City Streets
Kamui panted as he hurried around the streets of Tokyo, still having been unsuccessful in his efforts of finding Amika and warning her about the danger of the Selector Battles. Aside from looking for the Selector and Piruluk, whom he was looking forward to seeing the least out of the two of them, there was also the plan of attack on his home world that he had overheard from both Ulith and Miyako, unaware of the latter's success in stealing Gaillard's units and marking him just like how Kiyoi had done to him earlier. Eventually, after turning a corner and looking out ahead of where he was going, he stopped in his tracks to see the person that he had been seeking at this very moment.
"Amika!" he called as he ran over towards her.
Amika upon hearing his words turned around to face him as he stopped just a little in front of her. Her expression had not been a happy one in contrast to how she usually felt and to the Nova Grappler user, something felt rather wrong.
"Amika...?" he murmured in confusion "Is something up?"
Amika breathed for a moment as she dug into her pocket before taking out an LRIG card, revealed to be Piruluk's own card as evidenced by her usual cold and emotionless demanor. Kamui looked up at the Selector in confusion to see that she was doing her best to avoid crying out loud for whatever reason she had on her mind at this very moment.
"Kamui..." she spoke, quivering for a moment "... Please battle me!"
Link Joker Fight Field
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Link Joker Theme)
Back within the battlefield, billows of smoke poured from the ground in front of Midoriko as she struggled back to her feet, now that Hitoe's second turn had come to an end. Yuzuki along with the units and SIGNI in front of her had just finished their wave of attacks against the green LRIG and her reversed Selector, helping Hitoe to gain a slight edge on the lead she had regained thus far. To the far right was Perdition Dragon, Menace Laser Dragon followed by Tokage, Phantom Dragon and Kannya, Phantom Dragon. Sakuya's field had no SIGNI of her own, her formation in front of Midoriko was completely empty and she only had four Life Cloths left. However, her Ener Zone was now brought up to 7 cards with an earlier Life Burst having increased the number of cards in her hand by one.
Aichi and Umr watched anxiously from where they were standing, now sensing that the danger that was posed to their companions was creeping steadily closer towards them with every passing turn and with every Level that Midoriko advanced up, the dark aura of Reverse continued to intensify in turn. Sakuya drew her two cards and placed one of them into her Ener Zone, revealed to be Witch of Grapes, Grappa. Then, both that card and a second copy of the Genesis unit moved from the Ener Zone to the Trash Pile as a dark aura surrounded Midoriko, changing her appearance ever so slightly as she emerged within her Level 3 form, keeping the creepy smile on her face as she did so.
"In this moment, Grappa's skill is triggered!" Sakuya called as picked up four cards from the top of her deck "Ener Charge!"
"10 cards...!" Yuzuki muttered.
"And... I also activate Swift Advance! Time for a Cross Grow!"
As the colourless Spell card revealed itself to everyone present, Hitoe looked on in worry as the dark aura of Reverse completely enveloped Midoriko, obscuring her from sight as it turned from dark red to pitch black.
"M... Midoriko-san...!" she cried.
"It's coming...!" Aichi gasped "Her reversed form!"
The black aura dispersed as Midoriko emerged, her appearance now warped completely by the Void's power. Her outfit remained mostly unchanged, only it was now stained with a black colour, as was a large portion of the LRIG's hair to signify this and she now wore additional armour over her legs and arms. A black ring with incomprehensible red runes carved into it hovered behind her back and mounted on each of her two gloves were three long razor sharp talons, showing how much more malicious Reverse had transformed her into. Opening up her eyes, now dyed in a blood red colour, Midoriko gazed upon Hitoe and Yuzuki who gasped in horror as Sakuya called out the name of this form.
"Midoriko... Dauntless War Empress Type Яeverse!"
"So it's shown itself again..." Umr murmured as she gazed upon the changed Midoriko, recalling that Tama was once under a similar state when Ulith had reversed her.
"Be careful, Hitoe-san...!" cried Aichi, concerned for his friend's safety.
As Hitoe looked back at the Royal Paladin user for a brief moment, Sakuya gazed upon him for a moment before looking back to her old friend, seeing that she had caught her attention back to the battle.
"Unfortunately, I can't end the battle as soon as I would like," she muttered "After all, it's still only the fifth turn and this is but a preview of what is to come."
The reversed Selector then placed down three additional cards from her hand onto the empty SIGNI zones on her table as the beings represented on the cards appeared in front of Midoriko. Those were two Seiryu, Phantom Beasts in the left and right columns and in the center was a SIGNI by the name of Bigtatt, Phantom Beast in the center column. The dark aura of Reverse radiated around them, as if it was somehow strengthening them even further.
Seiryu, Phantom Beast x2: 12000 - 14000 - 16000
Bigtatt, Phantom Beast: 8000 - 10000 - 12000
"Then I Trash Bigtatt and summon another Seiryu!" Sakuya called "And I power her up with a second Doping ARTS!"
Bigtatt then vanished from the battlefield in a thick black smog as a third Seiryu suddenly appeared in the Earth Beast SIGNI's place, powering up through Midoriko's aura and the use of the ARTS at this very moment.
"All of them have Lancer now..." Yuzuki breathed as she looked back at Hitoe "Hitoe, we better brace ourselves!"
As Hitoe nodded in response to her LRIG's concern, she gazed down at her hand before looking down at her Life Cloths, now remembering what cards she had left over in her deck after searching through it earlier for Menace Laser Dragon with Lintwurm's earlier Life Burst. She knew she was in trouble and that for the moment, there was very little she could in this situation, especially with the cards she had left over in her hand.
"Let's go!" Sakuya declared "My three Seiryus will pierce through those ugly dragons!"
The three Seiryus each lashed out their claws across the front of Menace Laser Dragon, Tokage and Kannya, banishing the three dragons from the field as they then set their sights immediately upon Yuzuki, who could only cringe in the realization that Hitoe did not have a Quintet Wall to shield her from any of the oncoming damage headed their way. Each of the Seiryus took their turn in slashing across the LRIG who screamed loudly with each scratch as Hitoe's next three Life Cloths flipped face up from each one that was dealt. First it was Perdition Dragon Knight, Gia, then it was Gattling Claw Dragon and finally Perdition Dragon, Vicious Dragon.
Before Yuzuki had a chance to recover from the onslaught, she looked up to see Midoriko with a crazed expression on her face charging towards her with the talons on her right glove being extended out and shimmering brightly as a result. She slashed across the LRIG once again as she fell onto her back, breathing heavily as a result of taking four attacks from Sakuya's side of the field all at once. Scratches and cuts from the talons had torn off some of the outfit and she was barely able to stand back up as she stumbled on her knees for a moment.
"Yuzuki...!" cried Hitoe "Are you...?"
"I... I'll be alright...!" she groaned as she cringed in pain for a moment.
"The pain will be over soon Yuzuki," Midoriko spoke "All that is needed is just one more turn."
"Indeed," Sakuya murmured "Then... things can finally go back to the way they were meant to be."
(End Music)
End of Turn 5
Hitoe vs Sakuya
Hand - 5 : 0
Life Cloths - 1 : 4
Current LRIGs - Yuzuki-Two, Flare of Perdition : Midoriko, Dauntless War Empress Type Яeverse
SIGNI : EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY : Seiryu, Phantom Beast : Seiryu, Phantom Beast : Seiryu, Phantom Beast
Ener - 7 : 9
"U... Up and draw."
Hitoe calmly drew her next two cards as she looked over what she had available in her hand before looking back to Aichi and Umr, still noticing their somewhat concerned expressions in the wake of her current situation. As she looked back to face Midoriko and Sakuya, she suddenly saw the aura of Reverse intensify around her old friend.
(Selector Spread Wixoss OST: Battle ~ Limit)
"Tell me, Hitoe," she spoke, a hint of displeasure to her tone "... What importance is that boy to you?"
"Importance?" Yuzuki pondered.
"... A... Aichi's one of my new friends," Hitoe answered "H... He helped me to have faith in my own abilities. And it's because of him and them that I'm now trying to save you."
"Save me...?" Sakuya murmured, the distaste in her voice rising by the second "Even if he's somehow acted as a confidence booster... what does he really know about you?!"
As the aura around the reversed Selector continued to intensify in size and strength, Hitoe and Aichi gasped in shock, noticing the sudden change in her friend's expression. For whatever reason, she seemed to dislike the idea that Aichi had decided to help her in the first place and she wasn't sure as to why this was. Then in an instant, a memory suddenly flashed before her eyes, believing she had now found the reason as to why Reverse was driving Sakuya to act like this in the first place.
"Wait a second..." she breathed "That day... are you saying...?"
"That's right...!" Sakuya yelled "Your ignorant parents took you away from your place of peace and tranquility, forcing you to endure countless days of loneliness against your wishes! No one from this city... not even this Aichi who stands here... could understand how you truely feel!"
"H... Hey!" Yuzuki shouted in response "I don't know what's causing you to go out of whack, but neither Aichi, Ruko or Hitoe's parents are hardly as insensitive as you think!"
"Don't talk like you know Yuzuki!" Midoriko replied "Sakuya and I both owe a debt to our closest friend and that is to bring her happiness, even if it means defeating you two! I wasn't strong enough to protect her from Iona and this is the only way we can make up for our mistakes!"
As the field went silent for the moment, the tension having only rised up a little further, Hitoe decided to bring her attention back to the battle as she revealed Perdition Dancer, Agafia from her hand and placed it into her Ener Zone before taking it and Vicious Dragon from there and placing them into her Trash Pile.
"Grow!" she called as Yuzuki was enveloped in an orange glow "Yuzuki-Three, Flame of Perdition!"
As Yuzuki's wings grew slightly larger and her outfit was repaired partially from the effects of the Grow, Aichi went deep down into thought from everything he had just heard as Umr glanced over to him.
"I never knew Sakuya felt so strongly about Hitoe when she left Aomori..." he said to himself "And Midoriko only wants to make things right for them."
"Aichi..." the LRIG murmured.
"But even so..." the Royal Paladin user continued "With the way they are now... the only thing I can do is to have hope for Hitoe."
As he looked up to continue his viewing of the battle that was continuing to unfold in front of him, he looked back to Hitoe to see her reveal another card from her hand and it was one that was instantly recognizable.
"So you have one as well..." Sakuya muttered.
"W... With my own Swift Advance, I Superior Grow!" Hitoe called as a torrent of fire enveloped Yuzuki, enlarging her wings, changing up the appearance of her cannons and the silver headcrown with the Kagero clan symbol emblazed upon it appeared on the LRIG's forehead. "Yuzuki-Four, Combustion of Perdition!"
As Yuzuki emerged from the flames that dispersed across the battlefield, even Midoriko could not help but stare at the newly changed form of Hitoe's LRIG at this very moment, curious about the power that was coursing through her veins at this very moment. She looked on as Yuzuki landed on her feet with the aid of her much larger wings as they flapped in sync with each other, almost stirring up a little whirlwind at this very moment.
(End Music)
"W... What kind of power is this?!" she gasped "That power Yuzuki has... it's not from 'her'!"
(Cardfight! Vanguard OST: Fight 6)
"I summon Vicious Dragon and Mušḫuššu!" Hitoe called as the Kagero units and the Level 4 Dragon Beast appeared in front of Yuzuki "I banish the Seiryu that is in the same column as it!"
Vicious Dragon roared loudly as it aimed its head at the center Seiryu before unleashing a torrent of flames at it, banishing her from the battlefield as Sakuya growled in annoyance.
"Yuzuki's skill!" Hitoe called as she sent three of her four remaining Ener to her Trash Pile "I banish another SIGNI and you have to send all SIGNI with the same or a lower Level from your Ener to your Trash!"
"Tsk, how annoying!" Sakuya muttered as she took ahold of Seiryu and four cards from her Ener Zone "I send my other Seiryu and my Level 3 SIGNI from my Ener to my Trash!"
"Mušḫuššu's skill! For each Ener Yuzuki burned away this turn, she gets 4000 power!"
Mušḫuššu, Phantom Dragon Princess: 12000 - 32000
After the Phantom Dragon Princess recieved the power bonus from Yuzuki's efforts as of now, another Perdition Dancer, Agafia appeared on the field beside Vicious Dragon as she took a stance in preparation for the battle that lay ahead in the coming moments. Midoriko could only growl upon realizing the situation that she and her Selector were in and it was one that was very unpleasant for them.
"Mušḫuššu's skill allows her to banish another SIGNI when she attacks and since she's well over 20000 power..." she muttered.
"No way..." Sakuya breathed as she suddenly realized that she no longer held a single card in her hand. The Reverse aura intensified even more as her anger and frustration continued to rise. "Am I actually going to lose before the seventh turn?!"
"Now's our chance Hitoe!" Yuzuki called "Hit them with everything we've got!"
"Mušḫuššu attacks!" Hitoe declared "With her skill, I banish the last Seiryu!"
Mušḫuššu nodded to her Selector's command and flapped her wings in a hard manner, sending a strong gale right into the Seiryu that was in front of Agafia before it immediately caught on fire, banishing the Earth Beast SIGNI from the battlefield. The Phantom Dragon Princess then set her sights on Midoriko herself as she took flight into the air and materialized a sphere of flames in her hands. Upon throwing it towards the reversed LRIG, she growled as she held up her talons in front of her face in an attempt to shield her face from the impact of the blast. As the explosion engulfed her, Sakuya hissed as she revealed her next two Life Cloths, Goddess of Self-sacrifice, Kushinada and Pandan, Phantom Beast, both of which had Life Bursts.
"I Ener Charge and draw!" she called.
"Vicious Dragon and Agafia attack!" Hitoe continued.
The two Perdition units immediately turned their attention upon Midoriko who could only groan under her breath as she desperately tried to shield her face from both Agafia's torch and the torrent of fire from the head of Vicious Dragon. As the flames engulfed her, Sakuya's final two Life Cloths were revealed to be the Spell Angry Roar and Servant D2. When the flames dispersed once again, Yuzuki took flight into the air with her wings flapping hard to give her extra speed in her charge towards Midoriko. As she was about to fire with her cannon, she gasped and suddenly stopped in mid-glide as Servant D2 materialized in front of Midoriko, blocking any attack she might suffer from this turn.
"So close and yet so far," Sakuya mused as she moved the card to her Trash Pile.
Yuzuki's expression was scrutinized as she returned to Hitoe's side of the field, knowing that although she had wiped out Sakuya's remaining Life Cloths and banished every SIGNI from her field, her Ener was now at 11 cards which was greatly concerning considering that her turn was coming up now.
(End Music)
End of Turn 6
Hitoe vs Sakuya
Hand - 3 : 0
Life Cloths - 1 : 0
Current LRIGs - Yuzuki-Four, Combustion of Perdition : Midoriko, Dauntless War Empress Type Яeverse
SIGNI : Mušḫuššu, Phantom Dragon Princess - Perdition Dragon, Vicious Dragon - Perdition Dancer, Agafia : EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY
Ener - 1 : 11
As Hitoe looked on in concern for both her friend and Midoriko, knowing that for the moment, there was little she could do with the two of them enthralled by the power of Reverse. The aura around the both of them intensified as Sakuya drew her next two cards, ready to announce the beginning of the end for both her and Yuzuki. She began by summoning two SIGNI by the names of Koalan, Phantom Beast and Rhino, Phantom Beast, one of which was another Level 4 like the Seiryus that she summoned last turn.
"By using my Salvage ARTS," she began "I add a Seiryu back to my hand and summon it to the field."
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Breaking the Limit)
Moments after she did that, Seiryu reappeared on the field as everyone else looked on in worry with none more concerned about this situation than Aichi or Yuzuki. Then, two red markings appeared on Sakuya's cheeks just beneath her eyelids as she looked back to Hitoe.
"I'm the only one who knows how you truely feel about your loneliness..." she spoke "But if you're still insisting on following the word of those people in this city... you leave me and Midoriko no choice! Now is the time to show you the surprise that will end this battle on the seventh turn! Limit Break! I pay 2 and Lock!"
As a black Vanguard circle flashed in front of Midoriko, she smiled deviously and pointed the talons of her right glove towards Rhino who stood in front of her. Two black rings surrounded the Earth Beast SIGNI as she screamed loudly before being Locked into a black sphere by them as the card representing her was turned face-down on Sakuya's table with sparks flying off of it.
"By Locking my Level 4 Rhino," she continued "I can now Ener Charge 4 cards!"
"12 cards..." Yuzuki murmured "Why would she need so many...?"
As Hitoe was pondering on this subject around the same time as her LRIG, remembering everything from her past experiences of fighting alongside Midoriko in her first run of the Selector Battles, she quietly gasped as she realized why this was.
"There is one..." she spoke to herself.
"That's right," Sakuya interrupted, having known that Hitoe had finally figured it out "Behold, my final trump card, the ARTS Late Bloomer! Midoriko, obliterate everything!"
As the Green ARTS revealed itself to all from the reversed Selector's LRIG deck, all twelve of the cards in her Ener Zone moved straight into her Trash Pile as a large green aura surrounded Midoriko, before it was stained a dark red by the Reverse that had enveloped her. The corrupted LRIG opened her eyes with a crazed smile as she yelled out loud and retracted the talons into her gloves before smashing them straight onto the space's floor. A monstrous gale and several mighty shockwaves shook across the battlefield, forcing everyone but Sakuya and Midoriko to cover their face as they tried desperately to stand their ground as all of Hitoe's units and Mušḫuššu immediately vanished in a flurry of white sparks as their cards along with the single card that was left in the Selector's Ener Zone moved straight into her Trash Pile.
"Everything on Hitoe-san's field...!" Aichi gasped.
"Even her Ener is gone...!" Umr interjected.
Hitoe and Yuzuki cried out loud as the effects of the ARTS had not finished being unleashed upon them as of yet. Whilst the LRIG had been fortunate to use her wings to shield herself from the gale, the Selector however was not as lucky. Crying out loud in pain, she was thrown right into the air as her glasses flew right off her face and further backwards across the battlefield. Hitoe landed hard on the floor of the space a few inches from her table whilst her glasses landed more than five times the distance away from her.
"No!" cried Yuzuki "She won't be able to read her cards without them!"
"I'll get them!" Aichi replied as he ran over to the spot where Hitoe's glasses had landed. He picked them up and began to run over to the Selector who was struggling back onto her feet as she cringed in pain from the fall she had taken.
"Stop!"
Aichi suddenly stopped in his tracks as he heard Midoriko's voice who had addressed him at this very moment. Sakuya then gazed upon him as she knew he wanted an answer as to why this was.
"If you or your LRIG dare to approach Hitoe's table, it will be registered as an intrusion and both of you will recieve a loss on your run in the Selector Battles!"
"But...!" Yuzuki replied.
"The rules cannot be set aside," Midoriko replied "If Hitoe leaves her area of the field to retrieve them, it will be registered as a surrender as well."
As the red LRIG growled under her breath, knowing that Hitoe was already at somewhat of a disadvantage with her glasses now out of range from where she was allowed to stand, Aichi clutched the glasses gently, wondering what exactly he should do at this point. He knew with Midoriko and Sakuya already reversed from the start, if he attempted to even approach Hitoe if only to hand back her glasses to her, he would risk disqualifying her from the battle and reversing her as a result of it. A part of him wanted to hope for the best and try to throw them over to her, but the last thing he wanted to do was have them damaged in any way and there was no telling how far away he was from the proximity of Hitoe's area of the battlefield.
"A... Aichi!"
Aichi and Yuzuki looked over to Hitoe, as did Umr who was still standing from where he formerly was before the 'incident', wondering what it was that she was calling him about.
"Hitoe-san?" he murmured.
"P... Please trust me on this!" she called as she rubbed her eyes briefly "I can't read my cards... but I can just make them out enough from their images to remember what they do!"
"Are you sure?!" Yuzuki asked in concern.
Hitoe closed her eyes and gave a single nod in response as she staggered back to her table, almost stumbling in the result as her legs were still aching badly from the earlier fall she had taken moments ago. Opening them back up, she looked over to Sakuya with a hint of newfound determination brimming from within them. The reversed Selector almost hesitated for a moment, the look of Hitoe she was seeing now without her glasses on was something she had not expected to see at all. But she quickly regained her composure as she continued on with her turn.
"Because I sent 12 cards from my Ener to my Trash after the Limit Break," she spoke "Midoriko gains three additional skills! My SIGNI gain 10000 power along with a banish immunity until the end of your next turn, she gains Double Crush and when she attacks, you're not allowed to use Quintet Walls or Level 2 or higher Guard SIGNI to block it!"
As Yuzuki groaned for a moment, knowing that they had now been pushed at what was essentially the worst case scenario they could think of, Hitoe winced a little with little eyesight was available to her, just being enough for her to make out the images on the cards that she held in her hand. She closed her eyes and breathed in and out slowly.
"So you've finally accepted it," Sakuya spoke "Then here I come! Koalan, wipe out her final Life Cloth!"
Koalan nodded in response as the dark aura of Reverse surrounded her before she charged towards Yuzuki who held out her right wing in front of her to try and shield herself from the attack. The Earth Beast used her left claw to pull it out of the way before slashing down the front of her LRIG with the right claw, dealing the blow that would eliminate Hitoe's very last Life Cloth which was Perdition Dragon, Menace Laser Dragon.
"Hitoe...!" groaned Yuzuki as Koalan retreated back to Sakuya's field "If you don't stop this next one, we'll...!"
The LRIG then looked on in wonder as to why Hitoe had remained the way she was throughout the whole ordeal thus far, her expression remaining as it was. She was still breathing slowly in and out to keep her composure calm and her eyes were still closed, much to her confusion at this moment. Needless to say, Yuzuki wasn't the only one who was confused by this rather strange stance. Midoriko and Sakuya were sharing equal expressions, wondering why was this was even happening before them in the first place instead of what they intially thought would happen.
"Why are you still acting defiant...?" the reversed Selector muttered "I just need to deal a single blow and you'll be free from what you've been suffering from all this time!"
(End Music)
As Hitoe did not respond again, Sakuya's temper continued to rise as she glared towards Aichi for a brief moment before turning her attention to Seiryu who had still not attacked at this very moment.
"LOOK AT ME!" she yelled as Seiryu charged towards Yuzuki with her claws extended.
As the LRIG braced herself for impact, a green flash suddenly appeared in front of her as Dragon Knight, Gimel arrived onto the battlefield to protect her. Out of the four circles that were generated by the Kagero unit appeared Tokage, Menace Laser Dragon, Orochi and another Gimel. Seeing that she was outnumbered, Seiryu had no choice but to retreat from the battle as the five figures vanished from the battlefield, much to Sakuya's annoyance as evidenced by her composure being almost broken by her utter shock.
"THE NEXT ONE...!" she screamed.
Midoriko nodded in response to her command as she charged towards Yuzuki who took up a stance in preparation for a chance to try and counterattack. Hitoe, still with her eyes closed however placed another card down onto the very front edge of her table in response. A unit by the name of Perdition Dragon, Rampart Dragon then appeared between the two LRIGs in an eruption and explosion of fire and embers, stopping the reversed LRIG dead in her tracks as it caught each of her gloves' talons effortlessly. Groaning in response, Midoriko kicked the dragon away as she retreated back to Sakuya's side of the field as the reversed Selector's utter shock had left her speechless, just as the fire died down to reveal Hitoe had finally opened her eyes back up. Her foresight was still limited, but that wasn't enough to prevent her from being defeated.
"Amazing, Hitoe-san!" Aichi called from behind "You can save them now!"
"Y... Yeah!" she called in reply as she turned around briefly to face him.
"I... Impossible..." Sakuya breathed in panic "Y... You stopped my final two attacks and you didn't even look at the cards you used...?!"
As she stepped back a little to try and regain her already falling composure, Midoriko could not help but share her own disbelief as well, especially given the circumstances that her former Selector had been faced with.
"Sakuya! Midoriko-san!"
(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Hitoe)
The two of them looked ahead to see that Hitoe was looking ahead to face them both, with her gentle expression having mostly returned back to her face. Only this time, what was once overlapped with anxiety and nervousness appeared to have mostly disappeared with newfound confidence being in their place.
"Y... You were right about one thing..." she began "When I first moved away and came to Tokyo... things were very lonely. I didn't know who else other than my parents to turn to and the way I was, I couldn't make friends." She breathed in for a moment as she collected her thoughts and memories before continuing on with her speech. "But then... I met Ruko, Yuzuki and... Midoriko-san."
"H... Hitoe..." Midoriko murmured, a single tear trickling down her cheek as she listened carefully.
"Things didn't go the way we'd hoped..." Hitoe continued "We learned how dark the Selector Battles could be... I had my wish tainted... and I couldn't save Ruko when she was in danger. But then... when Kai came over to this world along with his friends... I met someone who understood what I was going through because he had been through it once before."
"T... That person..." Sakuya breathed "Are you saying that boy behind you...?!"
Aichi nodded in reply, confirming both the reversed Selector's and Midoriko's suspicions all along as they finally realized why Hitoe had gained so much confidence in herself through him. Umr gazed upon the two of them, going deep in thought over what had just been discussed on the subject of the Selector and her previous issue in making friends and overcoming her confidence issues.
"I... I know Reverse is a dangerous thing and right now... I can't lose you both the same way that Ruko almost lost herself," Hitoe breathed as she drew her two cards before opening her eyes "Final Turn!"
As the two gasped in shock as to what the Selector had called out at this very moment whilst Aichi was almost a little surprised that Hitoe had even chosen to use the phrase at all, she turned her attention to Yuzuki who nodded in reply.
"Yuzuki, free my friends from darkness!" she called.
The LRIG then flapped her wings and took flight into the air as she came towards Midoriko and Sakuya over the top of them, aiming her cannons downwards and preparing to fire them in order to deal the finishing blow that would hopefully free them from the control of Reverse.
"I... I can't lose!" Midoriko cried "If we don't bring Hitoe back to Aomori... she'll be...!"
"There's still hope!"
The reversed LRIG gasped in shock as she looked up towards Yuzuki who had called out to her at this very moment. Sakuya also looked up to the LRIG herself, wondering why she had said that out aloud.
"Hitoe's never let go of Sakuya's letter!" she continued "As long as she knows you're there, she'll never lose hope that you'll be friends forever! And she doesn't blame you for what happened then!"
Midoriko's eyes for a brief moment reverted back to their normal green colour as memories of her time with Hitoe began flashing before her. She remembered the day the two of them first met when the Selector had opened her Green Wanna deck that contained her card, the day when she had become friends with Ruko and Yuzuki when the three of them battled for fun at the library and got involved with their everyday gossip. The final memory she saw was nothing more than the Selector's innocent smile, with nothing around to dampen her spirits at all. Midoriko then looked down on the floor as the two burning rocks from Yuzuki's cannons came hurtling down towards her.
(End Music)
The rocks exploded on contact the moment they hit the floor of the battlefield, engulfing both the LRIG and Sakuya in a torrent of burning hot flames as the Reverse aura began to disappear from the both of them as they screamed loudly in pain. The armour and the black ring that Midoriko gained burned away to ashes whilst the card representing her reversed form disappeared from the table in a series of dark red embers. When the smoke disappeared, the two of them fell to the ground, unconscious as a result of the dark power leaving them all at once. As Yuzuki flew over to check on Midoriko, Hitoe and Aichi ran over to Sakuya.
"S... Sakuya...!" she cried as she picked her up from the floor.
"Is she alright?!" Aichi asked in concern.
As Sakuya groaned for a moment, turning over in Hitoe's arms for the moment, Yuzuki looked over to the two of them, now joined by Umr as they were overlooking Midoriko's state.
"That power's gone from them now!" she called "Hopefully, it won't come back to them any time soon."
As Umr nodded in agreement with her, the battlefield immediately went black around them, indicating that the battle had finally come to an end.
City Park
When everyone regained their foresight in the park, Hitoe was still holding on to Sakuya who had dropped Midoriko's card onto the floor, the green LRIG having fallen unconscious herself as well. Aichi upon remembering what he had been holding onto the whole time handed over the glasses he held back to the Selector, who put them on immediately. When she did, Sakuya finally begun to stir from her unconscious slumber, as did Midoriko from her card.
"S... Sakuya," Hitoe breathed before looking to the dropped card on the floor as Aichi picked it up "Midoriko-san."
"Ugh..." Sakuya moaned as she opened her eyes before realizing who was holding her "H... Hitoe...? Is it really you?"
"Sakuya!" Hitoe cried "You're okay!"
"Okay...?" she murmured in confusion, before suddenly remembering what had happened before "That's right... the last thing I remember is being covered in that dark aura... and the rest is a blank..."
"You don't remember...?"
The Selector then blinked for a moment as she looked over to Yuzuki whose card was still in the neck wallet around Hitoe's neck. She winced for a moment, now trying to get a better sight of the LRIG that had spoken to her.
"But if you're here..." she murmured before looking up to Hitoe "What did I do...?"
"Everything's alright now," said Aichi as he handed Midoriko's card back to her "You're free now."
"I... I think I remember seeing you..." Sakuya spoke "Aichi wasn't it?"
The Royal Paladin user nodded in response with a kind smile as he and Hitoe helped Sakuya back onto her knees, the experience of being Reversed even if only for a short period having already drained most of her stamina from just leaving her's and Midoriko's bodies. The green LRIG opened her eyes as her foresight immediately landed on Yuzuki within her card before she looked up to the person that had just saved her moments ago.
"H... Hitoe..." she murmured "I... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."
"It's over now," Hitoe gently replied "You're both safe."
"C... Could you fill me in on the blanks at least...?" Sakuya murmured in confusion "My head's still feeling a little messed up."
Both Hitoe and Aichi looked to each other and nodded in agreement, knowing that aside from the battle that had just ocurred, there was a lot that Sakuya did not know about the Selector Battles in general and that was going to be a rather long conversation in itself.
And there we go! After struggling as much as she can throughout the ordeal, Hitoe overcomes the reversed Midoriko and frees her and Sakuya from the power that Photon had infected them with. As she and Aichi bring the two of them up to speed with everything that has been going on since Kai's arrival, Kamui tracks down Amika at last to another part of the city. But as he approaches her, he discovers something isn't right with her composure as she suddenly challenges him to a Selector Battle out of desperation. What will happen between them in their fated rematch? Find out next time on Stand Up, the LRIG! Please share your thoughts and critcisms and I'll see you all next time! Until then!
Cards of the Chapter:
Midoriko, Dauntless War Empress Type Яeverse
Level 4
Colour: Green
Grow Cost: 3 Green
Limit: 12
LRIG Type: Midoriko
Effect:
[Use Timing - Main Phase] Limit Break (This ability is active if you have 3 or fewer Life Cloths): Pay 2 Green and choose 1 of your Green SIGNI and Lock it: Ener Charge cards equal to the Level of the SIGNI locked by this effect. Until end of turn, you may add 5000 power to any Green SIGNI you control for each card placed into your Ener Zone by this effect. Then until end of turn, this LRIG gains the following effect(s) depending on how many cards were sent from your Ener Zone to your Trash after this effect resolves:
*4 or more: This LRIG gains Double Crush.
*8 or more: All of your SIGNI gain Lancer +10000 power until the end of your opponent's next turn and "[Constant]: As long as this SIGNI's power is 18000 or greater, this SIGNI cannot be banished by your opponent's card effects."
*12 or more: Until end of turn, this LRIG gets "[Constant]: When this LRIG attacks, your opponent cannot use [Quintet Wall] or Level 2 or greater SIGNI with [Guard] in its ability until the end of that battle."
This ability cannot be used for the rest of that turn. (The Locked card is turned face-down and cannot do anything. It is unlocked during its owner's End Phase)
[Constant]: If you have a Level 3 or greater LRIG with "Midoriko" in its card name underneath this LRIG other than a LRIG with the same name, all of your Green SIGNI gain 2000 power.
[Lord] If you have a SIGNI in your SIGNI Zone that is not the same colour as your LRIG (excluding Colourless), this LRIG cannot declare an attack.
Yuzuki-Four, Combustion of Perdition
Level 4
Colour: Red
Grow Cost: 3 Red
Limit: 11
LRIG Type: Yuzuki, Kagero
[Use Timing - Main Phase/Attack Phase] Limit Break (This ability is active if you have 3 or fewer Life Cloths): Pay 2 Red and 1 Colourless and Choose 2 Level 3 or higher Red SIGNI from your hand and discard them: When your opponent's SIGNI is banished by your attack or card effect, you may pay the cost. If you do and the number of cards sent from your Ener Zone to your Trash Pile during this turn is 6 or more (including this effect's cost), crush one your opponent's Life Cloths. Then if the number of cards in their Ener Zone is 3 or less, negate the effects of any Life Bursts that crushed Life Cloth has. This effect can only be used once per turn.
[Action] Pay 3 Red: Choose one of your opponent's SIGNI and banish it. Then if you control a SIGNI with "Perdition" in its card name and all the SIGNI you control are Red, choose as many SIGNI in your opponent's Ener Zone whose Level is either the same and/or one lower than the banished SIGNI (other than that same card), send them to your opponent's Trash Pile. This effect can only be used once per turn.
