?

The motionless body of Aoi Akira continued to drift through nothingness with the girl in question seemingly showing no signs of movement or awareness, as if time itself no longer had an effect on her. The endless black void she had been present within was where her consciousness had fallen within, never to return to her real self until this long and tortuous experience ended at last.

Needless to say, it somewhat did.

Colour began surround the space as it then faded out to reveal a place that many who were familiar with Vanguard and its ties to mysticism would know that this area was one of many imagined whenever the game was played. It was a typical rocky plain from the Planet Cray with the unique nighttime skyline displaying many celestial entities and other planets in the furthest corners of its solar system. Akira's eyes then flickered as they slowly opened up, allowing her to see where she had supposedly ended up following her last battle with Kai. Having never bothered to learn anything about the power of imagination when she first learned of Vanguard through Urith, this was a new experience for her.

"H... How long have I...?" she muttered, clutching her head.

(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Nightmare ~ Reversing Wish (First Half))

A loud roar caught her attention as she looked towards a standoff that was not far away from her position. There she could see Dragonic Dark Overlord on one side and turned to her left to see the other side had both Dragonic Burnout and a unfamiliar tall dragon that wielded a large crimson blade with a fiery yellow trim. Flames spewed from the newcomer's head as it and the smaller Flame Dragon stared off with their new adversary. Akira had recognized Burnout from previously when she had taken Kai's deck, yet was uncertain on whether what she was seeing now was real or otherwise. Her thoughts were interrupted when the black coloured Abyss Dragon whose card she still held in her possession spoke.

"You've made a grave mistake challenging me!" it roared "Especially given your failure to dethrone the original Overlord yourselves!"

"Do you think we'll lose to a prisoner of war who donned Overlord's appearance from Link Joker just to save their own hide!" the tall red Flame Dragon snarled.

Dragonic Dark Overlord roared fiercely as it charged towards both Dragonic Burnout and the tall crimson coloured Flame Dragon that was fighting by its side. The three clashed fiercely back and forth, whether it was their weapons, claws, horns or even their own flames that were doing the brunt of their attacks. Explosions erupted across the plain as neither side wished to give an inch, but it was clear from the battle that Dark Overlord despite being outnumbered two to one was beginning to overcome its adversaries.

Then just as it was about to charge once more towards its near beaten foes, a loud growl echoed across the plain as a series of flames crashed down to the ground between them, eventually vanishing to reveal the arrival of Dragonic Overlord in its original form, pointing its own Sword of Apocalypse towards Dark Overlord to challenge it head on. The grunt from its opponent was its own way of accepting as both dragons took to the skies on their wings, spewing flames of their respective innate elements at one another to try and gain an edge in this confrontation. Akira looked up to the broken clouds where the two combatants were now airborne dots to her eyes, trying to make sense of this fight.

"Did... Did my Dark Overlord fight the real one on Cray when I fought Kai?" she pondered.

An explosion then rocked the plain as Dark Overlord and the original Overlord with both bodies alight in flames of violet and crimson respectively now held a tight grip on one another as they fought for control in their freefall to ram the other straight into the hard ground. Neither succeeded in that goal as both crashed straight into the ground with their respective auras igniting and setting off a large explosion that covered the entire area, forcing Burnout and its companion to retreat. The flames of both colours then spread towards a startled Akira who shielded her eyes with her right arm and awaited the inferno that was about to consume her.

(End Music)


Vanguard World: ?

Akira's eyelids slowly opened up as Dran hovered above her formerly motionless body, now curious to see what kind of person she was now that she was regaining consciousness at long last. Her vision however hadn't fully recovered and it was somewhat still blurry as a result of the weak feeling she had in her limbs following the end of her last cardfight with Kai. The cloaked creature watched on in wonder as the Selector took a deep breath and groaned as she forced herself up into a sitting position, her eyes finally adjusting to the light that was present inside wherever it was she was brought to.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Akira glanced around the room, pondering where she was now of all places or if she was still in another dream that she was yet to awake from. She then looked down at the bedsheets that Rive had put over her previously unconscious form and clutched her head.

"W... What's going on?" she muttered to herself "Where the hell am I?!"

"We found you in the desert earlier this afternoon."

Hearing the source of the voice to her right, the Selector turned to face Dran and despite being mostly cloaked from top to bottom, his stature, shape and size were enough to bewilder her.

"W... Who on earth are you?!" she exclaimed, wearily pointing at him.

The cloaked creature at first did not answer, but took note of her current behaviour, knowing that was something Rive would need to know when he eventually returned.

"Who am I doesn't concern you," he answered "But what I wish to know is how you ended up in the desert in the first place?"

"Now that I think about it..."

Akira sat up from where she was previously laid down and reached into her hoodie's right pocket, knowing that before she had fell unconscious after her fight with Kai that she kept her card that allowed her to teleport between worlds there specifically. When she found nothing of the sort, she then palmed her head and chuckled bitterly as if she had expected its absence was related to her new predicament.

"That bitch Urith never missed a trick, huh," she commented.

"Urith?"

Dran hovered towards the Selector, curious about the name she had mentioned. Having not known the entire specifics about the invasion of Mayu's forces from his solitude with Rive in this harsh environment, this was yet another enigma that had piqued his curiosity. Instead of answering his question however, she was quick to change the topic to something else.

"What exactly are you?" Akira interrupted as she pointed at her companion "You're too short to be your average human and you're not exactly a domesticated creature from your look."

The creature in question did not answer once again as he hovered over to the desk that belonged to Rive, opening a drawer to take out a card that had been placed inside following her arrival there. That being the one which depicted Dragonic Dark Overlord itself. When Akira recognized that the card from its backing belonged to Vanguard, she then reached her hand into her other pocket, finding only nothing much to her confusion. Then when she saw Dran making his way to the exit, he stopped and turned around with card in hand to meet her gaze. That was when he quickly realized he made a very fatal mistake.

"My card...?!" she gasped before her expression turned to anger as she struggled onto her feet "GIVE THAT BACK!"

Dran was startled from her raised voice for a brief moment before hurrying out into the desert on his wheel-like feet, skating across the surface with ease as his pursuer ran after him whilst trying to adjust herself after being unconscious for who knew how long since she came to this environment. Upon getting her bearings and her breath back, Akira ran after the creature who hurried away from her, not wanting to risk hurting Rive by using any innate power to hover at higher altitudes. The Selector was very angry that her supposed saviour had the gall to try and steal away her card in spite of the damage it was inflicting to her body. Even if she wasn't entirely the same person she was prior to this day, one thing never changed when it came to pursuits such as this.

No one ran from Aoi Akira and sought to get away with it.

When they came to a tall dune, she broke left, leaving Dran confused as he continued towards the top. When he saw the steep incline below, he hesitated for a brief moment, nearly dropping the Dragonic Dark Overlord card in his hurry to stop. As he began to descend with the hope the extra speed from the incline would put some distance between the two, Akira suddenly came from his left near the bottom with a massive leap and tackled him to the ground. Although she only intended to snatch back her only remaining card with her left hand, her right one had tangled itself in the cloak and by the time the two had rolled to a stop in different places, it had completely come off of Dran.

As a result by the time the Selector had gotten back to her feet, she could see from both card and cloak in hand she had now revealed his entire appearance outside of his face. Although she had succeeded in wanting to unmask the strange creature for her own curiosity, she couldn't help but be confused even more. His body was primarily white with blue coloured armour covering his torso and head whilst ones in gold were wrapped around his lower arms and legs. When he saw that Akira was directly above him, his dot like eyes stared back. He felt more embarrassed than he was nervous.

"Uh..."

"Y... You're a Dracokid?!" she exclaimed.

"I'm not a Dracokid, I'm Chrono Dran!" the creature replied back.

Although the creature's now apprehensive nature had gotten in her way, Akira could feel a small bit of satisfaction within herself for unmasking this strange creature immediately. Still, one question had now led to another and it appeared despite its draconic nature, it was not related to any sort of Dracokid unit recognizable from the game of Vanguard. She wasn't entirely sure if the creature was even known in the game or even from Cray itself, but she thought perhaps interrogating it further would yield her further results.

"So what the hell's something like you doing all the way out here from Cray?" the Selector asked sternly "And why were you stealing my card?"

"T... That card's been poisoning you!" Chrono Dran replied "I... I was only trying to figure out why!"

"No shit it's poisoned me!" Akira snarled as she pulled back on her hoodie's right sleeve to reveal the purple coloured veins in her right arm "And frankly, I don't care! You know why? Because that's the way it always has been for me, so deal with it!"

"Always...?" her companion pondered "But my senses with the card indicates you've only had it for two whole days."

The Selector huffed, seeing that her conversation with Chrono Dran was progressing nowhere with him telling her information she had already known from earlier in the day. If he had brought her out of the desert to the earlier shelter just to lecture her, she had no intention of playing along in the slightest. She then cringed in pain as a purple aura radiated from Dragonic Dark Overlord's card that she held, causing the creature that observed her to worry. Before he could speak, the girl glared at him venomously under the strain until the pain eventually faded away along with the aura itself. That was when a new presence in their vicinity had decided to make themselves known.

"So you finally awakened."

"What the...?" Akira pondered.

(Insert Music: Transformers Micron Legend OST: Uncanny Devastor (Second Half))

Walking across the desert sands towards the pair was Rive himself, his cloak trailing him in the slight breeze that recently swept across the plain he was walking. His narrowed green eyes kept his glance towards Akira in particular as he eventually came before the pair, with Chrono Dran quickly retreating behind his tall figure which was something the Selector noted along with what little she could see through the opening in his cloak. Faintly, she could see the edge of what appeared to be a scar beneath his eyes crossing over the very top of his nose and tinges of purple hair with a pair of eyebrows of the same colour.

"Who the hell... are you...?!" she groaned as she attempted to stand up with the pain in her legs returning after the recent aura.

"You don't have to answer that question!" Chrono Dran cried out to the man.

"That is fine," he calmly replied "Let me handle it."

The creature wanted to object, but upon seeing that Akira had not loosened her expression in the slightest, he felt that letting his companion deal with the situation himself was the best way to try and calm her down.

"My name is Rive," he spoke "Dran and I discovered you in these harsh wastes in the midst of our solitude. Yet how you ended up poisoned..."

He then stepped forwards towards the girl, who immediately backed away and remained on the defensive, knowing full well he was after her Dragonic Dark Overlord card. The Selector glared back at him, causing Rive to stop in his footsteps, but resolute in his glance.

"I'm not giving you this card!" she snapped.

"You know that card poisons your body, yet you refuse to let go of it?" he commented "I'm not certain whether to believe you're stubborn, or foolish."

Akira frowned in annoyance, having not expected this man to have recognized her predicament so easily from the state he and Chrono Dran had found her following their discovery of her unconscious self in the desert sands. Without an entire deck she could at least use for some means of self-defense in this world, she was well and truly trapped. She was trapped in a desert region with no way of knowing how to at least get back to what she considered Kai's version of Japan and even then, she had no way of getting back to her own dimension with her blank card having been destroyed by Urith. Approaching her closely, Rive stopped right in front of her and glanced down at her face, taking note of the scar that was still there on her right cheek.

"I sense this is not the first time your body has suffered misfortune in the conflict of cards," he remarked "Yet I also feel that Vanguard has not been the sole cause of your current situation."

"Well thank you Rive," she replied, her tone laden with sarcasm "It's not like I chose to be the way I was until I got thrown into this desert."

"Still, I believe if you're not willing to let us examine Dragonic Dark Overlord in closer detail, you still wish to fight," Rive spoke "Very well then. Let us return to my shelter. I will give you the means to form a temporary deck."

"Fine," the Selector huffed "I'll only fight if I can use my card."

"That is fine."

Chrono Dran who had climbed onto Rive's shoulder and heard the entire conversation between both his companion and Akira could only grow worried. He was already certain that maybe letting a girl with a temper as volatile as hers recover so soon was a poor idea, yet a part of him couldn't help but worry at her seemingly decaying state from the aura that was poisoning her from Dragonic Dark Overlord's card. If it could do so much damage to her, who was to know if it held any adverse effects for its opponents in cardfights. Rive sensed Dran's caution as glanced up to him.

"Did you acquire any new information?" he asked quietly, not wanting to attract any further attention from Akira who had her back turned to the pair.

"Not much, no," the creature replied "But she said something about her circumstances always being this bad to the point she'd stubbornly deal with them her own way. Then there's this Urith she offhandedly mentioned."

Rive held his hand up to his chin, pondering more on what Chrono Dran had just told him and now more curious on the circumstances of this girl, leading her to being poisoned by her own card and somehow appearing unconscious in the middle of the desert. He knew that the only way he would find those answers would be to challenge her to a cardfight on her own terms and confront Dragonic Dark Overlord on the board itself. He then walked past Akira, motioning her to follow him back to the shelter to which she had complied with little resistance, not wanting to lose her way back in the seemingly endless looking wastes.

By the time they had eventually returned, Akira could finally see the exterior of the shelter she had not seen earlier as a result of her pursuit after Chrono Dran. It was a settlement of some sort built into the face of one of the large rock structures that laid in front of her. Rive led her to the furthermost corner of the shelter in front of where she had been laid down previously. It was comprised of several smaller stones that formed a brick like wall which formed an entrance of some sort to a large sized hole. When Chrono Dran assisted with removing the last few, it was revealed to be a open space containing hundreds of cards from the game of Vanguard, which caused Akira to be taken aback somewhat.

"You have all of these?" she breathed.

"The nearby villages in the Kyzylkum Desert aren't as fully developed as the cities outside of this desert," Rive replied "When I have the time to visit them, I allow them to use the cards I've gathered in this vault so that they can enjoy Vanguard as much as the rest of the world."

"And you're letting me use them temporarily?" the Selector pondered, still uncertain on whether to trust her companion so easily on his word.

"Your Dragonic Dark Overlord is apparently part of the Kagero clan," the man answered "I'll await for your arrival outside the shelter when you're ready. Let us go Dran."

"Right."

(End Music)

Chrono Dran complied with Rive's instruction and the pair left Akira alone with the cards in the 'vault' before her, leaving the Selector to carefully browse through them, knowing that she was likely going to have to make do with cards that weren't as powerful as the ones she had previously used in the Hanayo deck she first recieved from Urith before she replaced that with the pure Dragonic Dark Overlord deck that was now in ashes. It took her a long while to fish out Kagero specific cards from amongst the ones in the piles she brought out so far, but eventually, she had managed to catch her eye on two unit that had her attention. Those were the cards named Dauntless Drive Dragon and Cruel Dragon. She observed them closely for a brief moment and then held out Dragonic Dark Overlord's card.

"What did Kai and his ragtag friends always say?" she muttered "Imagine it?"

She then put the three into a spread out pile and then adding the unit Red Pulse Dracokid to it.

"It appears even the simplest of imaginations can build the biggest of combos. And this one should let those two know to stick their nose elsewhere."

Eventually after finishing her completion of her patchwork Kagero deck from what little she could find out of the cards Rive had provided for her, she neatly arranged the remaining cards on the ground and returned them back to the vault, bricking it back up the way it was. She then went outside to find the man in question along with Chrono Dran standing by a rocky structure where a game mat depicting the field was already set up. Showing her completed deck to him with Dragonic Dark Overlord sitting at the front, Rive then nodded in confirmation and sat down onto the desert sands, placing down his starting Vanguard and setting himself up for battle.

"Good luck Rive," said Chrono Dran.

He looked back at the creature and nodded again to acknowledge his concern before turning back to face Akira who has preparing herself to begin the fight on her own end. After redrawing some cards to fix up her starting hand, she then glanced back at Rive fiercely, having not intention of losing to him and losing the last thing she had in her possession. Her own Dragonic Dark Overlord.

"Let's get this started!" she called out as both she and Rive reached out for their starting Vanguards.

"Stand Up, (the) Vanguard!" they announced as they turned over their cards in unison.

(Cardfight! Vanguard G Z Unreleased Soundtrack: Apostle Fight)

Within Rive's image, their starting Vanguards materialized within a volcanic crater somewhere within the lands of the Dragon Empire on Planet Cray. Orange coloured cracks covered the ground as the sky above the pair was a purplish hue, signifying how rough it was for the many units of that nation to live in hospitable environments such as that. Akira's starting Vanguard was a small white and red feathered dragon dressed in armour and wielding a pair of firearms whilst the mysterious man's own despicted a small red dinosaur-like creature partially emerged from an eggshell.

"Red Pulse Dracokid!" the Selector announced.

"Dragon Egg!" he replied.

"Tachikaze..." Akira murmured as she glanced down at Rive's starting Vanguard Urith initially said one of Kai's friends used that clan, but I never got around to fighting him...

Looking at the cards in her starting hand, she looked over to her opponent who was silently contemplating what possibilities and answers about her that this cardfight would reveal. She didn't know what to expect given that she had fought little to no Tachikaze cardfighters during her role as part of the invasion force of this world under Mayu's banner, leaving her going into this fight blind with what she had assembled into this temporary deck.

"I will go first!" she called out as she drew her first card and placed a different one from her hand on top of Red Pulse Dracokid's "I ride Wyvern Strike, Garan!"

On the imaged battlefield, Red Pulse moved to the back row as a wyvern with split colours of red and blue going down across its body hovered into view. It immediately took up a defensive stance as a result of Akira already knowing she could not attack on the very first turn of the fight. It watched closely as Dragon Egg leapt to Rive's back row on his side of the battlefield as mechanical looking raptor covered in silver and orange coloured armour appeared in its original spot.

"Ride, Sonic Noa!" the man's voice echoed as a second one appeared beside it in front of Dragon Egg."I attack your Vanguard!"

The Vanguard Sonic Noa ran very quickly on its two feet as it charged towards Garan who took flight in response to the coming attack. This action came too late however as the dinosaur-esque unit leapt into the air and using its momentum from the charge headbutted right into the wyvern's chest, knocking it back down onto the ground where it was slapped very hard by the other Sonic Noa's tail in a swift motion. Two cards in the form of Demonic Dragon Mage, Kimnara and Berserk Dragon had already entered Akira's damage zone from the attacks she had just sustained. She did not flinch from this, knowing this was still the early stages of the game and looked down to her hand, not concerned with what had just happened.

Drawing her next card, her right eye narrowed to see that it was Dauntless Drive Dragon, causing Dran to worry a little despite being unaware of her hand himself. After dwelling on it for enough time, she placed it into her hand and observed the cards there before picking out one to use as her next Vanguard.

"I ride Wyvern Strike, Doha!" the Selector called out as a larger red wyvern with jaggy yellow coloured armour appeared in Doha's place within the imaged battlefield.

As she was about to rest the card to declare her attack, she suddenly paused and observed Rive's current board so far, then recalling the cards she held in her hand. Before Dran could ask why she had stopped, her opponent held up a hand to stop him from speaking, sensing that there was more to her indecision than just stalling.

Wait a minute... Tachikaze rely on retiring their rear-guards to use their abilities, usually with Counter Blast on hand... she pondered before glancing at the empty damage zone on the other side of the board If he has a way to set off those abilities on his next turn to push me to five damage and shred my hand, then I can't let him empty my resources! In that case...!

"I attack your rear-guard!"

Within the volcanic crater, Doha took flight into the air and roared loudly, spitting out a large fireball that struck Rive's side of the battlefield and disorienting the rear-guard Sonic Noa. Before it had time to regain its balance, it looked up and could only watch as the wyvern dived towards its position and rip its armour to shreds, causing it to vanish in a series of red coloured sparks.

"What?!" gasped Chrono Dran "Why did she attack the rear-guard this early?!"

"As much as I share your confusion..." Rive muttered as he placed the card into his drop zone "It would appear her logic now was sound."

He gazed towards her trigger zone containing the card Dragon Dancer, Monica, a Draw Trigger that had come to the Selector's aid. Despite the power not being of use in this scenario, the extra card she had just acquired had increased the size of her hand.

"That's all for now," Akira muttered "It's your turn now."

Rive then drew his next card, looking over what he held in his hand and pondered for a while, contemplating the decision from Akira to leave him with no cards in his damage zone. If his opponent could have somehow seen beneath his cloak's hood, she would have seen him smile a brief moment for praising her technical approach with the scenario at hand.

Right now, one of the cards in my hand is Chaos Dragon, Dinochaos he commented Dragon Egg and a few of the cards I hold require Counter Blast in order to either revive themselves or call reinforcements from my deck. It appears this girl despite her rage is smarter than Dran and I have initially noted.

He then placed down a card from his hand on top of his remaining Sonic Noa, causing the cracks within the imaged crater to expand and burst open as his new Vanguard emerged from the depths. This time, the unit's stature and appearance beneath the armour and multiple jaggy blades sticking out of its body resembled that of a dark orange tyrannosaurus rex.

"Ride!" Rive's voice announced "Ravenous Dragon, Megarex!"

To its right appeared a larger and far more mechanical looking Dinodragon whose appearance beneath the aircraft carrier-esque structure it carried on its back resembled that of a brachiosaurus. Two large cannons on each side of the massive unit took aim towards Doha who took up a defensive stance with its wings in a attempt to protect itself from the worst of the coming impact. The large artillery charged up and unleashed four green coloured beams that blasted away and stuck the wyvern, knocking it out of the sky and causing it to fall towards the ground. Megarex then charged towards the falling opponent and snatched it out of the air in its jaws, chomping down on its body before swinging Doha around and letting ago to knock it to the ground.

"Drive Check," the man spoke as he turned over his top card to reveal Black Cannon Tiger "Critical Trigger!"

The next two cards from Akira's damage check revealed themselves as Spiritburn Dragon and Wyvern Strike, Garan, joining her previous damage in the form of Cross Shot Garp and bringing the overall total to five.

"Five damage..." Chrono Dran murmured "And yet Rive has none... What is Akira up to?"

(End Music)

The Selector kept her eyes closed as she went into thought over the reason she had agreed to fight Rive and why she had now done so, all to prevent Dragonic Dark Overlord, the same card that had been poisoning her out of their clutches. With her mind made up over the course of the fight and what she had now accumulated in her hand prior, she opened her eyes back up and made an announcement surprising even to those in front of her.

"FINAL TURN!" she called out fiercely.

"F... Final Turn?!" gasped Chrono Dran "B... But both of you are still at Grade 2!"

The Selector ignored the unit who had been spectating the fight and then immediately began her next turn, taking ahold of the card she had acquired at the start of her second turn and placing it down on the Vanguard Circle to reveal it to all.

"Ride! Dauntless Drive Dragon!" she announced "In addition, I call Kimnara!"

(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Thunder of Narukami)

On the imaged battlefield, a column of fire erupted from the spot where Doha was last seen and from its blaze emerged a Flame Dragon with a unique appearance. It was armoured from head to toe in a red colour with patterns adorned upon them, even on the wings themselves. To his right appeared a familiar Demonic Dragon Mage that had been commonly used by Kai during his earlier times in the Selector Battles who hissed towards Dragon Egg, causing it to cower somewhat.

Dauntless Drive Dragon/Grade 3/Twin Drive!/POW: 11000/Kagero/Flame Dragon/Dragon Empire

"With Kimnara's Counter Blast, I shove it to the soul to retire Dragon Egg!" Akira declared as the imaged Dragonman vanished from the rear-guard.

Flames engulfed the starting Vanguard on the far side of the battlefield, causing it to vanish from sight as Rive through the image of Megarex glanced down upon the now empty spot before turning back towards Dauntless, hearing a loud roar echo throughout the volcanic crater. Yet it did not come from the tall red armoured Flame Dragon itself. Returning back to reality, the man saw Akira reveal a card to him, briefly obscured by the sunlight until it was no longer reflecting from it. It depicted a different Flame Dragon who had green eyes and blue gems embedded in its crimson clad armour.

"That combo..." he muttered.

"She's figured it out already...!" Chrono Dran interjected.

"Roaring inferno, unleash the turbulent storm of flames that leaves nothing in its path! Superior Break Ride the Vanguard!" she cried out as she slammed the card down onto the Vanguard Circle.

Dauntless vanished from the battlefield as the cracks surrounding where it had previously stood began expanding further as molten lava began spurting out of the entrances. The ground then burst away to reveal the Flame Dragon depicted on the card that the Selector had revealed to her opponent, soaring out of the molten material and spreading its wings triumphantly as it took flight and hovered above the spot it emerged from, staring down at Megarex as its fighter called out its name.

"Cruel Dragon!"

Cruel Dragon/POW: 11000 - 8000 - 18000

"When I ride Cruel Dragon this way, it loses 3000 power," Akira explained "But in exchange, it gains another 10000 and a skill due to Dauntless!"

"So now with the damage you have accumulated, you have achieved the conditions," Rive commented before glancing to her deck "Even so... we have not seen it yet."

The Selector nodded as she then turned over a card from her damage zone and moved her starting Vanguard into the soul. Her attention was then turned to her deck as a black coloured aura briefly flickered from it, catching the attention of her opponent and spectator.

"Red Pulse's skill!" she declared "I check the top five cards of my deck and add any Grade 3 Kagero unit amongst them to my hand!"

After setting down her current hand on the makeshift table behind her back row rear-guard circles, she then took ahold of the cards in question from her deck and fanned them out to see what each one was. She glanced over each one from left to right until her eye eventually spotted the very card she was after. Smiling to herself, she shuffled the remaining four cards back into her deck first whilst keeping the card she had chosen concealed for the present moment, keeping her two hosts in suspense.

"And now... it comes," Rive muttered as he prepared himself for the worst to come.

Holding up the card she had chosen with her free right hand, she then turned it around in one swift motion to reveal the very unit that had been affecting her health and the one her opponent and Chrono Dran had an interest in.

"This is what you wanted to see? Well then... be careful of what you wish for!" Akira called out as she placed the card down in her front row to the left of Cruel Dragon "Rise my mighty avatar! Dragonic Dark Overlord!"

Within the crater, Cruel Dragon's shadow suddenly warped in shape as Dragonic Dark Overlord began to climb out of it, spreading its wings as it emerged into the physical realm. It manifested its own Sword of Apocalypse and pointed it towards Megarex who snarled in response to the sight of the opponent that was before it.

Dragonic Dark Overlord/Grade 3/Twin Drive!/POW: 11000/Kagero;Link Joker/Abyss Dragon/Dragon Empire

"The black Dragonic Overlord...!" muttered Chrono Dran as he felt an ominous presence begin to envelop the card itself.

Before Rive could comment, his eyes narrowed as soon as he saw a sight he didn't believe he would imagine when his companion had first told him of the trouble. Akira cringed in pain as the familiar aura began enveloping her too, causing the damage to her body to expand further as now the veins in her hands and her neck were beginning to bold out. He initially tried to reach out for her, only for the Selector who fought through the pain to snarl back at him.

"Stay back!" she snapped "You're not stopping this fight until one of us goes down, got it?!" She then revealed two Dragonic Gaias from her hand along with a second Cruel Dragon "I fill up my remaining circles with these units!"

On the damaged crater, the two marble like Tear Dragons manifested behind the Vanguard Cruel Dragon and Dragonic Dark Overlord itself whilst the rear-guard Cruel Dragon appeared to the right, taking flight immediately when it was present.

"Two Dragonic Gaias?" Chrono Dran pondered "She has the soul available for the conditions... yet why two of them?"

As he began analyzing the board and what had currently happened from the current actions of this turn, he then glanced to Dragonic Dark Overlord's card, having recognized its skill from reading over it prior.

"Wait... with Dauntless and Dark Overlord in effect," he realized before his eyes widened in shock before turning to Rive "Then the reason you have no damage is...!"

"A One Turn Kill," his companion concluded.

The rear-guard Cruel Dragon flapped its wings and soared towards the only unit that served as a potential issue for the turn, unleashing a blast of flames that engulfed the unfortunate target which left the battlefield in an instant.

"Next, my Vanguard Cruel Dragon!" Akira called out as she rested the card "With the skill of Gaias, add one extra Critical for this battle only!"

"No guard," Rive replied calmly, knowing that this attack would not be enough to finish him.

"First check!" the Selector announced as she turned it over to reveal Bellicosity Dragon "Second check!"

She then turned over the next card which was unveiled as Spiritburn Dragon.

"Critical Trigger! I give power to Dark Overlord and the Critical to my Vanguard!"

Dragonic Dark Overlord/POW: 11000 - 16000

Cruel Dragon/Critical: 2 - 3

Cruel Dragon within the volcanic crater roared loudly as it received the Critical effect from the trigger which caused a gold aura to briefly envelop its entire body. It then covered itself in flames and dove down towards Megarex who braced for impact. The Flame Dragon then crashed straight into its opponent, the sheer heat being more than enough to erupt into a massive explosion that shook the entire area. Rive's first three points of damage revealed themselves as Ancient Dragon, Spinodriver, Savage Lancer and Archbird. All three cards possessed no trigger markings leaving Megarex's power unchanged, a fact that greatly concerned Chrono Dran who was watching on nervously.

"Dauntless Drive Dragon's skill!" Akira called out as she revealed Monica, Bellicosity and Wyvern Strike, Garan from her hand and threw them into her drop zone "Cruel Dragon stands!"

"She stood Cruel Dragon through the Superior Break Ride..." the hovering draconic creature murmured "And she still has a Twin Drive and Dragonic Dark Overlord to go...!"

"Attack him again Cruel Dragon!" Akira's voice echoed in the imaged battlefield as Cruel Dragon opened its jaws.

Fire gathered within its mouth and began building fiercely until it reached a point where the Flame Dragon could no longer contain them and spat it out in a concentrated stream of blazing fire. As Megarex looked on, a Dinodragon that looked like it was formed from the very earth itself appeared in front of the Vanguard, projecting a green circle to form a barrier. Five units including Sonic Noa, a green armoured brachiosaurus-like unit with heavy artillery attached to it, a human that wore clothing that seemed to be outside of the present day age including a tiger skinned hat, a second Megarex and finally, a large tyrannosaurus looking Dinodragon that had its jaw clad in silver armour.

(End Music)

The barrier deflected the attack with ease, much to the frustration of Cruel Dragon. From the cards displayed on the table from left to right, the unfamiliar called guardians were Transport Dragon, Brachioporter, Savage Healer and Tyrant, Deathrex. Akira frowned for a brief moment, knowing their combined shield had successfully warded off her attack.

"Ancient Dragon, Rockmine!" Rive announced revealing the name of the unit that called in reinforcements to protect Megarex "Quintet Wall!"

"I'm not done yet!" the Selector replied as she conducted her second Twin Drive.

(Cardfight! Vanguard OST: Ren's Power)

Her first check unveiled a second Dauntless Drive Dragon, not proving to be of any assistance to her in the current moment. Her second card however was something that could help her, that being a second copy of Dragon Dancer, Monica.

"Draw Trigger!" she called out "I give power to Dark Overlord and draw!"

After drawing her next card, she then looked down to Dragonic Dark Overlord, knowing that her attempted One Turn Kill had not failed her yet. Not whilst she could still keep attacking using the card that was available to her. She then placed her hand down on the card and began to turn it to rest position to declare her attack when suddenly, the black aura from earlier suddenly enveloped her again. This time however, it was more intense than the last and she could not ignore the pain as easily, causing her to cry out loudly as her body suffered more damage from the card's aura.

"Akira!" Chrono Dran cried out "Stop the fight! If you continue like this...!"

"SHUT THE CRAP UP DRAN!" she yelled angrily as she fought past the pain and rested the card "Dark Overlord attacks Megarex! With Gaias' skill, add another Critical!"

"No guard," Rive replied calmly as he watched through the imaged eyes of his Megarex, seeing Dragonic Dark Overlord take flight.

The black Abyss Dragon readied its counterfeit Sword of Apocalypse for battle as it flew down towards Megarex who attempted to reclaim an advantage by leaping out towards its opponent. As it was about to bite down on it, Dark Overlord suddenly vanished much to the Dinodragon's suddenly confusion as it landed back on the ground, trying to find its presence. Before it realized what had happened, Dragonic Dark Overlord reappeared through the shadow the unit cast in the crater and slashed down its back, causing it to cry out in pain.

"Damage check," Rive spoke out as he turned over his first card to reveal his fourth Sonic Noa followed by Dragon Bird, Firepteryx "Critical Trigger!"

Ravenous Dragon, Megarex/POW: 10000 - 15000

"Damn it...! A trigger effect at this timing...!" Akira growled as she struggled through the aura that was still affecting her, picking up Dragonic Dark Overlord's card " Dark Overlord returns to my hand! Then by retiring three rear-guards and discarding an additional card...!"

As she placed all of her other rear-guards plus the Dauntless Drive Dragon that was in her hand into the drop zone, she suddenly felt her body freeze up completely, as if she could not move it at all.

"RRAAGH!" she screamed as she fought through this sudden side effect until she could move again "Superior Ride! DRAGONIC DARK OVERLORD!"

Cruel Dragon was suddenly engulfed in a series of violet coloured flames that erupted from the cracks in the volcanic crater, causing it to scream and writhe around in pain until it was no more. Then from the inferno leapt out Dragonic Dark Overlord who was primed and ready to attack once again, now receiving a power boost from its own skill.

Dragonic Dark Overlord/POW: 11000 - 21000

"So this is what you planned from the beginning..." Rive muttered "Using the skill of Cruel Dragon to skip a turn to Break Ride on Dauntless and then acquiring Dark Overlord to make a third Vanguard attack."

He then looked closely towards Akira who was still struggling through the aura around her, now affecting her so much that even her left cheek was not safe from having veins from within bold out under the pressure.

"Yet now, the card you refuse to let us examine is continuing to poison you," he commented "I must ask, what compels you to keep ahold of it so close despite the current circumstances?

"Why should you care...?! ACK!" the Selector groaned.

"Wait Rive!" cried Chrono Dran, causing his companion to look to him "That card...! I don't know why she's holding onto it the way she does... but she said to me that it's the only thing she has left!"

"Hmm..."

Rive said nothing more in regards to the topic, now having a understanding on potentially why his opponent was so desperately keeping the Dragonic Dark Overlord card away from him and the draconic creature. Watching on, he saw Akira turn Dragonic Dark Overlord's card sideways under the strain to signal her final attack.

"Disappear...! Disappear...! DISAPPEAR!" she screamed "ETERNAL VIOLET... LIFE INFERNO!"

Within the imaged battlefield, Dragonic Dark Overlord covered itself in blazing hot violet coloured flames and stared down a weakened Megarex who barely had enough strength left to keep standing on its own two feet. It then hovered in the air above the entrance to the crater, eying down on its opponent before flapping its wings and diving down towards it to deal the final result. Black Cannon Tiger and a second Carrier Dragon, Brachiocarrier appeared in front of their comrade, projecting a green circle that crashed right into Dark Overlord's blazing form, stopping it from advancing, but the sheer pressure of its continued dive threatened to crack it right open.

"The total shield is 30000...!" Chrono Dran murmured in worry "If Akira gets an additional two Triggers, she can finish her One Turn Kill!"

He then looked back to the Selector who wheezed heavily from the exerted pressure and struggled to lift the top card of her deck to conduct her Twin Drive. When she barely managed to turn the card over, it revealed itself as Demonic Dragon Mage, Apalala.

"Critical Trigger...!" she coughed "I give all the effects to Dragonic Dark Overlord...!"

Reaching out for the second card, she felt her right hand beginning to waver as she felt it beginning to go numb from the damage it had taken from the current aura. Shaking it violently to try and keep it under control, she eventually rested it on the top card, starting to pull away at it.

"I don't know why you'd want my last possession... but you're not taking it away from me!" she cried out "S... Second check...!"

She then slowly turned over the card, hoping it would be something with at least any kind of trigger effect to end the fight in this instant. When it came into view however, her strained expression turned to disappointment as she was forced to reveal it was a third Cruel Dragon.

"Damn it!" the Selector screamed in agony.

Dragonic Dark Overlord within the imaged crater pushed against the barrier with all of its might, but without the double trigger needed to boost its power enough to break through, it was getting nowhere with the building heat and pressure from the flames surrounding its body. Then when they grew hot enough, they ignited and detonated in a massive explosion, sending the Abyss Dragon flying back to the far side of the battlefield, weakened greatly from the backlash of the blast. It landed on its feet, but was now barely able to keep standing.

Akira was now breathing heavily, too focused on keeping her mind and focus off the immense black aura that was affecting her rather than letting any anger build up in herself about failing her attempted One Turn Kill. All she could muster was lazily slam a closed fist onto her side of the board in frustration, now seeing the writing that was on the wall.

"I... end my turn...!" she growled.

(End Music)

End of Turn 5

Akira vs Rive

Hand - 6 : 4

Damage - 4 : 5

Akira's Formation
EMPTY - Dragonic Dark Overlord - EMPTY
EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY

Rive's Formation
EMPTY - Ravenous Dragon, Megarex - EMPTY
EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY

Rive then drew his next card, his eyes narrowing at what he had pulled to try and help him with the next turn. Chrono Dran having noticed his eyes being focused hovered over to his shoulder, glancing down at his hand. The pair then looked to the struggling Akira who was now on the verge of being fully consumed by the force of Dragonic Dark Overlord's card.

"Rive, are you sure this hand can work?" the draconic creature asked in worry "I know you don't have Gaia Emperor in this deck, but..."

"It has to work," he replied resolutely, his voice also being laden with concern "If it doesn't, who knows what will happen to her. In that case..."

He then took a deep breath and focused his attention fully on Akira, now intent on ending the fight to save her from whatever fate it was that awaited her.

"Final Turn!"

(Cardfight! Vanguard Shinemon Unreleased Soundtrack: Rive Fight)

Those two words were enough to snap Akira out of her current state and get her to focus back on defending herself for the coming turn. Rive then raised a card into the air before slamming it down on the Vanguard circle. On the battlefield, a tired and beaten Megarex vanished as the ground beneath where it stood cracked open even more before breaking apart completely, allowing a new Dinodragon to arise in its place. Much like the previous unit and the Tyrant, Deathrex that had previously been called by Rockmine, the stature and appearance of this one resemble a tyrannosaurus. It was purple and had daggers with gold trims pointing out from the head and its back as well as the tip of its tail. It roared loudly as it made its appearance in front of a weakened Dragonic Dark Overlord, with Rive announcing its name.

"Ancient Dragon, Spinodriver!"

Ancient Dragon, Spinodriver/Grade 3/Twin Drive!/POW: 11000/Tachikaze/Dinodragon/Dragon Empire

Despite this being one of the few times she had ever fought a Tachikaze user, Akira could only frown as she recognized the unit before her and a feeling other than the strain she continued to suffer from the aura around began to well inside her.

If Rive figured out my One Turn Kill through my Superior Break Ride... don't tell me...! she growled within her thoughts.

Her frown turned to annoyance as she watched Rive reveal a card from his hand depicting yet another tyrannosaurus looking Dinodragon. It wasn't as heavily armoured as the other units of its kind, but it had curved blade horn like appendages on either side of the head making its appearance and stance on the card look very imposing.

"In addition, I bind Destruction Dragon, Dark Rex from my hand!" he declared, placing the card face up to the right of his deck and drop zone, placing it between them "Spinodriver gets 3000 power! And then call!"

He placed down another Savage named unit, the human depicted being female like Healer. She wore a skull resembling that of a stag-like creature, even down to the antler esque protusions on top of the hood of her cloak and she wielded a long lance with a large blade attached at the end.

"With Savage Lancer, I Soul Blast and draw!" Rive continued as he proceeded with those actions "And then call!"

To his side of the imaged battlefield, came the appearance of Transport Dragon, Brachioporter, a heavily armoured tyrannosaurus Dinodragon that he had earlier namedropped in private as Dinochaos and finally a larger brachiosaurus Dinodragon with a large citadel of armour and guns littered all over the makeshift shell that was on its back. All five units turned their attention towards the lone Dragonic Dark Overlord who snarled in defiance. Akira on the other hand did not appear as confident as she struggled through the immense pain she was feeling to even look down at the six cards she held, knowing she was in bigger trouble that she had thought.

"Akira."

The Selector looked over to Rive, who rested Brachiocastle and Brachioporter to signal his first attack, yet it seemed he wanted her attention focused on what he had to say to her.

"I may not be aware of how you arrived here or why that Dragonic Dark Overlord card is poisoning you," he spoke "But I can tell when a person is at the end of their wits."

"You're one to talk!" she snapped back, coughing once before throwing down Garan's card onto the Guardian Circle to guard against the attack "You know nothing about me! Or the things I've done that have led me here!"

"But if it is not atonement that you'd willingly allow this to happen," he continued "Then what is it that you seek from keeping that card?"

"I..."

Akira paused in her reply, now thinking about the question that her opponent had presented her with and looked down to Dragonic Dark Overlord's card. She imagined it briefly as the original Dragonic Overlord with a afterimage of Kai looking away from her, not interested in her presence or whatever she had to say to him. Then she thought back to the fight the two had before Urith had teleported her to this desert, thinking about how she acted and what he had told her when all was said and done.

"Like your little Dracokid said, it's the last thing I have left!" she snapped "If I haven't perished yet... it's because that's the only thing I have to meet him again!"

"Then why are you crying?" Chrono Dran asked.

The Selector widened her eyes in shock as she moved her free hand down her non-scarred cheek, feeling it was now wet from a tear trickling down from her left eyelid.

"Ancient Dragon, Spinodriver attacks Dragonic Dark Overlord!" Rive declared as he rested the card.

Akira through the continued pain of the aura surrounding her could only grit her teeth at the predicament she had now found herself within, now that the formation in front of her as well as the cards in her damage zone had put her in a very tight bind.

Damn it! If I block this attack, not only will I have less shield, Dark Rex will Superior Break Ride and his retired rear-guards will call more from the deck! In addition, the Break Ride skill will make his Vanguard gain more power and Critical...!

Seeing that no matter what, that her Dragonic Dark Overlord was going to be hit either way, she closed her tear stained eyes in frustration and accepted her fate, unable to keep her composure from the fight and the aura around her.

"No... guard!" she wheezed heavily.

Spinodriver charged across the plain towards Dragonic Dark Overlord who leapt into the air and attempted to slash down its opponent's head with its Sword of Apocalypse. His earlier loss of strength however had made the blade diverge from its path and before it could realize the consequences of its lack of focus, the Dinodragon snatched the weapon out of its claws and chewed it apart in an instant. Then after that, boomerang shaped blades from those stashed on its back launched and hit the Abyss Dragon multiple times until it fell to the ground, defeated at last. It vanished in a series of black coloured sparks as the final card that emerged in Akira's damage zone was Wyvern Strike, Doha.

Despite the fight ending however, the aura Dragonic Dark Overlord emitted from the card however had grown even more violent, causing Akira to wheeze heavily as she found herself unable to stand back up from the increased pressure. Rive having not entirely anticipated this potential outcome looked over to Chrono Dran, knowing he potentially had not long to tell him what to do.

"You said you supressed the aura in that card," he spoke "Can you do it again?"

"I can... but..." his companion murmured.

"Don't worry about me," Rive replied "Now hurry!"

Chrono Dran nodded grimly in response and hovered over to pick up Dragonic Dark Overlord's card with his right hand, holding it up into the air. Closing his eyes and focusing his energies, the card suddenly glowed a bright white as the black aura was slowly beginning to leave Akira and being sucked back up into the object itself. At first, the Selector did not notice, but when the draconic creature was halfway done with his process, she could feel the weight of the immense pressure being lifted, allowing her to slowly stand back up, stumbling as she did so however.

"W... What in...?" she breathed as she watched Chrono Dran absorb the malicious aura back into the card "How are you doing that?"

Her question went unanswered however for several more moments as the last traces of the black aura eventually returned back to the card itself, the glow from it and around the draconic creature fading at the same time. In addition, several of the veins around her neck, her face and her hands had returned back to normal, though she could tell that for the rest of her body, the damage had seemingly already been done. She was broken out of her trance when she heard Rive coughing, causing her to turn to him.

(End Music)

"Hey Rive!" she called out as she went to him "What the hell was that all about?! And what happened to you?!"

"I'm sorry!" Chrono Dran cried out "I should have done the process more slowly!"

"Process?" Akira asked as she looked to the creature who merely looked back with a worried expression.

"Don't worry yourselves about me," Rive replied, bringing the pair's attention back to him "It seems some of the damage inflicted to Akira's body was too great to reverse this way... but at least she's no longer being afflicted."

Akira pondered on the Dragonic Dark Overlord card that Chrono Dran held in his grip, looking over to him as he gazed back, wondering if she was willing to go back on their deal knowing her earlier tempers. However, to his surprise...

"A deal's a deal..." she huffed, looking away from the pair "You won, so keep the damn card."

The draconic creature then looked down at the card whose malicious aura he had supressed earlier at the cost of something being afflicted to Rive like he had done when he had tried to make the girl regain consciousness earlier. Although he sensed he had done his job well enough, even he knew his bindings would not last forever and if he and Rive wanted to find out more about the card and the unit's existence, keeping it away from her would not solve anything. He then tapped Akira on the shoulder, causing her to spin around in annoyance.

"The suppression I've cast..." he said "It should stop that aura from spreading out and affecting you, but it won't last forever..."

"What do you want then?" the Selector muttered.

"Merely answers," Rive interjected as he stood back up "We want to know everything there is about this Dragonic Dark Overlord and what it really is. But at the same time, I am moreso curious as to who you are, Akira."

Deciding not to snap back at the pair, Akira felt that she did owe the pair something given the favour that they had just done for her. From what she gathered, they were mostly unaware of the attacks on this world's cardfighters and her prior involvement with them up to her fight with Kai, given their remote location. Yet at the same time, her curiosity was piqued at the two about who they were and why they were out in this place of all locations on this Earth.

"Alright then," she sighed "It's not like there's anything better for me to do in these endless wastes."


And there we go! After a long hiatus, I am beginning my triple update as mentioned in the Vanishing Memory one-shot with the second chapter of the update being dropped in Tuesday and the third on Friday, all to bring the fic back into high gear as well as conclude Akira's role in the Vanguard Side of Arc 4. Please share your thoughts and criticisms and I'll see you on the next chapter of Stand Up, the LRIG! Until then, this is Stardustdragon123 signing off!