"How's the containment data looking today?"
A researcher in a white lab coat casually asked a soldier in purple uniform as he passed by.
"As perfect as ever!" The soldier's grin was obvious even from behind his mask.
There was nothing easier than this job. All they had to do was shove a monster into that massive containment pod, step back, and watch it be consumed by the darkness.
BOOM!
Just as he finished speaking, a deafening explosion rocked the base. It sounded like a bomb had gone off, followed immediately by a chorus of screams and monstrous roars.
"What the hell!?" The researcher barely had time to react before a streak of black-and-purple puppet thread whipped through the air and pierced straight through him.
The soldier beside him reacted quickly, leaping back, raising his Duel Disk like a blade, and slicing through the incoming puppet thread with a flash.
"What's going on!? Report, now!"
"Captain—the containment unit—it's malfunctioned—!"
The transmission was distorted, followed by more blood-curdling screams and the sound of tearing air.
"Damn it!"
He didn't need the full report to understand.
The thing inside that containment pod... had gotten out!
And that was bad—really bad.
He'd been briefed by higher-ups. If that creature ever broke loose, it wasn't something that could be handled quickly. The only solution would be to let it infect and assimilate the entire dimension, and then return with overwhelming force months later to reclaim it, piece by piece.
No way was he sticking around for that.
"Don't panic! This is just a minor incident! Follow protocol! Activate the surveillance systems—make sure we don't lose intel like what happened at the Allied Base!"
"Yes, sir—"
"Yes! AAAAAHH—!"
"Help!!"
The screams and chaos filled the comms, but he showed zero sympathy. Shielding himself with his Duel Disk, he charged into the lab, yelling for the doctor and the security team. They scrambled to load critical research and equipment into the dimensional gate.
Once everything important was transferred, he and his core team stepped through the gate.
Moments later, the gate's runes shimmered green, a clack echoed through the lab—and the dimensional portal shut down.
"They ran?!" Captain White Crystal seethed, fury rising visibly from his gemstone body. "That coward! Some 'leader'—Hikaru, let me pursue them!"
He looked ready to snap.
"First things first. We save that Spirit." Hikaru Amagi gestured toward the broken containment unit.
White Crystal hesitated... then nodded.
They could chase that bastard down later. For now, the Spirits here needed them.
Hikaru hadn't expected the enemy commander to retreat so quickly. He'd even hoped to capture something like Raviel, Lord of Phantasms. But no—coward didn't even try to fight.
The distant cries of struggling soldiers echoed faintly. Puppet threads slithered toward Hikaru, but the moment they neared, they froze midair, suspended by an invisible force.
Tierra flicked her eyes up lazily. "As expected. You still don't get it, Hikaru? To them, it doesn't matter whether their 'soldiers' are alive or even human."
"What...?" Hikaru's expression darkened.
White Crystal, still fuming, looked over, confused.
"Captain," Hikaru said, coldly. "The Fusion Army doesn't need living soldiers. They want obedience. If a puppet follows orders better than a person—so be it."
He clenched his fists. "Recruiting students takes time. But if they infect Duel Monsters and turn them into soldiers... it's faster. Easier. And they can discard them without a second thought."
He looked at White Crystal.
"They discovered Shaddoll through you. Then they obtained the Sacred Beasts. With those powers combined, they found they could siphon life energy from Spirits. So they manufacture puppet soldiers—infused with darkness—easier to control."
White Crystal's body trembled.
"So even their own kind—if they're easier to manipulate once converted—it's fine?" he said, voice shaking. "Monsters..."
"They're monsters," Hikaru said flatly. "Let's go. We've got a Spirit to save."
Earlier, he'd asked Tierra to sabotage the containment chamber. She'd shrugged, not too interested, but agreed anyway. With her interference, the Spirit inside had managed to break free much faster.
Now the pod was shattered. Black mist leaked out in torrents. Hikaru stepped from the shadows and headed for the wreckage.
Every step, mindless puppet soldiers—part-machine, part-monster—lunged at him. But he didn't have to lift a finger.
White Crystal, burning with righteous fury, struck them all down like a wrathful monster.
"Pitiful puppets," he spat. "Abandoned and still serving the ones who broke them!"
"Don't pity them," Hikaru muttered. "They chose this."
He reached the front of the shattered pod—and White Crystal froze.
"Gem-Knight Lazuli!?"
There, bound in twitching puppet threads, was a massive figure—towering two, three times taller than White Crystal.
Gem-Knight Lazuli... but corrupted. Warped. Distorted by shadow.
"Whoa..." Tierra finally looked interested. "This again? Fate's got a sense of humor."
"If I'd come two months later," she mused, "she'd have been fully converted. But now, she's still a Gem-Knight."
"No." Hikaru's eyes narrowed. "I should've come sooner!"
"Captain!" He raised his left arm. His Duel Disk activated, glowing with power.
"Yes, sir!" White Crystal responded instantly, transforming into a beam of light and fusing into Hikaru's chest.
Across from them, the monstrous Lazuli stirred. Her puppet threads twitched and snapped through the air, forming a giant Duel Disk strapped to her massive right arm.
Her card deck materialized—thick, towering like a stack of tomes.
Hikaru squared his stance.
"It's not too late!" he shouted. "Let me set you free!"
DUEL!
Puppet Lazuli LP: 4000
Hikaru Amagi LP: 4000