Author's Note

Hello, this is Bja1thetruth also known as Apollo and/or Tolby. I would like to note that this would be my first (technically second) attempt at writing a fan-fiction. I already know there will be multiple mistakes, but I will still try my best. The setting and characters I use will be different from the Anime and Manga. The setting is something entirely made-up and every character will be an original character. Most of the cards I will use will most likely be from Set 5 Awakening of Twin Blades and prior. However, I will also use a few cards up to Set 7 Ramping Beast King and possibly two or three cards from Set 8 Blue Storm Armada. The reason is to minimize the number of possible cards I create for an already existing clan. Adding to the topic of card creation, I will indeed be using fan-made clans/cards. If you for some reason see this as a problem I do apologize, but this is something I had planned for a while and I would like to keep the general base the same. Finally, if you have any suggestions or criticism I am willing to consider them.

I do not own Cardfight! Vanguard, it belongs to its own rightful owner(s). This is/was written only for entertainment purposes. Please Enjoy :3


~Chapter 1: The True Meaning of Defeat~

In a World of Darkness, the sounds of cackling and the roars of savage beasts shatter the silence. Attempting to move about, you notice your limbs remain bound by some unknown force hindering the action. Giving up the futile endeavor, you watch as a dark mass begins to erect from the ground before you. After adopting a different form, it now resembled a blonde-haired doll with vacant, soulless eyes. At her feet, you notice a woman who had long, flowing hair and displayed a gentle expression. Relaying her command to the doll, the doll slowly began to descend one of its hands over your trapped form. Struggling once more to escape, the futile endeavor only made the cackling grow louder as you had no choice but to accept your fate.

A sleeping person slowly began to rustle around as they groggily awoke from their dream. After propping himself up, he glanced a short distance away towards his mirror only to witness his ragged appearance. His short, dark hair was mess most likely from tossing and turning about and his brown eyes were drooping from lack of sleep.

After shifting his attention from his appearance, he began to think about the dream he had. Similar dreams just like it occurred in the past but something about this one seemed a little different to him. An image of the woman he saw briefly flashed across his mind, she had been the cause of the difference he felt and for reasons unknown, he could feel a sense of familiarity from her. Suddenly, the sound of an alert interrupted his thoughts as the sound continued to fill his room, it had been his phone alerting him of a message.Reaching over to where it had stored, he noticed the sender had been his friend Kotaro informing him of the card shop they would visit and at what time. Now that he had forcibly pried himself from his bed, he went about to get ready for the day ahead. A short while later he was now fully dressed wearing a green t-shirt with black jeans. Deciding to waste no further time, he departed for his destination.


It had been quite some time since his departure and since he was unfamiliar with the area, he had arrived later than expected. "Card Shop Raven…" He recited to himself after glancing at the name of his destination. Just like any other shop, there did not appear to be any real difference that he noticed while inspecting it. Most shops had the same overall appearance be it the overall structure or the various advertisement posters. Glancing around the area now, he saw the multitude of people going about their business pretty much ignoring everything around them. It was now that he realized his friend was nowhere in sight something he found strange since his friend was usually the first to arrive between the two.

"Excuse me, but may I be of assistance somehow?" Turning towards the sudden voice, a petite woman with long, flowing, crimson hair, wearing a white blouse with a blue skirt met his gaze. She was a few years older than he was and was displaying a gentle expression while her blue eyes bestowed a sense of sincerity. Her sudden appearance came as a shock to him since he was sure that while looking around she had been nowhere in sight, and so he wondered where exactly she had come from. "Looking around I thought you were lost or confused so I was wondering if I could be of assistance somehow."

"I guess just by standing around and looking all over the place that kind of impression should be expected." He explained how he had only just arrived and that was only looking around for a friend that he was supposed to meet.

"I apologize for jumping to conclusions," She nodded in apology having misunderstood his situation. "Let me introduce myself, my name is Irene Melody, sub-manager and teacher of Card Shop Raven. If there is anything you need assistance with in the future, please do not hesitate to ask." She displayed a smile before nodding again. "If you are going to be a future customer of ours, may I learn your name for convenience's sake?"

He took some time to think about the question before answering. "Tolby Gale" The woman repeated before smiling once again. "Thank you for telling me, now if you will please excuse me it is almost time for my lesson to begin." He watched as she quickly hurried past him into the shop with the door closing behind her. Now that he was alone, he began to piece together exactly what had just happened. Besides her sudden appearance, there was, however, one other thing that he found strange even though they had just met, he could not shake the feeling of having met her before this moment.

"Tolby!" He heard someone call from a distance before noticing it was his friend. He was a teen around his age though slightly taller, he had silver hair with yellow eyes, and wore a white collared shirt with a black blazer and matching jeans. "Sorry about not showing up sooner." He apologized for having shown-up late.

"It's okay Kotaro, I only arrived a short while ago myself, besides, I'm the one who is usually late even more than this," He replied before they decided to step into the shop.

"You do have a point though unlike you my perfect record has finally been broken," He said as the door closed behind them.

The inside was surprisingly cool rather refreshing in comparison to outside. There were a few posters hung all over advertising popular games, players occupied a few tables, and some had a few spectators watching. The manager, of course, was at the counter working, he was a heavily dressed man with dark glasses hiding his eyes. He glanced in their direction and appeared to give a silent greeting before returning to his work. A fair distance away, Tolby spotted Irene in front of a blackboard with a mass of kids sitting in front of her. The blackboard had all sorts of notes and diagrams transcribed on it, and from the looks of it, they appeared to about Vanguard.

"She really is a teacher after all," He thought to himself.

Kotaro also noticed the class and found it interesting. He noticed Tolby was also staring in that direction as well and wondered if he thought about joining. With that thought in mind, he decided to drag Tolby to a table that was a fair distance from the class so they could listen and not be a disturbance. After completing their preparations, they were now ready to begin their game.


Their game did not last as long as expected and before they knew it, a series of games took place where the result had been the same each time. Almost every game concluded with Kotaro's victory, mostly due to Tolby's attention seemingly being elsewhere. With another game having concluded once again with the same result, Kotaro noticed Irene's lesson was drawing to close.

"Was the lesson interesting?" He asked receiving only a confused look from Tolby. "After the games we played I can already tell your attention was elsewhere also I noticed you secretly glancing away every now and then."

"You're only half right," Tolby responded.

As the two carried on with their conversation Irene's lesson had just reached its conclusion. Most of her students displayed confused expressions not entirely understanding what it was she taught them. She noticed their confusion and smiled after thinking of a solution. "Perhaps a demonstration would be better for those that could not fully understand my explanations."

Kotaro overheard what Irene had said and figured it would be a good change of pace for a certain someone. After raising one of his hands, he called out to Irene trying to get her attention. Irene heard a voice call her and glanced in that direction. She spotted Tolby and someone she assumed was the friend he had been waiting for.

Now that he had Irene's attention, "Tolby here would love to volunteer for your demonstration," He happily announced much to Tolby's dismay.

"Quite the bit of irony, I told you to come to me for assistance, but now I am the one in need of your assistance." She smiled before gesturing Tolby to step forward towards the class.

Tolby only turned towards Kotaro his eyes staring daggers while his friend displayed a grin. "Refresh my memory, when exactly did I volunteer myself?" The annoyance in his voice was painfully obvious.

"I seem to be the only person you play nowadays, you need to go out there and expand your horizon by playing new people. Besides, with how much you were paying attention you might as well help your fellow pupils better understand the game." Despite the annoyance, Tolby could only sigh in response. He knew there was no easy way out of this so he stepped forward hoping to get this over as quickly as possible.

Now that her opponent was standing before her, Irene pressed a button on the side of the blackboard. Slowing rising from the floor was another table that apparently was stored below. This one, however, appeared to be more high-tech in comparison to the others. Irene then pressed another button this time on the table causing it to power-on and project some sort of image. The projection displayed the interior of a circus tent, strewn about on the ground were various props, some of which had odd colored blotches most likely from a previous performance.

"Are you familiar with the motion figure system?" Irene asked while taking her place at the table and placing a card facedown.

"I never had the opportunity to use one before," He replied while repeating Irene's actions.

"You should be proud then, we normally only use it for promotional events and occasionally my lessons," She explained before they got ready to begin.

"Stand up, Vanguard!" The two shouted in unison as the cards they turned over were beginning to take form at the center of the battlefield.

"Lark Pigeon" Irene's field was suddenly shrouded by a burst of smoke, emerging from it was a man with a pigeon-like appearance wearing a suit. After circling the field once, he made his descent (G0/Power: 5000).

"Snow Nymph, Chione" Shards of ice began to cluster together on Tolby's field, taking on a new form it now resembled a woman with long, light-blue hair. She had fairy-like wings and wore a blue dress with ruffles in the appearance of snow (G0/Power: 5000).

Amazed by the appearance of the unit most of the kids displayed signs of admiration since it had an unfamiliar one to them. Irene also had her own interest in the unit. "How interesting, I do not recall ever having seen that unit," Irene said curiously.

"I'm not surprised," Tolby replied, "I have yet to meet a single person that knew about the existence of Northern Aurora."

"If you have not met a person that knew about their existence then may I ask where exactly you obtained them?" Irene asked interested in learning a little more about her opponent.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that even if I wanted to." Tolby replied while appearing upset, "I can't remember where or when I managed to obtain them exactly."

This reply was certainly something Irene had not been expecting, to own something and not know where or how it came into your possession seemed strange to her. She hoped to learn a little more but gave up on the effort deciding it would be best to resume the match at hand.

"I guess we're in the same boat," He thought while glancing at Irene's Vanguard and drawing his card."I ride Ice Flower, Maka." The woman closed her eyes as shards of ice began to cluster around her form. Standing in her place was a dark-haired girl dressed in azure clothing (G1/Power: 8000). "Now, Chione's Forerunner ability activates, because I rode a Northern Aurora unit, I can now call her to a rear-guard circle." Sliding the card behind his Vanguard, the woman from earlier appeared in similar fashion to her first appearance (G0/Power: 5000).

"I end my turn," Tolby concluded.

Field View

Irene
Hand: 5 Cards/Soul: 0 Cards/Damage: 0/Drop Zone: 0 Cards/Deck: 44 Cards
Right Side: Nothing – Nothing
Center: Lark Pigeon (G0/Power: 5000) – Nothing
Left Side: Nothing – Nothing

Tolby
Hand: 5 Cards/Soul: 0 Cards/Damage: 0/Drop Zone: 0 Cards/Deck: 43 Cards
Right Side: Nothing – Nothing
Center: IF Maka (G1/Power: 8000) – SN Chione (G0/Power: 5000)
Left Side: Nothing – Nothing

"My turn," Irene declared adding a new card to her hand, "I ride Dark Metal Bicorn." A sudden burst of smoke shrouded the pigeon man's form, trotting out instead was a grey ram adorned in golden ornaments (G1/Power: 8000).

"Moving on, Dark Metal Bicorn attacks." Dashing forward the ram made way towards the girl (Power: 8000/Critical: 1). Tolby made no effort to guard the attack so Irene continued with her drive check.

"Drive Check: [Dusk Illusionist Robert – No Trigger]" The ram continued its attack, knocking the girl back slightly.

With the attack having succeeded, Tolby had to respond by performing a damage check. "Damage Check: [Blizzard Tori – No Trigger]" After revealing the card he placed it into his damage zone.

"My turn is done," Irene concluded.

Field View

Irene
Hand: 6 Cards/Soul: 1 Card/Damage: 0/Drop Zone: 0 Cards/Deck: 42 Cards
Right Side: Nothing – Nothing
Center: DM Bicorn (G1/Power: 8000) – Nothing
Left Side: Nothing – Nothing

Tolby
Hand: 5 Cards/Soul: 0 Cards/Damage: 1(U)/Drop Zone: 0 Cards/Deck: 42 Cards
Right Side: Nothing – Nothing
Center: IF Maka (G1/Power: 8000) – SN Chione (G0/Power: 5000)
Left Side: Nothing – Nothing

"Draw," Tolby declared before playing his next card, "I ride Blizzard Mage." The girl closed her eyes as shards of ice clustered around her form. A light-blue artificial being dressed like a magician stood in her place, a spell book hovered above its left hand while it held staff in the other (G2/Power: 9000).

"I'll also call Hail Striker and Crystal Lancer." Shards of ice began to cluster together at two points on Tolby's field. The first resembled a golem made of entirely ice dressed in brown ravaged clothes (G2/Power: 8000). The other resembled a red caped-knight clad in ice-like armor (G2/Power: 10000).

"Hail Striker will attack, but first his ability activates. When he attacks a unit with 8000 power or less, he gains 3000 power until the end of that battle." Leaping into the air, the ice golem dive-bombed towards the ram (Power: 11000/Critical: 1). Irene only shook her head in response as its attack continued on to knock the ram to ground upon impact.

"Damage Check: [Jumping Jill – No Trigger]" She revealed before placing the card into her damage zone.

"Blizzard Mage with a boost from Chione will attack this time." The woman closed her eyes as energy became to gather around the magician, raising its staff, a blizzard was conjured in the direction of the ram (Power: 14000/Critical: 1).

Irene once again shook her head allowing Tolby to perform a drive check of his own. "Drive Check: [Eternal Pixie – No Trigger]" The blizzard continued on its course engulfing the ram.

Irene proceeded to perform her damage check, but unlike the previous four, this card held a golden shimmer. "Damage Check: [Rainbow Magician – Draw Trigger] It would appear I got a trigger. I increase the power of Dark Metal Bicorn and then I can draw a new card." After adding the new card to her hand, the ram slowly rose as its eyes glowed red (Power: 13000). Irene glanced at Chione then shifted her gaze towards Crystal Lancer. It was only remaining card capable of attacking but lacked the power needed to succeed. "If only you had attacked with Crystal Lancer first then you would have gotten a third attack this turn," She said after comparing the power between her Vanguard and his rear-guard.

"I'm afraid that you're wrong." This time Tolby was the one who shook his head in response. "You allowed an attack boosted by Chione to hit your Vanguard, so now her ability can activate. Paying the cost of a counterblast, I can move her to my soul, and have your Vanguard lose 3000 power until the end of this turn." Turning over the only card in his damage zone, and sliding Chione beneath his Vanguard, the woman closed her eyes as her form shattered into shards of ice that then coated the ram's form (Power: 10000).

"So your deck focuses on reducing the power of those who oppose it, how interesting," Irene smiled as Tolby continued.

"Next, I activate Blizzard Mage's ability, because its attack hit your Vanguard, I choose one card in my damage zone, and turn it face-up." After his explanation, he quickly turned over the card in his damage zone.

"Finally, Crystal Lancer will attack." The ice knight held out its left hand as shards of ice began to cluster together until they formed a lance, it then leapt forward ready to strike its target (Power: 10000/Critical: 1). A burst of water rushed forward pushing back the ice knight before it could reach its target. The source of the attack was a man dressed like a jester with water swirling around him (Shield: 5000).

"I am afraid I could not allow this attack to succeed, so I hope you do not mind that I decided to guard with Spiral Master," Irene responded while placing the card into her drop zone.

"I guess my turn ends then," Tolby concluded as the ice coating the ram vanished (Power: 8000).

Field View

Irene
Hand: 6 Cards/Soul: 1 Card/Damage: 2(U)/Drop Zone: 1 Card/Deck: 39 Cards
Right Side: Nothing – Nothing
Center: DM Bicorn (G1/Power: 8000) – Nothing
Left Side: Nothing – Nothing

Tolby
Hand: 4 Cards/Soul: 2 Cards/Damage: 1(U)/Drop Zone: 0 Cards/Deck: 40 Cards
Right Side: Crystal Lancer (G2/Power: 10000) – Nothing
Center: Blizzard Mage (G2/Power: 9000) – Nothing
Left Side: Hail Striker (G2/Power: 8000) – Nothing

"He's not doing that bad, though it's still too soon to say whether or not he really has the advantage," Kotaro thought as Irene drew her card.

"I ride Barking Cerberus." A sudden burst of smoke shrouded the ram's form, with a mixture of growls and cackling, a three-headed dog with the appearance of a clown emerged (G2/Power: 10000).

"Next, I call Starting Presenter, Mirror Demon, and Midnight Bunny." The ground around Irene's field became shrouded by a sudden of smoke, as it dispersed three figures were unveiled. A caped-man wearing a suit (G1/Power: 6000), a strange looking mirror with a rippling surface (G2/Power: 8000), and a pink bunny girl dressed like a magician's assistant (G1/Power: 7000).

"Barking Cerberus with a boost from Starting Presenter will attack your Vanguard." The man raised one of his arms commanding the dog forward as energy began to gather around it, pouncing forward it was now heading towards the magician (Power: 16000/Critical: 1).

"No Guard," Tolby responded, prompting Irene to continue.

"Drive Check: [Nightmare Doll, Alice – No Trigger]" The dog continued its pounce, eventually, crashing into the magician.

"Damage Check: [Frost Giant – No Trigger]" Tolby then placed the revealed card into his damage zone.

"Mirror Demon with a boost from Midnight Bunny will attack your Vanguard as well." The bunny girl began to cheer as energy poured into the rippling surface of the mirror, emerging from it was a purple-winged demon dressed in orange and yellow clothing. With great speed it left its shelter racing towards the magician (Power: 15000/Critical: 1). Upon, reaching the magician, the demon then jabbed one of its claws into the magician's body before swiftly scurrying back to its domain.

"Damage Check: [Arctic Wolf – Critical Trigger]" Tolby grimaced as the card he revealed held a golden shimmer but with its appearance being after Irene's final attack the effects were useless.

"With that, my turn is done," Irene concluded.

Field View

Irene
Hand: 4 Cards/Soul: 2 Cards/Damage: 2(U)/Drop Zone: 1 Card/Deck: 37 Cards
Right Side: Nothing – Nothing
Center: B Cerberus (G2/Power: 10000) – Starting Presenter (G1/Power: 6000)
Left Side: Mirror Demon (G2/Power: 8000) – Midnight Bunny (G1/Power: 7000)

Tolby
Hand: 4 Cards/Soul: 2 Cards/Damage: 3(U)/Drop Zone: 0 Cards/Deck: 38 Cards
Right Side: Crystal Lancer (G2/Power: 10000) – Nothing
Center: Blizzard Mage (G2/Power: 9000) – Nothing
Left Side: Hail Striker (G2/Power: 8000) – Nothing

"I stand and draw," Tolby declared, upon noticing the card he drew he displayed a slight smile before swiftly playing it. "Abrasive snowflake that descends from the aurora, unleash your fury upon those who tarnish it. I ride Deity of the Snow, Yukina!" He recited as shards of ice began to cluster around the magician, in its place stood a pale maiden. She had short, white hair and wore a headdress covering the entirely of her face with the exception of one of her red eyes (G3/Power: 10000).

"That card…" Irene silently thought as Tolby continued.

"Next, I'll call Eternal Pixie and Blizzard Tori." Shards of ice began to cluster together at two points on Tolby's field. The first resembled a blue-haired snow pixie she had six icicle-like wings and wore a blue gown (G1/Power: 5000). The other resembled a pale-blue bird with armor on its chest and talons, its wing tips were icicles, and its tail feather flared with a light-blue haze (G1/Power: 7000).

"Both of my new units have abilities that can be activated, so first up is Eternal Pixie. Paying the cost of two soul blasts, I can draw a card." Taking two cards from beneath his Vanguard, he placed them into his drop zone before drawing a card. "Blizzard Tori's ability is a little similar to Chione's. Paying the cost of two counterblasts, your Vanguard loses 3000 Power until the end of this turn." After turning over two cards in his damage zone, the snowbird shrieked before conjuring a blizzard after flapping its wings, the blizzard engulfed the dog coating its form in ice (Power: 7000).

"After that last move things appear to be in his favor. Hail Striker's ability can activate no matter the target and now the difference in power between our Vanguards is at a point where more cards than previously needed are required to guard. He is slowly trying to cripple my defenses to gain the advantage," Irene thought with a smile.

"Hail Striker will attack Mirror Demon." Repeating the same tactic, the ice golem took to the air before diving towards the mirror, upon impact the mirror shattered from the force of the collision (Power: 11000).

"Yukina with a boost from Blizzard Tori will attack your Vanguard." The snowbird shrieked as energy began to gather around the snow maiden, raising her left hand she conjured a blizzard in the direction of the dog (Power: 17000/Critical: 1).

Irene had decided to allow the attack to connect so Tolby continued. "Twin Drive First Check: [Ice Flower, Maka]" Since the first card gave no chance of altering the situation he promptly proceeded with his second check. "Second Check [Crystal Mammoth – No Trigger]" The second card had not brought forth any kind of change just as the first. Meanwhile, the blizzard continued on course towards the dog engulfing it.

"Damage Check: [Purple Trapezist – No Trigger]" Irene placed the card into her damage zone.

"Crystal Lacer with a boost from Eternal Pixie will attack your Vanguard as well." The snow pixie gave a boastful laugh as energy began to gather around the ice knight, leaping forward, it struck the dog with its lance.

"Damage Check: [Nitro Juggler – No Trigger]" Irene placed the second card into her drop zone.

"I end my turn," Tolby concluded as the ice coating the dog vanished (Power: 10000).

Field View

Irene
Hand: 4 Cards/Soul: 2 Cards/Damage: 4(U)/Drop Zone: 2 Cards/Deck: 35 Cards
Right Side: Nothing – Nothing
Center: B Cerberus (G2/Power: 10000) – Starting Presenter (G1/Power: 6000)
Left Side: Nothing – Midnight Bunny (G1/Power: 7000)

Tolby
Hand: 5 Cards/Soul: 1 Card/Damage: 1(U)-2(F)/Drop Zone: 2 Cards/Deck: 34 Cards
Right Side: Crystal Lancer (G2/Power: 10000) – Eternal Pixie (G1/Power: 5000)
Center: DotS Yukina (G3/Power: 10000) – Blizzard Tori (G1/Power: 7000)
Left Side: Hail Striker (G2/Power: 8000) – Nothing

"Stand and draw," Irene declared before swiftly plucking a card from her hand. "The illusion shrouded in mystery. I ride Dusk Illusionist, Robert!" She recited as smoke began to shroud the dog, at the snap of a finger the smoke slowly vanished unveiling a figure. It was an orange-haired man wearing a bi-patterned suit. The left side had a checker pattern while the right side had a diamond pattern. Placing his white top hat upon his head, he gave a bow ready for his performance (G3/Power: 10000).

"Now that my main phase has begun, Robert's effect now activates. By soul charging one card, I get the opportunity to look at the top card of my deck, then I can choose whether it remains at the top or gets sent to the bottom." Swiftly sliding the top card of her deck beneath her Vanguard, Irene glanced at the next card, and with a smile, she placed it back on the top of her deck.

"Moving on, I call Nightmare Doll, Alice, Nitro Juggler, and Skull Juggler." Similar to before, shrouding Irene's field had been a sudden burst of smoke. Rising, from the ground was a towering doll with vacant, emotionless eyes, she wore a red and white dress, and had long, blonde hair tied into a ponytail (G3/Power: 10000). On the ground was a puppet dressed in a white suit with a matching top hat, between each of its fingers were test-tubes filled with a bubbling, green liquid (G2/Power: 9000). Behind the puppet had been a skull-juggling goblin wearing pink and white clothing (G1/Power: 7000).

Tolby gazed at Irene's field with an uneasy feeling, among her units there was one he remembered seeing recently, more specifically during the dream he had.

After adopting a different form, it now resembled a blonde-haired doll with vacant, soulless eyes.

It was without a doubt to him that Alice had been the doll he saw during his dream. At first he only thought of it as a coincidence, even if she had been the doll he saw, it did not really mean anything. When another image from his dream flashed across his mind that was when he realized something.

At her feet, you notice a woman who had long, flowing hair and displayed a gentle expression.

Now that he thought about it, the familiarity he felt from Irene when they first met made sense now since she was the woman from his dream.

"Are you alright?" Snapping out of his trance, he noticed it was Irene's voice that he heard. "Suddenly you began to look really nervous and worried, I was wondering if everything was alright."

"It's nothing, I was only thinking about something," He replied so that she may continue with her move. "If Ms. Melody and Alice were the figures from my dream, then what does that mean about the outcome of this match…?"

"Normally, Nitro Juggler and Skull Juggler's effects would activate, allowing me to soul charge one card each, however, I choose not to activate either of those effects," Irene explained.

"Alice with a boost from Midnight Bunny will attack your Vanguard." Similar to before, the bunny girl cheered as energy began to gather around the doll, slowly leaning forward, she reached for the snow maiden (Power: 17000/Critical: 1).

"I guard with Flurry Sprite, and intercept with Hail Striker." With a gentle shower of flurries, a small sprite with a dress seemingly made of snowflakes appeared beside the ice golem, the appearance of the two units frightened the doll as she retracted her hand (Shield: 10000).

"Stopping only one of my attacks will not be enough, Robert with a boost from Starting Presenter will attack your Vanguard." The secondary magician bowed before his superior as energy began to gather around the head magician, removing his hat once more, a purple slime creature partially emerged while charging electricity (Power: 16000/Critical: 1). "What will you do now?" Irene asked with a smile.

"No Guard…" Tolby muttered expecting only the worst.

Just as expected, with a golden shimmer the top card of Irene's deck had been a trigger. "Twin Drive First Check: [Dynamite Juggler – Critical Trigger] I give the extra critical to my Vanguard and I will increase the power of Nitro Juggler." The slime creature's electricity began to intensify (Critical: 2) while the puppet began to cackle menacingly as its test tubes began to overflow (Power: 14000). "Second Check: [Dark Metal Bicorn – No Trigger]" After reaching its capacity the slime unleashed all of its electricity watching as the snow maiden was struck.

Even though Irene's second card had been nothing dangerous, the fact remained that thanks to the trigger, instead of performing a single check Tolby had to perform two. "Damage Check First Check: [Snow Angel – Heal Trigger] I give the power to Yukina…" A faint aura began to shroud the snow maiden slightly healing her from the attack (Power: 15000). This was the second wasted trigger Tolby had obtained, while it was capable of improving his defenses, because the amount of damage he had was three while Irene had four, he could not move a card from his damage zone to the drop zone. "Second Check [Crystal Lancer – No Trigger]" Tolby added the card to his damage zone bringing his total to five.

"Finally, Nitro Juggler with a boost from Skull Juggler will attack your Vanguard." The goblin only continued to juggle its skulls as energy began to gather around the puppet, swiftly taking aim, it flung the test tubes it held between its fingers towards the snow maiden (Power: 21000/Critical: 1).

"I guard with Snow Angel." A ghostly woman appeared in front of the snow maiden shielding her from the attack, she had long, light-blue hair with red eyes, and wore a white flowing gown (Shield: 10000).

"My turn is done," Irene concluded with a smile.

Field View

Irene
Hand: 3 Cards/Soul: 4 Cards/Damage: 4(U)/Drop Zone: 2 Cards/Deck: 31 Cards
Right Side: Nitro Juggler (G2/Power: 9000) – Skull Juggler (G1/Power: 7000)
Center: DI Robert (G3/Power: 10000) – Starting Presenter (G1/Power: 6000)
Left Side: ND Alice (G3/Power: 10000) – Midnight Bunny (G1/Power: 7000)

Tolby
Hand: 3 Cards/Soul: 1 Card/Damage: 3(U)-2(F)/Drop Zone: 5 Cards/Deck: 32 Cards
Right Side: Crystal Lancer (G2/Power: 10000) – Eternal Pixie (G1/Power: 5000)
Center: DotS Yukina (G3/Power: 10000) – Blizzard Tori (G1/Power: 7000)
Left Side: Nothing – Nothing

"So this is it…" Tolby thought as he drew his card. At this point, he felt there was nothing he could do to prevent what would befall him during Irene's next turn. He knew since was only a demonstration so win or lose, neither truly mattered to begin , despite knowing that, he still felt a desire to win for some reason. It was strange to him since in every match he had against Kotaro, once his defeat seemed obvious he would just accepted it, but this match was different. The thought about Kotaro brought up what he had said earlier before the match began.

"I seem to be the only person you play nowadays, you need to go out there and expand your horizon by playing new people. Besides, with how much you were paying attention you might as well help your fellow pupils better understand the game."

He silently chuckled to himself after noticing the hidden word's in Kotaro's words. "So by playing new people I'll learn something new…" He thought that as he proceeded with his turn, plucking two cards from his hand, he swiftly played them.

"I call Frost Giant and Ice Flower, Maka." On Tolby's field, shards of ice began to cluster together at two points. The first grew into a giant made of ice whose height was on par with doll's, both of its elongated, piston-like arms were embedded into the ground (G3/Power: 10000). The other resembled the dark-haired, azure dressed girl from earlier (G1/Power: 8000). "It would appear you were right Kotaro. As long as a single possibility still exists I should take it without backing down," He thought with renewed determination.

Irene noticed something different in Tolby's eyes, within just but a moment they seemed full of determination. "Despite this only being a demonstration, he seems fully determined to win now," Irene smiled before adopting a more serious expression of her own. "I believe it is finally time for me to start taking this match seriously."

"Crystal Lancer with a boost from Eternal Pixie will attack Nitro Juggler." The snow pixie gave a boastful laugh once more as energy gathered around the ice knight, leaping forward, it made way towards the puppet (Power: 15000).

"A final gambit, he plans to settle everything once his Vanguard attacks," Irene thought before smiling, "Perhaps it would be within my best interest to give him a little assistance."

Just as Irene thought, Tolby had only one thought in mind and for it to work he had to leave everything up to his twin drive. Unbelievably, two triggers were not entirely, what he was expecting. Of course, getting two triggers would be most beneficial, the possibilities, however, of two appearing seemed a bit too low. Instead, he was hoping for another card to appear along with any of his triggers. However, Irene had other plans as she generously provided another possibility.

"I guard this attack with Dynamite Juggler," Irene responded as an explosion appeared on her field. The cause was a small green goblin dressed in blue and red clothing riding on top of a barrel with a lite fuse. With a chuckle, the goblin kicked the barrel towards the ice knight watching as it exploded upon impact (Shield: 10000).

The fact Irene had guarded this attack came as a shock to Tolby. With the number of cards, she had remaining he felt the logical thing to do would be saving any and everything to defend the Vanguard. He knew she had to be plotting something, but at this point, he could only keep moving forward.

"Yukina with a boost from Blizzard Tori will attack your Vanguard." The snowbird shrieked once again as energy began to gather around the snow maiden, raising her arm, a blizzard was conjured in the direction of the head magician. (Power: 17000/Critical: 1).

"I believe it would be for the best, if this attack had no chance of succeeding," He heard Irene say as she placed a card from her hand into the drop zone, "I perfect guard this attack with Hades Hypnotist." In the path of the blizzard a cloaked figure appeared, raising one of its hands, the blizzard suddenly dispersed (Shield: Null).

"First she guarded Nitro Juggler, and now she prevented my Vanguard's attack from having any chance of succeeding," Tolby thought to himself. "Right now she only has Nitro Juggler so even though this attack was guarded there are still two cards that can allow me to win."

"Given the current circumstances of what is revealed, most likely he feels there are two cards that could grant him victory. But in actuality there is really only one card that can lead towards his victory," Irene thought as Tolby began his twin drive.

"Twin Drive First Check: [Deity of the Snow, Yukina – No Trigger]" To his surprise, this had been the card he was hoping would appear along with a trigger. However, because Irene prevented his Vanguard from having any chance of hitting, this card had now become useless to him.

"Yukina's ability can now be activated because I drive checked a grade 3 Northern Aurora unit. Just like Chione and Blizzard Tori's abilities, your Vanguard loses 3000 Power until the end of this turn." The snow maiden's eye began to shine azure as ice suddenly began to sprout across the head magician's form (Power: 7000).

Tolby then proceeded with his last drive check, which luckily held a golden shimmer. "Second Check: [Radiant Crystal – Stand Trigger] I give both of the effects to Hail Striker." The ice knight rose, ready for battle once more as its lance glistened (Power: 15000).

Tolby had two attacks remaining while Irene had one card to guard with and had four cards in her damage zone. If both of his attacks were successful, that would bring her total damage to six and he would be the winner.

"Crystal Lancer will now attack your Vanguard." The ice knight leapt forward, striking the head magician once he was within range.

"Damage Check: [Barking Cerberus – No Trigger]" Irene placed the card into her damage zone bringing her total to five as well.

With one final attack separating him from victory, he charged forward without hesitation. "Frost Giant with a boost from Maka will end this!" The azure girl closed her eyes as energy began to gather around the ice giant. Slowly lifting one of its arms, it began to descend over the head magician (Power: 18000/Critical: 1).

Irene only silently watched as the attack was heading towards her vanguard. "After all this time, you are still not at a level capable of defeating me," She thought as the head magician struggled to reach his hat. Failing to reach it, he only succeeded in having it tumble to the ground before him. Suddenly, a shadow emerged from the hat, and raced towards the oncoming attack, halting the advance upon collision.

"What's going?" Tolby exclaimed upon seeing the mysterious shadow halting his attack.

"The moment you attacked my Vanguard, I did not have a single card left in my hand. This allowed me to activate the effect of a particular card." She explained as the shadow's guise started to fade revealing its identity, it had Lark Pigeon halting the final attack.

"A rather situational card to make use of, if the opponent knows about its existence. However, if this effect is left in the dark, it becomes a much easier trick to use," Irene smiled before sliding Nitro Juggler forward. "Though by himself he may not be enough to guarantee my survival, alongside Nitro Juggler, I manage to just survive your final attack." The puppet quickly tossed its test tubes to aid its comrade, the pigeon man dodged just in the nick of time as the explosion knocked back the giant's arm (Shield: 15000).

"It can't be…" Tolby muttered to himself in disbelief as the two units vanished.

"I end my turn…"He muttered concluding his final turn as the ice around the head magician vanished (Power: 10000).

Field View

Irene
Hand: 0 Cards/Soul: 3 Cards/Damage: 5(U)/Drop Zone: 7 Cards/Deck: 30 Cards
Right Side: Nothing – Skull Juggler (G1/Power: 7000)
Center: DI Robert (G3/Power: 10000) – Starting Presenter (G1/Power: 6000)
Left Side: ND Alice (G3/Power: 10000) – Midnight Bunny (G1/Power: 7000)

Tolby
Hand: 4 Cards/Soul: 1 Card/Damage: 3(U)-2(F)/Drop Zone: 5 Cards/Deck: 29 Cards
Right Side: Crystal Lancer (G2/Power: 10000) – Eternal Pixie (G1/Power: 5000)
Center: DotS Yukina (G3/Power: 10000) – Blizzard Tori (G1/Power: 7000)
Left Side: Frost Giant (G3/Power: 10000) – IF Maka (G1/Power: 8000)

Tolby glanced at this hand while Irene drew her card. Currently, he had two triggers each with a shield value of 10000, a grade 1, and a grade 3. Adding those together with Crystal Lancer, no matter what Irene drew, as long as her twin drive did not contain a trigger, there was a slim possibility that he would be able to survive the turn.

"I must apologize if you had any thoughts about survival," Irene thought as she played her final card. "Beautiful mistress adorned in gold give your command for this performance's finale. Take the Stage, Golden Beast Tamer!" The head magician gave one final bow as smoke shrouded his form, with the crack of a whip, the final performer stood ready. A petite woman dressed in beast tamer attire, she had long, flowing hair that had a golden sheen to it, and the whip she held in her hands was golden in color as well (G3/Power: 10000).

"Why would she ride a new grade 3 instead of calling it as a rear-guard? Not only would she have three units to attack with but now she can't check what her next card will be," Tolby thought as she continued.

"Golden Beast Tamer has three effects that can be activated, the first of which allows me to Superior Call one Chimera unit from my soul. I choose to superior call Barking Cerberus." The beast tamer cracked her whip causing a figure to emerge from her shadow. Its form slowly began to change until it resembled the three-headed dog from earlier (G2/10000).

"The second effect of Golden Beast Tamer activates now, normally, Golden Beast Tamer would not be able to attack due to her restraint. However, if I choose to pay the cost of three soul blasts, I can have her outcome this restriction." Plucking the remaining cards from her soul, she placed them into the drop zone. Suddenly, the beast tamer's attire began to shine gold.

"Now for the third and most devastating effect of hers, during my turn, every Pale Moon rear-guard in my front row gains an additional 3000 Power." The beast tamer cracked her whip again as a golden aura began to surround the doll (Power: 13000) and the dog (Power: 13000).

With just one card, Irene eliminated the need for a trigger in order to achieve victory. There was nothing else Tolby could do except hope that a heal trigger would appear.

"Alice with a boost from Midnight Bunny will deal the final blow!" The bunny girl gave one final cheer as the doll's hand slowly began to descend upon the snow maiden.

"No Guard…" He declared as the doll's hand continued its descent, eventually, crushing the snow maiden.

Now that the attack had succeeded, Tolby had no other choice but to proceed with possibly his final damage check. "Damage Check: [Deity of the Snow, Yukina – No Trigger]" With this sixth card added to the damage zone, Irene had been the victor.

As the table retracted down below, the kids began to crowd around Irene praising her for the win. Tolby on the other hand felt upset over the outcome. Despite his best effort, he was powerless to prevent his dream from coming true.

"I should have known I wasn't strong enough to win…" He muttered to himself.

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself," Kotaro said while giving him a pat on the back, "You gave it your all, and that's what counts."

"Though I did manage to win, in the end it was due to luck on side actually," He heard Irene say.

"But you orchestrated everything so perfectly, you altered the plan I decided on, and then when I got one of the triggers I needed, it was still useless…" He muttered.

"That there is the problem," Irene replied, "There were two factors that led to everything going in my favor. The perfect guard that I had and the stand trigger you revealed. The perfect guard was what allowed me to alter the method you needed to win, however, had you obtained a critical trigger instead of a stand trigger you most certainly would have won. The threat of a stand trigger was only apparent because you did not know what Lark Pigeon was capable of."

Now that Tolby thought about it, Irene was right. Even if his method had proceeded as he planned, with the perfect guard she had, the only trigger that would have been useful was a critical trigger. During the course of his turn, she was trying to show him what he truly needed to win but since he did not know about Lark Pigeon, a second possibility became visible.

"So even if more than possibility is visible, that does not mean, all of them a viable." Tolby thought as he smiled to himself.


A few hours passed by as the sun was beginning to set over Card Shop Raven. With the demonstration having ended successfully, Tolby and Kotaro ended up helping Irene as she instructed to have their own matches. Of course, Tolby had only Kotaro to thank for volunteering him once again. With the shop now empty due to the departure of the kids, Tolby and Kotaro felt it was time for them to leave as well.

"Thank you once again your assistance," Irene smiled before nodding to the two.

"It was nothing and it was pretty fun," Kotaro replied while glancing at Tolby. "Right, Tolby?"

"I guess it was," He muttered in response.

"The two of you two are always welcomed to Card Shop Raven, so please come again whenever you feel the need to," Irene nodded.

The two bid farewell to Irene and the manager before taking their leave. As they walked a short distance away, Tolby thought about his meeting with Irene and the match they had. The conclusion had been similar to the dream he had and the fact Irene was a part of it seemed odd to him, especially since he could not shake the feeling of having met her before.

~End of Chapter~


~Next Chapter~

"Kotaro, here" He happily announced.

"And Tolby…" He added in a sigh.

"We were only gone for like a minute what happened this time?" Kotaro asked concerned.

"Let's see, you forced me into a match against Ms. Melody, you forced me into helping out with the kids, and now this," Tolby replied.

"But we were supposed to give the preview to the next chapter," Kotaro countered.

"I wonder two people are really necessary for this," Tolby thought to himself.

"Apparently that is not the case if a third had to be included," Irene said.

"Ms. Melody, where did you come from?" Tolby asked.

"Yeah, you wasn't here a moment ago," Kotaro added.

"I am afraid you are mistaken, I was here the entire time, you two were just having so much fun that you did not notice," Irene smiled.

Next chapter, Tolby seems to be upset over something so Kotaro takes it upon himself to cheer him up by taking him to the Ishiragi library. There the two run into the head director, who apparently is not too thrilled about their visit. While the two have their fun at the library, Irene receives a visit from the last person she would possibly expect.

"According to our memo, I'm the one who gets to fight next chapter." Kotaro said while reading their memos.

"That's a lot sooner than in the other attempt," Tolby noted.

"Perhaps it would be for the best if we do not bring that topic into the light," Irene said.

Next Chapter: Confinement - "The two of you best have a good reason for trespassing into a restricted area."


~Card Database~

Snow Nymph, Chione
Grade 0/Northern Aurora – Sylph/Power: 5000/Shield: 10000
Auto: When another «Northern Aurora» rides this unit, you may call this card to a rear-guard circle.
Auto [R]: [Counterblast (1) & Put this unit into your soul] When an attack hits a Vanguard during the battle that this unit boosted a «Northern Aurora», you may pay the cost. If you do, choose one of your opponent's Vanguards, and that unit gets Power -3000 until end of turn.

Arctic Wolf
Grade 0/Northern Aurora – High Beast/Power: 5000/Shield: 10000
Trigger Unit Power +5000, Critical +1

Radiant Crystal
Grade 0/Northern Aurora – Frostroid/Power: 4000/Shield: 10000
Trigger Unit Power +5000, Stand
Skill: Unknown

Flurry Sprite
Grade 0/Northern Aurora – Sylph/Power: 5000/Shield: 5000
Trigger Unit +5000 Power, Draw 1

Snow Angel
Grade 0/Northern Aurora – Angel/Power: 5000/Shield: 10000
Trigger Unit +5000 Power, Heal
(You may only have up to four cards with "HEAL" in a deck.)

Ice Flower Maka
Grade 1/Northern Aurora – Frostroid/Power: 8000/Shield: 5000

Blizzard Tori
Grade 1/Northern Aurora – High Beast/Power: 7000/Shield: 5000
Auto: [Counterblast (2)] When this unit is placed on the Vanguard or rear-guard circle, if you have a «Northern Aurora» Vanguard, you may pay the cost. If you do, your opponent's Vanguard gets Power -3000 until end of turn.

Eternal Pixie
Grade 1/Northern Aurora – Sylph/Power: 5000/Shield: 5000
Auto [R]: [Soul Blast (2)] When this unit is placed on a rear-guard circle, if you have a «Northern Aurora» Vanguard, you may pay the cost. If you do, draw a card.

Crystal Lancer
Grade 2/Northern Aurora – Frostroid/Power: 10000/Shield: 5000

Blizzard Mage
Grade 2/Northern Aurora – Battleroid/Power: 9000/Shield: 5000
Auto [V/R]: When this unit's attack hits a Vanguard, if you have a «Northern Aurora» Vanguard, choose a card from your damage zone, and turn it face-up.

Hail Striker
Grade 2/Northern Aurora – insert race /Power: 8000/Shield: 5000
Auto [V/R]: When this unit attacks, if the opponent's unit has 8000 Power or less, this unit gets Power +3000 until end of that battle.

Deity of the Snow, Yukina
Grade 3/Northern Aurora – Noble/Power: 10000/Shield: -
Auto [V]: When this unit's drive checks reveals a grade 3 «Northern Aurora», your opponent's Vanguard gets Power -3000 until end of turn.

Frost Giant
Grade 3/Northern Aurora – War Beast/Power: 10000/Shield: -
Skill: Unknown

Crystal Mammoth
Grade ?/Northern Aurora – High Beast/Power: ?000/Shield: ?
Skill: Unknown

~ I created the above cards with the help of my friends; anyone is free to use them, I only ask for a credited mention in return. ~