DDR CITY: Raves of Revolution ~Double Time~
By
Darkness Shade
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Kanbei National Corporation
Kanbei sits alone in his office, holding an ominous looking card in his hand.
"Did I perhaps go too far in creating this card…?" Kanbei asks himself, "Is this, the fourth Max Brother card, too powerful?"
Kanbei twirled it around in his hand, looking it over.
"I'm not sure, but in one week we shall see." He said, laying the card on a hologram generator.
Up popped the image of a somewhat ghastly looking fellow, drabbed in similar clothing as the other Maxes, "Why do you need Konami Original songs?" was all he said.
Kanbei chuckled, "Quite a strange catch phrase…but indeed we will fine out when the tourney starts…"
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Ryan's House…five days till the tournament
Dark was pacing back and forth, "Ugh, how long is he gonna stay in there?"
Mia walked by and saw him in stress, "What's wrong, hon?"
"Oh, its just Ryan." Dark said while sighing, "He's been in that room for the last week…something must've really bugged him."
"Well, wouldn't you be a bit surprised too if you found out that your most powerful card is the recreation of one of your most powerful enemies?" Mia replied.
"Yes," Dark said with a grin, "I hate it when you're always right."
Mia giggled, "Oh you silly…come on, you need to practice. I'm sure Ryan'll come out when he's ready."
Mia dragged Dark off to another part of the house to practice, while Ryan was still focused intently on…
…"Ansemian." were the only words Ryan said.
Ryan merely was focused intently on the five cards that summoned 'Ansemian the Forbidden Dancer'.
"Hmmm…but how? I know from talking with Cid and them before we left to face you that you weren't always evil…in a way you and I were alike…we just really loved DDR."
Ryan held Ansemian's card in his hand and looked it over; something about it felt special from his other cards.
"I'm actually starting to believe what Kanbei said about you," Ryan said, "It would explain what happened to you after Dark and I, well, sent you packing."
Ryan was obviously trying to be delicate about the things that had occurred, the images were still fresh in his mind, even after a year had passed…
…"You'll never win, Ansemian." Said DR.
"Oh, really. I think I already have. Your friends are powerless to do anything, and you've already lost that other boy to Darkness." Ansemian said, twirling her sword.
"You may have defeated his body, but his soul will remain. I won't let his destruction be in vain." Said DR, charging up.
"Fine then, let us go…ack!" Ansemian said, clutching her chest, "The power, but how?"
Ansemian looked down, "That annoying hedgehog…he broke through…No! I won't lose!"
With that Ansemian charged at DR, DR charged at her…
"That seems so long ago, so much has changed since then…but in a way I doubt I'd ever forget you, as you were one of the most powerful foes I'd ever faced." Ryan said, laying the five cards down on his portable hologram generator.
The image of Ansemian began to appear in front of him.
"You really were something, never thought that I'd ever receive help from you." Ryan said with a grin.
"Funny how things change." Ansemian's hologram said.
"You've got that right…I just hope I can count on you for help."
"Don't worry…as long as I am needed, I'll be a part of your deck." Ansemian said, appearing somewhat softer than she did so long ago, "On another note, while I doubt its my business what you do, perhaps you should go see your friends…they seemed worried about you."
"Never thought I'd take advice from you, but I believe your right." Ryan said, removing Ansemian's cards and placing them back in the holster.
Before her image disappeared, Ryan could've sworn he saw Ansemian smiled.
Charmy happened to be walking by Ryan's room when she heard the door open.
"Oh, heya Charmster." Ryan said, walking out of his room.
"Ryan! You've finally finished?" Charmy asked.
"Yep," Ryan said, hugging her, "time to enjoy what little times left before the tournament with my friends."
"Hmmm…I sense you got that advice from someone else." Charmy said with a grin.
Ryan smiled and thought to himself, 'If you only knew who…on another note, that grin of hers is always something.'
Ryan shook his head, "Anyway, where's the others?"
Charmy grabbed his hand, "Mia dragged Dark off this way to practice. Shadow took off with Sonic somewhere, they said training, but knowing Shadow…"
Ryan grinned, "Right, and what about Reps?"
"Well, he said he was going off somewhere and would be back later." Charmy said opening Dark's door.
"Well, I'm sure he's doing what he deems okay……" Ryan said before stopping.
"Um, Mia?" Dark said, staring at us.
"Huh? Oh, hi guys…" Mia said, blushing.
The four of them kept looking at each other for a few minutes, turning a few shades red, before Ryan pulled Charmy away and closed the door.
"Well, I guess he was practicing." Charmy said, blushing and holding back a giggle.
"Yeah, just not the way we thought." Ryan said, slightly grinning.
Dark looked at Mia, Mia looked at Dark…then they both collapsed from the embarrassment of being caught by their friends in such a compromising position.
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A familiar place
A figure is silently sipping her drink while staring into the night sky.
"Things have been way to peaceful…especially after the others fixed everything."
Suddenly, a bright flash is seen sparking into the sky and then disappearing.
"What the heck was that?" she said, running into her house.
"Oh, no…They've disappeared…Ryan…Charmy…all of you. I hope this isn't an omen."
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~The Next Day~
A smell vapor slowly wound its way from the kitchen, up the stairs and happened upon a certain hero's bedroom.
Ryan sniffed and slowly opened his eyes, "Hmm, smells like Mia's cooking up some breakfast. *sigh* Four days…I'd better make the most of them."
Ryan tried to get up, but found Charmy laying on him, her head on his chest.
"Hey, Charmy…wakey, wakey." Ryan said, gently nudging her.
"*mumble* Five more minutes, daddy….." Charmy said, still half asleep.
Ryan blinked, "Um…Charmy? You okay?"
Charmy opened her eyes and looked up at me, "Oh…morning Ryan."
"Yeah…so…care to move off me so I can get up?" Ryan asked.
"Oh, yes…of course." Charmy said, blushing a bit.
As Charmy was in the shower, Ryan got dressed…and then noticed something glowing in one of Charmy's drawers.
"What the hell is that?" Ryan said, opening the drawer.
Just then Charmy walked out and saw Ryan with the drawer open, "You trying to steal another pair of my panties?"
Ryan turned around and turned about two shades of red, "NO! And I told you, that was Dark who did that, not me!"
Ryan shook his head, "Look, nevermind…this look familiar?"
Charmy looked at the golden object Ryan held, "Hey, that's your…but how did it get here? I thought Ems had them…"
"Yeah, so did I…but somehow my arrow came back." Ryan said.
"Hey, what's that inscribed on the back?" Charmy said, turning it around.
"It's in some code…but that part looks like it says…'Bemani'?" Ryan said.
"Bemani? That's what all the Konami games like DDR are called right?" Charmy asked.
"Yeah…wait…you don't think that, the arrows changed somehow…do you?" Ryan asked.
"Maybe…but these, I guess…'Bemani' items must have been brought back here for a reason." Charmy said.
"Perhaps…but who has them…? And what power could they have?" Ryan asked.
"I don't know, but I'm sure we'll found out." Charmy said.
At this point Dark decided to come up stairs.
"Hey, you guys gonna come eat or wha……" Dark said, opening the door and freezing.
"What's wrong Dark? Why's your nose bleeding?" Charmy asked, a bit confused.
"Um, Charmy…I don't know if you realized it…but…you're completely naked." Ryan said.
"Huh?" Charmy said, looking down at herself, "Ack!"
Charmy ran into the bathroom and locked the door, "Dark get out, and Ryan, get me some clothes!!"
"Jeez…okay, I'm leaving…just hurry or it'll get cold." Dark said, closing the door and heading back downstairs.
Ryan sighed as he pulled out some clothes for Charmy…
~After Breakfast~
"So, what're we gonna do today?" Dark asked, helping Mia clean up.
"Hmm, that's a good question…how's about we go to the arcade?" Ryan asked.
"Are you sure? Remember the last time we went…" Charmy said, "…I got freaking kidnapped."
"Well…we're going…besides, I heard that someone has been showing up that's supposedly really good." Ryan said.
"Here we go again." Mia said.
~Adventure Landing~
"Wow, this place looks different now that its been fixed up again." Dark said, eyeing the repairs made.
"Yeah, but then again…its amazing they were able to fix it as fast as they did after my reploid clone tore it to pieces when he took off with Charmy." Ryan said, before getting tackled by about twenty fan girls.
Needless to say, Dark was laughing his ass off…until he to was tackled by about the same number of girls.
Mia and Charmy looked on and you could see the anger in their face, ready to burst.
"Ladies…please, this isn't the best course of action….hey…that's my hair…" Ryan said, trying to break free.
"My shades…!!" Dark yelled as someone grabbed them.
Mia and Charmy had had enough and let loose with some light magic spells, unfortunately…
…"So sorry guys, you just know how the girls get when we get attacked like that." Ryan said to his friend Josh that worked at AL.
"That's okay…we're used to it after all this time." He said to Ryan, "Maybe you guys should get fan girl insurance."
"Yeah." Dark said, laughing.
"I've never seen this game before." Charmy said.
"That's IIDX, hon." Ryan said, "It's made by Konami as well, except it's a DJ sim game…used to know a friend that could knock the crap outta any song on it…but haven't seen him in years."
"I remember him…" Dark said, "Scott was a cool friend…one of the only friend's that actually understood us as an equal…even me, and that takes something."
Ryan and Dark let out a chuckle, and then decided to play a bit of IIDX.
As Ryan played through '.59', a mysterious figure in a black cloak walked into the arcade, a sword on his back.
The stranger's ears perked up when he heard someone playing IIDX and it didn't sound like a horse abusing itself…(A/N: inside joke).
'Hmm,' he thought, 'usually I don't hear anyone play like that. I wonder who it could be?'
The figure walked in and saw Ryan playing…he grinned, 'I'll be damned. It's him!'
Ryan was too busy to notice as the figure went over to the Extreme machine and started to play on doubles mode.
It wasn't until Dark took over playing IIDX that Ryan heard '.59' playing on the Extreme machine.
'Hey, that guy's playing '.59' on Doubles Hidden…that seems…familiar.' Ryan thought.
Ryan watched as the guy then picked 'Jana Jane'.
'Another one I remember…the way he's doing the run's has a familiar style…' Ryan thought, and then jumped when Dark tapped him on the shoulder.
"Jumpy, are we?" Dark asked.
"Sorry, just in deep thought…does that guy playing doubles remind you of anyone?" Ryan asked.
"Yeah, his style does seem vaguely familiar…" Dark said.
The girls walked over to join Ryan and Dark.
"What's up guys?" Mia said.
"It's that guy DDRing…he seems familiar." Dark said.
"Really?" Charmy said, "Hmm…"
The guy finished his session and walked over to the IIDX stage.
As he walked by Ryan, he flashed a grin and chuckled.
Ryan watched him with interest…something about him was familiar.
The man in the cloak smiled as he put his tokens in to play IIDX.
'Hmm…' Ryan thought.
The man selected 'Spin the Disc' as his first song.
'Hey, that way he's playing is similar to…that's how it was…' Dark thought.
The man then picked his next songs, but Ryan began to head towards the Extreme machine.
"If I know my songs, this should get to him." Ryan said, starting up on Doubles.
The man had just finished his last song when he heard 'Look to the Sky (True Color Mix)' start up.
'Oh, that song…that poor remix of such a cool trance hit…I had a feeling he might play that.' The man in the cloak said.
Ryan finished that and then did some freestyling to 'So Deep (Perfect Sphere Remix)'.
'Yet another routine I rememeber him doing…heh…' the man thought.
Finally Ryan choose the one song he knew that would push the guy, if he was who he thought it was…."Candy Star…" Ryan said with a grin.
'Oh, that's it…he pushed my buttons with that.' The man thought.
He waited for Ryan to finish before motioning to him and walking outside.
"He wants us to follow him…come on." Ryan said.
"So you decided to follow me, ne?" the man in the cloak said to Ryan.
"Yes…I was wondering when you'd show up again…it's been awhile." Ryan said.
"Yes…almost too long…things have changed I see." He said, pointing at Dark, Mia, and Charmy.
"More than you might know." Ryan said with a grin.
"Good…I'd like to try something first though." The man said drawing his sword and charging at Ryan.
"Ryan!" Charmy yelled.
The man charged at Ryan and stopped short of hitting him.
All Ryan could do is grin.
The man stepped back, "Why didn't you try to stop me?"
"I knew you wouldn't hit me." Ryan said, grinning still.
"Very well then…but now we play for real." The man said, readying his stance.
"My pleasure." Ryan said, drawing his Keysaber.
"Heh, that's some funky weapon you got there Ryan." The man said, "Let's see if you can handle it."
The man charged at me and I parried his blow, knocking him back.
"Not bad…definitely not what I expected from you." The man said with a grin.
"And you seem as sharp as ever." Ryan said with a slight chuckle.
Ryan then dashed at the man, who jumped over him and attempted a downward slash, which Ryan flipped around and blocked.
"Almost a bit too quick for me there…" Ryan said, grinning. (Notice a trend yet? ^_^)
"Um, would you guys quit with the show of skill and just tell us who the hell you are?" Mia said in an unusual outburst.
Dark scooted away just a bit, "That was scary!"
"Heh, gladly!" the man said, holstering his sword and removing his hood.
"So it is you!" Dark said.
"Was there ever any doubt?" the man said.
"Heh, none what so ever…but you could've made it just a little less obvious…" Ryan said.
"Perhaps…but I figured those would get your attention." He said, "Hey, author, you mind using my name now?"
"Huh?" Author said, "OH sure…one of you call him by name."
"Sure, heya Scott!" Ryan said.
"Finally! Thank you!" Scott said.
"No problem!" The author's voice boomed.
"Okay, now that we've officially broken the fourth wall again, can we get back on track?" Charmy said.
"Certainly, but…um…"Ryan said, looking around at the crowd that had gathered, "Perhaps we should head for better grounds?"
"Agreed…lead the way." Scott said.
~Back at Ryan's house~
"This is a nice pad you got here…very nice." Scott said, looking around.
"Yeah…its amazing what DDRing can do if you play your cards right." Ryan said with a grin.
"So I can see…now about how you got that fancy looking key thingie?" Scott asked.
"Oh, yes…there is quite a lot you've missed…." Ryan said as he began.
Sometime Later
"…so that's it Scott." Ryan finished.
"Wow, dude…that's…heavy and just a bit foobar if ya ask me." Scott said.
"Yeah…but…well…just look." Ryan said, pointing to Charmy, then Mia, and then to Darkness.
"Yeah, yeah…I remember that wack stuff you were saying about Dark way back when, guess I was wrong." Scott said with a laugh.
"Yeah, but hey…at least you sorta believed us." Dark said with a slight chuckle.
"Yeah…" Scott kinda eyed Charmy over, "Yep, you definitely got things right with her."
Charmy blushed, "Scott…"
"Hey, remember that thing about Charmy, Ryan? On the 5th mix selection screen?" Scott said, nudging Ryan.
"Um, yeah…I remember…" Ryan said with a bit of uneasiness.
"I don't think you do, remember? When you'd pick her, her chest would bobble up and down?" Scott said with a laugh.
"Um, Scott?" Ryan said, pointing behind him.
"Eh?" Scott said, turning around and seeing Charmy with a frying pan.
Smack!!
Scott went flying clear across the room.
"So Ryan…you liked it when my chest went up and down, eh?" Charmy said, coming near him with the frying pan in hand.
"No, wait…you don't understand…it was a joke…never meant it to be like that." Ryan said, Charmy standing over him.
"Hmmm…wait…so you don't like my chest?"
"No wait, that's not what I meant…I do, but…I don't, not like that…I…can't…think…oooooooooh…@_@…"Ryan said, collapsing.
Dark looked over at his other half collapsed on the floor, "Charmy, you gotta be more careful around him…ya know Ryan can only take so much of your strong personality."
Charmy blushed and tossed the frying pan aside, which promptly landed on Scott's head.
"Owie…" Scott's somewhat conscious body said.
~A Few Minutes Later~
"*blink* Jeez, what happened?" Ryan said, shaking his head.
"Um, Scott said something Charmy seemed to disagree with." Mia said.
"Oh, yeah…I remember now, thanks a lot Scott!" Ryan said with a smirk.
"Not my fault your girl is crazy like that." Scott said, his head covered in a couple of bandages.
Charmy kinda glared at Scott a bit, then went and threw her arms around Ryan.
"Sorry hon, you know how I am." Charmy said with a smile.
'Kawaii.' Ryan thought to himself, "Okay…I forgive you."
Dark kinda rolled his eyes, then caught something shining from under Scott's coat, "Hey…Scott, what's that?"
"Huh?" Scott said, pulling open his coat, "This thing? Damned if I know…just showed up the other day, figured it was pretty cool."
"Hey, that kinda looks like…" Ryan said, getting his Bemani arrow.
"Hmm…'cept mine seems to resemble a IIDX disc." Scott said.
"I know, then let's call it the Bemani Disc!!" Charmy said.
Needless to say, everyone just kinda stared at her as a wind blew through the silence.
"Well," Dark said, "That works for now…so it's safe to say we may see more of these things soon enough."
"Speaking of soon enough things, you guys joining that tourney Kanbei Corp. is holding?" Scott said.
Dark and Ryan just kinda hardened a bit, "Yes…"
"Something I say…?" Scott asked.
"Let's just say Kanbei and us have had a mixed past." Dark said.
"Ah, so…anyway, care to look over decks?" Scott said, pulling his out of his pocket.
"Sure, good to know your rivals, even if they are your friends." Ryan said, pulling his out.
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt." Dark said, also producing his.
Ryan thumbed through Scott's deck, "Hmm…nice...thought you'd have this one…wait, how the hell did you get this!?"
Ryan held up none other than 'Max 300'.
Scott laughed, "That card was a tough one to get…it happened a while ago, Tyger happened to slip it to me after I passed that song on Doubles Heavy for the first time…then he just disappeared."
"That's Tyger for you, always mysterious." Dark said, "Too bad the others aren't here to see their decks…wouldn't mind that at all."
Suddenly a somewhat robotic sounding laugh filled the room, "Nice to know I'm missed."
"Who the hell?" Scott said, looking around.
"Its good to have you back, Reps." Ryan said, staring at a blurry spot on the wall.
"Nice to be back." Reps said decloaking, "Who's he?"
Scott got up and stared at Reps. Reps in turn activated his thrusters to stare Scott face-to-face.
"Who might you be then?" Scott said.
"I'm Replicant Sonikku 001…or Reps for short." Reps said with his robotic grin.
"Reps, eh? Well, any friend of Ryan's is a friend of mine." Scott said, shaking Reps' hand.
"Good, now…what's this about decks I overheard?" Reps asked, taking a seat.
"Oh, we're just going over everyone's deck to see who has what?" Mia said.
"You girls have been unusually quiet, you okay?" Ryan asked.
"Yeah, we're okay…" Charmy said, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Um, okay…hey Reps, how about we take a look at your deck?" Scott said.
"Sure…you might be surprised…I've collected a nice set of cards." Reps said, handing Scott his deck while looking over Dark's deck.
"Hmm…X and Zero, huh? Nice! *whistles* You've got quite a lot of Gundams and…no, not that…anything but that!" Scott said.
"What is it Scott?" Ryan asked.
"It's…it's…SD GUNDAMS!!" Scott said.
At that point, everyone fell over, including Reps…(A/N: Who knew reploids could facefault? ^_^")
"I still don't know what you had wrong with that show, I thought the dub was pretty hilarious." Ryan said with a chuckle.
"Sorry, but I can only stomach stuff like that for so long." Scott said.
"Yeah…anyway…" Reps said going through Dark's deck.
Reps did the reploid equivalent of blinking in surprise and held up a card, "Okay…how the hell did you get this?"
"That one…well…let's just say I have my connections." Dark said.
"I never really did understand why you have that card…" Ryan said with a bit of disgust in his voice.
"Oh, calm down…you know as well as I do that he didn't really kill her…" Dark said, taking back his deck.
"Yeah, yeah…I know, but I still don't quite care for him." Ryan said, taking his deck back.
Scott and Reps took back there own respective decks.
"Well, we should turn in for the night, hey Scott, you're welcome to stay if you want…got plenty of room…and Mia makes an excellent breakfast." Dark said.
"Hmm…why not? I could use a decent rest after all that travelling I did." Scott said with a laugh.
Thus are gang of heroes did retire for the evening, unknowing of the trials to come once the tournament start…
~Day of the Tournament~
"Well, you guys ready to do this?" Ryan said, holstering his deck in his duel pad.
"You bet I am!" Dark said, slipping on his trademark black, leather jacket and shades.
"Just don't expect me to go easy on you guys if we happen to face off." Reps said.
"Oh, we won't." Scott said, holstering his sword on his back, "Wouldn't be any fun that way."
"Shouldn't we wake the girls?" Ryan asked.
"Well, I guess we should." Dark said, "They'd get mad if we didn't bring them along."
"Yeah, well…let's just hope Sonic and Shad show up…" Reps said.
Scott looked at us with a puzzled look, "And what did that mean?"
Dark woke up the girls, who then smacked him with a frying pan as they were still half-asleep and didn't want to be seen in their nighties.
"Ow!!" Dark said, crashing down on the floor.
Charmy and Mia quickly dressed and met us downstairs, "What happened to Dark?"
"@_@…I'm fine…." Dark said, wobbling to his feet.
"Nevermind…let's just go!" Ryan said, walking out door and lifting into the air.
"How in the hell?" Scott said, just kinda staring.
"Oh, guess we forgot to tell you about that…we kinda learned how to fly while adventuring." Dark said, joining Ryan in the air.
"*chuckle* Yeah, well…two can play at that." Scott said, lifting up as well.
"Well, he did say that he was up to some crazy stuff." Reps said, activating his thrusters.
The group flew onward to the site of the tourney.
~DDR CITY Limits~
Our six heroes landed as nonchalantly as possible, even though a number of people saw them come in.
"Well, we're here." Scott said, landing.
"Yep…this is where it all goes down…one question though…" Ryan said, then noticed the people staring at them, "Hmm, perhaps we should move on."
"Agreed." Reps said, walking in front of us.
Along the way they overheard some people talking, "What the hell are those things on his arm?"
"You mean you haven't heard? Those are them DDRist people…some kinda tournament is going down."
"So that's why the city's been blocked off from traffic."
"Hmm, those guys look like quite a crew…you even think they're any good?" he said, pointing at us.
"Dude! Don't you know who that is? That's Ryan…and the other appears to be Darkness Shade…they're like legends. And that dude with the sword on his back…that's Scott…his IIDX skills are as legendary as Ryan's DDR skills."
"Wait…the Ryan? That husky looking guy is the Ryan? And Scott!? Dude…that's…"
"Yeah…amazing, eh?"
"No doubt…"
We continued till no one was looking at us.
"Weren't you going to ask something Ryan?" Charmy asked, her arm looped around his.
"Yeah…where's Kanbei? Isn't he supposed to get this thing started?" Ryan asked.
"You've got a point…hey is that? It is…" Dark said, letting out an angry growl at the same time.
"My, my…it seems you've come to participate in this as well…and you've brought your lost dog with you." Said a familiar blond-haired girl.
"You! I had a feeling you'd show up." Charmy said, "But like I said before…'It's better to be a dog than a bitch!'"
"Why you…Fufufufu! I won't be played by you…just pray you don't face me Ryan…or you'll need that dog to comfort you." Callie said as she walked off with her posse.
"Not bloody likely," Ryan said, "You're the one that better hope we don't meet."
Meanwhile two figures were watching over Ryan and his group.
"So he did come." Said the first one.
"Yes, I knew he would…he has a legacy to keep after all." Said the second one.
"So I've heard, but I still can't believe he was the one."
"You'd be surprised…he's stronger than he's letting on right now."
"You…you've got to be kidding me!"
"Sorry…but…he's not our target…his other half is…as well as their mysterious friend."
"Why?"
"Because that's who he's after…"
"I see…so you wish to test them…is that it?"
"Exactly…"
"So…you think he's gonna start this soon or what?" Sonic said to Shad as they sat at the café.
"He'd better…this waiting is killing me." Shad said, fidgeting in her chair.
Suddenly, a large airship appeared on the horizon.
The large monitor on it turned on and their appeared none other than Kanbei.
"It's about time!" Ryan said.
"Greetings DDRists! Welcome to the DDR City tournament. You've all been given an assigned duel pad, as well as a special duel card. Now don't feel all special, as all duelists have been given one. When you have won six of these, the arrow patterns on them will overlay and show the location of the finals. And for those of you daring, or foolish, enough, I myself will be participating in this contest. Now, good luck…and let the battle begin." Kanbei boomed over the loudspeakers of the airship.
Scott cracked his knuckles, "Let's get this game going!"
"I'm ready to duel!" Ryan said, the wind blowing through his hair.
"Enough with bad statements, let's just go." Dark said, Mia following behind.
"Hey, Dark wait up!" Scott said running after him.
"Well, I'm off guys…good luck!" Reps said, activating his jump jets and thrusting to another part of the city.
"Let's go Ryan." Charmy said, dragging Ryan along.
"Okay, okay…just quit dragging." Ryan said, following along.
"So, why exactly are you following me Scott?" Dark asked, looking around for an opponent.
"You seem like you're a better person to follow…seem like the type to draw some good opponents." Scott said, doing the same.
They spotted someone, but they took off seeing it was Dark.
"Dammit…everyone is too scared to duel us."
Suddenly two cloaked figures appeared, "If your looking for a duel, then we shall take you on."
"Who are you guys?" Scott said.
"If you defeat us, then we shall reveal ourselves…but in this duel…" said the first figure.
"…it shall be two on two." Said the second figure.
"So…a doubles duel eh?" Dark said with a grin.
"Do you have any idea who you're facing?" Scott said with a matching grin.
"Of course…he'd be the Keysaber master…or at least one of them." Said the second figure.
"True…you guys have done your homework…but…" Dark said.
"…Dark was good at doubles to begin with…and he was a great teacher." Scott said.
"And since Scott has surpassed me in doubles skill, then you should know you've got the odds against you." Dark said.
"Enough! Let's duel!" the first figure said.
Each teams' duel pads shot forth and connected, forming an 8 arrow pad.
Each person drew his or her first six cards.
"Let's go!" Dark said, playing 'D2R'.
"Ack! You played that?" Scott said.
"Hey, it let me summon this." Dark said, laying down 'Darkness Shade' in attack mode (2000/1600).
"I'll also lay down one card and end my turn." Dark said.
"Fine, my turn." Said the first figure, known from here on out as C.
C played '1998', "I'll lay down this card in defense mode and finish my turn."
"Finally, let's do this." Scott said, plowing through 'Tomorrow Perfume'.
"I play 'Shi-Low' in attack mode (1900/2000) and place one card face down." Scott said, ending his turn.
"Who the heck is 'Shi-Low'?" the second figure said, known from here on out as A.
"So much for knowing all about us…" Scott said with a laugh, "He's a DJ from IIDX, but that's all your getting."
"Whatever." A said, doing 'Look to the Sky (True Color Mix)'.
"Yargh! What's with the bad remixes…? First 'D2R'…now this…" Scott said, his vein bulging just a bit.
"Sorry, but my song, my choice." A said, laying down 'Aerith' in defense mode (1400/2200), "I end my turn."
'Aerith? How in the heck?' Dark thought, but then shook it off.
"All right, my turn. 'Dark' attack C's face down card. Dark said.
"Oh yes, slash time!" 'Dark' said, slicing C's card in half.
A picture of a Mog on a Chocobo appeared before it disappeared.
'A summons? What kinda deck have these guys got?' Scott thought to himself.
"I lay down one more card and finish my turn." Dark said.
'Great, two face down cards…just what I need!' C thought to himself as he played 'Drifting Away'.
'Hmm, well, I suppose this one shall do…' C said, laying down his next card, "I summon Neo-Bahamut in Attack Mode (2100/1600). Take out 'Dark' with your 'Giga-Flare!"
A piercing beam shot forth and nailed 'Dark', "Gah! This hurts!"
"Damn!" Dark said as his card self vanished, his life points dropping down to 7500, "Oh well, I'll draw something better soon enough."
"My turn," Scott said, drawing his next card, 'Oh, this one's good!'
"I use this magic card." Scott said, laying down 'Rainbow Flyer'.
"Rainbow Flyer? What the hell is that?" C asked.
"Oh, dear me…wherever did Dark and Scott get off to?" Mia said, embarrassed that she had lost them so easily, "I'm sure they didn't get far."
From the shadows, a figure was watching, "Hmm…and what might she be doing alone like that? I think I'll keep an eye on her."
Mia continued onward until…"Hey, you!"
"Huh? Me?" Mia asked.
"Yes, you…what do you think you're doing here? This is our territory." Said a man dressed in black.
"I'm sorry…I didn't know, I'll leave then." Mia said, going back the way she came.
"I don't think so," said another man clad in black, "You've got to pay up for trespassing."
The man grabbed onto Mia's shirt.
"Let go…" was all Mia said.
"Or what?" the two men said.
"Let go…of me…" Mia said again.
The shadow watched with interest and was about to intervene when…"I said, let GO!!!!"
Mia sent the goons flying with a burst of purple energy.
"What? What was that?"
"Grrr…I told you to leave me be…" Mia said, or more like growled out.
"We'll leave you, just…don't hurt us!" the goons said, walking back in an attempt to flee.
"Too late, you've woken up the demon within…and it wants your blood…" Mia growled out.
Mia dashed at the poor fellows and well…
The shadow was shaking, "That girl…I'd best make a note of that…she's stronger than she looks…"
Mia, who was now back to her normal self, overheard a battle going on over a TV, "Ah, so that's where Dark-chan is."
With that Mia headed towards Dark.
"This!" Scott said, as a funky looking airship came in, "And guess what, it boosts Shi-Low's attack power by 800."
'Shi-Low' jumped into the cockpit of the 'Rainbow Flyer'.
"Now attack 'Neo-Bahamut' with 'TAKA's Special Blitz'.
Needless to say, there was a huge explosion of color and light as 'Neo-Bahamut' was toasted.
"Unfortunately, that's a one shot, 'Shi-Low's back to his normal stats." Scott said.
'Damn!' C thought, his life points down to 7400.
"My turn…" A said, drawing a card, 'Wow…I drew this sooner than I thought…but for now…'
A played 'A' and placed 'Cloud' in Attack mode (1900/1900).
"Hmph, my turn again." Dark said, drawing a card, "Good, this'll do."
Dark played, 'PARANOiA Max ~Dirty mix~' and summoned the card of the same name in attack mode (1600/1800).
'Hmm…he's up to something…' C thought as he drew his next card, "Oh, yes…this card will finish you."
C played 'Xenon', "I summon 'Knights of the Round' in Attack mode (3000/2000)."
'Something's up…that's another summon…' Dark thought to himself.
"Ha, so what? I'll find a way to beat that thing." Scott said, drawing his next card.
'Hmm…I need a ten-footer to pull this off, but…which one?' Scott thought.
Scott finally decided on 'Bag'.
'He must be playing for something grand to do that song.' Dark thought.
Scott passed, "Good…now I can summon both 'dj TAKA' (1500/1300) and 'TaQ' (1600/1400) in defense mode. And I also lay two cards face down."
'What's he up to?' A thought, drawing the next card.
A laid a card face down and chose not to play a song.
"Back to me." Dark said, drawing his next card.
Dark grinned and played, 'B4U'.
"I summon Naoki to the field in defense mode. (1400/1700)" Dark said.
"My turn…now go 'Knights of the Round', attack 'PARANOiA Max ~Dirty Mix~'." C said.
"Ha, you idiot! You've activated my trap card." Dark said, as his card lifted up to reveal 'The Plothole of No Return'.
"Now send his character to realm of bad ideas and lost stories!" Dark shouted.
A black void opened up on the field and swallowed up the 'Knights of the Round.'
"Damn!" C said, his life points being left wide opened.
"Now it's my turn." Scott said, drawing his next card.
Scott played 'Sync', "And now, I sacrifice 'dj TAKA' and 'TaQ' to summon this card."
Scott lay down 'OutPhase' and 'dj TAKA and TaQ' fused into their combined form (2200/1500).
"Now, attack C's life points directly." Scott shouted.
'OutPhase' launched an IIDX disc of death at C.
"Cloud! Take the blow and save C's life points!" A shouted as 'Cloud' took the IIDX disc head on.
"Argh…" 'Cloud' spouted before fading out.
A's life points went down to 6700, "A small price, but your time is coming."
"Somehow, I don't like the sound of that…" Dark said, drawing his next card.
Dark played 'Hysteria', "Now I sacrifice 'Naoki' and 'PARANOiA Max ~Dirty Mix~' to summon 'Naoki 190'."
'Naoki' and 'P Max ~DM~' fused into 'Naoki 190' (2100/1900).
"Now attack C's life points directly!" Dark said.
'Naoki 190' lunged forward and knocked C back.
"Ugh!" C said, kneeling down from the blow, his life points now down to 5300.
"Yeah, not so tough now, eh?" Dark said.
"We'll see who's tough…" C said, drawing his next card.
C flashed a grin and then played 'Insertion', "Now I summon 'Bahamut Zero' in attack mode (2700/2000). Now attack 'Naoki 190'."
'Bahamut Zero' let loose with a huge energy wave as 'Naoki 190' was turned to dust.
"Damn it all!" Dark said.
"Don't worry, I'll get him back." Scott said, switching 'OutPhase' to defense mode and drawing his next card.
"Hmm, this'll help." Scott said, playing 'Sakura', "Now I summon 'Scott the IIDX legend' in attack mode (2700/2400). I also lay one card face down."
"Very well, 'tis my turn now." A said, drawing her next card.
A played 'Put Your Faith in Me' and summoned 'Yuffie' in defense mode (1800/2000).
'What the hell?' Dark thought, 'I'm beginning to think Kanbei knows the author…'
~Undisclosed location~
"Hmm, hey Kanbei, do you think he suspects anything?" said a teen with dirty blonde hair and wearing glasses, sitting at a keyboard.
"Nah, Dark's not that smart…" Kanbei replied.
~Back to the action~
'It doesn't matter,' Dark thought as he drew his next card, 'Yes!'
Dark played 'Bag' (only 10 he can do folks).
"I now use this card, 'Unusual Darkness' to summon 'Dark the 2nd Keysaber Master'(2700/2400)!" Dark said, as an engulfing blast of darkness covered the field.
"Heh, who's ready to battle?" said 'Dark', twirling his Keysaber.
"So, his isn't enough!" C shouted.
"Heh, you fool…I'm not done yet." Dark said with a grin, "I use this 'Fusion' card to combine 'Dark the 2nd Keysaber Master' with 'Scott the IIDX Legend'."
"Um, Dark, what the hell are you up to?" Scott asked.
"Just watch." Dark said, as the two character cards did their little fusion move and combined.
"We are now one." Came a combined voice.
"And what exactly is this new person called?" Scott asked.
"We call ourselves……'Scotty D.'(3500/2600)!" said 'Scotty D'.
At this point anyone within the radius of the fight facefault collectively.
"I take it Dark's half came up with that." Scott said.
"Yes, well…anyway, 'Scotty D' attack 'Bahamut Zero'!"
"Oh yeah, time to Drop the Bomb on your ass!" 'Scotty D.' said, busting out his Keysaber and sword as he hacked away at 'Bahamut Zero'.
"Dammit!" C said, his life points dropping to 4600.
'Shit! No character cards!' C thought, "Very well, I lay one card face down and end my turn."
"Heh, we just may win this thing." Scott said, as he drew his next card, "Holy Shit! I drew the one card that could win this for us now!"
"Wait, you don't mean…?" Dark said, staring at Scott.
"Yes…" Scott said, flashing 'Max 300', "And now, we see if I have what it takes…"
'Damn…I didn't know he had a 'Max Brother' card on him…if he pulls this off, we are so screwed!' A thought.
Scott was giving his all to pass 'Max 300' and in fact he did.
"Yes Scott, do it man!" Dark shouted.
Scott grinned as he lay 'Max 300', "Come forth Max Brother!"
A shadow crept along the ground of the battle grid, then wound its way up into the dark, shadowy figure that is 'Max 300' (4500/3500).
"Now, 'Max 300', attack C's life points directly!" Scott ordered.
'Max 300' lifted his hands and merely said two words, "Arrow Obliteration!"
"I don't think so!" C said, flipping his face down card over, "Its called 'Shadowing' and it allows me to copy any magic or trap card used. I think I'll copy that 'Plothole of No Return' one."
"God Dammit!" Scott shouted as 'Max 300' was sucked into the endless abyss of bad stories and loose ends.
"And so we're back to square one." Scott said rather grimly.
"Very well, I shall take my turn." A said, drawing another card.
"I end my turn." A said.
"Very well," Dark said, "Now, 'Scotty D.' Attack C's life points directly."
Needless to say, A sent 'Yuffie' to block the attack.
A's life points then took a dive to 3200.
"Ya know, you really shouldn't do that too many times." Dark said.
Dark played his next song, 'Captain Jack (Grandale Remix)' and lay a character card face down.
"And I'll also lay this card face down…that's it for my turn." Dark said.
'Got to get a character.' C said, drawing.
"Good…" C played 'Pink Rose' and summoned 'Liger Zero ~Naoki Style~' (2000/3000).
"What the hell?" Dark asked, "That thing looks familiar…"
"It should, it's the same one from '1998'." Scott said, "Though it won't help him much."
"Oh yeah, then help this!" C said as Scott was attacked directly by 'LZ ~Naoki Style~'.
"Ow…that hurt!" Scott said, as his life points dropped to 6000.
Unfortunately, Scott had no character cards handy.
"Damn…well, I can't do anything, so I lay these two cards down and end my turn." Scott said, "However, something about the way you've been acting A is getting me a tad worried, so I reveal your cards with this, 'Author's Eyes'. This magic card lets me see your hand."
"That won't be good." A said as her hand revealed itself to us.
"Oh sweet Shit!" Dark shouted, "She…she…"
"She's got freakin' 'Maxx Unlimited'!!" Scott said.
"So you fools discovered your end…now I guess I should use it." A said, playing 'Maxx Unlimited.'
"Sorry, but I won't allow that." Scott said, activating a face down card, "I activate 'Slake', which destroys you combo and throws you off…and in that song, you mess up and "Failure!"."
"Nice announcer voice Scott." Dark said as A failed the song.
"Curses, but next time shall be your undoing." A said.
"I think not, for you see…that card shall now be mine." Dark said, activating his face down card, 'Edit Swap!'.
"This card allow me to swap one card with any opponent, and guess what, I'm taking 'Maxx Unlimited' from you A!" Dark said, as 'Maxx Unlimited' became his card and A got his 'PARANOiA KCET ~Clean Mix~' Card.
"Damn, now how will we win?" C shouted, drawing his next card.
"And now I turn over my face down character…" Dark said.
"Dark, why do I hear 'One Wing Angel' playing?" Scott asked.
"Because, what else would play when I summon 'Sephiroth'?" Dark said with a grin.
'Sephiroth' appeared from the skies, floating down on his one wing.
"Now, Sephiroth! Attack 'Aerith' with your Masamune blade!"
"…" 'Sephiroth' said as he flew up and then came down, plunging the Masamune straight through 'Aerith's midsection.
"It's a good thing Ryan isn't here, I know that's one thing he wouldn't have wanted to see." Dark said, as Sephiroth pulled out his sword and returned to his place.
C played 'I Do, I Do, I Do' and placed 'Hades' in defense mode (2300/2000).
"Seems we've got him spooked with having 'Maxx Unlimited'." Scott said.
"Thing is, how we gonna summon it? Neither of us can do that song on Doubles Heavy." Dark said.
"That's why we'll use this card, 'Sync'. Usually it allows for a two-character attack, but in this case, we'll use it to do a two-player doubles song." Scott said.
"Perfect!" Dark said as they began to play.
"*puff* Well, let's summon that bad boy then…*huff*." Scott said, resting on the ground.
"*puff* Sure…I summon 'Maxx Unlimited'!" Dark said, placing the card on his card interface.
As in the same fashion as 'Max 300', 'Maxx Unlimited' crawled in as a shadow and assumed a shadowy, cloaked humanoid shape.
"And now, attack A's life points directly!" Dark shouted.
"Arrow Decimation!" 'Maxx Unlimited' said as a barrage of arrows pierced A and knocked her back, eradicating her life points.
"But how, how is it that powerful?" C asked.
"It's easy…each Max Brother is different. '300' has a set amount, 'Unlimited' is based on how many songs you played times 750, and 'Legend'…well, you'll learn of it soon enough." Dark said.
"Now, you have a choice…either forfeit and let us know what the hell's going on, or face 'Unlimited's wrath…" Scott said.
"I've a better idea." C said, unsheathing his sword, "Let's just fight hands-on!"
C dashed at Scott, who quickly blocked, but in doing so his sword was knocked away.
"Scott!" Dark said, tossing his Keysaber.
Scott caught the Keysaber and began knocking back C.
"You're strong, but I'm stronger!" Scott said, knocking away C's sword, "Now chill out and level with us."
"Yeah," Dark said, "And Aerith doesn't look too hot after taking that hit."
"You mean, you knew?" A, or rather Aerith said, slowly standing up.
"Of course, I am telepathic ya know." Dark said, holstering his deck, "Well that, and come on, 'C' and 'A'? That's rather obvious isn't it? Not too mention Cloud's deck kinda gave him away."
"I told you not to be so predictable." Aerith said, "Anyway, we're here for a reason."
"Yes…you remember Ansemian, right?" Cloud asked.
"She's that chick that Ryan and Dark beat, right?" Scott asked.
"Yeah, turns out that a few weeks ago, something escaped." Aerith said.
"Escaped?" Dark asked.
"Yes, at first we thought it might have been Ansemian, but strangely…we detected her on Earth already." Cloud said, leaning against his sword.
"That's true…she's now part of Ryan's deck." Scott said.
"She's a card?!" Aerith asked.
"Yeah…Ryan's best card." Dark said, "But why contact me? Shouldn't you be seeing Ryan?"
"Apparently, from what we've deduced, this new entity is after you Darkness Shade." Aerith said.
"You used the full version of my name, this must be serious." Dark said with a grin.
"For once be serious Dark," Scott said, knocking him upside the head with the flat of his blade, "This sounds like some deep shit!"
"Well, anything else you can fill us in on?" Dark asked.
"The only other thing we know is this person somehow knew Ansemian, but how and what kinda relation this person has to Anse is yet to be known." Cloud said.
"So, what you're telling me is, there's a new evil and we've no idea who it is?" Scott asked.
"Yep…kinda sounds like a convenient plot device, huh?" Dark said.
At this point, the four of them just kinda stare out at the reader.
"Anyway, be careful…we have a feeling the others might be in trouble as well, so we'll do our best to warn them." Aerith said.
"Now, I believe we owe you something." Cloud said, handing Scott his locator card and 'Knights of the Round'.
"Cool man, I'll take good care of this card." Scott said.
"As for you Dark, I entrust 'Maxx Unlimited' to you." Aerith said, handing Dark her locator card.
"Cool, I've got a Max Brother card!" Dark said, lifting it high, "I've always wanted to do that."
"Anyway, we shall be leaving, farewell!" Aerith said, as her and Cloud teleported away.
"Well, now what?" Dark asked.
"Oh Dark-chan!" came a voice.
"Mia? Hey, it is her." Dark said, as he hugged Mia, "You missed the fight."
"That's okay, I saw it on a television, you were awesome!" Mia said, clutching a golden object.
"Hey, Mia…what's that?" Scott asked.
"Oh this, just some kinda drum looking thing I found around here." Mia said, "Ya know, it looks an awful lot like your Bemani Disc."
"Well, now that it's obvious, you've stumbled onto the Bemani Drum." Dark said.
"Cool, now, if you haven't noticed, it has gotten quite dark outside. Perhaps we should find somewhere to rest for the night?" Mia asked.
"Good idea, I'm sure there's somewhere we can stay if we just look." Scott said as the three started walking off.
"Well, this looks like a good a place as any." Dark said, entering the inn.
"Greetings, now how can we…hey, do I know you?" asked a girl.
"Um, no of course not…just a guy who needs a room." Dark said, trying to play cool.
"Yeah, I know you now…your that Darkness Shade fella, aren't you?"
"Yeah, let the fan-girl attack commence." Dark said, giving up.
"Oh, no, we have an anti-fan girl barrier in place, so your safe…I just want an auto-graph!" said the girl.
"So, who do I make it out to?" Dark said, pulling out a photo of himself.
"Just where did you pull that from?" Scott asked.
"Oh, Dark-chan carries photos of himself with him all the time." Mia said.
Scott just has this blank expression and a large sweatdrop on his head.
"Julie." Julie replied.
"Here ya go." Dark said, handing it to her, "And, now…we'd like a room."
"Sure, you can have the suite." Julie said, handing Dark the key.
"Thanks…" Dark said, as the three of them headed up.
"Finally, some rest…I knew I'd get good opponents following you Darky." Scott said, sitting down.
"Yeah, yeah…but you've got a better card now…and I've a Max Brother." Dark said, leaning against a wall…and promptly falling through it.
"Ow…@_@…" Dark said, as he went down.
"Hey, what's that?" Scott said, pulling something off of Dark's head.
"That's a weird looking card, Scott." Mia said, helping Dark up.
"Oh, that was unexpected." Dark said, dusting himself off.
"I can barely make out the words on it…it says 'The Legend of the Dance'…but that's it…" Scott said.
"A see-through card? How peculiar…" Mia said.
"I smell a plot device!" Dark said.
Scott and Mia just blinked at Dark and then continued on.
"Anyway, I think Ryan might need this…so I'll hold on to it till we run into him again." Scott said.
"Now, let's get some rest." Mia said, dragging Dark into bed.
Scott just shook his head as he went to his room.
~Another Place~
"So they've found three items now? And it seems they now have 'Maxx Unlimited'…plus that girl…her actions surprised me." Said our well-known shadowy foe.
"Perhaps I should get some accomplices." Said the shadow, making a gesture.
Three cloaked figures appeared in front of him.
"Heh, you three can take care of his friends." Said the shadow, a round, golden object shining from under his clothes.
One of the cloaked figures drew close as its eyes flash red, "Master, allow me to take on the next of his friends."
"Anxious, aren't you? Very well, you may do as you wish…"
"Perfect, I know just the one to take on as well…" said the red-eyed figure as he flew off.
"Reps…your time is fast approaching." Said the shadowy figure as his maniacal laughing echoed through the alleyways.