This chapter is a continuation of the previous chapter. Make sure you read the previous chapter before reading this one.
A few days after the team fight against Team Exodus, Team K3 arrives at the location where the Survival Tournament is being held. I small clearing in the middle of a dense forest. "Whoa, there are more people here than I was expecting." Yui says as she looks around at all the contestants.
"Everyone really wants that grade 3 boost." Rina says.
"It doesn't matter how many there are, "We'll win this thing!" Alex states and turns to her teammates and they nod back.
"Hey! Alex!" they hear a familiar voice call out to them.
Alex turns in that direction and sees a red-haired boy walking toward them. "Yuto!" she says, "You're here too?"
Yuto nods and replies, "Yep. My team and I are so close to grade 3. This tournament will be our last step."
"Heh, I can say the same thing!" Alex says with a smirk as the two of them glare at each other.
"So is this your team?" Rina asks, referring to the older boy standing beside Yuto.
"Oh yeah." Yuto says as he gestures to the boy, he is tall with white hair going down to his neck and wearing a light blue blazer. "This is Murasame Kanata, he's my senior at school."
Murasame waves his hand says, "Hi."
"He's also a really good Cardfighter." Yuto explains, "He taught me a lot of things even I didn't know."
"I can say the same for you." Murasame tells him, "you taught me so deck building tricks even I didn't know as well. So we're about even I'd say."
"Heh, yeah I guess." Yuto says scratching the back of his head with a grin.
Yui then looks around and notices something's wrong, "Hey, where's your third member?"
Yuto and Murasame, looking confused, look to their side and notice that someone who should be there, isn't. "Hey, where'd that little rascal run off to?!" Yuto exclaims.
"She was here a minute ago." Murasame explains.
Alex then hears running footsteps behind her, coming straight for her as well. "BURNING LOVE!" she hears someone scream from behind her, and when she turns around, she is immediately tackled by a young girl with brunette hair in a side tail, wearing the same kind of blazer as Murasame.
"Hey what the…?!" Alex says, taken by surprise as the girl giggles and hugs her, while Rina and Yui look a little annoyed.
"NEZUMI!" Yuto shouts and the girl looks up at him with his hands to his hips, "How many times have I told you to not do that to strangers?"
The girl's cheerful expression turns to a frown as she says, "Ah, but an idol has to show her affection. Right?"
"This little twerp is an idol?" Rina asks Yuto in response.
Yuto chuckles and says, "Well… she's not really an idol, she just likes to think she is." Murasame pulls the girl off of Alex as Yuto introduces her, "That's Nezumi Kisaragi, my junior at school."
Alex clears her throat and says, "You seem like you've got quite a team here."
"We're actually the members of our schools Vanguard Club." Yuto explains, "We call ourselves… Team Vanguard Club!"
The three girls of K3 look at them with annoy expressions as Rina says, "How original."
"Uh, who cares about the name?" Yuto says trying to change the subject, "All that matter is that we win this tournament, and get into Fighter's Royal!"
"We plan to do the same thing!" Alex tells him with a stern face.
"Then we wish you the best of luck. May the best team win!" Yuto says and the two teams stare each other down like a dragon vs a tiger.
Opening Theme – Just Fly Away! (Gundam Build Fighters TRY OP2)
Drive 17 – Survival Fight!
The time has come for the tournament to start. All the fighters participating gather around a map of the area as Mamoru Anjou stand in front of it. "Welcome everyone to the Survival Tournament!" he says over the microphone, which is projected through speaks set up around the area, "The last time we did a tournament like this was over 20 years ago, but now, a new generation of cardfighters has blossomed and we're here to do it again!" everyone cheers and then Mamoru goes to explain the rules, "Now I know you're all eager to fight, but let me go over the rules first. You have 2 hours to explore this entire forest, as long as you remain within the boundary markers." He then holds up a gold-colored coin with a Vanguard symbol on it, "Your objective is to find and collect the coins scattered and hidden around the area, and whichever team has the most coin at the end of those 2 hours, wins!"
"Sound easy enough." Alex says.
"But exploration is not the only way to get coins. You may also challenge another team to a Cardfight. Your team and your opponent's team must choose one person to represent them, and if you lose, you must fork over all the coins you've collected so far. But don't be discouraged if you lose, you can still have a chance to come back and collect more coins, but just be aware you cannot fight if you don't have at least 1 coin in your possession."
"Make sense." Yuto says.
"Lastly, there will also be traps that can take away your coins, as well as some chests for bonus chances at winning a lot of coins. That's about it! There will be a 15 minute grace period after we start where you cannot fight others. Now everyone say it with me! Stand up…"
"VANGUARD!" everyone shouts as they all separate and run into the forest. Everyone then starts wandering the forest looking for coins, digging in bushes, climbing trees, running away from bee swarms, and before they know it, the grace period is over.
K3 runs along a stream as a team of boys emerges from the bushes, "Give us your gold!" one of them says.
"I'll take care of this one girls." Alex says as she pulls out her deck and they set up their makeshift fight tables. Alex demolishes the boy as she shouts, "Kashima attacks the Vanguard (42000/Crit 2)!" (Boy: [X][X][][][][])
"Argh… I lost…" the boy says as he dumps the coins in his bag into Alex's hands and the girls look at each other with smiles.
Meanwhile, Yuto and his team run through the forest as Nezumi trips on something "UWAAH!" she screams as she faceplants into the grass.
"Nezumi! What happened?" Yuto exclaims in concern.
"I tripped…" she says. When she looks back to see what she tripped on, it was a small treasure chest.
"A chest?" Murasame observes.
Yuto picks it up and examines it as he says, "This must be one of those bonus chances." He opens it up and there are three wheels with different symbols on them.
"A slot machine?" Murasame questions.
"It says if we roll three 7s, we get a bunch of coins!" Nezumi exclaims in excitement.
"Okay," Yuto says with a smirk, "then let's do it!" Yuto pulls the lever and the wheels begin to turn. The three of them watch it intently as it ends up rolling three skulls.
Just then, two tournament officials appear behind them and one of them says, "Sorry kids, looks like we're going to have to take all of your coins."
"HUH?!" the three of them shout as they give the men their coins.
Yuto hangs his head and says, "Sorry guys."
"No worries." Murasame tells him as he places a hand on his shoulder, "It's still early, so we can catch up."
Yuto nods and says, "Yeah, you're right." He then looks off into the distance to see Alex's team winning another cardfight.
"It's them!" Nezumi says pointing that direction.
"Yeah, but let's leave them for now." Yuto says, "If we let them get far into the tournament, it will be more rewarding to defeat them." His teammates nod and the three of them run in another direction, but after a short while, they are stopped by an older-looking boy with brown hair, a bandage on his cheek, and headphones around his neck, with his team as he holds up his deck to them.
"I challenge you." He says.
"Alright you're on!" Yuto says, but Nezumi steps in front of him and pulls out her deck.
"I'll take care of this one guys." She says and gives them a wink, to which Yuto and Murasame nod.
Nezumi and the boy begin to fight, and a few turns in, Nezumi has him on the ropes. "Ride! Miracle Wish, Lucka (G3/12000)! I activate her skill ([X][X][][]-[X][X][X][]), now you get to choose a grade between 1 and 3, then I get to call two units from my soul that are the grade you chose!"
The boy looks flustered for a sec, but regains his composer and says, "I chose Grade 1."
"Okay!" Nezumi looks through her soul and pulls out two cards, "I call two Miracle Tricksters, Sefora (G1/7000)! Using their skills, I soul charge 2, and if I soul charged any trigger units, I can activate them!" Nezumi puts two cards from the top of her deck into her soul, one of them being a Critical Trigger. "I got a Critical Trigger! All effects to Lukca (12000-22000/Crit 1-2)! Next, using Little Miracle, Lucka's skill in the soul, add 5000 power to any unit called from the soul this turn (G1/7000-12000)"
Board State
(G1/12000) (G3/22000) (G1/12000)
(XXXX) (XXXX) (XXXX)
"Let's go!" she says and passionately declares her attack, "My left Sefora attacks your Vanguard (12000-17000 vs 13000)!"
"No guard." (boy: [X][X][][])
"Using the skill gained from Lucka (Soul 8-7), return her to the soul and call Endive Beast Tamer from the soul (G2/5000-10000), and with her skill ([X][X][X][X]) call Sefora back from the soul (G1/7000-12000). Using Sefora's skill once again! Trigger Check (none)." Nezumi lets out a disappointed sigh but then smiles cheerfully, "Oh well, can't win them all. Sefora now boosts Lucka and attack the Vanguard (22000-34000/Crit 2)!"
"Complete Guard!"
"Drive Check (none/Critical)! Critical Trigger! All effects to the other Sefora (12000-22000/Crit 1-2)! Now she attacks your Vanguard (22000-27000)!
"Guard (15000)!"
"I'm not through yet (Soul 7-6)! Sefora returns to the soul, and I call Miracle Magician Eufora (G2/9000-14000)! Using her skill, I call jumping Jill and add 5000 power (G2/9000-14000-19000)! Jumping Jill's skill! Return my resting Sefora to the soul and call her back behind Eufora (G1/7000-12000). One more time! Trigger Check (Critical)! Critical Trigger!"
"No way!" the boy exclaims.
"All effects to Eufora (14000-24000)! Boosted by Sefora, Eufora attacks the Vanguard (24000-36000)!" Eufora's attack fires a stream of bright and magical energy from her wand that his the boy's Vanguard, causing it to disintegrate (boy: [X][X][][][][]).
"You beat me…" the boy says as he hands over all the coins his team had earned to Nezumi and her team. She looks back at her team who gives her a thumbs up.
Meanwhile, K3 runs deeper into the woods as Rina checks their coin count. "We haven't been getting very many off these fights."
"Then let's pick up the pace!" Alex tells them, but ends up stepping into a circle of a rope she did not see "Huh?". The rope then entraps her ankles and hoists her into the air as she screams "UWAHHHHH!"
"Alex!" Rina and Yui scream as they watch this, then their ankles get trapped too and they are hoisted into the air with her, "WAAAHHHH!"
Now the three girls dangle upside down, suspended by the ankles from robe tied to a tree branch. "Way to go Alex… you wandered us into a trap…" and annoyed Rina tells her.
"How was I supposed to know there would be a trap here?!" Alex complains back.
"Hmmmmm…" Yui whimpers as she tries to hold up her dress from the upside-down position, "Can we please get down from here?" Just then, three tournament officials appear out of the bushes.
"Heh heh, looks like you kids are in a bit of a predicament." One of them says.
"We can cut you down, but it will cost you some of your coins." Another one tells them.
"No way!" Alex says, "I'm not gonna give up!" she then swings herself back and forth to hopefully reach the knot at the top, but can't seem to get enough momentum.
"Alex, let's just hand over the coins, it'll be easier." Rina tells her.
"No way! I'm not going to let our team fall behind even more than we are!" she says as she continues to swing. As she swings, the tree branch bounces up and down while creaking, causing it to eventually snap and send the girls plummeting back down to Earth, screaming. Alex lands on her butt, Rina lands face first, and Yui lands on her back. Embarrassed, Alex scratches the back of her head and says, "Well… not what I planned… but it worked out in the end." Rina groans at Alex for what had happened.
"Well looks like you didn't need our help after all." One of the tournament guys says, "Chao."
Alex and Yui wave goodbye to them, but Rina picks herself up out of the dirt and says, "I don't get you sometimes Alex."
"What do you mean?" she asks her.
"If you had just given them the coins, you could have saved us the headache." She tells her and Alex just tilts her head, "Why do you always have to be extra? Why can't you be a bit more proper and ladylike?"
"Because that's just not my style." Alex tells her.
"Huh?"
Alex pauses for a moment, then looks up into the trees and says, "In my opinion, gender just defines your body. It doesn't matter what your gender is, you can be whatever you want and whoever you want. My mom taught me that."
"Alex…" Yui mutters with a smile.
Rina hesitates for a moment, then sighs, shrugs, and says, "I don't really get it, but whatever. We got down, so let's keep going."
"Yeah!" Alex nods and Yui nods in tandem. The three of them then run off into the forest.
Just then, an announcement jingle plays over the speakers, followed up by Mamoru's voice saying, "Attention all cardfighters. We have reached the halfway point of the tournament, so why not take a break? Venders will also be wondering the grounds for the next 30 minutes offering free food and snacks."
"He's right, maybe we should take a break." Alex suggests.
"Hey guys look!" Yui calls out and points to an open clearing with a river, "I found a stream!"
Deciding it would be a good place to rest, the girls head over to the river, then take off their shoes to put their bare feet in the nice, cool, water. "Ahhhhhhhhhh…" the three of them exhale in delight, "This feels so good…" Alex says.
"I feel like a weight is being lifted off my shoulders." Rina says. Just then, a girl with spiky light-blue hair wearing a black, short-sleeved sweatshirt with red details appears on the other end of the stream and pulls out her deck declaring, "I challenge you!"
Alex sighs and says, "Even while we're taking a break? Well, guess I got no choice."
But as she is about to stand up, Yui stops her and says, "Wait Alex. I'll take care of this."
"Yui?" she questions.
"I want to test my new skills." She says and gives a cheerful smile to Alex who nods back. A few turns into the fight, Yui is prepared to finish it. "I activate Eris's Soul Drive!" she declares, "Add 3000 power, 1 grade, and 1 drive (G3-4/11000-14000/drive 2-3)! Next I call Sonata and Canon (G3/13000)! Eri's skill, if she's Driven, all of my units with Melody also become Driven! Not only that, but Eris also allows them to perform 1 drive check as a rear-guard."
"What?!" the girl exclaims in a panic.
Board State
(G3/18000) (G4/19000) (G3/18000)
(G3/18000) (G3/18000) (G3/18000)
"Let's go girls! Boosted by Fina (18000-23000), Sonata attacks the Vanguard (18000-41000)! Drive Check (Heal). Heal Trigger! Power to Eris (19000-29000) (Yui: [X][][])" Sonata whips her tail into the girl's Vanguard (Girl: [X][X][][]). "Due to Serena's Melody, I draw a card. Boosted by Serena (18000-23000), Canon attacks the Vanguard (18000-41000)!"
"Complete Guard!"
"Drive Check (Critical). Critical Trigger! All effects to Eris (29000-39000/Crit 1-2)! Now for the finale! Boosted by Caro (18000-23000), Eris attacks the Vanguard (39000-62000/Crit 2)!"
"No guard…"
"Triple Drive (none/none/Critical)! Critical Trigger! All effects to Eris (62000-72000/Crit 2-3)!" Eris and the rest of the Colorful Pastrole dive at the girl's Vanguard and pierce right through it (Girl: [X][X][][][][]).
"I lost…" she says and dumps all of their coins into Yui's hands.
"Alright!" Yui exclaims.
"Way to go Yui!" Alex cheers and pats her on the back, "All those lessons from Saki must have really payed off."
"Yeah!" Yui nods in excitement but then looks to the other side of the stream. Alex and Rina follow her gaze to see Yuto's team, having Murasame fight another boy.
"My Vanguard, Vampire Pirate of Abyssal Depths, Nightshroud attacks the Vanguard (G4/15000)!"
"Complete Guard!" the boy declares, "Heh, looks like your plan backfired."
"Are you sure?" Murasame taunts him with a smirk, "I activate the skill of the Nightshroud in my drop zone (Soul 3-2)(Hand 5-3). I can ride Nightshroud from my drop zone, add 15000 power, and activate the Soul Drive immediately for now cost (G3-4/12000-15000-30000/drive 2-3)."
"Are you kidding?!" the boy exclaims.
"Boosted by Nightriser (G1/13000), Nightshroud attacks the Vanguard (30000-43000)! Triple Drive (none/Critical/none). Critical Trigger. All effects to Nightshroud (43000-53000/Crit 1-2)!" Nightshroud bares his fangs and raises his sword against the boy's Vanguard. He swings down from the lookout tower of the ghost ship and performs a clean downward slice on the Vanguard, cutting it in half before it explodes (boy: [X][X][X][X][][]).
"You beat me…" the boy then hands over his coins to Murasame.
"Thank you for the donation." he teases the boy.
"Nice work, as expected from my senior." Yuto says, placing his arm around Murasame's shoulders.
Meanwhile, back with K3, they watch the events unfold and Alex begins to sweat a little, "Whoa, they're really ahead. We'd better pick up the pace."
"But Alex, what about our break?" Yui complains.
"Now's not the time. Let's go!" she says as she puts her shoes back on and starts running down the river.
"Hey Alex! Wait up!" Rina demands as she chases after her, with Yui following suit.
Several minutes later, it's almost the end of the event. K3 hikes up a large rocky hill as Alex looks in their bag. "We still don't have enough…" she says in distress.
"At this point… I'm wondering if we even have a chance." Rina says.
Just then, they hear a strange, yet familiar laugh around them, "Ho ho ho ho!" When the girls stop to look around, and figure jumps out of the nearby bushes, startling them. He was an older man with black hair wearing purple robes, holding a staff, and wearing a fake beard. "It is I! The Wonderful Wizard of Helping!" the man says.
"M-Mr. Shouji?!" Alex and Yui exclaim in the unison.
"Dad?" Rina exclaims at the same time.
"Ho ho… who is this Mr. Shouji you speak of? I am The Wonderful Wizard of Helping!" Kazuma tells him.
Rina slumps down with an annoyed expression and says, "You're not fooling anyone with that outfit dad…"
"It's a horrible costume I know," he snaps at them, "but I was asked to help out for this quest, so I will!" he then calms down and says, "Anyway, if you want to get to the summit, you'll have to get through me first."
"You mean like a fight?" Alex asks.
"No," Kazuma answers and shakes his head, "I mean a Trivia Challenge!" the girls then look confused. "It's simple, I will ask you one Vanguard related Trivia question, and if you get it right, I'll give you some bonus coin! Get it wrong, and I'll take all of your coins faster than you can says 'Stand up Vanguard'! So what do you say? You wanna take the chance?"
The girls then look at each other in concern. "I don't know… what if we get it wrong?" Yui asks, "Then we'll have no chance of winning."
Alex thinks for a moment and says, "That is true, but…" she pauses for a second as Rina and Yui look over at her, "…we never know what could happen unless we try it for ourselves." Rina and Yui look at each other for a moment, then smile and look at Alex.
"Okay, if you're so confident go ahead." Rina tells her and Alex nods back.
Kazuma smiles at their conviction and then pulls out a box with a hole in it, "Alright then! Reach into the box to see what kind of question you'll get!" He says, and Alex puts her hand in the hole, digs around, and pulls out a card with the symbol "G4" on it. "Ah, a Grade 4 question, that's the hardest of the bunch!"
"Eh?!" Alex exclaims when she hears this.
Rina slaps her hand on her forehead and says, "You just had to pick a hard one, didn't you?" as Alex giggles nervously.
"Your question! Give me the names of all twelve Zodiac Time Beasts from lowest power to highest power without stuttering!" Kazuma then pulls out a stopwatch and says, "You have 15 seconds to give me your answer!"
"Wait hold up! What are the Zodiac Time Beasts?!" Rina questions.
"Mr. Shouji give us a clue!" Yui begs.
"I'm the Wonderful Wizard of Helping!" Kazuma snaps back, "Besides, if you're not confident to answer a question like this, what makes you think you can win Fighter's Royal? Like Alex said, you never know until you try, so no more hesitation, let's go! Generation Stride!"
Alex then lifts her head with a stern expression and she reads off the names from in her memory, "Chronovolley Rabbit! Chronodoze Sheep! Chronotimer Leghorn! Chronotherapy Hamster! Chronocharge Unicorn! Chronoethos Jackal! Chronodash Peccary! Chronobeat Buffalo! Chronoclaw Monkey! Chronospin Serpent! Chronofang Triger! And Chronojet Dragon!" all in a single breath.
Everyone is stunned by Alex as Kazuma shouts, "We have a winner!" and then dumps a whole bag of coins into Alex's hands.
"Whoa! That's so many!" Yui exclaims, "That pretty much doubled what we already have!"
"Alex, how did you know that?" Rina questions.
"My mom used to tell me stories about how my father used them to save the world." She explains, but then turns around and says, "as for the order of power, I just kind of guessed." Both Yui and Rina are floored by Alex's explanation.
"Ugh, well whatever, we got the coins, let's keep going." Rina says as they run past Kazuma, "Thanks dad!"
"Good luck kids! Glad to be of help. Ho ho ho ho" he laughs, and then drops the act and smiles. "They still have a long way to go… but I believe in them." He says as he removes the fake beard.
At last, Team K3 has reached the top of the summit. "You finally made it." A voice calls out to them. They look up to see Yuto and his team standing in their way, with everyone else behind them. "You're our last opponent's. Fitting how we'd face each other in the final match." Yuto says.
"I wouldn't have liked it any other way." Alex replies to him.
"It makes sense that we've both collected a lot of coins," he explains as he pulls out his deck, "so let's settle it here. The winner of this fight will win the tournament!"
"Sounds good to me!" Alex replies as she pulls out her deck. They set up a fight table and both declare at the same time, "Stand up, VANGUARD!"
"Go for it Alex!" Yui cheers her on.
"You better not lose this." Rina tells her.
"GO YUTO!" Nezumi cheers him on.
"Show her everything I've taught you." Murasame tells him.
A few turns into the fight, both Alex and Yuto have ridden to Grade 3, and it is now Alex's turn (Alex: [X][][]) (Yuto: [][]). "I activate Steam Hunter Feena's skill! During my ride phase, I can bind her and call High Steam Hunter Feena from my deck (BZ: 8-9) (G2/10000)! And due to her skill, add 2000 power (10000-12000). Next I activate Kashima's Soul Drive!" Alex puts two grade 2 units from her bind zone into her drop zone (BZ: 9-7) (G3-4/12000-15000/drive 2-3)! "And since I removed your Red Shock Dracokid, I'm not under its guard restriction anymore."
"Huh, clever." Yuto says.
"Next I call Steam Maiden Nabu (G2/10000) and Steam Scara Irkab (G2/10000)." Alex then takes a card from her G Zone, "I liberate the Generation Zone ([X][X][])(Soul 3-2)! Generation Soul Stride! Interdimensional Beast, Clockwiser Phoenix (GX/25000)! I activate Phoenix's skill!" she binds the top card of her deck, and it's a grade 2 (BZ: 7-8). "I call a card from my hand add 5000 power to that unit. I call Steam Maiden Elal, and with her skill, not only does she gain 1000 power for each card in my bind zone, but she also can add 3000 power to two of my rear-guards (G1/7000-12000-20000). Add 3000 power to Feena and Nabu (12000-15000) (10000-13000). Next I activate Memenne's skill. I discard a card a draw a card. Since I discarded a grade 3, add 5000 power to the three units in my front row (15000-20000) (25000-30000) (13000-18000). I activate Irkab's skill ([X][X][X]) (Hand 2-1)! My Vanguard now gets 1 additional drive (30000/drive 3-4)!"
Board State
(G2/20000) (GX/30000/drive 4) (G2/18000)
(G2/10000) (G1/6000) (G1/20000)
"Whoa!" Yui exclaims, "Alex has really stepped up her game."
"Let's just hope it's enough, Yuto doesn't seem to be backing down either." Rina tells her.
"Let's go! Feena attacks the Vanguard!"
"No guard." Yuto declares (Yuto: [][][]).
"Boosted by Memenne, Clockwiser Phoenix attacks the Vanguard (30000-36000)!"
Yuto looks at his hand in thought, then decides his course of action. "Guard (15000+10000+10000=35000)! That's two to pass."
Alex reaches for her deck, "Quadruple drive (none/none/Critical/none)." Alex grits her teeth in frustration after only getting 1 trigger, "All effects to Nabu (18000-28000/Crit 1-2). Boosted by Elal, Nabu attacks the Vanguard (28000-48000)! Using Nabu's skill, I bind a card in my drop zone (BZ: 8-9) and you can't guard with anything higher than grade 1!"
"No guard. Damage check, Draw Trigger. I draw a card (Hand 1-2)." He declares (Yuto: [][][][][]).
Alex then lets out a big sigh, "I end my turn. At the end of the battle, Nabu goes into my soul and I draw a card (Soul 2-3)(Hand 1-2). Also, due to Clockwiser's skill, Elal is bound at the end of the turn (BZ: 9-10)."
"My turn. Stand and draw." Yuto says as he starts his turn, "You've really improved since the first time we fought."
"I… I have?" Alex asks with a weary expression.
"But… so have I." He then thinks to himself, "She really did a number on my board, but I can come back from this." He then proceeds with his turn, "I activate Dragonic Desire's Soul Drive! Shuffle two cards from your bind zone into your deck."
"What?!" Alex exclaims.
"That's the cost?" Rina exclaims as well, "That's more hurtful for Alex than Yuto."
"Alex!" Yui cries.
Alex grits her teeth and removes cards from her bind zone (BZ: 10-8). "Dragonic Desire now gains 3000 power, 1 grade, and 1 drive (G3-4/12000-15000/drive 2-3)! Next I call another Red Voltage Dragon (G2/9000) and Dragon Dancer Leiya (G1/6000)! Next I use Dragonic Desire's skill ([X][][][][]). Retire Irkab, then bind him. Then bind a card in your drop zone." Alex does as he says (BZ: 8-10).
Board State
(G2/9000) (G4/15000) (G2/9000)
(XXXX) (G1/6000) (XXXX)
"Are you ready Alex?" Yuto asks.
"Bring it on Yuto!" she replies with a fiery response.
"Boosted by Leiya, Dragonic Desire attacks (15000-21000)! Using Dragonic Desire's skill! Thunderstrike X! When he attacks, all units in my front row gain 2000 power for each card in your bind zone! That number is 10! So add 20000 power!"
(9000-29000) (21000-31000) (9000-29000)
Alex looks at her hand in fear, "No guard."
"Triple Drive (none/Critical/?). Critical Trigger! All effects to Desire (31000-41000/Crit 1-2). Third check (Front). Front Trigger! Add 10000 power to all units in my front row!"
"A double trigger?!" Alex exclaims in a panic.
(29000-39000) (41000-51000) (29000-39000)
Dragonic Desire shoots several bolts of violet lightning at Kashima causing her to wince in pain, and Alex does the same, "GAH AHHhh… ugh…" she groans as she stares at Yuto dead in the eyes, "Damage Check (none/none)." (Alex: [X][X][X][][]).
"Since Desire's attack hit, and he's driven, I draw a card. I use Leiya's skill. At the end of a battle she boosted, add 3000 power to both of my Red Voltages and retire her (39000-42000) (39000-42000). Next, Red Voltage Dragon attacks the Vanguard! Using the skill (Soul 3-2)! Bind Feena."
"Complete Guard!" Alex declares.
"The other Red Voltage attacks!" Yuto declares. Alex has no more cards in her hand, so she can't defend.
"N-No guard…" Alex says as she hangs her head.
"Alex no!" Yui screams.
"There's nothing she can do." Rina says.
"You put up a good fight Alex, but this is where it ends!" Yuto tells her as Red Voltage dives at Kashima and plows right through her causing Alex to scream in pain.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"ALEX!" Yui and Rina scream in fear.
Alex struggles to regain her balance. "No way… we came so far… and we lose here?" she thinks to herself, then remembers what she always tells herself, "No… a fight is never over until the last card is drawn. I can do this. Imagine it." She then returns to reality and says, "I can imagine it! Us in Fighter's Royal!" she then looks at Yuto who is smiling at her, then looks behind him to see everyone watching, then looks back at her teammates. She smiles and her teammates smile back at her. She looks back at her deck and declares, "Damage Check!" she draws the top card of her deck and flips it over. Everyone's mouth then drops when she reveals the card she drew. Steam Doctor Mar-tash (Heal). H-Heal Trigger!"
"No way!" Yuto exclaims.
"I recover 1 damage, so I haven't lost yet! (Alex: [X][X][][][])."
"Huh… even in dire situations you still manage to keep on going." Yuto says, "That's what I like about you Alex."
Alex puts on her classic goofy smile, then returns to her determined face, "This our fight! Our destiny! Our future! Stand and draw!" Alex looks at the card she drew and smiles. I call Steam Maiden Kashima (G3/12000). Next, I retire my rear-guard Kashima and Memenne to liberate the Generation Zone!" Alex then pictures herself flying through a starry vortex with a bright purple light at the end with her body cloaked in white light as she chants, "Now show it to me! The future we all desire! A future with infinite possibilities! Let's do this together my partner! Generation… SOUL STRIDE!" The light then envelops Alex as she returns to reality, "Interdimensional Dragon… CHRONOGRAPH DRAGON (GX/25000)! I attack the Vanguard!"
"You're attacking with just your Vanguard?!" Yuto questions.
"Using Chronograph's skill! If the total grade of all units in my bind zone is 15 or more, his power and critical doubles (25000-50000/Crit 1-2)!"
Yuto smirks and says, "Alright, let's make this interesting!" Yuto pulls out every card from his hand and tosses it to the guard circle, as well as his two Red Voltages, "Guard and Intercept (15000+15000+10000+5000+5000=50000)! Now you need to pull two triggers to get through."
Alex tenses up and reaches for her deck, "Alright! Triple Drive! First Check (Critical). Critical Trigger (50000-60000/Crit 2-3)! Second Check (none)." Alex tenses up more and declares, "Third Check!" just before she reveals the card, she looks back at her teammates, who are smiling at her and nod. She looks at Yuto, who is also smiling and nods. She then looks up at the crowd of people in the back and notices Kazuma standing among them, he smiles nods as well. Alex then looks down at the Kashima card in her drop zone and then at her Vanguard. "We're going to Fighter's Royal, and we're going to win the whole thing!" Alex pulls off the top card and holds it high in the air. She pulls it down to look at it and is completely shocked. A tear then forms in her eye as smiles and reveals the card, "Heal Trigger!" Everyone is shocked by Alex's amazing draw. "Chronograph Dragon attacks your Vanguard! Let's GOOOOOOOOO!" (GX/60000-70000/Crit 3). Chronograph dives through Dragonic Desire and then uses its arms to imitate clock hands for the energy clock on its back. It then slowly moves its hands upwards until they meet at the top of the clock, when they do, several explosions go off on Desire causing it to disintegrate as Yuto screams in pain. (Yuto: [X][][][][][]).
Yuto then pulls out his team's bag of coins and dumps them all into Alex's hands. "Whoa, you guys had that much?" Rina asks.
"You could have won the tournament, even we didn't fight." Yui says.
"It just wouldn't feel right ending off the tournament without fighting you." Yuto tells them.
"But… aren't you guys not going to be able to entre Fighter's Royal now?" Alex asks.
"All three of us are already Grade 3, we just entered this tournament for fun." Murasame explains.
"I… I see…" Rina says as she slumps down with an annoyed gaze.
Later, at sunset, the three girls of K3 stand atop a stage as Mamoru signs the Fighter's App on their phones, then hands them back. "You girls made it. Grade 3." The girls all smile as they take back their phones and the crowd cheers. "I remember when I did this for your father." He tells them.
"My father did this too?" Alex asks.
"Yeah," Mamoru replies as he nods, "he took part in a survival tournament to become grade 3, just like you."
"To be honest, this whole thing was Mamoru's idea," Kazuma explains, "he wanted you guys to become grade 3 just like Chrono."
"Wow… thank you, uncle Mamoru." Alex says with an innocent smile.
"You girls are in the big leagues now." Mamoru tells them, "Fighter's Royal is just a few weeks away. You'd better get you applications in soon." The girls then nod at each other, then turn around to face the crowd and hold up their phones as Mamoru says into a microphone, "Let's give one more round of applause to our winners, Alex Shindou, Rina Shouji, and Yui Genjima, of Team K3!" the crowd then cheers as the girls smile and glance at each other.
Alex then looks up at the orange sky and thinks to herself, "We're not there yet, we still need to win Fighter's Royal, and once we do, I'll be able to stand up to you, father." Meanwhile, Kazuma watches them with a smile, but then he looks at his palm with a frown and clinches his fist…
Ending Theme – Eternal Star (Island ED1)
[Next Time]
Elsewhere, away from the events of Alex's team, Eiji senses a strange presence following him where ever he goes. He then hears rumors from his maids about a mysterious assailant known as "Golden Angel" who appears to hunt down criminals with Vanguard... Next time on Vanguard X: "The Golden Angel!" Don't miss it!
Alex & Rina's Card Corner
Alex: Hello everyone! We're back with another Card Corner segment.
Rina: We actually have 2 featured cards this time, and these cards were made by two people on the Discord server, which you can join using the link down below.
Alex: The first card is Miracle Wish, Lucka, Nezumi's ace.
Grade 3 / 12000 Power / Twin Drive / Pale Moon / Human
Rina: Credit goes to "Kuro" in the server for inspiring this one. Her Soul Drive can be activated by putting three cards from your soul into the drop zone to have her gain 2000 power, 1 grade, and 1 drive.
Alex: Her other skill lets you counterblast 1 to have your opponent choose a grade between 1 and 3, and then call two cards from the soul whose grades are the same as what you called.
Rina: Then they get an effect depending on their grade. If they're Grade 1, at the end of a battle they attacked or boosted, they can be put into the soul to call a unit from the soul with a different name.
Alex: If they're Grade 2, they gain Boost and 5000 power.
Rina: And if they're Grade 3, they can gain 5000 power and can attack from the back row. Oh! And if Lucka is Driven, your opponent doesn't choose a grade and you can call whatever you want.
Alex: Our next card is Vampire Lord of Abyssal Depths, Nightshroud. Murasame's ace.
Grade 3 / 12000 Power / Twin Drive / Granblue / Vampire
Rina: Credit goes to "Ryker" in the server for making this. His soul drive can be activated by putting four normal units from your drop zone on the bottom of your deck.
Alex: He can counterblast 1 and put the top four cards of your deck into the drop zone to call two units from the drop zone and make them Hollow. If he's driven, he can call three instead.
Rina: He also has a skill in the drop zone for Soul blast 1 and putting two cards in the drop zone on the bottom of your deck, which allows him to ride himself over another Driven copy of himself to gain 15000 power and Stand up.
Alex: As well as that, his Soul Drive activates immediately for no cost.
Alex: So what do you think? You like these cards?
Rina: If you wanna discuss the fanfic or any of the author's other fanfics, you can join us on the author's Discord server at
discord . gg / mFfHPMz
Rina: Just paste this link into your internet browser without spaces. We look forward to seeing you there!
Alex: In the meantime, always remember…
Alex & Rina: Stand up the Vanguard!
Meanwhile… elsewhere…
At the top of the tallest tower in the city at night, a man, about in his mid-20s with long black hair stands in front of the large glass wall in his office looking out to the city. Also in the office, was Team Exodus, Yuji, Saki, and Yusuke, Tokoha, Taiyou, and Shion and Am who are talking through a laptop on the man's desk. The automatic door to the office opens and Kazuma and Luna both walk through it. "Kazuma, Luna, glad you both could make it." The man says.
"Alright, now what was the big deal in calling us here in the middle of the night?" Yuji asks the man.
The man doesn't say anything at first, but then tells them, "I call you all here because I just received Team K3's application for Fighter's Royal."
"They actually joined?" Taiyou asks in mild surprise.
"Yes Taiyou." The man replies, "Tokoha, Kazuma, I'm sure you were both aware of this." Neither of them says anything and just hang their heads.
"I heard my son was applying too," Shion explains, "he's taken Koharu and Lily as his teammates."
"I see." The man says.
"Didn't you say we weren't supposed to let them get involved?" Saki asks, but the man doesn't answer, "Answer me!" she persists.
"As long as nothing goes wrong in Fighter's Royal, we have nothing to worry about." The man explains and slowly opens his eyes as he continues to look out into the city, "but… I have a strong suspicion that they're here, and one of them has joined Fighter's Royal."
"What?!" Tokoha exclaims.
"So then what do we do?" Luna asks.
"We do nothing for now," the man says, "but we need to determine if my hunch is correct, and that they have actually joined Fighter's Royal, and if they did, we need to dispose of them as quickly as possible, before Alex and her team have a chance to fight them." The man clenches his fist and says, "This fight started with us, and I don't want to let your children get involved. If that means we have to make a few sacrifices, so be it." The man then turns around to face them, "Chrono entrusted the protection of this planet and the children to us. We can't let him down."
Kazuma then hangs his head and says, "Of course not…" he then lifts his head and calls the man by his name, "Ryuzu."