It's the middle of the night, at an outdoor concert hall. A stage covered in lights, as crowds of people cheer, two young female idols dance on the stage, one with blue hair and wearing a white dress with black and blue accents, the other with pink hair wearing the same dress, but pink instead of blue. They sing on stage as the crowd cheers at the top of their lungs.
Insert Song – Don't Look Back
" Mada oborogena. Yume no kakera nigirishimete. Kanousei ni kakete ikou. "
" Ima wa kimi ga tonari ni iru. Dakara mou mayowazu ni. Jikuu wo koete...! "
" Boku datte So! Stand up! Hibana hotobashiru fight! "
" Jibun no Souru wo shinjite susumunda. "
" Furikaeranai de Ano toki kimi ga oshiete kureta. "
" Ima tabidatou GENERATIOOON! Go! NEXT STAAA A AAGE! "
End insert song
As the idols finish their song, the crowd cheers even louder than they were. "Like a whimsical butterfly, I'm Am Chouno!" the blue-haired idol announces herself while striking a pose.
"And with the radiance of the moon, I'm Luna Yumizuki!" the pink-haired idol announces herself as well while striking another pose. Then the two idols say in unison as they hug each other, talking into the same microphone, "And together, we are Rummy Labyrinth!" and the crowd cheers even louder.
"Thanks for coming to our show everyone!" the blue-haired idol says to the crowd, then says with the other idol, "We'll see you again next time!" and the crowd cheers one final time before the lights on the stage go out.
After the concert, the two idols, Luna and Am take a shower in the shower booths backstage to wash off their sweat. As she's washing her hair, Luna looks over at Am and says, "Way to go Am! You were amazing out there!"
"You weren't too bad yourself Luna." Am replies while scrubbing her arm with a soapy sponge. "However," Am continues, "I noticed your rhythm was slightly off time."
"Huh?" Luna questions.
"Not only that, but you'd stop smiling in between songs to take a breath." Am then looks over at Luna and tells her, "We're supposed to always appear happy and energetic to the audience. I know it's tough, but I we told you when you first started that this wasn't going to be a walk in the park."
Luna stares at Am for a moment before nodding and saying, "I know. I promise I'll do better Am!"
Am smiles back at Luna, and says, "Then I want to see you… huh?" as Am turns back to look at Luna, she notices she's gone. Just then, she hears the door to her stall open, and before she can react, Luna practically almost tackles Am as she tries to give her an affectionate hug. "Oh Luna, you goofball." Am says while lightly blushing and the two laugh it off.
A few minutes, after their shower, as the two girls get dressed in the locker room, another young woman walks in saying, "Well done out their girls." It was a rather tall woman with long pink hair, and wearing a long-sleeved black shirt that's halfway unbuttoned, a long red skirt that goes down to her ankles, high heels, and a pair of golden earrings.
"Ms. Esuka!" Am says as she sees the woman. The woman is Esuka Hibino, the girls' manager.
"You two did a fine job out there," Esuka tells them then looks at Luna with a slight scowl, "however Luna…"
"I already informed her of her mistakes Ms. Esuka." Am tells her.
Esuka smiles and says, "Then I have nothing to say. Don't forget you two have school tomorrow, so rest up."
"Yes ma'am!" the two girls reply with a cheerful tone.
Opening Theme – STORY (Luck & Logic OP)
TURN 5 – The Illusionary Crescent Moon, Luna Yumizuki
The next morning, Chrono walks down the hall at school on his way to the Vanguard Club room. "Tokoha said she wanted to meet early this morning for training." He says to himself, "I just hope she won't mind if I'm a little late."
Meanwhile, unknown to him, Luna runs down the hall carrying her book bag and a small lunch box. "I can't believe I slept in!" she says in a panic, "I'm going to be late for club!" Just then, she ends up tripping on her own feet and goes stumbling forward. "Ha WAHH?!" she screams, as she realizes she's going to fall, and exclaims, "WATCH OUT!" when she does, Chrono looks behind himself to see her, but before he can react, Luna crashes into him, and the two topple over.
Chrono leans up, slightly dazed from the fall, and says, "Hey! What's the big idea?!"
Luna opens her eyes, notices she's fallen on Chrono, and then quickly sits up and says, "Sorry… I can be a bit of a clutzes sometimes…" she apologizes then looks around and realizes, "Wait, where is it?!"
"Where's what?" Chrono asks.
"The lunch box A…" Luna stops herself before she says Am's name, "My friend made for me this morning."
Chrono looks over and sees the still neatly wrapped lunch box, picks it up, and hands it to the girl. "Is this it?"
Luna smiles and says, "That's it! Thank you so much!" as she takes the box from him before they stand back up. Luna bows and says, "I'm sorry for falling on you. Bye!" before running off down the hall.
Still slightly confused, Chrono continues walking, but he is stopped by a trio of nerdy-looking boys. "Hey you!" one of them exclaims, startling Chrono. "Do you have any idea who you just had fall on top of you?!"
Chrono scratches the back of his head and says, "Uh… no?"
"Sherioushly?" the second boy says with a lisp, "Have you been living under a rock your whole life?"
"That was Luna Yumizuki!" the third boy says, "She's a part of Rummy Labyrinth?"
"Who? A part of what?" Chrono asks, totally clueless.
"Wow, you really are clueless." The first boy says as he, and the other boys, unbutton their jackets to reveal their t-shirts which each have a picture of Luna and Am on them.
The second boy adjusts his glasses and says, "Rummy Labyrinth ish only the hottest Vanguard idol group in the shpotlight right now."
"We even got the pleasure of going to see their concert last night," the first boy says, folding his arms, "and so we bought these shirts to show off our love for our idols, and Luna falling on us is a dream we've had for so long now, and would LOVE to have happen! NOW!" he points at Chrono and says, "What do you have to say for yourself for defiling us of our dreams?!"
Chrono sighs and replies, "Nothing, and quite frankly, I don't really care. See ya." Nonchalantly walks past the boys and carries on with his day.
Later, Chrono opens the door to the club room to see Tokoha and Kumi talking at the table. "Chrono!" Tokoha exclaims, seeing him come in, and gets up to greet him, "You're late!"
"Sorry, I got held up." Chrono explains.
Tokoha sighs and says, "Alright whatever. We don't have much time before class, so let's get to working on our decks." Chrono sits down at the table and lays out his entire deck on the table for the girls to look at. "So you said you just found this deck in your locker?"
"Yeah." Chrono answers with a nod, "Is that normal?"
"Well if it was, this world would be pretty different." Tokoha replies and starts scrolling through her phone, "I even had my brother ask his coworkers and even they haven't heard of your clan." The whole room is silent before Tokoha speaks again, "It's weird. Why would someone just leave a whole deck behind?"
"It wasn't just the deck." Chrono explains, "There was also a map that led me to Card Capital. I tried to sell the cards, but someone stopped me, saying they could be rare. That's how I learned the game."
Tokoha and Kumi look at each other for a moment, before looking back at him, "Well all I know about your clan is what people have told me they heard in myths." Tokoha then looks through all the cards laid out on the table and says, "If these are the only cards you've been given, it's going to be hard to make adjustments." She then picks up the Chrono Dran card and looks at it.
"Chrono! Chrono!" a voice cries out from the card, only heard by Chrono himself.
"Hey! Give me that!" he says snatching the card from Tokoha.
"Hey! What's your problem?!" she asks in annoyance.
"I… honestly don't know." Chrono replies, "This card keeps talking to me."
"It's talking to you?" Kumi questions.
"Don't be ridiculous Chrono, units can't talk." Tokoha tells him, putting her hands on her hips.
"I'm being serious!" Chrono looks at the card and says, "Even when I tried to throw this deck away just a few weeks ago, I still kept hearing this voice, and it's starting to drive me insane."
"Chrono listen…" just before Tokoha can finish her sentence, the bell for class rings, "Actually, we'll finish this conversation later. Let's get to class."
"Alright." Chrono replies and the three of them head off to class.
Meanwhile, Luna walks down the hall on her way to class and sighs. Just then, she looks to her side and sees a poster hanging on the wall. She runs over to it, and it's a poster advertising the Vanguard Club. "Vanguard?" she questions. Just then, a light bulb goes off in her head. As is staring at the poster, the three boys from earlier watch her from a distance.
Later that day, after school, Luna stands in front of the Vanguard Club room, holding a deck in her hands. She takes a deep breath before opening the door. However, when she does, there's no one in the room. She walks inside and looks around to see if there's actually anyone inside. Just then, she hears a voice behind her say, "Hey." This startles her and she ends up dropping her deck, making it fall on the floor. She turns around, and Chrono stands in the doorway. "You're that girl I bumped into earlier."
"Uh… yeah…" she replies.
"Your name was… Luna, right? And you're supposed to be some kind of famous idol?" Chrono asks.
"Umm… yeah. I'm Luna Yumizuki of Rummy Labyrinth." She introduces herself with a bow, "Again, I'm sorry about running into you earlier."
"It's alright, water under the bridge." Chrono tells her and sees the cards she dropped on the floor, "You play Vanguard?"
Luna begins to sweat as she says, "Well… not casually. I have to play it for work sometimes, but I wanted to play it outside of work, and to get good at the game. So when I saw that this school has a Vanguard Club, I thought it might be a good way to practice."
"I see." Chrono says.
"So um… are you the leader?" Luna asks him.
"No…" Chrono says. He then thinks for a moment and says, "but I guess I could fight you until she shows up."
Luna's eyes then light up with joy as she takes Chrono's hand, surprising him, "You will? Thank you so much!"
"Um… it's not that big of a deal…" Chrono tells her. The two of them get set up at the fight table. "I assume you already know how to play?"
"I know the basic rules, but that's about it." Luna tells him.
"Alright. Then why don't we play Rock, Paper, Scissors to see who goes first?" Chrono asks.
"Sounds good." The two of them then go, "Rock, Paper, Scissors, Go!" Chrono throws Rock, and Luna throws Scissors. "Looks like you get to go first." Luna says, slightly disappointed.
"Okay, then let's get started." Chrono says.
"Okay!" Luna replies. The two of them place their hands on their starters and declare in unison, "Stand up… VANGUARD!"
"Ride! Chrono Dran (G0/6000)!" Chrono declares.
"Ride! Happiness Collector (G0/6000)!" Luna declares.
Chrono draws a card and begins his turn, "Ride! Steam Breath Dragon (G1/8000)!" he then draws another card. "Using Steam Breath's skill, I add Chronojet Dragon to my hand. I end my turn."
"Okay, draw." Luna says as she draws a card from her deck. She puts on a gloomy face as she looks at her hand.
"Is something wrong?" Chrono asks.
Luna looks at him and says, "Oh yes, everything's fine. I just don't know what to ride."
"What do you mean?"
Luna holds up two cards from her hand and says, "I can't decide between Masquerade Bunny or Betty. They both look super cute, so I can't decide."
Slightly annoyed, Chrono replies, "Well do you have a grade 3 in your hand? If you don't have a grade 3, it might be better to ride the bunny, because it says her effect can let you draw a grade 3, just like my Steam Breath Dragon. The other unit can come out later."
"Oh, okay." Luna replies, "Sorry Betty, you'll have to come out later." Chrono then looks at her oddly. "Ride! Masquerade Bunny (G1/8000)! I use Masquerade Bunny's skill. I look at the top five cards of my deck and put my grade 3 Harri to my hand. I shuffle my deck, and since I put a card in my hand, I have to discard a card right?"
"Right." Chrono replies.
"Okay, I also call Moonlight Melody Tamer Betty (G1/8000)! I activate Betty's skill! I rest her, then look at the top three cards of my deck. If there's a Magia Doll in them, I can put it in my soul." Luna then puts one card into her soul (1-2), "Then I put the other two cards on the bottom of my deck. "Masquerade Bunny attacks the Vanguard!"
"That's a no guard." Chrono says.
"Drive check (Critical). Critical Trigger. I give all effects to Masquerade Bunny (8000-18000/Crit 1-2).
"Damage check (none/none). No trigger." (Chrono: [][]). "Ride! Stroboscope Dragon (G2/10000)! I also call Smokegear Dragon (G2/10000). Stroboscope attacks the Vanguard!"
"No guard."
"Drive check (Draw). Draw Trigger. Power to Smokegear (10000-20000) and draw."
"Damage Check (none)."
"Stroboscope's skill (Soul 2-1)(Hand 6-5). Retire Betty."
"Aww… sorry Betty, looks like you have to go." Luna says as she sadly moves Betty to the drop zone.
Still confused, Chrono continues with his turn, "Smokegear attacks the Vanguard, with his skill add 5000 power (20000-25000)."
"I'll guard (15000+10000=25000)!" Luna declares, "With the skill of Magia Doll, Darkside Mirror Master, at the end of a guard, she goes to my soul (2-3)."
"Then I'll end my turn."
"Stand and draw." Luna states, "Ride! Magia Doll Prana (G2/9000)! I also call Magia Doll Lunatec Dragon (G2/9000) and Masquerade Bunny (G1/8000)! Boosted by Bunny, Prana attacks the Vanguard (9000-17000)."
"Guard (15000)!"
"Drive check (Draw). Draw Trigger! Power to Lunatec (9000-19000) and draw. Lunatec Dragon attacks the Vanguard."
"No guard." (Chrono: [][][]). "Stand and draw."
Just then, Tokoha and Kumi finally arrive at the club room. "Oh, hey Chrono. You're here early."
"Oh, hey Tokoha." Chrono replies.
"Who's this?" Tokoha asks, "Why does she look familiar?"
Before Chrono can explain, Luna jumps in, "Uh… I'm Luna Yumizuki. I came here because I thought this club would let me play Vanguard more often than just work."
"Luna Yumizuki?" Tokoha questions, and then the wires connect in her head, "You're from Rummy Labyrinth! That's why I recognize you. So are you here to join the club?"
"Well… maybe…" Luna explains, "this boy said he'd fight me until the leader got here."
"Well I'm the leader," Tokoha says, "So I'd be happy to fight in his place."
"Hey!" Chrono exclaims.
"I'm just kidding, we can't stop a fight that's already going on." Tokoha tells them, "Besides, this will give Chrono a chance to try out the strategies we've been talking about."
"Um… strategies?" Luna questions.
"You see, Chrono uses a rather, unique deck, so he's still trying to learn it." Tokoha explains to the idol.
"Can we get back to the fight?" Chrono asks and immediately proceeds with his turn, "Open up the world! Lead me to the future! Ride! Chronojet Dragon (G3/13000)! Imaginary Gift! Force 1 (13000-23000)! I activate Chronojet's skill! I discard Bearing Rover from my hand which counts as a grade 3! Show it to me! The future I truly desire! Superior Ride Chronodragon Nextage (G4/25000)! I call Steam Mechanic Nabu (G2/10000) and Steam Scara Irkab (G2/10000). Using Irkab's skill ([X][][])(Hand 1-0), add 1 drive to Nextage! Nabu attacks the Vanguard! With her skill, bind Bearing Rover in the drop zone, and you can't guard with grade 1 or greater cards!"
"Then no guard…" (Luna: [][])
"Nabu's skill. Send to the soul and draw one (Hand 0-1). Nextage attacks the Vanguard!"
"No guard again."
"Triple Drive (none/none/Critical). Critical Trigger! I give the power to Smokegear (10000-20000) and Critical to Nextage (25000/Crit 1-2)!" (Luna: [][][][]). "I still have another Nextage in my deck somewhere so I won't use his effect this turn, so I can conserve cards." Chrono thinks to himself, "Smokegear attacks the Vanguard! With his skill, add 5000 power (20000-25000)!"
"I guard (30000)!"
"What the…?!" Chrono exclaims.
"A critical sentinel with 30000 shield?" Tokoha questions, having never seen that.
"Lunatec Dragon also intercepts!"
"Why would she do that?" Kumi asks, "She already had enough shield."
"With Lunatec's skill, after a guard, it goes to my soul (4-5)."
"At the end of my turn, Nextage is retired and I ride Chronojet from my soul. Imaginary Gift."
"Okay, it's my turn. Stand and draw." Luna declares, "Ride! Masked Magician Harri (G3/12000)! Imaginary Gift! Accel 1! Next I use Harri's skill! My Accel Circle becomes a Stage!"
"A stage?" Chrono questions.
"While my Accel Circle is a stage, it's the only additional circle I can have, but any additional Accel gifts go to that circle!" Luna explains.
"So essentially, her Accel gifts act like Force gifts." Tokoha surmises.
"I use Harri's other skill ([X][][][])(Hand 2-1)! I can call two Magia Doll units from my soul, but if your Vanguard is grade 3, I can four instead!"
"Calling from the Soul?" Chrono questions.
"That's the specialty of the Pale Moon clan." Tokoha explains.
"So from my soul, I call Prana (G2/9000), Lunatec Dragon (G2/9000), Darkside Mirror Master (G1/8000), and Flying Peryton (G1/8000). Now I use the skills of my Magia Dolls from being called from the soul! With Darkside Mirror Master, Counter Charge ([][][][]). With Flying Peryton, draw a card. With Lunatec Dragon, send Smokegear Dragon to the soul! And with Prana, add 10000 power to herself and Harri (9000-19000) (12000-22000)! Next from my hand, I call Lore Pigeon Pop (G2/19000). Finally, with Masquerade Bunny's skill, since one or more cards were called from the soul this turn, add 5000 power (8000-13000)!"
Board State
(G2/9000) (G3/22000) (G2/19000) (G2/19000)
(G1/8000) (G1/13000) (G1/8000) (-)
"Boosted by Peryton, Lunatec Dragon attacks the Vanguard (9000-17000)!"
"No guard." Chrono declares (Chrono: [X][][][]).
"Boosted by Darkside Mirror Master, Prana attacks the Vanguard (19000-27000)!"
Chrono growls and says, "No guard. Damage check (Heal). Heal Trigger! Recover one damage." (Chrono: [][][][]) "I give the power to Chronojet (13000-23000)!"
"Lore Pigeon attacks the Vanguard!"
"But it has less power, so it's not going to hit anyway."
"I activate Lore Pigeon's skill ([X][][][])! I return him to my hand and in turn, to the stage, I superior call Starry Pop Dragon (G4/0)!"
"A grade 4?!" Chrono exclaims.
"But it has 0 power…" Tokoha states.
"Since Starry Pop Dragon was called to the stage, I get another Imaginary Gift Accel! Then, Starry Pop Dragon gains 5000 power for each of my Magia Doll rear-guards! That's four, and with the boosts from the Accel gifts… (0-40000)!"
"Fourty-thousand power?!" Chrono exclaims.
"Boosted by Masquerade Bunny, Harri attacks the Vanguard (22000-35000)!"
Chrono panics and declares, "Complete Guard!"
"Twin Drive (none/Draw). Draw Trigger! I give the power to Starry Pop Dragon and draw a card (40000-50000). Starry Pop Dragon attack the Vanguard! With the skill, if his power is 40000 or greater, add 1 critical and you can't guard with sentinels. (50000/Crit 1-2)."
Chrono sighs and says, "No guard."
"But then that means…" Kumi mutters.
"Damage check. First (none). Second (Heal). Heal Trigger!"
"Huh?" Luna mutters.
"Recover one damage!" (Chrono: [][][][][]). "Phew, two heal triggers in one turn, that was lucky."
"Awwww… drawing a heal trigger on the sixth damage, that's no fair!" Luna complains, puffing out her cheeks.
"It is fair, and that's how the game works!" Chrono says confidently, making Tokoha giggle a little bit. "Stand and draw. One more time! Ride Chronojet Dragon (G3/33000)! Imaginary Gift! Force (33000-43000)! Using Chronojet's skill! Discard Bearing Rover as a grade 3! Superior ride Nextage from the deck (G4/45000)! I use Irkab's skill ([X][][][][])(Hand 1-0)! Add 1 drive to Nextage! Attack the Vanguard!"
"Complete Guard!"
"Triple Drive (none/none/Draw). Draw Trigger! I draw one card, and then I activate Nextage's skill (Hand 4-2)! I retire him and ride Chronojet from my soul as Stand! Imaginary Gift Force (43000-53000)! Chronojet Dragon attacks the Vanguard!"
Luna looks at her hand and realizes she doesn't have enough to guard, even with intercepts. "No guard." She declares.
"Twin Drive (none/Critical). Critical Trigger!" Luna is shocked by this, "All effects to Chronojet (53000-63000/Crit 1-2)!"
Luna reaches for her deck and says, "D-Damage check (none/none)." She lets out a heavy sigh as she puts the cards into her damage zone (Luna: [X][][][][][]). "That's six damage…"
"What did you have to that for?! She's just a novice!" Tokoha complains, getting in Chrono's face.
"Hey, don't blame me for the cards I draw!" Chrono defends himself.
Tokoha then backs off and walks over to Luna, "Sorry about that, Chrono doesn't know how to hold himself back. Why don't I fight you next?"
"Really?! That'd be great!" Luna exclaims, but just then, she feels her phone buzz in her pocket. She pulls it out and notices she got a text, "Late for my lessons?!" she exclaims, "Sorry you guys, I have to go…" she then gathers her cards and runs for the door.
"Hey wait a minute!" Tokoha stops her, "Maybe not right now… but what do you think about joining our club?"
Luna thinks about it for a minute, then smiles and says, "Sure! I'll come by whenever I can!"
"Sounds great!" Tokoha says as Luna waves goodbye to the group and runs down the hall.
"This is so great! We finally have a new member!" Kumi exclaims in joy.
"I know! We'll get seven members in no time!" Tokoha replies. Meanwhile, Chrono continues to think about how Luna was talking to her units.
Meanwhile, the three boys from earlier were watching the whole exchange with smug expressions… what could they be planning?
Ending Theme – Days of Dash (Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo ED)
[Next Time]
Am: Where were you Luna?! You're half an hour late.
Luna: Sorry Am, I uh… got held up at school.
Esuka: Oh? Are your grades failing?
Luna: N-No! Nothing like that. Umm… my friends wanted to show me something and it took me longer than I thought, so I had to beg for them to let me go.
Am: I see… well just make sure it doesn't happen again. Okay?
Luna: You got it!
NEXT TIME on Vanguard GV: Dragon's Awakening, Kazuma Shouji! Don't miss it!
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