Aichi walked by and soon shrieked once he saw Tony there and fell backwards from the scare since he didn't know Tony was there.
"Oops." Tony smiled bashfully.
The others joined Tony as he then came to the front door and knocked on it.
"Uh, are you stalking me?" Aichi uneasily asked Tony and his friends and siblings.
"No." Tony said.
"What do you want then?" Aichi asked.
"Can we stay with you?" Tony replied. "We're visiting here a while, and we have nowhere else to go, please?"
Aichi could imagine how hard it could be to find a place to stay.
"Please?" Tony pouted.
"Well... I guess that would be okay..." Aichi replied. "Let's just hope that Mom and Emi don't mind."
"Another Emi?" Megan asked.
"Another Emi?" Aichi repeated in confusion.
"Oh, forgive us, but your sister has the same name as my girlfriend." Akito smiled bashfully.
"Must be a coincidence because my sister Emi is younger than me." Aichi said.
"Oh, how much younger?" Estelle asked.
"Why don't you come inside?" Aichi smiled politely since he could trust them.
They soon followed him inside to see how young his sister was.
There was a redheaded girl who almost looked like Atticus's Aunt Delilah when she was younger with the red hair, but had ocean blue eyes, she seemed to be just a year younger than Tony.
"Emi, we have guests." Aichi told his sister.
"Oh, hello," Emi waved. "I'm Emi Sendou."
The girls simply awed at how cute Emi was. Emi soon reached into a jar and took out a cookie to eat it.
"Isn't it a little early for a cookie?" Marc asked.
"You don't push my buttons, bub, and I won't push yours," Emi replied before biting into the cookie. "Who're your friends, Aichi?"
The Fudo siblings soon introduced themselves with Felicity and the Clark siblings.
"Nice to meet you all." Emi said before finishing her cookie.
"You really shouldn't have cookies before dinner." Estelle told Emi as she acted like the babysitter she was back home.
"You're not my boss." Emi muttered.
"But sweets can spoil your appetite." Megan said.
Emi shrugged as she kept eating the cookie.
"Kids..." Estelle and Megan sighed together.
"Say, you're that kid who was in the battlefield with me..." Aichi said to Tony.
"Yeah, and I just learned that we both have the power of PSY Qualia." Tony told him.
"So, you do..." Aichi said. "That would explain how you were with me."
"Does that happen a lot?" Tony asked.
"Oh, yes, just wait until you get it in your dreams." Aichi nodded.
"Will they be like visions?" Tony asked.
"In a way, yes," Aichi replied. "I always saw them more as dreams that can help me out, but visions is a perfect way to put it."
"Great." Tony said.
Aichi let the guests inside of his and Emi's home.
"I have to go to the grocery store," A blue-haired woman told Aichi and Emi before looking to the guests. "Oh, you've invited friends over without telling me?"
"Um, we kind of have no place to go." Tony said.
"Oh..." Mrs. Sendou said before smiling. "Well, why don't you stay here?"
"You don't mind?" Megan asked.
"If it'll make you kids happy, I don't see why you can't." Mrs. Sendou replied.
"Great." Estelle smiled.
"I guess I'll just have to buy more groceries," Mrs. Sendou smiled back. "Oh, well, at least I have all those coupons."
"That's good." Marc said.
"I'll be back later." Mrs. Sendou said as she walked off.
"What a nice woman." Felicity smiled.
Tony looked over and soon followed Aichi into his bedroom.
"This sure is a nice house." Megan said.
"It really is." Marc smiled in agreement.
"I wish my house was as warm and comforting as this..." Felicity said. "We don't have any neighbors."
"That sounds lonely." Emi said.
"Oh, it can be..." Felicity replied. "We have our own graveyard though..."
"Oh, that's right," Akito remembered. "Your mom bought the deed from Mr. Gracey when he was able to rest in peace with Elizabeth Henshaw."
"That story is creepy..." Estelle shivered. "Only Aunt Cherry would want to live in a haunted mansion."
"Yeah." Vincent added.
"Your aunt is freaky." Lee said to the Fudo siblings.
Felicity glared.
"Oh, no offense!" Lee replied.
"I got my eye on you, Leonardo Clark..." Felicity warned. "I'll be nice to you as long as you're nice to Estelle."
"I always am." Lee said.
Felicity narrowed her eyes, but backed away from him.
Tony came into Aichi's room as the blue-haired boy sat on his bed and was thinking about what Blaster Blade told him. He had a strong feeling that he knew what the blue-haired boy was thinking.
"Who's there?" Aichi asked.
"It's me," Tony told him. "Can I come in?"
"I guess." Aichi shrugged to him.
"So, are you thinking back at what happened?" Tony asked.
"Yeah, I am..." Aichi replied. "There's a lot going on."
"Sure is." Tony said.
Aichi scooted back and allowed Tony to sit with him. Tony gave a small smile to his possible new friend.
"What can I do?" Aichi sighed.
"I'm not sure." Tony shrugged.
"Feels like we're both sunk..." Aichi sighed.
"I know something will come out of this in a good way." Tony did his best to comfort his new friend.
The brown-haired boy soon came over.
"Hey, it's that one boy from the card shop." Megan said after looking out the window.
"That's Kai." Emi told them.
The brown-haired boy came in front of her. "Is Aichi around?"
"Yeah, he's in his room." Emi nodded.
Kai soon noticed the others.
"Guests of his." Emi told Kai.
Kai nodded to the others, though didn't talk to them as he went to talk with Aichi, but when he got to the blue-haired boy's room, he didn't know that Tony would be there.
"Kai." Aichi looked up.
"Um, is this a bad time?" Kai asked since he saw Tony.
"No, please, come in." Aichi told him.
"What's up?" Tony asked.
"You see anything strange during our card fight?" Kai asked Aichi.
"You have PSY Qualia too?" Tony asked.
"Well, no, but I have an understanding of it." Kai replied.
"Oh, well, Aichi and I did see something." Tony said.
"Tell me about it." Kai insisted since he usually helped Aichi out in times like this.
"Well, you do seem friendly now." Tony smiled.
Tony and Aichi soon began to tell Kai about what they saw.
"Messiah, huh?" Tai wondered. "Check your email, I think there might be an answer for you guys there."
They soon decided to check the email. The email was a video for something called a Messiah Scramble Prix which was the competition that Drell had told the others about.
"Wow, what sheer luck." Tony said.
"Grade 4 Messiah..." Aichi muttered as it made him think of what Blaster Blade told him and Tony. "Messiah... That's definitely what Blaster Blade said."
"The Messiah Scramble could be our answer, Aichi." Tony said to his new friend.
"The winner's card is the messiah, huh?" Kai replied as he brought out a card. "It can't be a coincidence. Especially with Takuto as the sponsor."
"Who?" Tony asked.
"The chairman of Tatsunagi Foundation." Kai informed.
"Whoa." Tony said.
"Kai!" Aichi yelped at the other boy's card. "That's a-"
"I've been sensing something strange too," Kai told both Aichi and Tony. "Probably the same as you."
"I sure have." Tony said.
Soon enough, Mrs. Sendou came back as she looked cheerful and soon made a meal with Felicity's and Estelle's help.
"Mom, you're kinda acting a little too happy." Emi said to her mother.
"Well, it's not everyday Aichi brings a friend home!" Mrs. Sendou smiled after pouring some tea.
"Really?" Estelle asked.
"Plus it's the rumored Toshiki Kai!" Mrs. Sendou squealed. "I know if I was 20 years younger, I wouldn't keep away from him!"
"Mom, you may still be young at heart, but that's just weird to tell your daughter." Emi mumbled.
"Ah, yeah, sorry, sorry." Mrs. Sendou giggled sheepishly.
They soon continued to cook. Emi sat at the table with a magazine, but soon caught a glimpse of the news which involved Vanguard.
"Hey, Emi, what's going on in the news?" Megan asked.
"It says that units of Vanguard Cards are vanishing around the world." Emi replied.
"What?!" Megan asked. "How is that possible?"
"I'm not sure, it sure sounds like a mystery to me though." Emi shrugged.
'I better ask Drell about this.' Megan thought to herself.
"Oh, it's so sweet of you girls to help out." Mrs. Sendou smiled to Felicity and Estelle.
"It's our pleasure." Estelle smiled back.
The sun was soon setting and it was dark as night outside while Megan decided to have a word with a warlock that her neighbors seemed to be friends with, even if he wasn't really fond of mortals himself. She soon brought out the spell to summon him.
"Indeed..." Kai replied. "Of course, he has the ability as well."
Tony now looked worried as he wondered if having the PSY Qualia would make him turn evil.
"But don't worry, the power shouldn't be able to control you." Aichi said.
Tony looked to him.
"I also better ask Misaki and Kamui," Aichi decided. "But I'm also wondering what are the other participants going to be like..."
There was soon a rumbling which shook the house and knocked everyone off balance.
"What was that?" Tony asked.
"Come on, guys!" Kai told Aichi and Tony as he soon rushed back upstairs.
They soon came into Aichi's room and the sky was dark outside, but there seemed to be a bright red moon.
"That's weird." Tony said as he looked out the window.
"It's the same as what I saw on Cray..." Aichi muttered. "The sky..."
"As I thought," Kai replied. "We have been seeing the same thing."
"This is serious now." Tony said.
There was soon an alert on Aichi's phone and he picked it up to check it out.
"Misaki?" Aichi wondered before answering the phone to talk with one of his friends, after a brief moment, he then got off the phone. "We have to see Misaki, she says there's trouble."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Tony asked.
"Come on!" Aichi told Tony.
They all then rushed out of the house, and went to see Misaki.
There seemed to be a group at the shop with cards that were blackened in the face.
"Whoa!" Tony yelped.
"Where are the units?!" Aichi asked.
"Not only this, but he took my Scramble invitation as well." A spiky black-haired boy said.
"It's true," A dark-haired guy bowed his head. "He showed up at Foo Fighter HQ of the blue, fighting his way up to Ren, and then put Ren's Messiah Scramble Invite on the line."
"Whoa." Tony said.
Everyone was in shock and dismay of the blackened out cards.
"How is this possible?" Tony asked.
"It's hard to say," The green-haired boy said as he held the cat. "It's been going on all around the world."
"Wait, all around the world?" Tony asked before his cell phone rang.
"My deck... It was apart of my soul..." The redheaded boy sulked. "And he just took it away from me..."
"Hello?" Tony greeted as he answered his phone.
"The cards are starting to go black!" A friend of his told him on the phone.
"WHAT?!" Tony's eyes widened. "Over there too?!"
"Yeah, they're blank." His friend told him.
"Are you sure?" Tony asked.
"I can't make this stuff up!" The friend replied before texting him a photo of a collection of cards that were blacked out.
"Whoa!" Tony yelped.
"Where are you?" The friend asked. "This is huge!"
"Um, in Japan?" Tony smiled sheepishly.
"You're in Japan...?" Tony's friend asked. "HOW THE HECK DID YOU GET TO JAPAN?!"
"Uh, that's kind of hard to explain." Tony said.
"Ugh, whatever Tony..." Tony's friend sulked. "This just sucks! Cards aren't supposed to black out like this!"
"I know, but don't worry; I'm sure they'll be back to normal." Tony said.
"Mm-hmm..." Tony's friend replied.
Tony's phone soon 'blew up' with a lot of texts and calls from his friends about their cards.
"I guess this really is spreading to the world." Aichi said to Kai.
"It sure is." Tony said before showing his texts and calls.
"Is it really this man alone that's causing this?" Misaki asked. "How could he?"
"I don't know, but when we fought, I felt the aura of something alien..." The redheaded boy replied.
"You mean like if he was from Cray?" Tony asked.
"Hard to say, but perhaps," The redheaded boy replied. "Since he now has my invite, he'll probably be entering the Prix. Stay sharp, all of you, be careful of that man: Kouji Ibuki."
"Hmm..." Tony hummed before looking at Misaki. "Misaki, do you have a computer?"
"In the back." Misaki nodded as she decided to lead him there.
Once at the computer, Tony started doing research on Kouji Ibuki.
"Kai knows about Kouji." Misaki told Tony.
"Wait, he does?" Tony asked. "Like from information or from past experience?"
"Well, something happened a bit ago..." Misaki replied. "We all know him in a way... Kouji was in elementary school with Kai though."
"Whoa." Tony said.
Misaki soon told Tony everything that was needed to know about Kouji who seemed to be a villain now.
"Whoa." Tony said.
"I can't believe he would go this far... But if Ren says so, then it must be so." Misaki said.
"He has to be stopped." Tony said.
"Well, are you entered in the Messiah Tournament?" Misaki asked.
"Well, I do have the PSY Qualia." Tony said.
"Then you might be able to come along..." Misaki said. "There is a plane that leaves early in the morning for the tournament out of town."
"Then Aichi and I will be on it." Tony said.
"So will I." Misaki replied.
"You play?" Tony asked.
"When I'm not working, yes," Misaki nodded. "We all do."
"Awesome," Tony smiled. "And I know all of the rules and how to play the game."
"Not bad for an American boy," Misaki smiled back. "Oh, no offense."
"None taken, I guess..." Tony shrugged. "Before going to bed, Aichi and I will practice."
"Sounds good, just be sure to get plenty of sleep." Misaki warned.
"I will... It's nice to meet you, Misaki." Tony smiled.
Misaki smiled back. "It's nice to meet you too, Tony."
Tony and Aichi soon got back to his home.
"Misaki is pretty..." Tony said. "I wonder if... Oh, I don't know..."
"Aw, is my little brother in love?" Lee smirked to Tony.
"What?! N-No!" Tony stammered.
The others looked to him.
"I've never had a girlfriend before..." Tony said.
"Well, neither have I." Marc shrugged innocently.
"That's true." Tony replied.
"So, do you like this girl?" Marc asked.
"I... I'm not sure..." Tony replied. "She seems nice... She seems to like me too..."
"Yeah, Misaki's a really nice girl..." Aichi said as he couldn't help but overhear them.
"Um, so shall we get started on practicing?" Tony asked.
"Okay, I'll help you, Tony." Aichi offered.
"Thanks, Aichi." Tony smiled.
The two of them soon brought out their decks.
The others decided to leave Tony and Aichi alone as they had work to do right now.
"Card Captor Sakura~" Felicity randomly sang.
"Um, that's cute, Fliss..." Estelle smiled shyly.
"It's my new manga." Felicity showed her newest book for leisure.
"Cool." Estelle said.
"Sakura Kinomoto is the Cardcaptor of the Clow Cards," Felicity smiled. "I thought it'd be a good reference to this Vanguard stuff going on."
"It kind of is, only I don't think any of the other cards are going to cause any damage." Estelle said.
"I tried..." Felicity sighed. "Why do I bother helping you guys when you don't even need me?"
"But you do help us in different ways." Estelle said.
"Do I?" Felicity pouted.
"Yeah, like that time in Summer Wars." Akito said.
"I did...? "Felicity asked before thinking back to that adventure. "Well... Oui... I suppose I did..."
"Also that time with Latias and Latios." Vincent helped.
"Yes, I also helped Bianca..." Felicity smiled sheepishly. "And I suppose there were those times with Mal in Auradon."
"See?" Estelle smiled. "You are needed."
"I guess so..." Felicity replied. "I just sometimes feel like I don't belong anywhere..."
"Of course you do." Megan said.
Felicity sighed as she hugged her book while looking in the distance.
"Felicity, we know how fragile you are, but we really love having you..." Estelle comforted. "I mean, you were the closest thing I had to a sister when we were kids."
"It's true." Akito added.
Felicity looked out into the sky. "Even though... For right now... All of our destinies are in the hands of Tony."
"Yeah!" The Fudo siblings nodded.