Yu-Gi-Oh! 24 - Finished

[Bahamut - Envoy of the End]

[quote name='Lexadin' timestamp='1338740522' post='5951531']
Awesome chapter by chapter review.
[/quote]

Wow, I said in PM feel free to reply whenever, but you have.

Eight chapters in a day, nice dedication sir.

Plenty of predictions. Well, some are right, and some are wrong You've also touched on some stuff that you might expect on the future, some you might like and some, judging from some of your comments, you won't I fear. Yes the cast at this point is a bit too large. Jin was introduced unnessarily early, and a few others didn't need creating at all.

Yes, Numbers both amplify damage and shield you from it. Simply possessing one in your extra deck has some effect, and it is enhanced further by having it on the field. As for Dai having Hope, well... it's effect is kinda protagonisty. And it's one of only two Numbers to have an advanced form (whether I'll use it or not I dunno, but at least there's an option).

Yes, it was a hypothetical Ritua Field Spell. It's the only instance of it so far, although DT does get referenced occasionally.

Thank you for your kind words.

[Bahamut - Envoy of the End]

It is time. As promised, Arc 3 of YGO24, Blackest Night, has begun...

And we start with a new soundtrack for the second half of the series. I could/should have picked one per arc but... eh... enjoy.

[spoiler=Second theme tune]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT3zXBd2ksk[/spoiler]

Plenty of things to look forward to in this arc; as the stakes are ratcheted up a few notches, new alliances are formed, new enemies appear, all sorts of duelling action and more Numbers entering the fray (please please Konami, I need more. Like, soon), and everyones getting a bit more edgy and heated as the day turns to night. So... comfortable?


[b]Previously on Yu-Gi-Oh! 24[/b]

The city of Tokyo has been bought to its knees by [b]Clarissa Haines-Wilshire[/b] and her extremist group. Having seized control of Real Duel Ltd and holding millions of people hostage inside the virtual play space, Clarissa’s team of hired cyber-criminals began to cause havoc with the country’s communications, police systems, city control networks and media outlets. The streets turned to chaos, as protestors and conspirators rioted against Prime Minister [b]Hideo Nakashima[/b], who has tried to quell the panic and end the threat with minimal loss.

Inside the Virtual Duel System, the battles intensified as Clarissa’s brainwashed army of RDL employees continued its savage hunt for the [b]Numbers[/b], the paranormal forces whose very presence affects the world around them. Young duelist [b]Jinrei Sakamoto[/b] was one of those leading the charge against the drones before he mysteriously disappeared, whilst wanted ex-RDL employee [b]Natsumi Hotaru[/b] dag deep into the company’s past for answers.

Troubled Tokyo detective [b]Daiki Masuro[/b] also fought inside the VDS before he encountered Clarissa’s brother Wilhelm, who rescued him from the duel drones under the orders that he come to the RDL tower. Dai fought against Clarissa, and in doing so discovered that his identity and the last six years of his life was a fraud; a cover up designed by RDL for him to live out after he was used for [b]Project Eve[/b]; an experiment that forced the best genes from him and Clarissa to create the perfect child to be planted into the VDS and become avatar of the virtual world, the child known as [b]Kaneko[/b].

Exhausted from the intensity and emotion of their gruelling battle, Clarissa and Daiki can only watch as the tower suddenly came under attack from two men who slaughtered through Clarissa’s guard. One was Dai’s fellow detective and friend [b]Garvan Zielinski[/b], who along with Hank Evos and Asami Kato is aligned with power-crazed former avatar [b]Murtagh[/b]. Little is known about him, other than he thinks Kaneko has stolen his rightful place as avatar. After Clarissa Wilhelm and Daiki were captured by the group, the next arc covers the next six hours of the story, starting from this point.

[spoiler=Chapter 13:1][b]The following takes place between 9PM and 10PM.[/b]

With the stars of their virtual home twinkling gently in the distance far above them, Kaneko and Methuselah continued what they were doing in silence, completing the world’s serene atmosphere. The ancient avatar was stood navigated several virtual displays that floated around him, biting his lip that was just visible under the pulled down hood of his robes as he studied, thought, changed, restudied and rethought and re-changed, as if trying to solve an unsolvable riddle. His young apprentice was sat a way behind him, the little girl in a white dress who continually had to pull her long golden hair back out of her face as she sat and studied the set of cards scattered over the glowing surface in front of her, scrunching up her face in absolute concentration as she mulled over her own dilemma. Eventually she drew the cards back (by merely extending out her small hand, they all rose into the air and shuffled themselves into a neat pile for her), stood and prepared to leave.

“I wouldn’t do that” the old man muttered without turning.

“I have to find them” she replied flatly. “I can’t just stay here and hide. I have to go out and find my friends.”

“If Clarissa or Murtagh are sensible enough, which they certainly would be, they will detect you as soon as you set foot in the world proper and be upon you. Look what happened when you went out and met that Jin boy the first time. Here you are safe, but if you go out into the world then they will attack you for sure, and if that happens…”

“I can handle myself you know.”

The old man would usually have chuckled to himself about her young naïve confidence. However the situation was delicate and even the slightest disturbance of the scales against their favour would be catastrophic. The capture of the little girl would not be so much a slight disturbance, but like dropping a ten tonne weight on one side of it. Kaneko seemed to have trouble realising that. Only natural for one so young, even in her case. Therefore this time Methuselah shot her a withering look that penetrated through the folds of his hood, the force of which froze her in place. “Kaneko. You will be putting the live of millions at risk if you venture into the world and into the clutches of either Clarissa or that maniac. You cannot expect to just easily defeat them and the forces they’ll send after you. You might be the future avatar of this world, possibly more powerful than I or Murtagh are or ever were, but if you let arrogance consume you and charge in now it could cause great ruin to all who you want to protect. Do you understand me?”

The girl stood there for a moment, trying to think of a response to the old man’s scolding. With none coming to mind, she sat down again. “...I’m sorry.”

There was a long awkward silence between the two. Methuselah continued trying to work, but his attention was completely drawn by the little girl behind him. “I’m sorry I shouted... I didn’t mean to. I just find it difficult sometimes to know how to manage you.”

Kaneko perked up with a curious expression. “What do you mean?”

Methuselah sighed and dismissed the displays with a wave, before summoning his preferred armchair into existence and flopping into it. His voice was tinged with tiredness when he spoke. “I’m a very old man little miss. Being your sensei and teaching you all I know about governing and nurturing the world as an avatar is all well and good. That I can do. But being your guardian and looking after you when you’re here... teaching you how to grow up as if I was... I struggle to know what I’m doing sometimes. I have no experience in... that...”

“But you had Murtagh before. Even if he was older than me when he started training, you must have raised him somewhat in his time.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me about him. He is hardly an endearing statement of my ability to raise young people” the old man sighed. “If anything; what he became is proof of my failings in the area. But he was in his late teens when I met him; I never had to help raise him from a young age like I have had to with you. Having to learn how to be a grandparent as well as your teacher and friend has been hard work.”

The little girl bounced up and over to the old man’s arm. “But sensei, you know everything.”

“Not how to raise a child I don’t. I’ve never had to do it before.”

“Oh...” Kaneko went quiet with embarrassment for a while, just swaying on the spot as the old man regained himself, wondering whether she should ask or not. “When we’ve gone out into the world training before, I’ve always wondered about the people I’ve seen together. Young kids and older men laughing and playing together, the older teaching the younger like you teach me. Boys and girls walking around arm in arm, cuddling and being together. I never understood what they were doing. Is that... have you never done anything like that before?”

The old man shook his head. “When I became avatar, it was a huge change in my life. No, it was a complete exchange of one for another. I never had a teacher in the way that I am here for you. I have never had a partner, or children and grandchildren. You’re too young to understand...”

“Hey, I hate it when you say that!”

“Sorry. But can you see what I mean? I am never quite sure how to treat you, whether you’ll understand everything around you or not, what I should teach you and when so that you can grow up to be what others would consider a good person. You are such a pure and innocent thing, and the thought of you being corrupted because of my ignorance is a constant worry.”

“I see... so you’ve been alone for a long time right?” The old man nodded. He seemed very glum, although why he was so she didn’t completely get. Not that she would admit that. Instead she decided to jump into the old man’s lap and give him a tight hug around the waist. “If it makes you feel better, I like you better than my carers in my nursery in the other world. They annoy me. I love you.”

“Thank you miss. It does mean a lot.”

“But sensei, what about when you left the VDS while Murtagh was avatar? Was it better in the other world?”

“My view of the other world is biased. When I went back to it, I had been absent for the best part of forty years. It was very different from when I was last there. It was very difficult for me to adapt to being a part of it, after being here. Perhaps that is why I came back after all...” Methuselah trailed off in thought. “Maybe I didn’t come back to stop Murtagh turning this place into a bloody battlefield like he did. Maybe I was just institutionalised and couldn’t cope with going back...”

“Eh? What’s ins-tit-ution-alised mean?”

“It’s a term I believe they use for when people have been away from society for so long that they can’t readjust to going back into it, like if they’d be stranded on a desert island or in prison for a long time. They become so used to the harsh reality they are in, and then become so dependent on it, that they cannot adapt to going back to ‘normal’. It might have happened to me, or it might not have. It’s just a thought.”

“Is Murtagh institutionalised?”

“No, he’s just addicted to power and abusing it. Being stripped of the amount of it that he developed just unbalanced him further. I was present at his trial, I could tell then what had happened had made him lose much of what little sanity he had left. I just hoped that his imprisonment would prevent him from coming back has he had sworn to, but I guess it just made him worse, and more determined.”

Kaneko was bursting with questions. Although they were extremely close, she had never spoken to Methuselah about these sort of matters, but now it interested her. However she realised that the subject was personal and had to be delicately asked if it all. “... sensei, do you regret being an avatar? Would you do it again?”

The old man paused at her sudden question, not quite sure how to answer. “I prefer not to dwell on what which was not and what could have beens. If there is any advice I can give to you, it is to never regret anything.” Kaneko’s pouting indicated she didn’t seem satisfied with that answer. “Alright. I think on balance, I am content with my choices. I grant it that I have missed out on much, but I have also experienced just as much that no one else can in exchange. It’s all just about balance I guess.”

“Yeah, cheer up sensei.” Kaneko jumped up and spun around playfully to try and encourage the old man to smile. “I’ve not been doing it for as long as you, but I think being avatar is super awesome! I guess it just must have been made easier for me with all the friends I have here; like the Numbers and my deck and you and my guardians. Besides, by coming back, you got to meet me and be my sensei and my best friend. That’s gotta be worth something right?” she asked with a cheerful wink.

That got the old man to smile. “Yes, I believe so little miss. It’s been...”

The old man broke off mid-sentence with a gasp, what was visible of his face seemed shocked and worried. Kaneko shuddered as well, as she felt something. The air around them both just seemed suddenly colder for a moment, as if something had swept over the world around them.

“Sensei, what just happened? Did they change something?”

“Yes, but what it was I don’t know.” Scrambling to his feet, Methuselah bought back various displays around him and Kaneko matched his actions. There was a minutes frantic searching, before he found the alteration. “The nerve suppressors that safeguards players have been lowered again... to zero percent. Shock simulation up to the max as well. And they’ve also changed... oh my... this is...”

“Someone’s changing all the settings?” Kaneko blurted. “But if they change them all at once to such extremes, especially with the Numbers running loose, that would be really dangerous for everyone. Can’t we do something to change it all back?”

“No, only... only certain people in the other world have the access to change these things from where they are. We used to be able to alter these things in the world until... Murtagh!”

Kaneko watched as the old man fell silent with terror, as he realised what was happening.

…21:09:33…

Back in the real world, in the depths of Toshima Halls, several of the cabinet were sat or stood around the prime minister’s office, watching and waiting. Watching the clock that was ticking down to ten o’clock, the deadline Clarissa had given for her to receive payment by. Waiting for the call that was coming. Watching the window outside, as the clouds started to gather and darken. Waiting for something to happen. Good or bad. Watching. Waiting. Hoping.
Hideo sat at his desk, drumming his fingers on the table at irregular intervals, constantly glancing between the holographic video phone and the clock. The young minister for finance Kenji was sat in a corner; hands pressed to his lips and rocking slightly in his seat, lost deep within the world in his head. Ryuunosuke was stood across the room; much more relaxed than the others as he leant against the antique fireplace with his arms followed and watching the other two worry.

“Don’t worry, they’ll succeed.”

Both Hideo and Kenji jumped when Ryuunosuke spoke, they had been that lost elsewhere. Clutching his chest slightly, Hideo recovered first. “Can’t help it. What if they don’t?”

“Don’t even consider that. They will.”

“Yeah... Yeah you’re right, I should be more confident and trusting. This is our last hope is all. If they don’t...”

“I won’t tell you again, sir” Ryuunosuke snapped a little more forcefully. “They will succeed.”

“Yeah, they will... But I’ll just feel a damn sight better when they call to confirm they have.”

The room fell into awkward silence again as the three men continued to wait. In the room next door, people were talking. Izura was definitely talking to someone in her reception room, but the other voices couldn’t be heard very clearly. Shuddering involuntarily, Kenji made a strangled noise and tried to change the conversation. Realising too late he hadn’t thought of anything to say, he broached probably the worst possible topic. “Have you found out anything more about Sakura sir?”

The prime minister only responded with a grave shake of the head, allowing Kenji to fall silent under the withering glare Ryuunosuke gave him.

The silence was interrupted again as the talking outside started to turn to shouting. Curious, the three men tried to eavesdrop, but only caught a few words before the doors of the office flew open and in marched another trio. Hideo’s heart immediately sank into his shoes. At the back was Izura, who was red in the face from shouting. The other two were two of the last people he wanted to see right now.

“Ageda-sans. I do not appreciate people barging past my secretary and into my office at the best of times, let alone right now. Please leave.”

The two men promptly didn’t move, but he hadn’t expected them to do as he asked. The chairman of the PRJ party seemed to love making his political and often personal life as difficult as possible, all of course in an attempt to make his son look better ahead of the election in a few months. The chairman was short and weasel-like in his build, with slick dyed-black hair and an arrogant, gold toothed grin. He stood a few steps ahead of his son, who when together like this had clearly got more of his mothers looks, and should be thankful he had. He was young, debonair, with that movie-star like look with his charming smile and dazzling eyes. His hair was also slick, but blonde (and also obviously dyed so.) Not only was he good looking, but he was a championship winning duelist in his time, and that only added to his appeal.

The short man spoke first with an arrogant drawling tone. “Now now prime minister. It might have been rude for us to barge in so unceremoniously, but even more of you to kick us out again without listening to us, or explaining what is with the madness gripping the city and what exactly you and your ample backside are doing about it. Just as rude as your pathetic secretary not introducing us like she should” he added with a sneer, making Izura turn even redder.

“I’m sorry sir. I told them you were in the middle of a meeting and weren’t to be disturbed, but I couldn’t forcibly stop them.” The short man raised an eyebrow at still not being introduced formally. “Oh fine then! Prime minister, the PRJ chairman Ageda Tarao, and electoral candidate Ageda Junichi.”

“That’s a bit better. You can go back to... whatever else it is you actually do here” Tarao added dismissively, regarding her furious reaction as Kenji stood and ushered her away before she could snap further with smug amusement. “Dear me, such temperamental staff you have here Hideo. Then again, perhaps you look to use that to address the balance given your lack of verve.”

“Get to the point Tarao.” Hideo was standing now as well, comparatively towering over the much smaller man but no match for the taller Junichi head to head. “It’s been a long and stressful day, one that will hopefully come to a nonviolent resolution soon. If you could be patient, I will explain everything to the entire public after events have passed.”

“We have been patient enough” Tarao continued. “Everyone in the city knows something big is happening and that it connects to Real Duel Ltd, what with all the tens of thousands of coma victims across the country and more over other parts of Asia now. Yet you just keep everyone in the dark and tell them there’s nothing to worry about. The country is in the grips of a serious terrorist threat, yet you appear to have done nothing but shut your eyes and stuck your fat fingers in your ears. The media would have a field day, if they weren’t out of commission.”

“That’s because I’m trying not to jeopardise those lives that are at risk” Hideo snapped back. “The situation is currently precarious, but like I said, we are hopeful the threat could be nullified within the hour, and the crisis resolved once the immediate danger to those people is lessened.”

“You are trying to keep people safe, by dragging this out and endangering everyone else for longer and longer? How ridiculous. You’re too soft to lead at the best of times, let alone in a modern and dangerous world like ours has become. I could hold you to ransom myself if I merely threatened to cut off the schools supply of milk. So I ask again; in order to end the terrorist threat you are doing what exactly?”

“As of right now, none of your damn business! Now I am expecting a private phone call, so get out of my office.” Again the opposition did not move. Accepting they wouldn’t willingly relent, he was forced to push the button below his desk that would summon security, which promptly arrived in the form of two large robots. “Now...”

Tarao shrugged airily and turned to leave under his own steam. “Fine, we’ll go if you’re going to get hostile about it. But don’t think you’ve heard the last of this. Come on Junichi.” Once he was in front Tarao beckoned for Junichi to follow, once he had given Hideo that vote-winning, swoon inducing flash of a smile. At the door by which Izura was waiting, he shot the prime minister one more malicious grin. “Oh by the way, your speech earlier. Before the city was thrown into chaos. Inspiring. Really inspiring.”

Followed out by the two robots, the PRJ leaders left, allowing Izura to enter and close the doors behind them. What little composure she had regained had been lost again thanks to the wave and wink Junichi had given her on the way out. “God I hate that poisonous little man.”

“Yeah, but people aren’t voting for him. They’re voting for his pretty mouthpiece” Kenji shrugged. “All we can do about it is beat them at elections. And to do that, we need to solve this as best we can. Sir I know this isn’t the time, but even though they are in the opinion polls right now, if you can be seen to lead the country through this with transparency and strong leadership, people will turn in your favour.”

Exhausted, Hideo flopped into his seat. “You were right Fujita-san. That is the last thing on my mind right now, but thank you for your support.”

He had barely had chance to sit down again when the ringing of the desk phone made everybody jump. The Ageda’s intrusion had made everybody forget about the call they were waiting for. Not that Hideo rushed to answer it now. Just watched it ring, sweating slightly and rubbing his hands.

“All you can do is answer it sir, and hope it’s good news.”

“You’re right Meada-san. Thank you. Let’s pray for good news everyone.”

Tentatively, he accepted the call, and the holographic display of the caller rose from the projector in front of him. Hideo blinked at the figure he did not recognise, this shaven headed man with miscoloured shades of green eyes and a massive scar on his neck, stood in the same office of the RDL Building he had seen several times already today and grinning wildly at everyone in the room watching him. “What the? Who the hell are you?”

His shocked reaction made the man burst into high pitched, overly loud laughter. “Why good evening prime minister. How is everything where you are? Were you expecting somebody else to call?”

“Well, if you’re at the RDL Tower as it appears you are, then yes I was. What happened to Clarissa? And who are you?”

“Ha ha ha, I’m afraid Clarissa can’t come to the phone right now. Do you need me to take a message for her?” Hideo could only watch speechless as the man continued to chuckle wildly at some mysterious joke. Eventually the laughter subsided, replaced by a much darker tone than made his skin crawl. “Yes, I’m afraid that Clarissa won’t be able to do anything for much longer. Her or the cop you sent here. Any words for her are useless now. I understand she’s caused you and your people some serious trouble today right? Well in that case I have some excellent news; you needn’t worry about her now. She won’t be causing you or anyone else any more problems for much longer.”

The display showed the man bow towards him briefly, before straightening with a smug look. “Bad news is; I’m a hell of a lot worse than she was.”

“Who are you!?” Hideo shouted in panic. “What do you want?”

Cue another bout of deranged chuckling. “Me? I, the ultimate being, keep continually getting asked who I am? What short memories everyone seems to have around here. Not that is matters; you don’t need to know my name. Not when I will shortly become the god walking the new world of my creation. But you don’t need to worry about that right now. All you need to worry about is what you are going to do if you survive to see the new world, seeing as I won’t have any need for politicians like you.”

“A new world of your creation? What kind of insanity you talking about?”

“I told you not to worry about it. Maybe you should just go to sleep prime minister. I promise by the time you wake up... well, [i]if[/i] you wake up, the world will be a very different and far superior place. If you don’t wake up... well at least you’ll get to go peacefully in your sleep I guess.” The four watched in terror as the man broke into one last bout of laughter. “Have a nice day now.”

The image disappeared. Nobody moved for a moment, just sat or stood in stunned silence as what had happened sunk in. Outside, there was a steady drumbeat as rain began to fall.

…21:18:15…

Closing the holographic display down, Murtagh relaxed with a wolfish grin. Not that he tried too hard to relax, he was excited and rightly so. Why suppress such bliss? Bounding out of the upper floor office where he had made the call he leapt over the balcony to the platform floor just below, coat billowing behind him as he fell. He landed deftly just beside the American doctor as he stepped out the office below him, laptop in hand and unruffled by the strangeness of the man dropping from the balcony above. “Have you finished making the necessary adjustments yet Evos?”

“Of course, everything will be to your satisfaction. The VDS should have completed total adjustment by now. It was easy enough to do.”

“Good. What about our puppets down below? Have they finished planting everything?”

“Let me check.” The doctor dropped his D-Gazer to speak into the microphone and asked if the man on the other end of the line had finished his work. He had to put his finger in his other ear to try and block out the shouting from across the platform that was making hearing the speaker difficult, but Murtagh seemed able to ignore it. “Uh-huh. I see. Let me know. They’re almost finished setting them all Murtagh” he replied. “Not as many of the Somalians escaped the cull as I had intended, so it’s taking a little longer for them to set them all. You sure there’s going to be enough?”

“Hank, of course I’m sure. I know this tower and how it was built, but I bought enough to bring down half of the Great Wall of China. Now if you’ve done everything, maybe you could give Garvan and my darling Asami a hand. Even now the woman seems to be putting up quite a fight.”

Indeed, turning to look across the platform, they could see Garvan and Asami struggling to contain their furious prisoner. Clarissa might have had her hands and elbows tightly shackled behind her back in heavy duty magnetised locks and stripped of all her arsenal of weapons, but it didn’t stop her from kicking and thrashing every shot she could land on the pair. Beyond them, Daiki and Wilhelm could just be seen already bound in hogties with similar locks and chains and dumped in a corner.

“Still she won’t give up? How pointless” Evos muttered.

“You expected her to roll over Hank? You’re the one who’s spent the last two years working for her undercover, I’d have thought you’d know her better by now” Murtagh chuckled as one of her kicks came hazardously close to catching Garvan a painful blow.

“Of course, she’s passionate and determined. But there comes a point where people must accept their failings and succumb to what is inevitable, like the cop and the weakling did. She can’t achieve anything by struggling other than a few mere bruises. Change is inevitable; the weak get wiped out, no matter what they do to prevent it. That’s how the world works, or how it should do anyway.”

“Spoken like a true scientist. You have weaknesses to Hank, no matter how hard you try to pretend otherwise.” The doctor grimaced at his remark, and continued to watch in silence as Garvan managed to grab Clarissa by the waist from behind, giving Asami a chance to grab her legs and apply more shackles.

“Get your filthy hands off me!” she screamed, before throwing Garvan a vicious backwards head butt. The attack left him bloodied and extremely angry, enough to rummage in his pockets for a small can of spray and point it in her face.

“You know what this is right?” Clarissa went awfully still and paled at the sight of the spray in her vision. “You could at least spend your last moments able to see your brother and partner. Hit me again, and you spend them blind. Got it?”

Clarissa nodded weakly and ceased fighting, allowing Asami to attach the binds to her legs and move onto searching through the cards in her D-Disk. With an irritated noise, she flicked through the deck twice, before proceeding to try and search the rest of Clarissa’s body again. The search made Clarissa squirm uncomfortably, but she couldn’t suppress a smirk when Asami ended her search unsuccessfully and glaring furiously at her.

“Alright, where are they?” she demanded.

“I don’t know where they’ve disappeared to. Did you check behind your other face yet?” she asked venomously sweetly, continuing to smirk even as Asami turned red and delivered another painful slap.

“Enough games b****. Can’t you even die with a bit of class and dignity? Where are they?”

“I have no idea how they’ve disappeared. Why would you expect to even know?” The answer was completely honest, but it didn’t prevent a second slap. Clarissa had to spit out a bit of blood, but still she maintained a defiant smile. “You treat everyone who saves you from becoming a sex toy for diseased pirates this nicely?”

“Oh nice, real nice.” Asami grabbed Clarissa by the cheeks and whispered maliciously to her “You think you’re something special do you? You think you’re a real tough girl, and so virtuous that you only killed those who were directly involved in Project Eve; who you thought deserved to die after what they did to you. I knew from Evos that you wouldn’t have it in you to allow harm to come to any of the sweet, innocent everyday employees like me. Too bad you were too stupid to see those most involved were right in front of you all the time.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s me in a nut shell. Although you forget to mention I never took any joy in killing those others.” Even when Asami released her, she kept that sweet smile. “But when I kill you, I am going to savour that.”

“Enough already!” Asami froze mid-punch and gulped, as did Garvan, as Murtagh and the doctor approached. “What’s the problem now?”

“Her Numbers have vanished into thin air” Garvan hesitantly replied. “As have any used by the other two. We’ve searched them completely, but they’re nowhere on them.”

Garvan might have been expecting a backlash, but Murtagh only responded with a shrug. “Yeah, I expected as much. You can put her down now.” The duo responded by forcing Clarissa to the floor face down and complete binding her in an awkward hogtie with a chain looping round the three sets of heavy manacles. Murtagh dropped to the floor and lay right in front of her, forcing her to look him in the face. “Thanks for collecting so many Numbers for me. With these and the ones we have between us, we have over half of them now. Now when we get the rest, and your precious girl with them, my rise will be complete, and the worlds will change for the better because of it. You should be happy you played your part in a bright new future with your actions today, and six years ago by producing Kaneko.” Clarissa’s snarling amused him. “Don’t worry; I’m not going to hurt the girl. She’s going to change the worlds with me. You and daddy must be so proud of her. You can cherish that thought in your final moments.”

Murtagh stood and lifted Clarissa by the chain, savouring her screaming as all the muscles in her arms and legs pulled against her dead weight, before depositing her with the others so they could all face each other. Wilhelm had his eyes closed and was taking deep laborious breaths, too broken to even try to move. The cop was silent and still, looking away from the others. “Your daughter might get to see my brave new world, but I don’t think I can let you all do so. You’re no longer of any use. You should thank me for letting you guys be together like this til the end though.”

Murtagh turned to look at Evos, who had just reached to his D-Gazer for an incoming call. “I see, you’re almost done? Excellent work. We just also need a few bits taking out of the building first though. One of you can start loading the truck while the others finish up. We leave in thirty minutes.” Making very sure the D-Gazer was switched off, the doctor turned to the others. “They’re all set and ready. We good to leave?”

“What’s... set?” Wilhelm gasped. “What... are you... doing?”

“You know there were a few mercenaries who had avoided Gadsby and the marines after you sent them on the hunt for them?” Evos asked as he dropped to a crouch. “Well, they escaped because I ordered them to hide. And now they’ve just finished planting several tonnes of explosives all around the base of this tower. Enough to turn it to rubble, and anyone unfortunate to be left inside it is going down with it.”

“I’m sure the government will be all in a flap now that the game is changed, but we can’t stay here all day” Murtagh crowed, watching the siblings horrified reactions whilst fancily spinning his shotgun. “Nor can we let them come here. We have to dispense of this building and everything in it. After all, atrocities have been committed here in my name as well as yours. I’d have thought that watching this tower explode would make you happy. Well, apart from the bit where you can’t see it because you’re in here at the time, I guess that would limit your joy. Anyway, there’s no way even your Numbers can protect you, not from an exploding building. So I guess this is goodbye then.”

“Enjoy the afterlife smug cow” Asami added, before walking off arm in arm with Murtagh towards the elevators. The doctor gave each of the restrained trio one last sorry glare before following after them, leaving only Garvan standing over his mute partner, looking down at him with a curious expression as Daiki tried to look away.

“We’re actually leaving by the teleporter on the upper floor. Those guys Clarissa hired might have disabled it earlier, but it shouldn’t take too much for Murtagh and Evos to get it going for one last jump. You’ve got however long it takes, not the thirty minutes Evos told the pirates.” Still Daiki didn’t say anything. He hadn’t struggled even once. “Sorry about all this mate. I was rather hoping that duel drone you fought on my behalf would take you out, then maybe I wouldn’t have to kill you after all. But here we are, so I’ll guess I’ll just have to move on and find a new rival huh?”

Still no response at all. Garvan shrugged, before giving everyone’s locks one last check and making after the others. “Well, bye then.”

With the last of Murtagh’s group gone, silence hung over the operations centre like a dreadful cloud. The thousands of RDL employees were sat mindlessly absorbed at the rows of computers, clueless as to what was about to become of them in a few minutes. Clarissa attempted to struggle closer to Wilhelm, furiously trying to move, but without success as the restrains prevented any real movement. “Clarissa...” She stopped struggling when her brother spoke a few strangled words. “I’m sorry... I couldn’t stop Evos from betraying us... if I wasn’t so weak... I should have told you not to hire him... it’s my fault...”

“It’s alright Wilhelm, this isn’t your fault. I should have worked it out sooner. Damn it, I should have known better. I knew he was connected to Real Duel, I wanted someone on the team with the inside knowledge, and I was worried about him as well with his background. But I tried every check on him to make sure if he was part of the project or not, and everything indicated he was clean. I thought he was really on our side against this company.”

“Well... he kinda still is I guess” Wilhelm pointed out. “He just backstabbed... us as well for that lunatic. Who the hell was that? And what was all that stuff he was talking about? What does he want with Kaneko?”

“No idea Wilhelm, but we’ll worry about that later. Let’s get out of here alive first.” Clarissa started trying to move again, as did Wilhelm. Daiki meanwhile remained perfectly still and silent, continuing to look away from the struggling siblings.

“Hey, what are you... so silent for? You’re the cop; you should know how to break these things... right?”

“Huh! It’s because I’m a cop that I know you can’t break these things” Daiki sourly replied. The siblings stopped fighting as the words hit home. “I’ve used the standard models at work. Once locked on, you need a special scrambling device to unlock them, which are only kept at bases like at HQ or prison.”

Clarissa groaned at the information. “Damn it. I’ve never liked handcuffs.”

“You speak from experience?” Daiki muttered darkly, whilst Wilhelm just blinked at her. Clarissa stared at them both for a moment with an incredulous look.

“Oh wouldn’t you like to know Dai? I think I preferred it when you were mute.” Daiki’s reaction was still dark as if he couldn’t care less. “Oh just knock it off and help me get out of these things.”

“I’ve already told you, you can’t get out of them” Daiki repeated more forcefully. The bitter coldness in his tone was obvious. “There’s no point fighting it. Face it; your little plan has been turned against you. They’ve played you all along and used you as a part for their plan, just like Real Duel did before them. Now we’re going to be blown to bits because of it.”

Clarissa was stunned for a moment by his outburst. “So that’s it? You’re just going to lie there and give up? That’s the kind of person Kaneko’s father is huh? I don’t know what that Murtagh is planning, but it has something to do with our daughter and he’s going after her. We’ve got to get out of here and stop him.”

“And how do you suggest we do that?”

Clarissa thought for a moment. “You might be giving up, but I’m not. Not if my daughter’s in danger. Grr... maybe our Numbers can get us out? I don’t know why they disappeared, but they must have vanished for a reason. To hide from Murtagh trying to steal them probably. Maybe they’ve come back now and can free us if we reach them... Maybe, if I could just reach...” Awkwardly she shuffled towards Daiki, but the fact that his D-Disk was on his other side made if too difficult for her to get around him. “Aah, at least try and help damn it!”

“I’m sorry Clarissa, but there’s nothing we can do now. Stop fighting it and... just look after him alright.” Daiki nodded towards Wilhelm, who was still snivelling intermittently. Clarissa watched him in silence for a few moments, trying to think of some comfort for him. “Just... tell me one thing, before we die.”

Looking at Daiki, he was totally broken. He was so different from the defiant young man who had first been dragged before her, making sarcastic comments and fighting her bloody-minded against all odds. Who had transformed when he fought against her, battling with such anger and hatred after he learned the truth. Now he was just lying there without any energy at all, having just accepted he was going to die in the next few minutes. Where had his earlier spirit gone, and why did his mood swing so drastically? Still, no time for that now. “Why did you go to such lengths to find me? Really, why bother?”

Clarissa was oddly subdued by his question. “Dai, Wilhelm and I lost our mother when we were very young. I said our upbringing was comfortable, because dad tried hard on his own to make up for the gulf in our lives, but it was never really filled. Even when he remarried, we still never felt whole without her. So I know what it is like to grow up without a parent, and I didn’t want the same for my daughter, not if she wanted her father in her life. That’s all.”

“So... what would have happened with us as her parents? Did you want me to come with you, to wherever you were going? You think we could live together like one happy family all of a sudden?”

“I... didn’t know what to think. I just... wanted to see what kind of man my daughter’s father was like. To at least give her the choice of whether she wanted you in her life, so you could be there if she did. I don’t know how we would have worked it out, I certainly never dreamed of us all living together with this happy ever after crap, but I thought we would figure something out somehow. I searched for you for some time. It was difficult, but eventually I was sure I’d got the right person. You being a detective made approaching you awkward, but I thought you’d be a good person. You’d have had to be to be chosen for Project Eve. So once we had successfully taken over RDL, I carefully tried to lure you here and away from the VDS, but you had already entered the system. I... just wanted to do the right thing.”

“Huh, and you called me naive.”

“Why are you giving up?” Clarissa shouted. “Our daughter is in danger! You wanted to hurt me so bad because of all that I’ve supposedly done wrong, but when faced with the likes of Murtagh and that Garvan guy who have done stuff to directly hurt you you just lie there and say it’s all pointless. I know you’ve had your whole life turned upside down and that it’s upsetting, but you can’t just lie there and feel bad about yourself. Don’t you want to fight back at all? You rushed here in the hope of rescuing all these people you don’t know without a chance in hell; now you won’t bring yourself to help me and the person who should be the most precious thing in your life? What the hell is wrong with you!?”

Daiki gave her a sorry look for a moment, before just turning away. “Just leave me alone.”

Clarissa watched him turn away from her in utter disbelief. His transformation was baffling, as well as infuriating. If it wasn’t for the damn restrains she would beat him until he came back to his senses and make him rediscover himself. Well she’d just have to make a mental note to do that later. “Fine, be a careless jerk. I’m not giving...”

She stopped as somewhere in the distance, the sounds of explosions could be heard, and the building began to shudder. “Oh no...”

...

At various locations at the base and lower floors of the colossal RDL Tower Building, the timers on several tonnes of strategically placed explosives changed for a display of twenty minutes left straight to absolute zero, and triggered. In a matter of seconds, explosions could be heard for miles around, drowning out the sound of smashing glass and lights or things bursting into flames. Wilhelm cried out for his sister as the centre lights exploded and fell around them, plunging them into total darkness, as across the room the drones remained blissfully unaware of their immediate doom. Daiki closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable.


From the growing storm outside another explosion could be seen on the west side that shook the building even more, blasting away much of the structure, as one side of the tower began to collapse and crumble away. The tower started to shake and sink in on itself, bit by agonizing bit, about to fall to the blazing inferno that was the earth below.[/spoiler]

So yeah, hope you all enjoyed that first chapter back and that it had a bit more oomph that the start of Arc 2. All comments appreciated, good or bad, big or small, from one and all.

Going on holiday now for three days, so please leave something nice for me to come back to.

[Northern Sage]

Have a fantastic vacation
A very suspenseful chapter.

[Brinolovania]

Well, that chapter is automatically good cause it ended with a big explosion.

And of course the rest was awesome too.

[Reinforce]

Explosions always make stories good, the chapter was good without the explosions though, and I'm somewhat baffled about Daiki seemingly giving up and not resisting.

[Bahamut - Envoy of the End]

I'm back. Refreshed, revitalised, and reborn. Under a new name and everything (Love you Dae)

And this thread has got... three comments in my absense.

Ohhhh... guys... now I'm upset. Sort of, a little. Still, they were postive comments. I was expecting at least someone to go "NOO! YOU CAN'T KILL DAI AND CLARISSA! CLA-RIS-SA! NOOOO!!!"

I was also expecting someone to comment on Clarissa's comment, but I digress I mean, how can they escape from the RDL Building, when they are firmly tied up, eight floors above the ground in a building that is going to come down at any second?

Well...

I think Simdoggy in particular might like this chapter. Also, there are other major revelations going on, and the first duel of the season.

[spoiler=Chapter 13:2]Things were starting to explode in all directions around the trapped group. With a screech of twisting metal, part of the roof of the floor above and all of the rooms contents came crashing down a few feet away from them, some of it on fire, instantly wiping out the helpless RDL staff the debris landed on. The flames were incredible. Desperately redoubling her efforts, Clarissa crawled her way over to her helplessly cowering brother and tried pulling at the binds around his arms to no avail. Trying to ignore the sweat in his eyes and calm his breathing, Daiki tried humming something. A tune he thought he remembered from somewhere, or maybe just made up to calm himself before the inevitable, trying to drown out Wilhelm’s crying, a bang of doors from somewhere in the distance, hurried footfalls, the roar of the flames, the creaking of the whole building on the verge of complete collapse.

Wait, did he hear footfalls, getting louder and heavier? Before the thought registered the sound stopped, and sudden bright light from somewhere above him made him shy away. Squinting through it, he could just make out the outlines of several figures in some sort of dark uniform, many holding rifles.

Somewhere below them the explosions doubled, prompting one of the men obscured by the light to speak. “Captain, we’ve stayed too long. We must withdraw now. The building won’t hold much longer.”

“Not until I give the order mate” snapped the captain in some broad, foreign accent. “I told ya we’d find something up here. Wasn’t expecting to walk in on this little troupe though.” The first speaker reacted with a flurry of curses about the captains sanity, before a second flash of light enveloped him which made the prisoners blink. When their vision returned, the man was gone. The captain cursed, before calmly turning to Clarissa. “Hey, ain’t you that Clarissa chick whose been running the show here?”

“What of it?” The man clicked his rifle. “Alright, yes. And you are?”

“Now lady, I’ll ask the questions. What have you done to the tower?”

“Guys!” Wilhelm shouted over the redoubled explosions as the building started to lean violently. “Can we do this after we’re out of here?”

“He’s right Captain. We have to leave now.”

The captain grunted in mild annoyance, but his tone was still extremely calm. “Hmm, I guess you’re right. But we can’t leave without these guys; we’ll lose our only lead as to what’s happening.” He proceeded to look around for a solution, totally in disregard of the fact the building was about to go down. “Looks like we got no choice, we’ll have to warp out carrying one of these guys each.”

“Captain, we can’t do that! These jump pads have been rushed through for this mission as it is. They’ve not been tested for carrying two people at once. Anything could happen if we try that.”

“We don’t have time to argue mate” the captain insisted. His two remaining charges still seemed less than thrilled with the plan, but that didn’t stop him from turning to the man who had remained silent since their intrusion. “Hey, you Masuro? You still got a tongue right?”

Daiki merely nodded in reply, giving the man all the indication he needed to pull him upright by under his arms and crouch tight behind him, exchanging his rifle for a heavy disc with a blue light that flashed intermittently and holding it between them. The building rocked a little more, shaking enough for Clarissa and Wilhelm to scream as they felt the room drop a few feet. “Look, we have to get them out for questioning. Looks like things are about to get messy, and we need all the information we can get to face it.” The two men exchanged another fearful glance with each other and the captain. “Come on, nothing bad will happen. These things have been made by top guys, and the basic technology has been in use for years. Just because their smaller and untested doesn’t mean you’ll get all messed up travelling with a passenger.” Daiki couldn’t help a gulp when the man added “I think...” under his breath.

Another explosion, this time from above, meant there was no time to argue. The roof was starting to fall in on them, beams and sheets of metal crashing around the centre along with flaming debris, down onto the helpless RDL employees still staring lifelessly at their computers that had transported them into another world that would be their final resting place. Clarissa and Wilhelm were still screaming for help as the building shook more violently, beginning to completely collapse at a rapid pace beneath them. The two other men each grabbed a prison and copied the captain’s actions with their own flashing discs, before each man punched the flashing button to activate it.

Each man and their captive disappeared into thin air, seconds before the eighth floor of the RDL Tower hit the ground floor with an almighty crash.

...

“Now I overlay level three. Xyz Summon!”

Inside the icy northern reaches of the frozen sea ‘Water World’, Methuselah raised his gnarled hand high as the spirits of [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Gishki_Diviner"]Ritua Diviner[/url] and [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Gishki_Chain"]Chain[/url] spiralled high into the air, crashing down into the vortex floating just above the barren water. Having needed to enter the VDS proper to discover the extent of the changes sweeping the virtual world, and find his aide before she was caught out by it, Methuselah now found himself standing on one ice flow, whereas across the water was one of the dark angels that had been causing havoc throughout the day, down to his last remaining life points (LP 1000) and his last monster. The ancient avatar had noted the effect his previous attacks had made on the drone, it was breathing laboriously and struggling to stand, but it remained aggressive at all times, as part of its programming he assumed. From the vortex, [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Black_Ray_Lancer"]Black Ray Lancer[/url] emerged and brandished its trident towards the enemy’s alien like monster (Rk3, ATK 2100).

“Now Black Ray Lancer activates its effect. By detaching an overlay unit, the effect of your [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/OOPArts_Crystal_Alien"]OOPArts Crystal Alien[/url] is negated this turn, meaning you cannot use it to save it from destruction or reverse the battle damage.” The alien creature visibly sagged as its power was nullified (Rk3, ATK 2100). “Then I activate the [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Blustering_Winds"]Unprecedented Winds[/url] magic card, to increase the attack of Black Ray Lancer by one thousand points until my next turn. This will...”

Methuselah stopped when suddenly the drone lurched violently, suddenly bereft of the rasping voice that had been giving him all manner of threats throughout the duel before this turn, before it sank to the floor on its own. The two monsters vanished as the duel ended of its own accord, leaving the mystified avatar to approach the fallen being. He didn’t respond to anything.

“What have you done now... Murtagh...?”

...21:32:15...

In a flash of blue light, Daiki, Clarissa, Wilhelm and the three battle suited men collapsed into a dishevelled heap in a patch of muddy grass. Wherever they were, it was throwing it down with rain all of a sudden, quickly soaking them. Daiki groaned as his arms stretched with his binds, his mind and vision were spinning from teleporting, while the captain lying underneath him muttered something and shoved him off and arched his back. “Everybody okay? You all still got the right bits in the right places?”

“Ugh. Yes captain” murmured the other two from somewhere around him.

“See. Told you all it would be fine” the captain added with a cocky grin as he removed his headgear, ruffling the messy black hair revealed underneath. “Hey, you alright there Masuro?” Daiki groaned in protest. “Ah right, those things giving ya grief. We’ll get you out of those as soon as we can get you to our base mate.” Picked up and heaved up onto the shoulders of this deceptively strong man, the spinning world around Daiki started to return to some sort of order. As his vision returned, he shocked to realise what was around him. Somewhere out of his vision he could hear Clarissa and Wilhelm gasp as they also took in what he was seeing.

They had teleported into an area of thick forest on a hill that overlooked the surrounding area, just at the edge that overlooked the RDL Tower that was maybe two miles away to the north. Down the side of the hill, they could see a couple of trucks and vans all parked in a group, with various work stations for the many men and women running through the rain in similar gear to their rescuers, working at various monitors or packing away equipment. As the men turned to head towards the camp, their prisoners swung to face the other way and take in the view of the building they had been inside moments before it hit the ground. Fires blazed against the stormy sky where the tower had been bought to the ground, now only a large pile of rubble and steel remained. They watched the fires burn for a moment, before the group traipsed down the hill and it disappeared from sight, only the glow over the horizon remained.

As the group descended into the camp, the people around them fell still and a clamour of hushed voices filled the air. This didn’t seem to affect the leader of the group who just marched straight through the camp for his destination. The captives couldn’t see where they were being taken, but they could hear somebody shouting in the direction they were heading towards, who seemed most displeased about something.

“Webb! Damn it man, what is wrong with you? I’ve had a bunch of your unit come in here complaining how you could have got them all killed because you refused to withdraw when it was too dangerous to continue.”

“It’s my call to make unless I receive an order otherwise, which I didn’t. Anyway, I’d have thought that bringing back the leaders of the terrorist group for questioning would have made command happy.”

“Bah! You got an attitude problem Webb! Don’t think command won’t hear about this!”

“I’m sure they will” this Webb character carelessly replied as the other speaker left, ruffling his hair again before depositing Daiki to the ground. They had arrived at a large truck parked at the far end of the camp, which must have been the base of the operation. There was a hurried order, then a loud snapping sound behind him. Blissfully, Daiki stretched his legs out, before the man picked him up again and sat him on a chair. Behind him, one of his men was using the chain cutters on Clarissa.

“Welcome back to the real world mate” Webb cheerfully slapped Daiki on the shoulder as he crouched beside him. The guy’s hair was a complete mess, as was his poorly shaven stubble and messy combat outfit, although the latter was little fault of his own having had to teleport in emergency circumstances and landing in a pit of mud. Daiki could only regard him with a confused silence. “Pretty gutsy of you to go charging in on their on your; orders or not. Glad we got you out safely.”

“I was... just doing my job... I guess” Daiki muttered. “Who are you?”

“Hunter Webb mate, captain of field operations for the Japanese secret service. Fine to meet ya. I would shake your hand, but it would probably cause a bit of grief to do so.” Again with the cheery slap on the back, but Daiki couldn’t share in the man’s vibrant mood. Hunter had a guess at what was wrong, but was wholly inaccurate. “Yeah, I know mate. I shouldn’t be so happy after all those poor buggers at Real Duel just got blown to bits. There was nothing we could do for them. We entered the building using this warp pads things that were hurried through development for the mission, that’s why the fella’s were a bit nervy on using them back there. We were hoping to capture Clarissa and her team, and restore the staff and undo the damage with our tech guys when the building was secure. But all of a sudden we got the call for a hurry up; saying the situation had changed and we could meet heavy engagement, then the whole building started to go up. Sorry we couldn’t do more for them.”

“That’s not... I’m sorry... this is all a lot to take in right now.” There was so much commotion going on around them that it was making him dizzy. “What about Murtagh and Garvan? Did you capture them?”

“Who now?” Daiki just sighed in reply to his question. “Look just take it easy. We’ll get you fixed up as best we can soon, just try and keep yourself together.”

The duo turned to the commotion that was going on behind Hunter. There they could see Clarissa and Wilhelm being forced into a jeep and about to be driven away. As the door closed, Clarissa caught sight of Daiki. Her expression was mixed; she seemed sad, but defiant. “What’s going to happen to them?”

“They are going to be taken to our base for interrogation. Hopefully they’ll be co-operative and give us an idea as to what’s going to happen from here. It would be better for them if they did.” Hunter gave his chin a good scratch, before a second jeep pulled up in the firsts place and opened its doors. “We’re going to have to take you in for questioning as well. Standard procedure, I’m sure you understand how it works. We’ll be able to get you out of these things when we get there too, alright?”

He asked him as if he had a choice. Without any, Daiki allowed himself to be carried to the jeep by the captain, push him inside so he was as comfortable as possible before following him in, and the driver pulled away for the secret service base.

…21:36:40...

The next incoming call made all four of the prime ministers staff waiting in his office jump out of their seats. The three men all dropped the cigarettes that they had not dared to go outside to have but desperately needed, whereas Izura was fiddling with some charms she had produced from her little bag that she had gone to fetch. Hideo almost knocked the hologram phone off of the desk as he went to answer, making the virtual image of the man in command of secret service field ops shake and blur. “What’s happening down there? Have you captured this Murtagh character?”

“I’m sorry prime minister; we had to abort the mission early before we could find any sign of the man who spoke to you. The RDL Building was destroyed a few minutes ago.”

The prime minister turned pale. “D-d-destroyed?”

“Whilst our units were infiltrating the building, several explosives placed throughout the lower floors activated. We don’t know what caused the trigger or why someone felt the need to destroy the building, but they used enough explosives to bring the whole tower crashing to the ground. We’ve sent rescue teams down there now and called for fire fighting support, but we have to assume that none of the people trapped inside when it went down survived.”
Each one of the ministers cabinet bowed their heads in silence. “That is most terrible news. I will have to address the public when the television networks are restored. Thank you for keeping us updated.”

“Sir, there is one other thing I must tell you. Before withdrawal, one of our units came across two of the leaders of the group that originally seized RDL this morning and managed to escape with them. Clarissa and her brother are now in our custody and have been taken to our base. We also managed to rescue Tokyo metropolitan detective Masuro Daiki who was there with them.”

“You captured Clarissa?” Hideo repeated slowly. “Forgive me, that at least is a positive piece of news, but I don’t understand. Why was she in the building when it exploded?”

“One of our units discovered the three tied up and left on the eighth floor of the building. We will be questioning all three of them when we get them back to headquarters. If you asked me to speculate, I’d say they were captured and left to go down with the building by the man who contacted you. Can you give us any more information about him?” The prime minister proceeded to give a more detailed physical description of the mysterious man, as well as describing his manner and some of the things he said. As he recalled their conversation, he remembered more about what he had said about Clarissa, and referred his thoughts to the field commander. “I see, so this man wanted Clarissa and all her team dead. Why run the risk of just leaving them in a building rather than just shooting them and be done with it is beyond me, but we can’t complain now we have her. She’ll be able to tell us more.”

“Yes, her and Masuro will hopefully know what we are facing now. It seems that we are faced with a great peril in the form of this man. When will they arrive at your base?”

“Fifteen minutes or so.”

“Right, I’ll be there shortly after ten. Sitting here will just drive me insane. I need to be there to see firsthand what is going on and what is to be done. Do you have an office I can use down there and where I can hold a video release from if need be? Excellent. I will be there shortly. Please, have your men and women on the ground at RDL do everything they can to find and recover any survivors, and look for any traces of that man. He must be found.”
The field commander saluted, and his holographic image disappeared. With him gone, Hideo was able to sink into his chair, head in his hands. “What have I done?”

“Sir” Kenji interrupted. “This isn’t your fault.”

“Of course it is. There must have been something I could have done to stop this. I wanted to make sure everyone got out alive, so I was cautious, I tried to be sneaky in having our agents creep in at this late hour. And now because of that, this deranged lunatic has got something or done something that we have no idea about, and all those people I tried to protect are dead anyway, with potentially more to follow. I had the army ready to shoot down the building hours ago, but I made them stand down. But in sparing a few, I may have doomed thousands more too some horror to come.”

“Sir, you mustn’t talk like this” Kenji argued more strongly. “You stuck to your principles, you refused to commit mass murder of your own people, what you did was what anyone would do. Besides, this guy could just be some nut. He might have not escaped the building, or be easily caught. Right?” Kenji looked to Ryuunosuke and the usually caring Izura for support, but they just remained silent and low.

At that moment, the doors opened for Rokuro and Minori to bustle in. The defence minister looked pale and confused, whereas the short woman seemed to be quivering with fear and distressed rage.

“What’s going on? Tanaka-san keeps telling me that there’s been an explosion at the RDL Building! I have family who work there! What’s going on!?”

“I’m afraid Tanaka-san speaks the truth” Hideo sighed. “The entire RDL Building has been bought to the ground by an a series of explosions a few minutes ago, the work seemingly of an as yet unidentified man who is not in league with Clarissa. I’m terribly sorry for you.”

Minori choked at his words. “I... I thought... I never thought this would happen. I thought you would get them out... I thought you would do something to help them. Why didn’t you do anything? And you Rokuro!” the diminutive woman rounded on the ill-looking defence minister. “Why didn’t your forces do anything to help them?! All those calls you went to make in private, keeping to yourself, I thought you and your charges were coming with a plan. I thought you were going to rescue them damn you!”

“Minori please, they did their best. It’s not their fault” Izura started, but Rokuro just hung his head.

“No, this is my fault. I let personal matters distract from my duties, and people have died in terrorist actions on my watch because of it. I have failed. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, and what do you mean by that Rokuro?” Ryuunosuke asked; standing and glowering at the taller minister. “You have been distracted and absent minded all day. Advising the prime minister of direct action against Clarissa and her forces. I wonder what you were truly aiming for with such actions...”

Rokuro’s expression hardened. “What exactly are you accusing me of?”

“This man who contacted the prime minister before the explosion, he must have waited until now for a reason, but needed Clarissa and her forces to have already secured the building for some time. He must have needed someone to make sure no-one interfered before he was ready to act, or do anything that might jeopardise his plan. Perhaps also he’d need some placed here, to keep him in the know as to our movements. And who would be better placed for these objectives than yourself, who has conveniently gone missing throughout the day including when he called just now.”

“What are you saying? That I’m going to betray my country to be in league with some murderous psycho?” Suddenly the old bearded man found the defence minister towering over him with a thunderous expression, fist ready and loaded. “You think I’m some traitor? Well what about you? You seem to have thought it all out how I’m responsible and it all points to me. I could accuse you of maybe trying to divert attention from yourself.”

“Guys, stop it. We’re all on the same team here” Kenji tried to calm Rokuro and pull him away. Hideo was begging for calm from his desk, but Minori was shouting over them all.

“Someone here is responsible! I want someone to take the blame for this!”

“QUIET!”

All at once the five ministers fighting abated as their frozen expressions turned to face the woman in the corner. Izura was stood out on her own, head bowed and shaking slightly, clutching her little bag so tightly in one hand that her knuckles had turned white. In her other hand, she was holding a small pistol.

“Izura...?” the prime minister choked.

“I’m sorry sir.” Her voice was extremely weak and shaky, but still she found the terrible words to penetrate the stunned silence. “There is a traitor among us, positioned in the minister’s office in preparation for this day, waiting in position for years until we were ready... that person is me.”

“But... you’re in alliance with that man? I don’t believe it... Why? Who is he?” Izura shook her head.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you anything about him. But yes, I work for that man. Me and several others planted in all areas of power; in Real Duel, the government, even in Clarissa’s group. All of us have waited for this day to arrive, pulling the occasional string where we needed to adjust things to the desired course, ready for when the time came so that we could help him with his quest to change the world. Even everything Clarissa and her group did today, we accommodated for, and we wanted to happen. She was just a stepping stone who would lay the foundations for us, and distract attention away from our actions.”

“Please Izura... what are we facing? Who is he?” the prime minister begged, unable to tear his eyes away from her gradually steadying gun arm.

“I can’t tell you. All I can say is that I believe what we are doing is for the best. I know it doesn’t seem like it now, and that we’ve committed evil crimes in the name of our goals, but in the end the world will be a better place. Now I have to go. His call was the signal for me to join the others. I’m sorry, but I have to go now, and none of you are going to stop me.”

“You think we’ll just let you leave?” Minori spluttered as her voice returned. “There are hundreds of security robots in this building. You have no chance of escape you evil...”

“I know that, but Hideo isn’t going to call them. Not if he’s cares about his daughter’s life as much as he did all those Real Duel employees.”

“Izura...?” Hideo croaked, knowing what she was going to say.

“I’m sorry sir. I didn’t want it to be like this. But earlier today, he made contact with and befriended her by rescuing her from the VDS. That’s how she got out. But if I am not with the rest of the group in the next hour, then he will kill Sakura.”

“Aha, but what if the boot was on the other foot?” Ryuunosuke spat as Hideo tried to take it in. “We all know your daughter is in Toshima Hospital. What if we held her hostage against you?”

“Why am I not surprised that you would suggest that Ryuunosuke? But I don’t fear that. Riku has already been taken from the hospital to safety. You won’t find her.” The gun clicked, making the ministers flinch as Izura inched towards the door. “I’m sorry Hideo. You are just as much a puppet in this as anyone. I became your publicist under orders to make sure you remained in power until today. He thought with you in charge, things would be much easier. I don’t know if it made much difference, but here we are.”

“Sir!” Minori cried furiously. “Call the security bots and take her into custody!” The prime minister just stood like a statue, face frozen in a horrified expression as he liked at Izura, who aimed the pistol at him and just mouthed ‘Me, or Sakura’. Slowly he shook his head, and flopped into his seat.

“Izura.” Slowly Kenji walked towards her, arms held away and trying to keep her calm. “You can’t be with that guy. You aren’t that sort of person. You just can’t.”

“I’m sorry Kenji, but I am. I’m a terrible person. I’m sorry to you as well Rokuro, you and Hideo are good people. I’m... actually supposed to shoot you all now, but... I don’t want to if I can help it, not after everything in these last four years. Just let me go.” Still Kenji refused to believe her, edging closer to her, motioning her to put down the gun. “I’m sorry, but I guess I’ll have to prove it to you.”

There were two loud bangs, followed by a choking noise and the bursting of doors being opened. Re-emerging from behind his desk, Hideo watched as Izura back away with a firm expression, before she turned and fled. Kenji and Rokuro were recovering from their dives; whilst Ryuunosuke was sat against the fireplace, clutching a bloody arm. Minori was flat on her back, choking to death with blood pouring from the hole in her neck.

…21:42:17...

Booting his way through another set of double doors with shotgun at the ready, flanked by the rest of his armed team, Murtagh waited for the fireworks to begin. Disappointingly however, the large room in front of them was silent and empty. A small computer lab similar to the operations centre at the new ruins of the main tower could be seen through the windows on his left; on the right was a room for a set of telecom machines and other offices. The main room they stood in was a large warehouse like storage room, with nobody working in it. Certainly not how he remembered them to be. “O... kay...? Why after eight years are these support servers suddenly abandoned?”

“That would be because all the people who usually work here became barbeque a few moments ago” Asami replied, holstering her gun and slinking into the room with a sly wink. “I ordered all the staff here to the main office for a training day, along with the others just to cover our tracks.”

Looking at her in amazement, Murtagh broke into a broad grin. “You cunning little minx. That is exactly the kind of underhanded deception that always made you so seductive.” Holstering the unneeded shotgun, he was able to join her and enjoy another smooch. Meanwhile Evos and Garvan started to have a look around. Garvan in particular found the derelict facility morbidly fascinating.

“Forgive my ignorance having not worked for Real Duel like all of you. What is this place?”

“District support servers for Real Duel” the doctor replied, picking up an old VDS helmet. “There are twelve across Japan that were essential during the early years for supporting the developing virtual world. Nowadays they are mostly used as storage for old tech, but they are still maintained by a small crew who provide technical support for the local area. This particular base being far out of the way of anyone who might come looking.”

“Are these servers what are keeping the Virtual World going now the main base was destroyed?”

“No, the virtual world is a complete failsafe” Murtagh replied, breaking his mouth from Asami long enough to answer. “It was designed to keep running and protect those inside should the main building suffer a sudden power cut or major computer downtime or anything. It can theoretically operate as normal for two or three days without support from head office, thanks to people like me. Not that we’re going to take that long. Now excuse me dear, I just need to do something for a moment.” Breaking from her embrace, Murtagh straightened himself up, before suddenly jumping around the empty passage, pointing up into the air and repeatedly shouting “Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!”

Looking at the others, they seemed to find this behaviour rather astonishing. “Oh come on! I gotta take a moment to enjoy this. What’s the point of winning if you can’t celebrate it?”

“Little premature yet isn’t it boss?”

“Aw, come on Garvan. Don’t be like that” Murtagh replied childishly. “I’m entitled to feel a little bit smug; I’ve waited long enough to be. Clarissa already took out half of the countries resources for us, and now she’s playing a flaming harp. The government is clueless, Real Duel is finished. No-one knows who or where we are, and no-one has the ability to stop us. Well, except perhaps...”

Murtagh broke from his sentence as he snapped his head in the direction of the sound of something in the pile of discarded stuff in the passage ahead clanking against the floor, the strike of metal resonating around the room, having fallen of its own accord. Several guns loaded and pointed towards the noises source, as a small pipe rolled across the room. Everyone watched it in silence, waiting for another noise. Murtagh looked to Asami, but she just shrugged. “Alright, whoever you are, show yourself and spare me the effort of going over there and fetching you out.”

No answer at first. Annoyed, Murtagh took a stride forward and fired into the junk pile. The junk emitted a terrified yelp. Another shotgun blast sent bits flying everywhere, the second blast prompting a small plea for surrender as the man hiding behind it emerged on his knees. A wiry thin young man with greyish hair and a battered old D-Disk, who to one of the groups shock he recognised.

“Scag?” Garvan blurted. The young offender blinked at the call of his moniker, unable to believe who he was seeing. “What the hell are you doing out here?”

“You know this guy?” Murtagh’s words were slow and menacing as Scag knelt trembling in silence.

“Yeah, from work. Guy’s a nuisance, but he does come up with some good leads sometimes. I saw him earlier before entering the VDS. Now don’t make me ask you twice, what are you doing here?”

“Mister Garvan... I, er... how good to see you...” The fragile smile vanished quickly under the intensity of the glares coming at him. “Er... when all the stuff started kicking off in the city... with the riots and the police and everything... I thought it was safest to evacuate... to the mountains-like. I hitched a ride with a few others to ride the storm out here in safety. I didn’t want to get caught up in all that with the law about... they’d see me and just assume I was with the mob you know?”

“Yeah, because you certainly wouldn’t take the first chance to get your hands on some goods in the chaos like the sneaky piece of work you are. That’s why you are here now right? You found out it all stemmed from Real Duel, so you’d take the chance to swipe a few bits while no-one was here.” Indeed, several appropriated pieces could be seen poking out of various pockets.

“Oh this is all very sweet” Murtagh interrupted. “How nice you two could see each other again, in the midst of all that’s enveloping the country you can meet up once more. How touching.” There was a sudden bang, as he turned and fired straight at the young man cowering before him.

Stunned silence prevailed at what the group saw next. The trio couldn’t quite believe their eyes at what they thought they’d seen. Even Murtagh blinked in surprise. Scag was crouched there quivering; unable to get it either as he slowly lowered the hands he’d thrown up in front of his face to see two shotgun rounds floating in midair inches away from him, stopped by an invisible barrier. The rounds hung there for a moment on invisible strings, before harmlessly dropping to the ground with a small clang.

Slowly Murtagh lowered his shotgun, struggling to believe what he’d seen. “Oh you are kidding me right? Garvan, please tell me this piece of crap doesn’t have a Numbers.”

“Erm, I guess that’s the only explanation possible” was the careful response. Murtagh however did not buy the ignorant act for a second; marching towards Scag, grabbing him by the D-Disk, and pulling him back towards the group. His expression was murderous at kindest.

“Your mess, you clean it up” he snarled, tampering with the poor boys D-Disk. Helplessly, Scag could only watch as the disk armed itself, and refused to shut down at his command. Gulping under the glare Murtagh gave him, Garvan positioned his own D-Gazer and disk.

“Alright Scag, let’s get this over with.”

“B-b-but... I haven’t... I just...”

“Look Scag; you’ve got two options!” Garvan’s sudden anger made him jump. “You can either crawl through the gates of hell like the pathetic coward you’ve always been. Or for once in your life you can be a man, fight, and walk through them with your head held up.” Still Scag tried to protest. Eventually Murtagh got so annoyed that he walked back up to him again, forced his D-Gazer on his head and activated it for him. The walls of the dingy room rippled, as the effects of duel view took effect.

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

“Duel!”

“Garvan... please...” Scag begged, but the detective just drew his hand and waited for him to move, regarding him with a cold look. Taking his own cards, from his weak mishmash of cards that he had managed to piece together over years, wild plots to escape dashed through his mind; each more impossible than the next. ‘[i]Oh god what do I do? Garvan’s a fierce duelist. How do I get out of this?’[/i]

“Come on Scag, all you’re doing is dragging this out. Move already.”

“I... set one monster in defence mode...” Scag gulped as the violent tone that was so new to him to come from the detective made him jump. The image of a reverse card appeared between the two duelists. “I also place one card face down and end my turn.”

“If that’s all you can manage, then I draw. I summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Chow_Len_the_Prophet"]Predicting Monk Cho-Len[/url] to the field, and activate his effect to predict your face down card is a trap and reveal it.” The shaven headed monk in dark robes rose from its portal (Lv4, ATK 1800) before its symbol appeared on the back of the reverse card and pulled it upright, to reveal [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Negate_Attack"]Attack Nullification[/url]. “How useless, as expected. Now because the prediction was correct your trap is sealed, and Cho-Len can attack unimpeded.”

The monk charged; magical flames bursting into life around his fist as it honed in the monster that was emerging from the reverse card, revealing a small demon with a bomb for a head. The monks flaming fist struck it in the midriff, but the fiend remained firm (Lv3, DEF 2000). Garvan couldn’t suppress an irritated grunt as his life points took a slight dive (LP 3800).

“A decoy? Well alright, but your little resistance won’t last long. I place two cards face down and end my turn.” Scag had barely drawn his next card before one of the face downs activated. “Prepare for some hurt. I activate [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Secret_Barrel"]Underground Machine Gun[/url]. This slams you for two hundred points of damage for every card in your hand and on your field!”

The electric pulse emitted by the D-Gazer to simulate damage was paralyzing. Scag couldn’t understand why, but he could barely move as the shock coursed through his body, only his throat left working and letting him cry out until the shock subsided (LP 2600). [i]‘How did that hurt so much? Did that weird shaven headed guy do something to my D-Gazer?’[/i] Looking at his cards again, one stood out now. [i]‘I don’t know what’s going on. But if I’m to get out of this, I have to avoid taking any more damage and protect myself. To do that, I’m going to have to use that card.’ [/i]“I summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Crashbug_Z"]Bugman Z[/url] to the field.”

Another bomb-headed fiend, taller and thinner and dressed in prisoners uniform, rose beside the child-like bomb creature (Lv3, ATK 0). “When Bugman Z is normal summoned when [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Crashbug_X"]Bugman X[/url] is also on the field, I can special summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Crashbug_Y"]Bugman Y[/url] from my deck. Then I overlay my three level three Bugmen and Xyz Summon!”

A third, larger fiend in handcuffs appeared momentarily, before the trio disappeared into the starry vortex. The reactions of the spectators were many and varied; Evos watched with mild intrigue, Asami was taking perverted pleasure in watching this duel, whilst Murtagh remained imperviously frustrated in his view of proceedings as a large metal block of yellow and black rose from the vortex. The block unfolded itself; revealing a scorpion like tail and a horned head of the metal beast floating overhead of the young man whom the mark of the Number appeared on the shoulder of. “Help me, [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Number_34:_Terror-Byte"]Number 34: Electronic Computer Beast Terabyte[/url]!" (Rk3, DEF 2900)

“Nearly three thousand defence points?” Garvan muttered in wonder. “Typical of you, just to cower and hide and drag this out.”

“W-w-we’ll see whose cowering after I use Number 34’s effect” Scag stuttered, as above him as one of little orbs disappeared into the tail, giving it power to charge. “By detaching an overlay unit, it can target one level four or lower monster my opponent controls, and take control of it until the end of the turn.”

Garvan gasped as Cho-Len was engulfed by the Numbers tail laser, and slowly dragged away to the other side of the field. Giving Scag some attack, and him no defence. “Now Cho-Len attacks you directly!”

As the flaming fist of the possessed monk struck him, the resultant shock was incredible. Garvan was left clutching his ribs and gasping for breath (LP 2000). “In your little excitement, you forgot to use Cho-Len’s ability. So I’m free to activate [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Damage_Condenser"]Damage Condenser[/url], and summon a monster from my deck whose attack is less than the damage I just took. Appear, [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Gagaga_Magician"]Gagaga Magician[/url]."

Across the field, Scag’s nerves seemed to double with the appearance of the chain bound sorcerer (Lv4, ATK 1500). “I-I place two cards face down and end my turn, so Cho-Len returns to you. Please Garvan; I don’t want any part of this. I haven’t done anything this time. Just let me go.”

The poor boy gulped as the detective’s expression hardened. “Scag, you are somewhat unfortunate. You’re in the wrong place at the wrong time, but you’re a witness, and can’t be allowed to go freely now you’ve seen us. But if you think I’m going to feel sympathy for you, you can forget it! You’re a prime example of the kind of scum that will be erased from this world in a matter of hours, I just to get to wax you myself a few hours earlier! It’s my turn.” Garvan glanced at his card. His opening hand hadn’t been great, due to Gagaga’s absence, but now it was better and even more so for his draw. [i]‘Summon Priest. Excellent. With this, I can summon the Xyz monster Tinplate Archduke. It might not be able to destroy a Number, but it can do some serious damage by switching it into attack, where it must be a lot weaker.’[/i]

“First I activate Cho-Len’s effect to seal Attack Nullifcation again. Then I summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Summoner_Monk"]Summon Priest[/url]." The hooded old man floated through the portal in his usually position of meditation. Scag jumped, already on to what he was planning.

“Can’t let that happen. I activate [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Compulsory_Evacuation_Device"]Compulsory Evacuation Device[/url] and shunt Priest straight back into your hand.”

Thwarted and frustrated again, Garvan reluctantly took the card back to his hand as it was blown off the field. Now he couldn’t Xyz anything, and was open to Terabyte’s effect. But still, there was a way he could use that. Maybe, but it was harder to plan when he was mindful of the look Murtagh was giving him. “I equip Cho-Len with the [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Wonder_Wand"]Wonder Wand[/url] equip magic, increasing its attack. Then by sending both cards to the cemetery, I can draw two new cards.” With Cho-Len’s disappearance, the two additions were little better. “I set two cards and end my turn.”

“Then I... draw...” Scag blinked at the card he’d drawn. With this, a wild plan could be formed. “Garvan, I know you think I’m scum. But I’ve helped you, and done everything you’ve asked the last few years. Even this very morning, tipping you off to what was going on. But I guess you already knew huh? I thought you were better than this, that you had some honour. So if I defeat you... you will let me go?”

“Not even going to consider it” Garvan scoffed. “You won’t win, no point discussing it. Don’t you understand yet Scag? I need that Number card of yours, and one way or another I am going to prise it from your cold dead fingers. The only reason you’re still breathing is because of it, but once I beat you it will become mine, and you’ll have no halo left to save you. Like I said, you’re just going to disappear a few hours earlier anyway. So just accept it already and give up.”

“You’re... you’re not going to give me any chance at all?” His heart sank as Garvan just shook his head. For Scag, it was like the roman gladiator in the coliseum; helplessly watching the emperor giving the thumbs down, the signal to release the lions. Looking helplessly from face to face, lastly to the savage shaven headed man in charge, it finally dawned that escape was not going to happen.

Some might cower and give up in that situation. Usually Scag would definitely be one of them. But this time was different. Maybe it was knowing he had nothing to lose in doing something. Maybe it was the supportive connection of Terabyte. Or maybe it was something Garvan said earlier, that made the scrawny drug addicted wretch of a man, in that moment where some might despair, stand tall and defiant. “Fine. But if I am going to die here, it won’t be until I humiliate you in front of your boss. I will walk into hell with my head high. Higher than you when you join me there. I activate Terabyte’s effect; detaching an overlay unit to snatch control of Gagaga Magician for the turn.”

“Huh, fine last words, but no you won’t. I’m going to make you crawl in, because you’ve done exactly what I wanted you to do. I activate the trap [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Gagaga_Rush"]Gagaga Rush[/url]. When a Gagaga monster is targeted by the effect of your monster, I can activate this to negate that monsters effect and destroy it!” The chain bound magician powered up its magical attack. “This will make you pay for hiding behind a giant wall, because then you take damage equal to the destroyed monsters higher stat, in this case its defence!”

“Counter trap, [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Dark_Bribe"]Dark Shrine Bribery[/url] activates! This negates your trap in exchange for a draw.” Garvan recoiled as his winning strategy was blown to bits. When he recovered, Gagaga Magician was standing beside Scag. “Next I activate the permanent magic [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Infected_Mail"]Virus Mail[/url]. This card lets a level four or lower monster attack directly this turn...”

“Despair over your demise seems to have clouded your thinking, idiot. I’ve got no monsters to prevent you from a direct attack anyway.”

“Yeah maybe, but when a monster targeted by Virus Mail attacks, it’s destroyed after battle.”

Garvan scoffed in disgust. “So you intend to prevent me from getting Gagaga back on my next turn and using it to mount a counter? You’re just stalling against the inevitable.”

“Maybe, but when Virus Mail completes, that’s when the permanent magic [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Cracking"]Cracking[/url] kicks in. When a monster is sent to the cemetery by a card effect, its owner takes eight hundred points of damage.” Garvan blinked as he did the maths. That was enough to... “Gagaga Magician, direct attack!”

Asami and Evos watched in shock as Garvan was forced back by his own monsters attack, down to minimal life points and panting heavily from the effect of it (LP 500). Murtagh was watching on from the side in amazed fury at what Scag was doing. “To think I respected you a little once. I might not be strong, but I’ll prove you’re no better than me. Now because of Virus Mail, Gagaga Magician goes to the cemetery and Cracking activates. This will defeat you.”

“You think I’ll lose to scum like you?” Garvan spat. “I activate the [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Damage_Translation"]Damage Translation[/url] trap card. This halves all effect damage this turn.” Garvan shuddered violently as the force of the explosion of Gagaga hit him, barely surviving (LP 100). It was Scag’s turn to be shocked, as the furious officer went for his deck. “Then during the end phase, a Ghost Token is summoned to the field for each time I took effect damage this turn.”

One ghost token appeared, as Garvan drew his card. Perfect. “I release the ghost token, in order to advance summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Mutant_Mindmaster"]Mutant Highbrain[/url]." A thin, green skinned man in robes appeared; his shaven head deformed where its developed brain had outgrown the skull (Lv6, ATK 0). “Then I activate the [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Gagaga_Revenge"]Gagaga Revenge[/url] magic card, to special summon back my magician and use its effect to make it level six. Xyz Summon!” Once more the portal opened, allowing Garvan to bring out his original ace. “Appear, the witch that will bring you to death. [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Magi_Magi_%E2%98%86_Magician_Gal"]Magi Magi Magician Gal[/url]!"

From the vortex rose a fair skinned magician girl; with blonde hair under her dark pointed hat and dressed in low cut, shoulder less black dress, clutching a staff and winking mischievously (Rk6, ATK 2700). “When a monster equipped with Gagaga Revenge is used for an Xyz summon, the Xyz monster gains a three hundred attack point boost. Then I activate Magi Girl’s effect. By detaching an overlay unit, and banishing a card from my hand, I can activate one of two effects. It is only fitting, ahead of Numbers passing their power onto the victor as they will, that I choose the effect that allows me to snatch away one monster from your side of the field.”

Scag gulped as Terabyte was bewitched away from him, enticed over to Garvan’s side by the witch’s power. Slowly the mark of the Number on his shoulder faded away, and reappeared on the cold, expressionless Garvan. “Magic card activate, [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Mystical_Space_Typhoon"]Cyclone[/url], destroying your Attack Nullification card. Now Magi Girl can attack you directly without hindrance. Enjoy the afterlife, worthless scum.”

One blast from the girls staff was all it took to throw Scag off his feet, into the pile of old junk behind him (LP 0). As he lay buried in the pile, groaning and struggling to see, a light hidden card rose from his disarmed D-Disk and floated over to Garvan’s outstretched hand, making him tremble just slightly, as Terabyte officially bestowed its new rightful owner its power.

“Finally!” Murtagh grumbled as he stood and stretched, before walking over the defeated and now defenceless young man with shotgun in hand. The splatter of blood and brain that decorated the walls produced a cringe even from the three watching. When Murtagh rejoined them, his expression was thunderous as he approached Garvan, possibly not helped by the flecks of blood that had gotten on his coat. “Not impressive. You were almost beaten... by [i]him[/i]?” Murtagh emphasised his disgust by pointing back at the now headless body being left to rot where it was. He was shaking in anger, eyes bulging in their sockets. “HIM, Garvan! Him!? I expect [i]better[/i] from you!”

Garvan stood in silence, avoiding eye contact, although he could feel the intensity of Murtagh’s stare bearing on him. Evos and even Asami seemed no more enthusiastic to speak, not until Murtagh regained some calm. “Right. If we’re done here with this crap, I’d like to get on. I’ve got somewhere set up for us a few minutes’ drive away from here. Our other ally will be joining us there later. Come on.”

Storming off and booting the doors at the other end of the passage open, Murtagh left the others to think about what he’d said, before following on in silence.

21:59:58... 21:59:59... 22:00:00...[/spoiler]

Comments please as ever

Anyway, refreshed and looking forward to writing the rest of this arc over the next few weeks. Have got a couple of bumps in the road ahead, but now they just don't look as menacing as before.

[Northern Sage]

So... that was the cameo appearance of OOPArts, then?
Didn't really see the number coming. Nice how it fitted together with it's owner.

[Bahamut - Envoy of the End]

[quote name='∂materasu' timestamp='1339187285' post='5954075']
So... that was the cameo appearance of OOPArts, then?
Didn't really see the number coming. Nice how it fitted together with it's owner.
[/quote]

Yeah.

All bar three characters had their decks confirmed before the release of Return of the Duelist, in which OOPArts, Magical, Geargi, Madolche and Heroics all came out. So four of them have all gone to characters of similar standing (and will appear again later), whereas Madolche... I might be putting in somewhere else. Also with Machu Mach and Altanhal if I had someone using an OOPArts deck I'd feel kind of obliged to give them to him/her (in the same way Kafziel had Crimson Shadow). I want to avoid that and have people spring different Numbers that fit them and the situation, not are just part of the archtype they use.

Damn Konami, and damn them for only releasing 7 Numbers in 7 months!

Yeah, I wanted to get Crashbugs in somewhere, and they do sort of fit Scag (who had said he had a Number, but it wasn't that memorable). Was worried that the duel might look a little too similar to Yuma vs Mr Kay because of it, but I think it was fairly dramatic even if the result was never in doubt.

[Brinolovania]

[spoiler=This spoiler contains a spoiler, so it's in a spoiler]
Oh come on...you made me kinda like Scag with this chapter, and then you blow his head off. Thanks, man. Geez.

Anyway, the chapter was good despite that. I did like the duel, even though it was blatantly obvious Garvan would win.
[/spoiler]

[Bahamut - Envoy of the End]

[quote name='Pacmanexus' timestamp='1339294789' post='5954669']
[spoiler=This spoiler contains a spoiler, so it's in a spoiler]
Oh come on...you made me kinda like Scag with this chapter, and then you blow his head off. Thanks, man. Geez.

Anyway, the chapter was good despite that. I did like the duel, even though it was blatantly obvious Garvan would win.
[/spoiler]
[/quote]

This made me chuckle

The pathetic wretch did have a little heroic moment didn't he? It made me weep a bit writing it, but I've been doing a lot of weeping in places in this arc.

It's difficult to do duels when the result is... more obvious than usual. All I hoped to do with it was build Garvan's character and change of a bit, plus Murtagh got a few more indications about him. Plus, Garvan will probably get the chance to use his new toy soon, so its not like I'm just check listing off Numbers here.

Thanks for commenting.

[Catterjune]

[quote name='Majestic Star Bahamut' timestamp='1339322669' post='5954792']
It's difficult to do duels when the result is... more obvious than usual.
[/quote]
The key to not writing a terrible duel is to focus more on how your character wins, not on whether or not he wins.

[Bahamut - Envoy of the End]

^^ Like the way that was not worded as "The key to writing a good duel..." but instead was written as "The key to not writing a terrible duel...".

Annnyway, its Tuesday. So it's time for an update.

No duels for today, but instead you get a bit of history, a shedload of explanation, introductions of two 'new' characters (about the last two so don't worry), little insight into the minds and motives of other characters, the plan from here on in, a whole general what's going on and who is doing what about it. And set up for the next duel on Friday. So yeah, enjoy.

[spoiler=Chapter 14:1][b]The following takes place between 10PM and 11PM[/b]

Head bowed and ignoring the people standing around the edge of the darkened room, Clarissa waited silently, soaking wet, handcuffed to the table in front of her. Her whole body hurt, but that was nothing compared to what was going on in her head as the events of the last few hours replayed in a high speed blur. Having arrived at their destination a few minutes ago, she had been separated from Wilhelm and taken to this interrogation room by her guard, released from the heavy binds Garvan and Asami had put on her in exchange for these new ones attached to the table, and left to wait for her interrogator. There was a mirror on the wall to her left, which of course would have people behind it watching her. Her brother was probably in the same position in another room. As for Daiki she couldn’t be too sure, he would definitely be asked for his side on it, although his treatment would probably be lighter. She wasn’t worried about him at all right now; there were other more pressing matters.

A spotlight aimed at her face from the far wall fired, intending to make her shy away. She simply closed her eyes against the light, as somewhere behind her a door opened. Immediately the room was filled with a heavy smoke, from a cigar she thought, as the footsteps of the man coming to question her echoed around the small room. She could hear the chair across the table screech dreadfully across the floor for the man to sit, a pause, and then a heavy puff of smoke engulfed her. The smell and the taste of this man’s cigars were pungent, and made it even harder to see him. But still she kept her composure. This man was looking for an advantage over her, any sign of weakness he could prey upon. He would be getting none.

“So...” the man’s voice was full and sharp, a voice that commanded respect and order. “Your actions today have been very testing even for us here Miss Wilshire. I hope you are finding our hospitality comfortable. You’re going to be here for a long time for what you’ve done.”

“If that’s what is going to happen to me, then so be it. I can endure anything.”

“Oh really? Well aren’t you brave? But foolish, endurance is something I have trained many of my men and women here to break, and they know not to disappoint me. You also do not want to disappoint me; I can make your stay here very unpleasant if you force me to. But if you co-operate then I can make things much better. It’s entirely up to you.” When Clarissa didn’t respond, the man took another deep puff of his cigar and blew it all over her. “Are you going to co-operate, or are you going to be difficult?”

“That depends” Clarissa replied smoothly. “On what you want to know, and what I have to gain from it.”

The man laughed, blowing out more smoke in all directions. “You still think you are in a position to make demands? You are not holding the lives of millions in your hands anymore, but you are responsible for the deaths of all those in the RDL Building when it exploded.” Clarissa still remained motionless and silent, allowing him to lower his tone. “We had to leave them to burn, and instead rescue you from the inferno. The explosion you caused and deserved to be the one burning in. Do you feel nothing for all those people in that building?”

“Darling, you have no idea what I feel. I’m not sorry for what I did, but I never wanted harm or death to come to those people. They had done nothing wrong, only the likes of Shinawatra had to be killed. Once I had achieved what I wanted, we would have left the building, [i]intact[/i], with a timed remedy for the virus that affected those people and turned them into my virtual army. They would have fully recovered in a few days, as would those they attacked. We modified the VDS so that the pressure on minds and nerves would be increased, but not to levels that would have seriously endangered lives. I never wanted that.”

She fell silent again, giving the man pause for thought and another puff of his cigar. “Well that sounds all very lovely and benign now. You can prove this?”

Clarissa shook her head, shaking drops of water out of her still damp hair. “No, everything was on my computer which is now buried under several thousand tonnes of debris.”

“How convenient. But your words mean nothing compared to your actions.” He wasn’t in any way overly aggressive in his words or tone, but still gave a forceful impression. “However. That you were found in the RDL Building at the time of its destruction, along with testimony from others, means we are on high alert of another growing threat. One that identifying and nullifying is our priority right now. What happened in the immediate events before the RDL Building exploded?”

“The building was attacked by another group from outside, working in collaboration with one of my inner circle, Doctor Hank Evos. Their leader and one of his other allies stormed the building and killed the guards I had hired to defend it, before capturing me, my brother, and DI Masuro Daiki. They left us in the RDL Building to die with the RDL employees.”

“So, you were the victim of a mutiny amongst your own men. Presumably they took exception to your rather low ransom demands and took matters into their own hands...”

“No, that’s not it. Evos planned to betray me from the very start, but everyone else was loyal to me and my cause. The computer guys and the marines would be compensated well enough; the pirates were just pawns that I never intended to pay at all. The people who did this are in no alliance to me.”

“I find it very hard to believe that two men could infiltrate and storm a building guarded to the extent you had without you being able to stop them” the man continued. “I also don’t see, if they wanted to kill you so badly, why they didn’t just put a bullet in your head there and then and be done with you.”

“If you don’t believe that, then there’s probably no way you’d believe my answer to those questions” Clarissa sighed. “But that’s what happened.”

“You have a vibrant imagination Miss Wilshire, painting this fabulous story.” There was a sense of finality about the man’s voice. Clarissa could just see a little movement in front of her, the man’s outline sat in front of the spotlight, before a warm feeling of something placed just near her trapped hand made her skin crawl. The man’s cigar! Still she didn’t move, hoped she didn’t show fear, as the man whispered. “I don’t suppose you know who this powerful man, able to kill all those guards and vanish without a trace from my units, is and what his intentions are... would you now?”

She paused to consider her answer very carefully. He was never going to believe her, but she had no choice. “He was a former VDS avatar, fired by RDL eight years ago. He said something about changing worlds, and needing the current avatar, my daughter Kaneko, to do so. His name is Murtagh.”
The man was silent. Clarissa couldn’t see his reaction or tell anything, only sweating about how he would react. Would he understand what she’d just said? Words like avatar and changing worlds probably sounded mad nonsense to someone not connected to Real Duel, nor heard Murtagh speak. It sounded mad to her to, but Murtagh clearly was mad. He was also clearly very dangerous, and he was going after Kaneko. He had to believe her and go after him, he had to.

After a gruelling minute, the heat of the cigar was pulled away, there was a scrape of a chair as the man stood up, walked around her, and slammed the door behind him.

Meanwhile in the next room, Daiki was sat in an identical seat at a table and surrounded by guards. However he had not been handcuffed to the table. Hunter was sat across from him, coffee in hand, waiting for Daiki to take a drink from the one he’d got for him. He didn’t seem thirsty. Shrugging, Hunter indicated to a mirror, and began the interview.

“Okay, let’s get on with this. For the sake of the record, interview started at twenty two hours and... three minutes. Interview led by Hunter Webb, also present are agents Sanjou Ryo and Aizawa Nagano. If I could ask the interviewee to confirm you are DI Masuro Daiki of the Tokyo Metropolitan Force.”
Daiki did not respond, just staring emptily at the table between them. Hunter paused, before continuing with the questions anyway. “O...kay, I need you to tell me what happened just before me and my men found you left tied up in the RDL Building, right before it exploded.”

“... Murtagh... left us there... He wanted to take our Numbers and get rid of me and Clarissa, but he couldn’t kill us directly because of them. He thought that alternative would work.”

Hunter shrugged at the mirror. “This Murtagh, can you describe him for the tape please.”

“Tall, athletic build. Shaven-headed. Heavily scarred face and neck. Eyes are different shades of green. Has a D-Disk shaped like a bronze dragon’s wing. Finds everything amusing.”

“Thank you, that’s more helpful. Now, do you know who he is or what he is planning? Where he might have gone? Who he works with?” Daiki’s expression darkened further at that last one, but he remained silent. “Look mate, we need all the help we can get with this. We need to find this Murtagh, and we stand a better chance if you can give us any clue about him. Anything at all would help.”

“... I don’t know what he aims for, except he wants these Number cards that appeared in the VDS and the real world, and the... girl... who created them. I guess he will log into the VDS again soon. He is working with a doctor Evos, someone in government, and... DI Zielinski Garvan...”

“In government? Alright. Now, these Numbers... I’ve seen them myself. I know they’re powerful and could be bad news in the wrong hands. Who is the girl who created them? Who is she to Murtagh?”

Hunter gave him a few minutes to reply, but none came. “Alright, let’s back up a bit. Will you talk to me about Clarissa? Like why she specifically demanded you come to the RDL Building, or what she wanted with you?” Again, all Daiki replied with was silence and a morbid, empty gaze down at the table between them. Hunter sighed, and stood to leave. “Alright mate. Interview terminated.”

...22:06:02...

Back on the streets of Tokyo City centre, things were very different to the usual Thursday night in the middle of the school holidays. Usually the town centre would be full of young people going clubbing or enjoying the evening entertainment amongst the bright neon lights and loud music, even in a small downpour that had occurred in the last hour. However on this night the streets were largely deserted. Only a few individuals could be seen in the rain, scuttling home and trying to avoid trouble, dodging the occasional group also walking home with safety in numbers in mind passed by. The streets were eerily silent except for the hushed rumours of said groups.

[i]“Did you hear that explosion earlier? What was that?”[/i]

[i]“Do you think it’s connected to everything in the city still being down?”[/i]

[i]“I need to get to the hospital. My brother must have woken up by now. He has to.”[/i]

[i]“Let’s just hurry; I don’t want to get caught by any muggers out on this night.”[/i]

The occasional groups of people passed through the messy streets, avoiding any suspicious looking characters and stores that had closed their shutters over smashed windows and doors. Some of them couldn’t help but glance at the arcades, the sources usually of so much joy, which were now a place of terror and suffering in the eyes of many. The gateways to a world where fun and games were being turned into fierce battles for survival, where terrible forces would soon gather and engage in fierce conflict for supremacy. Little did they know, as they rushed to be safe with their loved ones, that they would be no safer in the real world for much longer...

...22:10:13...

Hunter had only left the room for a couple of minutes when he was back, and asked Daiki to come with him to somewhere else in the building. Following him through the secret service’s winding passageways, Daiki realised this was the first time he’d actually been here, and wasn’t as impressed as he might usually have been with what was going on. Out of the intimidating atmosphere of the interrogation rooms the main nerve centre was light and spacious and full of exciting new technology and computers, all being worked on by people who were meant to be the best of the best. A total contrast to his office, but he was in no mood to be in awe. Following Hunter upstairs made the view on the bustling area even more imposing, before the captain opened a door for him into another large room. This room was for operation planning and briefing; with a long glass table for a dozen or so in the middle, and a row of computer desks all down one side facing several giant screens floating against the blue screen walls. In addition to the agents working at these desks or armed operatives, Clarissa was stood leaning against the far wall, still restrained and flanked by her two guards, occasionally glaring at the two men stood at the glass table; a short balding man Daiki recognised as Prime Minister Nakashima Hideo talking to a tall broad shouldered man with blonde hair. There was also for some reason a very small boy with streaks of blue in his mane of hair sat on the other side of the table, glancing at everything around him with a mix of shock and awe. From the row of computers, two more people he recognised came over to meet him.

“Masuro-san, you’re alright.” Yuri almost smiled for a moment, before she remembered her usual frosty exterior. “I mean... I’m glad you are still with us.” Keylan offered his hand, Daiki did not take it.

“What are you guys doing here?”

“Drafted in from office as additional help” Keylan replied, polishing his glasses and in his opinion looking disgustingly pleased with himself. “The guys here have been stretched and put in long shifts today; they wanted a few extra hands on deck. As an organised team leader and a talented researcher, Shigeo recommended us two. This place is something; I never thought I’d ever get the chance to work here.”

“Yeah, good for you” Daiki scowled in reply. “What does it matter what circumstances led you here, after all you got your little promotion to work in secret service for a day.”

The rebuff stunned Keylan. “Er... sorry Dai. You know I didn’t mean it like that...” His retraction was only half formed when to his and Yuri’s surprise Daiki just scowled again and walked past him, making no effort to avoid pushing past him. “Dai? Come on I didn’t mean... what’s with him?”

Hunter shrugged and watched with them as Daiki made his way over to a coffee machine in the corner and made himself something, before standing there and away from the others. His entrance and actions attracted Clarissa’s curiosity for a moment, before the doors opened again and relief overcame everything else as her brother was wheeled in by another agent on a collapsible chair and bought towards her. He looked tired, but equally relieved to see her.

“If you gents don’t find it too threatening, I am going to hug my brother now.” Not that she gave them chance to object as she smoothed herself on her younger sibling. “Wilhelm. You’re alright?”

“They asked me many questions... but I didn’t answer them. That’s what... you wanted right?”

“I don’t mind either way... as long as you keep yourself safe. I’m sorry I let them separate us and I couldn’t protect you. But we’re back together, that’s the main thing for now. Speaking of which; do you know what is going on and why they bought us here?” Wilhelm shook his head, before looking back across the room and smiling at something. Following his look, everyone else in the room (except Daiki) was looking at them. Being the centre of attention amused Wilhelm, but the looks upon them annoyed her. “Huh, you all find it surprising that I have a heart for some things after all?”

“We were wondering” Hunter muttered, before turning back to the two ministers he was engaged in conversation with. One of the agents behind her must have guessed she was going to do something, because he grabbed her arm to stop her before she started. Furious, she obediently went back to leaning against the wall with her arms folded and scowling at everyone, whilst Wilhelm was left to please himself. A minute later she had to be restrained again, as the doors opened for another entree.

A tall dark haired man with a pointy beard covering his square jaw, dressed in a dark suit where the tell tale pack of cigars could be seen poking out of the top pocket, her interrogator’s entrance commanded a salute from Hunter and the agents beside her. Approaching the central table and wrapping his thick knuckles around the back of his chair, the room fell silent as he cleared his throat. “For those who do not know me, I am Murakami Baron; commanding director of the Japanese Secret Service forces and operations. I’m not going to waste time with any back-story; all you need to know about me is that I will be in command of the operation I am about to brief you all on, and my word is law to all of those involved in it. Don’t waste your breath calling me an ass-hole; it’s what makes me good at my job. As some of you already know, I don’t take well to people who disobey me.” He threw Clarissa an odd grin in response to her look of hatred, before continuing. “Now, I’ve bought you all here because...”

Before he could tell them because, the doors behind him opened once again, and choked noise from the Prime Minister interrupted him and made him look to see who it was. A petite teenage girl with braided ponytails and in summer wear was clearly the last person he was expecting to wander through the doors with a slightly entranced look on her face. Before Baron could say anything, the prime minister was running over to her. “Sakura! You’re alright? Your mother and I were so worried. Where were you?”

“Oh, hey dad” Sakura said, seeming to regain focus of where she was as her dad embraced her overly tightly. “I’m sorry I worried you. I shouldn’t have left the hospital without saying something, but if I had then mom would have stopped me.”

“Damn right she would. What were you thinking? I thought you’d be captured or held somewhere!”

“I wanted to help... eh? What do you mean captured? What’s going on?”

“[i]That[/i] is exactly what I would like to know” Baron growled, tapping the chair with a rather forceful grip and ignoring Wilhelm’s taunting look. “How the hell did you get in here?”

“I... followed a guiding star here from the hospital... and it led me here. I just found a path that avoided all the guards... by chance I guess.” Baron gave her a suspicious look, before calling one of the agents over and telling him in no uncertain terms to investigate who was responsible for letting a civilian manage to waltz into his building. While he was busy, her attention turned from her father to the black leather clad woman on the other side of the room who was watching her rather intently. Ignoring her father’s fretful questions and everyone else’s watch she approached her. Neither lowered their gaze from the other. “You’re Clarissa... aren’t you?”

“And you’re Sakura... aren’t you?” the woman mimicked. “Yes, I know about you little girl. How you were the first to escape from the lock-in of the VDS my brother created. I wonder how you did that, or how you know about me.”

“A man called Murtagh told me about you and what you were doing, before he helped me escape. My boyfriend... wasn’t so lucky. He fell into a coma before he could rescue me.”

“Sakura, I must tell you, I fear your rescue was an act” Hideo held his daughter to try and support her ahead of the news he was about to give her. “In reality Murtagh is a terrible man who was responsible for the recent destruction of the RDL Building, amongst other things past... and future, if we do not find and capture him. The reason he rescued you was in an effort to befriend you, as my daughter, so that he could gain a point of leverage over me if he needed it.” Sakura just looked at him blankly, unable to understand. “You... you know my publicist and assistant Izura right? She has been working undercover for Murtagh during my term. Less than an hour ago she fled the building, and I had to let her go because if I didn’t, Murtagh would kill you in revenge. No-one had seen you for hours; I thought he had got you. I was terrified for your life. I had to let her go.”

Given the terrified look on her face, he decided to leave out the part about Minori being shot. Partly because he was still unaware of whether medics that had been called had saved her or not, and mostly because she looked bad enough without it on her mind. “... I’m sorry. I had no idea. Because of me...”

“No no, it’s alright. You couldn’t have known, and you’re safe now.” Hideo hugged her for a moment, before turning to Baron. “I would like for Sakura to stay and hear this, for her peace of mind.”

Baron didn’t seem too happy with that, but encouraging nods from Hunter and Rokuro helped make him decide in their favour. “Fine then, as long as we can get on. Now if I could not be interrupted again, the reason all of you are here is because you have had contact with either Murtagh; a former ‘avatar’ of the Virtual Duel System who was stripped of his role eight years ago and as of right now is a mass murderer and potential terrorist who has gone back to the very top of Japan’s most wanted list, or a girl known as Kaneko, the present young avatar of the system and who is believed to be a target of Murtagh in whatever he is planning. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t buy into all this powerful avatar and supernatural stuff regarding duel monsters and RDL. I’ve never taken interest in it. But I will react with full force to any threat to national security and trust the words of my colleagues and others who tell me this is such a threat. Murtagh is known to us from eight years ago, when he was found guilty of endangering public safety and lives on a national scale through the VDS. According to the statements from RDL officials, Murtagh used the control of the world he’d built up to turn it into a warzone, with duels becoming ‘death matches’, and would regularly attack random duelists to give them ‘the duel of their life’. It would often be their last. RDL managed to cover up the incidents and compensated the families whose children suffered severe brain damage or trauma after facing Murtagh, and made it look to us that he was a standard employee who was wreaking havoc. We could do little but make it clear the likes of him must never gain that sort of power again. He has remained on our records after he was charged and was deported to an international prison in China. He escaped from there after three years and has been on our wanted list ever since, but he just disappeared off the face of the planet, although he must have got himself back into Japan for a time shortly after his escape and made his alliances. Next we come to Kaneko; a child genetically produced by Real Duel two years after Murtagh’s exile, in something called Project Eve, bred as a ‘perfect avatar for a generation’ as someone put it...”

“You! How long have you known about this?” Clarissa spat. “Why did you allow that company to do something so monstrous?” Baron shot her a glare for interrupting.

“I know very little about Kaneko, Project Eve or Real Duel; only what I have been informed of by those most involved in the company and events at the time who have been working alongside us today. That’s why I’m going to let said person explain the technical parts concerning those areas.” One of the central screens floated out over them and switched onto display a short, elderly man with thinning hair and a bushy grey beard, squinting down at them all with dulled green eyes. “Streaming to us from our embassy in Warsaw; former professor of Creation and Programming of Artificial Intelligence at Berlin University and Real Duel’s chief director for Project Eve and creator of Kaneko, Doctor Piotr Zielinski.”

Daiki and Clarissa’s expressions became thunderous at the introduction of the doctor. “Good evening. I will be offering you technical support and advice from here in your mission to rescue Kaneko...”

“Rescue? You want to rescue Kaneko?”

The doctor’s piggish eyes looked down upon Clarissa, who was fighting off both guards and shouting up at him. “You’re one of the monsters who created Kaneko with your freak experiment. Now you want to rescue her?”

“You are... are you the mother specimen?” the doctor blinked in surprise. His choice of words could have been better advised as Clarissa paused in disbelief for a moment, before redoubling her fighting against the agents.

“Specimen? You called me a specimen?! I’m her mother you sick little drip, whether she was born in unconventional circumstances or not. You could at least have the decency to remember my name after you sanctioned locking me up in a pod and using me for playing god. You made a machine out of my daughter and erased my life, thinking I would just go away and let you get away with it, and you only barely recognise me... as a specimen? Oh you are so dead!”

“Calm down woman, it is not the time to argue about such matters now” Doctor Zielinski shouted, but he calmed as she was restrained. “I am sorry; I am too old and too used to referring to you as mother specimen Miss... Clarissa? Yes, I am guilty of everything you say. At the time of Eve I was excited about putting my life’s work in creating the most intelligent and self-sufficient computers to use, and that it would bring the joy to many young peoples. But after the project was complete and the child Kaneko was put straight into use, I began to have doubts about others involved in the work and the morality of it, all too late. I left the company and Japan thereafter, and lived not a day since without regret.”

The old man might have been genuinely sincere, but that didn’t stem the dark gaze of the young man he spotted approaching from the corner. Piotr studied him long and hard, trying to remember the face staring at him with such hatred. “You are the fath... I mean, papa to Kaneko? Yes... you are aged now and my eyesight is diminished, but I think you are the papa. Forgive me, was your name... Yumura Katsuro, or something?”

Keylan and Yuri exchanged baffled looks behind him, but the confirmation did not brighten or relieve Daiki in any way. If anything he took the man’s words as a knell of doom. “Well great, I guess that confirms it. Clarissa was right; the last six years of my life have been a complete lie, because of you. You, Real Duel and everyone else, including your son.” This time it was the doctor’s turn to be shocked. “You are [i]papa[/i] to Garvan, aren’t you?”

“Yes, Garvan is my boy, but I have not spoke to him for years” Piotr replied in a bemused tone. “He wished to remain in Japan as a police officer when his mother and I left for our homeland, and we’ve lost contact over the years. How do you know Garvan? How is he?”

“Oh, just the fact that he stayed on orders of Real Duel to make sure I never got my memory back and lived out my life as his partner in the force, and then stabbed me in the back to work for Murtagh. Nothing important or anything.”

“I never knew what happened to the two of you after the project ended. The executives in charge kept it a secret even from me” Piotr shrugged. “But you mean to tell me my boy is allied with that lunatic Murtagh? That is most worrying. My poor boy, what is he thinking teaming up with him?”

“Never mind your poor boy. What about our poor girl?” Having calmed down, Clarissa had been permitted to join Daiki’s side and the others near the central table. “She’s the one in immediate danger from the pair of them and the others; let’s just get back to that for now and deal with everything else later. That’s why we’re all here isn’t it?” she asked, turning to Baron and Hunter.

“Yes, now you’ve all cleared the air a little, perhaps we can continue” Hunter agreed. “So, here’s the plan. Murtagh presents an immediate threat to the country and all the people in it. We can assume if he has control of the VDS again he’ll have set the world to the same way he did eight years, but as to where he’ll go from there is currently unknown other than it involves Kaneko and the one hundred Numbers card she’s created to go through with it. We have no idea where Kaneko is kept hidden, especially since the few people who knew are either dead or against us, but she is also somewhere in the virtual world which continues to operate thanks to her and its backups despite the destruction of the RDL Building. Murtagh will surely go after her there soon. What we need to do is either find him in the real world and force him out of the virtual one, or her in virtual world and stop him getting to her until that happens. We’ve got agents looking the length and breadth of the country for him now, so our merry lot here will be taking care of the second part.”

“We’ve had some VDS terminals installed and modified for our use in the next room” Baron continued. “You’ll also find several of our other agents in there already; they are fighting to find and rescue civilians and get them out of the VDS. Thanks to Doctor Zielinski’s skills, we’ll be able to get you in and out.”

“Let me explain” the doctor responded in reply to Clarissa and Wilhelm’s puzzled looks. “Your program to block users from withdrawing themselves from the virtual world was well crafted; however I found a way around it by creating a sub-space just outside of the VDS world. Just enough to touch it, but a new part of which you had no knowledge. In simple terms, by transferring a user to that sub-space, they could then return to the real world from there.”

“That’s how me and Hunter escaped from the VDS” chirped the small boy with blue streaks in his hair, shrinking into his seat when everyone’s eyes suddenly turned on him. “Oh... sorry. My name’s Jin. When I met Hunter a few hours ago, we were attacked by some weird shadow guys, but escaped thanks to the doc’s idea. When I woke up in my local arcade, these agents were all around me and bought me here. Hey Hunter, do you think the guys who attacked us were acting on Murtagh’s orders?”

“It’s possible” the agent replied. “Anyway, from here we’ll all be able to log into and dive into the virtual world under newly created ID’s, just in case Murtagh is watching for us. We’re going to leave the search and rescue to the others, our objective is simple; find and protect Kaneko from Murtagh and his group while our field agents search for him here. To accomplish this, we need those closest to Kaneko and the most talented duelists we can trust. A lot of the best were wiped out by Clarissa’s army this morning, but our new accounts will come with a full card database to access to give us the best fighting chance.”

“I’ve already used it to rebuild my deck” Jin added cheerily, but Clarissa seemed less than impressed.

“Oh please, with everything that’s happened with that virtual hell today, you think several brand new accounts being created and accessed right now aren’t going to look remotely suspicious? I’ll go in as my true self. I want Murtagh to know I’m coming to get him. Besides, you all assume a lot about this ‘team’. What makes you think me and Wilhelm are going to help any of you?”

“I personally don’t want your help in this” Hideo replied, along with the glares of Rokuro and Baron. “I would prefer you to pay for your actions after all you’ve put my country through. However, given your connection to Kaneko and your knowledge and skill shown in manipulated the world that is the grounds of battle, we need to use you as part of this team. For the duration of this operation, you work for the government of Japan. When it is over and we successfully apprehend Murtagh, you will be retaken into custody and charged, although your actions henceforth might ease your punishment.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I want to fight Murtagh and rescue my daughter.” The malice in both of their stares was almost touchable. “But I don’t need help from any of you, and I certainly won’t be taking any of your orders. I fight my own battles.”

“I don’t think so” Baron replied, a hint of menace in his voice. “You will co-operate and do exactly what we tell you. If you don’t, you and your brother might not make it to a fair trial. You might just... I don’t know... disappear once again. A little more permanently than Real Duel made you disappear...”

“You wouldn’t.” Clarissa turned from the ‘wouldn’t we?’ looks Baron and Hunter were giving her to the surrounding group. “You’re all hearing this right? You’re all witness to what he’s just said.”

“Funny, I didn’t hear a thing” Rokuro muttered. “Did you prime minister? Kids?” The appropriate addressees shook their heads and mildly diverted their attention elsewhere, although Jin took a bit of persuasion from the towering minister’s hard stare to do so. Desperately Clarissa sought support from somewhere, but none was coming.

“Fine, we’ll work. But just because we’re team-mates doesn’t make us allies. Me and Wilhelm are going to protect my daughter. Just make sure you don’t get in our way...”

“Good enough for me” Hunter smiled, as if nothing had been said at all. “Now we’re going to split into groups, which will be led by Daiki, minister Tanaka over there, and myself. Maybe some introductions would make us all a bit more comfortable with each other.” Hunter ignored the unsure grumbles and bowed politely. “Hunter Webb, field operations for the secret service. I was born in Australia, but moved to this fine nation at the age of ten. I joined the police at an early age, and steadily worked my way here. I started duelling when I started school here, and play an Inzecter deck.”

“Guess I’ll go next” the tall blonde minister shrugged. “Tanaka Rokuro, minister for defence for the last four years, and shadow secretary before then. I’ve always been in politics having studied at Tokyo University. I’ll be monitoring your progress and leading on behalf of the government, as well as having... er... more personal reasons to go...” Rokuro trailed off before he could be pushed to elaborate.

“Sakamoto Jinrei” added the small boy. “I met Kaneko earlier in the VDS, when she rescued me from one of those duel drones and gave me a Number. I use a Mainspring deck.”

“Really? Do I have to?” Hunter’s stern nod told her she did. “Clarissa Haines-Wilshire. I first came to Japan seven years ago as a medical student and student teacher of English, until Real Duel identified me as the ideal mother for their project. Since regaining my memory of what happened, I became leader of the group that took control of Real Duel and the VDS earlier today in an attempt to rescue my daughter Kaneko, and expose the company for what it did. Again, stay out of my way and you’ll do fine.”

“Wilhelm” smirked the frail looking man in the wheelchair who had rolled up beside her. “I look after the computer side of my sister’s operation with my genius, and enforce her order with my deck. Do anything to upset her, and I’ll gladly destroy you as well.”

“Nakashima Sakura. I entered the VDS as a duelist for the first time this morning, and watched my boyfriend be slaughtered by those demon angels trying to protect me. I...”

“Whoa whoa. Sakura, you’re not part of this team.” Hideo had turned extremely pale, bordering on being sick as his daughter stated her introduction. “You can’t seriously want to go into the VDS again? Not after Murtagh threatened to hurt you. No way am I letting you anywhere where he could get you.”

“But dad, if everything about Murtagh is true, that means he let Yudai get hurt. I want to help Yudai somehow. That’s what I came here to do. Surely I can help somehow now I’m here.”

“But Sakura, you’re not a duelist, and the VDS is more dangerous now than your first visit. This is no place for you to get involved in, I can’t let you.” Sakura continued to protest furiously, overwhelming Hideo slightly. “No, I’m sorry Sakura but I won’t let you put yourself in that position. Guards!”

At Baron’s snap of the fingers, two agents seized Sakura. She struggled, but they easily pulled her away. Even as they dragged her away she cried out. “Dad! Please! I need to do this!” Hideo just watched and apologised glumly as the crying girl was carried out beyond the doors, and they sealed behind her.

“Well... that was awkward” Wilhelm smirked.

“Don’t worry sir, we’ll have her safely detained until everything is settled” Hunter added as sensitively as he could, giving Wilhelm a threatening look before turning to the one man who had remained mute. “That just leaves you mate. Why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself?” Daiki gave him a strange look in response to his persistence, as if the question was either baffling or incredulously rude.

“What do you want me to say?” he asked, his voice oddly strangled as he spoke. “What can I possibly say to that? Two hours ago I thought I knew who I was. I thought I was Masuro Dai, was an everyday detective in the met force. Now apparently I’m somebody else entirely; this upcoming pro duelist who got used by Real Duel for their goals and thrown away, and now living a fraud life in the place of the real Masuro after he committed suicide. Nothing in my life makes sense anymore, everything I thought I knew is lies, mixed with a blurry image of suppressed memories. How can I possibly answer you?”

An awkward hush fell over the entire room as Daiki finished, even the eavesdropping agents around the room had stopped and were stunned in their seats. Both Hunter and Jin went to speak, but it was Baron who got there first.

“Right, well now we’ve all got to know each other, perhaps we can get to work. You will be given the chance to modify your decks as you see fit from the computers in the next room, where you will be immersed into the virtual world from the terminals made for you. Piotr has managed to set up a method of communication for us to use, so you will receive more detailed instructions from both him and myself once inside. That concludes your briefing; you have your main objective. Now get to it, and make sure you succeed in finding this Kaneko before Murtagh does.”

Another agent colleague of Baron’s got the nod to open a far door to where the terminals were and usher them inside. Excited to be off Hunter led the way, Rokuro shook hands with Hideo and bade him good luck before following. One by one the group, with various reactions to each other, the rest of the group made their way over under Baron, Piotr and the other’s watchful eyes. “Good luck everyone.”

...22:26:06...

Sat alone in the starlit world of her and Orion’s creation, Kaneko fidgeted awkwardly as she picked through her cards once again. She was looking through them, but couldn’t focus at all. Not after what had just happened. Orion was out right now, investigating... something or other. For some reason, all of the people who had become duel drones, over a thousand of them who were all logged into the VDS from the same location, had died in the system. For a six year old, Kaneko’s concept of death was limited, but she understood what it was after Methuselah taught her that if something was destroyed it could not be just bought back to life like in duelling, that when something died for real it was for good. What she didn’t understand was why and it upset her tremendously that so many people had died all at once, but Orion was investigating. He suspected Murtagh had done something to those people in the real world, but that didn’t ease her fears. Murtagh had done something to the VDS that she couldn’t rectify, so everyone else in here was in danger.

Sighing as she finished shuffling her cards for exactly the fifteenth time today, Kaneko summoned several displays around her and browsed the action across the VDS. The displays were all randomly selected from all over the VDS, just to have a look at things in general than for nothing in particular. There were plenty of images of areas of the VDS turning from sunny skies to dark and stormy nights, with the few players she could see who were braving the open running around in fear. There wasn’t much duelling going on now the drones had fallen, only the odd thug of a duelist who was taking fun in beating people in this environment and had the skill to maintain doing it. Changing to several more random displays, she still couldn’t focus on them.

[i]‘Everything that’s happening, it comes back to me. The Numbers are my friends, which I scattered across the world. Murtagh is after them and me. Everything... is it my fault?’[/i]

Watching the screens with little attention, it was only by chance she caught sight of something odd that drew her focus. Somewhere in the ‘Fusion Gate’ area there was a small group of figures, mostly kids aged probably from thirteen to fifteen, standing around a much older looking guy in shirt and trousers. He looked smart enough to be an official or authority figure of sorts, but he’d tried to look as casual or less intimidating as possible as they gathered round. He had a D-Disk on, but he didn’t seem interested in using it. Kaneko continued to watch them for a moment, bringing up the profiles of a few of the group and baffled that the adult Jiao Hayato had only created his account two hours ago, then jumped as the group warped away. Trying to follow them, she couldn’t find them anywhere. All the kids user profiles location had turned first to ‘????’, then to ‘offline’. Jiao remained, but the others had all logged out.

[i]‘What happened there? Everyone was trapped while the terror group in charge of the duel drones was in charge, and Murtagh wouldn’t let them escape like that. Unless... someone found another way around it. I wonder if that’s the way Jin disappeared.’[/i]

Pacing her starlit realm, she struggled to decide on what to do. Each passing second made her more frustrated, she needed to take action. Sensei had forbidden her going into the VDS proper, but if people were getting out, that was good. But what if everyone who might help her escaped, and left her with no-one to help her, abandoning her to Murtagh? What if they were actually going somewhere more dangerous? Biting her lip, Kaneko couldn’t stop jumping from one thought to the next, each a more wild and extreme conclusion.

Eventually she could stand it no more, and opened a warp portal in front of her. [i]‘I have to check things out for myself. I’ll just be quick, and check out where Jin disappeared. I have to find out for sure what’s happening and how it affects us.’[/i] The night sky of the Rockfall Area opened in front of her, stepping from her starry realm into the canyon battlefields of the VDS.

...

At the exact moment Kaneko stepped into the Rockfall Area, a draconic figure lifted his head; pushing the long white hair he had here back out of his face, and smiled.

“Evos, the Number World Converter just needs a little more work to perfect it. You and Garvan hurry and finish it while I’m out. I need to fetch that last missing piece of the puzzle... personally..."[/spoiler]

[Northern Sage]

Of course, the real world is now endangered...
The dialogues were awesome. Great chapter.

[Brinolovania]

There weren't card games it's bad I want cars games u suck

Seriously though, that was a great chapter. Spoiler guys, Sakura's getting into the VDS.

[Bahamut - Envoy of the End]

[quote name='∂materasu' timestamp='1339544626' post='5956092']
Of course, the real world is now endangered...
The dialogues were awesome. Great chapter.
[/quote]

Myessss...

It gets much much worse later but...

Cool, thanks.

[quote name='Pacmanexus' timestamp='1339610640' post='5956428']
There weren't card games it's bad I want cars games u suck

Seriously though, that was a great chapter. Spoiler guys, Sakura's getting into the VDS.
[/quote]

Oh there's only been six of them, and that was the last one (probably).

But how might she do it? (Dun dun duuuuuun...)

[Bahamut - Envoy of the End]

[spoiler=Chapter 14:2]Despite the fall of night across the canyons, the constant catapult fire never ceased in the [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Rock_Launch_Area"]Rockfall Area[/url]. The first time Kaneko had come here years ago, she had been terrified out of her wits, but now she knew it was perfectly safe. She had made it so that the boulders would only land in certain pre-designated places, into high cliffs or crevices where it was impossible for a duelist to be stand. Thus she was able to wander across the tops of the canyons trench pathways without fear of being crushed.

[i]‘This is where Jin and that Hunter disappeared’ [/i]she thought as she looked down across a T-junction in the trenches. [i]‘This is strange, I can detect no users in the immediate area, but the presence of some lingers here. Others with a strange aura that I’ve never felt before. I wonder if they were the ones who forced Jin and Hunter away.’[/i] Continuing along the gorge, she thought about the first time she had met Jin, fighting against the duel drone Kafziel in the Necrovalley, and what she had asked of him. Ever since he had disappeared over two hours ago she had been checking for his return every couple of minutes, hoping that he would come back. [i]‘I’m sure he wouldn’t give up, even if he isn’t here right now. He’s still fighting for me, somewhere... Maybe I should try sensing him again to see if he’s come back now.’[/i]

She was just about to try again when something made her stop and shiver, something that wasn’t the mild night air. Something had changed in that moment, a disturbance in the world around her, just like when the world’s damage control settings were changed an hour or so ago. The Rockfall Area remained unchanged; desolate and silent between each launch of a catapult and boom of the boulders striking the cliffs. Looking around and listening for any sign of what it was, she couldn’t work out an obvious source for her distress. But whatever it was, it was creeping her out. [i]‘I’ve stayed too long. I should get back...’[/i]

She had only been in the Rockfall Area for three or four minutes, but it definitely felt like time to go back. She would be in serious trouble if she didn’t get back before Methuselah. Raising a hand to open the warp portal back to her home world, Kaneko had one last look for what it was that made her feel so unnerved before passing into her starry home... and gulped in horror when she realised what it was.

No warp portal had opened to her command. Panicked, she tried again, but still nothing responded.

[i]“Leaving so soon little girl?”[/i]

Spinning around, Kaneko jumped at the sight of the man who had appeared behind her. Immediately she recognised the person her sensei had told her about; with a wild mane of white hair and strange green eyes, dressed all in fine clothes, heavy gauntlets and bracers and a long black coat. The man’s smile widened at her reaction, flashing as white as the moon above. On one arm was his long bronze D-Wing, in the other hand he was casually spinning a small device.

Kaneko struggled to find her voice for a minute as she backed away from the former avatar that approached her with deranged glee. “You... you’re Murtagh, aren’t you?”

“Ah, [i]finally[/i] today someone recognises me like they should. And you’re Real Duel’s precious little baby avatar Kaneko right? The one created to replace me and who stole my place as ruler of this world.” Murtagh didn’t warrant a response in regard to that, as he broke into laughter. “It feels so good to be back in some control of this place, even if I have to use more roundabout ways of doing it than before.” He shook the device he was holding when he said that. “Take this neat little invention for starters. This jams all warping with the immediate area of the world, in or out, even for you and me. Being able to put a blanket shutdown of all warping in the entire world would of course be preferable, but something like that can only be done from the head office at Real Duel. And of course that’s no longer possible. Not after I turned that place into a burned out ruin.”

“What... do you mean? What did you do?”

“You don’t understand little girl? Well, you know that other place you go to occasionally when you aren’t here? The nursery in the ‘other world’ as you think of it, where those stupid women care for and feed and teach you, at the top of the tower that you jumped from this morning. Well, unlike you with your little stunt, that nursery did hit the ground, and those women and all the other people below it got crushed. All those people who betrayed me, they’re not part of this world or the other world anymore. They’re all somewhere else now, somewhere a lot warmer than this canyon.”

Murtagh seemed in no rush as he continued to walk towards her, smiling as she hurried and stumbled backwards in wide eyed fear and confusion. “You... you mean all those people who died were in the same building as the nursery? But who were they? What did they do to you?

Murtagh smirked at her question, enhancing the savage scars on his face and neck. “You have no idea. You’re just a tool to them little girl, for them to manipulate. They tried to use me as their tool before, tried to make me do what they wanted. How stupid of them, crowning a god and then trying to tell him how to and or not to rule his kingdom. Well this kingdom is mine to rule and always has been, not yours. All the people here are mine to rule and do with as I see fit to as well.”

“That’s not true! I don’t rule this world or the people who come here; I nurture and protect it so they can do as they want. That’s what the avatar is supposed to do, I guess this is why you were removed and taken away to the other world.”

“Heh heh, you’re so naive. Then again, I guess the suits at Real Duel wanted you to be that way when they created you. They wanted someone who’d believe everything they told them...”

“What?” Kaneko blinked; sure she’d heard him wrong. “I don’t understand.”

Murtagh’s grin widened. “You really don’t know anything do you? I wonder what they told you. Tell me little girl. You know there are two worlds; this one we stand in now that is so wild and diverse depending on how you will it as avatar. Then the other world that you only see when you go to your nursery; where me, your sensei, and the millions of others come here from. But you come from here, don’t you?”

“I... I was born here...” Kaneko replied. “I was born here six years ago. I travel to the other world just to eat and sleep and get taught stuff every so often, but I’m from this world with all the creatures in it.”

“Oh really, that’s what you believe?” Murtagh stopped and smirked. Something about what she’d said, and she had no idea what, amused him. “Now I wonder how that came about. Don’t you find it weird how you’re the only person who is ‘from’ this world? That’s why you created the Numbers isn’t it? To be your friends and guardians because no-one else was there and there was no-one else like you.”

“I have plenty of people who look after me!” Kaneko retorted. But her confidence was fading as she backed into the rock face behind her. He had backed her against a long cliff and because of that thing he was holding she couldn’t warp away. Murtagh was just savouring the moment as he continued.

“Oh really? So go on. If you really were born here, where are your parents?”

“I... my parents were...” Kaneko stuttered. “That’s none of your business who or where my parents are! I don’t want to talk to you. You were given the position as avatar, but you abused it and used it to hurt people. You put millions of lives in danger, and you just took fun out of it. Because you felt you were entitled to, that you could do anything in your position. You’re not fit to be avatar!”

Murtagh’s expression turned from glee to an ugly look. “Not fit? Of course I’m fit. I’m the forefront of mankind; the most powerful duelist to ever grace this place, and the greatest person in the world. Now I’m going to take back what was always mine and then some, and you’re going to help me.”

“I’d never help you!”

“Heh, you think you got a choice? Come on little girl, we don’t have to fight. You said it’s your duty to nurture this world that you’re ‘from’. Well I want to unlock the full potential of this world, and in doing so will drastically improve the other too, but I need you to do it. I will reassume my rightful rule of course, but you will still get to be there at my side to look after it in some capacity with your juvenile powers. My new world will be a better place for everyone there. Don’t you want that?”

“After what your view of a better world was like last time, I don’t think so.” Talking back was all very well, but it didn’t stop her growing fear. Try as she might to warp away without him realising, she still couldn’t move, and there was no way she could face him in a fight. He was giving her that sorry, crazed look and advancing toward her again, his raised gauntlet beginning to shimmer slightly with a pale aura. She had no idea what he was going to do, but she couldn’t stop it. She was paralyzed by fear. Too confused by what he had said to think clearly. He was older, stronger and had these strange abilities of his own creation, how long could she possibly hope to defend against him. He had already displayed such strange power to disable her escaping, what else could he do? ‘[i]Help me...’[/i]

[i]“Go my Beast! Protect miss Kaneko!”[/i]

Murtagh was feet away from her when the command, followed by a gurgling roar made him spin fully around. To his shock an aquatic lion creature was diving through the air and was almost on top of him. At close quarters all he could do was instinctively throw his D-Wing out to block the attack. The action blocked the lion’s webbed claws from slashing him as the beast lunged into the blade and disappeared, but he wasn’t the target. The attack was enough for Kaneko to run around him and to the figure in white robes and hood, taking [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Gishki_Beast"]Ritua Beast[/url] back from his gold mirror D-Disk, albeit he was breathing heavily.

“Sensei! I’m sorry I disobeyed you.”

“Never mind... that now” Methuselah heaved, trying to catch his breath. “I would have got here sooner... had the way not been blocked by some weird force field... and left me in the gorge. Had to run... all the way... up here... Still, that shouldn’t remain a problem now...”

Indeed, Murtagh had emerged from behind his shield with a snarl as he realised that the Ritua Beast that attacked him had succeeded in its aims. Kaneko was out of his grasp, and the device in his now bloodied right hand was crackling with static. Furious, he threw the useless device away. “Sneaky... underhanded... bastard! You always have to use trickery to make up for your lack of strength!”

“Looks like you haven’t changed in the last eight years, still placing everything on power.” Now he had got his breath back, Methuselah was able to talk a bit more freely, and the disgust was apparent in his voice. “Miss, you should flee now. Go to safety. I will handle Murtagh.”

“But sensei... I...”

“I said go!”

Kaneko gulped at the tone of his order, but obeyed with a small nod before disappearing through the portal that finally opened after the strange items destruction. The two former avatars watched her go, before turning to each other. Murtagh had been seething, but was now more relaxed about her escape than he might have been. “Humph, well this is an interesting development. I’d have thought you’d protect her better than to let her wander off by herself, after your failings with me. So you’re going to try and stop me with a direct confrontation now.”

“I will do what I must to protect her. Do what I should of done eight years ago during our last fight.”

“Do you mean finish me off for good? Heh, and there I was thinking you were above all that. You really think you stand a chance Orion, or should I say... [i]sensei[/i]? You barely managed to last against me last time, and now you’re eight years older and weaker, whereas I’m much stronger than I was before.”

“I doubt that. All your powers were stripped and deactivated from you, and the avatar’s abilities were reigned in to prevent future abuse. You can’t possibly hope to have manufactured the same or greater abilities than you had during your misguided reign by any means you might have devised.”

“Oh really? Maybe, but I’m not as reckless as you might think. Certainly not as reckless to not have a back up when I knew Real Duel wanted rid of me, just in case something was to happen.” Murtagh grinned at Orion’s reaction. “It really wasn’t too hard to copy and store some of my abilities in a safe place elsewhere. Looks like it paid off too, after your fluke win. A fluke that won’t happen again, especially since I chose not to save my old Hieroglyph deck.”

If Orion was fearful of Murtagh, he didn’t show or sound it. “Whatever madness it is you are planning with miss Kaneko, it will not succeed. I will defeat you again, and this time you will not recover.”

“A chance to get revenge and take down my former master” Murtagh grinned, as the night air and the stars above them rippled slightly. “I like the sound of that. Say your prayers for Kaneko now old man. You’re about to join the rest of the RDL payroll under a torrent of fire and rubble. Duel mode!” Shaking and curling himself up slightly as his transformation took hold, Murtagh roared as his dragonish half-self took over, his eyes snapping open to reveal their white-blue and black-red mismatch, whereas Orion more gracefully underwent the rest of his transformation; the runes on the little skin exposed under the now royal blue robes glowing faintly. Both men snatched their five cards and unleashed their battle cry.

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

“Duel!”

...22:38:45...

Having dismissed the agent who had rather stupidly asked him to relax with a hard glare, Daiki barely settled himself into one of several comfortable seats placed in a row facing the VDS terminals set up in this back room. The others were settling into chairs either side of him, the group taking up six of seven in this row. He had been given the option to edit his deck, but he hadn’t taken it. Neither had Jin, who had already rebuilt his, nor Clarissa and Wilhelm, who considered their decks already perfectly built. Hunter and Rokuro had spent the last few minutes working on their decks before venturing into the virtual battlefields. Behind him was another row of terminals being used by several of Baron’s agents already inside the system, on the search and rescue mission to aid any regular users they discovered. Leaning back into his seat and gazing into the deep terminal screen in front of him, as the visual and sound projectors around them whirred into life, Daiki felt the world around him go out of focus for a moment, before sinking into the world projected into his mind.

Blinking several times to adjust to their new surroundings, the room in the secret service base vanished to be replaced by the group’s entry point; the [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Temple_of_the_Six"]Residence of the Six[/url] area. The sky above was stormy, the flashes of lightning cast gloomy shadows over the ground they stood on at the front of the samurai’s sacred temple. Inside the VDS; Hunter’s field ops wear had changed to a more traditional Australian getup, and Rokuro’s suit had been replaced by a maroon sleeved tank top that was a tight fit over his broad torso, black leather gloves and trousers. His neat blonde hair was also long here and hung over his face. Other than Wilhelm being in a replica of his own wheelchair, the others appeared as they did in reality. As everyone finished acclimatising, Murakami Baron’s voice echoed in each of their D-Gazers.

“You all receive me? Good, now to give you your instructions. First of all, you are not to mention names on this frequency; of each other, the enemy, or the objective. The D-Gazer comms network at RDL might have been blocked and since destroyed, but our foreign friend has managed to set up our own for you to communicate with each other and us. This frequency should be safe from the prying ears of enemies but we can’t guarantee it, so try to keep messages short and to the point, and avoid obvious buzzwords just in case they are listening in somehow. Now we are trying to locate the objective, but have had no success as yet. You’ll have to search for yourselves, although hopefully now those of you connected to it are inside it might come to you. Also under no circumstance are any of you to go off on your own.”

“The objective is intelligent and has great awareness of the virtual world” Piotr chipped in, keeping slow and careful with his words so that he didn’t break Baron’s order about buzzwords. “However it is sure to have hidden or protected itself well if aware of who is coming after her, along with any other allies who remain with her. One ally in particular is her mentor, the former avat... a man called Kodai Orion, or Methuselah as he is known to some. Finding him may also be a good path for you to take.”

“We don’t expect you to run into trouble from regular VDS users, but if you do then do not to engage them in duels. Just stay calm and explain that they can escape the VDS by going to the ‘Skyscraper’ area. We’ve stationed an agent there for people to go to and get themselves out if you direct them to him. If you find or are attacked by anyone who you suspect is an ally of enemy one, you are free to engage. Try to extract any information that might be of use. If you are attacked by enemy one himself; then you must call the others to your location and engage. Any opportunity to stop him must be taken; you are all part of this team and will do your duty to defend the country of Japan against him. The situation is still largely unknown and potentially critical, neglect of duty or cowardice will be severely dealt with.”

“We’ll keep looking for him in this world and will take him into custody if we find him” Hideo said. “You guys just do your best to stall whatever it is he is planning and protect the objective. If you find her, try and find out where she is logged into the system from. Wherever she is, we will get a unit there to take her to safety. Remember, the safety of a nation could depend entirely on your success. Good luck.”

Orders received, the link disconnected. Clarissa and Wilhelm were ready for the off already, whereas Jin was observing the mystical temple with some trepidation. However it was Rokuro who assumed order. “Right, now we’re free to talk more clearly. As you may have worked out, you are not to use the words Kaneko, Murtagh, avatar, Numbers, or any other likely trigger words when calling over our frequency. Now we’re going to split into pairs, which will be led by me, Hunter and Daiki, and search. If you find Kaneko or Murtagh, call the others immediately and then engage. Anyone else, engage with caution.”

“And what if I want to go off on my own and search for my daughter without you losers holding me back?” Clarissa asked. “What are you going to do about it?”

“I thought you might ask that. Baron and the guys at base can log out you out from there. You give your partner any dissent, refuse to follow orders, or do anything to cause trouble or endanger the team, then we just have to give the word and you’re out. You and your brother are walking a thin tight rope as it is right now. This team benefits from your presence, but does not depend on it. It would be in your best interests, and those of your daughter, to do as the country you’ve caused this trouble tells you to.”

“Oh wonderful, I’m so glad to be useful” she retorted. “Just give me my partner and let’s get go...” She stopped as something in her D-Disk started to glow, as did both Daiki’s and the D-Arm on Wilhelm’s wheelchair. Already sure of what it was, Clarissa smirked and plucked out her own two returning Number cards from her deck. “Ooh, now isn’t that interesting? I wonder how this happened.”

“They must have reappeared now that we are out of Murtagh’s clutches” Wilhelm answered, observing his own Number. “I’d guess that they hid themselves when he captured us... so that they couldn’t just be stolen... and have reappeared now we’re... relatively... safe again. What do you think Daiki?”

“Whatever, at least they’re back” Daiki muttered, giving his two cards a quick check before replaced them back in his deck. “If they can protect us then they will give us a better chance against Murtagh.”

Wilhelm broke into his twisted lopsided smile and rolled up behind the detective. “Well someone’s certainly in a bad mood. Well if you’re worried about Murtagh; don’t be... you’ve got me backing you up. I thought you’d be looking forward to teaming up again, after we did so well together last time.”

“You mean against that woman you slaughtered” Daiki snapped. “You think I’d look forward to being on the same team as you again after you did that, because she broke your stupid mind control by attacking me and you wanted to punish her? What do you care about any of this anyway?”

Wilhelm’s expression turned to a grimace in a flash. “I care alright... I care like it hurts. You quickly forget that me and sister... we aren’t doing this for the safety of your country, we’re doing this for Kaneko... and always have been. You might not care about her, but we do. I am her uncle after all; you need to start acting more like her father. In fact...” Wilhelm’s smirk came back as he thought of something. “... After all, one might even argue that we are like brothers in law, of a loose kind...”

Daiki’s reaction was so fast that it took a few seconds for anyone to react. By which time Dai had spun around, grabbed the stunned Wilhelm by the throat and fully lifted him choking and kicking out of his wheelchair. “Do not... try and relate me to you! I am [i]nothing[/i]... like you... do you understand?”

Before he could continue shouting Daiki’s world went spinning as someone grabbed him from behind and executed a perfect throw over their shoulder, sending him flying to the floor whilst still holding his arm. Wilhelm collapsed back into his chair, gasping and staggered by what had happened whilst Clarissa applied a painful arm bar, making him writhe and swear even as the two bigger men tried to force her off. “You lay a hand on my brother again, even in here, and I will break your arm.”

“That’s enough, both of you” Rokuro shouted before Clarissa, point made, let go. Scrambling to his feet Daiki went back after her, and it took a huge effort on Hunter’s part to stop him. Jin was shouting for people to stop, Wilhelm was watching the scrap with his twisted expression, as the two continued to stare each other down from behind their restrainers. “Everyone calm down, that’s an order!”

Eventually the two stopped fighting him and Hunter, although they were both still visibly simmering. “Right then, I think we need to split up, get away from each other and focus on the task in hand. Dai, you need to get your head screwed on. I’m going to put you away from these two and with Jin, maybe that will make you remember you’re a police officer and should have some self-control. Hunter will be going with Clarissa to keep an eye on her, and I’ll be paired with Wilhelm. Got it? Right, let’s go.”

The response was slow as half the group grumbled about their prospective pairings and each other. Unorganised and struggling to keep the troops together, Rokuro shook his head. [i]‘This is the team I’m supposed to lead on behalf of Hideo; to protect my country and find my boy? This is chaos. They might have crucial connections to Kaneko unlike anyone else, but they can’t work together. That shy kid Hunter recommended seems to be the most reliable right now, but he’s still just a kid. How can I trust him with something of this magnitude? How on earth are these guys going to help me rescue...’[/i]

Rokuro’s train of thought was interrupted by the roar of a D-Runner engine from across the temple grounds, snapping him and the others into facing the temple with armed D-Disks. An assault already, this was the last thing he needed. The group waited in tense readiness for the potential threat, staring across the temple, ready to fight whoever it was who came into sight and attacked.

Lightning flashed overhead once again as a scarlet D-Runner launched off and flew over the top of the temple roof, coming down in slow motion and landing with a heavy thud. The runner slid to a stop just before the group, who didn’t relax even as the rider removed her helmet and looked at Daiki.

“So, you couldn’t stay away Daiki” Natsumi greeted him calmly. “That’s just like you to get out of danger and then come back anyway. I’ve been looking for you for hours. What happened?”

“Great, we’ve been here five minutes and somebody already tracked us down” Hunter muttered. “See this is why we offered you new accounts. Anyway, I know you. You’re the wanted hacker, the Firefly. Real Duel placed a demand for your arrest that is still active today. Daiki, how do you know her?”

“... She’s my... she’s...” Daiki didn’t answer and turned to the biker girl. She didn’t seem as aggressive as when he last saw her in the Dark City; she actually looked troubled. “What do you want now Natsumi?”

“Daiki, I... I’ve been doing my own investigations into what’s been going on and looking into Real Duel’s history, breaking into their most guarded files. I found some things about what I mentioned earlier, and also... um...” Natsumi looked across the rest of the group, a little unsure of what to say. “Dai, can we talk in private? There are things I discovered that I need to tell you... about yourself... and Project Eve...”

“Oh right. Let me guess!” Natsumi blinked as Daiki cut her off in a harsh tone. “My name is not Masuro Daiki. I’m actually somebody called Yumura Katsuro who was taken in by Real Duel after a tournament, used to create a kid, and given a fake life in place of a dead man who looked like me. That it?”

“What? Yes, when did you...?” Natsumi was baffled for a moment, but it didn’t take long for her to come back to her normal, hot headed self. “Then what the bloody hell did I risk my neck for? And the hell are you looking at me like that for?”

“You want to know Natsumi?” Daiki snapped, still staring hard at her. “When did we meet, about five years ago? We hooked up a few months after that. An employee of Real Duel... just so happening to be going out with the guy they used for Project Eve. So what; didn’t your bosses think Garvan would be enough to keep track of me and stop me ever finding out?”

“Garvan? What’s Garvan got to do with anything? Will you please explain to me what’s going on?”

“Oh like you don’t know. Real Duel suits set Garvan up to work with me, so he could watch over me and make sure I’d never find out about Project Eve or my real self. Too bad for them he was going to backstab them. So what, you two take in turns to keep watch of me, him at work and you at home?”

Thunder rumbled overhead, followed by the sound of Natsumi’s knuckles cracking as she met Daiki’s furious gaze. “What are you accusing me of...?”

“You want me to spell it out to you? Everything in the last six years of my life has been a lie. Everything around me has been a set up. A placed job, fake friends, and you... even you. What; you got ordered by Real Duel to go out with me? So what really happened when you went on the run? Did they want rid of you because they thought you couldn’t be trusted not to let something slip anymore in our lie of...”

His rage was interrupted by a hard slap across the face. Rubbing his jaw, Natsumi was unmoved from her seat, just breathing heavily and staring at him with fury in her red eyes. “Whatever. I’m out of here.”

“Masuro don’t you dare...” Hunter was unheeded as a small warp portal opened in front of Daiki. He gave everyone one last hopeless, murderous stare, before he passed through it and vanished from the temple grounds, the group left stunned in his wake.

“Hunter, get onto Baron and get him pulled out of the VDS.” The captain nodded and moved away from the group to call headquarters, leaving Rokuro to rub his temples and try to deal with the rest. “Asking him to join this team was a mistake after what he’s been through. Hopefully they can help him.”

...

“What the hell captain?” Baron shouted into his D-Gazer, forgetting his own orders in his anger. “Masuro stormed off on his own? After fighting with everyone else? Yes, I certainly will get him out for this. We’ll send you a replacement if you... no? ....The Firefly? ...Alright then, if you’re sure. ...Over.”

Storming into the back room where the terminals were with one of his men in tow, he stood in front of Daiki. His eyes looked past him unseeing as he walked through the world projected into his head, but unlike the others his expression was strained, and he was shaking ever so slightly. Not that it would excuse him of disobeying direct orders and jeopardising the mission. “Get him out. Now.”

The agent nodded and reached for the control pad just behind the headrest of the chair that was connected to each person’s D-Gazer. As the man’s fingers got within a few inches, Baron caught Dai’s unseeing pupils respond; thinning like a frightened cat as his hands violently clenched the arms of his chair. A sudden roar of pain made the entranced commander jump to see the agent jump backwards like he’d been electrocuted and holding his hand. The skin of his fingers was burnt and bloody.

...

“What do you mean you can’t? You’re joking right? Alright, we’ll try and deal with it. Over.” Hunter disconnected from the transmission and returned to the others. Either they had overheard or his worried expression must have given him away, as they were looking curiously at him. “They haven’t been able to log Daiki out. Something weird happened and repelled them. He’s ignoring their calls.”

“So now we’ve got a loose cannon running around in the world” Rokuro sighed. “In his state of mind he could do anything and cause all sorts of trouble. He could jeopardise all of us and Kaneko.”

“Then I’ll go after him.” The group turned to the young boy as he piped up. He looked as surprised as anyone by his own offering. “Um... I mean, this is probably going to sound weird, but I think I have to do this. When I met Kaneko, she asked me to find people who would help her, and get them to unite together. I think... maybe this is what she wanted me to do. You guys look for Kaneko and Murtagh, I’ll go and get Daiki.” Before Rokuro had a chance to protest, Jin was off and running towards his own portal, waving as he went. “Don’t worry about me; I’ll call if I get into trouble or if I find him. Later.”

Then he was gone, leaving only five. Rokuro looked hopelessly at where the boy had disappeared, but as he went for his D-Gazer Hunter stopped him. “I think he’ll be alright mate, let him handle it.”

“...Alright, I’m trusting your judgement. You’re taking responsibility for him. Hey you, Firefly!” Natsumi perked up from where she had remained sat in silence on her D-Runner when Rokuro addressed her. “I know you’re a wanted hacker on our records, but if you know what’s going on in here then we could really use your help. What do you plan to do now?”

“I dunno. You guys probably know more of what’s going on than me at this point. I’ve noticed things have gotten more dangerous in the last hour, but I haven’t found out why. I was hoping Daiki would tell me, if he wasn’t such an idiot. But maybe I do know some things that you don’t.”

“Well clearly we need you, and you also need us. So an allegiance then? You know who I am right? As a minister, if you were to offer us your services and help us, I could pull some strings and make sure your criminal record was... lost, perhaps. We could really use your skills and knowledge.”

“Hmm, interesting offer, but I don’t know. I have no case to answer and will prove it myself, and what I’ve seen of your team so far isn’t very impressive.” Natsumi eyes flashed as she toyed with the idea, looking across the group at the desperate looking muscle man, his colleague, and the woman in a black leather suit who was whispering to the guy in the wheelchair. “However, you’re right that we could both benefit from each other’s help, for now at least. Let’s just call it an alliance of necessity.”

“Thank you. Alright, if you would accompany Hunter so that he can fully brief you and vice versa, while I can...” Turning to the others, Rokuro was stunned to only see Wilhelm sat there smiling out him. “Oh great, now Clarissa’s gone too?”

“Afraid so. She got fed up with your blundering... and since you weren’t able to stop Daiki going off on his own, she’s gone to do what we’re actually supposed to do... and look for Kaneko herself. However as a sign of faith... she’s left me with you, so that you know she’s still working for you. Besides minister...” he added with a sick grin. “If you got attacked and killed by Murtagh... we’d really be screwed.”

“Bah, you two are up to something. I don’t trust you, but as long as she understands her and your fates are still in our hands, and what will happen to her beloved brother if we think she’s doing anything that threatens us. Alright smart guy?” Wilhelm smirked and nodded. “Alright then, let’s split up and get to work. Keep your communications open, and keep a sharp eye out for the others.”

The two remaining pairs bade each other good luck, before leaving the scared temple empty once again.

...21:43:32...

Back in the Rockfall Area, lightning split the sky above the semi-retired and dethroned avatars. Orion and Murtagh had spent a few minutes studying each other, plotting their strategies and their counters for the attacks their enemy might try. Ready, Orion placed his hand to his deck, and the duel was on.

“I shall go first. Draw. ”Catching sight of his sixth card, Orion’s eyes widened in surprise. [i]‘This card, I could... no, not yet.’[/i] Hopefully his reaction was hidden from Murtagh by his low hood, allowing him to add the card to his hand for now and chose another without a potential tell. “I activate the ritual magic [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Gishki_Aquamirror"]Ceremonial Water Mirror of the Ritua[/url]. By using monsters in my hand as tribute, I can ritual summon an Eviritua monster from my hand of the correct level. But because I have [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Gishki_Shadow"]Ritua Shadow[/url] in my hand, I can use it for the entire tribute. Rise from the depths of the abyss, [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Evigishki_Soul_Ogre"]Eviritua Soul Ogre[/url]!"

With a roar muffled by the water in its throat, the abominable sea dragon rose from the watery portal that opened in the earth between them, leering down and snapping its toothy beak at Murtagh (Lv8, ATK 2800). Not that the opponent was scared. If anything he looked remarkably pleased to see it.

“Ah ha ha! It’s here again, Soul Ogre! The monster that defeated me last time; summoning him on your first turn, you must really hate me. I’ve been waiting eight years to see that beast again, waiting for my chance to get payback on it and the scars it left me with!” Murtagh caressed the scars on his neck as he spoke, wincing as he relived how the aquatic dragon’s claws had cut through his virtual flesh and bone.

“Those scars are your own fault” Orion snapped. “It’s because you made the virtual world such a hellish arena that its attack had the effect it did on you, in the same way those duelists you attacked for your amusement suffered lasting damage for years. It is for them that Soul Ogre will bury you for good.”

“Ha ha, like you care about those duelists. You proved that by siding with Shinawatra and the company after they came crawling on their hands and knees and begged you for help. After all, they covered up those incidents didn’t they, and made sure those kids parents kept quiet. As for my scars, I could never forget what that beast did to me. I made sure of that whilst I was locked away, replicating my scars on my real body, so that I would constantly be reminded every day until I came back and took it down.”

“You’re sick” Orion spat in reply to Murtagh’s twisted chuckle. “I set one more card and end my turn.”

“Then your end can finally begin. I draw, and activate the magic of [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Card_Destruction"]Hand Obliteration[/url]. Orion gulped as Murtagh revealed his magic card with a grin. “This forces both players to drop all cards in their hands, and then replace them with an equal amount.” Reluctant to lose the card he had just drawn, the old avatar had no choice to drop his two cards and replace them, whereas Murtagh did the same.

“Oh by the way, one of the cards I ditched was [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Eclipse_Wyvern"]Eclipse Wyvern[/url], which activates its effect when it’s sent to the cemetery. This lets me banish a level seven dragon that’s either light or dark attribute from my deck. But you don’t need to worry about that right now, instead you need to worry about [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Dragorado"]Dragorado[/url]!" The small purple hided dragon with thick black protective hide over its exposed neck and wings was a familiar sight (Lv4, ATK 1300). “You might recognise this one from our last duel too, so you should already know that when summoned, Dragorado can special summon a normal monster with one thousand or less attack from my cemetery. I summon the tuner monster [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Flamvell_Guard"]Guard of the Flamvell[/url]!"

“A tuner monster? You have expanded to use Synchro monsters as well?” Orion grimaced as a small dragon with molten hide appeared before the smirking Murtagh (Lv1, DEF 2000).

“On occasion old man, but not on this one. What I plan to do this time is use Dragorado’s other effect. By releasing it, I can raise Guard of the Flamvell’s level to eight until the end of the turn. Then I activate [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Monster_Reborn"]Raise Dead[/url] to summon the dual monster [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Darkstorm_Dragon"]Darkstorm Dragon[/url] from my cemetery, and overlay my two level eight normal monsters! Xyz Summon!” The large frail bodied dragon (Lv8, ATK 2700) and molten dragon turned to sparks of energy and spiralled upwards, crashing down into the vortex opening beneath them. “Come, my precious bringer of ruin. [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Thunder_End_Dragon"]Thunder End Dragon[/url]!"

Roaring viciously, the electrically charged dragon stretched as it rose up on mighty wing beats, sparks of lightning coursing across its body and gathering in its maw (Rk8, ATK 3000). “Eight years I have waited for this moment! I activate Thunder End Dragon’s effect! By detaching an overlay unit, every other monster on the field is destroyed!” Orion could only watch in horror as shockwaves discharged from the dragon and straight through Soul Ogre’s heart, clawing and thrashing before it sank back into the abyss beneath it. Murtagh watched it go with a mix of joy and hate. “Now let’s see how well Thunder End Dragon makes you scar! Direct attack!”

“I activate the trap card [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Nitwit_Outwit"]Clever Scheme[/url]!" Orion countered. “By discarding [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Yaksha"]Yasha[/url] from my hand, your monster loses an equal amount of attack.”

The force of Thunder End Dragon’s attack was weakened significantly, but not stopped (ATK 1100). Orion was thrown backwards by the thunderbolts that struck him, launched far across the canyon like any of the arena catapults might have done and landing in a heap, his robes scorched and smouldering slightly (LP 2900). Murtagh and his dragon came crashing after him, scowling as he landed. “Again you try to worm your way around my prize dragon. I set one card face down and end my turn.”

“My... draw...!” Orion shuddered at the fragility of his voice as he drew his card. “I summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Gishki_Noelia"]Ritua Noelia[/url] to the field.” The leader of the Ritua tribe, the malicious flame haired sorceress appeared with staff in hand, her revealing robes fluttering from her own magical aura (Lv4, ATK 1700).

“You think I’ll let you take down my mighty dragon with that ordinary witch!?” Murtagh roared. “I would rather destroy it myself. And by activating [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Torrential_Tribute"]Torrential Burial[/url], that’s exactly what I’ll do!” Noelia barely landed on the field when she was crushed along with the fallen dragon.

“Regardless, Noelia’s effect is still activated. This lets me see the top five cards of my deck, and sends any Ritua monsters that are among them to the cemetery. The rest go to the bottom of my deck.” Three monsters vanished into the beyond after Noelia. “I set one card and end my turn.”

“Let’s see you survive this time. Draw!” Murtagh’s eyes glinted as he took his card. “Excellent, but before I use this, I need to call on his brother. It is time Orion, to unleash true chaos!” The old man gulped as the spectres of two dragons vanished into the beyond. “By banishing the light dragon Eclipse Wyvern, and the dark dragon Dragorado from my cemetery, I special summon the corrupted flame of chaos. Appear, [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Darkflare_Dragon"]Darkflare Dragon[/url]!"

In a blaze of flame, a large black and red scaled dragon with long spike covered limbs and tail and four long leathery wings soared through the night air, floating over Murtagh and staring down at the small morsel before it (Lv5, ATK 2400).

“Now because it was banished from my cemetery, Eclipse Wyvern’s effect completes by adding the monster it banished earlier to my hand. But by discarding it, and sending [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Bright_Star_Dragon"]Starbright Dragon[/url] from my deck to the cemetery, I can activate the effect of Darkflare Dragon and banish one monster in your cemetery.” Murtagh studied the display of cards that appeared over Orion’s head against the wall of ARV, depicting the choices available, and smiled broadly. “As much as I’d love to totally banish Soul Ogre once and for all, I’m not making the same mistake as last time. [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Necro_Gardna"]Necro Gardna[/url] can go.”

Orion muttered several curses as his hidden defence was erased. “You’re right, I admit your skills have improved. But no matter what, I will find a way to defeat you!”

“Good luck with that. Because now I’ve got another set of light and dark dragons in my cemetery, I’m special summoning another dragon of chaos from my hand!” The spirits of Star Bright Dragon and Darkstorm Dragon were sucked into the beyond, giving passage for another to emerge. Silvery white scales gleaming in the starlight, the second dragon floated to a level plain with its dark brother (Lv6, ATK 2500). “Behold the radiance of chaos, [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Lightpulsar_Dragon"]Lightpulsar Dragon[/url]!"

“Both dragons together...” Orion gasped.

“Now my mighty dragons of light and darkness, attack Orion directly! Finish him!” Murtagh screamed. The two dragons unleashed their attacks, fiery breath of pure white and jet black flame, spiralling and combining as they approached Orion.

“I activate my trap [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Mirror_Force"]Holy Barrier - Mirror Force[/url], destroying both dragons!” Orion’s counter was desperate, as the reflective light enveloped both dragons, but he knew his reprieve was only temporary.

“Lightpulsar Dragon’s effect activates” Murtagh continued mercilessly. “When it is destroyed, it can special summon a level five or higher dark attribute dragon from my cemetery. So Darkflare Dragon comes straight back.” The red and black dragon rose from the dead, angrier than ever. “Now he will attack you again unimpeded!”

Once again Orion was thrown across the canyons by the explosion, landing with an almighty crash. When Murtagh had caught up with him, he was still lying in a small crater in the hard ground, grimacing and shaking with pain (LP 500). The young man just laughed at him as he shakily tried to stand. “Come on master Orion. Keep trying to fight back, it’s funny. You can’t stop me, and once I finish you off, I’m going back after your precious new apprentice Kaneko.”

“I... will stop... you...” Orion groaned, struggling to stand. “Draw...”

Orion: LP 500, Hand empty, Field empty
Murtagh: LP 4000, Hand 1, Field of Darkflare Dragon

“I activate the magic card [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Pot_of_Avarice"]Jar of Avarice[/url]. By returning five monsters to my deck, I can draw two new cards.” Murtagh made a noise of contempt, but snatching the two cards from his deck, Orion realised they might be just what he needed. [i]‘Miss Kaneko, please allow me to borrow your power so that I might use it well and protect you’[/i]. “I summon Ritua Beast.”

The kelp-maned lion of the deep reappeared snarling at Murtagh (Lv4, ATK 1500). “When this card is normal summoned, it can drag another level four or lower Ritua from the depths, such as my Ritua Shadow. Then by banishing a water monster from the cemetery, [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Aqua_Spirit"]Water Spirit Aquaria[/url] can be special summoned.” The aqua maiden joined the field, alongside a lizard like creature with a staff (Lv4, ATK 1700). It all depended on this. “Now I control three monsters that are level four. Xyz summon!”

The aquatic maiden, lion, and lizard disappeared into the starry vortex that opened between them, giving rise to the seal. Triangular in shape and dark blood red in colour; floating between him and Murtagh. Even Orion was not immune to the mental pressure, as the Numbers took hold, glowing on his wrinkled hand like it on the shoulder of the beast that unfurled from the seal, a massive aquatic dragon with four blade like wings, floating over him and screaming at Murtagh with unrestrained fury (Rk4, ATK 2800). “I summon and attack with [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Number_32%3A_Shark_Drake"]Number 32: Marine Biting Dragon - Shark Drake[/url]! Depth Bite!”

Unleashing a stream of dark energy from its maw, Shark Drake’s attack tore through the comparatively feeble dragon, obliterating it and inflicting the first dent in the sheltering Murtagh’s life points (LP 3600). “Now I activate the effect of Number 32. Once a turn when it destroys a monster in battle, I can detach an overlay unit to force that monster to be special summoned back to the field, but with one thousand less attack points.” Once more the red and black dragon was pulled from the dead (ATK 1400). “Then Shark Drake can attack again! Depth Bite!” Once more the purple stream of energy engulfed the weakened dragon, destroying it before it engulfed Murtagh. When he reappeared, he was still and hanging his head. Yes, the tide was definitely turning.

[i]“heh heh heh heh heh.”[/i]

Orion shuddered as the sound of laughter came from the younger duelist. Quiet at first, making it all the creepier, before increasing in volume to a full deranged hilarity. When Murtagh looked up, his eyes had a redoubled edge of deranged malice in them (LP 2200).

“So in one last desperate effort to defeat me, even you have to call on a Numbers. Relying on the power of your own little apprentice? How pathetic you have become Orion.” Still laughing maniacally between words, Murtagh placed his gauntlet to his deck. “Well then, I guess if you need to resort to the girl’s power, then it is only right that I borrow it as well. I draw!” The look in his eyes and his smirk, he had got what he needed. “I summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Fusilier_Dragon%2C_the_Dual-Mode_Beast"]Variable Machine Gunner Dragon[/url] with its effect! By cutting its attack and defence points in half, I can normal summon it without tribute!”

A gigantic mechanical dragon slammed heavily onto the field, landing on its heavy tank tracks and unleashing a scraping roar (Lv7, ATK 1400). “Next, I activate the magic card [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Silent_Doom"]Silent Dead[/url], which brings back a normal monster from my graveyard in defence mode. The legendary [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Red-Eyes_B._Dragon"]Red Eyes Black Dragon[/url]!" Legendary was right, although evil may well have equally described the look of the jet black dragon that rose from the cemetery (Lv7, DEF 2000). Gazing up at the two creatures in horror, Orion watched as they turned to sparks and spiralled into the opening vortex as Murtagh’s Number rose up. And up. And up. A gigantic silver spike that would be visible for miles, with a ring on which it’s Number was blazoned floating around its body. At the top of the spike, a singular, enormous yellow eye opened and stared down at him, locking onto its target as the runes appeared on Murtagh’s neck.

“It is with cheap irony that this monster will be the last thing you ever see. Say hello to [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Number_11%3A_Big_Eye"]Number 11: Big Eye[/url]!" (Rk7, ATK 2600).

“Oh no” Orion gasped as he stared transfixed by the giant eye. “Not that one!”

“Oh, you know what he does? Then you already know that you’re finished! My Number might not have as much brawn as yours, but it’s through brains that it will crush your dragon’s tiny mind, and seal your ultimate fate! I activate Big Eye’s effect! By detaching one overlay unit, and sacrificing its attack for the turn, it can lure your monster into joining the winning team early and coming over to my side of the field. Permanently...!”

Trapped motionless under the gaze of the enormous eye as it opened fully for its hypnotic glare, Shark Drake was pulled effortlessly away from him and over to its new master, roaring now lining him up for its next, fatal attack. The Numbers mark appearing on his victorious adversary as it faded from him, and with it all hope. “Miss Kaneko... I’m sorry... I failed.”

“Indeed you have Orion” cackled Murtagh. “The master is about to be slain by the far superior apprentice. Although... that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case...” Orion choked as the dragon master’s stance relaxed. “Maybe I could find a use for in my new world. Nothing as grand as avatar of course, those days are long over for you, but I’m sure you’d make a fine janitor or something. Still, it’s an existence at least, and right now it must be looking a pretty good one when you consider what’s going to happen if I let Shark Drake sink its teeth into you now.” Shark Drake roared on cue as Murtagh’s eyes flashed. “So here’s my offer; call Kaneko and hand her over. Then I’ll let you live.”

“You...?” Orion spluttered. “You honestly think I would do such a thing? I’ll never let you near her!”

“Huh, figured you’d say something like that” Murtagh shrugged, still relaxed and unrushed to finish the old man off. “Alright we’ll do this the other way around. Hey little girl” he shouted out to the dark sky. “I know you’re still here and that you can see this. See that your precious sensei is about to become a light snack for your Number friend unless you do something. Come on out, only you can save him. Give yourself up now, or I will kill him.”

“No... Don’t do it...” Orion shouted, but he was unheeded as a small portal opened in the centre of the field and the little girl emerged. She was clearly shaking and on the verge of tears as she looked up at her two Numbers towering either side of Murtagh, but still she slowly stepped forwards towards them, one pace at a time, towards the smirking villain.

“Good girl Kaneko. Come to me, I promise I won’t hurt either of you.”

“Stop it Murtagh. I’ll do whatever you want, just leave sensei alone.” Behind her Orion protested, but she just shook her head. “I’m sorry. I don’t want anyone else hurt. If giving myself up will make you stop hurting people, then I’ll do it. Please just take me and leave sensei and everyone else alone.” Murtagh just shrugged and pointed up at Shark Drake, that she was in no position to negotiate. Glumly she accepted it, and continued her doomed march away from her staggered teacher.

[i]‘She can’t expect him to keep his word. If he gets Kaneko’s power and all the Numbers, everyone will be in danger. I can’t let her sacrifice herself for my sake; I’m not... I’m her guardian and friend. I must do something.’[/i] Desperately he grabbed the top card, praying to the Ritua to grant him something. His first reaction to the mirror depicted on it was shock, but he gladly accepted it. This was the only way.

“Murtagh” he shouted, stunning both him and Kaneko. “I activate the effect of Ceremonial Water Mirror in my cemetery; returning it to my deck to add one ritual monster to my hand.” Murtagh looked like he couldn’t care less what he did, but that look would be erased. It and everything else about him. He would stop him, at any cost. “Then I activate [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Gishki%27s_Duplicate_Soul_Mirror"]Duplicate Soul Mirror of the Ritua[/url]! Instead of using monsters as tribute, I can pay life points equal to five hundred multiplied by the level of the monster I intend to ritual summon instead!”

“Oh really now, you’re still fighting?” Murtagh drawled. “You seem to have missed one small detail in your plan old fool. You only have five hundred life points left. There’s nothing you can...” He stopped, as did Kaneko, as the old duelist across the field dropped his stance as the mirror appeared behind him, engulfed in blue flames, before he slowly disappearing from sight (LP 0). “What the hell are you...?”

“Sensei...?” the girl choked.

A terrible roar answered. The flames intensified, before a great shadow appeared behind the wall. The being was crouched to begin with, before unfurling itself to a great height and revealing its bulky figure. From the flame came a four armed titan; with deep cobalt skin hard as rock and covered in gold plate, dark crimson wings stretching behind it, and a vicious horn on its head. The beast’s eyes snapped open, shining like emeralds, and unleashed another roar. From somewhere inside it, Orion’s voice rang out with it.

“I will protect Kaneko, by sacrificing myself for the ultimate ritual! [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Evigishki_Zealgigas"]Eviritua Zeal Gigas[/url]!"

“Damn it old man! What are you doing?” Murtagh shouted up at the titan, snarling as Kaneko ran away again to somewhere behind the behemoth and disappeared as it lumbered forward (Lv10, ATK 3200).

“I activate the effect of Zeal Gigas” Orion’s bodiless voice echoed. “This lets me draw one card at the cost of one thousand life points. Then if it is a Ritua monster, one card on the field is returned to the deck!” Ignoring the fact he had no life points, an image of ‘Ritua Erial’ appeared behind him regardless. Thick fog obscured Murtagh’s vision, making him thrash out to see through. When it cleared Big Eye was gone, and Zeal Gigas had Shark Drake by the neck in one hand and was pummelling it to the ground with the other three. Being a Number saved it, but still he felt the brunt of each blow as the gigas continued to pummel away (LP 1800). Head throbbing from each blow translated to him, he groped for his deck.

“Why... won’t... you... DIE!? I activate the [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Berserk_Scales"]Berserk Scales[/url] magic card. This increases Shark Drake’s attack by one thousand until the end of the turn.” Managing to weaken the grip around its throat just enough (LP 3800), Shark Drake let go a breath of dark energy right in Zeal Gigas’s face, almost exactly as Soul Ogre had done to his ‘Ennead’ eight long, painful years ago. Zeal Gigas was blasted off from on top of the dragon by the attack and landed a way away, sinking into the earth. “Oh no you don’t! You’re not having it that easy. Shark Drake’s effect activates; reviving the weakened Gigas and attacking it again!”

Once more the gigas appeared, only to become food for Shark Drake as it launched its second terrible assault. Hiding from behind a set of rocks far away, Kaneko watched gripped by terror as the smoke and dust of the earth gently settled along with the eerie after the battle silence. Where Gigas had sunk into the earth, the broken body of her teacher had reappeared lying face down in the dirt. His robes were torn to pieces, revealing his thin and withered body underneath, and the hood had fallen away, unmasking a man bald except for the long braided queue matching his beard and blocks of ancient text tattooed all over his body. The old man was moving slightly, clawing at Murtagh’s trousers and boots as he stood over him. “Ka... Kan... I... ugh... ah...”

With a scoff of furious contempt, Murtagh leant down and hauled Orion up by the neck of his robes and off his feet, holding him up high like a trophy. Paralyzed, Kaneko watched as Murtagh muttered something to the barely conscious old man, then wrapped his arms around his head and...

A loud crack shattered the silence. Kaneko gasped as she caught sight of her teacher’s head now facing towards her with dead eyes, snapped around back to front to his body. Murtagh held the body there for a moment, before letting it drop back to the earth chest up, face down.

The sight horrified her, and sickened her. But she could not cry. The shock of what happened prevented denied her tears, at least for now. Desperately Kaneko backed into the portal that opened behind her and fall stumbled, half fell through it.

The warp did not go unnoticed, as Murtagh’s gaze snapped from the dead man to the rocks far away in the distance. “Run little girl! Run and hide!"

22:59:58... 22:59:59... 23:00:00...[/spoiler]

[guuu1234]

so many betrayals. . .

anyway nice chapter. Glad to see some character development and slight foreshadowing happening.

On a side note: is garvans new xyz deck slower?

so many betrayals. . .

anyway nice chapter. Glad to see some character development and slight foreshadowing happening.

On a side note: is garvans new xyz deck slower?

[Bahamut - Envoy of the End]

[quote name='guuu1234' timestamp='1339795937' post='5957449']
so many betrayals. . .

anyway nice chapter. Glad to see some character development and slight foreshadowing happening.

On a side note: is garvans new xyz deck slower?
[/quote]

YCM double post lag ting...

Well nice to come on to a comment. Thanks for that. Yep, people really need to watch their backs in this story.

Had to do several restructures to this chapter in terms of order (ie Avatars setup > Heroes > Avatars duel) before I settled on that formula and felt it needed the buildup, so chapter ended up longer than intended. Longer than all bar the final chapter of Armageddon in fact, I think. Don't worry, nearly written Arc 3 and nothing else has got close to it for length. Wouldn't usually ram a duel that length into 1 chapter, but Orion was never gonna win was he? And ending on neckbreakers.

If it appears that way it was unintentional. He could have summoned Tinplate Archduke on his second turn, and without using Summon Priest's effect either, which is no mean feat for a 3 material xyz. His deck was simply made more accomodating of Rank 1 and 3 Xyzs, it shouldn't be slower (in fact next duel it will be much faster, 1st turn Numbers (spoiler)).

[Brinolovania]

So Orion gets to cheat and Zeal Gigas everything? And yet he still loses...noob. Oh and also , good chapter and everything.

[Bahamut - Envoy of the End]

[quote name='Pacmanexus' timestamp='1339891948' post='5957968']
So Orion gets to cheat and Zeal Gigas everything? And yet he still loses...noob. Oh and also , good chapter and everything.
[/quote]

*Was on the verge of raging due to lack of comments*

Well, cheat/sacrifice/whatever. Same thing. Readers of Armageddon will know I've done this before (albeit that character paid his final life points under slightly different circumstances/for different reasons). It's basically Orion protecting Kaneko/stopping Murtagh at any cost and all that crack.

Like I said, there was absolutely no point this duel going into a second chapter. Quite happy with how it turned out in the end this one, especially in terms of its relation to Extra Chapter 3 (told you all it was a must read extra).

Speaking of crack, Murtagh snaps Orion's head on backwards, as well as Kaneko chatting contradictory stuff, the good guys team having internal conflicts, the lead hero going a major rage, and still only two comments...

[guuu1234]

Finally got caught up

I Take it the offical phrase of avatars is now "screw the rules, I have power". I still enjoyed the change in duel styles though. The last couple of chapters were, for lack of better words, amazing.

I like how so much is going on at once with the rag tag team that is a ticking time bomb. Im also glad Webb gets more development. He may be my favorite character. Im also glad Jin gets the biggest character development in the fic. He has come such a long way from the poor, timid little grocery worker :')

Finally to daiki. I know his life just took a 920, and he has the most simultaneous problems right now, but he needs to get back to his regular persona and stop being a prick. The fic feels so empty without the old daiki...

[Bahamut - Envoy of the End]

[quote name='guuu1234' timestamp='1339952961' post='5958291']
Finally got caught up

I Take it the offical phrase of avatars is now "screw the rules, I have power". I still enjoyed the change in duel styles though. The last couple of chapters were, for lack of better words, amazing.

I like how so much is going on at once with the rag tag team that is a ticking time bomb. Im also glad Webb gets more development. He may be my favorite character. Im also glad Jin gets the biggest character development in the fic. He has come such a long way from the poor, timid little grocery worker :')

Finally to daiki. I know his life just took a 920, and he has the most simultaneous problems right now, but he needs to get back to his regular persona and stop being a prick. The fic feels so empty without the old daiki...
[/quote]

Glad a few people are still reading, and giving some feedback. I appreciate it. Thanks for commenting.

The screw the rules thing was pretty much a one off for character development. Didn't feel Murtagh just outright beating Orion (which he was in position to do, had he not been an arrogant manipulative git) would have really meant as much as Orion sacrificing himself. It's nice to get Murtagh in a position of crapping himself, it doesn't happen much.

Daiki's little sub-plot is something that is covered more next week, so you don't have to wait too long. Thanks for the feedback, was unsure about how long to give that storyline given how a similar plot in Armageddon felt a bit rushed and nonimpact, so yeah it'll have light shed on it soon. Glad Jin and Hunter are going well though.

Enjoyed having him beaten up though.

Can I just point out now that its Hunter (first name) and Webb (surname) in the same way as Clarissa, Hank and Garvan. Only the Japanese/Korean names are reversed (I still have no idea how Korean names work).

Again thanks for the comment. Will try and get back into writing tomorrow.

[Northern Sage]

Been away for most of the weekend, so...
Anyways, a rampant Murtagh and his team chasing Kaneko through the VDS? The chaos is stepping up several notches.
Great chapter.

[Bahamut - Envoy of the End]

[quote name='∂materasu' timestamp='1339957352' post='5958323']
Been away for most of the weekend, so...
Anyways, a rampant Murtagh and his team chasing Kaneko through the VDS? The chaos is stepping up several notches.
Great chapter.
[/quote]

Hey no worries, you're about the last person I can whine about not commenting (how dare you go away while this fic is active!)

Well, just Murtagh tbh. His crew have other things to be busy with at the moment (which you'll see soon).

...

Just going to edit the next chapter into this post so it doesn't look like I was late / internet keeps cutting out when I'm making new posts / I quite like being on 4040 posts / section is so dead it doesn't need the bump. Delete to your preference. Comments would be lovely even if optimistic to hope for at this stage, especially regarding the opening scene and part in the middle between Wil and Minister Tanaka.

[spoiler=Chapter 15:1][b]The following takes place between 11PM and 12AM[/b]

Sat in the back of his chauffeur driven car, Hideo looked out at the rain falling on the empty city streets they passed along, the lights blurred by the miserable weather that was striking the roof with increasing ferocity. How much of the view he took in as he rested his chin on interlocked fingers was probably minimal. His head was a blur, thinking on the events of the last few hours, and what was going on right now. A battle fought in the fields of another world, fought by people sat in a sealed room with their minds plugged into a giant computer, with strange monsters as their weapons and other cards replacing for bombs, all while he sat here. It was all so strange, and yet the results of that battle would affect the wellbeing of his world and everyone in it; the world of everyday people in everyday lives and with everyday problems, the people that had designed those computers and that card game as a means of entertainment. It was a strange way to look at it, but it was a strange and horrible day.

The secret service base had chosen not to invest in the teleporter network for security reasons, but the relatively short drive with the streets empty had provided a chance for solitary thought before it pulled into the underground parking lot of Toshima Halls. Eleven o’clock and back to the job, back to his far from everyday problems, and dealing with a crisis that so far, he felt, he had managed very poorly so far. [i]‘How would my predecessor have coped? Would he have made the same decisions I’ve made? Would he say I was right to keep thinking short term protection of everyone? I somehow doubt it.’[/i] Only a chance look in passing made him recognise a Porsche sitting in the car park by the life. So Mai was here. Well that was understandable, she’d probably be waiting in his office.

As it turned out, she wasn’t there at the moment. The secretary who had come in from another department to handle Izura’s duties after her ‘leave through illness’ was waiting for him in his reception and told him Mai was in the cafeteria and she would inform her of his return. However before he saw her, there were some other people waiting for him in his office.

“A small man with slick dyed hair and his colleague arrived a few minutes ago demanding to speak to you.” Hideo’s spirits immediately sank further as he prepared for the worst. “I told them you had left the office on work and would be back shortly, but they insisted on staying here. The old man was extremely bothersome, but the younger one was very dashing if you ask me.”

“I didn’t a...” Hideo stopped himself before he upset somebody else. “Where are they now? Not in my office on their own I severely hope?”

“Ministers Ohayashi-san and Fujita-san are in there with them. They’ve only been in two or three...”

Two or three minutes was two or three minutes too long. Panicked, Hideo marched past the secretary and barged through the doors behind her, and immediately froze as four sets of eyes snapped on him. The four men were all sat around or standing in complete unmoved silence. Ryuunosuke leaning against the fireplace as usual, Ageda Junichi lounging on the more comfortable chair in the corner, and Tarao and Kenji sat in the middle of the room facing each other with hard expressions, daring each other to move or speak out of turn. He had been expecting to wade into the middle of a heated argument, not this edgy silence that made his bursting into his own office look extremely foolish.

“Prime minister, you are in a particularly volatile mood this evening” Tarao smoothly got straight into him. “Here we all are waiting patiently for you like civilized gentleman, and yet you come crashing into your own office like a bull elephant. My my.”

“I... Bah, you haven’t come here just to make snide remarks. If you hadn’t noticed we’re all trying to negotiate a difficult situation right now that requires my full attention. Kindly get to your point that I can help you with, so that I can get you out and back to it.”

“Come now minister. As our host, don’t you want to offer us coffee or biscuits first? We’ve been waiting to speak with you for some time, and still not one of your staff has been competent enough to offer us anything.” Hideo looked in no mood for the pleasantries of hosting. “Humph, such lack of class, you look like you could use a drink. I don’t suppose you are going to tell us where you have been and how you’ve been ‘negotiating’ would you? I hope you don’t mean negotiating terms of a ransom payoff.”

“Of course not! For your information, I’ve been on site with our men and women dealing with the crisis, and working out a course of action to take from here. Our forces are making excellent progress and will continue to do so to resolve things, and I’ve been out overseeing and getting involved first hand and making a difference.”

“Make a difference? You? I can scarcely believe it” Tarao sniffed. “Still, it must be nice for you to get out of the office and get hands on in things, as much as people will allow you to do so safely for them anyway. And you don’t have to be carried out in a body bag either...”

“Body bag? You...”

A dryness in his throat stopped further words. Hideo looked helplessly towards Kenji and Ryuunosuke to answer for him. Ryuunosuke retained his same hard stare, but Kenji gravely shook his head.

“Yes, a body bag snuck out the back by the medics that rushed here to save the life of one of your own cabinet. Your own health minister I believe, Yukimura Minori. Poor woman; to be at her place of employment and working as hard as she could with all these comatose patients and with the minimal resources available, unable to put out a warning to the public, and she is killed for doing her duty. Shot in the neck, here in a government building, a place with such high security. I wonder how that happened?” Tarao’s smirk widened and eyebrows narrowed. “I noticed you have a new receptionist outside; one who’s a complete airhead and even more inept than her hotheaded predecessor. Anything to say Prime Minister....?”

A pair of very icy claws was gripping his spine and throat respectively. “I... I have nothing to say to you. I won’t have you intrude into my office and make wild accusations about...”

“What accusations? I’m stating fact and you know it.” Tarao was on his feet now. He was angry, that was obvious, but he also kept that same smug smile at all times. Sitting in the corner, Junichi also looked very happy about something. What could they look so pleased about while at the same time speaking of Minori’s death? “A member of your cabinet was murdered, right in front of you in this office. Yet the perpetrator was allowed to get away. The killer being your own precious publicist, even she has turned her back on you. You watched all this happen, and yet you did nothing. Some would see your cowardice as bad enough, but letting a murderer and someone who openly admitted to being aligned with terrorist activities escape custody, someone who would have been a key witness and could have been interrogated and used to find the leader of her group? Well now, I see that as the actions of a traitor.”

“Traitor? You little worm, I am no such thing! You have no idea of what is going on.”

“Your actions speak differently, and much more loudly. And I have better idea than you think. You might have been hoping to brush all this under the carpet and blunder on through, but that is not going to be allowed to happen and quite rightly. Another one of your own will make sure of that.”

What? Hideo was confused for a moment, but he was put out of his bewilderment when Ryuunosuke stood up straight from his fireplace and stepped away. His oldest and most trusted second in command didn’t even speak, just stared hard at him with a disgusted look, before shaking his head and walking out of the office. Hideo watched him go in numb disbelief, all to the Ageda’s amusement. “Shortly after you left, Ohayashi-san came to me and told me everything that has happened today, all of it. He couldn’t stand to see Yukimura’s death go unpunished, or your neglect and incompetence cost any more lives by continuing on as things were. I think he will make a fine part of Junichi’s government.”

“... what do you intend to do?”

Clearly, Tarao had been looking forward to this bit. “Expose you of course. Expose you for aiding and abetting terrorism that threatens the whole nation, making you a traitor to Japan. Now that Clarissa’s operation has been taken out, due to actions that you failed to prevent, the countries media services and other communication networks are beginning to recover from the crashes she caused, and people [i]will[/i] be using them to search for answers. Searching for someone to blame for the chaos and their loss, and the only person to blame is [i]you[/i].” Tarao was in full flow now and loving it, slowly burying and twisting knives in Hideo one by one. “By the order of the emperor, you will be tried and put to death for such actions. Your family name will be in disgrace. Sakura’s future will be dust...”

“You leave Sakura out of it!” Hideo shouted. “It was because Izura used her...”

“... as leverage that you let her go in the first place. I know, and it’s frankly irrelevant. Placing the safety of your daughter over the rest of the population is no excuse. In fact according to Ohayashi-san, Maeda-san didn’t even give you prove that this ‘Murtagh’ even had Sakura held to use as leverage, yet you still let her go? You’re so pathetic. I wonder how fast you’ll bend over for someone who you can actually see to be holding the katana over your throat.”

“Meaning?” Tarao gave him a smile that was sly and wicked in reply.

“Meaning that does not necessarily have to be how things pan out. I’m sure we could come to some arrangement where we do not have to expose you; so that you can protect dear Sakura as you clearly feel you need to. If you were to resign within the next few hours for example, and allow Junichi to reform a new government without the need to go to the polls in a few months time, I’m sure we wouldn’t feel so inclined to go public then. Maybe.”

“And if I don’t, you’ll spread these vicious manipulations and put the country in a state of massive hysteria? That’s how you work is it Ageda, you slime! Everyone with any sense knows it won’t be pretty boy’s government, that he’s just your mouthpiece. Besides you can’t expect me to resign this minute? I am in the middle of averting a massive terrorist threat. A change of leadership in the middle of that is no good for anyone except for Murtagh.”

“Given your leadership so far, you’ve helped Murtagh enough. I’m not saying resign right this minute, like I said the media are still recovering themselves. You can spend that time packing your bags. After all, you will resign. You don’t want your dear Sakura to spend the rest of her life stigmatised and shunned for being the daughter of a traitor and all the misery and hardship that will cause her, do you now?”

The two men stood there in silence staring at each other, Hideo shocked and open mouthed and Tarao revelling in his cunning, while their associates sat sharing their respective sentiments. A knock at the office doors interrupted them. “I’ve got a call from Murakami-san to direct to you if you’re available sir.”

“I’ll call him back shortly” Hideo replied very weakly, amusing Tarao further. “What do you get from this Ageda? You’re ahead in the polls anyway, why lie and manipulate your way in a few months early?”

“Polls are not guarantees of success. Not as much as you leaving the chair open and publicly nominating Junichi for it. Besides, I just want do what I think is right by Japan. My idea of right seems very different to yours, and even before today I thought it will be better if I... my son, took charge as soon as possible. Given what’s happening now I’m certain of it.” Straightening his tie and running a loose hair back into its slick place, Tarao checked his watch and made to leave. “We’ll be waiting for your announcement. Come on Junichi.”

Drawing his attention in a nearby book away at his summons, Junichi flashed the minister a winning smile before coming to his father’s heel and following him out. As they left Mai passed them, watching them curiously as the prime minister slumped into his seat.
“What are the chairman and electoral candidate of the PRJ doing here?”

“Ah, only trying to blackmail me into giving up my position to pretty boy in the middle of a major crisis that they have no idea or ability to handle any better than I’m trying to.” Mai gasped and look at the depressed young minister for the truth.

“But sir, Tarao’s got you cornered. The public are already going to be distrusting of the government and he will use that, people will definitely believe his version of it. Izura and Ryu have left us, Minori’s dead, and Rokuro is leading in the field as our arm. What can you do?” Hideo bowed his head and rubbed the back of his neck, trying to alleviate the knot that he could feel there and decide on his response.

When he looked back at the two across the desk, his expression was transformed. “I’ll tell you what I won’t do. I won’t give up. I have to see this thing out to the end. Yes I have made mistakes, but I cannot run away. That is why I’m not a coward or a traitor like he accuses me of being. I can’t resign and let them have control. Not for myself, but because I dread to think of what Ageda Tarao would do to this country in my place. But I will need the help of both of you. Will you help me?”

He couldn’t blame them both for hesitating. He wouldn’t have blamed them for refusing and walking away. But when Kenji nodded, it gave him such a lift. Mai he expected to be impossible to win over, but she seemed to be considering when she asked “I came here because I’ve been looking all over the city for Sakura. I will help you... if you can find her and you can guarantee her safety.”

Hideo almost laughed when she asked that, but just about stopped at a smile. “I think I can do that. You see, Sakura was found near the secret service base. I saw her for myself when I was there. She is scared obviously, but safe and unharmed. I’ve had agents there make sure she is kept that way.” Mai broke down in relief as she got the news she desperately needed. “Thank you. Alright then, let’s get to work.”

...23:07:11...

Whilst Hideo and his forces at the secret service were beginning their tasks, the forces were getting well into theirs. Or at least, they would have liked to have been. Deep in the [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Dragon_Ravine"]Dragon Ravine[/url], in the back of the most inaccessible cavern where Murtagh had set up his virtual base, two of his allies continued their task of trying to finish the large machine hidden here. The machine was roughly a dozen metres tall and wide in all directions, with a large satellite dish and antenna on the top, and powered by several gears and mechanisms. As Garvan approached it he could see Evos standing on the top part, having removed his coat (having also preferred reflective costume mode) and busily programming and tweaking several things on a panel opposite the underside of the dish, a large square metal plate with small flat slots punched into it. The expression on the doctor’s face did not fill him with much confidence.

“Haven’t you finished it yet? Murtagh should be back soon and he wants it done and ready.”

“I’m sure given the sensitivity and margin of error on this thing, he’d rather I got right than I got it rushed through. This is extremely complex; to manipulate the Numbers power in a way that we desire and ensure nothing unexpected happens. No matter what he says, there is no guarantee with this won’t be unpredictable even if I spent a hundred years perfecting it.”

“You ain’t got a hundred years Evos, you’re in over time. You think he’ll agree with you if you tell him that?” The silence he got in reply told him everything. “Come on, you can nearly instantly create a baby girl from two peoples DNA and implement it as a supercomputer for this place, you should be able just to finish this off after Murtagh’s done all the hard work.”

“Murtagh did the bodywork and the basic programming; I’m just fine tuning and finishing the parts he didn’t manage to get done” Evos snapped. “Parts that he didn’t get done because, like me, he doesn’t know absolutely everything. Your dad was the computer expert on Project Eve. I handled the biological side of it.”

“Yeah, but still, I’d have thought you’d have picked some stuff up during your time with Real Duel.” Evos muttered a sarcastic reply that of course he had and continued to type some things into a digital screen. “What is the exact problem you’re having with it anyway?”

Evos gave him a blank look from over the side of the machine. “If I explained it to you, would you even pretend you understood?”

“Probably not.” Evos gave him one last irritated scowl, before getting back to his work. As he did so, another familiar face came among their midst. “Ah, glad you could join us Izura” Garvan called as the prime minister’s publicist approached from out of the darkness of the caverns depths. “Well, as long as you did so safely and didn’t bring a stream of followers with you anyway. Everything went well?”

“Don’t worry; I was extremely careful and made sure no-one followed me.” Coming out of the dark shadows made by the caves structure, Izura’s work clothes had transformed into a less formal but still neat blouse and jeans, with a padded biker jacket. Her D-Disk materialised over the thickened arm at a thought, a clear elongated model that complimented her dainty form in a way the jacket didn’t as she adjusted the collar. “I wouldn’t have joined you if I wasn’t absolutely certain it was safe for me to do so.”

“What about Riku? You sure she’s safe? You know they’ll look for her now.”

“Maybe they will, but I doubt it. Even if they did, she is long gone from their reach now. They won’t find her. How are things going this end? Are Murtagh and Asami around?”

“Murtagh is out looking for the child. Asami’s through there” Garvan jabbed a thumb towards the entrance part of the cave with a roll of the eyes. “She’s monitoring parts of the VDS, as well as trying to select something fitting for his pleasure.”

“Hey Garvan, rather than just stand down there, you think you could throw up that circuit board?”

Throwing the indicated board to the doctor and seeing Izura had decided to examine her deck, Garvan wandered around examining the machine more closely. Heavy cables flowed across most of the jet black body work, between the dish and the plate and all around. Underneath the plate, what he considered the front face of the machine, more cables dangled loose along with several sets of ghoulish looking chains which added to the doomy look. Removing a small piece of sheet plating and sticking his head inside, he could see several internal workings and gears, along with the machines core. The apparent power source remained silent and lifeless, for now anyway. Shrugging as he replaced the sheet, a thought occurred to him. “Hey Evos. Don’t you think it’s weird that you’re building and programming a machine in a virtual world, with materials and tools, and none of its even real?”

“Define real.”

“You’re a doctor and you don’t know what real is?” The doctor stopped his work and stuck his head over the side; giving him a piercing, pitiable look through his glasses. Searching for an example, Garvan got his hands on a loose metal rod lying nearby. “Look, I’m holding this pipe here, but it only exists in my mind here in the VDS right? I can see it, it feels cold, it makes the appropriate clang if I smack it against something, but that’s all just senses in my brain picking up what the VDS is feeding it. It’s just an illusion projected by the VDS in response to my mind. In reality I’m not holding anything; I’m just laid down and plugged into the VDS next to you guys. Right?”

“That’s your perception of reality Garvan? Those senses you just described work in exactly the same way in the normal world, it’s no different here. Besides, it’s not like the pipe just materialised because you thought of it. I can see it as well can’t I? All things that are here exist here as if they are real, because it is what is real in relation to this world and those who made them appear, meaning avatars like Kaneko and Murtagh. They can think of anything and it will become, in this world, real. Even regular users have this capacity to summon things into existence to a limited degree.”

“You mean like my D-Disk and Runner?” Garvan asked. Apparently he was correct. “But, ah, I thought the whole idea of what we’re doing is to make this world real. So that implies it isn’t to start with.”

“The plan is not to make this world ‘real’. It is to make this world and the normal world to us...”

[i]“Hey, are you guys going to stand around talking about theoretical philosophy all day, or are you going to do your jobs?”[/i]

The two stopped as Asami entered from the front of the cave. She had also decided not to go with reflective costume, but instead had changed to a deep violet dress with a cut off shoulder and hip high slash that revealed her bare legs and heeled boots as she strode towards them. The look was completely with a little silver tiara in her hair, silver earrings and a necklace that hung low over her figure, and long graceful gloves under her plum coloured D-Disk, a look of which Murtagh might certainly approve. “It’s pointless debating that kind of stuff now. It will all change when that thing is powered up and fired.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right” Garvan admitted and gave her with an embarrassed look, which did little to quell her glaring. Evos muttered something before going back to his programming. “Anyway, do you know how Murtagh’s doing? I was expecting him to be back by now.”

“Well I guess the little brat is proving more slippery than we imagined, wouldn’t you have thought?” Asami snapped at him, before looking up at Evos. “But darling Murtagh will get her in no time I’m sure, just make sure the machine is ready for when he returns. As for you Garvan, I have something else to tell you.” From the way her expression darkened, this couldn’t be good news. “[i]They[/i] have arrived.”

“Er, they?”

“You don’t know? I mean that damn hussy Clarissa and the two faithful lapdogs she keeps crawling at her heels! I don’t know how, but they all escaped from the RDL Building somehow!” Her fists were clenched so tightly and shaking just thinking about Clarissa. Quite where the hatred stemmed from he had no idea, but right now her anger made him considering ducking for cover despite his disbelief at what he was hearing. “I was looking into how the number of users logged into the VDS could be going down like it is; when I noticed some users had started logging in. With all that has been happening today that everyone has connected to Real Duel and the VDS by now, some people had actually logged in despite all that? So I checked them out. Then I see Her, her freak brother, and your detective buddy all logged into the VDS from a hidden location and are scattering about like bugs, along with a few other generic fake names that we can safely assume were their rescuers.”

Garvan took a few seconds to consider what he had been told. [i]‘Daiki, I don’t know how you survived, but I wonder why you did? Did you survive just to fight me, after everything that you know now? Do you really think you can fight in the state I left you in?’[/i] “Well, however they did it, let’s just deal with it. How long have they been in the VDS? Does Murtagh know?”

“Of course he doesn’t know, not yet anyway. You think we’d be stood here having this discussion right now if he did? He’s a little busy with getting Kaneko right now. She must be part of their objective as well. They’ve been here for a good half an hour and are probably looking for her now.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that Asami” Izura piped up, replacing her deck and standing despite the look of Asami, as if she had only just acknowledged her existence there. “The only way they’d find Kaneko is if she went to them, right? If she did that then Murtagh would know about it, as would we now if we watched them.”

“Huh, you say that as if they aren’t a problem Izura. You abhor fighting, even when ordered specifically.” Everyone turned to face Izura, but she didn’t back down under them. “I take it you followed those orders...”

Her headshake of refusal was expected by now, but no less enraging. “It doesn’t matter; Hideo and his party are of no concern to us now. I am willing to fight and do what I must, but only if I must take such drastic measures will I. Not just when the fancy takes me.” The two ladies expressions were a complete contrast as they locked eyes. “I could ask you about how users are starting to get out of the VDS, except we know it doesn’t matter whether they’re here or there when the time comes. So we move on. Let’s just focus on what is important right now.”

“Huh, don’t think you immune Izura” Asami snarled. “Murtagh won’t take well to your disobedience, even if you think yourself above such things. At least I can use force to make sure we succeed. I think we can assume by the location they’ve all logged in from being concealed that they must be in one secure area that might have such means. Which if I’m right will make the little gift I’ve sent the secret service doubly effective. They should probably receive it soon. But if that doesn’t get them, we have to go out and kill this group Clarissa is part of before they have the chance to do anything. I will take that woman down once and for all by own hand, and make her regret not dying quickly when she had the chance!”

“Cool it Asami” Evos called down, not looking up from his work as she shot him a furious glare. “Izura’s right, you should focus on the goal ahead. You know we’ve got orders to finish this, and that won’t be anytime soon. There’s no need for us to go charging in at them, when they know and can do nothing. And besides” he added, straightening up and staring at a point in the distance with the look of someone who was formulating something. “I have a better idea.”

...23:16:02...

Having left Hunter to search the VDS with and keep an eye on the Firefly, Rokuro was doing his best to do the same with his partner. Having given him absolute instructions that if he was to warp out of his sight or do anything suspicious he and Clarissa would immediately be removed from the VDS, and getting laughed at for doing so, the pair were now in the [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Realm_of_Light"]Realm of Light[/url] field; a large shrine built in utopian landscape where the night skies were crystal clear and every column or hanging garden was made to look spectacular. Not that either of them were in any mood to take in the scenery.

“Excuse me... boss... but why are we wasting our time here?” Wilhelm rasped, his appearance putting the frighteners on two small boys Rokuro had found and was informing of the rescue operation and to head to the Skyscraper. Rokuro managed to regain their confidence and get them on their way before giving him a savage look. “You think asking kids if they’ve seen a small golden haired girl is the way to go about this? Like that’ll work. Haven’t you got that Piotr guy to develop something a bit more effective?”

“Doctor Zielinski has been trying his best to come up with things and transfer them to us, but he has had his hands full with several problems. Most of which were your causing” Rokuro scowled. “All we can do is search the most likely places she might appear, I thought this would be one of them. You’re the one with one of those Number cards that is supposed to be connected to Kaneko right? Why don’t you try and do something with that to lead us to her?”

“Yeah, because one Number is going... to be enough to do that, or worth her exposing... herself to come after” he wheezed. “Compared to the fifty or sixty Murtagh probably has by now... I’m sure my one will get her attention so much better.” Rokuro admitted he had a point in that sense. If one Number alone could locate Kaneko, then with the great amount Murtagh had he would surely have her already.

“Alright, so this isn’t going as well as we hoped” he replied, slumping down on one of the marble steps leading up to the temple. “We knew it wouldn’t be easy, but we have to keep trying something.”

“Keep trying something that clearly isn’t working... great idea minister...” the young man wheezed in disgust, turning his back and looking out over the rivers and fields of the light realm. The arena was so calm and peaceful; it was hard to believe that if they duelled, under the changes Piotr had hinted at and with the power of Numbers running amok, that it could be deadly. “What are you doing here, really?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Why are you here? It’s not a difficult question. You’re the minister for defence... the head honcho... the man in charge. You should be leading troops from the back... not reduced to the duty of a front line soldier. Yet here you are... I can’t work it out. So why?”

“I... I volunteered because someone needs to come here and keep an eye on you and Clarissa, and lead by example.” The reply was feeble before he even tried it, making Wilhelm scoff as he turned to him.

“Fine job you’re doing of that too. That’s not good enough for a reason for you being here, you’ve got a hundred of the likes of Hunter for that. I don’t think you have the look of a great duelist hidden in you, so that can’t be why, so you must have some other reason for being here. The personal reason you alluded to earlier... what or who is that connect you to this place...?”

“Let’s just keep searching shall we? Any preference on where we try next?” The question was ignored as Wilhelm continued the interrogation with a twisted grin, wheeling after him as he walked off.

“No no... If you’re going to be force me to waste my time while my niece’s life is in danger, I’m going to have fun at your expense until you provide... a way for us to find her properly. So what is it? I know there’s a government insider on Murtagh’s team , is it because of them? You have a personal need to stop a colleague... or a lover maybe? Or take brutal revenge on them for selling out your lot... you look like just the type who would do that...”

“Knock it off already Wilhelm!”

“Hmm... not the traitor minister... then perhaps better yet... do you have some sort of connection to Murtagh... and you feel he’s your responsibility? No...? Okay, were you employed by Real Duel at the time of Kaneko’s creation... and feel guilty about it? Or did you have a kid in here get taken out by my Duel Drones... is that why you don’t like me or Clarissa? Come on, I’m getting warm with one of these... I can tell from the look on your...”

“I said knock it off. It’s none of your concern” Rokuro spun and grabbed both arms of the wheelchair, looming over the twisted young man sitting smirking at him. He was about to say something else, but a call tone in his and Wilhelm’s ear interrupted the spat and made him hide his anger.

[i]“Hey guys, can you hear me?”[/i] Jin’s voice was excitable as he tripped over his words. [i]“I’ve found D... um... wait, how do I tell you where I am and who I’ve found without alerting anyone eavesdropping?”[/i]

“It’s okay lad, we know what you’ve found. Just send us the co-ordinates by PM; we’ll come straight to you. Nice work.” Ending the call and bringing up the menu for the VDS’s messaging system, Rokuro got the location. “The Burning Blood area. Right, let’s go and help Jin talk Daiki round. Now I hope you understand we need Daiki back onside, and not running around as a potential danger to Kaneko, us and himself. You keep your mouth shut for the smart remarks this time.”

Wilhelm responded with a dark grimace. “Fine... I’ll leave Dai alone... but I’m not dropping this.”

“It’s nothing.” Reopening the message, Rokuro selected the co-ordinates Jin had sent them and the portal to Burning Blood opened for them to pass through, to a very different area to the Realm of Light.

...

Indeed, the [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Molten_Destruction"]Burning Blood[/url] arena was the other end of the spectrum. Here the sky was always black, from the thick black cloud of smoke and ash from the constant volcano eruption. Rivers of lava flowed freely down the rock sides and in a criss-cross, leaving many parts of the blasted land as floating islands on the lava, connected only by a series of heat reinforced bridges that was not all inclusive. In fact Daiki had, somehow or other, managed to get himself onto one of the isolated islands near the base of the largest and most violent volcano, and was sat cross-legged on it on his own with his back to Jin who was on the mainland unsuccessfully shouting for his attention.

“Daiki? Dai, listen to me. Um... Mister Katsuro?” Jin thought he had it for a moment when the man sat on the rock perked up at the change of name, but he proceeded to ignore him anyway. Frustrated, Jin picked up the nearest rock he could find and threw it at him, striking him in the shoulder. The rock had burned his hand slightly when he picked up, yet still nothing more than a small shift was met as a reaction. “Come on, I know you can hear me.”

Slowly, Daiki rolled his head round to just about see him. “It’s you. Isn’t it past your bedtime kid?”

“I doubt that anyone’s getting that much sleep tonight. Not if they’ve been affected by what’s been going on in here and know someone in a coma, or are waiting to find out if someone still in the VDS will be okay.” Daiki just shrugged and turned away again. “Look, you might think that I’m just a kid, but I’m here to help you. Anything you need to talk about or need me to do, I’m here for you alright? Just talk to me and let me help you.”

“You... want to help me?” Daiki didn’t even turn to look again, just kept his back to him, and spoke with his voice hollow and empty. “How can you possibly help me? Why would you even want to?”

“Because... look, I don’t know everything about what you’ve gone through, only what I’ve gathered from you and Clarissa and the others. Even if I did know the full story, there’s no way I could understand how hard it would be to find something like that out. But I know a few things, and that is we’re supposed to be a team to protect Kaneko. But not just that, we’re connected. Kaneko is my friend, and you’re her dad. So that makes us friends.”

There was a choking noise in reply. “Kaneko... is your friend?”

“Yeah, we met each other today. She saved me from one of the duel drones” Jin explained. “We became friends, and I said I would help her from the trouble she’s in. She wanted me to find people who would help her and get them to work together. That’s why I want to help you. I want to protect Kaneko like she protected me, and that extends to her other friends and family. That means you and Clarissa.”

The footsteps echoing behind him made him realise Rokuro was approaching from across the lava field, with Wilhelm nervously trailing behind him over one of the bridges the minister had ran over. Daiki didn’t pay as much attention to their arrival, continuing to sit motionlessly in his hunched over little form. “If Kaneko was my daughter, why would she appear to you and not me?” He waited while Jin struggled for an answer. “I can’t be her father, I don’t know her. I don’t even know myself anymore.”

“Masuro, stop being a selfish jerk and man up!” Rokuro shouted. “Yes you’ve been wronged in a way that no-one else can relate to, I can’t imagine how much it hurts. But right now you can’t just sit there by yourself and mope about it, not when your daughter needs your help. You need to help her.”

“And you told me... about insensitive comments” Wilhelm muttered as he reached the others. “Look Dai... I’m sorry about earlier... I shouldn’t have baited you. But Blondie’s right, you have to help sister and me protect her. If you’re worried about why she hasn’t responded to you... its obvious... she doesn’t know you’re her parents. Clarissa felt the same as you for a while... but now she’s fighting for her.”

“Come on Daiki. Kaneko needs her dad” Jin added. “And we need you as our friend. We can help you.” Despite the encouragement Daiki still didn’t move or look at the group, other than to cradle his head in his hands in hope of stopping the aching building in his mind.

“How can I be anyone’s father, or your friend? My entire life I’ve been used and lied to, how do I know you’re not just doing the same? That you just want to use me again, like Real Duel did?”

“Then let me prove it to you somehow. Prove that I’m your friend and want to help you.” Jin had already blurted out the offer before realising he hadn’t working out how he might do such a thing. [i]‘Umm... ah. What can I do to make Daiki see that I want to help him and Kaneko? Words don’t seem to reach him, I need actions. And the only actions here are...’[/i] “Hey Daiki. Duel me!”

Rokuro almost fell over himself in shock, but Daiki’s reaction was more volatile. Snapping round to look right at him, there was something different about him now, he looked more focused despite his despair and almost insulted by the suggestion, but he was just as surprised as Rokuro. “Are you insane kid?”

“Jin, you know what the situation is in here, and that we’re under orders not to engage in combat unless we have to against Murtagh” Rokuro snapped, as Jin armed his D-Disk anyway.

“That’s what we’ve been told, but I need to do this and so does Daiki. It’s not like we have to fight until the end, just until I show Daiki I want to be his friend and help him find his true self again. Besides, we’ve both got some Numbers and they’ll give us some protection, won’t they Wilhelm?”

He hoped that of the four of them, Wilhelm would know more about the VDS and the Numbers. He took a moment to think about it, but he didn’t seem as worried as Rokuro. “...I’ve seen signs of evidence that Numbers give their duelists some form of protection, in and out of duels. And like you said, you are not forced to duel to an end like against the duel drones if it does get too much... I’m not opposed to it.”

“Cool, then what do you say Daiki? You up for a friendly duel?”

For a moment, it looked like he wouldn’t accept as he looked away again and remained seated, still occasionally having to clutch his head. The group watched nervously; Jin trying to stare Daiki into accepting, Rokuro still hoping a duel could be avoided, Wilhelm just thoughtful in this turn of events.

Finally Daiki stood and turned to face them, expression darkened as he armed his D-Disk. “Fine, if you want it to ‘be my friend’ so badly, I’ll indulge in this. Maybe then you’ll be the one left understanding.”

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

“Duel!”

With Rokuro and Wilhelm backing off to a safe distance at the edge of the field enveloping them, Jin took his opening five cards. Not too bad, however it was Daiki who had got the green light on his D-Disk to go first. [i]‘Don’t worry Dai. I know you feel scared and alone right now, but I promise to help you find yourself again, whatever it takes.’[/i]

“Alright kid, here we go. Just remember when it’s over, and your little act on behalf of them over there to get me working for them fails, that you’re getting exactly what you asked for.” Act? The sudden change in Daiki’s tone made Jin jump, but the appearance of a single reverse card between them was even more surprising. “I set one monster in defence mode, and end my turn.”

“Alright Daiki, here I go. I know it’s hard to believe anything right now, but I promise I’ll help you and show you’re not alone. I draw.” Daiki just gave him that same distrusting stare, but his sixth card was adding to an already strong hand. [i]‘I still have to be careful, we’re fighting in an environment that was dangerous before, and we still won’t really know how bad it is now until we starting hitting each other. I have to keep us both safe.’[/i] “I’ll start by summoning [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Wind-Up_Soldier"]Mainspring Soldier[/url] to the field in attack mode!”

Unfurling itself and whirring in time with its little key, the toy soldier took to the field on Jin’s side of the lava stream between the two duelists (Lv4, ATK 1800). “Then I activate the effect of Solider. Until the end of the turn, it gains one level and four hundred attack points. Then I activate [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Double_Summon"]Dual Summon[/url] in order to gain one more normal summon this turn, which I’ll use to summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Wind-Up_Hunter"]Mainspring Hunter[/url]."

A small android with a crossbow attached to its arm, Jin smiled as his two toy stood side by side (Lv3, ATK 1600). “Now my monsters might have different levels now, but that won’t be the case for long. Thanks to the magic card [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Weights_&_Zenmaisures"]Swinging Mainspring Scales[/url], one Mainspring can have its level made to match the other one. Now pay attention Dai, because the one who gets to choose the level is you.” Daiki blinked at the offer as the scales erupted from the rock underneath the two toys, Soldier heavily outweighing Hunter. “So what do you want? Hunter’s level to increase to five, or Soldier’s to decrease to three.”

“Of course I’m going to make your monster weaker” Daiki grumbled.

“Are you sure? If you weaken my monster, I get to draw a card.”

“So what? You’re going to summon an Xyz monster and probably a Number either way. It might as well be a weaker one. I still choose Soldier to get weaker.” Its levels lowered, the scales balanced out to put the two monsters on an equal plain (Lv3). Something that didn’t upset Jin that much.

“You know something Daiki; I was hoping you would lower Soldier’s level.” Daiki’s reaction was incredulous, as the two monsters energy shot into the opening vortex one after the other. “Because now I can Xyz summon my new Mainspring. [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Wind-Up_Carrier_Zenmaity"]Mainspring Aircraft Carrier Zenmaighty[/url]!"

From the vortex sailed a large toy aircraft carrier, cutting seamlessly through the air with two landing strips for launching crafters, leading into hangers, loading bays and the ships bridge at the back. It didn’t seem altogether threatening but... (Rk3, ATK 1500). “Now by detaching an overlay unit, I can activate Zenmaighty’s effect and summon another Mainspring from my deck.” One of the overlay orbs circling the craft vanished into a dark hanger, before a small toy in the shape of a wind up mouse came scuttling out and off the landing strip on its little wheels (Lv3, ATK 600). “I activate the effect of [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Wind-Up_Rat"]Mainspring Rat[/url] by changing into defence mode, to summon the detached Hunter back from my cemetery. Then I use Hunter’s effect to release Zenmaighty, and target one card in your hand. You then have to discard it.”

Daiki was stunned as a bolt from Hunter’s crossbow pierced one of the cards he was holding, [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Goblindbergh"]Goblindbergh[/url], obliterating it from his hand. Stunned that soon turned to fury as the rat and Hunter disappeared into a second vortex, and another Zenmaighty emerged. “This is...?”

“Mainspring Hand Control Loop” Jin smiled at him. “I’ve always wanted to try it out, but the starter pack doesn’t come with the right cards. Now I can repeat everything I just did, summoning my second rat from my deck and reviving Hunter to make you discard another card.”

A second bolt hit home, to Jin’s satisfaction it had managed to pick out and hit [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Monster_Reborn"]Raise Dead[/url], a powerful card gone from Dai’s reach. Once more he, the frustrated opponent and the two spectators watched the loop trigger and the third Zenmaighty sailed over the lava, only to turn into the detached and revived Hunter’s ammunition to pierce a third card, leaving Daiki with only two cards left in hand. With the loop exhausted, the next Xyz vortex opened to a different, galaxy style portal for Jin to reach out to.

“Now I overlay Hunter with my third Rat to Xyz Summon another creature who knows all about helping his allies. I call on [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Number_20%3A_Giga-Brilliant"]Number 20: Giganto Brilli-Ant[/url]!" Breaking from its earthy cocoon like seal, the giant ant hit the barren rock with a heavy third, screeching and snapping its metal pincer (Rk3, ATK 1800).

“Well played Jin” Rokuro shouted from the sidelines. “By limiting the cards in Daiki’s hand, it cuts a lot of his options out. If he has nothing left to play in the face of a Number, they can avoid an extended fight.” Giving Jin the thumbs up, he felt much better about this duel now. Wilhelm however was looking at the cards discarded by Hunter’s effect, and was not as happy when he realised what had gone.

[i]‘Something is wrong here.’[/i]

Jin and Rokuro however were ignorant in their confidence. “Alright, now here’s the deal with Giga. Once a turn, by detaching an overlay unit, all the monsters on my field gain three hundred attack points. Sure I only have Giga himself out right now, but normally he’d be looking out for everyone on his team just like I am.” Showered itself in its pollen, the insect grew in power (ATK 2100). “So what do you say Dai?”

“What do I say?” Jin and Rokuro jumped as Dai snapped at him. “I say you’re full of idealist crap and should just bring the attack already!”

“Er... okay Daiki, if you’re sure you want me to attack, then that’s what I’ll do. Take out his defending monster!” Leaping over the lava stream, the insect Number clamped its metal pincers around the monster that emerged from the reversed card to meet it, a small knight in ancient armour riding on an equally plated horse (Lv1, DEF 500). The knight was dispatched of effortlessly and in doing so Daiki winced somewhat from it, but he didn’t seem overall that worried.

“When [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Little_Trooper"]Little Trooper[/url] is destroyed in battle, it calls out another level two or lower warrior type monster from my deck and summons it to the field face down.” Another reverse card appeared between them as Giganto Brilli-Ant retreated. Jin nodded his approval and stood down to end his turn, allowing Daiki to go for his card. Back on the sidelines, Wilhelm turned to Rokuro.

“Something isn’t right here. Rokuro, look closer at what Daiki discarded because of the hand loop.” Puzzled, Rokuro bought up the cemetery option available on his D-Gazer. There he could see Little Trooper, Goblindbergh, Raise Dead, and Shine Knight. Unfussed about it, he shrugged.

“Huh, your dense look tells me you don’t get it” Wilhelm scoffed, but he was more worried than amused. Genuinely worried. “When Goblindbergh is summoned, it can be changed into defence mode to summon another monster in your hand. By using this effect, [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Shine_Knight"]Shine Knight[/url] could also be summoned in defence, which would then activate its effect and make its level four. Using Goblindbergh and Shine Knight, Daiki could have summoned his Number 39 on his opening turn. But he didn’t. Why?”

“Hmm... I see. Maybe because he didn’t want to leave it on the field exposed to a potential card that would destroy it right away, like [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Smashing_Ground"]Earth Crush[/url] or something?”

“Hmm... maybe... but I don’t think that’s it unless...” Across the lava field Daiki was drawing his card and caught sight of it with a surprised look. As he did so, his body was beginning to tremble and tense. What they didn’t know was that in the real world, in the secret service base, his real body was doing the same thing there as well. Jin was watching the opponent opposite him paralyzed in terror as he clutched his aching head. “Dai... stop it. Listen to us, Jin’s trying to help you.”

“Dai...?” he croaked. “I am... Dai? But they told me I was... they’re lying again. They’re going to use me again, just like they did at Real Duel. You’re not trying to help me at all. You’re just going to use me like everyone else. You’re not my friends.” Driven to rambling with increased ferocity, something stirring inside him found a weakness in his confusion and despair, a window open for just a second, and took full advantage to take over, making him double over and shake more violently. “You’re all.... my... enemy...”

“Jin! Get outta there!”

He didn’t need telling twice. Willing his heavy legs to move Jin turned to go, but before he had taken a step the earth began to shake violently, as a fierce rumble could be heard building all around them. The earth was cracking all around him before magma burst up and through the fissure, leaving him trapped on his own little island floating away from the allies and towards Daiki, who had stopped shaking and was stood perfectly still with his head bowed.

“I am not Daiki” he said, his voice chillingly hollow and clear. “Nor am I Katsuro. That part of me was stripped of everything, and refilled with lies. By taking away the lies, I am just a shell devoid of anything except anger and despair. You try to use me as well... then I will make you suffer as I have! I flip summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Key_Man_the_Key_Warrior"]Key Warrior Keyman[/url]!"

As the reverse card turned to reveal the bronze plated warrior, Jin felt suddenly very afraid. The monster was weak, but yet Daiki sounded so ominously sure about making him suffer (Lv2, ATK 1000). “Next I’ll join Keyman with [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Saambell_the_Summoner"]Summoner Sambel[/url], and activate her effect. This lets me special summon a monster from my hand whose level matches hers.” First the small girl holding a brass bell hit the field (Lv2, 600) closely followed by the sinister [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Vengeful_Shinobi"]Evil Shinobi[/url] (Lv2, ATK 400). The three monsters stood side by side for a moment, before Daiki pulled out a glowing card from his extra deck and held it high, their bodies turned to sparks of energy and spiralled up into the opening portal. As he held it, the aura around the card started to turn black, before the aura peeled back to reveal the monster hidden behind it and transferred its mark to the back of his hand.

“You wanted the real me Jin? This is all that is real to me now. I Xyz summon a creature that uses all of my hatred and despair and consumes it into physical form. Come, [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Number_96:_Dark_Mist"]Number 96: Black Mist[/url]!”

From the starry vortex the group watched a tar like flame rise up, bubbling and flickering, before the creature inside’s vicious claws burst through the seal and reveal its true self. A monstrous black ghoul with flaming eyes, floating over the blasted earth and staring down at its prey, dying to sink its claws into him. Beneath it stood the lost Daiki. “This is my reality now, bought to life by the unstoppable Number, Black Mist. And now that he’s out on the field, you will experience torment just as I have.”[/spoiler]

[Northern Sage]

Hm, considering the nature of that Number, I wonder…
Great chapter.