?
When the red light had eventually faded, Misaki and Ratie found themselves standing in a dark space with almost nothing right in front of them, leaving them only to question themselves on how they could even see each other without the use of light. Neither of them knew what Futase had planned for them or why she had brought them here, but if they were to be enlightened as the Selector had said moments earlier, then all they could do was wait.
"Where are we?" the former Quatre Knight questioned.
"Futase wanted to show us something," Miaski pondered "But what is it?"
"The first step would be to turn your backs."
The two of them then immediately turned around to find the source of Futase's voice, but to their surprise, it was not from who or what they were expecting. Instead of the body that they had been otherwise acqainted with up to this point in time, the Selector had taken the form of a slightly shorter girl with blue hair tied at the back and both sides of her gloomy face using hairpins and she wore an outfit comprising of a blue vest over a white top that covered her chest and a pair of shorts that were underneath the coattails of the vest.
"I'm not surprised by your reactions to what I look like outside of Fumio's body," she spoke "I suppose even with the knowledge that Kai Toshiki and Kominato Ruko have given you, there is certainly still much you don't believe."
"Futase..." Misaki murmured "So this is what you really look like."
"That is correct," Futase answered "At least, as the LRIG that possesses that body. Fumio became an Eternal Girl and I inhabited her body."
"So that's what Kai meant then?" Ratie asked.
"Don't be surprised," she replied "As far as information is concerned, you already had one among your number who underwent the same circumstances she did. But onto more pressing issues, you wanted answers as to how this came to be? I'll now reveal them to you."
(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Daily Life ~ Missing Parts)
With a wave of her hand, part of the darkness around them disappeared to display an image of some kind. It was depicting a bedroom with closed curtains and a large bookcase to the right with various books, the majority of them being novels that were notable and some unique to that world alone. A computer sat on a desk to the right of the bed where a familiar face was sitting on it in her pink nightwear, looking at the LRIG card that was in her hand with intrigue.
"Is that...?" Ratie pondered.
"The real Fumio," Misaki interjected "And the LRIG in that card must be..."
"You can move in there?" Fumio asked.
"Can't you see yourself?" the Futase inside the card sighed.
"Then you can talk too," the Selector replied bemusingly.
"You can hear me, right?"
Fumio simply smiled in amusement, which only resulted in the LRIG that she was holding grow into a rather pouty mood. She didn't mean to tease her new companion out of malice, but found her reactions amusing in a charming way of her own.
"Are you being serious?" Futase huffed "You're not acting very surprised for seeing a card talk in front of you."
The Selector simply chuckled in response before she turned her attention to the giant bookcase that was in front of her, the reasoning for her lack of surprise lying through the contents over there.
"I've already read through a number of stories like this," she answered before glancing down at the LRIG she had "My name is Fumio. What's yours?"
"I..." the LRIG pondered for a long while before sighing "I forgot. Just call me whatever."
"Then... your name from today is Futase."
As the image of that memory turned grey and paused, Misaki and Ratie could only look at one another with much on their mind, wondering about how it was possible from where it was beginning could Futase have turned into the servant of Schwarzschild Dragon as she was now. As they turned their attention to the LRIG that was behind them, she merely kept her eyes closed, not reacting in the slightest to the memories she was choosing to display to her enemies. With a simple wave of her hand, the memories that were on display before the clerk and the former Quatre Knight regained their colour and jumped forward a little bit further on in time.
A tired Fumio got up from her desk where she had been busy at her computer throughout most of the day and several books were also present there. One was of a novel she was using as reference whilst the other two had been guides to writing novels themselves. Misaki despite not recognizing the books as they were not from her world, could tell by their covers that she now had a faint idea of what the Selector's wish must have been, before Futase eventually claimed her body.
"Clicking and clacking every day," the LRIG commented from her card "Is that supposed to be fun in any way possible?"
Fumio fell back onto her bed before stretching out her arms and legs, the long road she had chosen to undertake having taken its toll on her limbs for quite some time now having its own side effects.
"Right now, it's no fun," she replied, her voice being slightly muffled amongst the cover her face was buried into "I'm a bit irritated because I have a writer's block."
"Then just quit."
The Selector then rolled across the bed until she was on her back, looking back up to the ceiling with a more optimistic smile, as if she had expected Futase to be that gloomy.
"It is fun sometimes though," she replied "There are definitely moments I can sense my accomplishments. Don't you have something that you're willing to aim for?"
"I... don't care about wishes or dreams anymore," the LRIG answered, feeling rather depressed at this point.
"It sounds like you've had an ambition you were wanting to strive for before."
Futase merely glanced down at the desk beneath her card, unsure of how to answer the question having known why exactly she had ended up in this situation in the first place.
"Don't worry. I won't push it upon you," Fumio continued as she came over to the desk "Just tell me whenever you feel comfortable with doing so."
As she continued typing with her work, the image that was being displayed faded to black before moving forward to a different point in time, showing both Futase and Fumio face to face with a dark brown haired girl that had approached them during the afternoon outside of a construction zone. Needless to say, as Misaki and Ratie could tell by her annoyed expression...
"What?!" she exclaimed "You're not going to do it?!"
"There's no meaning to my dream if I cannot attain it by my own hands," Fumio replied before putting on a pair of earphones "Go and check on the others. I'm certain they're worth more of your time."
"Tsk! Fine!" the Selector snarled "You're probably weak yourself and won't even last long in this do or die game!"
But her words had fallen mostly on deaf ears as the earphones Fumio was wearing had blocked out the majority of the volume, although the words she made out had concerned her a little.
"The way she was speaking now..." Ratie pondered "Doesn't it...?"
"It almost reminds me of what Kai was back then," Misaki replied "Even if he wasn't very sociable at the time and preferred to fight on his own, he had his own aspiration with Vanguard. Obtaining true strength through one's own hands was something he had always believed in."
"And that had given him a pact with Link Joker, one that would have brought him into my world sooner under the General's command."
As the image in front of the pair paused, they turned to face the present day Futase who had chosen to reply to the remark that the clerk had made in regards to Kai's early career as a cardfighter before he picked up the power of Link Joker for himself.
"I don't see why you think he and Fumio are anything alike in their conviction," she continued "Especially since her statement then was one of falsehood she wasn't even aware of."
"Then what are you saying?" Misaki questioned.
"LRIGs only appear to those with a great desire that the White Room's mistress and the Void can sense in the outside world," she answered resolutely "That is one of the reasons why the Selector Battles have stood the test of time for the last 20 years."
"Wh... 20 years?!" gasped Ratie "That's how long this has been going on for?!"
"That is correct," said Futase "Now then, continuing from where my memories were."
As the images resumed, the next morning arose as Fumio was dressed in her high school uniform, putting on her shoes in the empty hallway before she turned around to no one in particular.
"I'm going!" she called.
But no matter how long she waited, she did not recieve an answer from the kitchen at all before she turned to the door and exited out through it. More images of the school day flashed by, showing the Selector reading one of her novels in a classroom all by herself before wandering home later in the afternoon, overhearing girls chattering about the Wixoss card game. All whilst Futase watched on from the card, realizing how lonely her Selector truely was in the life outside of her dream. As Fumio walked across the pavement towards a crossing, the LRIG spoke up.
"Didn't you get your cards to play with someone?" she asked "Not neccessarily in the Selector Battles mind you."
"I'm not well suited to school life," the Selector replied, keeping a warm smile on her face.
"But isn't it hell, not being able to speak the whole day?" Futase pondered.
"I'm already used to it," said Fumio.
"Is it really fun living like that?"
The Selector then held up the card to see Futase who was merely bewildered more than sad, before smiling at the LRIG in sentiment to her question.
"It has been a little since I met you Futase," she spoke "I'm really glad I did."
"R... Really?" the LRIG asked, her expression finally brightening up for the first time since they had met.
Needless to say, she could already tell from her expression that Fumio was truely being honest with her and that was making her feel happy in turn.
"Say, look at that smile," she said, before crossing the street with her partner in tow "People smile when they're happy."
The images moved on further in time as it cut to the morning of a later day where Fumio was finishing writing on a sheet of paper before placing it on top of a pile with several more sheets. As Futase woke up from the morning light, the Selector showed her the completed pile with her name and the title author written on the front page. Sensing her Selector's happiness from finally completing the long and ordealing task she had set herself out to accomplish, the LRIG also smiled back in return, feeling that perhaps losing her body to her previous LRIG wasn't so bad, if it meant she was within the warm company of someone she could enjoy being around.
Later that day, Fumio had mailed the gathered sheets off together in the hope that all of her efforts were not for naught and that her dream of a novelist could come true. Futase within her card had closed her eyes and prayed that perhaps this Selector's wish could come true without the terrors that lay within the system, controlled by the vengeful spirit of a girl that was denied the chance to see the world beyond her room and the Clown that would terrorize the Planet Cray some time later. Immediately then, the image came to an abrupt end much to the confusion of Misaki and Ratie who were about to comment on what they had witnessed so far.
(End Music)
"But those happy days did not last," Futase spoke, walking towards the pair with her eyes now having shown a spiteful expression "Eventually, the cruel reality that was around her... destroyed her."
"Destroyed her?" the former Quatre Knight pondered.
"Is this to do with how she became an Eternal Girl?" asked Misaki.
(Selector Spread Wixoss OST: Frustration and Fear)
With a snap of the LRIG's fingers, the images now resumed to the view of Fumio's bedroom, only it was in complete darkness save for the light that came from her mobile phone. From what little they could see from her face, she was sobbing, trying desperately to block out the noise that was erupting from outside of her only safe place in her home. Dried streams of blood could also be seen on the left side of her check beneath the strand of hair that covered the left side of her face. The noises that the three observers of this memory soon heard were new two voices that came into the image.
"You've got some nerve, doing an overnighter!" a woman's voice growled.
"I... I was working, alright," a man replied, trying to keep his composure.
"Liar!" she screamed "I bet you were with another woman!"
"Says the one fooling around with some other guy!" he snarled back.
What followed the arguement was the sound of fragile objects being smashed as Fumio tensed up, her earphones having offered little protection to her ears from the violent fight that was erupting outside of her room. Although they knew it was just a memory from days past, Ratie couldn't help but feel sickened by what she was witnessing from just noise alone.
"Those voices are Fumio's parents?!" she cried.
"How horrible...!" Misaki muttered "Then the reason her face is like that...!"
"That's correct," Futase replied "Fumio in a vain effort to confront them earlier in the day... paid the price of having her left eye being blinded. And though she made the correct decision to move out of that horrid environment, even her dream began to crumble around her."
A new memory was shown of a later day where Fumio, with her only visible and non-blinded eye, gazed down in sadness at the application form that she had now gotten returned to her. And there was indeed reason for that, as the results for her application to become a novelist, the dream that was keeping her away from her dark and dreary life, had shown that she had failed. Even Futase from her card couldn't help but feel deeply sorry for her Selector's streak of bad luck in recent times. First the loss of sight from her left eye and now her dream being denied whether by fate or other forces at work.
Later that day, she had returned to the place where she had previously been approached by a Selector and to her slight surprise, she was indeed still there. Though she didn't seem as happy as she was compared to the first time they had previously seen each other.
"I'm not interested in a Selector who's not interested in battling," she scoffed.
"Then what if I said I would battle," Fumio replied as she suddenly brought out Futase's card, much to the LRIG's dismay.
"Hey, Fumio!" she cried "Didn't you say you needed to get your wish with your own hands?!"
"... That's true," Fumio sobbed "But... I'm at my limit. There's nothing else... but to battle for it. It's not any different... right?"
Futase could only stare at her crying Selector, realizing how much all of this was taking its toll upon her and how more boxed in her life was becoming until there was nothing left.
"If my dream doesn't come true, then my life will have been all for nothing," she continued "It's miserable living in futility like this. So please Futase... lend me your hand."
"Then I will make your wish come true," the LRIG replied "That's why... I am your LRIG."
"... Thank you, Futase..."
With that, the vision went to black before cycling through several still images of Fumio within the Selector Battlefield during her various Selector Battles in a desperate bid to make her wish come true, no matter the cost. Futase acted as her partner in battle, fighting against all manners of LRIGs who wielded either identical or different colours as their own elements.
"So this is where the Selectors fight," Ratie murmured "Aichi must have been in that place a few times."
"And it's also the place where the Eternal Girls are born and where others have their wishes tainted," Misaki interjected "Just how strong was Fumio?"
(End Music)
"She never lost a single battle," Futase replied, causing the two to turn to her "Her conviction alone was enough to allow her to prevail. And eventually, the conditions were fulfilled with her final victory where the Ritual of Consent was conducted."
(Cardfight! Vanguard G Z Unreleased Soundtrack: Divine Dragon Apocrypha)*
With that answer given, the vision in front of the three played out the moment where Fumio had won her final Selector Battle and was now standing face to face with her LRIG. Wings comprised of streams of white energy were flowing from behind their backs as they held hands with one another and conducted the Ritual of Consent, the final step required to become an Eternal Girl and make a wish come true.
"I accept the laws of the Selector," they both announced in unison "And now... a new Eternal Girl will be born!"
And with that, both of their bodies glowed a bright white colour as they moved towards an opening at the far top of the new space that they had been transported to. The colours around them seemed to warp into a strange yellowish brown as they came closer to the opening hand in hand as Fumio glanced to her partner, everything now seemingly beginning to come into fruition.
"So now, my wish is going to come true..." she murmured to herself.
"I'll definitely make it come true..."
The Selector suddenly glanced to her LRIG as she felt two fingers slip out of their joined hands in addition to her strangely determined expression, before she turned to face her with a sad smile.
"I'll make your wish come true," she said "Leave it to me."
"Futase... what are you...?"
Before Fumio could finish her question, Futase had let go of her hand as a black twister suddenly engulfed her, causing her to scream as her trusted partner simply closed her eyes and exited through the white opening that was still there, leaving both Ratie and Misaki shocked in disbelief. They already had knowledge of how the means of becoming an Eternal Girl was possible from what little information was provided by Kiyoi and Yuki, but they didn't think that this was the way that it physically happened.
Whilst the clerk and the former Quatre Knight were distracted by what they had witnessed, Futase had closed her eyes as if to recall a memory of some kind, or rather, what Fumio remembered before she became an LRIG, thanks to the time the former LRIG had spent in her partner's body.
Vision: Futase's POV
I blacked out back when I became an Eternal Girl before reaching the bottom of that abyss. Fumio on the other hand unlike all others was somehow resilient for a few more seconds to gaze into it as it gazed back at her before she was meant to become an LRIG. That dream-like memory was... something I was certain of. The Shadow that controls the Void.
From the final human memory of Fumio that Futase was able to see through, her Selector in her final moments of being one was being thrown around violently by the tornado that enveloped her as she continued to fall into the dark, as strength suddenly began to seep away from her along with a dark purple mist beginning to envelop the vortex. Soon, as her fall began to slow down, her vision from her right eye began to blur along with her consciousness failing her, the area, what lay in front of her was a figure obscured by both her vision and the black abyss she now found herself within.
"This is..."
The shadow of a giant being was amongst the haziness of her blurring vision with only its somewhat strange shape and red eyes in the distance being something that she was able to make out, along with a strange faint yellow light that was above the eyes themselves. Being too weakened by her state to question what she was seeing before her now, a strange archaic voice echoed into her mind.
"Nothingness is ye true wish. The wish of Eternal Girl."
Unable to speak from the last bit of strength zapped from her own self, Fumio just stared at the shadowed figure as her eyes eventually failed her and a lack of consciousness overtook her.
Present
As Futase finished recollecting the last human thought that was inherited from Fumio to just herself, the image displayed in front of her, Ratie and Misaki displayed the moments that were now playing out after she and her former Selector had committed to the Ritual of Consent as she approached one of the openings to the White Room. Before she entered, she saw Mayu within and if by instinct, quietly moved out of sight to the right, keeping to the edge to overhear what she was saying. From what she briefly saw, she appeared to be reading out from a book of some kind.
"The Girl of White had a very beautiful, kind heart," she spoke aloud "On the other hand, the Girl of Black had a very, unsightly evil heart."
"Just what is this about?" Futase whispered to herself as she quietly kept to the edge.
"The Girl of Black envied and hated the ever smiling Girl of White," Mayu continued "And thought of erasing her very existence."
"So that's Mayu. She must be talking about Tama and Yuki," Misaki murmured "After all, the latter originally intended to surpass her by any means, even if it meant destroying her."
The past Futase then tried to step away from the ledge to keep out of Mayu's sight, but a sudden slip ended up sending several stones falling to the ground. The sound of them clattering immediately caught her attention as she suddenly narrowed her eyes and began walking towards the windowsil where she had heard the noise from. Futase panicked and immediately jumped from the ledge, floating down to the ground as fast as the lack of gravity would allow her to descend until she touched the floor. Noticing the hole within the darkness that was ahead of her, she threw caution to the wind and ran as fast as she could towards her, unaware that the mistress of the White Room had been observing her since the descent.
As the LRIG reached the end of the tunnel in the hope she had outwitted Mayu however, she was met with a blinding light, followed shortly by the sight of ten Radons that stood at the exit, all of them with their Beam Rifles pointed towards her. Gasping in horror as to the ambush that lay in front of her, she turned around and tried to escape, only for a pair of black rings to surround her as she was suddenly suspended into the air by a black sphere that manifested around her.
(End Music)
"W... What is this?!" she cried.
"I hoped I wouldn't need to resort to such measures in recent years, but now that you've seen the true depths of this place, I cannot let you leave as you are."
She then glanced down to see that Mayu was glancing up sternly towards her with Photon by her side who had cast the Lock upon the LRIG when he noticed her attempt to escape his forces.
"Isn't that...?!" gasped Ratie.
"Photon...!" Misaki interjected, her expression tensing up from recalling his appearance as Kourin's 'Avatar of Sin'.
"Even after becoming an Eternal Girl previously," the mistress of the White Room spoke "Your expendable curiosity knows no bounds."
"W... Who are these things Mayu?!" Futase exclaimed, struggling in vain to break out of the Lock.
"These are the ones responsible for assisting in the construction of the Selector Battles," Mayu replied "They are... Link Joker."
"Link Joker...?"
At first, she recieved no answer from any of her captors at all, recieving only silence to her question in response as they carried her into the large lab at the other side of the tunnel where the Lock cast on her faded out, dropping her to the cold metal ground beneath her. As she looked up to the gantry that was closest to the top of the area, she gasped in shock at what she had seen before her. There at the very edge of the pathway was an unconscious Fumio, dressed in green coloured clothes and chained to a stone slab by a pair of black rings that bound her wrists.
"F... Fumio-san?!" Futase cried as she tried to stumble forwards, only for Photon to bring out one of his swords to the back of her neck in an instant.
"Normally, she would have been in the waiting for a Selector to be sent to," he spoke "However, since you broke the rules by attempting to defy Mayu and stumble across my forces, I've chosen to apply less civil methods for this instance."
"W... What are you saying?" she stuttered nervously.
"There are two ways you can go about this situation, or your former Selector will pay a most... unfortunate price," Mayu spoke, her tone having become slightly harsher "The first, fulfil her wish and continue to sustain it when you return to her body. The other... join us."
"I refuse!" Futase cried "I told Fumio I would make her wish come true and I have every intention of keeping it!"
The moment she had finished her response however, the mistress of the Selector Battles suddenly appeared in front of her and gently held up her chin so that she was facing her directly.
"We will see indeed if you can do as you claim," she spoke in a seemingly gentle tone "Or if your the growing hatred in your heart for the outside world continues to devour you. After all, you've seen it all for yourself."
Misaki and Ratie could only glance at the present Futase who merely kept her eyes closed throughout the whole memory that had played out before the three of them, not offering a noise or any kind of response.
"You can't trust their word Futase!" the former Quatre Knight shouted "Photon isn't like the portion of Link Joker that Cray accepted! Do you really care about your world and what happens to Anne?!"
But the former LRIG to her right remained still, not ushering out a single word in response to the concern that Ratie was even trying to offer to her.
"Aren't you listening, Futase?!" Misaki interjected.
At this moment however, the blinding red light that had brought them to this space had returned once more, covering the entire expanse and everything within it in that dark red colour before it faded out into a jet black colour.
City Streets
As Misaki suddenly found herself standing in the exact same place where the fight had been yet to continue since the fifth turn, unable to think of how to summarize to herself about what she had just witnessed. As she glanced to Ratie who held a similar expression of bewilderment, they turned their attention towards Futase who was now once again within Fumio's body, glancing sharply towards her opponent.
"Just as there are some wishes that can be fulfilled with just a single requirement," she spoke "There are some however that can never be fully satisfied. Some like Fumio's own is one that has to be sustained for eternity until the very end. I succeeded in applying for Fumio's position as an author and wrote my exploits of the White Room with the exception of my time in Photon's Lab to make use of that writing expertise. However..."
"So then what you're saying is..." the clerk muttered.
"Correct. I was no longer able to sustain that wish for such material," Futase answered "But that was not all that drove me into accepting the invitation into Mayu's ranks. It was so... I could take revenge upon the world that wronged my only friend!"
"So then...!" Misaki replied.
"You and Miyako share the same views then?!" gasped Ratie.
"I'm not as much of an extremist as the General who holds contempt for humanity, wherever they may exist," the former LRIG continued "I simply want the destruction of the world that rejected Fumio for who she was and what she strived for. So that she may never suffer by the hands of that wretched expanse again! And if you plan on standing in my way of that ambition, Tokura Misaki, then I have no choice but to ensure your world's end as well!"
At this point, seeing that her convicion to Mayu's cause was no longer as partly shaken as it once was in their previous fight, the clerk knew that there was only one way she could try and knock some sense into the vengeance driven girl before her. And that was to defeat her once again and make her see that her way of trying to make things right for Fumio was wrong in every sense of the word.
"Stand and draw," she spoke as she drew her next card to continue the fight, placing it into her hand before picking out another one "Warrior imbued with the power of a god, all bow down before that noble power! Ride!"
(Cardfight! Vanguard OST: Misaki no Theme)
As she placed down the card onto the Vanguard Circle, Freyja disappeared in a dark green light as the shadow of the unit Misaki was riding took her place. The black shadow disappeared to reveal the familiar Regalia unit in her flower like dress and wielding her staff in preparation for battle.
"Cosmic Regalia, CEO Yggdrasil!"
Cosmic Regalia, CEO Yggdrasil/Grade 3/Twin Drive!/SLD: 0/POW: 11000/Genesis/Noble/United Sanctuary
"Eh..." Futase murmured in a seemingly bored manner.
"Here I come, Futase!" Misaki called out "Seek mate!"
As a golden aura rose to the top of the battlefield, four cards flew out of the clerk's drop zone and rearranged themselves on top of her deck as a file of light scanned through the deck and pulled the card in mind from there into her hand.
"Legion!" she declared as the card was thrown onto the Vanguard Circle beside Yggdrasil's.
To the Cosmic Regalia's right, Norn appeared onto the battlefield with her urn held on her right shoulder, ready to do battle against Schwarzschild once again in tandem with her companion in arms.
Cosmic Regalia, CEO Yggdrasil and Regalia of Fate, Norn/POW: 20000
"Pray Angel's skill!" Misaki continued "Moving her to the Soul, I Soul Charge 3 times and call!"
To the right of the Legioned pair appeared Goddess of Trees, Jupiter and behind them, a second Battle Maiden, Mihikarihime, both of whom immediately took up offensive stances in preparation for battle.
"Jupiter attacks your Vanguard!" she declared.
"No guard," Futase replied as Schwarzschild took the brunt of the attack, the next point of damage being Companion Star Star-vader, Photon.
"Yggdrasil attacks your Vanguard!" the clerk continued "Legion Skill! Soul Blast 6 to gain an extra Critical and you cannot Guard with Grade 1 and higher units! Furthermore...!"
She then turned over two cards in her damage zone in succession as Jupiter disappeared from the battlefield as two more unfamiliar units entered into the same column. This briefly caused Futase to raise an eyebrow as Ratie looked on with hopeful eyes.
"Cool!" she called "With the Soul Blast she just did, not only has her Vanguard become almost unblockable, but she's used the skills of Chamomile and Melissa to give herself the third attack that would have been blocked by her Locked card!"
"In addition, Norn's skill from the drop zone!" Misaki called out "When she is moved from the soul to the drop zone, add 5000 power to my Vanguard!"
Cosmic Regalia, CEO Yggdrasil and Regalia of Fate, Norn/POW: 31000 - 36000/Critical: 1 - 2
As the two Regalia comrades leaped into the air and primed their respective weapons to bring down upon Schwarzschild, Futase glanced up towards the pair before glancing back to her opponent.
"Futase, I will open your eyes!" she called "The destruction of your own world... that's NOT what Fumio would want!"
"So you learned absolutely nothing," the former LRIG sighed "It seems sealing a Perfect Guard and the occasional Unlock is all you're capable of."
(Music Ends Abruptly)
"What?!" exclaimed Misaki.
"Let me show you... that fate cannot be changed!" she responded as she placed down three cards from her hand onto the Guardian Circle "Guard!"
(Cardfight! Vanguard G Z OST: Chaos Breaker Fight)
The moment she placed down those cards, Pixie Powder along with two Weiss Soldats came to the defence of Schwarzschild Intrumental Dragon, followed shortly by the two Annes from the rear-guard card as a green circle formed in front of them that easily blocked and deflected Yggdrasil and Norn's combined attack and sent them flying backwards.
"What?!" cried Ratie "She still had other Triggers in her hand?!"
"I already told you," Futase replied "Things would end differently this time."
Misaki could only cringe upon seeing that even a double trigger applied to her Vanguard would be nothing if the power wouldn't be enough to break through. As a result, she knew there was only one way out of this situation.
"Twin Drive!" she called as she turned over Battle Maiden, Kukurihime "Critical Trigger! I give all of the effects to Chamomile!"
"It's useless to draw triggers," the former LRIG interrupted "Even if you pull a second Critical, it will be all for naught, as will your fate."
The clerk chose to ignore those words the best she could as she turned over the next card from the top of her deck, disappointed shortly afterwards as it was revealed to be a third Regalia of Fate, Norn.
"Chamomile attacks your Vanguard!" she declared.
Schwarzschild remained motionless as Chamomile slashed across its chest with great force and bringing Futase to five damage with Star-vader, Rejection Dragon and Despairing Melody Star-vader, Anne.
"... Turn end."
The former LRIG merely let out a small grunt of disappointment as she watched the Lock on the other Mihikarihime wear off before drawing a card to begin her next turn.
"I ride another Schwarzschild," she spoke as a black aura merely surrounded Schwarzschild for a brief moment, confusing Ratie before Niobium and another Lanthanum appeared on the rear-guard.
"Why would she do that?" she pondered.
"It seems your dilegence as the Uncrowned Witch does extend to not attending matches," Futase replied "Otherwise you would have paid attention from the last turn." She then turned back to Misaki. "Schwarzschild's skill! Paying the cost to Lock two of your rear-guards!"
As the Cyber Dragon roared loudly, Chamomile and the Mihikarihime that was in the back row of its opponent's rear-guard were imprisoned by the all too known black rings as the cards turned face down on the table. At this moment, the two Lanthanums and the single Niobium powered up from the effect, leaving them deadly to be toyed with in the coming battles.
"Why do you think what I'm doing is wrong for Fumio?" Futase questioned as she glanced upon Misaki "I have just as much of a reason to hate my world as Mayu does."
"I don't know much about Fumio from what little you've shown to me and Ratie earlier," she replied "But I know she would be disappointed in you. Bringing her into a situation she had no control over and then remaining a pawn in Schwarzschild's schemes... would she really be happy at you for that?!"
"That defiance is rather amusing."
The clerk suddenly blinked in shock as Schwarzschild's voice echoed across the battlefield with a black aura surrounding the image that was present as the former LRIG's Vanguard.
"It's funny you speak about what you believe Fumio truely thinks of the world around her, as does Futase," it chuckled darkly "When you have such destructive and vengeful thoughts yourself."
"What are you talking about?!" she demanded.
"It's about the cursed gift you've had since you were born," Schwarzschild replied "The Perfect Memory that you've used as a gift... you've secretly harbored to use it as a tool of revenge against the world that took away your parents!"
"...?! How did...?!"
Misak suddenly started shaking as she stepped backwards, causing Ratie to gasp and turn towards her in concern as Futase held out her hand over the Vanguard Circle.
"Seek mate!" she declared.
As a black and red aura rose up to the top of the battlefield, four trigger units that lay within the former LRIG's drop zone rearranged themselves on top of the deck before a similar aura scanned through the deck and pulled out the card that she needed into her hand.
"The stained soul who fights on my behalf, descend now and destroy all who oppose you!" she declared "Legion!"
As a black and red version of the Legion Symbol flashed in front of Schwarzschild Instrumental Dragon, Anne appeared beside it and wielded her staff in an offensive position as the two stared down upon the units that remained on Misaki's field. Meanwhile, the clerk was too spooked by the earlier words of the Cyber Dragon as she bit her tongue and tried to regain her composure by glaring back at it.
"How do you know about what happened to my parents?!" she angrily demanded.
"We know all there is to know about you," Futase replied, turning over a card in her damage zone and moving Robin Knight's card to the soul as she did so "Enough to know that the grudge you held against Vanguard and the world still exists in your heart despite your supression."
Moments after she said that, the remaining two rear-guards on Misaki's field were sealed by the black rings, leaving her entire rear-guard Locked and her formation crippled as Lanthanum and Niobium powered up again.
(End Music)
Demon Claw Star-vader, Lanthanum x2/POW: 11000 - 15000
Furious Claw Star-vader, Niobium/POW: 13000 - 18000
"And now, I will now demonstrate the reflection of that grudge now!" she announced "Legion Persona Blast! I unlock all four of your rear-guards, match their power to your Vanguard's and Dominate them!"
(Cardfight! Vanguard G NEXT OST: Dominate)
"Then this means...!" Ratie exclaimed.
As one black ring from each of the Locks broke away, the other floated behind each of the freed units as their eyes turned a blank bright red and their expressions became very hostile as Yggdrasil and Norn looked on in shock at each of their comrades turning upon them at this very moment. Meanwhile, Misaki was now trying to fight away images that were now flashing within her eyes as a result of her Perfect Memory and the behaviour she exhibited back in the dreariest days of her life. The front row Mihikarihime was the first unit to take aim at Yggdrasil who braced herself for the coming fight whilst he clerk made a sudden decision in response to the memories she was trying to fight off.
"Intercept...!" she cried, reaching out for Chamomile's card, only for her hand to be repelled by black sparks "What?!"
"It's useless!" Futase replied "Chamomile is still dominated, therefore it's currently in MY ownership until all of the attacks have finished!"
Yggdrasil cried out in pain as Mihikarihime shot at her with multiple bullets from her pistols which struck the Cosmic Regalia directly. Goddess of Union, Yuno then landed in the damage zone as Chamomile was the next unit to attack. As Misaki stared at the unit, she didn't notice a black aura envelop her body as the Witch prepared to lash out at her own comrade with her staff. A voice then suddenly echoed in the back of her mind as she immediately recognized who, or rather when it was from.
I can't do it...! Dad didn't teach me anything about Vanguard! Not Dad... not Mom... They died before I could! It's impossible!
"Wait... I already...!" she cried.
As the Witch of Ravens was about to strike her Legioned pair, another Norn appeared in front of them to take the brunt of the attack. She cried as she was struck, as Chamomile was immediately Locked afterwards, powering up both Niobium and Lanthanum again.
"I've already been through this before!"
"And yet, you claim to have no resentment for the world breaking that promise?" Futase muttered as the second Mihikarihime took aim.
"I did hold some bitter resentment at the reality around me then..." Misaki replied "But I'm not like you!"
She then placed down another Freyja to take the brunt of the attack as once again, the Cyberoid rear-guards that the former LRIG controlled powered up from the Lock that was cast upon the second Mihikarihime.
"It's horrid that my parents died to an accident... but I would never hate the world around me!" the clerk continued "Kai told me your novels contained nearly every detail of the Selector System and what took place within. So why?!"
"Melissa attacks your Vanguard!" Futase declared as the Witch of Cats cast a circle with runes etched into it, before a cat shaped spirit soared out of it towards Yggdrasil and Norn who screamed as they took on the brunt from the attack.
"Why didn't you go any further with your writing to send a message?!" Misaki exclaimed as she turned over Regalia of Far-Sight, Clear Angel as her fifth damage "You could have had the Selectors in your world with the correct insight could come sooner to your aid in ending Mayu and Chaos Breaker's schemes!"
Cosmic Regalia, CEO Yggdrasil and Regalia of Fate, Norn/POW: 11000 - 16000
"I already told you," the former LRIG replied as she rested Lanthanum's card "Fate conspires in mysterious ways and there is no avoiding it."
As the Cyberoid was about to slash its opponents to finish the fight, another Meliisa appeared in front of them to take up the brunt of the attack.
"You're wrong. That's not fate that's brought you here," the clerk spoke "Right now, it's your own fear that has been pushing you this far, to the point where you've been convinced that your world has to pay for Fumio's misfortunes by any means necessary!"
"Shut up!" she snapped "With Lathanum's large boost, Schwarzschild and Anne attack your Vanguard!"
As Schwarzschild and Anne rose into the air in preparation for their last attack, the Cyber Dragon opened its mouth to charge up an energy blast whilst a bright aura began gathering around the LRIG's staff. Misaki could only glance to her hand in concern, realizing that she only had enough shield leftover among the two cards to guard Niobium's attack and that to get out of this situation, she would now have to put her entire clan on the line.
"No guard..." she spoke.
"Misakin!" cried Ratie.
"Twin Drive," Futase spoke as she turned over the first card as Star-vader, Paradigm Shift Dragon "Critical Trigger." She then turned over the second card as Star-vader, Weiss Soldat "Critical Trigger! Everything goes to my Legioned Vanguards!"
"Oh no..." the former Quatre Knight breathed.
And with the additional power and Criticals added to their total attack value, Anne and Schwarzschild unleashed their combined attack upon Yggdrasil and Norn who screamed loudly in pain as they were enveloped in dark red flames before they and the rear-guards and Locks vanished from the battlefield. Misaki gasped and screamed loudly as the flames enveloped her as well before she reached out for the top card of her deck, knowing that despite the impossible odds, she had to take the chance.
"Damage check..." she spoke, turning it over slowly and putting it sideways in front of the deck before her eyes widened to see that it was Goddess of Law, Justitica.
"Ironic," Schwarzschild darkly chuckled as the other rear-guards on Futase's field disappeared "The card that was the bane of our defeat, the one couldn't even save Kourin with, turned into the point of our victory. You lose, Tokura Misaki."
After the Cyber Dragon and Anne vanished from the battlefield at last along with the fiery walls, the former LRIG then held out a blank card towards her opponent as Misaki suddenly felt her right hand twitch a little. Then, she cried out in in pain as the Mark of Penalty became engraved on it as her units in turn turned blank before materializing as LRIG and SIGNI cards in her victorious opponent's hand.
(End Music)
"Misakin!" cried Ratie as she ran over to her friend "Are you okay?!"
"I'll be alright..." the clerk replied, the pain from the mark having faded away by now "Right now... I think I understand now why Futase is doing what she is doing."
"Tokura Misaki," Futase spoke, catching the pair's attention "There's no shame in losing the fight that soon. Since you didn't force me to use my trump card, Judgement cannot be cast upon you. However..."
She then pulled out the card she would use to travel between worlds and the White Room itself and held it towards the clerk as Ratie moved in front of her to try and defend her from whatever the former LRIG had planned for her next.
"Unlike my colleagues for whatever amusement they have in mind, I have no intention of letting you retreat to fight another day with the deck your parents assembled for you," she continued "You believe that you could change fate as easily as you claim? Then go to my world without your clans and see how easy that is for yourself! Open!"
A blinding flash emitted from the card as Misaki struggled to gaze back at Futase in response and before she could say another word, she suddenly disappeared from sight. As the light disappeared, the former LRIG and Ratie remained as the latter suddenly realized that her friend was now gone from not just this spot, but this world if what the former was saying was indeed true.
"Misakin...!" she cried "Misaki...!"
"Do not save your parting tears for her," Futase interrupted, bringing the former Quatre Knight's attention to her as the fiery walls that made up the previous battlefield were resummoned "Even if you are no longer a Quatre Knight, I cannot allow you to leave this battlefield that easily."
"Fine!" she snapped back "If I win, you bring Misakin back here right away!"
The former LRIG merely closed her eyes, sensing that this fight right now would be filled by absolute fury from her opponent and that she felt that would be the key to her opponent's undoing.
Card Capital
"Shin?"
Shin suddenly snapped out of a stupor as he turned over to Tama who had been noticing him stare into space for the past minute. His expression suddenly turned grim as he turned his attention back to the Girl of White.
"Right now... I just had a terrible feeling," he answered.
And there we go! As Misaki and Ratie learn about the origins of Fumio's time as Futase's Selector and how the latter eventually came to side with Mayu and the Star-vaders in the goal of destroying her own world. Her motivation for this being to avenge Fumio for the wrongdoings she precieves her world to have inflicted upon her. Despite a failed attempt of forcing Misaki to question herself regarding her Perfect Memory and the supposed reason behind her most painful memories, Futase claims victory and rather than allowing her opponent to remain and fight another day, she chooses instead to banish her to the other world with neither any Genesis, let alone Oracle Think Tank units to use at all.
What will happen with Misaki over in the unbalanced world dominated by the Selector Battles? Find out in the upcoming Wixoss Side of the Arc later this year as next time, Miwa faces off with Akira as the latter seeks to use this as an opportunity to bring Kai straight into her hands. Please share your thoughts and criticisms and I'll see you next time! Until then!
*This first plays in Episode 14 when the skill of Zeroth Dragon of Zenith Peak, Ultima is activated.
Story Original Cards debuting this chapter:
Enigmatic Star-vader, Schwarzschild Instrumental Dragon
Grade 3
Twin Drive!
POW: 11000
Link Joker
Cyber Dragon
Star Gate
[ACT](VC): {Legion|20000|Despairing Melody Star-vader, Anne}
[ACT](VC)[1/Turn]: If in Legion, {{COST|Counter Blast (2) & Choose a card with the same name as a card on (VC) and discard it}}, choose one of your opponent's Locked cards up to the number of cards with "Schwarzschild" and "Anne" in their card names in your drop zone, Unlock the chosen cards and match their [Power] to your opponent's Vanguard's. They gain the following effect until the end of their next battle "[AUTO](RC): At the end of the battle this unit attacked a Vanguard, if the attack did not hit, Lock this unit" and attack your opponent's Vanguard one at a time.
[ACT](VC)[1/Turn]: {{Counter Blast (1) & Soul Blast (1)}} Choose up to two of your opponent's rear-guards in different rows and Lock them.
