Hi everyone and welcome back to Stand Up, the LRIG! Before we get into this next chapter, I'm officially announcing that results of the poll on my profile are now final and that it is officially closed. With that said, I hope you enjoy what I have here.
Flashback; Miyako's POV
"When I was still a child, there was only one that I could even call a friend. That person's name... is Mayu!"
A long time ago, a much younger Miyako was gazing up at the blue sky that was above the city of Tokyo littered with various clouds that partially obscured the sun that was amongst them. Beside her standing in front of a rail that kept them both from the edge of where they were standing was Mayu herself, her appearance remaining almost exactly identical to the one that remained with the confines of the White Room, minus the slight difference in hair colour. As the latter looked to the person who would become the mother of Ruko and Ayumu in the far future, she couldn't help but ponder what it was she noticed in her friend's seemingly distant and unhappy expression.
"Are you really getting better?"
Mayu could only stare at Miyako in confusion in regards to her sudden harsh question as she turned to her left to face her at once. Before she could speak a word in response, she suddenly held her right hand into her hand as she coughed right into her palm before wheezing for a brief instance.
"I knew it..." she huffed "They've not done anything to help you, haven't they?"
"I don't know how I can..." Mayu coughed "But I'm sure there must be a way somehow..."
After finally settling down for the moment with her illness, Miyako could only stare towards the sky once more as she began contemplating the life that the two of them had together up to this point.
"I don't understand..." she muttered "How can you not be bothered by this?"
"By what?"
"The despicable traits that makes up who we are. Greed, Negligence, Terror, Deceit, Cruelty... how does belonging to a race that knows nothing but that not bother you?"
"I..."
Mayu did not know how to respond to her friend's statement, seemingly confused for a moment as her vision began to go hazy before stumbling backwards. As Miyako caught her gently by her shoulders, the two of them could hear footsteps as two women dressed in attires that seemed to resemble those of household maids came up to the pair. She hissed for an instance before looking back at her companion, unaware that this would be the very last time they would be together with one another in person... before their eventual 'reunion' in the Selector System.
"My friend was a very sickly girl and had to rely on whatever means possible to survive from whatever she was provided with by her father, who had little regard for her own presence. Eventually, the illness had gotten to the point where she could barely move... which only drew my suspicions ever since her father had prevented anyone from outside of his residence from seeing her, let alone trying to assist her. To make matters worse... he treated her as if she had never existed!"
At a later point in time, a furious Miyako departed from the closed off doors of a large house, the one which Mayu had remained isolated from the outside world in her own bedroom. All whilst she stared down at the floor in utter discontent whilst a tall man from behind a nearby window gazed upon her with an intense stare, almost as if he could sense that the girl that his daughter saw as her only 'friend' would be nothing but trouble for him in the near future.
"But no matter how much I tried... I couldn't get through to help her! Even Hatsu never believed me!"
Miyako gazed out of the window of her home in anger as she gazed out into the distance, her glare being focused in the rough direction of where Mayu's residence was from where she was currently living. Hatsu, still somewhat in her youth as evidenced by fair brown coloured hair not having any of the greys that it now had in the present day, attempted to approach her daughter in an effort to calm her down. But even with the slightest touch on the girl's shoulder, did she snarl quietly in response.
"I understand how you feel about your friend's absence..." she sighed, knowing it was the umpteenth time her daughter had spoken to her on the situation "But I'm certain that she must be recovering from that terrible illness."
"It's been over a month...!" Miyako growled, clenching her right fist "If you had any sense of decency, you would have known something was off!"
"Please, calm yourself Miyako..." Hatsu replied as calmly as she could "I don't want you to do something you'll end up regretting."
But as much as she had tried, the woman had little success in quelling her daughter's rage at all, if only by a small amount at all. Miyako stormed off towards the door that would have led to her bedroom, briefly glancing back at her mother.
"If you won't do anything about it... then I'll deal with it myself!"
(Selector Spread Wixoss OST: Mayu and White Room)
And with that, she entered her bedroom whilst slamming the door loudly behind her and leaving behind a concerned Hatsu who simply stared at the door in worry. Somehow, compared to previous times when her daughter spoke out about this subject on her perspective, she felt that for whatever reason, something was bad was going to come out of it and she didn't know what.
"And so, I sought out a way to break Mayu free from the prison that her own father had called a 'home' and expose him for the disgusting creature he was. But with his 'servants' patrolling around every corner of the house in broad daylight for my presence, I knew that I couldn't be careless in my efforts. Then two weeks later, on one fateful evening... I had my one and only chance!"
Returning to Mayu's residence in the early evening, Miyako emerged from the pathway leading up to the house, gazing to the left and right of the trees that surrounded the path she had taken to return to this place. Oddly enough, the maids that attended to her friend's room on occasion and patrolled the grounds around the house were not present outside, making her feel even more cautious. Hearing a rustle of leaves behind her, she immediately turned around, suspecting that she was being followed at this point.
"So he has eyes in other places..." she muttered quietly to herself "Very well then... if that's how you wish to toy with me."
And with that she began to scour the outside of the house in the hope of finding an alternative point of entry that would allow her to enter Mayu's room undetected. As she did so, she failed to notice a small hint of dark purple fog passing by her feet as she shuffled across the walls of the residence, remaining weary of anyone else's presence outside at this point. When she came over to a window and crouched for a moment to sneak past it from underneath, she stopped midway as she could hear several voices from the room on the other side of the wall.
"So is 'that' back?"
"Has 'that' even recovered?"
"It hardly matters. 'That' was already dead weight from the beginning, though we covertly agreed that would be our secret."
Clenching her teeth in complete anger, Miyako could recognize from the tone of the third voice that it was Mayu's very own father that had little regard for his own daughter or the fact that she was suffering from her illness to the point where he even declared her dead weight. Deciding to rant to herself later about him and other people she had despised, she looked ahead to see a faint purple glow emerging from the far end of the house. Curious as to what was going on, she threw caution to the wind and hurried over to find the source of the light, eventually coming across a lower portion of a wall where strange purple fog was almost seeping through the cracks.
"Say... Shiro, Kuro... Isn't it strange? You're all my friends but I'm the only one here. Not only can't I wish... I can't see what a florist looks like..."
"Mayu...!" Miyako gasped quietly before looking to the weakened portion of the wall, seeing a loose brick that she could remove from it "Hey Mayu! Can you hear me?!"
But to no avail, it appeared that Mayu could not hear her friend from the outside as she slowly removed one of the loose bricks from the wall at a time, sensing an opportunity to try and get into her room to help her. As she continued to remove more bricks in an attempt to create a space low enough for her to crawl under, she could only feel concern building up within her as she continued to pick away, not caring if she had to bring down the entire wall as a result to get to Mayu herself.
"Really...? You're both so kind... My wish is..."
And with that, the only thing that followed a few seconds later was a strange noise followed by a loud thump, which only sent panic through Miyako. Deciding to throw all sense of rationality out of her mind once again, she began stamping out the remaining loose bricks of the wall until she eventually was able to force her way through the small gap and into what was Mayu's bedroom. Coughing briefly from the dust that had been stirred up in her rushed entry and brushing off another piece of the wall she had forced her way through, she soon saw on the other side of the bed a single hand.
"Mayu...!" she cried as she stumbled for a moment before rushing over to the only human being that she would ever consider a friend.
But upon reaching the motionless Mayu, she could see that her eyes were now completely lifeless, devoid of any sign of emotion or movement. To make matters worse, she wasn't even breathing at all which only served to make Miyako's panic rise even more. She reached down to the girl's right hand and held it for a moment, hoping that was still even a small bit of life that remained within her one and only friend. The cold feeling that she received in return along with all of the other symptoms had confirmed her worst fears. Mayu was indeed well and truely, dead.
At first, tears began to stream down Miyako's cheeks as the cold hard truth began to seep into her mind, followed immediately by her earlier anger which was now boiling intensely as she let out a loud scream of anguish that rang throughout the entire house. Afterwards, the sound of footsteps was heard as the sound of a lock being undone was heard, which immediately caught her attention. As the door to the bedroom opened, the same two maids that brought Mayu home forcefully all those months ago had stepped forth to find out what had happened. When their eyes trailed upon the lifeless girl that lay on the floor, they felt mortified all of a sudden, but before they had time to process any thoughts...
"YOU...!"
Silently gasping for a moment, their eyes then trailed upon the enraged Miyako who slowly rose to her feet before glaring straight at them, realizing that she was greatly upset from discovering that her friend had died just now. Before any of them could open their mouths, she immediately leapt at the one that was closest to her and threw both of them straight into the corridor, pinning the startled and frightened maid right to the ground.
"I'll... kill you all!" Miyako yelled as she raised her hands, with the other maid soon realizing what it was that the angry child intended to do now that she was atop her companion.
"Wait!" she cried as she looked back to the deceased Mayu "We didn't know Mayu was getting weaker...! We're were told to...!"
But before she could finish her sentence, Miyako suddenly felt a hand grab the back of her shirt collar as she was then immediately yanked off the maid she had pinned down and up into the air, causing her to thrash around wildly.
"Let go of me scum!" she screamed as she was turned around to reveal that it was the man she had recognized as Mayu's negligent father.
"You've been a nuisance until now," he replied lowly in a bold manner "I don't understand what it is that you see in that 'dead weight' to begin with."
"Sir...!" one of the two maids called "When we found her... she discovered before us... 'that' was already dead..."
"Her name is Mayu!" Miyako yelled, forcing her to be taken aback in shock at her tone "And she died because of all of you...!"
Mayu's father simply stared at the lifeless girl before letting out a huff in response, as if the entire affair wasn't even bothering him in the first place to begin with.
"Even if that is true, who is to say I am to blame?" he scoffed "It is one measly word against mine..."
"And mine too!"
As everyone gasped for a moment as to who the voice came from, Hatsu immediately stepped into the corridor as she too was angry with the situation and who was to blame, but unlike her daughter, she was managing to keep at least a majority of her rage in check.
"And I suggest that you let my daughter go this instant!" she declared.
"You...!" he gasped, realizing his sudden mistake at this point.
"What are you doing here?!" Miyako exclaimed.
"I had a feeling you would attempt something like this," Hatsu explained "So I followed you here and came in through the front door as his guests were leaving, hoping I could see if your suspicions were true or not without you getting into trouble."
Upon finishing her sentence however, her previously anguished expression turned to one of sorrow as she glanced over to the lifeless Mayu's body, now brought to light on everything that had been happening and that her daughter's suspicions were correct from the very beginning.
"You were here... and you did nothing to save Mayu?!" Miyako yelled.
"I only managed to get inside for a minute before I heard your scream," she replied "I'm really sorry I wasn't able to save her as you intended. And I'm sorry for not believing you before."
Miyako said nothing more in response, simply looking down to the floor after Mayu's father had dropped her there, seething in rage and agony. As one of the two maids tried to approach her, the other held back one hand on her shoulder, not wanting to risk their companion being attacked by her blind rage again.
"Mayu's father was eventually arrested for his neglect and the house they lived in withered away with time... But my rage towards him, Hatsu and the rest of humanity only continued to burn. I continued through life, being forced to pretend that nothing of the sort happened for 'my own good'. During my seclusion as a teenager, I had heard rumour of the Wixoss card game allowing certain players to make their wishes come true whilst risking everything to obtain it."
(End Music)
Present Day: Steel Wall Prison
As everyone, human, unit and LRIG alike looked towards Miyako, no doubt still in shock over the circumstances that had led to Mayu's death in the first place, what she had said next had only led to the suspicion that had suddenly crossed their minds.
"Then... you were a Selector?" Ruko murmured nervously.
"That is correct," the Selector's mother replied coldly "I originally entered the battles with only one wish on my mind. To bring humanity, the race that I despised being a part of... to their knees and... their eventual extinction!"
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Absolute Break)
Everyone else watching from the side of the prison could not help but drop their jaws in shock and disbelief as to the exact wish that Miyako had intended to make come true and enact upon the world they stood in. None were more shocked by this revelation however than Ruko and Ayumu, having grown up around her for almost more than half of their lives and knowing nothing about her intentions or how she was really feeling until this very moment.
"Is she serious...?!" Kamui exclaimed.
"Her wish is nothing short of flat out genocide!" Midoriko interjected.
"So all of this just to claim revenge for Mayu's death...?" Kai muttered.
Miyako said nothing more in response as she then revealed Star-vader, Pixie Powder from her hand and threw it into her Trash Pile, just as one of the two Radons in her Ener Zone also moved to her Trash Pile.
"Chaos Breaker's skill," she spoke "I Lock Burning Horn Dragon!"
Chaos Breaker quietly chuckled as a Lock manifested in its left claw before hurling it towards Burning Horn Dragon, sealing it within the black rings and encasing it inside of a small black sphere as the physical card turned face down on Kai's table. The Kagero user gazed down at the Locked card as red sparks flew off of it before looking back to see Photon, Neon and Osmium appearing on her side of the field. The smaller commander of the Star-vaders pointed one of its blades towards Berserk Dragon, trapping it inside of a Lock as well.
"She's Locked two of his SIGNI in an instant...!" Yuzuki muttered.
"And that's not the worst of it..." Aichi murmured as Hitoe and Ruko turned over to him.
Osmium then aimed the cannon it wielded over its shoulder towards Nehalem and the dragon it rode atop of before firing a dark purple beam that struck them both in an instant and brought up a lot of smoke on impact. As Kai's next Life Cloth revealed itself as Lintwurm, Phantom Dragon, he could only clench his teeth as he then searched his deck for another copy and placed it straight into his hand.
"Osmium's skill!" Miyako called "Even if you Ener Charge Burning Horn Dragon or wait until the end of your next turn, it will be Omega Locked!"
The Kagero user could clench his teeth as he carefully observed all of the other options he had available to him in his hand at this point, knowing the situation he had been forced into at this point.
"If I were correct to assume, you had a Quintet Wall you intended to use," she continued "But, the lack of Ener I gave you last turn prevented you from doing so."
"That is to be expected," he muttered "You know everything about me from my time in the Selector Battles and my former partnership with Chaos Breaker to this point."
Wordlessly, Miyako held out her metallic hand as a sign for Photon to wage the next attack as the Cyberoid commander then rushed across the prison field towards Nehalem, slashing across the dragon he stood atop of when he got there.
"Chaos Breaker..."
Chaos Breaker Dragon then grasped ahold of his scythe and held it upwards in preparation for its attack as Kai could only stare at it, knowing that this first strike from his former accomplice would not be the last throughout this battle.
"No guard," he spoke.
The Clown then sneered deeply before swinging down its scythe, sending a dark red coloured arc straight towards Nehalem who attempted to fend it off with his shield, only to no avail as the arc then exploded, sending a shockwave across the battlefield that forced Kai to cover his face. He gazed down to his Ener Zone to see a second Burning Horn Dragon now in his Ener Zone alongside Dual Axe Archdragon from Photon's attack.
End of Turn 5
Kai vs Miyako
Hand - 4 : 1
Life Cloths - 3 : 4
Current LRIGs - Dragon Knight, Nehalem : Star-vader, Chaos Breaker Dragon
SIGNI : Dragon Monk, Genjo : Berserk Dragon (Locked) - Burning Horn Dragon (Locked) : Flash Gun Star-vader, Osmium - Companion Star Star-vader, Photon - Star-vader, Pixie Powder
Ener - 3 : 4
"She's taken the lead..." Yuki muttered "And she didn't attack Genjo to limit Kai's Ener again."
"But Kai's got more cards in hand!" Tama interjected "Miyako won't be able to guard as much!"
Despite the girl of white's words of encouragement, no one was in the mood for even feeling the least bit positive about that statement in itself. The only ones who were perhaps in more pain than the units on Kai's side of the battlefield were Ruko and Ayumu, who still couldn't believe everything that Miyako had told them about in regards to Mayu's death and her initial wish as a Selector when she first entered the battles. The latter of whom after hearing everything that was just said and what he had now understood from his sister was especially more down, especially after everything he had said and done earlier.
"Destroying our world and everyone on it...?" he muttered as he closed a fist in frustration "That's what I've been helping mother achieve...?!"
"Onii-chan..." Ruko murmured in worry before looking back to the field to see Kai beginning his next turn.
The Kagero user gazed over his hand and what little options he had available to him at this point before staring back up towards Chaos Breaker Dragon and Miyako. As much as he was reluctant to admit it, the mother of Ruko was playing this battle much more intelligently than he originally anticipated, only giving him Ener through dealing direct damage and Locking down his SIGNI to reduce the number of abilities he had access over to the point where he had enough to barely keep growing.
Why did she mention Ener Charging the Locked Burning Horn Dragon...? he murmured in his thoughts Certainly, I can sense the Locks in the realm of Selector Battles appear to function differently... but for what purpose would she tell me this?
(End Music)
When he glanced back at Chaos Breaker Dragon once more, the answer suddenly became much more clearer to him. Reaching out for Berserk Dragon's card, he mentally processed the situation once again before placing his fingers on top of it. Sparks flew from the top of it as he expected, but for some reason, it felt different to the first time he tried to touch a Lock when he fought the 'other' Takuto.
"I Ener Charge this Lock!" he called as he moved the card to his Ener Zone before taking two of the other cards from there and moving them to his Trash.
"Yes, now Kai's got an open space to summon another SIGNI!" Kamui cheered.
"But I'm curious..." Kiyoi pondered "Why Ener Charge Berserk Dragon when Burning Horn is Omega Locked?"
Even Aichi could not help but wonder in agreement with the former LRIG, even being surprised that the power of Lock was not as restrictive as it was in Vanguard. But he knew that even he wasn't aware of all of Chaos Breaker Dragon's powers having lost to it before on his first attempt to set Kai free from the path he had followed back then. He kept a close eye on his friend, watching him raise up his arm holding onto a card he had picked out from his LRIG deck just a few moments ago and he knew that if he was finally battling the way he normally was, then this unit would be the one everyone knew about.
(Cardfight! Vanguard OST: Kai no Theme)
"Grow the Vanguard!" the Kagero user declared as he threw down the card on top of Nehalem's "The apocalyptic flames that reduce everything in this world to ash!"
And with those words, Nehalem and the dragon he rode atop vanished in a bright orange glow before a large torrent of flames burst from out of the hardened steel floor of the prison, sending small burning chunks scattering across towards Miyako's side of the field as Chaos Breaker Dragon gazed into the daunting inferno, almost enjoying the sight of whatever it was that was about to emerge before it. Very soon, an all too familiar roar signalled the attention of everyone present as the flames slowly died down to reveal the crimson red form of the dragon that went by many names within the Empire it hailed from. Kai kept his serious gaze focused upon his two opponents as he finally, for the first time in a while, announced the name of the unit he had finally put into play.
"Dragonic Overlord!"
"Kai's done it!" Tama cheered, happy that he was finally able to move on from the issue that had plagued him since the previous night.
"Amazing, Kai-kun!" called Aichi.
"So this is Dragonic Overlord..." Midoriko breathed.
"Yeah..." Ruko murmured.
Despite it being the third time she had seen the actual unit in person, even she couldn't help but be in somewhat of awe in the presence of such a mighty beast. Whilst Miyako chose not to comment at this point regarding the scenario that she was now in at this point, Chaos Breaker however gazed upon Dragonic Overlord, intrigue filling its purple eyes.
"The legendary Overlord..." it sneered "I certainly did not account for my soldiers waking you up from your 'eternal slumber'* during our 'visit' to Cray. But to think that your flame was nothing more than a flickering ember back then... I can see Schwarzschild wasn't mistaken in choosing to recover you."
"So it is you that sent those hollow dolls to disturb me then!" the red dragon growled, pointing its sword towards the Clown "My only vision is to settle things with Ahmes by my own strength and if you're going to get in the way... then you can burn with those empty shells!"
"Just as fierce as I imagined," it chuckled "But I wonder if my 'pupil' still has issues with trusting you as he rejects my gift that binds to him for life."
Overlord snarled lowly as it gazed down towards Kai, clearly remembering well of how he forfeited his battle to Aichi when he feared that he was unable to control the power of Reverse within the Seed fragment that was embedded inside of him. The Kagero user had his eyes closed, reflecting back over the brief period of his unwillingness at the time, up until Noriko had called him out for his cowardice during their battle. Opening them back up, he felt that now was the time to speak with the dragon on the subject, before they could make any effort to move forward.
"Overlord," he spoke "I wrongfully accused you of being responsible for the reason that Reverse existed once more within my Seed fragment."
Dragonic Overlord then gazed down at its wielder, narrowing its sharp yellow eyes as it listened very carefully to what he was saying to him.
"I allowed my own fear to overtake me, resulting in that power trying to control me like before," he continued "If you are still angry about my previous actions, then I understand. But right now, I need you here to battle onward!"
"Do not go back on your word then," it snarled as it turned its attention back to Chaos Breaker Dragon "I already had it up to hear about your 'difficulty' from Blazing Flare!"
Kai could only nod in agreement, knowing that he had more than not having lost a little bit of trust with his other units given what had happened in his previous confrontation with Noriko. But right now, this wasn't of any concern to him. He was confronting his inner demons at last at the presence of the Clown itself and Ruko's mother, who had far more ambitious plans for the worlds they inhabited along with her discontempt for humanity itself, all because of Mayu's death as a result of her father's negligence and as a result, Ruko and Ayumu respectively ended up being pawns in her much grander schemes.
"Summon!" he called as Lintwurm materialized onto the field before moving the last card in his Ener Zone that wasn't Locked to his Trash Pile "Then One Rule, Two Birds!"
As Overlord radiated in a bright red in receiving the effects of the ARTS, the Dragon Beast SIGNI that was in front of it then immediately soared into the air before diving down towards Photon who remained motionless as she lashed her tail across him, banishing the Cyberoid commander from the field. Seeing that Genjo wasn't even powerful enough to attack Nebula Captor, Kai turned his attention back to his key unit.
"Overlord... singe Chaos Breaker with your overwhelming strength!" he declared as he downed the card "Eternal Flame!"
Dragonic Overlord upon catching the Clown in its sights roared loudly and took flight towards it, intending to strike the blow that would at least score Kai a temporary lead for the turn. Upon seeing the red dragon in its midst, Chaos Breaker smirked and took flight as well, preparing to swing its scythe in retaliation. When the two combatants finally came within range of each other, both dragons swung their weapons with all of their might at one another. When the blade and scythe struck, Overlord and Chaos Breaker were currently stuck in a stalemate, staring off one another as one tried to overpower the other with all of their strength. Yet for some reason, the Clown did not seem concerned at all with the scenario at hand.
"I like your vigor," it spoke in a bemusing manner "It only makes me wish my forces were more successful in bringing you to us."
"Over my dead hide!" Overlord growled as it eventually parried away Chaos Breaker's scythe before unleashing its signature Eternal Flame right at it.
A raging inferno then spread over to Miyako's side of the field as she covered her face with her gloved hand to shield herself from the heat. As Ruko silently gasped for a moment, she looked ahead to see Chaos Breaker sneering in the midst of its agony, almost as if it was not concerned with its own pain and finding amusement out of the situation for its own twisted enigma. What made things much stranger was that it was almost like that sneer was being directed towards her, for whatever reason it had in mind. When the flames finally died down, Miyako's next two cards revealed themselves as another copy of Photon and Rejection Dragon, both of which landed in her Ener Zone. At the same time, the Lock on Berserk Dragon's card finally wore off.
(End Music)
End of Turn 6
Kai vs Miyako
Hand - 5 : 1
Life Cloths - 3 : 2
Current LRIGs - Dragonic Overlord : Star-vader, Chaos Breaker Dragon
SIGNI : Dragon Monk, Genjo : Lintwurm, Phantom Dragon - Burning Horn Dragon (Locked) : Flash Gun Star-vader, Osmium - EMPTY - Star-vader, Pixie Powder
Ener - 1 : 7
Kai stared towards the disgruntled woman as she finally lifted down her gloved arm and faced him once more, drawing her next two cards to begin the turn.
"A wise choice," she spoke harshly "If you had Ener Charged Burning Horn Dragon, Chaos Breaker's Limit Break would have activated."
"I am aware of all of its abilities," he replied "If I could only remove 1 Lock, then it would make the most sense."
As Chaos Breaker then recovered from the attack it recently took from Dragonic Overlord, Miyako gazed upon the Kagero user once again as she raised her metallic hand with the gemstone flashing a bright purple before emitting a glow that blinded nearly everyone present on the battlefield.
"What the heck is this...?!" Yuzuki gasped as she shielded her eyes.
As Kai raised one arm above his head to try and fight against the blinding brightness that Ruko's mother, his vision of the prison suddenly began to fade away into nothing but white light. As he could see that he was seemingly no longer on the battlefield, at least from his perspective, he could only wonder what it was that his former 'mentor' was trying to do to him now. As he lowered his arm, seeing that he was no longer at the risk of being blinded by the brightness all around him, two shadows began to manifest in front of him. Instinctively, he remained on guard, not knowing if these were illusions or something more that Chaos Breaker had summoned to further toy with him.
"Welcome home Kai."
Upon hearing the voice that somehow entered his ear, Kai could only remain apprehensive as his expression slowly changed to shock as it seemed like he recognized the tone.
"How is Miwa and Ibuki these days?"
Once he had heard the second voice however, the darkness obscuring the figures that had materialized in front of him slowly began to fade away, revealing the forms of two people that he knew... and cared deeply about. Once he recognized who exactly they were, Kai could only gasp as he realized who it was that was standing before him and seemingly speaking out to him.
"M... mother...? Father...?" he breathed in disbelief, taking a step back.
And indeed, the man and woman that stood before him, just as he remembered long ago before their tragic deaths, bore the exact same appearance and voices of the parents that he had lost on that terrible day. As they smiled almost innocently, Kai immediately clenched his teeth as he looked away from them and upwards a little, as if he had something on his mind.
"What is the meaning of this?!" he demanded.
No sooner had he yelled out did the space around him eventually revert back to the Steel Wall Prison, exactly from where he was standing at this point in time. As Chaos Breaker deepened its smile, Miyako remained completely still, unfazed by his sudden outburst in regards to what she had just showed him. Even everyone watching from the side couldn't help but ponder in confusion on what exactly had happened.
"Kai-kun...?" Aichi murmured.
"Did he say... mother...?" Ruko pondered in confusion.
Whilst everyone barring Kiyoi looked at one another, hoping to gain an assumption or two from what Miyako had just done to Kai moments ago, Yuzuki and Hitoe could only look at one another in concern, having been two of the only three in their own world to know about the Kagero user's full past and the fate of his parents. Midoriko gazed to her two friends, wondering what is was that had them very worried at this point.
"She wouldn't...!" the red LRIG muttered as she clenched her fist "That's just low!"
Kai's previously serious gaze had now turned into a rather harsh glare towards his opponent, angry with her for stirring up images of his deceased parents for whatever reason she had in mind at this point. As she moved Pixie Powder to her Ener Zone, the unit vanishing from the field in a dark red aura as this happened, Miyako closed her eyes for a brief moment.
"Why did you betray us...?!" she growled "Chaos Breaker had high hopes for you... and you went against everything that separated you from the rest of humanity!"
"Betray 'us'...?!" he muttered, still feeling unnerved from the earlier image he was shown "What are you saying?!"
"I'll tell you," she replied "But first, I believe you still want answers to how I found Mayu after all those years and eventually took up her confidants' rank of General."
The Kagero user remained silent, but nodded once, knowing that was a question he was planning to ask her at some point during the battle sooner or later, especially after everything they had heard so far.
"It all began in the midst of my effort to become an Eternal Girl," she began "I fulfilled the Ritual of Consent, needed to make my wish come true..."
Flashback; Miyako's POV
(Selector Spread Wixoss OST: Door)
"However... it appeared that my LRIG had other plans for me..."
As both Miyako, now significantly older in age since the day that Mayu had died, and her LRIG hovered towards an open doorway at the top of the battlefield, each with a pair of blazing white coloured wings sprouting from their backs, both companions held their hands with one another throughout the duration of the journey towards realizing the Selector's wish. That being to bring about the end of humanity and the 'disgusting' world she inhabited, by any means necessary. When they eventually were about to cross over into the doorway, they suddenly stopped in mid flight, much to Miyako's sudden confusion. The LRIG then held an innocent smile on her expression as she spoke out to her.
"I'll make your wish come true," she spoke in a seemingly gentle tone, before suddenly letting go of the latter's hand.
As Miyako slowly fell in shock, a dark vortex suddenly manifested itself beneath her from below the battlefield as violent winds suddenly began to carry her towards the swirling twister. As the LRIG turned around back to the doorway to continue the Ritual, now with no further hindrances to seemingly have her worry about. However, a hand immediately grabbed onto her right foot tightly as she gasped in shock before gazing down to see that not only was Miyako gripping tightly to her leg, but she was also seemingly pulling her towards the black tornado that was raging within the battlefield.
"W... what are you doing...?!" she cried "I said I would...!"
"You... dare to deceive me this easily...?!" Miyako groaned "Fine then...! If I can't have my desire come to pass... then I'll gladly drag you to the depths of hell with me!"
As the LRIG gasped in shock at this sudden turn of events and tried to turn around and fly away back to the open doorway, the Selector simply out of either stubbornness or complete outrage refused to let go as both of them were dragged towards the dark vortex, where she had initially presumed that her 'companion' had tried to destroy her through, not knowing of its true purpose at the time. As they got closer and closer...
"Stop the Ritual at once! Bring her to me unharmed, immediately!"
Upon recognizing the tone of the voice that suddenly echoed throughout the depths of the battlefield, Miyako gasped in complete shock, having never expected to hear that voice again since 'that' day. The tornado then suddenly faded away as a familiar dark red aura then suddenly burst from out of the open doorway and enveloped both the Selector and LRIG, the darkness being the very last thing either of them saw at this point.
(End Music)
"When I eventually regained consciousness, I was not as an LRIG, as I should have been... but still myself."
Miyako then woke up to find herself within the depths of the White Room, staring at the various gates and windows displaying life as it went on in the outside world, the very same world and its inhabitants that she detested and blamed for the death of her friend. As she gazed down the vast expanse to see where exactly she was, her foresight eventually landed upon the girl that had been watching over her out of curiosity, a rare emotion from the mastermind of the White Room when she was not enjoying the despair of those within the Selector System and planning out her next move. At first, shock completely overtook Miyako as she knew it had been years since she last saw Mayu and yet... the person standing in front of her looked exactly like her as she did before.
"Mayu... is that really you...?" she breathed, in a rare moment of not being in the midst of her anger.
"You look different... and yet..."
Mayu then suddenly clutched her head as she tried to recollect the person she initially believed to have recognized, if only by her voice alone. Then when a memory had flashed in front of her, for a brief moment, the mastermind of the Selector Battles saw the younger Miyako standing before her as her view then changed back to the older one that was now here.
"Miyako...?" she murmured.
"Mayu...!"
With a strange sensation of joy bursting from out of her, Miyako with tears leaking out of her eyes, ran over towards Mayu and suddenly embraced her tightly, much to her initial confusion.
"That's right..." the mastermind breathed, now realizing that this was indeed her friend before her death "Before I... you were the only person who ever called me by my name..."
"B... but how?" Miyako asked "How is it that you exist here...?"
Mayu then stepped away from her friend, knowing that all of this was something that she had to tell her, especially given that she did not know that the Selector who was battling earlier was her in the first place. She never made exceptions within the Selector System to anyone, not even the Link Joker units that assisted her in maintaining it in the first place. But now for the first time, she had an exception she was going to make and her companion had the right to know about everything that had happened, including how she came to exist in this dimension.
"I learned that Mayu's spirit did not pass on as the Void made contact with her moments right after she had died, willing to offer her to help fulfil her one and only wish. To bring despair to the outside world for being able to select when she could not and for the very reasons that I despised humanity for that she was generously informed of. But because the dimension was a realm where only her spirit could exist on a physical plane, it is impossible for her to enter this wretched world herself. Therefore, when she offered me a job to assist her in maintaining and enforcing the Selector Battles from the outside world when necessary..."
"I'll do it!"
Mayu, now with Chaos Breaker Dragon standing behind her after explaining everything about her newfound existence in this realm and how they came to construct the Selector Battles together, seemed almost surprised by the sudden exclamation by Miyako in her willingness to aid her in her goals regardless of what was to happen by the final plan.
"With the power at your command and the game you have set in motion...!" she declared "This despicable world and the race I wish to sever my ties to... will finally receive their judgement! No matter how long it takes... I will make your wish come true!"
"You would do it... for me?" she breathed.
With a single nod being all that her friend offered to confirm her newfound allegiance to the cause of the Selector Battles and what they stood for, Mayu then gently smiled and came up to Miyako once more.
"Then from this day forth... we'll finally accomplish great things for this world together, my General," she spoke "Welcome to our cause... Miyako."
Present Day: Steel Wall Prison
Once the details on how Miyako had became Mayu's General had finally been revealed to all who were standing within the cold walls of the Steel Wall Prison, everyone could only remain still, most of whom were almost shocked by the fact that Mayu herself had willingly cancelled the Ritual of Consent, if only so she could speak with her friend once more for the first time in years. But the woman herself was far from finished with the complete story at this point as she continued her tale towards its climax.
"Over the next few years in the outside world, I continued to act as though that 'incident' had truly disappeared from me whilst I continued to assist Mayu in maintaining the Selector Battles," she spoke "As I already told you earlier, at one point, she for only a brief instant was able to temporarily manifest an LRIG whose raw power unlike anything she had previously imaged for the first LRIGs. Originally, we sought for earthworldly vessels in an attempt to resummon her from the byproducts, Tawil and Umr."
Aichi and Umr could only stare at Ruko's mother, still shocked that she would attempt to use other people around her in an effort to create a vessel on this world for the being known as Ut'ulls.
"However, each attempt with our 'toys' ended with failure with all of them barely surviving the procedures," Chaos Breaker interjected "That was when she decided that a child of her own may be the necessary component."
"Don't tell me..." Kiyoi breathed "That your own daughter...!"
Ruko could only gasp in shock and disbelief, realizing that she was initially meant to be the next attempt at Ut'ulls' earthworldly vessel after all of the previous failures that her mother had gone through. Ayumu could only stare at his sister, knowing that despite the memories he had recovered from the incident six years ago and what had transpired then correlated to his thoughts now, even he couldn't help but think about what was going through their mother's head at the time of their respective births.
"If there was one piece of 'advice' that I should have heeded from Hatsu, perhaps it would be the type of man I sought as the 'father' for that purpose," Miyako concluded "But despite that minor 'setback'... he served his purpose until the end, as did Ayumu now."
"Then the only reason we were even born...!" he growled "Was it just so you hoped that Ruko could help you destroy the world?!"
"That is correct."
After turning her attention away from her scowling son, she immediately regained a displeasured look on her face as she turned back around to face Kai once again, who seemed just as shocked by everything that had just been revealed to him and the others.
"After Noriko had saved Ruko and Ayumu from their fate," she spoke "When I regained consciousness, I discovered that Hatsu had learned how I treated them up to this point and sought to take them in as her own after my 'misconduct'. Knowing she would grow suspicious of my plans, I left them in her care willingly, them having outlived their purpose already, leaving only the words that Ruko was scary behind to cover my tracks."
(Cardfight! Vanguard OST: Ren's Power)
"Then... Ruko was never scary in the first place?!" Aichi gasped.
The Selector herself could only stare at her mother in shock, still in disbelief that after all this time, from what little memory she had of hearing her say that she was scary, was all a lie to cover up her own nefarious plans that she had for the world they inhabited from Hatsu.
"And as for you Kai Toshiki..." she continued "Whilst Mayu did not have knowledge of you before your entry into this world, I was kept informed from the Clown of your own progress during my travels before you strayed from our path and allowed Sendou Aichi to prevent the destruction of your world." She then clenched her metallic hand with a loud clank. "If the invasion was successful, I would have had you assigned to be the 'Exception' for the Selector Battles in the role we had originally assigned for Noriko before had defected from us!"
Kai could only widen his eyes upon hearing his past times of Reverse being brought into the conversation, but was shocked by the fact that not only did Miyako know of him before Mayu even had any knowledge about him, but she had other plans already set out for him as well.
"But then you betrayed Chaos Breaker for your own means and the invasion of your world and Cray ended in failure because of you!" she growled.
The Kagero user then immediately glared towards Chaos Breaker, sensing that the Cyber Dragon was finding its own sick twisted amusement in the conversation towards him and the rant that Miyako had unleashed his way, after revealing she had bigger plans for him to fulfil if the Link Joker invasion of his world had been a success as the other Takuto had planned it back then. After remembering everything he had been told by Leon in regards to how he arrived in this world in the first place, he knew there was a burning question he had to ask his former 'mentor' in regards to the conspiracy he had been involved with since the evening he first awoke.
"My entrance into the Selector Battles..." he muttered "When Takuto told Leon he intended to summon Aichi at first... this was your plan from the beginning, wasn't it?!"
"That is correct, my pupil," the Clown darkly chuckled as it ran one of its claws down the pole of its scythe "And to think, all of you believed it to be a mere accident that you arrived in this world. I briefly hijacked Takuto's power whilst observing the event from far outside of the White Room, setting you up as a Selector indirectly from your status as a cardfighter, just as Miyako originally intended."
"Even if that is true... why do you believe that I would even consider helping her?" Kai asked sternly.
When he looked back towards Miyako after making his statement clear, her tone had finally calmed down by a small amount as she began to give her reason for wanting him to serve her own purposes.
"It has been five or six years since you had no one caring to watch over you, just as Mayu had long ago," she spoke, her voice not as harsh as it was moments ago "Chaos Breaker may have been the closest thing you've ever had to family, after you lost your own."
Kai kept his gaze upon the woman, knowing that from her words just now that this was reason she had shown him the image of his deceased parents earlier in the battle.
"Come with me Kai..." she spoke as she offered out her gloved hand "You would be helping a just cause, bringing these worlds their rightful retributions and your desire for strong opponents would never be empty, even as Mayu reshapes the Selector Battles to start them all over and resuit them for the necessary games in conquering new worlds."
Everyone on the battlefield could stare at Miyako, despite being shocked by her rather outlandish intentions for their worlds and the Planet Cray. The last thing that any of them expected from her was the fact that she already knew of Kai's exploits with Reverse and planned to make him a Selector herself before he had even been brought to this world. And right now, she was trying to bring him over to her side to work with both her and Mayu as well as Chaos Breaker Dragon once more. The Kagero user however on the other hand, after hearing everything he needed to hear, clenched his open right fist.
"How dare you..." he growled.
Miyako raised an eyebrow in response to his statement whilst Chaos Breaker simply eyed him closely.
"Miyako, I can understand that you did everything you could to save Mayu's life, even if Hatsu didn't believe what was going on at first," he spoke "But if your story is true... then you've become no better than Mayu's own father!"
"And what is that supposed to mean?" she muttered.
"Just as her father neglected her, even when she needed his help to cure herself the most, you've neglected Ruko and Ayumu, seeing them as nothing more than disposable pawns for your schemes than your own family!" he yelled as a pointed his right hand towards her.
"Family? Daughter and son? Ridiculous," she spat "Ruko was always one of my dolls for Project: Locked Soul and nothing less and Ayumu was just a byproduct of my efforts to have her. That is all to it."
Ayumu angrily clenched his teeth, finding it difficult to say the exact words he wanted to yell out towards his mother as this point, feeling not just angry with her for seeing both him and Ruko those respective reasons that she had just listed, but with himself for blindly following her even with his lack of memories until the end of his previous battle against his sister. The Selector on the other hand was still in disbelief to everything she had just heard and for some reason, couldn't help but wonder if this was the way her mother really saw the two of them.
Miyako then continued on with her turn by revealing Sword Viper from her hand and dropping it into her Trash Pile.
"Lock Lintwurm!" she declared.
A pair of black rings surrounded the Dragon Beast SIGNI before closing in around her, causing her to cry out loudly before she was trapped inside of the black sphere that the bindings now circles around. Kai simply stared at his table for a brief moment, knowing that Osmium was still out on the field to wage another direct attack in an attempt to conduct another Omega Lock.
"And ARTS," Miyako continued as she picked out a card from her LRIG deck and revealed it "Chaos Subsequence!"
Everyone on the side of the battlefield could only gasp upon seeing the image that the card itself displayed to not just Kai, but all of them.
"She's got an ARTS exclusive to Chaos Breaker?!" Midoriko exclaimed.
"With this ARTS," the woman explained as she moved three cards from her Ener Zone to her Trash Pile "In exchange for skipping my next Draw and Ener Phases, the battle state now immediately becomes your End Phase!"
Kai could only widen his eyes as the two Locks he had on the field suddenly became undone as both Lintwurm and Burning Horn Dragon became free at last. But even he knew that this was far from a good sign.
"Chaos Breaker Dragon's Limit Break!" she declared as Mobius Breath Dragon and Dust Tail Unicorn moved out from underneath the Clown's card "Draw 2 cards and banish the SIGNI that were just unlocked!"
Chaos Breaker Dragon chuckled darkly as the blade of its scythe illuminated itself in a bright red glow before it clapsed both claws onto the weapon and swung it in one mighty motion, sending a large dark red arc that crashed into both Lintwurm and Burning Horn Dragon. Both unit and SIGNI were instantly gone from the battlefield in a large explosion the moment it had made contact with them.
"Such agony..." it sneered "How cute."
"Furthermore," Miyako continued as she revealed yet another new card from her LRIG deck "Chaos Refresh. Placing two Star-vaders from my LRIG Trash beneath Chaos Breaker, you must Ener Charge cards from the top of your deck into a Locked state equal to Mobius Breath's Level multiplied by two. In exchange, I cannot Lock any more cards on this new turn."
Kai could only clench his teeth as he picked up the top four cards of his deck, revealed to be Servant D2, Dragon Knight, Gimel, Dragonic Burnout and Goddra, Phantom Dragon. He placed the cards face down into his Ener Zone as red sparks then immediately flew off of them, indicating that the Locks had gone into effect.
"With this, the preparations are complete," she spoke "Now I will give you one last chance. Surrender your units and join me... or I will have to either take you by force or destroy you."
"My answer should already be clear to you, Miyako," he replied "No. For the sake of the girls you attempted to use in Photon's experiments and your own children...! I will defeat you... and I will take back the units you have stolen from all of the cardfighters you have attacked on my home world!"
"Then... prepare to face your fate, Kai Toshiki!" she declared.
And with that, Dragonic Overlord growled fiercly towards Chaos Breaker as its sneer never left its face, indicating that the battle would only rage fiercely from here on out.
(End Music)
And there we go! Miyako shares her tale on how Mayu was always neglected by her father and kept imprisoned within the confines of her room whilst she was gravely ill which led to the 'death' of the person who is now the mastermind of the Selector Battles. Because of this, her view of humanity was twisted by her own hatred which was only further fuelled by her devotion to serve Mayu in her cause, regardless of her loyalty to Link Joker and the Void. As Kai endures Chaos Breaker Dragon's attack, both the Clown and Ruko's mother also reveal that she originally had plans to take him to the White Room to make him a Selector known as the 'Exception' (the first and only male Selector in Mayu's system) had he decided to not reveal his intentions of fighting the Reverse Takuto (before Aichi defeated him) along with the invasion of his own world and the Planet Cray being successful.
Kai, now furious with Miyako on her treatment of both her daughter and son as well as the fact he unknowingly almost became another pawn in her plans, resolves to defeat her and reclaim the units that she's taken from the fighters of his world. What will happen next? Will Kai defeat Miyako? Or will Ruko's mother triumph and add Dragonic Overlord to her dozens of captured units? Find out next time on Stand Up, the LRIG! Please share your thoughts and criticisms and I'll see you next time!
*Slight callback to the lore of Dragonic Overlord "The Яe-birth".
Cards of the Chapter:
Star-vader, Chaos Breaker Dragon
Level 3
Colour: Grey
LRIG Type: Link Joker
Grow Cost: 2 Grey
Limit: 8
Effect:
[Use Timing - Opponent's End Phase] Limit Break (This ability is active whilst you have 3 or fewer Life Cloths): Exceed 1 Card with "Star-vader" in its card name: When your opponent's SIGNI is unlocked, you may pay the cost. If you do, banish it and draw 1 card.
[Action] Pay 1 Grey and choose a card with "Star-vader" in its card name from your hand and discard it: Choose 1 SIGNI card from your opponent's SIGNI Zone or Ener Zone and Lock it. This ability cannot be used for the rest of that turn.
[Constant]: Lord
Chaos Subsequence (Story Original Card)
ARTS
Colour: Grey
Cost: 3 Grey
Limiting Condition: Link Joker LRIGs only
[Use Timing - Main Phase] If you have a LRIG with "Chaos" in its name, it becomes your opponent's End Phase. Then skip the Draw and Ener Phases of your next turn. (Your opponent's Draw Phase is also skipped)
Chaos Refresh (Story Original Card)
ARTS
Colour: Grey
Cost: 3 Grey
Limiting Condition: Link Joker LRIGs only
[Use Timing - Main Phase] If you have a LRIG with "Chaos" in its name, choose up to two cards with "Star-vader" in their names from your LRIG Trash and place them beneath your LRIG. Then your opponent moves cards from the top of their deck to their Ener Zone in a Locked state equal to the combined Levels of those LRIGs x2. You cannot use this ARTS if you have already Locked a card this turn and you cannot Lock any other cards for the rest of this turn. You can only use 1 "Chaos Refresh" per turn.
