Hey guys, so this is my first Vanguard fanfiction. I need a little help with characters and deck lists, so I'd appreciate it if anyone would be willing to send in a few profiles via PM. WARNING: my main decks are Shadow Paladin and Gear Chronicle, so if you send in a deck of a different clan, please don't get mad at me when I don't use it to its fullest potential. I'm just not used to its play style. Thanks for the help!

Just so everyone knows, this story is anime-based, so a lot of the things in the anime are in it. Hence why some characters have unnatural hair-colors. Also, sorry but this chapter is more just character introduction than actually cardfighting. That's more in the next chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Cardfight! Vanguard, or any other things which may be referenced in this story

Turn 1: Prologue 1

The glass doors slid open with a hiss, and Tyson cringed as the hot, outside air cleaved through the air conditioning an blasted across his face. When he glanced over the counter toward the doors, his eyes widened and he stood up. Entering the room was a college-aged man with a dark blue blazer and jeans. His crimson hair was slightly long and combed professionally across his head. The man's emerald green eyes inspected Ty's own large, muscular form, meeting the employee's chocolate eyes. His shaved head gleamed, but the deep brown of his hair was revealed by the goatee on his chin. Dark skin contrasted with the white shirt and apron he wore.

For a moment, neither man spoke. Then, they both broke out into massive grins.

"Ty! Is that really you?" asked the newcomer incredulously.

"Hey there Kyle. It's been a long time. I could hardly believe it when Jordan told me that you were coming down today, what with all your time being held up at the branch office all day."

Kyle scratched his head sheepishly. "Yeah. The United Sanctuary certainly does get a lot of new players. It's great that so many people are interested in Vanguard, but..."

Tyson grinned widely. "But... It's your job to teach all of them, right? You are the ever important Vanguard instructor after all. But didn't they offer you a position as a clan leader or something?"

Kyle grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, they did. I declined though. Clan leaders aren't allowed to participate in major tournaments like-"

"Nationals?" interrupted Tyson with a knowing look. "The three of you came in second, right?"

The man nodded. "Just short of the title. I can't take on the job as clan leader until I fulfill my promise with the others. 'Best in the nation' and all that. Speaking of which, is anyone else here?"

"Yeah. Meg came in a little while ago, but I didn't see where she went. Jordan should be here any minute with a new player he met a few weeks ago."

Kyle gave a quick nod. "Alright then. I guess I'll try to find Meg and she and I can get started."

"One more thing," called Ty as he turned to move away. "You should probably know, your sister is here."

The redhead blinked. "Stella? Really?"

Ty nodded and turned his head, Kyle mimicking him. For the first time, Kyle took in the sight of the shop. Cards were lined up in glass cases all around the store, simmering with their various rarities and adding color to the other-wise white walls. While the cards were from many different games, it was obvious that the shop was partial to Cardfight! Vanguard. From the door, a bright red counter stretched to the right along the wall, shelves behind it lined with cards and boxes and equipment. It was behind this counter that Ty was managing the shop. Directly across the wide room from the counter was a single, plain door marked "Employees Only". Next to the door, a staircase rose up, clinging to the wall as it sharply led to a second story. Filling the empty space of the shop were several plain, white tables for playing on. In the back were eight other tables seeming very high-tech, with glowing screens showing various stages representing places on the planet Cray. The tables were set up in rows, two back and four across, split half-way across by a large screen on the back wall. It was at one of these tables that a crowd had gathered.

On side was a brown haired boy that Kyle didn't pay much attention to. It was the girl on the other side that caught his attention. She looked to be about 16 and, like him, her hair was flaming red and her eyes a bright green. She kept her hair straighter, flowing down her back with some of it flipping over to partly cover her right eye. A blue tank-top was covered by a pale purple hoodie, both falling over a pair of jeans that ended at a pair of sandals. A confident grin was plastered across her face as she turned a card sideways on her field to attack.

"Ah," said Kyle with a nod. "Now I see. I was wondering why she was getting home so late. I take it she's here often?"

"At least as often as you used to be, before you started working at the US. She's good, in case you were wondering."

As if she sensed that they were talking about her, the girl turned her head in their direction. She paused as her gaze met Kyle's, studying him uncomprehendingly. A moment later, her expression lit up. Turning back to her opponent, she said something and quickly gathered up her cards before rushing towards the pair. She didn't even slow down as she threw her arms around Kyle with a happy shriek.

"Big bro! Why didn't you tell me you were coming down?"

Kyle laughed as he wrapped his arms around her. "I didn't know that you'd be here! Why didn't you tell me that you were coming down here now?"

Stella shrugged. "I thought it'd be obvious. I mean, I go to school nearby and it isn't far from the house. I can't go down to the branch every day when I want to play so I-"

"KKKYYYYYYLLLLLLLEEEEEEEE!" screamed a voice from their left. With a sigh, Kyle closed his eyes, crossed his arms, and leaned back. Immediately, a red blur whizzed past them and slammed into the wall. The form of a small girl in a dark red dress appeared, defying all physics as she levitated in the air with her face firmly slammed into the wall. Steplla and Ty sweat-dropped as the girl slowly slid down the wall to the floor.

Instantly, she was up and rushing Kyle once again. Just before she impacted with him, the man launched out his foot, slamming it onto her face and stopping her cold. As she froze, the others got a look at a girl appearing to be no older than twelve, though they all knew better. A dark red Lolita-style dress covered her frame, complete with a bow on top of her curly blonde hair.

A creepy smile was plastered across her face as she spoke, her voice muffled by the foot in her face. "That was mean, Kyle! I only wanted to hug you. Why are you being so mean to me?"

Dark lines covered the top part of his face, expressing the anger behind his smile as he struggled to push her back. "Oh? And what makes you think that I'd want a hug from you, ya damn loli?"

"How rude!" the girl complained as she pushed harder against him. "You forgot adorable!"

"I was... thinking-" he replied, his form tense with the strain of their confrontation, "that... I'd... forgotten... INSANE!" With that, he managed to push her back, sending her flying back into the wall. He was still panting with the strain when the doors opened again, allowing two boys to enter.

The first looked was some-what short, with white hair and large glasses. He was adorned simply in a white polo shirt and pants.

Behind him was a black-haired boy with crimson eyes peering lazily out from beneath his long, shaggy bangs. A black jacket covered a dark gray tee-shirt. Finishing it off was a pair of torn jeans that dropped over a pair of black skate shoes. Both boys had a back-pack slung over their shoulders.

The boy with the glasses smiled. "Hey everyone. Sorry we're-"

"JORDAN!" screamed the girl as she shot forward, long ribbons of years pouring out of her eyes as she flew through the air. "Kyle's being mean to me! Please hold-" she passed through empty air as the boys leapt to either side, "...me?"

~0~

A few minutes later had the group sweat-dropping as they stared at the little girl huddled in the corner with a blue cloud of depression hanging over her, muttering about how no one wanted to hug her. Ty sighed.

"Well, looks like Meg hasn't changed at all. Still as crazy as always."

Jordan sighed. "Unfortunately, that child-like appearance matches her personality. No maturity, whatsoever. ANYWAYS, everyone, this my friend, Zane Dark." He gestured toward the crimson-eyed boy, who gave a quick nod in greeting. "I taught him how to play Vanguard about a week ago, but with nationals getting closer, I won't have a chance to play with him. I was hoping to introduce him to some other players before that."

Ty smiled. "Hey there Zane. I'm Tyson, and welcome to Camelot Cards. I'm managing the shop while the owner, Mr. Pendragon, is away. The crazy girl in the dress is Megan La Rue. Believe it or not, she's actually 18. These two here are Kyle and Stella Grace. And of course, you already know Jordan Leris."

Each of them waved as their names were called. Even Meg seemed to regain some of her energy. Kyle glanced at Jordan, who gave a nod in return before turning toward Zane.

"Alright Zane, I need to go. The three of us are heading upstairs. Ty and Stella will show you around."

Zane tilted his head in puzzlement, glancing at the staircase for confirmation. "Upstairs? What's up there?" Unfortunately, his words were drowned out as the older trio made their way towards the stairs.

"Let me explain," said Ty with a smile as he led the way across the room to the large screen on the wall. "In Japan, they tested out a new system for Vanguard, using a system of quests to earn points and such. In addition, they divided up major cities into separate branches, each representing a different nation on the planet Cray. The system became extremely popular and was adopted here in the United States. Kyle works up at the United Sanctuary branch, teaching people how to play the game and coaching new players. Another thing taken from overseas was the GIRS system; a holographic imaging system to project the cardfight. While mostly only used by big companies for use in major events or in the Vanguard Coliseum, some smaller companies have incorporated them. Like us," he added with a flourish. "Mr. Pendragon installed the GIRS system here in the shop. More specifically, upstairs. For a fee, players can rent out the room for cardfights. It's expensive, but worth it. The three of them rented it out for the rest of the day to practice for nationals in."

Zane nodded, satisfied with the answer. He opened his mouth to speak when a voice cleaved through the air.

"Stella Grace, it's time for our fight!"

The trio turned to face a green haired boy with matching eyes in a striped shirt, and an arrogant smirk plastered across his face. Stella frowned.

"How many times do I have to tell you, I'm never going to go out with you, Jonas. Get over it!"

He pointed a finger at her accusingly. "We had a deal, remember? If I can beat you at a cardfight, you have to go out with me. We agreed to a fight at precisely noon today, and it's noon on the dot."

The girl sighed. "Alright, alright. Let's do-" She froze, her hand on her waist. For a moment, panic crossed her face, only to be replaced with calm. "I forgot. I'd set my deck down on the counter while we were talking. Just give me a minute to-" She froze again, this time absolute panic plastered across her features as she stared across the room.

The counter was empty.

In a flash, she was there, scouring the floor in search of her cards. "They aren't here! Why aren't they here?! I know I put them here!"

"Relax," said Ty soothingly. "We'll find them."

Zane, however, was watching Jonas. That was why he managed to glimpse the smugness that flickered across his face.

"You," he said quietly. "You took them, didn't you?" The others froze, turning just quick enough to catch sight of the momentary panic in Jonas' eyes.

"How dare you?! What proof do you have, huh? Go ahead and search me, you won't find her deck anywhere on me."

There was murder in Stella's eyes as she advanced. "How DARE you take my deck?! What, you knew that you couldn't beat me in a fair fight, huh? Give it back!"

Jonas backpedaled. "I TOLD you already, I don't have it. Search me!"

"That doesn't mean that you don't know where it is," commented Zane.

Stella glared. "Fine, let's just go see what my brother has to say about this." As she turned toward the stairs, Jonas' arm flashed out.

"Nah-uh. We agreed on noon. If you walk away now, you forfeit, and it's my win. No matter what you think, you can't PROVE anything, so I can't be accused of cheating."

"He's right," interrupted Ty sadly. "Jonas picked the perfect time. With no witnesses, there's no way to prove what he did. As such, the agreement stands. Since Stella can't fight without a deck, she forfeits. The winner of this match is-"

"I'll do it," interrupted a voice. All eyes turned to face Zane, blinking at the fiery look in his eyes, a stark difference from the quiet calm he'd exhibited until now. "I'll contribute a deck for her to fight with."

They all stared in a shocked silence before Ty spoke. "No, you won't."

Jonas' smirk returned and Stella whipped around in a wide-eyed panic, only to be stopped by the man's raised hand. "I mean, she won't be using your deck. This is a very important match. As such, I won't put her at such a disadvantage as to give her an entirely unfamiliar deck. In this match, Zane will act as Stella's representative."

Jonas sputtered. "But-but we'd agreed-"

"You'd AGREED to have a fight at noon. You never specified that your fight would be with Stella. My ruling stands."

Jonas ground his teeth together before storming towards one of the tables.

Stella watched Zane carefully, but said only, "You better not lose."

Zane gave her a soft smile before making his way down to the catfight table. A quick shuffle-and-draw later, and the were boys glaring at each other determinedly. As one, they reached forward and gripped the single, face-down card on their field.

"Stand Up, Vanguard!"