EDIT 7/9/2017: Added in extra bits with Midoriko after accidentally forgetting about her presence with Hitoe to correct continuity errors within here and the next chapter.


City Streets

(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Presence of the Void)

Meanwhile in a secluded alleyway, Ayumu remained slumped to the ground as he was awaiting Miyako's next orders for him, given that she had promptly taken away the clone LRIG card away from his possession after she throwing him to the ground in anger. At the same time though, he couldn't help but begin to ponder on what exactly it was that he was doing as well as the image that he saw in his memories. He recalled that his mother said that she had to give both him and Ruko over to their grandmother Hatsu, simply because his sister was 'scary' and only a few days ago when he met with her for the first time in six years, did she begin to give him a clue as to why this was.

From what he remembered of their conversation on the night they reunited, she had clearly told him under no circumstances to tell any of what she said to him to either Hatsu or Ruko, on the basis that they already knew and were just hiding the 'crime' for themselves. However, after seeing the image in his memories from the end of his earlier battle with Noriko and his attempts to dispel it as a hallucination ended in complete failure, doubts were beginning to form at the back of his mind. If Ruko was really as scary as Miyako claimed, especially on the incident six years ago which the image had depicted, then why did it appear like she was in pain? And why was Noriko herself present amongst the two of them in the midst of whatever it was that was occurring then?

"None of this is making any sense...!" he growled to himself "Mother said that my memories of Ruko's 'evil' would surface at a certain time...! And yet, why does that one image...?!"

Huffing for a moment, he rose back up onto his feet and began to think about everything that was happening around him thus far. He knew that he had been frustrated since the night he reunited with Miyako in regards to the 'truth' she had given to him about Ruko and yet now, this one image in his head was making him begin to question everything he had believed up to this point.

Flashback

Ayumu stood in shock outside of the front of the Apartment Blocks on that night, still in disbelief as to the person standing before him that addressed him as 'my boy'. It had been six years since he had last heard that voice, let alone having seen the person that it had belonged to and now, he was more than confused as to why she was now here. Miyako remained still before him, having expected such a reaction to have come out from him.

"M... mother, is that really you?" he breathed.

"That is correct, Ayumu," she spoke "It has been six years since our... unfortunate circumstances that forced me to part from you."

Ayumu's legs could not stop shaking as a part of him couldn't believe that his mother of all people, after all of these long years living with both Ruko and his grandmother Hatsu, had finally come back to him. As he was about to turn around and make a run back up to the apartment to inform both his sister and elder, Miyako immediately motioned out a gloved hand for him to stop. A rattling sound rung out, indicating that it was the glove which concealed her metallic hand, causing him to stop in his tracks.

"Do not inform them of my presence," she instructed in a commanding tone "My reason for being here tonight is one that you and only you can understand."

"I... I don't understand..." he murmured in confusion "Why don't you want me to tell grandmother?"

"Because of the truth," Miyako answered resolutely.

"The truth...?"

Ayumu blinked in utter bewilderment as he stared at his mother, wondering what was so important for him to talk about.

"The reason I had part ways with you years ago... and why I am here now," she continued "Is because Ruko is evil!"

"Evil...?" he breathed, stepping back in disbelief for a moment.

"There are things she and Hatsu have not been telling you," Miyako spoke "And that is the very crimes she and the people she comes to call friends have committed... in the Selector Battles."

Ayumu gasped in utter shock as he absorbed all the information that his mother was telling him at this instant, now seemingly seeing why it was that she had not wanted him to talk to either Ruko or Hatsu about her presence. On occasion, before the night she went missing, he recalled overhearing his sister several times mentioning the term 'Selector Battles' alongside either Hitoe or Yuzuki and now, it seemed like all the pieces were beginning to join together of this mystery. Or at least, that was what he believed at the time.

"Beneath our very noses, girls with alive LRIGs have been conducting Selector Battles beneath our noses," she explained "Their aim is to make their wish to come true, by crushing the hopes and dreams of those who dare to cross their path. Ruko is one of them, just as she was six years ago."

"But if that's true..." he replied "Then why did you leave me alongside Ruko in grandmother's care?!"

"I didn't have a choice," Miyako 'answered' "What happened that day brought many eyewitnesses to the cause. Do you think it was possible that those with common sense would believe my side of the story then? About the Selector Battles and who was participating? I left you with Ruko, hoping you could return her back to normal as her older brother. However, she entered the battles again of her will, confirming my suspicions and it would seem that Hatsu had a hand in it."

The older brother of Ruko couldn't help but shudder even more from what his mother was telling him. All this time, at least from his perspective, his sister was battling beneath his nose, committing various atrocities that Miyako was seemingly implying at and the answer to all of this was from how he overheard her prior breakdowns and conversations the entire time.

"Wait a minute...!" he called "There's been certain people that have moved in recently that brought her back to the apartment! Are they...?!"

"That is correct," she replied "The one you've lately known as Kai Toshiki, is also a participant within the Selector Battles and is one of Ruko's various... underlings."

"Those bastards...!" Ayumu growled as he clenched one fist tightly "And to think grandmother KNEW all about this too!"

Miyako for the moment remained silent as her gaze, obscured from view by the hood of her coat, trailed upon her son's expression and noting the scrutiny within it thanks to the 'information' she had given him.

"What can I do?!" he called "How can I make her pay for deceiving us all those years!"

"There is a way," she answered calmly "But only, if you wish to accept the risk that comes before it."

"Then I'll do it!" Ayumu replied "I don't care how, I'll just do it! I'll do it... for you mother!"

Miyako's lips then curled into what was seemingly a gentle smile, almost giving off the impression to anyone else who would be present that she wanted him to accept her offer regardless of the 'risk' that came with it. Opening the gloved hand that concealed her metal hand, a purple aura then manifested around Ayumu's left arm, causing him to pull it up in surprise. A few seconds later, the device that was mounted on his arm had then materialized for the first time, along with a single card in the slot. The grey backing made it clear that it was the card which contained the clone LRIG that he used in the present time after this meeting.

"This is..." he breathed before taking out the card from the slot.

Upon doing so, a throbbing pain suddenly went off in the back of his head as red sparks covered over him as a result. He cried out in pain as he fell to his knees, trying to withstand the pain as Miyako walked closer to him. When the sparks eventually stopped raging, so too did the pain that Ayumu felt at the back of his head. He looked down at the card to see that he was now holding what was indeed the clone LRIG itself.

"This is..." he murmured.

"The only way to deal with 'poison' is with 'poison' itself, wouldn't you agree?" Miyako spoke "I have created this clone LRIG for that purpose. Until tomorrow morning, this is all I will be able to tell you."

Standing back up onto his feet, Ayumu looked over to his mother once again and walked towards her to which she remained still, until he got quite close towards her. Sensing that she knew what her son intended to do, she raised her arms as if to invite him into a 'motherly' hug, to which he then jumped forwards and embraced her tightly for the first time in a long time. Then, tears began to run down his cheeks from his closed eyes, now that the 'truth' had come around to him from his mother. Or at least at the time, that was what he believed.

Present

After recounting everything from the entire meeting as he stood up in the desolate alleyway, Ayumu now had much greater suspicions building up in his head over the whole situation. There was no way that it would be taking this long for his memories of six years ago to return to him and align perfectly with what she had told him in their first meeting in six years. Unless...

"Unless... if that one image is actually one of my missing memories...!" he muttered "Then there's something that mother doesn't want to me know! That pain I felt then must have done something to them!"

Then as if on cue, he felt something immediately grab ahold of the back of his head and cover over a portion of his line of sight. The cold feeling he received made it immediately apparent to him that he was now in the grasp of Miyako's metallic hand, a fact that confirmed itself when he was forcibly turned around to face the woman herself, unhooded at last and revealing her full displeased face to him.

"It seems one image was enough for you to see too much," she spoke, her harsh tone present in her voice once again "You still have a role of your own to fulfil."

"Not until you tell me about what's really going on!" he demanded "Or else I'll look for the truth my own way!"

"I see. You underestimate my power."

Electricity then surged out of Miyako's metallic hand and straight into Ayumu as he screamed out loudly in pain, unable to break free from the woman's tight and deadly grasp. Escape for him in this unfortunate situation was now completely impossible as he felt his mind and free will going blank at the same time. All he wanted now was for the pain to stop and for his mother's rage to be quelled. Eventually, Miyako let go of him, ending the surge of electricity as well as he stumbled about before looking up to her, his eyes now completely blank and mostly devoid of life as she handed back the clone LRIG's card to him. Smoke poured from his clothes as a result of the previous long exposure.

"You have one last chance Ayumu!" she growled "Do not fail me. Is that clear?!"

"Y... yes... mother..." he wheezed in an almost emotionless tone, placing it into the holster of his device slowly after being severely weakened by Miyako's torture.

Then without another word, the woman herself departed from the alleyway in an all too familiar dark red aura, leaving him all alone to fulfil the 'last chance' she had given to him. Or else, it would be apparent that she had worse planned for him. Much worse.

(End Music)


...

Meanwhile in a strange space that was almost desolate and bleak in a mix of dark purple and black colours, Yuki stood alone in contemplation over the many things that had transpired in her life. Those many things were indeed from her beginnings to her 'quest' for what would be otherwise perceived as world domination, if only for her initial goal of ruling over the Selector Battles with the strongest Selector by her side to battle forever to their heart's content and her re-established perceptions on the moral grounds of right and wrong to the point where she found herself now.

(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Trembling Miracle)

Looking all around her, the girl of black could see a variety of window like projections, much like the ones she had seen around Mayu's White Room within her domain depicting what appeared to be still portraits of the many people she had been acquainted with throughout her time as both a Selector and an LRIG throughout her long life. The first two she could see were of Mayu herself and Tama, who she knew initially under her original name Shiro. Walking forwards, she could see that amongst other 'portraits' were ones that depicted Photon, Chaos Breaker Dragon, the real Urazoe Iona who she had come into contact with at some point, Ruko, Hitoe, Yuzuki and eventually, the final few depicted Kai Toshiki and all of the cardfighters she had known about thus far that had come to this world.

"I never would have thought such a long life would come with most strange changes," she murmured to herself.

Eventually, she came to a stop in front of what appeared to a large mirror that depicted a reflection of her, evidenced by the mirror image within moving in time with both her actions and behaviour coming up towards it. Gazing at said reflection, Yuki couldn't help but ponder back on the way she had acted prior to her change of heart on her stance of Ruko and the Selector Battles around her.

"Was I always that way because I was the 'bad girl'?" she pondered, thinking back to the times where she was just a mere figment of Mayu's imagination along with Tama "Or is it the guilt I would have otherwise never felt back in the past?"

A low growl sounded throughout the space, suddenly making the girl of black feel very uneasy. This particular sound was very familiar to her and it was one that she had been hoping not to hear again, let alone see the very source of said sound that she had close recognition of. Looking into the mirror out in front of her, Yuki only grew more anxious before she gasped in shock and looked back to see the shape of her own shadow changing before her very eyes. The larger size along with sharp curves and other 'non-human like' shapes, like those of razor sharp wings and a large tail were outlined, much to her initial confusion. Turning her gaze back to the mirror in front of her, instead of being greeted by her own reflection, she was greeted by the image of something she had also hoped not to see again.

"That's...!" she gasped.

Indeed, the reflection she saw before her wasn't of her own face or even human like stature as an LRIG. Instead, what she saw in front of her now was the very head of her mutated form from the two prior incidents, Berserk Draconis. The corrupted draconic form of Yuki from within the mirror narrowed its eyes as it snarled loudly, growling under its breath as she did so.

"I... I'm no longer that hideous monster...!" she cried as she stepped back in fright.

The imaged Berserk Draconis roared loudly, then burst from out of the mirror with great force, shattering the frame and the glass itself and came soaring towards her with its jaw opened wide.

"NO!" the girl of black screamed loudly.


City Park

"Yuki, are you okay?!"

Opening her eyes, Yuki soon found herself back within the confines of the card that she was bound to. Looking down to her hands to try and reassure herself, she could only sigh in relief that it was just a nightmare that she had been through and that she would no longer be in that hideous appearance thanks to the combined efforts of Tama and Blaster Blade. Gazing up to the limited view she had of the outside world, she could see that Ruko was looking down at her with a very concerned expression, worried that something had happened to one of her two LRIGs without noticing prior.

"Did something happen...?" she asked "You were... screaming for a moment."

"I'm fine Ruko," the girl of black replied resolutely, trying to shake off her nerves "It was just a nightmare as you would call it. Nothing more."

"Tama heard Yuki scream too!"

Yuki soon saw the view of her card turned slightly for her to see Tama from her own card, that being held in Ruko's other free hand. Much like their Selector, the girl of white herself was also concerned for the LRIG's current state after hearing what had happened.

"Nothing for you to be concerned about," she spoke "That is all."

(End Music)

Tama however was almost unconvinced, noticing the glint in Yuki's eyes as she turned away from her. She looked up to her Selector who shared similar concern as well, but felt that they wouldn't be able to get any answers until much later. Seeing that Aichi and Hitoe, along with Kai who had rejoined with them a short while ago, had paused in the midst of their trek out of the sudden stop, she walked over to the three of them, wanting to talk things out with them first.

"Is something wrong?" the Royal Paladin user asked.

"Yuki doesn't seem so good," she replied "Not with whatever nightmare she's not wanting to talk to us about."

"It seems that it must stem from a personal issue she has," Kai murmured "But the reason behind why is something we do not know."

Ruko could only nod in agreement with his statement, knowing he had more or less pinpointed the hard fact that was currently facing them. Yuzuki could not help but start to ponder back over Yuki's actions in the past, wondering if her nightmare had something to do with them. Whilst neither Hitoe, Midoriko or Aichi had anything of their own to add to the current discussion, their friend on the other hand had something else on her mind.

"Hey Kai," she spoke, bringing the Kagero user's attention to her "You said that you faced a Selector who knows about my mother and was there with whatever happened six years ago. Did you happen to get her name?"

"From what Chiyori has told me, she is referred to by many Selectors as 'Queen' for her overwhelming power," he answered "But her name is Kōgō Noriko."

Whilst everyone gazed at Kai for now knowing the full name of the Selector who had defeated him earlier in the day, a quiet but noticeable gasp had escaped Yuki's mouth as she stared up at the Kagero user in disbelief. Everyone then turned their attention to the girl of black upon hearing her exclamation and her expression shown to everyone was one of disbelief.

"Impossible..." she breathed.

"What is?" asked Yuzuki.

"That Selector..." Yuki stuttered "I was told by Mayu she perished by the Clown's hand years ago! Are you saying she is actually alive?!"

"It appeared that Miyako had a similar reaction when we encountered her," Kai replied "Noriko claims she is willing to disclose information about her prior involvement in the Selector Battles, but only if I defeat her."

Whilst everyone else had all been busy looking at Yuki and pondering over why she was in disbelief that Noriko was alive, no one had either heard or even noticed Midoriko from within her own card clenching a fist.

"Mother..." Ruko breathed, still somewhat in disbelief what the Kagero user had discovered during his time at the hospital "I don't understand... why would she be helping Mayu with the Selector System with everything that's happening in there, let alone be her General as you found out."

General... Yuki pondered in her thoughts That rank sounds familiar, but is that the 'same' person?

Everyone else now knew that there were still many unanswered questions to solve than what they originally anticipated, with the only clue amongst them being that Noriko had something to do with Ruko's past that they were all still in the dark about. But with the way things were now, they knew that finding and attempting to question the 'Queen' herself would have to wait, especially given the Selector's own personal issues that she wanted to sort out as soon as possible.

"That aside, we still need to look for her and onii-chan," she spoke "The sooner we can find them, the sooner I can find out what it was I did six years ago."

"That, I can agree on," Midoriko replied "I may not know what the heck happened between you, him and your mom, but this whole thing just reeks of shady."

"About looking for Ayumu. I... I don't think that's going to be a problem..." Hitoe murmured nervously as she gazed behind her friend.

Everyone then immediately looked ahead to the far end of one of the park's pathways to see Ayumu walking towards the group in a strange manner, but what disturbed the four of them and the LRIGs they held even more was his seemingly lifeless eyes and the rough patches of clothing, caused by Miyako's electrical torture in an effort to force him to serve under her command and make the most of his final chance.

"Onii-chan...?!" Ruko gasped in shock.

"What happened to him...?!" Aichi interjected, shocked at the extent of the visible damage over him.

Kai narrowed his eyes as he gazed at Ayumu, sensing that although it hadn't been long since their brief encounter at the front of the hospital, where he had also met with Miyako for the first time, he knew that something was off about his appearance and that something happened between then and now to account for his current state.

"Kominato Ruko, for the last time...!" he growled, his tone sounding almost distorted as he aimed the cuff of his device towards her "Give the LRIGs you have to me... or suffer the wrath of mother!"

"Wait onii-chan!" cried Ruko "Tell us what's happened to you! You don't look alright at all!"

The older sibling ignored her protests and immediately shot his cuff towards her, intending to battle her right here and now in order to fulfil his mother's orders right down to the very last detail. And that exact detail as he remembered from the frightened state he was in several hours ago was to bring his sister's two LRIGs directly to her and that failure this time, was not an option. Before Kai could react in time to intercept the cuff, the Selector had immediately moved in front of him and brought out her right wrist to allow it to capture her in the exact same way it had done so the last time they battled.

"Ruko, are you certain about this decision?" he asked in uncertainty.

"This might be my last chance to try and get through to him," she replied before bringing out Tama and Yuki's cards with her free hand. Before she could make a decision however, one of them had decided to speak out.

"Wait Ruko," the girl of black spoke, bringing both the Selector's and the other LRIG's attention to her "Let me battle the clone LRIG this time."

"Are you sure Yuki?" asked Ruko, still feeling unconvinced about Yuki's state from her earlier nightmare.

"Yeah," she answered "I sensed something strange whenever it changed forms with Ayumu's command. If I can land a strong enough attack, I might know what's going on between them."

Although she wasn't entirely convinced, the Selector let out a kind smile of approval in her willingness to allow the girl of black to assist her in the coming battle this time around. She looked to Tama who then cheered loudly in approval as well.

"Tama agrees!" she called "Tama lets Yuki battle this time!"

Even Yuki couldn't help but smile a little at the girl of white's cheer of approval, if only out of recollection of any amusement she may have had when the two of them were still Mayu's imaginary friends before they became the respective LRIGs they were now. Looking back to Ayumu, she could see that all responsibility of helping Ruko to uncover the truth to her past and talking some sense to her older brother now rested on her shoulders for the battle ahead.

"I'm nervous..." murmured Hitoe.

"I know," Yuzuki interjected "It's not just the battle I'm worried about... but whatever went on in Ruko's past that we don't know yet."

"Don't hold back out there!" Midoriko called in encouragement.

"Be careful Ruko-san!" called Aichi.

Ruko looked back to her friends and nodded to acknowledge their concerns for her, especially in a battle such as this where they had no idea who or what Ayumu had planned to copy next with the clone LRIG's abilities. She looked over to Kai for a brief instance as he gave a single nod, knowing that this was her battle to fight and that through this, she could finally uncover the truth behind the mystery of her past all those years ago.

"Let's finish this once and for all, sister!" Ayumu growled as he reached for a button on his device "Open!"

And with a blinding dark red flash, the cable lit up and brought both of the battle's participants and all of their observers to the field of conflict, where one way or another, the truth behind Ruko's actions six years ago, whatever they possibly were, would finally be revealed.


Selector Battlefield

When the flash of light had died down, Ruko and Ayumu were seated at their respective tables on opposite ends of the battlefield, both the clone LRIG and Yuki standing in preparation for battle on their respective LRIG spaces. The Selector could see that the colour that was covering over the background of her brother's side of the field was a bright yellow, giving her at least a vague idea of what he intended for the clone LRIG to copy this time around. She had only seen it once or twice from the times she had been around Naoki, but from what she could make out at least, the answer to her would be more than clear in a minute or so.

"Isn't that...?" Tama pondered from where she was standing on the table.

"There are no yellow LRIGs to my knowledge," Yuki replied "Therefore, he must be copying..."

From high above the battlefield in a nearby tower, Aichi, Kai and Hitoe along with the LRIGs they all held watched closely from the windowsill, anxious to see what would unfold in the battle before them. The yellow colour was enough for the Kagero user to keep his gaze firmly trained upon Ayumu, having suspected what he intended to copy this time. Though to Midoriko, she was initially confused having not been present around Naoki to know about the 'recent' yellow colour, let alone told about it beforehand.

"This is... unusual..." she murmured to herself "Aside from colourless, there's only ever been five colours in Wixoss."

"It... It's not the only new one," said Hitoe "Kamui's Nova Grappler wields a Silver colour and Ayumu copied a deck on that colour as well."

"Huh, I guess I really have been out of the loop then," the green LRIG replied with a nervous laugh whilst scratching her head.

"Is he copying Narukami this time?" Aichi pondered.

"That's Ishida's clan," Yuzuki murmured "But is he making an exact copy of the Brawlers?"

"I suspect otherwise," Umr interjected as she stared towards Ayumu "He wouldn't go out of his way to simply copy one of your own decks. He would rather do it with something that is unknown to all but my master and Kai."

(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Contention)

Everyone else remained silent as they looked above their heads to see the roulette beginning to spin, the creaking noise having also come complimentary with the giant wheel as wheel. After a few long tense moments had passed, the wheel had landed on a black slot, much to everyone's hidden relief as that meant Ruko could determine the turn order to her advantage. But even the Selector knew that this wasn't the time to feel relaxed just yet, not until she had gotten the answers to her past and what happened on that day from Ayumu himself.

"I'll go first!" she called.

Ayumu hissed for a moment before closing his eyes, as sparks covered across him once again like before, this time in unison with the clone LRIG as its appearance changed in a bright red glow. When it died down, it had revealed its new form as an armoured orange lizard like creature with its eyes in the exact same shade of red as whenever the clone LRIG copied a unit's appearance. It wielded a small blade that had sparks flying off of it, confirming to almost everyone present that Ayumu had indeed copied Narukami, but it appeared this unit was far different from the Brawlers used by Naoki. Or rather as Kai could see, a unit that was more than very familiar to him.

If he's copied Saishin... he muttered in his thoughts Then... does he have 'that' unit's form as well?

"Yuki, grow!"

Upon hearing Ruko's declaration, a series of flashes enveloped Yuki as her current form had not changed at all, save for the outfit becoming a black colour with a slight dark red aura swirling around her arms. As she took up a defensive stance, knowing that she could not wage an attack at this instant, Code Maze Triumph materialized in the SIGNI space right in front of her.

"Triumph's skill!" Ruko called "I drop Skyju and search for a Level 1 Black SIGNI!"

After searching through her deck, she revealed Hellrage Revenger, Quesal and placed it straight into her hand before gazing back towards her brother, feeling that things were going to be much harder than the last time she attempted to get through to him when they first battled like this. Ayumu drew his two cards slowly as he analyzed the field before him with his almost devoid eyes.

She's set up a Quintet Wall and because of Triumph, I have to summon the first SIGNI I play in front of her he muttered in his thoughts as he then drew his two cards In that case...!

"Grow, Red River Dragoon!"

Upon declaration, sparks flew across him as Saishin's form vanished in a bright red glow, only to be replaced by the form of a unit that appeared to be human. He had yellow hair and was clad in red armour whilst wielding a long sharp pointed lance. Whilst Ayumu himself did not yell out in pain as he did when he previously did such a technique with the clone LRIG's power, he limped for a brief instance which only served to worry Ruko. He immediately regained his composure and placed down two more cards from his hand to his open SIGNI spaces. One of them was also human in appearance like the copied form of Red River Dragoon, covered in a white cape and hood of some kind and wielding firearms of his own. The other was a purple serpentine like unit with a large snake of some kind hissing behind her.

"Desert Gunner, Raien attacks!" he called.

Raien pointed his gun towards Triumph and fired multiple shots at the Labyrinth SIGNI, banishing her from the field in an instant. Then without warning, the large snake from the other unit had already slithered across the battlefield and leaped onto the table, biting on Yuki as she cringed in pain before it eventually left her alone. She didn't have time to relax however as the copied Red River Dragoon landed on the table and slashed past her with a thrust of its lance. When the clone LRIG left the table at last, Ruko looked to her Ener Zone to see both Darkness Revenger, Rugos and Code Maze Pyramid land in her Ener Zone, the latter glowing to indicate a Life Burst.

"With the effect, I add Mac Lir to my hand!" she called after revealing the Shadow Paladin Perfect Guard amongst the cards in her deck.

"As expected from Yuki's playstyle," he muttered with discontempt "But with the new power my clone LRIG will possess... no defence can save you now. From neither me or mother."

End of Turn 2

Ruko vs Ayumu

Hand - 6 : 5

Life Cloths - 5 : 7

Current LRIGs - Iona, Crescent/Maiden : Red River Dragoon

SIGNI : EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY : EMPTY - Desert Gunner Raien - Demonic Dragon Nymph, Seiobo

Ener - 3 : 0

After drawing her next two cards, Ruko looked over to Yuki who nodded in agreement as they both looked ahead to Ayumu.

"Grow!" she declared as the girl of black's outfit received a few minor visual changes from the advancement in Level "And summon!"

Immediately into the spaces that were to the left and right of the LRIG, appeared Revenger Fortress, Fatalita, a second copy of Rugos and Healing Revenger as they immediately took up offensive stances.

"Onii-chan!" Ruko called "I may not remember what I might have done all those years ago... but that's why I want to find out the truth!"

"And why should I believe that coming from you...?" he hissed "You kept secrets of your involvement of the Selector Battles from me!"

"But how were you supposed to believe me at the time?!" she asked "The whole idea of girls battling in another dimension with other girls alive inside the cards we hold and creatures from another planet when Kai arrived... how was I supposed to prove any of it to you?!"

"You could start by saying how you were involved with them once before, at that time!" he snapped.

Everyone within the battlefield, even those from up in the tower could not help but let out utter confusion from amongst their expressions in response to Ayumu's sudden statement, that Ruko was already involved with the Selector Battles once before.

"Huh?" pondered Tama.

"W... what are you saying?" she murmured.

"Trying thinking to yourself," he spoke harshly "How is it that you adapted naturally to the Wixoss card game as the 'strongest' Selector that Yuki saw, when grandmother and I initially believed you were a beginner on the night I 'unintentionally' gave you the deck containing Tama."

Yuki, although certain that Ayumu's way of thinking was still being twisted by Miyako's words, couldn't help but begin to ponder on the natural talent she saw in Ruko when she battled her as Urazoe Iona. If what happened six years ago did link a prior connection between her Selector and the Selector Battles themselves, then what was the answer that joined said link together? As she pondered on this, Rugos and Fatalita had already advanced across the battlefield and made short work of banishing both Raien and Seiobo, one after the other. The copied Red River Dragoon remained motionless as Healing Revenger unleashed a dark green beam that struck it directly. Ayumu's first Life Cloth revealed itself as Old Dragon Mage, the Life Burst motioning him to draw an additional card.

"This is it..." Ruko murmured to herself "I need to figure out what that clone LRIG is doing to Ayumu and Yuki said she might be able to find out."

As she looked down to Yuki who gave a nod, they then looked to Tama who leaped into the air with a cheer.

"Battle, Ru, Yuki!" she called.

"Right!" her Selector replied "Yuki, hit the clone LRIG with everything you've got!"

Yuki surrounded herself in a dark black coloured aura before soaring straight into the air and charging straight towards the clone LRIG, preparing to throw the hardest punch she could land. Ayumu however was not planning on letting such an attack go through that easily.

"Come to me, Wyvern Guard, Guld!" he declared.

As the girl of black was about to throw her punch at the clone LRIG, Guld immediately materialized in front of her and with a mighty roar, projected two yellow circles in front of it to block her attack. Yuki growled as she glared past the Wyvern Guard towards the copied form of Red River Dragoon or rather, the clone LRIG itself as it in turn looked back towards her. Its red eyes suddenly flashed brightly, forcing her to shield her eyes as her black aura was partially enveloped in a dark red colour. Then, a strange feeling coursed through her as she coughed for an instance before hearing an all too familiar roar. Gritting her teeth, she shook off both the feeling and the entire aura around her as she eventually returned to Ruko's table. Thankfully, no additional sound similar to the one she heard rung out, but that only made her feel even more uneasy.

"Are you alright Yuki?!" cried Ruko.

"I'm fine...!" the girl of black groaned as she shook over for a moment I thought Tama and Blaster Blade eliminated 'it' with Reverse! So why...?!

Tama gazed at the LRIG in worry, having a strange feeling that her pained appearance just a few moments ago was almost deathly familiar. Both from recent times and the distant past, when she was originally known as Shiro. Everyone then looked back to Ayumu to see him draw his next two cards before he moved one of the cards in his Ener Zone to his Trash Pile as sparks covered over him once again as he let out a loud groan.

"Descend before us!" he called "Thunderstorm Dragoon!"

As Red River Dragoon's form disappeared, revealing the full appearance of the clone LRIG for a brief moment, a large flash then enveloped it before splitting apart into two seperate figures. One of which was a large red coloured dragon with sparks flying off around it whilst atop it, stood a human warrior dressed in similar armaments and wielding an almost identical weapon to Red River Dragoon. Both rider and steed had blank red eyes, the exact same shade that was possessed by the clone LRIG whenever it changed its appearances to camouflage itself as another LRIG or unit. Immediately after it gazed upon its opponents, two more Narukami units appeared in front of the copied dragon and warrior.

One of which was a different dragon, wielding a razor sharp scythe with jagged edges and sparks flying off of it whilst the second one was a draconic like unit clad in orange armour and wielding two cannons on either side of it to use as its choice of weapons. The remaining two cards in Ayumu's Ener Zone immediately moved to his Trash Pile as he gazed to his right.

"Deathscythe's skill!" he declared "Banish Fatalita!"

Dragonic Deathscythe then roared loudly as with a mighty swing of its scythe, did it send an arc of electricity flying across the battlefield towards Fatalita, before it then exploded on contact, banishing the large Shadow Paladin Demon World Castle from the right hand side of Ruko's table. The Selector, after shielding her face from the shockwave of the blast, looked back across the field to see that Ayumu's breathing had become ragged, as if using up whatever it was that he had was starting to take its toll on him. She knew she had to get through to him so she could not only learn the truth about six years ago, but to also stop whatever it was that her mother had planned for him afterwards.

"Please listen to me onii-chan! Mother is working with Mayu in the Selector Battles!" she called "I don't know why she's doing so and why I made her scared of me... but right now, you and grandmother are the only other family I have left!"

"Be quiet!" he yelled as Dragonic Deathscythe took flight and slashed down the front of Rugos.

(End Music)

Shortly afterwards, the other unit he summoned earlier aimed both of its cannons at Yuki and launched two large streams of electricity that struck her directly and knocked her backwards. Before she had to recover, the copied Thunderstorm Dragoon was already flying towards her at an alarming speed before the dragon unleashed a stream of electricity that shocked her once again. Ruko clenched her teeth as two more cards landed in her Ener Zone, neither of which possessed a Life Burst to help her out of this situation.

"Garuda's skill!" Ayumu called "I recover 1 Ener from my Trash!"

"Ruko's not doing so good," Yuzuki muttered "If Ayumu keeps up the pressure..."

"At the rate he's going, he's dealing damage to her quickly by banishing her SIGNI," Midoriko interjected "If she conserves her hand for too long, it might backfire on her."

"I fear that's far from the worst."

Everyone in the tower looked to Kai as they pondered over his grim statement, as the Kagero user himself kept a concerned gaze over towards Ruko's side of the battlefield.

"What do you mean Kai?" asked Hitoe.

"Those units..." Aichi breathed as he stared at them.

"If Ayumu has copied one of my older decks..." Kai murmured as he narrowed his eyes "Then on his next turn..."

Umr simply glanced towards Yuki, having sensed the disturbance she briefly felt when the clone LRIG 'glared' back at her on the previous failed attack.

"Something lies within her..." she murmured to herself "And she feels uncertain of it."


City Graveyard

After a long walk and correcting a few wrong turns he had made, Kamui had finally brought Kiyoi over to the site where he had previously found Sakaguchi Ayumi's grave. He didn't feel as initially freaked out as he did when he had first stepped into this quiet and lonely place by complete accident in his initial search for both Amika and the person beside him, when she was still Piruluk. The latter had unconditionally chosen not to complain on his lack of memory on the exact directions he took from there to get to Card Luck, knowing this wasn't the time to be acting cold towards him after everything he went through just to help her and her former Selector save the life of Amika's mother.

Eventually after the Nova Grappler user had finally remembered the exact path he saw the grave amongst, he hurried on ahead with her following him close behind until the two of them eventually came to a stop. When they saw Sakaguchi's full name engraved on the stone in front of them, they both knew that they had finally reached their destination. Kiyoi looked at the single picture of the girl, unable to do anything to mask away her sadness once again as she reached into her pocket and took out what was a Wixoss deck. Kamui blinked for a moment and looked to it, seeing that the frontmost card had indeed depicted Remember in her current state as an LRIG once again.

He watched as she placed the entire deck down on top of the small monument in front of the grave itself, where the picture and a bunch of flowers were laid out before stepping back to join him.

"Hold up," he said "Was that deck...?"

"It was one that Sakaguchi intended to give to me on the day of her accident," she answered "And she had no idea... who was waiting inside for her."

Kamui could only grit his teeth, realizing that his opinion of Kiyoi being very unlucky to have been in possession of Remember of all LRIGs had only been further justified from both the latter's actions and the fact that Sakaguchi had no idea she was in the deck she intended to give to her friend.

"That reminds me," he murmured as he dug into his jumper pocket "I took this from the grave and wanted to show you it during our battle... but I kinda forgot then."

The Nova Grappler user then dug out the note he had previously picked up from his last visit to the grave and handed it over to Kiyoi. She was initially confused as to why he wanted to show her this, let alone take it from the grave of her friend, but once her eyes laid upon the text in front of her, everything began to make clear sense. After a few long moments had passed, her eyes were closed as she placed the note back to where Kamui had initially found it on her last visit.

"To think Remember played Sakaguchi's mother for a fool," she murmured "Even if she is an LRIG again, I can't imagine she won't have another scheme in mind."

"She played us all for fools," Kamui replied as he pointed to his right hand where the LRIG had originally marked him after he had lost his cardfight to her "We'll get her again if she tries anything. One of these days."

Kiyoi by then had finally opened up her eyes again, having finally calmed down from both her initial sadness and partial anger after reading the note the Nova Grappler user had given to her briefly. She could see that he was now taking his own time in looking at the photo of the girl whose spirit they had saved hours ago on the field of battle from Remember's clutches.

"I kinda feel a little bad for doing... what we had to do," he murmured before looking back to his companion "I mean, she is your friend and..."

"Katsuragi," Kiyoi spoke in a softer version of her otherwise usual monotone "The dead cannot remain in the world of the living. That is something we all have to accept at some point."

"I guess you're right..." he replied before forcing a smile back onto his face "Now let's go and find Aichi onii-san."

She gave a single nod in agreement as the two of them finally decided to leave the resting place of Sakaguchi Ayumi in peace once again and continue their search for Aichi and the others to bring them up to speed with what they had been through. Whilst they were walking down the pathway of trees that exited from the graveyard, Kiyoi could not help but gaze at Kamui as she followed him from behind. Something about his tone when he said that he felt bad about having to let Sakaguchi's spirit pass on right after they had set her free from Necro Raizer had her curious, but with the more pressing issues that were at hand with the Selector Battles to discuss with his companions, she felt this was a topic she could push him on later.


Selector Battlefield

By the time the fifth turn had come to an end, things were looking rather desperate for Ruko as she analyzed the situation. She had only been successful in damaging the clone LRIG once with the empty space in the middle of Ayumu's formation, made possible by Code Anti Doronjo whilst her other two SIGNI, both of which were Drei=Capsule which had banished Dragonic Deathscythe and Demonic Dragon Berserker, Garuda. Yuki's attack had failed once again, this time due to the untimely appearance of a Quintet Wall, the only one belonging to Narukami that was also used by Naoki.

What was more disturbing was Ayumu's lack of verbal response and limited movement throughout the turn, something that greatly concerned the Selector as she knew that whatever it was Miyako had told him about their past had supposedly caused him to assume that he was lying to her no matter what and that trying to knock some sense into him was no easy task. He drew his next two cards and gave an eerie smirk, further disturbing everyone else that was present on the battlefield. He then took out the next card from his LRIG deck as sparks covered over him once again, this time causing him to scream out loudly in pain.

"Onii-chan!" cried Ruko.

(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Thunder of Narukami)

"GGH...! Break through the cage that seals it and acquire the form that is the incarnation of thunder!" he bellowed "Grow!"

As the form of Thunderstorm Dragoon faded out, the clone LRIG then hovered up a little into the air as sparks began coursing over it too, before the aura from before enveloped it once again as a bright red column erupted from the LRIG space and soared up to the very top of the battlefield. Electricity crackled throughout it as a new roar, also mixed in with a shrill cry of some kind from the clone LRIG itself, gave a hint to the very unit that it was about to take the form of this time around.

The clone LRIG's eyes flashed a bright red as it was covered in a bright aura of the same colour before a tall shadow began to manifest amongst the light. Slowly, the form stabilized itself as it revealed large white wings with electricity sparking off of them before the rest of the body began to emerge. In stature and a portion of the red colours it possessed, this unit's appearance was similar to Dragonic Overlord. However, the differences were easy to spot as several yellows and blues were present in the armour as well as the blue-eyes, the red jewel on its forehead and choice of weapon it wielded, that being a sharp lance with sparks surging from it. Ayumu finally opened his eyes as he announced the name of the copied unit's form.

"Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion!"

"He's copied Vermillion?!" gasped Aichi as he looked over to Kai.

"Yeah..." he muttered "And if it now has the same capabilities in Wixoss as Big Bang Knuckle, then...!"

As Hitoe and Yuzuki glanced at the Kagero user in worry upon hearing his words, fearing that a unit that was just as strong as Naoki's Big Bang Knuckle Dragon was about to have its form deal a devastating attack to Ruko and Yuki, Umr stared at the falsified Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion, gazing closely at the red eyes it displayed as a result of the clone LRIG's 'imperfect' duplication.

"Every form it takes requires pain for him," she murmured "But if not just for copying the appearance of others, then for what other purpose?"

Back down the battlefield, Ayumu immediately summoned a second copy of Demonic Dragon Berserker, Garuda and a new unit by the name of Rising Phoenix, two cards slid out from underneath Vermillion's as he immediately drew another card. He mustered up a smile from under his weakened state before summoning a brand new unit to the center of his formation. It appeared to be a small dragon that was still mostly just hatched from its eggshell, but it gave off an intimidating aura to those that stood before it in its line of fire. A yellow aura surrounded both it and the copied Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion as they growled under their breaths.

"Egghelm Dracokid, rewrite the rules to how you please and allow me to display my mother's wrath to our foes! he declared "Removing the Life Cloth requirement with its skill, I activate Vermillion's Limit Break!"

A turquoise coloured Vanguard circle flashed above Vermillion as three cards from Ayumu's Ener Zone then moved straight over to his Trash Pile.

"Huh?!" gasped Tama.

"He can use a Limit Break even when he has more than three Life Cloths?!" Yuki exclaimed.

"Switching my Attack Phases, I battle all of your SIGNI at once!" he declared as sparks began flying around the copied Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion.

This isn't good! Ruko muttered in her thoughts as she looked to her hand That copied Vermillion may not be able to hit Yuki if it keeps using its Limit Break, but I need to guard to defend my SIGNI!

Sensing the panic within his younger sister's emotions, Ayumu smirked once again as 'Vermillion' took flight and roared loudly in tandem with the clone LRIG's shrill noise. Electricity coursed all around it as it gazed upon everything that it saw on Ruko's table.

"You're finally experiencing it..." he muttered "The pain I felt... when you deceived me all those years ago. Now for my mother, it's time that I returned the favor!"

Ruko could only clench her teeth as she pulled out one of the cards from her hand and revealed it as the copy of Dark Revenger, Mac Lir that she searched with Triumph's skill on the very first turn of the battle.

"I guard for the Drei on my right!" she declared as the Shadow Paladin unit appeared in front of said Drei=Capsule, deploying a barrier to protect it from harm.

"That still won't save you!" he declared as he pointed one finger towards the top of the Selector Battlefield to signal his next attack. "Vermillion Thunderbolt!"

And with a roar, the copied Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion sent several streaks of lightning up into several storm clouds that had suddenly materialized at the very top of the battlefield as a result of its presence. The clouds flashed for an instant as then without warning, several bolts of lightning then came crashing straight down onto Ruko's table as the Selector grabbed Tama within her arms and ducked for an instant to save them from being struck by a stray one. Whilst Mac Lir was able to defend his target before disappearing, the other two SIGNI Ruko had out were not as fortunate and were banished from the field after being electrocuted for several long seconds.

Before anyone could relax however, they looked across to the other side of the field to see Ayumu laughing to himself as the thunderclouds above their heads did not seem to stop rumbling, despite Vermillion's attack seemingly coming to a close. Or so they believed.

"I said I would make you feel overdue pain and I would!" he declared as red sparks flew across him and the copied Vermillion, just as he began to make a loud yell.

"What the...?!" gasped Ruko.

Vermillion then roared loudly before unleashing one final volley of electricity, this time much more larger than the last few which went directly into the storm clouds before a new, much larger bolt of lightning was unleashed from it and time seemed to slow down as everyone suddenly gasped as to this new 'attack's' target was. It was not Yuki or the remaining Drei=Capsule as they could tell from its direction. Before they could confirm that fact however, Ruko's eyes widened in shock for a brief second before the bolt of lightning then crashed straight into her, electrocuting her as a result. She screamed loudly as a result of the pain, unable to bear with it at all.

"Ruko!" screamed Yuki.

"Ru!" cried Tama.

Everyone up in the tower gasped in horror as they watched what was happening to their friend at this instance, horrified that they were powerless to do anything to stop this unprecedented turn of events.

"Ruko...!" Hitoe whimpered as she held onto Aichi's arm, almost unable to bear watching the sight that had unfolded.

"Hey, that's playing dirty!" Yuzuki yelled, angered by the fact that her voice wouldn't even be able to reach Ayumu at this height.

Midoriko despite offering no words of her own silently agreed with the red LRIG as evidenced by her angered expression. As the bolt of lightning eventually subsided, smoke then poured from Ruko as she blinked for an instance, severely weakened by the surprise attack that her brother had planned for her at this point. Everything around her started to become blurry as she felt dizziness get the better of her before falling face down onto the table in front of her, losing consciousness completely.

"Ru!" cried Tama as she ran over to her head, tugging at a small portion of her hair that was tied up by a hairpin in the desperation to wake her back up "Wake up Ru! Ru!"

"Ruko, wake up!" called Yuki as she stared at her Selector in dismay.

"Hmm... I didn't expect her to lose consciousness though," Ayumu pondered as he coughed from the sparks that were still flying across him as a result of using the clone LRIG's powers now "But now, she's finally had a taste of true pain. Pain I felt from the bottom of my heart and the pain of my mother when she made me leave her!"

Yuki at this point finally had enough with what her older brother was saying, even if he was being influenced by the words and enigmas of their mother, Miyako. She gritted her teeth with anger and turned around to face him with an angry expression.

"She was your own sibling...!" she growled "Even if what you're implying about her past is true to an extent... that's no right to abuse her for something she has no idea of possibly even doing!"

As she clenched her teeth in anger, feeling it boil within her towards the breaking point, a throb of pain suddenly caused her to clench her stomach again as she feel to her knees. The growl from before when she felt this way rang through her head once again as her eyes took on a terrified appearance to them as she began to fathom the terrible things she was afraid of at this point.

It cannot be...! she gasped in her thoughts as she looked down to the hard surface of the table below her Am I... Am I about to become... that despicable dragon again?!

And with that, an afterimage of Berserk Draconis appeared in the back of her mind, confirming her worst suspicions at this time.

(End Music)


And there we go! As Ayumu grows suspicious of the truth, he is then tortured by Miyako to make him submit to her will and mission once again as he challenges Ruko to a battle, this time using Kai's old Narukami deck. When the battle reaches close to its peak, Ayumu gives up more of his strength and willpower to make the copied Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion attack Ruko directly, knocking her out as a result. During the battle, a strange feeling courses through Yuki as she begins to fear that the curse of Berserk Draconis that Blaster Blade and Tama previously suppressed has not gone away at all and may be seeking to force another transformation on her!

What will happen next?! Can Ruko regain consciousness and find out the truth behind what she did six years ago? Find out next time on Stand Up, the LRIG! Please share your thoughts and criticisms in the reviews and I'll see you next time! Until then!


Card of the Chapter:

Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion

Level 3

Colour: Yellow

Grow Cost: 2 Yellow

Limit: 8

LRIG Type: Narukami

Effect:

[Action] Limit Break - Pay 3 Yellow: Switch this turn's SIGNI and LRIG attack steps. Then during this turn, if this LRIG would attack an LRIG, it can battle all of your opponent's SIGNI in one attack instead.