Hello again everyone! We are officially at the end of Story Arc 1, the battle between Kai and Ruko now draws to a close. With Tama almost frozen with fear over the presence of Iona's Ultima/Maiden form, Kai begins to suspect that Link Joker has somehow had a role with this new revelation. Can he defeat Ruko and find out what's really going on or is he in for a whole world of trouble when everything comes full circle? Read on to find out and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Selector Battlefield
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Omega Lock (Dark Zodiac Version))*
Kai breathed heavily as he looked across towards Ruko and Iona, still deciding on a course of action to take. With the LRIG now forcing him to play to only 1 SIGNI and only allowing him to draw once at the start of each of his turns, things were looking bad for him, considering Ruko had managed to instantly wipe out his previous formation of SIGNI from the previous turn with little effort. He knew that with every passing second he hesitated for, the closer he thought that Link Joker's power would slowly consume Ruko and who knew what would happen next if he allowed that. As he looked over the card he drew, Calamity Tower Wyvern, he could only sigh that things were not looking up for him. But then he looked across the field and realized something.
I see! he thought Iona may force me to only play one SIGNI at a time, but where I play them doesn't make a difference! With no Life Cloths left, I just need to strike her once.
"Summon!" Calamity Tower Wyvern appeared to the left of Dragonic Overlord the End before two cards slipped out from underneath the LRIG card allowing Kai to draw another card. He then turned his attention Iona.
"Let's go!" he called. As Calamity Tower Wyvern flapped its wings to take flight, Iona glanced back to Ruko who responded by glancing over to her LRIG deck.
"ARTS, Dark Matter!" she called. Iona thrust her spear into the table, forming a dark wave of energy that pierced through both Code Maze Skyju and Calamity Tower before the two SIGNI vanished from the field. Kai groaned as he noticed the top card of Ruko's deck enter her Life Cloth zone.
"Dragonic Overlord the End attacks!" he declared. As Dragonic Overlord took flight and charged towards Iona, Mac Lir appeared in front of it to intercept the attack before vanishing. Overlord let out a low, but fierce growl towards Iona, a signal showing its impatience towards ending the battle.
"What's wrong?" the LRIG smirked "Have you finally accepted the inevital?"
"No," Kai replied "Your new form is certainly proving to be a challenge. If it weren't for the current circumstances, I'd praise Ruko's skill in keeping pace." He then turned his attention over towards Ruko. "However, what I don't get is why Link Joker's power has not shown itself until now and why you're battling with it."
"I didn't exactly have a choice," she explained "I only use Iona in this form as a last resort in my battles. I know the power from her Ultima/Maiden form feels dangerous, but she's the only thing I have to free everyone from Mayu." Ruko then glanced back at Kai with determination present in her own eyes. "That's why, even if I end up regretting it, I have to do this on my own!"
Moments after she spoke those words, a sudden pulse of pain shot through her as she suddenly fell down to the table, clutching herself in agony. A dark red aura surrounded her entire body as Kai and Tama could only watch on in horror whilst Iona just glanced over to Ruko, seemingly uninterested by this sudden turn of events. However, a hidden smile unbeknowst to everyone present on the battlefield, including those on the sidelines from the nearby tower, was present on her lips. Ruko slowly got back up as the dark red aura vanished from around her as she breathed heavily before beginning her turn and summoning Code Maze Babel.
"A... Attack!" she called, still struggling to restrain Link Joker's power. Babel held out her hands and charged up a beam of energy which she hurled at Overlord, the attack hitting the dragon dead on. After the table was engulfed in a brief explosion, Kai's final Life Cloth revealed itself to be Dragon Monk, Genjo. The card glowed moving the top card of his deck to his Life Cloth zone.
"Next!" Ruko declared. Iona charged towards Dragonic Overlord the End with her spear clutched in both hands. She flew up into the air before slashing down the dragon's front with her weapon. The score inflicted by her spear quickly erupted into a large explosion as Overlord screeched out loud in pain as Kai's recovered Life Cloth was revealed to be Servant O which moved the top card of his deck, Wyvern Guard, Barri to his Ener Zone. Kai clutched his chest as he felt another throb of immense pain before he gritted his teeth when looking back at Ruko and Iona.
"Turn end."
Kai vs Ruko
End of Turn 11
Hand - 1 : 2
Life Cloths - 0 : 1
Current LRIGs - Dragonic Overlord the End : Iona, Ultima/Maiden
SIGNI: EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY : EMPTY - Code Maze Babel - EMPTY
Ener - 5 : 4
"He just hung on," Hitoe murmured.
"I don't know if I can keep watching," said Yuzuki, with concern plastered all over her expression. "Kai's going to have a tough time trying to get past Code Maze Babel as long as it forces a SIGNI to be played in front of it."
"Can you feel the tension in the air?!" called Chiyori "It's got me on the edge of my feet!"
Eldora sighed a little from the pun, but could understand at where she was coming from. The air around them felt tense with the battle going on from beneath the tower and Kai was barely hanging on after Iona had managed to cripple both his offence and defence. Just what would become of both him and Ruko after all of this? The LRIG knew there was only one way to find out and that was to see this through with those watching beside her to the end. Down on the battlefield, Kai clutched his chest. Iona's attacks just now had resonated with the seed fragment stuck inside of him again and he wasn't sure about what exactly was happening to him.
"Give up."
(End Music)
Kai looked on at Ruko who had just spoken out at him. Tama glanced over towards the Selector, curious as to what she was saying to him.
"I already told you," she continued "This is far beyond anything you can understand and there's nothing you can do about my situation."
A long silence followed on after those words had been spoken out loud. Over from the tower, Hitoe and Yuzuki could not believe at what their friend was saying. She had insisted that Kai should give up and this had them worried.
"Ruko, this isn't like you," Yuzuki murmured "I don't understand why you don't want our help to sort of this mess." Hitoe had nothing more to say on the subject, but deep down, she knew her friend had made a point.
"No!" Everyone's thoughts were brought to a halt when they heard Kai's response to Ruko's statement.
"I won't let that power consume you or run rampant across this world!" he called out. Not after everything I had done back then.
"Defiant until the end," Iona replied "But you have nothing before you. Dragonic Overlord all on its own and you have only a single card in your hand. Just what do you plan on doing?"
Kai was about to open his mouth in response to her statement before a sudden throb of pain surged through him again. He cried out in pain for a few seconds as a familiar, but terrifying feeling had crept inside of him before he suddenly passed out on the table. Tama looked over to his fallen state and began calling out, hoping that he was alright and begging for him to get back up. Everyone watching from the tower could only gasp out in shock, wondering about what had just happened to Kai and like Tama were just as worried about his current state.
"Kai!" cried Hitoe.
"Is he hurt?!" gasped Chiyori.
Yuzuki could look on in worry as to what might be happening to him. She remembered back from the first time Hitoe had challenged Ruko after gaining her as an LRIG and she passed out from the sudden surge of her memories returning. If a similar case was happening to Kai, then the battle would be called off with no result, but she was hoping that he would get back up so he could bring back Ruko. Those involved in the Selector Battles in any way possible should have been aware of a simple saying, "Be careful of what you wish for." In this scenario, it was about to become the case. A dark red aura suddenly appeared around Kai's unconscious body before he slowly rose from his current state, his eyes still closed. After a brief moment of silence, he opened them back up with a new glint among them. A glint that made Tama feel uncoformtable as she began to notice two red markings appear beneath them. Iona stared over in slight confusion, wondering about how this sudden change in Kai had come to be.
How is this possible?! she thought There's only a few who can hold that power and I'm one of them! Ruko could only stare on in both bewilderment and confusion as to this sudden turn of events before a sudden declaration snapped her and Iona out of their thoughts as they looked over to Kai.
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Fury of the Overlord)
"Final Turn!"
Tama looked up at Kai in shock, not from his sudden declaration, but from the tone that he now spoke in. It still sounded like himself, but with a more sinister hint to it. After he draw his single card, he glanced over to Dragonic Overlord the End before a whirlwind of fire englufed it. Unlike the previous times Kai had grown into a form of Dragonic Overlord, the fire was not the same as before. It was pure black, like the sudden burst of energy that allowed Iona to grow into her Ultima/Maiden form, but a dark red aura was still present among the dark flames that now raged through the LRIG space.
"Amid the flames of purgatory that reduce everything to ashes, rise from the dead again! Resurrection! Strongest flame dragon! Cross Grow!"
As Kai spoke out the ride chant, the arms of what was Dragonic Overlord the End emerged from the black fire, the guns in the upper two arms now different from before and a black ring with a dark red aura appeared with several strange indecipherable runes emblazed into it. The rest of the body, covered by the black fire emerged in front of this black ring, the eyes flashing green for a brief moment.
"Dragonic Overlord... THE ЯE-BIRTH!"
The flames suddenly died down in an instant to reveal Overlord in its newly changed state. Figure wise, it had around the same shape as its previous form, the End, only it had the black ring behind its back along with a different variation of gold and black armour, the most striking difference of them all being the gold helmet which now had what appeared to be large golden wings spreading out to the left and right. The same red aura that was now surrounding Kai had also surrounded Dragonic Overlord, as if the same power that Ruko tried to resist was now coursing through both the Cardfighter and the Kagero commander. The exact same aura surrounded Iona again as both the dragon and the LRIG prepared for another clash to come between them.
"This will bring everything between us, to an end," Kai spoke.
"Overlord the Яe-birth?" pondered Hitoe.
"No way..." murmured Yuzuki "That power I'm feeling... It's exactly the same as Iona's Ultima/Maiden form!"
"So does this mean they're evenly matched?" asked Eldora.
"It's not that," the LRIG answered "If that power is also from Link Joker, then both Kai and Ruko are..." Unable to find the words to describe the scenario, she glanced down back at the battlefield, concerned for the states of both combatants that were fighting it out at the bottom of the tower. Kai's expression at first seemed uninterested as he stared across towards Ruko and Iona before reaching for one of the two cards he held in his hand.
"Summon!" Burning Horn Dragon appeared in front of Dragonic Overlord "The Яe-birth" before Kai reached out his hand towards the LRIG space, a sinister smile now present on his lips.
"Dragon of explosive flame that has come again, burn down all order with your scarlet roar! Overlord "The Яe-birth"... LIMIT BREAK!" A black vanguard circle with a dark red aura briefly flashed in front of Dragonic Overlord before Kai glanced down to his only summoned SIGNI and the remaining cards in his Ener Zone.
"Lock!"
Two black rings suddenly encircled Burning Horn Dragon before closing in and sealing it in a black sphere. The rings began circling the locked dragon after the SIGNI card was suddenly flipped face down along with 4 of the other cards in Kai's Ener Zone as sparks began flying off them, indicating they were now sealed off from being used. Dragonic Burnout suddenly appeared to the right of Dragonic Overlord. Iona could only smirk when she suddenly saw what had now come into play this instant.
"Fool," she spoke "Haven't you forgotten about my continious ability? You can only have one SIGNI on the field at a time!" She then thrust her spear into Ruko's table again as the shockwave of energy suddenly hit both Dragonic Burnout and the Lock that was cast on Calamity Tower Wyvern. However...
"Is that so?" Kai replied with a sinister hint to his voice. Iona looked on for a brief moment before the sparks from her shockwave were suddenly dispelled by the Lock on Kai's field.
"But how...?"
"Locked units or this case SIGNI have everything stolen from them," he explained "So until my turn is over, that is if it even comes to an end, your ability has no effect."
Tama looked on up in worry at Kai, disturbed by his sudden change in behavior. Looking over to the Lock that was placed on his side of the field, she walked out onto the table to touch Burning Horn's card which was still flipped. When she reached out to touch the card however, a sudden surge of black sparks shocked her before knocking her backwards towards the LRIG deck. When she clutched her head in pain, her eyes suddenly widened as if she was experiencing something she had not seen in a long time.
Flashback; Tama's POV
Tama was standing in a dark open space where she stood alongside 3 SIGNI that she was familiar with because of the time she spent with Ruko during the Selector Battles. She recognized them to be Ronmail, Helmet Armor, Energe, Original Spear and Valkyrie, Unforgettable Fantasy. She wielded a long lance with a large sharp point at the end and her dress along with the ribbons in her hair had grown longer. She had a large white ring present behind her back, not like the black rings that Iona in her current state as of now, Dragonic Overlord "The Яe-birth" or any of the Link Joker units possessed. Tama in her state at this was staring into a dark shadow that was a short distance from where she was standing before a dark red aura suddenly appeared in front of the dark abyss.
A pair of red eyes briefly flashed before a pair of black rings shot out from the aura and encircled Ronmail, locking her in the result. As Tama gasped in horror, another pair of black rings quickly shot out and locked Valkyrie. She glanced back at the red aura before a figure carrying two black swords, unbeknowst to her was actually Photon. Photon made a slashing motion towards Energe which shot out even more black rings, locking the SIGNI in the result. The Cyberoid looked over to the shadow hiding in the red aura before nodding towards it. For a brief moment, the air was eerily still until the aura dispersed, not revealing anything more about the figure aside from its shadow and the weapon it wielded, ressembling that of a giant scythe.
(End Music)
End Flashback
Tama slowly came back to her senses, wondering about what she had just seen and why was it so familiar to her. Before she could process exactly what she thought she saw, she glanced up at Kai who seemed far from finished with his turn.
"Burnout's skill," he spoke "I return a copy of the End to my LRIG deck and Exceed 1. Begone, Code Maze Babel!"
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Herald of Despair)*
Dragonic Burnout unleashed a torrent of fire right at Code Maze Babel who was incinerated in an instant. Ruko could only frown as she saw the card move to her Trash.
No! I needed that for my last ARTS!
"This ends now," Kai spoke as the red aura intensified around him and his smile increased. "Burnout attacks!" Burnout unleashed a torrent of flames towards Iona who shielded her face from the impact of the attack. Ruko's final Life Cloth revealed Freezing Revenger allowing her to draw another card.
"Next! Overlord "The Яe-birth"!" he declared. Dragonic Overlord roared loudly as it took aim at Iona who braced herself for the oncoming assault. It fired off dark red fiery bullets from both guns at the LRIG before Ruko quickly pulled out one of the cards in her hand.
"Servant D2!" she called. The Guard SIGNI appeared in front of Iona before being blasted into oblivion by the Яe-birth's oncoming attack. As the smoke brought up from the result of the impact cleared away, Iona herself glanced back at Kai whose creepy smile had not left his face, the ominous red aura around him along with the markings down his face did not help to brighten the mood, especially around Tama or those watching from the tower. A fiery red aura surrounded his deck before the top two cards, Gatling Claw Dragon and Lintwurm, Phantom Dragon entered his Trash Pile.
"Flames feed off flames, hellfire keeps on burning. Stand up once more, Overlord "The Яe-birth"!" he declared. Dragonic Overlord let out a fierce roar as the card upped itself and it took aim at Iona once again.
"It stood back up?!" gasped Hitoe.
"That means Kai has another attack," mumured Yuzuki "But even so, I can't help but not like the way he's been playing this turn."
"What do you mean?" asked Chiyori.
"She means what he did to achieve this position," Eldora answered "Kai gave into this Link Joker's power and Locked down his SIGNI and Ener to give Overlord the chance it needed to make a second attempt."
Everyone in the group exhanged looks of concern and worry as to the scenario that now lay before them. Kai told them once before of what he did with Link Joker's power and if the same result would happen after this battle, then they would not have an Aichi around to help them. That is, if Aichi himself could first make it to that world. Back to the battlefield, Ruko could only stare at Kai with the expression he now wore. It somewhat reminded her of Ulith on both of the occasions that she battled Iona, that glint in his eyes and the reverse markings down his cheek gave her an uncomfortable feeling.
So that's the same power that Iona and I have been stuck with she thought If either of us let it go out of control, who knows what could happen. However... She briefly glanced down at her hand before looking back at Kai.
"Are you prepared?" he spoke before glancing towards Dragonic Overlord. "Then take this! The flames that reduce everything in this world to ...!"
(End Music)
"Please stop!"
Everyone except for Kai had a surprised expression on their faces when they heard Tama call out to him. He looked down towards the LRIG in question with a hostile glint in his eyes.
"What is it?" he spoke, a hint of venom present in his voice.
"Tama doesn't want Kai to hurt Ru!" she cried "Tama doesn't like seeing Kai like this!"
"So what?"
"Kai said that Iona had Link Joker's power coursing through her!" Tama replied "If the same power is inside Kai like Kai said before, then isn't Kai doing the same thing from before?!" Tears then began falling from her eyes to the table as she continued to sob over everything that was happening. "Isn't Kai going to destroy this world... like Kai almost did with Kai's world?!" Kai remained still, his hostile gaze still trained upon the crying Tama as the words she just spoke rang through his head. As he was about to raise his arm, several other voices began echoing inside his head as he suddenly closed his eyes, cringing in pain all of a sudden as the red aura around him intensified. First, he began hearing the voice of Aichi ringing inside of his head.
(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Battle ~ Even if I Hurt Someone)
"Why did you choose to have Link Joker reverse you Kai-kun?!"
Kai suddenly began breathing heavily as the reverse markings on his cheeks began disappearing and reappearing at an erratic rate. Tama broke from her tears and suddenly looked up, seeing that her pleas had some effect on him. As he cried out in pain, trying to break free from the state he was now in, Aichi's voice continuing to echo in his head before a familiar phrase from the Reversed Tatsunagi Takuto sounded out loud from what he recalled.
"You're... You are... making a huge mistake!"
"The only things of value are your own power and strength. You had faith in that, huh? And just now, you murdered that faith with your own hands."
"I... I won't fall to Reverse again!" he declared to no one in particular as he cringed a bit more from trying to resist the power that had gotten its grip on him again. That was when he suddenly remembered the words of a particular fighter that he had fought after 'that incident'.
"Kai Toshiki... you're making the same mistake! Do you want to destroy this world again?!"
"Gaillard..." he muttered "I won't make that same mistake again...!" That was when it finally hit him. The Seed fragment! If I can use it right... Going deep into thought, he focused all of his thoughts and what little willpower he had left into one part of his body. That was where that fragment lay. Slowly, but surely, the red aura began to vanish from around him as did the reverse markings on his cheeks whilst he cried out loud in pain, struggling to not be controlled after this much effort until the aura had completely disappeared. Kai opened his eyes again, the sinister red glint no longer present before anyone that saw him now. He breathed heavily, having been almost exhausted from the sudden experience. He looked down at Tama, who was still surprised from the sudden spectacle that happened before her.
"Is Kai... back to normal?" she asked, still nervous from his previous change in behavior.
"Yeah..." he panted in reply "I don't know how, but Iona's attacks somehow resonated with both Overlord and myself." He then glanced back over to Tama. "Thank you... for bringing me back to my senses."
Whilst Iona seemed uninterested of the result, she briefly glanced behind her to see that Ruko seemingly seemed upset from just glancing over towards Tama who had been reassured that Kai was alright. The dark LRIG wasn't pleased with her Selector's sudden change in attitude and glared at her.
"Why the long face?" she asked "I thought you said you would put that behind for good!"
"... You're right," Ruko replied, coming back to her senses "I just got a little distracted. That won't happen again."
After Kai regained his composure, that was when he suddenly looked back across the table towards Dragonic Overlord "The Яe-birth" as the energy from its supposed next attack was being charged in the barrels of the guns it held. Looking across towards Ruko, he suddenly realized what would happen if this attack were to go through.
"Wait, Overlord!" he called. But it was already too late. Pointing the guns forwards towards Iona who didn't seemed fazed by this scenario, the energy held within burst out from the weapons in two spirals of dark red fire.
If this attack hits Iona, then Ruko will be...! Groaning to himself, he knew there was only one thing he could do to save her.
"Turn end!" he declared. As if on cue, the attack suddenly stopped and disappeared by just an inch from hitting Iona who didn't seem interested by whatever would have happened. The lock that trapped Burning Horn Dragon suddenly broke apart before the SIGNI suddenly vanished, due to Kai's own choice of sending it to his Trash Pile via Iona's effect.
Kai vs Ruko
End of Turn 12
Hand - 0 : 2
Life Cloths - 0 : 0
Current LRIGs - Dragonic Overlord "The Яe-birth" : Iona, Ultima/Maiden
SIGNI: EMPTY - EMPTY - Dragonic Burnout : EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY
Ener - 4 : 5
"Kai's back to normal," said Hitoe "So there's nothing to worry about, right?"
"No," Yuzuki answered, having already realized the grim outcome.
"What do you mean?" asked Chiyori "Why did he call off "The Яe-birth's" second attack?! He would have won then!"
"That's not it!" the LRIG replied "Overlord as of now still has Link Joker's power, even if Kai's back to normal! In order to save Ruko from being reversed by his own hands..."
"He threw the battle," Eldora concluded.
Back on the battlefield, Kai grimaced not over the fact that he had given into Reverse again from Iona's attacks resonating with the seed fragment, but that he already knew of the one thing that had just crossed his mind. He had failed. He had failed to bring back Ruko to help Tama reconcile with the Selector and he knew for an iron clad fact, that it was all his fault. Ruko glanced across towards him, the outcome now clear to her.
"Final Turn!" she called.
Whilst Tama gasped out in horror from the sudden declaration, Kai said nothing in response, having already known the result was set in stone from what he had done. As Ruko drew her single card, she glanced across towards him, but not before wincing a little in pain from resisting Link Joker's power being emitted from Iona.
"You were right about one thing," she said "I can't let that power consume me or run rampant. However, my reasons for going on my own remain the same. I can't let you or anyone stop me from freeing everyone from Mayu. Summon!" Kai's eyes widened as to the SIGNI that had appeared on the table. Tama looked across in surprise as well, the appearance being all too familiar. Everyone from the tower gasped as well, the scenario that was now all but clear to everyone.
(End Music)
"Don't tell me... you still had that in your hand?!" gasped Kai.
"That's right," Iona answered "Even if you decided not to end your turn or even continue battling with the End by somehow resisting that power, you had already lost. The very last line of defence Ruko had in her hand all along, was another Servant D2." Kai could only close his eyes and hold his head down, prepared to accept the inevital. He had nothing left, no Life Cloths, no ARTS and no Guard SIGNI to allow him to survive Iona's next attack.
I'm sorry everyone. Hitoe, Yuzuki, Tama... I've failed you all.
Unknown Location
Meanwhile in the darkest corner of the White Room, Takuto and Leon struggled to maintain their PSY Qualia link with each to hopefully give the teleporter back in Leon's world the power it would need to send him along with Aichi, Ren and Naoki to the other world. Both groaned under the strain that it had taken upon themselves to keep their link going until they were certain that Aichi could give Naoki the word to turn on the switch.
"We're... almost there!" Takuto groaned "Just a little longer!"
"For our sakes..." panted Leon "This has to work...!"
"So it would seem that I was correct in assuming I had not completely drained you."
Both cardfighter and being from Cray turned their heads around in surprise to find the person to all of their current problems now standing before them. Mayu was now but a short distance away from the two of them. Leon could only gasp having not seen the mastermind himself, even with the vague details that Takuto had given him.
"You are...!"
"Mayu!"
(Cardfight! Vanguard OST: Ren's Power)
Mayu walked towards the pair with Takuto still being bound to the rock slab that the mastermind had shackled him to. Her earlier expression of displeasment turned into a sinister smile as she looked across towards the Cray being.
"It would seem as if someone, is breaking the rules."
"What are you talking about?!" Leon asked. Mayu then turned around to face the Aqua Force user.
"Oh, you were planning on inviting extra guests," she replied "Normally, I would not permit them to roam freely around my domain. However, with the performance I have seen from Kai Toshiki, I wouldn't mind the occasion to make my game a little more... interesting." She then held her right hand over Takuto's forehead marking before the two of them were suddenly enveloped in a blinding white glow. Takuto screamed out loud in pain whilst Leon could only watch in horror, knowing he was powerless to do anything physically as his manifestation as an astral spirit here was only possible through his PSY Qualia, that he was struggling to keep maintained for much longer.
"W... What are you doing?!" Takuto groaned.
"I'm merely amplifying your power," Mayu explained "Of course, who knows if you'll end up surviving the sudden surge that I'm temporarily giving you before you're sucked completely dry." As Takuto cried out loud in pain, Leon rushed forward towards him with as much power from his PSY Qualia that he had left. The resulting charge had now left the three of them locked in a power struggle as the waves energy got stronger and grew brighter and brighter and brighter until everything between the three of them went all blank white.
Kai's World: Mall Basement
Back in the mall basement, Aichi and Ren along with their companion were beginning to tire out from the strain of their PSY Qualia affecting them. The teleporter had glowed even brighter than before, thanks to the sudden energy surge given off by Mayu who unbeknowst to the three along with Naoki had now intentionally thought about placing them in the Selector Battles for her own amusement. As the surge grew even stronger and the teleporter pad grew even brighter and having not heard anything from the three and coming this far already, Naoki had enough of waiting around and dashed towards the teleporter pad.
"Let's go everyone!" he called out as he reached for the one spot where he knew the switch was. Aichi who had broken out of his concentrated effort from the strain of his body quickly glanced over to the Narukami user.
"Naoki-kun, wait!" he called. But his words of warning fell on deaf ears. Within a moment, Naoki reached out onto the circular tile on the teleporter and turned it clockwise completing the full mural. A strange noise along with a blinding white glow suddenly filled the entire room, blinding everyone that was standing on the tile before everything went completely white. A few gasps and screams filled the air before both the noise and the light suddenly died down. Everything was now silent once again, the four cardfighters no longer present in the room and little did they already know, their journey into the unknown had now just begun. The silence however was now stopped as a cracking sound was now present as the tile that Naoki had turned shattered into several fragments.
Wixoss World: Selector Battlefield
"This is the end, Kai Toshiki," Ruko spoke "Iona, final attack!"
Iona clutched her spear tightly and took flight, charging towards Dragonic Overlord "The Яe-birth". Overlord growled fiercly before charging back towards her. As Kai held his head down, Tama could only look back at the two combatants and see what would be the inenvital result. As Overlord raised the sword in its lower left arm and Iona thrust her spear towards him, just before the two sharp weapons collided with each other, a sudden white flash engulfed the battlefield, blinding both Selector and Cardfighter as well as Tama whilst Dragonic Overlord and Iona were paralyzed, unable to continue their clash.
(End Music)
"What's happening?!" she demanded "Why can't I finish my attack?!"
"This is not my doing!" Overlord replied "Something from the outside is interfering!"
Whilst Hitoe, Yuzuki, Chiyori and Eldora looked down at the field, unable to make out from what was happening at the moment, a sudden noise caught their attention to the background as the colours began to fade away.
"The battlefield's collapsing!" gasped Yuzuki "But it's not from a non-Selector!"
"What do you mean?" asked Hitoe.
"I can feel a surge of energy that's causing this collapse," Eldora answered before looking back to the field "In other words, both Kai and Ruko got out of this battle with no official winner." Chiyori however could only feel like pouting that the battle was interrupted before it could officially end as the entire battlefield around everyone went completely white from the energy interference.
The top of the building...
(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: This Sadness May Leave Me)
After the flash had died down, everyone was thrown backwards to differents part of the rooftop from the force of the energy that caused the battlefield to collapse. Both Kai and Ruko panted from having been caught right in the middle of it, along with Tama and Iona who were almost completely drained from the sudden unexpected turn of events. The Selector got up onto her feet and began walking away from the roof, but not before stopping beside Kai who wasn't completely on his feet yet.
"You are aware of what would have happened if it wasn't for the battlefield collapsing," she said.
"Yeah..." he said before glancing over to Iona's card, the LRIG seemingly disappointed by this. "You had already won. But you knew that."
"I won't accept this for a suitable result!" she growled before glancing up at Ruko. "Restart the battle immediatly!"
"There is no need," Ruko replied "Kai already lost, even with the interference, but one of his three losses was still spared because of that." She then turned over to Tama who was held in one of Kai's hands. "As for you Tama, I still can't forgive you for what had happened then. Our bond that we shared before was broken because of you." Tama couldn't find any words to reply back to her former Selector as she knew for a fact, what she said was true. She could only look down at the floor in her dimension of her card before sobbing miserably to herself. As Ruko continued to walk off, Kai turned his head to her.
"We're not giving up on you yet Ruko," he spoke "We will settle this later and I swear, I will free you from Link Joker's grip!"
Ruko nodded before turning her attention over to the door that lead out to the stairs that would take her to the ground floor of the building. Hitoe tried to run after her but the Selector held out her hand behind her, motioning for her to stop. She wanted to speak out, but with the way things were, she couldn't think of anything to say to make her friend change her mind. After Ruko had left the rooftop of the building, everything was mostly silent with only a harsh breeze to accompany the group. Even Chiyori who was normally overexcited by Selector Battles couldn't help but stay silent after hearing everything that was going on between Kai and Ruko. Eldora glanced up and silently could only agree with her for once. Kai however was hunched over, still processing his thoughts on what happened towards the end of the battle.
I can't believe it! he thought Not only did I give into that power again, my own strength wasn't even enough! Even so, if I lost to Iona in that form, there's a chance I would have been reversed again and endangered not just Ruko or her friends, but this world as well! Kai punched the ground with his only free hand as he yelled out loud in agony, his voice echoing across the night sky from the top of the building. Tama could only look up at him in worry as did Hitoe and Yuzuki who just stared at him. They knew he was reeling through a tough time from his brief return to Reverse and could understand about why he was feeling this way.
"What should we do?" asked Hitoe.
"I don't know," replied Yuzuki "I just don't know."
(End Music)
City Streets
"Yuzuki, did I just...?"
"No, you were not seeing things."
The girl, called 'Yuzuki' along with her twin brother Kazuki had stopped in both shock and surprise. Just a few moments ago, unbeknowst to them was where Kai and Ruko's battle had finished, a blinding white flash appeared in front of them before a boy with blue hair, unbeknowst to them was Aichi, fell out onto the pavement unconscious. The two just stared at him, curious as to how he appeared and where exactly he came from. Either way, Kazuki knew that they couldn't just leave him like this and quickly heaved up the cardfighter onto his back. He then turned back to 'Yuzuki'.
"Are you going to let him stay with us for a while until he recovers?" she asked.
"Yeah," he answered "I'm not sure where he came from, but it wouldn't be right to leave him like this." 'Yuzuki' smiled warmly.
"I understand," she said "I'll help to make sure he feels better when he comes around."
"Thank you, Yuzuki." She nodded before the two made their way back to their home. Whilst the brother walked on ahead with the unconscious Aichi rested on his back, the 'sister' could only feel a little bit of guilt and regret crawl up her expression as she went deep into thought.
Yuzuki, I didn't mean for this to happen between me and your brother. But I swear, I will do everything I can to make things right before he sees through me.
And there you have it! The end of Story Arc 1! So to recap from the ending standpoint, whilst Kai is struggling to come to terms that he had given into Reverse once again (only this time, against his will), Aichi makes it to the other world, albeit seperated from the others that came with him, due to Naoki's rashness and a power clash between Leon, Takuto and Mayu. Now the younger cardfighter is unconscious and currently in the hands of Kazuki and Hanayo who are letting him stay to help him recover from his rough trip. So with Ruko still going out on her own and Kai now indecisive over what has happened, what could happen next? And what was with that weird flashback Tama had seen? Find out in the starting chapter of Story Arc 2 coming soon. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the first story arc as well.
Anyway, to those who have been reading, please tell me what were your favourite moments in the first Story Arc and what do you feel could use some improvement when I go into writing Story Arc 2? Aside from that, don't forget to follow, favourite and/or leave a review. Until then, I'll see you later when I'll post up a preview of the next chapter sometime later this month. Until then!
*This track is Glendios' theme from Season 3, only without the choir as heard when Raul Serra initiates Dark Zodiac's Omega Lock for the first time.
*This track first plays in Episode 128 when Kai accepts Link Joker under his own free will.
