Chapter 19
Hunter's Goal
"Hmmmm….I see." Emma hummed to herself as she thinks.
Emma was studying footages of Playmaker and Codebreaker's duels and victories.
"They're both strong and formidable. No doubt that Knights of Hanoi are…interested in them. However, I would say that there are differences between them," she analyzed.
"Playmaker is more cunning and calm, keeping his cool in almost every situation he puts into. Plus, nobody knows his identity. Codebreaker, on the other hand, everyone knows his identity named 'Yu Akira', a high schooler and…sort of class clown and slacker according to some sources, and he is apparently seeking the 'Legendary Codes'."
Emma pondered and then bright, yet devious smile came to her. "The two boys really interest me. No wonder why everyone, including the Hanoi, does. Although I think out of the two, Codebreaker seems to be a bit more interesting. While the 10-year incident that Playmaker mentions about in his duel with Revolver is intriguing, Codebreaker…or rather, Yu Akira wants to seek the Legendary Codes, which people like me, Cyber Treasure Hunter, in present and even in the past, have long found, but no sign. It's like the Holy Grail of Link VRAINS."
She finished typing and shut down her PC. "Now then. How about I meet them in-person?"
-VRAINS Codes of Secrets-
"Woah! Check this out, Tom! Are you seeing this stuff!?" Yu asked excitedly.
"Yes, Morse. I can clearly see it, but please focus the task on-hand," Tom said.
Yu was logged-in to the old server, VR05-M1N3003, which is part of Link VRAINS and it is based on old mines.
"You know. I still kind of feel bad for this old server. Of course, there are a lot of them like this one, but there are a lot of neat stuff here," Yu stated.
"It's unfortunate, but every server would eventually die out and be replaced with newer servers," said Rossy, his personal AI partner.
"But, like what Morse said, there is a lot of neat stuff in some of the old servers and maybe we can find one of the Legendary Codes here or at least a clue to one," Tom explained, working at his desk. "According to this old notebook belonging to Morse's dad, Legendary Codes, five in total, are scattered somewhere in Link VRAINS, each secretly hidden."
"We just have to search from one server to another," Codebreaker added.
"I agree with the idea, Master Yu, and Thomas," Rossy nodded as a smiley expression showed on her screen "face".
Suddenly, something rang Rossy. "Oh! You got mail, Master!"
"I did?" He checked his Inbox.
"Who is it from, Morse?" Tom asked.
"It's from…Unknown?" Codebreaker read the message with an expression of questioning. Soon, he remembered. "Aaaaaahhhh! …Who is she?"
Tom and yours truly back-flipped while Rossy showed an expression to represent such.
Geez, man! Are you trying to give us all a heart attack!?
"Sorry, but seriously, who is this Ghost Girl person? Wait, maybe this could be…that supplemental, haunted e-mail chain message!" He exclaimed over-dramatically.
"Master Yu, I do not think that is the logical answer," Rossy said.
"Rossy is right, Morse. May I see the message?" Tom asked.
"Huh? Um, sure, but be careful, Tom. It could be haunted!" He warned.
"Right," Tom said as he sweat-dropped. He checked and read the message after Yu downloaded it to his friend's computer.
"It seems to be a message from VR account, but this message…I've seen it before. This message is an example of hacker's code message," Tom analyzed.
"Hacker's code message?" Morse asked.
"Yeah," Tom nodded. "It is a special kind of email chain message that hacker sends out to get the designated target person to respond, and it contains a decipher code that can only be unlocked by that target person."
"So, in other words, someone sent me an encrypted message for me to unencrypt?" Codebreaker said, trying to understand.
"Precisely!" Tom said. "Let me do it for you."
Tom started the decipher program that he and Yu made together. In just less than a minute, the message was deciphered.
"Got it! The message is deciphered, and I got the original plaintext version!" Tom exclaimed.
"Cool! What does it say?" Codebreaker asked curiously.
"It says that this message is from a VR account named Ghost Girl and he or she wants to meet you at the server, DC-105A." Tom read the message. "It also says that he or she has something to say to you, Morse."
"DC-105A is a hostname for one of the servers of Link VRAINS's main hub, specifically in the southeastern part of Den City," Rossy explained.
"Then, let's go there and meet this Ghost Girl person!" Codebreaker declared.
"Wait, Morse! Are you sure this is OK? What if it is a trap made by the Knights of Hanoi!?" Tom worried.
"If it is, then I will just duel him and beat him, that's all!" Codebreaker smiled excitedly. "Let's head to the main hub!"
Codebreaker logged-out of the VR05-M1N3003 and logged-in to the other server, where the mysterious sender told him to go to.
This server hosted part of Link VRAINS based on Den City's harbor area. There were boats, but the boats weren't a real boat, but a digital manifestation of the real boat in the real world. It was a key place for export, import, and store digital products from overseas.
Codebreaker jumped out of the logging-in portal, entering successfully into the new area.
"Well, this is the place." He looked around. "Hmmm, I don't see this Ghost Girl person. Maybe he or she is a ghost! That email was really haunted!"
"Master Yu, I still don't understand why you come to that kind of illogical conclusion. It was only an encrypted message that was deciphered." Rossy assured him.
"Be careful, Morse. I still have a feeling this is trick or trap," Tom warned.
"Wow. That didn't take long. You could become a good hacker, kid." Someone's voice called out to Codebreaker.
He looked up to the roof of one of the storages and noticed a woman in a violet outfit with pink lines across her outfit, gray hair with a pink bang, and black mask that covers her lower half of her face.
"Oh my god! It really is a Ghost Girl!" Codebreaker gasped. "But, from the look of it, you look much older to be a girl. You're more of a lady than a girl."
"Morse, I don't think this is an appropriate time to judge people by the front cover," Tom said with his palm dead-panned on his face. "Besides, in Link VRAINS, anyone can make whatever their avatar looks like, just like yours."
"Oh, yeah." He felt embarrassed as he scratched his head.
"You are a bit odd, but I do like that odd personality of yours, Codebreaker," Ghost Girl said.
"So, you're Ghost Girl, huh? What is it that you want to talk with me about?" Codebreaker asked.
"Many things, but the first thing I want to ask…do you want to know more about the Legendary Codes?" she asked back with a question.
That term sparked Morse's interest, turning his innocent, naïve expression into a much serious one.
"You know about the Legendary Codes?" He said.
"Well, not a lot, but I know that you're looking for ones, so I called you here to help you out," she teased.
"Help me?" He repeated.
"Hmf, hmff." She nodded. "I know a perfect place where you can search for the nifty codes; SOL Technologies' Data Bank!"
"SOL Technologies' Data Bank!" Codebreaker, Tom, and Rossy said at the same time with a surprised look.
"That's right! I have a copy of the backdoor program to the company's data bank. Did you know that their data bank hosts all the information about Link VRAINS, including locations and pretty much the makeup of Link VRAINS?" She explained. "If you get the access to the data bank, you can find out the location of the Legendary Codes."
"That's…sound good," Codebreaker mumbled.
"Yeah, but Morse, it sounds too good to be true! Plus, having a backdoor to SOL Technologies' data bank means that she must have got it or made it illegally!" Tom warned him.
"That may be…." Codebreaker shrugged. "No, this opportunity won't come around for the second time. I got to have that copy of backdoor program!"
"Morse!" Tom and Rossy yelled.
"Sure, you can have it, sweetie, but there is a catch," she admitted. "You've got to duel me!"
Just like on cue, random data storm swept across them like a wind in the real world. Codebreaker grinned a little and made his final thought.
"Alright, Ghost Girl. I will duel you and when I win, you give me that backdoor program!" He pointed at her.
"Roger that," she agreed as she jumped onto her D-Board, which materialized automatically.
Codebreaker jumped onto his D-Board, too as they both surfed onto the data storm.
"I hope you're making the right choice, Morse," Tom thought to himself.
"Let's see what you can do, Ghost Girl!" Codebreaker exclaimed as he looked with enjoyment.
"Hmph! Let's see what you can do, too, Codebreaker!" Ghost Girl replied.
"DUEL!" They both declared.
Codebreaker vs. Ghost Girl: 4000 LPs
Codebreaker: 4h
Ghost Girl: 4h
Somewhere nearby, newscast of Den-O News was at the premise in their digital helicopter.
"Man, is there anything interesting happening in Link VRAINS as of yet?" moaned Claire, the popular news anchorwoman.
"Maybe we should move to a different place? It's awfully been quiet since the chaotic event happened a week ago by the Knights of Hanoi," the cameraman stated.
"I guess," she sighed as she looked out the window with a bored expression.
She then looked down and saw a familiar face. "Hey! Is that Codebreaker!? Yu Akira!? Chopper, bring us down closer to him!"
"Roger, maim!" The digital helicopter responded. It was actually a program itself and listened for voice command. The helicopter flew down closer to Codebreaker surfing the Data Storm.
The cameraman got ready, turning his camera on with Claire fixing her hair at the right moment before they started.
"Good afternoon, folks! This is Claire from Den-O News! We're here live to what appears to be none other than, one of the heroes of Link VRAINS, Codebreaker dueling against a mysterious duelist! Is this challenge going on? Well, one thing for sure is that we will not let our eyes blink and watch as the duel is about to begin!"
"As much as I want to go first, I will let you go," Codebreaker offered.
"My, how a gentleman of you," Ghost Girl giggled. "If you insist, then I will make the first turn! First, I play the Spell Card, Pot of Greed!"
"Pot of Greed is a Normal Spell Card that allows the player to draw 2 cards," Rossy explained.
"Maybe I should've not let her go first…" Codebreaker sweat-dropped.
You think?
Ghost Girl: 4 – 1 + 2 = 5h
"Next, I normal summon Altergeist Marionetter." A green, cybernetic feminine-looking monster appeared with a lack of facial expression except a smile appeared on her field.
"When Altergeist Marionetter is Normal Summoned, I can set 1 Altergeist Trap Card from my Deck directly to my Spell & Trap Zone!" A row of cards appeared in front of her as she picked one out of the row before the rest of the cards disappeared, and the one she picked placed face-down on her field.
"Finally, I set another card and end my turn," Ghost Girl finished. "Now, let's see what you can do, Codebreaker! Just don't go easy on me cause I'm a girl, 'kay?"
"Hee, hee! Altergeist, huh? I've never seen or heard about that kind of Archetype, but nonetheless, seeing it for the first time makes me more interested!" He exclaimed. "My turn! I draw!"
Ghost Girl (3h): 4000 LP
Codebreaker: 4 + 1 = 5h
"Eureka! I guess you are lucky today, Miss Ghost Girl because I'm gonna go all out!" He declared.
"So, he is already going to summon his ace, then," she thought.
"I normal summon C# Download Knight!" His regular knight monster appeared on his side. "I activate his effect! When he is Normal or Special Summoned, I can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower C# monster from my Deck or Graveyard! I choose one from my Deck since I have nothing in my Graveyard! Come out and play, C# Webkumo!"
The cybernetic-looking arachnid appeared on the field.
"Since I control a C# monster, I can Special Summon C# HDMEye from my hand!" A white portal appeared, and a new monster came out. This one was a floating monitor screen and it displayed a single human eye with blue iris and six HDMI cables acting as its tentacles from its backside.
C# HDMEye-Level 1, DARK, Cyverse/Effect, 100 ATK, 100 DEF.
"Hmmm. I didn't know he had such a creepy looking monster, and here I thought my Altergeist is a bit creepy." Ghost Girl commented in her mind.
Same here, girl.
"Here we go, Rossy! I input the code to my circuit of hope and dreams!" A Link Square appeared just right above him.
"Here it comes! Just as I predicted," Ghost Girl thought.
"Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning condition is 4 Effect Monsters!" He declared. "I set my C# Download Knight, Webkumo, and HDMEye to my Link Markers! Via C# Webkumo's effect, it is treated as two Link materials!"
His said monsters turned into four blue twisters as they hit four different Link Arrows.
"Link Summon! Appear, Link 4! Cyber Magician Girl!" His ace finally appeared as she made her appearance from a hiatus last year.
Something just never changes even in the new year.
"Codebreaker has successfully Link Summoned his ace monster, Cyber Magician Girl! He started his first turn all-out!" Claire exclaimed.
"The Link Summon is successful, Master Yu," Rossy said. "Initiate to phase 2."
"Yup! It's time to battle! I declare Cyber Magician Girl to attack your Altergeist Marionetter!"
Ghost Girl, however, didn't look worried.
"Tee-he! Predictable," She thought aloud.
"Huh?" Codebreaker looked confused.
"I activate Altergeist Kunquery's effect!" She revealed the said monster card in her hand. "When my opponent declares an attack, if I control an Altergeist monster, I can Special Summon this card from my hand and negate that attack!"
A white centaur-like monster with a yellow horn appeared with an eerie chuckle or laugh and like Marionetter, it showed no expression except the smiley smile.
"But, lucky for me, I get to control that monster due to my Cyber Magician Girl's effect!" Codebreaker stated.
"Nah, ah, ah!" Ghost Girl wiggled her finger at him. "Sorry, but no can do."
"Huh?" He looked more confused before as his ace monster got shot by an energy beam from Kunquery's horn, shocking her and causing her to not move any muscle.
"She's right, Master Yu!" Rossy said. "According to my analysis, Altergeist Kunquery has an additional effect, which is that if it is Special Summoned, it can target 1 face-up card an opponent control and if it does, it negates the effects of that card while it and that card are face-up on the field!"
"That means that you cannot take control of Kunquery or any other monsters!" Tom gasped.
"What!?" Now he finally realized it.
"Bingo! That's right," Ghost Girl said.
"Holy Kuriboh, folks!" Claire was surprised, too. "The mysterious opponent, Ghost Girl, has sealed Codebreaker's ace monster's effect!"
"Well, you got me there, Ghost Girl. I set a card and end my turn," he finished.
Codebreaker (3h): 4000 LP
"Oh, too bad. It seems that is the only thing Codebreaker can do for this turn, but folks, I do believe he will make a comeback in his next turn!" Claire cheered. "Now, let us see what that Ghost Girl duelist will do next!"
"I draw!" She drew her card, totaling to 4 in her hand. "I think it's an appropriate time to show you my Link Summoning skill! Get ready!"
"Here it comes, Morse! Watch out!" Tom warned.
"Oh boy! Let's see what you got, Ghost Girl!" Codebreaker shouted.
"Don't encourage her, Master Yu!" Rossy shouted.
"I play the Spell Card, Double Summon, which allows me to Normal Summon twice this turn! Then, I normal summon Altergeist Silquitous!" Another monster with faceless expression except for the smiley smile appeared, but this one was brown and had wings like a bird.
"Altergeist Silquitous's effect activates!" She declared. "I can return 1 Altergeist card I control to my hand. I choose my one and only Kunquery!"
The centaur Altergeist turned into sparkles of light before it materialized back its data card form.
"Then, I can target 1 card you and you return it to your hand!" Ghost Girl added. "I choose your Cyber Magician Girl, which is quite an obvious choice."
"Since she is a Link Monster, she is returned to my Extra Deck instead." His ace monster disappeared in a flash and returned to his Extra Deck.
"But, because of that, I activate my C# HDMEye's effect!" Codebreaker declared. "When Cyber Magician Girl is removed from the field by a card effect, I can add 1 C# card from my Deck to my hand!"
A computer screen appeared, displaying all the cards in his Deck. He sorted through his Deck and chose one he wants.
"Due to the effect of Double Summon, I still can Normal Summon one more time!" She reminded them as she winked cutely. "I Normal Summon my second Altergeist Marionetter!"
The second copy of the Marionetter appeared as it eerily laughed for joy.
And you remember its effect, right?" She asked teasingly.
"When it is Normal Summon, you can set 1 Altergeist Trap from your Deck," Rossy reviewed.
"Correct! Your AI partner is quite smart, smarter than Playmaker's AI-kun," she praised.
The two of them made a zig-zagged curve as they almost surfed on the ocean waves.
"Now, open before me! The circuit that connects to the unknown parallel universe!" A Link Square appeared just beneath as the windy path of Data Storm straightened to a normal, less zig-zagged curve.
"Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning condition is 2 Altergeist monsters! I set my Altergeist Marionetter and Silquitous to the Link Markers!" The two Altergeist transformed into green and bronze twisters as they both shot the arrows. "Link Summon! Appear, Link 2! Altergeist Kidolga!"
This Altergeist was bigger than her previous Altergiest monsters. It was a mix of green, yellow, red and purple. It had a huge head with huge horns or antler on the head. It had multiple arms and hands; four skinny black arms and two huge, green muscular arms that are attached to its waistline, each wielding a pointy ax. Despite how menacing it looks, it presented with 1000 ATK points.
"Battle time! I declare Marionetter to attack you directly!" She declared as her monster commanded and strike at Codebreaker.
"Grrrgh!" Codebreaker lost some Life Points.
Codebreaker (3h): 2400 LP
"Now, I activate my Altergeist Kidolga's effect!" She followed up. "When my other Altergeist monster inflicts battle damage, I can Special Summon 1 monster in your Graveyard and Special Summon it to the zone that this card is pointing at!"
"What!?" He gasped.
A holographic screen appeared in front of her. "Let's see now. Eenie, meanie, mine…mo! I choose your C# Download Knight!"
Codebreaker's own monster appeared just behind Kidolga in the zone that it is pointing by its bottom arrow.
"Due to Kidolga's effect, your monster cannot attack during this turn…unless I declare Kidolga to attack!" She revealed.
"According to my calculation, Kidolga's 1000 ATK will decrease your Life Points by 1000, leaving you with only 1400 LPs, Master Yu," Rossy analyzed.
"And if you get hit with C# Download Knight's ATK, which it has 1600…" Tom continued.
"I lose this duel!" Codebreaker finished.
"You're strong, kid, but not smart enough," Ghost Girl teased. "Maybe this time, my victory is assured!"
"Oh my, folks! It looks like our hero of Link VRAINS, Codebreaker, is in a huge pickle! Is this the first time we'll see him lose in a duel!? He's trapped by Ghost Girl's…um, trap! Is there any hope for our hero!?" Claire said dramatically.
Codebreaker sweated nervously while Ghost Girl smiled mischievously under her mask. Her Link Monster, Kidolga looked menacingly with its axes as it smiled upon on helpless Yu while it controlled his C# monster.
New Cards Cheat Sheet
C# HDMEye-Level 1, DARK, Cyverse/Effect, 100 ATK, 100 DEF. If you control a C# monster on the field: You can Special Summon this card from your hand. If a Link Monster in your possession is removed from the field by an opponent's card effect: You can add 1 C# card from your Deck to your hand.
Hey, guys, how are you all doing? The brand, new year has began with a brand new update for my VRAINS story!
The first phase of the duel, Codebreaker vs. Ghost Girl, has begun! What do you think would happen? Will Ghost Girl win or would Codebreaker somehow survive? Only the next chapter will tell!
Only one new C# monster makes its debut for this chapter; C# HDMEye. It is based on the HDMI cable with a body based on a monitor that uses HDMI cables. There will be more new C# monsters in the next chapter! I promise the list of new cards will be longer in the next chapter.
If you want to see more cool duels involving Ghost Girl, go and check Chapter 7 of "Yu-Gi-Oh Cross VRAINS" by OPFan37. It has two duels in one chapter, but the latter one has Ghost Girl in it and it is really good duel. Please go and check it out, and give a like or favorite the story!
This is the last VRAINS chapter for this month and the next update won't be out in quite awhile because the next Yu-Gi-Oh story I will update is Mirror or either one of the two other stories that I haven't work on for a long, long time. Until next time, guys, see you later and here is the preview for the next chapter!
Preview for Chapter 20
Cyber Treasure Hunter seeks the truth, no matter how hard or rather harsh it is. A secret uncovers during the duel as Ghost reveals a bit and pieces of her opponent's past!
Ghost Girl: So, your father I heard about was a pretty famous programmer and entrepreneur as well as researcher. However, there are a lot of unanswered questions after that he...
Codebreaker: STOP! Can we just move on with the Duel!?
What exactly made Yu to yell out to Ghost Girl? The mystery thickens, but Ghost Girl won't give up so easily as the heat of the duel increases to 101!
Next time in Yu-Gi-Oh VRAINS Codes of Secrets, Harsh Truth!
Playmaker & Codebreaker: Into the VRAINS!