Hello again everyone! I do hope you enjoy this latest chapter from Stand Up, the LRIG!
Selector Battlefield
(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Battlefield)
When Ruko eventually regained conciousness on the battlefield, she could see that Tama had taken up center stage on the LRIG space of her table whilst Kuro had remained standing beside her deck to observe the oncoming battle from there. Looking across towards the opposite side of the space, she could see that the background was a greyish-silver like colour and that her brother, Ayumu, was seated on the table at that end. On the LRIG space of his table stood a tall female like figure, both her body, hair and costume covered in all dark grey whilst her eyes had remained a blank dark red. The older brother's gaze had remained angered since their confrontation only moments earlier, when he declared that he would make her ready for her 'repentance'.
"Onii-chan... who is that...?" asked Ruko as she stared at the strange 'LRIG' that Ayumu had in his possession.
"A kind provision by the one I'm fighting for," he replied, the earlier hint of distaste still being present in his tone. "This figure isn't exactly an LRIG, but I can use it to take the form of one for any Selector Battle I choose to participate in. That of course depends on the deck that I use."
"So then... he can use that 'thing' to copy whatever LRIG is advantageous over us...!" Kuro muttered as she looked up to Ruko "You and Tama must not let down your guard! There's something strange about whatever's in his possession!"
"Tama understands!" Tama replied.
Ruko nodded in response to confirm that she understood what the girl of black was trying to warn her about. Part of her thoughts were still lingering towards Ayumu and what he said to her earlier before conducting the battle that was about to begin. She didn't know about what he meant when he said from 'all those years ago', but the Selector knew that if that was the reason he was taking out his anger on her, then this battle would be the only way to uncover the truth about his strange behavior as of late.
"Let's go, onii-chan!" she called as she looked back at her brother, who simply closed his eyes whilst making no change in his expression.
"The LRIG type, or rather... the clan of Cray I'll have my puppet duplicate... is this!" he called as he held out his hand towards the 'LRIG' on his table.
"Changing appearance," the figure emotionlessly spoke, 'her' voice almost sounding somewhat mechanical to the ear.
At this moment, the 'clone puppet's' red eyes began to emit a somewhat blinding glow as its body radiated with a bright aura until its very shape began to change form. That new form represented a large blue armoured mechanical figure with patches of yellow, red and white also littered across both the body and armour. Adorned on the front of the hexagonal chest panel was the number 1 and in its left and right arms respectively, it wielded a shield with red colours within the top folds along with a green gem in the center and a large blade with a yellowish hilt. The figure's head was mostly blue with a white faceplate and a winged crest of the same colour adorned with a red gem on the forehead, but its eyes were the exact same colour as those possessed by the 'clone puppet', compared to those depicted on the card that it now hovered above on the LRIG space.
"Huh?" Tama pondered as she, Ruko and Kuro stared over at the changed figure, now seeing the form that Ayumu's 'clone' had taken for itself.
"How did he know about Cray?" the Selector murmured, previously assuming he only knew about the planet from Chiyori's brief 'explanation'.
Up from the top of the tower that lay in the background of dark buildings at the center of the battlefield, everyone else who had been brought into the battlefield, Selector, cardfighter and LRIG alike couldn't help but express some surprise at what they had just witnessed on Ayumu's table. None were more shocked however than the five boys amongst the group whilst the LRIGs could not believe at what they were seeing before their eyes, especially with the kind of form that Ayumu's 'LRIG' had taken the form of at this very moment.
"What in the world... is that?!" Yuzuki asked in shock.
"He's copied... Dimension Police?!" Naoki exclaimed.
"Dimension... Police..." Umr murmured, having not been familiar with the name of that clan.
"Ooo... That's the clan he's copied?" Chiyori pondered in wonder as she gazed at the unit's copied form.
"Yeah," Ren replied "But that unit that he's copied... I'm wondering if he's managed to duplicate his deck."
"Whose exactly?" asked Eldora.
"The leader of Team Ceasar, one of our opponents in both the National Tournament and the Asia Circuit," Kai answered "Mitsusada Kenji, otherwise known as 'Koutei'."
"If that is really the same deck..." Leon murmured as he and the others looked down towards where Ruko was seated.
"Does Ruko even have a chance against this 'Koutei's' deck?" Hitoe asked nervously.
"Perhaps," the Aqua Force user replied "But I'm certain that this will not be an easy battle for her."
Ruko-san, please be careful... Aichi whispered within his thoughts.
(End Music)
His expression was more than enough to show that like everyone else around him, he was also worried for the Selector's safety, having known about the uphill struggle that she was about to face at this very moment from previous experience facing the Dimension Police clan against Mitsusada, Jun and Neve on his own occasions. Back down on the field, a creaking sound was heard to show that the roulette to choose who would determine which amongst them could take the first turn, the slots adorned with the colours of silver and white. Eventually, the giant wheel above both Ruko and Ayumu's heads came to a stop, the wheel having stopped on a white colour, much to the older brother's annoyance as evidenced by a hiss under his breath.
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Contention)
The Selector inwardly breathed in relief as she took the time to anaylze the situation before her. She hadn't heard anything about the Dimension Police clan from any of the cardfighters in her group beforehand and even if her older brother's 'LRIG' was copying their appearance, she knew that she couldn't take the situation lightly, especially with the foul and angry mood that he was in. Eventually after a few short moments, Ruko had eventually made a decision as she looked back towards Ayumu.
"I'll go first!" she called as she drew her single card "Tama, grow!"
A series of hexagonal flashes rose up around Tama as the girl of white's current appearance did not change by much as she gained a small piece of silver armour to the top half of her dress and the ribbons in her hair growing larger as a result of the transformation. In the center SIGNI space, Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine appeared and took a defensive stance, having known that Ruko could not declare an attack on the first turn of a Wixoss battle. Seeing that she was done for now, the Selector motioned to signal the end of her turn.
"Finally, after all of those years... justice will be served," Ayumu muttered under his breath as he drew his two cards to begin the turn before holding out his hand wide.
"Grow! Karenroid, Daisy!"
As the form of the Dimension Police unit he currently had reverted back to the 'clone LRIG' for a brief moment, sparks flew out of its red eyes before Ayumu suddenly cringed in pain for a brief moment as said 'LRIG' then in another bright flash of red took on yet another form. This time, it was the form of Karenroid, Daisy. The unit's appearance of a purple armoured figure had two blades built into its lower arms and stood several inches taller than Tama herself. The pink eyes that were depicted on the card's artwork, much like before with the previous unit that the 'clone LRIG' took the form of, were replaced with those same blank red eyes that stared onimously towards the girl of white and her Selector.
"Summon!" Ayumu called as he revealed two more SIGNI cards from his hand and threw them into his left and right SIGNI zones "Dimensional Robo, Daibattles and Dimensional Robo, Daicrane!"
In the left SIGNI zone, a vehicle like machine with four armoured 'tread'-like attachments in addition to sporting red, white, yellow and blue colours along with a number materialized and hovered just above the ground. In the other zone, a yellow armoured robot like figure around the same height as Karenroid, Daisy's form appeared into that spot. A crane arm extended from its left shoulder plate and in the place of where its right hand would be was a large variety of tools. Keeping his baleful glare upon Ruko, Ayumu held out his arm wide in front of him.
"Attack!" he declared fiercely.
Daibattles in an instant immediately soared across the battlefield towards Tama, catching the girl of white by surprise as the 'vehicle' Dimensional Robo rammed straight into her, knocking her upwards. In the air, Daicrane immediately leaped above her and brought down its left fist upon the LRIG, knocking her straight back down to the ground. As she groaned in pain, Ruko's first two Life Cloths revealed themselves to be Round, Small Shield and Energe, Original Spear, the second card glowing to indicate a Life Burst.
"I add Arc Aura to my hand!" the Selector called as a file of light scanned through her deck and pulled out the white Spell, revealing it before she concealed it amongst the remaining 5 cards in her hand.
"So I've given you your 'trump card'," Ayumu murmured "But... that has no meaning to me! Daisy attacks!"
"Iseult!"
As Daisy dashed across the battlefield towards the downed Tama before leaping at the LRIG with both blades out, Flash Shield, Iseult appeared in a flash of light in front of her. The Royal Paladin unit deployed a barrier in front of the girl of white, just in time to deflect the strikes of Daisy's blades as the copied Dimension Police unit retreated back to Ayumu's side of the field, but not before Iseult vanished shortly afterwards. Ayumu's expression remained unchanged as was his glare towards his younger sister as he silently motioned the end of his turn.
End of Turn 2
Ruko vs Ayumu
Hand - 5 : 5
Life Cloths - 5 : 7
Current LRIGs - Tama, Waxing Crescent Moon Miko : Karenroid, Daisy
SIGNI : EMPTY - Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine - EMPTY : Dimensional Robo, Daibattles - EMPTY - Dimensional Robo, Daicrane
Ener - 2 : 0
"Dimensional Robo..." Kuro murmured "I see now!"
"What is it Kuro?" asked Ruko.
"When I had stolen the spike that accounted for my first transformation into 'Berserk Draconis'," the girl of black spoke "I took the opportunity to look through one of the computers in Photon's Lab. That was how I learned of the three heroes of Cray and all of the clans on the planet. Your brother's somehow duplicated the Dimension Police clan through that strange 'LRIG'!"
"Took you long enough, girl of black."
Kuro looked over towards Ayumu who had immediately addressed her by that 'title', having known from overhearing her story to the group earlier that he knew of her true identity.
"Onii-chan!" called Ruko, bringing his attention back to her "Why did you try to rope Chiyori into a battle earlier?! And what do you mean by 'all those years ago'?!"
"I had my reasons," he replied bluntly "I simply saw her as the weakest link of your group, intending to defeat all of you one by one. I did not account for you stepping in to take her place. If you really have forgotten about what had happened... then continue this battle!"
The Selector simply tensed up, knowing that with the way that her brother was at the moment, trying to talk some sense into him wasn't going to do her or her friends any good in the long run. She drew her cards to begin her turn before looking over to Tama who looked back and nodded in agreement. Ruko held out her hand forward as Energe's card moved from her Ener Zone to her Trash Pile.
"Tama, grow!" she called.
Another series of flashes rose up around the girl of white, changing her appearance once more by adding armour to the bottom portion of her dress, altering the appearance of her ribbons to look more feather like and granting her the same blade that she had wielded in this form, indicating that this was the form known as Tamayorihime, Shooting Star Miko. Two more SIGNI entered the battlefield on the SIGNI spaces beside Elaine. One which was known as Haniel, Thoughts of Seeking and the other being another copy of Round, Small Shield which had previously been crushed by Daibattles' previous attack. All the SIGNI and the Royal Paladin unit gained a white aura to them as they powered up from Tama's current ability.
Haniel, Thoughts of Seeking: 1000 - 2000
Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine: 1000 - 2000
Round, Small Shield: 2000 - 3000
"Haniel and Round attack!" Ruko declared.
The two white SIGNI nodded in response to the Selector's command and rushed across the battlefield to meet the two Dimensional Robos head on. Daibattles rushed towards Round who used her shield to not only block the counterattack, but to also send the unit flying into the air before crash landing back onto the ground of the field, banishing it in the process. Haniel opened her eyes before unleashing several solid beams of light that knocked over Daicrane, also banishing the unit in the process whilst Elaine unleashed a bright green beam that struck 'Daisy' in the chest, sending the copied unit stumbling backwards and causing the copied form to fade out for a brief moment, revealing the 'clone LRIG' in the result.
"Tama attacks!"
Tama nodded in agreement and let out a loud battle cry before soaring through the air with the aid of the wings that were on her boots before using her swords to slash down the front of 'Daisy', causing it to fumble about more before regaining its foothold. Ayumu's second Life Cloth, which joined Dimensional Robo, Daidragon that was crushed from Elaine's attack, revealed itself as Dimensional Robo, Gorescue. Much like before with Ruko's second Life Cloth, this unit also had a Life Burst that immediately triggered, moving the top card of his deck face-down into the line where his other five Life Cloths were stationed. Tama could only groan at this before retreating back to Ruko's table, the Selector of whom could only feel uneasy in that she had not reduced the lead by much.
"Focus, Ruko." She then looked down to see that it was Kuro who had just spoken out to her. "Right now, we know that Ayumu must have another 3 Gorescues to recover his Life Cloths. If you can crush them all early or if the rest are stuck in his deck, you just need to focus on pressing the attacks with Tama."
"I understand, Kuro," she replied "But... I'm more worried about finding out why my brother is angry at me. Until I can find out, I can't get through to him." The Selector then looked back towards her brother.
"Turn end!"
(End Music)
End of Turn 3
Ruko vs Ayumu
Hand - 5 : 5
Life Cloths - 5 : 6
Current LRIGs - Tamayorihime, Shooting Star Miko : Karenroid, Daisy
SIGNI : Haniel, Thoughts of Seeking - Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine - Round, Small Shield : EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY
Ener - 1 : 4
"5 to 6... Ruko's having a tough time," Yuzuki murmured.
"So cool!" Chiyori called out "It may be a copy, but seeing this Dimension Police in action is amazing!"
"And she's forgotten about the meaning of the conflict just like that," Eldora offhandly muttered, having directed that statement towards her LRIG, earning a sweatdrop from everyone else with the exception of Umr, who just held a confused look on her expression.
"If Ruko wishes to overcome this however, she must survive what is to come," Kai spoke.
"Yeah," Naoki replied "If he's really using the same deck as Mitsusada, he must have 'that' unit's appearance saved for that strange 'LRIG'."
Everyone else with the exception of Hitoe nodded in agreement, having been more than well acqainted with the Dimensional Robos from both past experience in previous cardfights against Mitsusada and from watching him in action as well. They knew that if Ruko was going to try and understand the meaning behind her brother's anger, she would have to overcome some of his strongest units in their copied forms.
The White Room
From her throne in the White Room, Mayu was observing the conflict from the very beginning, having been intrigued in the way that things had been progressing in the clash between both the strange 'LRIG' that was mimicking the Dimension Police units and Tama herself. She then turned her head to see that Futase who had kept her single visible eye closed was walking up to the enigmatic mastermind with the metal plate and red lens covering the scarred eye being slightly visible beneath the strands of hair covering the upper left portion of her face. She opened her visible eye just in time to see on the window in front of her the strange 'LRIG' changing into the form of Dimensional Robo, Daifighter.
"Huh?" she pondered in confusion as she stared at Ruko's older brother who briefly cringed in what appeared to be a small bit of agony as he immediately ignored it. "How did he...?"
"Relax," the mastermind's voice softly interrupted, bringing the Selector's attention over to her. "He's of no concern to the Selector System itself. I or rather 'we' have ensured to take that measure when considering his 'role' in this... 'personal matter'."
"What do you mean?" asked Futase.
"This will be a perfect opportunity to 'test' the capabilities of the 'clone LRIG' that Miyako has provided him with," Mayu continued "It's certainly true that the deck Ayumu possesses now is merely counterfeit, manufactured from data and previous observations of Mitsusada and Neve's fights, therefore meaning that we cannot summon the real Dimensional Police to our world to fight for him. But with the clone LRIG possessing the ability to take their appearance, she also has a portion of the real units' original abilities as well as their brute strength. Although, seeing as said clone is taking on the appearance of a clan rather than an existing LRIG, it will require... a strong heart from him to manifest their forms."
"Then of what use is Ruko's older brother to you?"
"Rest assured," Mayu concluded as she stepped down from her throne to join Futase. "Ayumu will in time earn his keep, one way or another."
Selector Battlefield
(Cardfight! Vanguard OST: Dimension Police)
Back to the battle, Ayumu's venomous glance remained trained on Ruko and Tama as he summoned even more SIGNI back to the battlefield, a trickle of sweat having gone down the side of his cheek as a result of using the clone LRIG to take on the form of Daifighter. From his left to right in those respective SIGNI zones on the table, appeared two Dimensional Robo, Daimariners and Twin Order. The Selector having noticed the earlier pain, now saw the pattern that had occurred from growing the LRIG from the first Dimension Police unit it took the form of to when it changed to Karenroid, Daisy and to the unit it was now mimicking.
"Just a little more..." he muttered, quietly enough so that she could not hear him.
"Onii-chan!" called Ruko "Are you alright?! You seemed to be in pain there!"
"It's a small price to pay," he replied, somewhat catching his sister off-guard "My SIGNI will attack!"
With little effort, Twin Order along with the Daimariner in the center column managed to eliminate their opposing SIGNI and unit. Twin Order simply punched Haniel right in the gut whilst the Dimensional Robo rammed straight into Elaine, banishing both of them from the field. Finally, the other Daimariner charged across the battlefield towards Round in an attempt to run over or ram into the White SIGNI. However, to Ayumu's shock, Round gained a white aura to her as the shield that she held out in front was more than enough to stop the Dimensional Robo in its tracks, only pushing her back a few inches before the unit retreated back to his table.
"What?!" he exclaimed.
"It seems you miscalculated," Kuro spoke out.
"Round's original power during the opponent's turn becomes 5000," Ruko explained.
"Tsk!" Ayumu growled "Daifighter!"
The blank red eyes of the copied Dimensional Robo flashed for a brief moment as it raised its left arm and whirred the drill that was attached to it before charging across the field and ramming it straight into Tama, knocking the girl of white onto her back as Ruko's next Life Cloth revealed itself as another copy of Haniel. Ruko looked down at Tama in worry as 'Daifighter' retreated back to Ayumu's table. The Selector then looked over towards her older brother, now deciding that this was time for answers, having thought long and hard over the subject that he was seemingly hinting at. She then began her turn by drawing two more cards and then moving two of the cards in her Ener Zone to her Trash Pile.
"Tama, grow!" she called once more.
This time, a blinding white flash surrounded Tama as she gained feathered white wings onto her back whilst her ribbons in their current state gained even more feathers to them. In place of the sword from her previous form, was a spear with a similiar design to Kuro's, only it possessed a blue gem on the tip and the colours were mostly pinkish with traces of gold littered on the point. Another card from Ruko's Ener Zone entered her Trash Pile as she discarded another copy of Elaine and summoned out Valkyrie, Unforgettable Fantasy whom she had added to the hand from her deck due to this ability. Then to the left of Valkyrie appeared Knight of Truth, Gordon, another Royal Paladin unit. Seeing the formation Ruko had managed to assemble, Ayumu gazed upon his LRIG deck.
"I'll use Doping!" he declared fiercly as the colourless ARTS revealed itself, casting a brilliant glow over the Daimariner on his right. "I'll increase one of my Daimariner's power by 3000 until the end of the turn!"
Dimensional Robo, Daimariner: 2000 - 5000
"Valkyrie attacks the other Daimariner!" Ruko called.
Valkyrie nodded in response to the Selector's command and swung her staff, causing a beam of white lightning to hit the center Daimariner on Ayumu's table, banishing it from the field as the card moved to his Ener Zone.
"Tama!"
"Tama's got it!" the girl of white cried in reply as she charged towards Daifighter. This time however, Ayumu was more than prepared to counter this offence.
"Daishield!" he declared as the Dimensional Robo appeared in the center of the battlefield to intercept the girl of white's attack, much to her annoyance as she immediately retreated back to Ruko's table, the Selector having to end her turn right there.
(End Music)
End of Turn 5
Ruko vs Ayumu
Hand - 5 : 3
Life Cloths - 4 : 6
Current LRIGs - Tama, Silver Screen Miko : Dimensional Robo, Daifighter
SIGNI : Knight of Truth, Gordon - Valkyrie, Unforgettable Fantasy - Round, Small Shield : Dimensional Robo, Daimariner - EMPTY - Twin Order
Ener - 4 : 4
(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Battle ~ Even if I Hurt Someone)
"Onii-chan," she spoke "I've been thinking about something since this battle started..."
"And what would that be?" he asked, a hint of venom to his voice.
"When you said 'all those years ago'," she continued "I didn't think it would be about 'that', but I think I understand what you're wanting me to recall. Ayumu... is this about mother?"
At first, the battlefield remained silent with both Tama and Kuro looking over to Ruko, having not heard about any previous information about Ruko's mother beforehand, even in all of her involvement within the Selector Battles up to this very point in time. Everyone else in the tower, with the exception of Aichi, could only look down at the Selector, wondering what it was about her mother that she was talking about at this very moment. That silence was then broken by the sound of clapping as everyone turned to see Ayumu slowly clapping, in somewhat mock praise for his younger sister in seemingly finding out the answer to their current dillema.
"Huh?" Tama pondered.
"It seems you've finally remembered," he spoke disdainfully "But... you have yet to understand the reason why my anger is brought upon you."
"What do you mean, onii-chan?" asked Ruko.
"It's because... you're the reason mother left us!"
The Selector gasped in shock, now hearing from her brother firsthand about why he was angry with her at this very moment. All this time, it appeared that he had held resentment towards her for believing that she was responsible for their mother leaving them in the care of their grandmother, Hatsu. Up in the tower, everyone else was shocked to hear that this was the reason that Ayumu had been acting hostile towards his sister, but none more so than Aichi who could only stare down upon him from his view of the battlefield.
"What is he talking about?!" Yuzuki demanded, wanting to know as much as she could into the situation.
"R... Ruko never said anything about her mother," Hitoe murmured.
"I think I know..." Aichi murmured, bringing everyone's attention to him "On our first visit to Ruko's apartment, when she was still under the strain of Reverse, I... accidentally found out about her mother from Hatsu. She said that she had Ruko and Ayumu in her care because their mother thought Ruko was scary."
"No way..." Yuzuki breathed "But if that's the case... why hasn't he been angry with Ruko about this until now?"
"Perhaps that answer will come shortly," said Ren as he kept a sharp eye on Ayumu "I did overhear Aichi-kun's conversation with Hatsu at that time and she also said that she had her doubts to the scenario. Even so, I wonder what's causing that to be the driving force of Ayumu's rage."
Everyone else remained silent in agreement with the exception of Chiyori who had not been paying attention to their conversation, partially from being far too overexcited in watching the Dimensional Robos in action, even if they were only copies of the physical units. Down on the battlefield, Ruko could only stare on at Ayumu in shock, unable to shake the welling feeling in her heart that Ayumu was outright blaming her everything that had happened all those years ago, when she had absolutely no idea as to how she was even 'scary' in the first place.
"Onii-chan..." she stuttered "I..."
"That's right," he interrupted, with fury rising in his voice by the second "You were the reason we... no, I had lost the love of my mother as well! And yet, you ignored the pain of it all, as if the whole thing meant nothing to you at all! But just last night, after Kai and Aichi foolishly decided to 'save' you... I finally found her again."
The Selector remained frozen in both utter surprise and shock, having felt hurt by her older brother's words at this very moment, wondering if what he said about her in regards to their mother was really true. Tama and Kuro could only stare up at her, with their own expressions of concern being plastered on their faces. Ayumu closed his eyes as he began to recount everything that had happened between him and their mother from last night.
"She told me everything about your involvement with the Selector Battles and the LRIGs that live amongst us," he continued "It was then that I finally discovered the reason why you were scary in the first place. Just like every other Selector, LRIG or cardfighter as you call those boys watching us, you're pure evil! It was then I decided, to regain the motherly love I lost growing up from you, that I would defeat all of you, take your LRIGs and units away for her and humiliate you for all you've done!"
"W... wait onii-chan!" Ruko called, trying to interject her view on the matter "I don't know how I'm...!"
"Shut up!" he roared in response "All that matters now is to defeat you and claim back what you had taken away from me! MY... TURN!"
His bold and loud declaration of the start of his turn was in a tone of pure anger as he drew his two cards from the top of his deck, sending a brief shockwave across the battlefield that nerved the Selector, Tama and Kuro as they stared across towards Ayumu whose breathing had become ragged as he saw the cards that he had drawn and placed into the remaining cards in his left hand before revealing Servant D2 from his hand and throwing it into his Ener Zone.
(End Music)
"GROW!" he declared loudly.
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Яeverse Rampage)
Daimariner and Daidragon from his Ener Zone moved over to his Trash Pile as 'Daifighter' ended up glowing a bright red, revealing the true figure of the 'clone LRIG' for a brief moment before a giant red column shone across the LRIG space as red sparks flew across Ayumu, causing him to groan loudly in pain as a giant shadow began to manifest within the same column that was now in front of him, emitting shockwaves as it did so.
"GGH!" he groaned, trying to surpress the pain from using his willpower to have the 'clone LRIG' manifest the unit he was attempting to grow it into "Prideful warrior... show your righteous form before us... NGH! ... and make all before you bow in your presence...! GROW... AGH!"
Ayumu continued to bear through the pain and shockwaves of using up more of his willpower to fully manifest the copied form that his 'LRIG' was trying to take on its own as the chair he sat on began to crack under the strain of the shockwaves impacting Ruko's older brother. Eventually, he bore through the rest of it as the giant red column began to disappear and reveal the presence of what he had managed to manifest.
"Super Dimensional Robo... DAI... KAI... SER!"
The voice that roared out of the 'copied' Daikaiser in tandem with Ayumu's declaration, sounded to be the same from whenever Mitsusada would ride the real unit into battle, only that it also sounded far more corrupted as evidenced by the emotionless voice of the clone LRIG echoing out those same words at the exact same moment. The form of the giant Dimensional Robo, despite being merely the form that said clone LRIG had taken on, it was enough for its height to dwarf that of even 10 LRIGs standing on top of one another. It was mostly grey and silver with a giant green gem in the center of its chest with a gold outline along with plates of red, blue and goldish yellow armour, some of which was embedded with green gems. The head of the mimicked Daikaiser had the same lifeless red eyes as the 'clone LRIG's' true appearance in the place of the green eyes that were depicted on the card.
Tama could only stare on in shock at the towering form of Daikaiser as the giant Dimensional Robo's shadow loomed right over Ruko's table. Even if it was only the shape and size of the unit that was being mimicked, the physical pain she felt from the copied forms of Karenroid, Daisy and Dimensional Robo, Daifighter were enough to tell her that the copy's attacks would still prove to be physically devastating if Ruko wasn't careful in her defenses. The Selector stared up at the face of 'Daikaiser' before looking back to her brother, whose expression had not exactly changed in the slightest, even if using his willpower for the 'clone LRIG' to copy the Dimensional Robo's form was any indicator.
"Do you want to know why I chose for my 'LRIG' to duplicate Dimension Police?" he asked in a somewhat rhetorical sense as the Selector could tell from his tone "It's because mother kindly informed me that this clan was Cray's perfect embodiment of justice. So it would only be fitting if I 'borrowed' that image to finally deal justice to you for what happened back then! But first...!" Ayumu then looked over to his LRIG deck and held out his hand as Servant D2 moved from his Ener Zone to his Trash Pile.
"One Rule, Two Birds!" he declared "Daikaiser gains Double Crush and you cannot use Level 1 SIGNI with the Guard ability against any of his attacks this turn! And summon!"
In the center space of his table, another Dimension Police unit appeared in the center as Kuro could only grit her teeth upon seeing what it was. Up in the tower, Aichi and Naoki gasped whilst Kai and Leon could only stare in shock, knowing exactly what was going to come next.
"What is that?" asked Chiyori, confused by their expressions.
"Commander Laurel," Ren answered "And given the power bonus he's given to his mimicked Daikaiser, Ruko won't find escaping this easy."
"Yeah," Kai murmured "Commander Laurel in our world allows a fighter to restand their Dimension Police Vanguard when its attack hits by resting any four rear-guards that they have. But since Wixoss only allows room for up to three summoned SIGNI, we don't know how much of its ability may have changed."
"Then... by restricting Ruko's Guard SIGNI... does this mean Ayumu's confident that his attack will go through?" asked Hitoe.
"Indeed..." Umr murmured as a breeze from one of the earlier shockwaves passed over the tower windowsill. "But with his rage being so great... there is no telling what may happen..."
Back down on the battlefield, Ayumu held out his open hand wide in the direction of Ruko, a sign to show that he was now willing to go all in to deal as much damage as he could possibly do, knowing that he could not do the finishing blow for the moment.
"GO, DAIKAISER!" he bellowed as the Super Dimensional Robo pulled back its giant left fist, now covered in flames due to the effect of the ARTS, One Rule, Two Birds.
Ruko could only cringe for a moment, seeing that she didn't have any of the necessary cards in her hand to block the mimicked Daikaiser's attack that was coming towards Tama. 'Daikaiser' then thrust its fiery left fist right into the ground just in front of the table, sending a maelstrom of flames and shockwaves that covered over the entire table and everyone that was there, causing Tama to scream loudly in pain whilst Kuro shielded her eyes from some of the flames. Ruko was knocked right into the back of her chair from the force of the impact as the fire eventually began to disappear, allowing her to see the baleful glare of her brother directed upon her once again as her next two Life Cloths revealed Get Index and Bow, Shooting Bow.
"Bow's Life Burst...!" she groaned as she sat back up and reached out for the top card of her deck "I draw 1 card!"
"Commander Laurel's skill!" Ayumu declared "Paying 1 Silver, I down all of my SIGNI and... Daikaiser stands back up!"
"It can stand back up?!" Tama exclaimed.
"Here it comes!" Kuro muttered.
Daikaiser's towering form now loomed directly above Ruko's table as the empty red eyes from the copied form glared down upon her, causing her to put her head down as Ayumu simply kept his glare upon her.
(End Music)
"Are you ready for your repentance?!" he barked once more.
This time though, Ruko did not make a single response to her brother's anger at this moment, contemplating everything that she had just heard and thinking about everything she had been through up to this very point. The silence that was present however was something that greatly concerned both Tama and Kuro as they looked over to their Selector.
"Nothing to say, hmph," he muttered "As to be expected, from someone who willingly tossed aside their respect for mother. No wonder you and your friends are the exact definition of evil." The end of his sentence was enough for both Tama and Kuro along with everyone in the tower, minus Chiyori who was once again not paying attention, to glare at him in both disgust at his offence towards them, but mostly for their friend as he then clenched his fist, preparing to give the command to strike once again.
"DAIKAISER! SECOND BURNING KNUCKLE!"
Daikaiser let out a prideful roar, overlapped by the 'clone LRIG's' mechanical shriek as this time, the giant form reeled back its right fist which was immediately covered in flames due to the effect of the ARTS that Ayumu had used. As this was going on, Tama looked back at Ruko in response, hoping that she had managed to get a counter to this attack from the previous Life Burst she had triggered. At first, this didn't seem to be the case as she gasped to see what appeared to be tears dropping onto the table's surface, just behind the LRIG space.
"Onii-chan..." the Selector spoke, trying her utmost best not to cry at this very moment "I can understand why you're angry with me... I don't remember or even know why I caused mother to think I was scary and even then, I still think about what happened then. But..."
The Selector then opened her eyes and immediately threw to the the front of her table from her hand sideways, the card that represented Servant T3 as the Guard SIGNI materialized in front of Tama and deployed a large barrier in front of the girl of white. The barrier was large and strong enough to fully deflect the large fist from the mimicked Daikaiser's attack as the shield almost cracked under the strain and the flames on the fist expired from the failed attack. Ayumu hissed under his breath upon seeing that his second attack with the copy of the Dimensional Robo had been deflected with almost little effort before looking forwards to see Ruko bring up her upset gaze to meet his.
"I won't stand for you talking about my friends that way!" she cried "They have nothing to do with this!"
"If they choose to aid you in whatever schemes are brewing in your head by the second, they deserve every last punishment that I will inflict upon you, Kuro and Tama!" he responded "I end my turn!"
End of Turn 6
Ruko vs Ayumu
Hand - 5 : 4
Life Cloths - 2 : 6
Current LRIGs - Tama, Silver Screen Miko : Super Dimensional Robo, Daikaiser
SIGNI : Knight of Truth, Gordon - Valkyrie, Unforgettable Fantasy - Round, Small Shield : Dimensional Robo, Daimariner - Commander Laurel - Twin Order
Ener - 6 : 1
"Ru..." Tama murmured in worry.
"I'm alright Tama..." the Selector sniffed, wiping away the remaining tears in her eyes as she drew her cards to begin her turn "I understand my brother is angry with me, even if I don't know what happened back then. But... that's no excuse for him to take it out on you, Kuro or my friends!"
"Ruko..." Kuro breathed, having not seen the Selector willing to speak out for the two of them along with everyone else observing the battle from the tower.
Ruko looked amongst the cards in her hand and then to her Ener Zone. Thinking over her options carefully and the way that Ayumu had played out the battle so far, this was the decision that she had managed to come down to.
"I Ener Charge!" she called as she moved Servant O from her hand to her Ener Zone, briefly confusing her two LRIGs "And choose not to grow this turn!"
"So you have lost the will?!" Ayumu muttered "I expected more from you and that error will cost you!"
"You're wrong..."
The older brother then stared at his sister in confusion, now seeing her determined gaze bear right into his eyes as he could only look on towards her. Suddenly, he felt himself freeze up in response to this, unable to mutter a response.
W... What is this?! he raged within his mind Is this... is this what mother told me about... when she was scary?!
"Here I come... onii-chan!" Ruko called.
And there we go! In a bid to dominate the battle with a 'clone LRIG' that he recieved from his mother who in turn had recieved it from Mayu, Ayumu copies the appearance of the Dimension Police clan at the cost of his willpower to have that same 'clone' maintain their physical forms as its own. Upset by the fact that he blames her for what happened years ago and the fact that he's also taking out his anger on her friends and LRIGs, Ruko responds to his fierce attacks by preparing to strike back with Tama as she currently is. What will happen from here? Find out next time on Stand Up, the LRIG! Please share any feedback or critiques you have in the reviews and I'll see you all next chapter. Until then!
