Me: Hi all!

V2G Kouichi: PieMcMuffins!

Me: K, that is so it! Go help Kouichi in the kitchen!

Des Kouichi *from the kitchen*: Why does HE have to help? Can't Kami or Kou help?

VA Kouichi: We're helping Wing write.

Kami *in Wing's lap*: And I have to help him remember to say -

Me: We do not own Cardfight! Vanguard. Vanguard is owned by Bushiroad, not us, much as we'd like it.

Kami: Please support the official release.

Me: *sigh*

Kami: Also, no one else has reviewed. Please take a few minutes out of your day to improve our writing - or make Wing feel awesome. But mostly improve our writing.

Chapter 2: Who's the bad guy NOW? (Answer: No idea.)

Alfred awoke, tied to a chair hands and feet. His first thought was not of escape as he had been taught. It was, God, what the HELL happened to me? He remembered riding into the square in the ruined city, riding out after the resistance leader, heading down a back alley after him - and he turned around and flashed "Peace Out."

And then that was all.

As he was contemplating this, the door handle turned. Instantly, horror stories of tortures that the resistance afflicted on resolute Fangriders flashed through his mind.

As the door swung slowly open, Alfred expected about 6 guys, BIG guys, with pliers, a giant trough of water, cudgels - he didn't know.

What he wasn't expecting was what actually did.

2 kids - a boy and a girl - came through the door. The boy was the one Alfred had been chasing earlier, about 2 years older then him, with long, wild black hair bleached white at the tips and roots and bright golden eyes. He wore a black vest, black pants, and a spiraling pendant (like Snow's from FFXIII) around his neck. He wore black elbow length Cardfighting gloves with silver studs on the knuckles. He wore knee-lenth black riding boots, and had a silver wallet chain on each side. Around his neck, he wore black headphones.

The girl had long brown hair, blue eyes, and a tight white tank top with a picture of Tac Nayn on the middle. She wore black jeans and black flats, along with a golden neclace with a heart-shaped locket, along with silver studless clones of the gloves that the boy was wearing. A red earbud wire snaked from her back to front pocket on the left side.

After he saw the girl, it took Alfred a moment to go from stunned and in love back to f*ck you.

"'Sup dude? Sorry we had to knock you off your board like that, man. Name's Fang, by the way." said the boy, grinning crazily. He held out his hand. "Whoops, forgot." He said, moving around behind and cutting the ropes that held his arms.

Alfred had to suppress a grin. This guy was so damn likable. Even if he was here to torture him.

"And this is where a bunch of big beefy guys do some made-in-China torturing. But I'm a little more original then that."

Alfred's heart sank. what are they going to do to me? He thought.

"We shall do unto you the most horrible thing a man can do to another." Fang paused for dramatic effect, "Tell you . . . The truth."

Alfred, expecting to be told of something suitably horrible, started laughing.

Fang grinned. "Well, that's more like it, Mr. Stony!"

The girl giggled a little. "Fang, you're ridiculous."

Fang gave her a grin. "Oh, and you're not, Rezzy?"

Still grinning, she sat down across from Alfred. Fang took the chair next to her.

"So, what's your name again? Never bothered to ask. Silly me." Fang said, bonking his forehead with the base of his hand.

"My name is Alfred, for all the good it will do you."

Fang, suddenly serious, rested his elbows on the ruined table. "Tell me Alfred, where do you think your superiors get the right to do what they do?"

"What do you mean?" Alfred asked, confused.

"Look around you. This isn't exactly Napolineum Main, is it?"

"All those out here are wanted criminals accused of treason or similar. This is a PRISON, damnit, get used to it."

"I was born out here," the girl said. "Me, and my twin brother were born in this crap-hole And THOSE PEOPLE-" she pointed to the Great White Wall, visible clearly from this high vantage point, "Don't care! They tell the kids in there that we're criminals-" her voice broke, "and don't care when someone dies of starvation, of disease, of drinking to get away from the continuous misery of their existence! That may be what it was originally, but now everyone out here was born and raised here, in this god-forsaken CRAP HOLE! And we're CRIMINALS, so it's totally fine!" she screamed, starting to cry.

"You were supposed to go up to the Wall and tell them abou-"

"We tried. Believe me, we all tried. My girlfriend, Lite, and I knew someone who tried that. A little girl, 8 years old, by the name of Courage. She was lasered out of existence." Fang said quietly.

"WHAT?! By law, they're not allowed to do that!"

"That's what we like to call a 'comfort law.' It's not actually used, it's just there as a buffer between the Director and a dictator. Here, let me show you something." Fang said, wiping some dust from the table.

A top-down view of the Light Fang's interrogation chamber appeared. In the chair was a young black-haired girl in a silver duplicate of Fang's outfit.

Seeing Alfred's questioning look, he said, "My girlfriend. Lite Seneschal. You know, daughter of the previous director? Captured about 6 months ago. She was our leader, our figurehead. Without her, well, it's been hard. But watch this."

As the recording played, the Director entered, asking her questions about where the Resistance was located, their numbers, plans, anything that could allow him to capture them. Lite remained stoic and unmoving the whole time. Sighing, the Director stood up, replaced by a man in a charcoal suit.

(A/N: I'm not gonna write this, but just know that it was pretty much horrific. Like, so much obvious pain most would throw up just watching it.)

"My God . . ." Alfred whispered. He'd always had an exceptionally strong stomach, but he had very nearly upchucked.

"And that's not even the worst of it. Shall I show you more?"

"T-t-that . . ." Alfred stuttered, shocked, horrified, and betrayed.

"Yeah. I know, huh? And guess what? We just want to, you know, not STARVE out here. Just saying. Not like we're TERRORISTS or anything."

"That's a lie and you know it! What about that bomb in the square just yesterday?! Don't deny that it was you and your group!"

"Dude, we don't even know how to make a bomb."

"Except the Napster."

"Oh, yeah. The Napster. He was fixing up a bike last week. That IS what you're talking about, right?"

"Uhh . . . I guess so . . ."

"That's the government, trying to make us look bad."

"The Director wouldn't do . . ." Alfred trailed off, remembering Lite's torture.

"After that, I wanted to give you a chance to switch sides. Either way, we'll let you go today. I'm gonna go talk to the Napster about the bike he's building for you." Fang said. He got up and left, leaving Alfred and the girl together.

"So, Alfred, what do you think of that stuff?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure what to think after that. I mean, all that could be just a fabrication."

She looked about to cry again. "It's real."

"How do you know?"

"Because I placed that camera, and . . . And . . ."

"And what?"

"Before I tell you, I really need to know. Will you join us? I hope you do . . . I need to know . . ."

"Know what?"

"I need to know that even someone like you . . . A Fangrider . . . Can switch sides."

"I'm in if you tell me why."

"My . . . My brother. He brought her in."

"Who? Lite?"

"Yeah . . . He had too so he could get into the city. He was tired of living out here, so he took Lite in and turned her in."

"Who was it?"

"My brother is Palamedes."

Alfred damn near puked again. He knew Palamedes. They'd been best friends.

(A/N: I shall write the rest of this fic first-person. From Alfred's point of view.)

After that revelation, I learned that the girl I had been talking to was named Resolution.

"And that's your birth name?" I asked as we walked down the stairs, skeptical.

Fang walked up. "Hey Rezzy, Alf. How's it goin'? You on board?" He asked, turning to me.

"Yeah." I answered.

Fang grinned. "Goody. Rezy, tell the Napster to paint his bike . . ." he looked at me questioningly.

"Hmm . . . Black?"

Fang snorted. "Good choice."

"Always been my favorite color."

Resolution walked down the stairs and turned away from us at the lobby. Fang steered me into a storage room full of clothes.

"Pick something out and change. That stuff you're wearing is probably full of God-knows-what to help the Director find you."

He stepped out and I began picking stuff. I grabbed a black trench-coat, skinny black jeans, and a black T-shirt with faded dark gray stripes. I changed and added black skater shoes.

I stepped out, old clothes bundled under my arm. Another girl took the clothes from my hands, and Fang handed me a music player with black headphones with silver ear-covers. I gently slipped the player down my shirt and tucked it into my front pocket of my new jeans. Then, Fang handed me a pair of black Cardfighting gloves. I slipped them on, finding that they fit perfectly. Fang asked me what alternate color i'd like, and I decided on black with white tips at the front.

When my makeover was done, I looked myself over in the mirror. I looked . . . Well, way older, more mature, stronger.

"It suits you, dude." Fang said, then mused, "Now, what shall we call you . . . Kouichi! that sounds right."

I almost objected, then looked back at the mirror. At the flaring black jacket and dark, cold eyes. I nodded.

"Now, we just need you to pick out a deck. Personally, I take 1 look at you and think Shadow Paladin . . . But your pick!" Fang said, grinning and leading me into a side room lined with deck boxes with the image of various units on them. "Well, pick a unit. They're organized by nation, then clan in rank order."

The color and a map of each nation was placed above each row of decks. I looked over each box carefully, and eventually found one with the image of a black-clad knight that I liked. "Alright, I'm ready to go."

"Hmmm . . . A good fit for you. Let's go break in your new deck, shall we?" Fang asked, grinning, "With an Accelerated Fight, against your's truly, of course!" He grinned, taking a mock bow.

Me: Next chapter will be the fight. I'm not telling you what either of them uses though. HA. HA. HA.

Kami: Although you can probably guess what Kouichi is using.

VA Kouichi: Wing, the truffles are done.

Me: SWEETNESS!

Kami: All the readers may have a truffle. They're chocolate chip cookie dough.

Me: *munching on a truffle* Dipped in chocolate. Drizzled with white chocolate. 'Cause we're awesome.

Des Kouichi: Yeah. Indeed.

Kami: Please remember to review. We are very sad that we've taken so long to get this out to the world and you can't take a couple of minutes to review. So please review? *11-year-old girl smile*