really come here to watch me lose? Or was it some reverse psychology stuff a manager would pull on me?"

Raguel couldn't help but roll his eyes as Stregone tried to calm Go down. Seriously, he thought. You came all this way just to watch Go lose? Come on, Fujiki. You can do much better than that.

"Does it matter?" Playmaker calmly responded.

"What exactly are you thinking? Of course it matters!" Go shouted back. "Because taking it one way means we've got a problem. But taking it the other way, we can work together and take care of a problem called Hanoi!"

"Mr. Onizuka makes a good point, Playmaker." Out of nowhere, Final Sigma landed on the ground, carrying Numera in his right hand. Except for Raguel, everyone was startled by Final Sigma's appearance as Numera hopped to the ground, the massive robot turning into particles in the process. "If we were to coordinate our efforts, taking out the Hanoi will be done in a faster, more efficient rate."

"What the-? What the-?" was all Go could say, as he was still too freaked out by Final Sigma's sudden appearance.

"That's a Cyberse monster, isn't it?" Playmaker said, as he walked towards Numera. "How did you get it?"

"Yeah!" Ai added, crossing his arms. "How did a little girl like you get those cards?"

"I don't think I'll answer that question to an Ignis like you." Numera replied, shocking Playmaker and Ai in the process. Before Playmaker could ask any more questions, SengokuQueen jumped down from a nearby building and joined the group.

"The Hanoi!" she said. "They got a purge program in all the troops. To stop them from talking."

"The same thing happened to me." Stregone said, with Numera and Raguel nodding in agreement.

"I agree with what all of you are saying," Raguel said as he looked at Go, Playmaker, Numera, Stregone, and SengokuQueen. "If we share information with one another and plan efficiently, we can stop the Hanoi from attacking anymore people." Turning to SengokuQueen, he said, "I understand you have a contract on Playmaker and me for our Ignis's. But until then, it's best that we put aside any differences we have for each other and work against our common enemy. The Hanoi."

"Not a bad pep talk," Stregone commented. "Not bad at all."

Go then turned to his left. "What about you, Blue Angel? You up for taking down the Hanoi?" he asked. Everyone turned to look as Blue Angel turned the corner, a serious expression on her face. Looking at Raguel, she gave a small smile. He didn't change his expression as Playmaker turned around. They were all ready. Ready to throw down against the Hanoi.

Card Gallery

Hack Turtle (LVL: 4/Machine/Dark/ATK: 0/DEF: 1500)

Effect: If you control a DARK Machine monster: You can Special Summon this card from your hand. When this card is Special Summoned by its own effect: You can add 1 DARK Machine monster from your deck to your hand.

Crack Roar (Normal Trap card)

Effect: When your opponent's monster attacks a 'Cracking Dragon' you control: You can reduce that monster's ATK to 0 until the End Phase.

Mirror Coat (Equip Spell card)

Effect: Equip only to a 'Kozmo' Machine monster you control. While this card is equipped to a 'Kozmo' Machine monster you control, the equipped monster cannot be destroyed by battle; also, if it's targeted for an attack, inflict damage to your opponent equal to half of its original ATK.

Six Strike – Bloody Assault (Quick-Play Spell card)

Effect: Target 1 'Six Samurai' monster in your GY; banish 1 'Six Samurai' monster whose level is equal to the targeted 'Six Samurai' monsters level, and if you do, Special Summon it from your GY, and if you do that, the 'Six Samurai' monster Special Summoned gains ATK equal to the monster banished by this effect until the End Phase.

Cyreath Nymph (LVL: 4/Cyberse/Wind/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1500)

Effect: When this card is Normal or Special Summoned while you control a 'Cyreath' Link Monster: You can destroy 1 Spell or Trap card your opponent controls.

Cyreath Laelaps (LR: 2/Cyberse/Earth/ATK: 1200/⬇️↘️)

Effect: 2 'Cyreath' monsters. When this card destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the GY: You can draw 1 card. If this card is used for the Link Summon of a 'Cyreath' Link Monster, all monsters your opponent controls lose 1000 ATK until the End Phase.

QOTC

What is one duel you want to see in this story?

Chapter Preview

Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: Obscured Truth. Chapter 14: Unhappy Beginnings. In an effort to help Aoi find a reason to duel again, Yuhiro takes her to the place where he grew up: The Den City Shelter. There, Aoi learns the truth about how Yuhiro came to the shelter from the manager, who's known him for a long time...

Responses to Reviews and Authors Notes

Thank you to And then the Sky, yuman28, Unnamed, Noobmaster, Unknown, Anonymous, HunterHQ, Guest, Unknown, Divadix999, Tragedy, and Guest for reviewing Chapter 12 of Obscured Truth.

Before I begin, I just want to thank everyone for their patience in waiting for this chapter to be released. The reason why it took so long was because I underestimated how long each of the four duels would be. It was also my first time writing a duel for the Danger! and Steelswarm archetypes, so I hope you enjoyed seeing them in action. If you have any tips or combos for them, I would appreciate them anytime. With that out of the way, let's talk about what happened before going to reviews.

The main thing that happened here was Go's duel against Dr. Genome. While that was happening, Raguel and Stregone were ambushed by a group of Knights led by a Sergeant, only for Numera and SengokuQueen to arrive and lend a helping help.

This led to four duels happening as a result. Following those duels, the group agrees to work together against the Hanoi.

Before I go to reviews, I want to make a small announcement. The next chapter won't be released next week, as I have a midterm and project coming up, which takes priority. However, the good news is that, if everything goes well, I'll be able to release Chapter 14 before the Family Day weekend and Chapter 15 afterwards. This is because I got a whole week off following Family Day Weekend before going back to school for the second half of the semester.

I also want to advertise a story for any ARC-V fans reading this story. It's called Pendulum of Hope, written by Gentyman. Basically, the story is a What If? Story, where Yuto is the main protagonist instead of Yuya. I encourage you to read it, as it's quite interesting.

Anyhow, let's get to the reviews.

And then the Sky: From what you're saying, I do understand your concern regarding links. Rest assured that they will disappear over time, especially once Season 2 rolls around. I'm glad that you like the new OC characters that recently appeared. Stay tuned, as they'll have character development throughout the story.

Yuman28: Glad that you liked the chapter. Don't worry, you'll see more of Stregone as the story goes on. I put the joke regarding the secretary in, hoping people would see it. I'm glad you found it funny.

Unnamed: Yes, Stregone will use Supreme Arcanite Magician. I hope you liked seeing the Danger! archetype appearing in this chapter for the first time.

Noobmaster: Assault Mode monsters are indeed splashable in decks that can use them. I have one planned to appear in Season 2, that's what I'll tell you.

Unknown: What I'll tell you is this: Unless I change my mind for a specific card, all cards will have their anime effects. If I answer your question, then I'd be spoiling my plans for future seasons to come.

Anonymous: If you're curious as to what Watchman will do, you'll have to keep on reading to find out.

HunterHQ: Progleo's acting like a dog at the moment because of the program he ate (it was mentioned in Chapter 10 that Roxy snuck it in his mini cheeseburger). Don't worry, you'll see him acquire traits from other animals as the story goes on. I do have a plan for Ai and Herald to chat again soon, so rest assured. Also, Dancho has indeed fallen from his path of honor, which makes him one of the key characters in the Another Arc. And to answer your question, Specter and Infearno were debating on whether to utilize Assault Mode Activate and Synchro monsters in the fight against Playmaker.

Guest: Looking at your reviews, I had Stregone use Timegazer and Stargazer to show that he was a Charisma Duelist. One that is like a magician. And to answer your question, all I'll say is this: The Sky's the limit.

Unknown: Herald said that he, the 8th Ignis, and Cyberse monsters escaped thanks to Watchman. As to what the 8th Ignis is doing, you'll have to keep on reading. Also, Herald was sealed in Yuhiro's pendant by Watchman to keep him safe until the time was right.

Divadix999: Be patient, my friend. All your questions will be answered as the story goes on.

Tragedy: Yes, Miyu was put into a coma by Lightning. But the one she's in right now was because of what she experienced when she was young (her first coma. If you're curious, read Chapter 4).

Guest: Don't worry. I'll address that when the time comes.

Please let me know what your thoughts were about this chapter. Also, if you have questions, opinions, or concerns, put them down in your reviews as well. If you know anyone who might enjoy the story, then I encourage you to spread the word about it. I also encourage you to follow and like the story so that you'll receive notifications on when I'll update the next chapter. As always, constructive criticism is welcome because it helps for improvement. See you next time!