Ride 50: Prelude to the Storm
Card of the Day: Pongal

"With the semi-finals concluded, two teams remain! Team Bright Dawn and Team Avalon will soon fight it out to decide who will be the national champions! Just half an hour separates us from that grand finale, half an hour for the teams to rest up and prepare! Let's wait patiently, folks, until the time comes for the final fights!"

The two teams gazed at one another for a while. Luke gazed at Samuel, Peter at Agatha, and Mary at Robert.

"So here it is," Luke commented. "We're the final teams." He smirked. "But your journey ends in half an hour. You may have beaten Celestial Dusk, but you can't win against us."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Samuel replied. "We've been told we can't win before, but we've overcome the people who said that. Do you want to make the same mistake and assume we're not strong, Luke?"

"Oh, I don't doubt that you're strong, after all, you beat Celestial Dusk. However, you're not strong enough," he answered. "Haven't you seen me fight? Don't you know how strong I really am?" He turned away. "In any case... you'll soon see." With that remark, he walked away, his team following in his wake. Mary cast one last glance to Robert as they departed.

"That guy... it's hard to think he was different once," Samuel muttered.

"Even if he was, can we bring back the old Luke?" Agatha wondered. "He seems set on how he is. And if he doesn't want to change back, then... what can we do that Mary can't? We barely know him. We never knew him before he became like that."

"That doesn't mean we can't help," Robert said. "Even if I don't know how... we at least have to try. And... I'm going to try." He looked down at his cards.

"We have to fight them whether we try to help Luke or not," Samuel observed. "Because of that... we may as well try to get through to him. Seeing him this way... if he truly used to be kind, shouldn't we try our hardest to bring him back, for Mary's sake?"

"I suppose... it just seems like he's set in his ways and even if we try, he won't change at all," she murmured. "I'll do my best, but I'm not sure we even can bring the old Luke back. Not when he's like this."

"We should still try," Robert argued. "Like Samuel says, we have to fight Bright Dawn either way. If we're going to win, we could at least make sure Luke comes back from what he's become..."

VBH50

"Do you think you can win?"

Her voice was there in his head, taunting him endlessly. Her eyes burned as he imagined her, his heart raging in response. The sight of her had brought those memories rushing back, the despair, the powerlessness. He had to get stronger. To overcome her, he had to get stronger.

His holy knights faced Mary's Dimension Police, led by the exalted form of Soul Saver Dragon. Though her expression was neutral, he could see the feelings beneath the surface, her sadness and rage at the sight of his avatar. His own anger stirred. He had gotten stronger. Become the fighter she had always urged him to be. Why was she so bitter now? Why did she reject him like this?

"Pongal, Counterblast!" he called. His field was dominated by Soul Saver, Pongal behind it, and around them, Swordsman of the Blaze, Palamedes, Young Pegasus Knight and Toypugal, all shining with the light of Soul Saver Dragon's skill. "Pongal goes to the Soul, and I add Soul Saver from my deck to my hand." He retrieved the card, before throwing down another. "Young Pegasus Knight's skill activates. Next, I call Margal and activate its skill! Pegasus Knight gains 3000 Power and on top of that, so does Soul Saver!" The pegasus-riding knight shone brilliantly, readying his sword as the shining dragon glowed more brilliantly [Young Pegasus Knight – 17000 Power] [Soul Saver Dragon – 14000 Power]

I call Toypugal and Soul Saver Dragon!" The cute white Hi-Dog appeared behind his Vanguard, as on the right a second copy of his avatar rose up, shining brightly, its armor a lighter shade of blue then the Vanguard's to distinguish it [Toypugal – 6000 Power + 3000 Power = 9000 Power] [Soul Saver Dragon – 10000 Power].

As he stared over the field, he could see the resignation in her eyes already. She knew as well as he did that this was over. And yet behind the resignation, her sadness and anger were still clear. His expression hardened.

"With a boost from Toypugal... attack, Soul Saver!" His Vanguard raised its hand, the orb of white lightning crackling in its palm [14000 Power + 3000 Power + 9000 Power = 26000 Power]. "Lightning Judgment!" Soul Saver roared, hurling the lightning over the field towards Enigman Rain.

"Diamond Ace... guard!" she called out, throwing down the guardian and discarding a spare Miracle Beauty.

"It's pointless," Luke growled softly. "Twin Drive. First... no Trigger. Second... get. Critical Trigger. All the effects go to Palamedes."

[Drive Check – Little Sage, Marron – No Trigger]

[Drive Check – Alabaster Owl – Critical Trigger]

Palamedes began to glow with golden flames, readying his blade [Swordsman of the Blaze, Palamedes – 18000 Power, Critical 2]. "With a boost from Toypugal, Palamedes attacks," Luke declared. Palamedes soared forwards on burning wings, readying his longsword [18000 Power + 9000 Power + 5000 Power = 32000 Power, Critical 2]

"Guide Dolphin, Justice Rose, Daisy, guard!" Mary cried. The three heroic figures rose up in front of Rain, shielding the alien from harm [11000 Power + 10000 Shield + 10000 Shield + 5000 Shield = 36000 Power], before being sliced into motes with blazing strikes of the longsword.

"Here it is... the end," Luke murmured. "With a boost from Pegasus Knight, Soul Saver Dragon attacks! Finish this! Lightning Judgment!" The Rearguard Soul Saver Dragon readied a sphere of crackling lightning in its grip [10000 Power + 17000 Power = 27000 Power], before hurling it over the field.

Mary considered for a moment, before admitting defeat. "No guard."

The lightning smashed into Rain, who howled in agony as it ripped over her form and tore through her. Mary's avatar collapsed to her knees, bolts of lightning crackling over her skin as Soul Saver Dragon gazed across the field coldly.

"Damage Check..." She slowly turned the card around. "No Trigger."

[Damage Check – Cosmo Cannon – No Trigger]

The holograms of the Motion Figure System faded into motes, leaving just the two players with their cards.

"You could do better, but no matter," Luke smirked. "After all, you won't be fighting. Peter and I can handle these people... they're just nobodies." He finished gathering his cards and shuffling his deck, sliding the cards back into his deck case. He looked over to Peter. "You're ready for this, right?"

"Yes," Peter nodded.

"Good... if you weren't, it'd be a shame," Luke said. "Let's humiliate these people... they're just a waste of our time in any case. At least Celestial Dusk would've been interesting to fight." He frowned. "It's almost a shame to have to waste our time on such nobodies."

"They did win against Celestial Dusk," Peter replied.

"By a fluke," Luke responded. "They're still untested. Still pathetic." He gazed out of the gallery window, into the stadium. "We're going to crush them. That's all that's going to happen."

But she was still there in his head, taunting him endlessly. "Did you really believe you were strong enough? Come forth, my great servant... rise, Blaster Dark!" Out of their sight, his fist clenched, his eyes narrowed.

"Who are you going to fight?" Peter asked.

"Samuel Wilson."

"Why him?"

"Because he's the only interesting one of those three," Luke dismissed. "And... his deck..."

"Royal Paladins... holy knights who serve their comrades and fight in the name of loyalty," she mused, her expression twisting into a cold, vicious sneer. "So pathetic. They're unable to fight without allies. Whereas these Units... Shadow Paladin... they're strong enough to face this cold world alone."

"Shadow Paladin," Mary breathed, voice inaudible, her eyes darkening with the memories of that terrible fight.

"Shadow Paladin," Luke echoed. "That deck... I'll crush it now." The shadows were in his eyes too, the terrible shadow of Phantom Blaster Dragon hanging over his memories. He held up his deck, staring at the Soul Saver Dragon card. "You were there, Mary. You remember... don't you?"

"Of course," she responded.

"Phantom Blaster Dragon... that cursed monster..." he said, his voice now a spiteful whisper. "Back then, I was so weak... so helpless. But now, I'm strong. I'll crush it underfoot to show them all... to show her how strong I've gotten."

She didn't answer.

"You can understand that, can't you?" he said. "You saw me back then... saw how helpless I was." His voice gained a cold edge, dangerous and vicious. "You held me that day in the rain... I remember you holding me close."

She remembered too. Remembered clutching him so desperately, so full of fear and worry. Remembered stumbling back to the shop, supporting his near-catatonic frame as best she could. She remembered whispering to him as his eyes chilled with fear, comforting him, reassuring him.

"You were afraid that day... so scared... you cared back then," Luke murmured. "So why... why..." He paused. "Why do you hate me now, Mary?"

"I..."

"You do!" he cried, turning to her. "I look into your eyes and all I see is disappointment! Aren't I strong? Didn't I get strong? I did it because of you! Because you wanted me to get strong! You wanted me to stop losing, to stop being the laughing stock! To stop... being that kid who would always lose!" He breathed in heavily, glaring at her. "So why... why can't I see any pride in your eyes?! Why aren't you happy that I got strong?!"

"Luke..." Peter murmured, his voice soft and calm.

"We're all happy for you, Luke," John spoke reassuringly. "You have gotten strong."

"I know you're glad," Luke snapped. "But you... Mary... you're just..."

"You're not... you're not the Luke I wanted to get strong," she replied softly. "When I'd reassure you after you lost and say... say I thought you could be strong... I didn't mean it like this. I never meant for it to become about beating everyone!"

He was silent for a moment, before his expression hardened further. "How else can I get strong... what other way is there?!" he retorted, his voice icy. "If I can't beat everyone, there's always someone looking down on me. There's always someone better that way... someone who'll do exactly what they all did back in that shop..."

"We didn't look down on you," Peter responded.

"Then why... why did you always jeer and laugh when I lost?" Luke whispered, his voice now poisonous and bitter.

"We never..." Mary said quietly.

"You didn't... but they all did... always laughing... always jeering," he spat. Their voices came back to him, always taunting him, always mocking him. Endlessly jeering and laughing.

"Nice loss, Luke!"

"How does it feel being a loser?!"

"You'll always lose! You're just no good at this!"

His fist clenched, and his eyes blazed with buried resentment and bitterness. "Everyone always looked down on me... and now when I've finally gotten strong enough to prove them all wrong, the one person who supported me hates that I've become so strong?" He paused. "The one person who knows what happened... who saw me lose to her..." The memories came back again, the memories of fighting her.

Her Vanguard reformed, a stronger black knight taking Javelin's place. Blaster Dark's blade pieced the earth, stabbed into the ground of Cray as Melanie's form reshaped the dark nobility of the fallen hero. Madness replaced stoicness, those wild violet eyes replacing Dark's cold green. Melanie smirked from beneath the black helmet, gazing over the field sadistically. She gestured with a free hand and beside her, Nemain rose with a laugh, the Black Sage, Charon occupying the spot moving away behind the Skull Witch.

"Nemain's Counterblast," she smirked, discarding a second Blaster Dark to draw twice. "I call Blaster Javelin and Demon World Castle, DonnerSchlag." Her right-hand column was filled now, a towering fortress-golem rising from the earth with a roar, Javelin manifesting behind it. "Javelin's skill." Dark Metal Dragon fell to the Drop Zone and Phantom Blaster Dragon came to her hand, a darker madness filling her irises as she held the cursed dragon's card.

"Luke... I know..."

"So why do you hate what I've become?!" he snapped. "I'm finally getting strong enough to stand up to her! I'm not a scared little boy any more! I'm not going to lose to people like her ever again! And yet, you look at me that way... like you're sad!"

"Luke..." Peter murmured, stepping forward. "You're upsetting her."

Luke glared at him. "Don't you see... aren't you happy that I've gotten so strong, Peter?"

Peter said nothing, standing resolutely. The two stared at each other. Peter's gaze was blank and unreadable, Luke's was bitter and full of anger.

Finally, Luke stepped back. "Fine. Just don't let me down now." With that, he stormed from the room, his eyes dark.

VBH50

She was there as Luke stepped onto the gallery, gazing out over the battlefield. Another girl hovered in the shadows, present but not intruding at all.

He glared coldly at Melanie. "If you insist on watching, I'm going to show you that you should be afraid."

"Afraid of what?" she asked quietly, barely noticing his presence.

"Afraid of me... of how strong I've gotten," he snapped.

"How strong you've gotten," the girl murmured in answer. "But you haven't gotten strong enough. Deep down you're just that same scared boy. Your deck's changed and your appearance has changed, but deep down behind your eyes, you're still terrified."

"I'm not afraid of you," Luke growled.

She looked at him, meeting his gaze. Those same shadows danced so feverishly in the depths of her eyes, that same madness coiling there in her irises. She smirked and her eyes flickered with insanity and darkness. And he was remembering a day so long ago, that day.

"Supported by Javelin, DonnerSchlag attacks!" DonnerSchlag threw a mighty punch at Luke's Vanguard with a colossal fist, Hi-Dog Breeder Akane cowering back in fear, fear which was reflected in the boy's eyes. The fist crashed down and a card fell onto Luke's Damage Zone.

Melanie's smirk widened, becoming darker, more psychotic. "Are you ready? Now... it's my servant's turn... my turn." She erupted over the field, eyes wild with fury as the mighty sword was raised to strike.

"I... I don't guard!" Luke cried aloud.

The girl slowly revealed her Drive Check, eyes narrowing with dark glee as a dark blue light flared. "Stand Trigger," she smirked. "DonnerSchlag stands, and the Power goes to Nemain." But that wasn't her concern. Letting a soft, vicious chuckle pass her lips, she struck, and Luke was screaming with his Vanguard as Melanie's avatar struck. Her sword ripped Akane down the chest, and Luke clutched at his own chest, a howl of agony tearing from his throat as his knees buckled. He stared up, seeing Melanie clad in that dark armor, sword edged with red now as her lips smirked and her eyes glowed with a sadistic joy.

"I don't care... what you did," Luke muttered coldly. "I'm not afraid anymore. I'm stronger now! I'm strong enough to beat you, Melanie! And... I will beat you!" He glared at her.

"Is that what you think?" she murmured. She plucked a card from the deck case at her side, holding it up. "Don't you remember my power? Maybe you need some help... to imagine it..." Her eyes flared, and he cried out as the world burst away.

He crashed to rocky ground under a black night sky, the stars mere twinkles of light in the distance. All around him were cold, grasping shadows. Howls echoed through the night, fearsome and strong, the howls of mighty predators. The moon hung over him, a thin, delicate crescent almost consumed entirely by blackness.

"Do you think you're strong?" Melanie asked. He stood, turning swiftly to see her atop a rocky outcropping. "Have you already forgotten your place?" She smirked, eyes flashing, and the sound of steel on stone came from nearby. Out of the darkness he stepped to stand proud beside her. The pitch-black knight of determination, stood tall beside Melanie. Blaster Dark glared at Luke. "You may have gotten new cards and trained, but that doesn't change a simple fact, that you will never have this power that I have." As she spoke, more Shadow Paladins emerged from the fog and darkness. Gururubau, Galebau, Fullbau, Swiftbau and other dark High Dogs slunk forwards, growling softly. Nemain, Charon, Arianrhod, and Badbabh Caar stood together, dark runes flaring about their forms. Macha, Rugos, Blaster Javelin, Mac Lir and other knights strode forth, The Dark Dictator at their head. Luke was surrounded by the forces of the Shadow Paladins, more emerging by the moment. Abyss Healer, Abyss Freezer, Grim Reaper, Darkside Trumpeter and Death Feather Eagle emerged from the shadows, the reaper demon sneering as he gripped his scythe tightly, the three angels stood in cold stoicness.

The earth shook and the mountains around fractured, monstrous constructs rising. Demon World Castles Fatalita, DonnerSchlag, Siege Perilous and Cerleon rose from the towering mountainsides, and from the peaks descended Dark Metal Dragon and Dread Disaster Dragon, the two abyssal dragons hanging in the air like shadows of death.

"What is this?!" Luke growled. "What are you doing?!"

"Showing you my power," Melanie replied. "Do you understand? You will never know this power. You'll never rule your Clan this way, never demand such obedience and receive such loyalty... loyalty which assures victory." As she spoke, shadows gathered around her, making her seem taller and more fearsome. "So understand this, boy. No matter how strong you grow, you'll always be nothing but insignificant to me. You don't matter. You should just bow down and know your place."

He clenched his fist, glaring at her. "No."

Her cold expression slipped, surprise overtaking her for a moment before amusement replaced it. "You still resist, despite seeing my power... at least you're determined. It'd be admirable, except it's so pathetic. Haven't you learned? Didn't you know that day that you'd never be able to match me, let alone get stronger than me?"

"You're wrong!" Luke cried. "I have gotten stronger... and now, I'll show you. I'll crush this team in front of the country... in front of you. I'll show you how strong I've become... why you should be afraid!"

The shadows coiled tightly around Melanie as she laughed. "You're just like a little puppy putting on a brave face, but really, you're terrified. Deep down, behind this courage you've got from somewhere, I can see it... how scared you are of me, of this power. A brave face is only useful when it hides the fact you're so afraid."

Luke glared daggers at her. Although deep down fear chilled his soul, the flame of anger burned fiercely. "I don't care what power you have. I'll beat you all the same!"

The shadows spread as black wings behind Melanie, and she laughed. "But don't you remember how it felt? How much pain I was able to inflict on you with so little effort?" The memories raged up again, consuming him.

Cray enveloped him again, the black mountains towering and the night sky drowning him in shadows. Melanie's Vanguard rose with a roar, a mountain of blackness and hate, crimson eyes ablaze with fury. He stumbled back, gazing up at Phantom Blaster Dragon in utter terror, feeling the malice radiating from its form. The dragon raised its lance and as it did so, he heard Melanie's laughter, cold and vicious, relishing in his terror and the pain soon to hit him.

The lance fell and Luke screamed, feeling the blade rip into him, seeing it edged in crimson as the dragon drew it back. He fell, screaming all the way as agony tore him apart, darkness clutching up to grasp him and drag him down. And every agonizing moment was haunted by that cold, sadistic laughter.

He opened his eyes, still glaring at her. "I'm going to show you not to treat me so lightly. Now let me out of this."

She smirked. "As you wish." Her eyes dulled and Cray fractured around them, the shadows drawing away and taking the landscape with them. Her Shadow Paladins followed, fading away as Cray was reduced to incoherent, incomprehensible blurs of light and shadow.

They stood again in that room, and Melanie stared at him. "You may think you've gotten strong, and maybe you have. But you're still pathetic compared to me. Just go. I'll be watching anyway... just to see how amusing you can be."

With a growl of irritation, Luke turned and stalked away. The moment he was gone, Melanie chuckled, turning. As she did, a groan passed her lips and she stumbled. Joan was there instantly, rushing from the shadows to catch her and clutch her close.

"Why did you use it then?" she asked. "That power?"

"To show him... how pitiful he really is," Melanie said, her voice suddenly weaker. She pulled away from the older girl's supporting arms. "I don't need your help, Joan. I'm fine."

Joan looked like she was about to argue, before sighing. "If you say so..." She stepped back, letting Melanie turn back to the windows and stare down on the stadium below.

VBH50

"Why do you look so down?" Alice asked. "You're about to fight in the finals, Robert."

"That's just it... this team," Robert murmured. "I want to help Mary... I want to try and help her bring the old Luke back. But their team is just so strong... I don't know if we even can win..."

"You just beat the national champion, when he was using what's easily one of the best cards in the game," Richard observed. "After that, why do you think Bright Dawn will be any more difficult to fight?"

"If they were easy opponents, they wouldn't have got to this point," Samuel cut in. "You've seen them fight. Luke and Peter haven't lost once in this entire tournament. And even though Mary has, she's still not going to be an easy opponent." He fell silent for a moment. He remembered the loss he had just experienced, how Henry's Shadow Erosion deck had beaten him. And yet, he wanted to face Luke himself. Agatha and Robert had come a long way, but it seemed to him that this was the way things were meant to be. Royal versus Shadow. Light against darkness. As though the two of them had always been meant to face off. Those words came back to him, the words of someone who had shown him that deck back when he used its antithesis.

"Light and dark... Royal Paladin and Shadow Paladin... teamwork and sacrifice... they are only different sides of the same coin."

He stared down at his deck, at the Phantom Blaster Dragon card on the front. The dragon hung in the night, before the eclipsed moon, orbs of dark-enfolded light hovering around its pitch-dark form.

"Who are you going to fight?" Richard asked. Samuel looked up.

"I'm going to fight Luke," he said.

"I can do it..." Robert began, but he shook his head.

"No. You've gotten strong, but even so... Luke's on another level. It has to be me fighting him. Besides... I feel like it was meant to be this way." He held up his deck. "Royal Paladin versus Shadow Paladin. Someone said to me once that those two Clans are only different sides of the same coin. In that sense, our decks are meant to collide like this."

"I get what you're saying, but at this point, can we really afford to play the game like this?" Agatha said. "We need certainty here, or everything we've done, all the fights we've won... it'll all be for nothing."

He looked at her, considering. She had a point. To lose now, just because he decided to face Luke head-on instead of entrusting the fight to Robert and taking on a player on Bright Dawn he was more likely to beat would be terrible.

"Isn't that... exactly what Gabriel did?" The two looked at Robert. There was something new in his eyes, something bright and steely. "He cast Anna away just so he and Joel could win their fights more easily. In the end, isn't that just a terrible sacrifice?"

"Sometimes you have to make sacrifices," Samuel murmured. "Ultimately, Robert, we're doing this for you. I don't want to have brought you this far, helped you get here... only for it to end with them beating us. Agatha does have a point."

Robert was silent for a short while. "Even so, if we're going to fight this, why should we make that sacrifice? Why should you throw Agatha or me to Luke to face a loss that's almost certain, just for the other two players to win more easily? In the end, why should we make winning all that matters? If we do that, we're just proving Luke's point, aren't we? Isn't that what this viewpoint of his says, that people will do anything in order to win?"

"Perhaps. But as much as we all want to help Mary, ultimately, don't we have to put your mother first?" Agatha retorted. "Bright Dawn are, regardless of what you promised her, our enemy. They're standing between us and the championship title. Like it or not, that's the truth."

"Agatha's right, Robert," Richard murmured.

"That doesn't mean we can't fight without trying to make a sacrifice play," he argued. "Sacrifices have to be made, but only when they're worth it."

"Isn't helping your mother worth it?"

"Yes... but at the same time, what about proving Luke right? If we make that choice, all he'll see is us throwing our ally under the bus for the sake of winning," Robert said. "I want to win. Believe me, I want to see his team lose. I want to be the champion. But... I sacrificed my own integrity once to try and help mum... and that time, you all showed me the way back. Showed me that it wasn't worth it. Now you're the ones who want to make that sacrifice, and I... I can't let you. Not for me. The two of you... you're both better than me. You never betrayed yourselves the way I did. Don't do that now. In the end, it's worthless, isn't it?"

"I..." Samuel murmured.

The awkward silence was broken by a phone ringtone. Alice retrieved her phone from her pocket, answering it, before passing it to Robert. "It's for you."

He took the phone. "Hello?"

"Robert!" It was his aunt. "I have someone here who wants to talk to you. I decided to go and pay her a visit, and found her watching your fights with the others here. Before I pass you over, I just wanted to say... I'm so proud of you. To see you where you are... I had the utmost faith in you from the start, but even so I didn't imagine you'd get there... that you'd beat the national champion!"

His eyes were clouding now. "Thank you..."

"No... you don't need to thank me," she chuckled. "Be proud of yourself. All three of you should be, for where you've got to. Now... there's someone here I think you should talk to." There was a brief instant of silence, then another voice answered the phone.

"Robert?"

"Mum..." There was silence for another short while, before she spoke again.

"I saw your fight with Arthur... I saw you win..."

"You watched? But aren't you at work?"

"Irene told me to," she replied. "And... I don't know this game. But seeing you playing it... seeing you fighting so hard for your friends and beating someone they say is so good for them..." She paused. "I didn't even know you played Vanguard until you went to Regionals, and now I'm seeing you beating national champions. I can't even believe it. But... you looked happy. Even though that fight was so difficult... even though that card he was using was so strong... I could see how glad you were to be there. And now you and your friends are fighting in the final..."

"Yeah... I can't really believe it either..." he murmured.

"I don't know anything about that team you're playing, but the others say they're good... really good."

"They might be better than Arthur's team," Robert admitted. "I'm not even sure if we can beat them."

"You don't have to."

"Huh?" The words sent surprise through him. She didn't know why he was fighting, but even so, for her to say that stunned him.

"Haven't you done well enough? I heard what the announcer said. You beat the national champion. No one is going to forget your team any time soon, whether you win against Bright Dawn or not. And... even if you lose this fight, all I'm asking is that you do your best. Just show me the Robert who fought a national champion and won. You've made me proud... and the crowd's supporting you too. Even if you lose to Bright Dawn, that's not going to change the fact that you've done enough already to make everyone proud of you. I've never been more proud of you, Robert. You don't have to win against Bright Dawn, all you have to do is walk out and fight them at your best."

The tears were welling up in his eyes now. "Thank you... thank you..."

"I'm glad that you found this game," she said. "It's taken you so far... it's given you friends like your teammates. You only used to have Alice, but now... Agatha and Samuel, and all the others I can see in the crowd cheering for you. Just know that when you're fighting Bright Dawn, I'll be watching, and I'll be cheering you on most of all... you're my son, and right now, I'm giving you all of my support because of that." She paused. "They're saying the last match will start soon, so I'll let you go. Just remember... all anyone's asking is for you to walk out and do your best. Do that, and it doesn't matter whether you win or not. You'll have done everyone proud. Goodbye..."

"Goodbye," Robert said quietly, and as the phone went silent, he was smiling even as a tear slid down his face. He handed the phone back to his cousin.

"Your mum?" Samuel asked.

He nodded. "Fight Luke, Samuel."

He opened his mouth, about to protest, when he saw the look in Robert's eyes. He saw a conviction and pride there he hadn't seen in his teammate's eyes before, but he knew what it meant. He couldn't convince him otherwise now. Robert was going to fight this fairly and at his best. "Right."

"If you're sure, than I'll fight second," Agatha decided. "Peter will go second. If Luke just wants to win, he won't trust Mary with that position."

"I'll fight her then, if it comes to it," Robert nodded. "We're going to show Bright Dawn... Luke... our pride as a team. Let's show him that win or lose, we'll walk out and fight at our best fairly." He gazed at his teammates.

"Right," Samuel nodded. "I'll do my best to win against Luke. I can't make promises, but... I'll try."

"All you have to do is try," Leah murmured, walking into the room followed by Mr. Owens, who was bearing a tray of drinks. She quickly handed them out. "Even if you lose, we'll all be proud of you, Samuel. And you two... Agatha, Robert. The same to you two as well. You're all amazing to get this far... to do what you've managed to do." The assembled group held their drinks, forming a circle.

"To Team Avalon," Mr. Owens said.

"To Team Avalon!" the others chorused, lightly tapping their drinks together in cheer. The three teammates stood, gazing to each other as they heard the crowd outside begin to cheer. The time was on them. Their final battle was swiftly approaching.

And they would meet it with all their skill and all their conviction.

VBH50

"Maybe you should let Mary go first," John commented. "They're sure to let Samuel fight first, and if she loses, that's no loss."

"No." Luke's response was cold and steely. "Samuel is mine."

"What's your obsession?" his teammate asked. "What is it about him that makes you so determined to fight him?"

"His deck," Luke growled under his breath. "I don't need to throw her under the bus in any case. Peter and I have this under control."

"Of course, I was just saying..."

"You were suggesting that we might need to sacrifice her to beat this team. We don't," he snapped. "Avalon aren't a threat. Peter and I handled Eternal Nightfall. We can crush Avalon just as easily. Don't try and suggest I'm not capable of handling a group of idealists who got this far by luck. Now, go. You're not going to be needed for this no matter what happens. John."

John scurried away, leaving Luke gazing across the field to the tunnel where Avalon would shortly emerge. The shadow of Melanie's words hung thick over his mind, casting darkness into his eyes. He would show her. In front of this audience, in front of the country, he would crush Samuel and tear through that Shadow Paladin deck. He would prove to that girl that he wasn't afraid of her, that her Clan didn't strike fear into him the way it had struck fear into him before. He was strong now. Much stronger than he had been. He would just have to show her that fact by staring down and defeating Phantom Blaster Dragon. Morgan's Overlord had been a sham, a mockery of the darkness he remembered. Samuel on the other hand had a true Shadow Paladin deck, his ace was that terrible cursed dragon which had cut him down and left him in agony and terror that day.

He looked at his deck's front card. Now he had a dragon that equalled, no, eclipsed the cursed dragon. The holy form of the blessed dragon stared back from the art. Soul Saver Dragon's wings were spread, its form swathed in a glorious, purging radiance which would annihilate the darkness. This was the card which would put down his past nightmare. His avatar of holy light to sweep away that cold, empty darkness and break it into nothing. As he mused, he sensed the changing mood in the air. Suddenly the atmosphere was thick with anticipation, and he knew.

"Get ready," he said to his two teammates. "It's time."

VBH50

Card of the Day:

Pongal
Grade 1/High Beast – Royal Paladin/7000 Power/5000 Shield
Activate [R]: [Counterblast 1 & put this unit into your Soul] If you have a Royal Paladin vanguard, search your deck for up to 1 card named 'Soul Saver Dragon', reveal it to your opponent, put it into your hand, and shuffle your deck.
'It will break through the dark clouds hanging over, and awaken the dragon of light.'

A Hi-Dog that was picked up by a tribe that protects the Guardian Dragon (Soul Saver Dragon) and was raised under them. Because it was raised under a solemn tribe, it became very reticent and one with very few words, thus it only speaks when it deems it is needed. Otherwise, it will remain silent. Because it is covered in a sparkling silver fur, and harbors an extremely rare power in its body that allows it to aid in the advent of the Guardian Dragon, some guess whether it is the rumoured Sacred Guardian Beast of the "Silver Wolf", one of the Legendary 7 Sacred Beasts that was spread around the United Sanctuary at that time. Its roar is a sign of the advent of the Guardian Dragon, and when the God-like dragon descended onto the ground, it is always accompanied by the silver beast anytime, anywhere.

VBH50

Next time, the final battles begin as Samuel faces Luke. As the knights of shadow face their holy counterparts, Samuel attempts to push through to set up an early victory in order to help his teammates. However, with the threat of Soul Saver Dragon looming, is it possible for him to win this fight before he is crushed under the power of Luke's exalted avatar?

The end begins in Ride 51: Sacrifice and Victory!