Disclaimer: I don't own Buddyfight. Trust me, you wouldn't want me to. :3
Set around episode 32 of the first season. But will reference stuff in later seasons! Be warned, newcomers! Luckily, this chapter's got nothing major.
Sometime in the past
"Your Highness. You summoned me?"
A beautiful castle, raised high atop a floating island.
"Our people are dying, O Fanged One."
From a distance, flawlessly perfect. Upon closer inspection, one can make out hairline fractures that seemed to create a web across the shining walls. Walls that seemed striking from afar were tragic up close, crumbled pieces that slowly danced in the breeze.
"Hmph. What do you mean?"
Towers that once rose high were now a shining field of sharp pieces that only promise pain to those that would traverse it.
"It is as I said. We cannot pretend to ignore this any longer."
The interior was not much better. Banners and paintings that line the walls seemed a mockery, depicting pristine, impregnable gates and beaming knights fighting against wild beasts. In the present, only collapsed hallways and unmoving statues guard the once proud ruler of this kingdom.
"… It is true that our world has lost the glory we were once known for."
The throne room was once a massive hall, able to house dozens upon dozens of citizens, all clamoring for even a glimpse of their mighty king. Now, it was buried under rubble, and the "throne room" was barely enough to hold maybe ten or twenty people.
"We have nothing but this crumbling castle and an empty city. We huddle behind these brittle walls, hoping that we, too, do not fall apart. We have no choice but to finally accept the fact that we must search for new places to rebuild."
The king was once an imposing figure, a gleaming golden beacon of light that led armies to victory. He fought with sword and shield, promising sanctuary from their wild aggressors. Now he sits, unable to continue defending the kingdom he swore to protect.
"…"
The king's mortal enemy was once the wild chieftain of a wild race. Fighting with claw and tooth, the bestial animal-like warrior would go days without rest to raid and attack the organized, civil kingdom. Now, he stands, his weapons already dust, beside his enemy. They are allies, now, in the face of the tragedy that has befallen their kingdom.
"I have heard of a place called Earth, where I believe we will find a way to save our people."
The wild warrior snorted, rolling his eyes. Despite this, hope finally shone in his dull golden eyes.
"I'm listening…"
Present Day, Cho-Tokyo
"*bzzt* … blockade is set up! He'll be forced to stop up ahead!"
"Good work, Stella! We've almost caught him now!"
"The criminal fighter is not here; repeat, the criminal fighter is not here!"
"What…!? How!?"
"I can't track his Buddy! They've managed to avoid detection!"
"Heh heh heh… Those chumps fell for it! Sending Diatlus with the van made 'em think that I was in there with him… They'd never expect that I'd already escaped with some of the goods!" Kurooni Konmae, semi-known thief and part of the once-successful Three Brothers Konmae, gloated to himself as he stopped his slim, boringly mundane minivan, hefting a few large boxes over his broad shoulders. He, the largest and the most imposing of his family, did what his brothers had tried – and failed – to do: steal boxes of rare Buddyfight cards. By causing a distraction, he was able to escape undetected. He smirked, muttering under his breath, "They can't catch me now…"
"Buddy Police Barrier!" A shimmering orange field surrounded the warehouse. Kurooni's Core Gadget beeped, linking directly to the Buddy Police's network.
"Who's there!?" Turning around, Kurooni looked around for whoever snuck up on him.
"Hey, criminal fighter! You have two options: either give up or lose to me in a Buddyfight!" Standing atop the minivan was a black-haired man. Built with toned muscles and a larger than average body, he wore slightly baggy dark gray cargo pants and a sky blue vest over a buttoned up white dress shirt. The Buddy Police logo was proudly displayed on one of the pockets in the front of his vest. Regarding Kurooni with his silver eyes, he smiled, holding a silver Core Deck Case with blue trim.
"Tch!" Kurooni knew that he only had one choice: to Buddyfight. If he did, at least he'd be able to escape if he won. He pulled out his yellow and black Core Deck Case. "How'd you manage to find me so quickly?"
The man shrugged. "I got off my flight and saw you drive by." He held out his Core Deck Case and proclaimed, "Let's luminize and get this over with!"
"Pierce and destroy my enemies' flesh! Luminize, Gut-Wrenching Brute!" Kurooni's Core Deck Case transformed into his Core Gadget, becoming a metal loincloth-like armor attached to his body. He hefted a large blood-red flag depicting a scarred beast's face in front of a cross of drills and maces. "I fight for Danger World!"
"Swarm, strike, and shatter! Luminize, Wild Crystalline Beasts!" The officer's Core Deck Case transformed into a single eyeglass that went over his left eye, the gem going over his ear, attached to a selection of buttons. He experimentally tapped a few, causing streams of data to appear on the glass. He stabbed a large banner onto the ground, which depicted a clean silver slash and jagged, scarlet claw marks over a picturesque golden castle, with three towers rising high to a floating crown. "My flag is the Crystal Castle! Now, let's go to work!"
Tsurugi Takihara flew as fast as he could towards where the Buddy Police Barrier was being generated, along with a few other officers. Ordered to go assist, Takihara and a few others went to provide backup. There was something suspicious about the situation, the first being that the officer currently Buddyfighting wasn't in their database.
He wasn't the only one curious enough to go investigate; the renowned child prodigy and Boy Wonder Cop, Tasuku Ryuenji flew up beside him, his golden Star Pulsar beside him. "Takihara," he greeted, "You're also on your way to this mystery Buddy Cop?"
"Yeah. Much as I'd like to believe it's just someone off duty, we can't afford to take any chances."
Tasuku nodded, turning his scarlet eyes back ahead of him, at the pillar of orange light.
"… and now, I attack you directly with Boulder Piercing Spear!" Kurooni jumped at the mystery officer, ready to stab him with a blue, three-pronged spear.
"Not so fast!" The man caught the spear with his own weapon, a knife that had a comb-like set of spikes jutting out of one of its edges, hooking it between two spikes. "I pay one gauge and increase my Swordbreaker's power! Then, I activate its second ability and destroy our items!" The two weapons glowed, disappearing in a burst of orange cards.
"Grr…! I end my turn!"
(Kurooni - Life/Gauge/Hand: 9/2/4; Monsters: Diatlus/None/Gaelcorga; Item/Set: None/None)
(? - 5/3/4; None/None/None; None/None)
"Draw! Charge and Draw!" The officer increased his cards and his gauge. (Gauge/Hand: 4/5)
"Time to counterattack! First, I call Crystal Canine, Balto to the left! His ability allows me to add an item to my hand when he's called to the field!" To the left position, a slim wolf made of brown crystals appeared, flexing its clawed paws. It had a collar with a pocket, where it pulled out a card and tossed it to his fighter. (Size;Atk/Crit/Def: 1;2000/2/2000)
"I equip the item I just got: Crystalarms, Twin Swords!" A pair of short swords appeared in his hands, made of shining blue crystal. (Atk/Crit: 2000/1)
"Finally, I buddy call Crystal Canine, Bolt to my right!" Using two gauge and placing two cards from the deck into the soul, lightning bolts revealed a strongly built, sharp-eared dog made of shining white crystal. A large crack was formed on one side, the crystal dark and dull, forming a dark bolt shape. (2;4000/2/6000)
"Now, attack the fighter Balto!" The brown wolf slashed viciously with his claws, dealing 1 damage. (Kurooni Life: 8)
"I'll attack next!" The officer ran up to the fighter and swung his weapon, hitting him directly. "And… Double Attack!" He swung his other sword, dealing another point of damage. (Kurooni Life: 6)
"Bolt! Attack the fighter!" The crystal dog barked, pouncing.
"Not so fast," Kurooni growled, holding up a card, "I cast Battle Aura Circle!" A red wall of energy swirled in front of him, blocking the dog. The shining dog growled and returned to his position.
"Then, I cast the spell Now, Shatter! I pay one gauge and destroy all cards on my field that have successfully dealt damage!" Using one gauge, the officer destroys both his item and Balto. Bolt, seeing the destruction, growled, sparking with energy, howling to the sky. "This activates Bolt's ability! When cards are sent to the drop zone on my turn, he gets to attack again, with Critical equal to the number of cards sent to the drop zone added to his Critical! That means he deals 4 damage!" The dog barked furiously, sending one gauge and one soul into the drop zone.
"Wh-what?" Kurooni braced himself for Bolt's second attack, being knocked back by the angry beast's charge. (Kurooni Life: 2)
"I end my turn." The officer smiled. "Your move."
(Kurooni – L/G/H: 2/2/3; Monsters: Diatlus/None/Gaelcorga; Item/Set: None/None)
(? – 6/0/2; None/None/Bolt; None/None)
"I'll finish you off in this turn! Draw, Charge and Draw!" Kurooni proclaimed, looking at his hand. (G/H: 3/4)
"I cast One Oracle! I send one card from the top of my deck to the drop zone, and if it's a monster, I deal one damage to you!" Kurooni discards the top card of his deck, revealing the monster Axe Dragon, Dorcas. He deals one damage. (? Life: 5)
"Hahaha, now you're dead meat! Diatlus and Gaelcorga, finish him off!" The two dragons jumped, charging at the officer. Combined, they had a critical of 5.
"I cast! Crystal Spike Shield! This neutralizes an attack and destroys the attacking monster if it has less than 3000 defense!" Paying one gauge, a wall of crystals came out of the ground, destroying Gaelcorga. Diatlus still lands its attack. (? Life: 3)
"Tch… Damn!" Kurooni had no choice but to end his turn.
(Kurooni – L/G/H: 2/3/3; Monsters: Diatlus/None/None; Item/Set: None/None)
(? – 3/0/1; None/None/Bolt; None/None)
"You got too cocky, thinking you could finish me off! Draw, Charge and Draw!" (G/H: 1/2)
"I equip Crystalarms, Twin Swords!" The two swords materialize in his hands again.
"Bolt, attack him directly!" The dog jumped, swinging its paw.
Kurooni looked at his hand cards. *Damn… I don't have an item equipped!* he thought to himself, unable to use his counter spells. Bolt's attack lands. (Kurooni Life – 0)
"Game End. Winner: Azure Cobalt!" The automated voice was punctuated by Kurooni's Core Gadget sparking, breaking apart and automatically cancelling his Buddy Contract. The Buddy Police Barrier also came down, fading away. The bulky fighter stumbled back, ready to run.
"Not so fast, Kurooni Konmae!" Tasuku flew down behind Kurooni and handcuffed him, locking his arms in place. "You're not going anywhere!"
Takihara flew down, with the other officers taking the criminal away to be jailed.
"Oh, hey there! I was wondering when backup would arrive!" The mystery officer waved to the two, smiling.
"Who are you? You're not in our records." Tasuku didn't beat around the bush. He looked the man directly in the eye, face stern. He was definitely serious about his job.
The man's smile faded somewhat, his eyes becoming serious. He slowly put a hand to his vest and pulled out a Buddy Police badge. "My name is Azure Cobalt, and I'm a Buddy Police Special Operations officer, transferring over from America. I was forced to emergency launch against the criminal fighter, and as such haven't had a chance to get my information in the system. I'm here under orders from Commander I."
Azure's Crystal Card Collection:
Hey, everyone! It's Azure, here to tell you all about my special world, the Crystal Castle! These poor guys have lost almost everything, so they joined the Buddy Card office to try to negotiate a way for them to be saved by another world! It's sad, but I have hopes that they'll one day find someplace to call home!
Today's a special two-for-one deal! We have my Buddy, Bolt, and one of my favorite weapons, Swordbreaker!
Crystal Canine, Bolt
Size: 2
Type/Attribute: Monster/Crystal Beast
Attack/Critical/Defense: 4000/2/6000
World: Crystal Castle
Flavor Text: "I'll avenge my comrades! That's the role that a hero plays!"
Ability Text:
* [Call Cost] Pay two gauge and put two cards from the top of your deck into this card's soul.
* [Counter] [Act] "Solemn Howl" If this card is in [Rest], you may one gauge and discard one soul. This card gains 1 critical and 1000 attack for every Crystal Knight, Crystal Beast, or Crystal Weapon cards sent to the drop zone from the field on this turn, until the end of the turn. [Stand] this card and perform an attack on the opposing player or the center monster.
* [Soulguard] [Penetrate]
Bolt's a pal to his friends, so he gets all fired up when he sees them all down. He fights so viciously that he ends up losing some of his defense, but he makes up for it in sheer awesomeness! He pairs well with Crystal Beast cards, because those guys usually have a lot of effects that destroy their own cards. That's a bit brutal. But they're strong!
Crystalarms, Swordbreaker
Type/Attribute: Item/Crystal Weapon
Attack/Critical: 2000/1
World: Crystal Castle
Flavor Text: Catch the opponent's weapon in the comb, then, with a flick, watch the blade crumble.
Ability Text:
* [Counter] [Act] You may pay one gauge and increase this weapon's Attack by 2000 until the end of the turn. This ability may be used once per turn.
* [Counter] [Act] If the opponent makes an attack with an item, this card is [Stand], and the Attack points of this card are equal to or greater than the attacking item's, you may send this card from the field to the drop zone and negate the attack and destroy the opponent's item.
Now, this card is pretty special! It's the kind of item that you don't want to attack with. Rather, instead, you should keep it at the ready and counter if your opponent tries to attack with an item! Neat, huh? It's too bad that Crystal Castle stuff tends to break easily…
Next time: What's this? There's a Disaster Force signal coming from Sengoku Academy!? Tasuku and Takihara launch to investigate, and Azure tags along for the ride! Tasuku can't use the Future Force!? And Azure can make the power of his cards real too!? The next chapter of Bestial Crystal Heroes is: The Power of the Special Operations Officer! Join us for a Buddyfight!
A/N: Hey everyone! This be mah first published story on this site! Go wild, if ya want! Leave behind some feedback and tell me what ya thought about it.
Crystal Castle is a spiffy new world that I thought up of. I'm sure you'll get to learn all about it as the story goes on. There's a lot to the history behind it, and the background makes references to later stuff in Buddyfight. Nothing you'd need to get concerned with now, but for veterans of the series, it'll definitely make the story much more rich and connected.
Can anyone guess what the two shiny Crystal Beasts introduced here are named after?