This chapter is a continuation of the previous chapter. If you have not read that chapter, please do so before reading this one.
The sun has almost fully gone down over the city. Only a little bit of orange light still remains in the sky as the street lamps turn on and buildings light up their rooms. A blimp floats through the air, with screens on the sides of it as the MC appears on those screens and announces very passionately, "Attention all Cardfighters! There is only 1 hour left in the first day of the tournament! So make sure you grab those points while you still can!"
Meanwhile, Alex wanders the streets with a confused, yet troubled, expression. She then thinks back to what Akiya told her not too long ago.
Flashback (Drive 22)
Akiya hesitates for a moment and says, "He's a man that knew your father very well. Ryuzu Myoujin. The very driving force of this tournament." Alex takes another step back hearing the name. Akiya then pulls his earbuds out of his pocket and walks past her as he says, "If you want to know more about your father, you're going to have to talk with him."
End Flashback
"Everyone knew…?" Alex muttered to herself as she holds a hand over her chest, "Then why didn't any of them tell me? Why would they keep my father a secret from me?" Just then, she sees something she didn't expect to see.
She sees Team Exodus, Yuji, Saki, and Yusuke, huddle together and looking around the corner of a building. Ever curious as to what they're doing, she walks up to them and says their names to get their attention, to which they are startled by her sudden appearance. "Alex?!" Yuji exclaims in a whisper.
"What's going on here?" Alex asks in her normal voice, to which Saki immediately puts her arm around her and covers her mouth with her other hand.
"Quiet, you'll blow our cover." She tells her. Agreeing to be quiet, Saki lets go of Alex as she peeks around the corner to see what they've been watching. On the other side of the block, they all see a man with long black hair, wearing a gray suit, and a matching bowler hat at the corner of the street, talking on the phone.
"Who's that?" Alex quietly asks the champion team.
"Not entirely sure," Yusuke tells her, "but we have reason to believe he could be trouble." Just then, the man hangs up his phone and begins crossing the road, hand in pocket.
"He's getting away!" Saki exclaims.
Yuji then turns to Alex with a stern face and says, "Look Alex, it might be best if you just go. We can handle this."
Alex clinches her fist and says, "No!" the other members of Exodus turn to her, "I'm tired of being kept in the dark about things. Please let me come with you."
Yusuke grits his teeth and says, "Listen here, this is not your fight! We have reason to believe this guy is dangerous, and we can't risk having you seriously hurt."
"I don't care." Alex says, shaking her head, "I've been kept in the dark about too many things. I'm coming and that's final." she stomps her foot down in demand.
Yusuke balls up his fist and groans, "Ugh… Why you…!"
"He's getting too far. We have to move!" Saki tells them.
Yuji sighs and then turns to Alex and says, "Alright fine. You can come, but keep your distance. We don't want you getting hurt."
"Okay." Alex nods as all four of them start chasing after the man in the suit.
Opening Theme – Just Fly Away (Gundam Build Fighters TRY OP2)
Drive 23 – The World Ending Roar
They follow the man through the city to various places, often having to duck around the corner to avoid being seen, and the more it happens, the more concerned they grow about if he knows he's being followed. While they're sneaking around, Alex whispers to Saki, "I know now might not be a good time but… do you… know anything about my father?"
Saki looks back at Alex with a shocked expression and says, "How did you know?"
"Akiya told me." She explains as Saki looks away and sighs in annoyance.
"That guy just can't learn to keep his mouth shut." She looks back at Alex and says, "You're right, now's not a good time. We'll talk later. Okay?" to which Alex nods.
They eventually follow the man all the way to a warehouse lot and see him walk into one of the buildings. "He went in there!" Yuji exclaims as they all rush after him, reaching a small door on the side of the warehouse.
They silently open the door to avoid alerting him, but as soon as they open the door, the man is nowhere to be found. Thinking it's safe, they open the door fully and walk inside. The large open building was dimly light, as crane arms are suspended from the ceiling, the walls are lined with junk, and a lone fight table sits in the middle of the room. "What the hell?!" Yusuke exclaims, "Where did he go?"
They all look around the room but do not see any doors aside from the one they just came through. "He couldn't have slipped out." Yuji hypothesizes, "He's gotta be in here somewhere."
Alex then spots the fight table in the middle of the room and wanders over to it. "What's a fight table doing here?" she asks, examining it.
"It was probably put here by the association." Saki suggests, joining her.
As the four of them look around the room, the ground begins to tremble a little. "What the…? An Earthquake?!"
Yuji and Yusuke both look back at Alex and Saki and notice a shadow behind them. Panicking, the boys then run toward the girls as fast as their legs can carry them as Yuji screams, "LOOK OUT!" Before they can even process what's happening, Yuji shoves Saki and Yusuke shoves Alex as the figure throws cards toward them. After pushing the girls to safety, the boys lean back to avoid the cards. Time felt like it moved in slow motion for a second, as the cards barely miss their necks. The cards then get stuck in the metal wall on the other side of the warehouse.
Alex picks herself up off the ground, rubbing her tail bone, as she looks at the cards. "Whoa… that was too close." She says, with a bit of fear in her voice.
"Impressive!" A deep, bellowing voice exclaims. The four fighters look at the darkness to see the man they've been tracking emerging into view, holding his hat over his face, "not many people manage to dodge that." With his other hand, he strokes his scruffy bearded chin and adds, "Maybe you are worth something after all." He then fully looks up at them and reveals his face. He had darker colored skin, a very sharp jawline, and calm, yet unnerving gray eyes. He holds his hat over one of his eyes, but what looks like burned flesh can be seen under it.
"A foreigner?" Saki mutters, shocked by the man's facial structure.
"You knew we were following you, didn't you?"
"Oh come on," the man mutters in a sophisticated, yet mocking tone, as he adjusts his bowler hat "did you Reeeally think I wouldn't notice? You were being quite noisy after all." The man then adjusts his position and says, "Oh but where are my manners. Allow me to introduce myself." He bows and introduces himself as, "Kenny McAlister. At your service."
"We got questions for you buddy." Yusuke says, pointing a finger at him, "We have reason to believe you're an Acolyte!"
"An Acolyte?" Alex questions.
The man lets out a chuckle and says, "My, and who told you this hmm?"
"We've noticed a big fluctuation in Stride Force every time you fight," Yuji adds, "like way more than an average reading. They're numbers higher than we've ever seen."
"What's Stride Force?" Alex asks Saki, but she doesn't respond.
"Not only that, but your fighting skills are admirable. So much so, you've defeated entire teams by yourself, and you're the only person on your team.
"I see. So, you've been tracking me for a while now, have you?" Kenny responds, and then immediately tries to change the subject, "Oh I know. Why don't we have a card fight right now?"
"Hey! Don't chance the subject!" Yuji exclaims, but then Kenny snaps his fingers, and the air grows heavy within the warehouse. "Whoa, did you feel that?" Yuji asks his friends, to which they all nod.
"What did you do?!" Yusuke asks.
"I simply placed a seal around this warehouse. Now you can't leave until we have a cardfight." Kenny tells them all, confirming Yuji and Yusuke's suspicions, "Oh, and don't bother calling for help either, this seal blocks any and all forms of energy from escaping it.
"So, you ARE an Acolyte." Yusuke mutters.
"Saki, Alex, you two stay back. We'll handle this." Yuji says, "This guy's taken out entire teams on his own, and we'll need someone to get us back in if we lose." Saki nods, and then Yuji turns his head to Alex, "And Alex… we heard about your teammates. We can't have you losing here and your team is out of the tournament. Do you understand?"
Alex, still shaken by this turn of events, nods and says, "I understand."
Yuji and Yusuke then look at each other and nod before they both walk up to the fight table and say, "We'll be taking you on!"
"Two on one? That hardly seems fair." Kenny says in a sarcastic tone, "We'll need to even the playing field a bit." He strokes his beard for a moment and then proposes, "How about this. Since this is a two on one fight, in order to win, you have to deal me 9 damage to win."
"That's fine with me." Yuji replies.
"Same here." Yusuke also replies.
"Then let's get to it." Kenny exclaims. One end of the fight table then expands out into two separate screens, with their own separate Vanguard Circle and rear-guard circles. Yuji and Yusuke take their post at the board and so does Kenny.
Tension looms in the air as the three of them shuffle their decks, like a fight to the death is about to commence. They set their starting Vanguards, and they all then declare in unison… "Stand up… VANGUARD!"
Meanwhile, at the Vanguard Association HQ, Ryuzu Myoujin looks over his researchers keeping tabs on the tournament in a room filled with computers and three large screens along the back wall, when one female researcher exclaims, "Mr. Myoujin! We're picking up massive Stride Force readings at point zero one three."
Shocked by this, Ryuzu places his hands on the railing and demands, "Get me live footage of that location!" The researcher complies and puts footage from the warehouse's security cameras on the screen. When Ryuzu sees Yuji and Yusuke's fight with Kenny, a scowl comes over his face. "Alright Mr. McAlister, let's see what you're made of." He says.
Back at the warehouse, the fight is pretty one-sided with Kenny managing to stay ahead most of the game by keeping Yuji and Yusuke's boards under control. (Kenny: [X][][]) (Yuji: [X][][][]) (Yusuke: [][][]) It is now Kenny's turn, as he rides to grade 3. "Plow through! Call forth the apocalypse with your world ending roar! Ride!" A beam of fire skyrockets out from behind Kenny, and a large skeletal T-Rex with lava in between its bones appears, blowing away the fiery pillar and lets out a deafening roar "Apocalypic Demon Dragon, Malicerex (G3/13000)! I call Regiment Dragon Regiodon (G2/10000) and Slicing Dragon Terrortherizino (G3/13000). Using Terrortherizino's skill (Soul 3-2). I superior call Savage Trooper from my drop zone (G1/8000)!"
Board State
(G2/10000) (G3/13000) (G3/13000)
(G1/8000) (G1/8000) (XXXX)
"Terrortherizino attacks Kaos!" Kenny declares, targeting Yusuke's Vanguard.
"No guard." He declares. (Yusuke: [][][][])
"Boosted by Savage Trooper, Regiodon attacks the Kaos (10000-18000)! Regiodon's skill! I retire Terrortherizino and add 10000 power (18000-28000)! Savage Augur's skill! When my rear-guard is retired, I can Soul Charge one (Soul 2-3). Next with Malicerex's skill, when a rear-guard is retired, add 5000 power for each grade of the retired unit. Since I retired a grade 3, add 15000 power (13000-28000)."
"I guard (15000), and Authority of Water intercepts (5000)!" Yusuke declares.
"Boosted by Savage Augur, Malicerex attacks Kaos (28000-36000)! Malicerex's skill ([X][][]). I retire Regiodon and Savage Trooper." The massive lava dinosaur then scoops up both the other dino and tribal human into its mouth and they both scream as they burn in the lava within its stomach. The sight of this causes Saki to cover her eyes and Yuji, Yusuke, and Alex to look on in horror. "I draw two cards, and you have to guard with three or more cards from your hand this attack."
"Are you serious?!" Yusuke exclaims, looking at his hand.
"And since I retired a grade 1 and a grade 2, add another 15000 power to Malicerex (36000-51000), also, Soul Charge with Augur's skill (Soul 3-4)."
Yusuke looks at his hand in fear, when suddenly, "Guard!" Yuji exclaims, protecting his friend by guarding from his hand (15000+10000) "Yusuke!"
The white and blue-haired boy looks over at Yuji and nods, "Alright, Guard (15000), and Generation Guard! False Dark Wings, Agrat bat Mahlat (Shield: 15000), with her skill, Soul Charge (Soul 7-9) and add 5000 shield (15000-20000)!" (Total Shield: 80000)
Kenny looks a bit confused for a minute, before Yuji tells him, "During a tag fight, we can guard from my hand to defend my teammate, and in this case, it counts that we've used three guards from the hand!"
"I see. Very clever." Kenny compliments, "Twin Drive (none/Critical). Critical Trigger. Not like it does anything for me. I end my turn."
Yusuke collapses on his feet, having narrowly avoided a loss. "Phew… that was too close."
"Don't worry Yusuke, I'll take it from here." Yuji reassures him, "If I can't beat him on this turn, you go for the finish."
"Got it." Yusuke replies and nods.
"Alright, Stand and draw! I activate Extreme Battler Raxis's Soul Drive ([X][X][][]) (Soul 4-3)! Add 3000 power, 1 grade, and 1 drive (G3-4/12000-15000/drive 2-3)! I call two Extreme Battler Ganbaruguns (G1/8000) and activate Raxis's skill (Soul 3-2)! Rest Dosledge and call Extreme Battler Banguet (G1/8000)! With his skill, stand Dosledge and add 10000 power with its skill (10000-20000)! With Malyaki's skill add 4000 power (7000-11000)! Finally, I liberate the Generation Zone! Yuji discards a grade 3 from his hand and then grabs a card from his G-Zone. Let's go! Break through the competition and unleash the infinite possibilities! Generation Stride!" Raxis leaps through the ceiling of the warehouse, and in the sky, his armor turns all white, as wings made of pure energy sprout from its back, before descending back down to the battlefield, "Extreme Battler, Raxis Prime (GX/27000)!"
Board State
(G1/8000) (GX/27000) (G2/20000)
(G1/8000) (G1/8000) (G1/11000)
"Let's go! Dosledge attacks the Vanguard!"
"No guard." Kenny says. Kenny: [X][][][])
"Next my turn Ganbaruguns attack (8000-16000)! Using his skill (Soul 2-1), Stand Dosledge and Soul Charge 1 with the skill (Soul 1-2)! Also add another 4000 power to Malyaki (11000-15000)."
"I guard (10000)!"
"Boosted by Malyaki, Dosledge attacks again (20000-35000)!" Dosledge takes its hammer and bashes it against the large burning dino's skull (Kenny: [X][][][][]).
"Boosted by Banguet, Raxis Prime attacks the Vanguard (27000-35000)! Raxis Prime's skill ([X][X][X][]) (G-Zone 1-2)! For each face up card in the G-Zone, I can stand the same number of rear-guards plus one, and thanks to Yusuke's Generation Guard last turn, now we have two face up G-Units, so I stand Dosledge, my front row Ganbarugun, and Malyaki! Dosledge's skill! Add 10000 power (20000-30000), and add 4000 power to Malyaki (15000-19000)!"
"No guard." Kenny declares, sounding unphased.
"Triple Drive (none/none/Front). Front Trigger! Add 10000 power to my entire front row (8000-18000) (35000-45000) (30000-40000)! GOOOOOO!" Yuji screams as he orders Raxis to strike the dino. Raxis knocks the dinosaur into the sky, then charges up for a bin strike. Raxis then flies and high speeds, slashing its energy sword through the dino, causing it to roar in pain before falling back down to Earth.
"Damage Check." Kenny declares (Critical). "Critical Trigger. Add 10000 power to my Vanguard (13000-23000)." (Kenny: [X][][][][][])
"Raxis Prime's additional skill! At the end of the battle, if I stood three or more rear-guards, I can restand Raxis! Add 5000 power for each rear-guard I stood, and get minus three drive (37000-52000/drive 3-0). Boosted by Malyaki, Dosledge attacks the Vanguard (40000-59000)!"
"No guard." (Kenny: [X][][][][][][])
"Raxis Prime attacks the Vanguard!"
Kenny discards a heal trigger from his hand and declares, "Generation Guard. Cliff Authority Retainer, Blockade Ganga (Shield: 15000). With his skill, retire Augur and add 10000 to the shield (15000-25000), and with Malicerex's skill, add 5000 power when a rear-guard is retired (23000-28000)."
Yuji clicks his teeth and groans, "I end my turn… All up to you now Yusuke."
"I know." Yusuke nods in response. He looks at Kenny's field and observes, "He's got no rear-guards, 4 cards in hand, and seven damage. I can do this." Yusuke then stands his units and draws. I activate Darkness Psychic Lord Kaos's Soul Drive (Soul 7-4)! Add 3000 power, 1 grade, and 1 drive (G3-4/13000-16000/drive 2-3)! I call Cuticle Breaker Pavla (G1/8000), and with her skill, Soul Charge (Soul 4-7)! Now… Liberating the Generation Zone!" Yusuke discards a grade 3, then takes a card from his G-Zone, "Unleash the infinite darkness as a heralding for the Gods of the Abyss! Generation Stride! Lord of the Dark Abyss, Kaos Discord (GX/30000)! Using Kaos Discord's skill! Until the end of the turn, all of my rear circles become Abyssal Planes, and Kaos can gain the skills of two Shadow Lord units in my soul!"
"Hmm…" Kenny scratches his chin, intrigued.
"I now use Kaos's other skill ([X][][][]) (Soul 7-5)! By sacrificing the soul, I can revive the dark deity resting within the drop zone!" Yusuke takes a card from his drop zone and holds it up to Kenny. The artwork depicted a humanoid purple dragon with three heads, a large golden ring on its back with an eye in the middle, and a mouth in its stomach. "Now come forth! My alter ego! Netherworld Deity Zion (G10/20000)!"
"A grade 10?!" Alex exclaims, surprised by the high grade number.
"I call Stone Framer, and with his skill, I send him to the soul (7-8) to add a Grade 10 Shadow Lord unit from my deck to my hand. Now, arise! The demons of the abyss! Dark-Horned Demon Odious (G10/18000) and Skull Fiend Beelzebub (G10/21000)!"
Board State
(G10/18000) (GX/30000) (G10/21000)
(G1/8000) (G10/20000) (XXXX)
"Boosted by Pavla, Odious attacks the Vanguard (18000-26000)! Using Odious's skill (Hand 1-0), add 10000 power (26000-36000)!"
"No guard. Damage check (Draw). Draw Trigger. I draw one card and add 10000 to the Vanguard (13000-23000)." (Kenny: [X][][][][][][][])
"Alright! One more damage to go!" Yuji exclaims.
"You can do it Yusuke!" Saki cheers.
"Kaos Discord, attack the Vanguard! Using the skills he obtained from the soul ([X][X][X][]), add 10000 power to Zion (20000-30000), and a you have to turn one card in your damage zone face down!" Kenny complies and does so. "Then, add 5000 power to Kaos (30000-35000)!"
"I guard (15000+15000)." Kenny declares, still unphased.
"Triple Drive (none/none/Critical). Critical Trigger! I give the power to Beelzebub (21000-31000) and the Critical to Zion (30000/Crit 1-2)! Now, with the power of the Abyssal Plane to attack from the back row, Zion attacks the Vanguard! Using his skill ([X][X][X][X]) (Hand 3-1), Zion can perform drive checks, and gains 1 drive for every other Shadow Lord on the board! There are two, so Zion now has Triple Drive!"
"Complete Guard!" Kenny declares and Yusuke flinches, not expecting a perfect guard, as Yuji scowls.
"It's not over yet! Triple Drive (none/none/none)." There were no triggers, and so Yusuke trembles with anxiety as Kenny smirks, "It's still not over! Beelzebub attacks the Vanguard!"
"I guard (10000)." Kenny declares, calling the last card in his hand, and both Yuji and Yusuke quiver in fear of what's coming."
"I… end my turn…" Yusuke says with a heavy tone, "My rear circles return to normal, and my grade 10 Shadow Lords are retired as a result."
"My turn then." Kenny says with an air of confidence, "Stand and draw."
"It's okay, his Vanguard isn't Driven, so we might have a chance." Yuji reassures his friends.
Kenny then smirks and declares, "I call Savage Shooter, and with her skill ([X][X][X][][][][][]) I look at the top two cards of my deck. I call one and draw the other. I call Archbird (G0/5000)."
"Wait…" Yusuke mutters, "that's a Sentinel." His eyes then widen in fear, "No way… does that mean…"
Kenny then interrupts him by saying, "I must admit, you boys are good. You actually made me want to use my ace in the hole. So you know what…" he then lifts his head, revealing side hidden side of his face. It was a deep crimson red, his eye was as black as the night sky, and his iris was glowing a menacing red, "I'll let you have a taste as to what's to come for this wretched world!" he shouts as he binds his two rear-guards! "Activating Malicerex's Soul Drive (G3-4/13000-17000/drive 2-3)!" he then discards a copy of Malicerex in his hand, and grabs three cards from his G-Zone, "Liberating the Generation Zone!"
The air begins to grow hot as fire seemingly manifests out of nowhere within the warehouse. Alex begins to panic asking, "Wh-What's going on?!" she then looks at the hole in the roof of the building, which was created during the fight, and sees something that makes her heart sink. The sky has turned red and the clouds are spinning around a point like a hurricane, and red bolts of lightning crackle through the sky.
In another part of the city, Yui and Rina have met up, and they both notice the localized red vortex in the sky. "W-What is that…?" Yui asks, growing concerned.
"I don't know… but whatever it is… it can't be good." Rina replies.
In another part of the city, Riku and Kyoko sit upon the roof of a building as they watch the vortex in the sky. "So, it's happening again huh?" Kyoko says in a nonchalant tone.
"I knew there would be more of them…" Riku mutters, narrowing her eyes, knowing exactly the meaning of the vortex.
At the Shindou residence, Tokoha looks out the window to see the red vortex, as her whole body is quivering in fear. She holds a hand to her chest and says, "Alex… please be safe."
At the Ryuzu lab, the screens on the monitors begin bleeping very frequently and red lights fill the room as the researchers begin to panic, "Stride Force readings are off the charts!" one of the male researchers exclaims, "They're nothing like they were 21 years ago!" Ryuzu's eyes widen as he grits his teeth in absolute terror.
Back at the warehouse, the whole building has been engulfed in flames. All of the people within, aside from Kenny, who is unphased by the flames, struggle to maintain their breath as Kenny declares, "God of Fire and Death! Descend onto this world and return it all to ashes! Rewrite the world! So that a new future may be born! ULTIMATE STRIDE!" Kenny is then consumed by a beam of red light, and as the four remaining fighters look to the sky, they see a giant red dragon with a wingspan that appears to cover the entire city. "Death God of Raging Hellfire Apocrypha!" The dragon then shoots a beam of fire from its mouth stomach, creating a massive explosion that causes everyone in the warehouse to go flying, along with all their cards. (Yuji: [X][X][X][][][]) (Yusuke: [X][X][X][X][][])
Alex finds herself lying on the ground as she looks into the sky and sees the red dragon in a clear view, no longer obstructed by the warehouse roof, and the only thought running through her mind is… "Is this is…?" before falling unconscious.
She manages to wake up, after what only felt like a few minutes, and the sky has returned to normal. She manages to pick herself up off the ground to find her clothes in tatters and covered in ash and dust. She looks around to see the entire warehouse district was flames and the buildings were no longer standing. Barely able to keep her consciousness, she hears Saki crying, "Yuji! YUJI! Come on! Wake up! YUJI!" she looks over to see Saki, also with tattered clothes and covered in ash, trying to wake up an unconscious Yuji lying face down on the ground. She then rolls him over to find a large shard of metal has pierced his stomach, and her absolute terror and despair washes over her. "No… No this can't be happening! Yuji! YUJI!" Saki screams his name to the sky. Despair was all that's left… chaos and destruction… is what that monstrosity caused…
To be continued…
Ending Theme – Play the World (BOFURI Ending)
[Next Time]
Yuji and Yusuke have been hospitalized, and Saki is now scarred the incident with the mysterious fighter. Meanwhile, Team K3 needs to focus on their goal of achieving victory in the tournament. At the same time, Riku has managed to find Eiji and challenges him to a card fight.
Next time on Vanguard X: "The Wings of Rebellion" Don't miss it!