"The Doorway", known as "Secret Meeting" in the original version is the sixty-eigth episode of Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS anime. It aired in Japan on September 12, 2018. It aired in English on Teletoon on February 2, 2020.
Ai suddenly disappeared from the Duel Disk. Having determined that another Ignis could be behind this, Playmaker heads into LINK VRAINS to search for Ai. There, he encounters the Light Ignis. Playmaker then learns about the Light Ignis' motive and the truth behind the Cyberse World's destruction!
Summary[]
Ai stands at a door which opens up. He sees the restored Cyberse World behind it and is overjoyed.
Meanwhile, Roboppi informs Yusaku that "his master is not present". Yusaku wonders where Ai could have gone, and takes Roboppi with him to Café Nom. Roboppi is introduced to Kolter and Theodore. After exchanging greetings, Kolter mutes Roboppi and tells Yusaku that his duel disk has no problems. Theodore says he was told that Ai was locked in Yusaku's duel disk. Yusaku says Ai may have used a spare key, and suggests scanning Roboppi's memories to trace Ai. Kolter finds out that Roboppi and Ai were looking at an online crossword puzzle. Roboppi explains that he and Ai were solving a puzzle to win a pin, which appears to be shaped like Ai's head.
Flame speaks up and says the online page was created by an Ignis algorithm. Yusaku has already figured out an odd square in the crossword. Flame sees that the square has hidden text written in an Ignis cipher, which is a link to another website. The website appears to show a door that Theodore speculates Ai went through. Yusaku asks Kolter to navigate him to the door's exact location when he logs in. Kolter warns of the potential trap if he yields to Yusaku's request. Flame believes the algorithm was not fabricated, therefore the communication attempt was genuine. Kolter and Theodore postulate that it might be Windy or Earth, or another Ignis trying to contact them. Flame corrects them, saying Ai was the one being contacted.
Yusaku therefore states that he will log in by himself, because Ai is his responsibility, and he is still suspicious of the communication attempt. Flame refuses to believe that an Ignis would sabotage another Ignis. Yusaku says the communication attempt might have been set up to ensnare a human, as Earth said that some Ignis still oppose humans. Therefore, an Ignis could have created the door. Yusaku promises to log out if he gets in trouble.
Meanwhile, Ai meets up with Linkuriboh in the new Cyberse World. Linkuriboh offers to fly Ai somewhere. Only when Ai is dropped off at a hole in the sky does he realize he's been tricked. He sees Windy's domain from inside the hole, and decides not to explore it, but Linkuriboh flies off before Ai can call for it. Left with no choice, Ai decides to visit Windy. Inside Windy's temple, Ai encounters Echo. Eventually Windy appears on Echo's shoulder. Windy shows his model Cyberse World to Ai, then tells Ai that he has a meeting with someone he knows very well. A voice calls to Ai from behind, materializing as the LIGHT Ignis.
The LIGHT Ignis notices Ai calling Windy by said name, a name he doesn't recognize. Ai claims that humans can't speak the language of the Ignis, therefore call them by different names. The LIGHT Ignis is appalled by this, as well as Ai calling him Lightning. Lightning explains his reasons for not contacting Ai after the original Cyberse World was destroyed. When Ai hears that it was caused by a security breach, Ai threatens to reprimand the Ignis responsible. Windy claims that it may have been done on purpose. Ai immediately denies it was him, and trusts that neither Lightning nor Windy did it as well. Lightning points to the WATER Ignis, who mysteriously vanished moments before the Cyberse World was destroyed, and has not been contacted since.
Ai is shocked that Aqua would be responsible, since he had talked with Earth about her. Lightning is disappointed that Ai did not mention Earth by his full name, but lets Ai talk. Ai says that Aqua predicted the Cyberse World being split in two. Windy interprets this as Aqua claiming responsibility, but Ai believes Aqua meant the Ignis would start conflicting, and is disheartened because he sees it happening already. Windy says it was never his intention to divide the Ignis. However, he lets Ai know that he and Lightning summoned him for a talk about the future. Lightning proposes Ai's collaboration on a true regeneration of the Cyberse World.
Meanwhile, Linkuriboh has spotted Playmaker arriving into the new Cyberse World. Playmaker reads the Data Storm and finds Windy's temple behind it. Back inside Windy's temple, Lightning elaborates on their plan that requires Ai's assistance - the rebuilt Cyberse World would be free from human interference. Lightning boasts that humans are now inferior to the Ignis - a fact that humans will never accept, having been the dominant species in their world for so long. Lightning says Dr. Kogami created the Ignis to solve humanity's problems, and Ai remembers being told that Dr. Kogami thought the Ignis were a problem. So, Lightning and Windy have decided to oppose humanity - even going as far as eliminating their entire existence.
Ai is horrified. Lightning rationalizes his aim by saying that safety of the Cyberse World is only guaranteed when there are no humans that can destroy it. At this point, Lightning already knows Ai is hesitating on what he should do. Ai retorts that he was tricked into the meeting. Lightning simply says he wants to know what Ai thinks. Ai suggests that they do not fight, and seek peaceful coexistence instead. He is already doing so with Playmaker, after all. Lightning doubts that coexistence will last, not even Ai's coexistence with Playmaker. He reminds Ai that Playmaker trapped him inside a duel disk, and when Ai saved Playmaker from a Data Storm, Playmaker did not even return gratitude.
Just then, Ai hears Playmaker's voice from behind. Ai greets Playmaker happily, and Playmaker in return notes that he is meeting Windy again. Windy introduces Playmaker to Lightning, the LIGHT Ignis. Playmaker responds that he has heard enough of the conversation for him to act, and cannot allow Lightning and Windy to do as they please. Windy dares Playmaker to stop them. Playmaker responds that it is because of their supremacist beliefs, which Lightning says is fact - the takeover of the Ignis is imminent. Playmaker responds that Lightning may be right, but can also be wrong, because he is declaring war on humans and putting the lives of not only humans, but his own race, in danger. Playmaker believes that the world is big enough for both the humans and Ignis to live peacefully together.
Windy immediately offers two counterarguments: SOL Technologies' bounty hunters and the Knights of Hanoi. Playmaker says it's never too late to change their minds. Neither Windy nor Lightning agree; they say their arguments are based on reality, not ideology, and await Ai's decision. When Ai chooses to join Playmaker, Lightning and WIndy trap both in forcefields. Lightning says that no one will oppose them. When Ai demands to be freed, Windy conjures up a Data Storm that holds up in place above Ai. Playmaker is horrified that Windy is even willing to destroy a member of his own race. Lightning and Windy claim that Ai will not go to waste as his code will become a part of them. After Playmaker appears to accept Lightning and Windy's response to Ai's next argument, Windy moves the Data Storm towards Ai, laughing at Ai's counter-attempt while inside the forcefield. Suddenly, a flash of light cuts out the Data Storm.
Lightning and Windy both recognize the person to emerge from that light, and so does Playmaker: Varis. Outside, Varis' "Cracking Dragon" lays ruin to the fake Cyberse World. Varis' four subordinates emerge from the ruins, ready to join their leader. He points at the two traitorous Ignis and says that he looks forward to their demise.
Featured cards[]
The following cards appeared in this episode. No cards debuted here.
Dub Edits[]
- In the original, Yusaku realises that Ai is really missing after he doesn’t respond to calls. In the dub, he realises Ai is absent due to the silence.
- In the dub, Windy admitted when he first met Ai he set up the crossword puzzle, while in the original Ai didn't figure it out until after he and Playmaker were captured.
- Ai is capable of understanding what "Linkuriboh" says.
- The part about Lightning and Windy enslaving humans for their needs is omitted. Instead, their goal is the annihilation of humanity.
- Lightning’s conversation with Ai is interrupted to comment on Earth’s name being “a little on the nose”.
- In the dub, Lightning says he has run simulations on Ai and Playmaker, which all end in ruin. This hints at the events near the end of the series.
- The flashback with Ryoken Kogami is cut.
- Ai's reasoning when they're captured is different in the dub. He tries to convince Lightning and Windy that the death of even one Ignis would be too risky, though Lightning defends it would be necessary for the survival of their species. In the original, Ai claims that humans cannot be judged by statistics, but Lightning says one person cannot change billions.
