Ace was currently sitting in the lobby as he held a hand to his head. "*Sigh* Thank goodness Toma's alright...could this be what Wisdom meant by "upgrading?" To turn everyone into CHAOS slaves?" He said to himself.

"Looks like it." Hope said. "Its lucky both our Buddies got this power of Overturn, huh?" Hope asked.

"*Gasp!* Oh, Hope. Sorry, I was just startled a bit." Ace said.

"No worries. So, did you experience Jalters Overturn for yourself?" Hope asked.

"Yeah, Jalter's power...it was incredible and unlike anything I've seen before." Ace said.

"I'll say. Not only is she stronger, she seems more edgier, colder and dark. She's really had a makeover." Hope said. "Though, I can say the same about Moon Bat. She also has that power too. But Ace.. answer me this… is Jalter's new form and personality something you're not used to?"

"Well, yeah, I know she's still the same Jeanne I know, it's just her Alter form that changes her personality, but no matter what, she's my buddy till the end." Ace said.

"You know, she could possibly be more than just a Buddy Monster. She may even be the real thing." Hope said.

"Really?" Ace asked.

"It's just a theory. But she may be the real thing." Hope said. "You never know, right?"

"Yeah. So is Gao still in the mountains?" Ace asked.

"He and his little group came back around the same time we did." Hope said.

"Oh." Ace said before he closed his eyes in thought.

"If you're still wondering what to do, dont be. Just watch the fight about to go down later. Gao's challenging Guru to a rematch. As it so happens, Guru wanted me to join in since this will also count as Paimon's graduation if she happens to win. I know you'll root for me and Gao, right?" Hope asked.

"Of course, you're one of my best friends!" Ace said.

"Then watch me, and you'll see what you need to do. Because friends help each other." Hope said.

Later at Guru's riverside residence…

"We are Live for another exciting buddyfight!" Paruko said. "And once again, we get to see the classic team up of Gao Mikado and Hope the Victor, as Gao goes into his Rematch with Guru Bunbuku, who's teaming up with his other student hoping to Graduate, the Demoness, Paimon!"

"You're gonna regret going into this rematch. I already told you, you couldn't beat the old man in a Million Years! And once i whup you, that means I finally graduate." Paimon said.

"Hate to tell you Pai, but you're not going anywhere. I swore never to lose until I faced David in the future, and that oath begins right now!" Hope said.

"You call me Pai again and you're gonna lose more than this match, you ass!" Paimon said.

"Enough antagonizing each other. It's time the show started." Guru said.

"I couldn't agree more, Guru." Gao said. "Rise up! Almighty dragon! Luminize! Demon Lord Dragon of Tempest!"

"Gather before me, Heroes of Justice and Bravery! Strike down villanly like lighting, and shine the light of the moon on the darkness! Lumenize! Full Moon Thunder Formation!" Hope said.

"Guess it's time to show you! The friendship between the Divine and Earth! Luminize! Nirvana or Gehenna!" Guru said.

"Demons are already bound for a painful hell with no chance for paradise! Luminize, Hell's Angels!" Paimon said.

"Okay everyone! Buddy...FIGHT!" Paruko said.

"Raise the flag!" they said.

"Dragon World!" Gao said.

"Hero World!" Hope said.

"Divine Guardians! Start with 12 life and gauge of 1!" Guru said.

"Searing Executioners!" Paimon said.

"Searing Executioners?" Arnice asked

"Another special flag. You use cards with Executioners in their attributes and start with 4 gauge and 8 life." Riku said.

"That's pretty cool." Al said.

"We go first! Charge and Draw! I equip, Arc Dragon Sword, Dracross!" Gao said holding a new sword. "Now I'm gonna attack Guru!"

12-10

"My go!" Hope said. "First up, I'm calling out my favorite Darkhero! "Sacrifice", Iron Moon Slash, call to the right!" he said as the darkhero appeared.

"Again with the stupid Darkheroes? Didn't you lose cause of them?" Paimon said.

"I didn't lose because I used Darkheroes, I lost because Alonz was stronger than me, and he knew all of my strategies. What heroes i use in my deck has nothing to do with that! I call Cyber Police, Heroic Blader to the left!" Hope said as the monster was called out.

"I'm here and awaiting your orders, boss!" Heroic Blader said.

"Time to bust out my new item! I equip Azure Crest, Hero Emblem!" Hope said gaining a mark on his right hand that resembled the markings on his God Modes Second form. "Now I'll activate Iron Moon Slash's effect! By discarding Judgement, Hollow Strydarm, I can hit you with 1 point of damage!"

"The weak fuel my strength, and it is all channeled at the forces of evil!" Iron Moon Slash said blasting Paimon.

8-7

"Heroic Blader, attack Paimon!" Hope called.

"Gotcha, boss!" Heroic blader said cleaving Paimon at high speed.

7-5

"My turns done." Hope said.

"Good...now I can send ya to hell with no regrets. Draw! Charge and Draw! Call Glutton Jailer, Glugiu to the right, and Lethal Poison Jailer, Silhouette Leroy to the left. Then call Chaotic Hunt Jailer, Soku. When I call him, I send two cards to the drop zone and if one of them is an Executioner, I get to draw a card." Paimon said doing so. "And what do ya know, the card i drew is my fav. I set Gate of Verdict, Judgment!"

"Knew that was coming…" Hope said.

"Now I put the top two cards of my deck into the drop zone. And lucky me, one of them was an Executioner, that means I get one extra gauge. It sucks that I don't have enough cards in my dropzone...Oh wait...I can change that. I cast Black Beast Battle Arts and put the top four cards of my deck into the drop zone." Paimon said.

"Now that there are 5 or more cards in her drop zone, Glugiu has three critical!" Mukuro said.

"She's coming…! Heroic Blader, i need you to move to the center!" Hope said.

"You got it!" Heroic blader said moving. "You won't harm the boss while I'm here!"

"Silence!" Soku said cleaving Heroic Blader in two as he vanished.

"Now it's your turn Leroy...Attack that idiot!" Paimon said.

"Cast! I've seen Through your moves!" Hope said.

"Not done yet. Glugiu attacks next. With five cards in the drop zone...he gains another critical!" Paimon said.

10-7

"Not bad, Paimon. Now I'm up!" Guru said. "I call Impartial Knight, Justlaw to the left, and to the right Impartial Beast, Garrdias. And now I buddy call Giant Tanuki to the center!" Guru said.

"I've arrived!" Tanuki said appearing in giant form.

"Time for some attackin! Garrdias, you're first!" Guru said. "And don't forget Sonny, with Giant Tanuki on the field, my Gauge goes up by 1, and he gets 1 critical!"

"Going up, Poko!" Giant Tanuki said growing bigger.

Crit: 2-3

9-8

"Only one damage from Garrdias?" Akane said.

"Not quite. Garrdias has Double attack, and Giant Tanukis effect kicks in for that too." Tails said.

Crit: 3-4

8-7

"Justlaw, youre next!" Guru said.

Crit: 4-5

7-5

"And now for my attack! With a critcal of 5! Time to flatten you!" Giant tanuki said going for a body slam.

"I cast! Blue Dragon Shield!" Gao said blocking.

"Guess our turns are over." Guru said.

"And that means its back to us!" Gao said. "Draw! Charge and Draw! I call Chibi Panda to the left!"

"That foul mouthed Demoness isn't graduating on my watch!" Chibi Panda said.

"I buddy call to the right, Demon Lord Dragon, Batzz!" Gao said.

"You two have drawn your Last!" Batzz said appearing in full form on the right.

"Okay Batzz, attack Giant Tanuki!" Gao said.

"Think again! I cast Dragon Sky Regression!" Guru said.

"Not this again!" Batzz said going back to the hand.

"Then i'll just have to attack!" Gao said destroying Giant tanuki, but he revived with Soulguard. "I'm not through yet, my Dracross has double attack!"

"I activate Justlaw's ability and return Tanuki to my hand cards!" Guru said as Giant Tanuki vanished.

"Rats!" Gao said.

"My go!" Hope said. "I use the effect of Azure Crest, Hero Emblem, and search my deck for one Superhero, Superheroine, or Darkhero and add it to my hand! Then I call Darkness Fist, Gwen to the left!"

"Another Darkhero…" Mukuro said.

"Darkness Fist, Gwen can attack even when there's a monster occupying the center whenever another Darkhero is on the field! Gwen, attack the fighter!" Hope said.

"Cast! Helles Shield!" Paimon said.

"After Gwen attacks, he's returned to my hand, which is perfect! I'll activate Iron Moon Slashes ability again! I mill Gwen to the dropzone, and you're hit with another point of damage!" Hope said.

5-4

"I attack Soku using my Hero Emblem! Hah!" Hope said.

"Cast….Own Style, Sliding Fang!" Paimon said negating the attack.

"Okay then, Iron Moon slash, you clear out the center!" Hope said.

"As you command!" Iron Moon slash said destroying soku. "The rest falls on you." he said as he disappeared.

"Our turns are over." Hope said.

"Sweet. Now I can focus on taking you out. Draw! Charge and Draw!" Paimon said. "First, I'll cast the spell Little Light and put one monster from my deck to my gauge to gain a life."

4-5

"Then...I'll buddycall...Master of the Evil Shadow Executioners, Silhouette Damien!" Paimon said as he appeared as her other monsters vanished to the drop zone.

5-6

"Now I'll cast Damien's Decision, putting more cards into my gauge and drawing a card." Paimon said. "Now….attack the fighter!"

"Deal with my shadows." Damien said striking Hope.

7-4

"I'll end my turn here." Paimon said.

"I gotta say, you're pretty tough, Paimon." Hope said.

"Now it's about time I finished here too." Guru said. "I cast Sky Dragon Divinity! It lets me put three cards from my drop zone to the bottom of my deck, and i can draw two cards! Now I recall Giant Tanuki to the center!"

"I'm back and bigger than ever!' Giant tanuki said.

"And now I'll equip Impartial Cane, Fabulous Rod! Because i have five or less cards in m'dropzone, I can grant one monster Double attack! I choose Giant Tanuki!" Guru said. "I set the spell Gate of Pardon Forgiven and regain a life by returning three cards from my dropzone to my deck."

9-10

"Now...Garrius...attack the fighter!" Guru said.

"Move Chibi Panda to the center!" Gao said moving Chibi Panda who was quickly defeated as Garrius used its double attack.

8-7

"Now Justlaw...you go get him." Guru said.

7-5

"Now is the time...Giant Tanuki...flatten that little bug." Guru said as Tanuki ran at Gao.

10-11

"Cast! Green Dragon Shield!" Gao said.

5-6

"You forget we have double attack." Guru said as Tanuki stomped Gao.

11-12

6-1

"Sorry Gao...but I win again. Final Phase! Guardians? Executioners? Or Worse?!" Guru said. "Giant Tanuki...finish this!"

"Gao...don't…if he loses...I'll lose." Hope said.

"I cast! Arc Dragon Shield!" Gao said blocking the impact.

"Big deal, he survives for another turn. We'll just crush you bugs next turn." Paimon said.

"Paimon….there won't be a next turn." Hope said. "I draw! Charge and Draw!" he shouted. "And I buddycall to the center! Overturn Thunder Soldier, Dawn Wings Moonbat!" Hope shouted.

4-5

"Heh...I ain't too scared. From your card stats you can only attack once, its critical is 3 and even with penetrate...you'll only leave a scratch on me." Paimon said.

"Oh...I haven't even shown you the best part." Hope said covering in a golden light as he started writing kanji in the air. "Overturn Thunder Soldier….. Dawn Wings Moonbat….OVERTURN!" Hope shouted. "Behold...this is a power that can only be used once per Buddyfight. By discarding a card from my hand and paying two gauge...Moonbat gains a critical for each Superhero, Darkhero and Superheroine monster in my drop zone!"

"She does what?!" Paimon asked.

"So that was Hope's strategy! To send as many dark heroes as he could to the drop zone using Iron Moon Slash's ability and by battle so Moon Bat could gain enough critical!" Gemini said.

"The heroes Hope has in his drop zone are Strydarm, Gwen, Iron Moon Slash, and Heroic Blader." Mana said.

"That's five so…add that to Moon Bat's 3 and that makes…" Himeno said.

"8 critical?!" Paimon said.

"And you forget...Moonbat also has penetrate...so...you just failed." Hope said. "Moonbat...finish this!" Hope shouted.

"You're finished!" Moon Bat said unfolding her cybernetic extra arms and drilling right through Damien. "Let the Moonlight of Justice overtake you! Penetrate!" she said slashing through Paimon.

"You gotta be freaking kidding me…!" Paimon yelled.

6-0

Game over, Paimon! Winner: Hope the Victor!

"Alright, Hope!" Ace cheered.

"Now...it's my turn to finish things! Hope isn't the only one with surprises. I Call to the left Chibi Panda...no...make that Saint Holy Sword Dragon!" Gao said as appearing on the left was a black and white dragon in golden armor.

"Whoa! Is that… Chibi Panda?!" Erica said.

"It's me, alright! This is my true form! I told you guys I was a Saint Holy Sword Dragon!" Chibi Panda said.

"Your other form said otherwise!" Kagura said.

"Chibi Panda's not the only one who's changed! I call to the right, Thunder Emperor Dragon, Barlbatzz!" Gao shouted as Batzz entered the field in bright red and black armor wielding a large shield and weapon as he let out a fearsome roar.

"Nice upgrade." Al said.

"Now it's time to attack!" Gao said. "I'm up first!" He said laying into Giant Tanuki with Dracross, Tanuki revived with soulguard, but Gao finished him off with Dracross's double attack.

"I'm following Gao's Lead!" SHSD said preparing his sword. "And since Gao has an item equipped and there's another monster out, I've got double attack, too! Take this!"

12-10

10-8

"Now it's my turn to strike!" Batzz said.

"I cast! Heaven's Shield!" Guru said.

8-9

"Not so fast! Double attack!" Batzz said striking Guru.

9-6

"I told you, you couldn't beat Guru in a million years! He still has six life and you used up all your attacks! Game set and match, Guru!" Paimon laughed.

"That's what you think!" Gao said gaining the familiar golden aura and writing in the air. "Thunder Emperor Dragon…! Barlbatzz….! OVERTURN! By paying one gage and discarding one hand card, I re-stand all of the cards on my field! Meaning, we all get to attack again!"

"Hang on. I got one last hand card. You better think it through." Guru said as Gao attacked.

6-4

"Won't ya think it through? Last chance." Guru said as SHSD went next.

4-2

"We've had enough of your tricks!" Batzz said firing lightning right at Guru.

2-0

Game over! Winner: Gao Mikado!

"No way… Guru got beat?!" Paimon said.

"Sure looks that way. What was that about not beating him in a million years?" Hope smirked.

"Never underestimate your opponents." Emiya said.

"Shut it, peanut gallery!" Paimon said.

"Get angry all y'want Paimon, but it's the truth." Guru said. "I really sorry ta have ta do this to ya, but since this was yer graduation buddyfight and you failed to win…."

"Screw this. I don't know why I bothered staying here. I'm outta here." Paimon said marching out. "Nice match either way." She said.

"Wow, she gets angry fast." David said. "Any chance you guys have of recruiting her is out the window now."

"I wasn't planning on recruiting her actually." Ace said. "What about you, Hope?"

"Nah. Besides, Paimon's a demoness. She does what she wants to do, and I respect that. It's not right to impede on someone's own path. People choose what they want to do. That's something I always respect." Hope said.

"Well said, my man." David said.

"So then, Guru. Have we proved ourselves?" Ace asked.

"More than proved, I say. But you'd better leave the finding of the descendants t' your pal Jexi. Figure he's gonna round em all up before you're finished with Wisdom.".

"Yeah, we...kinda figured." David said. "Knowing him, he's got this in the bag."

"Yeah. You're right, Jexi's not the type to go down without a fight." Ace said.

"And we won't either. But…I get the feeling that Wisdom or Mime will not stand still now that we've gotten this strong." Hope said.

"I doubt that too. But whatever he's got, we'll be ready for it." Yoko said.