Notes

Well, I wasn't expecting to be getting this out until December, but change of plans! Normally I don't like to upload multichaptered stories unless I have everything (or most of everything) prewritten, because I myself hate not knowing if the next chapter is ever coming, lmao. However, I have so many things to write, and the more I sat on this (I'm halfway into the second chapter, now), the more I realized I wanted to have this out. To help encourage me to write the rest. So here we are!

Couple of notes before we begin:
This starts on Episode 111, and diverges from there. This is not to say I was unhappy with how S3 progressed! I actually really enjoyed the season and the way Vrains ended, but I have had this idea in my head since the episode aired back in July, and it refused to leave lmao.

This does feature ships, but they won't really be the main focus, so if you don't like certain ships, you probably can still read this no problem.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoy! Notes about an upload schedule are at the end.

"You know," Ai mused, watching Blue Maiden and Akira breathe heavily on the ground as they reached for each other's hands, "I was going to delete you, but I think I have a better idea."

Instantly, everyone in the room in on edge - even Playmaker, Revolver, and Soulburner, who weren't physically present can feel themselves tense. So far, all of Ai's ideas had been cruel, and unusually so. It was not something Playmaker had ever expected from the Ignis that he created, but he supposed a lot had changed since they had first come into contact with each other that fateful day.

It was still a tough pill for him to swallow, though, as he watched Ai make his way towards the Zaizen siblings.

With a snap of his fingers, Blue Maiden suddenly disappeared from in front of them, but not in the way that they had expected. Her data wasn't gone, it didn't sink into Ai's duel disk or anything of the sort. Her body just disappeared entirely, leaving Akira shaking even more than he was before.

"What did you do to her." It was a question, but Akira's voice was a hard line. "What did you do to Aoi!"

His words reverberated off the walls around them, and though Playmaker was not there, not really, he winced. The anger and desperation were clear in his voice, and he watched as Akira scrambled to push himself up to confront Ai face to face.

Ai, however, didn't even flinch. The cold smile that had been sitting on his face didn't budge, and instead, he shrugged, as if it weren't a big deal at all. "She was Aqua's partner, as she was just so politely telling me," he said, locking eyes with the older Zaizen. "I want my friends back. It's a no brainer, really."

Next to Playmaker, Revolver froze. In an instant, they both had ideas of what that could possibly mean, and neither of them liked the sound of that. Though Soulburner didn't quite catch on, he still glared helplessly anyways. Not one of them was enjoying this show.

Akira's eyes, too, narrowed. "What do you mean?" By the sound of it, Akira had put the pieces together, too.

This time, Ai did shift himself, moving his weight from one foot to the other slowly. "Miyu Sugisaki would've been preferable," he said with a sigh, "but she doesn't seem to like showing up in AiLand, and sneaking her out of the hospital sounds like too much work. So Blue Maiden will do."

All at once, everyone stopped breathing. None of them needed to, really, in Link VRAINS; it was a force of habit that their bodies weren't comfortable stopping. In that moment, however, none of them seemed to want to start again.

From beside Playmaker, Revolver curled his gloved hands into fists, gripping so tightly Playmaker could practically see the fake fabric tightening around them. "Don't you dare, Dark Ignis." His words were dark, voice a thousand degrees colder than the arctic. "Don't you even think about it."

Ai's eyes shifted over to Revolver, his smile growing wider as Roboppy stood behind him, watching in mild curiosity as they bounced on their feet. "Oh?" Playmaker could barely believe that voice was coming from Ai. It was almost cruel. Far too calculated. His own hands turned into fists at his side at the sound. "I thought you regretted stopping that incident, so long ago. Well, no matter," he said with a shake of his head. "I got both of what I came here for."

Turning away from his former allies with a swish of his cape, Ai snapped his fingers. Before Playmaker, Revolver, and Soulburner could return to themselves, however, they all heard Akira scream.

"Give her back!" echoed through their ears as they were placed back in the room they'd started in.

As soon as he was able, Soulburner slammed himself onto his knees, fists hitting the ground hard. Playmaker couldn't blame him. He was still in a bit of shock himself, but the anger was beginning to set in.

Ai. His partner. The AI he himself had created, through his own dueling. His own thoughts, and weaknesses. The one constant at his side throughout the last nine months; even counting when he had let him go that first time, after the Tower of Hanoi. Part of him always knew he'd see Ai again, and when he did, he didn't even question it. They were connected, somehow, and it hurt. It hurt to know that he had failed Ai, that the reason this was happening is because he wasn't strong enough on his own to defeat Bohman. If he had only dueled a little better, played a little harder, maybe the other Ignis wouldn't have had to sacrifice themselves. Maybe Ai would still have his friends. Wouldn't have turned into… whatever he had turned into, now.

Even knowing that, though, the anger was still bubbling up. Recreating the Lost Incident… he had said that was his goal in no uncertain terms, and by the look on Revolver's face, he was already figuring out a game plan to stop him as soon as possible.

"Playmaker," Revolver's voice broke through his thoughts, and Playmaker turned to face the masked avatar. "We will not show the Dark Ignis mercy." We cannot. Though they weren't spoken aloud, Playmaker heard them clear as day.

His throat tightened as he forced himself to nod. He knew, deep in his bones, that Revolver was right. It was one thing, to attack Queen and take her keys. It was another thing to keep the consciousness data of their allies, who had gotten in his way to Akira Zaizen. Those things, they were excusable if there was truly a good reason. One Playmaker would have been willing to hear.

It was something else to use Judgment Arrows, against the very people that he had fought with last time around against that very same card.

And it was another thing entirely to attempt to recreate the very incident that had scarred his previous partner for his entire life.

From on the ground, the sound of Soulburner's fists hitting the ground reverberated around them. "Dammit." He didn't yell, but it was close to it. "Damn it all to hell! How could he do this?"

Soulburner's question is what Playmaker had been asking himself since the duel between Blue Maiden, Akira, and Ai had started. How could he do this? He knew, exactly, what the Lost Incident had done to all of them. He'd seen Jin, in his crippled state; only recovering because he had lost all his memories of the event. He'd heard what had happened to Windy's origin - dead, completely, forever lost to the world because of what he had been involved in without consent.

More so than all of that, he had heard Yusaku's cries every night. He had sat through hours of Yusaku refusing to go back to sleep, being unable to do anything but sit in bed and try to breathe properly again, night after night after night. All because of that incident. It had gotten better, during the fights against Windy and Lightning and Bohman, yes, but to think that Ai would've up and forgottenwas impossible.

To think that even though he had that knowledge, that even though he had once been adamant about his desire to coexist with humans, he'd still go that far…

"We need to log out," Playmaker finally said, forcing himself to say the words. "We need to find Miyu and Jin." Kusanagi had been so devastated last time, when Lightning had taken his brother. He wouldn't let it happen again.

Soulburner, from on the ground still, logged out without a word. Revolver nodded once, following suit, leaving Playmaker alone.

In the blank room, alone for the first time in what felt like weeks of chasing Ai around, Playmaker let himself scream into his hands. The world could wait a few minutes for him before logging out.

Stepping out of his VR room in the truck, Yusaku took a moment to catch his breath. He hadn't been the one dueling for most of it, besides an honestly unimpressive duel against one of Ai's clones, but the emotional impact had been staggering. Still a thousand thoughts flew through his head - how could they protect Miyu and Jin? Would Ai go after others? Who would he use in place of Windy? - and no matter what he did he knew he wasn't going to be able to force them out.

"Yusaku," Kusanagi greeted, looking a little worse for wear. "Takeru left before you. Said he needed some space."

Though part of Yusaku worried over his friend, he understood and would not go after him. The idea of Takeru getting taken, while it was obviously something they would have to deal with at some point, was not a large concern right now. Even without Flame, he had his Salamangreat deck, and was an incredibly strong duelist.

He hoped that logic wouldn't bite him later on.

Slumping into his normal chair, Yusaku looked at Kusanagi. "You should secure Jin," he said, thinking through all the possibilities. If he knew Ai, which he was beginning to doubt he ever did at all, he would wait and give them all fair warning once again. He wasn't that cruel. He hoped. "And I'm sure Ryoken knows where Miyu is."

Though Ai already had Blue Maiden, there was still the possibility he'd decide she wasn't suitable enough for the role and take Miyu instead. Aqua had been born from her, but also had been born from Miyu's wishes to meet Aoi again, after all. He might deem that they were both necessary as well.

Kusanagi nodded, already getting up to move into the driver's seat of the truck. "Buckle up," he told Yusaku, motioning for him to join. "Text Takeru. We'll be on our way to the hospital in a minute."

They arrived at the hospital quickly. Takeru had not responded to Yusaku's message, but he wasn't in the state of mind to think too heavily on that right now. Takeru could, at the very least, take care of himself. Yusaku wasn't convinced that he'd be able to defeat Ai should he go after him, but at least he'd be able to hold his own until help arrived. Fighting a duel at a 2000 LP deficit would mean nothing it it ensured Takeru's safety.

Before they could even go inside the hospital, however, a familiar voice stopped them in their tracks.

"Surpr-Ai-sed to see me?"

Yusaku's blood ran cold. A voice, a pun that would've once made him relaxed to hear - though he'd never admit it to anyone - now had his body tensing, preparing for fight or flight. "Ai," he said evenly, not turning around from the hospital doors. "Stop this."

"Tsk, tsk," Ai scolded, but the previously almost playful tone was gone. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that."

Keeping his eyes trained on the bland doors so he wouldn't turn around, Yusaku frowned deeply. "Why?"

"Wh-Ai? Why should I?" Yusaku could barely believe the anger that he heard bubbling under the surface in those words, despite the pun. He'd seemed so scornful during his duel with the Zaizen siblings, but he'd been provoked, then. To hear him sound like that right now… it hurt more than he was expecting it to. "I won't stop. Not until my friends are back."

"Don't take him, Ai," Kusanagi pleaded, and Yusaku nearly jumped. When Ai was speaking to him like that, it was like they were the only two in the area. "Please. Please," he begged, and Yusaku couldn't help but turn to look at his face. It was broken. Even when they'd been forced to duel, not that long ago, Kusanagi kept on a tough face. Now, though, all bets were off. "He's been through enough. He's only just starting to heal."

Yusaku finally allowed himself to look at Ai. To really look at his partner, and take him in. The new body was clearly of his own design, but Yusaku could spot some of himself in it - in the way his hair parted, in the angles it stood. A wave of nausea hit him hard, then, but he kept his face expertly schooled.

Shaking his head, Ai sighed. "I can take you, if you'd prefer." He shrugged, placing a hand on his hip. "Your brothers. You'll do just fine."

The lack of puns proved the seriousness of his offer. Yusaku slowly moved his gaze back to Kusanagi, horrified to see that he was deep in thought. "You can't be serious." His usual monotone was strained, and his composure was starting to fade. Quickly. "Kusanagi, you can't."

"It's either him or Jin," Ai chimed in. Yusaku narrowed his eyes, hurt and angry and confused.

"I'll go," Kusanagi said, at the same time as Yusaku said, "No."

"No," he repeated, a bit more forcefully. "I won't let Ai take you or Jin." His words were a hard line, and he hated how torn up his insides felt as Kusanagi shook his head. "No."

Placing a hand on his shoulder, Kusanagi tried his hardest to give Yusaku a smile. It was supposed to be reassuring, Yusaku knew, but it looked more like a final goodbye. "If I go, Jin will be safe, and I know you can save me. I trust you."

Yusaku shook his head hard, feeling his mouth go dry. He wanted to say something, anything, to get Kusanagi to stay, but he already knew he'd lost this battle. He opened his mouth to try, but Kusanagi shook his head right back at him.

"I failed to protect Jin last time," Kusanagi said, "and with Lightning, too. I owe it to him as his brother. I can't let him go through this again."

"So it's settled, then," Ai said, clapping his hands twice. Yusaku barely even had time to process what Kusanagi had told him. "Off we go, then."

The world felt like it was spinning off axis as he watched Kusanagi walk towards Ai with his head held high. They weren't in Link VRAINS. They weren't just transported away instantly. Instead, Yusaku had to watch in painful real time as Kusanagi and Ai walked out of view, back out into Den City, until they were too far and had made too many turns for his eyes to track.

With mechanical movements, he dug out the extra van key Kusanagi had given him ages ago, heading into the back of the van. Once he was sitting down at his normal chair, Yusaku finally allowed himself to cry.

It was only 8 in the evening, but Yusaku was ready to sleep forever. It wasn't that dissimilar to when he had fought Kusanagi during the Ignis war, and that thought alone was enough to keep him in the van for longer than absolutely necessary.

He was just about to start his long walk back to his apartment when he realized that Takeru, still, had not texted him back.

Shit.

If Ai had already been going after Jin by the time they got to the hospital, the likelihood that he'd already found Takeru was far, far too high for Yusaku's liking.

Frantically, he pressed the call button, hoping beyond all hope that somehow, Takeru was fine, and that the only loss he'd have to deal with that night was what had already occurred. After the call went to voicemail, however, Yusaku's heart began to pick up pace inside his chest.

He couldn't lose Takeru, too.

Changing course, he started making his way towards Takeru's small apartment near Den City's town center; his legs burning with each step. When was the last time he'd eaten? When was the last time he'd had anything to drink? He couldn't remember.

None of that mattered, though. As long as his mind still functioned, he could function in Link VRAINS. In this day and age, his body could be repaired later. So he pushed through, trying his hardest to make it to Takeru's as fast as possible.

Yusaku had only been into to his friend's apartment once, but he knew the way by heart after the many times of dropping him off after a long day of fighting or finding clues in Link VRAINS. By the time he got there, though, he knew he'd already be too late.

It was a long walk from the hospital, and with Takeru still not answering his calls, there was no way Ai hadn't at least started dueling him already. He doubted Takeru would go without a fight, at the very least, but it wasn't any consolation. The best he could hope for was that Takeru had pulled through and beaten him as easily as he had the Ai clones, but somehow, Yusaku knew that Ai was not truly trying during those duels.

As soon as he climbed up the stairs and saw Takeru's door hanging open, Yusaku fell to his knees. Any remaining adrenaline that had been keeping him going was gone, shooting out of him in an instant. He barely even felt the floor underneath him.

Takeru was not inside. Takeru's door had been left wide open, and there were no voices coming out of the apartment. No noises at all.

He tried, once more, to call Takeru, but it still rang and went to voicemail. Slowly, he stood up, and once he was at least somewhat steady on his feet, he made his way inside Takeru's apartment. This was wrong, all wrong, in Yusaku's mind. Taking inventory, though, he saw clear as day a letter with Playmaker scribbled on the outside.

It wasn't handwriting he recognized. Forcing down a gulp and with shaking hands, Yusaku opened the folded piece of paper.

Dearest Playmaker, the purple scribble read. Sorry I couldn't tell you this in person, but Ai was a bit too fast getting to Soulburner. Come stop me. I'll be waiting in the network. Yours truly, Ai.

Without thinking, Yusaku crumpled the note in his fists. He almost wished that, if he stared at it long or hard enough, the paper would spontaneously combust, and he could continue pretending this was a bad dream.

"Ai," he whispered aloud to himself, sinking onto Takeru's kitchen chair, "why?"

The ring of Yusaku's cell phone startled him out of whatever stupor he'd put himself into. When he dropped the note that he'd been clutching onto, he realized that was the first time since he'd picked it up that he'd unclenched his fist.

He stood up to dig his phone out of his pocket, already knowing who the caller was before he answered. There was only one person left who knew his personal number, after all. "Ryoken."

"Fujiki," he answered easily. "I need an update."

Oh. Of course, Yusaku realized. It hadn't even been that long since they'd seen each other in the network, but he'd barely remembered why they'd logged out in the first place with the chaos of everything. "Jin is safe," he said, but the words felt like acid on his tongue. "But Kusanagi was taken. Takeru was, too."

Ryoken cursed over the line, and Yusaku couldn't help but agree with him. Even without counting his emotional outburst as a factor, this was not a good situation. The Lost Incident was nothing but suffering, and Ai knew that. To willingly put people he'd once called friends through it again, all to attempt to recreate his kind… it was something Yusaku had never even considered preparing for. Not even when Ryoken and Spectre had shown up at Cafe Nagi to tell them that they wouldn't just let Ai go free, despite everything. He'd been so ready, then, to fight for Ai. He would've gone to the ends of the earth to defend him.

He supposed it didn't matter, now.

There was a long pause over the line, before Ryoken heaved out a sigh. "I am aware we are not on the best of terms," he said, and Yusaku nearly scoffed. That wasn't his doing at all - any animosity between the two of them was entirely of Ryoken's own creation. "But we should regroup, and work together again. I think that is the only option we have."

"'The enemy of my enemy is my friend?'" Yusaku quoted instead of giving a direct answer, recalling the last time Ryoken had requested they work together. Despite everything going on, he couldn't help the relief that flooded into his veins at the idea of working together with Ryoken once again.

This person, no matter what his thoughts were on Ai or anything of the sort, was still the person he wanted to see happy. Wanted to see free - from the chains of his past, and from himself. Ten years of wishing and wanting and feeling something for someone didn't just disappear in three months of no contact. They'd had practically ten years of no contact, and Yusaku's feelings and wants had never wavered. They'd changed, yes, but only just. No longer was it just wanting to save Ryoken; it was also wanting to be around him. Get to know him. Have the friendship they were robbed of as children.

"Something like that," Ryoken said wryly, and for the first time that night, Yusaku felt his body start to relax. "Zaizen wanted to meet with us in the network. We can formulate a plan from there."

The sooner they fixed this mess, the sooner Yusaku could sleep, he knew. And maybe, he'd never have to wake up. "I'll be on shortly."

If Ryoken noticed how hoarse he sounded, he didn't say anything. "I will send you the location details," was all he did say before hanging up.

Right, Yusaku thought. They couldn't even go into Link VRAINS normally to have these sorts of discussions anymore because of what Ai had done to the coding. The only places that were safe were the ones carved out by Ryoken or Akira themselves.

He sunk back into the chair, cupping his face with his hands as he exhaled. Sleeping - and never waking up again - was sounding better and better as this went on.

"Playmaker," Akira greeted him with a nod. "Thank you for coming."

Playmaker just shrugged. Most of his energy was still drained from the events of the day. In all honesty, it was a miracle he was even there. His only driving force at the moment was the prospect of getting everything back to normal again.

Even if normal for him wasn't really a true normal.

Revolver, from next to Akira, stared at him long and hard before finally forcing his gaze back to the older Zaizen. "I'm assuming you're already aware of how dire the situation is," he said, eyes narrowed. "I have no doubt that our combined forces would be enough for the Dark Ignis itself, but we are short on manpower."

Even at the mention of Ai, Playmaker said nothing.

"I know I have not been," Akira paused for a moment, trying to gather his words. "The most helpful in the past, but I am skilled with computers. I can be of some help."

They didn't need to ask why he'd be willing to help them. His screams of give her back still echoed painfully in Playmaker's mind, serving as yet another reminder of how far things had already gone.

Revolver nodded. "Better than nothing," he agreed. "However, I am still concerned about the lack of firepower, so to speak."

Playmaker knew what he meant. All of their other duelists - Blue Maiden, Soulburner, Spectre, Ghost Girl and Blood Shepherd - were gone. He and Revolver were among the strongest, but that meant nothing when Ai could make clones of himself to overpower them or distract them for days on end. And that wasn't even considering Roboppy, who had taken out Ghost Girl and Blood Shepherd already.

There was one other thing they hadn't touched on yet, however. "Who is Ai using in place of Windy's origin?"

His voice was rougher than usual, and the words were quiet, but both Akira and Revolver stilled at them. Though it was over a decade ago now, Playmaker could kind of remember the child from back then. When they'd all been taken to the Den City hospital, he'd gone and asked every single one if they had heard a voice, or had spoken to another person during their imprisonment. Jin hadn't been able to respond, but the other children all had.

None of them had been spoken to, or spoken to anyone. Windy's origin, Playmaker remembered, had looked upset at the prospect that he hadn't been spoken to, but Yusaku had. They had all been in such a vulnerable state, however, that he never really thought much about it, even as a child.

But knowing that child was now dead, he wondered how on earth Ai was going to replicate the Lost Incident without him.

"I will look into it." Revolver's words were firm, and left no room for debate. Playmaker decided that it was fine like that, anyways. As much as he wanted to care, as much as he wanted to try and deduce something helpful, he knew he did not have the mental capacity to do so at the moment. "That aside, for firepower, Pandor potentially can still help," he continued. "But I'm still unsure if that would be enough."

It was obviously a hard thing for either of them to admit - they were both so used to being capable of handling everything on their own. But the fact of the matter was that Ai could make clones. Ai still had Roboppy. And neither Revolver nor Playmaker was willing to let the other handle Ai alone, in fear of what the other might do.

Akira coughed into his hand. "If I may offer a suggestion." Two pairs of eyes moved to Akira's. "What about Sugisaki? She is recovering well, according to Aoi. I'm not sure about her abilities as a duelist, but I guarantee she would agree to help."

Almost instantly, Playmaker begin to shake his head no, but was stopped short by Ryoken. "Are you in contact with her?"

"No," Playmaker interrupted, insides swirling at the mere thought of getting her involved in this. "No. We can't ask her to do this."

Revolver's eyes narrowed again from under his mask, and he frowned deeply. "It's not as if this would be my first choice, either," he said, surprising Playmaker, "but weare out of options. We will not force her, but if she joins out of her own violation," Revolver trailed off, eyes leveling with Playmaker's green ones, "then so be it."

This was one of the worst ideas they'd ever had, and Playmaker had been involved in some terrible, terrible schemes since first coming into contact with Ai. It didn't sit right with him; using another victim of the Lost Incident in this way. Even if she agreed to help them, Miyu deserved to live her life out peacefully without getting dragged into this mess. She had already been put into a coma thanks to her status as Aqua's origin. If she was finally recovering properly, who were they to force her back into the thick of things?

Despite all that, despite the way his stomach was twisting in on itself, Playmaker knew that he wouldn't be able to persuade them out of this. There were really no other options, no other hacker or duelist they could count on. They had gathered very nearly, if not every capable duelist or hacker they knew, and almost all of them had been wiped out in one night.

He didn't agree, but he didn't push the subject any further; sinking more and more back into himself as Revolver and Akira discussed the details.

Finally, after what felt like hours, Revolver turned to him. "Playmaker," Revolver said, snapping him out of his own head for a moment, "are you able to meet me at Den City hospital in an hour, or would you require transportation?"

Right. Because with Kusanagi gone, he was on his feet when traveling anywhere in the real world. That didn't matter, though – he had just come from there. It wasn't a short walk, but he didn't care. "Yes," he said, words clipped and tense. "I will meet you there."

He didn't like it. He didn't like it at all. But he knew they didn't have another choice, not really. He could try to keep Miyu out of harm's way, potentially just fighting an Ai copy or something of the sort, if it came to that.

"Before you log out," Revolver cut in, looking him in the eyes, "do you think it's worth asking Jin, as well?"

Playmaker wanted to vomit. "No," he told the other boy honestly. Jin had only just started to recover, just started to be a real person. "No, I really don't."

"Will you permit me to ask him anyway?"

Revolver was not one to search for permission, and Playmaker felt himself buckle under the question. It was undeniable proof that he understood the gravity of both the situation at hand, and what asking Jin would mean. He didn't want to get Jin involved at all, not even a little bit. He really didn't even want Jin to know.

But that wouldn't be right. It wouldn't be fair. "Fine." His answer was clipped, and he averted his eyes as he replied. "But Jin will not accept." At least, he hoped he wouldn't.

After logging out, Yusaku put his face down onto the table and realized belatedly he wasn't even in his own apartment. He was still in Takeru's, which was, at the very least, a closer walk to the Den City hospital than his own apartment. That gave him a bit more time to himself, before he had to start the walk over.

Closing his eyes, Yusaku knew he wasn't in any danger of falling asleep. But for a bit, he could rest his eyes.

He was so, so tired.

"Thank you for meeting me here," Ryoken said, nodding his head in greeting. "Shall we head inside?"

"Not yet." Yusaku was trying, he really was, but he was exhausted. Every bone in his body creaked on the walk over from Takeru's empty home.

Blinking, Ryoken narrowed his eyes, but didn't say anything. Yusaku was glad for that. On the walk over, he had tried to come to terms with what they were about to do, about to ask, but he wasn't sure how much progress he'd truly made. He didn't really want to try and come to terms with this. He didn't really want to have to ask Miyu and Jin, of all people, to aid them in their mission because they had failed, initially. Failed to realize what Ai was after.

It still made Yusaku aggravated with himself that he hadn't been able to predict his former partner's motives. If anyone could've figured out Ai, it should've been him. He had let everyone down, and more so then that, put most of his allies - his friends - into direct danger.

He gulped painfully, forcing himself to stay rooted in reality instead of letting his mind drift.

Ryoken cleared his throat, and Yusaku's eyes snapped over to his. "Would you like to hear a little bit about Sugisaki?" He asked, his tone wavering, but only just. "I did a bit of research on her before meeting you here."

Mechanically, Yusaku nodded. "Yes," he said. "Tell me everything."

Anything to stall what they were about to do. Anything to help ease his mind, if only just a little.

When Ryoken's lips turned upwards for a second, Yusaku felt his body relax a bit. "Very well," Ryoken said, before launching into what he knew about her.

As he listened to that voice, the same voice that had kept him sane in his most troubled of times, Yusaku let his shoulders sag and his jaw unclench. He hated what they were about to do, with every fiber of his being, but at least he was marching into hell with Ryoken.

However, standing in front of Miyu's hospital bed was another story. Once again, Yusaku desperately wished there was another solution. The longer they stood in front of her, saying nothing, the worse and worse the dread in the pit of his stomach got. They shouldn't be here. They shouldn't have to drag her into this mess - for the rest of time, she should be allowed to live a peaceful life. It was what he had thought when Akira had first dared to even mention it, and as much as he had tried to come to peace with it, he hadn't.

And from what Ryoken had told him, she had lived a good life. That was the worst part. She went to therapy regularly, yes, but she also had perfect attendance at school. She was in the swim club. She had friends. The idea that they had to rip her away from all of that, just because they were too weak to fix this on their own, made Yusaku want to throw up.

"You look familiar," Miyu said, staring hard at Ryoken after a few minutes of silence. "Akira told me I'd be getting some interesting visitors today, but I know you, don't I?"

Yusaku blanched. He had known that Ryoken had been his kidnapped, but had he been used to lure the other children, too? He looked over at his companion, who had also paled considerably, and watched as his Adams apple bobbed up and down slowly.

"My name is Ryoken Kogami," he said, and then he did something Yusaku never thought he would see. He bowed. "And I'm sorry, but I've come to ask you for a favor."

Yusaku moved his stunned gaze from Ryoken to Miyu, and decided he might as well, too. He moved his body into the uncomfortable position, fists tightening at his side.

"Who are you, though?" She pressed, and Yusaku could hear her shuffling around on the bed. "Stand up, you don't need to bow."

Both of them stood back up stiffly, not really knowing how to proceed. "I'm Yusaku Fujiki," Yusaku tried, completely at a loss. "I'm also Playmaker."

At that, Miyu's eyes lit up, and she placed her hands together in excitement. "Playmaker? You worked with Aoi, right? To save me before?"

How much did Aoi tell her? Yusaku wondered as he nodded. "We have something in common."

Almost instantly, the girl sobered, and she moved her eyes back to Ryoken. None of them said anything for a minute, and Yusaku let her process. Whatever Aoi had told her, and whatever she saw in Ryoken, she seemed to be putting puzzle pieces together. They were there to ask her for her life, more or less - the least they could do is let her make a fully informed decision.

The hands that had been up moved down to clutch the blanket that was on her lap. "You're the one who kidnapped me, right?" Her voice was soft, and she seemed to curl up in herself as she spoke. "But if you're Playmaker, you're like me. You were there too." Miyu paused, taking a breath, and Yusaku nodded in confirmation. "Why are you with him, then?"

All things considered, Miyu was handling the odd situation surprisingly well, Yusaku noted. However, he was not. His throat was dry at her words, and he honestly didn't even know where to begin. It had been easy, once upon a time, to explain to Takeru that Ryoken was the one that saved them all. That Ryoken was no more than a child when the Lost Incident had happened, and whether he followed his father or not, he was not to blame.

Now it seemed daunting, almost impossible. He didn't understand why. It wasn't at all like he blamed Ryoken for what had happened. His feelings on it were still the same. But something about staring into Miyu's frightened and confused eyes made him choke on his thoughts. "Ryoken saved us, back then," he said, words feeling like sandpaper against his throat. "He was the one who made that call."

"Did you help Aoi in Link VRAINS too, then?" Her fingers uncurled around the blanket, but only just. She was still protecting herself, but Yusaku could hear the curiosity in her tone.

With a heavy sigh, Ryoken nodded. "I am Revolver. I will answer any of your questions, but I ask in return that you hear out our request."

At his words, something in her demeanor changed as she looked between the two of them. Yusaku wasn't sure, again, exactly what Aoi had said to her before, but whatever it was, it made her sit up on her bed properly again, the blanket that she'd been using as a makeshift shield falling away from her.

"Aoi told me about both of you," Miyu said, smiling for the second time since they'd come in. "You both helped save me and Aoi before, so I guess I owe you." She sounded almost hesitant about it, but her smile didn't drop. "What can I do?"

Ryoken met Yusaku's gaze, and Yusaku nodded. This one was all him. Not only was he bad at speaking with people he didn't know, he wouldn't even know where to begin with the girl who was clearly so enamored with his alter ego.

"I'm assuming Aoi told you about the Ignis," Ryoken said, stumbling over Aoi's name a little. Both he and Miyu noticed, and the latter let out a small laugh, but nodded. "Good. Then you know most of them are gone now."

The small smile that had been on her face dropped in an instant. "Yes," she agreed. "I wish I'd gotten to meet her. The little blue fairy that visited me in my coma."

Neither of them were familiar with this story, so they both chose to ignore it. "Right," Ryoken said despite that fact. "One survived the last battle. The Dark Ignis. It is currently trying to bring back it's kind… at the expense of a second Lost Incident."

All the color drained out of Miyu's face. It was like watching a video effect demonstration, but Yusaku couldn't blame her for her reaction. He wasn't so stupid to think that the Lost Incident had effected everyone like it had effected he, Takeru, and Jin anymore - just looking at Spectre was proof enough of that - but he wasn't terribly surprised to see that she, too, had horrible trauma because of it. He fought off the odd urge to comfort her. "You mean," she trailed off, before trying again. "You mean it's after us?"

Both Ryoken and Yusaku shifted uncomfortably. "Not quite," Yusaku finally said after a tense silence. "He took Aoi as a substitute." The words were hard to say, and he felt that familiar wave of nausea at them - how had Ai done this? Why had Ai gone down this road? - but he knew they had to be said.

Throwing the sheets off of herself, Miyu stood up, wobbling all the while. Ryoken moved to steady her, but she nearly threw him off, weak as she was. He quickly got the hint and backed off, while Yusaku just stared, wide eyed. "That's why you're here, right?" She asked, breathing heavily. "I'm not in good condition in the real world, but in Link VRAINS, I can fight. I can be of use. Right?"

In a way, Yusaku saw himself in Miyu at that moment. So broken, there in the real world, but so, so determined. Determined to do something. Anything. "Yes," he answered. "The two of us aren't enough to take him on by ourselves. We need help."

That was the easiest thing to say since stepping foot in the Den City hospital, Yusaku belatedly realized.

"I'll do it," Miyu told them, shaking on her feet. "I'll do anything to help Aoi. Just tell me what I need to do."

It hadn't taken long to get things moving from there. Once they'd successfully gotten her to sit back down on her bed, Ryoken had handed her a duel disk. It was a newer model, complete with the Knights of Hanoi's programming, so at least she'd be protected from anything other than a duel loss. Loaded onto it, once she'd set up her account, was the Marincess deck - the deck that Aqua and Blue Maiden had used in her honor.

She'd started crying, then; bawling like a baby, really. Neither Yusaku nor Ryoken knew how to deal with that, but she put herself together rather quickly after.

They'd agreed to call her again, on her personal phone, when they were ready to discuss their first move. They still had one more visit to make before they began, after all. This visit, Yusaku was dreading even more, however.

"Are you sure you want to come in for this?" He asked Ryoken, standing in front of a different hospital room door, on an entirely different floor. "I can handle this one if you want." Part of him wanted Ryoken to tell him to go in by himself, though as much as he wanted to, Yusaku knew he wouldn't lie to the boy about why they were there.

The other part of him asked out of concern. Jin had once been the most damaged of all the Lost Incident victims. At least, the living ones. For someone in Ryoken's position, it might've been too hard to face.

On top of that, seeing Miyu had obviously shaken the older boy up, yet still he shook his head. "I appreciate the concern," he said, lips tilting upwards a fraction at Yusaku, "but I must face Jin, as well. If I don't, I fear I'll never forgive myself."

Yusaku shrugged, not knowing what to say to that. Maybe it was better for him mentally to face Jin again, but he wouldn't hold it against the other boy if he decided he couldn't. He'd already faced Miyu, who had not only recognized him, but cowered in fear. That probably cut pretty deeply.

"If you say so," he finally settled on, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Let's get this over with, then."

Ryoken nodded, and with a grace that humans shouldn't be capable of, he moved to open the door.

Unlike the last time Yusaku had visited, Jin was awake and fully alert. He'd cut his hair, recently, and the bags under his eyes were slowly disappearing.

"I remember you," Jin said, looking at Yusaku with bright eyes he thought he'd never see. "You're Shoichi's friend. Fujiki, right?"

It was certainly a shock. The last time he'd been to the hospital with Kusanagi, Jin had been more or less catatonic. He had barely been able to speak, and that was apparently one of his good days. Yusaku couldn't imagine forgetting about the Lost Incident himself - even if, for a long time, he had wanted to, it had become too important to his person to just up and forget it like that. While it had been a horrific experience, it had shaped him into Playmaker. It had shaped him into someone who could tackle anything the world through at him, no matter how much it hurt. He wouldn't change that for anything.

For Jin, though, maybe it was a good thing. He had been so brutally shattered from Lightning's cruel jokes and the Lost Incident itself, Yusaku and Kusanagi had both sincerely doubted he would ever make a full recovery. They had wished for it, with all their hearts, but deep down, they had both known it wasn't truly possible. Maybe he could have learned to live with it, to some extent, but the kind of enthusiasm and easy going attitude he was displaying now would've been a pipe dream a few short months ago.

"That's right," he replied after snapping himself back into reality. "Sorry to bother you."

He shook his head, and sat up a little straighter on his chair. He wasn't even in the bed. If Kusanagi was here, Yusaku knew, the older man likely would've started crying tears of joy. "It's not a bother at all," Jin told him. "But who's with you?"

Ryoken blinked twice; something Yusaku had come to learn was one of his nervous ticks. "I'm Revolver," he said, taking care to keep himself steady. "The one who dueled your Ignis in Link VRAINS."

Neither of them were really sure how much Jin remembered of that, truthfully. They knew he had forgotten the Lost Incident, they knew he knew he had large gaps in his memory, but how much were those gaps? How much had he lost?

A beat, and then: "I remember," Jin said, a faint smile making its way onto his face. His face, which was looking healthier by the day, apparently. "Thank you."

When it became apparent that nobody was willing to continue to conversation, Yusaku spoke up again, wanting this to be over as soon as possible. "We came here to discuss something that happened recently," he started, nearly wincing at his own tone. "It's about your brother."

It wasn't in his nature to apologize for how blunt he was, but Yusaku almost wished he could've taken back his words at Jin's reaction. "What happened to Shoichi?" He asked, his voice sounding so, so much smaller than it had just two minutes ago.

"He's been captured by one of the Ignis," Ryoken said, taking over when Yusaku failed to get anything out of his mouth. "I'm sorry."

Jin's relaxed posture tensed quickly, his eyes squeezing shut. Ryoken opened his mouth to continue, probably to apologize again, but Yusaku put his hand out to tell him no. Yusaku knew what a panic attack looked like, and Jin was doing likely everything in his power to not break in front of them.

"We should go," Yusaku whispered, moving in close to Ryoken as to not disturb the younger Kusanagi. "Leave your number on the notepad. Give him time." He wasn't really comfortable with the idea of Ryoken coercing Jin into anything, but he trusted the older boy and knew it would get him out of there faster.

With a reluctant nod, Ryoken made his way over to the table in the room, scribbling something out. The two of them then left the room without another word.

The air around both Ryoken and Yusaku was tense as they walked back to Ryoken's car; both boys trying to come to terms with their situation and what they had just witnessed.

Everything was falling apart. Ai, Yusaku's now ex partner, was really trying to make himself irredeemable. He'd taken almost all of their allies; he'd crossed an unforgivable line. The thought of anyone going through the Lost Incident over again, the thought of Takeru having to go through that all over again, made him sick to his stomach again. He was glad, in all honesty, that the walk through the parking garage was long. Sitting in a moving vehicle right then would likely accomplish his body's goal of keeping no real calories in him.

"Are you," Ryoken started, his words thick with something Yusaku couldn't process at the moment. "Are you going to be alright?"

Yusaku would've laughed, if he were in any other position. He and Ryoken weren't on the worst of terms, no, but they couldn't even be considered friends yet. Not the way Yusaku would've liked them to be. And yet here they were - forced to be alone together. Alone with their thoughts. With nobody else left, they only had themselves to rely on.

Sure, Miyu had agreed to help, and Akira certainly was no slouch in the places he could be useful, but it wasn't the same. It wasn't the same as having both the rest of the Knights of Hanoi and Kusanagi doing most of the heavy lifting, hacking wise, while they dueled their way through trouble in Link VRAINS. And they had lost their heavy hitters dueling wise, too.

Blue Maiden. Spectre. Even Soulburner, who, since his arrival into Yusaku's life, had been a constant. The only time he'd seen the other boy lose was against Bohman. Bohman.

"No," Yusaku told him honestly, remembering that he should probably actually say something. "No, I don't think I am."

They had both leaned against the car for awhile, after that, listening to the sounds of the Den City nightlife pass them by. The hospital was located in the center of the city, near to where Kusanagi often parked his truck, and Yusaku desperately craved that familiarity at the moment.

Nothing made sense anymore.

After what felt like hours - what probably was hours - the sounds around them died down; only the late night workers or cram school students populating the city center. Finally, then, Yusaku nodded once to Ryoken, and they both got into the car.

Yusaku didn't ask Ryoken how he got his license, and Ryoken didn't offer an explanation. He wasn't a bad driver, and he wasn't going to get them killed in a car accident, which was all Yusaku truly cared about. It was more comfortable than Kusanagi's truck was, at least physically, as well.

Yusaku also didn't ask how Ryoken knew where to drop him off. It didn't bother him, really, that he seemed to know so much about him - his personal details, his medical records. Ryoken never said so directly, but Yusaku knew that he'd been keeping tabs on him, for whatever reason. A small quip here or there, or in this case, driving directly to his worn down apartment building on the bad side of town.

When they arrived, neither of them moved for a few moments; just sitting in the car with only the sounds of their breathing filling the cabin. It took all of Yusaku's strength to unclip his seat belt. He was exhausted, but there was no time to rest. He knew as soon as he walked up those stairs, he would boot up his laptop and get to work on trying to find Ai's location.

"I'll contact you sometime tomorrow," Ryoken said, breaking the silence that had been looming over them since the parking garage. "Is that acceptable?"

He wasn't even sure why he was asking. They had ran out of options so thoroughly they had asked Jin to help. "Yes," Yusaku said instead, forcing himself to open the door and leave the car. His movements were jagged, almost, but once he was successfully outside, he met Ryoken's eyes.

There was so much there that Yusaku couldn't even begin to describe. Part of him wanted to look away. "Alright." The more Ryoken spoke, the wearier his voice sounded. "Goodbye, then."

Even after he'd slammed the car door and Ryoken had driven away, Yusaku stood outside in the same spot, almost as if he were glued there. His bones hurt. His body felt heavy. And yet, his mind still raced - why was Ai doing this, even though he knew exactly what the Lost Incident meant? Why was Ai willing to go that far, without even trying other options? How could Ai do this? And how could he stop him without killing his partner? He'd been asking himself these questions since he'd logged out the network earlier, but they wouldn't stop pounding in his head.

The duel disk clamped onto his wrist felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. For so long, he'd thought he'd finally broken out of his shackles. No longer had he been tied down to the Lost Incident. No longer had he been solely driven by revenge. But now, climbing up the stairs to his apartment, he could feel the chains dragging him back down. Down to where Ai was, lost and alone in a never ending ocean of darkness.

Notes

As some of you may know, I have my orientation for my new job tomorrow, so I'm not sure how much writing time I'll have in the next few weeks. That said, I hopefully won't go longer than about two weeks in between chapters. That's what I'm aiming for, anyways, but I'll always try to keep y'all updated.

Thanks again for checking this out. I've been mulling this idea around since I saw the theories on why Ai had defected back in June/July, and fully fleshed it out back during 111. I love the way Vrains ended, honestly, but I couldn't get this idea to go away, so I decided to hell with it and started writing it. Thank you again for reading and I'll see y'all in the next chapter!