It had been at least five days, three-hours, and thirty-nine minutes since Zane's encounter with the test-duelist. He had been researching, every single bit of info avalible on Kaiba Corp's new project. No matter what word-combination he used in the search engine-nothing came up regarding who 'The Vagabond' really was. It made him feel constantly on edge, knowing his birthright was being used by somebody other than himself, or Syrus. Then there was that mysterious card, taunting him every-time he looked at it. Zane had tried everything to decipher it, but to no avail. His eyes flickered to the top right of his computer screen, and he realised he had stayed up way too late. He pushed himself up from the chair, and proceeded towards the kitchen, and just as his fingertips touched the cool metal of the fridge-a sharp pain rattled his skull, as a memory re-surfaced.

"A plain sandwich huh? You want me to eat it now?"

"….."

"You don't talk much, do you?"

"…."

"At least tell me your name?

Zane was brought back to his present reality, and as if fate itself was mocking him; a plain peice of bread fell onto the floor the moment he opend the fridge door. He sighed, bending down to pick it up, winding himself back into his swirling thoughts. He brushed three fingers against his forhead, as if to soothe a headache. He had to pull it these fragments of memories that seemed to mock his ignorance, also served as a fuel, pushing him onward.

The sun had set and risen twice, and right outside the main building of Kaiba Corporation, a rather long line of duelists had gathered outside the front entrance, which was heavily guarded. Among them stood Zane, his stance resolute, clutching the mysterious card tightly in his hand. He was soon approached by a Kaiba Corp employee, who wore an expression of duty rather than interest.

It was the job of every marketing staff member to know all of the top pro duelists and their decks. A very plain-looking woman with orange spectacles surveyed the crowd for any known pro duelists, and then her eyes landed on Zane. She pressed the communication device in her ear. "Pro-Duelist Code: 7345 has been spotted, approaching now. Over," she stated. The closer she got to the infamous 'Kaiser Ryo,' the more she felt intimidated by his presence. "Mr. Trusedale, because you are a pro, you can skip the queue and proceed directly to the speed-duel testing area," she said, with a level tone.

Zane raised an eyebrow at the words "speed-duel." He had heard rumors of the new format but had never played it himself. "Humph... fine..." he replied, with a dull edge. He followed the woman towards an entrance marked "Pro Access." Then, once he went through the door, he saw a flash of Vagnabond, only for it to vanish seconds later. "So do all Kaiba Corp employees vanish into thin air?" he snarked. The dimly lit corridor opened into a vast arena, where the atmosphere buzzed with anticipation.

The employee let out a small cough, as she was unsure how much she could say regarding the Vagnabond. "There must be a glitch in the holographic system. Now, if you will follow me, Mr. Trusedale, I will take you to the duel area where you will be facing off against Evan. You will also get a breakdown of how to play Speed Duels, and a deck will be provided to you," she said flatly.

"Humph, so you're not letting me use my own deck?"

"It's not just you; all Pro-Duelists are given a much more basic and simplified version of their standard duel deck. Anyway, if you go down that hallway to the left, it will lead you to the speed-duel arena," she replied dryly, pointing in the direction of the hallway.

Zane proceeded down the hallway until he reached a set of double doors, where he was handed a deck of twenty cards by a KaibaCorp employee. The arena was a lot smaller than he was used to; there seemed to be fifty people, maybe a hundred at most. As he approached the center of the stage, a holographic monitor appeared in the center. The screen showed a tutorial on the new format.

When the tutorial was finally finished, Zane realized that it really was just a simplified version of master dueling. He looked over towards his opponent and raised an eyebrow. The teen had short brown hair and was wearing a red Duel Academy uniform. "Heh, it's been a long time since I duelled a Slifer," he mused, a hint of nostalgia in his voice.

The moment Evan had realized who his opponent was, he was overwhelmed, feeling a mix of awe and anxiety. Zane Truesdale was a legend—a duelist known for his skill and power. Evan adjusted his grip on the Kaiba Corp-issued deck nervously. He waited for the announcement of who would make the first turn. He knew it would be all over if Zane got the first turn, so he silently hummed and hoped to be given the first turn

Zane just stood there, quietly, contemplating why he was not matched against another pro. Oh well, a duel with a rookie, is still a duel.

Zane/4000 LP

Evan/4000 LP

Evan grinned the moment he heard from the speakers that he got the first turn! Lady Luck was definitely on his side today! He slid his deck into the duel disk and drew four cards. "Just because I'm in Slifer Red doesn't mean I don't have the moves to make you groove! First up, I activate the field spell, Umi!" he proclaimed as he slid the card into the duel disk. He then grasped another card and threw it into the card slot as well. "I bring out the monster LaLa Li-Oon! Thanks to Umi, it gets an additional two hundred attack and defense points!" he said before ending his turn.

"Whatever, It's my turn-I draw!' He stated, as he picked up a card from his looked at his hand, and saw some all too familar cards, and picked one "From my hand, I activate CyberDark Canon's effect, by discarding it to the grave yard, I can bring out another cyberdark monster from my deck." He stated, as he discarded Cyberdark cannon, searched his deck, and selected a card."Come out, Cyberdark Horn! Cyberdark Horn's effect activates! Allowing me to equip it with the CyberDark Cannon, that I discarded earlier. Which increases CyberDark Horn's attack points to 2200! Now go Cyberdark horn, attack!' He exclaimed

Evan trembled slightly, as his monster was destroyed. Surely he could still win,right?

Evan/ 2600 LP

Zane/4000 LP

Zane dident even bat an eyelid at his opponents reaction."Since CyberDark Horn destroyed your monster, Cyberdark Cannon's effect activates! It allows me to send a Cyberdark monster to the I-send Cyberdark Claw to the graveyard, and end my turn.."he said, flatly.

Evan exhaled a deep breath, and drew a card. His face fell,when he realised he could only play a monster."I bring out The melting shadow" and end my turn.

Zane, drew another card, and then imidiattly played it,"I bring out, CyberDark Edge! I activate its effect, and equip it to Cyberdark Claw, bringing its attack points up to 2200! Now go, Cyberdark Edge! Destroy his monster!'

Evan/ 1150 LP

Zane/4000 LP

Evan, cringed as he realised that he never had a chance to begin with. He covered his eyes with his sleeve, as Cyberdark Horn attacked directly, and reduced his life points to zero.

Evan/ 0000 LP

Zane/4000 LP

Evan fell to his knees in defeat, once again Lady Luck had let him down again.

Zane deactivated his duel disk, and turned his back on the Slifer. He simply walked away, without saying a single word. The duel had been nothing, but a complete waste of his time! He exited the arena, and went back the way he came, down the same hallway, until he arrived outside where the queue of duelists had only gotten larger.

Meanwhile, inside the virtual world of duel-links, the Vagnabond was trying to make minor,adjustments to virtual card-shop. Something had gone wrong with the inside-out tracking, and after checking each camera, she finally locked onto the actual problem. There was something that resembled a small tear, and it had a light purple glow to it. When she reached out her fingers to touch it, a strange noise that sounded like blades being clashed together, rang throughout her ears. Then the noise slowly, started to take form, and morph into high-pitched, words.

"Eter..incomplete…need…"

The strange noise suddenly vanished, just as quickly as it appeared. The Vagabond pulled her hand back quickly, eyes darting around as if expecting something more, and yet there was nothing..