XP the Co-Link

Author's Note: An alternate take on the events of episode 106. Enjoy the story and R&R.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to or of the Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS series.

Pairings: Pre-slash Takeru x Roboppy. Referenced (canon) Ai x Roboppy.

Summary:

When Ai declares war on SOL Technologies, Roboppy does what he can to keep Soulburner out of the conflict, not having forgotten Homura Takeru's praise.

A phoenix's immortal fire ignited the space dust fencing the virtual realm's polyhedron core. Playmaker and Revolver were duelling Ai's decoys, while the Dark Ignis slaughtered the Three Knights of Hanoi. Ghost Girl and Blood Shepherd battled who they thought was Roboppy, in fact another copy. The step-siblings never suspected the bait-and-switch.

Their opponents scattered, Roboppy moved ahead with the AIs' true scheme in the real world. His purpose was twofold: to cut Kusanagi Shoichi from overhead support, and to settle some unfinished business he had with Homura Takeru. His former master, Fujiki Yusaku, Roboppy must leave to Ai.

Disenabling Kusanagi was elementary. Roboppy snuck in through Café Nagi's back entrance, archiving the man's consciousness data in an unidentified sector of the net.

How he handled Takeru was up to him.

Invading the cubicle where the Den City High School student logged in, the AI hijacked Takeru's signal, sending himself directly to Soulburner's location in LINK VRAINS.

"Hi-ho, Soulburner-san! Going my way, su?"

"Roboppy?" The fierce Duelist activated his D-Board's reverse thrusters. "So, that kid facing Blood Shepherd and Ghost Girl…"

"Is a fake? Right on the money!"

"And are you a cheap knockoff too?"

"Nono! I'm the real Roboppy, su!"

To prove it, he ordered his SOLtiS to stroke Takeru's arm, which Soulburner registered in his brain.

"You're – you're in the truck! What have you done with Kusanagi-san?"

"He'll be fine, su! I just put him to sleep for a bit!"

This was bad. Roboppy could kill him if inclined, and he could do nothing to stop him. An innocent-seeming, axe-happy child…Takeru saw this in a movie once. Flame would deride his jumpiness to the nth degree if he were still alive.

"Why are you and Ai attacking humans?"

"Did you know humans cause disasters wherever they go? They fight and they fight and they pollute the Earth, su! How dumb!"

"And what? Your plan is to wipe us out?"

"Isn't that clever? Nobody around, and I can clean till the planet is sparkling! But you're wrong, I don't want to wipe you all out! You called me cute, remember? The old me. I haven't forgotten, su!"

"What are you on about? You're not making any sense!"

"Duel me and find out, su!"

"If I win, promise me you'll restore Kusanagi-san!"

Roboppy accepted the condition. Drawing, he summoned three Power Phantom Appliance Concentrolls, setting the Link Markers to invoke Charging Appliance Celtopus and Cleaning Appliance Vacuumnecia.

Per their names, the monsters looked like mixes between animals and housewares: Celtopus, an octopus with yellow irises similar to Roboppy's and six wiry tentacles alternately ending in plugs or outlet caps; Vacuumnecia, an elephant adopting a hose for a trunk.

Soulburner soon discovered these contraptions benefitted from hooking up, a modular compatibility Celtopus demonstrated by connecting its extension cords to its fellow machines.

Shockingly, Roboppy desired the same. "I want to co-link, Soulburner-san."

Although this was new, unsettling information to Soulburner, it wasn't foreign to Roboppy. There'd always been an illicit component to his and Ai's affiliation before he developed free will, back when he was presumed a "girl." Now that he and Ai diverged relation-wise, the pent-up urges were transposed onto Takeru, who Roboppy fondly reminisced branded him "cute."

Lining their D-Boards perpendicular, Roboppy trapped a bewildered Soulburner, and piloted his android tin can to match.

"Sync your consciousness to mine, su."

Roboppy gave a short, pleasured whine as Soulburner's gloves skimmed his avatar's fulsome neck and Takeru yoked a data sharing cable to the CPU port on the SOLtiS' lower back.

It unnerved Takeru he'd allowed things to progress this far.

Bliss.

The ataraxia held. Takeru then ejected the pins to cancel complete fragmentation of his identity.

"Woohoo! I gained 50 experience points!" Roboppy hooted. "Continue the Duel, Soulburner-san! Once I defeat you, I'll get 50 more!"