Hello again everyone and welcome back to Stand Up, the LRIG! Before I go into this next chapter, I must address my attention to a question asked recently by a guest review for some time. I'm sorry if it will disappoint you, but Dragonic Overlord "The X" won't be appearing as Overlord itself does not acquire this form until the G Era according to the lore (that and the card itself was released at the start of said era). Nothing much else to say other than I hope you enjoy this chapter.


Link Joker Fight Field

(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Even if I Hurt Someone)

Aichi, Ashlei and Kai could only look on towards Mayu as she stood above Ruko's unconscious body. All the while, the two cardfighters now knew that from what little information that had previously learned about through the Selector Battles and Yuzuki, that this was the mastermind behind everything that had transpired in the world they now stood in. They were now certain that this was the person responsible for imprisoning Takuto which resulted in Kai's abrupt summon into this same world and had employed the evil that remained in Link Joker and the Void itself to aid in her creation and oversight of the Selector Battles along with the Selectors and LRIGs themselves to a large extent.

"So you're..." Aichi murmured.

"Mayu..." Kai muttered.

"That is correct," she spoke as she turned her gaze upon the Royal Paladin user. "Sendou Aichi and Kai Toshiki, along with everyone else that is present in this very space... for most of you, we finally meet."

"That's Mayu?" Naoki pondered.

"The one behind all of our problems to be more exact!" Yuzuki replied, a hint of anger present in her voice.

Hitoe and Ren could look upon Mayu herself in curiousity, but the Shadow Paladin much like Leon, knowing that she was the mastermind responsible for practically everything that had occurred throughout the lives of the Selectors and LRIGs up to this point, shared a hint of disgust and anger having known about this as nothing more than an iron clad fact. Tama who had been more concerned about Ruko throughout the entire battle could only look upon her, a hint of fear having somewhat crawled up her spine as she had recalled briefly meeting with her both during and after the Selector's final confrontation with Kuro. Although she had felt thankful for Takuto's aid back in her efforts to escape the White Room, she had a feeling that her luck in staying outside of the mastermind's malevolent gaze had just run out.

Kai and Ashlei remained closely on their guard, bracing themselves for anything that could be considered for the worst to come from Mayu herself, now that she had decided to appear before all of them. Their concerns much like everyone else were also focused on Ruko, seeing that the power of Reverse had eventually managed to get the better of the Selector herself and could only wonder in worry as to what was to happen next when she would awake, under the influence of the evil that remained within Link Joker. Kuro who had now faced the mastermind after seeing Reverse consume her Selector, briefly bowed in the presence of Mayu's appearance.

"I see that you have indeed succeeded in carrying out the simple task I gave you Kuro," the mastermind spoke as her gaze was brought upon her.

"With Shiro's lack of her previous memories, acquiring Ruko as my 'Selector' was much simpler than I originally anticipated," the LRIG spoke as she briefly looked down upon Ruko. "Now then, shall we discuss our plans for having Ruko and myself conquering this world?"

Mayu then took several steps forwards towards the Selector's currently unconscious body as she looked upon her, before turning her gaze back to Kuro.

"You've earned your reward Kuro, in wanting Ruko reversed," she spoke "Though I can't imagine why you would want a Selector and yourself ruling over a pile of dust."

"Dust?" the girl of black murmured in confusion. The sudden possible meaning of Mayu's statement suddenly rang through everyone else's ears, as if they somewhat already knew what the mastermind was planning to say next. None were more uncertain than Kai, Tama and Aichi who could only feel tensed up as they were prepared to listen to her explanation.

"Whilst it is true that Kominato Ruko has proven to be the strongest Selector," she continued "Wearing her down with Reverse as I have previously bestowed upon you was part of your mission all along. Now, with the power that I have taken from Tatsunagi Takuto, I will claim her body as my own to enter the outside world to summon the Void there and bring it and everything there to an end!"

"What?!" Kuro gasped, now in complete disbelief as to what she was hearing.

"Then this never was about enslaving Ruko to Reverse," Leon murmured.

"All this time... Mayu was just looking to use her weakened self as vessel to expand her reign to the outside world!" Yuzuki muttered.

"And she was willing to use Kuro's own desire to be with Ruko to do so," Ren concluded.

"I am somewhat pleased your perceptiveness has not preceded my expectations," Mayu spoke in response as the crowd from the sidelines suddenly turned their attention back towards her "However, I can assure you that your 'friends' and the 'traitor' will not stand in my way."

The mastermind held out one hand over Ruko's body as an all too familiar dark purple suddenly surrounded them both as the Selector's motionless body suddenly lifted into the air until it was hovering just beside her. That aura was one that even Leon knew that he had been well acqainted with, having used it before when he had lost his way, but even so, something just felt different about it. Kuro who had been watching everything unfold before her eyes at this very moment couldn't help but feel angered at what was going on. All of this to her, just felt wrong in every sense of the word and the scenario in front of her.

Then, on top of Mayu's forehead appeared a dark red version of the forehead symbol that Takuto had whenever he had called upon his own powers, indicating that she was now putting those stolen powers to her own use. Holding out her right hand over Ruko's forehead, both figures were suddenly engulfed in a blinding glow as everyone present on the battlefield could only shield their eyes as they struggled to make out what was going on.

"Ruko!" Hitoe and Yuzuki called out.

"Ru!" cried Tama as she tried to make out what little she could see throughout the brightness.

(End Music)

But everyone's cries towards the Selector in question had proven to no avail as the blinding light finally died down to reveal the body of the Selector standing in front of her table, the cards she had previously dropped now back in her left hand. The Reverse markings that were beneath her eyes appeared to be two sharp curves, jutting out from beneath the lower eyelids and on her forehead, appeared the dark red Takuto forehead marking that Mayu previously had, along with an addition dark red line on either side of said marking. Breathing could then be heard from Ruko's lips as Tama looked on nervously in worry.

"Ru...?" she murmured nervously.

"Right now, that's not Ruko," Kai interrupted as he looked onwards.

In precisely two seconds, everyone had gotten their answer as Ruko's eyes opened up to reveal that instead of their dark brown shade, a much lighter shade had instead taken their place. The voice that then spoke out, had all but confirmed their fears.

"Precisely," said Mayu, her voice now overlapping Ruko's as she spoke out through the Selector's lips.


...

(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Presence of the Void)

Umr remained motionless with her eyes closed within the dreamscape that she inhabited, otherwise the domain that was known only to the Star-vaders, Mayu herself and to even fewer as Project: Locked Soul. She however was not alone within the empty existence that had surrounded her from head to toe. With her was the figure known as Tawil, evident by her pink hair and her clothing having somewhat polar opposite colours in contrast and with what appeared to be softer fabric rather than metal edges. All had remained silent as their bodies were covered in a strange white glow, presumably from some kind of strange effect from the machinery that was present inside Photon's lab.

From that alone, it would stand to reason that their actual physical bodies were actually contained inside of the giant cylinder that was in the center of that room. Suddenly, a familiar bright rainbow glow appeared inside of the empty existence, the sound of which had suddenly stirred Umr from her 'slumber' as she gazed into the direction of said glow. Then as it began to fade out, from within that same glow, emerged the figure of Tatsunagi Takuto as he looked upon both her and Tawil, who had also begun to stir from her 'sleep'. His striped forehead marking glowed a bright turqoise as his gold-yellow eyes held the rainbow aura of the power known only to him and some all too familiar cardfighters as PSY Qualia.

"Who... are you?" asked Umr.

"My name is Takuto," he answered "I don't know how long I will be able to stay in this space for, so I need you to listen carefully Umr. The same goes for you Tawil."

"You know my name...?" the pink haired girl murmured as she turned around to face him, her aqua blue eyes filled with both confusion and curiousity.

"That's right," Takuto replied "Right now, I'm communicating to you through my own PSY Qualia so the Star-vaders can't hear us, but I don't know how long I'll be able to keep them fooled for. All I know for now is that Mayu and Photon has been trying to merge both of you into one being, completing Project: Locked Soul. For what purpose she intends to accomplish this way, I don't know."

Whilst Tawil could only remain confused as to why this was the apparent case for her and Umr, the other girl suddenly recalled something from his brief mention of his PSY Qualia, as if that had somehow rung a bell within her memory.

"Takuto..." she spoke "Do you know of... Sendou Aichi?"

"What...? How is it you know of him?" asked Takuto.

"His PSY Qualia..." Umr answered "That was how I met him..."

The Cray being was almost speechless in regards to her explanation, having not been aware of Aichi's previous confrontation with Ulith beforehand or of the events that had transpired in that conflict. Holding one hand to his chin to think over the current scenario and how little time that he had, he looked forward towards Umr, as did Tawil who had her own curiousity raised from this revealation.

"Please tell me everything that the two of you have been through and quickly," he spoke "Right now, I can sense the dark forces from where my physical self is are beginning to grow suspicious."

(End Music)


Link Joker Fight Field

Everyone could only look upon Mayu now that she had taken control of Ruko's body, her lips having pursed a somewhat malevolent smile as she gazed upon the Selector's current opponents that were standing in front of her. None were more shocked at this turn of events however than Ruko's own closest friends, Tama, Kai, Aichi, Ashlei and even Kuro. The girl of black's expression alone was enough for anyone to tell that this was not the way that she had intended or even wanted things to go and that she had no intention of standing for this any longer. Walking over to her spear that she had previously dropped from being hit by Tama and Dragonic Overlord's previous combined attack, she glared over towards the mastermind of the Selector Battles, having had enough with what had happened thus far.

"You... you lied to me!" she yelled.

Letting out a fierce battle cry, she clutched ahold of her weapon tightly and took flight with her singed black wings into the air. Before Tama or Ashlei even had a chance to warn the LRIG as they could only watch on, Mayu raised Ruko's right hand in response to the girl of black's attack, almost in a claw like motion. Then before Kuro had even realized in her fit of rage, her body had suddenly frozen in mid dive against her own will, the tip of her spear having only been a few inches away from Mayu herself.

"So it would seem my presumption from before was correct," the mastermind spoke as her body eminated a dark purple aura, indicating the presence of the Void's power. "I knew your own deception would soon follow suit from Shiro's actions to 'save' you back then."

"What are you talking about?!" Kuro demanded, being barely able to move her lips through the paralysis "I wanted to have a world where Ruko and I could battle forever to our hearts content, not destroy it and everyone on it! Reversing her was only supposed to increase her power, not turn her into your own personal vessel!"

"I'm simply referring to the time where you orchaestrated your little confrontation between Shiro and 'The Clown," Mayu answered "Of course, in regards to the events leading up to that, this isn't the first time that I took account of your own treachery."

(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Herald of Despair)

Whilst the girl of black could only widen her eyes into the mastermind's own knowledge of the events leading up to that battle, both Aichi and Kai could only glance at Mayu, now curious about this 'treachery' that she was now speaking of.

"What do you mean?" the Royal Paladin user asked.

"I'm referring to how she had instigated Shiro's conflict with Chaos Breaker," the mastermind answered "Whilst the end result was the truth from which she spoke, the escalation between her and the girl of white was not as she had previously told you."

"H... How did you...?!" Kuro gasped.

"Did you think I was blind to not observe everything that had happened back then?" Mayu interrupted "I know a while before that 'incident' that you took something from Photon's lab, that something being a collected sample of a certain Abyss Dragon's malice that was taken from the Planet Cray in a previous skirmish, that you later donned as 'your own power' for your clash with Shiro which eventually resulted in her becoming Tama and your case, a complete monster. Albeit temporarily of course."

The girl of black suddenly froze up when those details had suddenly been brought to light, a hint of horror and shock having become present on her face as she could only stare on towards the eyes of the mastermind, now in the possession of Ruko's body. Tama who had been listening to every word of the conversation suddenly clutched her head in pain as everything started coming back to her. More memories began to flash before her eyes as she slowly began to recall every single detail that had occurred at 'that moment'.

Flashback

Tama, known as Shiro back then, panted as she clutched ahold of her trident tightly, staring into the malevolent gaze of Chaos Breaker Dragon. The Clown had clutched his scythe in its left claw and didn't seem to have even worn down by even one bit throughout their fight, having not even resorted to using the power of Lock at this point in time. Alongside him from a distance, Photon had been observing the clash between one of the commanders of the Star-vader armada and the girl of white as they battled onwards with neither giving an inch in their struggle.

"Giving up at this point would be most appropriate Shiro," Chaos Breaker spoke, his tone seeming somewhat playful at first. "It is clear that your heart has strayed in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Shiro won't give up!" she replied, panting for a brief moment. "Shiro thinks this is all wrong! Shiro thinks that hurting people isn't right!"

"Come now," the Clown replied "You are aware of the purpose that Mayu had assigned you with and you wouldn't even exist within the confines of reality, had it not been for my creation of your physical form. In a sense, if it had not been for me, you and Kuro would never have even been born."

The girl of white simply grimaced and bitterly clenched her teeth, having been well aware of that throughout her whole life as an LRIG that what Chaos Breaker said was indeed true and nothing more than simply an iron clad fact that she could not dismiss. Before she could make a move to resume the fight between them, she could suddenly hear footsteps from in front as she looked onwards to see Kuro coming into view from behind. She smiled as she looked up to the Clown after approaching the pair and Shiro.

"I appreciate the effort of trying to sway Shiro back to the right," she spoke "But I already know that she is simply beyond saving and that her role is best suited alongside my own from one being."

"What is the meaning of this Kuro?" Photon asked, leaping into view upon noticing her presence.

"I'm simply suggesting that our girl of white is beyond reason," the girl of black replied "And that it would be of my best interest to eliminate her personally. If you two wouldn't mind backing off, I would like to settle my final score with her."

The Clown and Photon simply exhanged somewhat confused glances with one another, uncertain of this turn of events and why Kuro had it her own agenda to 'settle the score' as she had bluntly put it. Eventually after much silence, the smaller Cyberoid then looked back to the girl of black.

"Very well then," he spoke "I shall grant permission for you to settle this debate, but we want Shiro back with Mayu alive. Is that to be understood?"

"But of course," Kuro replied "We wouldn't want to have any... unfortunate outcomes."

The Cyberoid along with Chaos Breaker Dragon then left the two LRIGs to themselves whilst Shiro could only watch on as Kuro suddenly drew out her spear, preparing for battle as she did so.

Present

The moment Tama had finally relived through more of those memories, she had finally opened her eyes, looking around all of her surroundings to regain her perception of reality. She turned around to see Kai whose expression showed a serious gaze upon her, part of which was mostly directed towards Mayu. Then the girl of white turned to see Aichi and Ashlei who seemed somewhat concerned with the way that she was holding up, the Royal Paladin seemingly more concerned from noticing her relive more of her memories earlier in the day and in his previous battle with Ulith.

"Are you alright Tama?!" he called.

"... Tama thinks so..." she replied as she looked back towards Kuro and Mayu, now prepared to resume the confrontation.

"So it would some Photon's assumptions were indeed correct about you Shiro," the mastermind spoke "You were meant to play the role of the 'good girl' in the Selector System and yet your heart strayed from that goal and sided with the outside world!"

"Tama never agreed with the Selector System!" the girl of white called "Tama believes in Tama's friends! They understand Tama and everything Ru has been through!" She then held out her hand backwards towards Kai and Aichi before moving it to the crowd on the sidelines to make her point clear to her opposition. The mere thought of hearing the LRIG's opinion was enough to warm both Yuzuki and Hitoe's hearts, having been more acqainted with her than the cardfighters around them.

"... Friends..." Kuro muttered bitterly as she gazed down to the 'floor' of the space. I've heard Ruko mutter that countless times. I always thought it was nothing more than a shackle, a poor excuse for a notable weakness. But... is that why Shiro was always stronger than me? Because she thought about what was right from her time in the outside world?

"Now then..." Mayu spoke, interrupting the girl of black's thoughts and releasing her from her grip. "Now that I have taken Ruko's body as my own, I believe it is time that we finish this little game."

"Very well then," Kai replied "If Aichi and I continue onwards and win, you must release Ruko from your grip and Reverse altogether!"

"Mayu, our bonds will break through to our comrade!" Aichi called as he looked on towards the body of the Selector, feeling concerned for her well-being. Ruko-san, hang in there!

(End Music)

The mastermind simply closed Ruko's eyes and let out a smile that seemed to be somewhere between the lines of banevolent and malicious as she held out her hand over Ruko's LRIG deck, materializing more cards that suddenly appeared face down in the pile, much to the shock of everyone else. She then opened her eyes and gazed back towards both Kai and Aichi, prepared to resume the battle by drawing a single card to begin her turn. Looking over the cards in her hand and her Ener Zone, she simply held out a hand towards the LRIG space.

"For the first round of our little game," she spoke "I think it's time that I showed to you the true form of the girl of black or in other words... the complete monster that lies within!"

(Cardfight! Vanguard OST: Ren's Power)

Before Kuro could even reply somewhat in protest, a dark purplish aura suddenly mixed itself with the Reverse aura that had already been present ever since the battle had entered part of its earlier phases, when Ruko was still in control. She suddenly fell to her knees, clutching herself in pain as some of the veins in her arms suddenly bolded themselves out. The girl of black was starting to feel uneasy from not just her suspicions, but from within her own body as something felt rather off at this very point before the irises in her eyes shrunk by a significant amount, causing her to scream loudly in the result. Everyone else with the exception of Mayu gasped in horror as they saw what exactly was unfolding before her.

"W... What are you doing?!" Kuro cried as the gloves surrounding her fists suddenly ripped themselves apart as a result of the power from the addditional aura.

"I'm simply awakening the true form that you had donned upon yourself back then," Mayu answered "Only back then when it was beyond your control, this time with the restraint of the Void, you and it are under my complete control!"

"Stop Mayu!" Tama cried "Kuro never liked this when it happened before!"

The mastermind however ingnored the girl of white's pleas as she continued to force the power of the Void through Kuro, resulting in her screaming even louder as her wings suddenly fused to her back, changing their appearance from feathered and singed to more organic and from some perspectives, more fiendish. Then a giant dark black flame engulfed the girl of black resulting in her being completely obscured from sight as her cries slowly died out upon being covered up.

"The true heart of black with the unstable power that has now changed you," Mayu spoke "Show your true ugly self before the presence of everyone and swallow up their hopes and dreams in absolute despair and agony! Reveal the true malice within!"

At first, all seemed silent as the black flames near the mastermind's end of the battlefield simply grew even large to accomodate what was about to appear before them. Then, what had sounded next had practically all but confirmed their fears. An unnatural growl of some kind eminated from the dark fire, mortifying Tama as she stared at the shadow of what was within had begun to reveal itself. Then the flames from the outside, slowly revealing the outer edges of what had become of Kuro. First were the large organic crimson red wings that were spread out much like the original feathered wings. Next were what were supposed to be her arms, now completely changed into razor sharp claws with the nails adorned as a dull gold colour and the colour of the partially bulky arms being dark grey.

Then, the lower end of the black fire vanished to reveal the feet of the LRIG, indicating that her boots had been destroyed in the process and that they had grown in size, to the point where they could no longer be considered as human like feet, indicated by the fact that the nails had indeed becomes the actual toes. The flames moved upwards slowly to reveal the changed upper legs, the torso which seemed to indicate that the outfit there had changed into black armour of some kind. Then to the surprise of everyone else with the exception of Tama and Mayu, a long tail of some kind was appeared to be attached to the back of the lower body before the last of the flames disappeared to reveal the head and the rest of the upper body. To the horror of everyone but the mastermind, they could now see what she had meant when Kuro had once before became a monster for her apparent treachery from before as recently told.

The head had confirmed that for everyone to see that it was no longer 'human' or LRIG, but rather draconic from the small wings that had grown out from in front of the now pointy ears, it still retained Kuro's hair and single piece of cloth running through it, though it was now attached to a small and slended horn in the center. The eyes opened up to reveal that they were still the girl of black's but with the iris completely absent leaving them blank and her jaw had become much longer to accomodate the complete change to her body. The only unchanged feature was the black ring behind her back which then suddenly sprouted out dark red chains that wrapped around the arms, legs and the head to keep the changed girl of black restrained as it cried out fiercely.

"No way..." Yuzuki murmured upon looking at what she was now seeing.

"What the hell is that thing...?!" gasped Naoki.

"It's not what it is," Ren murmured "It's who it is."

Mayu gazed upon Kai and Aichi before looking over to the group on the sidelines, notifiying their horrified expressions as she proceeded to speak out the name of the 'thing' that stood before them.

"Яe-Birth Kuro... Berserk Draconis!"

Kuro, now completely changed could only let out a fierce roar in the direction of her opponents under the strain that she was put under from the transformation to the 'monster' that Mayu had described earlier. The force of the roar was strong enough to create a gale force wind that made everyone present, even those on the sidelines struggle to stay on their feet. Then before Tama and Kai knew it as they looked up, they could see Energe suddenly vanish from the battlefield in a dark black aura which then struck the girl of white head on with the force of the blast suddenly knocking one of the Kagero user's Life Cloths face up to reveal Hastall, Medium Spear as he could only clench his teeth.

"This is...!" he muttered.

Before Aichi could make a response, Kuro turned the attention of her gale force 'attack' his way as Gallatin suffered the same fate as Energe, vanishing from the field as a dark purple struck Ashlei head on, causing her to scream loudly in pain. Like Kai, the Royal Paladin user had one of his Life Cloths crushed too, this one being God Eater, Ultimate Sword however, with no Life Burst to aid him in this dire situation.

"Since I have brought out Berserk Draconis over the Ultima/Maiden form," Mayu interrupted "Every SIGNI on the field is banished and each player is dealt one damage for each SIGNI banished this way."

"Then we ended up being damaged because of Gallatin..." Ashlei murmured.

"Kai-kun, Tama, are you alright?!" cried Aichi.

"I'm alright..." he replied as he stood back firmly onto his feet, the earlier gale having now died down completely. Tama nodded as she managed to regain her footing with the help of her wings.

"Thanks to the extra restraints that I had placed on Kuro in this appearance," the mastermind continued "I'm not permitted to attack your LRIGs directly this turn because this effect went off. However, since Ultima/Maiden is no longer present, I can build up my defence. Observe!"

Mayu then proceeded to summon out Code Maze, Triumph to the center along with two Freezing Revengers to either side of the SIGNI. The units and the White SIGNI looked behind them towards Berserk Draconis and could only shiver in fear from having to fight alongside it in its presence. Tama could only stare towards the head of the 'monster' before her and also tremble slightly, also recalling a similar feeling from before at that time. She then looked forward to see Mayu turn her gaze upon her and Kai who could only brace himself for the worst. The mastermind then snapped her fingers for the signal to be given out.

"Kuro, attack Shiro and instill the fear she felt when she had faced you long ago!" she declared.

Suddenly, Kuro's eyes changed from a blank expression to a more primal appearance as she then roared out loudly before taking flight and swiftly charging forwards towards the girl of white. Tama upon noticing that the girl of white in her current state was coming straight for her turned around and tried to run away as fast as she could. Berserk Draconis' right knuckle began to gain a dark blackish aura as she reeled it back and prepared to strike.

"Now suffer for your own treachery to the Selector System and my ideal!" Mayu called out loud "Absolute Dark Slash!"

Flexing out her claws in her right knuckle for a brief moment, Kuro slashed downwards with her right arm which summoned up five vertical purple beams that swiftly came up towards Tama who looked back and gasped to see that there was no way that she could outrun them. The middle three beams came into contact and forcefully pushed her down the battlefield and straight towards where Kai was standing. The attack pushed the girl of white straight into the table as they eventually detonated in a large explosion that was enough to knock her and even the Kagero user high into the air as they cried out loud in pain. Whilst the LRIG landed on her front, Kai fell backwards and landed straight on his back, grimacing in pain.

"Kai-kun!" cried Aichi.

"Tama!" cried Hitoe and Yuzuki.

Kai winced as he struggled back onto his feet and over towards the table, just in time to see Tama get up onto her knees. He looked to his Ener Zone to see that Kuro's attack just now had crushed Arc Aura, the Life Burst being completely useless as she had already battled this turn and that the ability for the moment prevented Mayu's other SIGNI from waging direct attacks. He glared towards Mayu as her calm and somewhat sadistic smile remained on Ruko's lips.

"I think you two have suffered enough for now," she spoke, indicating the end of her turn as the chains attached to the black ring forcefully reeled Kuro back to her side of the field.

End of Turn 15

Aichi and Kai vs Mayu

Hand - 1 : 4 : 3

Life Cloths - 2 : 3 : 5

Current LRIGs - Pure Heart Jewel Knight, Ashlei : Tamayorihime, Vermillion Miko : Яe-birth Kuro, Berserk Draconis

SIGNI : EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY : EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY : Freezing Revenger - Code Maze Triumph - Freezing Revenger

Ener - 3 : 3 : 9

Aichi took several deep breaths to keep his composure under control, still somewhat amazed by the sheer power that Kuro had demonstrated after she had forcefully undergone this transformation against her will. Then as if his eyes were decieving him, he stared at the head of Berserk Draconis, noticing that the eyes had indeed reverted back to their original blank state and from them, he could see what appeared to be tears dropping out from them.

"Kuro's... crying..." he murmured.

"Sendou."

The Royal Paladin user then turned his attention towards Ashlei as did she to him. Her expression was enough to tell that she was serious in what she wanted to say to him.

"I understand how you see the situation," she spoke "But right now, unless we defeat Kuro, there is no stopping Mayu from entering the outside world in Ruko's body. You already know that and so would Blaster Blade."

(End Music)

"Yes," he replied as he looked forwards towards Mayu. Keeping his determined gaze upon the mastermind of the Selector Battles, he begun his turn by finally drawing two cards now that the limiting presence of Ultima/Maiden was no longer around to hinder him or Kai. Looking over his hand, he decided Ener Charging would not be worth it for the moment and held his hand over towards the LRIG space.

(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Battle ~ Why Not Eliminate the World?)

"The proud, prideful white wings! Give me the power I need to help the people I care about!" he called "Break Grow!"

Ashlei closed her eyes as her body radiated in a blinding bright white light, obscuring her as she vanished from the battlefield to make way for the new arrival to the battlefield. A loud "Neigh!" was heard as the light faded out to reveal a knight in gleaming silver armour riding on top of a pegasus that flapped its wings to allow them to land safely on the 'ground' of the space. He wore a helmet with a pegasus ornament of some kind on the top, bore three light bluish orbs on his chest armour with patterns of the same colour, wielded a long shining sword in his right hand as his left grasped ahold of the reigns and wore a black cape that was red underneath. The knight himself had dullish coloured hair and greyish eyes as he looked on towards the adversary he needed to face.

"Solitary Knight, Gancelot!"

"Gancelot?" Yuzuki murmured, having not seen this Royal Paladin unit before.

"It must be one of the units he got from Kai when we left Card Luck," Hitoe concluded.

"Take it to 'em Aichi!" Naoki called "We're right behind you!"

The Royal Paladin user nodded in agreement as he then turned forwards to face Mayu again.

"With Ashlei's Break Grow skill," he explained "Gancelot's Level becomes 4 and his Limit increases to 11. In addition, he gains Double Crush until the end of the turn."

"I must say, for such high effort I'm not the least bit impressed, Sendou Aichi," Mayu replied as she gazed over the cards in her hand briefly, seemingly unfazed by the situation.

The Royal Paladin user took no notice of her remark and immediately summoned both Axe, Large Breaker along with both God Eater, Ultimate Sword and Knight of the Explosive Flames, Palamedes, both of whom stood ready as they stared down towards the SIGNI and the Shadow Paladin units that lay before them, right in front of Kuro.

"Everyone, I need your help to defeat Mayu," he spoke "I believe we can save both Kuro and Ruko-san if we all do our best to help Kai and Tama in their struggle."

"You have my support, my Vanguard," Gancelot replied "Give us your command when you're ready."

"Right!" Aichi answered in acknowledgement. But before he could make a move, Mayu simply gazed towards her LRIG deck.

"I'll use another copy of Dark Matter that Ruko had generously left over," she spoke as she paid the cost and revealed the second copy of the ARTS to all.

Aichi could only clench his teeth as he knew that he had to pick a SIGNI to send to his Trash Pile before the mastermind could do the same for her side of the field, though part of him was thankful that her field wasn't empty for her to regain a Life Cloth. Sighing, he placed Axe's card into his Trash Pile, the SIGNI suddenly vanishing from his side of the field, much to her sudden confusion and shock as she immediately disappeared in a dark black aura. Mayu simply sent Code Maze Triumph to her Trash Pile, not concerned in the slightest as the Royal Paladin user then turned his attention back to her.

"Palamedes and God Eater attack your SIGNI!" he called.

The white SIGNI and the Royal Paladin unit nodded in agreement as they leaped into the air, the Swordsman of the Explosive Flames briefly powering up due to the high levels of both God Eater and Gancelot at this very moment. They slashed down both of the remaining Freezing Revengers as they vanished from the battlefield in the result as Gancelot prepared his pegasus to take flight.

"Gancelot!" Aichi declared.

"Mac Lir," Mayu responded as she revealed the Shadow Paladin unit from her hand.

As Gancelot's pegasus made a running start to soar across the space towards Berserk Draconis, Mac Lir appeared in front to intercept both the steed and its rider. The Solitary Knight slashed past the Shadow Paladin unit with little effort, but had to stop his pegasus immediately to avoid being slashed by Kuro's right claw as she roared loudly upon doing so. He gritted his teeth and retreated back to Aichi's side of the field. The Royal Paladin user then looked over towards Mayu.

"Mayu, what were you wanting to do with the Selector Battles?!" he asked "Why is it that you're not concerned that everyone involved is getting hurt?!"

"You haven't already figured it out?" she replied "It's because the outside world is an ugly place, where only lies and deceit lurk in the darkness. Just look at Kuro for example at this point in time. Right now, her appearance of this repulsive dragon represents the deceit that she intended to use upon me and the Selector Battles to fulfill her own selfish desires, much like how you humans use each other for your own gain. That's why I decided to base it around the concept of wishes in the first place."

"I find that rather hard to believe," Kai spoke out.

"What?" Mayu pondered in confusion.

"For someone who claims to have created these battles to torment those with dark desires," he continued "I can hardly see the right in your actions for consulting the Void and harming innocent people, whether you're even aware of that or not. Whilst it is true Kuro had become the way she was from her desire to surpass Tama, even Aichi was aware that she only did because she believed that you wanted a world where she could freely battle and not be concerned of the consequences. The girl of black may have been in the wrong before this turn of events, but even now, I can understand that her 'care' for Ruko was at least genuine to an extent."

Mayu simply huffed under her breath as she glared over towards the Kagero user.

"You have a bold way with words Toshiki," she spoke "But... I will personally see to it that they will be the downfall of you, Sendou Aichi and the whole of the outside world!"

As Ruko's body had the aura of the Void and Reverse flow through it even more, the two cardfighters, the girl of white and the Solitary Knight looked at one another and nodded in agreement, that they would all fight to the bitter end, to save the Selector they cared about along with the girl of black, to free her from the curse that she was placed under. Speaking of whom, Kuro under her Berserk Draconis influence roared loudly to signal the fact that the battle from here on in was going to get even rougher.

(End Music)


And there we go! In a shocking turn of events, Mayu takes control of the weakened Ruko's body and resumes the battle in her place, intending to claim victory and continue her reign of despair into the outside world in a physical form. In doing so, she reveals more to the history of Tama and Kuro, along with an earlier deception by the girl of black in an attempt to surpass her, only to result in becoming the monster that the mastermind of the Selector Battles has now transformed her into. Can Aichi and Kai collaberate effectively to save both Kuro and Ruko or will this be the end for them, leaving little to stand in Mayu's way. Find out next time on Stand Up, the LRIG! Feel free to follow and/or favourite and please share your thoughts/critiques in the reviews. To those who haven't noticed already, my revamps for Rides 2 and 3 are available for you to check out. Other than that, I'll see you next time.