One clear and calm morning, Alex walks down the street on her way to school like every day, carrying her book bag over her shoulder and looking around at the city around her. The streets are filled with people going about their everyday business and tall buildings with screens advertising new products and anime. "For once, I'm actually early to school today." She thinks in her mind, "It'll be nice to not get detention for once…" as she's walking down the street, she sees Card Capital 2 on the other side of the street and thinks to herself while holding her chin "I got some time, maybe I'll stop by and see what's going on there." She heads into the store shouting, "Hello!" as she opens the door, but when she walks inside, she doesn't see anyone around. "Weird… there's no one here." She says to herself. "Taiyou?! Kazuma?! Either of you here?!" she shouts.
Just as she believes no one's in the shop, she hears a little girl's voice come from the back of the shop, "No way!" she screams. Alex runs over to see what's going on. She finds two small children, a boy and a girl about 10 years of age with very similar appearance. The girl is standing in her chair at the table and yelling at the boy sitting across from her "It's not fair! How do you always win against me?!" the girl yells.
"Don't blame me, it's not my fault you're unlucky with your trigger checks." The boy says with a shrug at the girl as she pouts at him.
"You're so mean! I hate you!" she screams as she begins to cry "WAAHHHHHHH!" she runs off into the corner to cry.
"What's wrong? Upset you lost?" The boy mocks her.
"You're mean! You're so mean!" the girl screams again.
Before Alex could even ask what's going on, Taiyou comes from around the corner behind her and sees the scene. "Yuya! Yuko!" he shouts as he runs over to the girl. "What happened?" he asks her.
"*sniff* Yuya's being mean to me because I lost!" she tells him.
Taiyou walks over to the boy. "Yuya," he says, "what did you do to Yuko?"
"I beat her like I always do. She's just crying because she's a terrible fighter." The boy tells him. Taiyou grabs the boy's deck off the table and he begins to panic. "Ah?!"
Taiyou sifts through the deck with a stern face, "You rigged your deck again." He says, "How many times are we going to have this talk Yuya?!" Taiyou starts to get frustrated.
"You cheated?!" the girl asks.
"I-I uh…" the boy panics as both Taiyou and the girl stare him down. He tries to run away, but Taiyou grabs him by the collar of his shirt and holds him back.
"You're not getting away that easily young man. You and I are going to have a serious talk when we get home." He tells him.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please forgive me!" the boy screams as he tries to break out of Taiyou's grasp.
"Umm… Taiyou…" Alex mutters, "Who are these tiny little midgets?"
"Oh Alex." Taiyou notices her. He brings the boy back and puts the girl next him and kneels behind them both "These here are my kids," he puts his hand on the boy, "This is Yuya," and puts the other on the girl, "and this is Yuko. They're twins if you couldn't tell."
"I-I see…" Alex says, "They seem like a handful."
"They are, but they help me run the shop as part of their allowance, so it's what keeps them working." He tells her then looks at the twins, "Kids, this is Alex. She's the daughter of the legendary Chrono Shindou." And both of their faces light up with excitement.
"No way! So are you a legend too?!" Yuya asks.
"Nah, I'm just a normal high school girl." Alex says as she scratches the back of head.
"Hey! Since you're a legendary fighter, can you teach me and Yuya some tricks!" Yuko asks her.
"I think that'd be awesome. She could get Yuya to stop rigging his deck." Taiyou glares at the boy as he sneers, "But Alex, aren't you going to be late for school?"
"No, I'm actually a littler early, so I have some time to kill." She says. For the next few minutes Alex spends time with the twins going over their decks and giving them pointers on cardfighting. She then looks up at the clock on the wall and her face drops. "Crud! I'm late!" she shouts.
"I told you…" Taiyou mocks her slightly.
"Sorry guys, we'll have to continue this some other time! See ya later!" she says as she runs out the door.
Opening Theme – ZERO! (Devil is a Part-Timer opening)
Drive 2 – Imageless Fight
Later, Alex walks down the hall of school carrying her bag with a heavy sigh, "I can't believe I actually made it just in time." She says out loud, "I'm just glad Kazuma didn't give me detention again…" she then hears a voice call her name from down the hall.
"Alex!" she looks over to see Yui running up to her, "What took you so long to get to school? I thought you said you'd be on time." She asks her in a curious tone.
"I kinda stopped at Card Capital to browse around…" Alex tells her.
"Oh! Did you find anything good?" Yui asks in excitement.
"Just a pair of little brats still new to the game…" Alex explains and Yui looks visibly confused. As they continue to talk and walk, they pass by a girl about their age with dark-blue hair tied in pigtails with yellow ribbons who looks back at them.
Later at P.E class, Alex and some other students are playing soccer (football if you're from the UK) in their standard gym clothes of a loose fit white t-shirt, black knee-length shorts for the boys, and black upper-thigh length shorts for the girls. Alex dribbles the ball between several other players as she runs toward the goalie, "Bring it on!" he says taking a defensive stance.
"You want it, you got it!" She tells him as she winds up for a big kick. She smacks the ball with the top of her foot and sends it flying at the boy who ends up getting scared and ducks out of the way.
"GOAL!" The teacher shouts and Alex and Yui cheer with joy, meanwhile, the girl from before is playing tennis in the nearby court as she looks over at them.
After P.E, Alex walks out of the locker room back in her normal clothes and stretches. "Alright! Lunch time!" she says, but as she walks down the hall and turns a corner, she bumps into some, knocking them both to the ground. "Ow…" Alex groans as she rubs her tailbone, "Sorry 'bout that. You okay?" she asks the girl, the same girl from P.E with the dark blue hair in pigtails, tied up with yellow ribbons.
"I-I'm fine." She says in a cold voice as she picks herself up off the ground, "You really should watch where you're going."
"Sorry, how was I supposed to see you from around the corner?" Alex asks with a shrug. She glances down at the ground and notices a card on the ground. "A Vanguard card? Do you play Vanguard?" Before Alex could question anymore, the girl swipes the card from her.
"Give me that!" she exclaims as her cheeks turn slightly red, "and no I don't!"
"Then why do you have a card?"
"A-A friend of mine gave it to me…" and the girl walks away before Alex could talk to her anymore.
"Tsundere much?" Alex says with a smug expression.
Later, Alex and Yui sit on top of the school roof on a bench eating lunch. "Hey Alex! Did you bring any of those croquettes for lunch today?" Yui asks.
"Of course." She says and opens her lunch box. Inside it is a small bowl of rice, small cuts of steak, veggies, and two large rolls with breading on them.
Yui's face lights up in excitement "Yes! Thank you Alex! You always bring these!" she says as she takes one of the croquettes from the lunch box.
"It's not like I can help it, my mom always makes them for me." Alex tells her.
"I don't care, they're just so good!" Yui tells her while chewing on her food. "Hey! Are we going to Card Capital after school today?"
"Of course!" Alex says, "Besides, I've got a debt to repay to Taiyou."
"Which is?" Yui asks.
"I have to train his twins to get better at Vanguard." Alex tells her.
"Taiyou has twins?!" she exclaims in shock.
After school, Alex and Yui arrive at Card Capital 2, "Hey Taiyou!" Alex shouts as she walks in the door.
"Big sis Alex!" Yuko exclaims as she runs up and throws herself around Alex.
"Hey, hey… no need to be so rough." Alex says as she tries to pull Yuko off of her.
"Yuko, stop making a scene in front of customers." Taiyou says.
"Sorry daddy." Yuko apologizes as she bows.
"Shop looks busy today." Yui says, looking around at the tables full of people cardfighting, chatting, and other things.
"Yep. Usually a lot of kids come here after school to hang out." Taiyou explains, "and to be honest, I don't mind when it gets busy like this. It really shows me people are interested in the game." A smile comes over his face and Alex smiles too.
"Hey, I was wondering." Alex asks him, "Do you have any new packs for Gear Chronicle?"
"Gear Chronicle?" he responds, "Oh yeah, you use the same clan as your father. Let me look." Taiyou rummages through several boxes beneath the counter, "Sorry. It doesn't look like we got the shipment of the new Gear Chronicle packs yet."
"I see." Alex looks down slightly depressed.
"Hey Alex come on! Let's fight!" Yui says and Alex looks over.
"You're on!" she says with determination. The two of them fight for quite a while, but it's down to the final turn. "Korona attacks the Vanguard!" Alex declares. A Driven Korona flies down toward a mermaid with shiny red hair and strikes her down as the holograms disappear (Yui: [X][X][X][][][]).
"Ah man! I lost again!" she complains. "I don't know if I'll ever be as good as you Alex, considering you were trained by a legend."
"I'm sure you'll get there someday." Alex encourages her, patting her on the back.
Meanwhile as Taiyou observes their fight, he hears the sound of the door opening and looks over to greet them "Good afternoon!" he says and notices a girl with dark blue hair in pigtails. Same from before. "Rina?! Is that you?!" he exclaims.
"Hey Taiyou." The girl replies in a soft calm voice.
Alex looks over and sees the girl, "Hey! You're the girl I bumped into in the hallway at school!"
"You again?" the girl spots Alex in a panic.
"Do you all know each other Taiyou?" Yui asks Taiyou.
"Yeah," Taiyou answers coming out from behind the counter and putting his arm around the girl's shoulder, "This is Rina. She's Kazuma's daughter."
Alex and Yui both stare dumbfounded. "EEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!" they exclaim in pure shock.
"Y-You're Mr. Shouji's daughter?!" Yui mutters.
"Y-Yeah…" Rina hold her arm in embarrassment.
"Wait. I thought you said you didn't play Vanguard." Alex questions.
"Well that's… um…" Rina stutters, "I don't…" she struggles to find the words, "I don't play Vanguard… Not yet anyway. I was wondering if someone could teach me." She says holding her arm again.
"Why couldn't you have your dad teach you?" Yui asks, "I bet it'd be awesome to have a legendary fighter train you!"
"Well that's…" Rina stutters again, "I can't have him teach me because of… reasons…" Both Alex and Yui look on with slightly confused faces.
"Hey Alex," Taiyou calls her out, "would you mind teaching Rina?"
Alex flinches in surprise, "You want me to teach her?"
"Well I'd teach her myself, but I have to do inventory." Taiyou tells her and Alex nods in agreement.
"Ok!" she says. Her and Rina gather at a fight table when one opens up, with Yui on the side watching. "You ready to start Rina? I'm Alex by the way." She says extending a hand to her.
Rina hesitates for a moment, then says "Nice to meet you." and takes Alex's hand and they shake.
"Now, we start by taking a Grade 0 unit from our deck and putting it face down on the Vanguard circle." Alex explains.
"Ok…" Rina takes a card from her deck and puts it face down on the table.
"Next we shuffle our decks and draw 5 cards. This makes our starting hand." Alex tells her. Rina draws her cards but makes a concerned face at what she draws. Seeing this face, Alex tells her, "If you don't like some of the cards you drew, you can do a mulligan."
"How does that work?" Rina asks.
"Take any cards you don't want from your hand, put them back in your deck, shuffle, and draw the same number of cards you put back." She explains. The two girls do just that, "Alright. With that, we're ready to start. Now, we have to imagine it. Picture the fight happening on a faraway planet called Cray and…" before Alex could continue, Rina buts in.
"I've heard this before. Can we just get started?" she says to Alex's surprise.
"O-Okay… Now we flip over our Vanguards and we can begin."
"Alright." The two of them then say in unison, "Stand up… VANGUARD!"
"Steam Maiden, Ayncia (G0/5000)!" Alex declares.
"Apprentice Witch, Kona (G0/5000)." Rina declares.
"Shadow Paladins? Like your father huh?" Yui asks.
"Sh-Shut up! I'm not using them because of him or anything…" Rina denies.
"Tsundere much?" Alex mocks.
"Sh-Shut up!" Rina says, flustered.
"I'm kidding." Alex tells her, then refocuses on the fight. "Normally, we'd play Rock-Paper-Scissors here to see who gets to go first, but since you're still new to this, I'll go first and show you the ropes."
"Ok…"
"I start my turn by drawing a card. Then I can take one card from my hand that's one higher grade than my Vanguard, and ride it! Ride! Steam Maiden Nanniya (G1/7000)! I activate Ayncia's skill!"
"Already?" Rina questions.
"I look at the top five cards of my deck and add a Gearoid unit to my hand. Your Vanguard doesn't have to fight alone though," Alex explains, "you can also call rear-guards to assist them. I called Steam Fighter Memenne (G1/6000)! I can't attack on the first turn, so I end my turn."
"So it's my turn." Rina says. "I draw a card. Ride! Witch of the Lance, Vera (G1/7000)! I use Kona's Forerunner skill and move her back."
"Cool. That means Kona can boost Vera's attack. By resting Kona, you can add her power to Vera's power." Alex explains.
"Boosted by Kona, Vera attacks the Vanguard (7000-12000)!"
"No guard. Now since Vera's your Vanguard, she can do a drive check." Alex explains and Rina reaches for the top card of her deck, "Oh? You already knew about that?"
Rina looks up at Alex, "Not really… it's just flipping over the top card felt right.
Alex stares in confusion for a moment, "Well that is what you're supposed to do. Then you add the card you pulled to your hand.
"Drive Check (Critical). What does that yellow symbol mean?" Rina asks.
"That's a Critical Trigger." Alex tells her, "Since you pulled it in your Drive Check, you can add 10000 power to one unit and also 1 Critical."
"Ok…" Rina says, "I give both effects to Vera (12000-22000/Crit 1-2)." Vera's hologram strikes Nanniya.
"Now I do the same thing with my Damage Check, except the cards I pull go to my damage zone instead. Damage Check (none/none). No Triggers." (Alex: [][]).
"I see, I get how this works now." Rina says.
"Awesome, but now it's my turn! Ride! Fearless Steam Knight, Ludger (G2/9000)! I activate Memenne's skill! When I ride, I can draw a card and discard a card. I also discarded a Grade 3, High Steam Maiden Elul X. So I can also add 5000 power to herself and Ludger (6000-11000) (9000-14000). I call Steam Mechanic Nabu (G2/10000)! Boosted by Memenne, Ludger attacks the Vanguard (14000-25000)!"
"I guard (Shield: 15000)!" Rina declares.
"You already know about guarding?" Alex questions.
Rina looks up and says, "It just kinda came back to me."
Alex looks a little confused, and slightly annoyed. "Alright then. Drive Check (Draw (Sentinel)). Draw Trigger! 10000 power to Nabu and I draw a card (10000-20000).
"So that's what the red one does?" Rina asks.
"Yep. Nabu now attacks your Vanguard! Due to Nabu's skill, I bind a card in my drop zone (BZ: G0-3), and you can't guard with Grade 1 or higher units this battle!"
Rina looks shocked, "N-No guard." (Rina: []). At the end of my turn, Nabu goes to my Soul (Soul 2-3) and I draw a card. Your turn."
"Draw." Rina says and looks at the card she drew. The art depicts a young girl with a big hoodie and lazing around on a big fluffy pillow. "Ride! Slacking Witch, Relena (G2/10000)! I call Witch of the Tome, Madoka (G2/9000) and I use her skill ([X]). If I have Relena as my Vanguard, I can search my deck for a grade 2 or lower unit and call it. I call Witch of the Spear, Sulita (G2/9000)! I also call Witch of the Gun, Bellet (G1/7000) and Witch of the Sword, Sabie (G1/7000)! Boosted by Sabie, Madoka attacks your Vanguard (9000-16000)!"
"No guard." Alex says (Alex: [][][]).
"Boosted by Kona, Relena attacks your Vanguard (10000-15000)!"
"Guard (Shield: 10000)!"
"Drive Check (none). Ugh, no Trigger. Boosted by Bellet, Sulita attacks the Vanguard (9000-16000)! Sabie's skill! I retire Madoka and Sabie, and add 5000 power to Sulita for both of them (16000-26000) (DZ: 0-2)!"
Alex looks at her hand hesitantly. "No guard…" (Alex: [][][][]).
"I activate Bellet's skill. I search my deck for a unit with Witch in its name and call it. I call another Sulita (G2/9000)! I attack the Vanguard and retire Bellet and my other Sulita, add 10000 power to the new one (9000-19000) (DZ: 2-4)!"
Alex flinches in fear. "C-Complete Guard!" she says having no other option.
"I end my turn." Rina states.
"Shoot, I was hoping to save that…" Alex thinks to herself.
"Alex? Are you ok?" Yui asks in concern, but Alex smiles back at her.
"I'm fine. No need to worry about me." She tells her.
"Hey! We're in the middle of a game here." Rina tells her, and Alex looks back in annoyance. "I don't need your help anymore, it's all come back to me."
Alex looks shocked and surprised at Rina's declaration. "Alright then, I won't be holding back!" Alex takes a card from her hand and chants, ""Let's go, you and me! To a new world of our true potential! Ride! High Steam Maiden… Korona (G3/12000)! I activate Memenne's skill! I discard a card and draw a card. I also activate Ayncia's skill in the soul! If Korona's my Vanguard, I bind her and draw a card. Also while Ayncia's in the bind zone, get gains 1 Grade (BZ: G3-4). I call Lost Break Dragon (G2/10000)! Using Lost Break's skill, I bind Kishla in my hand to draw a card (BZ: G4-6). I call Gun-Bezel Dragon over Lost Break (G2/9000) and I also call Steam Scara Kalain (G1/8000) and Steam Hunter Feena! Due to Feena's skill, she gains 3000 power (G1/7000-10000)! Lastly, I call Steam Hunter Lippitt (G2/10000). Lippitt's skill! I bind a card in my drop zone and add 3000 power (10000-13000)(BZ: G6-7)"
Board State
(G2/10000) (G3/12000) (G2/9000)
(G1/8000) (G1/6000) (G1/10000)
"Let's go! Lippitt attacks your Vanguard!"
"No guard." Rina declares, "Damage Check (Critical). Critical Trigger, 10000 power to Relena." The hologram of Relena yawns as the power is given to her (10000-20000). (Rina: [X][]).
"I activate Korona's skill ([X][][][])! I bind Lippitt and call a unit with 1 higher grade. I call Steam Maiden Elul X (G3/12000)(BZ: G7-9). I activate Elul's skill (Soul 4-3)! I call Steam Lynx Anbu from my hand and add 10000 power (G1/7000-17000)! Boosted by Feena, Gun-Bezel attacks (9000-19000)!"
"Wait… it doesn't have enough power!" Yui exclaims.
"Not yet it doesn't." Alex says, "I use Gun-Bezel's skill ([X][X][][]! I add 5000 power for each grade face up in my bind zone!"
"What?!" Rina exclaims.
"The total grade is 9, so add 45000 power (19000-64000)!"
"Complete Guard!" Rina snears (DZ: 4-5).
"Tch…" Alex clicks her teeth, "Boosted by Anbu, Korona attacks the Vanguard (12000-29000)! I activate Anbu's skill! I discard the last card in my hand and Korona gains 1000 power for each grade in my bind zone as well as an additional skill (29000-38000)!"
"I guard with 3 Grade 1 units (10000+5000+10000=25000).
"Drive Check! First check (none). Second check (Critical). Critical Trigger! All effects to Korona (38000-48000/Crit 1-2)!" Korona breaks through the guardians Rina called out and strikes Relena with great force (Rina: [X][][][])(DZ: 5-8)
"Boosted by Kalain, Elul attacks (12000-20000)! I activate Kalain's skill (Soul 3-2)! You can't intercept or guard with more than 3 guardians!"
"It doesn't matter, their power levels are the same so anything will stop it." Rina tells her, "Guard (Shield: 15000)."
"Ugh…" Alex sighs in frustration, "Due to Kalain's skill, I bind her at the end of the turn, as well as Elul due to Korona's skill and recall Lippitt (BZ: G9-11). "You're actually really good. Is this really your first time playing the game?"
"W-Well… technically yes…" Rina explains.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Yui asks.
"My dad taught me a lot of the basics. He showed me how to ride, how to imagine the fight, typical stuff."
"So then why did you come here to learn?" Alex questions.
"Because… for a few years, I broke away from Vanguard." Rina explains, "I know my father is a major champion, and he wants me to be like that too. But… I don't want to."
"Eh?" Alex questions.
"I figured if I told him I quit Vanguard, he would stop pressuring me into becoming a champion like him."
Suddenly, a realization hits Alex. "Wait! Is that why you told me you didn't play Vanguard at school?!"
"Yeah… I didn't want to risk my dad over hearing me." Rina explains to her. "That's why I came here. So I could have a quiet match away from my dad and… so I could actually enjoy the game, and it's been so long since I played, I needed a refresher."
"I get it now…" Alex says, but before she could continue, Rina pops in again.
"Alright, enough of the chit-chat. Let's get back to the fight."
"Right!" Alex exclaims.
"Stand and draw!" Rina declares.
"At the start of your ride step, I activate Fina's skill! I bind her and call High Steam Hunter Feena from my deck (G2/10000)(BZ: G11-12), due to her skill, she gains 2000 power and 5000 shield for the turn (10000-12000/Shield 5000-10000).
Rina stares at Relena on the board as she enters deep though…
Flashback
Kazuma, standing over a young 7-year-old Rina, hands her a card. "Here, take this." He says.
Rina's eyes light up with excitement, "Daddy! Is that what I think it is?!" she says extatically.
"Yes it is. Your very own avatar card." Kazuma tells her with a smile.
"Oh thank you daddy!" Rina cheers as she throughs her self around Kazuma's waist, "Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!"
End of Flashback
Rina closes her eyes, and then opens them again with determination. "I won't lose!" she mutters to herself, "Let's go! Unleash your hidden potential and show the world that you're not weak anymore! Relena's Soul Drive… ACTIVATE!" Relena's hologram glows pinkish-purple as she slowly stands up and takes off her hood revealing her long flowing hair tied up by a large blue ribbon. "Relena gains 3000 power, 1 grade, 1 drive, and becomes Driven (10000-13000/Grade 2-3/drive 1-2)!"
"Say what?!" Yui exclaims.
"Soul Drive on a Grade 2 unit?!" Alex questions in shock.
"For the Soul Drive cost, I retire Bellet and Sulita! Due to Sulita's skill, she looses 1 grade in the drop zone (DZ: 8-10)! I call Black-winged Swordbreaker (G1/5000)! Using her skill ([X][X][][]), I draw a card and she gains 5000 power (5000-10000)! I call Witch of the Arrow Sagitta (G2/9000), Witch of the Lance, Vera (G1/7000), and Witch of the Wand, Rem (G1/5000)! I activate Kona's Ritual 4!"
"Ritual?!" Alex exclaims
"Not again…" Yui says.
"I rest Kona and all of my units in the deck for the rest of the turn have 5000 power!"
Board State
(G2/9000) (G3/13000) (G1/5000)
(G1/7000) (G0/5000) (G1/10000)
"Boosted by Swordbreaker, Rem attacks your Vanguard (5000-15000)!
"Lippitt intercepts (Shield: 5000)!" Alex declare.
"Rem's skill! At the end of a battle she attacked, I can retire her and call a unit with 5000 power in my deck. And since Kona made all of my units have 5000 power in the deck, I can call anything I want." Alex's heart sinks hearing this. "I call Witch of the Axe, Ferris (G3/12000)! Ferris's Ritual X! For each grade 1 in my drop zone, she gains 2000 power! I currently have 10, so add 20000 power (12000-32000)!" Boosted by Vera, Sagitta attacks the Vanguard (G2/9000-16000)! Sagitta's Ritual 5 ([X][X][X][])! Add 10000 power to all units in my front row!"
(G2/16000-26000) (G3/13000-23000) (G3/32000-42000)
Alex hesitates for a minute… "No guard… Damage Check (Heal)." Her eyes light up with joy, "Heal trigger! I heal 1 damage and add 10000 power to Korona (12000-22000)(Alex: [X][][][])!
Rina places her hand on Relena's card. "Relena attacks your Vanguard! I activate Relena's Ritual 3 ([X][X][X][X])! I retire Vera to normally retire one of your rear-guards, but since Relena is Driven, I can retire two rear-guards instead!"
"What?!" Alex exclaims.
"You only have two rear-guards left, Feena and Anbu! Retire them both!" Rina orders. Alex does so, much to her dismay. "Due to Relena's other skill, if you have no rear-guards, she gains 10000 power (23000-33000)!"
Alex looks at her hand and sees that there's only one option. "Guard (Shield: 15000)!" Relena's magic collides with the unit Alex called out to guard.
"That makes the total power 37000." Yui states.
"If she gets even one trigger, it's over." Alex mutters.
"Twin Drive!" Rina declares as she prepares to flip the cards. "First check (none)." All three of the girls tense up as Rina checks her second card. "Second check!" Rina turns over the card. The room falls silent as they anxiously await the result… (Critical) Rina's eyes light up with complete shock, as well as Alex's. "C-Critical… Trigger…" (Relena: 33000-43000/Crit 1-2). Relena's magic breaks through the barrier and engulfs Korona in a bright light before vanishing (Alex: [X][][][][][]).
"I… I actually won…" Rina mutters unable to believe the situation.
Alex hangs her head, making her hair cast a shadow over her eyes. "Alex! Are you ok?!" Yui asks in concern.
Alex lifts her head and looks at Yui with a bright smile. "Of course! That was an amazing fight Rina!" Alex exclaims to Rina, but notices how she looks. "R-Rina…?"
Rina hesitates for a moment then jumps in the air with a loud cheer, "I DID IT!" she shouts in a much higher and cheerful voice than before, catching both Alex and Yui off guard. "I don't believe it! I actually won my first real fight!" she says still talking in that high voice, while holding her hands to her cheeks and squirming her body.
Both Alex and Yui stare at her antics with dumbfounded faces. "Uh… Rina…?" Alex questions.
"Oh?" Rina remembers they're there. She clears her throat and straighten her posture. "I-I'm sorry you had to see that."
"What happened… you didn't seem like yourself there." Yui asks.
"S-Sometimes I tend to… get a little over excited." She explains.
"Well I just have to say, that was a really cool Cardfight!" Alex tells her, walking up to her and extending a hand. "You call yourself a newbie, but you're actually pretty good."
Rina stares at her hand for a moment before taking the hand shake. "You weren't so bad yourself." She says with a soft smile.
They let go of each other's hand, "Let's fight again sometime. But next time, I'll be the one who wins!" Alex tells her as she pumps a fist, causing her medium sized chest to bounce a little.
Rina notices this and looks down at her own flat chest and scowls, "Yeah… whatever…" she says as she grabs her cards and leaves the shop.
"I wonder what that was about?" Yui questions Rina's scowl, and then looks over at Alex who is chuckling a little. "Alex? You ok?"
"I'm fine." She says and looks up at the door. "I think I just found myself a rival."
Meanwhile, Rina runs down the street in the dark orange sunset and stops off at a small pond with a view of large tower in the distance. She collapses on the grass around the pond and stares up at the sky, holding her deck in her hand. "Maybe Vanguard isn't so bad after all." She says to herself as she smiles a little. "Alex, from this point on… you are my rival." She declares as she lays flat on the grass and stares to the sky.
Ending Theme – Itsuka Sekai ga Kawaru made (Kishuku Gakkou no Juliet ED)
[Next Time]
Alex: Some boys at Card Capital 2 are picking on Yui, calling her small and weak. Naturally, being her best friend, I stand up for her. Wait Yui… what's wrong? Whoa! Hey! Calm down! Next time on Vanguard X: "Deep Sea Divas!" Don't miss it!
NEW SEGMENT! Alex and Rina's Card Corner!
Alex: *waves* Hello everyone! Alex here!
Rina: *waves* And I'm Rina!
Alex: Starting this chapter, we're going to show you guys some featured cards that appeared in the chapter.
Rina: Today's featured card is my ace, Slacking Witch Relena!
Grade 2 / Intercept / 10000 Power / 5000 Shield / Shadow Paladin / Human
Alex: She also has the Soul Drive ability to retire two rear-guards and permanently gain and additional 3000 power, 1 grade, and 1 drive.
Rina: She also has an AUTO Ritual 3 skill on the Vanguard Circle when she attacks to Counter Blast 1 and retire a rear-guard to have your opponent retire one of their rear-guards as well.
Alex: But if Relena is Driven, aka, has used Soul Drive, she can retire two rear-guards instead. Remember, Soul Drive cannot be used the same turn the unit was ridden or called.
Rina: Her last skill is a CONT skill on either the Vanguard or Rear circle that gives her 10000 power during your turn if your opponent has no rear-guards.
Alex: So what do you think? You like this card?
Rina: With this, you can also…
Alex & Rina: Stand up Vanguard!