As Drake was walking home, he noticed Glace land in front of him, and paused as she looked over at him, before tossing a card to him, as he barely caught it.
"...What's this?" Drake asked.
"Somebody named 'Alon' asked me to give this to you. He says it will help you save Azure." Glace answered. "I can't bear to watch Kristall's heart ache while our brother is a danger to both himself and others. If I cannot go with you or stop you, then I must ask you to succeed no matter what." She told Drake, who looked at the card and nodded.
"You have my word." Drake said, as Glace nodded, and seemingly leapt atop a fence and headed off, as Drake kept walking, and noticed a text on his phone, and read it out.
"Do not open this text's attached file until tomorrow...It is the location Azure was found in. We are warning you now, it is guarded by fighters not too dissimilar to the case of Kyros' hospitalization." He read, and shook his head. "Still...First I lose to that Alon guy, and now I have to owe him a favor for this, probably..." Drake said, sighing. "Tomorrow is going to be a long day, isn't it?" He asked himself, before arriving inside his home.
The next day, however, Drake and Alice were standing in front of a surprisingly well-constructed tower building.
"...Wow. Whatever's got Azure has a talent for building." Alice admitted, before following Drake inside, as the two started to make their way up, and a few flights in...Alice was already more than a little upset about it. "God, you'd think he would have an elevator, though..."
"Not much we can do about it. Although I'm sure Azure's at the top." Drake said.
"Oh come on! Why couldn't he be on like, the middle of the building or something? What's with possessed people and being on the top floors of oversized buildings?" Alice asked.
"...Hold that thought, Alice." He said, as they arrived at a midpoint floor, and a bunch of fighters with gray bags under their eyes all looked over at them, as various units started appearing, Drake immediately putting his Neo-fight glove on, as Drakon came in and blocked one of the attacks. "Drakon!" He called out, holding a G unit card, as Blade Force appeared, and started to slash through the units, and knock some of the fighters down, as more showed up.
"Need a hand?" Alice asked, putting her own glove on, as Hera appeared as well, and started to 'time leap' units away from the building. "There's too many of them..." She commented, as more fighters were showing up again, before one of the windows suddenly shattered.
"Cowabunga, bitches!" Ray called out, before Enigma appeared as well, pulling some of the units to the center, as Gurguit, Green-Heart Dragon and Ophaniel rushed in to slash at them, making them disappear, and knocking the fighters back.
"Ray..?!" Drake asked, before turning around to see Kyros, Gaea and Marisa as well. "What are you all doing here?" He asked.
"Well, we figured if we asked to come along, you'd say no...So, we made your consent not a factor." Ray answered, before noticing more fighters show up.
"Marisa and I can handle these guys. The rest of you need to go on ahead." Kyros said, Marisa nodding, as the units started to block the remaining fighters off from attacking them.
"They're right, Drake. Lets go." Alice said, Drake nodding in agreement.
"You two, don't push yourselves." He told them, heading off with Alice, as Ray and Gaea followed.
"Man, there's a lot of stairs here." Ray commented, keeping a hold of Gaea's hand to make sure she was keeping up.
"We noticed." Alice agreed, before noticing an upcoming floor again, as the four headed into the room, only to notice another corrupt fighter, who looked over at them.
"I cannot...let you all pass..." The fighter said, taking a deck out.
"Ooh! A fight! I call dibs!" Ray said, raising his hand, Alice sweatdropping.
"...Is your friend usually like this?" She asked, as Drake simply put a hand on her shoulder and nodded.
"Didn't hear a no." Ray said, walking up.
"Fine, let's go then, you two." Drake said, before Gaea spoke up.
"W-Wait..! I'm uh...going to stay here." Gaea said, Drake raising an eyebrow. "W-We shouldn't leave Ray alone..." She said.
"Aww, she's worried about me...That's sweet." Ray said, going over and patting her on the head. "It's fine if you stick around, then." He said, as Drake and Alice looked at each other and shrugged, before heading up, as Ray turned towards the fighter again. "So, what random guy off the street did whoever did this pick off? A beginner? Someone who doesn't know deck consistency and uses too many grade 3s? Ooh, That one sounds like an easier time." He commented, before the corrupt fighter simply tossed off their jacket, revealing a nametag.
"...Ah. Joseph from the last national tournament. That's uh, a bit of a bigger problem." Ray said.
"N-National tournament..? Ray, are you sure about this?" Gaea asked, as Ray simply put his Neo-fight glove in.
"Gaea, I do a lot of things that people ask if I'm sure about. Most of the time the answer is no, because my brain cells don't exactly exist sometimes, but in this case scenario, I am one hundred percent sure. Even if I lose, I'm buying time for Drake and that girl he was forced into being with." He answered, as he placed his deck in, as the two Vanguards appeared. "Now stand up, Vanguard!" He called out. "DeVoid N/A!" He declared.
"Eradicator, Spring Light Dracokid." Joseph declared, as Ray made a 'pop' sound with his mouth.
"Ah. Right. Narukami. That's uh...also a problem." Ray admitted.
"Ray...be careful..." Gaea started, as Ray simply shook his head.
"Man, I wish I could do that one, but you see, Gaea...My last name's Kazana, not 'Cautious'." Ray said.
"I-Isn't the metaphor for middle names..?" Gaea asked.
"...Huh. Maybe it is. Point being though..." Ray said, turning back to the corrupt fighter with a serious look in his eyes. "Is that 'caution' left the room when Narukami entered the fight." He declared.