Chapter 9: Today's Cardfighting Day! Part 2
A/N: Sorry it's taken so long, big note at the end.
"Mecha Trainer!" Asuma called for his starting vanguard, and as he did it felt more direct than usual, like rather than just observing the units on Cray he was truly there, feeling the wind on his skin and the heat of the far-away planet's sun on his, or rather Mecha Trainer's, metallic skin. Across the battlefield, he could see another spirit descend upon the planet's surface and coalesce into the familiar shape of Conroe, Kai's starting vanguard. Rather than feeling the cards in his hands and the environment of the card shop around him, Asuma just knew the units available to him. They were waiting just out of sight, just out of mind to be called into battle. Calling out to his reserves, Mecha Trainer barked an order. "Wonder Boy, get in here!" The condensed spirit that was Asuma's essence was exposed for just a moment as the robotic coach jumped to the rear guard, before his place was taken by the energetic Wonder Boy. Feeling fired up and seeming to meld more with his chosen vanguard, the sensations of Cray felt almost more real than Asuma's body on Earth. Responding to this seemingly newfound bond, Wonder Boy danced in place a bit and taunted at Kai's force across the battlefield, even as Conroe was replaced by Bahr.
"No guard" Asuma declared almost without a thought, even as he could feel the solid blow Bahr dealt to Wonder Boy-no, his own chest so surely that he rocked back in his seat in Card Capital. Catching himself by grabbing the table, Asuma felt his energy spike, adrenaline flowing like it hadn't in a long time. "You know Kai, I've got a feeling that tells me today I just can't lose." Asuma declared with a fierce grin, staring down his opponent's icy glare. "Is that so. I hope you've miraculously gotten stronger in the last few minutes, or you'll be crushed along with that *feeling*." Kai smirked, but as Asuma drew his next card he looked down at it and suddenly he was back on Cray. Instead of the battlefield with the large, red-armored figure of Bahr waiting, he saw a massive stadium. A raucous crowd of demons, giants, ogres, elves, and even battleroids were practically rocking the building with their cheers, and Asuma knew they were all looking at him. He felt the familiar weight of the ball in his hands and felt rather than saw his teammates around him as they charged down the field.
Old instincts kicked in and Asuma sprinted towards the goal line while dodging around some opponents, and just bashing through others on a path of destruction. It was only as he finally spiked the ball to the turf and the adrenaline started to flow away that he noticed the crowd chanting "No-va! No-va! No-va!" Looking down, Asuma finally noticed he wasn't himself. Instead, he was inhabiting the body of a massive, muscular man. And as he noticed, Asuma heard another voice. "Took you long enough to notice, my Vanguard. But this is just the beginning. From here on out, you'd better grab your dreams with both hands and never let go if you want to get anywhere!" Even as he tried to ask what was going on, who this obvious star player was, Asuma could feel himself losing his grip on this vision he seemed to be having, his vision going slowly white until finally he was sitting back in his chair across from Kai. Feeling like he'd just snapped awake from a long sleep, Asuma looked over the board and tried to shake his head to get rid of his grogginess.
"What's the matter, don't tell me you're frozen in fear already?" His arrogant opponent asked with a sneer, as Asuma looked over the cards in his hand quickly. Dudley Mason, his usual grade 2 partner was there, but…something else was in his hand. Another rising star, just what he needed to start his drive toward victory. "A rising star of the Spike Brothers, the spark to light a raging bonfire, he's the future hall of fame comeback kid! I ride Rally Ignition, Rookie Nova!" The new ride chant sent a momentary look of confusion across his rival's face, while Asuma's vanguard was enveloped in light on Cray, his form shifting to that of the man he'd seen (or rather, been) in his vision. But this was a younger form, his horns smaller and muscles less pronounced, with a large "R" on his shoulder pad to denote being a rookie. The others in the shop murmured a bit, with Miwa even musing "Huh, guess he still had a new trick or two up his sleeves" from his spot leaning against the wall just behind Kai. More on instinct than any knowledge of the card's abilities, Asuma activated Nova's skill. While on Cray, it appeared as though Nova had received a pass from behind, then tossed the ball to his left where a rear guard appeared as though they had just stepped off the bench. "I superior call Dudley Mason, and call Dudley Phantom to support my vanguard!" Asuma announced as he made his move, setting up two strong columns to swing in. Kai's confidence didn't waver even as he took on both attacks, even refusing to guard the assault of Asuma's new vanguard. "Nova Spike!" The ogre shouted as he leaped into the air and launched the spiked ball downwards at Bahr.
"No guard." Kai's usual calm didn't even crack as he took his first damage, nor the second from Asuma's rearguard. He barely even acknowledged the hits and rode Nehalim silently before swinging in twice himself. The air in the shop was tense, and the small crowd of both Asuma's friends and a few stragglers from the tournament could all feel it as well. Aichi seemed particularly distressed, looking back and forth between Kai and Asuma, as if he could sense the ferocity of their battle of images. Meanwhile, the chosen vanguards fought across the battlefield with blasts of dragonfire, energized gallows balls, and whatever melee strikes they could manage. At the end of it all, Nehalim stood over Nova with a derisive sneer, sword poised over the prodigy's head. The dragon knight spoke in stereo with the spirit inside him, "Is that it? A few flashy new tricks but the result is still just the same. You're no supernova, just a candle in the wind."
Asuma and his ogre avatar both clenched their fists, grit their teeth, and roared in frustration, defiantly staring up into the eyes of their opponents. "You think you've already won? Then I've got some bad news for ya, this game's not over until the final buzzer sounds!" With the damage standing at 3 to 2 in Kai's favor, the younger fighter looked to his deck as he stood his units and drew another card. "Hmm, looks like an old friend is coming out to join the new faces! General Seifreid, lead us to victory!" Asuma called out with voice and spirit, his ride more like slamming the card down onto the table in front of him. As confident as seeing his usual ace made him feel, Asuma looked over his field with a critical eye. Only two attacks wouldn't be enough, even with a critical trigger! But trying to guard Kai's attacks last turn had depleted his hand, so all Asuma could do was call some support to the back line and hope Seifreid's skill paid off.
For his part, Kai was seemingly as stoic as ever even while the rest of the onlookers were gossiping about Asuma's seemingly brand-new cards. "Man, why didn't he use that Nova guy against me?" Morikawa complained while Miwa and Misaki both seemed to be lost in thought, the two older students glancing at each other and thinking the same thing: "That card definitely wasn't in his deck before!" Aichi and Kamui were seemingly completely caught up in the fight, focused on cheering for Asuma, or at least in Kamui's case just against Kai.
With his back lines reinforced and the general raring to go, Asuma began his assault. "Go, Dudley Mason!" He called, his units responding and charging in with a solid shoulder charge that Nehalim tanked while Kai took his third damage. "Not even going to intercept, Kai? Saving it all for the end, as usual." Asuma shook his head while staring down his opponent with a determined gaze, before putting his faith in Seifreid and attacking once more! With both the boost of his rear guard and Seifreid's own passive attack increase, Kai would require 15k shield to guard. "Hmm, I think I'll be stopping this one." Kai looked over his much larger hand, before smirking and just placing it face down on the table. "Is that what you thought I'd say? Not a chance, let's see if you can actually scratch me." The sheer arrogance brought an angry growl to Asuma's throat, but he held back and turned to his drive checks. "Alright! A grade 3!" Asuma slapped his first check onto the rear guard, another copy of Seifreid! And his energy only rose as the second half of his twin drive revealed a critical trigger! "Yes! Take this, Kai!" He shouted as the great general slammed down onto Nehalim with an enhanced body check, knocking the dragon knight to the ground with his mount. But as Kai checked his fourth and fifth damage, he didn't even flinch. "I thought you were the one who said not to get overzealous before it's all over. After all, the only damage that counts…is your last." Kai smirked and picked his hand back up, fanning out the cards to show off just how much defensive power he had to stop Asuma's final attack. His second Seifreid advanced quickly, but even with the extra power of a trigger behind it the attack never had a chance to hit thanks to Kai's ironclad defense.
The Dragon Empire fighter shook his head, sighing and pointing across the fight table at Asuma. "You might have grown a bit since that loss to Misaki earlier, but you can't even beat the same strategy that took her and that brat over there down." "Hey!" Kamui yelled before getting an icy glare from Kai that challenged him to even dispute the claim. "If you can't break through even the slightest barrier, then I'll just put you down for good. Get the hell out of Vanguard! I ride! DRAGONIC OVERLORD!" The fiery eruption around his still-recovering dragon knight radiated heat enough to make Asuma feel like his very essence was being burned away inside Seifreid's armor.
Efficiently, ruthlessly, Kai began his takedown of Asuma's units. He activated Overlord's ability, and burned away both Mason and the second Seifreid without a second thought, before sending his rear guards after Asuma's vanguard. Feeling fear and panic start to swell up inside him, Asuma began to guard. But before he could even say the words, his spirit roared and reminded him just what he was playing for. His very future with Vanguard, and the chance to keep fighting with all the people around him! So much like Kai had before him, Asuma calmly declared "No Guard." After both attacks came through with no damage triggers, leaving him one hit away from defeat, Asuma's avatar stumbled to his feet on the surface of Cray. Weak, but still defiant and steadfast, General Seifreid stared down the giant fiery dragon. "Come on then Kai, finish me off! If you can." Asuma wasn't even sure if he said it or just thought it, but hearing the rest of the fighters react told him it must have been out loud. "Alright, you asked for it. Overlord, burn this false leader to ashes! Destroy Seifreid!" Kai called, moving to make his drive checks almost before Asuma declared a guard with all the remaining cards he had. It would be enough, it had to be. Unless…Kai got a double trigger. Which he proceeded to do with an anger-inducing smirk, both of them draw triggers that he used to replenish his own hand. "Hmph, I knew it. Ren might have been able to beat me, but you sure as hell aren't him." Kai mused, and he pointed to Asuma's deck. "Come on, just lose already so I can leave and get rid of one more useless fighter."
In those few moments, of reaching out for his deck and feeling despair, hope, fear, and determination in equal measure, Asuma could only watch. It felt as though his life was moving in slow motion, limbs feeling like dead weight until finally he felt the cards under his fingers. As he began to turn it over, a voice rang through his head like a deep, resonant gong. "Who are you?"
On Planet Cray, a bright white light formed a bubble around Seifreid, keeping the flames from fully engulfing the vanguard. When it finally cleared, a robot cheer girl with bright red hair and pom-poms stood in front of the massive general, looking back with a cheerful smile. "Ya didn't think we'd let it end like that, did you?" She winked at Seifreid before turning to Overlord, pulling down one eyelid and sticking out her tongue "Bleh! Try again next time, you big dumb dragon!" She spun in place and disappeared, while back on Earth Asuma had revealed Cheer Girl, Tiara the heal trigger!
The small crowd erupted (besides Misaki and Miwa of course) as it happened, and Asuma himself just stared in disbelief. "Well well well, looks like you have some real spirit in there after all." Kai crossed his arms and leaned back a bit, surprised that the fight would keep going. "Yeah…definitely seems like it huh? My deck's not ready to give up yet, and neither am I!" Asuma stood and drew, smiling when he saw the unit that had come to his hand. "So, this is what all that was about. Let's see just what we can do. Rising from the ashes to lead his team to victory, all from the front lines! Prominent Prodigy, Rising Nova!" When his card hit the table the aura of the ride circle on Cray was resplendent. Vibrant purple shot towards the sky before the ogre ace emerged, massive and muscular with prominent shoulder pads and spiky hair complete with horns to denote his heritage. "All right! Finally time to show off what I can do, and take this bastard down!" He roared, arching his back as his body rippled with power both from his muscles and the pure fighting spirit pouring off him. Asuma felt this power, this new surge of energy like the high-five of a teammate who will always have your back and he smiled.
One last time, Asuma began his assault across the battlefield. It seemed to rage for hours, with units warring like true armies rather than just the six cards on his field. Finally, it was down to just two. Dragonic Overlord stood tall, towering over Rising Nova until Asuma declared his attack. "It's nullified." Kai said, and with those two words Asuma's face fell. For a moment, he saw the gap between himself and Kai once again, like a yawning cavern he couldn't escape. But then, he looked up and saw a hand reaching down. His vanguard was here, and together they would smash through the barriers and cross the gap to the next level. "I counterblast two, and send a card from my hand to the soul, and Rising Nova stands!" Kai's eyebrows actually raised as the angry ogre charged up once again, and charged forward with the full support of his units behind him. Leaping up to attack the tyrannical dragon, Nova blasted through and smashed it with a massive uppercut! Kai flipped his sixth damage almost lazily, no trigger to be seen.
And with that, it was over. The dust settled, and the units dissipated before Kai and Asuma's astral forms returned to themselves. "Alright!" Asuma yelled, leaping away from the table and almost crashing into the people behind him before managing to collect himself. The others were celebrating as well, especially Kai's potential team members as they were able to keep a very strong member, or so it would seem. "Hmph. Seems you were a bit stronger than I expected. But still no better than anyone else in this pathetic shop." Kai turned away from the table, striding towards the door. "But if you think for a second you'll be holding me down with the rest of these for-fun weaklings you're mistaken." Asuma started to chase after the cold, angry young man but stopped when he was forced to clutch his head from a splitting headache. He ended up leaning on the store counter to recover, with a few people coming to check on him. "Asuma, do you need to sit down?" "Yeah man, you ok?" Misaki and Kamui asked in succession, and Asuma could only wave them away as he slowly felt the pain fade away. "Ungh, ah, I don't know what happened there."
Asuma hated to make his friends concerned, but he noticed Aichi standing by the fight table. "What's going on?" He asked, and the blue-haired boy turned holding a card. "He…Kai could've won." Asuma was confused, gesturing for Aichi to come over to him. "Look, he was holding on to another sentinel." Aichi held the card out, and sure enough it was exactly what Kai needed to win. Asuma shook his head and grit his teeth, frustrated beyond belief that Kai had apparently let him win. He sat down at a table as the whole group spread out around the shop in their own little conversations. "I'm so sorry, I just couldn't let him talk down to all of you like that." Asuma said with his head in his hands, but got sudden reassurances from his friends. "Hey come on, we don't need that guy! He might be really strong but so are we!" Kamui tried to be upbeat, but even he seemed down at the revelation that even Kai's first "loss" wasn't one they could be proud of.
A few minutes later, Asuma had collected himself and managed to fend off questions about his new cards that no one had ever seen before, he looked to find Miwa but the blond seemed to have slipped out during all the commotion. "Man, I really just can't get a read on that guy. He seems so cool but always hangs out with Kai of all people." After giving his mom a text, Asuma was ready to head home after an exhausting day. But when he turned to leave, Misaki was standing by the door. "Mind if I talk to you for a minute?" She asked, and he nodded before the two walked out the sliding door of the shop together. "So, what happened in there?" Misaki asked, nodding back towards Card Capital as they walked down the street. "I…honestly have no idea. These cards just kind of, showed up in my deck and I went with it, plus there were all these visions of the units and some weird space dragon in my head!" Asuma kept rambling on a bit, talking about the dream he'd had recently and even the weird experience with PSY. Misaki listened intently, and nodded along at even the weirdest parts. "That's…definitely not normal, whatever happened. Whatever else, you should really get some rest. But I wanted to talk to you about something else, actually." Asuma looked quizzically at her, but nodded. "With Kai gone, this whole "shop team" thing is going to fall through since you need four members. I know its sudden, but even though I don't have the same passion for Vanguard as Kamui and Aichi, I really don't want to let them down, or let that jerk be the reason they can't compete. So what do you think about being our fourth member?"
A/N: So, lots of stuff happened in this chapter. It really went off the rails from canon, huh? Well, that's what fanfic is for I guess, and I hope at least some of you think it's interesting.
But now I've gotta explain why this story hasn't been updated for a year or more. I graduated college this spring after two really rough semesters, then spent the last couple months job hunting and then moving out of my childhood home when I did find a job. So I'm really sorry about how long it's taken, but I'm happy to be back doing something I love and that gives me comfort and nostalgia for the old days of Vanguard and my life. I love Overdress and look forward to playing the TCG for the first time in years, and hopefully this rush of inspiration keeps up so I can keep the ball rolling!
I really appreciate everybody that's read this story, and all the reviews as well. So I'm going to do my best as an author to live up to your expectations, and tell one hell of a story!