"Hello once again people. It's been a grueling 2 months and with only a few days left. We will be reporting the ranks for the pairs and the individuals." Tasuku said.

"Oh this is so amazing." Flamberge said. "Now witness as I take the top spot."

"In 3rd for tag...Subaru Hoshiyomi and Zan Partizanne!" Ion said.

"Oh...guess that makes sense." Flamberge said. "Congrats, sis. I'm sure I made second."

"In second Place...Eden Hanazono and Angel Guard Michael from the Sky Universe." Ion said.

"Angel Guard?" Hope asked.

"They're the protectors of the Sky Universe. Think of them like the knights of the round table." Sheer said.

"Isn't Michael coincidentally one of the Four Cardinal Archangels?" Leonora asked.

"Yes. Yes he is." Sheer said.

"And for 1st place….Vile Ranma and Arthur!" Ion said.

"Yep. Figured as much." Jesmon said.

"Now for the rest of the tag. 4th we have Masato and Flamberge. 5th is Seiji Kido and Amir Alexs. 6th is Daijiro Kurayashiki and Mondo Owada. 7th…" Ion said.

"It's gotta be you guys." Lacy said.

"Rei Urameshi and Fumikage Tokoyami!" Ion said.

"Who?" Jexi said.

"And finally...in 8th for tag...Yuga Mikado and Francisca!" Ion said.

"Nice job, Franny!" Flamberge said.

"A shame. I would expect either you or Yoko to make the finals, Leopardmon." David said.

"We did too, but… We ended up coming up short." Leopardmon said.

"Now...let's go with the individuals." Tasuku said.

"In third place...we have Moltar!" Ion said. "Second we have Jexi. And in 1st...we have...Peni Parker! 4th is Ochako Uraraka. 5th is...Elize Lutus. 6th is Kabuki. 7th is…Heart! And oh...what is this? We have a tie for 8th place. David Ishihara...and DaDan aka Dan Yamada!"

"Whoa, seriously?! How'd he get into the top 8?!" Flamberge asked.

"Seriously? This guy?" David asked.

"Well, I guess even that guy can get some wins...eventually." SE said.

"There's no way I'm gonna see that jerk get into the finals." Eddy said. "Dave, you gotta find this guy and -"

"Eddy, it's okay." Peni said. "David can easily get the 8th position."

"How?" Hagakure asked.

"There's gonna be a tie breaker match for 8th place. And David and DaDan are gonna face off for the spot." Peni said.

"Not unless DaDan decides to fight others. Oh...I just had a wicked idea." Ray said.

It was in an old alley that DaDan was checking his videos. "What's all this? They wanna have me fight Ishihara? No way I can beat someone like that in a fair fight." he said tossing his phone before a new vid came up.

"Hey. Welcome to the Phantom Thieves channel. We have a special fun video for you all. In response to fan theories...we're going to challenge DaDan with all of David's and his points on the line." Ray said.

"What?" DaDan said.

"Yep. That's right." David said. "We're gonna settle this before the finals even kick off."

"No! Don't do it!" DaDan shouted before David pressed the challenge button.

"There. See ya tomorrow, pal." David said before the vid cut out.

"Oh, great. Now what do I do? I could always forfeit, but if I do that, my rep will never recover." Dadan said as Bloody Eyes floated beside him. "I'm doomed! No...just gotta go with THAT option."

Back at the ship…

"Heh. That was fun." Ray said.

"Do you think he'll go for it?" David asked.

"He has no choice. He declines, everyone will know he's a coward." Jack said.

"Though, he knows I beat him before. There's no doubt he'll have something up his sleeve." David said.

"Yeah, he'll be more prepared for you this time. It's best we don't assume he's done for right off the bat." Hope said.

"I'm just glad that a lot of us made it into the top 8 in the singles round. Especially you, Moltar. You must've been really good to get 3rd overall." Hope said.

"I know, right? I was surprised myself!" Moltar said. "I won't lie, I kinda lost track of how many points I had."

"I'm just as surprised as you when I was able to slip into 4th place." Ochako said. "It was really hard at first, but somehow I made it."

"It's great that you and Kabuki also made it, Elize." Jude said.

"Well of course! She's one of the best we got!" Teepo said.

"You shouldn't sell yourself short. You're a skilled player too." Kabuki said.

"Heart's made it too, no surprise." Sunset said. "But there's just one thing I don't get."

"What is that?" Hope said.

"How did Peni get 1st place in individuals?" Sunset asked.

"Well…" Peni said rubbing her head. "I got challenged by a lot of Buddyfighters who thought I wasn't very good at the game since I was so young looking and all…."

"And what happened, did you win all your matches and got a butt load of points?" Rainbow asked.

"Yup, that's exactly what happened. I got challenged day in and out and well… I kept winning." Peni said. "I still can't believe I out placed Jexi in the final results."

"Holy crap, Peni!" ZS exclaimed. "How many Buddyfighters did you beat?!"

"Not sure. I lost count after 50." Peni said.

"Wow…." Kendo said.

"Yeah, that's how I got 1st apparently. Guess some people are the least you expect." Peni said. "I hope this doesn't affect anything between us as teammates, Jexi."

"Oh no worries. It's easily fixed...by beating you in the finals." Jexi said.

"Hmm…" Kabuki murred in thought. "(I never finished that one fight with David. This may be my last chance to settle the score between him and me.)"

"So David, how are you going to prepare for this match with Dadan? What sort of strategy you think you'll do?" Hope asked.

"I'll just see what he does and adapt." David said.

The next day…

"And here we are at castle for an individual's match! Today's battle is between David Ishihara and DaDan aka Dan Yamada!" Ion said.

"I said don't use that name!" DaDan shouted. "So, you're still serious right? All our points?"

"Every last one. Or are you too scared?" David asked.

"Heh. I ain't afraid of you. I'm playing with a brand new hand. Now! Dragonblood Sect! Appear with a big da-dan! Luminize! Bloody Nightmare!" DaDan said.

"In the darkest lands from the depths of the abyss, a ray of light cuts through the darkness and shines on a new future! Lumenize, Shining Will!" David said.

"And...Buddyfight!" Ion said.

"Raise the flag!" both said.

"Dragon World!" DaDan said.

"Magic World!" David said.

"Deadly Eyes!" DaDan said.

"Black Demon Swordsman, Jace Aldis!" David said.

"Since he was challenged, DaDan gets the first move." Ion said.

"Hehehe. Draw! Charge and draw! I cast! Dragonic Charge Plus! Then I equip! Fakeheart! Then I call Madness Luna to the left and finally...I Buddycall Deadly Eyes to the right!" DaDan said.

Bloody Eyes appeared on the right with a whole new look, and his left eye glowing crimson.

"My crimson eye is a sign I am lost." Deadly eyes said.

10-11

"With the power of Lost World, Bloody Eyes has changed into Deadly Eyes. My fabulous new buddy!" DaDan said.

"If that's supposed to scare me, then you're failing already." David said.

"Oh, you're gonna find out how changed my buddy is in a few minutes. But for now, attack the fighter Deadly Eyes!" Dadan called.

10-7

"Guess that's it for my turn." DaDan chuckled.

"You done? Good, because now I'll show you what I got. I draw! Charge and draw!" David said. "First I'll call Messenger of Sunlight, Sol and Messenger of Moonlight, Luna to the left and right. You know the whole spiel by now. When Sol and Luna are on the field together, I only need to send one wizard to the drop zone and send a monster back to your hand."

"Damn that ability." DaDan growled as Deadly Eyes returned to his hand.

"Geez… Have you been studying up on techniques at all? A different buddy doesn't matter if it's still susceptible to the same trick." David said.

"How about an item then? I use Fakeheart's ability! Now the only one you can attack right now is Madness Luna!" DaDan said.

"Suit yourself. I buddycall Black Demon Swordsman, Jace Aldis." David said.

"Uh oh…' Dadan said. "I'm doomed! (Or so he thinks. Too bad he has no clue of Madness Luna's ability.)"

"Everyone, link attack on Madness Luna." David said.

"Unless he does that!" DaDan said as Madness Luna was destroyed.

"Did you really think I would fall so easily to your tricks? How typical of you. Despite all those points you've earned, you haven't learned a damn thing, have you?" David asked.

"(I can't believe I'm getting taught a lesson by heroes. Heroes, of all people!)" Dadan gripped his fists. "(It's because of heroes that they were disbanded!) I'm not gonna fall! Universal Villains forever!"

"You're still going on about that? Get a clue. We had nothing to do with the Universal Villains' disbandment. They did it to themselves, we just cleaned up their mess." David said.

"You little...I'm gonna make sure you pay!" DaDan said. "Right uh…." he said realizing he did not have enough gauge to call out Deadly Eyes again. "Uh...I'll make you pay next turn?"

"Eh… What the heck." David said drawing, then charging and drawing. "Everyone, attack!"

"Gah!" DaDan said as they ganged up on him.

11-6

"I end my turn." David said.

"Ugh. I will...not falter. Draw! Charge and draw! Aha! I cast! Dragonic Charge Plus! Now...I recall! Deadly Eyes!" DaDan said. "Now I'm gonna make you pay! Deadly Eyes! Blow apart Messenger Luna!"

"Of course." Deadly Eyes said blasting Luna.

"Now Double attack! That swordsman gets it next!" DaDan said.

"Yes." Deadly Eyes said blowing Jace Aldis away.

"Now I get to attack! Goodbye Sol!" DaDan said destroying Sol with his item. "I have to end my turn but so what? Now you got no monsters to send Deadly Eyes away with."

"Oh, how easy you forget." David said.

"What are you...No...don't tell me...you can't have…" DaDan said.

"You bet your ass I do. I call Dragowizard, Tempest Wing!" David said.

"No!" DaDan said as David discard a wizard to send Deadly Eyes to the gauge.

"Now to send in some reinforcements. I call Great Warlock's Disciple, Zessica to the left. And what's better than one Zessica? How about two? I call another to the right!" David said. "Now, everyone, attack! Grind his ego to dust!"

"Gah!" DaDan cried as they all struck against him as he lied there foaming at the mouth.

6-0

Game over! Winner: David Ishihara!

"And this match is over! And with David's victory, he gains all of DaDan's points and rockets to 3rd place on the individuals bracket." Ion said.

"As for DaDan, his points are now 0, knocking him out of the tournament!" Takochiki said.

"But that's not fair!" DaDan cried.

"Not fair? Humor me, how is it not fair?" David asked. "You knew exactly what you were getting into the moment you accepted my challenge. You only have yourself to blame for not coming prepared."

"Grrr. You no good heroes. I don't know how or when, but one of these days...I'm gonna get revenge on all of you! You just wait and see!" DaDan said running off.

"Wow...what a sore loser." Jexi said.

"Tell me about it." David said.

"Who knows if he'll even get his revenge or not, but I know he won't get it against us." Hope said.

"Brat needs a reality check." Ace said.

"And a good kick in the behind." Alkal added.

"Tried it twice. Beat him twice, but it didn't work." David said. "But eh, the guy's nothing to worry about anymore."

"And with that debacle, the second stage is now over. Now, in time, the top 8 tag teams and 8 individuals will battle in separate arenas for the title of best in Japan!" Ion said.

David looks over to his deck at this proclamation.

"What are you thinking, David?" Hope asked.

"Hope… Remember when Miu and Tails showed us the Card Realizor?" David asked.

"Yeah. What about it?" Hope asked.

"You see… I've been thinking about bringing some of my monsters to life with it." David said.

"Sol and Luna are prime candidates. In fact, they even volunteered to test the Realizor out." Hope said. "Who else are you thinking about?"

"There's still Einst, but...that's just it. These monsters have all been a huge part of not just my deck, but also my Buddyfight career. I'm just...scared, because I don't know when we'll be doing something like this again." David said.

"Let me tell you something, David." Hope said. "We're NEVER gonna stop Buddyfighting. I love this game as much as everyone. And I may have an ego about this game, but… that's only because I love this game so much. And I don't wanna stop playing it, I wanna keep doing it, not just here in Cho-Tokyo. Buddyfight has spread all over the Multiverse, and I wanna play it everywhere I go, any chance there is." Hope looked at his deck. "If you ask me… I think you should keep Einst, Tempest Wing, and Jace in your deck, and Realize Sol and Luna… as a sign you will always be connected to Buddyfight."

"Hope, you know it's ultimately his decision, right?" Jexi asked. "Though playing this game is fun. Never would have given it a shot without you."

"And we both know that they're eager to see what it's like to have real bodies." David said looking to Sol and Luna's cards. "So, what do you girls say? Ready for one last run together?"

"Hey, we didn't volunteer for the test run just to go out after this. Luna and I wanna go out with a bang, right?" Sol asked Luna as they appeared.

"Indeed. We are ready for one last run as your monsters." Luna said. "Shall we?"

"Then it's settled." Issei said, pointing to the sky in a dramatic pose. "On to the finals!"