Me: Let's see, I don't own Cardfight Vanguard. Sorry it took long. There have been many complications in writing this, including nonstop music classes, a huge pile of pieces to study, and having to block an obnoxious person here.
Me: Oh yeah, wonder if I ever said this. The original concept of the Vanguard Aegis was created by The Humble Batora in the vanguard academy RP forum here, which I used as the basis for this one. The looks of the two are different though, as I designed the one here to resemble more of a duel disk and be more portable and easier to use than the other.
Chapter 3: Homecoming
"I've received message from Kamui." Kai said to the eating people seated in the cafeteria, who all stopped to listen. "He should be arriving back tomorrow, along with next month's food supply. As well, Team Blitzkrieg should be arriving sometime soon with the water supply."
A lot of people began cheering. "Misaki said she's run into a little bit of trouble, but she should be returning safely with a little delay." He continued.
"What does that mean?" Aichi whispered to the people sitting next to her.
"Oh, Kamui and his team go for a week-long trip to Base SIT every month for food." Izaki said, eating his dinner with his fork. "See, even though we grow some food, it isn't enough for all these people. Base SIT focuses on food supply. We've visited it before. They breed cows and pigs, along with the fact that they have a huge amount of land where they grow grain and fruits and vegetables. They specialize in making the foods for the rest of the bases."
"Team Blitzkrieg goes to Base Dreadnought every month as well." Takuma said. "Dreadnought's right next to the ocean, and they have large purification tanks which they use to supply the rest of the bases with clean water to drink and use. That's what our bases depend upon for water."
"Oh…" Aichi nodded, looking down at the salad she was eating. She didn't really feel comfortable with eating meat anymore, so a bit of grain and salad was good. All this was transported from another base here… along with the water she was drinking and washing her hands with and showering with… And times that by over five thousand for all the people in this base… Plus there were four bases…
Four bases… "So, what does Base AL4 do?" She asked.
"Al4's the warrior base, or the attack force base." Miwa said. "They train the majority of the warriors, and keep mostly warriors there. We organize meetings with them, and discuss new ways to attack Void, or stronger defense strategies against attacks. Most weaponry is also made there, along with general machinery and the technology we have left."
"Oh. And this Misaki-san's run into trouble?"
"Most likely she's been met with some more Voided people than usual. She'll handle it!" Miwa answered. "Anyways, don't worry about it. We'll do some simple training tomorrow so you get used to it, and then you'll get assigned to a station to watch over."
Aichi looked down at her meal and put her fork down. "Hey, is it going to be like this forever. Is this all we'll do, just fight some people, eat some food, drink some water, and sleep? Is this all life is anymore?"
"Is that really what you think?" She turned around to see Kai standing behind her.
"Kai? Not eating?" Miwa asked.
"Not in the mood." Kai said, looking at Aichi. "If that really was the case, why do you think we fight so hard?"
She blinked in return.
"If all the vanguard give up, where will that leave the warriors? If all the warriors give up, where will that leave the civilians? If we all give up, Void wins. Why do you think we all fight so hard? Because we have to, for everyone else's sake. To someday take our world back from Void. Don't forget, that's why we fight. That's our reason for fighting."
Reason for fighting… What motivates everyone to fight. She only had herself those lonely months. What had been her reason for fighting?
-linebreak-
A loud bell rang throughout the entire building, and many people began running out to the front of the building. Aichi followed the crowd of people. Was there another attack?
As they reached the front of the building, everybody was looking at something in the distance. Their expressions were more happy than panicked, and that was confusing. She squinted in the direction everyone else was looking in, and saw something coming in their direction, getting closer by the second.
Robots. Giant Robots. There had to be at least 15 of them, each one of them wheeling behind them a huge cart overflowing with boxes. Aichi screamed, then looked around. "Isn't somebody going to attack them?!" She panicked, pointing at them as they got closer.
"That's our food supply! We're not attacking it!" Morikawa yelled, running out in front. "OI! STUPID BRAT! IT TOOK LONG ENOUGH!"
"WHAT WAS THAT MAKEMI?!" One of the robots yelled loudly, and Aichi held her ears. Okay… this didn't seem like an attack now.
"IT'S KATSUMI!" Morikawa yelled back as the other party arrived at the doorsteps of their base. 18 huge robots, around 5 stories high, with the main one in the middle who was a bright red with silver, gold, and green weaponry, and towered over all of them. (A/N: Perfect Raizer)
Then 15 of the robots disappeared (rearguards?), and the three remaining robots began disappearing and shrinking down, until what was left was three…. Little kids…. With the one in the middle barely coming up to her shoulder, even with the addition of his crazy tall black hair.
"We're back!" He yelled.
-linebreak-
People lined up one by one as the three small kids once again transformed into huge robots, unloading the boxes as the people took them into the building. As it turns out, the three little kids were Kamui, Reiji, and Eiji, the three people who went all the way to SIT to get food for the base. That huge job for three boys. Wow.
Aichi got to the front of the line, and was handed a box by the extremely spiky haired boy, Kamui, who looked confused when he saw her. "Who are you? New?" His eyes widened as he looked at Miwa. "You found someone?!" He yelled. Miwa chuckled.
"Yup. Found her one day." He said.
"Ohhh…" Kamui said. "EEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHH?!" The three kids screamed.
"You found someone?!" Reiji yelled.
"YFS-su?!" Eiji repeated.
"It was a while back… but yeah." Izaki said from behind them.
"I see…" Kamui nodded, putting his hands on his hips and sizing up to her. Which she found strange, since he was a head shorter than her. "Gluten up cause you're looking at the amazing and invincible Kamui-sama!"
Huh?
"It's listen up." Miwa whispered, and Kamui's face turned red. "You're not trying to tell her to get fatter…"
"Yeah! That's what I meant!" Kamui yelled. "Listen up! You'd better show respect to me, the great Kamui, got it?!"
Aichi blinked. Oh, this boy was… She smiled a bit on the inside. It had been a while before she had seen something so funny. "Okay Kamui-kun." She said.
"That's Kamui-sama! Or Kamui the Amazing! Or Kamui the Incredible! Or—"
"Kamui the Pipsqueak."
"Exactl… HEY!" Kamui pounced on Morikawa, pulling at his hair. "Take that back Makemi!"
"It's Katsumi you brat!" Morikawa yelled as they tumbled back and forth, eventually falling down and collapsing on top of each other.
"What's happening out here?" The two boys froze, then looked up to see Kai standing above them.
"Kai!" Kamui jumped up.
"It's nice to see you're back in one piece with both the other two and the food, although don't make a ruckus already." Kai said, picking up a box easily.
"Yup!" Kamui saluted. Kai walked back into the building, carrying the box. As soon as he was gone, Kamui sighed. "Clear."
"Anyways, take this box." The blue haired boy, Reiji, handed Aichi a box, and she took it clumsily, wobbling as she tried to get a good grip. "It goes in the Dairy section."
"S-Sure." Aichi walked back into the building slowly, struggling with the large box of what sounded like milk. Milk… She hadn't drank milk in so long…
She got on the elevator with some others, down to the basement, and set down the box by a pile of other boxes labelled 'Dairy'. They had a lot. It made sense, considering how many people they had to feed every day. The basement looked like it went on forever in all directions, filled with boxes everywhere. Plus it was like a huge freezer with ice in corners and icicles hanging from the ceiling. She shivered, rubbing her arms. A huge refrigerator for the food, she figured.
"You're that new girl." Aichi turned around to see a girl with long cranberry hair and blue eyes gazing at her curiously. She remembered her from breakfast.
"You're… Hitomi… right?" Aichi said.
"Yeah." Hitomi nodded. She frowned, and Aichi felt immediately felt uncomfortable.
"How did you survive so long?" She asked.
"Huh?" That was a real intelligent answer… "I don't… know…"
"It's already hard enough surviving here. Out there, there's no food randomly lying around or water conveniently placed. How did you survive?"
Aichi blinked. "Oh, well…"
There was a loud clang from around them, and the two girls jumped. "What was that?!" Hitomi yelled.
"D-Did someone drop something?" Aichi suggested, hoping that was the case.
"Yeah, somebody probably just dropped something. It's nothing to worry about." Hitomi breathed out. "We're just overreacting over something si—"
The was a cracking sound, and from a box near them broke out something. The two girls screamed as a woman jumped out, dressed completely in pink fluffy clothing, with pink and red ears and a small dark blue top hat on the side of her head. For some reason, her eyes were pitch black, and that didn't seem normal. (A/N: Midnight Bunny)
The bunny woman looked at them, and smiled. It wasn't a happy smile, it was a scary smile, and Aichi felt her feet freeze to the ground. Something caught her around the wrist and she was yanked forwards, yelling in shock.
"I caught a girl! I caught a girl!" The bunny woman (a vanguard unit?) yelled happily. "I think it's a cardfighter!" She bounced back and forth with her feet. "Let's play a game! Let's play a game!"
"A g-game…" Aichi stuttered, trying to pull her wrist out of the strange black beam suddenly wrapped around her wrist. She didn't know what it was but it was holding on to her, being held by the strange unit, and she couldn't get out. Hitomi began pulling at it with her, but it was surprisingly strong and smooth.
"A game!" The unit sang. "A cardfight! You win, I let you go and leave! I win, I blow up all this food here! Won't that be fun?"
"Blow up the food?!" Hitomi yelled. "You can't do that!"
"Why not?" Midnight Bunny laughed. "It'll be fun! Watch!" She snapped her fingers, and a pile of boxes near the door suddenly blew up with a bang, cereal flying everywhere.
"That was tomorrow's breakfast!" Hitomi yelled.
"See, so let's have a cardfight now! This anchor isn't gonna let you go until we do!" The vanguard unit said, tugging at the black beam.
"What's going on down there?!" Some people ran down from the entrance, led by a man with dirty blonde hair wearing a dark coat. He looked at the scene, with blown up boxes of food, a Voided unit, and two terrified girls. "Somebody get Kai now." A girl behind her, who Aichi recognized as Ayaka from yesterday, ran outside.
The man stepped forwards towards them. "I'm Kazami Yuki, a vanguard of this base. You need to go now!" He said to Midnight Bunny.
"Oh look, more people to play with! Don't worry, I'll get to you all!" The unit laughed. "After I'm done with this little girl!"
"A Void unit broke in?!" Kai ran into the room, with four people behind him. Ayaka and her friend from the hospital wing, Seiri, Kamui. He glared. "What's your business here?"
"What else? It's fun, that's why!"
Kai frowned. "If you want to fight…"
"Kai, you're still healing the wounds from yesterday!" Seiri said. "You can't!"
"I'll take care of it!" Kamui yelled, his Vanguard Aegis activating.
"Hmm, how about, no!" Midnight Bunny laughed, tugging at the black beam. "See this? It's known as a Void Anchor! And when you get caught in it you now gotta cardfight, or else it doesn't come off!"
"What?!" Kamui exclaimed.
"Does something like that exist?" Ayaka said.
"It does now~!"
"So that means if you get caught in one you're forced to cardfight no matter what, or else you're stuck." Seiri said. "Kai, doesn't she still not know how to cardfight?"
"She doesn't?!" Midnight Bunny's smile got bigger. "Then this'll be so much more fun!"
Aichi shook. Oh no, she was going to lose, and everyone was going to starve because of her. She didn't know what happened when someone lost a cardfight now, but she was pretty sure it wasn't good. She was going to be responsible for everything because she wasn't strong enough to do anything, and she didn't know how to do anything…
"Kai, what do we do?" Ayaka whispered.
Kai walked forwards to Aichi, who watched him come closer. He took her arm with the anchor on it, along with the blue Aegis, and activated it. Aichi blinked.
"You're going to cardfight." Kai said. "You have a deck. You're going to win. Get out your deck."
Aichi gazed at him in wonder. He was serious. His eyes were serious. "Get out your deck." He repeated.
"R-Right." Aichi took out her deck from her pocket, looking at the cards in it.
"Get out a grade 0 and put it down on the middle circle. That's going to be your starting vanguard."
"Okay." She picked out a unit with a grade 0 in the corner, putting it facedown on the middle circle of the Aegis. Midnight Bunny smiled at them evilly, pink fur on her arm forming into a Vanguard Aegis as she got ready.
"We'll have such fun!" She said, grinning, and Aichi shivered slightly.
"Put the deck in that slot on the Aegis and draw five cards for your opening hand." Kai said. Aichi nodded, drawing her hand and looking at it nervously. Okay, she could do this. Kai was here to help. She would do this.
"Now, at the same time as your opponent, you say 'Stand up, Vanguard', and flip over your first vanguard."
"Ready when you are~!" Midnight Bunny said. "Stand up, vanguard!"
"S-Stand up, vanguard!" Aichi said, flipping over the card. She squeaked as it began glowing, along with her body, and the next thing she knew, she was half the height she was before, with her blue hair in buns. She had silver armour with colourful designs covering parts of her body, with small white wings and a brass trumpet in her hand, and the five cards in her other hand. "S-Stardust… Trumpeter?" Kai nodded, signalling that was correct, and she breathed out slightly. [Stardust Trumpeter – 6000]
Across from her, where Midnight Bunny was standing now stood a short, chubby man with ghostly purple skin. He was dressed in a dark blue suit with gold trim and a red velvet vest. There was a matching top hat on his head, along with swirling black hair. "Hades Ringmaster." The man said in a deep voice. [Hades Ringmaster – 5000]
"I'm first! Draw!" The man said, a card flying out from the Aegis on his arm. "I ride Midnight Bunny."
He glowed purple, then transformed back into the pink bunny woman before. She smiled. "Yeah, this form feels much better!" [Midnight Bunny – 7000]
"On the first turn, the person can't attack." Kai said, and Aichi nodded, feeling relieved that she wasn't going to get attacked yet.
"Hades Ringmaster's skill. I soul charge one card and end my turn."
[Soul Charge – Skull Juggler – No Trigger]
"Soul… charge?"
"The soul is any unit underneath your vanguard. There are some cards that can increase that for their advantage." Kai said. "But don't worry about that now. At the beginning of your turn, you draw a card. It's your turn."
"Oh! I, draw." Aichi said, taking a card from her deck.
"Then you ride a unit either the same grade or one grade higher than the one you're at right now." Kai said, pointing at one of her cards. "See this? This is the grade of the unit. Stardust Trumpeter is a Grade 0, so you would want to ride a Grade 1 right now to get to a higher grade. Every turn, you can ride over your vanguard, getting you stronger."
"Um…" Aichi examined her hand. "I ride Little Sage, Marron!" Her body tingled as it began changing shape again, changing slightly taller, with her hair down in its usual shape. She wore blue and white robes that seemed similar to her Blaster Blade's armour, holding a large book filled with strange words in it. [Little Sage, Marron – 8000]
"You can call units that are the same or lower grade as your vanguard, which can either attack or boost your unit from the cards currently in your hand." Kai continued. "Those are rearguards, and that is the Call. Units in the front row attack, and units in the backrow boost the attacking ones."
"Oh, kay, so, I call Wingal." She said, placing the card behind her vanguard. Behind her, a blue dog with wings for ears and a dagger in its mouth appeared, and she stared at it. That was cool. And cute. So very cute oh my god Wingal was adorable! [Wingal – 6000]
"You attack your opponent's vanguard, which right now is Midnight Bunny." Kai said. "By turning a unit on its side, or resting it, that's you telling the units to attack. By resting a unit behind the attacking unit, you add its power to yours when you attack. If you have equal or more power than your opponent's unit, the attack goes through and is a success."
"I, attack your vanguard with Marron. And Wingal boosts." Aichi said, resting the two units on her Aegis awkwardly. [8000 + 6000 = 14000]
"When your vanguard attacks, you reveal the top card of your deck for a drive check. If you reveal a card with a trigger in the top right corner, you get to apply special effects."
"Okay."
[Drive Check – Little Sage, Marron – No Trigger]
"And now you go attack." Kai said. The two continued looking at each other.
"Um, Kai, nothing's happening?"
"You have to attack. Go punch her or use the magic spells in the book you're holding. Attack."
Aichi pointed at herself, and Kai nodded. "Yes. You have to attack."
She blinked. Then she realized. "Oh!" Oh, she had to attack. That made sense, she was the vanguard, and so she had to lead, and…
Okay, she was all nervous again. No worries. All she had to do was just, attack. Simple. She took a deep breath, then looked at the words written on the book. "Augue… oppugnatione." She said. A fireball appeared above the book, and flew to Midnight Bunny, scorching part of her ears.
"Hey! Those are sensitive!" Midnight Bunny yelled, then smiled again. "No matter! Continue!"
[Damage Check – Barking Cerberus – No Trigger]
"When an attack hits your vanguard, you flip over the top card of your deck and put it in your damage zone. When someone gets six cards, or six damage there, the game is over."
"Oh, okay." Aichi nodded, understanding a little more. "Now what do I do?"
"After attacking, if there's nothing else to do and no more skills to activate, you end your turn and it goes to your opponent."
"I end my turn." Aichi said.
Aichi – Midnight Bunny
5 – Hand – 5
1 – Soul – 2
0 – Damage – 1
0 – Counterblasted – 0
Field:
none – none - - - none – none
Wingal – Little Sage, Marron - - - Midnight Bunny – none
none – none - - - none - none
"Stand and draw." Midnight Bunny said. "And just after I got back into this form… I ride Crimson Beast Tamer!" She glowed purple, transforming into an elf with long silver hair curled at the end, with a small purple leotard with see-through orange ruffles. She had knee-high red boots, and a whip made flames. [Crimson Beast Tamer – 8000]
"I call Turquoise Beast Tamer, Mirror Demon, and Barking Cerberus." Crimson Beast Tamer said, a three-headed dog dressed in large, puffy colourful clothing and a short-haired version of herself with an ice whip appearing around her. Beside her was a mirror, with a small purple head and body half sticking out of it. [Turquoise Beast Tamer – 6000] [Barking Cerberus – 10000] [Mirror Demon – 8000]
"Cerberus attacks Marron!" She shouted, the large dog barking and running towards Aichi. [10000]
"You don't just have to take attacks too. You can guard the attacks with card from your hand. A card that you use to guard's shield power, the numbers written on the side, is added to your vanguard's base power. If the power is more than the unit that's attacking, the attack is successfully negated." Kai said.
"B-Bringer of Good Luck, Epona guards!" Aichi yelled, holding out the card. "Um, the shield power is 10000, plus Marron's 8000… that's 18000. The attack doesn't hit."
A girl in blue armor riding a large golden beetle appeared in front of her, and the three-headed dog teared her apart. She disappeared screaming.
"You can't always guard eithers. You need to think about what units you're going to have to call in your turn, and about your shield power for turns afterwards as well." Kai said. "So taking a bit of damage is good sometimes."
"Turquoise boosts, and Crimson Beast Tamer attacks Marron!" Crimson Beast Tamer yelled, dashing forwards. [8000 + 6000 = 14000] "Drive check."
[Drive Check – Golden Beast Tamer – No Trigger]
She lashed out, and the burning whip hit Aichi's arm, and Aichi yelled out, grabbing her arm. It burned, it really burned. Her skin was red, and smoking. It was smoking, her skin charred underneath the now non-existent cloth that was covering it.
"D-Damage… check…" She said, taking the top card of her deck softly and flipping it over. Her arm burned when she moved it. The card didn't have a trigger. She dropped it in her damage zone, her arm feeling like it would burst from the effort.
[Damage Check – Knight of Silence, Gallatin – No Trigger]
"Mirror Demon attacks Marron!" [8000]
"No… guard…" She tensed, the mirror suddenly appearing in front of her and the small demon hitting her in the shoulder. "Damage check…"
[Damage Check – Knight of Truth, Gordon – No Trigger]
"Mirror Demon's counterblast! I move it to the soul, and superior call Skull Juggler!" Her opponent said, the unit disappear into the mirror. Behind Cerberus appeared a little demon with blue skin juggling skulls. "Skull Juggler's soul charge."
[Soul Charge – Barking Manticore – No Trigger]
"I end my turn." Crimson Beast Tamer bowed.
Aichi – Midnight Bunny
4 – Hand – 3
1 – Soul – 4
2 – Damage – 1
0 – Counterblasted – 0
Field:
none – none - - - Barking Cerberus – Skull Juggler
Wingal – Little Sage, Marron - - - Crimson Beast Tamer – Turquoise Beast Tamer
none – none - - - none - none
"Stand and draw…" Aichi said, drawing her card slowly. She stared at the card, smiling slowly.
"If you like that card so much, then make it your avatar!"
"Avatar?"
"A unit that you feel you have a really big connection with, one that you've bonded with."
"Bonds." Aichi looked at the card, smiling. "Yeah! He's my avatar!"
"Stand up, my avatar!" Aichi yelled. "I ride Blaster Blade!"
Her body began changing again, and this time she let it go without worrying. She grew to her usual height, her body wearing white armour and dark blue clothing underneath. In her hands was the sword she spent so many months with, and it felt great. Her arm didn't feel that bad anymore, although it was still sore to move. It felt great. [Blaster Blade – 9000]
"Blaster Blade's counterblast!" She said, slamming her sword into the ground. "I retire Barking Cerberus!" The shockwaves broke the ground, making the three-headed dog lose balance and fall, disappearing.
Kai looked at her with surprise. "You know how to do that?"
"I remembered. There was a while back, where this really nice guy taught me how." Aichi replied softly. "He gave me Blaster Blade, taught me how to make my deck, and had a cardfight with me. But he moved away really quickly."
Kai didn't say anything. He looked back at the enemy at hand. "Continue." He said. "Let's see what he taught you."
Aichi smiled. "Okay!" She nodded. "I call Little Sage Marron and Knight of Rose, Morgana!" A boy with light green hair and blue and white clothes, holding a large book appeared, with a blonde woman in white clothes and a glowing blue sword with a rose for the hilt in front of her. [Little Sage, Marron – 8000] [Knight of Rose, Morgana – 6000] "Morgana attacks Crimson Beast Tamer with Marron's boost!" [6000 + 8000 = 14000]
"Hoop Magician guards!" Crimson Beast Tamer said, a little girl sitting in a red hula hoop appearing in front of her, taking the hit and disappearing quickly.
"Blaster Blade attacks with Wingal's boost! Wingal's skill! I gain 4000 power!" Aichi yelled, holding the sword firmly. [9000 + 6000 + 4000 = 19000] She took a deep breath, then charged forwards.
"No guard." Crimson Beast Tamer smiled. The sword slammed into her middle, and she winced as she slide back from the impact. "Damage check."
[Damage Check – Dark Metal Bicorn – No Trigger]
"I end my turn."
Aichi – Midnight Bunny
4 – Hand – 3
1 – Soul – 4
2 – Damage – 1
0 – Counterblasted – 0
Field:
Little Sage, Marron – Knight of Rose, Morgana - - - none – Skull Juggler
Wingal – Blaster Blade - - - Crimson Beast Tamer – Turquoise Beast Tamer
none – none - - - none - none
"Stand and draw." Crimson Beast Tamer smiled. "I ride Golden Beast Tamer."
Golden light burst from her, and a woman in a purple leotard with golden sleeves and skirt emerged. She had golden hair and a golden whip, with a purple crescent in her hair. [Golden Beast Tamer – 10000]
"Golden Beast Tamer's skill. I superior call a chimera from my soul."
"From the soul?!"
"Barking Manticore, appear!" Next to the tamer appeared a giant red beast with a silver mane, growling menacingly. [Barking Manticore – 10000] "And one more Skull Juggler." Another small goblin juggling skulls appeared. "Soul charge."
[Soul Charge – Candy Clown – Heal Trigger]
Golden Beast Tamer smiled. "Usually I can't attack, but by soulblasting 3 cards, I am now allowed to attack. Manticore attacks Blaster Blade. And my skill gives it 3000 more power!" [10000 + 7000 + 3000 = 20000]
"N-No guard…." The giant beast leapt towards her, and it hit her hard. She yelled, falling backwards.
"Damage check." She said, placing the card in her damage zone carefully after standing up.
[Damage Check – Knight of the Harp, Tristan – No Trigger]
"I attack with Turquoise's boost!" [10000 + 6000 = 16000] Golden Beast Tamer cracked her whip, then ran forwards.
"Flogal guards!" A pink dog jumped down in front of her, barking loudly. She stopped, then smiled.
"Drive check. Since I'm a grade 3, I do it twice!" Aichi watched as two cards appeared one by one next to her. "First and second check."
[Drive Check – Nightmare Doll, Alice – No Trigger]
[Drive Check – Mirror Demon – No Trigger]
The tamer frowned. "Well, you got lucky." She jumped back to her side as Flogal disappeared. "I end my turn."
Aichi – Midnight Bunny
3 – Hand – 4
1 – Soul – 2
3 – Damage – 1
0 – Counterblasted – 0
Field:
Little Sage, Marron – Knight of Rose, Morgana - - - Barking Manticore – Skull Juggler
Wingal – Blaster Blade - - - Golden Beast Tamer – Turquoise Beast Tamer
none – none - - - none – Skull Juggler
"Stand and draw." Aichi looked at the card she just drew, then turned to Kai. "I can ride this… right?" Kai glanced at the card, nodded, and Aichi smiled. She took a breath in.
"Give me the power! The proud, prideful white wings! I ride Solitary Knight, Gancelot!" [Solitary Knight, Gancelot – 9000]
Her armour got heavier and shinier and it increased in size and thickness, and she pushed the silver helmet back so it wouldn't cover her eyes. A white horse with silver armour appeared under her, whinnying and flapping its large wings. She yelped slightly, nearly sliding off the pegasus in shock before Kai caught her and pushed her back up. "I activate Gancelot's skill…" She said, reading the card on her Aegis. "By counterblasting two cards… I get 5000 more power and… a critical…"
"That means if the attack hits it does two damage instead of one."
"Oh." She nodded. "Right. I-I call Knight of Silence, Gallatin!" A knight with purple hair and red cloth wrapped around his eyes appeared, with white clothing and silver armor. [Knight of Silence, Gallatin – 10000] "Gallatin attacks, Barking Manticore." She decided, and the knight leaped forwards, drawing his sword.
"Mirror Demon guards." A mirror appeared in his path, getting sliced in half as a demon popped out of it, yelling in pain before disappearing.
"Gancelot attacks with Wingal's boost!" Aichi yelled. The pegasus snorted, then charged forth and she grabbed the reigns in shock, holding on for dear life. [9000 + 6000 + 5000 = 20000] She fumbled with the sword in her hand, then held it out and gave an awkward battle cry. She could have sworn the pegasus was laughing at her.
Golden Beast Tamer glanced at her hand. "No guard." Aichi's sword hit her side, tearing through her part of her clothes. The pegasus then hit her across the head with his own as he retreated back. "Hey!" The tamer growled, and the pegasus glared back.
"Drive check."
[Drive Check – Starlight Unicorn – No Trigger]
[Drive Check – Flogal – Stand Trigger]
"Stand trigger!" Aichi looked at the blue icon, then at Kai. "Um, the stand trigger?"
"You stand one of your rested units, and choose one unit on the field, and that unit will get 5000 more power."
"I can choose the unit that I stand, right?" Kai nodded in affirmation. "Okay, I stand Gallatin and give the power to him."
[Damage Check – Hades Hypnotist – No Trigger]
[Damage Check – Jumping Glenn – No Trigger]
"And then he attacks your vanguard!" [10000 + 5000 = 15000]
Golden Beast Tamer huffed. "Fine. No guard." She scowled and winced as the sword hit her, lashing back with her whip.
[Damage Check – Dynamite Juggler – Critical Trigger]
"Critical trigger! Power and critical to my vanguard." She said.
"C-Critical trigger?!" Aichi panicked, then stopped. "But… it's my turn, so…"
"Only the power increase is relevant here." Kai said. "Since it's your turn, she can't attack."
"Oh," She breathed out in relief, "that's good." She looked at her field. "Um, Marron boosts, Morgana attacks…. The attack will be 14000, but Golden Beast Tamer now has 15000 power… so the attack won't hit." She mumbled. "Morgana attacks Barking Manticore!" [6000 + 8000 = 14000]
The blonde haired warrior slashed down the sides of the large beast, and it roared and disappeared.
"I end my turn." Aichi said. "Woah… I did 3 damage…"
Aichi – Midnight Bunny
4 – Hand – 3
3 – Soul – 2
3 – Damage – 4
2 – Counterblasted – 0
Field:
Little Sage, Marron – Knight of Rose, Morgana - - - none – Skull Juggler
Wingal – Solitary Knight, Gancelot - - - Golden Beast Tamer – Turquoise Beast Tamer
none – Knight of Silence, Gallatin - - - none – Skull Juggler
"Stand and draw." Golden Beast Tamer said. "I call Nitro Juggler and, hmm, I'll take pity on you little folk and not destroy the place by calling Alice. So instead, Madcap Marionette." An awkward rag doll suspended by strings going up into some invisible hole in the sky appeared, with a purple-skinned mechanical man wearing a white suit next to the vanguard. [Madcap Marionette – 6000] [Nitro Juggler – 9000]
"Nitro Juggler soulcharges one card from my deck, and Marionette chooses one card in my hand to soulcharge." She said.
[Soul Charge – Rainbow Magician – Draw Trigger]
[Soul Charge – Nightmare Doll, Alice – No Trigger]
"By soulblasting three cards, I'm now able to attack. Marionette attacks you with Skull Juggler's boost. My skill gives it 3000 more power." [6000 + 7000 + 3000 = 16000]
"Flogal guards!" As the strings from nowhere pulled the puppet forwards, a flowery pink dog blocked its path. The puppet's expression didn't change once as it stopped, and the strings pulled it back.
"I'm attacking now!" Golden Beast Tamer said, Turquoise behind her testing her own whip. [10000 + 6000 + 3000 = 19000]
"Um…" Aichi looked at the remaining cards in her hand. "I won't guard this one."
"Well then, twin drive."
[Drive Check – Barking Manticore – No Trigger]
[Drive Check – Dynamite Juggler – Critical Trigger]
"Critical trigger!" Golden Beast Tamer yelled. "Finally! I give power to my rearguard Nitro Juggler, and the critical to my vanguard!" The golden whip flew out, striking the pegasus Aichi was sitting on's wing, as well as the already burnt arm from before. The pegasus cried out, stomping its hooves as Aichi tried to stay on.
"An extra critical makes it two damage instead of one… so damage check twice." Aichi said, wincing as she lifted her arm up. It stung, even through the armor she was wearing.
[Damage Check – Knight of Silence, Gallatin – No Trigger]
[Damage Check – Margal – Draw Trigger]
"A draw trigger." Aichi said, looking at Kai. "Um, that means I can give Gancelot 5000 more power and draw a card, right?" When Kai nodded, she drew a card.
"Nitro Juggler attacks you with Skull Juggler's boost!" [9000 + 7000 + 3000 + 5000 = 24000] The mechanical man jumped up in the air, arming its nitro bombs.
"If this hits it'll be the sixth damage and you'll lose!" Kai said. "You have to guard!"
"I-I guard with Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine and Knight of Rose, Morgana!" Aichi held out the cards. "That's 15000 shield plus Gancelot's current power of 14000… so it should be enough!" A maiden with long green hair and a flowing dress appeared alongside a duplicate of the blonde knight. The attacking man stopped, then put his bombs back in his pocket.
"I end my turn." Golden Beast Tamer huffed.
Aichi – Midnight Bunny
1 – Hand – 2
3 – Soul – 1
5 – Damage – 4
2 – Counterblasted – 0
Field:
Little Sage, Marron – Knight of Rose, Morgana - - - Nitro Juggler – Skull Juggler
Wingal – Solitary Knight, Gancelot - - - Golden Beast Tamer – Turquoise Beast Tamer
none – Knight of Silence, Gallatin - - - Madcap Marionette – Skull Juggler
"Stand and draw." Aichi said. Okay, she managed to survive, even though her arm was still sore. But she couldn't back down now, she needed to win. "I call Starlight Unicorn! Starlight Unicorn's skill gives Morgana 2000 more power with her skill." A unicorn with a shining, rainbow mane appeared, its horn sparkling and powering up Morgana. [Starlight Unicorn – 6000]
"Gancelot's counterblast! I add 5000 more power and 1 more critical." Aichi said. "Gallatin attacks your vanguard with Starlight Unicorn's boost!"
"No guard." Golden Beast Tamer replied after glancing at her hand. Her outfit was near shreds now. Ugh, she didn't expect some brat to get this far ahead.
[Damage Check – Dynamite Juggler – Critical Trigger]
"Critical trigger! Power and critical to me!"
"Morgana attacks your vanguard with Marron's boost!" [6000 + 8000 + 2000 = 16000]
"Nitro Juggler intercepts!" The man jumped in front of her, stopping the attack with a smoke bomb.
"Gancelot attacks with Wingal's boost!" [9000 + 6000 + 5000 = 20000] The pegasus whinnied, stomping its hooves.
"Dynamite Juggler guards!" A small goblin riding on a barrel of dynamite appeared in her path, giggling as the white pegasus glared at it.
"Drive check! You still have a chance!" Kai yelled.
"Yeah!" Aichi said, gripping the reigns of the pegasus tighter so she wouldn't fall. "Drive check."
[Drive Check – Wingal – No Trigger]
"Second check."
[Drive Check – Bringer of Good Luck, Epona – Critical Trigger]
"Critical trigger!" Aichi yelled. "The power and critical added onto Gancelot's power is 25000, which is the same as your guarding power. So the attack goes through!"
The barrel slipped out from underneath the small goblin, and the pegasus jumped over it easily. Aichi held onto the sword tightly with one hand, as she rode closer to victory.
Golden Beast Tamer stared in shock as the sword came closer and closer to her. She was about to lose. She was about to disappear, because some lucky beginner actually managed to beat her. She blinked. Was this really just some beginner? She did feel something, else, coming from her. The sword point flashed, reflecting light off of it and casting shadows on the ground.
Oh.
Oh! Yeah! So that's what it was...
A small smile found its way onto her lips. "Well this is interesting. Things are gonna be fuuuuun for you guys later on!"
And that smile stayed on her face as she was stabbed through the chest, her body dissolving apart into nothing.
[Damage Check – Golden Beast Tamer – No Trigger]
Aichi stayed frozen as the unit disappeared, along with the horse she was riding on and the sword and armor. She dropped to the ground, landing awkwardly, and looking at her hands. She did it. She actually did it. She had beaten a person (or unit she didn't care at this point) taken by Void.
Oh my god she did it.
"YOU DID IT YESSSSS!" Ayaka yelled, grabbing her into a hug and swinging her around. Her head spun, as the insane hug made her dizzy. "YES YES YES I KNEW YOU COULD!"
"You said you thought she was dead." Rika said from behind her, her voice still as blank as ever, although there was a slight smile as she watched her friend's usual antics.
"I did not! I knew you could do it!" Ayaka yelled. "Except for all those times I thought you were gonna lose, I knew you'd win!"
"Um...thanks..." Aichi managed, her head still spinning as Ayaka let go of her. Rika sighed from behind her. Aichi blinked, then looked at Kai.
"T-Thank you, Kai." She said. Kai eyed her.
"It was nothing. I can't have any people dying in my home. That's it." He said. Aichi blinked.
That's what he meant… He cares more than it seems. She smiled.
"I need to contact SIT now to talk about the food since some of it's gone. Katsuragi, you do something here. Do it yourself, call others, I don't care. Just clean this mess up." And with that, Kai walked out of the basement.
Kamui twitched. It seemed like he wasn't the most fond of Kai giving him orders. "Reiji! Eiji!" He yelled, and the two boys beside him yelled to show attention. "Get 20 civilians who aren't busy now with cleaning supplies and fix this!"
"Okay, Kamui-san!" They both yelled, rushing out.
Aichi watched them go, smiling. These kids were fun. She took a step, then winced as her arms, legs, and entire body in general began hurting. Her arm was still bleeding from taking damage, and her leg was really sore. The injuries didn't go away when the fight was over.
"Oh yeah! We gotta get you fixed up! Come on!" Ayaka said. "Medical wing it is! Kusuke!"
"On it!" The boy answered, grabbing Aichi out of nowhere, making her yelp in surprise, and piggybacking her. "Let's go!"
"Don't move her around too much." Seiri, that other boy with the glasses from the medical wing, said. "The wounds will get worse if you do."
"The wounds will get worse if we don't get her there now so let's go!" Kusuke yelled, grabbing Seiri with one hand and keeping Aichi on his back with another, he dragged them both out of the room with Ayaka and Rika following behind.
-linebreak-
"Kai! I heard what happened!" Miwa barged into Kai's office in a hurry, the door slamming the wall as Kai huffed and looked up at him from the map he was examining.
"What? It's handled." He replied. Miwa blinked.
"Aichi won?"
"I had to explain the rules as we went along. She's had some experience in the past from… someone." Kai said, looking back at the map and making some marks on it.
"Oh. Okay… then…." Miwa said, at a small loss for words. "Um, so, how's Blitzkrieg and Misaki's team coming along?"
"Blitzkrieg should be arriving soon. Misaki alerted me she might be a little late because of Void soldiers, but it should be no problem." Kai replied. "If you need nothing else, go out and patrol. I'm not paying you to stand around."
"You're not paying me at all. We don't even use the money system anymore." Miwa muttered, before walking forwards. "So, she's a vanguard then?"
"Yeah. Take her patrolling with you some time. I'll teach her some more vanguard skills, then assign her to a station."
"Hmm?" Miwa raised an eyebrow, smirking. "So you're interested in her?"
"… What's that supposed to mean?"
"She's not that bad, although Hitomi and Nee-chan* are more developed in that area."
The point of Kai's pencil snapped off. "GO, Miwa." Miwa grinned.
"Well see ya!" He waved before walking out. "If you're not gonna do anything then I will!" The door shut, leaving Kai alone in the room with his broken pencil.
"Damn… that pervert…"
*Nee-chan = An informal way of saying 'Sis', how some refer to girl friends who are older than them. The way Miwa refers to Misaki throughout the series.
Me: Yeah… the chapters are probably gonna get shorter, so hopefully updates will be getting faster. Sorry about the quality of this chapter, I've been busy throughout the month with classes…
Me: Anyways, if your OC has not appeared this chapter, then he/she/it will appear in chapter 4 or 5. If he/she/it has not appeared by then, feel free to contact me cause I might have made a miscalculation then.
Me: Um… thank you for reading… Review please… Anyways, bye!
(I wish Astral was here….)
Nina Lim – BoilingInk
Yuki Kazami – The Pocketwatch Ripper