Chibi Panda appeared in a visual background as he drew his sword in its popsicle stick form.

"When we last left off on Buddyfight X, Gao had defeated Wisdom in an epic clash! There was an epic Buddyfight! Eventually, Big Boss Batzz gave Gao all of his power, turning him into Dragonificator Gao, and finished off Wisdom with Turbulent Thunder Spear, X Tempest Ulti-Buster! And so the world was saved from Wisdom and Mime! And now that things are back to normal, who knows what will happen now." He said now sitting in a tranquil tea room set unaware an egg bounced behind him as a voice said something about appearing too early. "Huh...weird. I thought I heard somebody talking."

After what had happened, things were slowly returning to peace. But for our heroes, their adventure in the world of Buddyfight was not over yet.

"Gao's been awfully quiet lately. I hope he hasn't let his fame overwhelm him." Hope said.

"See, this is why I don't fight villains outside my mechs." Miles said as he was working on a new machine.

"Let's just give him some space." Ace said.

"Ace is right. Besides, with Wisdom defeated...things have finally gotten quiet." Jexi said.

"Hey guys! The Guru is on TV!" Pinkie shouted from the lounge.

"Huh. That's surprising." Zero said.

They rushed into the lounge where the Guru was on TV with Asmodai.

"A little demon told me there's gonna be a Buddyfight festival soon!" Asmodai said.

"Indeed! Soon, we will be hosting the first annual Gao Genuine Gameplace Tournament!" Guru said.

"The GGG Cup?" Starlight said.

"It's being held in Gao's honor after he defeated Wisdom it seems." Anna said.

"Uh….good guess but I don't think that's it." Hope said.

"By Gao, do you mean Gao Mikado?" Asmodai asked.

"That's right! Gao will be facing some super duper buddyfighters chosen by yours truly...oh and it's a tag match too so they'll all be paired up too!" Guru said.

"Oh and the pairings of who faces who will be kept secret too so asking for deets." Asmodai said.

"A tournament announced by Guru for Gao to face fighters, and the challengers are selected by him?" Hope asked.

"Oh...and Gao...I've also taken the liberty of preparing a few surprises for ya! So you gotta look forward to them too." Guru said smiling as the TV went off.

"So much for quiet." David said.

"Well...guess that explains these." Jexi said holding a few invite letters. "Five letters. All for me, Hope, David, Simon and Riku."

"But why me?" Simon asked.

"Maybe because Guru saw the potential you had when he gave you his Impact." David said.

"David may have a point, Simon. You really rocked Angelique's deck, and the way that you played with 'Guardians? Executioners? Or Worse?!'? He's gotta be impressed with you." Hope said.

"..." Simon stayed silent as he looked at his deck.

"Something wrong, Simon?" Erica asked.

"No, it's nothing." Simon said.

"The invites even list who you partner with. I got Noboru?" Jexi said.

"Huh." Hope said. "Sweet. Gao!"

"Tasuku." David said.

"Gaito." Riku said.

"Kanata." Simon said.

"When does it start?" Al asked.

"According to this… it's probably tomorrow." Hope said. "I wonder what kind of surprises Gao will get from Guru?"

Meanwhile near Aibo...

"Ugh, why did I say yes to watching over you four?" Jalter asked. She was wearing her civilian gear, which consisted of a black sleeveless dress shirt, a black skirt, stockings, and shoes.

"Obviously because they're taking longer than they should…" Batzz said. "And I'm getting hungry!"

"Jalter, Chibi, why don't you two get Batzz something to eat? We'll wait for Gao and the others." Athora said.

"You know people will freak out if they see us…" Jalter said.

"Don't worry, Jalter! In your civvies, you'll be seen as our owner. Now c'mon, I've got a good place for Big Boss to eat." Chibi Panda said.

"Even think of riding on top of me like a horse, I'll burn you." Jalter warned.

Chibi Panda took Jalter and Batzz to the pizza joint, but it was closed.

"Gah, it's closed!" Batzz said.

"God dammit…" Jalter muttered.

"We can find you something else." Chibi Panda said.

"But I had my heart set on pizza. Now what am I...Huh?" Batzz wondered before seeing a large pudding on a plate. "What's this big thing?"

"Looks like a big pudding. It says its free if you can eat the whole thing." Chibi Panda said.

"It's gotta be a trick." Jalter said.

"Free for the whole thing. Piece of cake." Batzz smirked.

"It's pudding." Chibi Panda said.

"How have you survived this long? Bring me that pudding this instant!" Batzz ordered as they headed in. But upon taking his first bite.

"Gah...it's...sweet. Too...sweet." Batzz said.

"We told you it's not cake." Chibi Panda said.

"I can't eat this. Its gross." Batzz said.

"Oh brother..." Jalter said before looking to another table and seeing another little dragon devouring his sitting. "Who is that?"

"Well done, you finished the whole thing." The server said. "And for you three...I'll have to ask for payment."

"Hey...if I can finish their plate...will you waive their bill too?" the dragon asked.

"Huh? You want more?" the server asked.

"Of course. Pudding is my absolute favorite." The dragon said as the server gave him the pudding as he started eating, in mere minutes, he was done. "Thanks for the food."

Outside, the others met up.

"Hey, we were waiting for you guys, what took you?" Hope asked.

"We got a little carried away cleaning the classroom and got detention." Gao said.

"Hey you guys!" Chibi said as he, Batzz and Jalter came up with a familiar face. "We found someone in the pudding shop!"

"And he's really interesting." Batzz said.

"Wait...isn't that? No way!" Dan said.

"It is! I can't believe it!" Natsu said.

"Hey, Gao. Guys...been awhile." the little dragon said as Gao dove and hugged him.

"Drum!" Gao said as he laughed with joy.

"Okay...who is that little dragon?" Zelos asked.

"That's Drum Bunker Dragon...he also happens to be Gao's first buddy." Natsu said.

"So wait a minute… does that mean you're in the GGG cup too?" Erica said.

"Darn right I am. I'm gonna team up with Gao and help him out in the matches." Drum said.

"Um...there's just one small problem with that. He...already has a buddy." Al said.

"So? I can just be part of his deck." Drum said.

"You sure you're up for it? I know it'll be just like old times, but you sure you got the time? You are the head of the clan after all." Hope said.

"Actually things have quieted down after our tenth kid grew up. My wife even gave me her blessing to come here." Drum said.

"Oh, that's good….. Wait, tenth kid?! Wife?!" Gao said in shock.

"Huge family." Ryu said.

"From the looks on your faces, it couldn't have been THAT much of a shock." Drum said.

"Most of us are newcomers so we're not that surprised." Al said.

"This tournament's just full of surprises. I wonder if anyone else we know is gonna show up." Jexi said.

"Well I hope you all enjoy it…" Ace said.

"Ace, I guess you're a little down about not getting invited. I'm sorry you didn't get an invite from Guru." Hope said.

"It's fine...I need to be alone for a bit." Ace said as he walked away.

"Man, I hope he's okay…" Hope said. "I can understand if he's feeling down about all this. Should we go talk to him about it?"

"Jalter...you're supposed to be his buddy. If anyone should speak with him...its you." Jexi said.

"Don't worry… I got this." Jalter said as she went after Ace and eventually caught up with him. "You doing okay?"

"I'm fine." Ace said.

"It sure doesn't look like it to me. I can tell that you're depressed about not competing in the GGG Cup." Jalter said. "Why didn't you say anything to the others?"

"I didn't want to bring their spirits down. I just want them to have fun in the tournament." Ace said.

"But you walking off like this is just going to make them worry about you." Jalter said. "And it's not just here. You do it all the time… This isn't like you."

"...Ever since Devil Ace was defeated, I've been struggling with my inner phantom. And with the Dark Kingdom planning on conquering the multiverse, I'm concerned about what will happen in Sky Universe along with David, Jexi, and Hope's." Ace said. "Honestly...I don't know what to do. Sometimes I feel like a third wheel."

"Third whe….this again. As they have told you, you are not a third wheel. All of you are equals." Jalter said.

"...You're right." Ace said.

"I know I am. I'm your buddy. And soon enough, I'm gonna be by your side as your teammate. Just as soon as you and Hope work together to turn me from a monster to the person I really am. Alter Jeanne D' Arc, the Dragon Witch and Saint of Orleans." Jalter said.

"Alright...Let's head back to the others, and thank you Jalter." Ace said as they walked back to the ship.

At the Galaxy King…

"Wow! You guys have an even bigger ship than last time!" Drum said.

"The Galaxy King is definitely bigger and better than you think. We can store our own ships in here, and there's a Buddyfight Arena, a battle simulator, and a whole lot more." Rainbow said.

"The Buddyfight Arena is mainly for tournaments of our own. Pretty neat, huh?" Himiko asked.

"Definitely. Now, are we getting to my welcome back feast or what? I'm starving!" Drum said.

"Of course we are! Kirumi even made your favorite food next to pudding… Octopus Dumplings!" Pinkie said.

"Score!" Drum said as he went at the plate and started eating them.

"Hey, save some for me! I haven't even gotten to eat that Maid's cooking!" Batzz said chowing down as well.

"Gotta say Kirumi, you really know how to make a mean Takoyaki." Hope said.

"Why thank you. Although, I have Sanji and his recipes to thank for that." Kirumi said.

"Ah..you don't need to thank me, Kirumi!" Sanji said with hearts in his eyes.

"Idiot." Zoro muttered.

"That said, i can't wait for the GGG Cup to start. And I'm teaming with Gao, which brings back memories of the two of us teaming up." Hope said.

"You and him have teamed up on more than one occasion?" Kendo asked.

"Oh yeah. It's thanks to this game and fighting with Gao that I've built up such a great rep here." Hope said.

"Yeah, it's hard to believe you were a janitor all the way back when Gao started to buddyfight, and look at you now." Drum said.

"Hehehe… yeah, being Aibo's custodian wasn't one of my best moments." Hope said.

"Yeah...and you went and partnered up with that bratty superheroine monster who treated you like dirt. What was her name? Laser? Flazer?" Pinkie asked.

"Blazer Frill?" Hope said.

"That was it!" Pinkie said.

"Well, I've moved on from her." Hope said.

"And right at the WBC, I became buddies with Jace Aldis and got some support from Einst. Honestly...I was flopping like a fish out of water for most of the event." David said.

"Nonsense. You were great out there. You just hit a few...roadblocks." Genis said.

"Roadblocks?" Ace asked as he and Jalter entered the room.

"Enma Unleashed, for one. And then there was J Genesis with his Impact Monsters, oh man, that guy drove me crazy." David said.

"I'm not even gonna ask." Ace said as he sat down and pondered about something.

"Concerned about the Dark Kingdom? I feel for you. It makes me wonder how things are doing back home." David said.

"I'm worried about Devaloka as well, and the other thing...best for you all not to worry about." Ace said.

"Don't worry about us, Ace. And we can accurately say that we are in support of each other. And we'll always have each others backs." Hope said.

"Thanks…" Ace said.

"Still worried about something? Don't be. Together we'll blow all doubts and worries away." Hope said.

"*chuckles*" Ace laughed a bit.

"Now then… we've got a tournament to look forward to, so lets give this all we've got." Hope said.

Eventually it was time for the tournament, as the festivities were underway. There were many stands up, even Guru was getting in on the action with his own stand, but with little effort of customers. Eventually it was time for the first match, as Paruko was commentating as usual.

"Now then, let's get on with the first match!" Asmodai said. "Were starting off with a Big one, its the team of the Sun and the Moon, Gao Mikado and Hope the Victor vs the Star Studded team of No Damage Fighter Kanata Ozora, and Umbra Magician Simon Neptune!"

"This is a pretty interesting teamup, but why are we called the Star Studded team?" Simon asked.

"Asmodai likes to make an impression, don't worry about it." Hope said. "Hey, Simon… If we win, there's no hard feelings, right?"

"No way! Just don't hold back." Simon said as he pushed up a fake pair of glasses as his left eye glowed.

"Gao… let's do this." Hope said.

"Yeah!" Gao said as the two fist bumped.

"Now fighters, Lumenize your decks!" Paruko called.

"Yeah...we're gonna bring it!" Hope, Gao, Simon and Kanata said.