Hey everyone, sorry it's been so long since I last posted a chapter on this, I wanted to take a break to gather my thoughts on what I wanted to do with this series, and I just think I have a though. But real quick, just want to say that, with the play style of almost all clans being revealed in the canon anime, I've changed up a lot of characters decks and cards to suit these new play styles. Before, I didn't really know what I was doing with these cards, but now I kinda do. Just wanted to say this so you didn't freak out when a card doesn't seem to work as it did, also if a real card is revealed in the canon game, it will change accordingly in this fanfic. Also note that, in the canon series, Gear Chronicle's playstyle revolves around pseudo striding, but since this is G and every clan uses Strides to begin with, I'm going to change up Gear Chronicle's play style in this fanfic. I also changed up my initial plot for this chapter since I wasn't really able to make it flow together well. Anyway, that's all I wanted to say, enjoy the fanfic. – the Author

Chrono finds himself running deep into darkness as the growls of a large beast come from behind him. He trips and falls on the singed soil and when he picks himself up, the darkness clouds in front of him fade, only for him to see all of his friends, Yuji, Shion, Am, Luna, Kazuma, Saki, and even Tokoha all lying on the ground. Their eyes, lifeless and their bodies covered in blood. Chrono then makes the connection that his friends were brutally slain as the horror comes across his face. "Everyone!" he screams in despair, "no… why'd this have to happen?!" Chrono clutches the burned soil on the ground in his hands as he is filled with despair.

"You can't stop this Chrono…" a familiar voice rings inside Chrono's head. He picks himself up off the ground to see where the voice came from. He then sees a humanoid shadow coming out from the darkness beyond where his dead friends lay. The figure that emerges, is Yusuke, wearing dark clothing, having a cybernetic arm and metallic free-floating wings.

"Yusuke!" Chrono shouts.

"Darkness will envelop all!" Yusuke shouts sinisterly "There's nothing you can do! The best thing to do… is just DIE, and accept it!"

"Just…. Die…." Chrono repeats Yusuke's words in agony. Yusuke then raises his cybernetic arm at Chrono as energy begins to charge up in its palm. "Just…" before Chrono could repeat it again, Yusuke fires a laser from his arm at Chrono…

"AHHHHHHHHH!" Chrono screams as he shoots up from his bed breathing heavily and sweating profusely. He opens his the curtains on his bedside window and sees the city, lit by the sun rays on a clear, beautiful morning. "It was just a dream…" Chrono sighs. Just then, he hears a strange noise coming from the other side of his room. He looks to see Chrona, his older sister, laying sprawled out on the floor wearing nothing but a stomachless red tank top and pink-and-white striped underwear while snoring very loudly. Chrono blushes seeing her wearing next to nothing, it's made even worse as her tank top was lifted up slightly in her sleep revealing a slight bit of the underside of her breasts. He sighs in annoyance as he gets up from his bed and walks past her to his closet. He grabs a spare blanket and throws it over Chrona, making sure she's fully covered except for her head. "I wish she'd stop sleep walking into my room in the middle of the night…" Chrono says in annoyance.

Chrono leaves his room and heads for the dining room where he sees his mother cooking in the kitchen just adjacent. "Good morning Chrono," she says to him cheerfully, "sleep well?"

"I just had a bad dream… that's all." He replies as he sits down at the table and his mother carries on cooking. Just then, there are furious knocks on the front door. "I'll get it." Chrono says as he gets up to answer the door. When he opens it, he sees Tokoha, who is looking rather pale. "Tokoha?" he questions, but before he can even process his next thought, Tokoha smiles in relief.

"CHRONO!" she shouts in sheer joy as she throws her arms around his neck, knocking them both to the ground.

"T-Tokoha… what…?" before he could even get his words out, Tokoha interrupts him again.

"I'm so glad you're alright!" she says with tears in her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Chrono asks. Later the two of them, having gotten off each other, sit down at the dining table and Tokoha tells her story. "You had a dream where I was killed?" Chrono asks in shock after hearing the story.

"Yeah…" Tokoha mutters with her hands in her lap as Chrono's mom puts a plate of eggs and toast in front of both of them. "I dreamt I was running aimlessly, and I came across an area where you… and everyone else was dead… Luna, Am, Shion, Yuji… all of them slaughtered!" she starts to cry as Chrono thinks.

"Hey, did anyone appear to you in your dream?" he asks and Tokoha nods.

"Yeah… Yu-Yusuke appeared to me." She says and Chrono is on shock. "He said that I can't stop it and told me I should just die. I lost my own thoughts at that point, and that's when I woke up screaming and sweating. There is silence between the two for a moment until Chrono speaks up.

"You know Tokoha…" he says, "your dream sounds very similar to mine." She looks at him in confusion. "I dreamt all of you were dead as well, and Yusuke told me I should just die."

"So we had the exact same dream?" Tokoha questions in concern.

Chrono nods but perks up, "But it was just a dream. I'm sure it means nothing." He tells her and the stress disappears from her face.

"Yeah…" she says with a nod and the two of them start eating their breakfast.

Just then, Chrona comes stumbling out of Chrono's room with the blanket he left her draped over her shoulders. "Morning littler bro…" she says after yawning and rubs her eye. Tokoha is shocked and blushes seeing Chrona half-naked coming out of Chrono's room, while Chrono is simply annoyed.

"Chrono! Why was Chrona half-naked in your room?!" she asks him in rage.

"She just tends to sleep walk in there from time-to-time." He tells her as he gets up from his chair and walks over to his sister, he puts his hands on her back and directs her towards her room, "Now go get dressed." He tells her.

"aw come on… Can't I at least have a shower first?" she asks him still half asleep as Tokoha watches in confusion.

TURN 20 – Resolution

Having finished breakfast, Chrono gets dressed and he and Tokoha head out. They decide to head to Card Capital Z, since they're on summer break from school, however, the temperature is high and it's really hot outside, so they're both sweating in the heat. They arrive at the store only to find it's closed. "Closed?!" Chrono says.

"Weird… it's usually open now." Tokoha says.

"Come on, let's just go home… I can't stand this heat anymore…" Chrono tells her and they start to walk off, but they hear a loud crash come from inside the store putting them both on high alert.

"What was that?" Tokoha wonders and Chrono gestures her inside to check it out.

When they open the door and go inside, it's fairly dark in there as the windows hadn't been opened yet and the lights weren't on. "Hello? Anyone here?" Chrono asks, but then starts fanning his shirt, "Man… it's like sauna in here…"

"Yeah…" Tokoha agrees with him, fanning her shirt as well. Chrono looks around for the light switch and flips it on, when he does, the two of them see something startling.

They see Saki lying on the ground, covered in sweat looking like had passed out. "Saki!" they both shout in shock. They help wake her up and help her off the floor, she then goes to turn on the AC as Chrono gets her a drink from the vending machine.

Saki sits down on the couch and gulps down cold beverage. "AHHHHHH!" she sighs in relief, "Thanks guys I really appreciate it." She tells them.

"What happened to you?" Chrono asks.

"Well…" she begins to explain, "Yuji decided not to come into today so I'm filling in for him, so I thought I'd clean the air vents… That's the last time I'll make that mistake."

"Well I'm just glad you're alright." Tokoha says.

"Yeah." Chrono says as well, but notices that Saki's shirt, which was drenched in her sweat, had become slightly transparent and her light-blue bra was slightly visible. He looks at Tokoha and it's the same situation, her shirt was drenched in sweat and her pink bra was slightly visible, but he doesn't say anything since he knows what the results would be…

"Why didn't Yuji come in today?" Tokoha asks Saki.

"Because he said he's got things he needs to take care of." She replies, "I don't know how true that is though… he could be skipping out on work for all I know, but at the same time, I'm kinda worried about him."

"Why's that?" Chrono asks.

"Because when he called me to fill in for me, he said, 'I'm going to make things right.'" Saki's eyes turn fearful, "I think he's gone after Yusuke." Chrono and Tokoha both freeze at her words.

"Yusuke?!" Chrono exclaims.

"We have to go after him! There's no way he's a match for Yusuke! Not after what we saw what the G Unit of his is capable of!" Tokoha exclaims.

"Tokoha relax," Saki says, "I want to go after him as much as you, but I have no idea where Yuji is heading. We'd just be running around like chickens without heads." Tokoha backs down in disappointment.

Chrono then remembers back to when he watched Yusuke's fight in the national tournament finals and vividly remembers the terror of his new G Unit… he also remembers Tokoha's fight against that girl who said she was with Exodus and how she demolished Tokoha (see previous chapter. A/N)… "Exodus is not someone we can take lightly." Chrono tells the girls, "We've all seen firsthand how powerful they can be. If we're even going to stand a chance against them, we'll need to get even stronger than we already are!" Chrono stands up from the couch and turns to Tokoha, "Tokoha, will you fight me?" he asks her.

"M-Me?" she questions.

"I have this strange feeling that if we don't get strong enough to defeat Exodus… that dream we had last night may come true." He tells her and she agrees.

"Dream? What dream?" Saki asks and they both explain the dream they had last night, sending Saki in a state of shock. "You're kidding! I had the exact same dream too!" she says.

"What?!" Chrono exclaims.

"You think that maybe everyone else had it too?" Tokoha wonders.

"If all three of us had it, it's possible." Chrono deduces. "But that's why I can't let it come true! So please Tokoha, fight me!"

She hesitates for a second and nods in agreement. The two of them set up at a fight table and prepare to fight. "Stand up… VANGUARD!" they shout in unison.

"Chrono Dran (G0/6000)!" Chrono declares.

"Peach Orchard Maiden, Elmy (G0/6000)!" Tokoha declares.

"I see you've already made changes to your deck." Chrono states and Tokoha nods, "I'll go first, Ride! Masergear Dragon (G1/8000)! Moving Dran with Forerunner."

"Ride!" Tokoha declares, "Pure Maiden, Katrina (G1/8000)! Moving Elmy with Forerunner. Boosted by Elmy, Katrina attacks (8000-14000)!" (Chrono: []).

"Ride! Glimmer Breath Dragon (G2/10000)! I call Masergear (G1/8000)! Masergear's skill (Soul 1-0), add 8000 power (8000-16000). Boosted by Dran, Smokegear attacks (10000-16000)!"

"No guard." Tokoha states.

"Drive check (Critical). Critical Trigger! Power to Masergear (16000-26000), Critical to Glimmer Breath (Crit 1-2)!" (Tokoha: [] []). "Masergear attacks!"

"Guard (Shield: 10000)!" Tokoha declares an begins her turn. "Ride! Ideal Maiden, Thuria (G2/10000)! Thuria's skill! I call one Plant Token (G0/5000)."

"Plant Token?" Chrono questions.

"A specialty of Neo Nectar," Tokoha explains, "these Plant Tokens don't exist in my deck, so I can keep more units in my hand to guard with."

"Interesting." Chrono says getting ready for battle.

"I call Greenshot Elf (G2/10000)! Due to her skill, she gains 2000 power for each Grade 1 or less rear guard. I have two, Elmy and Plant Token (10000-14000). Boosted by Elmy, Thuria attacks (10000-16000)!"

"No guard."

"Drive check (Draw (Sentinel)). Draw Trigger! Power to Greenshot and I draw a card (14000-24000)." (Chrono: [] [])" Boosted by my Plant Token, Greenshot attacks (24000-29000)!" (Chrono: [] [] []).

Meanwhile, as Saki is watching the fight from the couch, the door to the shop opens. "Welcome." She says and sees that the person who walked in is Kazuma.

"Hey." He says in a friendly manner, "Where's Yuji?"

"He's absent today." Saki tells him.

"Open the way! Guide me to the future!" Chrono exclaims and Kazuma looks in that direction to see him fighting Tokoha. "Ride! Chronojet Dragon (G3/13000)! Imaginary Gift: Force! Apply it to the Vanguard (13000-23000). I call Smokegear Dragon (G2/10000) and Summit Crest Gear Wolf (G1/8000)! Next I use Chrono Dran's skill! Send to the soul (Soul 1-2) and search my deck for a Chronojet unit and either Ride it or Call it. I call a Chronojet Dragon rear guard (G3/13000)! Using the skill of the rear guard Chronojet! I discard cards from my hand whose total Grades equal 2 or more, Pseudo Stride!"

"Pseudo Stride?!" Tokoha exclaims.

Chrono snickers and explains, "A specialty of my new Chronojet, he gains 15000 Power and 1 Grade (G3-4/13000-28000)! Essentially it's like Striding but without a G Unit."

"I see." Tokoha says intrigued.

"I call Masergear Dragon (G1/8000) and use his skill (Soul 2-1) (8000-16000)!"

Board State

(G4/28000) – (G3/23000) – (G2/10000)

(XXXX) – (G1/16000) – (G1/8000)

"Boosted by Gear Wolf, Smokegear attacks (10000-18000)!" (Tokoha: [] [] []). "Boosted by Masergear, my Vanguard Chronojet attacks (23000-39000)!

"Complete Guard!"

"Twin Drive (none (Sentinel)/Critical)! Critical Trigger! All effects to the rear guard Chronojet (28000-38000/Crit 1-2)! Attack the Vanguard!"

"No guard." (Tokoha: [] [] [] [] []).

"Five damage." Kazuma comments watching the fight.

"Yeah, but the real fight is just getting started." Saki states. Just then, the door to the shop opens again and in step Luna and Am.

"Phew… it's hot in here…" Luna whines as she walks in.

"Just be grateful its cooler in here than it is out here." Am tells her.

"Luna! Am!" Saki greets them.

"Hey Saki." Am says, "Where's Yuji?"

"I'm filling in for him today…" Saki says starting to get annoyed of people asking her that.

"Stand and draw." Tokoha states as she begins her turn and Luna and Am focus their attention in that direction. "A dream held deep within my heart… will become the seed that sprouts my future! Ride! Ranunculus Flower Maiden, Ahsha (G3/13000)! Imaginary Gift: Force! Apply it to the front right left guard circle! Ahsha's skill! I call two Plant Tokens (G0/5000) (G0/5000-15000). Liberating the Generation Zone!" Tokoha exclaims as she puts her cards into the drop zone. She then imagines herself flying through a starry vortex with her body covered in a bright green light, except for her head, and sees a bright white light at the end. "Now bloom beautifully! The seeds of my desired future! Generation… STRIDE!" A bright green light then completely envelops Tokoha as her Stride is complete. "Flower Princess of Perpetual Summer, Verano (G4/27000)! Using Ahsha's Stride skill ([X] [] [] [] []), for this turn, whenever a Grade 1 or lower unit is called to rear guard, add 3000 Power to Verano!" Chrono braces himself. "I also use Verano's skill ([X] [X] [X] [] [])! For the rest of this turn, all my rear guards get Grade -3, +7000 Power and are treated as Plant Tokens (will be applied at Board State)."

"What?! All of them?!" Chrono exclaims.

"Yep," Tokoha confirms, "and since all my rear guards are now Grade 0, Greenshot Elf's power raises (G2-0/14000-20000)! I use Elmy's skill! Send to the soul (Soul 2-3) and call one Plant Token (G0/5000). I call Osmanthus Maiden, Anelma over my existing Plant Token (G2-0/10000-20000). Anelma's skill! If my Vanguard is Grade 3 or greater, add 5000 Power to up to three Plant Tokens!"

Board State

(G0/20000-27000) – (G4/27000) – (G0/20000-27000)

(G0/5000-10000-17000) – (G0/5000-10000-17000) – (G0/5000-10000-17000)

"Let's go!" Boosted by my Plant Token, Verano attacks (27000-44000)!" Tokoha declares.

"She's got a total of three 44k swings at least…" Chrono thinks to himself. "Complete Guard with Arlim!"

"Triple Drive (none/Draw (Sentinel)/?). Draw Trigger! Power to Anelma and I draw (27000-37000). Third Check (Critical)! Critical Trigger!"

"No way!" Chrono exclaims.

"Power to Greenshot (27000-37000), Critical to Anelma (Crit 1-2)! Boosted by my Plant Token, Anelma attacks (37000-54000)!"

"No guard." Chrono declares. "Damage Check (none/Heal). Heal Trigger! Power to Chronojet (13000-23000) and I heal 1 Damage ([] [] [] [])."

Tokoha thinks for a moment on her next move. "Boosted by Plant Token, Greenshot attacks the rear guard Chronojet (37000-54000)."

"No guard." The rear guard Chronojet is destroyed.

"I end my turn." Tokoha says in disappointment as she couldn't finish it.

"Stand and draw." Chrono states, "That wasn't bad Tokoha." He tells her, "But I don't intend to lose! Not until I'm strong enough to stand up against Yusuke! I'm not gonna back down, not now!" Liberating the Generation Zone! Chrono exclaims as he puts his cards into the drop zone. He then imagines himself flying through a starry vortex with his body covered in a bright red light, except for his head, and sees a bright white light at the end. "Show it to me… a future in which everyone can be happy! A future which I will create with my own hands! Generation… STRIDE!" A bright red light then completely envelops Chrono as his Stride is complete. "Interdimensional Dragon Knight, New World (G4/38000)! Imaginary Gift: Force! Apply it to the front left rear guard circle. Chronojet's Stride Skill ([X] [] [] [])(Soul 2-1)! Send Greenshot to the bottom of your deck! I call Steam Maiden Elul (G3/13000-23000)! I use Elul's skill! I discard cards whose total Grades equal 3 or more…" Tokoha starts to grow concerned. "I can then take a G Unit in my G Zone with 20000 or less Power and Stride it on Elul!"

"What?!" Tokoha exclaims as she and everyone else in the room is stunned.

"Rear Stride! Interdimensional Dragon, Faterider Dragon (G4/38000)! Not only that, but any of its effects that activate on the Vanguard Circle activate on the Rear Guard Circle instead."

"Incredible! As expected of Gear Chronicle, able to manipulate the G Zone in ways never thought possible." Tokoha compliments him.

"Also, due to the skill of Summit Crest Gear Wolf, when my G Unit Strides, it gains 5000 Power. Since two G Units Strode, it gains 10000 power (8000-18000). Next I use Faterider's skill! Send Anelma to the bottom of the deck and I get to call one unit that's one Grade higher from my deck. I call Chronojet Dragon over Smokegear (G3/13000). Using Chronojet's skill. I discard Smokegear to Pseudo-Stride (G3-4/13000-28000). Lastly, I use New World's skill ([X] [X] [] [])(G-Zone 0-1)! For each Grade 3 or higher unit I control, New World gains 5000 power, also, if I have three or more Grade 3 units, he gains 1 Critical as well (38000-53000/Crit 1-2)!"

Board State

(G4/38000) – (G4/53000/2) – (G4/28000)

(XXXX) – (G1/8000) – (G1/18000)

"Boosted by Masergear, New World attacks (53000-61000)!"

"Complete Guard!"

"Triple Drive (none/none/Critical)! Critical Trigger!" Tokoha gasps in horror. "All effects to Chronojet (28000-38000/Crit 1-2)! Faterider attacks!"

"G-Guard (Shield: 15000+10000+10000=35000)!" Tokoha looks up a Chrono with a determined look on his face.

"I won't stop… not until we defeat Yusuke! Until then, we'll continue to get stronger and surpass our limits and soar new heights! Boosted by Gear Wolf, Chronojet Dragon attacks (38000-56000)!"

Tokoha smiles at Chrono's conviction. "No guard." (Tokoha: [X] [X] [X] [] [] []).

"Good game Chrono." She says extending a hand to him.

"You two." He says back and accepts the hand shake.

"That was amazing you two!" Luna cheers and the two of them look over to see her, Am, and Kazuma standing there.

"Whoa! When did you guys get here?!" Chrono questions in surprise.

"A couple of minutes ago." Am replies.

"And you're right Chrono," Kazuma says, "We've all seen what Yusuke's done at this point, he needs to be stopped."

"And we're going to get him back, for Yuji!" Luna says cheerfully as she punches the air.

"Guys…" Chrono says and he feels a hand on his shoulder.

"Everyone's agreed, we have to stop him." She says and then faces everyone in the room, "You all saw what Yusuke did at the national tournament. If more people start falling under the influence of Dark Stride, it could be bad for the world. Plus, we can't let that dream we had come true."

"Wait, what dream?" Luna asks and Chrono and Tokoha explain their dream to them, turns out they all had the same dream too.

"This was clearly no coincidence…" Saki says, "I believe what we saw may be a future that will come true if we don't stop Yusuke." And everyone nods, "but remember, not only are we going to stop Yusuke, we're going to save him. He's Yuji's best friend and mine as well. I want to be able to see his old self again, and I'm sure Yuji does too."

"Don't worry Saki," Chrono tells her as he walks over and puts and hand on her shoulder while looking down at her, "we will get Yusuke back." She smiles and nods.

"Hold on, didn't Sojirou say we can stop him if we have the twelve Zodiac Time Beasts?" Am asks.

"He did… and that may be our only way to stop him." Chrono replies.

"Then what are we waiting for! Let's go find these Time Beasts!" Luna exclaims.

"But we don't even know where they are," Tokoha says, "not only that, but they can be used in any deck, so ANYONE can have them."

"That's true…" Luna says in disappointment and backs down.

"For now, let's just focus on training and getting stronger." Kazuma says and everyone agrees.

"Then let's do it! Let's start training now!" Chrono cheers and raises a fist in the air and everyone else does the same in agreement to get stronger.

"Oh yeah but first, Tokoha and Saki, you might want to change your shirts." Am tells them.

"Why's that?" Saki asks.

"They're soaked, and your bras are showing." Luna says.

Tokoha and Saki look down and see their underwear visible through their shirts and they both cover their chest in embarrassment. "Luna, you could have been a bit more blunt about it." Am tells her.

"Oh… sorry…" Luna says rubbing the back of her head.

"How long have they been like this?!" Tokoha asks in a panic.

"Since we rescued Saki." Chrono says, but just then, all emotion drops from his face as he realizes his mistake. He looks at both Tokoha and Saki who are both beat red in the face and boiling with fury.

"So you're telling me you saw it this whole time and didn't say anything?!" Saki questions in a rage. Chrono remains silent.

"I'll take your silence as a yes." Tokoha tells him and the two of them raise their fists at him.

"Wait! I'm sorry! Please forgive me! I wasn't enjoying it I swear!" Chrono pleads.

"Then why didn't you tell us sooner?!" They both shout at him and all emotion drops from his face again and thinks that, If he had told them earlier, he probably wouldn't be in this situation.

"I… I'm sorry." He says.

"Too late for apologizes!" Tokoha tells him and raises her fist.

"I REALLY AM SORRY!" Chrono yells as a loud smack sound is heard that even makes birds sitting in nearby trees to fly away.

Later that night…

Yuji walks down a dimly lit street next to the river bed. He stops when he sees a figure coming out from the darkness ahead of him. When the future steps into the light, he can make out his face as Yusuke. "Yusuke…" Yuji mutters.

"You were quite brave to call me out here in the middle of the night." Yusuke tells him in a taunting voice. "What do you want?"

Yuji reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his deck, "I saw what you did at the tournament the other day…" he tells him, "I heard what you told the people… I'm not about to let you spread that dark power!"

"Is that so?" Yusuke asks him in curiosity.

"I had a dream last night where you murdered all of my friends… is that the future you intend to create by spreading this power?!" Yuji shouts at him in pure anger. Yusuke is shocked and at a loss for words. "ANSWER ME DAMN IT!" Yuji shouts at him again.

Yusuke start to chuckle, which turns into a full on maniacal laugh, he even holds his hands on his stomach cause it hurts from laughing so hard. Yusuke calms down and starts clapping "Bravo, you actually figured me out Yuji."

"So those are your intentions…" Yuji states, "Why? Why are you doing this?! You were never like this! What made you become like this?!" Yusuke doesn't answer. He simply raises his left hand which is covered by a white glove. He pulls off the glove and on the back of his hand is the Shadow Blazers' Clan Symbol, but it's incomplete. "Wh-what is that?" Yuji asks in shock.

"It's the symbol of my vengeance." Yusuke says, now speaking in a more serious tone, "I will get them back! I was part of the deal that I had made!"

"Deal… what are you talking about?!" Yuji asks in confusion.

"Fight me… and you'll know the truth." Yusuke says and Yuji accepts his challenge.

They set up their match and the two of them declare at the same time… "Stand up… VANGUARD!"

Next Time

Taiyou Asukawa comes into Card Capital Z one day. Chrono meets him and is extatic to see him again and happy to see he isn't giving up on Vanguard, however, Taiyou explains the true nature predicament he's in...

TURN 21 – Accept only Perfection