Chapter 9: To Frontier and Beyond
Duel Update: Gry's Main Phase 1
Gry/Luna: 2200 LP
- Ancient Fairy Dragon (Attack Mode)
- 1 Face-down
- EDF Cmdr. Reichert and Sunlight Unicorn in process of being tuned for EDF Nosferatu-tan.
Johan/Leo: 2700 LP
- Space Battleship Yamato (Attack Mode)
- 1 Face-down
"Behold, the fire in the heart of the liberator! Synchro Summon! Earth Defense Force - Nosferatu-tan! [Lv 8, ATK 2900]
Nosferatu-tan, attack Space Battleship Yamato! Concussion Storm!" Multiple missiles launched from Nosferatu's back, arcing outwards all around Yamato, then at once, each missile bombarded Yamato, striking the battleship from every angle. [Johan/Leo - 100 LP 2600 LP] "Now, my Nosferatu-tan's effect activates! When she destroys a monster by battle, she inflicts damage to your Life Points equal to half the destroyed monster's ATK and regains our Life Points equal to half of the destroyed monster's DEF! [Johan/Leo - 1400 LP 1200 LP / Gry/Luna + 1000 LP 3200 LP] Ancient Fairy Dragon, attack directly for game!" [Johan/Leo - 2100 LP 0 LP]
"And the first round is over!" The MC announced. "Thank you for joing us today for this exciting duel! Make sure to come by tomorrow for Round 2! Duel King, Yusei Fudo and Luca Angelloni versus Sector Securities' own Sgt. Tetsu Trudge and the Mystery Duelist, whose identity remains unknown to all!"
"Mr. Bruyn! Mr. Bruyn!" Carly squealed as she ran up ahead of the pack of reporters, eager to be first to ask. "We have seen many of your duels, but today is the first recorded account that you performed a Synchro Summon. Any comments on why?"
"Let's just say I had a little chat with a old friend of mine..."
"Interesting. And any comment on the hand-holding with Miss Luna?"
"Umm... Umm... You're better off talking to her about that." And with that, Gry darted off before anyone could stop him. Luna stood there stunned, watching him run off.
Gry sat on a familiar park bench in the courtyard a few hours later. The sun was beginning set and the local kids were playing soccer once again on the far side.
"Was that the right thing I did, Wyvee?" he spoke, apparently directed at the card he held in his hand. "I mean, she did help me realize your feelings... but I just left her their at the hands of the paparazzi because of my own cowardice... Hell, Nosferatu's probably gonna kick my ass anyways..."
"If Luna doesn't beat her to it..."
"Akiza... I'm assuming you were watching my inglorious moment.. How bad was it?"
"Luna managed to stumble through the questions... Barely..." Akiza replied as she sat down on the bench. "The paparazzi's onslaught was abnormally vicious today..."
"Great... I'll probably wake up tomorrow in that spirit realm again with Ancient Fairy Dragon chewing on my head..."
"I dunno... Luna can get annoyed at people, but she doesn't really take it out on anyone. Besides, she was able to make the reporters believe that she asked you to hold her hand for support in lieu of Leo. They all thought, "Oh, how adorable", then dropped it. You should be in the clear."
"Let's hope so..."
The Next Morning...
"Gry, wake up..."
"No... Sleep good..."
"Gry, wake up!" the voice repeated. The only response was a groan as the sleeping Gry rolled over. "It seems you left me no choice... Hiyah!"
"Ow, what the fuck?! Seriously, who JUMPS on someone to wake them up?!"
"Get up then!" Luna demanded. "Since you left me to be roasted by the paparazzi, you're coming to school with me. We can practice making our decks work together better by dueling some of my classmates."
"Wouldn't you rather watch Yusei duel and let me sleep..."
"Unfortunately, due to the short notice of the tournament, I was only given days off during the days I'm in a duel. You're not weaseling your way out of this. I already called my instructor and cleared it with her this morning."
"Dammit... Alright, give me a second..."
"Good morning, class."
"Good morning, Miss Maria."
"Well, well, seems like everyones in a good mood. Today's lesson will be on Synchro Summoning, and to assist us today, Luna has brought her partner from the Tag Force tournament. Say hello, Gry."
"Meh..."
"Well, then... Who would like to face our guest first?"
"Oh! Oh! I'll do it!" clammered a young boy.
"Very well, Tenpei, you may go."
"Duel!"
"I'll start!" Tenpei proclaimed. "I summon Batteryman AA in Defense Mode. [Lv 3; DEF 1000] I'll set one card face down and end my turn."
"I draw," Gry stated. "I'll start by Special Summoning Earth Defense Force - Garuda in Attack Mode, Then, I'll Normal Summon Earth Defense Force - Commander Reichert. [Lv 4; ATK 1200] Now, I'm tuning my Lv 4 Garuda with my Lv 4 Commander Reichert!
Behold, the shattering wings of the protector! Synchro Summon! Earth Defense Force - Wyvee-tan!" [Lv 8, ATK 2600] Wyvee looked backed over her shoulder, giving Gry a small smile, her short, untidy hair falling partially in front of her face. Her light blue and gray patterned armor shined brightly in the halogen lighting and her canard ears clicked back and forth in excitement. "Now, Wyvee-tan's effect activates! When she's summoned I-"
"Stop the duel," Johan interjected as he burst through the door. "Gry, Luna, Leo, I need to talk to you now." Wyvee stared in awe, then began to pout. She was so close, yet as soon as she hit the field, it was all taken away.
"What the hell is the problem, Johan?" Gry asked.
"That "Mystery Duelist" that Yusei and Luca faced today, I don't know what they did, but somehow they managed to actually gained control of Aphos' power, and has began the merger of the real world and the spirit realm. Red Demon's Dragon is rampaging through downtown as we speak. Frontier has ordered an immediate withdrawal of SMS forces and they have ordered for SMS to bring the Signers and Oracles with them. We have 5 minutes at most to rendezvous with Lt. Kanaria Berstein at the airport for immediate extraction."
Without even thinking or bothering to deactivate his duel disk, Gry and the twins followed Johan out of the school.
" VB-6 Koenig Monster, prepared for takeoff," Kanaria stated into the radio.
"Roger that," Alto replied as his valkyrie passed by in Gerwalk mode, firing it's gunpod at the approaching Megarock Dragon. The rounds bounced harmlessly off of Megarock's armored hide.
"Dammit, Lieutenant, get this thing off the ground now!" Johan demanded.
"Aye aye, sir." The Koenig Monster's engines roared as the mammoth variable bomber took flight, narrowly avoiding the outstretched vines of Rose Tentacles. Everyone onboard let out an audible sigh of relief, but it seemed too early. "Energy signature incoming! Everyone hold on!" The Koenig Monster rolled sharply, narrowly avoiding an energy beam from behind. Yusei looked out the window, noticing a familiar friend.
"Stardust!" As if noticing a connection with Yusei, Stardust Dragon let off it's pursuit. With that threat at an end, the Koenig Monster made it to the safety of outer space with it's three valkyrie escorts in tow.
"Looks like we made it," Kanaria mused. "As soon as the Alto, Klan and Luca re-connect to their fold boosters in orbit, we can make the trip back to Frontier and try to figure out how to fix the cluster-fuck that's erupted down there.
"Easier said than done..." Jack commented.
"Oww..."
"What the..." Gry muttered as he looked at the back of the passenger hold of the VB-6. The Synchro he summoned right before running to the airport, Earth Defense Force - Wyvee-tan, sat on her knees, rubbing her head. "Wyvee? Damn, looks like I forgot to turn off my duel disk..." Gry pressed the 'Off' button, but the figure didn't vanish. He get up from his seat, and knealed in fron of his Synchro, placing his hand on her head. "My god... She's real..."
"When the realms merged, the spirit must have taken the place of the solid-vision," Luna mused.
"To hell with what you may say, I'm not going back down there," Kanaria stated. "Like it or not, she's coming with us."
"So we're going to have a plane-human hybrid wandering about... Sure, she'll blend right in..." Crow commented. Wyvee stared at the deckplates, visibly depressed.
"Don't worry, Wyvee..." Gry soothed. "I'm sure we'll find someway for you to fit in. If they can make valkyries, who knows, maybe they have some sort of... something...."
"Everybody to your seats. We're making the fold to Frontier in 3... 2... 1"
25th Mass Emigration Convoy, "Macross Frontier". SMS Assault Carrier "Macross Quarter" bridge.
"Forward deployed team had returned," Lum, one of the bridge operators, reported. "All Signers and Oracles are accounted for, sir."
"Very well," Capt. Wilder replied. "Have them all report to the bridge."
"Aye aye, sir." Lum keyed the PA system. "Skull Squadron and all guests, report to the bridge. I repeat, Skull Squadron and all guest, report to the bridge." The bridge door swished open.
"Lieutenant Commander Ozma Lee, reporting, sir."
"Good, Lt. Cmdr., you're here. The rest of your squadron just got back. Apparently everything went to hell in a handbasket down there, so orders came down from President Cathy Glass to extract the Signers and Oracles. Speaking of which..." The Captain paused as the door opened again and the group filed in.
"Lieutenant Luca Angelloni, reporting."
"Lieutenant Klan Klan, reporting."
"Lieutenant Junior Grade Alto Saotome, reporting."
"Welcome back," Capt. Wilder replied as he returned their salutes."To those who do not know me, I am Captain Jeffrey Wilder, Commanding Officer of the SMS Assault Carrier "Macross Quarter". By order of the Office of Frontier Presidency, we have extracted you here to safety and you are now all under the protection of SMS."
"So... that's it? We're just expected to abandon our homes and loved ones?" Jack asked.
"By no means. As soon as the mess down there is cleaned up, you're more than free to return."
"Any idea how long it will take?" Leo inquired.
"That... I cannot say. From the report submitted by Lt. Angelloni, the very structure of the dimensional boundaries down there has been torn apart and there's no real way to tell which belongs where for some thing. Now, there's also a note here about an inhabitant of the other dimensional being brought along incidentally?"
"Umm..." Wyvee waved her hand from her hiding spot in the back of the group. The group parted so that the Captain could see. Monica broke out laughing.
"Cut it out, Monica," Mina scolded. "She's adorable. Granted, I've never seen anything like her... but that's no means to laugh."
"Well, unfortunately, miss, the people of Frontier have been through a lot and seen a few odd things during this voyage, but even then, I can't let you go out into public," Capt. Wilder sighed. "As of now, you are restricted to Macross Quarter and SMS Headquarters until we can figure somethings out."
"Yes, sir..."
"Alright, then. Lieutenant Margot, set them up with barracks room assignments and show them all pertinent facilities in the HQ, such as the galley and showers. Dismissed."
The Signers found themselves lounged about the SMS HQ's common area. Crow was preoccupied with a pinball machine and Yusei was performing routine maintenance on his duel disk. The rest half-heartedly watched the TV as Ozma lazily flipped through the channels.
"Gah, is there anything to do..." Leo moaned. "Can't we go outside and see some stuff?"
"Unfortunately, everything out there costs money, kid," Ozma deadpanned. "Luca said it'd be at least a few more hours before a fold link could be established with the bank back on your planet so that we could convert some of your currency to Frontier Credits and make proper identification cards. Until then, you're best off staying here..."
"Well, I'm at least going to step outside for some fresh air..." Jack moaned.
"Don't waste your time... There hasn't been "fresh" air on Frontier since we left Earth over 19 years ago... It's all processed, recycled shit..."
"What about when we landed on the Vajra homeworld?" Alto asked. "Didn't we replenish the reserves while there?"
"We purged all the air from there. Turns out there was something in the air causing people to get sick, and instead of having us wear gasmasks for the rest of our life, President Glass decided it was best to just find a new planet."
"Huh... Amazing what the government doesn't tell us..."
"More like what you don't listen to," a new voice joked as they walked through the door.
"Brera!" Ranka squealed as she ran over to hug her older brother.
"Hi, Ranka. So, how was the trip?"
"Eh, not so good... Dimensional faults and such caused us to pull out..."
"Dimensional faults?"
"Yeah, apparently like two different dimensions got merged, so there were dragons and such destroying the city like in those Godzilla movies."
"Just accessed the video files taken by Luca right before you left. I see what you mean..."
"Oh, look at the time! I want to get to Sheryl's concert before the huge crowd. Ozma-nii-chan, can I get a ride?"
"Yeah, sure. Lt Cmdr Sterne, watch after our guests while I'm gone..."
"Yeah..." Brera deadpanned as he watched Ranka and Ozma make their way towards the garage.
"So, how'd you watch the data files without going to a computer?" Leo inquired over-cheefully, as if he'd found buried treasure. "Are you a cyborg?!"
"Not by choice, but, yes," Brera replied as he sat down at the long center table.
"Awesome! Can you shoot lasers or fly or lift buildings?!"
"Simple strength amplication over that of a typical human. That's it."
"Awe, that's no fun... But at least you talk, unlike Miss Sulky over there," Leo moaned as he gestured towards Wyvee, who was sitting at the other end of the table, her face planted on the cold metal surface. "She's barely said a word. Only person she talks to is the owner of her card, Gry, and even then, she's barely spoken a complete sentence..."
"... Owner of her card?"
"She's the duel monster spirit of the card 'Earth Defense Force - Wyvee-tan'," Luna added. "When our dimension and the spirit realm merged, many duel monster spirits, her included, were scattered throughout our dimension. Somehow, when she got to this dimension, she was onboard that Koenig Monster thing that brought us here, so she's stuck here with us. Maybe you, as a fellow half-human half machine person, can talk to her."
"I dunno..." Brera mused. "Maybe it's better if this Gry person talked to her..."
"I tried," Gry deadpanned as he sat down with the group. "I think she's still a bit annoyed at me for not summoning her for so long... Johan didn't exactly help by interrupting that duel as soon as I did summon her..."
"You can't blame this on me," Johan added. "You were the one who neglected her for so long, so you're the one who's going to have to make amends. Now, on the good side, I just got word from Luca that the fold link is working and he'll have all the required paperwork for us to get out of here in about 10 minutes."
"So, maybe there's still time to see this Sheryl in concert?" Luna asked.
"There's a good chance. Although, you, Gry, aren't leaving here until Wyvee there is satisfied."
"Yeah, I know..." He stood up and made his way down to the other end of the table, sitting down next to his Synchro, pondering of a different way to approach her.
The synchro took no interest in his presense, not moving from her position.
"Look, Wyvee... I made a mistake..." Gry spoke. He noticed as her canards clicked once. "It was wrong of me to neglect you for so long. It was just... I was dead-set on believing that you should only be used against a "real" enemy, not realizing your feelings... But then I realized that the "real" enemy was myself, and my own cowardice... Nosferatu helped me realize, that dueling comes from the heart and believing in your cards, and that's what I didn't do. I didn't believe in you or myself... And for that, I'm sorry... And I promise, from now on, I will summon you whenever possible, because I believe in you, and if you believe in me also, then there's no one we can't beat."
"Really?" she asked weakly.
"Yes, really. You are... You are my star. And to prove it, while we're here on Frontier, my sould purpose will be to make amends to you. I hear this Sheryl Nome is quite the singer, and while there's nothing to do about changing the captain's mind tonight, I'm sure we can get you tickets to one of her later concerts and maybe even a few of her albums."
"No need for the albums... I have them downloaded..."
"... Wha?"
"Yeah, it may have looked while I was sulking, but I was browsing Frontier's internet... Read all about the history of the convoy and downloaded a lot of Ranka and Sheryl's music. Ironically, I was listening to one of Sheryl's songs called "What About My Star?" right when you said I was your star..."
"Well, I'll be damned... Saves me some money..."
"Well, the downloads required a payment, so I kinda charged them to your credit card..."
"I knew it was too good to be true..."
Introduced Cards
"Earth Defense Force - Wyvee-tan"
Machine/Synchro/Light/Lv 8/ATK 2600/DEF 1500
"Earth Defense Force - Commander Reichert" + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters
When this card is successfully Synchro Summoned, select 5 cards from your Deck and remove them from play. During battle between this attacking card and a Defense Position monster whose DEF is lower than the ATK of this card, inflict the difference as Battle Damage to your opponent. When this card card inflicts Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points, select 1 of your removed from play cards and add it to your hand. When this card is removed from the field, returned all removed from play cards to the owner's Deck.
