Despite taking no part in the semifinal matchup, Sean felt grateful to be back in the waiting area. The three-round struggle against Team Miracle had ended up being a harrowing watch, coming down to a good draw taking the day. Even as someone who didn't play a single card that match, it'd been stressful. Now that the immediate threat had been dealt with, he could unwind a bit before the actual challenge kicked it. Sean was ruminating on what that meant when the gang was approached by Yuri and Anita. The latter was hastily pulling something up on her phone, while the former gave a friendly wave. Given how much was riding on the last match for them, the fact that they were so casually approaching was...odd at the very least.

"I'm honestly surprised you want to talk to us," Sal said to Anita. "You took that loss pretty hard."

Anita looked up from her phone in slightly ashamed trepidation. "I did?"

Yuri nodded. "You did."

"I mean...there was a lot riding on the game. The whole match, really."

"You really wanted to win, huh?" Sean sympathized.

"Well...yes. But you weren't our target, Juggernaut was. We were aiming to beat them."

"So we were just in the way," Sal concluded.

"I wouldn't put it like that," Yuri said. "That makes it sound like there was bad blood." He paused. "Well, there is bad blood, but that's between us and Card Shark. You guys are good. No bad blood here. Zero blood. Or good blood, however that works."

"That's good," Kiki giggled softly. "But why did you pull us over if that's the case?"

"Letting us know you'll be rooting for us?" Lucas suggested. "Doesn't matter who gives Juggernaut the L as long as they get one, yeah?"

"That's part of it," Yuri answered. "We're counting on you. And since that's the case," he cast a playful eye on Anita, who was working quickly on her phone, "Ms. Kumar has a very important presentation for you. Hope you're paying attention, they will be a test."

Team Villager exchanged puzzled looks. "Presentation?" Sean parroted.

"She's all about research."

"All of these tournament's fights are filmed and placed on the official website," Anita explained, as if nothing else was said. "As such, I've been keeping a close eye on Juggernaut's games to pick up any holes in their strategy."

Sean nodded. Midori would get along with her so well.

Anita turned her phone to show Team Villager. "As much as I hate to admit, they're a solid team. Each plays a Force Clan- Gear Chronicle, Bermuda Triangle, and Link Joker."

"So I know the loudmouth plays Link Joker," Sal said. "What about the others?"

"If I remember right," Lucas scratched his head, "it's the fat one who pilots Gears."

"So that just leaves," Kiki began, before putting two and two together. "Oh."

Sal smirked. "Are you telling me that of all the people to play Bermuda, it's her? That's the last person I'd imagine playing that deck."

"No kidding," agreed Sean. "She's...intense."

"That's putting it politely," Yuri said. "I'm surprised you're worried about stepping on her toes, given that you'll be fighting her soon."

"If he stepped on her toes, I'd imagine she'd break something," Sal joked.

"Getting back to Juggernaut," Anita continued, "all three players are quite aggressive. As far as I can tell, they've built their decks for maximum offensive output."

"Guessing that's why they call themselves 'Juggernaut,'" Sean ventured. "Unstoppable forces, and all that."

"Which sadly makes sense," Anita sighed. "They blitzed past the first two rounds without a single loss, and each game was cruelly one-sided. They only just slowed down recently- their match against the Golden Girls was 2-1, but even then, they were brutal."

"So we'll have to bring our A-game if we want to beat them?" Lucas followed.

"That goes without saying," Yuri nodded. "Seriously consider your side deck options, because they'll make all the difference."

"The Gear Chronicle player has some potent multi-attacking potential," Anita suggested, "so I'd prioritize 30k Sentinels over Perfect Guards. The Bermuda Triangle player prioritizes raw strength over the number of attacks, so Perfect Guards would still be serviceable. The Link Joker player," she paused, worried. "Well, his ability to easily shut down rearguard skills would be dangerous for anyone. Generally, I'd suggest just trying to overwhelm him with pure power, but his defensive play is surprisingly tight."

"Figures," Lucas shrugged. "Guess this final boss is going to require some careful counterplay."

Yuri stretched. "To be honest, I hope you get matched up against him. You taking that snot down would be worth savoring for years."

"You and me both." Lucas stirred a bit. "Tell you what, why don't you two keep filling me in about the scum-suckers. The rest of you can take five."

"How generous," Sal said. "I could use a few minutes to readjust my deck. Wanna help, Kiki?"

"Oh, um, sure," Kiki stammered.

"You're welcome to tag along, Sean."

Sean chewed on something invisible for a second. "I'll, uh, join you soon. I was hoping to make a call or two."

Meanwhile, the waiting room across from Team Villager's was hosting the newly victorious Team Juggernaut. Like their future opponents, they had emerged victorious after a hotly contested three-game match. Rather than celebrating their advancement, or strategize about how to proceed for the title bout, however, the team was embroiled in argument. Or rather, their captain was, driving the conflict single-handedly as he laid out his grievances against his teammates.

"You two would be up a creek if it wasn't for me," he snarled, trying his best to tower over the other two. He wasn't that much taller than any other boy his age, but his ego-addled mind gave him aggression too severe to people even twice his size. "Those mothers weren't shit, and you still dropped the ball."

Nasim shifted uncomfortably. He had lost game two by the skin of his teeth thanks to some defensive miscalculations. "We did out best," he mumbled meekly.

"'We did our best,'" Buzz mocked in the most nasal, derisive tone he could muster. "Kiss my ass, the best. What the hell even was that, out there?" He scoffed. "You're lucky I bailed you out."

"Jesus, give it a rest," groaned Trish, who had been trying unsuccessfully to retool her deck for the finals. Every time she got started, Buzz flared up with a new complaint. "Title match is coming up, and this is what you do? Doing wonders for morale, here."

"Shut the hell up," he growled with exasperation. "You don't have any right to complain, you barely scraped by."

"Screw you. I still won. That's what should matter."

"Bullshit. You got lucky." He adjusted his jacket in agitation. "As in, you're lucky you didn't wipe out. Were you even trying out there?"

"The hell is wrong with you?" she gnashed. "Seriously, what makes you think you can act like this?"

"Because I win," he snapped back. With a ferocious point, he delivered his deepest held conviction. "People aren't worth shit on a shoe if they can't win. And I think you two better get your act together- if Juggernaut gets anything but the gold, you're both out." Before Trish could even fire back with a rejoinder, he clomped off in a huff.

Trish watched him go with a scowl. "Asshole…"

Nasim sighed. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Getting him to back off." He smiled weakly. "I thought he'd rip my throat out or something."

"Oh." There was an uncomfortable pause. "Don't...it's no problem."

"It's funny," he mused, a bit more at ease. "Usually, I'm the one there to help put him on a leash. But when he's after me, I'm useless."

"He doesn't need a leash anymore, he needs a freaking straight-jacket." She huffed. "If he keeps this up, I'll have no problem leaving this team.'"

Nasim's slight smile snapped away. "You don't mean that, do you?"

"I totally mean it. I like winning too, but not if it means being chewed out by Admiral Asshat like that every time you or I slip up."

"I see." He scratched the back of his head slowly and sheepishly. "Uh…"

"Don't try to convince me to stay." She turned. "And don't tell me you're staying."

Nasim bit his bottom lip. He owed Buzz a lot, but even he was growing weary of his friend's behavior. "Can I think about it?"

Trish shrugged, trying to mask her disappointment with indifference. "Whatever, sure. Be quick, though- finals start real soon."

Sal looked over her lineup a second, third, and fourth time. Choosing which Sentinels to walk into the finals with was highly important, but the choice was still a difficult one. Given how her opponent's would all be using Force clans, PGs seemed like a no-brainer, especially since Force clans could hit some ludicrous heights. But given Anita's report, two of her competitors could break out with multiattacking strategies, meaning the 30k Shields would be more appreciated. Then again, the draw triggers attached to the PGs were more appreciated than the critical ones.

Kiki peered over. "Trying to decide which Sentinels to use?" she deduced.

"Yeah," replied Sal. "This choice is harder than I'd thought it'd be."

"Well, how often do you draw with your deck?"

Sal caught on quickly. "I draw a lot, but usually just to replace the stuff I called or bound from hand. Guess you're leaning for the PG draws?"

"Yes. But, um, it's up to you. You don't have to take my word for it or-"

"No, it makes sense. I'm all for it. Thanks for the help."

"Oh, well, um, you're...welcome?"

"Don't be so modest. You're one of the best players I know." Kiki blushed and opened her mouth to object, but was immediately cut off. "Don't say you aren't, because you're kicking butt at a regional level, and you're one of three people who can actually beat me."

"Mhm." Kiki nodded bashfully, too flustered to even inquire about the other two people. "W-well, you're very skilled as well."

"Thanks. Took years of practice." She smiled knowingly. "I was an awful beginner. The game was like nothing I ever tried before. I'd relied on reflexes and speed for so long that something that required me slowing down and thinking was...foriegn. But I didn't quit. Lucas wouldn't let me quit. And after a few months of stumbling, I was cleaning up."

Kiki wasn't sure how to respond. Sal was the member of Team Villager she knew the least about. They got along well enough, and she certainly wasn't a reticent person, but this was the first time she heard her talk about herself in a serious capacity. Sean and Lucas easily volunteered such information, but Sal seemed more personally distant, even if her behavior wasn't.

"How about you? I'm guessing you have a lot of hours of play under your belt to be on that level."

Kiki was caught a bit off-guard. Even with Sean and Lucas, she hadn't talked a lot about her past. Interests and hobbies, sure, that was expected of a friend; but she didn't really talk about her home life or past. It wasn't really important, at least in her mind. "I've been playing a while, yes," she answered as neutrally as she could.

"How much of 'a while' are we talking about? Since elementary school? Middle school?"

That was a question that could be answered without giving too much away. "Middle school. Sixth grade, if I remember correctly."

"You started earlier than me. Guessing your uncle had something to do with that?"

This question required a bit more thought; she didn't want to lie, but giving out the whole story would certainly throw them off. "Yes, he insisted." A good enough line for now.

"I thought so. Guy sells games for a living, of course he'd get his niece hooked on something like Vanguard."

"You- you make it sound sinister."

"It was a joke." Sal lowered her voice a notch. "Sorry if I tripped over something important."

"You're fine." Kiki needed a way out, quickly. "Sean tells me you're on the volleyball team."

"Yeah. Not the ace or anything, but I like to think I bring the average up."

"How do you do that?"

"Do what? Play volleyball?"

"Well, that, and play competitive Vanguard? It must be tough balancing both."

"I mean, sure. Until now, I wasn't playing Vanguard competitively, and honestly, I don't see a point of trying to be the best at cardfighting. I was just trying to have fun against tough players. Didn't expect to make it this far. Not that I'm complaining- half of the fun in anything is pushing yourself as far as you can go."

"Is that why you like volleyball too?"

"That's definitely part of it. Though a lot of it was from me trying to stand out." She could feel Kiki giving her a curious glance. "I'm the fourth youngest out of six kids, and one of four girls. I thought I had to make myself stand out somehow." She chuckled wryly. "It didn't occur to me that ma would love me regardless. I mean, just look at Rod."

"Rod?"

"My brother, Rodrigo. Biggest bum you've ever met...well, up until a few weeks ago. He's giving his job an actual shot."

"I see." There was a lull As Kiki kicked something around her head. "Do you really have five siblings?"

"Three older, two younger."

"I see," Kiki repeated. "I don't think I could handle a family that large."

"For what it's worth, we kinda don't." Sal began to stir again. "Guess, you're swapping your Sentinels too?"

Kiki felt relieved to be back on familiar ground. "Sure."

"Yo."

Sean found the greeting a bit disconcerting. Shu never picked up a call like that. There was always some joke, or snide comment, or some softball icebreaker that opened things up. Jumping straight in with such a brief, non affected snippet of voice was unlike him. "What's up?" he asked, balancing his probe to be both non-judgemental and concerned.

"Hey, you were the one who called me, remember? Don't tell me you're going senile already. You had such a rich life ahead of you…"

That was more like it, but something was still off. "I'm serious. You sound out of it." He waited as his mind finally added two and two. "You guys didn't just lose, did you?"

"Yeah. Semis is as far as we got."

"Well, crap. I'm really sorry."

"Ah, don't be. Bronze medal is pretty good, all things considered. Best the school's done in a few years." There was a brief gap. "Probably should have gone through with the killer robot, honestly."

Sean laughed. "Good ol' intimidation. Always works."

"That's what I said! But again, third place out of 40 schools is good. Just…thought we'd go further. Kinda sucks to lose when we were actually in our element."

Sean's smile petered out. Shu was normally quite aloof and relaxed until it came time to compete. He invested a huge amount of self-worth in doing well, like his parents were always hovering over his shoulders ready to either congratulate or admonish him. Heck, knowing them, they probably went to the event in person despite the sheer amount of nothing spectators could do there. Failure stung greatly each time. It was part of the reason Sean feared failure to begin with.

"Some of the tryhards are throwing a fit at whoever wasn't 'pulling their weight,' as if there wasn't a person there giving it their all. No one's ass was on the line or anything, either, they're just majorly miffed."

"Aren't you miffed?"

"A little. Losing sucks. But that just means I have to try harder next time."

"That's a good way to look at it. When did you learn that?"

"A while back, the hard way. Remember that out-of-state school I applied to?"

"Oh yeah, the one you read all those awful books for."

"Yep. This may come as a shock, but I didn't get it. That was one of my biggest Ls ever. Couldn't cope with it at first, 'til my dad decided enough was enough."

"You're dad?" Sean only knew Shu's father through anecdotes and brief glances when he bothered to greet his son's friends. He sounded like the most industrious, stern man one could imagine.

"Yeah, must've done something seriously concerning if he got involved. Anyway, he told me failing is just...a thing you deal with. And you can either sit down and let it pile on, or shrug it off and move ahead."

"Is that a proverb?"

"No, just good advice." Sean took note of it the best he could- it could come in handy later for just about everyone on the team. "Anyway, what's going on with you?"

Sean chuckled nervously. "Well, I kinda feel like a jerk saying it after you poured your heart out…"

He heard a single rueful laugh on the other end. "Did you guys win the whole thing?"

"No, but we're in the finals. Either way, we're going home riding high."

"As you should, that's great! Man, first tournament, and you guys are already taking names." Another laugh, this one much more mirthful. "Man, I needed news like that."

"Well, that's not the only reason I'm calling you." Sean hesitated again, but knew there was no point in waiting. "See, I'm probably going to play, and-"

"Buddy, you didn't just call for a pep talk, did you? From a guy who's teetering himself?"

"No, I'm not backing out," Sean replied hurriedly. "But I'm still nervous as all get-out. I'm having a bit of trouble following my own advice about how this is just for fun." He sighed. "God, this sounds ridiculous, but I'm honestly not sure if I'm taking this too seriously or not. Lucas definitely wants a win, and I know he says not to worry, but-"

"Oh," Shu murmured in recognition. Nothing flowed either way for what felt like a full minute. "Well, that's a little too real to deal with right now. Not gonna lie, I don't have any sage advice here. Not Miyagi or anyone like that." Another pause, with an audible breath on both sides. "If it helps, I think you'll make your team proud no matter what."

"Yeah," Sean admitted. "Guess I just needed someone to tell."

"Well, before you go, I just want to say give 'em hell. Or heaven, since you're playing Royals."

"Yeah," Sean repeated, trying to sound a bit uplifted. "Talk to you soon." He hung up unceremoniously. "What now?" he asked himself.

"Sean!" Lucas called out from across the room.

That should make it obvious- sink or swim.

"This is it, the big showdown! After three rounds of intense action, we've got our final two teams ready to duke it out!"

"And they're both newcomers! Whoever manages to go home with the gold today will be making history for their team. Stakes are high!"

"And so is excitement! Just listen to that crowd!"

The crowd was indeed going nuts, something Sean had not expected from the last few matches. The level of enthusiasm was palpable and nearly deafening, with people on both sides of the arena shouting encouragement. It was honestly disorientating after the relatively low key first two rounds, and even the more rambunctious semifinals weren't this loud.

"Time for the title match- Team Villager vs Team Juggernaut! What are we waiting for- let's determine our round pairings!"

Sean was so preoccupied with the noise he didn't notice the staff member approaching the group. It wasn't Samuel the Professional, but a chestnut-haired woman, small enough that she needed to grasp the straws with both hands to keep the straws hidden. She gave a polite smile and wordlessly extended the straws to the team- they should know what to do. Apprehensive, Sean and Kiki both took their straws at the same time after Sal and Lucas had already taken their's.

"Oh," Kiki murmured disheartenedly. "I-I have the black one."

"That means she won't be playing," Sal remembered with a small scowl. "And after retooling our decks…"

"Well, I got the blue one this time," Lucas said. He eyed the woman, who had a clipboard already prepared. "Oh, Lucas Robertson."

"Thank you," the woman said cordially. "Who drew the yellow straw?"

"That'd be me," sighed Sal. "Sal Mendez."

"Perfect. Meaning our red straw is…"

Sean only just realized what he was holding. "Um, me." There was a brief pause as Sean struggled to cope with both the weight of his draw and the situation at hand. "Sean Gregor."

"Very well. Good luck out there." The woman made a beeline for the back as quickly as she came.

Sean breathed in. "So I'm third, huh?"

"Guess so," Sal answered. "I know that's not your favorite spot, but-"

"I think he can handle it," Lucas flexed. "With me leading the charge and you cleaning up, he might not get to play at all."

"You sure are confident."

"Best to go into big matches thinking you can do it, right? Don't want to psyche yourself down."

"Sure, sure."

"Plus, I'd love to finally put those punks in their place. Sending them home 0-2 in the finals would be perfect."

"There it is. Not that I disagree."

"Well, right now, all we can do is wait," Sean offered. "But I'm sure you guys will do great."

"Thanks," Lucas grinned. "Let's give 'em hell."

A/N: Well, this took a while. I wanted to get a whole lot of exposition out of the way before heading into the final matches, since I didn't want to overload a fight with non-fight related stuff. But with the real world butting in, this took longer than expected. Thank you for your patience.