Kai's Apartment

"Let's go, Gancelot!"

(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Advance Liberators!)

Back in Kai's apartment, Aichi and Ruko continued their current battle with the Royal Paladin user now on the offensive with Gancelot now attacking Yuki head on. On a field imaged in both of their minds, the Solitary Knight charged towards the girl of black on his pegasus as it soared towards her. Ruko, still imaging herself as the LRIG shielded her face as Gancelot slashed down the front of her, causing her to groan in pain. An afterimage of the black SIGNI, Code Anti Vimana appeared in a purple haze as she pointed a finger towards Knight of Truth, Gordon who was surrounded by an aura of the same colour before he cried out in pain and vanished from the plain as the white SIGNI God Eater and Axe stared on.

Aichi who had imaged himself as Gancelot looked back down to the spot where Gordon had vanished before resuming his attention back to Ruko, who stood alone with no SIGNI of her own.

"With Arc Destruct, I stand once more and attack again!" he declared as he grabbed the reins of the pegasus and charged with the flying steed towards his opponent.

"Mac Lir, protect me!" Ruko called as the Shadow Paladin unit appeared in an explosion of black coloured smoke, using his shields to deflect Gancelot's blade with ease.

The pegasus that he rode atop then used its wings to blow away the cloud of black smoke, revealing a Ruko-imaged Yuki and leaving her exposed to another attack. Aichi through the Solitary Knight's form then raised back the sword that he held and swung it down towards the girl of black, seeking to end the battle right here and now. Suddenly to his surprise, a familiar Royal Paladin unit appeared in front of him as he generated a barrier to block his attack as four circles generated around him. Aichi recogized the unit to be Shiron as from those same four circles emerged Code Anti Iron, Code Maze Pyramid, Skull Witch, Nemain and Drei=Capsule.

Back to reality, Kamui and Naoki were most surprised of this turn of events, not expecting Ruko to use a Royal Paladin Quintet Wall to protect Yuki, who bore the colour of black as evidenced by the borders of the two cards.

"Wh... She can use white Quintet Walls to protect Yuki?!" the Narukami user gasped.

"It's possible," Leon interjected "As long as the card Ruko used for the cost was the same as her LRIG or had a Multi Ener effect, she can use that Quintet Wall regardless of what colour it is."

"So then... I could use a Quintet Wall from another clan or colour for my Nova Grapplers?!" Kamui exclaimed.

"Well, seeing as you're missing Shieldraizer, it might be your best option," Ren replied in his usual tone "Though I see this particular one working well for Ruko, seeing that Yuki works with both black and white cards."

As Ruko moved the four revealed SIGNI to her Ener Zone and Shiron's card along with the Revive Flare spell card to her Trash Pile, she sighed in relief in that she was able to survive Aichi's attacks and make a dent in his formation at the same time. The Royal Paladin user kept a gentle smile as he looked back over his hand, knowing that there was nothing more he could do for the turn.

"Ru did it!" cheered Tama "Ru can defeat Aichi now!"

"I share your sentiment Tama," Yuki interjected "I have been impressed this far. But right now..."

Umr then gazed over towards Aichi's side of the field, keeping her eye on the number of Life Cloths he now had. Or rather in this case, the only Life Cloth that he had left.

If I remember Sendou as well as I do, then he's relying on Aegis Shield. Ruko will have to play carefully around this if she wishes to succeed.

Ruko drew her next two cards, looking over the options that she had available to her in her hand. She had already grown Yuki to Level 4, her maximum level now that Reverse no longer plagued the two of them. She knew that she found it difficult to play this battle out without relying on the advantage it had previously granted her, something she discovered for herself when she had previously battled Kai two nights ago to ease herself back into battling with this particular deck. But now, she no longer felt hesitant in her decisions as she took out one card from her hand and placed it onto the center SIGNI zone.

"With Vimana's skill, I send 4 Ancient Weapons back to my deck to decrease Axe's power by 10000!" she called.

Aichi then moved the white SIGNI to his Ener Zone, knowing that it would be banished from having 0 power or less through this effect.

"Next, I use my Death Beam ARTS to banish God Eater and summon Drei and Freezing Revenger!"

On the imaged field, Ruko through her vision of Yuki unleashed a black and white coloured beam from her hands that struck God Eater, banishing her from the battlefield much to Aichi's discomfort as he knew what was about to befall him at this instance. Back in the apartment, he looked to his LRIG deck and weighed his options after looking back to the cards he still held in his hand.

I've already searched through my deck for my God Eater and Axe with Avon... he murmured in his thoughts I already know my last Life Cloth is not a Life Burst and don't have Gordon or a Quintet Wall to protect me now. Using Aegis Shield will amount to nothing.

Closing his eyes through the imaged form of Gancelot, he breathed in for a moment before looking over to Ruko who was still imaging herself through Yuki's form on the battlefield around them.

"Here I come... Aichi!" she called as her two SIGNI and Freezing Revenger charged forth towards Gancelot.

The Solitary Knight remained motionless as Drei and Vimana unleashed dark beams from swift motions of their arms that struck him head on, before a howling blizzard from Freezing Revenger that enveloped him was more than enough to end the battle. Back in the apartment, everyone on the side of the table remained silent as to what they had just witnessed before them. Even Ruko was in somewhat of disbelief after she had seen that the final Life Cloth she had crushed with the first attack was another copy of Gordon. She looked back up at Aichi who simply smiled warmly and nodded in confirmation for her.

(End Music)

"Congratulations, Ruko-san," he said happily, offering out one hand to her.

"I... Thank you..." Ruko breathed, unable to find the words to properly thank him as she returned the handshake with her right hand.

"Well done Ruko," said Yuki as Tama cheered loudly for joy "I believe you're now ready for what may lie ahead for all of us."

"Man, you almost had her Aichi," Naoki muttered "I think we see why it took you and Kai to save her."

"Speaking of..." Kamui murmured "He hasn't come back yet, right?"

Breaking out of their current state of mind, Ruko and Aichi soon realized that it had been a long while since they began their battle that they had almost forgotten about Kai's current absence and wondered where in the city he could have wandered off to. They looked down for a brief moment before they looked at one another once more, almost as if they knew what the other was planning to do next. Before either of them could speak, Kamui got up from the table and immediately put on his yellow short sleeved jacket.

"Are you heading out Kamui-kun?" asked Aichi.

"I'm gonna head down to that card shop Amika showed me earlier to fix my deck," he answered "Then I'm gonna see if I can find her."

"If you see Kai, just tell him that we're a little worried about him," said Ruko.

"No problem!" the Nova Grappler user replied with a toothy grin "If I see him, I'll point him back here for you!"

And with that, he left the apartment through the door that led out into the building complex. After closing that same door behind him, he dug into his pocket and brought out his deck case, just as he began walking down the first flight of stairs. He picked out the frontmost card that he held there, that being the card named Code Piruluk which Hatsu had given to him just before he left Ruko's apartment the previous day. He had a lot on his mind since their conversation in regards to the blue LRIG, but at the same time, things had somewhat begun to seem clearer for him.


City Streets

Later that afternoon, Amika was pondering about the streets of Tokyo around her, feeling slightly more depressed than usual. She hadn't made much progress in regards to coming any closer to obtaining the rights needed to make her wish come true and the anxiety from her mother's current state was only starting to pile up over time since her previous battle with Kamui. She eventually came to a stop and dug through her shorts to pull out Piruluk's card, the LRIG herself who was looking down at the floor of the space of said card with her usual disinterested expression.

"Hey Piruluk..."

"What is it?" the LRIG murmured as she gazed up at Amika.

"There's something that's been bothering me..." she spoke "It's about... what Remember said when we ran into each other."

Piruluk's usual expression then immediately ended up changing into somewhat of a scowl as the memory of that time burned itself into her mind once again.

Flashback

Earlier in the previous day, before Kamui had come across them once more, Amika was hurrying over to someplace in the city to attend to something that was on her mind. That much being said, it was on her mind because of what Piruluk had been indicating to her as evidenced by half of her focus being divided onto the card that she held as she was running about, the LRIG having had her eyes closed throughout the instance.

"Is the field still open?!" the Selector called.

"No..." Piruluk replied "But I can still sense one of the Selectors' presence moving away from it. She is..."

Before she could finish her sentence, her eyes suddenly opened in shock as she stared down at the floor of the card's space that she was within.

Wait...! It can't be her...!

"Piruluk, what's...?!"

(Selector Spread Wixoss OST: Iona and Akira)

Amika's question was cut off by the sound of a whistling harsh breeze that caused her to shiver as she stopped in her tracks for a moment, wondering what was wrong with her LRIG. Then looking back to what was in front of her, she could see a girl a little shorter than her approaching her with the brown hair she now recognized her as in the present day. But at this time, she had no idea of who she really was, only that there was something about her appearance in physical terms alone that seemed rather disturbing.

"Oh my," the new arrival mused under her breath "I never thought I'd come across another one so soon."

"I found you at last..."

The girl in front of Amika blinked for a moment as she approached the Selector, who simply revealed Piruluk to the new arrival, wondering if she intended to talk back to her. The blue LRIG's expression had grown scrutinized as she glared towards the person she intended to talk to.

"Mizushima Kiyoi," Piruluk muttered "Or rather... Remember!"

"Oh my!" the girl replied in a seemingly excited tone "It is you, Kiyoi-chan! It really has been a while!"

"Huh?"

Amika blinked for a moment, confused as to what the two of them were talking about. But more than that, what was more confusing was the names that the girl in front of her and Piruluk had referred to each other as. On the one hand, her LRIG had referred to the girl as Kiyoi at first, presumably the girl that she had initially warned her to stay away from and the one responsible for capturing Kamui's Raizer units. Her confusion only deepened when she had said that girl's name was rather better known as 'Remember' whilst Remember had called Piruluk as Kiyoi.

"Well, you certainly look like someone I know," she said, gazing around Amika much to the latter's discomfort, which had only served to deepen Piruluk's scowl "Who might you be?"

"A... Amika," the Selector replied nervously "Hashimoto Amika."

"Well then, 'Amika-san'," Remember spoke "I'm certain you have many questions. But rest assured, you shall now be enlightened. First of all as 'Kiyoi' pointed out, I am not actually Kiyoi to an extent. In fact, the true Kiyoi is the very LRIG you carry."

"W... What?" Amika breathed, looking down at Piruluk in a state of further confusion She does look similar... but what does this all mean?

"To simply put it, this body originally belonged to her."

The Selector silently gasped for a brief moment as she allowed Remember's answer to sink into the back of her mind, still not quite understanding of how the 'Kiyoi' she was now holding was not within her own body.

"I was Kiyoi-chan's LRIG a long while ago," she continued "She acquired victory with 'my' help and she became an Eternal Girl. In exchange for granting her wish, we switched places, to an extent. I got her body whilst she became an LRIG."

Amika shook all over, the truth behind the wish granting factors of the Selector Battles now beginning to seemingly come to light as she tried to take all of this new information in. The body swap, the fact that she could become an LRIG whilst Piruluk inhabited her body in order for her wish to come true was making her very uneasy about what she was learning and making herself beginning to question herself about why her LRIG didn't tell her any of this beforehand.

"Ah! But LRIG's can't tell their Selectors the truth!" Remember piped up, seemingly back to a somewhat happy go lucky persona, if only for at least that sentence alone "It's the rules set out by the mistress and her forces about all of this. But... I feel like doing you a favour this way. Since I just spilled the beans, Piruluk-chan can tell you the rest with no further consequences to befall either of you, right?"

Piruluk kept her glare upon the person who now inhabited her very body, telling Amika everything about the truth behind the Selector Battles and what could befall her. Something that even she could not tell her initially from the way that she had been throughout her journey as an LRIG throughout this calamity all around her.

"I'm feeling extra generous," Remember spoke as she backed away from Amika "I'm willing to cut you a deal, for whatever you might wish for."

"And what might that be?" the Selector asked nervously.

"If you choose to battle me," she spoke "Then if you win, you'll have all the Wixoss Factors necessary for you to gain the right to make your wish come true."

"W... Wait!" Amika cried "D... Do I have to do it now?!"

"Oh my, I did not mean to shock you like that," Remember replied musingly "Very well then. Call for my name, whenever you feel ready to challenge me. After all, it would be nice to get ourselves reacqainted this way, right Kiyoi-chan? Or rather, Piruluk."

And with that, the person in possession of Kiyoi's body giggled to herself as she walked away from the street and turned down a corner, sneering to herself as she knew exactly how Piruluk was feeling at this time. The latter simply kept a fist clenched as she kept her gaze upon Remember, watching her disappear down a street before looking up to Amika who just stared down at the ground, still trying to process all of the information through her brain at this point.

(End Music)

Present

Amika breathed in and out to calm herself as she looked back at her LRIG, both of which having relived through that memory and knowing how much it affected the Selector's composure in general, before Kamui had found her later that day.

"Look... I don't care what happens as long as my mother is saved," she spoke "But I need you to answer this. Were... you planning to decieve me from the start?"

"Yes," the blue LRIG bluntly replied "Just as Remember decieved me for my own wish, I intended to do the same to you."

The Selector just stared at Piruluk, shocked that she was willing to hide this information about how the Selector Battles really worked as well as the fact that she also intended to help her, if only to later trick her into acquiring a new body for herself to essentially replace the original one Remember now inhabited.

"But why...?" she breathed.

"I am an LRIG of misfortune," Piruluk continued, her monotone growing more harsh by the second "To me, Selectors are nothing more than my pawns, ones that I have no issue of disposing over their foolish desires. As of a few nights ago, I suppose that also extends to the group that Kai Toshiki is now amongst, if I were to be thrown into their possession on a whim."

Amika simply stood still in the empty street, ignoring the harsh breeze around her and remaining somewhat entranced by the blue LRIG's words about the current situation and how she saw it as.

"I detest all of them," she continued "The girls outside of this very card that spout such meaningless wishes and ideals that shape their desire and those boys from that other world who still believe in the slightest sliver of hope."

"Is... is this why you've been hostile to Kamui?" the Selector murmured "All because you got thrown into the same mess that nearly everyone around us is in?"

"Not necessarily," Piruluk answered, causing her to blink "I simply despise his lack of maturity. His fate I imagine will be like most Selectors I had previously disposed of. Truth be told, I never factored in Remember coming in to tell you the truth about everything in the first place, though it hardly changes things. As long as you keep me, your misfortune will be..."

The LRIG did not get a chance to finish her last sentence as a familiar buzzing noise rang off in Amika's pocket. The Selector quickly dug her cell phone out of her pocket and flipped it open to find that it was her father that was calling, evidenced by the caller being labeled as 'Dad'. She pressed a button and held the phone up to her ear, proceeding to answer the call.

"H... Hello?" she asked.

"Amika," her father spoke on the other side of the line "I've went to the hospital earlier and... it's possible that your mother's condition may have worsened."

(Selector Spread Wixoss OST: Conflict)

Amika gasped in shock and horror as she stepped backwards for a brief instance, allowing her father's answer to reach the back of her mind which was only setting off alarm bells there to confirm her worst fears.

"W... What?!" she gasped.

"She's currently been hooked up to life support," he continued "B... But we don't know how long it might be before the doctors could find a cure. When I pick up Shouta and Yuuki later, could you meet us at her room later?"

"Y... Yeah," the Selector murmured, trying desperately to regain her composure "I... I'll see you there later."

"That's good. Please stay strong and don't give up on her just yet. We'll pull through this somehow, together."

And with that, the call concluded as Amika stared at the ground once again, her emotions showing that she was currently in a state of turmoil. Piruluk who was normally in her calm demanor couldn't help but show a little hint of concern at the moment, seeing the Selector raise her head as she gritted her teeth, seemingly having made up her mind.

"I... I've made up my mind now," she murmured to herself as she clenched Piruluk's card tightly "Now that it's come to this...!"

"Amika, what are you doing?" asked Piruluk.

Ignoring her question and taking a deep breath, Amika looked all around her and then up to the sky in front of her.

"Remember, show yourself now!" she called "I want to battle you!"

As if on cue, the cold breeze around her suddenly swirled and increased in speed to the point of a howling wind as the Selector clutched Piruluk's card tightly and shielded her face from the harsh winds. Piruluk's concern had suddenly grown deeper as she looked up to Amika, noticing that her composure wasn't exactly in the best of states and right now, it seemed that things were not going as either of them hoped it would be. The icy cold gale eventually settled down to reveal that Remember was now standing before the two of them, holding a single card within her right hand.

"So, you decided to call upon me after all?" she mused "And here I thought Kiyoi-chan would have held you back."

"B... Before we start, there's one more thing I need you to promise me!" Amika called, almost letting her composure slip.

"And what might that be?" asked Remember.

"If I win," she replied "You'll hand back those Raizer units you stole to Kamui as well!"

"Oh, those mechanized units I took from him? Okay then, you have a deal."

Piruluk looked on ahead towards Remember, whose gentle and unnerving smile had only caused her concerns for Amika to grow even deeper as she kept an eye on the card that she held. Suddenly, an all too familiar dark red aura briefly flickered off the card she held, causing her to gasp in brief shock. Her eyes widened in horror as if she had somehow known about the appearance of 'that' from before.

Amika may have only lost once, but if she loses to Remember with that...!

"Amika, don't...!" she called "Throw me away if you know what is good for you!"

"I don't care about misfortune or whatever body-swap I have to go through!" the Selector cried, having not noticed the brief flicker of power from the card Remember held "None of that matters if I can at least save my mother!"

"Well then..." Remember spoke in a musing tone once again, bringing up the card into view "Shall we begin?"

"Bring it!" Amika called, holding out Piruluk's card in front of her in preparation for the battle ahead.

"NO AMIKA!" the LRIG yelled.

(End Music)

"Open!" Remember declared.

And with that, the dark red aura that briefly flickered from the card she held suddenly took complete form and grew larger, much to the shock of Amika as she couldn't help but watch as she and her opponent were now completely enveloped by the dark power that had covered all over them.


Link Joker Fight Field

When the red aura had finally settled, Amika's eyes widened in suprise through regards to this particular field, knowing that this wasn't the regular battlefield that housed the Selector Battles themselves. The fact that she seemed to be standing within what appeared to be in the depths of space as evidenced by the black void and the millions of stars around her already proved to be somewhat nausiating as she stepped back and forth for a moment to quickly regain her composure as she then caught sight of the small red file in front of her, acting as the table for this bout. Piruluk who was enlargened to the same size as a regular human through the properties of this space could only fall to her knees and punched the 'ground' beneath her as hard as she could.

No! she ranted in her thoughts I'm... too late!

"P... Piruluk...?" Amika murmured "What's going on? Where are we?"

"I did it!"

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

The Selector blinked in confusion as she looked ahead towards Remember who was seemingly celebrating to herself at the far side of the battlefield. In front of her own table, also represented by a single red file, stood a white armoured bipedal creature of some kind that was unfamiliar to her. It had a short tail, four legs each with a black ring surrounding the hooves, several pink lines etched on its body, a pink horn on its head with a black aura swirling around it and black armour plating underneath its lower body and hind legs. Its yellow eyes trailed upon the two opponents it now gazed upon, remaining motionless and seemingly poised to strike.

"I was on pins and needles, but I finally did it!" Remember cheered "Honestly Kiyoi-chan, you haven't changed a bit."

"W... What are you saying?" asked Amika "And... what in the world is that thing?!"

"Oh... I'll explain in just a second," she replied calmly before her lips pursed into a sinister smile "For now, the 'thing' you currently see now is this. Star-vader, Dust Tail Unicorn!"

The Selector stepped back in utter bewilderment to the appearance of the creature, seeming slightly discomforted from the sight of it alone, mostly from the ominous black rings that surrounded its hooves. Not knowing what exactly it was from in the first place, she couldn't help but wonder if it was from the Planet Cray, much like Kamui's own units and if that was the case, why was she feeling uneasy from just looking at it? Upon hearing the name of that unit, Piruluk finally lifted her head to see it for herself as her despaired expression did not change in the slightest upon recognizing the overall appearance.

"Ah, if only Kiyoi-chan actually bothered to tell you the real rules of these battles much sooner," said Remember, her sneer remaining as it was "It is so much fun, baiting girls with their innermost wishes as a lure and dropping them into absolute misery and despair regardless of the outcome. I tell you, her lack of communication skills coupled with that 'hyper-loner' persona she puts up can be rather amusing. Especially since you might have had a chance of victory."

"W... What are you saying?" breathed Amika.

"Right now, there are three options you have," she continued "You win, then you leave everything in Piruluk's hands. Win and continue your status quo, hoping for a miracle. The third is acquiring the second loss you have and putting your mother one step closer to her death. Though if you want your own free will intact, I would ill advise going against surrending."

"And w... why is that?"

"Because losing here," Remember answered "Means being subjected to being reversed, pledging your eternal servitude to Link Joker that you see before you and bringing this world one step closer to its destruction."

Amika shivered all over for a moment as she began weighing her options, unsure of how to feel in this most precarious of scenarios. Now it seemed no matter which option she intended to go for, the outcome could affect her mother in one way or another and from what her opponent just told her, trying to escape with just a second loss was no longer the 'safest' option she could possibly have. Looking over to Piruluk who had finally stood back up on her feet, she knew there was something that she had to ask right now.

"P... Piruluk?" she murmured "C... can't you heal my mother when we switch bodies?"

"... I can't..." the LRIG muttered under her breath, a hint of bitterness to her tone "I'm sorry... Amika..."

"Then... if I lose now, I'll be 'reversed' or whatever that is..." the Selector breathed "But if I go through with my wish... then my mother..."

"Will die."

Amika unable to find the words to describe the situation she now found herself in. Unlike certain other Selectors and LRIGs who now knew Kai well, she still had no clue about Link Joker's involvement in the Selector Battles and how they aided Mayu in its physical construction. And now becuase of the new danger she found herself in, it was possible that regardless of what she did, it was now seemingly more and more likely that her mother could perish in one way or another. However, even she knew that there was still one way out if what Remember said to her earlier happened to be true. Picking up the cards that formed her starting hand from her table, she nervously looked back at her opponent, preparing to begin the battle.

An all too familiar creaking noise brought all of their attention up to the roulette that had appeared above their heads. The slots this time were adorned with the colour of blue and a shade of dark grey spun around and around until the wheel slowly but surely came to a complete stop. Remember sneered once again as she picked up her starting hand from the table and drew her first card, indicating that she was taking the first turn of the battle.

"Allow me to introduce you... the ones who aided in the physical construction of the Selector Battles themselves," she spoke before taking out one card from her LRIG deck and placing it on top of Dust Tail Unicorn's. The card border was mostly grey, with a few hints of dark red littered around it and the symbol representing that colour was a simple shade of dark grey, with a pair of black rings overlapping one another. "Hollow Twin Blades, Binary Star!"

The same dark red aura from before enveloped Dust Tail Unicorn, causing it to vanish from the battlefield as a more humanoid like figure clad in white armour emerged in its place. It wielded two large blades in its arms, each with a black ring housed near the sharpest curves. Remember made a simple gesture to announce the end of her turn immediately with no more words or actions to follow up on that. Piruluk simply stared at the new unit, not noticing Amika already start her turn as she looked down at her cards, not seeming as composed in comparison.

"Piruluk, grow...!" she called "And summon!"

A series of flashes rose up around Piruluk, changing up her appearance by only a slight difference in her garb and the two crystal wings that materialized on her back. Upon regaining her focus, the LRIG noticed Emerald Shield, Paschal materialize directly in front of her, much to her shock and confusion as she looked back to Amika.

"Amika, why did you summon Paschal?!" she demanded.

"A... Attack!"

Piruluk's eyes widened as Amika simply ignored her question and ordered the Aqua Force sentinel unit to attack immediately. Paschal ran towards the far side of the battlefield and struck Binary Star who remained motionless in response. Remember sneered as her first Life Cloth revealed itself as Star-vader, Sword Viper as it landed in the area that represented her Ener Zone.

"Piruluk, go!"

Clenching her teeth, seeing that there wasn't much she could do about Amika's current state for the current instance, Piruluk took flight on her two crystal wings and materialized a crystal of ice between her hands before tossing it right into Binary Star. The crystal exploded on contact, but after the smoke cleared, it was clear that even after being damaged, the Link Joker unit was still unfazed as evidenced by its current stance. Remember turned over her next Life Cloth, revealing Star-vader, Nebula Captor which glowed brightly.

(End Music)

"With this, I draw 1 card," she spoke after placing the card in her Ener Zone.

Amika shook for a moment, but bit her lip immediately afterwards to regain what little composure she had left as the turn came to a close.

End of Turn 2

Amika vs Remember

Hand - 6 : 6

Life Cloths - 7 : 5

Current LRIGs - Code Piruluk K : Hollow Twin Blades, Binary Star

SIGNI : EMPTY - Emerald Shield, Paschal - EMPTY : EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY

Ener - 0 : 2

Remember, keeping her eyes closed with her current smile drew her next two cards before eying over her hand. She picked out a card named Star-vader, Stellar Garage and placed it into her Ener Zone before moving Sword Viper's card from there to her Trash Pile. A dark red aura enveloped Binary Star as it vanished into the abyss once again, the shape then changing to something much more larger.

"Grow!" she called "Star-vader, Mobius Breath Dragon!"

An unnatural growl suddenly sounded from the dark aura as it dispelled to reveal the new arrival onto the battlefield. An armoured white dragon with several red and yellow attachments, a pair of black horns with red lines running across them along with a few smaller red spikes running across the top of the head between them and a black ring that circled around its two small wings, gazed upon both Amika and Piruluk with its yellow coloured eyes, snarling as it did so. In flashes of dark red, two more units appeared onto open spaces of Remember's field. They were different in stature, but their different weapons and armour had instantly the pair familiar to all but Amika. They were Star-vaders that normally patrolled the corridor leading to Photon's Lab within Mayu's domain, that were known as Radon and Neon.

"Attack!"

Neon aimed its gauntlet blaster towards Piruluk who could only clench her teeth as she heard the sound of the weapon charging up. Radon took aim also with its beam rifle, but fired it immediately after pointing the long ranged firearm at her. The blue LRIG shielded her face as she jumped to avoid being struck directly, but the impact of the attack had sent her flying into the air, to which Neon then fired multiple black rings towards her. They made contact with her garb, engulfing her in an explosion that sent her falling to the ground just in front of Amika's table. The Selector's first two Life Cloths flew right past her, revealing themselves as Code Art RMN and Medical Officer of the Rainbow Elixir, both of which glowed brightly.

"Good...!" she sighed in relief "I recover one Life Cloth and discard a card from your hand!"

Remember simply sneered as one of the cards she held hovered out of her hand and landed straight into her Trash Pile. The card was revealed to be Star-Vader, Francium, a Level 3 SIGNI. She then snapped her fingers as a signal to declare the next attack with Mobius Breath Dragon, who simply roared and took flight into the air towards the middle of the space. Piruluk who had recovered from the earlier assault could only stare up at the Cyber Dragon as it opened its jaw and unleashed a beam that briefly emitted three black rings as it left its mouth.

"I won't guard!" Amika called.

"Wait, Amika!" the LRIG called.

But her warning had come too late. The beam from Mobius Breath Dragon struck the ground in front of the two of them, bringing up a large cloud of smoke as Piruluk was knocked onto her back. As the dust eventually settled, Remember began giggling to herself, much to the confusion of Amika who simply stared towards her.

"Thank you very much, 'Amika-san'," she sneered "I must admit, your 'bravery' certainly had me surprised. And now, you shall be rewarded... with Link Joker's speciality!"

"Speciality...?!" she gasped as she watched Remember point her fingers in the direction of Emerald Shield, Paschal, who she had not attacked.

"Lock!"

(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Omega Lock (Glendios Version))

Before the Selector could question of what was going on, Mobius Breath Dragon howled loudly as a pair of black rings suddenly surrounded Paschal and suspended him from the 'ground' of the space. The Aqua Force unit screamed loudly as the encircling rings closed in on him, trapping him inside an opaque black sphere before the rings circled around the sphere. Amika gasped in shock as to what she just witnessed whilst Piruluk just stared at the Lock in horror, having been well aware of the trouble that the two of them were now facing. The Selector then stared down at the table and stared wide-eyed at the state of Paschal's card.

"T... The card's been flipped?!" she exclaimed, watching several red sparks fly off of the backing.

"That's correct," Remember replied "And it will remain that way until the end of your next turn. I'm guessing that 'Kiyoi-chan' was trying to warn you about that skill beforehand, was she not?"

Piruluk simply growled in response to her opponent's taunt, feeling a flare of anger from within her growing stronger by the second the more she kept her gaze upon her.

"I... I can handle this myself!" Amika replied as she drew her next two cards "Piruluk, grow again!"

The blue LRIG ignored the slight alteration in her appearance, that being the orb in her had gaining extra blades to it as well as additional crystal wings that materialized on her back, seemingly having her concerns pressed elsewhere. To both sides of the Locked Paschal appeared Tidal Assault and Code Art JV who immediately charged towards Radon and Neon who remained motionless, allowing them to be struck down by their attacks and banished as a result. Tidal Assault then leaped into the air and slashed down the front of Mobius Breath Dragon who screeched loudly in response. Amika then looked down to the face down card she now had at the table, seemingly not as concerned as she was earlier. But when she reached out to touch the card in an attempt to wage an attack, more sparks flew off as she pulled back her right hand in pain.

"W... Why can't I touch it?!" she exclaimed in shock.

"Whilst that Lock is in play, you cannot attack with that SIGNI or send it to your Trash Pile by any means," Remember interrupted with a sneer "In addition, any attacks I wage whilst there is a Locked SIGNI in front of it will be changed to a direct attack on poor defenceless Kiyoi herself!"

"But... this will only last until my turn is done!" Amika replied, trying to regain some of her lost composure "Piruluk attacks!"

Piruluk then began to materialize another ice crystal within her hands to attack with, intending to land another strike against Remember and Link Joker in general. Her opponent however, was not as unprepared as she had expected.

"Promethium!" she called as the Star-vader's Sentinel appeared in front of Mobius Breath Dragon, deploying a barrier to shield it from harm.

Piruluk reluctantly stopped the materialization of her projectile, seeing that her attack would have no effect on Promethium's barrier. After several moments had passed, the Cyberoid disappeared from the space, ending Amika's turn right there. The lock around Paschal then came undone as the rings disappeared along with the opaque black sphere, allowing the Aqua Force unit to land back on his feet once more.

End of Turn 4

Amika vs Remember

Hand - 6 : 4

Life Cloths - 5 : 4

Current LRIGs - Code Piruluk M : Star-vader, Mobius Breath Dragon

SIGNI : Tidal Assault - Emerald Shield, Paschal - Code Art JV : EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY

Ener - 1 : 5

Remember then gleefully drew her next two cards before two more cards from her Ener Zone moved over to her Trash Pile as a dark red aura moved the next card from her LRIG deck straight into the open palm of her other hand.

"Dark purity from out of the darkness! Follow your destructive instincts and raise your voice of destruction to doomsday!" she declared " Grow! Star-vader, Dark Zodiac!"

Mobius Breath Dragon vanished in the all too familiar dark red aura that enveloped it before said aura suddenly grew in size as a pair of bright red eyes flashed from beyond the abyss. The aura then dispersed, revealing the towering white gigantic form of the Cyber Golem as it hovered in front of Remember's table and gazing ominously down towards its opponents. It also had several parts coloured in gold, dark red and black and also had what appeared to be multiple barreled cannons mounted on each of its two arms. Another copy of the card suddenly flew up from Remember's LRIG deck and landed face-up in her LRIG Trash.

"Persona Blast!" she called "I Lock two SIGNI, one from your field and from your Ener Zone!"

Amika could only watch in horror as Tidal Assault was now the next victim to succumb to Lock throughout this battle as it was trapped by the black rings that encircled it. Then to her shock, the only card in her Ener Zone, Medical Officer of the Rainbow Elixir suddenly turned face down as well.

"No way...!" she gasped, her legs quivering from the shock of it all "It can affect the SIGNI in my Ener Zone as well?!"

"Dust Tail Unicorn's skill! I Lock another SIGNI!"

The Selector then looked to her right just in time to see Code Art JV succumbing to being Locked as well, just as the black rings encircled her as well. Looking ahead just in time to see an afterimage of Dust Tail Unicorn fade away, her worst fears only continued to skyrocket as another Radon, Neon and a new Cyberoid by the name of Astro Reaper as evidenced by its weapon of choice appeared in Remember's empty SIGNI spaces. All of which had black rings that either encircled around parts of or floated around the backs of their cybernetic bodies. As Amika's breathing became hectic, Piruluk turned around to face her Selector.

"Amika, stay focused!" she called "You can overcome this!"

"... You're lying...!" the Selector cried to herself "You said it yourself earlier, that I was just another disposable pawn like the other Selectors you were with!"

Piruluk could only grit her teeth, knowing that it was earlier words that had shattered Amika's confidence right now. She knew that she had to focus on defeating Remember for the two of them to escape, but right now, it seemed it was proving to be an almost impossible task. And she knew with the way she had been acting in an attempt to have Amika abandon her for her mother's possible safety had now backfired horribly with disasterous consequences.

"I won't give any more excuses," she spoke "I used many Selectors in an attempt to claim my revenge on Remember and that I saw you as just another one."

Amika remained silent, seemingly not in the mood to listen to her LRIG's words just yet.

"However... when I met you, my will wavered. My wish as a Selector was almost the same as yours now. That being... 'to save my friend.'"

The Selector's eyes then widened in surprise, now seeing that Piruluk's wish as Kiyoi appeared to be almost exactly one in the same to her current wish right now. But she didn't seem quite convinced yet, given the trouble that they were now in.

"B... but your friend was saved, right?" she asked nervously.

"That's right," Remember interrupted, bringing both of their attention back to her "I granted it. I granted it so perfectly. After all... I freed Sakaguchi for you."

Piruluk did her utmost to restrain herself from screaming out aloud, only succeeding in glaring directly towards her opponent as if to wordlessly say otherwise in regards to the way she had seemingly granted her wish for her.

"You know that death is the only true release from 'eternal' suffering, right?" Remember continued musingly "I did you a favour that you should be thanking me for. Even if you claim that it wasn't exactly... ethical, I still saw her off with your own two hands, Kiyoi-chan."

"Remember...!" the LRIG growled under her breath, having now been pushed to the brink of almost losing her temper, rationality and quite possibly her sanity completely.

Amika could only stare at Piruluk, now seeing why she was angered towards Remember for the way her wish was granted. But the question that remained was why this had something to do with her own wish and why did it relate to her own?

(End Music)


City Streets

"Man... I really should have just asked Ishida-sempai for directions...!"

Kamui groaned to himself as he ended up wandering through yet another unfamiliar part of the city, starting to regret his decision on rushing out of the apartment and not asking Naoki or Aichi for the quickest way back to Card Luck, having thought he had remembered where it was on the day he arrived in this world. Where he was walking through now was much quieter compared to other busier areas with little to no people around the pathway he was now treading, much narrower compared to the other streets he had walked through previously with only the occasional whistle within the breeze around him for company every so often. All around him, he could see multiple stone monuments with several inscriptions carved into them and several of them held flowers and other objects such as pictures on several smaller podiums in front of the inscriptions.

It didn't take long for the Nova Grappler user to soon realize upon taking the time to look to his left and right the kind of area that he had stumbled into in his earlier haste as he stopped in his footsteps to contemplate the situation.

"Great, so I took a long turn into a graveyard of all places..." he muttered before immediately shaking his head upon realizing the mistake in his choice of words "Damn it! My grammar's really been getting out of hand lately...!"

Deciding that ranting to himself wasn't going to solve the problem at all, he sighed and decided to move on and away from this 'graveyard' as quickly as possible, the thought of remaining here any longer having sent a small chill across him as he tried to ignore the various names enscribed on the stone monuments. Suddenly, he stopped in his run when he saw a name that definitely sounded familiar amongst one of them.

"Sakaguchi Ayumi..." he read out from the stone grave before he blinked for a moment "Hang on... isn't that the dead girl I mistook for Amika?"

Taking a step up to it and looking at the photo beside the flowers on the podium in front of it, there was definitely no mistake about what he just remembered from the previous day. He knew when he first laid eyes upon it and when Sakaguchi's parents had corrected him on the 'mistaken identity' that the physical resemblance between her and Amika was rather uncanny or rather almost scarily to the point of being almost completely identical. As he was about to leave however, he saw what appeared to be a piece of paper that was rolled up and somewhat wedged between both the stone monument that made up the grave and the smaller stone podium in front of it. Reaching down, he picked it out from the gap and unfurled it, seeing what was written on it.

Mizushima Kiyoi

If you are reading this, then we hope that this message finds you well.

None of us foresaw the tragic circumstances of our daughter from that accident and we know from our earlier conversation days before she had died that we still do not blame you for what happened 'then'.

Ayumi always chased after you with love in her heart, right until the very end. She always talked about you, in spite of the many friends she already made at your school and how she hoped to one day call you one as well. She was always fond of the Wixoss card game and hoped that you would be able to try it beside her.

We understand how you felt, given that you were there when 'it' happened and that she risked her own life to save yours.

All we can request is that for her wish and her memory, please stay strong.

"Huh... Kiyoi knows about her?" Kamui murmured as he finished reading the piece of paper.

Now that he knew that the blue LRIG had a connection to Sakaguchi, the only question that remained was why the deceased girl's parents had left behind a message for her when Remember was currently in control of her body, not that they knew of this fact. What did intrigue him was the fact that the message indicated that Sakaguchi was also a player of the Wixoss card game before Kiyoi even had the chance to try it out for herself, before whatever accident that had happened to her took its course, eventually also taking her life. Or at least, that was what it had appeared to be.

"Wait a second... didn't Aichi onii-san and Ruko say something Selectors becoming LRIGs when they have their wish granted or something like that...?" he pondered as he looked back at the paper before he suddenly looked back at an earlier portion "Unless... did Sakaguchi have something to do with Kiyoi's wish?!"

Rolling up the piece of paper and furling it up into his jumper pocket, he immediately hurried out of the graveyard and hopefully back onto the right path back to Card Luck where he would need to make the necessary modifications to his deck to confront Remember once again. But right now, he knew that adjusting his Beast Deity deck was the least of his concerns from what he had just read.

Once I've finished sorting out my deck, I gotta find Amika! he muttered in his thoughts If Kiyoi was a Selector before Sakaguchi died, there's a lot we're gonna have to squeeze out about this and Remember!

Little did he know, the very Selector he had in mind was already beginning to experience the full story between Kiyoi and Sakaguchi as well as Remember's own personal involvement for herself.


Uh oh! Amika in a rash and hasty decision to fulfill her wish to save her mother goes against Piruluk's warnings and challenges Remember for the right to gain instant access to obtaining her wish and also demands that the latter hands back Kamui's Raizer units as well. Remember, all too willing to accept the challenge to inflict further torment on the real Kiyoi, conducts the battle with a Link Joker deck in hand and immediately gains the upper hand with Dark Zodiac. As the history between Remember and Kiyoi begins to come in fruition, Kamui after taking a wrong turn inadvertedly discovers the grave of Sakaguchi Ayumi, still in the dark of their complete involvment with her. Can Amika escape this dangerous situation? Or is it already too late to save her mother or even herself to escape the clutches of Reverse? Find out next time on Stand Up, the LRIG!


Card of the Chapter:

Star-vader, Dark Zodiac

Level 3

Colour: Grey

Grow Cost: 2 Grey

Limit: 8

LRIG Type: Link Joker

[Legion] "Star-vader, Astro Reaper" (If your opponent's LRIG is Level 3 or greater, this LRIG may return four cards from your Trash and/or LRIG Trash into your main deck and/or LRIG deck once, search your deck and/or LRIG deck for the specified card, and Legion. Then shuffle your main deck. Whilst in Legion, this LRIG's Level becomes 4 and its Limit becomes 11.)

[Use Timing - Main Phase] Pay 1 Gray: When this LRIG Legions, you may pay the cost. If you do, your opponent's Locked cards do not unlock during their next End Phase.

[Action] Choose a card named "Star-vader, Dark Zodiac" from your LRIG deck and send it to your LRIG Trash: If this LRIG is in Legion, you may choose to discard a card from your hand named "Star-vader, Astro Reaper" to nullify the cost of this ability for its next activation. Choose 1 SIGNI card from both your opponent's SIGNI Zone and Ener Zone and Lock them. This ability cannot be used for the rest of that turn.


Wixoss Rulings for Lock:

*Locked cards are turned face down and cannot be turned face up until the end of the owner's turn.

*Any cards that were stacked beneath a Locked card through effects (such as Charms) are sent straight to the owner's Trash Pile.

*Locks are unaffected by card effects that do not specifically state that they affect Locked cards.

*If a SIGNI declares an attack whilst a Locked SIGNI is in front of it, it is changed to a direct attack on the opponent's LRIG.

*Locked SIGNI cannot be moved to the Trash manually and Locked Ener cannot be used to pay any costs. However, during the Ener Charge Phase, a player may choose to move a Locked SIGNI from their SIGNI Zone to their Ener Zone. The moved card however will continue to remain in a Locked state for that turn.

*As of the Lostorage era, Locked cards are also marked with Lock counters to avoid confusion with Aya's Trap mechanic.