Yu-Gi-Oh! 24 - Finished

[~Tico~]

...My mind seems to be blown. Number 7, Rekindling...You get the idea. Natsumi still maintains the spot of coolest woman of the story, I say. And no, I don't care If Clarissa decides to shoot me for that. We haven't seen much out of her besides the whole villain factor anyway, so not surprising that Action Girl Natsumi steals the top spot, hmm? Here's to hoping the next chapters will be as spectacularly epic.

[Bahamut - Envoy of the End]

Thread has hit 200 replies. YES! YES! YES!

[quote name='Pacmanexus' timestamp='1335915969' post='5930551']
Oh Rekindling, how broken you are.

Awesome chapter, btw.
[/quote]

Been saying that for months.

It amuses me how the best cards for fictional duels in terms of saves or turnarounds are so horribly unusable or broken IRL.

[quote name='Corona Ray' timestamp='1335923816' post='5930736']
...My mind seems to be blown. Number 7, Rekindling...You get the idea. Natsumi still maintains the spot of coolest woman of the story, I say. And no, I don't care If Clarissa decides to shoot me for that. We haven't seen much out of her besides the whole villain factor anyway, so not surprising that Action Girl Natsumi steals the top spot, hmm? Here's to hoping the next chapters will be as spectacularly epic.
[/quote]

Wanted to get Lucky Stripe in for ages. Difficult to not to abuse its effect to a degree Mr McCoy would be proud of but think/hope it was reasonable.

Clarissa getting into gunfights with mercanaries not good enough for you eh? Still, its cool that people are warming to Natsumi given her moderate exposure, good to know how individual characters are viewed. However things with Clarissa will change, of that we can be assured.

Chapter 22 has a quick duel and a lot of talking, but most of its clearing up mysteries that people want clearing up (chapter was much longer than I was aiming for, but simultaneous events needing to happen kinda did that). The finale should be something to look forward to though.

[Bahamut - Envoy of the End]

Update time.

So, Dai is in Clarissa's clutches, so its about time we had some sort of explanation as to what's going on now isn't it?

That... and trying to wedge in a quick duel I needed to wedge in. Featuring another mysterious new character (oh noz I hear you cry, not more mysterious characters. Don't worry, a lot of questions get cleared up over the next week, so I gotta replace the unknowns with some more And the duel hopefully makes it worth it). It all meant that this chapter got a bit more wordy than I would have liked.

So beware, you may need to make sure you've got a good length of time for this one.

[spoiler=Chapter 11:2]
Having deposited their guest on the floor in less than comfortable fashion, Gadsby bowed to the siblings. “He didn’t have anything dangerous or means of hidden communication on him besides standard issue, we made well sure of that. Took some doing though, he really took some beating. All he had on him was his D-Disk.” The commander passed Daiki’s disk to Clarissa. “Your orders ma’am?”

“Thank you Gadsby. Did you exterminate all the vermin yet?”

[i]Vermin?[/i] Daiki blearily noted how awkward Gadsby looked at the question. “Three remain unaccounted for ma’am.” Clarissa’s expression flashed with anger for a moment.

“Find them, kill them. Go now.” Dismissed, Gadsby grabbed Daiki’s shackles to lift him to an awkward height (Daiki bit his lip to prevent giving him the satisfactory cry of pain) and unlock them, letting him hit the ground again with a heavy thump. Watching the young man rub his sore wrists with a suspicious grimace, he saluted the siblings once more and made for the doors behind him, leaving the trio on the platform. Cringing with pain, Daiki was able to look at them again.

“So, welcome Daiki” Clarissa said, smiling down at his beaten form. “I apologise if Gadsby was a little brutal with his preliminary examination, but a life of battles has made him a little paranoid, and we couldn’t have you come in here with any sort of explosive or something strapped to your chest could we?” Daiki shrugged in reply. “I am Clarissa, the leader of this group that has taken over Real Duel, the VDS and D-Gazer network, and orchestrator of everything you see around you now and everything that has happened in your city today. This is my brother Wilhelm, whom you have already met.”

“Hey Daiki” Wilhelm said with a weak, mock wave. Daiki just responded with a growl.

“You’re not happy to see the man who helped you out earlier Daiki?” Clarissa asked, wrapping her arms around her brother. “Don’t you want to say thanks, or did Gadsby do something to your throat?”

“You... want me to say thanks?” When words finally came, they were thick and heavy. Indeed, the commander had punched him in the jaw several times. “For what you did to that person?”

“Oh don’t be so wet” Clarissa scolded. “I expected you to be someone with high morals, but certainly wouldn’t want someone who takes it to the extreme. Besides, my dear Wilhelm can’t help the way he is. He was just helping you as a favour to me. I asked him to help you, and he did.” Daiki was still giving them that murderous look. “Look, if you really care that much, the woman who attacked you as a duel drone is in a coma, but otherwise alive and unharmed. Does that make you feel better?”

Furious with himself, Daiki had to admit it did. “Good. Because we’ve got a lot to get through, and I’d hate for us to be unable to get over one trivial incident like that.”

“Trivial?” Daiki cast out at the rows and rows of people behind him. “You call this... trivial?”

“No, I call this necessary. Everything I’ve done today is just a means to an end. The country of Japan, perhaps even the world, will be changed forever by today. It might be scarred for many years, but scars make you stronger. Some even heal in the end, although not all do. After today, once I am given everything I want, this country will change, and it will be better for everyone in the end.”

“Ha, like you care about anyone else.”

“You’re completely right. I don’t care about anyone else. Of course I am doing this primarily for me; I’ve waited a long time for this. I’m just saying that the bi-products of my goals are not necessarily as bad as you and everyone else might think right now. You look a little confused, which is understandable, but you’ll see soon enough. But first I want to talk about some other things.” Clarissa smiled at Daiki’s furious expression as he tried to stagger upright. From the edges of the room a few rifles loaded. “Don’t waste all your energy now; you can’t hope to do anything to stop me. Just talk to me, and you might get to live a bit longer. After all, don’t you want to know why I had Wilhelm save you from a fate like the others across Japan, and had you bought here? Don’t you want to know?”

Daiki shrugged, but he couldn’t help himself. “Maybe.”

“Good boy. So, let’s get started then.” Sitting herself comfortably on the arm of Wilhelm’s wheelchair, Clarissa settled herself down and motioned for Daiki to do the same, which he did with a grumble. “Why don’t you go first and tell me about yourself.”

Daiki was sure for a moment that Gadsby must have hit him so hard it had either affected his hearing or his thinking. “Er... what? Why?”

“Because I asked is why. I think it’s important to get the most detailed picture of everyone and everything around you and that affects you. It may be presumptuous of me, but I’d have thought a man of law from these parts might know of the saying of Sun Tzu in Art of War; ‘Know your enemy’. I certainly know all about mine. And now I want to know about you.”

Confused but without much choice, Daiki gave the siblings a quick and as vague as possible history of himself; about his work, some of his hobbies, and what else he knew. Clarissa would occasionally press for more information on a particular subject, which was especially difficult on topics like his childhood or his history of duelling which were hole-ridden memories thanks to his amnesia, so it was hard to cover them up convincingly. He certainly didn’t want to go into that or other subjects, but his struggles to answer her questions convincingly in his current state gave him away.

“You have problems with simple questions? I’m not bringing back painful memories for you am I Daiki?” she asked sweetly with another flash of a smile. “Or is there something else you won’t or can’t tell me?”

“Look, I’ve told you all I can think of. I’m just... normal, alright. I don’t see why you have any interest in me like this. I’m just a cop and it’s my job to protect the people you’re hurting, which I’m going to do now you’ve let me in here.”

“Well you’re spirited, even if you’re blindly naive. I’d love to know what you intend to do and how.” Since Daiki couldn’t possibly have an answer, she had a quick hushed conversation with her brother before standing and allowing herself a stretch. “Ok, now I know more about you, you should know more about me. After all, what you’ve seen of me is a pretty bloody picture so far.”

“It’s all I need to know. I don’t care about the justification you’re going to spill for your actions or anything else about you otherwise.”

Clarissa decided this was all the provocation she needed to give Daiki a kick in the ribs. Normally blocking this would be easy for a trained officer, but given current shape, it stung terribly. Allowing himself to collapse onto his back, Clarissa was leaning over him with a pitiful look. “Do you always have this attitude? I severely hope not. Now, as you can possibly tell, I was born in England into a quite wealthy upbringing. Me and my brother had a comfortable childhood, until Wilhelm developed a rare strain of spinal deterioration when he was twelve. His condition is somewhat similar to the now abolished Motor Neurones disease, but unfortunately his strain was new, aggressive, and so far still incurable.” Her attention turned to her brother somewhere out of his vision. “I was just starting uni at the time, studying to become an English teacher. But seeing him degrade like he has, and the psychological effect things had on him, I transferred to English and medicine. My poor little brother: his illness has taken a heavy toll on him, physically and mentally. He has missed out on so much.”

“My heart bleeds for you” Daiki muttered. He had no chance to react this time as Clarissa dropped her knee on his chest and punched him in the face. The strike left him with a bloody aftertaste.

“You make one more remark about him and I promise you’ll regret it. Now, as I was saying, after my studies, I moved to Japan. Your medical research was the best in the world, and I wanted to study here in hope of someday finding a cure for Wilhelm. I remember being so excited at first. I got a part time teacher role here in Tokyo. I had my own little flat. I was really happy from what I can remember. Until I learned about Real Duel Ltd.” Clarissa’s expression became more hateful just at the thought, casting furious glares around the room. “This company... that everyone here so worships, who they just thoughtlessly hand over their money to and crave for more from... and all the while they’re mindlessly fuelling the biggest corporate cover-up in the world. This company and its precious VDS, they hired me, and they took my world away from me. This company ruined my life.”

“I don’t... care...”

Clarissa just shook her head at the defiant young man lying underneath her. “You will Daiki. You will.”

...19:38:22...

“Look, can’t you get it through your thick skull that we’re all a little too busy for this right now?!” The large, shaven headed man blinked as the diminutive woman before him stood her ground and shouted at him. Izura had repeated this several times now, and was getting more than frustrated about wasting her time with this henchman of the opposition leader. “The prime minister is doing everything in his power, and working with all our forces and other international heads of states, to sort this out, and he doesn’t need your smarmy, sneaky boss sticking his oar in right now. He will meet with him after the crisis has passed, but in the meantime he has other more pressing priorities. Got it?” The shaven headed man finally nodded in dumb understanding. “Good! Go away!”

Completely bemused by having been beaten down by this small woman, the chief of security for the PRJ chairman shuffled out of her reception office, leaving Izura to flop herself down into her seat and take some deep, calming breaths. Behind her, the office doors creaked open and Kenji stuck his head out. He looked half awestruck, and half terrified. “Feel any better?”

“You all heard me?” Kenji nodded, still looking fearful that he might somehow end on the receiving end of a similar tirade. Sighing and taking a moment to compose herself, Izura followed him in and bowed before the equally stunned Hideo, Minori and Ryuunosuke. “My apologies. He was most insistent about you meeting with the PRJ chairman, and this whole situation... I lost my temper. I’m sorry.”

“So you should be...” Minori half started before Hideo silenced her.

“Do not apologize Maeda-san, you were just doing your job, and I appreciate the circumstances are hard on all of us and taking their toll.”

“Thank you sir” Izura bowed again. “How are we doing? Any better?”

“Well, I’ve been in contact with our secret services about what they propose to do, and it sounds like a good plan. It is still in the early stages and a lot needs to be checked for it to work with as little room for error as possible, but I have given them my support as long as they can do that and make a deadline of ten. Rokuro is dealing with it from now on; I have to focus on a backup plan, just in case they fail.”

“They know what they’re doing. The operation won’t fail” Ryuunosuke replied sharply.

“Let’s hope so. Have you... had a chance to try and make any contact Sakura sir?”

The prime minister glumly shook his head. “Tried, but failed. She’s a strong and sensible girl, but what has happened today was rocked her entire world. I just hope she’s okay.”

...

Darting away from his warp portal and into the dusty trenches and crashing noise of the [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Rockfall_Area"]Rockfall Area[/url] boulders flying back and forth overhead, Jin hoped he had lost the things that were following him. He was now adamant that one or maybe more ‘something’ was following him now, and it wasn’t one of the dark angels. They would have just attacked him head on by now, and he had beaten so many of them now they no longer held the same horror. But something was pursuing him from the shadows, stalking him as flashes of light and darkness in the edges of his vision wherever he went, waiting for the moment to strike. The knowing he was being followed, the waiting for the attack, made him much more afraid than fighting the duel drones. Ducking as another boulder flew over him and smashed into the cliff face behind him; he changed direction and went down another safer trench.

[i]‘What do I do? Do I stand my ground and fight whatever it is, or do I keep running? The longer I’m doing this, the less likely I’ll ever find the people I’m looking for, but something tells me whatever it is this... thing wants, I want nothing to do with it.’[/i] Panting heavily as he went around another corner, he had to stop to catch his breath and peek back around the corner where he’d just come. The path was empty.

“I think... I lost them...” Jin sighed with relief as he went to sit down against the rock, and almost bashed his head as he jumped up again as someone appeared in front of him.

Standing a little further down the path he had dived down was a single figure, casually standing in the middle of the trench and looking straight at him. He was tall and very thin, although it was hard to tell with the baggy sandy jacket and trousers and the neck scarf wrapped around his throat. A shock of messy black hair produced from under the boonie hat, which the man tipped to a jaunty angle with his thumb. He was badly unshaven, and his look was completed by his red vest, hard leather work boots, and the black spider shaped D-Disk that wrapped around the wrist of the hand casually resting on a belt laden with knifes and hunting gear. The man smiled as Jin leapt to his feet in awkward fashion.

“G’day mate. Nice to see someone is still running around the VDS with such energy.”

“Who the heck are you?” Jin replied less politely, braced for any attack the man might attempt. His reaction just amused the guy, who bowed towards him.

“Ah, of course, introductions. My name is Hunter Webb. Pleased to meet ya.” This Hunter guy seemed to be expecting him to bow back. Jin did so, but made it very short and quick, not letting him out of his sight for a second, much to amusement of Hunter. “So, what brings you here to the Rockfall Area? Most of the other duelists are trying to hide in private duel modes or wherever they can, but you’re running around like a little trooper on a mission.”

“What? Are you the one who’s been following me?” Jin blurted. The question seemed to catch Hunter off guard, but then he might have just been acting.

“No... you ran into me, remember?” Hunter replied smoothly, lowering his D-Gazer from under his hat. “But since you have done, you appear quite the character. You’re the first duelist I’ve seen since I’ve got here. There must be something about our meeting, so why not mark the occasion and do me the honour of a duel? I’m sure it would be quite the thrill to face someone with your spunk.”

The request was so sudden and so casual it took Jin a moment to believe he’d actually suggested it. “You’ve got to be kidding? Do you have any idea what’s happening in the VDS and why all those people are hiding? It’s because duelling in here has become dangerous. Someone’s tampered with the system and made the damage more intense, there is the army of these dark angels hunting duelists down, and bad stuff happens to people who lose.”

His words made the older man pause for a moment, as he took the information in. He might have been surprised, but he didn’t seem all that worried. “No worries mate. We don’t have to go at it all blood and thunder. Just an easy, friendly duel. Please, I insist.”

Jin wasn’t convinced. Slowly and as discreetly as he could, he bought up the menu to warp away into a different area. ‘Amazoness Village’, that would do. [i]‘Is this guy for real? Why would he want to just duel random... no, this isn’t random. Something’s really off. I’m out of here.’[/i] Selecting the area, he prepared for the sensation of changing his position. To his surprise, nothing happened. “Hey, why can’t I warp?”

Again, Hunter put on the mock surprise. “You can’t warp? Hmm, that’s odd. Neither can I.”

“Bah, stop playing games with me. What do you want? My Numbers? My friend? Just stop trying to pretend you are all innocent and admit it.” He had backed into the main path now. He might not be able to warp, but he could still run left or right. In the maze like Rockfall Area, he still had a good chance of losing this guy as long as he didn’t have anything like the duel drones had to track him with. As he crept back, something shimmered in the corner of his vision, making him stop and turn. Nothing was there. “Hey, stop doing that with the vision thing! I know it’s you!”

“Now look here mate” Hunter’s voice and expression was sterner now. “I know there’s been some crazy stuff going on in here today and it’s understandably made you a little jumpy. But believe it or not, I’m not your enemy here. I doubt you’d believe me if I just tell you, but I’m here on my own mission. However right now, I think it’s in both our best interests if we get on and have ourselves a duel, alright?”

“Yeah, I don’t believe you” Jin replied as he armed his D-Disk and D-Gazer. The open space around them shimmered as Hunter mimicked his actions. “Enough running away. I’m just going straight through you.”

[i]‘ARV link established. Duel commencing.’[/i]

“Duel!”

“I’ll start” Jin snapped, taking his sixth card. Adding it to the other monsters in his hand, various possibilities were open to him. [i]‘Hmm, good opening hand. I could summon any of my three Numbers with these. However, against this opponent that might not be a great idea first turn’.[/i] Looking back at Hunter, he still appeared very relaxed about the situation, unmoved by the explosions nearby that occasionally shook the place. [i]‘Better play safe... for now’[/i]. “I summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Wind-Up_Magician"]Mainspring Magician[/url]."

The toy sorcerer whirled its way onto the field in its awkward fashion (Lv4, ATK 600). “Next, when I summon one Mainspring, I can special summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Wind-Up_Shark"]Mainspring Shark[/url] from my hand.” The toy shark flapped and thrashed on the dusty ground, but it was just the start (Lv4, ATK 1500).

“Ah, Mainsprings. Nice cards” Hunter commented with a broad grin.

“Not for you they won’t be. I activate Shark’s effect, which lets me decrease its level by one. This then triggers the effect of my magician, allowing me to summon another Mainspring from my deck. I choose [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Wind-Up_Rabbit"]Mainspring Rabbit[/url] for this.” A mechanical rabbit sprung over his head, bouncing in time with its spinning key (Lv3, ATK 1400). “Next I’ll activate Rabbit’s effect, which banishes Magician from play until my next standby phase. Then I’ll use Rabbit and Shark to overlay level three. Xyz summon!”

From the vortex rose an oddly triangular shaped robot, its pincer weapons crossed as it floated between Jin and the enemy (Rk3, DEF 2100). “I Xyz summon my [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Wind-Up_Zenmaines"]Mainspring Zenmaines[/url] in defence position to protect me. Then I’ll end my turn with a face down card.”

“Impressive. It’s going to take quite an offensive to get through that Zenmaines of yours” Hunter jovially doffed his hat as he went for his card. Seeing his draw, a glint appeared in his dark eyes. “However, I have just the offence. I summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Inzektor_Dragonfly"]Inzecter Damsel[/url]."

A slim warrior in a mech suit shaped, with the additional helmet and wings, to look like the namesake insect appeared from the portal besides Hunter and knelt before him, aiming a small laser pistol at him (Lv3, ATK 1000). Jin had never seen a monster like it before. “What does that do?”

“Why just tell you, let me show you. My team of Inzecter’s are a close knit unit who can team up together to combine their powers. For example, once a turn Damsel can equip herself with one of the other Inzecter monsters. I choose [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Inzektor_Hornet"]Inzecter Hornet[/url]." A warrior in wasp shaped armour appeared behind the Damsel. “Now I can activate Hornet’s effect. I can send this equipped monster to the cemetery to destroy one card on the field. Sting that Zenmaines.”

“Ha, you’ll have to do better than that. By detaching an overlay unit, Zenmaines survives.” Instead of the machine, the lunging hornet found itself driving its stinger into a small force field before it vanished. [i]‘And it gets even better during the end phase.’[/i]

“Yeah, I know. But I’m only just getting warmed up.” Jin blinked as Hunter reached into his deck. “Now Damsel’s effect activates. When a card equipped to it goes to the cemetery, I can summon another Inzecter straight from my deck. Let the swarm take over, [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Inzektor_Centipede"]Inzecter Centibete[/url]." A portly warrior in a heavy beetle outfit appeared, shaking two heavy pincer shaped gauntlets (Lv3, ATK 1600). “Now I’ll activate Centibete’s effect to equip it with Hornet from my cemetery. Now launch sting number two!”

“You’re kidding?” Jin gasped, as the second and last force field repelled the returning Hornet.

“No joke mate, just one devastating combo” Hunter replied. “And the fun doesn’t stop there. Now another effect of Centibete activates. When a card it’s equipped with goes to the cemetery, I can add another Inzecter from my deck to my hand.” The Australian duelist revealed his choice to be a high level monster to the increasingly nervous Jin.

[i]‘Oh come on, that easily? This guy’s deck is nuts!’[/i]

“Now then, I activate the effect of the [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Inzektor_Giga-Mantis"]Inzecter Giga-Mantis[/url] I just added to my hand, and equip it to Damsel with its own effect. While he’s equipped, Damsel’s attack becomes twenty four hundred. Then I’ll equip Centibete with the [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Inzektor_Axe_-_Zektahawk"]Inzecter Axe - Zectahawk[/url], increasing its attack by one thousand.” A twin bladed axe appeared in the arms of the beetle (ATK 2600) whilst the dragonfly’s gauntlets became sharp and sickle like (ATK 2400). Both were now more powerful than Zenmaines. “Oh and by the way, when a monster equipped with Inzecter Axe attacks, you can’t activate any spell or traps cards. Let’s go.”

In one crushing strike, the axe sliced through the head of the helpless robot, blowing it to pieces. From the explosion, the dragonfly charged, slicing at Jin with its enhanced razor weapons. The blades cut through him, with enough impact to throw him into the rock face behind him (LP 1600).

“I... activate my trap... [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Heartfelt_Appeal"]Regretful Complaint[/url] which when I take damage from a direct attack... snatches control of the monster with the highest defence points...” This turned out to be Damsel, which dutifully floated over to his side of the field.

“Hmmm.... strange card, but its worked for you here. I wonder how you’ll utilise Damsel now you’ve got her to break from the hive.” Hunter was mocking him as he staggered back to his feet, he couldn’t just be enjoying a simple duel. “C’mon kid, you got guts, but you’re gonna have to do better than this against me. I set one card and end my turn. Now show me your true self. Bring out the best you got.”

“You want... the best I got? You’ve got no idea... mate!” The emphasis Jin put on his heavy accent made Hunter smirk further. “I draw, and during my standby phase, Mainspring Magician returns to my field all rewound and ready to rock.” [i]‘Alright... no more fun and games...’[/i]

...19:43:36...

Sighing, Daiki picked himself up and examined the operations room around him. In the rows of desks, perhaps a thousand people were sat at the computers, lifeless and unseeing. Wilhelm was somewhere behind him, in discussion with another man, a tall guy with spectacles who looked American. Clarissa was pacing, taking a moment to herself.

“How often have used the VDS and other products of this company?”

“What kind of stupid irrelevant question is that?” Clarissa replied by removing and examining a small knife concealed in her suit. “... fine. For at least five years certainly, possibly longer.”

“Possibly longer? You don’t know exactly how long?” Clarissa asked airily.

“No, as it so happens I don’t” Daiki snapped back.

“So would it be fair to say that you, like everyone else, don’t know much about the company you buy the products of.” Clarissa replaced the knife and approached him, just close enough to whisper. “Have you never wondered how they do it? How the world they’ve created is so lifelike, so wonderful, that can take all those millions of people and have them play in such an immersive, authentic environment?”

“Can’t say I’ve ever given it much thought” he replied.

“Of course you haven’t. As long as the product is there, it doesn’t matter how it’s made. Well then, allow me to give you a little history lesson about this place. You may know that Real Duel was first created by Shin Corp over fifty years ago as a division that specialising in the new market of simulated environment game-play. The branch was very well funded, and everyone was excited by the dream, the vision. But the early stages of designing and programming their ideas for the perfect virtual world for customers to use as a virtual play space for duel monsters was fraught with difficulty. To have such an immense world that was so interactive, so realistic and sensitive, seemed impossible for a long time. Every solution the designers came up with was met with another problem, and so the VDS continued to be delayed. Shin Corp was starting to lose patience with the lack of results and was about to terminate the entire project, until one person suggested a daring solution.” Stepping away from Daiki, Clarissa diverted her gaze out to the vast number of computers in the operations centre. “Dai, do you know what an avatar is?”

“An avatar? It’s... some kind of holy being, right?”

“You’re essentially in the ball park. An avatar is seen as a powerful force; an almost god like being that takes a physical form in the world. People do seem to have a great belief in the supernatural and find great faith and comfort in there being higher powers, some believe they are what makes this world go round and maintains its order. I of course am not one of them. But it is through the beliefs in these powers that one suggested the VDS world could work, if it had something similar to maintain it. The VDS was complicated and powerful, but if there was another ‘supercomputer’ even more complicated and powerful integrated into it, constantly using its limitless potential to keep the VDS expanding and moving as it saw fit, it would be a perfect world. There is one such kind supercomputer in existence...”

Daiki swallowed as Clarissa paused. “You know what it is now... don’t you? How they did it?”

“I know what you’re going to say, and I don’t believe you. They wouldn’t.”

When Clarissa rounded on him, she was quivering with anger. “Well believe it Dai, because they did. They took people, the best minds and duelists they could find, and used them as the supercomputers to turn the VDS from a struggling failure into the most interactive and responsive virtual world ever created. Every touch, every smell, every sight would be as lifelike as the omnipresent person imagined. It would change as they changed, and respond to their every mood. These duelists were placed in the world, and given powers that would give them control over the VDS higher than the operators who maintained it, powers that made them known as avatars. The world would still be maintained and supported by service operators to a moderate extent, while the reigning avatar would still have some restrictions placed upon them to stop them having complete control. It was still Real Duel’s creation, and they were applauded and revered for it, but it would not be possible if not for the one who was locked inside, supporting the world which in turn supported them back, and giving it life that they themselves would be denied of forever more. Do you understand yet Dai?”

The beaten young man behind her shook his head in bloody minded denial. “Humph. Well, let me explain further. The first selected avatar was a failure. Not a lot is known, other than he was unable to handle the enormity of the pressure put on him by the early VDS program and died within a few weeks of operation. You would have thought this would have deterred them, but the customers had got a taste for the virtual world, and they wanted more. With huge demand and the money signs in their eyes, Real Duel threw everything they had at improving the systems running to make it easier on the next avatar. A man named Kodai Orion was selected. A less skilful duelist than his predecessor but a younger and more brilliant mind, he was a perfect fit. With the early problems solved, the VDS ran smoothly and efficiently under Kodai’s guidance, and continued to do so for the nearly forty years. The world grew bigger, stronger, more efficient... and more and more profitable for Real Duel, until they became the biggest company in Japan. But they still had to keep their secrets close amongst the highest ranks; no-one could learn the truth of how the VDS worked, using people to run the system, taking away their real lives, in any sort of way would be seen as unnatural and bad for business.”

“Eventually, the time would come where Kodai would be unable to manage the VDS anymore. A tournament was held by RDL; where a potential new avatar could be selected. Not the winner obviously, the disappearance of a champion would raise questions. But somebody who was a talented duelist, of a powerful mind otherwise, but also someone who nobody would notice if they suddenly weren’t there anymore. They thought they’d found the perfect person in a young man, an orphan whose name is unknown to me, and they took him and he was trained by Kodai to take over. Which he did, to rather... unpleasant results. I guess you don’t remember the short ‘transition’ period this company and the VDS had eight years ago.”

“No, I don’t really. But what’s all this avatar business got to do with me, or all these people you’ve hurt? What do you want with them? The power?”

Clarissa just smirked at him. “The so-called transition period for re-development was a cover-up story. What really happened was the new avatar, like the original one, didn’t adapt to the change in his life too well. Maybe he was too weak, it got too much, or maybe he let it go to his head. Either way he started doing things to the VDS, turning it from a place of play to a virtual warzone. He was forcefully stripped of his power, after a terrible fight from what I’d heard, and he was replaced by Kodai. However, the old avatar was weak after the fight and couldn’t be relied on forever. But how could the company gamble on another outsider becoming a rogue avatar after the fiasco with the last one? They had to come up with a new solution. To find the perfect avatar; one who would never turn against the company, one who felt the virtual world was truly their home, one who would consider all players their equal and not their subjects, one who could be moulded into the perfect being. Thus Project Eve was born.”

“Project Eve?” A vision from a few hours ago whizzed to the front of Daiki’s mind. Of the flame haired Natsumi sat on her duel runner, when they had met for the first time in a year.

[i]“...I was doing some research into the history of the company I ran into a title that caught my interest. Something called Project Eve...””...It must have been something extremely foul. All I know about it is that the project took place several years ago, and was approved by President Shinawatra Taiyo himself...”[/i]

Shaking himself out of it, Daiki tried to refocus. “Look Clarissa, I didn’t come here for the history class. I came here to stop you, and to free the people you’re holding hostage? What is it that you want?”

Clarissa just smirked at him. “I know you did. You are a police officer; you have a duty to protect your citizens from people like me. But more than that, you see it as what is just, as the right thing to do. Well I’m afraid what’s right and wrong is going to become very blurred for you.”

...19:46:22...

The streets were deserted for the most part. On this long road leading eastwards towards the bay, all the people that could be seen on the streets were the business owners trying to sweep up the rubbish and broken glass from the smashed front windows of their stores or boarding them up, an ill looking man who was sat on the bonnet of his car waiting with his head in his hands for the recovery vehicle to come with a set of new tyres to replace the ones that had been slashed to ribbons, and a dishevelled old homeless man holding the sandwich board which simply read ‘Told you so’. The sun was almost down now, the fiery ball behind to the west perhaps aided the serene, calm after the storm feeling. Even though Sakura, looking down the street making sure the way was safe, knew that this was just a start.

[i]‘This is terrible. That people could do this sort of thing. That some revel in it. Why?’[/i]

Well, she didn’t understand why, but she knew in part what the cause was. Taking her Number card out of her pocket, she waited for it to respond. Shock Ruler was as silent as ever, but it had guided her this far. Somewhere in the back of her mind, it was showing her the way, just giving her directions to where she should go, even if it made no indication as to her final destination or what she could do when she got there. She probably wouldn’t know until the time came.
Until then she just had to keep walking. Returning Shock Ruler to its safe place and ignoring the rambling mad man, she set off down the street once more, through the mess that had been wrought and hopefully towards the answers.

...

Back in the Rockfall Area, Jin had to pause to get his breath back. The attack of the powered up Damsel had struck with enough force to knock him into the cliff, and the VDS was telling his brain that his back had been smashed by the impact. He shuddered to think what more powerful cards might have done. His opponent, the mystifying Hunter Webb, was watching him constantly, patiently waiting for his move.

“Okay, now we enter my main phase. I’ll summon out my [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Wind-Up_Soldier"]Mainspring Soldier[/url], and activate its effect. Once while it’s on the field, I can increase its attack by four hundred and its level by one. Then because I activated the effect of one Mainspring, my magician can activate its own reset effect, and summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Wind-Up_Dog"]Mainspring Dog[/url] from my deck.”

“Neat little pooch that” Hunter smirked as the little metal dog appeared beside the toy warrior (Lv3, ATK 1200 and Lv5, ATK 2200). “You might control a lot of monsters now, but none of them have enough attack to take down Centibete.”

“Yeah we’ll see. I activate the [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Changer"]Star Changer[/url] magic card. This increases the level of my magician by one, making it level five. So now I control two level five monsters, and two level three monsters.” The monsters paired; Soldier and Magician on one side, and Dog and the stolen Damsel on the other. “Now, last chance. Tell me who you are and why you’re chasing me, or prepare for some serious hurt.”

Unbelievably, Hunter just maintained that same bloody smile. “Tempting, I probably should tell you who I am and that I’m not chasing you at all, but rather someone else. But I’d rather see where this little play is going first.”

[i]‘Someone else? Kaneko!’[/i] “Bah, you asked for this. I overlay both my level five and my level three monsters, for two Xyz summons!” All four monsters turned to sparks before vanishing into their respective portals. This would wipe the smirk of this guys face, as Jin held up his right arm to show him the two sets of runes that appeared there. It succeeded.

“What the hell...?”

“These are what you want right? Well let’s see how you can handle them. Appear, [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Number_12%3A_Crimson_Shadow_Armor_Ninja"]Number 12: Armoured Ninja Crimson Shadow[/url] and [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Number_20:_Giga-Brilliant"]Number 20: Giganto Brilli-Ant[/url]!" The great flame haired ninja (Rk5, ATK 2400) and oversized insect with razor blade wings and pincers (Rk3, ATK 1800) appeared side by side of Jin, the insect landing with a mighty crash compared to the deft ninja, much to the wonderment of the wide-eyed Australian.

“Number monsters? So... these are the reason for all this?”

“Don’t act like you don’t know” Jin gasped, before he caught himself. His breathing had become laborious, much more quickly than it had in previous duels, and his temper was starting to fray at the slightest aggravation. Must be the effect of having two Numbers out, better keep calm and end this quick. “I call priority on the effect of Crimson Shadow. By detaching his overlay unit, he can’t be destroyed by battle or any card effects this turn. Then I use Giganto’s effect, detaching his unit to boost both my monsters attack points by three hundred, putting Crimson up and over your bug.”

The ant’s wings shook to release its spores, which surrounded the two monsters with a golden aura as they prepared for battle. Across the field, Hunter prepared himself for the worst. “Alright. Crimson Shadow, crush Centibete. Giganto Brilli-Ant, attack Hunter directly.”

The ninja’s blade sliced through axe and insectoid armour like butter, cleaving the beetle warrior in half and leaving the way clear for the giant ant to lunge, wrap its metal pincers around Hunter (in other circumstances Jin would have credited him, for he hadn’t faltered or shied from the attack at all) and toss him against the rock wall behind him. The man crashed into it with bone breaking force, grunting in pain as he fell back to earth and leaving the rock face severely cracked. Hunter staggered to his feet, clutching his ribs and no longer amused (LP 1800).

“Agh, well that hurt like hell. You got some nice moves kid. I’m impressed.”

“So you keep saying” Jin gasped back, holding his knees for support. “I end my turn with a face down.”

Hunter seemed to take his time over his draw. Jin could feel him studying him with a masked expression of deep thought for some time, as he placed his hand on his deck. With each passing second, the strain of the Numbers throbbing in his head got worse and worse. He had to shake himself to clear his vision. As he did so, he could swear Hunter had reached to his D-Gazer and said something. “What... who are you talking to?”

“I draw” Hunter ignored him. “I activate the magic card [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Card_Destruction"]Hand Obliteration[/url]. This forces both of us to discard all the cards in our hands.” Jin fed [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Wind-Up_Knight"]Mainspring Knight[/url] into the cemetery slot, which he was disappointed to lose in part even though the replacement was fine, whilst Hunter dropped two cards. “Next I activate my face down [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Call_of_the_Haunted"]Cry of the Living Dead[/url], to special summon one monster from my cemetery. The discarded man eating plant and dual monster [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Gigaplant"]Gigaplant[/url] will do nicely.”

A large flytrap like plant with a wide toothy mouth and mantis like claws sprouted up from the barren earth between them (Lv6, ATK 2400). “Now I have to use my normal summon on Gigaplant to gain its effect, but it’s worth doing. Now once a turn I can special summon one plant or insect from my hand or cemetery. I summon my second Damsel, and equip it with Hornet from my cemetery...”

Jin groaned at this. “Oh no, not this combo again. I activate the trap [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Xyz_Veil"]Xyz Veil[/url]. This prevents all the Xyz monsters I control that have overlay units left from being targeted by card effects. So put that in your pipe and...” He didn’t even complete his sentence before the wasp like warrior rammed its sting into the revealed trap card and disappeared. “Oh at least let me finish!”

“Given what those monsters seem to be to doing to you, I’d have thought you’d prefer me to hurry up” Hunter replied. “Now you don’t need me to explain again what happens now. I summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Inzektor_Ant"]Inzecter Ameise[/url] from my deck.” A thin warrior in tight blue battle suit and wielding a sword arm crouched before Hunter (Lv3, DEF 600). “Then Ameise, like the others in my unit, can equip itself with Hornet.”

Jin braced himself for the inevitable. However, he watched as Hunter threw his arm into the air, posing as the swirling red vortex opened between them, and both Gigaplant and the new insect disappeared into it. “Now another of my Inzecter’s effects activates. The monster that is equipped with Hornet gains its attack, defence, and level (Lv6). So now I overlay level six Ameise and Gigaplant. Xyz summon!”

[i]‘Wait, that’s a regular Xyz vortex, not the galaxy like one of a Numbers. Does he really not have one?’[/i]

“Now, let’s see how your fancy Numbers deal with this little beauty. The deadliest Inzecter hiding in the outback, [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Inzektor_Exa-Beetle"]Inzecter Exa-Beetle[/url]!"

Something launched from the portal faster than Jin could see it. Looking up into the sun, he eventually caught up with the glint of gold as it came back and hovered on its frantic wing beats next to Hunter; a massive beetle covered entirely in thick gold and silver armour, carrying a long lance in its hand. Its attack seemed very low for this rank of Xyz... (Rk6, ATK 1000).

Hunter might have read his thoughts. “When this giant ripper is summoned, I can equip it with any monster in either of our two cemeteries. Then it gains attack points equal to that of the equipped monster. I’ll be choosing my Giga-Mantis, which as we know boosts the equipped monster itself.” In one moment, the gold beetle warrior had more than trebled in strength (ATK 3600). “Now I activate his effect. By detaching an overlay unit, I can send one card on each side of the field directly to the cemetery. That would be Cry of the Living Dead, and your ninja.”

“I activate Crimson Shadow’s effect, which stops... huh?” Jin’s jaw dropped as the ninja vanished regardless. “But how?”

“Sorry, but you’re outta luck. Your Number seems to protect itself from destruction, and Exa-Beetle doesn’t destroy by its effect” Hunter replied. “Now to finish this. Exa-Beetle, destroy the other Number.”

The force of the lance slashing across of his monster, and through him with the shock of the VDS system, launched Jin into the rock face a second time. Groaning and clutching his head, he could barely summon the strength to stand up (LP 100). Through blurred vision, he could just make out Hunter’s expression, as he looked up at the giant ant still standing before him. “But how? Exa-Beetle was much stronger.”

“Numbers... can only be destroyed by battle... by other Numbers...” Jin mumbled as he finally staggered back to his starting position.

“I see. These Numbers are most powerful, especially in your hands kid. I think I’d better set this card face down before I end my turn.”

“I draw...” Jin managed weakly. Great, he had drawn [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Wind-Up_Warrior"]Mainspring Warrior[/url]. Coupled with the [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Mini-Guts"]Minimum Guts[/url] card already in his hand, this was just what he needed, as long as that face down didn’t stop his attack somehow. It all rode on that. Looking at Hunter for some sort of tell, he seemed... distracted. In fact he wasn’t looking at Jin at all, but glancing over his left shoulder...

Cold dread made his sweat sting as it trickled down his neck, making him shiver as he slowly turned to see what was behind him. A large shape stood a few metres away from him, a human figure of a massive frame. The figure was clad entirely in thick, spiky armour that glowed with a pale golden aura around the edges, but at its heart was tinted with darkness that obscured most of him, as if he wasn’t fully formed. The figure was holding the handle of a weapon that dragged along the floor, a massive hammer.

Gulping, Jin turned as slowly as he could back to Hunter. He didn’t show it as much, but something told him he was just as scared as he was. And just over his shoulder, another figure had appeared. Shorter and much thinner, wrapped in a heavy coat, neck scarf and hat, and carrying what looked like razor edged circular shuriken. He nodded to Hunter towards it. “I know mate.” His voice was strangled.

“Then they’re not with you?”

Hunter shook his head. “Just keep calm, and slowly, walk towards, me. No, sudden, movements...”

“You think I’m going to trust you?” Jin whispered back.

“Unless you fancy going a round with these pleasant looking fella’s, you’re going to have to mate. Come on, easy does it.”

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Jin took a tentative step towards the duelist, slowly creeping past Giganto. Somehow he could feel the giant man behind him had mirrored him. Hunter edged a little closer towards him, past his hovering beetle. The cloaked man behind him took a matching step. The process repeated again, each person taking it in turns to edge closer together. Hunter was whispering frantically to himself, or to someone, Jin had no idea. He knew he was praying for something. They had past their monsters, and Hunter was looking very pointedly at Giganto and nodding to him.

“Wait... wait... now!”

The ravine turned to chaos. Hunter was running towards him, and the golden beetle had turned to face the enemy behind him. Running on fear, Jin lunged forward, shouting something to Giganto for help as it made a likewise move on the one behind him. There was a loud bellow, followed by a smashing noise, and he instantly felt the weight lift off his conscious. The Numbers presence had gone? As he reached Hunter, he gasped as Exa-Beetle flew past him and vanish into millions of pixels. Before he could speak Hunter had grabbed him tightly around the waist and was shouting into his D-Gazer. “Now!”

The area between the two unknown figures burst into light, repelling their advance as they charged after the two duelists with weapons raised. When it subsided and their vision cleared, they were facing each other, the only ones left in this part of the Rockfall Area.

...19:54:33...

Having had to attend to another matter, Clarissa and Wilhelm were standing (or sitting) over him again. Daiki had used the few minutes busily to try and recover, think on what Clarissa had told him about Real Duel and these supposed avatar people, and work out a plan. Progress hadn’t really been made on any front. “Well, are you just going to lie there in silence all day?”

The sun was hanging low in the sky through the office windows, directly enough to catch Daiki in the eyes as he staggered to his feet. At least his strength was returning, although he was sore and heavy bruises were forming all over. A few rifles sounded as he stretched himself, but Clarissa bade them for calm. She was carrying his D-Disk, and on her arm had appeared her own sleek model. Beside her Wilhelm was looking venomously up at her, but didn’t dare interrupt her.

“Soon, your government is going to make me a very rich woman. Unless they suddenly stop caring about the wellbeing of their young generation, they are going to be paying me and my forces to try and make me go away.”

“It’s always about money with you people, isn’t it?”

“I deserve compensation from them. But you’re wrong, it’s not about money. I could have asked for a lot more. It’s difficult not to be tempted to demand more, because I know your government will bend over backwards to my every demand in the end, in order to protect those I hold the lives of in my hands. But unfortunately for them, a few billion yen isn’t going to just make me go away. Not until I’ve got what it is I want, and I have addressed every person in Japan on all the mediums my team has forced control of. I will be broadcasting soon, but first I will grant you a little preview of what I have to say to them.” Clarissa smirked at his furious expression. “You don’t like me very much do you Daiki? Or my brother?”

“Got that right.”

“You want to attack me right? You want to hurt me like I’ve had you hurt? Like the way I’ve hurt all these people who you’ve sworn to protect... that you think it’s your duty to save from me?”

“...maybe.”

“Well, here’s your chance then.” Daiki nearly dropped his D-Disk in surprise as she threw it to him, whilst her own model armed itself. Keeping his eyes on the scowling brother and joyful sister, he checked his deck. All remained intact. Even, to his utter disbelief, Hope and the unknown Number remained.

“What gives? What do you want?”

“Isn’t it apparent that I want to duel you?” Clarissa replied as if addressing someone incredibly dense.

“I can bloody well see that!” The guard’s rifles loaded again. “I meant why?”

“You’ll see.” Clarissa just turned and walked away from him and Wilhelm, who rolled off with one last disapproving scowl at him. “You know from my little army that I am collecting Numbers, and you also know that they only pass on their powers to those they judge their rightful master; either by being won by a more powerful duelist or by being willingly passed from one to another. I somehow doubt you would agree to the second option. I see you attained another Number in addition to the one my brother gave to you.” Clarissa revealed the backs of two cards. “My army has gathered almost half the Numbers, but I will only place two in my deck to face you with. The two that befit me most, and including the one that appeared to me from thin air. Just like your Hope did.”

[i]‘A Number appeared to her too?[/i]’ Before he could react Clarissa had spun on her heels, hand drawn and D-Gazer flashing as a dome shaped barrier of air shimmered around them. “Come on then darling Dai. Face me, and know the full extent of pain and suffering!”

19:59:58... 19:59:59... 20:00:00...[/spoiler]

Yes, I finally got a graduate from the school of ironic names in this thing!

More interested than ever in how people react to this chapter and their opinion on what's been revealed so far, as think the reactions might vary. Looking forward to seeing some deductions/guesses as to what happens in the finale next week as well. So... let the speculation begin.

[Northern Sage]

Great chapter as always

[Brinolovania]

My god, its like watching a YCS duel.

As for the rest of the chapter...it was certainly interesting. So the VDS is actually some big world some guy imagined up? And of course, I agree with the above poster.

[guuu1234]

Just finished chapter 7:2 and just curious, isn't Venominaga unaffected by monster effects as well? so Daiki wouldn't be able to negate her attack with number 39...

[Bahamut - Envoy of the End]

Again, site dislikes multi-quoting.

[quote name='∂materasu' timestamp='1336155027' post='5932503']
Great chapter as always
[/quote]

Thank you kindly.

[quote]

My god, its like watching a YCS duel.

As for the rest of the chapter...it was certainly interesting. So the VDS is actually some big world some guy imagined up? And of course, I agree with the above poster.
[/quote]

Hmm... now where have I seen this before? Mind you that was one of the reasons I wanted to get that duel in. I wonder who this Hunter chap is...

The imagination of the avatar does alter the way the VDS world grows, changes and develops to an extent, but the basic starting place was put in place by Real Duel using the Field Spells existing in the game. The world responds to the avatar's interpretation of said field spells, how they'd knit them all together and expand them.

More about the avatar's, it goes without saying, will be explained before the arc ends.

[quote]

Just finished chapter 7:2 and just curious, isn't Venominaga unaffected by monster effects as well? so Daiki wouldn't be able to negate her attack with number 39...
[/quote]

New commentor, yay!

Whose commented solely to pick holes in duels, boo.

Er, now you mention it, I'm not really sure. Yes Vennominaga is immune to effects, but Hope's effect doesn't target it so I didn't think at the time if it would count. What with it being a defensive effect instead of an aggresive one. Erm... I think Jaden used Necro Gardna in the anime to block Venominaga's attack, but that's no definite answer. You might well be right and I got it wrong. Anyone?

Glad to have you onboard and hope you're otherwise enjoying the story.

[guuu1234]

Sorry about my comment being solely about the duel I just haven't got caught up yet so I would rather not say anything about the series as a whole (i've actually been following this for about a month, lol). Though I did feel that the plot suddenly got severally slow at the start of the second arc (for the first 2 chapters at least), which was weird for me because there was so much build-up by the end of the first arc. Again, sorry about my not so helpful first comment

[Bahamut - Envoy of the End]

[quote name='guuu1234' timestamp='1336241870' post='5933039']
Sorry about my comment being solely about the duel I just haven't got caught up yet so I would rather not say anything about the series as a whole (i've actually been following this for about a month, lol). Though I did feel that the plot suddenly got severally slow at the start of the second arc (for the first 2 chapters at least), which was weird for me because there was so much build-up by the end of the first arc. Again, sorry about my not so helpful first comment
[/quote]

No it's fine, didn't mean to respond like that. It was helpful, I simply don't know is the answer to your question. I don't play for real that much, so I constantly have to ask EvilFusion, Black Fang, Devil's Advocate and a few others for help. Still, duels in this so far have been much more error-free than Armageddon. My apologies.

I don't mind people commenting about past chapters, we can have nostalgia moments. Just happy to get any comments.

Hmm, you're the second or third person to have said Arc2 started slowly now. Hmm... I think I tried too hard to get the two part duels to go over the weekend, if you not what I mean. That might have been what did it.

This is helpful information given that I'm planning Arc 3 and will start writing that next week. The duels are going to be left right and centre early on there, but other events hopefully mean it should start... explosively....

[guuu1234]

alright i'm [i]fianlly [/i]caught up

I have to say I really love this story, it's so amazing. You know how to describe things well, without getting lost in the moment and going into details about useless matters. Every. sing. character is absolutely unique, which keeps this story from getting boring or reptitive. I also liked with you did with Daiki and his duel against Vennominaga (I summoned it on DN, my opponent rage quit ). It shows just how strong the drones are, and that the main characters don't have to win eveything. I hate it when I know a charcater will win a duel, nobody how bad it seems for them, just because their a main character so that was extremly refreshing.

Another thing I like about this story is how you seem to be writing with themes in mind. That, in itself, makes me want to cry. Just because it's so rare in online stories. . .ever.

On to more recent chapters, I'm kind of having trouble keeping up with what appears to be "mystery charcters" poping up at what appears to be random. It's good for plot development, and I know you have a use for them, but it's so frequent that it seems to interfer with what is going on at that moment, and is confusing (though knowing your writing style, I will see the use for them later, I just don;t see the point now ). Like, whatever happened to the old man that was about to kill himself in an earlier chapter?

Even more recently, i'm having mized feelings concenring Clarissa. she seems the most composed charcter in your story, and is the picture of perfect control. Yet she risks a lot to save Daikai, brings him directly to her at a huge risk (with his cop status and all), and all without even [b][i]seemingly [/i][/b]to know him. 'seemingly' is bold because earlier when she had Wheiliem (sorry if i spelled that wrong :*) save him, you made it seem like she had a past connection to him. Then, to top it all off, she enters a Numbers Duel with him, at an extremly high risk, which seems illogical and inconsistent with her charcter's nature.

[Bahamut - Envoy of the End]

[quote name='guuu1234' timestamp='1336343053' post='5933918']
alright i'm [i]fianlly [/i]caught up

I have to say I really love this story, it's so amazing. You know how to describe things well, without getting lost in the moment and going into details about useless matters. Every. sing. character is absolutely unique, which keeps this story from getting boring or reptitive. I also liked with you did with Daiki and his duel against Vennominaga (I summoned it on DN, my opponent rage quit ). It shows just how strong the drones are, and that the main characters don't have to win eveything. I hate it when I know a charcater will win a duel, nobody how bad it seems for them, just because their a main character so that was extremly refreshing.

Another thing I like about this story is how you seem to be writing with themes in mind. That, in itself, makes me want to cry. Just because it's so rare in online stories. . .ever.

On to more recent chapters, I'm kind of having trouble keeping up with what appears to be "mystery charcters" poping up at what appears to be random. It's good for plot development, and I know you have a use for them, but it's so frequent that it seems to interfer with what is going on at that moment, and is confusing (though knowing your writing style, I will see the use for them later, I just don;t see the point now ). Like, whatever happened to the old man that was about to kill himself in an earlier chapter?

Even more recently, i'm having mized feelings concenring Clarissa. she seems the most composed charcter in your story, and is the picture of perfect control. Yet she risks a lot to save Daikai, brings him directly to her at a huge risk (with his cop status and all), and all without even [b][i]seemingly [/i][/b]to know him. 'seemingly' is bold because earlier when she had Wheiliem (sorry if i spelled that wrong :*) save him, you made it seem like she had a past connection to him. Then, to top it all off, she enters a Numbers Duel with him, at an extremly high risk, which seems illogical and inconsistent with her charcter's nature.
[/quote]

Now that is a comment. Thank you for the full review there.

I'm going to guess that you didn't read my previous fic: Armageddon, but this story has been planned and written in a completely different way, and a lot of the problems that have been highlighted with this so far are mostly complete contrast to Armageddon's flaws. I've overplanned quite a bit; tried to make the plot too convuluted and had far too many short scene jumps.

Some of the aforementioned mystery characters (although not all) get cleared up a bit over the next two chapters. The rest should all be identified in terms of name, agenda and alligance by the halfway point of arc three (including the old man, glad you mentioned him. It is[i] possible[/i] to guess who he is) and there's only four-five supporting characters to introduce as and where needed from now on. I debuted a lot of people like Jin and Unmai too early tbh. I know what's going on, I could tell you the main focus of every chapter between now and the end if I wanted, and that has resulted in me planting too much too early. Whereas the plot for Armageddon was more or less made up only two chapters ahead.

Glad I'm making the duels exciting and unpredictable though, even if the first two of this arc involved saves from third parties (having them back to back was probably not sensible). The drones lifespans are more or less ending soon, so matchups are just gonna get harder and harder to call. Hopefully.

Clarissa, obviously, gets a [b]lot[/b] of character development this week. These last two chapters were hard work to get right, but I think people will be suitably *insert long list of interchangable emoticons*

Chapter 12:1 up on Tuesday.

[guuu1234]

[quote name='Verz Bahamut' timestamp='1336365524' post='5934185']
Now that is a comment. Thank you for the full review there.

I'm going to guess that you didn't read my previous fic: Armageddon, but this story has been planned and written in a completely different way, and a lot of the problems that have been highlighted with this so far are mostly complete contrast to Armageddon's flaws. I've overplanned quite a bit; tried to make the plot too convuluted and had far too many short scene jumps.

Some of the aforementioned mystery characters (although not all) get cleared up a bit over the next two chapters. The rest should all be identified in terms of name, agenda and alligance by the halfway point of arc three (including the old man, glad you mentioned him. It is[i] possible[/i] to guess who he is) and there's only four-five supporting characters to introduce as and where needed from now on. I debuted a lot of people like Jin and Unmai too early tbh. I know what's going on, I could tell you the main focus of every chapter between now and the end if I wanted, and that has resulted in me planting too much too early. Whereas the plot for Armageddon was more or less made up only two chapters ahead.

Glad I'm making the duels exciting and unpredictable though, even if the first two of this arc involved saves from third parties (having them back to back was probably not sensible). The drones lifespans are more or less ending soon, so matchups are just gonna get harder and harder to call. Hopefully.

Clarissa, obviously, gets a [b]lot[/b] of character development this week. These last two chapters were hard work to get right, but I think people will be suitably *insert long list of interchangable emoticons*

Chapter 12:1 up on Tuesday.
[/quote]

SSuitable reply to my comment, and glad to know everything I was curious about is answered.

Generally my comments are a lot more in depth with what I read, and my last one was going to be longer as I literally write as thoughts hit my mind

I've never read Armageddon, but I'm quite glad you've planned this out. You know what is coming and, if needed, you can easily change things to suit our taste. I look forward to the next chapter mate.

oh last thing; is it just me or does the Numbers generally have a negative affect on people that use them a lot? I mean just a few chapters ago, Jin was so Timid . . . talk about a 360! Which leads me to another compliment, I really like the charcter development in this story, as well as the multiple scene jumps (to an extent). It keeps me interested.

[~Tico~]

DID I JUST SEE THEM INZEKTORS?

So let's see here, new guy, Hunter, shows up. Ok, we've had several new people already, why not? He thoroughly trounces Jin, at least that's what I gathered. I kinda liked that. Not necessarily because Jin is getting smacked around, but people seem to forget: Numbers are not insta-win when you pull them out. They may utterly overwhelm your opponent, especially in the anime or here with there special immunity, but they do NOT guarantee victory. Die, Numbers, die. Also, who were those guys who attacked Hunter and Jin? More drones? They didn't seem like that...

We also learn some stuff here, like the deal with the avatars. Not entirely something I haven't seen before, but interesting nevertheless. Also had a REALLY wild guess I'll throw out there: the avatar is Genesis Star God, Sophia and its summoning will rewrite all of reality. Probably not, but it DID say "god-like being". Looks like something to be looking out for later.

And then, we get to the last bit, Clarissa and Daiki have a duel. Really? REALLY? If she'd wanted to deliver some pain, a gunfight or a bit more of kicking the dog like she was doing earlier in the chapter would've done the trick. This IS a YGO fic and all, but...dueling doesn't really seem to fit Clarissa at all, y'know? Maybe that's just me, so bleh. Looking forward to 12.1, as always. Peace out.

[Bahamut - Envoy of the End]

[quote name='guuu1234' timestamp='1336381104' post='5934238']
SSuitable reply to my comment, and glad to know everything I was curious about is answered.

Generally my comments are a lot more in depth with what I read, and my last one was going to be longer as I literally write as thoughts hit my mind

I've never read Armageddon, but I'm quite glad you've planned this out. You know what is coming and, if needed, you can easily change things to suit our taste. I look forward to the next chapter mate.

oh last thing; is it just me or does the Numbers generally have a negative affect on people that use them a lot? I mean just a few chapters ago, Jin was so Timid . . . talk about a 360! Which leads me to another compliment, I really like the charcter development in this story, as well as the multiple scene jumps (to an extent). It keeps me interested.
[/quote]

No worries.

Yeah, they are supposed to each have a difference influence on people from Number to Number, or amplify a certain emotion or desire; like they were originally like in the anime, before the plot changed to 'all Numbers are EEE-VILLL (except Hope)'. Having more Numbers and summoning them increases the effect, as well as causing general fatigue from the characters having to fight to retain control of themselves (or failing to as the case may be).

[quote name='Corona Ray' timestamp='1336453486' post='5934947']
DID I JUST SEE THEM INZEKTORS?

So let's see here, new guy, Hunter, shows up. Ok, we've had several new people already, why not? He thoroughly trounces Jin, at least that's what I gathered. I kinda liked that. Not necessarily because Jin is getting smacked around, but people seem to forget: Numbers are not insta-win when you pull them out. They may utterly overwhelm your opponent, especially in the anime or here with there special immunity, but they do NOT guarantee victory. Die, Numbers, die. Also, who were those guys who attacked Hunter and Jin? More drones? They didn't seem like that...

We also learn some stuff here, like the deal with the avatars. Not entirely something I haven't seen before, but interesting nevertheless. Also had a REALLY wild guess I'll throw out there: the avatar is Genesis Star God, Sophia and its summoning will rewrite all of reality. Probably not, but it DID say "god-like being". Looks like something to be looking out for later.

And then, we get to the last bit, Clarissa and Daiki have a duel. Really? REALLY? If she'd wanted to deliver some pain, a gunfight or a bit more of kicking the dog like she was doing earlier in the chapter would've done the trick. This IS a YGO fic and all, but...dueling doesn't really seem to fit Clarissa at all, y'know? Maybe that's just me, so bleh. Looking forward to 12.1, as always. Peace out.
[/quote]

Yep, Inzektors vs Wind Up. TCGoers were probably loving it... until they read 'Heartfelt Appeal'. Or 'Xyz Veil'. They might have burst into laughter there. If they hadn't already because I haven't used hand rape Wind Ups.

Hunter was introduced now because he reappears quite early on in Arc Three, and because a lot of the mystery characters will not remain so for long. Gotta have some unknowns carried over to the third arc, although soon everyones name, alligance and agenda will be known. And those guys, no they weren't drones. You should be able to work out who they might be...

DIE SOPHIA DIE!!! No place for your ridiculousness here!

Of course there's more to it than that. But you can find that out for yourself.... right about now...


[spoiler=Chapter 12:1]
[b]The following takes place between 8PM and 9PM.[/b]

“Sensei? Sensei!”

Methuselah turned from the display of text that was hovering seamlessly in midair before him to his young companion running across the starry realm and shouting desperately for his attention. Kaneko looked extremely worried by something; not something he was accustomed to seeing in her. As she stopped before him, he noticed she was clutching two cards.

“Sensei. Something bad has happened! I cannot find Jin anywhere inside the world!”

“Really?” The text Methuselah was reading disappeared at a mere thought, to be replaced by Sakamoto Jinrei’s profile display. The boy seemed to have been very busy; first with duelling, then steadily less so as he changed locations with increasing regularity. [i]Last known location: Rockfall Area, 19:54:42. Last known duel: vs. Webb, Hunter. Duel terminated by unknown error.[/i]

“Terminated?!” Kaneko blurted in panic. “What does that mean sensei? Is he... ok?”

“Not what you think miss. Just that duel was forced to end before a result was attained.” Despite his calmness, Kaneko was hardly reassured. She pulled on his cloak, the look in her eyes made him think she feared he too might disappear if she let go. She was still young, and still had so much to learn about the world around her.

“What about ‘unknown error’? What does that mean?”

“From reading this, I would say the duel ended due to either one or both players being disconnected from the system.” The profile changed to display the details of Jin’s opponent. “Yes, that would be it. It seems this Hunter disappeared at exactly the same time, after only an hour of being in the VDS. Odd...”

“You don’t think... they got to them, do you?”

“Hmmm... I think there are various possibilities. They might have fallen victim to some force that meant them harm. Or it is possible that our enemies, or our allies, are getting cleverer. I cannot say for sure.”

With a cry of anguish, Kaneko flopped to the ground beside him. “This is my fault. They must have seen me with him earlier and gone after him. I was just about to check on him and try to tell him more, but I wanted to show him these too. If I’d have gone earlier, I might have been able to protect him...”

“Now now miss, do not despair. It is not your fault. If you had been with him and the worst happened; there would have been nothing you could do. You would most likely have been lost, along with your friend. Above all else, that must not happen. You must remain safe at all costs...”

Kaneko gasped and made to protest, but the old duelist hushed her. “I’m sorry miss, I know how you feel. But you mustn’t go looking for revenge. I know it’s hard, but this Jin, he fought valiantly for you. If what you believe is true, he will have given everything to help and protect you. It would waste his sacrifice if you rushed out in his name and straight into their clutches. If you were captured, it would be a disaster for us all. The world would be thrown into chaos. Everything could end. Please promise me miss, do not go out in search of him. If he is alright, he will return and keep fighting for you.”

Kaneko’s eyes welled up. “And if he isn’t?”

Methuselah bowed his head. “... then honour his memory.”

The little girl threw herself around her teacher, bawling her eyes out as he hugged her. Her tears splashed against the two cards she was holding, but they remained impervious. “Those cards will watch over you, just like your Numbers. You should keep them close to your heart at all times.”

“I know sensei. I just needed to see them” Kaneko snivelled. “I’m... scared... sensei.”

“... I’m scared too.”

...

In the barren [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Wasteland"]Wasteland[/url] area, two young boys were sat a few feet opposite from each other, completely still. Between them, one controlled the Xyz monster [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Fairy_King_Alverd"]Fairy King Alverd[/url]. The other, the Synchro monster called [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Orient_Dragon"]Orient Dragon[/url]. Both had four thousand life points left. A digital display of a clock floated over the halfway line of the arena, reading three hours and fifteen minutes. That was how long the duel had been taking place for. The boys were actually brothers, and had both seen and felt the effects of their attacks on themselves and others in previous duels, the results of which had not been pleasant for them as they watched their opponents fall and not get back up. They had agreed to hide here together, in private duel mode, hopefully this would keep them safe.

A loud buzz and red flash on the D-Disk indicated that the time limit for one of the brother’s turns was up, and it was the other boys turn to draw the card that for reasons he didn’t understand was automatically offered to him. Fourteen cards left in his deck now. His younger brother had the same having had the opening turn; he would be forced to deck out first. That was when a terrifying thought occurred to the older one. What would happen then? The damage from attacks and effect had made their opponents collapse, like others they had seen the bodies of littering the world before hiding together. If you lost by deck out, would something happen that meant you would collapse? His eyes strayed from his scared looking sibling, to the [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Cards_of_Consonance"]Harmony's Treasure[/url] card in his hand...

Something splashed on his hand. The brothers looked up, to something they had never seen before.

Rain in the Wasteland.

...20:01:02...

His D-Gazer adjusting to the subtle change in the air reflecting the domed playing field created by the ARV, Daiki matched Clarissa’s actions and drew his opening hand, preparing himself for battle. His stance was tired and strained compared to her elegant and confident poise, but his pain had to be pushed to the back of his mind now. There would be more pain to come soon anyway. He just had to inflict as much on Clarissa as possible, and hope that it would do something. Hopefully that would accomplish something. He had no idea what, but this match was on now, and she clearly had her reasons for wanting it. She had said it was the only way she could take his Numbers; the Numbers she needed to accomplish her goals, but then why not have her brother Wilhelm who was watching from the middle of the arena with a twisted grimace do it instead? Maybe there was something else? She had gone to some lengths to get him here. So probably, but until she told him what it was there was no point in working it out. Just defeat her. That had to do something. Even if it just disrupted her enough to postpone this broadcast she planned until some backup arrived or something. Hopefully.

Clarissa just stood across the arena floor, flicking her long hair out of the way of her D-Gazer and her expression focused as she prepared for battle. Yet she seemed excited by the prospect of duelling; completely in contrast to how he and her brother were feeling. “Now you will see me... for what I truly am... Face me Daiki, and walk with me in hell!”

[i]‘ARV link established. Duel commencing.’[/i]

“Duel!”

The green and red lights flashed back and forth between the two duelists, making him tenser, making her more eager as they slowed to reveal who would have the lucky advantage of the first move. The lights stopped, one red and one green.

“Alright, you want it. You got it. Draw!” Daiki’s sixth card was not great, but the opening hand of three monsters and some traps was otherwise powerful. “I summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Trident_Warrior"]Trident Warrior[/url] in attack mode.”

The turquoise cloaked spear bearer hit the field with a crash, brandishing his weapon at the woman before him. Even his appearance seemed to thrill her (Lv4, ATK 1800). “Now when Trident is summoned, I can activate his effect to special summon a level three monster from my hand. Join the fight [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Feedback_Warrior"]Howling Warrior[/url], and activate your own effect to lower Trident’s own level to three.” The silver plated warrior’s static crackled around its ally, matching their levels (Lv3, ATK 800). “Now I overlay my level three Trident and Howling Warriors, and Xyz summon a new and mighty fighter. The hidden blade in the arsenal; [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/M-X-Saber_Invoker"]Missing X-Saber Invoker[/url]!"

Clad in bulky iron armour and scarlet cape billowing behind it, the warrior leapt from the vortex with swords drawn and ready for battle (Rk3, ATK 1600).

“Now by detaching one overlay unit, Invoker can activate his effect. This lets me special summon one earth attribute warrior monster straight from my deck. I choose [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Shield_Warrior"]Shield Warrior[/url]." A warrior of the east carrying a spear and large shield knelt beside the X-Saber monster (Lv3, DEF 1600). “I place one card and end my turn, at which time by the effect of Invoker, Shield Warrior is destroyed. Your move.”

“Why thank you. Now let’s start our journey together.” Clarissa drew her card in a wide arc, smiling at the result. “I’m going to enjoy this. It’s not often I grant people the honour of duelling me Dai. To tell the truth, I’m rather a late starter to this game. I don’t think I got into the whole craze before moving here and getting involved in Real Duel for the first time, and I certainly had no interest after. I had no reason to be after all, not in my mind. Not until I discovered myself and the truth, and started my plans years ago. Then I got serious about duelling.”

“Well lucky me” Daiki snapped. “You think I’m going to go easy on you because of that?”

Clarissa laughed at him. “Do not misunderstand Dai. I trained relentlessly in preparation for today, and I became very good very quickly. Every aspect of the game, every strategy, just seemed so easy to judge and counter. I guess I just had a natural flair for it. Sound familiar at all?” Daiki just shrugged to say he couldn’t care less, provoking another flash of a smile. “For example, I can see straight through your little plan to protect your monster from being destroyed by battle this turn by getting Shield Warrior in your cemetery, thus making sure you could use its effect again next turn so you can summon your Number. Well let’s see if you accommodated for this. Because I control no monsters, I can special summon this monster from my hand. Appear, my [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Steelswarm_Cell"]Evil Cell of the Inverz[/url]!"

From a small dark portal crawled a despicable insect creature. A small ladybug with a jet black head and shell, its soulless eyes peering at its potential victim. On its hardened wing case, printed in grey, was the mark of a three point shield with spikes (Lv1, DEF 0).

“Damn it, I knew I recognised that symbol from somewhere. An Inverz user huh, should have known.”

“Ha ha, yet would it have made a difference? I thought the mark of the Inverz would make a good symbol of bloody terror to broadcast across the country. Those who knew what it was would cower in fear that the mighty Inverz invaders would come and destroy them as they were renowned for. Those who didn’t would see a mark of blood and be suitably afraid anyway. Now unless you’re memory has denied you more information, you’ll know that I can release my weaker Inverz monsters to summon the more terrifying members of the colony. So by sacrificing Evil Cell, I can advance summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Steelswarm_Moth"]Inverz Moth[/url]!"

The small bug’s body split in two and released a gaseous spirit. The process of being sacrificed looked excruciatingly painful, but from the gas formed a portal for the larger, deadly monster to pull through. A sinister, soldier creature with four long wings and a wicked tail (Lv6, ATK 2400). “Now when Moth is advanced summoned by sacrificing another Inverz, I can pay one thousand of my life points.” Clarissa’s playful smile vanished as a purple aura visibly surrounded her, replaced by a look of pain (LP 3000). “By doing so, I can return two cards to your hand. So say goodbye to your monster and face down.”

“Ha, I had accommodated for this. I activate the face down [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Xyz_Reflect"]Xyz Reflect[/url]. This negates an effect that targets my Xyz monster and destroys the card.” The insect’s shot bounced of the shield that appeared around Invoker and straight back, destroying itself. “Then you take eight hundred points of damage.”

Clarissa scowled as her life points dived again (LP 2200). “Clever. I concede that you have won this opening exchange. I knew you would put up a fight. But I enjoy a challenge, and when I am finished with you, there will have no fight against me left in you. I place two cards face down and end my turn.”

“You think you can break me? Bad news, your soldier boy already failed, and you’re not going to do any better. I’ll do whatever it takes to stop this, you got it?”

“You’re so hopelessly clueless. Well whatever makes you happy, go ahead. I’m open, try and attack me. Oh and by the way” Daiki had barely drawn his card and got his plan together at this point. “As we were interrupted earlier, don’t you want to know the solution Real Duel came up with for the little avatar problem I mentioned earlier? It really is a fascinating story, as well as chilling.”

“I... I...” Daiki swallowed under the intensity of the siblings combined gaze. “Missing X’s effect activates again. By detaching his last overlay unit, I can summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Warrior_Lady_of_the_Wasteland"]Warrior Lady of the Wasteland[/url] from my deck.” The blonde swordswoman appeared armed and ready, with all the attack he needed (Lv4, ATK 1500).

“Oh really Daiki? Like I’d let you do the same thing twice. I activate my trap, [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Mirror_of_Oaths"]Mirror of the Cursed Words[/url]! This destroys a monster that is summoned from my opponent’s deck.” With a terrified scream, the warrior lady disappeared into the cursed mirror that appeared before her. “Then I get to draw one card. Now then, Real Duel judged that two out of their three avatars had failed due to being unable to adapt to the dramatic change in their lives, from being everyday citizens to becoming the equivalent of powerful deities, and that Kodai had been an anomaly to a rule that would usually prevail. It seemed a reasonable assumption to make, but how could they get around that? Well, one executive came up with the solution. What if they got someone who had no everyday life to make a near impossible adjustment from? What if someone was bought into the duel monsters world so early that it would be all they knew, so that it would be normal to them? What if someone was born to be an avatar; one who could be moulded as the company saw fit, and who would be able to look after the VDS for decades. That is the solution that was put to the president of this company, and for every evil it meant, that he approved regardless. He has been made to pay for his crimes, and so will the others involved in Project Eve.”

“What are you trying to say? That Real Duel abducted some baby and wired them into the VDS?”

“No, of course they didn’t take some random baby. The chances of them getting a suitable avatar like that would be miniscule. The project would take a lot of time and money; they had to be sure they would get the perfect avatar from it in the end.”

“I... damn it!” Daiki didn’t realise he was shaking. “Invoker, attack her!”

The swordsman leapt halfway across the arena, both swords pulled back over its head to cross slash Clarissa with. To destroy her with. However the other face down pulled back to reveal [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Mirror_Force"]Holy Barrier - Mirror Force[/url], and the swordsman was obliterated a few feet away from the unruffled femme fatale. “You find what I’m telling you upsetting. Good, then you can already appreciate the wrongs this company has committed.”

“I set one card, and one monster in defence mode.” Two reverse cards appeared for a moment as Daiki ended his turn. “None of what you’ve said makes any sense. This fantasy that this company would snatch a child and use them as a computer for their entire life; it’s all just your word. There’s no way they’d be able to get away with something like that. That no-one would find out.”

“Daiki, my word is all you need for now, along with the evidence of their existence that you have seen today. You’re a detective; you know how the world works. How it is dictated by the rich and powerful. Well no-one is richer or more powerful than Real Duel. Of course someone occasionally might come close to the truth, and they would soon either become very wealthy, or just disappear or be silenced. You must have worked on some unsolved cases in your service, to do with reporters or RDL employees.”

Whether Clarissa knowingly meant to hit that close to home or not, Daiki had no idea. But he couldn’t stop such a case coming straight to mind, and his face must have shown it. “I thought so. Now where were we? Oh yes, my turn. I summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Steelswarm_Caller"]Inverz Caller[/url] to the field.” A gangly moth like fiend appeared across the field before him (Lv4, ATK 1700). “Then I will activate the [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Double_Summon"]Dual Summon[/url] magic card, which grants me one additional normal summon this turn. So I’ll release my Caller, to advance summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Steelswarm_Mantis"]Inverz Madith[/url] and trigger the effects of both monsters. When advanced summoned, Madith can revive another Inverz for the cost of one thousand more life points (LP 1200), and when released, Caller can summon another Inverz from my deck. I’ll be choosing Moth and [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Steelswarm_Sting"]Inverz Sharp[/url] respectively.”

Suddenly instead of one monster, Daiki was facing three. The mantis like fiend with a hardened shell and long bladed claws (Lv5, ATK 2200), the returning Moth that was slightly stronger still (Lv6, ATK 2400), and a black skinned wasp creature with a deadly stinger (Lv4, ATK 1850). Behind her insect army, Clarissa gave him a sorry look. “Let’s see how you withstand this. Moth, attack his face down monster!”

“I activate the effect of Shield Warrior from my cemetery” Daiki cried as the tail laser shot fired towards his emerging face down, a masked warrior in scarlet samurai armour (Lv4, DEF 100). “By banishing it from play, my Tasuke Knight survives this battle.”

“Fine, but it won’t survive Sharp’s sting” Clarissa cried back. Indeed the wasp’s attack easily took down the unarmed warrior. “Now Madith will sink its blades into you directly.”

With a lightning fast cross slash movement, the two sickle like claws slashed across Daiki’s chest, knocking him down. “I activate the trap card [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Defense_Draw"]Guard Block[/url], reducing the damage to zero and granting me one card from my deck.”

“So, you escaped pain again!” The frustration was apparent in Clarissa’s tone. “Is this why it doesn’t make sense to you yet Dai? Why you can’t remember? Because you run and hide from anything that might hurt you? Well you can try to run and hide from the pain all you want, but I will force you to confront it. It will pain like you’ve never experienced before, but it must be done.”

...20:15:03...

As well as the heavily guarded historical records storage facility, Real Duel Ltd had many other areas inside the VDS that were for employee use only, for the day to day running and maintenance of the virtual world. One of these areas was similar to the operations centre in the RDL Building that was currently occupied by Clarissa, her group, and the thousand or so brainwashed employees serving as duel drones; as a virtual equivalent where a service operator could do their work from inside the VDS itself. However this virtual replica was empty, except for Natsumi sat in a corner switching between a few different monitors and virtual displays, sifting through any information she could on the names she had found in the vaults guarded by Yamada Gorou.

After her battles inside the vaults she had reported straight to Methuselah and told him of what she’d discovered. How much he had really gained from the information she wasn’t sure, and he certainly hadn’t helped her much when she asked about the names contained in the records. He did ask if she had had any difficulty, and she told him about the guard that was bound to the records and his story. Again he provided no answers to her questions about it, so in frustration she decided to neglect mention that she had won two Numbers from him. Both had left the meeting unsatisfied with the other; she certainly had done, and thus decided to break into other sections of RDL’s off limit areas, on the merits of her own skills and powers of her new monsters. She had passed through the security wards of this place without much difficulty, given her previous affiliation with the company, and had dispatched of the guards with ease. Now here she was with three displays, working on each one to research a separate person she needed information on.

Hakai Unmai was simple enough to find. A basic level service operator who had only been with the company a matter of months when he stumbled, or was presented with the opportunity to stumble on, information on her activities. He was still employed by the company in the same position today, and she had found all sorts of personal information and contact details on company records that she might be able to use. But when she went to see if he was at work today, she found a record of him logging out of the VDS (“[i]But that’s impossible?[/i]”) at around quarter past two, six hours ago, and nothing since.

The other two were presenting her with a lot more difficulties. Clarissa Haines-Wilshire was an unusual name given the mixture of cultures it lent itself to, but could relate to her being from any number of countries. Still, this woman must have been in Japan for some time to have a relationship with Real Duel. She’d gone through various searches so far not just through Real Duels records of registered duelists, but through national surveys, electoral rolls, medical records and criminal databases, but so far she had turned up no results for that name. Plans A through to E exhausted she starting trying any gamble with wedding registers, university enrolments, and even social media supersite MyTweetBook.

Her eyes lit up as the results finally flashed up with a match.

“Aha, got ya! Now let’s see. Clarissa Haines-Wilshire enrolled at the University of Tokyo in 2052 studying medicine, having transferred from Eton in England, and became a student teacher for the English department. She returned to England before her first school year ended. Interesting, but I wonder how she is connected to Real Duel.”

Taking the basic personal information the university register gave her about Clarissa; such as her date and place of birth, impressive academic achievements and her club memberships (she expected to find something about her being in a Duel Monsters club, but she had no record of being interested in the game at uni. Only being vice chair of the horse riding club), it was back to the Real Duel based search and a bit of cross examination later. Which turned up with...

“Nothing? Seriously?! How can there be nothing? Unless the company... hmm...” Well, it didn’t take much for Natsumi to suspect tampering on the part of Real Duel. It was more than likely that the company would delete all record of any connection to this woman in the event of something dodgy going on. “Okay, let’s try the other name for now.”

Indeed, the third name was proving much more of an arduous task. The last census registered a few dozen Yumura Katsuro’s, and trying to work out which was the one that the Project Eve file might have been referring to was a real pain. Indeed most of them seemed to have accounts with Real Duel and used the VDS both now and at the time specified in the file. Well, at least the indications were this person did actually duel and she would find the right one eventually. In need of a change of pace, she changed tact and started to look through national tournament records from the time.

“East Asian Duel Monsters Grand Championship 2050, sponsored by Real Duel... won by Ageda Junichi. 2054 championship... won by Krysta Skeltenberg, the first every non-Japanese grand champion. 2058 championship... won by... oh this is so frustrating!” Natsumi’s fist passed seamlessly through the display floating in front of her. “I can’t go through every file, I need an answer now! Why am I having no luck with any of this?”

Something pulsed around her mind, stunning her. Luck. She had stumbled on a potential solution. It was not certain, but some other force inside her was telling her it would work. Nervously she reached into her belt and removed the three Number cards from their container; central among them was [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Number_7%3A_Lucky_Stripe"]Number 7: Lucky Stripe[/url]. Natsumi just looked at them for a while, waiting for an answer. “Okay, I don’t understand what you want me to do, so I’ll trust you and let you do it. You two help.”

Holding the three cards out and passing into the display, the middle card began to glow gently. Natsumi jumped as the screen immediately changed. It now displayed the final sixteen for a special tournament in the later part of 2052; a few months before Project Eve. She remembered watching this, vaguely. Titled the ‘RDL Duel Festival 2052’, it was a one-off tournament, and the prize on offer was anything the champion requested. There had been huge interest at the time, but the two finalist’s lack of charisma or flair lead to a dull and forgettable climax. Looking back upon the final sixteen, one name stood out, recurring as it made its way along the graphic to the semi-finals.

“That must be him, the Yumura I’m looking for. Lucky Stripe, bring up his profile.”

Lucky Stripe obliged. This Yumura Katsuro was seventeen at the time of the tournament, and was making his first national semi-final appearance. A photo of him in action showed a tall boy who appeared nothing out of the ordinary at all in his appearance. Following a link at the bottom of the page, Natsumi was amazing that it led to... “A death certificate? Yumura Katsuro died 24[sup]th[/sup] February 2053 in a bike accident, having driven off a cliff. Alcohol was present in his system. Police believe the case to be suicide, although no motivation could be established as to why.” Something cold gripped Natsumi. [i]‘A week after the date in the Project Eve file. Did Real Duel do something to him to drive him to that?’[/i]

Going back a page, Natsumi tried to glean a little bit more about him. Looking at the photo again, he had his back to her, commanding a monster to attack an unguarded opponent.

“Wait, that monster... Is that?”

The image disappeared as a siren started to blare in the background. Deleting everything as quickly as she could and using her Numbers to guide her, Natsumi fled from the area before any trouble arrived to silence her from what she thought she’d found out.

...

At his summons; Keylan, Yuri, Beniko, and several others of the department’s highest ranking figures filed into the office of the superintendant general. He was sat looking out of his window across the city, looking extremely tired as he watched the sun continue to set over the horizon.

“Nightfall approaches and we’re still no closer to resolving this crisis. It will probably get ugly again in the city. Benny, have you managed to draft in the extra men?”

“Yes sir, I’ve got in as many officers on standby as I could.”

“That’s good. Get them all equipped and ready for combat should the riots spring up again.” Dismissed, Beniko and some of his men left. With them gone, Shigeo stood and paced the office in silence for a moment. The two remaining team members daren’t push him for what he was going to say, fearing a backlash even if he did look oddly beaten. “How are our guys doing? Any progress?”

Yuri turned glumly to Keylan, who seemed just as reluctant to answer. “I’m afraid we haven’t been able to get hold of them sir. It may still be too early to say, but I fear the worst for them.”

“I see.” There was a long pause as the three stood there, no-one seemed to know what to do. The day had been terrible, and now the approaching night looked bleak.

“...I’ve called you both in because I’ve received contact from our allies” Shigeo eventually managed to say. “I didn’t want to say anything in front of Benny and the others as they’ve instructed me to keep quiet, and we should be prepared regardless. So I’m talking to you two in confidence. If you could take a seat and listen, I have an approach to offer to you both...”

...

“It’s my turn” Daiki stuttered as he placed his hand to his deck. “Draw.”

Daiki: LP 4000, Hand 3, Field empty
Clarissa: LP 1200, Hand 1, Field of Inverz Madith, Moth and Sharp

“I set one monster in defence mode.” Once more the reverse image of one monster appeared for a brief moment. Then I place two cards face down and end my turn.”

“What’s the matter Dai? What happened to ‘you’ll do whatever it takes to stop me’? Or are you just trying to lure me into a trap?” Clarissa’s suspicions turned to the two face down cards as she drew. “Well, let’s see shall we. By releasing Sharp, I can advance summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Steelswarm_Girastag"]Inverz Gilafer[/url] with only one tribute!”

The wasp creature’s body split open in horrific fashion to release a much bigger, nastier creature. A giant scorpion like fiend standing tall on its muscular back legs, with a large cannon grafted in place of its right claws. The scorpion grinned maliciously at him (Lv7, ATK 2600). “When Gilafer is summoned, I can send one card on the field straight to the cemetery. Then I gain one thousand life points.”

The trap card on Daiki’s left, [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Dimensional_Prison"]Dimensional Imprisonment[/url], vanished into thin air as Clarissa recovered some life (LP 2200). “Now my precious Inverz, make Dai feel true suffering! Madith, attack his face down monster!”

“My other trap, my own Holy Barrier – Mirror Force, activates!” To Clarissa’s amazement, light burst forth from the remaining trap card and enveloped the three advancing fiends one after another. “This destroys all your attacking monsters.”

“I activate the instant magic [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/First_Steps_Towards_Infestation"]Move of the Invasion[/url] from my hand. This returns the advanced summoned Madith to my hand, and then lets me draw another card.” Clarissa countered just in time to save Madith from the blast, but still Gilafer and Moth bodies exploded in the barrier’s intense glow. The destruction left them both breathless. “I place... one card face down. You can’t... beat me Dai!”

“You... won’t stop me! I will protect...” Daiki stopped mid-sentence. [i]‘What am I protecting? The people in the VDS. Why? Because it’s my job. Because I should. But I can’t possibly expect to succeed. Its suicide, but I’m doing it anyway. Why do I feel so compelled to fight? And why do I feel... so angry? Like something inside me, some savage darkness, wants to escape and lash out. Against her... or... Why would I? Why can’t I remember?’ [/i]

“Go on Dai. Try to remember” Clarissa shouted at him, her mood suddenly of anger. “I dare you to try!”

“I... It’s my turn.” Shaking out of it, the draw was ideal. “First I flip summon my defending [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Twin-Headed_Behemoth"]Dol Dora[/url] into attack mode.” The two headed dragon rose from the flipped card (Lv3, ATK 1500). “Then I activate the magic card [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Monster_Reborn"]Raise Dead[/url] to summon Howling Warrior back from my cemetery, and have both of them attack you directly. This will be just enough to finish it!”

“You think I’ll go down like this?” Clarissa snarled as the twin headed dragon and sound powered warrior leapt towards her. “Instant magic, [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Enemy_Controller"]Enemy Controller[/url] activates, switching Dol Dora into defence mode.” The warrior’s sound attack still knocked her backwards slightly, leaving enough of an impression for her not to stand fully upright afterwards (LP 1400).

“I overlay level three Dol Dora and Howling Warrior. Xyz summon! The rampant destroyer!” Daiki continued relentlessly as the two monsters disappeared. In their place rose [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Grenosaurus"]Grenosaurus[/url], spitting flame and looming over Clarissa (Rk3, ATK 2000). “It’s over. Just give up Clarissa. Stop this chaos.”

“Give.... up...?” Clarissa was no longer smiling. Her body was beginning to shake slightly as her tall stance faltered and head bowed. Her face contorted into an ugly, hateful grimace as she struggled to look at him, but something seemed hidden about her expression. Wilhelm was sat on the sidelines watching his sister with a dead look. The shaking got more pronounced as she drew her card, and her eyes flashed at the result.

“Never! I will never give up, and I will crush anyone who tries to stop me. Even you! I summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Tour_Guide_from_the_Underworld"]Tour Guide from Hell[/url]!"

A young pink-haired female wearing a conductor’s uniform emblazoned with several skulls appeared before Clarissa, flashing Daiki a deadly smile similar to the woman who was looking closer and closer to the point of collapse and whose shaking was getting more and more pronounced (Lv3, ATK 1000). “When Tour Guide is summoned, she gets to bring out a friend in the shape of any level three fiend monster straight from my deck, although its effect is negated. I choose [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Steelswarm_Sentinel"]Inverz Sentinel[/url]."

A small beetle with a laser eye device appeared beside the tour guide (Lv3, ATK 1100), its appearance unsettling Daiki. “A reversal that easily? Are you going for...?”

“Yes Daiki, that is exactly what I’m going for. I overlay my level three monsters. Xyz Summon!” Daiki watched in horror as the two monsters energy spiralled and arced into the starry vortex that appeared between him and Clarissa. The vortex itself was radiating a huge amount of power, making Daiki step back from it whilst Clarissa held firm, her long hair flying from the power the gateway gave off and reaching towards it to take it for herself. On her hip appeared the mark of the Numbers, blazing against her black suit. “Come to me, and make Daiki suffer like I have suffered! Make him see me and the world around us and embrace our pain!” A giant hand punched out of the portal and slammed into the ground with a crash, forcing Daiki further back as the giant creature pulled itself out of its prison. A skeletal face emerged, its dead eyes staring through Daiki before the other arm came up and the creature pulled free. It just went up and up, almost to the ceiling way above them, a giant with a deep purple hide punctured by dozens of pores omitting a gaseous substance. Finally the feet emerged and the vortex closed, letting the beast slam its number emblazoned leg down and shake the arena, Daiki fell under the force it struck with (Rk3, ATK 3000). “Behold the embodiment of my being. [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Number_30%3A_Acid_Golem_of_Destruction"]Number 30: Acid Golem of Destruction[/url]!"

Daiki just sat with his mouth open, struggling to take it in. “A rank three with three thousand attack points?!”

“Now to put them to use!” Clarissa screamed, lashing through the air towards him. “Acid Golem, start by destroying Grenosaurus!”

The golem willingly obliged, dropping its massive fist on the helpless dinosaur with cataclysmic force. It was obliterated instantly, and Daiki felt the effects of a shock like he never felt the force of before, forcing him back several yards and leaving him breathless and crippled (LP 3000).

“So this... is the monster that represents your being best... along with your Inverz? A monster... of mindless devastation... that destroys everything it touches? This is what you really are?”

“No Dai, this is what I have been forced to become...” Daiki blinked as Clarissa’s voice shook, although she had become oddly still. She was... crying? “Acid Golem has incredible power, but it comes at a terrible cost. You see, during each of my standby phases, I must detach one overlay unit from it. If I cannot, then I will take two thousand points of damage...”

Daiki blinked at the news and looked to Wilhelm in disbelief. He was just sat there with a grim expression, whilst across the field Clarissa completely broke down. “The cost of this effect on me would probably be devastating, but it doesn’t matter. I am just like this golem. I suffer every day with my burden, but I am forced to carry it and never stop, even after there is nothing left to give. I am not going to stop, no matter what it costs me. No matter what I have to sacrifice or how much destruction I cause. I will destroy everything. I will sacrifice everything. I will do whatever it takes. Either until I die trying, or I overcome the suffering this company has cursed me with and I get back my daughter. Our... daughter...”[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Notes]Stupid site means this took three attempts to update. If this chapter doesn't get a load of comments, I will cry. And rage. Just saying.[/spoiler]

Ps: I started writing arc three today.

PPs: Arc two reaches its thrilling conclusion this weekend. Don't miss it.

[Catterjune]

You always complain about people not commenting this dreck so here I am, commenting.

[Bahamut - Envoy of the End]

[quote name='Hatcher' timestamp='1336530472' post='5935416']
You always complain about people not commenting this dreck so here I am, commenting.
[/quote]

It takes me half an hour to forty five minutes to construct these posts; with all the hyperlinks and formatting and so on. It is frustrating that you spend all that time only for the site to crash. It is biblically upsetting when it does it twice.

And you complain about pretty much everything.

[Reinforce]

ClarissaxDaiki in the past, that is a major bombshell, my guess is that Daiki helps her after the end of the duel.

[Brinolovania]

I feel this will not be complete until this is said:

DUN DUN DUN PLOT TWIST

With that done...this was a great chapter. The duel is awesome (somebody actually used TGU to support a fiend deck! What is this madness?!), and RDL/Clarissa have a cool backstory developing now. And as to the last sentence of the chapter...I can honestly think of nothing to say that I haven't already stated in all caps. I...was not expecting that.

[Northern Sage]

Holy, what a plot twist.
Didn't expect Steelswarm.

[Bahamut - Envoy of the End]

[quote name='Simdoggy' timestamp='1336531796' post='5935443']
ClarissaxDaiki in the past, that is a major bombshell, my guess is that Daiki helps her after the end of the duel.
[/quote]

[quote name='Pacmanexus' timestamp='1336533752' post='5935468']
I feel this will not be complete until this is said:

DUN DUN DUN PLOT TWIST

With that done...this was a great chapter. The duel is awesome (somebody actually used TGU to support a fiend deck! What is this madness?!), and RDL/Clarissa have a cool backstory developing now. And as to the last sentence of the chapter...I can honestly think of nothing to say that I haven't already stated in all caps. I...was not expecting that.
[/quote]

[quote name='∂materasu' timestamp='1336554132' post='5935602']
Holy, what a plot twist.
Didn't expect Steelswarm.
[/quote]

Was wondering is anyone would recognise Clarissa's insignia as a terrible description of the Inverz tattoo.

Can't remember who had speculated at Clarissa and Kaneko's relationship, think someone might have had it in mind after her appearance in Jin's duel, but yeah, major twist. And they just keep coming in the last chapter. The full extent of Dai and Clarissa's lives and Kaneko get explained, as well as the conclusion of the duel and the aftermath of it all.

And yes, Tour B*tch had to make an appearance somewhere, but only as a one-off.

[~Tico~]

Y U NO GIVE CLARISSA THEM EVILSWA(*shot repeatedly*) I MEAN VERZ? The Inverz ARE pretty cool, but given the more Xyz-reliant era, I would imagine that the Verz would be more suitable if Xyz were to be used, given that nearly all members of the archetype are Level 4, allowing for them to easily unleash their signature Rank 4s.

Lolz at MyTweetBook. And Number 7 seems to still retain its "super-lucky" power, too. LIFE IS CARNIVAL!

That aside, various bombshells were dropped upon us within this chapter. Hooray for that; after all, we've been going on for quite a bit of time without explanation of any sort. So basically, taking upon everything we know to date: Kaneko is the avatar, and Clarissa + Daiki are her parents? Major twists here. Looks like Daiki's got some real shockers thrown at him every which way. Let's just hope he can cope with it all.

[Bahamut - Envoy of the End]

[quote name='Corona Ray' timestamp='1336607700' post='5935931']
Y U NO GIVE CLARISSA THEM EVILSWA(*shot repeatedly*) I MEAN VERZ? The Inverz ARE pretty cool, but given the more Xyz-reliant era, I would imagine that the Verz would be more suitable if Xyz were to be used, given that nearly all members of the archetype are Level 4, allowing for them to easily unleash their signature Rank 4s.

Lolz at MyTweetBook. And Number 7 seems to still retain its "super-lucky" power, too. LIFE IS CARNIVAL!

That aside, various bombshells were dropped upon us within this chapter. Hooray for that; after all, we've been going on for quite a bit of time without explanation of any sort. So basically, taking upon everything we know to date: Kaneko is the avatar, and Clarissa + Daiki are her parents? Major twists here. Looks like Daiki's got some real shockers thrown at him every which way. Let's just hope he can cope with it all.
[/quote]

Two reasons: 1 - Because the sacrifical nature of the Inverz suit her, along with Acid Golem. 2 - Verz are reserved for someone else.

In the original planning, Clarissa was meant to debut against Unmai at the end of the last arc, using Roach to negate the summon of Dragoon D-End for the win. But that would have been stupid for multiple reasons as well as anti-climactic. I also later discovered that Roach doesn't stop Fusions. So yeah... better this way.

"As long as the sun doesn't split in two, my luck will never..." *shoots writers*

Correctly correctington. Unfortunately for Dai, he's got a lot more bad news to come...

[spoiler=Er, and... minor free spoiler...]He doesn't....[/spoiler]

[guuu1234]

The F***

That chapter and plot twist was. ..i don't even know what. . .*speechless*

[Bahamut - Envoy of the End]

[quote name='guuu1234' timestamp='1336782321' post='5937549']
The F***

That chapter and plot twist was. ..i don't even know what. . .*speechless*
[/quote]

Doesn't know whether that's good WTF? or bad WTF?

It gets even more speechlessnessinducing in the arc finale... released in about the next 12-16 hours. Need to finish work, and sleep.

*cue long drum roll*

[guuu1234]

That is definitely the good WTF.

Anyhow on to the story, where are you from? You spell words such as "Defence" uncommonly from the way I do (with an S).

I Also like how we are getting more backstory now. We readers are no longer being left in the dark (while at the same time we are, with what vague thing Natsumi found out), and we can get more in touch with the charcters. Even Clarissa isn't the b!tch I thought she was.

One more thing I like about this chapter was the descriptions. Oh. my. god. The summoning of Acid Golemn was so amazing, so detailed, so fap-tastic (probably worng choice of word there o.o) that It was like I was Daiki, looking at it come out of a hole in my living room. *speechless*