Wind blew through her dark hair as she jumped off of the city bus and began sprinting down the sidewalk. A massive smile sprawled across her face as she practically danced around the slow moving people, careful to keep the box in her arms tightly pressed to her chest. The white bag that surrounded her new treasure was a stark contrast against her dark skin.
"Hey, Whitney! Slow down! You're going to knock someone over if you aren't careful!"
"Can't," Whitney Youngson replied breathlessly, grinning from ear to ear at one of her neighbors before skidding to a halt at her family's front door and struggling with the lock. "It finally came out today! I can't wait to get it booted up and hop online!"
"Wait, that's today?!" Her neighbor stared in awe at the box in Whitney's arms. "How many VR's did they have left?"
"Plenty. If you hurry you should still be able to get one in time to watch the opening ceremony. They are going to pick two lucky players to officially kick off the game with an opening duel. See ya!"
Whitney slammed the door shut before taking off up the stairs for her room. Leaping onto her bed, she pulled the box out of the bag and quickly had the VR headset out of its casing and plugged in to the wall to charge. She breezed through the user's manual, memorizing every little aspect of the piece of equipment before placing the headset on her head and adjusting it until it fit comfortably. Hitting the power button, she held her breath to keep from squealing with joy as the start screen lit up across her vision.
'Welcome to Duel Links,' the words read. Whitney laid back on her bed as she went through the character creation screen, the neural link, and finally the username creation screen.
"W. Y. O," Whitney's virtual fingers selected each letter. As soon as she confirmed the name Wyo as her username another screen appeared with dozens of starter decks to choose from. "Which one... warriors? Or maybe dragons? No... oh! This one! Spellcasters!"
Her surroundings slowly faded to black before being replaced with a fantasy city already full of players. Several were going through their menu screens inspecting their decks, viewing additional screens such as equipment and inventory. Deciding to hold off on exploring the menus until later she wandered around, gawking at the amazingly detailed virtual world around her.
She weaved through the crowds as she made her way deeper into the city, eventually arriving at her destination. The coliseum rose high above every other building, and by the sounds of things was already full of excited players waiting for the kick off duel to begin. Wyo quickly made her way inside and managed to find a spot close to the stadium's floor for an up close view of the duel.
Hundreds of thousands of voices blurred together into a deafening rumble all around her. Everyone was just as excited as Wyo was for the event to begin, officially kicking off the start of the virtual world. Glancing around, Wyo noticed several people barely containing their excitement. From a petite looking girl with strikingly white hair and deep blue eyes bouncing on her toes as she waited to what appeared to be a brother and sister duo who could have passed as identical twins had it not been for the girl's long hair.
"How much longer are we going to have to wait, Beret?" The young man asked, crossing his arms. His sister draped and arm around his shoulders and gave him a shake.
"Relax, 'Ranger'," Beret replied, trying and failing to soothe her brother's irritation. "It'll start when it starts. Just sit back and relax until then."
Wyo returned her focus to the middle of the stadium as the lights dimmed and a single spotlight illuminated a lone announcer.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Duel Links!" He cried out before quickly being drowned out by wave after wave of cheers from the crowd. Wyo began to lean in to get a better look, eager to hear more, when a late arrival stumbled down the row and fell into her lap.
"What's up you eager #%$&?" The stranger casually asked, looking up into Wyo's eyes before frowning. "What the #%$&? Am I being #%$&ing censored? What kind of #%$&ing bull#%$& is this?! I want my money back!"
"U-Umm... who are you?" Wyo asked, confused as the spectacled, pasty pale redhead in her lap continued cussing up a storm with a series of censored beeps.
"Huh?" The girl looked back at Wyo and smiled. "Oh come on. You don't recognize me? I mean sure, I gave my character a bit of a touch up, but it shouldn't be that hard to figure it out."
"Uhhhh... wait, Helen?!"
"Ding ding ding! But it's Hela here. I couldn't do Hel like I wanted, the game considers it a bad word too closely related to... you know what, forget it. Too much censoring going on for my likes. I swear, if my deck gets censored once I get it completed I'm out."
"Don't be like that," Wyo chided her classmate. "Besides, your deckbuilding is top notch. You can easily use another one and still be competitive."
"That's no fun," Hela kicked her feet in annoyance. As a second spotlight flared to life above them she stopped and looked around. "Hey, Wyo? What's going on. What'd I miss?"
"I don't know." Wyo responded as she glanced around, noticing that all eyes were on her and Hela. Even as Hela moved off of her the light continued shining on her, illuminating Wyo like a deer in headlights.
"Wyo!" The announcer motioned at Wyo again as if her name was the answer to her question. "Oh come on, kid, don't look so stunned. Just get out here."
With a start Wyo realized that she had been selected as one of the lucky two duelists who would officially open Duel Links with a duel. She slowly made her way out into the arena on shaky legs, the roar of the crowd practically beating down upon her as she nervously smiled and waved. Looking back at Hela, Wyo couldn't help but let out a smile and laugh as her friend screamed like a banshee.
"C'mon baby! #%$&ing kill it... #%$&ing censor... Let's go Wyo! WOOOOO!"
"And her opponent for the opening Ceremony Duel shall be...," the announcer called out, waving all around towards the stands as the spotlight traced around the stadium. Wyo watched, unable to breath, as the light came to a halt not five feet from Hela. "...Beret!"
—
Meanwhile, a strange being sat at the top of the colosseum, overlooking the festivities below while data flew across the digital screen in front of its face. A percentage bar slowly filled up in the corner, just passing 48% as data continued to load.
"Soon."
—
Wyo took her place across from Beret, the two women smiling as their duel disks activated on their arms and their decks shuffled themselves into place. They drew their starting hands and prepared to give their all.
"Duel!"
"Duel!"
Wyo - 4000
Beret - 4000
"I'll start things off," Beret exclaimed as she took a card from her hand and slid it into a spell/trap card slot. "I play Reinforcement of the Army. With this I can add any level four or lower warrior from my deck to my hand. And I choose Marauding Captain. Next I'll summon him to the field in attack position, and using his special ability I'll special summon Command Knight in attack position. Thanks to Command Knight's ability all of my warriors gain 400 additional attack, and Marauding Captain will prevent you from targeting my knight as an attack target. I'll set one card face down as well and end my turn."
"I draw, and set one card face down. Next I summon to the field Neo the Magic Swordsman in attack position. Finally, I'll activate the continuous spell card Spell Absorption. Now any time either of us activates a spell I'll gain 500 life points." Wyo's pulse pounded in her ear as she pointed at Marauding Captain, "Neo, attack her captain!"
Wyo's monster rushed forward, blue magic swirling around its sword as it leapt into the air and brought its sword down hard.
"I activate my trap card, Shield Spear!" Beret's facedown card suddenly flipped face up. "Thanks to this my captain's attack and defense raise by 400 each making him more than a match for your wannabe swordsman."
Wyo smiled as she activated her own facedown card.
"I'll counter your trap with this, Magical Dimension! By tributing my Neo I can special summon another spellcaster from my hand, and I choose this lovely lady. Dark Magician Girl!" Wyo could feel the colosseum shake as fan boys and fan girls erupted into a thunderstorm of cheers for their favorite spell casting idol. "Next I get to choose one of your monsters and destroy it with my quick-play spell's secondary effect, and I'll target Marauding Captain."
Beret scowled as her monster erupted into digital dust.
"Don't look so down," Wyo taunted. "Also, thanks to Spell Absorption, I gain 500 life points. And to end my turn my Dark Magician Girl will attack your Command Knight!"
Wyo's monster once more launched an attack, blasting Command Knight to smithereens.
Wyo - 4500
Beret - 3600
Wyo grinned ear to ear as she took the lead, even egging on the cheers from the crowd. As the dust settled and Beret became visible once more, however, her excitement quickly turned to puzzlement and concern. Beret knelt in the dirt, pain sprawled across her features as digital blood dripped from a cut above her eyebrow.
"T-That... That hurt! Why did it hurt?!" Beret wiped at her brow and stared at the blood, shock and fear welling up in her eyes.
Before anybody could speak or cry out a figure materialized between the two duelists. It was scrawny, not much taller than Wyo's shoulder, with purple skin that seemed to be made out of minuscule blocks.
"W-W-Welcome to D-D-Duel L-Linkzzzzz," its voice glitched before what barely passed as a face spread into Halloween pumpkin smile. "I s-see that you'vvvveeee noticed the n-n-new stip-uuuuuu-lation to this w-world-d-d."
"What the #%$& are you talking about you pasty, purple #%$& ¥€?" Hela shouted from the stands.
"And who in the world are you?" Ranger added, anger creeping into his voice.
"It'zzz not who, but what. I am a viruzzz, you see-e-e. And I've in-fezzz-ted this digital world. I've changed the rulezzzz. Made everything more dramatic-ic-ic."
"Screw this. I'm not gonna risk hurting myself and others for your sick amusement," Wyo hissed. Raising her hand she began to bring it down over her life point counter. "I qui-."
"I WOULDN'T DO THAT IF I WERE YOU," the virus buzzed angrily, stopping Wyo mere inches from her disk. "You s-see, if you lozzzze a duel, you d-d-dieee. Still want to f-f-forfeit? Now, pleazzze finish your duel. After that, I'll release the rest of the new rulz to everyone else to brushhh up on."
Wyo stared at her deck, shock numbing her from the inside and making it difficult to think. 'What. The. Hell. This is messed up! I can't... I can't do this! If I lose I die? If I win... I become... a killer. What do I do?!'
She glanced up at Beret and could tell the same was going through her mind. She was weighing her options: win and live or lose and die. No third option. No second chance.
"I... I draw." Beret's eyes filled with tears as she fought with her emotions. "I'll activate The Warrior Returning Alive spell card to return Marauding Captain from my graveyard to my hand."
"I... I gain 500 more life points thanks to that," Wyo stuttered.
Wyo - 5000
Beret - 3600
"Life points... quite literal now, huh? Regardless, I'll summon Marauding Captain back to the field in attack position and then special summon another Marauding Captain, this time in defense position. That will end my turn."
"M-My turn," Wyo struggled to breath, oddly aware of her racing heart pounding in her head in the now quiet colosseum. She drew her card and forced herself to breath. "I'll activate this for now. Sage's Stone! Since Dark Magician Girl is on my field I can special summon Dark Magician from my deck. Finally, thanks to my spell card, I gain 500 more life points. That'll do it for me."
Wyo - 5500
Beret - 3600
Beret drew her card silently, swallowing hard to clear the lump in her throat.
"I'll activate Monster Reborn and bring back my Command Knight, but he won't be around for long as I sacrifice him and my two captains in order to summon Gilford the Lightning!"
Wyo - 6000
Beret - 3600
Wyo watched as Beret's three monster shattered into digital fragments only to be reassembled into a single beast of a warrior. Gilford stood tall and proud as electricity sparked all around. Gripping his sword, he swung hard, sending an electrical blast at the two magicians. They flinched, tried to shield themselves, and were promptly removed from the field in a flash of light.
"My... My magicians!"
"That's right. Thanks to Gilford's ability, because I used three tributes instead of the normal two I was able to destroy all of your monsters. Now, Gilford, attack her life points directly!"
Wyo braces herself as the sword cleaved it's way through her digital body, overloading her neural synapses and flooding her mind with pain.
Wyo - 3200
Beret - 3600
"Stupid... virus... I hope you get deleted," Wyo scowled at the grinning entity as she drew her next card. "I set a monster face down and end my turn."
"Don't worry," Beret comforted, "as soon as we finish this duel I'll make sure it gets its just desserts. I draw, and activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards."
Wyo - 3700
Beret - 3600
"For now I'll summon Mataza the Zapper in attack mode. Next, I'll attack your monster with Mataza!"
Wyo gave a guilty grin as her monster was destroyed.
"You activated Old Vindictive Magician's flip effect. Now, I can target one monster on the field and destroy it, and I choose Gilford."
"No!" Beret cursed. "Fine, Mataza has a special ability as well. You see, he can attack twice a turn. Go Mataza, hit her directly this time!"
Wyo - 2400
Beret - 3600
Wyo hissed in pain as she felt the sting of a blade once more. Drawing her card, she quickly made a plan.
"I'll activate Brain Control. At the cost of 800 life points, cut down to only 300 thanks to Spell Absorption, I can take control of your monster until the end of the turn. Next, I'll sacrifice him in order to summon Cyber Magician. Lastly, I'll attack you directly and end my turn."
Wyo - 2100
Beret - 1200
Beret struggled to her feet, breathing roughly as she drew her potentially last card.
"I'll start off by summoning D. D. Warrior Lady in attack position. Next, I'll activate Premature Burial. By paying 800 life points I get to bring back a monster from my graveyard again, and I choose Gilford! Next up, Gilford will destroy your magician, opening up a path for my Warrior Lady to strike!"
Wyo - 0700
Beret - 0400
"Gah!" Wyo cried out as she fell back into the dirt. Every nerve fiber in her body felt as if it had been lit on fire. Every muscle screamed as she struggled to get to her feet, to draw her final card. Staring at her hand she felt like crying. If what the virus had said was true, the loser would be killed in the real world. Glaring at the virus, Wyo gave it a one finger salute before spitting blood at its feet. "I'm sorry Beret, but I don't want to die. I pray you'll forgive me for this... I summon Silent Magician Lvl 4 to the field!"
"What are you... No... Please don't! Don't do what I think you're about to do!"
"I'm... I'm sorry. I activate the spell card Level Up. With it I can send Silent Magician Lvl 4 to the grave and special summon from my deck its next form. I special summon Silent Magician Lvl 8 in attack position! Silent Magician, attack her D. D. Warrior Lady and end this nightmare!"
Wyo forced herself to watch as Beret's monster shattered into a million bits of data. She watched in horror as her opponent's life points drained to nothing before Beret's body began glitching out of existence. The virus strolled forward and caressed Beret's fading face before swiping its purple hand through her body, scattering the last bits of data into the virtual wind.
"Congratulationzzzz, Wyo. You survvvvvived."
Wyo opened her menu in a rush, scrolling through page after page as she desperately searched for the log out button.
"Where?!" She cried out as tears welled up in her eyes. "How do I log off? I need out of here! I-I need air! Where the #%$& is the log off button?!"
"Did I forge-ge-get to mention? All of you are stuck here. No logging out. Not until your reach the final stage. Not until you beat the final bosssss. Have fun, and don't keep me waiting."
The virus vanished, disappearing into the digital unknown. Wyo dropped to her hands and knees, gasping for breath as she began to hyperventilate. It was only when Hela grabbed her by the shoulders and dragged her out of the stadium did she slowly regain her composure.