Yugioh/ML Chapter 1

On Marinette

To most, Marinette Dupain-Cheng was an ordinary girl. She wore the popular clothes, had good grades in school, and was a nice, if standoffish girl. Completely and utterly ordinary. The only thing of note about her was that years ago, her parents died in a car crash, so Marinette lived with her father's friend, called Fu Wang.

This was all an act.

While it was true that Marinette's parents had died years ago and she was living with Master Fu, they didn't die in a car crash. They were murdered, and the two of them have dedicated their lives to finding out why, and by whom.

Today, she was ready to take the first step.

…

"You're sure this will work?" Marinette asked. In the physical world, she had black hair and wore a dark gray coat over a white shirt, and pink jeans. She currently stood next to their newest creation, a makeshift chamber that would allow them access to the digital world of Link Vrains. They hadn't bought one from a store as they wished to make their use of the device go unnoticed.

"Cut me some slack, will you?" Fu complained. "I'm an old man! One can't expect me to suddenly learn the intricacies of this newfangled technology so easily!" He had gray hair and wore a red shirt over tan shorts, using a cane to support his frail form. He walked over to a desk, with various computers and controls, set to help guide Marinette when she entered Link Vrains.

The two of them were in Fu's house, an old mansion he had earned from his extensive career as a spy. More specifically, they were in the basement, past a secret compartment he had installed decades ago.

"Master, I know you have several masters in programming and engineering. You've probably invented some of these parts."

Master Fu chuckled. "Alright, alright. Let's get this show on the road, shall we?"

Marinette entered the chamber, duel disk on her arm. Many of the other students in class laughed at the fact that she still had a physical duel disk when nowadays, people could use digital cards stored on the cloud. But Marinette didn't trust that cloud, as it was maintained by Sol Technologies, who her parents were investigating before their death.

"All systems are ready." Fu reported. "You are good to go."

Marinette nodded, then pressed a button to seal the chamber. A set of lights started to flare around her, a multitude of noises blaring. The whole experience was overwhelming, forcing her to shield her eyes. One second it was pandemonium.

The next it was darkness and silence.

At first, Marinette was worried the machine had died. But as she opened her eyes, she saw that wasn't the case. She was in a black void, and a holographic menu hovered next to her. A few feet in front of her, a mannequin stood in a white circle. They'd done it! She was in Link Vrains!

"Marinette! Marinette!" Fu's voice echoed in her head. "Did it work?"

"Yes, Master." Marinette replied. "I'm in Link Vrains. I think I'm in some sort of avatar customization menu."

"Well, don't waste too much time. If we've found that mysterious surge of data, the Knights of Hanoi are sure to have found it too, and we can't let them get to it first."

…

In another mansion, a young blond boy stood over a coffin, with a picture on top of it. The boy wore a white jacket over a black and green shirt, and jeans. "Father, I swear, the Kwami will pay for what they've done to you. I'll make sure of it, if it's the last thing I do."

One of the boy's underlings burst through the door, then quickly knelt down in respect. "Master, we've identified the surge of data and confirmed it against our records. Somewhere in Link Vrains, there's a kwami."

The boy turned to the underling, his expression furious. "Where?"

"One of the main servers, Sir. But we're having trouble pinpointing its exact location."

"Find it, now! Send every knight we have! If it escapes, it's your head!"

The underling rose, then bowed before leaving the room. The boy turned and walked to the window. Today, he took the first steps of his revenge.

…

After only a minute or two, Marinette was ejected through a portal into the middle of one of many servers in Link Vrains. Her appearance was as nondescript as she could make it, a black bodysuit under a pixelated face. This was where the data surge was located, but they weren't sure exactly where, which was a problem as Den City was one of the largest servers. Thousands of duelists gathered here everyday, facing off against each other for fame, glory, and to win prizes in contests. There were also just as many non-duelists who reported on the various goings-on in Link Vrains, or simply explored the digital landscape. There were also Sol Technologies staff who oversaw the server, though thankfully it didn't look like they had detected Marinette's presence yet.

"So, how do you plan to find what we're looking for?" Fu asked. "With so many entities inside, finding whoever or whatever made that data surge will be like finding a needle in a haystack." Of course, Fu had many plans of his own, but wanted to see what Marinette could come up with.

"Actually, I'm going to let the Knights of Hanoi do the heavy lifting for me." Marinette answered, intriguing her master. "They'll be after whoever this is too, so they'll try to escape. But the Knights will use their exploits to cause Den City to go into lock-down, trapping them. At that point, I'll use a certain program I've designed to give the illusion of a way out. In reality, it'll trap them and I'll be able to interrogate this mysterious guest."

Fu nodded in approval. "That should work. But it has risks; you'll draw the attention of the Knights of Hanoi as well, and the protection I can offer you is limited."

"Don't worry, Master. I can handle it."

…

The kwami oversaw the virtual city, fascinated by the people within. They were of various shapes and sizes, some were even animals. She also loved watching the various duels between them. They used such wonderful cards and strategies. She could get used to this world.

It was then that she felt the various probes sent by those other, meaner humans. Cursing her luck, she left her hiding place and flew towards the exit. But it sealed milliseconds before she could use it. She tried another exit, but had the same result. She was starting to panic. They were getting closer, and she had no idea what they would do if they caught her, but was in no hurry to find out.

To the kwami's surprise, a new exit formed. It was in an odd place, smack dab in the middle of the crowds. But she had no time to question, as her pursuers were getting closer. She raced towards the exit, ignoring the fact that now she would be revealing herself.

Once she got close enough, however, she suddenly found herself cramped and stuck.

…

It was funny. Once Master Fu had detected the lock-down, and Marinette set her trap, she expected even a little bit of hesitation from her prey. But they had rushed into her trap almost as soon as it was ready. Perhaps desperation was a bigger motivator than she thought.

As soon as the mystery person had made contact, however, there was a bright explosion of light, drawing everyone's attention towards Marinette. Once the light faded, she found that her avatar had changed. Now she wore a red bodysuit with black dots all over, and her face was no longer pixelated, instead having on a red and black domino mask and her hair changed to a bright neon blue.

"Um, could you please let me out?"

Marinette heard the tiny voice, but couldn't see where it came from at first.

"Hello? Down here!"

Marinette looked towards her duel disk, and saw that her duel disk was transformed as well, also bearing the red and black pattern. On the top of the duel disk was a red eye that looked around, then to Marinette.

"Yes, you! Please let me out! I need to get away from them!"

Marinette didn't bother asking who "them" was, as she already knew. The Knights of Hanoi were a cyberterrorist group that attacked Link Vrains, claiming that the digital world was evil and corrupt. She looked up and saw several of them appear in their white robes, homing in on her location. Marinette began running the other way, but more knights were that way as well. She was trapped.

"Well, this is bad." Master Fu complained. "Do you have a plan?"

"Of course I do." Marinette lied. In truth, she was starting to panic. Her avatar was connected to her real body, so any pain she felt was sure to be real. She tried not to think about what else could happen, given what the Knights were capable of.

"What are you planning to do with me, Miss?" The eye asked.

"Assuming I get out of here alive, I won't hurt you, if that's what you're worried about. I just want to ask you some questions."

"Well, why didn't you say so? I'll help you out!" The eye started to glow, and all around the crowd, a wind started to pick up.

"What's happening in there?" Fu asked. "I'm detecting another surge, stronger than before!"

Before Marinette could answer, something manifested underneath her. She looked down and saw a black hoverboard. The hoverboard started to float in the air. "What are you doing?" Marinette asked the eye.

"Giving you a fighting chance, of course! This is a data storm, something that's necessary for speed duels!"

Marinette looked down and saw that one of the knights had already conjured a hoverboard of their own and was in pursuit.

"Sounds like a plan, I suppose. What's your name?"

"Tikki. And you?"

Marinette thought of it, and decided on a name based on her costume.

"Call me Ladybug."