Link Joker Fight Field

(Selector Destructed Wixoss OST: Battle ~ I Will Never Be Saved)

Piruluk was thrown backwards across the field as she was blasted back towards Amika's table by Radon, the Star-vader remaining almost robotic in its movements and not uttering a sound as it did so. It pulled back its beam rifle and leaped to the side, just in time for her to hear the sound of Dark Zodiac's arm mounted cannons charging up for the Cyber Golem's oncoming attack. Amika who had been sweating throughout the previous attacks looked down at her hand and immediately threw down a card in response to the offensive coming her way.

"Servant D2!" she called.

The colourless Guard SIGNI appeared in front of Piruluk and projected a barrier in front of the two of them, prompting Dark Zodiac to cease charging its cannons as the noise died down and it hovered back down towards Remember's table. The LRIG in possession of Kiyoi's body simply kept up her sneer, seemingly not fazed by Amika's successful guard to keep Dark Zodiac at bay, at least for the moment. Servant D2 vanished from the space as Piruluk struggled to stand back up onto her knees, almost falling back down as she did so. The Selector herself on the other hand could only sigh in relief in that she had managed to keep down the number of successful hits on her LRIG to just two, but even then, she knew her situation was more dire than it appeared.

The three Locked cards she had on her table continued to have red and black sparks flying off of them, having not helped calm her nerves in the slightest at all, even after seemingly learning of all of the properties of Lock so far. She looked over to Piruluk who had turned her attention back to her, though her gaze was directed more down towards the 'ground' of the space they were standing in.

"Um... Piruluk..." she murmured "I know I still don't quite get the full picture with what happened between you and Remember... but what does this have to do with me?"

"It's because... you're like 'her'. You're like... Sakaguchi Ayumi."

Amika blinked in confusion for a brief instance, still not quite understanding just yet of what the LRIG was trying to tell her. She had a feeling however that things were about to become more clear in just a moment.

"When I saw you desperately trying to save your mother, I realized that I was put into the exact same situation as 'that' time," Piruluk spoke "Only this time... I'm trapped in Remember's deed. I didn't want her to suffer the same way that Sakaguchi did... and in the end, it appears I have failed. If I had told you the rules sooner, I might have forced you to give up then."

"Piruluk..." the Selector breathed, having not considered how she was really feeling during their entire time together.

"Although I initially saw you as a replacement for Sakaguchi, not necessarily by your similar physical appearance... the more time I spent with you however, I realized that I really wanted to be with you. To stay by your side. However, my feelings of hatred towards Remember for what she did to Sakaguchi continued to burn away inside of me and as a result... I only continued to decieve you."

The blue LRIG looked up towards the towering form of Dark Zodiac, taking note of its rather silent, yet unnerving and somewhat intimidating gaze from its seemingly blank faceplate with only a pair of eyes shining behind the sheet of crimson red glass. She smiled to herself, but in a very bitter mood as she recounted everything that the two of them had gone through up to this point.

As much as it pains me to admit it, if my suspicions were correct... even Kamui for all of his immaturity was trying his hardest to get you to stray from where we are now.

She then turned around to face Amika, her usual cold appearance having faded away from her expression as the latter could tell from her gaze and the way her eyes had appeared.

"I'm sorry Amika..." Piruluk murmured "In the end, I'm not your friend. I am just... 'The LRIG who brings misfortune'."

(End Music)


Card Luck

By the time Kamui had arrived in Card Luck after finding his way out of the Graveyard, he managed to find Kai who had been sitting in the store with Chiyori and Eldora after his battle with Noriko. Before the two cardfighters could properly share their views on the day's events so far and bring each other up to speed, the younger Selector was all too eager to tell the Nova Grappler user of Kai's 'subpar' battle with the 'Queen' and Kaen, chatisizing him a little of his performance before the last few turns of the clash between them. The Kagero user however, whilst mentally noting that his performance at that time had not been his best, took no notice of Chiyori's one or two quips as Eldora and Kamui sweatdropped, wondering if she was overexaggerating it a little.

"In any regard," he spoke "I have finally managed to overcome the issue that has been plaguing me since last night."

"You mean... you managed to sort out the problem with that seed fragment thingy stuck inside you?" asked Kamui.

"It seems so," Eldora replied "It appears that the power inside had sensed Kai's fear of using that power and used it as an opportunity to try and take him over. However... it seems that he just had to accept that it would always be a part of him, regardless of whatever he did in the past and he's now using that power to prevent it from spreading out of him."

Kamui, though unsure of how to take all of this information in at once, seemed to however at least get the basic idea. Though Reverse was a power of the Void that could never be used for good intention, Kai's acceptance and previous experience in dealing with this power had allowed him to keep it under control, to the point where it wasn't attempting to possess him again. At least, for the moment.

"That reminds me..." he murmured "I'll need to dig around the cards here to fix up my deck. Onii-san and Ruko might have given me an idea of where to start."

"Are you intending to go after Amika and Kiyoi again?" asked Kai.

"I've got to," Kamui replied "Sure I don't like the LRIG, not that I hate her guts or anything, but she knows about Remember better than any of us."

"Oh, so that's what Piruluk's really called," Chiyori pondered, having now learnt of the blue LRIG's name for the first time "I only wonder how strong she really was before she ended up like that."

The Nova Grappler user didn't reply, almost not wanting to know the answer to that question for himself. He then went up to the counter to see the cards that were currently available for purchase, hoping he could find what he would need to patch up his deck. As he was doing so, he pondered back to his previous answer to Kai's question, knowing that information on Remember wasn't all he was looking for.

Besides, there's still some questions I've got to ask her about. Amika said Kiyoi had Remember as her LRIG and she knew Sakaguchi who played Wixoss before she died. But then... what was her wish as a Selector?

As Kamui was busy looking through the displays available to him behind the glass, Kai simply kept his gaze on him, knowing how often it was for Kamui to not keep his emotions in check which explained to him how he faltered against Piruluk, or rather Kiyoi, for the very first time. Feeling a chill run across his back, his eyes suddenly narrowed as he looked over to the stairs leading down to the shop's entrance. Chiyori and Eldora looked to him, wondering what had made him feel on edge at this very instance.

"What's up Kai?" asked the Selector.

"Stay here," he answered in a serious tone as he got up from his seat and went over towards the exit.

"Is something amiss?" murmured Eldora.

(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Ominousity)

Kai, though still uncertain of why he was feeling this way, turned around to see the LRIG and nodded in agreement. He hurried down the steps and opened the door, seeing what appeared to be a small group of girls walking down the street, three or so in each row as they advanced slowly in their movements. The Kagero user narrowed his eyes closely, knowing that their behavior in this manner seemed very off and from his longer experience in this world compared to his friends, he could tell from part of this feeling that they were Selectors. As he watched them closely, a flicker of red suddenly came from one of their heads as he clenched his teeth in response. Before he could say anything however, Chiyori had quickly hopped down the stairs and joined himself outside of the store entrance.

"What's up with them?" she murmured out aloud.

"Wait Chiyori...!" he quietly called, trying to hush her immediately.

As she blinked in confusion with a rather loud "Huh?", the group of Selectors suddenly stopped in unison and turned their attention towards him. Their smiles seemed to appear very unnatural as the all too familiar dark red aura fully surrounded them as a pair of sharp curved markings of the same colour appeared beneath their eyelids. They slowly marched towards the pair, slightly unnerving Eldora.

"We've been spotted...!" he muttered.

"Kai, are those...?" the LRIG murmured.

"Selectors," he answered in a hasty interruption "And they're all reversed...!" But who instigated it?

"Well, if they're looking for a battle, I'll give them one!" Chiyori replied confidently as she turned around Eldora's card, preparing for battle.

"Don't be foolish Chiyori!" Eldora replied as Kai grabbed her arm "If the rules for the Selector Battles are still in effect and you lose, not only could your wish be tainted, but I can't imagine how being Reversed as well would affect it!"

"Ugh...!"

Chiyori pouted for a brief moment as the Kagero user looked ahead to the group of reversed Selectors who were advancing much closer towards him and the young Selector who stepped back a little, just as Kamui came out into the street. He looked over towards them and gasped in surprise.

"Whoa! Are they...?!"

"Kasturagi, get Chiyori away from here!" Kai called as he let go of the Selector's arm.

"You're gonna take them on alone?!" he gasped.

"If you battle with him now, we'll be left exposed to them!" Eldora argued.

Kamui groaned for a brief instance, knowing that the LRIG was correct in her reasoning, given that Chiyori was indeed one loss away from having her wish tainted. Even if she could get a lucky victory against one of them, there was still several more for her to deal with. Sighing for a moment, he looked over to Kai and nodded in compliance as he started running away.

"Come on Chiyori!" he called as she reluctantly nodded and began chasing after him, looking back at Kai as she did so.

"Kai, don't you dare lose!" she called "We still have things to settle ourselves!"

The Kagero user didn't respond with words, but briefly glanced back at her to assure that he had not forgotten of the promise that he had made to her. Once Chiyori and Kamui were far away from the entrance to Card Luck, he looked back to the group as they had stopped in their advance in front of him, the aura of Reverse having grown noticably stronger.

"Someone go after those two!" one of the girls called "Kiyoi had orders to bring the spiky haired boy to her!"

As one of the other girls near the front of the group was about to pursue them, Kai simply stepped forward once to send a mental message that he had no intention of letting any of them pass by him that easily.

"If Katsuragi's intuition was correct, it seems you've really been reversed by Remember," he muttered, having not expected the former LRIG to be responsible for this whilst still unaware of her current battle with Amika and Piruluk or the fact that she had a Link Joker deck in her current possession. "But for those of you that are fully set on becoming the ideal form that grants your wish, are you really certain that power will really help you in that endeavor?"

His comment towards their now driven intent of using Reverse as an extra bonus in becoming an Eternal Girl was enough to gain several glares pointing from all of the Reversed Selectors in his general direction. Kai could now see that he had hopefully succeeded in drawing their complete attention away from Kamui and Chiyori and that he could focus on battling them, if only for the sole purpose of undoing their Reverse and returning them to normal. He knew that with Dragonic Overlord already out of his deck for the time being, this was going to be more of a challenge for him to overcome. But then again... the thought of a difficult challenge had caused him to inwardly smile for a moment as he prepared to face off with the power that had been formerly acting as his inner demons.

(End Music)


Link Joker Fight Field

The space that formed this current battle remained eerily silent as Piruluk simply gazed at Remember, who held her calm and collected sneer whilst Dark Zodiac, Radon, Neon and Astro-reaper all remained motionless, as if they were silently observing everything that would happen in the coming turn. After knowing that her 'nemesis' had managed to steal the advantage already with a somewhat emotionally crippled Amika not helping at all, her head was hung down in contemplation of what had lead up to this turn of this events. And after everything she had revealed to her Selector, who could blame her for feeling this way in the first place. Or at least, that was what she had assumed.

"Piruluk... no, Kiyoi..."

Piruluk turned back around to face Amika who brought up her head to face her.

"I was just thinking... is it possible for me to change my wish?" she asked.

"No," Remember interrupted "Once a wish is made from the bottom of the heart, it can only be changed from there. Simple empty words will not suffice, as 'she' had told me beforehand. Given how much you're desperate in 'saving' one insignificant life, I don't see how you could muster up a stronger desire than that."

Amika groaned bitterly, seeing as her last ditch attempt to keep her mother out of danger because of her original wish would simply do no good for her. However, there was something about her opponent's answer that had disturbed her and that was from what she learnt of Kiyoi's own wish earlier. Piruluk herself simply remained motionless, having known about that answer for herself.

"Insignificant...?" she murmured as she clenched her open fist "Is that how you saw Kiyoi's friend when she TRUSTED you to save her?!"

Remember simply said nothing more, remaining as smug as she was with her eyes closed, as if she had no regrets in regards to what happened when she had 'granted' Kiyoi's wish after she had first become the LRIG known as Piruluk. The blue LRIG herself on the other hand, though not showing it in her expression was inwardly surprised that Amika felt that strongly about her mother's life now that it was hanging precariously in the balance and how upset she was with her 'former' companion for ending Sakaguchi's life in some twisted way of granting her wish.

"Amika..." she breathed.

"And as for you...!"

The blue LRIG blinked for an instance, now seeing that Amika had something to say to her and she did not seem the least bit happy about her either.

"If you were really feeling this way... why didn't you say anything?!" she yelled "'LRIG of misfortune?!' Give me a break!" The Selector then closed her eyes, almost on the verge of crying. "Why did you try to bear all of it by yourself? We've both been after the same goal... you're in the same spot as Remember was then... but I know you're nothing like her!"

Piruluk simply remained silent in surprise, having not expected Amika to really feel this way after everything that was just revealed between her and Remember as well as almost all of the necessary truths and turns of the Selector Battles themselves. Taking a deep breath for a moment to regain her briefly lost composure, she coughed quietly to bring back her Selector's attention to her.

"Amika."

"Yes?" she asked.

"Let's escape this nightmare... together," the LRIG spoke.

And for the first time since the space had been opened, Amika finally let out a geniune smile in response to her companion's answer, as did Piruluk for a brief instance before turning around to face their opponents once more. The Selector drew her next two cards and eyed them closely before looking amongst her hand and the Locked cards that were in play.

Remember said that I can't move the Locked cards to my Trash... she murmured in her thoughts But what if I...?

Moving her hand towards Code Art JV's card that was still Locked, she was initially met with resistance from the black sparks flying off of it in retailiation, stinging her hand in pain. Gritting her teeth, Amika bit her tongue and forced her palm onto the card.

"I... Ener Charge with this Lock!" she called.

Remember suddenly opened one eye as she watched the Locked card move straight into her opponent's Ener Zone, its face down state however having not changed in the slightest. The black rings and the orb did however vanish from the field, leaving that SIGNI Zone open once more, as if nothing was occupying it at all.

"Oh... so you figured the way around it, I see," she mused "I expected you to take longer than this though, so credit to you where it is due."

"So Amika still has her way to fight around Lock..." Piruluk murmured to herself "This is now seeming more hopeful."

"Grow!" called Amika as she moved two of the non-Locked cards in her Ener Zone to her Trash.

(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Link Joker Theme)

A series of radiant white flashes enveloped Piruluk as her form changed to Level 3, gaining yet another two wings on the back of her garb to the four that she had possessed in her prior form. A blue gem appeared at the top of her garb, just below her neck as she looked towards Dark Zodiac, who simply remained motionless, not uttering a simple sound in response to the sudden change in her appearance.

"And now," Amika continued "Swift Advance! Superior Grow!"

As the colourless Spell card illuminated upon being activated, a bright glow enveloped the blue LRIG once again as her form changed drastically once again. This time, Amika had managed to draw the one card to grant her instant access to Level 4 and it seemed that hopefully, this would factor into turning the tide of the battle in its current state. Piruluk emerged once more with her garb having undergone a bit of a change and her crystal wings having gained a more icy like texture to their outward appearance.

"With Piruluk Omega's skill, I discard Medical Officer to discard from your hand!" the Selector called.

Piruluk pointed her fingertips in the direction of Remember as a large projectile made of ice materialized beside the blue LRIG, then immediately soared towards the opposite side of the field, crashing into one of her opponent's cards and causing it to shatter. It then re-materialized in the Trash Pile to reveal that she had knocked out Companion Star Star-vader, Photon.

Not bad... Kiyoi-chan actually improved her aim in my absence.

Immediately after this sudden turn of events, Code ART WTC and Code Art SMP both appeared in Amika's empty spaces that she now had on the board with the exception of the Locked Tidal Assault.

"With my SIGNI, I freeze Neon and take a look at your hand!" Amika declared.

As Neon was immediately imprisoned in a cluster of ice, preventing it from moving at the start of Remember's next turn, the latter on the other hand calmly showed her hand to the Selector and Piruluk, whose eyes narrowed at the options available. From what they could see, their opponent held Star-vader, Rejection Dragon, Star-vader, Sword Viper and Star-vader, Francium. The Level 1 card hovered into the air for a brief instance before landing in her Trash Pile.

"All right, we've got rid of her Quintet Wall!" she cheered.

"Good," replied Piruluk "Now keep up this momentum."

Amika looked over to the blue LRIG for an instance, seeing that this wasn't just the first time she had been giving her advice outside of her usual monotone, it appeared as if she was trying to act supportive towards her in this dangerous scenario, knowing that it was her own fault that they were in this trouble in the first place. Regardless though, she knew Piruluk had made her point and that she couldn't afford to let up at this point.

"I got it!" she called "SMP and WTC attack Astro-reaper and Radon!"

The two Electric Machine SIGNI wasted little time in heading over to their opponents on the far side of the space and making little work of banishing them from the battlefield. Once they had returned back to Amika's side of the field, Piruluk began materializing multiple spears of ice around herself before motioning her arm forwards, causing them to soar through the air and crash right into the motionless Dark Zodiac who was engulfed in a cloud of smoke as a result. Remember's next Life Cloth revealed a second copy of Photon, no Life Burst being available to aid her this time. The Lock around Tidal Assault came undone as all of Amika's Locked cards turned back face-up.

"Good, it's a start at least!" she said before she looked over to her opponent "All right Remember, show me what you've got!"

"Naturally," she spoke as she drew her two cards and moved Neon's card to her Ener Zone, causing the Cyberoid on her field to vanish as she held a hand above Dark Zodiac's card.

"Seek mate!"

Three of the cards in Remember's Trash Pile hovered up into the air and arranged themselves face down on the top of her deck whilst the Dark Zodiac in her LRIG Trash placed itself on top of her LRIG deck. A file of light then scanned through the large stack that was her main deck until it pulled out the card she sought and brought it into her other hand.

"Astro-reaper, bring the darkness of despair to those that stand before your 'leader'!" she called before throwing out the card onto the table "Legion!"

As a dark red coloured version of the Legion symbol briefly flashed before everyone's eyes, Astro-reaper appeared once again onto the battlefront, this time hovering beside the imposing Cyber Golem that was Dark Zodiac as the two glowed an ominous dark red. Piruluk clenched her teeth upon seeing that Remember had managed to master a technique from Kai's world this quickly as evidenced by her smirk. And if what Link Joker had demonstrated to them before was a reminder of that fact, she knew that there was worse to come.

"First the Legion skill," Remember spoke as she moved Neon's card to her Trash "Then I use Dark Zodiac's Persona Blast again!"

Amika could only groan as she watched Code Art SMP become captured by the Lock that was cast upon her whilst a card in her Ener Zone turned face down once again. Then appearing on Remember's field, much to Piruluk's disgust, were even more sentinels of Link Joker that their opponent had called forth to oppose them at this very instance. One of them was yet another Radon and another was Francium as evidenced by the shape and style of her two blades. The third one however was Singularity Sniper, a unit that Futase had previously used in her cardfight against Misaki in Kai's world.

"Finally, I shall use Salvage to place Rejection Dragon back into my hand."

After she did so, the Cyber Fairy in her formation was the first to take aim as it pulled back on its bow and aimed its arrow at Piruluk who braced herself for impact.

"If Singularity Sniper's attack hits Piruluk," Remember explained "I can pay the cost to choose any SIGNI card on your side of the field, regardless of what zone it is in and Lock it!"

Upon hearing that Remember was intending to Lock another SIGNI on the formation this way, Piruluk could only clench her teeth whilst Amika looked at the cards she held in her hand.

"Not gonna happen!" she called as she revealed Icefall Dragon from her hand "Quintet Wall!"

The Tear Dragon appeared in an instant and generated five circles that revealed Code Art SMP, Code Art JV, another Icefall Dragon, Code Art KEY and Emerald Shield, Paschal who joined it immediately with the shield being enough to deflect the projectile.

"How annoying..." Remember muttered in a bored tone "Fine then... Francium! Radon! And Legion Attack!"

The four remaining Link Joker units flashed their eyes as they all came charging in at once towards Amika's remaining SIGNI and Tidal Assault, making short work out of them whilst Dark Zodiac and Astro-reaper each took aim at Piruluk. The blue LRIG could only shield her face as the Cyber Golem unleashed a barrage of purple fiery projectiles whilst Astro-reaper created a solid arc of purple light from its scythe that came rushing towards her. Both attacks exploded the moment they made contact, causing her to scream as she was thrown back towards Amika.

"Piruluk!" she gasped in horror.

The blue LRIG was quick to get up onto her knees after recovering from the attack, much to the Selector's immediate relief as she watched Dark Zodiac and Astro-reaper hover back to Remember's side of the field as the turn came to a close.

(End Music)

End of Turn 7

Amika vs Remember

Hand - 4 : 1

Life Cloths - 2 : 3

Current LRIGs - Code Piruluk Omega : Star-vader, Dark Zodiac (Legioned with Star-vader, Astro-reaper)

SIGNI : EMPTY - EMPTY - Code Art SMP (Locked) : Singularity Sniper - Star-vader, Francium - Unrivaled Star-vader, Radon

Ener - 9 (1 Locked) : 5

Amika let out a sigh of relief that she had managed to pull through the turn without as much of a problem as she believed as she had anticipated. Drawing her next turn cards, she immediately pushed out her right hand over the Lock in her SIGNI Zone, cringing in pain as she was just able to force it over to her Ener Zone so that she now would have three SIGNI attacks available to her this turn. Piruluk noticed this and quickly turned around.

"Amika...!" she called.

"I'm... alright!" the Selector replied as she turned attention back to the cards in her hand.

Her expression however didn't seem to convince the blue LRIG as unbeknowst to her, one of the two cards that Amika drew into was a second copy of Swift Advance. The card was now seemingly useless to her as Piruluk had no further Levels to ascend to or so she had believed and was nothing more than 'dead weight' now that she had used up her Ener Charge on the Lock earlier. Looking over what little options she had available to her in her hand, she tried to think of a way for her to turn the situation around, especially since there was no telling about what other surprises Remember had in store for her. Trying to calm herself down for the moment, she looked ahead to her LRIG.

"Hey Kiyoi..." she murmured "I was just wondering..."

"About what?" asked Piruluk.

"How old are you?"

"14."

"I see..." Amika smiled a little to herself for a brief moment with this newfound information. "So you're younger than me... I didn't think you were around Kamui's age."

The blue LRIG chose to pretend that she had not heard the last portion of the brief comparison, having not felt interested about anything in regards to the Nova Grappler user in any shape or form, even if the fact that he knew of Sakaguchi's name alone did bother her a little. The thought of this however had caused her to briefly turn around to face Remember.

"Did you tell him?" she asked sternly "Are you the reason Katsuragi knows about Sakaguchi?"

"Oh my, so you're saying that Kamui knows about her. I'm afraid I can't take credit for what you claimed," Remember replied whilst playfully shrugging in response "After all, I haven't met him in person since our fight, nor had I spoken about who I really was at the time."

Piruluk didn't entirely react to this answer, having partially expected that there was a possibility that Kamui could have learned about the deceased Sakaguchi Ayumi from someone else, unaware that he had only learned of her name through her parents whom he briefly encountered. Wanting to dwell on the subject no longer and knowing that Amika's safety was still her top priority, she turned back around to face the Selector who was considering her options for the turn ahead.

"You are aware that even if we escape, there may be other Selectors looking to challenge you."

"I know..." Amika replied "But even if I don't battle or I choose not to go through with this 'oath'... all I can do is just have faith in my wish and pray that my mother can be saved. And right now, that means I need to have faith in you. Piruluk... no, Kiyoi... do you have faith in me?"

"I do," she answered, having closed her eyes.

(Selector Spread Wixoss OST: Battle ~ I Can Make Your Wish Come True)

Before anyone could speak out, a blinding glow began to envelop the blue LRIG, causing Amika to gasp and Remember to shield her face to prevent herself from being blinded by the intense light radiating from her. Even Dark Zodiac and Astro-reaper could not help but move a little in what could be percieved as some motion that conveyed the emotion of surprise. Amika then looked back to her hand to see that her second Swift Advance card that she held was also glowing brightly as she looked over to her Ener Zone and decided to follow through with something she hoped would work.

"I pay the cost to activate my second Swift Advance!" she called, revealing the card to everyone else.

"I... Idiot!" Remember gawked as she struggled to regain her foresight through the light Piruluk was suddenly emitting "There's only been two LRIGs in history that can acquire that power and Kiyoi-chan isn't one of them! So sorry to disappoint you Ami..."

"Is that so?"

The former LRIG's dumbfounded expression only grew when she had heard Piruluk interrupt her mid-sentence as if she was planning to say otherwise in regards to this move. The blue LRIG smirked for an instant, briefly stifling a "Ki-shi-shi" or something of an awkward laugh of some kind as she was completely enveloped by the blinding light for several more moments before it died down to allow her to remmerge in a completely changed state. Her blue garb had mostly transformed into a beautiful dress bearing a majority of the same colours and designs of her previous form, the wings on her back were only half of the previous form's number only appearing less ice like and more elegant and in her hands now was a new weapon of choice. This time, it was a long staff with a giant blue orb hovering above the inverted arc at the top.

"W... What is this?!" gasped Remember "How did you acquire this kind of power?!"

"Amazing..." breathed Amika "I didn't know... this kind of thing was possible."

She then looked down to the table to see that a new card had materialized over the top of Piruluk's Level 4 form. This new card was Level 5 and was named Code Piruluk ACRO, the image displaying the very form that she was now seeing before her as she looked back out to the blue LRIG herself, who was already facing her with a sincere smile.

"Our desires are the same..." she spoke "That's why I am like this. Now then Amika, let us win."

"Right!" the Selector replied as she continued with her turn "I'll summon Code Heart VAC!"

A new blue SIGNI of Level 4 appeared into the very center spot of her formation in front of Piruluk, taking up an offensive stance in preparation for battle as she held out one of her giant gloves towards Remember. She gasped as the only card in her hand entered her Trash Pile without any warning whatsoever, having not expected such a SIGNI to be in Amika's deck.

"M... My Quintet Wall is gone without Peeping Analyze...?" she murmured "Damn it!"

"I'm not done yet!" Amika called "I'll summon another Code Art SMP and freeze Radon!"

As ice formed around Radon, imprisoning the Unrivaled Star-vader to hinder Remember during her next turn, she turned to face the Selector and Piruluk, picking out a card from her LRIG deck.

"At this moment, I use the ARTS Retaliation Snare on its Spell Cut-In timing!" she called as she revealed the grey ARTS "I Lock Francium and SMP to draw three cards!"

Two pairs of black rings suddenly encircled Code Art SMP and Francium, trapping them both as the cards on both her's and Amika's tables turned face down before she then drew her three cards per the effect of her card. She then sneered upon seeing what she had managed to gather from her efforts, even at the cost of what she viewed as a measly sacrifice from her field for the turn.

"She's replenished her hand just like that and Locked me out of an attack!" Amika muttered.

"Stay calm Amika," Piruluk spoke in reassurance "Our turn isn't finished yet."

"Yeah," she replied as she looked to her remaining cards and looked out to the field she had available before taking out one of them "I summon Medical Officer of the Rainbow Elixir and activate Crystal Seal!"

No sooner did the Aqua Force unit appear onto the field did the blue Spell card's effect surround it in a watery veil as he then turned to light and flew across to Remember's side of the field, crashing straight into Singularity Sniper. No sooner did the collision happen was the Cyber Fairy banished from the field in a massive explosion that forced Remember to shield her face, her sinister expression however remaining unchanged. Another card was pulled out of her hand and moved straight into her Trash Pile, that being Star-vader, Sword Viper. Amika not noticing this however continued with her turn and summoned Tidal Assault to the spot where Medical Officer of the Rainbow Elixir formerly stood.

"So you've used up the last of your hand?" Remember spoke "You must be desperate to finish it this turn."

"I wouldn't be quick to judge Remember," Piruluk interrupted as she looked back to Amika who nodded.

"With Piruluk's skill, I can draw until I have six cards in my hand!" she called.

Remember blinked in shock for a brief moment as all five of the cards that were stacked beneath Code Piruluk ACRO's own card flew out from underneath and briefly circled around the LRIG herself as she glowed a bright blue for a brief instance. The five cards then landed in her Trash Pile as the Selector then immediately drew her six cards from the top of her deck and eyed them closely.

Alright! she cheered in her thoughts Even if I don't finish Remember this turn, I still have a shot of getting through!

"Finally, I'll use Peeping Analyze!" she announced as the all too familiar blue ARTS revealed itself to all "Let's go Piruluk!"

Piruluk's eyes illuminated a bright blue as she gazed towards Remember harshly whilst the latter closed her eyes and smirked deeper, holding out her remaining two cards to the blue LRIG and Amika from the back, feeling somewhat confident with what was about to transpire. Amika ran the scenario through her head as she recalled which cards had been played and discarded throughout the entire battle. She then took a deep breath and prayed deeply that the choice she was about to make would be the correct one.

"Level 1!" she declared.

As several waves from Piruluk's eyes emitted and her gaze was further trained on Remember, the latter then opened her eyes with a new devillish glint within them. Suddenly, the glow from the LRIG's eyes somehow blinded her for a brief instance as everything around her then faded out to reveal nothing but a blank pitch black space where she had now found herself face to face with her opponent. Remember was now in the form that she had taken whilst she was Kiyoi's LRIG, the same figure depicted on the cards she had previously used against Kamui as evidenced by her cunning and calm smile.

(Music Abruptly Pauses)

"You haven't forgetten your purpose, haven't you?" she asked in a somewhat curious tone, blended with a hint of her sneer underneath it.

"What are you talking about...?!" Piruluk growled as she clutched her staff that she still wielded in her current form on the battlefied. Remember then closed her eyes and spoke out once again through her lips.

"The LRIG that brings misfortune. It is time for you to fulfill that."

The blue LRIG's eyes suddenly widened in shock and horror as to who had spoken out at this instance. It wasn't Remember who had said those words, despite her lips seemingly moving in time with the voice to seemingly mimmick what it was saying in her own silence. Then from out of the darkness behind her, emerged the tall and unnerving presence of an all too familiar unit who wielded its giant scythe and held its own unnerving smile as it gazed down upon Piruluk who simply stepped back upon seeing who it was that had 'reminded' her of her supposed purpose she had labelled earlier to Amika.

"Chaos Breaker Dragon...?!" she gasped.

The Clown let out a dark chuckle from under its breath before raising up its weapon and swinging down the sharp tipped curve all the way down towards her. The blue LRIG then closed her eyes and held out her staff in front, hoping it would be enough to shield her from a majority of the coming impact.

"Piruluk! Are you alright?!"

(Resume Music)

Amika's voice suddenly brought Piruluk's senses back to reality as she looked around to see that she was back on the battlefield and that Remember in her original body was still standing in front of her table with her cards held out. Seeing that she no longer needed to keep up her act any longer, she smirked deeply and revealed her cards as Servant D and Companion Star Star-vader, Photon, neither of which were Level 1 as Amika had declared moments earlier. The Selector although visibly annoyed immediately regained her composure as she knew she had more than enough options available to her thanks to the extra six cards that she drew. Before she continued with her turn however, she looked over to her LRIG, now worried about whatever it was that she had experienced.

"Hey... are you okay?" she asked "What happened there and... who's this Chaos Breaker?"

"... I'll explain later," the LRIG replied, still feeling nerved as she glared over to Remember who remained as she was, briefly imaging the cruel smirk of Chaos Breaker Dragon and Mayu's omnipotent presence that lay right behind her.

"Okay then," Amika murmured "Tidal Assault attacks Dark Zodiac twice this turn!"

The Aqua Force unit then charged towards the Cyber Golem as Astro-reaper suddenly hovered out in front, preventing him from advancing any further as he slashed down the front of the Cyberoid. Seeing his chance, he pushed forward on his jet-pack with a torrent of water, knocking back the Legion-Mate and allowing him to slash past Dark Zodiac who reacted in pain for a brief instance. Remember remained motionless as her next two Life Cloths revealed themselves as Singularity Sniper and Servant O, allowing her to Ener Charge. The card that was next placed into her Ener Zone was Star-vader, Astro-reaper. Code Art VAC then ran across the space towards Dark Zodiac and let out a mighty right hook which knocked it onto its back.

"Let's go Piruluk!" called Amika.

Piruluk nodded in response as she took flight on her wings towards the downed Dark Zodiac who remained motionless as she soared across the space. Astro-reaper then intecepted her as the two were locked in a stalemate, scythe to staff as each was looking to overpower the other. Piruluk with all of her might pushed back Astro-reaper and pointed the orb of her staff towards Dark Zodiac, unleashing a large aqua blue coloured beam with a streak of yellow in the middle towards the Cyber Golem. Servant D then appeared in front of the downed unit to shield it from her attack, deflecting the blue LRIG's beam with the greatest of ease using the barrier she generated in front of her.

"Grr... I couldn't finish it!" Amika groaned to herself as she clenched her teeth.

"Stay calm!" called Piruluk as she returned to the Selector's side of the field "This battle hasn't ended yet!"

The Selector nodded as she held up her six cards to consider her options for the upcoming turn whilst the blue LRIG gazed over towards Remember who was remaining as smug as ever.

All we need is another turn to finish Remember! I won't allow her to bring that same sorrow to Amika's family! More importantly... why did I feel the presence of Amika's wish when she played Peeping Analyze?

(End Music)

As the turn came to a close, Amika silently gasped as she realized something wasn't quite right. Whilst the Lock that Remember had cast on Francium for her earlier ARTS had worn off, all of her own Locked cards had not been affected in the same manner.

"W... What's going on?" she murmured "Why aren't my cards unlocking?!"

"How quickly you forget," her opponent interrupted "Did you remember when I paid a single grey card for the Legion Skill of Dark Zodiac?"

"D... Don't tell me...!" Piruluk muttered.

"That's right! When I used that skill, any cards that I Locked before your turn's End Phase would be Omega Locked! In other words, they don't unlock until the turn after!"

The blue LRIG and Amika could only clench their teeth upon seeing that their scenario was now much worse than either of them had anticipated in the first place. Remember giggled to herself as she drew her next two cards and concealed them in her hand, her smile deepening and the glint in her eyes seeming somewhat crazed as the all too familiar aura of the Star-vaders surrounded her intensely.

"Final Turn!"

(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Serra's Finale)

Whilst Amika and Piruluk's eyes widened in shock, the ice around Radon shattered in an instant, the Cyberoid then faded away into a dark red aura as its card was moved over to Remember's Ener Zone. As it and Photon's card moved to her Trash Pile, another card from her LRIG deck moved straight into her hand as the aura of Reverse spread out across the space in large quantities.

"The timber of silence that resonates in darkness... Strike, dance of destruction that invites despair!" she called before throwing down the card on top of Dark Zodiac and Astro-reaper "Star-vader, Venom Dancer!"

As Dark Zodiac and Astro-reaper were enveloped in the darkness of that power once more, only this time using it to take their personal leave from the battlefield at this point, a new shadow rose up in the bleak red that covered a majority of Remember's field. It dispelled to reveal a new Cyber Golem in its place that looked much more sleeker and slimmer in shape and had several black rings with strange markings that werearound its body, the largest one of which had ten points sticking outwards behind the tall menace. Several other black markings across the armour of Venom Dancer as will as the horns and top of its head ressembled the shape and outlook of eyes as it gazed down upon its victims.

"Venom Dancer...?" Amika breathed nervously.

"Seek mate!"

Once again, upon her declaration, four cards from Remember's Trash Pile rearranged themselves onto the top of her deck as a file of light scanned through the stack to pull out the needed card for her.

"Sword of darkness that soundlessly slashes, return space and time to nothingness! Star-vader, Sword Viper! Legion!"

As she threw the card onto the LRIG space to the left of Venom Dancer's card, the black and red coloured version of the Legion symbol flashed before everyone once again as Sword Viper materialized onto the field beside the Cyber Golem. It had several pairs of wings styled similar to Piruluk's own in addition to its black ring behind its back, only they had pink markings littered upon them that seemed to ressemble demonic eyes of some kind. It also had what appeared to be a stinger tail of some kind attached to its back and wielded a large blade in its right hand. Remember snickered loudly as she gazed viciously upon Piruluk who could only remain unnerved in response.

"Now I don't want you ruining this with Don't Escape, right? Venom Dancer's skill," she said musingly "I Lock a SIGNI in your Ener Zone and repeat the effect!"

Amika gasped in horror as she watched the only two face up SIGNI cards in her Ener Zone become flipped face down with sparks flying off of them. Remember then giggled once again as another Sword Viper materialized onto the space where Radon formerly stood before she then held one more card out, closing her eyes for a brief instance.

"Allow me to show you... the one who gave Kiyoi-chan her signature gaze," she spoke as she held up the card "Come forth, Companion Star Star-vader, Photon!"

Upon hearing the name Photon, Piruluk gasped in shock as the Star-vader that Mayu was most commonly seen with appeared onto the field before her, clenching both of its thin black swords tightly in his hands. The commander quietly smiled to himself as he pointed one of his blades towards Code Heart VAC who was then trapped by a Lock that he had managed to cast.

"Piruluk... what is she saying?" breathed Amika.

"Photon...!" the LRIG growled as an unsettling image briefly flashed before her eyes, a memory from long before that involved the Star-vader to the point where she was now.

"Now then..." said Remember "Sword Viper!"

Sword Viper then soared across towards Piruluk who could only hold out her staff in front of her to defend herself. Whilst she was busy doing so however, she failed to notice the stinger tail of the smaller Cyber Golem approach her from behind until it was too late. The sharp tip stabbed itself into her back as she screamed in pain, feeling numb all of a sudden from the blow she had taken.

"Piruluk!" screamed Amika as she ignored the next Life Cloth that flew past her line of sight before gasping in horror to see Tidal Assault becoming Locked as well.

"Next," Remember spoke in a gentle, yet unnerving tone.

As Photon and Francium both dashed across the battlefield towards Piruluk, ignoring the Locked unit and SIGNI they ran past, Amika upon seeing that her LRIG was still in pain from Sword Viper's earlier attack took out two cards from her hand.

"Icefall Dragon!" she cried out loud.

The Aqua Force unit then appeared onto the battlefield in front of Francium, summoning out Code Heart VAC, Code Art JV and Emerald Shield Paschal to block the attack. Photon on the other hand continued on his way to Piruluk, preparing to slash down the front of her when Icefall Dragon suddenly appeared in front of him.

"One more!" Amika declared as Code Art SMP, Tidal Assault, Medical Officer of the Rainbow Elixir and Servant D2 prevented the Cyberoid from attacking her LRIG.

Photon did not frown however as it kept a neutral expression before retreating back a few steps to halfway across the battlefield, much to the confusion of Amika and a pained Piruluk who coughed for an instance as she struggled to keep her foresight.

"Legion Attack!"

The declaration of Remember's next attack was enough to snap her out of her brief stupor as she watched Venom Dancer and the other Sword Viper approach her from her opponent's side of the field at a very quick rate. Amika however was not planning to see her LRIG suffer any further as she took a hold of one of her remaining four cards and slapped it down onto the front of her table.

"Paschal, protect Kiyoi!" she declared.

The Aqua Force Sentinel unit then appeared in front of Venom Dancer and Sword Viper, projecting a barrier to stop their advance towards Piruluk who was trying her best to stand her ground in this most dire of situations. Then without warning, the Legion Mate then slashed down the front with its blade, effortlessly smashing the barrier to pieces as the two units and all of the other units that Remember had summoned as SIGNI glowed an omnious dark red.

(End Music)

"Are you okay Piruluk?!" cried Amika.

"Y... Yeah..." she groaned "We can still finish Remember on the next turn! I won't let your mother die because of me!"

She then clenched her teeth as she glared towards her opponent who did not seem the least bit concerned with what was about to happen next.

"You've put up a brave show, my two," she said whilst increasing the depth of her smile "But now... this is where it ends. Venom Dancer's Legion skill!"

Venom Dancer then raised its right hand as a pinkish cloud then began to cover over Amika's half of the battlefield, much to her's and Piruluk's shock as the LRIG suddenly coughed from inhaling some of it by complete accident.

"What... is this gas?!" she coughed.

"Venom Dancer's Legion skill!" Remember's voice echoed "After the attack ends, I reconduct my SIGNI attack step and Up 1 SIGNI I have for every two of your Locked cards!"

Piruluk gasped in horror upon realizing exactly what those words had meant, especially in the predicament that she and Amika now found themselves. The Selector shared equal horror on her expression as she gazed down on her field and discovered what this had meant for her.

"B... But I have 7 Locked cards...!" she exclaimed "That means...!"

Remember said nothing more, having already seen the answer to that realization herself. She then placed her right hand over each of her SIGNI, upping them one at a time and spoke out their names, almost in similar fashion to Kiyoi's own monotone. However, the undertone to her imitation though appeared to sound much more sinister in comparison.

"Viper. Photon. Francium."

Photon, Francium and the other Sword Viper, the first of the former two stood back up and pointed one of his twin black swords towards Piruluk who could only clench her teeth upon seeing the 'worst case scenario' that had now transpired.

Amika doesn't have a single Quintet Wall in her hand...! We're finished...!

Looking down at the ground of the space, the blue LRIG could only close her eyes for an instance, images of all the times she spent with Amika and how worried she was about her mother's condition now flashing before her eyes. All of it was now jeporadized and now, Amika was about to lose and join the services of Reverse along with her, her wish now hanging even more precariously as it was. She looked across herself, frustrated that their efforts at her newly acquired Level 5 form now appeared to be all for naught.

Was this power just meant to be nothing more than a power boost that did nothing?! she groaned as she ran the previous turn through her scenario again, up to the point where Amika had activated Peeping Analyze. Upon recalling the feeling she also picked up from Amika's presence before her 'encounter' with Chaos Breaker Dragon, her eyes widened in realization. There is a way...!

As Amika could only stare towards the five Star-vaders that were preparing to carry out their onslaught once again, now feeling shaken and hopeless that there was nothing more she could do, she could only close her eyes and cry as tears dropped down onto the table.

"Is this the end... for my mother?" she sobbed.

Before she could cry any further, a faint white aura suddenly surrounded her as she opened her eyes to see Piruluk pointing her staff towards her, the blue orb at the very top glowing faintly as she kept a determined gaze upon her Selector.

"Piruluk, what are you doing?!" gasped Amika.

The LRIG ignored her words as her eyes flashed blue as they normally would from the use of Peeping Analyze, only this time she was scanning through her heart for something of great intent. Remember watched on as she observed Piruluk continue her action on Amika, curious as to what it was she was trying to pull and not feeling bothered to let it go on any longer.

"Finish it," she spoke, snapping her fingers as a command to attack.

All five of the Link Joker units that she commanded soared and dashed across field towards Piruluk who looked back briefly for a moment before refocussing her attention onto Amika who remained both startled and confused from what was going on now.

I'm almost there...! she murmured in her thoughts Just a little longer and her wish...!

(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Nightmare ~ Reversing Wish)

She couldn't complete the process of her thoughts however as she felt Sword Viper's stinger tail stab her in the back for a second time, causing her to lose her 'Peeping Analyze' glow from her eyes as she cried in pain. Then without warning, the second Sword Viper's tail coiled itself around her right arm and threw her over across the field, causing her to drop her staff to the ground, the orb shattering into pieces as it did so.

"No!" Piruluk cried as she landed on her front halfway across from where she stood between Amika and the group of Star-vaders, who were now directly upon her.

"Piruluk!" cried Amika as she watched on in horror before the aura of Reverse suddenly enveloped her, causing her to scream loudly in pain.

The blue LRIG, helpless to do anything, could only stare in horror at her Selector's exposure to being Reversed as Venom Dancer grabbed her by the head and brought her up to its face. She growled for an instant as she looked past the Cyber Golem to see Remember in her smugness vanish from the battlefield to leave her and Amika to their fate, now that she had emerged victorious.

"That's right," her voice "Never forget that horrifying image! That will be all that fuels you from now on!"

Before Piruluk could question what was about to happen next she looked back to Venom Dancer's face as the eyes on its forehead and horns glowed a blinding pink colour. As could only stare into the glows before her, the pink cloud of gas from earlier covered up her foresight and vision as she felt her body going numb once again, just as a memory flashed before her eyes.


Flashback

That memory displayed Piruluk who was gazing in horror at one of the windows in the White Room that displayed the outside world to Mayu. She could see that Remember was standing beside the hospital bed that housed the comatose Sakaguchi, smiling in her usual manner. She had removed the tube to her breathing mask and the only noise the sounded throughout the room was the machine that it was connected to. This had only meant one thing for the blue LRIG and after falling down to her knees in anger and tears, she could only confirm it for herself. She had been betrayed and her wish to save Sakaguchi was not granted the way she had intended it and now, the tone that echoed throughout her ears had confirmed it. Sakaguchi had been killed by the very LRIG she had put her trust in.

All she could do at this point though was scream loudly in her uttermost frustration, the noise echoing off of the many walls and expanses of the White Room.


City Streets; Present

After the image had faded out, the battlefield had already closed up and Amika was now standing emotionlessly on the ground, holding out Piruluk's card in front of her. The Selector's eyes had transformed into a dull shade of their former colour, showing that her subjection to Reverse had put her under the complete control of that power and that anyone who came near her now would be in serious danger. Or at least, that was what the basics on the subject had appeared as in this particular case. The sky above her had dark grey clouds forming over the city of Tokyo, casting a gloomy haze over everyone else who happened to be walking outside of the lonely street at this very instance.

Meanwhile within the card, Piruluk had both of her fists clenched after having to relive through that 'horrifying image' of a memory that Remember and Venom Dancer forced her to experience it all over again.

"Remember..." she uttered in a harsher version of her usual monotone "Mark my words... no matter what I sacrifice to find you again, I will make you regret handing to me the very power you have... as the 'LRIG of misfortune'."

And with that, she opened up her eyes and lifted her head to reveal that everything aside from her pupils and irises had been dyed in pitch black and that a marking of an eye similar to the ones on Venom Dancer had appeared in a vertical stance on her forehead. She then gazed up to the emotionless Amika who did not respond in any shape or form, despite the aura of Reverse flowing through her.

"Go. You know what must be done as I command."

Unconditionally, the reversed Selector obeyed Piruluk without saying another word, leaving the empty street and preparing to help her carry out her original desire of revenge on Remember. By any means necessary.

(End Music)


And there we go! After recieving faith from Amika, Piruluk obtains a new power from her desire and manages to launch a counterattack at Level 5, but Remember fends through the assault and strikes back with Photon and Venom Dancer, finishing the two off and submitting them to both Reverse. But in addition, Venom Dancer also infects Piruluk with a toxin that further drives her towards her original goal of revenge and even amplifying her newly acquired powers to maintain her own control over the already reversed Amika. As Kai battles a small group of Reversed Selectors to undo their state, Kamui takes Chiyori out of harm's way. What will happen next when he discovers what has happened to Amika and Piruluk?

Find out on the next chapter of the Peeping Analyze sub-arc from Stand Up, the LRIG! Please feel free to share your thoughts and criticisms in the reviews and I'll see you next time!


Cards of the Chapter:

Code Piruluk ACRO

Level 5

Colour: Blue

Grow Cost: 3 Blue

Limit: 12

LRIG Type: Piruluk

(Grow) Your LRIG on the field contains《Piruluk》in its card name.

[Constant]: This LRIG has the [Action] abilities of all of your LRIGs in your LRIG Trash.

[On-Play]: Your opponent discards their entire hand.

[Action] Exceed 5: If your hand has less than 6 cards, draw cards equal to the difference.

Star-vader, Venom Dancer

Level 3

Colour: Grey

Grow Cost: 2 Grey

Limit: 8

LRIG Type: Link Joker

[Legion] "Star-vader, Sword Viper" (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 - Attack Phase] Pay 1 Grey: At the end of the battle this LRIG attacked whilst it was in Legion, you may pay the cost. If you do, choose 1 Grey SIGNI you control for every 2 Locked cards your opponent controls and Up it.

[Action] Pay 1 Grey SIGNI: Choose 1 SIGNI card from your opponent's Ener Zone and Lock it.

Retaliation Snare (Story Original Card)

ARTS

Colour: Grey

Cost: 3 Grey

Limiting Condition: Link Joker LRIGs only

[Use Timing - Main Phase] [Attack Phase] [Spell Cut-In]: When a SIGNI you control is targeted for an effect whilst you have a Level 4 or greater LRIG, you may choose a card in your SIGNI Zone other than the targeted card and Lock it. Choose 1 of your opponent's SIGNI with the same Level or lower as the Locked SIGNI, Lock it and if you do and the number of cards in your hand is 2 or less, draw cards equal to your Locked SIGNI's Level. During your opponent's End Phase, Unlock the SIGNI on your field that you Locked with this effect.

[Constant]: You can only activate 1 "Retaliation Snare" per turn.