"You think Shura is following orders from someone else?" Weisz questioned. After their little adventure, Shiki and the others were able to return to the real world. They were going over what they know so far.

"Well, we don't know what's really going on." Eden said. "All we do know is that isn't acting alone. There must be something much bigger going on. For one, his partner claimed that this wasn't about just Shura's pride despite how much he wanted to win. Also, what was that virtual world we faced him in?"

"That is a good question. When you think about it, why did they go all the way there instead of just logging out?" Rebecca said.

"Rather than getting answers, we only got more questions." Homura said. "Do you think we'll be able to go back to that virtual world and investigate it?"

"I already tried to log back into that place, but nothing really happened." Shiki said.

"There must be some sort of firewall and encryption code preventing us from going back in." Eden said. "If we do wish to go back, we'll have to go in the same way again."

"I'm sure Interstellar is going to make sure we can't do that." Rebecca said. "It looks like all we can do is wait for this Shura to appear again, and I'm sure he will since he wants to defeat Demon King."

"On that note, what about the others?" Weisz questioned. "I still can't believe another one of Drakken Joe's lackies actually lend a hand. I dueled Laguna, and he didn't seem to be as cruel as those other three. Even though I know that, I don't trust him. All three of them worked for Drakken Joe. Can we really trust them?"

"I know how you feel, Weisz, but all three of them were caught up in tough situations that Drakken Joe took advantage of." Rebecca said. "They were kind enough to help us even though they were our enemies. I say we should give them a chance." Weisz didn't know about that. Those three still have ways to go to earn his trust, but are they even going to really help them?

...

Laguna

Speaking of those three; Kris, Kleene, and Laguna were all having lunch together. Now that they seem to have found themselves working together once again, but with good people again, they can at least get acquainted with each other.

"So, you wanted to help them because they were nice to you?" Laguna questioned.

"That's her reason. Not mine." Kris said.

"It's just... It's complicated." Kleene said. "By the way, what is your real name? I only know you by your avatar name. It's fitting since your deck is a water-theme, but what about your real name?"

"You can keep calling me Laguna because it is my real name."

"You used your real name as your avatar name on a virtual social place while you're also trying to be an actor?" Kris questioned. "That doesn't sound very smart. You really shouldn't use your real name online like that."

"I personally see no problem with it." Laguna said. "It's not like ever planned to socialize with those people in Duel Links. Besides, I'm hardly that recognized since I've only done small theater at the moment. Anyway, isn't it going to be a problem helping Demon King like this. I heard Interstellar is after him and his friends. Since we have worked for Drakken Joe, they'll come after us as well. Aiding them won't improve the situation."

"They might come after us regardless." Kleene said.

"Does that mean you'll be sticking around and helping with this Shura? Why? What's in it for you?" Kris questioned.

"I have my reasons." Laguna claimed, but what could those reasons be? At least they're helping Shiki and the others, but for how long will that really last.

...

Interstellar

"How could you not bring them in? How could you allow them to defeat you?" Justice said.

"We didn't allow them to defeat us? They were just better than us." Holy said. The executives of Interstellar were having a meeting to discuss their next move. "They pulled some surprising moves on us that we didn't expect. You lost a duel to Demon King before, so why give us a hard time?"

"Demon King is making a mockery of Interstellar more than anyone else has." Justice said. "We cannot allow this to stand. It's only a matter of time before others start copying his behavior. If he thinks he and his friends are allowed to do some of the stuff they pulled, it's only a matter of time until others do."

"We know that, but we've taken precautions. Besides, those wannabes aren't as skilled as Demon King was." Eraser said. "I have to say that I haven't seen you this fired up about catching someone in a while. The only one you're more passionate about catching is Piratetress." That earned him a harsh glare from Justice. "Did I hit a sore spot?"

"Justice, I know what it's like to be set on catching someone." Holy said. "We'll get our chance eventually. Still, some of the things Demon King has done is nothing compared to what some of the other cyber criminals have done."

"There are no exceptions." Justice said. "Criminals are criminals and they must be punished. Speaking of that matter, where is Cure? Has anyone heard from him? He should be here and helping us out."

"I haven't." Holy said.

"I'm sure he's doing what he needs to do. Demon King isn't our only concern." Feather said as she began to walk out of the office.

"Where are you going?" Eraser questioned.

"The rest of you had a chance to take on either Demon King or his friends. I believe it's my turn." Feather said as she was going to take action herself. The other three might have failed to capture Demon King, but that doesn't mean that she will.

...

Shura

Meanwhile, Shura was working on improving himself. Having lost to Demon King twice, he's even more determined to beat Demon King the next time they meet. He worked himself as hard as he could. He trained with virtual copies and kept attacking each one of them with whatever data he did have on him.

"Demon King!" Shura called. As he stared down at another virtual copy, he felt like the real thing was glaring right at him. Hating that look, he played his card and caused the copy to be destroyed. "I'll show that punk. No one gets the better of me so easily."

"Except that he did get the better of you." Shura turned around and saw whoever it was he answered to. "Do not focus on this single objective. There are other matters that are of greater importance than your pride."

"I'm a duelist! The guy can match my skill, and then beat me! How am I suppose to feel?!" Shura said.

"Shura, do not lose sight of what we are doing. Perhaps you need a break. Go back to the real world and try to distract yourself." Shura would rather keep working until he had a way to beat Demon King, but he can think of a few good distractions.

"Fine, but I'll beat that punk eventually." Shura said before he logged out of there. That left whoever it was he was taking orders from, but two others joined for their own meeting.

"That boy has a one-tracked mind."

"Forget him. When can he move on with the plan?"

"In time. It's too soon. In the meantime, this Demon King is quite the conundrum. If things continue to escalate like this, he could become a problem."

"True... He is the one that managed to defeat Drakken Joe."

"But he will not get in the way of what we have planned. In fact, there's no reason for Demon King to be our enemy. Knowing Interstellar is after him as well, it's possible we can make Demon King our comrade." Something is happening in the shadows, and Demon King seems to be in the center of all of it. Who is really a friend and who is really an enemy?

...

Shiki

A lot has happened to Shiki. He had hoped that he could duel just for the fun of it, but things got so out of control the moment he set foot into Duel Links for the first time. He doesn't regret any of it, but he was hoping things would be better. As he tried to figure it all out, he looked at a photo of his grandfather and wondered what he would do at a time like this.

"Is there something you wish to talk about?" Eden questioned. "I can tell that there's something troubling. Being programmed to help you, you can talk to me."

"I was just thinking what Grandpa would do if he was in my situation." Shiki said. "The reason I started dueling was so I could make friends, but I never thought I would be caught in the type of situations I've been in."

"Yes. It is quite abnormal that your life changed around so drastically." Eden said. "However, I believe Ziggy would stick to the path that he believes in. Maybe Interstellar doesn't agree with the methods you and the others have chosen, but you seem to have good intentions. I might be an artificial piece of intelligence, but I've seen that sometimes the most logical decision isn't always the right decision. By that, I do mean ethically moral. I say you should continue to continue down the road you believe is right."

"For a piece of artificial intelligence, you sure know how to say something with emotional strength." Shiki said as he was really glad that he had Eden by his side.

"And you did sought out what you were looking for." Shiki turned around and saw Rebecca there. "Sorry. I couldn't help but overhear." She said as she sat down next to him. "You did make friends through your dueling. That's how you have me, Homura, and Weisz. If things go well, it will be like that with Kris, Kleene, and Laguna. Having you around has certainly made things better, at least for me."

"Really?" Shiki questioned.

"Yeah. I thought you were a weirdo, but you're actually a really nice guy. Meeting you has also been a lot of fun." Rebecca said. "I got great content for some videos, I got to go to places others haven't seen before, and got to meet interesting people. I wouldn't have traded away any of this." Shiki was glad to hear that. He's really glad he got to meet Rebecca and the others. He might not need to do anything different, but hopefully things will get better.

"Hey! I think I have something!" Weisz called. All of them hurried over to see what he might have.

"What did you find?" Homura questioned.

"Something strange in Duel Links." Weisz said. "I've been searching around in there and noticed something all the way up in the sky section of Duel Links. It's up in the part that's still under construction." He showed them as he brought up a map of Duel Links and showed he found something in the higher area.

"What is it?" Homura questioned.

"Looks like some sort of portal, but that's weird." Weisz said. "Could be some sort of gateway to another virtual world?"

"You think Shura is responsible for this?" Rebecca questioned.

"We don't know enough about what might be going on, so it's possible." Eden said.

"What do you think we should do?" Shiki questioned.

"I think we should investigate, but be cautious. We don't know where that portal might lead. It could also be some sort of trap that Shura has set for us." Eden said.

"Well, I'm not missing the action this time. Let's check it out." Weisz said.

"Agreed. Let's contact Kleene and have the others joined us." Homura said. Sounded like a plan with all of them heading in to check it out.

...

Duel Links

All four of them logged back into Duel Links to check out the portal. They got on their own duel boards and rode their way up to the portal.

"Wow... Look at this place." Aoneko said as she had a look around at the structure that was up there. "What are they building here again?"

"I heard it's going to be another section to visit, like some sort of sky palace." Wiseman said. "They're also going to add other islands for dueling. Since it's still under construction, most duelists don't come up here. Might be the ideal place to set up some sort of ambush." He claimed as he was cautious about this whole thing.

"The portal should be just up ahead." Eden informed.

"I see it!" Demon King said as they could see the portal near a floating structure piece. There didn't appear to be anyone else around. The four of them were about to make it, but that was when someone emerged out of there. It ended up being Feather herself. "Who's that? That's not Shura."

"No! She's with Interstellar! It's a trap!" Eden said.

"Now I have you." Feather said. She snapped her fingers and caused the portal to turn into a vortex. It created an air current that was trying to pull them in.

"Get back!" Kyubi called. The others managed to get out of there, but Demon King was caught in it. He tried to fight out of it, but it was too strong and he was being sucked in. That was when The Rutherford siblings and Laguna appeared and saw the trouble they were in.

"What's going on?!" Jinn called.

"The whole thing was a trap by Interstellar! Don't get too close!" Wiseman warned. They were safe, but Sylph saw Demon King was almost pulled in.

"Demon King!" Sylph called as she acted fast.

"Sylph, stop!" Jinn called, but she kept going. Sylph got in the way and pushed Demon King out of the way, but she was the one pulled instead.

"Sylph!" Demon King called. When Sylph got close enough to feather, a code surrounded the two of them and formed a giant sphere with both Sylph and Feather trapped inside.

"Sylph! Sylph!" Jinn called as he got to the sphere and pounded against it. "Sylph! Can you hear me?! Are you in there?!" He's hoping for an answer, but they couldn't hear or see anything on what was going on in there.

"What do we do now?!" Demon King said.

"I don't know." Eden said as this was bad. Sylph is trapped inside with someone that wants them all arrested, and now she might not be able to get out.