Hello everyone and welcome back to Stand Up, the LRIG! I hope you enjoy this chapter!


Nearly two weeks ago...

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

Kuro and Shiro stood on opposite ends of the space, now prepared for battle as they clutched ahold of their weapons tightly whilst both Photon and Chaos Breaker Dragon had remained out of range, to observe what would unfold from this confrontation. When the long drawn out silence had eventually passed, the girls of white and black let out loud battle cries before charging at one another. The tip of their respective spear and trident clashed against one another the moment that both of the LRIGs had taken their first swing of their weapons at each other. Both of their determined expressions were enough to indicate that at this time, they were going all out to overpower the opponent in front of them. Kuro to prove her own superiority over the girl of white and Shiro in an effort to knock some sense into the girl of black.

The two of them continued to clash for many minutes, the unwavering gaze of both the Cyberoid and the Clown from the sidelines having not fazed either one of them in the slightest, though Shiro knew that she couldn't be complacent, having known that her opposing opinion of the matter of the Selector System had meant her also going into opposition against the Star-vaders themselves. Eventually, as the confrontation drew out for even longer, the two LRIGs were panting with several slash marks having gone across both Shiro's dress and Kuro's outfit in addition to the scratch markings that were notably present. Before Photon could move in to end the battle himself, he suddenly saw Kuro point her spear in his direction.

"Back off!" the girl of black called "This fight is mine to finish alone!"

The Cyberoid remained simply motionless in response before taking a step backwards for the battle to resume its course. Kuro gazed towards Shiro who had by then had regained both her breath and composure.

"Kuro doesn't need to fight!" the girl of white called "Shiro just wants to tell Kuro that what Shiro and Kuro are doing is..."

"Enough!" Kuro responded "You always had to be Mayu's favourite in the Selector Battles, even when you're about to commit treason to her ideal at this very moment! But on this very day, all of that will finally change!"

Shiro did not respond as she looked on at the girl of black as she threw her spear to the ground and reached out to behind her back before pulling out a strange object into the view of everyone. It appeared to be a rather large dull golden spike of some kind, the jagged bottom indicating that it was torn off of some kind of creature. Upon seeing the object in Kuro's hands, Photon's expression from his lips alone could only change to shock.

"When did you steal that from my lab?!" the Cyberoid demanded.

"I sincerely apologize for taking this without your permission, Photon," Kuro replied "But I can sense incredible power from this spike that I hold. I overheard that your forces had gotten this off an Abyss Dragon in a previous skirmish, but this alone still contains the dark power that it wielded."

Before Photon, Chaos Breaker or even Shiro could make a move or even respond to this sudden revealation, the girl of black immediately proceeded to crush the spike in her right hand, shattering it into dust and causing a black aura to spread across her body. Looking back at the girl of white, her expression suddenly darkened along with her smile as she felt the rush of dark energy coursing through her veins.

"Symbosis...!" Kuro called out loud "I can feel the malice of this power!"

"Kuro..." murmured Shiro as she stared on in shock.

"You are now beneath me, girl of white!" the girl of black continued as she walked forwards, the black aura now flowing furiously across her body "Now witness as I finally claim that which is rightfully..."

Before Kuro could finish her speech, she felt a sudden throb which caused her to fall to her knees and clutch her stomach in pain, a hint of agony now present in her eyes as she struggled to breathe. Shiro gasped and looked at the girl of black, noticing that her irises had shrunk significantally in response to this sudden turn of events whilst Chaos Breaker and Photon simply stared, remaining somewhat motionless as to what was happening to the LRIG by this point. Kuro looked down to her hands to see her gloves rip themselves apart as a result of the sudden surge of energy, her veins having become somewhat bolded out and the wings behind her fusing straight to her back.

"What... is this?!" she coughed out before screaming as the energy that had consumed her now obscured her from outside view completely.

At first, all remained silent as no one knew what to expect from what had happened to the girl of black at this time. Then, their answer came as an unnatural loud roar sounded out from the black flame in front of them, before Kuro in her now changed appearance, which would later be known in the present day as Berserk Draconis, leaped straight out of the fire towards both a horrified and startled Shiro as she immediately slashed down on the girl of white, knocking her backwards across the field onto her back and tearing up a bit of her dress in the result. The girl of black's appearance was roughly the same as it would later appear to be in the present, only there was a lack of a black ring with the additional chains, leaving no means of restraining her uncontrollable rampage and the fact that her eyes were already in a primal like state had already been an indicator of that fact.


Present Day

Link Joker Fight Field

And indeed, it was a fact that had remained to this day as Tama stared on towards Kuro and Mayu, having now realized that the mastermind was now capable of restraining the mutated girl of black, bending her otherwise uncontrollable state to her will so that she could not stand against her or do anything to free Ruko from her clutches. The girl of white could only look on at Aichi in worry, knowing that his previous turn hadn't done much to reduce her defences in getting through to both the Selector or her current LRIG. As Kai could clench his teeth, knowing the Royal Paladin user had to brace himself for the coming wave of attacks, Mayu begun her turn by drawing more cards and looking towards the pair of cardfighters.

(End Music)

"I somewhat commend you for your brave front, but your hope has finally faded," she spoke, her gaze turning upon Aichi "Now allow me to show you, that your bravery alone means nothing in my domain! Summon!"

(Cardfight! Vanguard OST: PSY Qualia no Chikara)

Revenger, Dark Bond Trumpeter appeared to the left of Kuro before she then blew into her trumpeter, indicating that her skill was being used at this very moment as Freezing Revenger then appeared to the changed girl of black's far right. Then in the center of the SIGNI lineup, a new Revenger suddenly appeared onto the battlefield, one that even had Naoki and Leon somewhat perplexed whilst Yuzuki and Hitoe could only stare on in wonder as to what it was.

"Anyone know who that is?" the LRIG asked.

"Bloodmaster," Ren answered "And if we're looking at the remaining Life Cloths Ruko previously had as a result of the Battle Royale, there's only one reason as to why Mayu would summon him."

"With Bloodmaster's skill," Mayu spoke, bringing everyone's attention back to her "I deal 1 damage to Kuro and draw 2 cards. Unfortunately, I cannot use any Life Bursts that I crush through this effect."

And indeed, that was the case. As her next Life Cloth flipped up and revealed itself to be Code Maze Skyju which moved to her Ener Zone, she drew an additional two cards as a result. Then all of a sudden, an electrical current of some kind, presumably from Bloodmaster's skill being used, surged across the chains that were keeping Kuro restrained and shocked the girl of black as she screeched out loudly in pain before her eyes reverted back to their previous primal state and she roared loudly in the direction of Aichi and Gancelot who could only stare on in shock as to what was happening before them. Mayu, seemingly not concerned with what had been happening continued onwards with her turn.

"Girl of black who has become the hideous monstrousity before us," she spoke "Unleash your fury upon those before you and bring them down to their fate! Limit Break!"

A black Vanguard circle with the hint of dark red to it, indicating that the aura of Reverse was still present throughout Kuro, flashed in front of Berserk Draconis as she roared loudly again in response to the effect now going off. Mayu held out her hand over all of the SIGNI that were present on her field as she gazed upon the card representing Revenger, Bloodmaster, smiling briefly as she did so.

"I Lock Bloodmaster and send two SIGNI to my Trash Pile!" she called.

As a pair of black rings then encircled the Revenger before locking him, the card turning face down as this happened, a sudden flash appeared in Kuro's primal eyes as she raised up her claws before slashing down upon the remaining two Revengers on the field, causing them to vanish in deathly like states much to the shock and horror of Tama who could only shiver at this point. The mastermind of the Selector Battles seemed far from done as Aichi kept his attention focused towards her as did Kai who couldn't help but wonder as to why Mayu would go as far as this to achieve her own ambition.

"I draw the top two cards of my deck and for each black card I get with a different name," she spoke, as the top two cards of her deck hovered up towards her, one at a time "One of my opponent's SIGNI is excluded. In other words, it becomes removed from play."

"Removed from play...?" Hitoe murmured.

"Then that means... Aichi won't be able to revive them or put them back into the deck for Legion!" Naoki exclaimed.

"But... there's still a chance she could end up drawing two of the same..." Yuzuki replied "We just have to hope the situation doesn't end up as bad for him."

The moment that the LRIG had finished speaking out loud, the cards that Mayu had drawn through the Limit Break revealed themselves to be Healing Revenger and Code Anti Vimana. She simply smiled as she added the cards to her hand before pointing in the direction of Aichi and Gancelot, the unit of whom could only clench his teeth as he gripped the reins of his pegasus tightly to prepare himself for the worst to come.

"Vanish!" she spoke as she then snapped her fingers.

Upon hearing the signal, Kuro roared loudly before opening up her jaw and unleashing a large black flame from her mouth that instantly consumed Aichi's side of the field, causing Palamedes and God Eater to cry out loudly in pain before they vanished from the field in a vortex of purple flames that erupted amongst the fire that was already present. Before the Royal Paladin user could react, he saw the cards that represented both the white SIGNI and the Royal Paladin unit hover into the air before being sucked into the vortex out on the field in front of him, indicating to him that the two cards were now 'excluded' as Mayu had put it, the purple flamed hole closing up only a few moments afterwards.

"Furthermore," the mastermind continued "Since I cleared your field and had 2 black cards with different names, Kuro is permitted to battle either Gancelot or Shiro twice this turn."

Immediately after she spoke, she summoned Code Maze Skyju and Vimana to the field, the two SIGNI taking up stances and preparing to strike at Gancelot whose grim expression had remained unchanged from the dire situation that he and Aichi were now faced with at this very moment, knowing that she could also go after Kai and Tama at any time she wished. Skyju gained a bright white aura to her as her own skill powered her up from Vimana's presence. To make matters worse for Aichi, he had no cards in his hand and only two Life Cloths which also made him easy prey for Mayu, now that Berserk Draconis had cleared his entire field. She turned her attention to the Royal Paladin user himself as he could only stare back towards her in response.

"Your determination is something that has intrigued me since I saw your battle with Ulith," she spoke "However in this scenario, I can assure you that even Umr won't appear to save you this time."

Upon hearing the girl's name being mentioned again, Aichi realized that this was a subject that he and everyone else around him still had very little answers to and this was perhaps the opportunity he needed to learn more about her. Little did he know was that the cardfighter that was fighting to save Ruko and Kuro alongside him had the exact same thoughts as he looked over towards Mayu.

"Mayu!" Kai called "Just who is Umr?!"

"Umr was originally meant to be the basis for the girl of black," she answered "But her self-awareness had resulted in her changing her mind on how she saw things and as such, I kept her within my domain."

"Then... is there...?" murmured Tama.

"That's correct," the mastermind replied "With her, there was one other that was also meant to be the basis for the girl of white, Tawil. Both of whom are now being useful after the previous setbacks in the completion and creation of Project: Locked Soul. I don't know how Aichi ended up coming into contact with Umr the night that I personally allowed Soryu Leon and the rest of you into 'my' world, but you will no longer interfere in the completion of what I will have in store for the outside world."

The Royal Paladin user could only remain silent upon hearing everything that Mayu had just told him about in regards to the origins of Umr and Tawil, the other girl of whom he had not come across before. The fact that she had mentioned they were the original basis for the girls of white and black and were now being put to use elsewhere could only make him wonder in concern. What was this Project: Locked Soul that she had spoken of? Why did it involve the two girls that were originally planned for the roles that were taken up by Tama and Kuro respectively? Out of the group that had traveled to this world with him, why was he the only one to come in contact with Umr? Thinking back over that time, Aichi suddenly realized as to why this was.

"Wait a second..." he murmured "Back at the teleporter, I was the only one who broke out of the trance needed to keep it activated. That must have been why I came into contact with Umr... otherwise Leon, Ren or even Naoki would have had a similar vision."

Turning his attention back towards Mayu, the Royal Paladin user knew that if he could not outlast the two attacks that would come his way, then one of Kuro's two attacks gained from her Limit Break would be enough to bring an end to the battle, leaving Kai and Tama all alone to fend for themselves. He also knew that the power Reverse was still coursing furiously through the girl of black, despite her appearance as Berserk Draconis as of now and given that he had been pushed into a situation like this from before, he knew that if it came to that, he would have to fight down to his hardest to restrain it. The mastermind smiled before pointing her hand in the direction of him.

"Skyju and Vimana, attack Gancelot!" she declared.

The white and black SIGNI held out their arms in front of them before launching two seperate beams of black and white energy which struck both Gancelot and his pegasus head on as Aichi shielded his face from the impact of the attacks as he looked to his last two Life Cloths entering his Ener Zone. The first one was Seeker, Tranquil Unicorn whilst the second revealed itself to be Seeker, Loving Healer as the card glowed to indicate the Life Burst going off. The top card of his deck moved to his Life Cloth zone as he looked on towards Kuro whose primal glare had not left her eyes since Mayu had shocked her from using Bloodmaster's skill to intentionally damage the girl of black so that her Limit Break could become active. A low growl sounded from the jaws of Berserk Draconis as the mastermind prepared to signal her next attack upon both the unit and the Royal Paladin user.

"Now then Kuro, release all of your fury upon Sendou Aichi as a reminder that nothing will overcome my will of the Selector System!" she called "Attack Gancelot! Singularity Flame!"

Kuro let out a loud roar before unleashing a large burst of purple fire from her jaws that rocketed towards Gancelot and Aichi who could only stare on at the attack that was about to strike both of them dead on. The fireball connected with the Royal Paladin unit and his winged steed who both cried out loud in pain as the attack detonated the moment it made contact, the blast immediately expanding to consume the cardfighter within its radius as he too also screamed out loud in pain. Everyone else with the exception of Mayu looked on towards the smoke, fearing the worst of what could have befallen Aichi by this point.

(End Music)

"AICHI!" cried Hitoe.

"Aichi!" called Kai, Naoki and Tama.

Whilst everyone else on the sidelines simply remained agape to what they had just witnessed, the smoke eventually cleared to reveal that the blast had been enough to ground Gancelot's pegasus who was on its side whilst the unit himself was on his back, struggling to get back up onto his knees, scorch marks and small bits of smoke having begun leaking from his armour and clothing from the heat of the flame. Aichi however seemed to be in just as much of a state as smoke was also pouring from certain patches on his jacket and trousers as he breathed heavily to recover his composure, wincing as he struggled to hold back a portion of Reverse that had briefly triggered the Seed fragment within him. His very last Life Cloth revealed itself to be Margal, allowing him to draw into another card. His expression remained unchanged as he looked at what he had happened to pull, leading to collective doubts between everyone else on the field.

"It appears your fate has been sealed Sendou," Mayu spoke "Savour the taste of agony and despair before you."

Aichi slowly breathed, coughing briefly to exhale any smoke from the previous attack that had ended up in his lungs. Kai, Tama and Gancelot could only look on at the Royal Paladin user in worry, but no one else was more concerned than Naoki and Hitoe. The Selector of whom seemed concerned about the way that he was holding up after Kuro's attack had damaged him as well, whispering to herself in concern and attracting Yuzuki's attention for a brief moment, unbeknowst to her.

"Aichi-kun..."

"What are you waiting for?" Mayu continued "Fall to your knees and grovel! Say that you wish for this suffering to end!"

"No."

(Selector Spread Wixoss OST: Eternal Girl)

The mastermind's expression changed from a dominant confident smile to dumbfounded confusion as Aichi raised his head, showing that his determination had not wavered in the slightest, despite being caught in the blast from Kuro's previous attack on Gancelot. The girl of black's eyes briefly reverted back to their original blank state as she stared on towards the Royal Paladin user.

"I won't give up," he spoke "Kai-kun and I have already come this far to save Ruko-san and I'm not going to turn back now. I know that he feels the same way, that's why he's been fighting alongside Tama throughout this battle."

"Why...?" Mayu muttered as she clenched her fist "Why do you still persist?! You have no Life Cloths left and Kuro can attack you once more! It's over for you! VANISH!"

Kuro roared loudly as she flapped her wings and took flight towards Gancelot and Aichi whose expressions remained resolute as the changed girl of black charged at them. Before she could slash away with her right fist, Flash Shield, Iseult suddenly appeared in front of the unit and his pegasus, deploying a shield from her right gauntlet to block the attack. Kuro roared in fury as she repeatedly smashed away at the barrier to which it had no effect as the chains bound around her limbs forcefully reeled her back to Mayu's side of the field. The mastermind looked on in utter shock before looking to her left to find her answer, seeing that it was Kai who had stepped in to guard for Gancelot, in turn saving Aichi from elimination from the battle.

"You...!" she growled "You couldn't have just left Sendou to his own fate and continue onwards on your own stead, could you?!"

"Mayu," Kai spoke "You have already forgotten one thing already. Aichi and I aren't fighting this battle alone on our own terms. Both of us have a common goal, shared by the Selector whose body you've seized control over."

"Tama agrees!" Tama called "All of us wanted to save Ru, that's we agreed to her challenge of a Battle Royale! And Tama also agrees with Yuzuki and everyone else that what Mayu is doing isn't right!"

The mastermind of the Selector Battles glared fiercly at the Kagero user and the girl of white, having not been pleased by their response to her 'reasoning' for him to leave Aichi 'to his fate' and huffed for a brief moment. The Lock that was present on Bloodmaster wore off, signalling the end of her turn.

End of Turn 17

Aichi and Kai vs Mayu

Hand - 1 : 3 : 5

Life Cloths - 0 : 3 : 4

Current LRIGs - Solitary Knight, Gancelot : Tamayorihime, Vermillion Miko : Яe-birth Kuro, Berserk Draconis

SIGNI : EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY : EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY : Code Maze Skyju - Revenger, Bloodmaster - Code Anti Vimana

Ener - 6 : 3 : 6

"... Well that took a few years off my life," Naoki murmured, sighing in relief at the turn of events.

"But... the situation is still grim..." Yuzuki spoke "Both of their fields are empty and with Berserk Draconis' Limit Break, Mayu can just go after Aichi again next turn."

Everyone else on the sidelines remained silent as they looked over to Kai who had begun his turn by drawing more cards from his deck and looking towards Tama, who nodded in agreement as if she had already known what he was planning for this turn.

"With Tama's skill," he spoke "I Exceed 1 and superior call another Energe from my deck!"

With a bright light surrounding her, the girl of white slashed downwards with one of the blades that she had carried and from the arc that was created, another Energe emerged, taking up a stance on the field as her card was placed on the far left SIGNI space. Then to the right side of her, appeared Mitsurugi, Treasure Tool followed by another Level 4 SIGNI by the name of Ronmail, Helmet Armour. The Level 3 SIGNI gained a bright white aura to her as Kai then discarded another copy of Ronmail from his hand before a file of light scanned through his deck and pulled out another copy of Flash Shield, Iseult, the Kagero user revealing it to Mayu before concealing it amongst the other cards that he had held in his hand.

The mastermind could only scowl at this turn of events, intially believing now that he was intentionally searching for Guard SIGNI that he could use to shield Aichi whenever she tried to attack him during the next turn. Kai looked forwards towards Tama who smiled in response, showing that she was determined to try and get through to Kuro if it had meant saving both the girl of black and Ruko from Mayu's clutches.

"Finally, I activate No Gain!" he called as he revealed the Spell from his hand as one card from his Ener Zone moved to his Trash Pile. "For this turn, Tama and all of my SIGNI are immune to your ARTS! This effect will last until the end of your next turn, meaning you can only remove my SIGNI through battle, Spell or Berserk Draconis' Limit Break!"

"You...!" Mayu growled as she saw sparks flying from her LRIG deck, indicating that very statement happened to be fact.

"My SIGNI will battle your entire formation!" the Kagero user declared.

The three SIGNI nodded in response to Kai's command as they charged across the space and easily overpowered each of their opponents that were directly in front of them, with Energe pulling back Mitsurugi just in time to avoid being slashed by surprise from Kuro, whose eyes had still remained in their primal like state. The white SIGNI all retreated back to the Kagero user's side of the field as Tama clutched her spear in preparation for the next attack.

"Tama attacks Kuro!" Kai called.

The girl of white nodded in response and took flight on her wings, letting out a loud battle cry in the result as she charged towards Mayu who could only stare on angrily towards her before looking down at her hand, seeing that she did not have a single Guard SIGNI on hand to block this attack. Tama flew towards Kuro and opened her hands, materializing two blades of solid light which gained a bright white glow to them before she proceeded to slash down the front, creating two large scores across the body of Berserk Draconis. After leaping backwards, Tama watched on as the scores detonated in a brilliant explosion of light that blinded almost everyone present on the battlefield as Mayu shielded her eyes to avoid losing her sight.

Streams of green energy poured out of her back, indicating that the girl of white's attack just now had forced her to lose some of the power that she had taken from Takuto after she had imprisoned him in the White Room. As this was happening, her next Life Cloth revealed itself as Servant D2, the card entering her Ener Zone face up as the brightness had eventually died down. Kuro struggled back onto her feet as her eyes opened back up to reveal that they seemed almost 'normal', given that they weren't blank or even primal at this very moment. Tama and Kai noticed this as they looked on towards the girl of black as she gazed back at them.

(End Music)

"Tama... Kai... Toshiki..."

"Kuro..." Kai murmured, now realizing that she was trying to speak out to them.

"Save Ruko..." she spoke "Right now... I..."

In response, Mayu clutched her left fist tightly as the power of Reverse and the Void flowed through her once more, shocking Kuro in the result and reverting her eyes back to their primal state as she screeched loudly. The chains rattled loudly as the girl of black lashed out towards Tama, only for the shackles to have kept her back at this very moment. Aichi and Gancelot, who had managed to get back onto his pegasus, stared on in shock, wondering if the mastermind was even showing any concern in the way that she was 'restraining' the changed LRIG. Kai simply gritted his teeth as he looked forwards towards her.

"Mayu, the world outside your White Room isn't as black and white as you believe!" he called "There may be people that are despicable as you have stated, but that's no reason to destroy everyone with the aid of the Void! You should understand that!"

"Shut up!" she replied "Nonsense! Your words mean nothing to me or my ideal! Take a look at reality before you! Aichi has remained wide open throughout the course of this battle and once I have dealt with him, I will see to it that you and the traitor will suffer the same fate!"

Mayu drew her cards immediately to start her turn before summoning Revenger, Dark Bond Trumpeter, paying 1 black card from her Ener Zone to superior call a Healing Revenger from her deck straight onto her side of the field, followed by Code Maze Triumph who appeared in the center space. She turned her attention towards Kai, his serious gaze remaining unwavering as she held out her hand in front of her.

"Limit Break!" she called as three more cards moved from her Ener Zone to her Trash Pile.

Two black rings appeared around Code Maze Triumph before she was immediately locked in an instant, her card flipping face down to indicate that as sparks flew off of the backing. Kuro then slashed through Dark Bond Trumpeter and Healing Revenger, sending them straight to her Trash Pile. The top two cards of the deck revealed themselves as Servant D2 and Hellrage Revenger, Quesal, much to her annoyance as she pointed in the direction of Energe who was immediately consumed in a blaze of purple flames that Tama had to shield her face from. The girl of white could only sweat nervously as the mastermind of the Selector Battles pointed in her direction.

"Kuro, bring Kai Toshiki and Shiro to their knees!" she declared "Singularity Flame!"

Kuro let out another fierce loud roar as she unleashed another large purple fireball that came towards Tama who could only stand still in shock as it crashed straight into her and much from before, the impact of the blast this time had consumed Kai as he struggled to shield his face from the heat of the flames.

"Kai-kun!" cried Aichi.

The Kagero user breathed heavily as he struggled to stay up onto his feet, the attack having damaged him as well much more clearly than he had anticipated after seeing what it had done to Aichi firsthand. Then before he knew it, a familiar feeling crept up him again as he noticed the dark red aura of Reverse having surrounded him once again as he cried out loud in pain, trying to resist it once more. Everyone on the sidelines gasped in shock whilst Gancelot could only tense up at the sight of what was before him, wondering if the Royal Paladin user would have to fight his friend once again under the same circumstances from before. Mayu having regained her composure put on a calm smile as she looked on at Kai, who continued to struggle.

"Kai Toshiki, I'm already well aware that you've become more than acqainted with Reverse once before on your own terms," she spoke "Once this battle draws to a close, I will see to it you will follow down that path again!"

"... Never...!" he groaned "I won't make that mistake again...!"

(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Advance Liberators!)

Then after a few moments had passed, the aura of Reverse had finally faded from him, at least for the moment as he breathed heavily and stepped back towards his table to resume the battle. Aichi could only sigh in relief that the Kagero user had not fallen prey to that power once again like he did in his previous confrontation with Ruko when he didn't know what to expect when facing Kuro at that time. He looked towards Mayu, now ready to take on the offensive once again as the Lock that was in place over Code Maze Triumph wore off, signalling the end of the mastermind's turn. The Royal Paladin user drew his cards and briefly looked towards to Kai who by this point had finally recovered from his ordeal before looking towards Kuro.

"First, I will use Gancelot's skill to add Double Crush since Blaster Blade is stacked beneath him!" he called as he moved two of the six cards in his Ener Zone to his Trash Pile. "Then I will use Arc Destruct so that for every two cards I Exceed this Attack Phase, Gancelot gains one additional attack!"

"So you're using the same tactic you had to defeat Ulith," Mayu murmured "But unlike her, I am not so easily unprepared."

Aichi said nothing in response as he looked towards Gancelot as the astral figures of File, Marron, Ashlei and Blaster Blade all appeared to aid the Solitary Knight in his struggle to break through to both Ruko and Kuro. They all nodded in agreement, prepared to fight on to the end.

"Gancelot attacks Kuro!" the Royal Paladin user declared.

With a neigh from his pegasus, Gancelot and his steed took flight as they soared towards the girl of black along with the astral figures of Aichi's previous Royal Paladins who prepared to launch their own attacks as well to help deal out the additional damage granted by the Solitary Knight's ability and the ARTS that the cardfighter had played on this turn. As they all let out mighty battle cries and prepared to strike, Mayu simply grabbed two cards from her hand and threw them down onto the table in front of where her SIGNI cards were placed as the Guard SIGNI suddenly appeared to stop them in their tracks.

"Guard!" she called "Two Servant D2!"

As Marron, File and Ashlei were blocked off by the two Colourless SIGNI, Blaster Blade and Gancelot slashed past them and continued onwards towards Kuro who lashed out at them with her claws. Gancelot halted his pegasus at the perfect timing before thrusting both himself and his blade forwards to slash past the long neck of Berserk Draconis, who shrieked out loudly in pain as a result. Mayu simply looked on in shock as Blaster Blade then leaped into the air and yelled loudly as he slashed down the front of the girl of black, creating another large score much Tama on the previous turn which detonated in a brilliant explosion. This time though, the Swordsman of Light's eyes widened in shock before the light vanished prompting him to leap back with Gancelot as the figures of File, Ashlei and Marron vanished into thin air.

Looking over towards Tama and then to his vanishing self by the second, thinking back to what he had sensed when he had managed to attack Kuro head on at this very moment, he made a decision and turned back to the girl of white.

"Take it!" he called. The Swordsman of Light then threw the Blaster Blade itself high into the air, much to the shock of everyone present on the battlefield before it landed near the LRIG's feet, much to both her and Kai's surprise. Before she could ask, Blaster Blade himself began to vanish from the battlefield.

"Everything is in your hands now," he spoke before he finally disappeared from sight.

Aichi seemed confused for a brief moment, before looking to both Tama and Kai and then to Mayu's table, seeing that his one successful attack did at least damage her to the point where she had only Life Cloth left. Recalling Blaster Blade's words, he finally understood what he had meant.

He's entrusted our hope of saving Ruko and Kuro to Kai-kun and Tama he thought You can count us, Blaster Blade.

(End Music)


...

Back in the strange dreamscape like plane, Takuto had still been somewhat bewildered, even by what Umr had explained to both him and Tawil about everything that had happened between her and Aichi up to this point in time. Despite this though, he could now finally understand as to what had happened and that he felt that she was at least had a conscious to know some of the basic difference between right and wrong, even if some of it was mostly instinct from fighting alongside Aichi and his Royal Paladins back in his previous battle with Ulith.

"I see..." he spoke "I think I understand everything now. Your desire for now is to meet with Aichi again, right?"

"That is correct..." she spoke "I want to understand the world that he is a part of... to be by his side once again."

"The outside world..." Tawil murmured "I wish to know more this as well..."

Before anyone else could speak, a greenish aura surrounded Takuto much to his surprise as he looked all over him before immediately getting a refreshing feeling of kind to follow up on it. Recognizing as to what it was, he suddenly realized as to why this was possible.

"My powers..." he murmured "Aichi and Kai... they must have somehow weakened Mayu." Snapping out of his daze for a brief moment, he turned back towards Umr and Tawil who remained somewhat confused as to what had happened.

"Please wait here!" he called "I will do everything I can to free you so that we may meet with Sendou Aichi once more!"

And with that, Takuto vanished from the plane in a bright flash of white, leaving both Umr and Tawil dazed and confused to an extent. They simply looked at one another, blinking for a brief moment before letting everything that the Cray being had told them sink into the back of their minds. They knew they would have to be patient and to cling on to whatever hope they had left in their current states, for them to escape the White Room and to meet with Aichi and the others once that had happened.


Photon's Lab

Regaining consciousness back in the lab, Takuto opened his eyes and stared at the console in front of him, realizing that if he was going to keep the Star-vaders fooled for any longer so that he could free the 'byproducts' of Project: Locked Soul, he was going to need more time and to hope Aichi and Kai's efforts would be enough to restore more of his power in the result. But before he knew it, he would not get the chance. Suddenly, he felt something prodded against his back followed by an electrical shock of some kind as dark red sparks surged across his body, causing the Cray being to scream out loud in pain as he dropped to his knees. Looking up, he could see that it wasn't the Radons that were keeping watch over him that had chosen to perform this action, but an all too familiar figure.

"I had a feeling that you would still try to be a rat in the wall, scum."

Takuto could only stare up to see that it was Ulith who had shocked him just now, sneering sinisterly as she shoved him to the side railing of the gantry before walking up to the console of where he had been stationed at. Before he could get up to try and stop her, several of the Radons and Neons that were on the gantry pointing their weapons straight at him, preventing him from moving as he glared back at the cruel demanored Selector.

"Just what are you hoping to accomplish by fusing them together?!" he demanded.

"Isn't it obvious?" Ulith mused "It's to serve as the replacement to both Kuro and Shiro now that I've seen everything unfold in that battle. The endgame for Project: Locked Soul will only go by one name."

"What name would that be?" Takuto asked. The girl turned her head away from him, her smile having now become far more devious than he could imagine as she spoke the name of Project: Locked Soul in an eeriely cold tone.

"Ut'ulls."


And there we go! As the battle continues to rage on, Kai saves Aichi from the edge of elimination as he and Tama struggle onwards against Mayu who relentlessly attacks them one wave after another. After an intended finished by Gancelot fails to break through, Blaster Blade entrusts his weapon and any hope of winning the long fight to Tama. Meanwhile, Takuto regains some portion of his powers but before he can do anything to help Umr and Tawil escape the White Room, Ulith catches on to his plan and proceeds to continue Project: Locked Soul in his place. Can Aichi and Kai still save Ruko? Can Takuto stop Ulith before the being that she has come to call, Ut'ulls, comes into creation? Join us next time as the battle comes to a close next chapter! Please share any thoughts/critiques in the reviews.

Before I go, just so people who haven't already come across this can learn here and now, there is a page on the WIXOSS website that allows you to hear a (non-canon) audio transcript between both Umr and Tawil, so that you should be able to picture their voices better in the fic. I'll drop a link in my profile to take you to that page. Click on the pictures representing either Umr and/or Tawil to hear them speak and that should hopefully clear some things up in regards to how they are pictured in the fic. Other than that, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you next time. Until then!